Free Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys by Kate Brian

you’re dying to know why I know this.)
    Observation #2: Boys lose their cool when snagged by their parents.
    Once inside the house, Evan is not so stealthy. Of course, maybe if he hadn’t stopped on the stairs to brush the eyelash off my cheek and have me make a wish, we would never have gotten caught. (Ahhhhhhh!!!!)
    Observation #3: Boys have one-track minds.
    Unfortunately, Evan’s train is not on MY track. (I know, major letdown.) But who knows? Maybe his train will be making an unscheduled stop in Meganville.
    Okay, sorry. No more metaphors this late at night. I promise.

Five
    Megan sat back in the window seat after practice on Wednesday and stared at the list of sites about Asperger’s syndrome on Google. For a disorder she had never heard of until yesterday, there sure was a lot of information out there. She clicked on the first site and started to read.
    Downstairs, Sean’s band was playing some disorganized tune that sounded vaguely familiar. Megan was on edge, expecting every second to hear a knock on the door, waiting for the judgment to be handed down.
    Asperger’s syndrome is a developmental disorder characterized by sustained impairment of social interaction and the development of repetitive patterns of interests, behaviors, and activities, Megan read. That sounded about right. But what to do to make Miller comfortable around her? She scrolled down through causes and comparisons to autism and finally found a section she could use. “Living with Asperger’s.”
    The back door slammed and Megan cracked the blinds slightly so she could see out the window. Finn walked across the yard and into the toolshed on the far side. Megan watched andwaited for him to come out, wondering what he needed back there. She waited. And waited. No Finn. Why was he hanging out in the toolshed?
    â€œMom! Mom! Ian’s sitting on my Patriots hat and he won’t let me have it back!” Caleb shouted at the top of his lungs.
    â€œIt’s my hat! No one said you could have it!” Ian shouted back.
    â€œYuh-huh! Dad did! He said you outgrew it, fathead!”
    Megan stifled a laugh.
    â€œIan! Caleb! Get down here!” John bellowed, cutting the argument short. “In fact, all of you, in the living room! Someone get Finn out of the backyard, please. We’re having a family meeting.”
    Megan’s heart stopped beating and she froze. Maybe if she didn’t make a noise, they would forget she was here. There was a general grumbling among the boys, but from the sounds in the hallway, they were all trailing out of their rooms and down the stairs. The music from the garage was cut dead with a crash of cymbals and Miller went outside to get Finn. Apparently these family meetings were serious business.
    For a long, bizarre moment, Megan was enveloped by complete and utter silence. And then it happened.
    â€œMegan? Would you join us, please?” John called.
    Megan closed her eyes. Setting her computer aside, she took a deep breath and headed downstairs. From just a few steps down she could see the entire living room and all the boys sitting on the U-formation couches like they were waiting at a doctor’s office.
    She glanced at Evan, who was looking right at her. Somehow he managed to shrug with his eyes, like, “What can you do?”
    Megan tromped down the last few stairs, feeling everyone watching her. Regina and John stood in front of the fireplace, facing their sons. There was a space saved between Finn and Doug on the big couch in the center. A quick glance around the room told her that was exactly where she fit in heightwise. Apparently Miller was in charge of the seating arrangements.
    â€œMegan, would you sit next to Finn, please?” Regina asked.
    â€œSure,” Megan said, wiping her palms on her jeans.
    She squeezed uncomfortably into the tight spot and Doug made an elaborate shift, turning his knees away from her so that no part of his body was