Chapter 40 Dean
DEAN
Dad Company (But Sometimes Good Advice)
Dean Briggs: I know you all were waiting on the edge of your seats, but my plan failed. I’m now dating the mother of my child.
Comments:
Ryan Kim: You had us in the first half, not gonna lie. Congrats, man!
Robert Colt: Hell yeah! An actual happy ending!
Oliver Brian: Shouldn’t we be on topic? This is a dad advice group . . .
Robert Colt: Shh, I’ll bend the rules this once. I’m living vicariously through others.
Instead of waking up alone, I woke up warm. That worry about how this ended hit me before I could enjoy it, but I remembered Mom’s words and tugged Grace closer. Her back was plastered to my front and she snuggled closer in her sleep.
This was what I’d always dreamed of. It had faded in adulthood, hidden by fear and resentment, but now I felt like me.
Instead of focusing on how it could end, I thought about what I would do next. I wanted to finish the few projects on her house that I’d started. I wanted to move my stuff into her room and go full force on the nursery. I wanted to make her breakfast and talk to her about our days.
I tried to pull away and go get coffee started, but her arms tightened on my forearm.
“Not yet.”
“You’re supposed to be asleep,” I said.
“I had a feeling you were trying to leave.” Her voice was still soft and sleepy, but I knew me leaving in the middle of the night had done damage.
My heart sank as I rubbed her back. “I’m just gonna make breakfast for you. And coffee. I won’t be going anywhere.”
“I don’t have anything for you to make.”
“I can go to the store.”
She blew out a breath. “Stay here. With me. I sleep better when you’re around.”
“Really?” I asked. “I’ve heard that sleeping gets harder later in pregnancy.”
“You’re actually an incredible cuddler,” she said with a laugh. “I didn’t even need my pregnancy pillow to fall asleep.”
“You were exhausted.”
“Oh, trust me, I’ve been kept up by this little one when I’ve been exhausted.”
“Are you keeping your mama up, baby? That’s very rude.”
“It’s more like my body does.”
“Shh, I’m talking to my kid.”
She went silent, but I could see her cheeks turn red. I sat up, getting a better view of her belly.
“I can’t wait to meet you so you can kick me instead.” I rubbed my hand over the skin there. “Your mama has been doing too much work.”
“I’ve not. Just my job and growing a kid.”
“That’s still a lot.”
She laughed. “Perfect boyfriend material.”
I didn’t know why I was so afraid of this with her. It was easy. Like coming home after a long time away.
Our moment was interrupted when her stomach growled.
Her lip poked out. “I’m not gonna say you’re right.”
“And I know better than to ask for you to. What are you in the mood for?”
“Gummy bears and ice cream?”
“Somehow I feel like you should also have nutrients too.”
“Boo.”
“How about gummy bears and yogurt?”
“That’s not a terrible idea.”
I pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Be right back.” I got up and threw my shirt on while she groaned. “Shut up and let me feed you.”
“I like it when you talk dirty to me!” she yelled as I left. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as I drove into town. I got what I needed from Food ‘n’ Things and walked up to the checkout.
I’d dealt with the people in town enough to know when one of them was about to strike up an annoying conversation, and Dale was bouncing on his feet when he saw me.
“So, you and Grace are in hot water already, huh?” He sounded like that would be the best news in the world.
I sighed and leaned on the counter. “Let me guess, it’s what everyone’s talking about.”
“Definitely. Now, has she kicked you out of her house yet? I kinda thought this would happen. Corruption doesn’t last.”
That gave me pause. “What?”
“You and her. You corrupted her a little, but she saw the light of day and moved on.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. These people still thought that? Even after I’d been here for weeks and shown them I didn’t want to corrupt anyone?”
Dale continued on, oblivious to my glare. “I have a record with bets, and I knew I’d win the long game, you know.”
“We’re not broken up,” I ground out.
“Wait, really? But you had some kind of fight.”
“And we talked it out.”
“What did you do that for? There goes my record.”
“We’re not just bets. We’re people.”
Dale paused as he scanned the items. “Touchy,” he muttered.
“I didn’t corrupt her,” I muttered right back.
“Well, you did something.” He laughed as if it were nothing and then told me my total. I gritted my teeth and paid as quickly as I could. I needed to get the hell out of here.
Once I was back in my truck, I hoped I would calm down, but my bad mood stuck around until I got back to the house.
Grace was in the shower, and I worked on putting food together while trying to push away my annoyance.
“Food?” I heard only moments later.
“Yes. And coffee.” I handed her both and she gave me a grateful smile before plucking a gummy bear to eat.
I thought she hadn’t noticed that I was still tense, but I was wrong.
“So, what happened in town?”
I sighed. “Do you wanna enjoy your breakfast before I tell you the drama?”
“Nope. I’m always here for it. Unless it’s about Hugh being naked in more places. I’ll have to pass on that.”
I wanted to laugh with her, but Dale’s words played back in my mind.
“What happened?” she repeated, her voice softer, and she grabbed my hand.
“I thought most of them had come around. I was wrong.”
“Who?”
“Dale. He said something rude and I forgot that I wasn’t in the clear. He said I corrupted you and was hoping you’d seen the light and left me.”
“He what?” she nearly yelled. I jumped at her sharp tone. It was one of those ones that would send a chill up a kid’s spine.
She was going to make a terrifying mother.
“Hang on, finish breakfast first—”
“No, I’m not gonna sit here while he insults you and me like that. Maybe Kerry was onto something when she compared him to Hugh.”
“Grace, it’s fine.” It wasn’t, but I still didn’t want it to bother me anymore. “Half of the people here probably think the same thing.”
Her jaw dropped before she shook her head. “That’s not fine to me.”
“It is what it is. I own the reputation I had before I met you.”
“And? You being a playboy doesn’t give them the right to say what they want.”
“They don’t like me, and this is how people treat those they don’t like.” I shrugged, even as my chest hurt thinking about how Shady Acres had become in the end. “They all are like this eventually.”
Grace pressed her lips together. “Not here. We care about each other.”
“They care about you. Not me.”
“I should—”
“Grace,” I said gently, “I don’t want you fighting this for me. It was one person, and I can deal with that.”
“People do like you here,” she said. “I know I do.”
“And that’s what matters.” I squeezed her hand. “It’s all I care about.”
“You don’t have to do this, you know.” Grace crossed her arms as we both looked at the antique shop in front of us. “You could hide out in the Treasure Trove until he forgets he contacted you.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Here’s one thing about grumpy old men, if they’re asking for help, it’s dire. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a fire hazard in there right now.”
“Hugh is the fire hazard,” Grace replied. “But it’s very nice of you to help him. Even if he drives you up a wall today.”
“I’ll survive, and then I’ll go work on the house a little more.”
“See you at home,” she said before giving me a kiss and turning toward the Treasure Trove.
“I think I preferred it when you two were fighting.”
I jumped. Hugh had somehow snuck up on me.
“You’re quiet, do you know that?”
“You’re too busy staring at Grace to notice me.” He crossed his arms. “Now, are you here to help or not?”
I wasn’t sure what to expect when Hugh called me, but him having a job for me to do wasn’t one of them.
The weeks that had passed had been more than decent. They’d actually gone well.
I hadn’t officially decided if I was moving here, but I was close to it. Despite everything that should’ve made me hate this place, I was still reluctant to leave Grace. The farthest I’d gone was Knoxville to catch up with Clyde and tell him things had worked out.
Hugh’s antique shop was packed to the brim with things all from a bygone era.
For a man with such a reputation, I wasn’t sure what kind of things he would stock.
There were a lot of hand-painted plates and oil lamps, as well as old soda bottles.
It was a mix of trash and treasure, but I could see myself finding something to buy here if I wanted to.
“What’s the issue?” I asked.
“This outlet shocks me whenever I use it.”
Yeah. That was an immediate problem. “How long has it done it?”
“Eh, about fifteen years.”
I turned to him with wide eyes. “You know that could have turned into a fire.”
“It didn’t.” He shrugged as if it were nothing. “I was waiting for someone I halfway liked to fix it.” He gestured to me.
“Nice compliment,” I said. “I’ll save the lecture because of that.”
“Since when does being nice get you anything?”
“Since the beginning of time, Hugh.”
“Sounds like a scam,” he muttered.
I only shook my head to hide my smile and got to work. As I did, Hugh vanished to do something else. I had to run to my truck a few times, but I was able to get it in working order in just a few hours.
“I suppose you wanna be paid, huh?” he said when I was done.
I had a feeling he didn’t have a ton of money lying around. “It’s fine. Call it a favor.”
“I don’t take handouts, boy. Stay right there.”
I wiped my hands and sighed. My rates were higher than he could probably afford—not that I’d charge that to most of the people here anyway. I would accept a crisp one-dollar bill if it made him feel any better.
But Hugh didn’t give me a one-dollar bill. He actually walked out of a back room with a huge wad of cash in his hand. “Here.”