* * *
Luke’s gasps blasted through the phone in a steady stream, the bear of a man’s breathing labored as if he’d just finished up running a marathon.
I held my cell phone out to the side to save my ear as I stepped out of the studio, closing the wall between lives with a thud.
“If you’re having sex while talking to me, I’ll kick you in the nads!” I warned.
I thought the obnoxious sex practices had ended with Josie. She was the only person that managed to leash the wild beast. If she wasn’t such a talented graphic artist, I would’ve pushed her into dog training. She’d already trained the biggest one of them all.
“Oh, thanks. Nice talking to you too, jackass.” He still sounded winded, each breath deafening. “I was wrestling with Linc. Now he’s in his room jumping around like a hamster on speed before bed.”
“Sounds about right.” My nephew had yet to learn the meaning of rest. Apparently I was in the same boat, the studio still calling my name as I walked down the hall.
But I couldn’t pull another all-nighter in front of the canvas. I needed sleep. Going into things fuzzy wasn’t an option. Not in my world.
“Do you want to come up in a few weeks? I know your schedule is nuts, so I figured I’d reach out before you flew off to Who-The-Fuck-Knows-Where-istan.”
“The wife pregnant?” I asked, strolling into the living room with my date of the night, a tumbler of Scotch. The marble was cool beneath my feet, a stark difference from the thick drop cloth in the studio.
“Fuck you! Don’t say anything or Josie will kill me. But that’s not why I’m inviting you.”
Holy shit. Did he know Jason and Elena’s news, too, or was I the only one that knew both brothers had a kid on the way?
“Jase know?” I threw it out there nonchalantly, a perfectly placed hook for information.
There was rustling on his end, Josie’s high-pitched voice in the distance telling Linc to go to bed. “No, but he’s not like you. No one is, really.”
I set my glass on the coffee table and flopped on the couch, the massive cushions sucking me in. “Thanks; I’m flattered.”
The rain continued to ping off the windows and invade the eerie quiet of the penthouse. I’d have to keep an eye on the forecast. Rain would complicate things, but throwing in a bonus would likely keep everything on track.
“It’s not a bad thing. You’re always ten steps ahead and immediately call people out. The shit is exhausting to keep up with.”
I had to be. I closed my eyes, hoping the muscles in my neck would relax, the tension dangerously close to sparking a monster headache. “So, what’s going on?”
He released a sigh into the receiver, another blast from hell unleashed on my ear. “I wanted to get my brothers together in one place. Is that a crime?”
“No, just random; that’s all.” I didn’t mind making the trip up north. Getting out of Boston for a bit wouldn’t be a bad idea. I needed time to regroup and refocus.
“Not everything has a hidden meaning. Calm your tits, okay?” The bite to his voice would be menacing to anyone else, but I knew Luke wouldn’t hurt a fly. Well, he might punch me in the nuts, but that was usually the extent of his rage.
I smirked, glancing down at my bare chest, a few flecks of dried paint dancing across my pecs. “The tits are very calm.”
“Good, or I’ll freeze them solid while you’re here.”
I set my phone on speaker as I opened the calendar app. “Give me a date.” The months ahead were marked to hell and back, but I’d reschedule other obligations if needed. I only had me, myself, and I to answer to.
“It’s the last weekend of September. Don’t forget Jase and Elena are hosting Thanksgiving this year, too.”
“Sounds good. How’s everything?” It was a ways away, but he knew he had to nail me down while he could, not that I’d ever miss a holiday. Even in the worst of my funk, I still made time to see my brothers. After everything that had happened with Jason, I never neglected our bond.
“Busy as all hell. There are lines out the door every weekend, and the shop is booked solid.” His auto repair shop was his first love, but his brewery Barrett’s was next level, almost comparable to his love for his family.
“That’s kickass, dude.”
It was about time things fell into place for him. Life had dealt him a shit hand in robbing him of Josie for so long.
“You could always help if you get sick of globetrotting. Taking things a little slower wouldn’t kill you.”
“But dealing with you might,” I laughed, evading the rat’s nest with a finesse that came from years of practice. Moving back to Briar was out of the question. Small towns talked louder than any city. Especially Briar.
“I’m serious. You’re always going balls to the wall. Stepping back would do you good.”
“I love my life.” The words came pouring out automatically, a line I’d regurgitated thousands of times. A line I wasn’t so sure was true anymore.
And Luke saw right through it. “That was delivered with the passion of a dish sponge.”
“We aren’t all ready for the ball and chain,” I mocked, preparing for battle with the shiniest of word weapons. “Some of us like freedom.”
I’d learned that the fastest way to avoid prying was through a quick, aggressive offense. Getting a little personal helped, too.
“I’m not asking you to settle down, asshole. I’m telling you to relax. You’re always going a hundred miles an hour. It’s not healthy.”
“Pot meet kettle.” It wasn’t like I wanted to ruffle his feathers. I needed to.
“Look, you don’t have to take my advice. You’re always the first one to spout off about what everyone should do. Why don’t you listen to