Accidentally Family (Pecan Valley 1)

She laughed, shaking her head.

He grinned, chocolate covered teeth and all.

“Do not get that on the bed,” she warned, grimacing as he made a huge show of licking the frosting off the plate. “Classy.”

He finished with the plate, set it on the floor, and flopped back on the bed. “Think we’ll still take a vacation?”

Honor stared out the window. The skies were turning dark, a summer storm rolling in. “I don’t know, Nickie.” There was a lot she didn’t know.

Summer had just started. She had three months before she was supposed to move to Austin for college. It wasn’t enough time. She’d known exactly what she wanted since before she could remember. The Otto family had run the town pharmacy from the very beginning. She wanted to carry on her mother’s family tradition—as a pharmacist. Her full scholarship had guaranteed that would happen. But now leaving seemed wrong. How could she? “Where would you go?”

“The beach. Mom always loves the beach,” he murmured. “Fishing, maybe.”

The lump in her throat caught her by surprise. But so had Nick’s answer. Their father had taught Nick how to fish, wading out in the Gulf of Mexico to catch red drum, black drum, sand trout, and hardhead fish. Nick had always complained about going, said he hated it, but in the end he always went. And Dad had always said he lost twice as much bait as the fish they caught, but that hadn’t mattered. It was about their time together.

“Sounds fun,” she managed.

“A break would be nice. Away.” He shrugged. “Far away from all this crap.”

She understood. The texts and phone calls had died down a little, but her world was still upside down. Things like going to the lake, parties, hanging out with friends—or going on a date with the ridiculously persistent Owen Nelson weren’t important. But, with Jack in the hospital, she wondered if a vacation was a possibility.

“When do you start working?” she asked.

Nick had spent the last two years working at the local summer camp as a counselor.

“Not sure I’m going,” he answered. “I heard they’re trying to hire older kids now, for insurance purposes. Besides, Granddad said I could work in the store this summer.”

Honor chewed the inside of her lip. Her mom was worrying about Nick—everyone was worrying about him. Where Honor had held on blindly to hope that they’d eventually find a place in their father’s life, Nick’s heartbreak had twisted into something ferocious and angry. And Dad couldn’t make any of this better now.

Because Dad isn’t just off-with-his-new-family gone. He’s gone-gone. Forever. Dealing with that was…impossible.

“Are we hiding?” Their mother appeared, closing the door behind her.

“Yes,” Nick said, unmoving on the bed.

“Sorry, Mom. They just keep coming.” Honor wrinkled her nose.

“I know they do.” Her mother shook her head. “So does the food.”

“Looks like a storm is rolling in,” Honor said, pointing out the window. “Maybe everyone will head home?”

“Or stay until it’s over,” Nick argued.

Honor saw the smile her mother shot Nick. She looked beautiful in black. Tired, sure, but they all were. Still, she was there for them. Always. Until recently, she didn’t realize just how important that was. They were a team, the three of them. A wave of love washed over her, for her mother and her brother.

“We can hope they head home,” her mother said, pulling the clip from her hair. She sat beside Nick, running her fingers through her long auburn hair. “There is some good news. I think we have enough food to last through Christmas.”

“So, we’re good for a zombie apocalypse?” Nick asked.

“Or a regular apocalypse, even,” Honor added, climbing on the bed beside them. “Zombies are so overdone.”

Their mom laughed. “Either sort, we’ve got food. I need to load up the freezer in the garage, too. Waste not—”

“Want not,” she and Nick chanted in unison.

“Can I eat any of it?” Nick asked.

“You’re not allergic to pecans, Nickie,” Honor reminded him.