Jessie smiles at him and I consider clearing my throat. Gavin’s room is one of the smaller in the house. There’s only space for a four-poster bed, a nightstand, a wardrobe, and a small desk that has a globe, a baseball, and a glove on top, all from childhood. He never liked Romeo and didn’t bother to make this room his own. But the small size, the big bed and the soft light from the window make the setting intimate.

Gavin takes a strawberry and pops it in his mouth. “Will was the reader.”

“Really?” Jessie asks.

Is that curiosity? I abort my plan to interrupt and step back from the doorway.

“He always had his nose in a book. When we were kids I’d catch him at midnight with a flashlight and a book. Had to warn him a few times our blasted father was coming.”

“Why?” Jessie asks.

“Oh, he’d chuck Will’s books in the trash.”

I think I hear an angry choking noise from Jessie.

“Yeah,” Gavin says. “The librarian, Mrs. Axham, hated Will. She thought he lost the books on purpose. Finally she got him banned from checking out books. So then, I checked them out for him and kept them in my room. I never read them though. I’m more the adventure type.”

Jessie says something, but I can’t hear it. Gavin laughs and I step toward the doorway.

“Why didn’t we spend more time together?” Gavin asks. “You were here all these years. You’re so nice. So fun. So friendly.”

Alright, that’s enough.

I step through the door and clear my throat. “I brought lunch.”

Jessie looks up quickly and then pink blossoms in her cheeks.

“Gavin, you feeling better?”

Gavin smiles, “I feel great.”

I step into the room and set the tray next to the coffee on the nightstand.

“Jessie came by to make sure I was okay. She’s been keeping me company.” Gavin gives her a dopey smile.

A tic starts in my forehead.

“You okay?” Gavin asks.

“Fine.”

He tilts his head and studies me.

Jessie bunches the skirt of her dress in her hands and refuses to look at me.

Gavin lets out a long yawn and glances at Jessie. “I’m pretty tired. Maybe you’ll read to me some more? I like it when you read to me.”

I see red. If he weren’t my brother and laid up with a broken tailbone, I’d put him in a headlock. I want to snatch up the book and take it back. I can’t believe she’s using the book I gave her to woo my brother.

“Scoot over,” I say.