Free The Debt 4 by Kelly Favor Page A

on the bed.
    Danny came into the room slowly, as if he
thought he might be attacked.   He
seemed wary, especially of Jake.
    Seeing them side-by-side, Raven was
surprised at how small her brother looked in comparison.   Danny had always had a big personality,
so somehow she’d always thought of him as being a big guy.   But in truth he was short, kind of
flabby, and he seemed intimidated by Jake’s stature.
    “When Mom told me you were coming to
visit,” Danny said, “she didn’t really mention that you were going to show up
like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.   I
didn’t know this was going to be some sort of royal visit.”
    “Danny, please, don’t start in on me,”
Raven said.   “We haven’t seen each
other for years and the first thing you do is act rude and angry, like you want
me to leave already.”
    “Because I do want you to leave,” Danny
told her.
    “Wow, that’s really nice.”   She looked up at the ceiling and prayed
for strength.
    “You can’t just leave for years at a time
and expect to show up out of the blue and get the red carpet rolled out,
Raven.”   Danny glared at her.   Then he looked at Jake and his
expression got even less friendly.   “And just because you’re seeing some big celebrity, don’t expect me to
fall on my knees and kiss your feet.   I couldn’t possibly care less who my sister dates.”
    Jake smiled at him.   “I get that you and your sis have
problems, but I never did anything to you, partner.”
    “You’re not my partner, dude.   You’re just some jackass who sings and
dances, and I really don’t appreciate you two coming here and getting Mom and
Dad all stirred up.   Dad’s sick, you
know, and he doesn’t need the stress.”
    “Why didn’t anyone even try and tell me
he got sick?   And what exactly does
he have?” Raven said.
    “He has COPD,” Danny told her, “caused by
smoking.”
    “What does that even mean?”
    Jake glanced at Raven.   “That means he’s got Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease.   It’s a
progressive disease, not curable, and the treatments are of limited
effectiveness, although lifestyle changes can help.”
    “What is this dude, a walking Web MD or
something?” Danny said, gesturing to Jake with a complete lack of respect.
    “No, I just have friends from the
military who have COPD, so I’ve done a bit of reading and had some discussions
with physicians about it,” Jake said, keeping his cool.
    Danny wouldn’t look at Jake, instead training
his attention on Raven.   “You two
should just go,” he said.   “Why do
you want to come here and mess with everybody?   We were doing just fine without you.”
    “If you want me to go so badly, I’ll go,”
she said, standing up and meeting his gaze.   “But I think you’re being a real
asshole, Danny, and that’s saying something, even for you.”
    They glared at each other for a long time
and then Danny started to smile a little bit.   Raven was cracking a smile too, and she
wasn’t even sure why.
    “This is silly,” Jake told them.   “You two care about one another, that
much is obvious.   We’re only staying
in town for a day or two at most.   Can’t you just get along, ignore each other if you have to, until the
visit’s over?”
    Danny sighed, putting his hands on his
hips.   “Fine,” he said, his
shoulders slumping as if he’d given in after all.   “I’m sorry I was so rude to you and your
boyfriend,” Danny told her.
    “Thank you,” Raven told him.   “And I’m sorry I didn’t call and check
on Dad.   That was wrong of me.”
    “Whatever.   Let’s just try and be nice,” Danny
agreed.   “Mom and Dad are happy
you’re here, so I’ll be happy too.”   He held out his hand.   “Truce?”
    “Truce,” she agreed, and then they shook.
    Jake grinned at both of them.   “We should go and celebrate this little
victory with a drink.   Isn’t there a
bar around here we could go to?”
    “What about