Chapter Eleven
Teller
Stopping on the sidewalk, I stared at my building…the same building Briggs wanted me to leave so I could move in with him. As if it were as simple as packing a bag, skipping down the street to Briggs, and ignoring the rest of my life.
I’d begged off of Thanksgiving dinner with Briggs’s family, telling him I was feeling ill. He dropped me off at home, where I went to bed and pulled the covers over my head.
The alarm had woken me at five so I could get the bus to Bloomfield’s to work my shift, and then I’d taken a rideshare from the store to O’Malley’s Pub for my other shift. It’d been lively, packed with people meeting friends to bitch about their fucked-up Thanksgiving dinners.
I took a seat on the step that led to the front door of my building, fighting the exhaustion that threatened to keep me from walking up the steps to my second-floor apartment.
Barrett had picked up Maizie and taken her to his house because she was planning a marathon study session over the weekend for finals in two weeks.
She was very smart. Why she needed to study for two days was a mystery to me.
“You’re not going inside?”
I looked up to see Briggs standing in front of me. I hadn’t seen or heard him coming.
Without an invitation, he sat on the step next to me. “Mom was sorry she didn’t get to meet you. She sent along a bag of leftovers that I put in the fridge in my hotel room yesterday. I brought it along.”
I glanced down the street, coming up short. “Where’s your car?” It wasn’t anywhere I could see it, but there were a few busted streetlights, which only added to the broken glass still on the street in front of my building.
“It’s down the street where there’s no glass. Have you had a chance to think? I didn’t want to just lay it out like that, Teller, I swear. It’s just that when I saw the house—”
“You saw the two of us there together. I did too. It scared the hell out of me because everyone…everyone who ever gets close to me gets sick of me and leaves, and then I’m just alone again.” I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
When I met Briggs York, I somehow knew then that he’d flip my life upside down and walk away. I’d be standing there alone, yet again, wondering what I’d done wrong. That was just the way my life worked.
I was scooped into strong arms and held close to Briggs’s chest. “Whatever it takes for you to see that I’m not leaving you behind, I’ll do it.
You’ve been hurt by people in your life, but, baby boy, I’m not one of them.
I’ll never be one of them. I love you, Teller.
All of you. The man and the little, and I want to make a life with you. ”
My mouth wouldn’t move and the tears wouldn’t stop. What the hell was happening to me? I was melting down as we sat there with Briggs rocking me like a baby. It was the first time I could remember being held so tightly that I finally felt safe.
A white handkerchief appeared from nowhere, and Briggs began drying my eyes. He held the cotton cloth under my nose. “Blow.”
I laughed, and a snot bubble blew out of my nose. Briggs held up the handkerchief again, and I did as I was told.
“Good boy. You wanna go in, or do you wanna come to the hotel? What time do you have to be at work tomorrow?”
Had I made up my mind? I’d asked for time to think, but it had only been a day and a half. Was I caving so quickly? Barrett made a lot of decisions for Maizie, but there were things she stood firm on—like paying for her schooling. Shouldn’t I do that?
“I’d like to come with you, but I have three suits to alter, and my sewing machine, such that it is, is here.
It’s not designed to be portable, so it’s really hard to move.
I’ll come to see you when I get off on Sunday evening.
I don’t want to upset you, but I still need to do some thinking.
I’ll have an answer for you about moving in by then. Good night.”
Standing, I hurried into the building and up the stairs to my apartment. Once I was inside, I pressed my ear to the door, expecting to hear footsteps following me. I didn’t, and it made me very sad. I was a fucking mess.
As I was delivering the change to the four-top in the bar of O’Malley’s, Craig, the busboy, tapped my shoulder. “Sorry to bother you, but a man is asking for you at the host stand. Greta asked me to tell you.”
I nodded, dropped the vinyl bill folio on the table, and went to the front, expecting to see Briggs. It was nearly time for me to clock out, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’d come to get me.
When I stepped into the host area, I saw Maizie and Barrett sitting on a bench. “Hey, guys. Do you want a table? I have a group about ready to leave. I can ask Greta to seat you there.”
Maizie stood and stepped closer to hug me. “We, uh, actually came to get you for Briggs. He’s busy. He wanted to come get you himself, but he was waiting for a delivery. Do you need to get your stuff?”
That was a surprise. “Uh, I’ve got a few more checks to collect, but after that, I can clock out. Are we in a hurry?”
Barrett stood and walked over, putting his hand on my shoulder. “Briggs is making all of us dinner. I convinced this one”—he pointed his thumb at Maizie—“to close the books and come along.”
Generally, Barrett left the talking to Maizie and me, laughing and interjecting a word or two when he put his phone down to eat or take a drink. If he was asking me to do something, it must be important.
“Okay. Uh, let me finish up. It’ll be about fifteen minutes,” I responded. Maizie nodded, and the two of them returned to their spots on the bench.
I hurried into the bar and rang out the last of my checks before hurrying to the back to get my coat and backpack from my locker. I headed back to the host area at the front.
Maizie was sitting there, but Barrett wasn’t. “Where’d Barrett go?”
“He’s going to the store for Briggs, so you’ll drive us,” she said as she held up a key ring with a fob and a small wooden block with a T on it.
“Did you get a car?” I asked, taking the key ring and opening the door for her.
“Nope. It’s over here.” Maizie pointed to where a small SUV was parked beneath the large light. When we got closer, I saw it was a pretty teal Ford Bronco.
I pressed the unlock button on the fob, and the vehicle beeped and the lights flashed as the locks disengaged. I opened the passenger door for Maizie and walked around to get in on the driver’s side.
It had been a while since I’d driven a car, but once I acquainted myself with the way the vehicle operated, I started it and turned to Maizie. “Are we going to Barrett’s house? I have no cooking stuff at my place.”
She smiled. “Turn left out of the parking lot. It’s a surprise.”
“Uh, you can’t surprise the driver. I need directions, Maizie. I haven’t driven in a few years, so I’m a little worried I’ll wreck and kill us both.”
Her giggle wasn’t comforting. “You’re on this road for three miles. I’ll tell you well before it’s time to turn.”
If that was all I was getting, then I’d have to make do. “How is Briggs?”
“I’m not entirely sure. Daddy has been spending time with him, and he’s mentioned a few things, but I’ve been up to my neck in studying. What happened with you two, anyway? I thought things were going very well.”
“He wants me to move in with him. Do you realize I’ve only known him for three weeks?
He’s only been around me when I was little one time.
I’ve been busy with my three jobs and haven’t played in a while.
He’s bought me some clothes and toys that are at his hotel, and I love spending time with him, but I’m scared. ” That was no lie.
“Get in the left lane. You’re going to make a left in half a mile. Why are you scared?” Maizie asked.
“Because everyone I’ve ever loved who has professed to love me gets tired of me and leaves, Maizie.” She knew this. I’d told her about my abandonment issues not long after we met.
“Slow down before you get a ticket. I love you. You’re my big brother, and I’m never leaving you.”
I glanced at the speedometer to see I was doing fifty in a thirty-five. That was fifteen over the speed limit and would land my butt in hot water. “Sorry. You don’t—”
“Don’t you say I don’t count. Turn left at the next light. I do too count, Teller Buchanan. Just because I was adopted and my…” She stopped talking, and I felt like a real dick for reminding her of her fucked-up past.
Her adopted father molested her when she was ten. Her adopted mother divorced him, and he left the country to avoid prosecution, so her mother became very smothering. The whole thing made me nauseous to consider what Maizie went through.
I reached over the console and took her hand while I was waiting for the arrow. When I saw the restaurant at the turn, I knew exactly where we were going, but I couldn’t remember exactly how to get there.
“Are we going to the white house? We just looked at the place on Thursday. How did he…? It was a damn holiday, Maizie. He couldn’t have already… Where’d this Bronco come from?” I was getting wound up, and that wasn’t good if I was driving. As I’d said, I was already a nervous driver.
Maizie opened the glove box and pulled out a pink slip. “It’s owned by York Properties, LLC. Daddy said it was a company car we could share, but you’ll have to be the driver for now. After I finish my classes, I’ll move out here with Daddy, and we won’t live too far away from each other.”
“I never said I’d move out here—at least, not yet. I mean, like I said, I’m scared.” She knew all my secrets already. Why were we rehashing it?
“Three miles on this road and a right at Country Club Lane. Daddy Barrett’s going to pressure you to move out here because if you move, then I move. He won’t let me stay in Hillsdale Heights without you.” She squeezed my hand, which led me to believe she wasn’t entirely upset about that.
“Daddy Briggs said if I move out here, I can have one of the bedrooms on the second floor as my design studio. I haven’t made your costume for the pajama party yet. Have you thought about it?”
“I’d love to have you make a shortie baby-doll gown and bloomers. Daddy Barrett already said he’d buy whatever material I want, so we can go to a legit fabric store instead of the thrift store, though I do like the idea of repurposing things. That would be a fantastic way to market yourself.”
I laughed as I turned down Country Club Lane and made a left at the driveway leading to the big white house. It was lit up like a Christmas tree, and Briggs’s car was parked in front of the detached garage.
“How the fuck did he move in here? He couldn’t have closed over the holiday weekend,” I moaned.
Maizie laughed. “Telly, I’m sorry to tell you this, but your Daddy has more money than I can count. I know you had an issue when he forgot his money at his hotel—”
“He told you about that?” God, it was embarrassing.
“No, he told Daddy about it, and Daddy told me when I was on a study break on Saturday evening.”
“I hate that I pitched a fit. I just thought he was a slimy bastard who was trying to take money from me. I was wrong. He’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever met, and I love him.
He says he loves me too. I’ve never had someone love me, Maizie.
” I was whispering because if I said it aloud, I would have to accept that he wasn’t lying to me, and I still didn’t trust my own judgment.
“Let’s go inside. Briggs is at the window, and he’s praying you come inside,” Maizie said as she hopped out of the Bronco.
The front porch light turned on, and when I saw Briggs’s frame in the doorway, I couldn’t stop myself from turning off the Bronco, unbuckling the seatbelt, and stepping out of the vehicle. I stared at the man for a moment, and then my heart took hold of my senses.
I ran toward him, and when he scooped me up and held me, I knew it was right. He was the man—Daddy—meant for me.