“That was a long time ago.”
“Look. I did you a favor by giving you a job. You don’t think I knew you were back in town, getting turned down by every other outfit for twenty miles? I’d think you’d be a little more grateful.”
A couple people grimace at that one, and then there are several seconds of silence from the kitchen. My jaw starts to go tight, but finally Leah speaks, her voice much sharper than before. “Oh, come on. I thought we were on the same page.”
Did she just…? Oh no, you don’t, bitch. Haley reaches out and presses on my arm when I move to get up. She’s probably right.
Leah keeps talking. “If you’re going to be a child about it, I’ll leave. No big deal.”
“I think that would be best.” I can practically picture Milo’s face, and I kind of want to high-five him before showing Leah to the door.
But she’s not done. “You know, you should be more grateful. Not just to me but to my parents and yours too.”
Bitch, he just told you to go home.
Milo responds, “I already thanked you for giving me a job, and I thanked your parents a long time ago for not pressing charges. You worry about you and let me worry about me.”
Bran makes a hissing sound, and I can hear him mutter, “Dang, son, are you trying to get fired?” Rayna glares at him.
But we all shut up then because Leah barks out a laugh, and it’s not a nice one. “You still don’t know, do you?”
Delia suddenly shoots up to standing and shoves her chair back, throwing out an apology and trying to scramble around the gathered guests in their chairs.
But Leah keeps talking in the kitchen. “Why do you think your mom invited me over after all these years?” When there’s no response, she continues, “You don’t know how much time we spent together trying to keep your ass out of jail and all of us from going broke because you decided to get wasted and try killing yourself.”
Morris stands too, and everyone scoots in or stands to let them by as they hustle toward the kitchen. But it’s too late because the damage has been done.
“What else.” Milo’s voice is a demand, not a request.
“My parents’ insurance went through the roof because of your stunt, and we were going to lose the business. Your dad mortgaged his house and sold his half of the fishing charter to pay us back.”
“That’s enough, Leah!” We’re all surprised to hear Morris’s voice boom through the kitchen and out to the dining room where we’re gathered. “It’s not yours to share.”
His voice acts like a catalyst, and we all snap out of our quasi-zombie modes. Everybody starts gathering dirty dishes and doing whatever we can to tidy without going into the kitchen. We purposely talk loudly about anything that pops into our heads while we pretend World War III isn’t threatening to start in the kitchen.
Leah stalks in the room and grabs her purse from the floor by her seat before hauling ass out the front door without another word.
We all look at each other, unsure of what to do. We want to give Milo, Delia, and Morris privacy, but we don’t want to be rude and just leave. So we make a compromise by grabbing our drinks and heading out to the front patio.
“Not to be insensitive, but that was the most exciting Thanksgiving dinner I’ve ever been to,” Rayna says once we’re all seated on the porch.
We smile and do a silent toast because she’s not wrong.
I want to go to Milo, but I think this is one situation where it should just be him and his family. For now, at least. There will be plenty of time later for us to talk about it.
“I still can’t believe his dad did that and never even told him,” Rayna says before glancing over at Haley and Ted. “They didn’t have a great relationship.”
We all sit on that for a few moments, and then Bran speaks up. “Although, it kind of makes sense when you think about it.”
“Well, sure.” Ted shrugs. “No matter the trouble in a relationship, parents tend to always look after their kids. Ideally, that is.”
“Yeah, but that’s not what I meant.” Bran sets his beer glass on the patio next to him. “Milo has always gone above and beyond for other people, even though he pretends not to give a shit. And he had to have gotten that from somewhere. Looks like his dad was that way too. We just didn’t know it.”
“I could see that. Milo saved that girl from getting killed by that boat engine,” I offer up.
Bran points at me. “Exactly. He didn’t think about his own safety. He saw her in trouble and dove in headfirst.”
“Wow. I didn’t know that.” Haley covers her mouth in surprise.
“And remember that asshole Shawn back in high school?” Rayna smiles and looks at me. “Milo got suspended for knocking this guy out after he spread a rumor that I gave him a blow job.” She raises her finger. “Which I did not.”
“That guy was such a dick.” Bran shakes his head and frowns before putting an arm around Rayna. “You know I would have done it if I’d gotten there first, right?”
Rayna kisses his cheek. “I know.”
Bran grins, and then he turns my way again. “Oh, and he gave up his dive business to keep those actor assholes from fucking with Jill.”
Rayna smacks him, and he throws his arms out. “What? She says ‘fuck’ all the time. And you just said ‘asshole.’”
The sound of them bickering fades as all the blood in my body rushes to my head. “What did you just say?”
“Fine.” Bran glares at Rayna. “I’ll stop throwing f-bombs at family holidays if it means that much to you.”
I feel around by my side for a flat surface and set my wine glass down, never taking my eyes from Bran. “No. What did you say about Milo’s dive business and the actors?”
“Those guys from Brothers of Moon Bay. I stopped watching that show after we shoved those assho—I mean jerks—into the water that summer.” He turns to Ted, and I feel the blood buzzing across my skull. “Oh, man, you should have seen it. These pretty-boy Hollywood pricks were talking shit about Jill, and Milo comes tearing around, pulling one of them by the shirt, and then he kicks him square in the chest over the side of the boat. Guy didn’t know what hit him.” Bran puffs his chest out a little, but it’s like I’m watching him through a cloudy filter. “I took care of the other one. Gave him the old one-two punch.”
“What did they say?” My voice is louder than I intended, and everyone turns to me. Rayna stands and walks over, clearly understanding something is very wrong. She squats down and puts her hand on my back, but I’m still focused on Bran.
“What do you mean?” Bran’s brow is furrowed, and he’s gone still.
My voice is quieter this time because it’s caught in my throat. “What did Noah and Tyler say to make him do that?”
Bran shakes his head. “Jill, you don’t want to hear that. It’s not important. You know what happened.”
“No, I don’t.” My nose stings, and my eyes fill with tears. If what Bran’s saying is true, then I don’t know what to do. What to think. If what he’s saying is true, then Milo ruined his chance at his dream… for me.