Zeke glares at me. I respond with a question hoping to lighten his mood. “Is that what you teach those young minds?”
“No,” Zeke says, using a calm voice, as if showing that he has reached his zen point again and nothing, not even me, will bother him. “I teach my kiddos to play ‘Chopsticks’ on the piano, the xylophone, and next week is ‘Für Elise.’”
“Keeping it classy, Mr. Hutchence,” Tucker jokes.
Hannah, who isn’t happy about our nonsense, says, “We’re in this together. He’s a part of us.”
“Fuck, was I high when I promised that?” Zeke jokes and Nana glares at him. “Dudette, it was a joke.”
“You weren’t, and it’s not funny.”
“Lighten up, okay? If I’m ready to laugh at myself, you should be too.”
“Okay, let’s do this together.” She holds Alex’s hand and opens the door. I reach out for Zeke’s hand and squeeze it. His lips stretch showing a smile that says, we-will-be-okay.
“I’m fine,” he mumbles.
“It took you long enough,” Rocco says, his jaw clenching. “If this weren’t important, I would’ve left.”
“Try calling next time. I’m almost three hours away,” Tucker protests.
“How can I surprise you if I call? I thought you guys were living here,” he says, offended.
“It’s been three years,” I remind him. Zeke, who is standing next to me, places a hand on my back and draws circles. I compose myself and use a normal voice when I say, “For all you know, we could’ve sold the place.”
“Things changed, and you’d know if you had called any of us,” Hannah speaks and shows him her hand. “We’ve yet to set a wedding date because you’ve been MIA.”
“Funny that you mention weddings. Guys, meet my fiancée, Sienna.”
When Hannah’s face turns red with anger, I want to call the security team so they can escort him outside. The fucking asshole dares to bring up his engagement, but he doesn’t say, “I’m sorry” or “congratulations.”
“You’re engaged?” Tucker’s voice booms through the entire room.
Okay, I’m not the only one pissed at him.
“The engagement party is next weekend in Oregon. It’d mean a lot to me if you could join us.”
“Hannah and I are away for the weekend,” Alex says, grinding his teeth. “Previous family commitments.”
“Sorry, man, I can’t go. Zeke and I already had plans, and we can’t cancel them,” I say without hesitation.
Tucker glances at me, and just like that, he knows I’m lying. It doesn’t matter. He can’t make us go.
When Rocco asks to talk to Tucker, they leave the room. We are left with Sienna, the fiancée. I’m the one who asks the obvious question, “Why so soon?”
“Pardon me?” she asks, staring at the table.
“The wedding. It seems like you just got engaged,” I say. “You could wait a few months. If I recall, weddings can take a long time to organize. Organizing one in New York can get—”
“Expensive,” Hannah ends my sentence.
“We’ve been living together for more than two years,” she responds. “Since he wanted to move to Seattle, I… This is embarrassing. I told him I wouldn’t move with him unless we were married.”
Poor kid. She looks so innocent and fragile. I’m not sure if she knows who she is dating. Maybe Zeke is right, and I’m judging.
“Mom wants it to be in New York,” she continues. “Since we can’t afford to pay for the wedding, we have to do as she says.”
Zeke covers his face and shakes his head. I’m the only one who hears him say, “No, Hannah. Don’t do it.”
“What if we have it here?” Hannah proposes. “Mom and I can organize it. We have a lot of connections. It’ll be my treat.”
“I’m out,” Zeke says.
Hannah glares at him.
“Teach him how to fish,” he says, as if responding to a question. “You keep handing him fish. He’ll never grow up. I can’t be a part of this cycle.”
Hannah looks at me pleadingly. I shrug my shoulders and turn up my palms as if saying, “Babe, you’re on your own.”
“We’re family,” she repeats.
I adore her, but she has to learn too. “I’m taking the helicopter. The boat is ready for you.”
Alex looks at me and nods. “Sure. I can take us to our place. See you tonight?”
Zeke is the one who answers. “Let me know the guest list in advance.”
As we walk toward the helicopter, he says, “He’s high.”
“How can you tell?”
He glances at me, and the look of I-just-know-it answers everything.
“There was a grain of hope rooting for him,” Zeke says. “For a moment, I believed he was here to make amends. He isn’t. Knowing him, he’s going to blame us for his miserable life.”
“What do we want to do today?”
His mischievous smirk makes me shiver. “We should go to Luna Harbor and work on the garden. I got a call from the nursery that they got the flowers I requested.”
“Can we talk about us?” I ask. “We left things unsaid at the airport.”
“This isn’t the best time to discuss it. As you said, he’s about to cause some severe damage. I don’t want to fuck up our second chance.” He kisses my cheek before we board the helicopter.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ethan
After a long phone conversation with Tucker, I kind of get on board with the program. He and Hannah are trying to give Rocco a hand while he gets on his feet. I don’t mention that Zeke swears he was high.
Once I learn everything they are doing for him, I decide to sit back and watch the nonsense. Rocco doesn’t need a multimillion-dollar house, but Hannah buys it, and she leases it to him at a low price. She swears it’s an investment.
How can that be possible?
The guy is paying almost nothing to live there, and the lease contract says that after forty years, Rocco will be the sole owner of the place.
We’re invited to the engagement party. Zeke refuses to go. Hannah invites him to spend the weekend with her and Alex’s family. Knowing that Zeke is safe, I go with Tucker. He needs a friend. He flies to Portland on Friday and drives to Baker’s Creek, where Sienna’s grandparents live.
I use work as an excuse and fly in on Saturday morning. I’m glad I did because Tucker calls me that night to tell me about the redhead he met at the bar who told him, “I’m not interested.”
We meet at Sienna’s grandparents’ house at noon.
The party is boring. Rocco has trouble getting along with his fiancée’s friends.
Tucker, on the other hand, can’t take his eyes away from Sage, the sister of the bride-to-be. Sage happens to be the girl from the bar. I love watching him salivate over someone who is ignoring him.
When I’m back in Seattle, Zeke is ready to go through his parent’s house again.