Love Always (NG4)

18 - Brother

Cole sat in the kitchen on Thanksgiving morning, while his mother peeled apples. He was glad they were celebrating Thanksgiving at Anna's and not with his grandparents.

He sighed. "Keira and I are going to have dinner with Dad tomorrow."

The custody arrangement blew up when he turned eighteen. Even before that he would make plans and go to his father's just to leave to go meet his friends. Driving gave him a lot of freedom. Keira had been stuck on her own, because Cole would only show up to sleep.

Alison asked, "Does Keira know?"

Cole nodded. "She was in on the text."

After his eighteenth birthday, he met his dad for dinner or a round of golf, but never stayed over for the weekend. Occasionally, Anna would come to dinner, but she was happy to stay home. He loved his dad, but as he grew up his eyes opened. His father had told him his mother was to blame for the divorce. He also said things about Bryan. Curtis was the type who never owned up to his actions. Whatever caused his parent's to divorce, his mom was much happier than Cole remembered.

Alison said, "She hasn't seen him in a while."

Keira wasn't eighteen, but she used to enjoy staying at their Dad's. As much as she and Bryan got along, she had always been daddy's little girl. Cole smiled maybe Keira had finally outgrown the custody crap.

"Mom, it's boring. Was he always so boring and self centered?"

"Remember, he's your father."

Cole left it because Sam walked into the kitchen bringing the cold air. Alison smiled at him. "It feels cold."

Cole looked at his brother's troubled face. "You wanna go back and throw the ball?"

Sam shook his head. "Maybe later."

When Sam walked through the kitchen, Cole stood and followed him up the stairs and into his room. He sat on Sam's bed.

The sarcastic tone of Sam's voice didn't bother him. "Make yourself at home."

Cole smiled. "Thanks, I will. How was your walk?"

Sam's shrug. "Okay." Then he morphed into a smile. "Drew Pelletier wants to see my finished project."

Cole smiled because his brother was. "Whose Drew Pelletier?"

"Megan's brother. He's a professional editor in Hollywood."

Cole smiled authentically. "Sam, that's cool. You are so damn talented."

Cole felt confident and able to contribute to his work team, but he lacked talent. Sam had it in spades. Cole was athletic, but not compared to Will. He could carry a tune, but no one would leave home on a bitter January night to hear him sing like they did for Mike. Maybe loving Anna was his secret talent.

Sam smiled. "Jealous?"

"Yeah. I'm not good at anything but math."

"And that's why I dropped engineering. Too much math."

"Sam, what's the deal with Will and the chick?"

"She's crazy." Cole chuckled. "No, I mean she looks cute and sweet, like you imagine a pediatric nurse."

Cole nodded. "I can see that."

Sam shook his head. "She even claimed she was shy as she cornered me. If she's shy..."

"Cornered you? What happened?"

"I tried telling her I wasn't into her. I thought it was a coincidence she was always leaving when I was, but she's a stalker."