Never Say Never: Gravel Hill Boys Book Two

41. Ian

Beau glaredat me from across his kitchen. “You are out of your fucking mind.”

“Tell us something we don’t know,” Zac added, eyes closed, chair tipped back, arms folded across his chest.

“I’m serious, Ian. You can’t just up and quit right now. We’re leaving in three weeks,” Beau continued. “And it’s a short tour. We should be back before the baby comes.”

“Sorry. No can do. Besides, I’m not quitting; I’m just not going on this tour.”

Barrett stood off to the side, juggling oranges he’d swiped from a bowl of fruit on Brooklynn’s kitchen counter. Fucking weirdo.

“You can, and you will,” Beau insisted, but I held firm.

“I can’t, and I won’t. Madison is having a difficult pregnancy, and I’m not leaving her.” Beau opened his mouth to argue, but I held up my hand. “You were more than ready to dump my ass back in April when you were blaming me for what happened to you and Brooklynn six years ago.”

“I had every right to be pissed at you.”

“Potato-potahto.”

“What?”

I waved him off. “Doesn’t matter. You fired me and if it weren’t for those two,” I motioned toward Zac and Barrett. “I’d be with another band by now.”

Finn lifted his head and watched Barrett. Such a smart boy; already knowing when food was a possibility. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a treat.

“C’mere, boy. Come to daddy.”

Finn’s tail wagged and his little body had no choice but to wag along with it. He pranced toward me. I told him to sit and when he did, I gave him the treat. I rubbed the top of his golden head. “Good boy. Stay.” He immediately sat, and I gave him another treat.

“Hey, bad boy, listen up,” Beau snapped. “Forget the dog and pay attention.”

Finn lay down beside me, and I scratched behind his ear. “I am paying attention. I called this little meeting, remember? I just wanted to give you a heads up. It’s one tour out of dozens. I know the timing sucks, but c’mon, Beau, you know as well as I do, if Brooklynn was pregnant, you wouldn’t leave her long enough to run to the Shop ‘n Save, let alone head out on tour.”

“I agree,” Barrett said. “The timing sucks, but Ian’s right, Beau. We’d never be out on tour if Brooklynn was having a difficult pregnancy, and even if he and Madison aren’t a couple, it’s his kid. If you insist on him coming and something were to go wrong, you’d never forgive yourself.” He nodded at me. “And neither would he. This hasn’t been an issue for any of us yet, but maybe we should agree now—family comes first. Always. I know that if I were having a kid, I wouldn’t want to be on the road. And I bet Zac feels the same way.”

Our drummer, who’d been brooding quietly with his head leaned against the wall and his eyes closed, popped one dark blue one open and narrowed it at Barrett. “Never gonna happen, dude.”

“Whatever,” Barrett answered. “Why don’t we vote? I say we hire a replacement bassist for the tour.” He raised his hand. “All in favor?”

My hand shot up; not that it mattered how they voted. I’d already made up my mind. “Aye.”

“Aye,” Barrett added.

Zac’s eyes were closed—the man was a vampire who never slept at night—but he raised his hand. “Aye.”

Beau growled. “Seriously, Zac. You’re okay with this?”

“Am I okay with not listening to this asshole whine his way across the Midwest for fifteen weeks? Aye-fucking-aye.”

“You’re all heart,” I drawled, to which he raised his hand and flipped me the bird.

“And on that note, I’ve got shit to do. I’ll be staying at my folks’ tonight if y’all need me. I’m heading back to Philadelphia in the morning.”

Beau tossed his ballcap across the kitchen table. “I can’t fucking believe this. You’re really gonna fuck us over like that?”

“If that’s the way you want to look at it, then yeah, I guess I am. If you want to be a grownup and consider my situation and what the woman carrying my baby is going through, then maybe you’ll get where I’m coming from.”

“Ha,” he snorted. “Since when do you have a clue about what it means to be a grownup?”

“It’s funny, ya know. With all the crap everyone’s been spewing at me about how I need to man up, and now that I am, y’all are pissed. But to answer your question, if you’d asked me this six months ago, I’d have been the first to agree with you. But things are different now, Beau. You’ll see when you’re about to become a father. Priorities change.”

I saluted Zac and Barrett. “I’m outta here, boys. Behave.”

I’d just pulled up the driveway of the investment property I’d purchased a few years back when my phone chirped. I pulled it out of my pocket to find a message from Maylene. I tapped the icon and laughed the moment I saw what she’d sent.

It was a picture of Madison. Hair piled high atop her head, wearing a ridiculous, frilly, flour-covered apron and a huge grin. A streak of flour crossed her nose and cheek as she stood at the kitchen island proudly holding a biscuit in each hand. My guess would be that one, she had no idea there was flour all over her face; and two, Ma had put her to work. I swiped to the second picture; Madison looking serious as she cut biscuits with a stemmed wine glass. I made a mental note to buy biscuit cutters. The third picture was a selfie of Maylene, her mouth spread into a great big grin, and holding a pink Chanel purse tight to her chest. The caption that came with the photos screamed in all caps.

Mally

LOOK WHAT YOUR BABYMAMA GAVE ME!

Gave you or did you go poking around in her closets and play finders keepers?

Mally

Don’t be a dick. I snooped in the pantry, asked to borrow it, and she gave it to me.

Hope you’re making yourself useful.

Mally

Absolutely. Mama made stew and Madison made biscuits. She’s cute as hell, Ian, but I ain’t never seen anyone so terrified of cooking.

I frowned.

She’s not terrified; she’s just never had to cook.

Mally

No kidding.

Did the rest of ‘em get there yet?

Mally

Any minute now. Mama and Madison are upstairs on that fancy-ass terrace jawing and drinking tea. I just wanted to let you know all is well. She seemed a little put out when we arrived, but she warmed right up. We’re having fun.

My heart did that squeezing thing it did when I saw the first picture Mally had sent.

I’m glad. Put out is her normal reaction…at least when it comes to me. I’m glad you’re there.

Mally

We got this. Just take care of business and we’ll have her fooled into thinking you’re a good guy before you get back. Love you.

Ditto

I climbed out of the SUV I’d recently purchased after completing my research into the safest luxury SUVs and tucked my phone into my back pocket.

The farmhouse sat on fifty acres of pristine land only a few miles from Brooklynn’s family farm in one direction and was about the same distance from my parents, who lived in town, in the other direction. But this land, was deep in the country. I’d bought it as an investment with the intention of one day, years in the future, putting up a bigger house and eventually settling down here.

The future, however, had arrived faster than I’d anticipated.

After leaving Beau’s, I’d met with an architect to discuss the design of a large, modern farmhouse. I wanted lots of windows, big rooms, high ceilings, and room to grow. I had one kid on the way. Down the road, I hoped there’d be more.

Was this an about-face for me? Sure as hell was. In just a few short months, there’d be someone in my life that I would need to think about more than myself.

The time had come to grow the fuck up.

I took in the small farmhouse in front of me. Construction on the new place would start next month, and weather permitting, the exterior work should be completed before winter. In the meantime, this place would work just fine. The tenants who’d been renting from me for the past three years had recently vacated, and I’d been lucky that they’d taken such good care of the house on top of the regular maintenance I’d contracted for.

I stepped up onto the wide front porch. It had been painted a classic gray last summer, and it looked clean and crisp. The house was white with black shutters, cream trim, and a cream-colored metal roof.

When I first bought the place, I’d had it refurbished right down to the studs. It wasn’t very big; only three bedrooms, but it had an open concept first floor, with a screened porch off the living room.

It was a pretty, little house, and it would serve as a place to stay until the main house was completed. I’d considered adding onto it and making it bigger, but when Bailey agreed to relocate with me—again—I decided to give her the house and build the new house up on the hill overlooking the valley.

The two houses would be far enough apart that Bailey would still have plenty of privacy. When I’d pointed that out to her, she’d just snorted and said I didn’t understand the concept.

My phone rang, and I pulled it from my pocket.

“Speak of the devil.”

“Now what,” she asked.

“Nothing. I was just checking out the house. Everything looks great. When can you get up here?”

“Soon. Everything’s set for the auction to take place next month.”

“Thanks. Is there anything I need to sign?”

“I emailed you all the paperwork. Sign it, scan it, and send it back.” She hesitated. “Ian, are you sure about this? This all came out of left field. Have you really given this enough thought?”

“Trust me, Bails. No one is more surprised than me, but it’s time. I need a clean slate. I’ve got years of sticky fingers ahead of me. Time to let someone else worry over all that stuff.”

“All that stuff?” she gasped. “Ian, after the band, collecting that stuff was practically your life’s work.”

“Exactly. I’ve got more important things to worry about now. It’s time to move on. No regrets.”

“You’re the boss.”

I chuckled. “And don’t you forget it.”

“All righty then. I’ve booked a flight for tomorrow afternoon. I’ll have a rental car waiting for me in Pittsburgh. Will you be there when I get in or are you heading back to Philadelphia tonight?”

“I’ll wait for you so we can go over everything I need you to do with the house.”

“Carte blanche, right?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“Absolutely. You’re doing me a huge favor, Bailey, uprooting your life again. I appreciate it.”

“Knock it off before you make me cry. How’s Madison.”

“Still mad at me, I’m sure, but she’s having fun with Ma and my sisters.” I chuckled trying to picture a flour-covered Madison Enright. “It doesn’t seem like she’s got much in the way of family around. It kinda sucks. It’s also one of the reasons I want to stay nearby.”

“One of the reasons, but not the only reason, right?”

A smile stretched across my face. “And on that note, I’ll see you tomorrow. Safe travels.”

My dad and I had plans to have dinner at Roosters, but I wanted to do one more thing before I headed out to meet him. I whistled for Finn, and when he came bounding over, I snapped his leash onto his collar.

“C’mon, boy. Wanna go see we’re going to live?”