Page 66 of Forgotten Desires

Seeing my brother here, though, makes it feel a little less ridiculous. I guide him over to the curved sofa that overlooks the city.

Celeste smiles. “I assure you, Mr. Whitlock, I do not have a rope, gun, or candlestick handy.”

He lays his hand over his heart. “I feel much safer now.”

“Do you need anything? Food? Drinks? I can whip up something, no problem.”

Grady smiles. “I wish I could, but I don’t have long. Thank you.”

“I’ll leave you both. Just ring me if you need something.”

“Thank you, Celeste.”

She leaves and I hug Grady again. “It’s so good to see you.”

His eyes narrow. “It’s only been a few days.”

“Yes, well, I guess I’m dumb and miss my brothers, even though you all drive me nuts. You’re sure you don’t want anything?”

“No, I’m good. I just met with Carson about his schedule over the next few weeks. He’s taking some time off, so I won’t need to fly into the city much.”

I keep my face stoic. “Yeah, we have some plans,” I try to explain.

“Are you guys going away?”

This is my opening. This is my chance to tell one of my brothers. Really, the most rational and even-keeled one too.

“Not really. We are just going to spend time together.”

He nods. “That’s good. You guys probably need to do that. I’m surprised, since Carson doesn’t seem like a guy who takes much time off.”

I smile. “No, he’s not.”

He’s doing it for me. He’s doing it because I won’t be able to do anything after the surgery and he refuses to let me struggle.

Tell him, Brynn. Tell Grady why he’s taking off work. Tell him about the surgery.

“Addison said you’re coming home this weekend with Carson’s daughter?” he asks.

I nod, trying to get my mouth and my mind to work together.

“Good. Elodie and Jett asked if we could come by to see the animals. I figured you wouldn’t mind, plus the kids are around the same age, right?”

“Yes, Layla is four.”

He tosses his arm across the back of the chair. “I’m sure Elodie will love having a friend who doesn’t want to play war with her Barbies.”

“Yes, I grew up having that particular joy in life.”

Grady rolls his eyes. “Please, you were picked on far less than Rowan. Asher and I were relentless with him.”

Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard all about the torture they inflicted on him. Rowan was the youngest sibling for a long time. I’m eight years younger than him and my brothers wouldn’t dare upset me. I was really, really good at crying, which is why Rowan was the easy target.

“Doesn’t mean you didn’t gang up on me when I wanted to play dolls,” I remind him.

“Anyway, I’ll bring her by if you text me.”

“Sounds good.”

---