Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
Rainey
After everyone decides which room they’re going to take, we head out back. Nathan and my twin nieces just went down for a nap so we’re trying to keep the volume down. If you’ve never been around a tired toddler, trust me when I say that everyone will be a lot happier if they get the rest their little bodies need.
Devyn and I walk out onto the deck together, and there’s no mistaking the interest in my younger brothers’ eyes. Thankfully, she stays true to character, completely unaware of the attention she garners.
I point a threatening finger at them. “Don’t even think about it.”
Emmett being the wiseass he is, boldly runs his eyes down the length of Devyn’s lithe frame. “Sorry, Rain, there’s no way in hell I’m agreeing to that.”
The twins, Calvin and Joey, are much smarter and busy themselves with the grill. Don’t let my small frame deceive you—growing up with five brothers will make any girl scrappy. I’ve knocked every one of them on their asses at one point or another.
“I could use a beer,” I say to Devyn. “You want one?”
“Sure,” she says.
We each grab a bottle from the cooler and make our way over to the built-in benches. Devyn sets the baby monitor on the ledge and pops the tops using the opener on her flip-flops.
“I told you these shoes would come in handy.” She smiles.
I clink my bottle to hers. “Totally worth the extra ten bucks.”
She leans back and looks toward the ocean. “God, the view is incredible.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Brody says, sliding onto the bench beside me. Taking the bottle right out of my hand, he adds, “Although I think we’re looking at two different things.”
“Excuse me,” I complain as he takes a big swig. “Get your own beer, buddy.”
He takes another drink, eyeing me the entire time. “Yours tastes better.”
“Here we go again,” Devyn mutters. “Lorraine, I’m going inside to see if your sister-in-law needs help with the salads.”
“Traitor!” I shout as she walks away.
Brody, undeterred by my snark as always, scoots closer and offers my bottle back.
“Thanks,” I grumble, even though the damn drink is mine. I take a sip and pass it back to him. Before you ask, no, I don’t know why I just did that.
He leans back and looks over the crowd gathered on the deck. “So, here’s a question for you: Why do all of your brothers look like linebackers?”
“Pfft, that’s ridiculous,” I scoff. “Only one of them is.”
“ What? ”
I point to the elder brothers. “Junior’s the only one who went to the NFL—he’s a middle linebacker for the Mustangs. George played in college, but he’s an attorney now.” I move my finger to the younger three. “Joey’s a receiver for Ohio State, and Calvin plays soccer for Clemson. Emmett, always the odd man out, chose to play with pucks instead of balls. He’s a forward for Toronto.”
Brody chokes a little on the sip he was taking. “Are you telling me four of your five brothers are professional athletes?”
“No,” I refute. “The twins have two more years of college before they can even think about going pro. My mom would kill them if they didn’t get their degree first.”
His eyes widen. “Holy shit! I knew that guy looked familiar. Junior’s real name is Martin, right?”
“Yep,” I confirm. “He’s named after my dad.”
“Why am I just finding out about this? Your brother is on my Madden roster, for shit’s sake!”
“I don’t know,” I say with a shrug. “It’s not like we spend a lot of time together.”
He cocks his head to the side. “ Are you high? We see each other all the time.”
“Yeah, but in a group setting. It’s not like we ever get any quality time.”
“Well, that can be easily arranged.” He wags his eyebrows suggestively.
Jesus, this guy can never resist an opening.
“Taken, remember?” I wiggle my ring finger for emphasis .
He drains the rest of the bottle. “I’m still not convinced you mean that.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re an idiot.”
“So, I’ve heard.” He laughs.
“Rainey, heads up!” Junior shouts, right before a football nails me in the chest.
“Holy shit!” I yelp as I grab my aching breast. “I think you broke my boob, dumbass!” I aim for Junior’s nut sack and whip the ball. Sadly, he sees it coming from a mile away and catches it before I can make contact.
“Are you okay?” Brody asks, choking back laughter.
“Your concern would be a lot more convincing if you weren’t laughing it up right now.”
“Trust me, sweetheart, I’m always concerned about your tits.” He punctuates his statement by staring at said tits.
“Oh my god, do you ever quit?” I throw my hands up, wincing when I feel the pain.
Junior interrupts before Brody can reply. “You okay, kiddo? Joey was supposed to catch that.”
“I’ll be fine,” I mutter. “Give me some more alcohol, and things will be just peachy.”
“That, I can do,” Brody offers as he stands.
Junior sizes him up. “Who’s your friend, Rain?”
“He’s Drew’s friend, not mine,” I clarify.
“Ouch, that hurt, princess,” Brody complains.
“Martin,” Junior says by way of introduction.
Brody shakes his hand. “Nice to meet you, man. I’m Brody. Rainey just told me you play for Indy. That’s pretty fucking awesome. Linebackers are totally underappreciated, if you ask me.”
Junior grins. “I like you, Brody. You want to help me haul some more beer outside? ”
I roll my eyes at Brody’s obvious ass-kissing. “Get me another while you’re at it.”
“Sure thing, darlin’.” Brody winks. “Don’t worry. I’ll be right back.”
A few minutes later, Devyn returns, beers in hand.
“Thanks,” I say as she hands me a bottle.
“Brody was about to bring this over, but I figured you wouldn’t mind the interception.”
“Good call.” I laugh. “Good luck keeping him away though.”
“I think we have a little while,” she proclaims. “I told him I needed to ask you nurse questions about irregular periods.”
That deserves a fist bump, so I give her one. “This is why you’re my best bitch.”
She really is, too . We’ve known each other less than two years, but it feels like a lifetime. As strange as it sounds, she’s my first real female friend. The other women in my life are more like acquaintances or coworkers. Growing up surrounded by so much testosterone, I didn’t get to do many girly things, which was fine by me. Hell, I dressed in my brother’s hand-me-downs for most of my childhood, much to my mother’s dismay. As a woman, I definitely prefer a more feminine look, but growing up as “one of the guys” is still a big part of who I am. Devyn’s the first woman I’ve met that has a similar personality. Once we figured that out, we pretty much insinuated ourselves into every aspect of each other’s lives and never looked back.
She chuckles. “Seriously though, Brody’s not being too much of a nuisance, is he?”
“Nothing I can’t handle. Besides, bickering with him distracts me from missing Adam.”
“Where’s his conference this weekend anyway?”
“New York.”
“He’s had a lot of those lately, hasn’t he?” she asks.
I narrow my eyes at her. “Where are you going with this, D?”
“I’m not going anywhere with it,” she insists. “I was just wondering if it was normal for doctors to attend so many meetings outside of the hospital.”
“They’re grooming him to be the Chief of Emergency Medicine,” I explain. “He’s learning more about the management side of things.”
“Well, hopefully, things will slow down once you guys decide to start making babies.” She bumps her shoulder to mine. “When’s that going to happen anyway? You said thirty was the magic number for motherhood.”
I take a lengthy sip to delay opening this can of worms.
“Rainey?”
I should’ve known she wouldn’t accept my silence.
I sigh. “Adam’s not exactly sold on having another kid.”
“ What ? Since when?”
“Since always,” I admit. “His son, Parker, is twenty—long past the dependent child phase. Adam doesn’t want to start over in his fifties.”
“Why is this the first time I’ve heard that?”
“I figured he’d change his mind.” I shrug.
“Has he given you any indication that he’s going to?”
I think back to the conversation Adam and I had only a week ago. It was more of an argument than a discussion, to be honest. I asked him if he’d at least consider having another child, and he shot me down, point blank. He couldn’t have been any clearer that he would never change his mind.
“Nope.”
Devyn looks at me with pity. “Lorraine, you were meant to be a mom. I don’t know how many times you’ve told me how envious you are of the women you see giving birth daily—how badly you want to experience that moment when they lay the baby on your chest. I’ve never seen someone more at ease with children than you are.”
I pick at the label on my bottle. “Yeah…well, we can’t always get what we want. I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to marry an older man. I love him. He loves me. That’s all that matters.”
“Do you really think so?” she presses. “Can you honestly tell me you’re okay with never having children?”
Not at all.
I stare at the ocean in silence, giving her the answer.
I have to fight back tears when she pulls me into a hug. “I’m sorry, hon.”
I take a deep breath and paste a smile on my face. Fake it ’til you make it, right?
“It’s all good. If it doesn’t work out, I can just focus on spoiling the shit out of Nathan and the girls. Are you hungry? I’m hungry. I think we need to take advantage of the fact that calories don’t count on birthdays.”
She offers a grin as she concedes to my horribly obvious diversion. “Well, we can’t let that rule go to waste. Let’s go show that barbeque we mean business.”