Chapter 24
24
Tracey was surprised to see her dad’s old truck parked in the inn’s driveway and him sitting on her back porch when Brian brought her home the next morning. The day before in Atlanta had been great: the visit to the gardens, dinner and the night in Brian’s arms. She was enjoying her time with Brian so much she was wondering if maybe he’d be open to adding another day to their agreement. Was that stretching the limits of their friends-with-benefits arrangement? Maybe, but she was willing to do that as long as she got another chance for him to put her in a few of the positions he’d introduced the night before.
She wasn’t in the mood to deal with her dad and whatever drama he was bringing to her door. He never dropped by to say hello, and he hadn’t called to say he was coming over. She was the one who had to make the proof-of-life calls and check in on him.
“I wonder what made him come over,” she said when Brian pulled up next to his truck.
“Maybe he just wanted to see you?”
Tracey shook her head. “I doubt it. My dad doesn’t look for me unless he wants something specific. Might as well see what that is.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
“No. I doubt he’ll stay long. Let me find out what’s going on, and then we can chill.”
His lips lifted in a sexy smile as his eyes traveled over her body. “We just gonna chill?”
Heat flooded her cheeks, and she swallowed a giggle. Who was she and when had she become this person? Comfortable with joking about sex? She hadn’t felt this comfortable with her own sexuality in a long time. The feeling was addictive.
“Maybe we’ll do some other things.” She winked before opening the door to get out of the car.
Her dad stood and marched over to the car. Tracey quickly scanned him. He didn’t appear hurt or drunk, which were both good things.
“Hey, Dad. What are you doing here?”
He stopped in front of her and eyed Brian coming up behind her. “I just came to check on you.” His eyes narrowed. “What are you doing with him?”
Brian held out his hand. “Hi, Mr. Carl. It’s good to see you.”
Her dad scowled at his hand and sucked his teeth. “Where are you two coming from?”
Tracey raised a brow. She crossed her arms. “Atlanta. Why?”
“When did you go?”
“Why does it matter?”
Her dad looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Because you’re a married woman hanging out with an unmarried man.”
Tracey blinked then scoffed. Where in the world was that coming from? “Dad, in case you forgot, Bernard and I are divorced.”
“That’s just a piece of paper. You need to take him back,” he said adamantly.
Tracey let out an incredulous laugh. “That piece of paper took over a year and too much money in lawyer fees to get. There is no way I’m taking him back.”
Carl crossed his arms. “Why not?”
She held up a finger. “One, he cheated.” She lifted another. “Two, he had a baby with her.” She held up a third. “He lied and cheated on me for years.”
Her dad waved off her words as if they were nothing. “So what? Do you know how many times I took your mom back?”
“You and Mom aren’t me and Bernard. We’re done, Dad. Get used to it.”
He shook his head. “No. Not if you’re going to be out here in these streets like your mother. I thought you would be better than her. I heard the people talking, saying you were messing around with him,” he said and flung a dirty look Brian’s way. “But I didn’t want to believe it. That’s why I came to check on you.”
“And you should mind your business. I don’t get in between your and Mom’s relationship, and I won’t let you in mine. Bernard is good where he’s at.”
“No, he’s not. He misses you.”
Tracey snorted. “I doubt it.”
“I went to him first. He messed up. He didn’t mean to get that girl pregnant. But now you’ve up and left him, and he has no choice but to stay with her. What you should do is get back with him and y’all be a family.”
If her dad had said aliens had invaded the planet and named him emperor she would have been less shocked. She couldn’t believe he was trying to guilt-trip her into taking Bernard back. That he’d even want her to have the same type of pain and suffering he’d dealt with for years with her mom.
“Dad, I don’t care what Bernard wants anymore. I’m living my life for me right now. He made his choice, and so did I.”
Her dad scowled. “Look at you. Sounding just like your mom. Is that what you want? To be like her? To be running around and having people call you a slut?”
Brian stepped up to Tracey’s side. “Hold on. That’s enough.”
Tracey held up a hand to stop him. She took a deep breath then looked at her dad. “Look, I don’t know what you thought you were going to achieve coming over here, but if you keep talking, the only thing that’s going to happen is I’m not going to talk to you ever again. So why don’t you get in your truck and go and we pretend like this never happened.”
Her dad shook his head then pointed at her. “You know what I’m saying is true. I always did the right thing by your mom and kept the family together. You need to do the same.”
“Me and Bernard aren’t a family anymore. We don’t have kids, thank God, and I don’t owe him a damn thing.”
“You can be a family. He can’t raise that kid alone, and he doesn’t want to raise it with her.”
Tracey did a double take. Was he serious? She shook her head and fished her keys out of her purse. “I’m done talking to you.”
She walked toward the back door of the inn. Brian followed. Her dad stayed put, but he yelled after them.
“Don’t be like your mom. You can do better than her, Tracey. Fix this thing instead of running around with some man that’s only going to use you and drop you.”
Tracey’s fingers trembled as she reached for the door. Brian’s hands covered hers, and she jerked. She glared up at him expecting to see the pity in his eyes. Once again, he was there when she was being humiliated.
“I’ve got you,” he said evenly. Nothing showed in his eyes except for the same anger bubbling inside her like spewing lava.
He opened the door. Tracey quickly went inside, ignoring her dad’s insistent calls that she was just as wrong as her mother. Shirley stood by the kitchen sink. She gave Tracey a comforting look but didn’t speak. There were no words that could make up for her dad’s insults. Thankfully the rest of the kitchen staff continued their work.
Cheeks burning that her dad would not only embarrass her but do it at her inn, Tracey hurried to her office. She paced back and forth, the need to scream, cry or hit something all churning inside her. Why did he have to say that? Just because her dad had stuck around in a bad situation shouldn’t mean he wanted her to do the same.
“I can’t believe he said that,” Tracey said through gritted teeth.
Brian came over and stopped her from pacing. “Don’t listen to him.”
“I’m not like my mom, and I’m not like him either.” Her eyes burned, but she refused to shed the tears. Refused to be seen as weak or vulnerable in front of Brian. Why did she always have to have her life come apart with him front and center stage?
“You’re just you, Tracey.”
Her back straightened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shook his head and shrugged. “Exactly what I said. You’re you. You’re not your mom or your dad. You’re not what anyone expects or can tell you to be. You’re your own person, and whatever works for you is all that matters.”
“I know that.”
“Then, why are you letting his words get to you when you already know you’re not your mom?”
“Because I wanted so bad not to be her that I was actually like him,” she shot back.
Brian’s brows drew together, and he leaned back. “What?”
She ran her hands through her hair. She wanted to pull on the locs and yell in frustration. Instead she dropped her hands and sighed. “I did exactly what my dad did before. I ignored the signs or pretended like it didn’t matter. I stuck around when I should have let go so long ago. Each and every time I stayed because we made a commitment. We vowed for better or for worse. I couldn’t let the one thing that I’d wanted so much to turn out to be a failure.”
Brian shook his head before his jaw flexed. “Leaving a bad situation isn’t a failure.”
“I know that,” she snapped then sighed. Brian wasn’t the enemy. “It’s just that I can’t believe my dad said that. This isn’t the first time he said I shouldn’t have left. He’s said little things here and there about me getting a divorce, but for him to do this? What could have set him off?”
Brian shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what set him off. Your dad shouldn’t be over here telling you to go back to Bernard. I’m your man now, and everyone better get used to that.”
“Exactly!” She spoke before his words sunk in. When they did, she blinked several times as if her brain had short-circuited. “Wait. You’re my what?”
Brian froze. Maybe his brain had short-circuited, too. He’d said he was her man! The words didn’t send a thrill through her, they made her wary. She didn’t want a man, not like that anyway. She’d just finalized her divorce. She was back out here testing the waters, not signing up to get into something serious.
“Brian?” she asked softly. Maybe he’d meant it in a different way. The man in her bed? The man she was sleeping with? The man who was also her friend?
The surprise in his eyes faded, and he closed the few inches of space in between them. “You heard me, Tracey. I’m your man.”
She took a step back. Was he asking or telling? The confidence and possessiveness in his eyes both made her want to melt and run. “I thought we were just chilling. Friends with benefits and all that.”
“Yeah, we were, but I’m not thinking about being with someone else right now. I know you’ve got your stuff to figure out, and I’ve still got my own things, but we can still be together. No promises, no expectations, but also no one else. I won’t embarrass you or mislead you. When you’re ready to call this quits, that’s cool, but I want to be more than just the friend you sleep with. I want to be the man you call when you need something. Your plus-one when you’ve got somewhere to go.”
“You want to be my gentleman caller?” she said trying to lighten the mood. To tease him a little bit and take away some of the heaviness the pressure of his words had put on her.
She wasn’t sure if she was ready for or wanted what he was asking her. Was she coming out of one bad situation and going into another? Even though she knew the only thing Bernard and Brian and in common was their names starting with a B , she still wasn’t ready to step out and start a new relationship with him.
“I’ll be whatever you want to call me,” he said.
Her breathing shallowed. The air felt thin, and there wasn’t enough to fill her lungs. “I don’t…”
He cupped her chin in his hand then lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss was slow, sensual, and it set her soul on fire. She leaned into him, immediately recalling everything single thing they’d done to each other in that hotel room in Atlanta. But what they had was lust. Could she do this based on the fact that they were compatible in the bedroom?
She pulled back slowly. Brian’s thumb brushed her lower lip before he dropped his hand and took a step back.
“I know I just changed the rules. Think about what I said.”
“I’m not sure if I’m ready.”
He nodded. “I know. And if what we’re doing now is still all you want, then that’s cool. I’m willing to take whatever you want to give me.”