Her Four Cowboys

We also all brought our essentials back to our parents’ house and prepared to stay over until the storm had passed. So that we would all be together, and we wouldn’t lose track of each other in case a cell phone tower was knocked out the way it had been a few years before.

Clearly, Adam had been distracted enough to forget our usual routine.

“It’s okay,” I said. “You’ve got a couple days. If you hurry, you can get home, grab your stuff, and get your share of the groceries before the stores close tonight, and then you can come back in the morning.”

He nodded, giving me a smile. “Is there anything else that we’re going to need to take inventory of?”

I shrugged. “Just make sure that everything in here is organized the way it needs to be, okay? You know the drill.”

He rolled his eyes at me. I knew that he hated my condescending tone, but he took it on the chin. The two of us kept going over the barn, ensuring that everything was set up the way it needed to be before the storm rolled in.

Before long, he was whistling again, and it took all my self-control not to pick up one of the blankets that sat draped over the beams and chuck it at his head.

He’d thank me more for that than for throwing my clipboard at him.

The barn door slid open then, and I shut my eyes in relief as I heard Andy’s voice call out to the two of us, “Hello, bookends!”

It had been his nickname for us since he’d been old enough to learn what bookends were, since I was the oldest and Adam was the youngest. It was one of those annoying yet endearing Andy quirks. Apparently, everything seemed to be getting on my nerves today because that aggravated me just as much as the whistling did.

“Hey, dude,” Adam replied. “What’s good?”

“You know,” he said, walking in with a grin on his face. Seriously, what the fuck kind of happy chemical had been dumped in the water today, and why had it missed me?

I looked at Adam, and an identical grin was spread across his face too.

Whatever. I had too much on my plate to deal with strangely happy younger brothers. And besides, it was way better than the alternative.

“It’s a good thing you’re in here,” I said to Andy. “Do you think that you can look at the wall between Misty and Liberty’s stalls? The post seems to be listing to the side a little bit.”

“Sure,” he said, grabbing his toolbox and heading straight over to the wall. “After that, do you want me to make sure the power lines are forwarded to the backup generator?”

I nodded. “You got it.”

He immediately got down to work, propping up the wall and beginning to examine the way that the boards needed to be supported. As he worked, he began to hum.

“Okay,” I said, walking between the two of them and looking at them as if my head was mounted on a swivel. “Seriously, what the hell is going on with the two of you today? Did someone slip some happy pills into your coffee or something?”

They looked at each other, surprised, before looking back at me. The two of them looked so alike it was eerie, with those looks of combined surprise, happiness, and the slightest touch of embarrassment.

“It’s nothing,” Andy said, the words coming out quickly.

“Yeah, it’s nothing,” Adam repeated, nodding hastily.

“Okay,” I said, looking between them as I raised my eyebrows. “Do you guys wanna try that again? Without the lie this time?”

They looked at each other again, biting down on their lips.

“Come on, doofuses,” I said. “Barring a dead body, whatever it is couldn’t possibly be that bad.” I paused. “It’s not a dead body, is it? You wouldn’t look that happy about that, would you?”

“Oh God, Aaron,” Adam said, looking nauseated. “You’re a sick asshole.”

“Okay, so we know it’s not that,” I said. “That’s a start.”

They looked at each other again and nodded at each other in tandem before turning back to me.

“We’re kind of,” they started out by saying at the same time before laughing awkwardly, and Adam cleared his throat. “We’re kind of seeing someone.”

I blinked. “That’s it? You guys are in new relationships? Why are you acting so cagey about it?”

Andy swallowed audibly. “No, Aaron. We’re seeing someone. As in, one woman.”

At that, I felt like all the muscles in my face must’ve lost their abilities to move. “Wait a minute. Like, you guys are seeing the same woman?”

They nodded, and I felt a little bit like all the air had been knocked out of me, but I was doing my best not to let my shock show. As much as I might not understand it, my little brothers were happy, and I wanted to be happy for them.