office!”
“You’re just filing, not saving someone from the death penalty,” Ty responds dryly. Seth settles in to work and Cara and I sit across from Ty at his desk.
“Can I listen to my iPod while I do this?” Seth asks hopefully.
Cara looks to me and I nod.
“Sure,” she responds.
Seth eagerly plugs in his earbuds and turns the volume up.
“How’s Jillian?” I ask Ty.
“Cara would be the one to ask, she talks to Jill more than I do.” Ty looks at Cara expectantly.
“She’s good. Working hard.” Cara smiles at us and shrugs. “We have a phone date tonight.”
“A phone date?” I ask.
“Yeah, we try to carve out a few hours every month to catch up. Tonight’s our date night.”
“Why did she decide to stay in California after the divorce?”
Ty frowns and rubs his forehead. “Good question.” He glances at Cara, his face sober. “Has she ever confided in you about what happened with the asshole?”
Cara shakes her head and sighs. “No. Even when we’ve had too much to drink, she won’t tell me.”
“She’s so damn frustrating,” Ty mutters as he pulls his hands down his face and back up through his hair in agitation. “I wish she’d talk to me about it so I’d know how to fix it.”
“You’re always fixing things for the women in your life,” I mention quietly, and cross my ankle over my knee, memories of not so long ago echoing through my mind. “Maybe she wants to take care of this on her own.”
Ty just stares back at me and cocks an eyebrow. “Would you leave it alone if it were your sister?”
“Fuck no.” I sigh.
“I wish she’d come home,” Cara murmurs. “For good. Not just to visit.”
“Yeah, I need someone to harass,” Ty agrees with a sad smile.
“You guys always did torture us endlessly. What was up with that?” Cara turns to me, looking all exasperated and adorable.
“You were girls, we were teenagers, and it was our God-given right as older brothers—and friends of older brothers—to torment you.” She bites her lip to keep from laughing, her eyes sparkling with memories.
“But no one else would dare give us a hard time for fear of your wrath,” she says, laughing, and she’s absolutely right.
If anyone else had fucked with them, we would have killed them.
“Where is Zack these days? Is he still deployed? I haven’t talked to him for a while.” Ty grabs a paper clip off his desk and slowly begins to straighten it.
“He’s been in Afghanistan. He should be back in Texas this week, and then he’ll be on his way here once he processes out of the army.” I sigh and glance over at Seth to make sure he’s still listening to his music.
“What the fuck was Kensie thinking?” Ty breathes.
“Who cares? Seth is safe, and Zack will be home soon, and hopefully things will calm down for everyone.”
“What will Zack do here? The army is all he’s known for more than ten years.” Cara frowns and crosses her short legs. I wish she’d worn shorts again today. Her legs are toned and soft. I wonder what they’ll feel like wrapped around my waist.
Or propped on my shoulders.
“I’m not sure what his plans are.” I shake my head, attempting to focus on the topic at hand. “I think he’s just anxious to get here and make sure Seth is okay. We’ll take it from there.” I’m ready for my brother to be home full-time. As Cara said, he’s been gone for more than ten years, and it’s time for him to come home. He’s a good man, and given the chance, he’d be a good dad, no matter what lies his bitch ex-wife put into Seth’s head.
“I’m done.” Seth stands and pulls his buds out of his ears.
Ty joins him and checks over his work. “That was faster than I expected. Good job.”
Seth grins proudly and waits while Ty checks Seth’s work.
Ty pulls a few files back out of the drawer. “These three were out of order,” he accuses, his tone hard. “Someone could have gone to jail or lost a lot of money because you
Deep as the Marrow (v2.1)