“It’s about time,” Keith muttered when he saw the two women exit the kitchen.
“Is that desperation I hear in your voice?” Brett asked. “Afraid your sister is spilling all your secrets?”
“Just hungry.”
“Hey, it could be worse. At least it’s just Jen in there with Maddie. Your sister has met almost my entire family, including my cousins Jake and Trent. And you know what they’re like.”
He’d seen both men at Brett’s place when the guy still lived in Virginia. They’d gone above and beyond the call of duty when it came to busting their cousin’s balls. And Brett had given it right back to them. It’d made him wish for a brother or some close male cousins.
“I don’t think there are any embarrassing stories about me left that Jen hasn’t heard,” Brett said.
Keith watched Maddie and Jen walk toward the dining room. “I might have to ask my sister to share some.”
“You can ask, but I don’t see Jen doing it.”
His sister placed the rolls and chicken on the table and then pulled out a chair. “What don’t you see me doing?”
“Retelling those delightful stories about me that my family shared with you.”
“Don’t worry. Your secrets are safe with me.” Jen patted Brett’s hand before smiling at her brother. “Sorry, Keith, you’re my brother, and I love you, but—”
“She loves me more.” Putting his arm around her shoulders, Brett kissed her cheek.
Brett made the list of his friends Keith would ever want his sister to date. Admittedly, it was an incredibly short list. But despite the recent photos and his brief visit to New England, Keith still found it odd to see his longtime friend kissing his baby sister.
Across the table, Jen shook her head and accepted the salad Maddie held toward her. “My brother isn’t the only one with a big ego.”
It was time to move the conversation along before either woman started listing his many faults. “Are you two sticking around for a few days?”
“We’re heading back tomorrow. I have a town hall forum at noon on Tuesday and a meet and greet with a veterans’ group later that night,” Brett replied.
Keith would rather live in a cave, eating nothing but insects for the rest of his life, than enter the snake pit on Capitol Hill. Honestly, he didn’t understand why anyone, including Brett, would. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t interested in how his buddy’s bid for the late Senator Brown’s seat was going.
“How’s the campaign going?”
“The polls now have me with a ten-point lead over Smith. When the truth came out, I think his stunt killed whatever chance he had with most voters.”
He’d wanted to kill the sleazy bastard when Ted Smith’s campaign leaked the bullshit story about Jen to the media.
“With that kind of lead, it sounds like you’ve got your party’s nomination in the bag,” Maddie said.
They’d never discussed politics specifically, but Keith knew her views aligned with his based on comments she’d made regarding issues and various people in DC.
“Until the votes are in, nothing is definite, but it looks that way. My campaign team has already started shifting gears and is working on my strategy for the election in December. That was one of the reasons I met with my uncle today.”
When your uncle was President Warren Sherbrooke, a former United States Senator and so well-liked that every political analyst assumed he would easily win a second term, you’d be stupid not to ask him for advice. And Brett was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.
“Do you think you’ll be facing Hammond or Reed in December?” Keith asked as he reached for another roll. The things were too damn good to stop at one.
Although it was taking place in Massachusetts, the special election was getting national attention, so unless you lived under a rock, you knew who the two candidates hoping to get the other party’s nomination were. Gina Hammond was a career politician who’d lost her Senate bid in Vermont last year, then moved to Massachusetts to try again, while Vince Reed was a former professional football player turned successful businessman.
“They’re virtually tied in the polls,” Brett replied. “But I think Hammond is going to win the nomination.”
Brett’s campaign and the upcoming election dominated the conversation for several more minutes before Jen not so subtly changed the subject. Considering that his sister probably ate, slept, and breathed politics these days, he couldn’t fault her for wanting to talk about something else.
“So, Maddie, has my brother been behaving himself?” she asked. “If he hasn’t been, our mom offered to come down and set him straight for you.”
Mom would do it too. When it came to her children, Erica Wallace didn’t care how old they were. If Mom thought you’d fucked up, she told you so. And Keith would know; he’d been on the receiving end of her displeasure more than once. The same was true of his father, except Reggie Wallace used less polite language to get across the same message.
“I can try too, but it probably won’t do much good. Keith doesn’t usually listen to me,” Jen said.
“Must be an older-brother thing. I’ve got two, and they’re the same way.”
“No, in Keith’s case, I think the words I use are too complicated for him to understand.” Jen winked at him as she spoke. “I often forget Keith’s vocabulary is similar to that of a ten-year-old. That’s probably why he gets along so well with our niece, Bella.”
“Ten, huh? I would’ve put it closer to twelve. But you’ve known Keith a lot longer, so I’ll defer to you. His limited vocabulary aside, though, he’s been a good boy. He even brought me these tonight.” Maddie pointed her fork at the flowers he’d picked up earlier.
“Nicely done, Keith. They’re gorgeous. I’ll let Mom know she can hold off on driving here and giving you a lecture.”