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Authors: Theresa Ragan
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too bright.”
“Ridiculous,” one of them said. “Sounds like an old wives’ tale.”
“I’m just telling you what I heard.”
“Sagging breasts would be the only downfall I can think of when it comes to a woman breastfeeding,” Brad stated matter-of-factly.
“A definite downfall,” Jake agreed.
“How about Maggie?” someone asked next. “I wonder if she plans to breastfeed?”
“First comes marriage and then comes baby,” Derrick growled. “Could we all get to work now?”
“Still a little sensitive when it comes to Maggie, I see.”
Derrick finished with the ropes and then headed for the back of his brothers’ truck and unlatched the tailgate. “Aaron had no business going after her and that’s all I have to say on the matter.”
Brad shook his head. “You really do have it bad for Maggie, don’t you? I didn’t believe it, but now that we’re on the subject, what’s the deal? If you were in love with her, why didn’t you go after her a long time ago?”
“Because I knew I wasn’t the only one who had feelings for her. We took a damn vow.”
“That was nearly fifteen years ago,” they all said at once.
“We were kids,” Cliff added for good measure.
Jake shook his head as if Derrick was a lost cause.
Derrick grabbed hold of one side of the couch and slid it halfway off the truck on his own before Jake hurried over and grabbed hold of the center while Brad jumped inside the bed of the truck to get the other end of the couch.
“You’ve got to let go of your feelings for Maggie,” Jake said. “She and Aaron love each other and Aaron deserves to live a good full life with his brothers’ support.”
“He’s not our brother.”
Jake glared at Derrick. “That’s bullshit. Guess who taught me to swim?”
“Aaron did,” Jake said, answering his own question. “Remember the car wreck in West LA, the accident people still talk about: the driver fell asleep and four boys were killed on their way home from Vegas? I never told anyone but I should have been in that car. Aaron caught wind of what I was up to and he wouldn’t let me go. He threatened to tell Mom. I was furious, hated him for stopping me. But I wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for Aaron. I don’t care what anyone says. He’s our brother. He’s yours too, but for some reason you’ve got your wires all twisted because if you stopped to think long and hard about the good ol’ days you’d see you’ve got it all wrong. Maggie never loved you or any of us like she loved Aaron. For some reason, though, everyone can see that but you.”
“Can we get to work now?” Derrick asked.
“Good idea,” one of the twins said.
“By the way,” Derrick told Jake, “Mom wanted me to tell you she found the rollerblades you were looking for, the ones you need for your date with Candy this weekend.”
Brad made a whooping sound. “Candy Baker? The mean one?”
“The same Candy who ran off with your clothes when you were changing for P.E. when you were still in high school?” Cliff asked.
“It’s no big deal,” Jake told them. “I happened to run into her the other day.”
Cliff scratched his chin. “Rollerblading? Do people even do that anymore?”
They all laughed, except for Jake, of course. And Derrick, because he was too busy trying to figure out why his brothers were so damned blind and forgetful when it came to him and Maggie and what they had shared. Hell, he and his brothers and Maggie had all hung out together twenty-four-seven back then. Derrick couldn’t recall one time when Aaron and Maggie had spent more than a few minutes together. The only reason Derrick hadn’t gone after Maggie was because of the vow—the vow he now realized nobody had taken seriously except for him.
~~~
It took the four of them about an hour to fill his new two-bedroom apartment with a double bed, dresser, couch, coffee table and forty-inch flat-screen TV. The place had come with a refrigerator and a
“Ridiculous,” one of them said. “Sounds like an old wives’ tale.”
“I’m just telling you what I heard.”
“Sagging breasts would be the only downfall I can think of when it comes to a woman breastfeeding,” Brad stated matter-of-factly.
“A definite downfall,” Jake agreed.
“How about Maggie?” someone asked next. “I wonder if she plans to breastfeed?”
“First comes marriage and then comes baby,” Derrick growled. “Could we all get to work now?”
“Still a little sensitive when it comes to Maggie, I see.”
Derrick finished with the ropes and then headed for the back of his brothers’ truck and unlatched the tailgate. “Aaron had no business going after her and that’s all I have to say on the matter.”
Brad shook his head. “You really do have it bad for Maggie, don’t you? I didn’t believe it, but now that we’re on the subject, what’s the deal? If you were in love with her, why didn’t you go after her a long time ago?”
“Because I knew I wasn’t the only one who had feelings for her. We took a damn vow.”
“That was nearly fifteen years ago,” they all said at once.
“We were kids,” Cliff added for good measure.
Jake shook his head as if Derrick was a lost cause.
Derrick grabbed hold of one side of the couch and slid it halfway off the truck on his own before Jake hurried over and grabbed hold of the center while Brad jumped inside the bed of the truck to get the other end of the couch.
“You’ve got to let go of your feelings for Maggie,” Jake said. “She and Aaron love each other and Aaron deserves to live a good full life with his brothers’ support.”
“He’s not our brother.”
Jake glared at Derrick. “That’s bullshit. Guess who taught me to swim?”
“Aaron did,” Jake said, answering his own question. “Remember the car wreck in West LA, the accident people still talk about: the driver fell asleep and four boys were killed on their way home from Vegas? I never told anyone but I should have been in that car. Aaron caught wind of what I was up to and he wouldn’t let me go. He threatened to tell Mom. I was furious, hated him for stopping me. But I wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for Aaron. I don’t care what anyone says. He’s our brother. He’s yours too, but for some reason you’ve got your wires all twisted because if you stopped to think long and hard about the good ol’ days you’d see you’ve got it all wrong. Maggie never loved you or any of us like she loved Aaron. For some reason, though, everyone can see that but you.”
“Can we get to work now?” Derrick asked.
“Good idea,” one of the twins said.
“By the way,” Derrick told Jake, “Mom wanted me to tell you she found the rollerblades you were looking for, the ones you need for your date with Candy this weekend.”
Brad made a whooping sound. “Candy Baker? The mean one?”
“The same Candy who ran off with your clothes when you were changing for P.E. when you were still in high school?” Cliff asked.
“It’s no big deal,” Jake told them. “I happened to run into her the other day.”
Cliff scratched his chin. “Rollerblading? Do people even do that anymore?”
They all laughed, except for Jake, of course. And Derrick, because he was too busy trying to figure out why his brothers were so damned blind and forgetful when it came to him and Maggie and what they had shared. Hell, he and his brothers and Maggie had all hung out together twenty-four-seven back then. Derrick couldn’t recall one time when Aaron and Maggie had spent more than a few minutes together. The only reason Derrick hadn’t gone after Maggie was because of the vow—the vow he now realized nobody had taken seriously except for him.
~~~
It took the four of them about an hour to fill his new two-bedroom apartment with a double bed, dresser, couch, coffee table and forty-inch flat-screen TV. The place had come with a refrigerator and a
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