“
Fat chance. But there was
something that I wanted to talk to you about Gar.”
“
What’s that
Gav?”
“
Do you happen to have a
couch I can sleep on for a while?”
“
I do actually. I’d offer
you a bedroom, but only the master and the nursery are anywhere
near ready to sleep in. When are you coming home?”
“
Tomorrow. Demi’s engagement
ring is going to be delivered in the afternoon so I figure that
I’ll head out as soon as it gets here.”
“
Engagement ring? You’re
going to propose to a woman you haven’t seen in almost ten
years?”
“
I want to spend the rest of
my life with her. I want to take care of her and the
baby.”
“
I understand that. But I’m
not sure that proposing right away is the best idea
Gav.”
“
It might not be, but it’s
not going to stop me from doing it. Will you promise me that you’ll
keep quiet about this? I want to surprise her.”
“
I won’t tell her. I can’t
guarantee that her sister won’t, but I’ll try to convince her not
to. I do have to have her permission to let you stay here. You know
that right?”
Gavin sighed. “Yes. I understand that
it’s not just your house anymore. Do you think she’ll have a
problem with it?”
“
I hope not. And I can
certainly use the help with the house.”
“
I don’t plan on staying
long anyway. Let me know what she says. I can find another place if
I have to.”
“
Okay. I’ll let you know.
Take care of yourself big brother. It will be good to see
you.”
“
You too Gar. I’ll talk to
you later okay? I need to finish packing.”
“
Okay. Bye Gav.”
“
Bye Gar.”
Garett hung up the phone and wondered
what the best way to approach the subject of letting Gavin stay
with them would be.
Acasia
Garett was in the living room when she
got home that night, an unusual place to find him when he had to
work in the morning. There was a look of caution on his face, and
she wondered what it was that had gone wrong this time.
He stood and kissed her, reaching
around to undo the zipper on the back of her waitress uniform. She
let him undress her and let out a grateful sigh. They had ordered
her a bigger uniform, but it hadn’t yet arrived and the one she
wore now had grown tight with the weight she had gained, and she
certainly hoped the new one would arrive soon.
He took her hand and led her to the
couch. “There’s something that I need to talk to you about
baby.”
She held back another sigh. “What is it
now?”
He squeezed her hand. “It’s not
entirely bad news. Gavin is coming back to town and he needs a
place to stay for a while. I could really use the help on the
house.”
She was silent for a moment, unsure of
what to say. Even if Demi seemed to be handling things well now,
and seemed stronger than ever before, things could change as soon
as Gavin stepped foot in town. Especially if he still had his
sights set on her which Acasia got the uncomfortable feeling that
he did.
“
When will he be
here?”
“
Sometime tomorrow. I
understand if you don’t want him to stay here, but it would make
things easier. We could have the nursery done in no time, and then
maybe you’d be able to sit back and relax every once in a while
instead of helping me out around the house.”
“
I like helping
you.”
“
I know baby, and you’re a
great help, but there’s just so much to do. And you’re tired
sweetheart. I don’t want you doing so much that you make yourself
sick.”
“
You’re so good to
me.”
“
When you’ve got the best
woman in the world, you have to be good to her. Is it okay that
Gavin stays with us, or would you rather he found some place else
to crash until he figures out what he’s going to do with the rest
of his life?”
“
He can stay here. I’m just
worried about Demi. She’s doing so well, and I’m afraid that Gavin
coming back will screw everything up for her.”
“
She’s a big girl Acasia.
And she’s going to be okay, no matter what. She’s strong baby.
Stronger than any of us ever realized.”
“
My dad saw it. He always
saw the good things in people that no one else saw. I know that I
need to let go, but I hate to see her hurt.”
“
I know. I don’t like seeing
my brothers hurt either. But I think that it’s time to let Gavin
and Demi make their own decisions about being together, no matter
what any of the rest of us think.”
“
Yeah. I suppose. I love you
Garett.”
“
I love you too
baby.”
He took her hand and led her upstairs,
not bothering to pick her uniform up off of the floor. And they
enjoyed the last night that they would have together in their house
for a while by making uninhibited love.
Garett
Garett was relieved when Acasia agreed
to let Gavin stay with them. He was looking forward to seeing his
brother again, and happy that Gavin had finally seemed to have made
the decision to put his life back on track. He wasn’t sure that
Demi would accept his brother’s proposal, but he knew that it meant
a lot to his older brother to do it all the same.
They went to bed late that night after
making love, but the exhaustion that came with the morning was
worth it. He knew he downed entirely too many cups of coffee and
definitely felt the caffeine buzz, but he felt ready to face the
day all the same, glad that his fiancé didn’t have to work that day
so that at least she would be able to relax.
Work seemed to drag. They had started
on a new job, and the owner of the house was overly critical. Black
and Sons took pride in every job they did and were known for doing
things right the first time, but the woman whose kitchen they were
remodeling didn’t seem satisfied with anything. It didn’t help that
she was indecisive either. Garett was sure that the job was going
to take twice as long as it should, but his father seemed
determined to pick up as much work as he could lately, and there
was nothing he could do about that since it was still his father’s
company.
He knew the day would come when it
would be his company, and he looked forward to that day for many
reasons. His father had worked entirely too hard for entirely too
long, and his old man seemed to deserve rest and relaxation more
than almost anyone. But he also knew that his father would be
unlikely to retire anytime soon, and that he would probably fight
retirement as long as he could, only handing over control of Black
and Sons to Garett when he absolutely had to.
He hoped that he was able to get home
before Gavin arrived, wanting to save both his fiancé and his
brother from what could certainly be an uncomfortable moment, but
he was beginning to doubt that he would get off of work on time,
let alone early. He was glancing at his watch so much that his
father got irritated with him, and asked him if he had somewhere
better to be.
He gave his father an apologetic grin,
and told him that Acasia had planned a special dinner that night
and that he didn’t want to miss it. It was true, but he wasn’t
going to tell his father the real reason that she had planned a
special dinner. He wasn’t going to get between his brother and his
father, especially when he knew that tempers may fly.
His father sighed and told him to go,
and he left amidst dirty looks from the rest of the crew who all
had to stay. He didn’t like to let the company down, but he wasn’t
going to let his family down either, and he wanted to avoid an even
more uncomfortable reunion between his fiancé and his brother if at
all possible.
Acasia
Acasia was relieved that Garett got
home from work before Gavin arrived. Since she hadn’t seen Gavin
since shortly after he had broken up with her and she was now
engaged to his brother and pregnant with his child, she had a
feeling that their reunion may be made even more uncomfortable, but
she was trying not to dwell on it, as well as trying not to think
about what Gavin being back could mean for her sister.
She was able to distract herself most
of the day with sorting baby things and doing what work she could
on the nursery, but she was so tired by the time afternoon came
that she decided to treat herself to a nap and ended up getting a
late start on dinner.
She was preparing lasagna and was deep
in her work when Garett arrived home around 6:15. He gave her a
sheepish smile and pulled her to him for a quick
embrace.
“
I’m sorry I’m late baby.
Dinner smells good.”
“
I just put it in the oven.
I laid down and ended up sleeping a lot longer than I had planned.
Have you heard from Gavin?”
“
He just texted me. He
should be here in forty-five minutes or so.”
“
That’s good. I hope the
couch is comfortable enough for him.”
“
He’s not planning on
staying long I don’t think, but I’m sure that it will suit him just
fine. Everything is going to be okay baby. It might be a little
awkward at first, but I’m sure that everything will feel normal
again before we know it.”
“
Yeah. Did you tell your dad
that Gavin is coming back?”
“
No. The last thing I want
is to get in the middle of the two of them. I’m going to go change
and then I’ll come back down and help you finish
dinner.”
“
Okay.”
He kissed her and then headed upstairs.
When he came back down, he helped her make the garlic bread and the
salad, and they had just put dinner on the table when there was a
knock at the door. Acasia’s heart started to beat fast as Garett
crossed towards the door, and she wanted to kick herself for
feeling so unsure about seeing Gavin again after all this time when
she was happy with his brother.
Garett
Garett threw open the door and looked
at the brother he hadn’t seen in almost ten years. Gavin looked
older, like he was walking around with the weight of the world on
his shoulders. He shook his head as he embraced his older brother,
and murmured into his ear “You look like shit big
brother.”
Gavin chuckled. “Thanks little brother.
You look good. Happy.”
“
I am happy.”
He stepped back to let Gavin into the
house. His brother looked uncomfortable, and he looked up just in
time to see Acasia meet Gavin’s eyes from across the room. A look
passed between them that he couldn’t quite read and he looked away.
He suddenly wondered if Gavin didn’t have unresolved feelings for
Acasia as well as Demi, or she for him.
He put the thought out of his head, and
helped Gavin bring his stuff in from the truck. Then they sat down
to dinner together. The conversation was strained at first, and it
was clear that all three of them were avoiding the subject of
Acasia’s sister. But it got easier as time went on, and he realized
just how good it felt to have his brother back in his
life.
Gavin wasn’t looking forward to talking
to their father in morning, but Garett had a feeling that their
meeting would probably go a lot better than his brother thought it
would. And it wasn’t as if Black and Sons couldn’t use all the help
they could get at the moment.
Gavin excused himself after dinner and
he could see in Acasia’s eyes that she knew exactly where his
brother was headed, and wasn’t particularly happy with the idea.
But she said nothing, and they retired to the bedroom together,
watching TV until they fell asleep.
Acasia
Acasia was distracted. She was trying
not to think about Gavin’s reunion with Demi, but it was hard not
to. She had been tempted to call her sister and warn her as soon as
Gavin had left, but she had known that it wasn’t the right thing to
do. With as hard as it was, she knew that it was high time she
stepped back and let her sisters live their own lives, no matter
how they decided they wanted to live them.
Laying eyes on Gavin after so long had
left her with a strange feeling. He looked older than his years,
though he was still quite a handsome man. When she’d looked at him
she had realized that she had no longer seen him through the eyes
of love. But she no longer saw him the way she had all the years he
had been gone either. She could no longer find it in herself to
hate him, no matter how much he had hurt her and her
sister.
They went to bed early that night,
falling asleep before Gavin returned. But Garett had a busy day at
work the next day, and she had to work that evening, so she knew
that they both needed the extra rest and tried not to dwell on what
the fact that Gavin hadn’t yet returned meant for her
sister.
Gavin was in a good mood when she and
Garett went downstairs the next morning, and it made her wonder
even more what had gone on between him and Demi. But she again put
the thought out of her head, and went about her day as
usual.
It was while she was at work that she
heard the rumor that Gavin had proposed to Demi. She wanted to
question Garett immediately to find out if he had known about his
brother’s plans, but she figured that even if he had known he had
probably neglected to mention it to her for good reason, knowing
that such news might upset her, so she held her questioning back
until she returned home from work that night.