Stepbrother Dearest(34)

He never mentioned me.

My mother spoke up for the first time. “Elec only lived with us for a short time back when they were teenagers.” She looked at me. “The two of you didn’t get along too well back then.”

Mom knew nothing about what really happened between Elec and me. So, from her perspective, that statement was an accurate one.

Elec’s deep raspy voice cut right through me. “Is that true, Greta?”

I dropped my fork. “Is what true?”

“That we didn’t get along?”

Surely, the hidden meaning in his question was meant for only me to understand. I wasn’t sure why he was taunting me in the midst of what was already an uncomfortable situation.

“We had our moments.”

His eyes seared into mine, and his voice lowered. “Yeah, we did.”

Suddenly, I was burning up.

His mouth spread into a smile. “What was it you used to call me?”

“What do you mean?”

“‘Stepbrother dearest,’ was it? Because of my glowing personality?” He turned to Chelsea. “I was a miserable f*ck back then.”

A miserable “f*ck.” He didn’t mean it that way, but I couldn’t help where my head went with that.

“How did you know about that nickname?” I asked.

He smirked.

I smiled. “Oh, right. You used to eavesdrop on me.”

“Sounds like those were some fun times,” Chelsea said as she looked innocently back and forth between Elec and me.

“They were,” he said, glaring at me with a look that was hardly innocent.



***



Chelsea and I helped Clara bring the dishes into the kitchen. In forty minutes, we were scheduled to be at the funeral home for the viewing hours.

Her voice startled me. “What do you do, Greta?”

I didn’t feel comfortable getting into the details of my job right now, so I kept my response generic. “I work in an administrative position in the city, just mindless stuff, really.”

She smiled, and I felt like a jerk for liking that she had some laugh lines and the beginnings of crows feet around her eyes.

I was stretching here.

“Sometimes, mindless can be good. Working with kids is fulfilling but exhausting. There’s never a dull moment.”

We both glanced out through the sliding glass door. Elec was standing in the garden alone, deep in thought with his hands in his pockets.

“I’m really worried about him,” she said as she looked out at him. “Can I ask you something?”

This conversation was making me uncomfortable. “Sure.”

“He won’t talk about his father. Did something bad happen between them?”

Her question caught me off guard. It wasn’t my place to talk to her about Randy and Elec’s relationship. I knew almost nothing myself.

“They used to argue a lot, and Randy could be very disrespectful toward Elec, but honestly, I still don’t know what caused it all.”

That was all she was going to get from me.

“I’m just worried that he’s bottling stuff up. His father just died, and he’s hardly shown any emotion. I mean, if my father died, I’d be a mess.”

I know.

She went on, “I’m afraid it’s going to all hit him at once. He’s not okay. He’s not sleeping. It’s bothering him, but he won’t talk about it or allow himself to cry.”

My heart ached hearing her say that, because I was worried about him, too.

“Have you tried talking to him?” I asked.

“Yes. He just says he doesn’t want to talk about it. He almost didn’t come here for the service. I knew he’d regret it, so I pushed and pushed and finally, he gave in.”

Wow. He really wasn’t going to come.

“I’m glad you did.”

“I really love him, Greta.”

I had no doubt that she did and while hearing her say that had made my stomach hurt, the more logical side of me was happy that Elec had found someone who cared about him like that. I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t exactly tell her I might have felt the same way.

I cared about him, too.

Maybe that made no sense after so long, but my feelings for him were just as strong today as they were seven years ago. And just like before, I’d have to harbor them.

She put her hand on my arm. “Will you do me a favor?”

“Okay…”

“Will you go out there…see if you can get him to talk about it?”

“Um…”

“Please? I don’t know who else to ask. I don’t think he’s going to be prepared for everything tonight.”

I looked back out at Elec and his strong stature as he stood in the garden. This could have been my only opportunity to talk to him alone, so I agreed.

“Okay.”

She hugged me. “Thank you. I owe you one.”

In that case, I’ll take Elec. I couldn’t help my thoughts, which were out of control.

That embrace had made me realize that it was absolutely possible to genuinely like someone that you were insanely jealous of.

I took a deep breath and made my way through the sliding glass doors. The sky was turning gray as if it were about to open up into a thunderstorm.