Paper Miles
an excerpt

Ty set Brad’s letter aside and raked a hand through his short dark hair, fingers tousling the already unruly spikes and cowlicks into a mess. Well, shit. He didn’t envy Brad’s position right now, caught as he was between what he wanted for himself and the duty he felt toward his family. If it were anyone else but Brad, Ty wouldn’t have been able to be nearly so understanding, but he knew better than anyone the extent of Brad’s loyalty to his family.

But understanding didn’t mean he had to like it. If he had his way, he’d tell Brad’s parents to shove their outdated ideas of family and tradition up their narrow asses and whisk Brad away somewhere that those narrow-minded prigs could never find them. Shaking his head at himself, he buried his head in his hands. Christ. He needed to accept that there wasn’t anything he could do for Brad right now, except to be there at the end of the phone line if he needed to talk.

Rising, he kicked the stool he’d been sitting on back into place at the breakfast bar, glancing at his watch. Kennedy was due any minute so that they could fly out to the coast together, and he wondered where Brad was. Probably still in the air over the Atlantic, figuring for the time difference and all of that. If he hadn’t been so concerned about his mother, he wouldn’t be going at all. He’d be waiting at the airport to snatch Brad up the minute he stepped into the terminal. But he had a family, too, and felt his own sense of duty and loyalty to them.

If his mother wasn’t well, she’d never let Kennedy see it. Ken, for all her level-headedness and brash, outspoken demeanor, was an absolute worrywart and if she thought something was wrong with Mom, she’d never rest. Ty didn’t think his mother would exactly be open with him, either, but he figured he’d get more out of her than Ken could, at the very least.

The strident sound of the security intercom by his front door jolted him out of his thoughts, and he crossed to it, depressing the speaker button. “Yeah?”

“Ty, I’m here, buzz me up, would you?”

“Just sit tight down there, Ken. No point in you lugging all your bags up here for ten seconds. I’ll be right down.”

“’Kay.”

Turning back to the breakfast bar, Ty slipped Brad’s latest letter into the front pocket of his messenger bag, along with the others that he’d been carrying around. He wanted to keep them all, wanted to have them as a reminder. Shouldering that bag, he took a last look around his apartment to be sure everything was in order before grabbing the handle of his suitcase and dragging it out to the hall while he locked up the door. When he emerged from the elevator in the lobby, Kennedy threw her arms around him, enveloping him in a hard, enthusiastic hug that he returned, lifting her off her feet for a moment.

“Oooh, it’s good to see you. I’ve missed you.”

“We just saw each other a month and a half ago, Ken.” Ty chuckled as he set her back on her feet, touching her cheek lightly.

“So? I can still miss my big brother. Ooh, look, you have to see what Brad sent me.” Kennedy patted the soft black leather satchel bag at her side. “Isn’t it gorgeous?”

Ty craned his head around to study the bag, nodding in approval. “Of course. But Brad’s got fabulous taste, so I’m not surprised. When’d you get that?”

“This morning, just in time to finish my packing. It was sweet of him.”

“Of course it was. Brad’s just a sweet kind of guy.”

Kennedy sent him a sharp look as they pulled their respective bags out to the sidewalk and Ty hailed a cab. “What’s going on? Did you two fight again?”

“No, no, it’s not that. I just got a letter from him earlier today. His parents are dicking him around again, as per their usual. Fucking narrow-minded assholes and their fucking entitlement attitudes.”

Kennedy reached up to pat his shoulder as he loaded both their bags into the trunk of the cab, slamming it closed with a loud thud. “And he just won’t tell them to back the fuck off, huh?”

“Of course he won’t. Brad just doesn’t have that in him, especially not when it comes to his family.” Ty slid into the back seat after Kennedy, making a face when his knees bumped the back of the passenger seat. Sometimes he hated being six foot three. “Logan, American Airlines outbound terminal, please.” He settled back against the seat as the cabbie nodded and eased out into the busy street traffic, turning slightly in the seat to face Kennedy.

“Enough about that, since there’s nothing I can do but get angry on his behalf. How were your exams?”

Kennedy made a face, pushing a few strands of blond hair that had come loose from her braid away from her cheeks. “Hellish, to say the least. I’m glad those classes are over with, this has been the toughest semester I’ve had so far. But I’m almost halfway through, so that helps.”

“Good. How’d you do with those drawings you brought to that gallery in ‘Hamp? Did they buy any of them? The last time I talked to you, you were on your way to drop them off.”

Kennedy grinned, toying idly with the shoulder strap of her satchel. “You bet they did. All twenty of them, no less, for fifty bucks a pop. They weren’t even framed or matted. And they want more.”

“Ken! That’s fantastic. Why didn’t you call me and tell me?”

“I wanted to tell you in person, I wanted to be able to see your smile.” Kennedy grinned again and slipped her arm around Ty’s shoulders, giving him a quick squeeze. “It was totally worth holding the news in for a few days. I’m so jazzed, Ty. This could be a real opportunity for me.”

“You bet it could. I’m so proud of you, kiddo. We’ll tell Mom when we land, go out someplace fabulous for dinner, see if she has any suggestions.”

“My treat.” Kennedy chimed in, giggling. “It feels so good to be able to say that.” She sobered, glancing up and meeting Ty’s eyes. “Ty…I can’t ever tell you how much you doing everything that you do for me means to me. Thank you so much. I wouldn’t be where I am if it weren’t for you.”

Ty started to protest, but stopped himself. He knew Kennedy meant every word. Sliding his arm around her, he squeezed her shoulders lightly.

“I know, Ken. I’m glad I can do it. Really. And I like having you close – granted, it’d be nice if you were even closer, but I know how much you love it in ‘Hamp. You know, I’ve been thinking that we should try working on Mom, see if we can talk her into moving back here. I think she misses the winters, California doesn’t have seasons to speak of, and I know I miss having her close.”

Kennedy tilted her head to one side, tapping a finger against her lips, the way she always did when she was pondering something. Ty smiled at the familiar gesture. “I like that idea. I get squirmy thinking about her all alone in that big house. We’ll double-team her, Ty, she might be able to put one of us off, but she’ll never be able to resist both of us together.”

Ty grinned, slapping Kennedy’s hand when she offered it for a high-five. No one, except Brad, could brighten his mood quite as much as his sister could.