It had been a week since the funeral for Uncle Bram, and I had been trying to keep Martin from getting so depressed. Wesley had been helping in that department without even knowing it. I think taking him in and off the streets was a generous move on my dad’s part and it’s been good for Martin.

Martin has struggled the most with the passing of our uncle, but he has taken a liking to Wesley. Since Martin’s been the little brother for so long, Wesley’s presence gave him a shot at being a big brother.

We had just finished dinner, and the four of us were playing video games. It had been the first time since the death of Uncle Bram that I had heard my brothers laugh and seem like their usual selves. Wesley liked watching us play but it turned out that he’d never played a video game before.

“Mason,” Uncle Dean had poked his head into the room and called my name. “Can you come here for a minute? I need to talk to you.”

I nodded and handed Kyler the controller and left the room. My uncle was in the hallway and asked me to take a walk with him. Once we were outside, we naturally found the cleared path that led from the house to the woods and to the other side of the lake. Since my dad wasn’t home yet, I worried that something bad had happened.

“Is everything okay?” I questioned. “Is Dad okay?”

Uncle Dean put his arm around my shoulder and nodded, confirming that Dad was fine.

“Nothing to worry about, Mason. Your dad is still at the bakery.”

There was a long pause as we walked along the path under the cover of the trees.

“Mason, where do you picture yourself going?” I wasn’t sure what he meant exactly. I thought my life was already planned out. “What are your long-term goals, Mason?”

“Well, I thought eventually that I’d take Dad’s position with the business when the time comes.”

Uncle Dean laughed under his breath and gave my back a pat.

“Good, Mason. I’m pleased to hear that you’re interested and planning on your father’s position. You know how these things are supposed to work, right?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“With me being your father’s remaining brother, I would be next in line, and then you.” I nodded as we continued our walk. “Those are the plans set forth by my great, great grandfather. But, I have concerns that your father may stray from that plan.”

“What? Why? What do you mean?”

I was confused by this and didn’t understand why Uncle Dean thought that my Dad would do something different.

“Thom seems, oh how should I put it...distracted by Wesley.”

I frowned, not understanding what he meant by that.

“Dad’s trying to help Wesley get on his feet. He’s homeless—”

“I know what he is, Mason,” he snapped at me and stopped walking.

What was he so pissed about? I was really confused as I tried to think about what I was missing. My uncle paced in front of me and then picked up a stick and threw it against a tree.

“Mason, your father could grow close to Wesley and begin trusting him. Which would then put all of us at risk. Thom could turn the business over to Wesley.”

I laughed and looked around. Dean wasn’t making any sense. Wesley was just a fourteen-year-old kid off the street.

“Don’t laugh, Mason. Your position and my position could be in jeopardy.”

I stared at him as he continued to give me reasons or hints that Dad would possibly consider Wesley. I suppose it kind of made sense.

“Mason, do you really want someone other than a Van Doorn running our family business?”

I shook my head.

“Good. Here’s what we need to do. You need to make Wesley feel unwelcome and unwanted. Make him feel like he’s in the way and a bother.”

“What?”

He must be joking. I stared back at the house through the trees. Wesley was just a kid.

“Just make some comments to him here and there. With some luck, he’ll run away and leave. You and I need him to leave on his own.”

“But—"

“It’s not that hard. Make some comments to him. Make sure you do it when you’re alone and also in front of your brothers. You’re the oldest, and Kyler and Martin will soon follow suit. They look up to you.”

I looked down and thought about it. Martin and Kyler probably would eventually join in. But was this the right thing to do? Wesley was only fourteen. Dad had said that Wesley had had a rough life and that we needed to be kind to him. We were raised to be kind to everyone and help those in need. Wesley was in need.

“Mason, don’t be dim about this. He’s a danger. He could go to the authorities about the business. Do you want your dad locked up?”

I shook my head.

“Neither do I.”

Uncle Dean walked closer to me until he was within a foot. He pulled out an envelope and opened it to show me what was inside. Tablets. My eyes shot to his.

“Mason, I know you’ve tried our tablets from the lab,” he said. I remained quiet and didn’t admit or deny anything. “These tablets are a little different,” Uncle Dean said.

I had heard about tablets being out there on the street that were partially pure or made with a mystery blend of stuff. That was dangerous shit, and my dad always told us that if we were going to experiment and try them that he wanted us to only try what was made in our family lab. It was all that could be safe and trusted.

I stared at the light green tablets and frowned. The ones made in our family lab were pink. Where did he get these?

“What makes these so different?” I asked.

“These are going to help you do your job of making Wesley feel unwanted.”

“What’s in them and where did you get them?”

“I had them made just for you, Mason. They came from our lab.”

“Ours are pink. These are green.”

“You’re very observant, Mason,” Uncle Dean said sarcastically.

What was wrong with him? He had never treated me like this.

“Sometimes I wonder if you’re Thom’s kid after all. Maybe you take after your mother.”

I was shocked he had said that to me. I didn’t even know how to respond.

“I had the green tablets made in our lab. These are specially enhanced tablets that will put you in the right frame of mind to handle this task.”

“What’s in them?”

“Don’t worry about that part. I made these myself, just for you. Take one every other day and everything will be fine. I will give you four each week at the family dinner. You’re going to love the way these make you feel, and you’re going to want to take one each day. Which is why I’m keeping the quantity limited.”

I took hold of the envelope that contained four pale green tablets and looked at them. Instead of having the “VD” stamped on both sides, these had a “V” stamped on one side and the “D” stamped on the other.

“Remember, these are made just for you. You are not to give them to Kyler or Martin, and you’re not to tell them about them. Understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” Uncle Dean said and gave my cheek a few firm pats until I moved my face away. “Take one in the morning, and I’ll call you sometime in the evening.”

He left me standing alone in the woods with the envelope. I didn’t really think Wesley was a risk…but if what my uncle said had any truth to it, I wasn’t going to chance my position in the family going to anyone not named Van Doorn.