Read Online Pick Me by Erika Marks - Free Book Online

him study his father as the older man entered the house before them, then held the door for her as she stepped inside.
    A man and a woman she faintly recognized stood at the sink, their faces drawn, as if they’d been in a heated conversation.
    Calder made the introductions. “Pete and Marie, I don’t know if you remember Thea Dunn. Thea, this is my brother, Pete and his wife, Marie.”
    Marie Clark. Thea knew she had recognized the woman’s soft, blue eyes and deep red hair. In high school, Marie had kept her hair straight. Now it hung around her face in remarkable coils, sections of it tethered back from either side of her face with barrettes.
    “Of course I remember you,” Thea said. “It’s nice to see you, Marie.”
    “You too,” Marie said, concealing her earlier tension with a welcoming smile. “Gosh, how long’s it been? Ten years?”
    “At least,” said Thea.
    “Pete.” Calder‘s brother stepped forward, his hand extended. “I’m not sure if you remember me. I was a senior when you and Calder were freshmen.”
    Thea shook his hand. “No, I don’t think I do,” she said. “Nice to meet you.”
    George Frye wandered over to the fridge, tugged it open and leaned in. “Pete was the best quarterback ever to throw at Magnolia Bay High,” he said, reappearing with a can of beer. “Got himself a free ride to play for USC.”
    “That’s wonderful,” Thea said, wondering as she looked around why no one in the room looked even remotely happy at the announcement.
    She sought Calder’s gaze, hoping for a clue but his interest remained trained on his father, like someone keeping their eye on a small child in a room full of antiques. George cursed low as he struggled to open his beer; Pete reached over to help but his father shooed his hand away.
    A palpable tension filled the quiet, as detectable as the smell of cooling cornbread.
    Marie smiled weakly; apologetically. “Food’s ready if y’all are.”
    “Good,” said Calder. “Then let’s eat.”
     
    * * *
     
    They gathered around a long table in the dining room. George at one end, Pete at the other. Calder sat across from Thea and Marie, looking decidedly cautious as dishes were passed and plates filled. Despite the humid breeze that sailed in from a wall of screened windows, a chill circled the table. Several times throughout the meal, Marie tried to warm the mood with reminiscences of high school, but her attempts fell flat. Thea looked around the table, trying to decide where the source of the tension came from, but both Calder and Pete glared at their plates and stabbed their food with equal ferocity. Who knew which brother was to blame?
    After the meal, Thea and Marie cleared the table while George Frye finished in his sons’ company.
    “That was delicious,” Thea said, joining Marie in the kitchen. “Can I help you with anything?”
    Marie smiled over her shoulder. “I’d love a hand drying, if you’re offering.”
    Thea came beside Marie at the sink and picked up a dish towel. Growing up in the Bay, Thea had known there was a disparity between those who lived near town and those who lived across the tracks in Pineville. They may all have shared the same zip code, but that was the extent of their unity.
    As adults, the differences between their worlds shouldn’t have mattered anymore—or at least, been undetectable. But standing in the Fryes’ kitchen, Thea felt the divide between their worlds even more profoundly than she had in high school, and it unsettled her.
    “I heard through the grapevine that you’d gone to law school,” Marie said, handing Thea a washed serving tray. “Exciting.”
    “It is—though some days I wish it were a little less exciting,” Thea said, wanting to diminish the luxury of her life, the glamour of it, but she feared she’d only insult Marie. They both knew the charms of Thea’s lifestyle were exceptional in comparison to what Marie enjoyed. “I know I’m very lucky.”
    “It’s nice