Chapter 3 Three

Trinity

As I headed toward the car rental area in the airport, I sent a quick text to my sister to let her know my plane had landed. I didn't make it much farther before her ringtone sounded from my cell phone. "Hey, Tab."

"How was the flight?"

I sidestepped around a family with two kids who were barely moving before answering, "Longer than it should have been, stinky, and loud."

"See, springing for a first class seat was worth the cost," she boasted.

I wasn't a big fan of being trapped in small spaces with hundreds of strangers, so I tried to avoid flying when I could. But I didn't have much of a choice for this trip since I hadn't been able to leave the city early enough to drive all the way to Timber Ridge. Riggs had been understanding about me using some of my vacation days, but he'd still expected me to take care of a bunch of stuff before I headed out of town. When I'd complained to my sister about the flight, she'd talked me into paying the upgrade fee so I'd be more comfortable. "It's a good thing I listen to you sometimes. You have no idea how happy I am that I forked over that extra cash."

"That bad, huh?"

"Worse." I shuddered at the memory of the baby who'd cried for an hour straight. Luckily, I'd brought my noise-canceling headphones with me, and the family had been seated farther back in the economy section. "I'd be way more irritable if my seat had been smaller and the flight attendant hadn't brought me free beer before we even pulled away from the gate."

Tabara laughed, making me grumble under my breath. My annoyance only made her crack up more, and she didn't pull herself together enough to speak until I'd made it to the back of the line at the car rental counter. "I'm surprised they had a brand you were willing to drink. You're such a beer snob."

"That's fair." My lips curved up in a small grin. "I was shocked when she told me that their options included Fat Tire Belgian White and a Sam Adams seasonal."

"If I was placing money on it, I'd bet that you just had to try both," she guessed.

"You know me well," I murmured as the line slowly moved forward.

"I do, which is why I called to check on you," she admitted softly. "What with being stuck on a plane for a couple of hours to visit your favorite place in the world."

I stretched my neck to the right and then the left, trying to work out the kinks in my muscles. "I might as well be headed to Timbuktu."

"Nah, Timbuktu is way bigger than Timber Ridge," she disagreed with another laugh. "There are more than fifty thousand people who live there, but our little brother's hometown is what...maybe a quarter of that?"

I rolled my suitcase in front of me and released the handle. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I thought about all of the things I would miss during this trip. "Not even."

"You could've said 'no' when Tane asked you to go babysit the kids," she reminded me.

"True," I conceded as I shuffled forward again. "But he made me an offer that was nearly impossible to refuse."

She snorted in disbelief. "You're making our baby brother sound like a mafia boss or something."

"As if." It didn't matter how much bigger than us Tane had gotten, Tab and I would always remember him toddling after us when we were younger.

"Right?" I could practically hear her eyes roll as she complained, "I still can't believe you get to name our newest nephew or niece. It's so unfair that I couldn't go out there instead."

My lips curved up in another grin, but this one was a little mischievous. "Aww, poor Tab. Your career got in the way of this opportunity, and now you'll have to concede favorite aunt status to me."

Tabara was a costume designer and in the middle of production for a new show, so she couldn't get away from the city. But we both knew that she would've been the one headed to Timber Ridge to help out with the kids if it had been possible since she didn't resent our brother's pack as much as I did. "I never thought I'd come to regret working on the biggest show of my career, but this is definitely making me think twice about how many hours I'm spending slaving over the costumes for this one."

"I'm sure all of your hard work will be worth it." I was proud of everything my big sister had accomplished, especially the Tony Award she'd received last year for the iconic looks she'd come up with for a musical that had instantly become a smash hit. She was one of the most sought-after costume designers working on Broadway. Between her innovative designs and killer work ethic, she received a continuous flow of offers from the best producers. "You're freaking amazing, and they're lucky to have nabbed you for that show, no matter how big it is." "Thanks, Trin." She heaved a deep and dramatic sigh. "But I hate that I'm missing out on seeing the kids."

"I'm sure that's the only thing you that's giving you FOMO," I drawled, shaking my head.

"Okay, maybe I'm a little more upset about losing out on the chance to name the baby."

Her soft admission made me grin. "Uh-huh."

"C'mon, have pity on your poor big sis," she wheedled. "The very least you could do is promise to let me help you brainstorm names. I'm the creative one, so I'll come up with some awesome options for you to consider."

I grinned as I finally reached the front of the line. "I guess I can consider your oh-so helpful offer, since you asked so nicely."

"Or if it's a girl, you could just pick Tabara."

Her suggestion didn't surprise me since she'd already tried to talk Tane into naming one of the girls after her. Not that I could be upset with her for it since I had too. "Sorry, sis. If Calliope is carrying another baby girl and I decided to use one of our names, it would be mine."

"I should've known you'd take advantage of the situation like that, even though it'll be weird for one of Tane's daughters to be named after you when I'm the oldest," she grumbled.

I barely stifled my laughter at her irritation. Pushing her buttons was a lot of fun, but I didn't want to rub this in too much since I would have been feeling envious if our roles were reversed. "Shouldn't you be too busy on your sewing machine to bother me?"

Tabara's career involved a heck of a lot more than just sewing, so I knew my little jab would distract her. "Geesh, you're awfully cranky today."

One of the car rental agency representatives gestured in my direction, giving me the perfect excuse to end the call. "Sorry, Tab. I've got to run so they don't give my car away to someone else. Talk to you later."

I walked over to the counter after disconnecting the call and was incredibly frustrated when I left with keys in my hand. I'd only been joking when I told my sister that they might give my car away, but the agency had somehow overbooked the vehicle class I'd reserved, so that was exactly what had happened. I'd been looking forward to putting the top down on the convertible for my two-hour drive to Timber Ridge, but I was stuck with rolling the windows down on an economy car instead. By the time I was pulling into the rinky-dink town where my brother lived, my crankiness level was at an all-time high. Jabbing my finger against the screen of my cell phone, I called my brother and switched it to speaker before he answered. "Are you close?"

I switched over to the map on my cell to check my estimated time of arrival. "I should be at your house in about five minutes."

"Try not to sound so happy to be here. I don't think I can handle all the love you're sending my way."

"I'd be careful if I were you. If you give me too much of a hard time, I'll turn this car around and drive straight back to New York." The second he saw me pull into their driveway, Tane would realize that I was bluffing since there was no way I'd ever drive this car that far. But he had no way of knowing that yet, so at least I could tease him about it until I got there.

"You can't do that," he growled. "The kids would never forgive you for it."

"Hmm"-my lips curved up in a grin that bled into my tone-"are you sure it's your children that you're worried about me disappointing? Or are you pissed about the possibility of losing your alone time with Calliope?"

He sighed, his frustration palpable through the line. "When you're mated, you'll get where I'm coming from."

"I don't see that happening anytime soon, so I guess I'll just have to pretend to understand." I drove past the small downtown area, where most of the lights in the storefronts were already turned off even though it was only early evening. As a night owl, it wasn't a welcome sight. One of the great things about living in New York City was that a ton of places stayed open late, some even around the clock. Not that it really mattered for this trip since I couldn't leave the kids home alone to do some late-night shopping. "As long as you keep in mind that you owe me big for helping you out. I'm not sure that naming rights for the newest baby is going to be enough to pay me back for staying somewhere without a decent restaurant."