“Ready to go back?” he whispered and stood.
I nodded, and he took my hand, pulling me to my feet.
Instead of releasing it, he threaded our fingers together and walked me home.
My brother Remy was on the porch when we returned, and his eyes didn’t miss a thing.
I saw the look he gave Sully as we strode inside. The pure hatred of it shocked me.
“What was that about?” I whispered when Sully closed the door behind us.
“Don’t worry about it, Six. That’s just Remy being Remy.”
But I did worry about it.
That night I couldn’t stop thinking about what it meant.
The following day, my father and brothers were in the garage working on engines. My father had been a motocross racerwhen my mother met him. He taught my brothers to ride, and the three of them never missed an opportunity to load up their motorcycles on a trailer and drive to a race.
At fourteen, I got better at riding, and my father even took me to a few races. I did well, really well, and my brothers got a chip on their shoulders. They told me I’d never be good enough, and they told my father a girl didn’t belong on the track.
“Jealousy is all that is,” Sully had told me. “They hate the fact that you’re better than they are.”
But it didn’t end there. My brothers pestered my father so much that eventually he stopped bringing me with them to races.
When I walked inside the cool air of the garage, my father was sitting on a stool, staring into space while my brothers were busy working on engines.
“What is it?” Derek asked, glancing up.
“Nothing. Just came out to see what was happening.” The house was silent and lonely now, a place I needed to escape.
Suddenly my father rose to his feet. “I’m going out for a minute.”
None of us believed that. He was headed to Lucky’s, the local tavern, and he wouldn’t be back “in a minute,” that was for sure.
After he strode down the block, Remy threw a tool across the concrete with a clatter.
“Goddamn it. Are we supposed to do all the work now?”
Derek straightened and sighed. “Cut him some slack, Remy. The man just lost the love of his life.”
“And we lost our mother. Don’t see us wallowing in booze.”
“Go take a break,” Derek said.
“Fine. I’m goin’.” Remy climbed into his rusty pickup, slamming the door and roaring off.
When he was gone, I glanced at my oldest brother. “Did I cause all that?”
He huffed a laugh. “What, by just walking in? No, Maggie.” Then he cocked his head. “You doin’ okay?”
I shrugged, my arms folded. “What happens now?”
My voice sounded small, even in my own ears.
“Now we pull together. Take turns cooking dinner and try to keep the house from becoming a pigsty.”
“What about Daddy?”