Page 97 of Bad Wolf

“Good luck with Coralie, man, and God speed.” He salutes me from the hallway and I hang my head.

Fuck. She’ll be the hardest to crack. There’s no way I can just send my sister a text, she’s definitely going to need an in-person grovel session.

Coralie has happily sat on the sidelines for every single one of us, never really complaining that all her weekends and downtime were spent in the car or at hockey rinks. She’s been our number one cheerleader our whole lives, sharing in our dreams.

She’s sweet as pie and the nicest, kindest human on the planet—until one of us crosses her.

Then all bets are off. She’ll leave you in a quivering heap on the floor if you do her wrong, and I fear I’ve crossed that line. We all know better.Iknow better.

God, I am such a shit. I’ve ignored her in her own home for fucks sake. I really do know how to fuck a good thing up.

I start the ball rolling by ordering her and her two crazy besties, Lydia and Farrah, lunch at school. She’ll have only packed herself a boring salad. Hopefully she’ll see this as the first of many peace offerings.

Once I’ve sorted all that with Orange Grove, I settle back into the cab and send Wren a good morning voice note. Then finally, after the driver has taken twenty detours, I arrive at the airport just as Casey does. I tip the cabby in cash and heft my bag over my shoulder, wheeling my case behind me and making my way over to where he’s parking his car.

“Hey, Ace,” he says as he gets out and rounds to the trunk.

“I was happy to get your—”

He doesn’t get to finish his sentence because I’ve pulled him into the same embrace I gave Jason.

“One day,” I say into his neck, “I’ll get my head out of my ass and tell you you’re the best big bro a guy could ask for. I’ll tell you that a fuck up like me doesn’t deserve the family he was born into, but that he spends every waking moment trying to live up to his big brothers. I’ll tell you how proud I am of you and that all I ever want to be when I grow up is just like you.”

“And that day isn’t today, huh?” he says with a choked up laugh.

“Nah, today is not the day.”

He squeezes me tighter, almost cutting off my circulation.

“I’m sorry, Casey.”

“That’s okay. All my little brothers are pains in the ass. This was just your turn.”

I give him a shit-eating grin. It’s my trademark at this point, and I’m feeling much more like myself. “So come on, tell me. What did I miss?”

“What? When you were off being a total dick?”

I nod.

He slams the trunk closed, drops his gear with a thud, and takes off the shades he’s been wearing in the low morning sun.

“Apart from the fact that you’re going to be an uncle again?”

“Apart from tha—”

He cocks an eyebrow at me.

“Holy Shit. Ho-ly shit. Are you kidding me? This is, oh fuck, I think I’m gonna cry. That is one lucky kid. You’re gonna make the best dad, Casey.”

I bring him in again for a congratulatory hug with a few hearty backslaps this time.

“How’s the little English muffin holding up?”

“Morning sickness is kicking her ass, but apart from that she’s good. It’s only early days. Hey!” he says, pulling up the zipper on his coat, “Did you know you can read books on your phone? Like, I downloaded all these baby and parenting books and I can just pick up from where I left off.”

“No shit. Who fucking knew?” I say picking up my bag again.

“Right?”

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