Enemies With Benefits (Loveless Brothers 1)

“No,” my mom says. “That’s all he’s offering? For three hundred acres right along the river?”

“It’s what I heard,” Silas says.

We’re all sitting around the living room, ten people on two long couches, some rocking chairs, and the floor. I’m on the end of one couch, my arm around Violet. Seth is on the other end, Daniel, Charlie, and Silas on the other couch. Levi and my mom are in rocking chairs, and Caleb and Rusty are sitting on the floor, putting together a puzzle on a low table.

“What’s he want the land for?” Caleb asks, squinting at a piece.

“An outlet mall,” Seth says, sourly.

“I thought it was a ski resort,” Daniel says. “Isn’t that close to where Stony Mountain used to be?”

“I heard water park,” Levi offers.

“So none of you know,” Caleb says, still looking at the puzzle piece. He puts it down, picks up another one.

“One of us is bound to be right,” Levi says.

“Are you?” Charlie asks. She’s sitting cross-legged on the couch, her curls piled on top of her head, one knee touching Daniel’s leg. They’re both acting like they don’t notice.

“You know the saying about monkeys writing Hamlet,” Daniel says.

No one responds. They all just look at Daniel.

“He means that if you put infinite monkeys into a room with infinite typewriters for infinitely long, one of them will write Hamlet,” I finally say, since I know what he means.

“Right,” Daniel confirms. “And if you keep guessing, eventually you’ll guess right. It’s science.”

“Nope,” says Levi.

“Not science,” Mom says at the same time.

“The infinite monkey theorem,” Caleb says. “It’s math. You’re good.”

“See?” Daniel says.

“He’s not telling anyone what he wants the land for?” Violet asks. She sounds suspicious.

“Or he’s telling everyone different things,” Charlie says. “Which seems worse, somehow. Not telling anyone is just being difficult. Telling different people different things is…”

She trails off, frowning.

“Deceptive?” Daniel says, finishing her thought. “Backhanded? Sneaky?”

“Right,” she agrees.”

“He can say whatever he wants, and once the land is bought the use is between him and the zoning board,” Silas says. “It’s slimy of him to say that he wants to build a playground and then put a coal mine there, but if he can get it zoned and approved he can do it.”

Seth sighs.

“I hate him,” he says. “He keeps calling the state alcoholic beverage control board on us and it’s a huge pain in the a— uh, the butt.”

“Thank you,” Daniel says. Rusty giggles.

“Is dinner ready yet?” Seth asks. “It smells good.”

“I’ll go check,” I say, and pull my arm from around Violet, looking down at her. “If I’m allowed.”

She rolls her eyes at me, but she’s smiling.* * *When dinner is over, Levi and Silas direct everyone in kitchen cleanup, Mom and Rusty go to back to working on the puzzle, and Daniel slips out the back door.

I watch him through the sliding glass as he paces back and forth on the wooden deck. It’s hard to see him in the dark, but it looks like he’s on the phone.

I give him five minutes, and then I grab my jacket and follow him out.

He’s standing there, poorly lit by the porch light, wearing nothing but his flannel shirt as a light dusting of snow falls in the backyard, his breath leaving his lungs in bright puffs as he looks down at his phone.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

He looks at me, running one hand through his hair, which may as well be the universal Loveless distress signal.

“Fine,” he says.

“So you want me to drag it out of you,” I say, leaning one hip against the wooden railing.

“It’s nothing,” he says, sliding his phone back into his pocket. “We should go back in.”

“You checked your phone four times during dinner,” I say. “You’re the originator and fiercest defender of the no phones at dinner rule.”

He crosses his arms in front of his chest. He plants his feet, sighs, the air leaving his lungs in a long white stream.

“Crystal called,” he says. “Four times in forty-five minutes. She left me one voicemail that just says ‘call me back,’ and now, she’s not answering.”

Crystal is Rusty’s mom, and she does not have a good relationship with Daniel.

“She’s probably just drunk,” I say.

“She didn’t sound drunk.”

“I’m sure she’s good at hiding it by now.”

“Do you know how many times she’s called me in the past two years?” he asks. “Twice. She has called me twice. I’ve called her I don’t even know how many times, because if Rusty’s ever going to see her, it’s going to be my job to set it up. It’s my job to double-check that she’s still available. It’s my job to call her the day before a visit to remind her that it’s happening.”

“Is she in trouble?” I ask. “Would she call you if she were in trouble?”

“I hope not,” Daniel says.