“That went well,” Stacey said.
“Not really. He’s got something up his sleeve.”
Easton ran to me. “Mommy, is that man coming back? Can we get pizza with him again? When I’m not sick?”
Great. Now she was asking about him too. “Maybe later.”
“Aunt Stacey Bear, why were you so mean to him?”
“Er, he’s not very ni—”
I elbowed her. If we ended up having a relationship with him, I didn’t want Easton to think he wasn’t nice. “Aunt Stacey Bear was angry because he didn’t call first.”
Stacey wasn’t getting it. “No, I wasn’t.”
I elbowed her again, this time harder.
“Ow. That hurt.”
“Good.” I offered her a sweet smile.
“You owe me another cosmo for that.”
“Mommy, can I have a cosmo too?” Easton asked.
“Sure. Come on.” I always made her virgin ones.
Mom said, “You sure Stacey needs another?”
“No, and I’m barely putting any vodka in hers.” Leaning in, I told Mom about the broken engagement.
“Ahh, that makes sense now. Her getting wasted this early.”
“Yep. Don’t say anything.”
Her fingers went to her lips and made a zipping motion. Mom was completely trustworthy.
“Easton, you need to eat your spaghetti too.” With all the commotion of Stuart popping in, I’d never given her lunch. It was almost four, so this was like an early dinner.
“Okay. Can I still have my cosmo?”
Mom said, “Why don’t you have it for dessert?”
Easton frowned and stuck her lower lip out. “I don’t think so. I’d rather have a chocolate chip cookie.”
“That’s fine, but let’s eat.” I fixed her bowl and she gobbled it down. “Someone was very hungry.” I tickled her belly. “Is your tummy under the rainbow?”
She patted it, saying, “Yep. See?” She pulled up her shirt to show us. The two tiny incisions where they’d done the laparoscopy to remove her appendix were barely noticeable. They hadn’t even used stitches, but covered them with liquid skin glue. I grabbed her and blew raspberries on her belly. Giggles filled the room.
Stacey tottered over and said, “Will you do me?” She pulled up her shirt and Easton did her best. It was really funny. They usually did this to each other.
Grateful the subject had been changed, Dad said, “We came by to see if you wanted us to bring you dinner, but looks like all is handled.”
My parents were the best. “Aww, thank you so much. I think we’re good. Early dinner here. And I’ll just grab something.”
“Then I’ll plan to see you on Monday. Did I tell you that Tristian’s father died? It was a car accident.”
It reminded me of Mom. Her dad had died in an accident when she was in high school, leaving her penniless. “Dad! That’s terrible. Is he okay?”
“Seems to be. Said he’d be at work on Monday.”
“Wow.”
“I got the feeling they weren’t too close.”
“How sad. I wonder why.”
“One can’t ever know unless he tells us.”
I made a mental note to be kind to him next week.
After I hugged both parents, they left while Stacey called out for another cosmo. I hoped she fell asleep early as I wasn’t sure I wanted to entertain my inebriated friend all night.
Chapter Eleven
Tristian
As I drove to work, thoughts of my family circled through my brain. I’d stopped to visit my brother this morning at the hospital. He was sitting up in his bed, sipping water.
“You’re looking much better.”
He groaned as he shifted positions. “I don’t feel that way. If only—”
“Stop it, Stanton. The past is over. It’s time to focus on getting well. You’re lucky to be alive.”
Eyes that held a world’s worth of pain stared back at me. For once I actually felt a great deal of sympathy for him. “It was my fault, Tristian. I was driving too fast.”
“Yeah, that’s what the police determined. Do you recall how fast you were going?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. His face was scratched up fairly bad, but nothing that wouldn’t heal or that would require more surgery. “I was doing about sixty. I remembered because Dad was with me and I didn’t want to go too fast. I always speed on that road, since it’s ours and it’s private.”
“Oh, I know. You’ve been a speed demon ever since you began driving. Since it was a private road, and there weren’t any speed limits posted, you didn’t break any laws, so they’re not charging you.”
“That doesn’t matter to me. I’m holding myself responsible and always will. I’ll never forgive myself.” The audible stress in his voice confirmed it.
“You can’t change it, Stanton. Dad is gone, as bad as it seems, so the best thing for you now is to focus on getting well and moving forward.”
“Easy for you to say, but that’ll be a hard task for me to carry out.”
“Maybe you should talk to someone.”
“You mean a shrink?”
“Or a counselor.”
“Maybe. Wouldn’t hurt, right? We’re all fucked up anyway. I mean the entire family.”
That made me chuckle. “Damn, I never thought I’d hear you say that.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve had a lot of time to think in here. Like, where are Mother and Ravina? Little bro has been in, and you, but those two?”
I shrugged. “You know them.”
“Hey, I know I’ve been an asshole to you over the years and I’m sorry. I’d like to make amends.” His earnest gaze nearly threw me.
“You can start by getting out of this place.”
“I’m working on it.”
“Good. I’ve gotta run or I’ll be really late for work. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Really? Two visits in one day?”
“Yeah. How about that?” I fist-bumped him and left.
It was a nice conversation for a change, but it made me speculate about whether he’d revert to his old ways once he got home. He still hadn’t been informed of Dad’s decision in the will, and that might change everything.
Once I arrived at work, I darted directly to my office as I was in no mood to speak with anyone, particularly that annoying blonde who worked here. As my bad luck would have it, her door was open and she saw me pass by.
“Tristian, wait.”
I acted as though I hadn’t heard her and continued walking. I’d made it to my doorway when her voice rang out again.
“Tristian.”
Inwardly, I groaned. Why now and why was I saddled with the daughter of the company’s owner? And most importantly, why did she have to be so fucking gorgeous?
“Yes?” I didn’t look at her but continued on to my desk, dumping my backpack on it.
“Hey, I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am about your father.”
The last thing I needed was for her to be nice. “Hey, that’s nice and all, but I don’t need your sympathy or pity.”