Miles
I stepped out of the shower and wiped the steam off the mirror. As I was brushing my teeth, I had an epiphany. I knew what we could do for Jane for Mother's Day. I knocked on the adjoining wall, knowing Luke was in there getting ready.
"What?" he called, his voice muffled through the wall.
"Come over here," I said, my mouth full of toothpaste.
"Okay, hang on a minute." 5 minutes later, Luke appeared in the doorway of my bathroom, towel drying his hair. "What's up?"
"I know what we need to do for your mom."
"Oh yeah?" he said, buttoning his shirt.
"Yeah. Brooke and Rachel can help us with it. It'll be easy, but I think it'll mean a lot to her."
"Okay, what is it?"
"Come on; we're gonna be late. I'll tell you on the way to school."
***
"Oh my gosh, Miles!" Rachel squealed. "That is an excellent idea!"
"It really is," Brooke agreed. "I think she'll love it."
"So you'll help us?" I asked.
"Of course. Let's do it this afternoon," Rachel said. "I can borrow a camera from the yearbook staff."
"Where do you want to go?" Brooke asked.
"Luke had the idea to go to the end of the county pier at sunset."
"Yeah, Mom has always loved the sunset," Luke said.
"Okay, cool. Let's get there at 7:00... the sun sets at 7:36," Rachel said, putting her phone back in her pocket.
"Let me help you guys get dressed," Brooke said, rubbing her palms together.
Luke and I glanced at each other and rolled our eyes.
"We're going to end up in matching outfits, you know that, right?" I said, earning a laugh from the whole group.
***
After dinner, Brooke was rifling through my closet while Rachel sat on my bed; I didn't have my entire wardrobe with me, but she had managed to find a pair of black chinos and a blue and white checked button up that was a little tight, but she insisted that was the look we wanted to go for.
"Okay. Get dressed and I'm going to go help Luke," she said, disappearing out the door and closing it with a click.
Rachel moved to her knees at the edge of my bed, pulling me to her by my belt loops.
"What are you doing?" I asked, looking down at her in amusement.
"Helping you get undressed..." she said, a sultry grin turning up the corners of her mouth as she unbuttoned my shorts.
"Oh, well, in that case," I growled, laying her back on the bed.
Luke
"Okay, this is perfect!" Brooke announced, handing me two hangers.
I studied the outfit she had picked, and I had to admit – it had style.
Dark grey slacks, light blue button-up, and black suspenders. I popped the suspenders as I checked myself out in the full-length mirror in my closet.
"Damn, I look good," I said, turning from one side to the other.
Brooke came up behind me and slipped her arms around my waist. "I told you," she murmured, nipping my earlobe gently.
"Hey, hey, don't get me started. We have to leave in a few minutes," I scolded teasingly.
"Okay, okay. Rain check?"
"Absolutely."
***
Twenty minutes later, we pulled up to the pier. Miles parked his Jeep and we all hopped out, Miles and I brushing wrinkles out of our shirts.
Miles paid our admission for the pier, and we were happy to see that it wasn't exceptionally busy tonight. I took Brooke's hand as we walked, the breeze coming in off the water and blowing her long hair across her shoulders.
When we reached the end of the pier, the sun had begun to set, and Rachel and Brooke worked their magic.
Rachel
"I could seriously cry right now," I whispered to Brooke as I snapped a few more photos of Luke and Miles.
"I know, right? When they stand together like this... it's so obvious they're brothers. And the fact that they never would've known it if we hadn't uncovered all of these secrets... if you hadn't united us all," she murmured from directly behind me.
I flushed.
"Okay, y'all. I think I have everything I need," I announced, and the boys breathed sighs of relief.
"Thank God," Luke breathed. "I was getting tired of smiling."
"My face hurts," Miles griped.
"Oh come on, y'all. Stop complaining. This is going to be an awesome gift for Jane. When I get home I'll edit, then I'll take it to the printers and see about a rush order on a canvas," I said.
"Thank you, Rach. We really appreciate it. You too, baby," Luke said, kissing the corner of Brooke's mouth.
"Glad to help."
May 13, 2018
Luke
After we took Mom to lunch at Captain Anderson's, the four of us came back to the house right away; Miles and I were so eager to give her the present Rachel had delivered yesterday.
"Mom, sit down here," I said, gesturing to the couch. "Miles and I have a gift for you."
"Oh, honey, you boys didn't have to do that. You already took me to lunch!" she exclaimed.
"Don't be silly. I'll be right back," Miles said, happily trotting to Dad's office to retrieve the gift.
Mom eyed me suspiciously and then looked at Dad. "Do you know what they're up to?"
Dad shrugged and winked at me.
"Aunt Jane, close your eyes!" Miles called from the hallway.
"All right, they're closed!" she called back.
Miles came in and handed me one side of the canvas and we held it in front of her. "Okay, open," I said.
She did, and tears immediately sprang to her eyes when she saw the photo.
The sunset was burning behind us, the water a sparkling blue. Miles and I stood with our arms draped around each other's shoulders, wide, true smiles across our faces.
"Oh, boys," she whispered. "This is beautiful." Tears fell down her cheeks as she stood up to hug us both. "I love you both," she said, kissing us both on the cheek.
"We love you too, Mom," I said, and Miles wiped his eyes.
"Are you crying?" I asked him.
"No, of course not," he said, sniffling. "My contact is irritated."
"You don't wear contacts," I countered.
"Yeah... but I thought I could cover," he said, and we all laughed.
"Here's some more photos," I said, handing her the photo album Rachel had put together.
She and Dad flipped through them, and the smiles on their faces were proud – truly happy.
Rachel
"Happy Mother's Day, Mama," I said, kissing her on the cheek and handing her a card that held a $50 gift card
"Thank you, my love," she said, pulling me into a tight hug. "How are you doing?" she asked, looking at me intently.
I still hadn't told her anything about Luke being William's son, but I knew she had noticed my preoccupation the past week. So I decided to open up about something else.
"I'm good. I finally talked to Miles about college... and guess what?"
"What?"
"He's going to go to Florida State too!"
Mom smiled. "Oh honey, that's wonderful. I'm so glad."
"Me too... I really love him, Mom," I said, casting her a sidelong glance.
"I know you do, baby. He's a great guy. I'm glad you'll have someone with you in Tallahassee – it actually comforts me to know he'll be there."
"Me too, Mom."
Miles
Beep.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and rolled my eyes when I saw the name on the screen.
Dad.
He hadn't called this time, just sent a text. Thankfully I had turned read receipts off, so I could read it without consequence.
I miss you, son. I wish you'd come home. I'm sorry about prom night. I'm out of town from today until Wednesday. I hope that when I come home, you'll be there. Please.
Ha. If he thought I was ever going to move back in that house with him, he had another thing coming.
However, I did need to go over and pick up some more clothes. And it would give Rachel and me a chance to be alone.
I picked up my car keys and wallet from the dresser and called down the hall. "Hey y'all. Dad is out of town so I'm going to run over there and get more clothes!"
"Okay, be safe!" Adam called.
"Will do!"
When I got to the house, it was dark. I have to admit, I missed the house itself, but I did not miss my dad. Not even a little.
I let myself in and turned on some lights. After I grabbed some clothes from my closet, I walked past my dad's office, but then backed up, peering inside. He had left the door open, something he never did. I set my duffel bag down on the floor and pushed the door open.
I had only been in my father's office a few times in my whole life, and never alone. I gingerly stepped toward the desk and sank into the desk chair.
"I'm William Jefferson, CEO of Jefferson Properties. I'm such a great businessman," I said out loud, mocking my dad's voice. "I'm really rich, but I'm a total dickhead, douchebag abuser, and rapist, but I think I can get away with it because I'm a big shot real estate mogul."
I was opening drawers as I gave my soliloquy, and my eyes landed on a manila folder stuffed far back inside the bottom drawer. "What's this, William?" I murmured, pulling it out and laying it on the desktop.
It was blank on the outside, but when I reached inside and pulled out the contents, my blood ran cold.
"Oh my God."