The Lemon Sisters (Wildstone #3)(65)

“It’s soaking,” Brooke said. “I made myself margaritas.”

“Also, you moved my boxes from the guesthouse. And left them outside.”

“You mean the boxes that were stacked on the futon I’m supposed to sleep on?” Brooke asked. “Yes, I did move them. And they had to go outside—there was nowhere else to put them. The place is the size of a postage stamp because—newsflash—it’s not a guesthouse, it’s a closet.”

“We renovated it,” Mindy said defensively, knowing her sister was right. “It’s a guesthouse!”

Brooke shook her head. “You always do that.”

“What?”

“Try to make everything in your life seem . . . bigger and better than it is.”

Mindy felt her face heat. “Well, it’s better than ignoring everything and anything that involves feeling something. You’ve stayed away from your family for seven years because . . .” Mindy tossed up her hands, shockingly close to tears. “Well, I’m not sure why. Maybe because we make you feel something.”

“You do, and right now that something is irritation,” Brooke said. “What’s your problem this morning? Why don’t you do us all a favor—take Linc to bed and get some happy, would you?”

That was just close enough to what Mindy actually wanted to do that it only made her feel worse. She wanted Linc to seduce her. Was that awful? He used to do it all the time.

Brooke sighed into the silence, put down her coffee—but not the croissant—and headed to the door.

“See?” Mindy said to her back. “You’re doing it again, right now.”

Brooke whirled back around. “What do you want from me? You needed my help with your kids, and I came through. You wanted me to stay, and I did. So please, tell me, what the hell is it that you want from me?”

It took Mindy a minute to speak, because she refused to cry. What did she want from her sister? She wanted what they’d once had. They’d drifted so far apart in the years since Brooke’s accident. And Brooke had changed. She no longer wanted to hear Mindy’s opinions—she no longer needed Mindy at all. “If I have to tell you what I want,” Mindy finally said, “I don’t want it.”

“I can’t guess, Min. Just say it.”

“You know what? I don’t want anything from you at all. Which makes sense, because we’re grown-ups now, right? We don’t need each other like we used to.”

Brooke stilled for a beat. “Good to know,” she finally said, and walked out.

“Great,” Mindy said as the door slammed shut. And then burst into tears. She got one whole moment of self-pity before she heard the pitter patter of little feet approaching. She swiped at her face just as Millie appeared, wearing a cute sundress and a frown.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Mindy asked.

“Everything!”

Mindy sighed. She’d definitely passed down the gene of talking in exclamation points.

“Daddy made us all brush our teeth. Together!”

And Millie hated sharing a sink. Or anything, really. Poor Princess Millie had been meant to be an only child. And royalty. “It’s to save water,” she reminded her daughter.

“I know, and the penguins are very important, but Momma, my brothers are disgusting.” She walked to the sink to wash her hands, and Mindy stared at the back of her head. Someone had zip-tied her hair into a ponytail. “Millie, your hair . . .”

“Daddy did it. Said it was his morning to get us ready, and I wasn’t to go to you about it, even if I didn’t like it. And remember how my sandal broke and you said I couldn’t have new ones?”

“Yes,” Mindy said, “because you broke it throwing it at Mason’s head.”

She nodded. “But this dress needs sandals, not sneakers, so . . . I asked Daddy for new sandals.”

Mindy gave her a long look.

“Momma, I can’t go to camp without shoes!” She stuck out her lower lip. “But Daddy said that he wouldn’t buy me new ones, either, because you two are a team, so . . .” The girl thrust out one of her feet for inspection. She was wearing the sandals. The broken one had been fixed with Band-Aids. “He said a Band-Aid will do it.”

Something in Mindy’s chest tightened and warmed. “Maybe you’ll think twice about throwing things at your brother’s head.”

Millie did an impressive eye roll and walked out. Probably to go find a new way to terrorize her siblings.

But Mindy did appreciate her baby’s ability to solve her problem. Seemed she could learn a lesson or two from that, if only finding her happy was that simple.

THAT NIGHT, MINDY sat in her big bedroom all by herself. The kids were asleep, and Linc had been called for an emergency.

She knew that was out of his control, but she wouldn’t want to come home to her, either. Turning on the kid monitors, she slipped out the back door. Back when she and Brooke had been young, they’d often have big blowups, and after, the one at fault would sneak into the other’s bed late at night to apologize, and then they’d sleep together holding hands.

It’d been a whole lot of years, but Mindy was hoping the gesture would still mean something. The moon was nearly full, reflecting off the water of the pool, lighting her way to the guesthouse. She knocked softly, and when she got no response, she pressed her face to the window and peered in. She could see Brooke on the futon beneath a blanket, turned away from the door, watching a show streaming on her laptop.