The Summer Deal (Wildstone #5)(41)

“Don’t eat the cookies,” Brynn said quickly to Kinsey.

“Not those cookies.” Olive shook her head. “I made her throw those out. You can eat the new ones and still pass a drug test.”

Kinsey blinked and looked at Brynn. “Your mom makes pot cookies?”

“Don’t ask.”

Okay, then. She smiled at Brynn, surprised. “You get more and more interesting.”

Brynn rolled her eyes. “Mom, we need a moment.”

“Understood.” Olive moved to the kitchen.

Again, Brynn shook her head when Kinsey began to speak. She gestured for Kinsey to follow her and led her down a hallway to a bedroom that appeared to be a shrine to Brynn’s entire life, between the corkboard wall covered with pictures and the shelves filled with trophies.

“Who did you steal all the athletic awards from?” Kinsey asked.

“They’re participation awards. I sucked at all sports, as you well know.”

“And the Backstreet Boys poster on the back of your door?”

“It was a phase.” She swiped her forehead. “You’re making me crazy anxious.”

Kinsey let out a low laugh.

“You think this is funny?”

“No,” Kinsey said. “I just thought I was the nervous one. And I don’t even do nervous anymore. I’ve learned that being anxious about shit ahead of time just means I’ve got to be anxious twice. I’m no Miss Merry Sunshine, but sometimes it helps to just think as positively as possible.”

Brynn slid her a look. “That’s . . . surprisingly astute.”

“Yeah, yeah. But since my natural state is to be Eeyore, sometimes it’s a process.” She looked at her sister standing in the middle of her childhood bedroom, a grown woman surrounded by her past, which by all accounts had been happy and sweet. Still, she had her arms crossed, her expression pissy.

Like her life had been so hard. It was a bunch of BS really. Yes, she’d come over here with the intention of opening up, but having watched Brynn with her awesome, loving, weird moms, suddenly she didn’t want to.

Because what did Kinsey have? Let’s see. She had a con artist for a dad, a mom who was only around when she needed something, and a messed-up kidney.

“So?” Brynn asked. “Why are you here? You made it pretty clear we’re not friends.”

“Maybe I want to be. Friends.”

Brynn laughed.

Annoying, even if she deserved that. “You’ve had things pretty good, you know that? Good health, even if you’re constipated.”

Brynn sighed.

“Hell, even my best friend likes you.”

Brynn met her gaze. “Does that bother you?”

“Not even a little. I like seeing Eli open his heart. He doesn’t do that, you know. Like . . . ever. His relationships with women are superficial at best. It’s because he thinks he’s faulty.”

“We’re all faulty.”

Kinsey gave a grim smile. “True, but some more than others. Although Eli’s only fault is seeing the best in people like me, even though he’s had it rough. Did you know he was pretty much rejected by both parents and then sent away at age ten because they didn’t have time to be bothered with him? That scars a kid, Brynn, big time, and yet he’s still a great guy. He deserves a really great woman, but the one time he allowed himself a serious relationship, she tossed him aside for a promotion on the other side of the country. That was five years ago,” Kinsey said. “And now he doesn’t commit his heart because he sees himself as disposable.”

Brynn was standing there, arms still crossed. “Is there a reason you’re telling me all of this?”

“Yes. If you hurt him, I’ll have to kill you.”

“I’m going to pretend you’re joking, but I get it. Everything I know about Eli tells me he deserves the moon.”

“Damn right,” Kinsey said. “But this isn’t about Eli. Or you and Eli, even though he thinks you have a good ass, which is annoying because it’s true.”

Brynn blinked. “Then what is it about?”

“It’s about just you. Your life’s all put together.”

Brynn’s jaw nearly hit the floor. “Are you kidding me?” Shaking her head, she laughed. Then she kept laughing, eventually having to bend over and put her hands on her knees.

Pissed off, Kinsey turned toward the door.

“Wait.” Her sister seemed to make an effort to get herself under control. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry you’re sick. I really wish you’d tell me more. I’m also sorry that you didn’t get good parents. And that I fell into a fun job and you didn’t. Your job’s hard, because you mostly only get to hear about problems and have to help people fix them. That’s got to be draining. But you need to know that my life is about as far from put together as it can be.” Brynn spread her arms, gesturing to her shrine. “I mean, yes, my moms are amazing, but they can also be a bit smothering. I can’t find myself to save my life, and my résumé makes me look like a ping-pong ball.”

“Yeah, well.” Kinsey drew a deep breath. “It’s all subjective, I guess. You’ve got two moms who care, good health, and a very annoying way of being sweet and kind—two things I can’t manage on my best day.”