Chapter 73. Unspoken Needs

Morning sunlight spilled through the kitchen windows, soft and golden, catching in the steam curling from coffee mugs. Jared stood by the stove flipping pancakes. Myla sat at the counter nursing her second cup of coffee, still half asleep, while Beck scrolled through emails on his phone, humming some old rock song off-key.

“Your humming sounds like a dying cat,” Jared muttered, tossing a pancake onto the plate with a flourish.

“Jealousy doesn’t look good on you,” Beck shot back without looking up.

Hayden chuckled quietly from his seat at the end of the table, his crutches leaning against the wall beside him. “You two should take this act on the road. Call yourselves The Bickering Brothers.”

Beck grinned, unbothered. “You just want in on the profit cut, boss man.

“Of course,” Hayden said. “I’d be your manager. Someone needs to keep you both from setting yourselves on fire.”

Myla laughed mid-bite. “Too late for that. They’re already burnt out