“Hold on,” I mutter as I hop up to find a hair tie. I wrestle my hair into a messy bun and pull it tight as I sit back down in front of my vanity.

My parents are both on the call now, so I wave to them as well.

“Hi kids! You all look so good! I love seeing your smiling faces like this,” my mom croons. “How are things at home, Maddie?”

“Things are good. Quiet, mostly. It was hot today, so I had a few friends over and we used the pool. Other than that, nothing to report.”

“Are you just going to lay out by the pool all summer, Maddie girl?” Rhett teases. “Why don’t you go get a job?”

I scoff at his comment but hold my tongue. Tori play-punches him, and my mom starts in on him right away.

“Maddie worked hard all school year to maintain her grades and make the dean’s list, Everhett. She has her whole life ahead of her to work. She’s allowed to just relax and hang out at home this summer.”

“Yeah, Rhett,” I pile on. “Not everyone wants to grow up and be a workaholic.”

My brother rolls his eyes but doesn’t back down. “I’m just saying. We don’t have any plans to come up that way until Labor Day, and even then, we’ll probably just go to the cabin. You’re gonna be bored sitting around Hampton all summer, and boredom usually means trouble for you.”

The way he says “trouble” makes the hairs on the back of my damp neck stand at attention.

I glare at my brother through the screen, searching his face for some sort of tell. There’s no way he knows I was at The Oak on Friday night, right?

I wouldn’t put it past Jake to call Rhett and tattle. But my brother’s direct, and he doesn’t bullshit with me. It’s not his style to make off-handed comments just to see if he can get a rise out of someone. If he knows something, he’d call me out privately. Wouldn’t he?

I stare at the screen for a few more seconds as my mom yammers on about the river boat cruise they booked for later this summer. My brother’s listening intently, smiling and rubbing his wife’s leg.

No, I decide. He doesn’t know. And I intend to keep it that way.

I slip my phone under the vanity and send off a text.

Maddie: Jakey! Do you have any days off this week? I’m working on a surprise for Tori and Rhett’s anniversary, and I need your help.

My phone vibrates in my hand, and I have to fight back a grin. That was almost too easy.