Brody (17 page)

“Glad to hear it,” he said, grinning. “She’s a great girl. Always thought she was too good for you though.”

I laughed. “Can’t say I disagree, my friend.” I pointed at the photo on the console behind him. “That your family?”

He reached for the framed photo and smiled as he passed it to me. “Yeah. They’re my life, bro. I love what I do, it gives me a lot of satisfaction, but I do it all for them.”

I looked at the smiling faces of two little boys and a beautiful dark-haired woman whose pride shone in her bright blue eyes as she held them, one on each side. “You’re a lucky man.”

“That I am,” he said, studying the picture when I handed it back to him. “You mind if I ask you a question? This is personal, as a friend.”

“Sure.”

“Why didn’t you marry Riley when you had the chance? You used to talk about it when we were in college. What happened?”

“Those poker games we used to play happened.”

Dean threw his head back and laughed. “Damn near lost my car to you one night. I remember them well.”

“For me, the stakes kept getting higher and higher,” I said, the amusement dying. “I made money; I wanted more. I achieved one milestone and kept raising the bar higher. It wasn’t enough that I was good. I wanted to be the best.”

Our eyes locked before Dean snapped his fingers and pointed at me. “And that right there is why I want you to be our head football coach. It’s that drive to be the best. You understand what these kids are going through. You’ve been there.”

I had been there and had the physical and mental scars to prove it. When we were winning, I was a hero. When we were losing, I was a zero, carrying a team and essentially the hopes of a school on my shoulders. Everyone wanted to win, to claim their school was the best.

“You’re sure I’m the right guy for the job?” I shook my head, still sort of stunned this was happening. “You haven’t even seen my resume. Isn’t that how you usually hire people: resumes, first and second interviews, references and criminal checks?”

“We’ll need to do the criminal check, of course, but I know you. I know your family. That’s all the character reference I need, Brody. I know you were a great athlete, a good student. That’s a hell of a lot more than I know about most of the people I hire.”

“I guess,” I said, trying to convince myself he wasn’t offering me this job out of pity.

“Obviously your salary will pale in comparison to what you’re used to making—”

“I don’t care about that,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t need the money anymore. I’ve made enough of that to last the rest of my life.”

He grinned. “I envy you.”

“No, you don’t.” I gestured around his office. “Even if you won the lottery tomorrow, you’d still show up at work, ‘cause what you’re doing here is making a difference. It gives you a purpose. I guess that’s what I’ve been looking for too, man. A purpose.”

“Does that mean you’ll accept my offer?” he asked, looking cautiously optimistic. “Before you say yes, I should also mention it would also include being a gym teacher.”

I thought about how happy Riley, not to mention my brothers and nephews, would be when I told her the news. Yeah, no doubt about it. This was where I belonged.

Extending my hand, I said, “Looks like I’ve got myself a job, my friend.”

***

Macy dragged me from one jewelry store to another, trying on dozens of rings before we finally found the one she swore was made for her sister. It had a two-carat round center stone with half-carat rounds on either side, and I had to admit even I was impressed.

“You think it’ll fit her?” I asked skeptically when Macy had a hard time getting it off.

“It’ll be perfect,” she assured me. “Her fingers are the same size as mine, and she’ll want it to be snug so it won’t slide around.”

“If you say so.” I pulled my black credit card out of my wallet and slid it across the counter to the jubilant saleslady. “I guess you can box that up for me.”

“Of course, sir. I’ll be right back,” she said, taking the ring from Macy.

My future sister-in-law turned to me, her expression wary. “Are you sure about this? You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

“No. Why would you ask that?”

“You just seem a little off today, like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”

I released a pent-up breath. “I do have a lot on my mind. I just accepted a job offer, I’m planning to make an offer on a house, and”—I gestured toward the saleslady—“I’m buying my girlfriend a ring I’m not even sure she’ll accept.”

Macy curled her hand around my forearm. “You have a job? Get outta here. Doing what?”

“Coaching football at Cole and Zane’s school. But don’t say anything about it to your sister. I want her to hear it from me.”

“Did she know you were considering it?” Macy asked.

“Yeah, we talked about it.”

“What about the house? Have you talked any more about that?”

That was another reason I was feeling uneasy. I’d tried talking to Riley about the house last night, but she shut me down, claiming she had a work problem to deal with and couldn’t think about that right now. “No, she was tired and stressed last night, so I didn’t want to push it.”

“That’s probably smart,” Macy said, nodding. “She can get snarky when she’s stressed about work.”

I turned away from the counter where the saleslady was polishing Riley’s ring. “Uh, Mace, something else has been bothering me.”

“What’s that?” she asked, offering me a pack of gum before popping a stick in her mouth when I declined.

“This Stephan guy.”

Macy wrinkled her nose. “What about him?”

“You don’t like him?”

“I think he’s a tight-ass.”

I laughed, putting my arms around her and drawing her close so I could kiss the top of her head. “I love you for saying that, kid. It’s just what I needed to hear.” Drawing back so I could look her in the eyes, I asked, “So you don’t think he’s a better fit for your sister than I am?”

“Are you kidding?” she asked, wide-eyed. “He’d bore her to death the first year of their marriage. I told her the first time I met him it was a mistake. Going from you to him is like going from Space Mountain to the Tea Cups.”

I chuckled. “Thanks, I think.”

“I’m serious,” she said, patting my chest. “You’re thrilling, exhilarating, and scary as hell. He’s safe and boring. You know what you’re going to get with him—a quick ride with a big let-down at the end.”

I frowned, tugging on her long hair. “If that’s a sexual reference, you better watch it. Just thinking about Ri with some other guy makes me wanna lose my lunch.”

She leaned in. “If it makes you feel any better, she said sex with him could never compare to what it was like with you.”

“Macy,” I said, resting my arms on her shoulders, “you do realize I’m going to have to kill you if you don’t shut that pretty little pie hole of yours, don’t you?”

She grinned, blowing a bubble in my face and forcing me to pop it. Since we were in a posh jewelry store where the rings cost as much as most people’s cars, I assumed the manager watching us from behind a sheet of glass thought our behavior was juvenile and highly inappropriate. But I’d never cared much about what anyone thought about me.

“Something else occurred to me,” I said, following Macy to an earring display.

“Ohh, aren’t those pretty?” she asked, pointing at some blue and purple gemstone drops.

“Yeah, real nice,” I said, trying to get her attention. “I should probably talk to your old man before I ask your sister to marry me, don’t you think?”

Macy giggled. “Only if you promise to let me be there.”

“Shut up, smart ass.” Everyone knew there was no love lost between Riley’s parents and me, but I hoped time had softened their resentment toward me. Maybe since I was willing to trade my “delinquent behavior” for a respectable job, they’d be willing to meet me halfway. “I’m serious. I’ve got to talk to him first, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, you probably should. I’ll take you back to their place after we look at the house. The folks should be home from work by then.”

“Sounds good.” Just one more reason to be nervous as hell.

When the saleslady returned, presenting me with a shiny black bag filled with gold tissue paper, I pointed at the earrings Macy had been admiring in the display case. “Better add those.”

Macy’s eyes shot up to meet mine. “Brody, no. I can’t let you—”

“Yeah, you can, kid.” I grabbed the back of her head and kissed her forehead. “Call it an early Christmas present.”

***

“Oh my God, I love this place,” Macy said, bounding up the stairs to the second floor. “It’s perfect, Brody. Not like that castle you used to live in. That was so huge. Way too impersonal. I could never imagine my sister living there. But this is so her!”

Macy’s reassurance made me feel better as I followed her into one of four bedrooms.

She entered a small bedroom with an ensuite bath across from the master bedroom. “This would make a perfect nursery.”

“Nursery?” I felt my throat go dry.

“Yeah.” She frowned at me. “I know you and Riley have talked about kids. You do want a family, don’t you?”

“Well yeah,” I said, running a hand over my head. “But I’ve been so wrapped up in everything else that I didn’t even really think about that.”

Looking sympathetic, she said, “I get that. Your whole life has been turned upside down in a matter of weeks. First you see your dad, then meet your half-brothers, get back together with Riley, decide to buy a house, propose, accept a new job—”

I covered her mouth with my hand. “Please, I’m starting to feel a little nauseous just thinking about it.”
Damn
. Until she’d spelled it out like that, I hadn’t considered the fact every aspect of my life seemed to be changing overnight.

“It’s not too late to take a step back,” she said gently. “You haven’t made an offer on the house or given Riley the ring yet. You can take a little more time to be sure.”

I sat on the end of a twin bed decorated with a frilly pink bedspread and tried to imagine
my
daughter occupying this room. Bedtime stories every night. Medicine when she was sick. Looking for monsters under the bed and in the closet before she would go to sleep. But the best part of all, hearing “I love you, Daddy,” as I closed the door.

“I’m ready,” I said with a shaky laugh. “I just hope your sister is. It’ll slay me if she says no. You know that, right?”

She knelt in front of me, her hands on my knee. “If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that she loves you. She wants to spend her life with you. So if she says no, it’s only because she’s not sure you’re ready.”

“So you think there’s a chance she’ll say no?” I felt panic swelling in my gut.

“There’s always a chance,” Macy said, grabbing my hand. “But you’re missing my point.”

“Which is?” I asked, trying to make sense of what she was saying while my head spun.

“You may need to be patient with her, just like she was patient with you all those years.”

Okay, now I got the point. “You mean, just ‘cause I’m suddenly ready doesn’t mean I can expect her to be.”

“Right.” She stood, crossing her arms. “And what will you do if she says she needs more time?”

“What do you mean, what will I do? What do you think I’ll do?”

“That’s what worries me,” she said, tapping her denim ballerina flat against an off-white shaggy area rug. “You’re not going to bail on her again, are you? If you don’t get the answer you’re looking for right away?”

I’d be lying if I claimed it wouldn’t hurt like hell to hear her say no when I asked her to marry me, but I wouldn’t leave her. Not again. “No, I’m in this for the long haul. The only thing that could make me leave is if she didn’t want me around anymore.” Even though my family was here and Tampa would always feel like home, I couldn’t be here, with reminders of Riley on every corner, if we weren’t a couple anymore.

“Good,” Macy said, looking satisfied as she patted my cheek. “Then I’d say you’re in the right head-space to propose. Now let’s make your agent happy by signing the papers for this house, then I can take you home to have that talk with the folks.” I must have looked ashen as I stood because she linked her arm through mine. “Don’t worry, hon. I’ll protect you.”

“Promise?”

***

I claimed the chair in the family room while Riley’s parents peered down their noses at me from the couch. Macy was next to them, presumably to referee, should the need arise. I hadn’t seen their parents in three years, but apparently time hadn’t softened their hatred toward me. For devout Christians, they sure had a lot to learn about forgiveness.

“What are you doing here, Brody?” Dr. Myers asked, folding his arms as his dark-rimmed glasses edged down his nose.

Macy gave me a reassuring look before I took a deep breath and dove right in. “I know I’m not your favorite person, but I’m here for one reason—because I love your daughter.”

Mrs. Myers, who’d always been marginally more accepting than her husband, said, “I don’t understand. You and Riley broke up years ago.”

There was no easy way to tell the truth, so I just spit it out. “That’s not entirely true. We kept seeing each other until she and”—I couldn’t even say his name without fighting the urge to throw up—“Stephan started dating.”

Macy’s mother glanced at her. “Did you know about this?” When her daughter nodded, she asked, “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“It was Riley’s place to tell you if she wanted you to know,” Macy said, raising her chin in defiance. She’d always been the troublemaker, the one to give her parents a hard time.

Riley had always tried to play by their rules though. Except when it came to me. When they told her to stop seeing me, she told them to back the hell off or she was moving out.
My girl.
I remembered how she’d gone to the mat to defend me and our relationship when her parents challenged her.

“Fine,” her father said, removing his reading glasses. “So you’ve continued seeing each other. Is that what you wanted to tell us?”

I clasped my hands in front of my mouth, resting my elbows on my knees as I processed my thoughts. I hadn’t come here with a game plan or rehearsed speech, but maybe I should have. “I’ve made some decisions about my life I thought you might want to know about.”