"Well, I'm not." He let out a deep, quiet sigh. "What?" Annoyed again, I shot him a challenging look. "Don't you get it?" He stroked my hair, and I felt that he was trying to comfort me as well as seeking comfort for himself. "I didn't even care about all of this before I met you. I had more than I needed." "So why?" "Because I have you," he said simply. "Everything that I do and will do now is for you." * I turned the radio on, pressing the button until I found a song that matched my mood. When someone started rapping about sleeping with multiple women at the same time, I gave up and switched to the news. Cameron had left for work yesterday. He'd be gone for three days and two nights this time, and I already missed him. I helped him pack his bag, because left up to him, he'd just bring a change of clothes. I stashed in his pack a bottle of sunscreen, a bottle of Tylenol, his phone charger, some cash just in case, lip balm, and several other items I thought was necessary. He let out a small laugh when he saw what was in it, shrugged, and kissed me goodbye. The sun threatened to burn my eyeballs, so I flipped the visor down, was going to reach for my shades in the glove compartment when I remembered I was driving Cameron's truck. My trusted twenty-two-year-old Honda was now metal scrap. Rick had hired a couple of new loader operators. One of them accidentally backed over my parked car at The Yard and totalled it. Lucky I wasn't in it when it happened, or I'd be bird feed by now. That was almost two weeks ago. I had no idea what Cameron said to the driver, but the new driver had stayed away from me since then. Since Cameron had two trucks—his personal and work vehicle, he told me to drive his for now until I got my own. His truck was pristine. It was obvious he barely drove it. I could still smell the new leather scent. The seats were soft, the air-conditioner a blessing from the Lord, the v8 engine a dream. I had forgotten how it felt to drive a brand new vehicle. I felt like a million bucks. I frowned and turned the volume up when I heard more news about break-ins around my dad's neighborhood. They hadn't caught the perpetrators yet. They think it was a man and a woman doing the burglaries and they were targeting businesses in the area. "Hey, Dad," I said as soon as I entered our shop. My dad was sweeping the floor and didn't even notice when I came in. "Hey, Kara Koala. Good morning. You have breakfast yet?" "I had toast." "Coffee?" "Done. You?" "What was that, sweetheart?" I felt my forehead crease with worry. My dad had been absent-minded lately. If I were being honest with myself, which I was, it started after the fiasco with his brother Andrew about the shares at the shop. Sometimes my dad would be really quiet, staring into space for a while before he brought himself back to the present. I knew he loved his siblings very much, and I couldn't understand why out of all of them, even if my dad didn't admit it, I knew he had a soft spot for Andrew in his heart. "Hey, Kar." Dylan came in, bringing a stack of printing paper he set on my desk. One side of his face had sleep lines. He'd lost the baby fat in the past few months he'd been working out with Caleb and Cameron. His jawline had become more prominent and he had a hint of those abs he'd been dying to get which he never failed to show off whenever he got back from the gym according to my Dad. "Here's the thing you asked for." "Thanks," I said. "Hey, did you guys hear about the break-ins?" "Yeah, all over the news." Dylan looked at me smugly, scratched the tip of his nose. "What?" "Got cameras installed all over the place. Cam knew this guy who gave us a huge discount on installation." "He did, didn't he?" Cameron had been insistent on installing them at my place, even before the burglaries happened, but no way I wanted cameras where I live. It felt like an invasion of my privacy. "Yuppers. I'm going to meet a friend later for dinner, Dad. Don't wait up." "Who's this friend?" I asked. "Just someone I hang out with." Dylan sent me a small smile, then walked off. Dad said Dylan had changed subtly ever since that incident with my mother about the shares of the shop. I had noticed it too. He was less bubbly and talkative and would get into these dark moods sometimes. Dad said he wasn't worried because it might not feel good for Dylan's heart, but it was good in a way that it built up his character. "Kara, you should be careful too. Especially when you come home at night. I can't protect you where you live now," my dad said. "It's okay. Cameron stays most nights." "Uh-huh." "Are you going to give me the birds and bees talk now?" My dad blushed. "Oh well now, Kara." I laughed. "It's okay, Dad. I can protect myself." "Still. Install those alarms. We've put up those cameras in the shop that Dylan can watch on his phone." He scratched his head. "Isn't that something? The world is one big robot." "It's the internets, Dad, plus—" "Hey, Kar!" Dylan opened the door halfway, poked his head in. "I saw Cameron's truck outside. You still driving it or is he here?" I rolled my eyes. "Still driving it." He pouted. I guessed even if he changed, his puppy adoration for Cameron hadn't. "You should let me drive it one of these days," he suggested. "Why?" "Why not?"