The Good Brother: A Caribbean Instant Family Romance by Arthurs Nia

Author:Arthurs, Nia
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-10-20T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

After locking up the shop that night, Tanya and I part ways at the bus stop. Our official closing time is at seven but, for the past week, customers have been walking in fifteen minutes before the hour. We still service them. Which means I don’t get home until after ten o’clock most nights.

Tonight was an exception. I’m excited to head home and hang with Reece before bedtime. We should have a solid hour before my mom-instincts kick in and I shoo her to bed.

The bus lets me off a couple blocks from the house. I stroll down the sidewalk thoughtfully. The moon is full in the sky, lighting my path. Toads and crickets belt out their nocturnal songs with the enthusiasm of a boom box.

I smile at the stars and think of my father. We haven’t spoken that much since he and Mom moved to San Pedro after his retirement.

Dad used to love watching the stars. We had a telescope on the first floor and, whenever we got a chance, we would admire the sky.

He wanted to be an astronomer when he was younger, but he couldn’t afford to study it and Belize had no astronomy scholarships available in his day. Dad gave up on his dream as a career, but he never lost his love for the stars.

I’ll call him later. When my heart and head isn’t in so much turmoil. Tanya’s suggestion that I marry Ben has been banging around in my mind all day.

As crazy as it is, it’s an option. One that would make a lot of sense if it wasn’t completely unrealistic.

Ben’s made it clear from Day One that I’m not his type and, frankly, he’s not mine either. Though I’ve softened toward him, living in the same house has exposed some habits of his that aren’t exactly endearing.

Like those stupid webtoons he watches without end.

And his complete lack of drive and ambition to do anything with his life.

And his checkered past when it comes to women.

They’re all red flags.

So even if marriage was on Ben’s mind, which it isn’t, I would be stupid to propose that kind of commitment between the two of us.

A moment later the house comes into view. I jog up the stairs. The sound of laughter disguises the jangle of my keys as I crack the front door open.

When I step inside, my gaze lands on Reece, mouth open mid-chortle. She’s sitting on the floor, legs tucked under her, a spread of UNO cards in her hands.

Lauren, Kurt and Ben are sitting around her. They’re all focused on the game, but their smiles are no less beaming. A knot forms in my throat, threatening to cut off my breath.

They look like a family…

Reece’s skin tone is a pale brown shade, but even so… it’s lighter than me. She fits in with these white people more than I do. She belongs.

Who am I trying to kid here?

“Logan!” Reece spots me and tosses her cards down. She leaps over her grandfather’s legs like a gazelle and races over.

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