Page 13 of The Getaway Guy
“No, thanks. And again, those are bad for you. Though I sense you don’t care at the moment.”
“Not one freaking bit,” she said as she placed a chip inside her mouth and crunched to make her point. “Salty and sweet, you know?”
Sensing that she wasn’t going to drop her questions about his brothers, Elias settled in for the duration. “It’s odd having a twin,” he stated. “We’re identical and yet as opposite as night and day.”
“That would be weird.” She shifted in the seat until she was angled toward him and curled one long leg on the seat. “Any funny stories from when you were kids? Twin swaps? Girlfriend stuff?”
Girlfriend stuff? Elias tightened his hand on the steering wheel until his knuckles hurt. He wasn’t boyfriend material. Especially not back then when he was so sick. “No.”
“Oh, come on, there has to besomething. You do not strike me as the angelic type, and with that many boys under one roof, I bet things got pretty wild.”
He inhaled and reminded himself that Quinley’s goal was to take the focus off of herself. “The house was loud and chaotic, louder if we woke up Isla.”
“Oh, that’s right. The famous ninth. I can’t imagine growing up witheightolder brothers. Talk about a dating disaster. Then again, I can’t imagine growing up with any sibling, brother or otherwise.”
“Only child, huh?” He didn’t like thinking of Isla dating and was glad she spent a lot of time nannying. He knew it was wishful thinking to believe she wouldn’t date, but…
“Yeah, though not technically.”
He glanced over at her in time to see her make a face.
“My mom miscarried my baby brother after having me. He was stillborn.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks. It definitely changed things. I mean, I was a Daddy’s girl up until then, but even as young as I was, Isawhow much my father wanted a son. My mom wasn’t able to get pregnant again, and to her horror, I went through a total tomboy stage after that trying to be a boy so my father would… Well, I wanted him to want me as much as he wanted a son.” An awkward laugh left her. “Nothing to psychoanalyze in that, is there?”
“We could all probably use some time with a good counselor. But to answer your question, siblings can be the best and worst.”
“Tell me about them. From your perspective, I mean. What are they like?”
He took another deep breath, his thoughts shifting to his very large family. He supposed there was no harm in giving her his thoughts of them. “Alec is take-charge. As the oldest he was always the big brother, but he’d just turned eighteen when…when our parents died and children’s services were right there ready to split us up.”
The organization did good things, of that he had no doubt. But he’d never forget the fear they’d caused, or the pain. Especially for a kid like him. “Our aunt moved in to help, but she was single with no kids and no experience. Between her and Alec, they set the bar and made it clear we’d do whatever it took to stay under one roof.”
“That’s incredibly brave. And a major undertaking.”
Elias nodded, preferring not to remember those days at all. At thirteen, the thought of losing his brothers and baby sister on top of his parents had been too much. Way too much.
“After Alec comes…?”
“Brooks is the goof,” he said, mentally stuffing the thirteen-year-old version of himself in a box for safekeeping. “He’s got a heart of gold but can be pretty oblivious at times. I think his wife would definitely agree.”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot about the ABC name thing. Cole’s next,” she said, smiling as she stared across the cab at him and chomped another chip.
“Cole is ex-military as you know. He’s all about honor and duty and protecting those he loves. Cole, Brooks, and Alec, Dawson too,” he quickly added, “stepped up the most when we lost our parents. As the oldest, they took on the running of the gas station and eventually expanded the convenience store. Dawson couldn’t get a work license back then, so he mowed lawns and carried trash, pretty much did whatever he could to earn cash. They were also the ones keeping the rest of us in line while my aunt focused on the younger ones.”
“Dawson is now the business guy. I mean, you’re all in various businesses,” she clarified, “but he’s taken over for Barbara Lancaster, right? I’ve seen him featured in news articles and business publications we target at work.”
“Yeah. Dawson’s got the Midas touch, and he and Sophia are now handling all of Barbara’s businesses. Dawson has the profit side and Sophia the nonprofit side.” Dawson had never been the blue-collar type, so it wasn’t surprising when he’d made college a go and been a huge success in corporate America.
“Which brings us to you and your twin,” Quinley said, sounding gleeful. “Come on, gimme something juicy.”
Elias stared at the road ahead of them and shrugged. “I’m four minutes older than Finn, and I own and operate a gym and the smoothie shop next door. Finn is all about his gentleman’s farm.”
“A gentleman’s farm?”
“He’s into horses and organic gardening, and he pulls in some nice cash with horseback riding, a small petting zoo and hosting special events like weddings and birthday parties in a huge barn. He also has a roadside stand and does the Carolina Cove farmers market in the summer by the lake. The farm is over the bridge, not far from Ana’s house.”
