“Well, your brother has shed his geeky persona the last couple of years. I’ve never seen him so fit and fashion-conscious, and I don’t think Courtney liked that. I suspect his makeover had something to do with competing with your brother Bo.”
“Why? Bo’s a big nerd with muscles too.”
“Bo has always been a trigger for your brother. Corbett used
to have an awful time with Bo’s visits when you were kids. The Jamison men have a way of doing that.”
Wyatt gave his father a sidelong glance and started to reply when Corbett came their way.
“I’m all finished.” Corbett held up the engagement ring.
“Are you sure?” Buck asked. “Because you have a fat chance in hell of getting anything meaningful back after Courtney steps back
into the house.”
“I’m sure. She doesn’t want to stay here, so we’re breaking the lease. She has to be out by the end of the month, so I was diligent in the excavation of my things.”
“OK, then,” Wyatt interjected. “I’ll tell the guys we’re headed to the storage unit.”
Wyatt jumped into the moving truck with his buddies, while Corbett rode with their dad. Three hours later, most
of his belongings were in the storage unit and the rest had been deposited at their mother’s house. His buddies were happy with the free food and drinks, although it was mostly soda. Wyatt might be legally able to drink, but it hadn’t sunk in to his dad that he was an adult. He said he still wasn’t ready to pass out beers to young men who’d just had their braces removed. Once everyone was gone,
Wyatt, Corbett, and Buck settled in the living room. Corbett had come back from the kitchen with a half dozen longnecks and sat them on the table, on coasters of course. Their mom Bonnie would freak if she came back to a ring on her vintage coffee table.
“If you don’t mind me asking son, what was the tipping point with you and Courtney?”
“She changed the venue again and didn’t bother
telling me, which would have pushed back the wedding
another
six months. On top of that, she heard from a friend that some fancy pavilion had an opening and went over to plop down a ten thousand dollar deposit with no regard to the other plans we had in place. I told her I wasn’t doing it. The place we’d reserved was perfect, and they even catered to her high standards. The next thing I know we’re
having the fight of the century over every little thing that had ever occurred in our relationship. I don’t know if these were traits that were always there or—”
“No. It was always there,” Wyatt said. His dad nodded in agreement.
Corbett ran a hand over his face. “I guess I started waking up to it after she embarrassed Anna Beth at the wedding.”
Interesting how his brother had
taken especial offense to Courtney’s attack on Anna Beth. At first he’d thought it was his brother being compassionate, but maybe there was something about the way he connected with Anna Beth. He always seemed more relaxed and cheerful around her. Wyatt suspected she was the reason Corbett visited Bo more often at Blake Enterprises than anywhere else.
“How’s your mom taking the news? I called
her, but she was taking Eileen to the doctor. I know how much she was looking forward to your wedding.”
“You talk to mom?” they both said in amazement.
“Yes. We may not have remained married, but we do have you kids in common.”
Wyatt grabbed a beer and removed the bottle top. “Just when things couldn’t get any stranger.”
“I talked to her this morning and told her about
the move. She said to get the engagement ring back, watch out for any comforting from Antonia, and close all of the joint bank accounts.”
“Typical Bonnie response. Devastation handled with a fiscally sound mind,” his dad joked as he took the beer bottle out of Wyatt’s hand just as he raised it to sip and passed it to Corbett.
“Hey!” Wyatt said.
“What you do with your college
buddies when I’m not around is in God’s hands. Your limit is two and no driving tonight.” Buck gave him a good onceover. “What’s going on with you? I know you didn’t come home to do your laundry.”
Wyatt shot Corbett a dirty look. He’d mentioned something about Avery when they were having the dinner the first night he’d arrived. Wyatt hesitated, wondering what to say. He wasn’t particularly
in the mood to spill his guts about all his problems, especially after Corbett’s love life had just gone up in flames.
His dad raised an eyebrow at his hesitation. “Fine. I’ll share my good news as an icebreaker. I met a nice lady. Her name is Glynis. She owns a nice jewelry shop. You know the kind that makes lovely designs with precious stones like turquoise and amethyst. Actually, you
could probably get your mama something nice for her birthday from there.”
“That’s great, Dad,” Corbett said. “It’s about time you met someone. You and mom have been divorced for a while now.”
“I’ve met plenty of women since the divorce, but Glynis is special.” His dad beamed.
“Will we be meeting her soon?” Wyatt glanced at his brother.
“No, not yet. I’d like to spend more
time with her before I unleash you two on her.”
“We have manners, you know,” Corbett replied. “We don’t eat from a pig trough. We have even been known to be polite
and
charming.”
“Yes, you can act like I raised you right when you put your minds to it, but I’d like more time before you meet her. I know how much you two love your mom. I don’t want any ill feelings about someone new in
my life.”
“I think we’ve turned that page a while back. She
is
seeing Bo Sr. again and she’s happy,” Wyatt said in a low voice. He still didn’t understand his parents’ relationship.
“Good. I’m glad she’s happy. She was better off with him anyway.” Buck grabbed another beer off the table.
“So you’re not upset that she’s involved with him again?” Wyatt asked.
“Why should
I be? She didn’t cheat on me with him, although the argument could be made that her heart belonged to him for most of our marriage.”
“Then why did you do it? Why did you stay with her so long?”
“Because of you kids.” He smiled. “Bonnie and I were happy, but there was always something in her that missed the life she left in Texas. She went through an awful period of guilt about letting
Bo raise Bo Jr. Once she’d moved on with her life from me, she found out that her marriage to Bo wasn’t really final.”
“What!”
Buck laughed. “She never told you?”
“No.”
“Boys, it was all a million years ago. We got it all straightened out and we continued living our lives. She was dedicated to our family, and that’s all that matters. When we finally started growing apart,
it was due to separate interests, and frankly I’d finally grown tired of being number two in her heart. She still loved Bo, and I respected that.”
Wyatt remembered their separation. He’d thought at the time that his dad had been going through a midlife crisis. It was as if he were trying to erase who he’d been. But now he realized he’d been shedding who Wyatt’s mom wanted him to be for all
those years and had finally found himself. He’d joined a restored classic car club that gathered for annual barbeques. He’d bought a motorcycle, which Wyatt had assumed was part of the midlife crisis, but come to find out his dad had ridden a motorcycle for years before his mom insisted he give it up.
Corbett scratched at his beard. “So there’s no hard feelings between you and Mom? I mean,
since we met Bo Sr., it’s obvious she was trying to turn you into some carbon copy of him.”
“Heck, no. Bonnie set me on the straight and narrow. She inspired me to start my own business. If it weren’t for her coaching me to be a better man, we’d be living a totally different life and not for the better. I guarantee it.”
“Why did you get involved with her if you knew it wasn’t going
to work out?”
“Love, son.” His dad straightened up. “The first time I saw your mother, my heart damn near leaped out of my chest. She had a pair of legs that could stop a semi-truck.”
“OK. That’s enough,” Wyatt said, cringing.
His dad turned his gaze back on him. “Are you gonna tell me what’s going on with you? Or do I have to get your brother to tell me?”
He opened his
mouth, but nothing would come out. He was still processing things in his head. Everything sounded crazy when he thought about it. It made no rational sense to suddenly avoid the one person who made his heart warm when she smiled. There it was again. The unfamiliar stirring in his body. Now was not the right time to talk about Avery.
“The whole Avery situation is finally becoming clear to
him,” Corbett answered and threw a grin his way.
“Oh.” Buck nodded. “I knew the day it happened it would be trouble. So that’s why you’ve been acting so strange.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Son, you’ve been sprung over that pretty young lady since the day you met her three years ago.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re in love, idiot,” Corbett replied.
His mouth went dry. “No, I’m not.”
“Then why have you been avoiding her for months?” Corbett countered. “And yet moping around like you miss her for every second?”
“I’ve been working through some things…like what I’m going to do with my life after college.”
“So what do you want to do?” his dad asked.
How many times had he asked himself the same question several times
over the past few months? “I don’t know.”
“You better figure things out soon,” Corbett replied.
“I’m trying. Can you give me a break? We’re not all super goal-oriented like you,” Wyatt fired back.
“I meant with Avery. You’re not the only person interested in her.” Corbett pulled up the Tomcats website on his phone and went to the photo gallery in the PR section to show him a
picture of Avery with Riley Sloane.
Wyatt stared at the photo. The quarterback back had his arm around her waist and had a wicked smile on his face. Yeah, Avery wouldn’t fall for a superficial chump like that. Besides, the guy would be lucky if Seth didn’t murder him for sniffing around his niece. No, he had nothing to worry about from some egomaniac flashing around his money and good-looks
and NFL football career…
Wyatt clenched his fists. “I wouldn’t worry about that. Seth has Riley on a short leash.”
“I know he’s been warned, but I don’t know if Sloane can be deterred so easily. He likes disregarding authority.” Corbett made a face.
“You really think he’d risk his on-field time and thumb his nose at Seth’s demand?”
“I think he’d push his luck so he can
keep up that bad boy image. You know he’s all about headlines. What better PR stunt than to pursue the boss’s niece when he’s been forbidden to do so?”
“You’re not factoring in Avery. I know her, and she wouldn’t fall for his loud-mouthed crap. She may be the object of desire, but she’d tell Sloane where he could stick it in a minute. He’s not her type.”
“Yeah. Who wants a handsome,
successful sports superstar with tons of dough?” Corbett laughed.
His dad leaned toward him and looked him in the eye. “Son, when a man wants a woman, he doesn’t let anything get in his way. Not even a boss who would wring his neck and maybe snatch millions of dollars out of his pocket. Are you sure the interest is one-sided?”
He didn’t know for sure, but he knew what he’d hoped in
his heart. But he couldn’t exactly admit that now. “I’m sure. Sloane likes to push buttons. He’s doing that to piss off Seth.”
“OK. But I wouldn’t wait too long to stake my claim. She’s a beautiful young lady who will become a doctor soon. If it’s not Sloane, someone’s going to grab her up.” Buck shook his head.
“I think things like
staking your claim
are viewed as sexist these days,”
Wyatt said.
“So how are you supposed to show a woman how you feel?” his dad huffed. “Send her letters and cards and braid her hair?”
“Dating is a labyrinth these days dad.” Corbett sighed. “If you do too much you’re a brute. If you ease back, you’re an uninterested douche who wasted her time.”
“This social media age has ruined you kids. Instead of blabbing on a computer about
life, you should be out living it. You should be out showing a woman you care for her. I missed the days when you’d punch out the guy who was eyeing your woman.”
“Sadly enough, Dad, I agree with you,” Wyatt said. Right now he wanted to punch Riley Sloane in the mouth.
His dad took a swig of his beer. “You boys are having a tough year with women. But it will get better, I promise.”
“I wish I could believe that,” Corbett lamented.
“You just have to embrace the pain, try not to do anything too stupid, and let it pass.” He patted Corbett on the back and then turned to Wyatt. “And you still have time to resolve your career problems and your Avery dilemma. Not everyone knows what they’re going to do right after college, so keep that in mind while you’re looking for
answers.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Wyatt smiled. “And when you’re ready to introduce Glynis to us, I promise we’ll be on our best behavior. I’ll even put on a tie.”
Wyatt was thankful for his father’s response and advice. His mother had been the exact opposite. He knew she wanted him to have a good life, but she couldn’t accept that he was the son who hadn’t mapped out his life when he was five.
He was more of a slow-burner, still finding his way. His dad always got that. He wished his mom would.
He glanced at his brother, wishing there was something he could to cheer him up. Just a week ago, he was engaged and looking forward to a big, even if obnoxious, dream wedding. Now he was back to living with their mom until he found another place. He’d already talked to Bo about halting
the plans for construction on the new home that would have been his wedding gift to him and Courtney. Bo still wanted to build it to give him something to inspire him when he found the right woman. Corbett thanked him for the offer but refused. He’d said a home should be built with the intention of a family living in it.
They made their way back into the kitchen to eat more pizza, but it
was all gone. So their dad ordered Mexican food. They started to talk about sports, but he was just going through the motions. He couldn’t get that picture of Avery and Riley out of his head.