He tugged out the duffel bag, lifted it higher, and forced it into a small space toward the back of the car, grunting with exertion. “There. That should do it.”
He withdrew from the car and shut the door. This time, it clanked into place and stayed put.
“Thanks for all the help packing,” I said. “And especially carrying my book boxes.”
Flynn cast me a baleful look. “They make e-readers now.”
I smirked. “I’ve got six hundred more on there.”
“Dear god. When do you sleep?”
I took one of the travel cups from Bailey and took a big gulp of the extra-strong coffee I’d brewed that morning. I’d made sure to pack the coffee pot last. “Sleep? What’s that?”
“I’m afraid you’re not joking,” Flynn said, takingthe second travel cup, which Bailey handed to him. “Are you sure you’re good to drive?”
I rounded the car. “Of course I am. I’m a med school graduate. Caffeine runs through my veins.”
“Drive safe,” Bailey called over to me. “I’m going to catch up with a couple of friends while I’m in town, but I’ll be home by dinner. You two can have some brother bonding time.”
Bailey headed for his red Camaro parked at the curb, and Flynn opened the passenger-side door of my dusty brown hatchback.
“Wait,” I said. “You’re not going with him?”
“Of course not,” Flynn said. “I’ll ride with you and help you unload the car. I’ve got the guest room ready for you.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I said. “I can make the drive on my own.”
“But why should you?” he asked, seeming genuinely confused.
“I…don’t know.”
“You’re not alone anymore, Aiden,” he said. “My home is your home, even if you decide not to live there long-term, okay? It’ll always be your home.”
Home. What a strange concept.
I hadn’t had a home since my dad nearly beat me to death and my brother beathimto death to protect me. Not since Flynn was taken away in handcuffs and I became legally emancipated at seventeen. On my own to finish my senior year, then go to college and med school.
I’d sold my father’s house to pay for whatever the scholarships didn’t cover. I wanted nothing to do with that old life.
Thathome.
But the word meant something different to Flynn. Especially this past year. He’d done his prison time, and now he had a home and a family in Riverton.
A guy he loved.
He was happier than I’d ever seen him—and I didn’t want to do anything to ruin that, regardless of my uncertainty about my future.
I forced a cheery smile. “Let’s get on the road and go home then.”
Flynn relaxed. “I’m so damn glad we get to have this time together.”
He meant more than the car drive. And even though I’d have preferred to be on my way to Baltimore or Cleveland for one of the prestigious residencies I’d wanted, more time with my brother was a pretty good consolation prize.
I’d work harder than ever and get back on track. But for now, I’d appreciate that we’d fought our way through seven long years of Flynn in prison and little to no contact outside of short visits and letters. Flynn had given up so much for me, and now I owed him everything.
We got into the car, Flynn hunched forward because of his height and his knees nearly hitting his chin with the seat pushed forward to accommodate all the boxes. We’d put a few things in Bailey’s car too, but damn, I’d accumulated a lot of crap over the past eight years.
“Bet you’re wishing you’d gone with Bailey to meet his friends now, huh? You could have ridden home in comfort.”