If only my half-sibling was as welcoming.

Just as I take a huge bite, Luke drops down into the opposite side of the booth and pins me with a glare. “Why do you keep showing up here? I already told you I’m not interested.”

I shrug and then shovel another warm, gooey bite in my mouth. “Interested in what? Knowing me? That’s okay. I’m not here to make you realize what you’re missing out on by not getting to know your brothers. That’s your loss. I’m just here because your mom makes this fucking crackberry pie and I can’t stay away.”

He scowls. “You can get pie anywhere.”

“But I can’t get this pie, anywhere. You were raised eating like this so it’s no big deal to you but let me tell you, this is amazing.”

Luke pulls out his phone and starts texting, making a big show of ignoring me. I take the opportunity to study him. He’s tall like I am but built stockier, like my brother Tank. He’s cut his hair since the last time I saw him but I know from memory that his dark hair is thick and curly. But it’s the eyes that seal the deal. He looks like us. For me, that’s enough. Even though he has no interest in getting to know me, I want to know him.

I’ve never been very good at backing off when I want something.

Finally my enjoyment of my pie seems to cross a threshold and Luke can’t keep his annoyance in silence anymore. He slams the phone down on the Formica table so hard that I’m not sure it’ll even work after this. He pins me with a glare.

“I’m not just being difficult, okay? There’s a lot more going on here than an old man who feels guilty. I already told Max Marshall that I don’t want anything from him and I meant it. And you’d do well to stay away from him, too.”

His conviction is compelling. It hadn’t occurred to me that Luke was resisting for any reason other than petulance. He looks so young that it’s hard to remember that he’s an adult and furthermore, some kind of intellectual prodigy. He probably knows a hell of a lot more about what’s going on than I do.

“My mom has cancer. Saying no wasn’t an option.”

His face falls. “Sorry. I didn’t know that.”

I shrug even though a part of me feels like my skin has shrunk down a size. It’s an impossible thing, thinking about my mom in that hospital bed, so I usually don’t think about it. I’ve gotten pretty good at compartmentalizing my thoughts. I focus on the task at hand and don’t think about the whys of it all.

“There’s no way you could have known that. I wasn’t saying it to make you feel bad. Just stating the facts. I had to take the money but I guess you don’t?”

“I have money,” he concedes grudgingly.

“I know. I already know a lot about you since I had you investigated.” As soon as he found out about our brothers, Tank ordered comprehensive reports on all of them. Luke was the hardest to find anything on. The kid is talented enough to hide almost everything about himself. Finding any trace of him online was a struggle.

His eyes flash and then he laughs. “You really don’t give a fuck, do you?”

I swallow the last of my pie. “Usually I don’t. But in this case, I was pretty happy to learn I had some little brothers. Imagine my surprise to find out the youngest one is some kind of genius. Can you blame me for being just a little bit proud?”

He sits back in his chair, seemingly stunned into silence. This is the first time I’ve noticed a chink in his armor and I realize that despite all his denials, maybe he wants to know his brothers, too.

“I grew up with my older brother, Tank. He’s built like a monster and hits like one, too but loyal as they come. He’s the one you call if you have a body you need buried and he’ll show up with duct tape and trash bags. No questions asked.”

Luke chuckles a little at that, so I forge on.

“Now, the two I just met are Gabe and Zack. Gabe looks a lot like us except he’s something of a pretty boy. Looks like the type who was captain of the lacrosse team or some yuppie bullshit like that. Somehow, Zack is the exact opposite even though they grew up together. He’s the tatted up, Mohawked, silent type. But word is, he’s a genius with anything on wheels. He fixed a car for Tank’s girlfriend and the thing runs so smoothly that she won’t let Tank buy her a new one. Drives him crazy.”

I glance over at Luke. “Then there’s you. The child prodigy. We have a file on you that reads like fiction. I barely made it through high school and probably wouldn’t have if I hadn’t charmed the panties off some of the smartest girls in school who did my homework for me. And here you are, writing software that saves people’s lives. So yeah, I’m just a little bit proud.”

Luke doesn’t say anything but his eyes stay on mine for a long time, like he’s trying to read the truth of my words in my face. For a moment, he looks almost wistful, like he’d give anything to take me at my word. Then just like that, the look is gone and his face shuts down again. 

“I’ve gotta go.” He shoves back from the table and I watch his back until he disappears behind the counter again. Anita looks over from across the room where she’s helping a boisterous family of five. She gives me a sympathetic smile.

With a sigh, I pull out my wallet and leave a twenty-dollar bill on the table. I won’t be getting through to him today. But that’s okay.

There’s always tomorrow.

CHAPTER TWO

RISSA