“It’s more complicated than that.” Tobias glances across at me, his eyes glowing a kind of amber color in the warm light. “I asked Mark about it. He said that Dad put Cora’s father out of business. It happened just after Mom died.”
“You sure?” I ask, pressing the key fob to our truck and opening the rear door to toss my huge bag inside. Mrs. Henderson will have her work cut out, getting the mud and sweat out of the clothes.
We both slide into the interior at the same time, reaching out to close the doors and fasten our belts in sync with one another. I’ve always wondered if we have this kind of synchronicity because we were born close together or if it’s just a coincidence.
“I looked it up myself,” Tobias continues. “There are still articles about it online. It must have been tough for Cora.”
“You sound like you agree with what she’s doing.” I flick on my Spotify playlist, and a track by The Killers blares from the speakers. Tobias reaches out to lower the volume as I reverse out.
“I don’t agree with any of it,” he says. “Life is too fucking short to be dealing with crap like this day after day. She might hate us by default because we’re related to Randolph, but that doesn’t mean we all have to act like assholes toward each other. We’re not Randolph, and she’s not her father. We don’t have beef between us, and any family drama that happened a decade ago shouldn’t be spilling into our lives right now.”
My brother fiddles with the playlist, bringing up “No Hard Feelings” by Old Dominion. It’s a song about leaving the past in the past, and I snort, wondering if he realizes the vibe that he’s bringing into the car right now.
“You feeling philosophical, dude?”
“I’m feeling my age,” he says.
“Yeah. You’re so old. Say that shit in front of Alden and watch him lay you out.”
“Since Dad left, I just feel different. Like I need to take a step up or something. He’s not around to tell us what to do. We have to learn to be the voice of reason for ourselves.”
“And for Danny,” I say.
Tobias shakes his head and shifts in his seat, allowing his legs to spread into the footwell. “Danny doesn’t know when to let things go. He never likes to lose.”
“Middle-child syndrome?”
“Probably.”
We both laugh, remembering all the times that Danny’s flipped the Monopoly board or tossed his Uno cards down when things weren’t going his way. I mean, I’m as competitive as the next guy. If you want to play ball, you’ve got to bring that hunger into every training session and game because your team relies on you. But I’ve never felt so angered about losing that I’ve dropped out of a game.
“He puts the C into competitive,” I say.
“He puts the S into sore loser,” Tobias says, flipping open the window and resting his arm against the door.
“So, what do you suggest?”
“I don’t know, River. You know how Danny holds a grudge. I don’t want to let Cora come between us. I reckon Alden and Mark feel the same but ganging up on Danny isn’t the solution. I also don’t want to give in to Cora too easily. We have to live together for as long as she needs a roof over her head. We need to all come out of this wanting a resolution.”
“Sounds like you don’t know what the fuck you want,” I say, blowing out a tense breath.
“Fuck it,” he says, flicking the song to something more upbeat.
I chew on my bottom lip, mulling over everything. You want to fuck her, Dornan said. I reckon most guys would want to. She’s not a Victoria’s Secret model, but she’s got a girl-next-door vibe and a killer ass. Her eyes are pretty, too, even when she’s staring at me like she wants to peel the skin off my cock, and I’m a sucker for a girl with a strong spine. It’s no fun to date someone who agrees all the time.
“Do you want to fuck her?” I ask Tobias.
He grunts, shaking his head, and I think he’s telling me no until he speaks. “Cora is the perfect conundrum. The girl who manages to piss you off and make you want to own her, all at the same time.”
I rub my hand over my close-cropped beard, shocked that he feels exactly the same way about our stepsister as I do.
“Danny wants to fuck her too. In fact, I’d put money on Alden and Mark feeling the same. I’ve seen the way they look at her like they want to throttle her and then kiss her back to life.”
“Whoever said romance is dead didn’t live in your head,” I laugh.
“I need to get laid,” Tobias says, shifting in his seat as I turn a corner. “But no one seems as interesting as Cora Horton.”