Jay chuckled. “You are in deep little
brother.”
“
How did you know that Nikki
was the woman you wanted to spend the rest of your life
with?”
His brother was quiet for a moment,
leading him to believe again that something was up with him and
Nikki.
“
I’ve known since I was
thirteen that Nikki was the one for me. But life gets in the way
sometimes you know? If you love Acasia, tell her. You’ll regret it
if you don’t, just ask Gavin.”
“
You know about him and Demi
too?”
“
Of course I do. You would
have had to have been blind not to see it. Even Acasia saw it back
then. She just never wanted to admit it to herself. If things are
meant to be with you and Acasia, it will work out.”
Garett was tempted to question his
brother about Nikki again, but again, he realized that if Jay
wanted to talk about whatever was going on, he would. “I suppose. I
guess I should probably hold off on buying the engagement ring
huh?”
Jay chuckled. “That might be a good
idea. Have you talked to Gavin lately?”
“
He’s going crazy over Demi.
Shit, I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone that he’s still in love with
her.”
“
I knew he ran away from
her. I thought it was Acasia he was running away from at first, but
then I realized that it couldn’t have been her. Everyone expected
them to get married, then Gavin dumped her and next thing you know
he’s leaving town. Nikki saw them together the night he left. It
wasn’t until years later that she told me though. She wants to
protect Demi just as much as Acasia does.”
“
Demi isn’t as vulnerable as
everyone thinks she is. She’s got a strength that none of us
saw.”
“
People see what they choose
to see. Gavin isn’t who everyone thinks he is either. He never was.
I always knew that he felt like the black sheep. I think he screwed
things up on purpose because he was afraid he would never live up
to Dad’s standards. The fact that Mom and Dad almost broke up
scares him, makes him afraid that if their marriage can almost fail
that he’ll never be good enough to make it work with a woman,
especially one he cares about as much as he cares about
Demi.”
“
You know about that too
huh? I thought I was the only one.”
“
Nah, Mom told me right
before Nikki and I got married. I think she wanted me to understand
that no marriage is perfect, no matter how good it looks from the
outside looking in.” Sammi’s sudden wailing cut in then, and Jay
sighed. “I have to go Gar. She’s teething and she is miserable.
Tell Gavin to call me if you talk to him again. Things will work
out with you and Acasia. I love you little brother.”
“
I will. I love you too Jay.
Give Sammi a kiss for me.”
“
I will. Bye
Gar.”
“
Bye Jay.”
Garett hung up his phone. His house
felt empty without Acasia. He tried to distract himself by working
on refinishing the kitchen cabinets, but it didn’t work. He
returned his tools back to the toolbox, and grabbed his truck keys
from the hook, thinking that a drive might clear his
head.
He drove around town aimlessly for a
while, managing to avoid the Brown house. But thirty minutes after
he’d left home, he found himself driving down her street. Her car
wasn’t in the driveway, and neither was her mother’s. He remembered
distantly that Heather Brown was out with his mother, shopping for
baby items for Demi. They were planning a baby shower. He wondered
how Demi was doing, wondered whether she knew where his beautiful
girlfriend was hiding. He hadn’t talked to Demi himself in a while,
and since he still considered her a friend, he decided to give her
a call, knowing all the while that he was going to end up grilling
her about Acasia.
He pulled over and dialed Demi’s
number. She answered with a “Hello” that sounded full of caution,
and Garett’s heart seemed to skip a beat.
“
Hey Dem. How are
ya?”
“
I’m fine Garett. Listen, if
you’re calling about Acasia . . .” She paused for a moment, then
said “She just needs a little time by herself to think things
through.”
“
She’s going to break up
with me isn’t she? Demi, please talk to me.”
“
It’s not my place Gar. And
I’m the last person that should be giving you relationship advice
anyway.”
Garett wondered how Demi felt about his
brother and was tempted to ask her, but he had promised Gavin that
he would keep his feelings quiet. He had already stuck his foot in
his mouth with Jay, and he didn’t want to do it again with Demi,
especially since she was the object of his brother’s
affection.
“
I’m sorry Dem. I haven’t
had the chance to tell you congratulations yet. Congrats on your
baby.”
“
Thank you. Don’t worry
about Acasia. She’s just got a lot on her mind. She’s crazy about
you Gar.”
“
I thought so, but she’s
been avoiding my calls all day. And she’s not at the house. I guess
your Mom is still out with mine, planning your baby shower. Damn, I
guess maybe it was supposed to be a surprise. I’m
sorry.”
Demi laughed. “It’s okay. It was
supposed to be a surprise, but Mom accidentally told me already
anyway. I’ll be back in town next week.”
Garett knew that he had to call Gavin,
as he had promised, but he wasn’t looking forward to stepping in
the middle of his brother’s would be relationship when he had
somehow made such a mess of his own.
“
That’s great. You moving
back home?”
“
Hardly. I’m renting the
Gaines house. How’s your remodeling going?”
“
I’ve been more than a
little distracted since Acasia moved back. I feel like I’ve hardly
made any progress.”
Demi was silent for a moment, and
Garett knew there was something she wanted to say to
him.
“
Demi, you know something
don’t you?”
“
Even if I do, Gar, it’s not
my place to tell you. You have to talk to Acasia.”
“
But how am I supposed to
talk to her when she won’t answer her phone? Did she run away from
me? What did I do wrong? She must have mentioned something to
you.”
Demi sighed. “She’s going to kill me
for telling you this, but she booked a room in Trent for a few
days. Some shithole called “Off the Beaten Track” or something. I
don’t know what room she’s in though. I’ll try to get it out of her
and if I can, I’ll text it to you. Good luck Garett. You’ve made my
sister really happy. Happier than I’ve seen her in a long time. But
she’s scared. Be careful Gar, and please don’t hurt my sister. I
don’t think she could take it again.”
“
The last thing I’ve ever
wanted to do is hurt her Dem. I love her.”
“
Then tell her. I think she
needs to hear it. Have you talked to Jay lately?”
“
I just talked to him.
Something is up with him and Nikki isn’t it?”
“
Yeah, I think so too. But
of course Nikki isn’t going to tell anyone anything until she’s
ready. It’s hard to believe that Nikki and Jay. . . I can’t say it.
It’s practically unimaginable to think of them not being together.
They’re so damned perfect together.”
“
Yeah, I know. Thank you
Demi. I really appreciate this.”
“
No problem. Um, Garett can
I ask you something?”
“
Sure.”
“
Gavin. . . Is he planning
on coming back home?”
“
I don’t know Dem. He asks
about you sometimes.”
“
Does he?”
“
Yeah.”
Garett knew that if he said too much
more, he would be tempted to let his brother’s secret out, so he
decided to change the subject.
“
I’m sure Nikki and Jay are
fine. Maybe they’re worried about money or something. I don’t know.
I’m sure things will work themselves out. If anyone can make it
through a rough patch, it’s Jay and Nikki. I’m gonna let you go now
Dem. I guess we’ll see you soon huh?”
“
Next weekend.”
“
Are you excited about
coming back home?”
“
Mostly. I’ll talk to Acasia
and then text you. Bye Gar.”
“
Bye Dem. And thank you
again.”
“
Yep.”
Demi disconnected the call. Garett
wanted to get on the road right away, but he had promised Gavin
that he would call as soon as there was any news about Demi, so he
put his impatience to get to his woman aside, and called his
brother.
Gavin was quiet. Too damned quiet.
Garett was worried about him after their short conversation, but he
had enough on his mind as it was already without worrying about Jay
and Nikki and Gavin and Demi on top of it. So he put it all out of
his mind and packed a bag. He only made one stop on the way out of
town, to purchase the engagement ring for Acasia. He didn’t want to
scare her away, was terrified that he was doing the wrong thing,
but he knew that he couldn’t face the thought of losing
her.
Acasia
When Demi texted and asked for her room
number, she knew something was up. She was afraid that her sister
had talked to Garett, and was asking for the information for him.
She tried to put her sister off, but Demi wasn’t having it,
claiming that she was just one pregnant sister looking out for
another pregnant sister, probably overreacting with her roller
coaster pregnancy hormones, but worried about her sister all the
same.
So Acasia gave her sister her room
number. She was tempted to give her the wrong number, even tempted
to move to another hotel, but she was too damned close to broke to
do that, and she knew that if Demi was passing the information on
to Garett, that he would probably knock on every door in the place
until he found her anyway.
She’d tried to eat the sandwich that
she’d purchased from the diner that was attached to the rundown
hotel, but she’d put it aside after only a few bites. Her stomach
felt like it was tied in knots and it only got worse as the minutes
ticked by. She knew that Garett was on his way to her, and with as
much as she wanted to see him, with as much as she wanted nothing
more than to be in his arms, she was still terrified.
She wasn’t sure how he would react to
the news of her pregnancy, wasn’t sure exactly how she felt about
the news herself. A part of her was thrilled, wanted to tell the
whole world that she was having a baby with the man that she loved.
But the rest of her was scared to death, so scared of every damned
thing that she wanted to cry. Tear stung her eyes and she tried not
to let the overwhelming feeling of helplessness overtake
her.
His knock came at the door a little
before nine p.m. She knew that it was him before she answered the
door. Not that anyone else would be knocking on her door anyway,
but she had recognized the sound of his truck. She took a deep
breath and let it out before she opened the door, but her heart
still felt as if it were threatening to pound its way right out of
her chest.
He was holding a huge bouquet of
flowers in one hand and a plastic bag with two take out containers
in the other hand. He looked almost shy, and Acasia caught a
glimpse of the boy he had been as he stood in the doorway. Tears
threatened to overfill her eyes and she turned away from him,
crossing the room to sit on the bed.
He still stood in the doorway, as if he
was a vampire that required her permission to enter. She couldn’t
bring herself to look into his eyes, feeling like a coward.
Finally, after what seemed like endless minutes of silence, he
cleared his throat.
“
Acasia, will you look at me
please?”
She looked at her shoes instead. “You
can come in.”
He moved into the room and shut the
door behind him. “Baby will you please tell me what’s
wrong?”
“
Demi told you I was here
didn’t she? Or did you manage to get it out of my
mother?”
“
It doesn’t matter Cas. What
did I do wrong? Why did you run away from me? Please don’t run away
from me Acasia. I can’t stand the thought of being without
you.”
“
You didn’t do anything
wrong Garett. I just. . . Oh Garett, I’m so scared.”
She offered no protest when he crossed
the room and gathered her into his arms. The tears started then. He
held her as she cried, saying nothing. Once her sobs had subsided,
he handed her the box of tissues from the nightstand. She wiped her
face and blew her nose, wondering if she was ready to tell him. She
didn’t think she was, but she looked in his eyes then. He loved
her, she could see it in his eyes, and she knew that she had to
tell him.
“
Garett.”
“
Yes Acasia?”
“
I’m. . . I mean we’re. . .”
She cleared her throat and went on. “We’re having a
baby.”
“
We’re. . . Having a baby?”
There was wonder in his voice.
“
Yes.”
A smile broke out over Garett’s face.
“We’re having a baby Acasia. You’re having my baby.” The smile
faded. “Aren’t you happy babe? I know it’s soon but I. . . I love
you Acasia. More than anything.”