Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Gideon
I sat on a surprisingly comfortable couch that was way too floral for my taste. Autumn was tucked into my side, her hand back in mine.
I brushed over her skin with my thumb. She was practically shivering as we faced the firing squad of her siblings.
The first demanding knock had been Tate and Teller. Tenor had arrived next. I’d hated facing them at the distillery. I was on Bailey property, but this place was more mine than theirs now.
Just as they’d been getting over the shock of seeing me, Summer and Wynter had arrived with Wynter’s husband—Myles—and a baby. Autumn whispered which sister was which to me. Summer was standing next to Tate, the oldest sister, ready to take charge. Myles was currently in the bedroom, changing the baby’s diaper. Wynter hovered in the hallway, ready to cut off a stampede if need be.
She needn’t have worried. The guys would try to throw me out of the house, not farther into it.
“Get an annulment,” Tate demanded.
“No,” Autumn and I said in unison. She smirked at me and I couldn’t help a small smile. Our simultaneous answer had turned Tate’s face red. The color could’ve blazed through the man’s thick beard.
“Autumn,” Summer said, brushing a long, strawberry-tinted lock of hair behind her ear. She looked about the same as she had as a kid but also completely different. I remembered what all the Kerrigan sisters had looked like when they’d first come to town. The way they’d moved, like they’d rather be anywhere else, like they were eternally lost and like they were haunted. Four lost girls.
I wouldn’t have paid attention, but Mom had spoken about them. A lot. She’d empathized, and maybe she’d wished she could help. Perhaps it’d been as simple as wanting a daughter.
I hadn’t really seen Autumn as often as the others.
A memory jiggled at the back of my brain. She’d been injured. Both Autumn and Summer. Mom had fretted over their recovery. Summer had healed fairly quickly, but Autumn had needed more time.
“Can we talk to you?” Summer’s gaze flicked to me and back to her sister. “In private. With Wynter. Maybe we can call Junie.”
“Junie will be the only one to congratulate me,” Autumn said primly.
“There’s nothing to congratulate!” Teller flung his arm toward me. “He’s using you. ”
Autumn rolled her eyes, and damn, I liked when her inner firecracker sparked. “Your faith in me is so appreciated.”
I could’ve snickered. They had no idea how their sister had cornered me just as I was leading her into my web.
“You don’t know guys like him. We do.” Tate poked the center of his chest.
Autumn wiggled and her back went ramrod straight. I could’ve done without her hips bumping against mine in front of her brothers. “You’ve said what you needed to say?—”
“The hell we have,” Teller snapped. He looked the most similar to Tate, with dark hair. His beard was trimmed shorter. He paced in the small living room, his hands on his hips. He was dirty, like he’d been yanked out of doing chores. “What were you thinking? Were you even thinking? Or did you think a guy like this would really?—”
“You’d be smart to shut your mouth right goddamn now.” I bit back a growl. “No one talks to my wife like that.”
Teller stopped, stunned. Tate narrowed his eyes on me. Summer blinked, then exchanged a look with Wynter. Myles appeared from the hallway, and it was the baby’s turn to stare at me.
I didn’t look at the little girl with her frilly pants and potbelly. The way she blinked those big, innocent eyes at me was like she was asking if I was ready for something like her. Would I get Autumn pregnant, get my land, and then go back to Vegas and pretend I was single?
A sour taste spread across my tongue. I was ready for everyone to leave. Especially that kid. “We’ve told you the news. My father’s invited you all out for a celebratory dinner. I expect nothing but the same respect you’ve shown him so far.”
“He’s still selling?” Tenor asked. Of the three Bailey brothers, he was the most even-keeled. He wore black, thick-framed glasses, had lighter brown hair than his brothers, and didn’t sport a beard. He hunched, like he was hyperaware his size might intimidate, or he thought this house was suffocating. And it was, with all of them crowding the living room. He was easily the least hostile of the crew, but I wouldn’t put it past him to run me down if he thought I’d hurt Autumn. At least if he did it, I would probably deserve it. Tenor thought before he acted or spoke.
“That remains to be seen.” I should get a damn award for keeping the arrogance out of my answer.
Autumn cleared her throat. “Are you guys coming or not?”
Teller still had his hands on his hips, but he was glaring at my hand entwined with Autumn’s. Tate had adopted the same stance. Wynter took the baby from Myles and watched us like her siblings.
“I have a question.” Summer folded her arms. “What are you going to tell Mama?”
Autumn
I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut and bury my head in Gideon’s strong shoulder. Mama.
I’d been so worried about my brothers and their reactions. Even concerned over what Summer would say. Wynter and Junie didn’t butt in like the rest. But Mama.
She’d be delighted I was married. She’d be just as devastated to think this relationship was fake. She’d be appalled I’d negotiated for a baby.
“I’m going to talk to her.” I wanted to clutch Gideon’s hand to my chest. Mama had been so accepting of me and my sisters from the start. The last thing I wanted was to feel like I was betraying her trust. I never lied to her. Likewise, I always hid how irritated I could get at my brothers’ bossiness.
“And tell her what?” Teller added in a gentler tone than he’d been using. I had Gideon to thank for that. When he’d defended me, he’d forged our partnership. He wasn’t some casino god and I wasn’t just the mousy teacher. We were a team.
I lifted my chin. “That’s between us and Mama. I’d appreciate it if you let me and Gideon tell her.”
Wynter bounced from side to side with Elsa. “You’ll need to talk to her soon. No offense, Gideon, but your dad loves to share what makes him happy, and if this announcement got him excited, he’ll probably tell everyone about this new daughter-in-law.”
Hank seemed like a guy who loved to share what delighted him. If he’d been like that when Gideon was growing up, I wouldn’t be here right now with a brooding man who was as stiff as a barn door.
I peeked at Gideon and went into instant infatuation mode. Strong jaw. Long, straight nose. Sharp eyes. He’d shaved this morning, but a dark shadow was already dusting his jaw. What would the stubble feel like under my fingers?
I couldn’t believe I was sitting so close to him or that our hands were connected again. I was getting used to touching him, to sitting butted up against him, but at the same time, I’d never get used to it.
But this moment was more than that. He wasn’t just some good-looking guy. He had a lot of feelings about his family. His tension around his dad wasn’t normal and the comment this morning about learning to cook or go hungry said a whole lot.
Gideon felt deeply. Had anyone witnessed his emotions other than me?
He met my gaze, those feelings simmering deep in his eyes. A slight question was written on his face. What were we talking about?
Oh. Mama. “We should tell her in person. It wouldn’t feel right over the phone.”
“Then we’ll go now. They can leave.”
I smiled and patted his arm. “This is all going really fast.” He might not be my siblings’ biggest fan but this process would be easier if he was a touch more congenial.
“What’d you think would happen when you come back from Vegas married?” Tate held his hands up when Gideon aimed a glare his way. “I’m just saying. We’re worried about our sister. That shouldn’t be a surprise.”
“You’re right—maybe I wasn’t thinking.” I tightened my hold on Gideon’s hand to silence the argument I could feel building inside him. “Just like Wynter wasn’t thinking when she applied to work for Myles.”
Wynter blinked but continued to sway with the baby. She gave Myles a quelling smile. He was frowning, probably over his wife getting called out. Too bad.
“Or,” I continued, “I was thinking as much as Summer was when she left her wedding to stay with Jonah.”
Gideon cocked his head at my sister. He wouldn’t have heard the story.
“Well...” Summer shifted from foot to foot. “I mean... I’d just been slapped by my fiancé.”
Gideon jerked. The anger radiating off him was almost palpable. A good sign that hearing a guy hit my sister upset him.
“But you didn’t want to face us.” I’d been a little hurt. I had done my best to understand. I hadn’t gone through what she had, and I’d like to think that I wouldn’t have dated a guy like her ex, but I’d dated enough duds that I couldn’t really talk. “You weren’t exactly ready to explain what you were thinking, and we gave you space.” I switched my attention to Tate.
My oldest brother smirked. “Can’t really lump me in with them since it was all of you butting into my love life that got me together with Scarlett.”
He had me there. “You get a pass this once.”
Tate’s smile was warm, but the concern didn’t leave his eyes. “We’ll go to Hank’s tomorrow, but we’re not backing out of the land deal.” He eyed Gideon. “That’s up to your dad. And I hope while you’re here, you realize that he’s not the man you think he is. He’s not an old drunk.”
“I know exactly what kind of man he is.”
The corners of Tate’s jaw flexed. None of them could argue with what Gideon had gone through, and for that consideration, I was grateful.
“Like I said, that’s between you and him.” Tate glanced at Teller. “Our end is set, and we’re just waiting on the bank. Tomorrow, then. Send us the details and what we can bring. You know Mama’s going to want to make food.”
He went out the door. Tenor was right behind him, but Teller stopped and faced Gideon. “You hurt my sister and it’s not going to matter what you say. We’ll bury you deeper than that fancy casino of yours is tall.”
He was out the door while I gaped at him. I peeked at Gideon, but his strong profile hadn’t shifted. He was tenser with just my sisters left behind.
“Junie’s going to lose her shit,” Summer said. “Do we have to wait to say anything to her?”
“You’re dying to tell her?”
She put her hand to her chest. “I’m dying to tell someone who thinks you’re crazy but isn’t ready to gut your husband and turn him into bear bait. No offense, Wynter. We didn’t have much time before we rushed here.”
Wynter patted Elsa’s back. “I was in the middle of pumping. She actually had to tell Myles first, but he didn’t want to get involved.”
Myles shook his head. “I love you like a sister, Autumn, and I disagree with your brothers. I think you can handle your new husband.”
The thought made my stomach somersault. I hadn’t handled Gideon at all. Eventually, we’d get to that part of the bargain, and we shouldn’t wait, or the sale would be final too soon.