Ollie could see the wheels turning, the lie forming in Olin’s mind. His twin was going to try and weasel his way out of this one, to deny any sort of feelings for Coop. Olin always did that. He shut down and turned away, leaving something potentially good before he found out if it was. Ollie didn’t know Coop all that well, but he seemed like a nice enough guy.
“Go ahead,” Ollie said as he flipped his hand upward. “Tell me it won’t work out or he’s not your type, or, my favorite, the guy has some strange, freaky habit that you just can’t get past.”
“But at least I can say I had a full life,” Olin teased.
“See!” Olin shook his head. “You always use sarcasm to hide what you’re truly feeling.” Ollie threw his hands up. “Fine, stay stuck in misery.”
“Who said I was miserable?” Olin argued.
“What, you think I don’t notice what you go through?” Ollie laughed, and there was an edge to it. “I know you better than you think I do. I see how you struggle to find your place in this world. I see you getting drunk off your ass to hide the pain. Don’t think because I’m not as outgoing as you or because I don’t hang with a cool crowd that I’m dimwitted. Just because I’m still a virgin doesn’t make me the village idiot.”
Olin frowned. “What the hell does your virginity have to do with this?”
Ollie shrugged. “Have no clue, but it sounded good in my head.”
Olin laughed. “I’ve never seen you this fired up before.”
“That’s because I care about your thickheaded ass.” Ollie closed the distance and yanked Olin into a hug. His brother wrapped his arms around him before Ollie rested his head on Olin’s shoulder. “Stop self-destructing and give Coop a chance, please.”
“I can’t,” Olin said. “He said something horrible about Mom and Dad.”
Ollie pulled back and gazed at his mirror image. “What did he say?”
When Olin told him, Ollie gaped at his brother. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Olin pulled from Ollie’s embrace. “Now you know why I can’t ever see him again.”
Coop had been so sweet when he’d come here two months ago. Had the guy been faking his kindness? “Did he know they died?”
“No.”
“Then give him a small break,” Ollie encouraged. “If he screws up like that again, then we’ll both bury his body, deal?”
Olin’s smile turned genuine. Nothing like plotting someone’s death to bring family closer.
“What are you two going on in here about?” Aunt Mya asked as she walked into the kitchen.
“I was asking Olin if—” Ollie said.
“I wanted to go to some festival—” Olin continued.
“In the park, but he told me—”
“That I had already made plans for the night, but—”
“We could go another time,” Ollie finished.
Aunt Mya eyed them. “You know I really hate when you two do that twin thing.”
They both laughed.
“I have no clue how you two know how to finish each other’s sentences off like that.” She swatted at them. “Go do something and get out of my kitchen.”
Ollie grabbed Olin before his twin walked out the back door. “I’m serious,” he whispered. “Go to him and stop putting a wall between the two of you.”
“I’ll try,” Olin said.
Ollie narrowed his eyes and poked Olin in the shoulder. “And I want details when you get back here.”
Ollie hoped they weren’t details about how Olin had strangled Coop.
Chapter Four
While riding his motorcycle, Coop thought about what he’d said to Olin and the anger at how hurtful he’d been toward Olin boiled up again. Coop couldn’t understand why he had been that cruel. Was it frustration, fear, or plain old stupidity? It was more than likely all three.
As soon as he’d stepped into the kitchen and spotted Olin, Coop had been happy that Olin had stayed at Talyn’s. His heart had sped up a notch. He had started to think that maybe there was something between them.
But then Olin opened his mouth, and Coop knew things hadn’t changed. It didn’t set well with Coop that he’d allowed his guard down and showed Olin a side he didn’t share with many people, only to have Olin turn around and insult him later.
But no matter how things added up, Coop still felt like dog turd.
A familiar face had Coop cutting a hard left. His engine revved as he slowed and pulled into an empty parking space outside a local deli. Karidon had to make a U-turn-on the street in order to pull in beside Coop.