Not the Only One (Book 1 in the Four of Us Trilogy)

Thirty-Six

Rachel

After dinner, Miles and I walked out to his Jeep. He opened the door and leaned against it, and I hopped in the driver's seat, pulling him in between my knees.

"What are you going to do?" I asked, holding both of his hands in mine.

He sighed. "I don't know. I obviously can't ask my dad." He thought for a moment. "What kind of relationship does Luke have with his father?"

"They've gotten close, from what Brooke has told me," I said, intertwining my fingers with his.

He looked at our hands and then at me. "Maybe after I tell Luke what we found out today, he'll feel comfortable talking to his dad?"

I considered this and nodded. "I think that's a better plan than trying to talk to yours."

"Okay. I have to go talk to him."

"Do you want me to go?"

"Yes, but you can't. I have to do this by myself."

"Okay. But let me know how it goes after?" I asked, sliding out of his Jeep and wrapping my arms around him in a bear hug.

He hugged me back, tight. "Of course. I love you, Rachel."

"I love you too, Miles."

He kissed me goodbye before driving away. 

Luke

"Hello?"

"Luke. I need to talk to you. I have information about the situation from earlier." 

"My parents just got home, so let's go get some food and we can talk there."

"Okay, meet me at Pineapple Willy's?" he asked. It was nice and loud in there; no one would overhear us.

"I'll be there in 10."

My parents were in their room, unpacking and cleaning up after their fishing trip.

"Mom, Dad, I'm going to eat with Brooke. I'll be back in an hour, is that okay?" I asked, peeking my head into their bedroom.

"Sure, baby, see you later," my mom said, blowing me a kiss.

Forcing a smile, I left the room and went to my car, speeding to Pineapple Willy's.

I entered the restaurant and Miles was at a table in the very back corner. He looked up, and his eyes looked tired. "Hey, Luke," he greeted.

"Hey," I said, pulling my wallet out of my back pocket and setting it on the table with my keys.

"I ordered you a Coke," he said.

"That's great, thanks. What did you find out?" 

He laughed darkly. "Well, I went over to Rachel's for dinner, and her dad and I got to talking. Turns out her parents graduated with my dad. And..." He took a deep breath.

"And what?" I asked, leaning forward.

Right then, the waitress came to take our order. We both ordered the first thing we saw on the menu without even paying attention, and as soon as she walked away, Miles spoke again.

"My dad's last name wasn't always Jefferson."

I narrowed my eyes. "What?"

"His last name was Salazar."

My mouth fell open. "Oh my God."

"Yeah. It's proof. Our fathers are brothers, Luke. Which means..."

"We're cousins."

To my surprise, Miles started laughing.

"What could possibly be funny right now?" I asked, crossing my arms.

But he was only laughing harder, throwing his head back and howling. I snorted once, my shoulders shaking. 

"Come on, Luke," he said between laughs. "You and I are related. After all these years of me being a total dick—which is something my dad started—we are cousins!"

I shook my head, putting it on the table and banging my forehead against it slightly. "This is too much," I said, gasping for breath.

When we both caught our breath and our hysterics were under control, we once again faced the gravity of the situation.

I spoke first. "We can't just let this sit and go away, can we?"

Miles looked up at me. "No. We have to do something. We have to sort this out."

I took a deep breath. "Let me talk to my dad, okay? I can't promise I'll do it today, but soon."

"That's the best thing we can do, I think." He sat back as the waitress brought our food and placed it in front of us.

I scarfed down the popcorn shrimp and Miles picked at his cheesecake.

When the waitress brought the check, I asked her to split it, but Miles put his hand over it.

"I got this, cuz," he said, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

"Fine, but I'll get it next time," I said, putting my card back in my wallet.

"Deal."