Unspoken Vow (Steele Brothers 2)

The old Queenslander home Law and Reed are renting isn’t much to look at. The peeling yellow paint on the dilapidated clapboard façade kinda reminds me of the beachfront shack Law and I grew up in, and if I had to guess, I’d say Law chose this place because of how much it feels like home.

“Reed said they’ll be out back,” Brody says.

“This way’s quickest.” I lead him down the side of the house and through the gate that leads to the backyard.

“Been here before? Oh, wait, of course, you have. Your weird closeness with your brother.”

“Ignoring that.”

Law and I hate it when we’re called out on our co-dependent relationship, but it’s not like people don’t have a point when they say it. If they knew the complete details, they’d probably understand, but we’re not about to air the darkest part of our lives to everyone.

“What’s with that anyway?” Brody asks, and my feet move faster. The sooner we get to the party and around more people, the quicker I’ll be able to relax.

“We’re identical twins. Voodoo sharing the same brain bonding and all that shit,” I say.

I don’t think he buys it.

“I’m getting a drink.” I stalk away from him and hit the backyard.

There are a million people back here. Brody heads directly for Law and Reed, who are hanging by the barbecue. Some old friends are gathered near the table with food that Mum obviously brought because Law and I can’t cook for shit, though I’m trying to get better. Law’s still shit. But even with the bustle of partygoers around, Mum seeks me out right away.

Of course.

There’s no escaping this woman.

Not that she’s a horrible person—definitely the opposite. But if I think Law is bad sometimes with the overprotectiveness, it’s triple with our mother.

“Hey, Mum.”

“You’ve lost weight.”

I roll my eyes and then smile when I see Dad do the same thing behind her.

“You look great. You been getting some sun?” Deflection is something I’ve learned over the years, but it rarely works on my family.

“Just my usual daily walks along the beach. Have you been going for your walks?”

Yep. Knew I wasn’t getting out of it that easy. As part of my therapy, I need to go for daily walks for at least half an hour. Do I do them? Not every day. But I can’t admit that to Mum or she’ll worry. The point of the exercise is making sure I get out of the apartment for something other than work, so if I go to dinner or go out dancing or go see Law and Reed, it counts in my book.

My therapist suggested the walks during a time when I couldn’t bring myself to leave Law’s and my apartment at all. Not even to go to work. I don’t have that problem now.

I lie anyway. “Of course, I am.”

“We’re staying with Law and Reed for a few days. Maybe I can come with you.”

Sounds fun. If fun meant being grilled about every single aspect of my life. But I’m not going to argue with the woman. “Sure.”

“We thought you might’ve had a new place by now too. We could come and help you move.”

I rub the back of my neck. “Not yet, but I will soon. I’m looking into a few places.”

Lies!

“You could always move home,” Mum says.

I could always go jump off a cliff, but that’s not gonna happen either.

I shouldn’t be so hard on her. She has every right to play overprotective mumma bear on me, especially when I’m not the most forthcoming with my issues.

It’s a vicious circle of wanting to protect one another. She wants to protect me from my ghosts, and I don’t want her to worry that I’m still haunted.

“Who’s the guy you came in with?” Dad asks, eyeing Brody by the barbecue. I’m thankful for the subject change, and I’m certain Dad did it on purpose. He knows how overbearing and worried Mum can get.

“We didn’t come together. We just arrived at the same time. That’s Brody.”

Mum’s face lights up. “The Brody? Reed talks about him a lot. We should go and say hi.”

Ah, my parents, the social butterflies. They’ll probably adopt Brody because he’s an extension of Reed, and they love Reed already. Pretty sure they’ve got wedding bells ringing in their heads.

“You do that. I’m gonna go find me a drink.”

An alcoholic one. Of any kind.

I’m gonna need it today. Especially when I see Mum and Dad approach Law, the golden child, and Reed, his perfect partner in every way. They were made for each other, I have no doubt about that, but there’s one thing about them that grates on me, and it doesn’t take a therapist to tell me I’m a lovely shade of green with envy. Not only do they have each other and a promising future, but I’m sure Mum and Dad don’t look at them as if they could break at any moment. And I’m sure they’re not asking Law about his weight or exercise habits.