Page 24 of The Devil You Know
SETH
“Vacation?”Seth echoed. He hadn’t finished his first cup of morning coffee yet, and although he didn’t have any firm plans, going on a spur-of-the-moment trip felt oddly wrong.
His mom nodded. “Before you get tied down with a job, we thought it would be a great idea if the whole family took the first trip in the RV to break it in. Jesse’s already earned some time off.”
Jesse came into the kitchen and flopped down in a chair beside Seth, intentionally jostling his arm to make the coffee slosh.
“Asshole,” Seth muttered, rolling his eyes. He knew Jesse heard the affection in his tone.
“Takes one to know one,” Jesse replied blithely.
Linda looked at Seth archly. “What did you call your brother?”
“Casserole,” Seth replied, with a wide-eyed expression of innocence that had never worked on his skeptical mother.
“Uh-huh,” Linda replied, obviously not believing a word of it.
“Where do you want to go?” Jesse asked. “Canada? Key West? Colorado?”
Linda laughed. “We weren’t thinking anything quite that ambitious until your father gets the hang of driving the new truck and the fifth-wheeler. Together they’re the length of a bus. We thought we might go to Richmond. There’s a lot to see, we’ve never been there, I’ve always wanted to go, and it’s far enough away to feel like a vacation.”
Jesse shrugged. “Sounds good to me. Last trip before I have to pay my own way!”
“Moocher,” Seth teased.
“Suck-up,” Jesse returned.
Linda laughed and shook her head. “Seriously? You boys will be the death of me.”
“When did you want to leave?” Seth asked. Something tugged at him to stay in Brazil. The dark-haired man he had glimpsed came to mind, and he figured it had been too long since he’d gotten laid if he was fixating on a stranger whose face he hadn’t even seen.
“Saturday,” she said. “Your dad wants to take the rig out on some short drives to get a feel for how it handles and how fast it goes through gas. I need to outfit it, so we have sheets and towels and kitchen stuff. Plus groceries. Think about what you want to bring—your gaming stuff should work, and it’s got Wi-Fi.”
“Sweet,” Jesse said. “That means I can beat your ass on video games from here to the coast!”
Linda sighed and shook her head. “Language!” she chided, mostly teasing.
Seth gave her a playful side-eye. “You do know I spent six years learning to swear like a soldier, right?”
“I try not to think about any of that.” She looked wistful. “You’re home now and safe. That’s all that matters.”
Seth didn’t fight the overwhelming urge he had to lean close and give his mother a kiss on the cheek. “That’s for all the times I wanted to and couldn’t,” he said, surprised that the thought made tears spring to his eyes.
She turned and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “I missed you too.”
Jesse cleared his throat and flung his arms wide. “Hey, what about me? I’m right here!”
Linda gave Jesse a fond look of exasperation. “I know that. It’s why the groceries disappear into thin air.”
Seth guffawed and gave Jesse a backhanded slap to the chest. “She’s got you on that!”
“Boys,” she said, shaking her head.
“Sounds like a plan,” Seth replied. He wasn’t enthusiastic for the trip itself, but after six years overseas, he craved time with his family.
Jesse clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ve got plans for you, bro. A lot can happen in two days!”
After breakfast, Jesse and Seth went out to Jesse’s Mustang. “I’ve been thinking of the things I wanted to show you.”
