Page 100 of The Leaving Kind

Cam aimed for the stairs, as though distance could save him. He found his brother in the living area of the apartment, reclined on the couch with his socked feet propped up on a pillow. He had an elastic bandage wrapped around one ankle.

“What happened?” Cam asked.

Nick glanced toward the door to the stairs, then back at Cam. “Where is Oliver?”

“Cooking fungus.” Cam shuddered.

The trademark awkward grin flashed across Nick’s face. He tucked his hair behind one ear and nodded toward his propped ankle. “Dancing lessons.”

“Dancing lessons.”

“I wanted to learn how to do the tango.”

“Should I ask why?”

“The proposal. I thought—”

Cam held up a forestalling hand. “Just ask him, Nick. Make a nice meal, sit him down, and push a ring box across the table.”

“But—”

“It’s one moment. It’s the ever after that counts.”

“People reminisce about the proposal, though.”

“So make the meal really nice.”

Nick frowned at his ankle.

No doubt they’d be having this conversation again. Hopefully not with Nick in a body cast because he’d decided to take up skywriting.

“Do you need to talk through it some more?” he asked before flopping into the chair next to the couch.

“No. I’ll text you when I have a menu plan.”

Cam chuckled. “You do that.”

“Why are you here?”

And they were down to business. “Jorge and I found some land.”

Nick’s eyebrows jumped upward. “Where?”

“Right off the turnpike. Less than a mile from the tree farm. It’s a part of the six acres we cleared for that guy.” He didn’t know how much detail Nick had retained from their brief conversations about his new business but supposed a detail like the number six would stick in his mind.

Nick nodded. “How much does he want for it?”

“Twenty thousand.”

“That’s a good price.”

“I know.”

“Do you have twenty thousand dollars?”

Cam pressed his lips together. Nick bumped one hip upward as though reaching for his wallet. He pulled out his phone, instead.

Holding up one hand, Cam called a halt to whatever it was he was doing. “Jorge has the money, but I want to partner equally with him and I don’t want that partnership to start out with me owing him anything.”