“Go on,” Tristian said. “Mommy will see you in a couple of days.”
“But you won’t.” Her lower lip trembled. She clung to Tristian like a vine.
“I won’t be gone that long, and I’m counting on you to keep your mommy company for me.”
“Okayyy.” She sure was playing it up for him. “Daddy, will you bring me back some presents?”
“Easton, you don’t ask for things like that,” I scolded. “If someone wants to bring you a present, they’ll do it because of kindness, not because you asked.”
“But Boppy always brings me stuff.”
“Because Boppy spoils you to pieces.”
“I like to be spoiled.”
“I know you do, you little monster.” I tickled her ribs. “Now go with Mimi.”
Tristian set her down and she said, “I know. You and Daddy want to kissy-face.” She kissed the air as she ran off. That child was a mess.
My heart pinged when Tristian said, “I’m really gonna miss her when I’m gone.”
“She’s gonna miss you too. I’ll be fielding her questions every day. Thank God she’s in school or she would drive me crazy.”
“She is inquisitive.”
“You’ve only scratched the surface with her. Wait until your campout.”
“What do you mean my campout? That’s intended for the three of us.”
“Um, thanks but no thanks. I’ll leave that for the two of you. Special bonding time. I may nibble on your roasted marshmallows or help make s’mores, but sleeping in the back yard when I have an extremely comfy bed upstairs? No, thanks.”
“What if I said I’d create the perfect casbah for you, complete with lights and a cot?”
“Send me cool pics of what you have in mind and I’ll decide later. I’m not a fan of creepy-crawly bugs and mosquitos, or other flying insects that buzz around your ears at night. Dad did his best to make me a camper and I’d start out the night with him and end up in my bed before midnight. It was a fun idea though. But I promise to supply you with the pinkest sleeping bag I can find.”
“I’m going to change your mind. Just wait.”
“All right, Mr. Camper Man, but no promises from me.”
“I hate to change the topic, but there is a favor I want to ask of you.”
“Anything.”
He cringed. “You may not be saying that after you hear what I’m going to ask.”
“Don’t keep me in suspense.”
He walked me to the living area and we sat down on the sofa. “This morning while you were picking up your grandfather, I paid a visit to my brothers. They’re eager to meet you and I’d like to take you over there before I leave.”
I took hold of his hand. “What’s so awful about that? I’d love to meet them.”
“It’s not them I’m worried about. When I take you there, you’ll have to meet my viper of a mother and my bitchy sister.”
“Ah, come on now, they can’t be that bad.”
“English, I can’t possibly warn you enough. They are bad. Really bad. You’ll love my younger brother, Landry. He’ll talk your ear off if you give him half a chance. Stanton, my older brother, is fine. I already told you how we didn’t get along before but things are cool now. He and I have a mutual respect for each other. But my mother is… not cool at all. She’s cold, calculating and nasty, which is exactly how my sister is.”
“Count me in. They’re your family and I want to meet your brothers. The others, not so much, but it’s a package deal, so I get it.”
“Do you mind if we go tomorrow then? We could get it over with late morning? Say ten?”
“Tomorrow it is.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Tristian
On the way to visit my family, I filled English in on things she might expect.
“Mom will ask if you know about the will. In other words, she’ll go straight for the jugular on why we got married. I’d prefer to play it off that we’d been dating for a while and kept it quiet. Unless you’re uncomfortable with that.”
“I’m fine. I’m wondering though. Will she dig through your employment with Dad and when you moved? Because how else would we have met?”
“Yeah, I thought of that. We can say we met through a mutual friend when you came to New York.”
“Okay, stop. I’m not good at lying. Terrible, in fact. I always get everything screwed up. Can’t we just stick to the truth and say it was insta-love? And after that first day in the office, we’ve been inseparable.”
The mental turmoil created by this had me weighing it out. “I’ve never done anything like that.”
“Neither have I, so it works perfectly. We swept each other off our feet.”
The more it settled in my mind, the more it made sense. “Okay, we’ll do it your way. I’ve never shared anything about my love life with her anyway. Then we won’t get caught not having the right answers. The only thing we’ll leave out is how you thought I was an asshole at first.”
“Why would we do that?”
I gave her a sidelong glance to see she was playing with me. “You had me there for a second.”
She placed a hand on my thigh and gave it a squeeze. “Good. I was trying very hard.” I was getting used to her familiarity with me.
We were not too far away when she said, “I’ve lived here my entire life—well, not up in this part of the metro area—but I’ve never been here.”
“That’s because we’re on a private road. My family owns all this property.”
“Wait. You own all this?” She gestured to the land surrounding us.
“Yeah. It’s secluded. Dad never wanted neighbors.”
“This is taking it a bit far, isn’t it?”
“I think so, but he loved it out here. I’ll show you the grounds during the visit.”
The road was super curvy, and we got to the final turn. We had less than a quarter mile until the house. When it came into view, English gasped, then said, “Motherfucker. This isn’t a house, Tristian. It’s huge!”
“Yeah, it is. But it’s never been a home to me at all.”
“I’d hug you if you weren’t driving. You’ll always have a home with me. I can’t imagine how that felt.”
“No, and you don’t want to.”
I stopped in the circular drive in front of the main entrance. We walked up the steps to the front door and I held it open for her. One of the servants came running.
“Mr. Baines, I apologize. We were not informed you’d be arriving this morning with a guest.”
“She’s not a guest, Charles. This is my wife, Mrs. Baines. This is her house now too.”
“Y-your wife, sir?” His wiry brows arched as he sputtered.
“That’s correct. Are my brothers working?”
“Yes, sir, in the new office upstairs.”
I explained to English, “They turned one of the bedrooms upstairs into office space, so Stanton and Landry can work from home until Stanton’s leg is better.”