Chapter 2His, and His Brother's

“You lose, bro.”

The dice shaker was lifted. Caleb One had rolled a six.

He didn’t seem bothered. He glanced at the woman in his arms and smiled. “This little thing wants to see the Northern Lights. I’m taking her to Iceland. The wedding’s in five days. You hold down the fort. I’ll be back before the big day, I promise.”

Caleb Two just gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod.

A few minutes later, someone in the group yelled, “Let’s go race the cars.”

Caleb One stood, clapping his friend on the back. “Anyone who loses better have a fat check for me on the wedding day. Chloe loves counting her money.”

No one caught the strangeness in his tone. They all just laughed and agreed.

“You got it, man. We’re ready.”

“Solid. Let’s roll. Bro, you coming?” Caleb One asked his twin.

The group started to get up, but Caleb Two remained seated, staring into space. When he heard his brother’s question, he seemed to snap out of a trance. “Nah, I’m good. Gotta go home and… keep up the act.”

Keep up the act. We all knew what that meant.

After Caleb Two had also left, Zoe and I finally emerged from our hiding spot, both letting out a breath we didn’t realize we’d been holding. The dice sat on the abandoned table, a relic of a decision we no longer had to make.

It seemed our little dilemma had been solved for us.

After some quick analysis, we figured it out. The loud, playful, life-of-the-party one was the younger brother, Caleb. The quiet, gentler, more reserved one was the older brother, Connor.

“Well, with the economy the way it is, I guess this particular freelance gig is over,” Zoe said grimly.

I thought for a long moment. “So, we run?”

She nodded, her eyes hard. “You run, I run.”