1. Play Nice
1
PLAY NICE
E ight Months Later
“You’re not leaving, are you, Foster?”
So much for his escape. His mother not only had eyes in the back of her head, but she had them all over her body. He wouldn’t be surprised if there were tentacles hidden under her clothing that she’d used to round them all up as kids too.
“The wedding is winding down,” he said. He’d already stayed longer than he’d planned.
“It’s your brother’s wedding,” his mother said with her hands on her hips. “There is family here from both sides that you haven’t seen in years. Just because dinner is done doesn’t mean you should leave. Unless you’re going back to the hotel?”
His oldest brother owned a hotel in the Hamptons and all family members were staying there for the big event.
“Why would I stay in a hotel when I live an hour away?” he asked. He’d said this to her a few times.
“Because it’s late and dark out,” his mother said.
He snorted. “I’m thirty-two years old. I can drive home safely.”
His mother pulled him to the side. “Do you need to breathe? We’ve been outside for most of the wedding. I don’t understand the reason for you to take off on your brother’s big day.”
If his mother hadn’t softened her voice to ask that question away from everyone else, he might have lost the control he’d held onto for the past two hours.
Foster hated people.
Hated gatherings.
Loved his family, but from a distance most times. Today they all were in the same space.
The fact all eight of his siblings were together with his mother, not to mention nine cousins from his mother’s side and four from his father’s, had the walls closing in on him.
Not only that, she was trying to guilt him into staying.
His mother was a champion pile-the-guilt-on-someone’s-shoulder type of person.
He wasn’t falling for it.
If one more person came up and asked him what it was like working for West, the top of his head might blow off and spew bodily fluid all over the white decorations. Then there would be hell to pay.
Best to just go home knowing the hour-long drive would be enough to cool him off. Everyone would be happier.
“Mom,” he said. “I know you mean well. I really do. You’ll see me for Easter on Sunday. I promise.”
“But everyone was going to get together for breakfast tomorrow at the hotel,” his mother said. “One more last goodbye before West’s jet starts flying people home.”
He knew that and couldn’t believe his rotten luck that he’d been caught trying to slip out now.
“Mom,” Elias, one of his brothers, said, moving over. “Abby is asking for you.”
“She is?” his mother asked, looking around for the bride.
“Yes,” Elias said. “She’s in the house and had a question about something.”
“I shouldn’t keep her waiting. Don’t leave, Foster,” his mother said, pointing her finger at him.
The minute his mother was out of sight, he turned to his closest brother. The two of them were the quiet ones.
“Now is your chance if you want to dash out over the bushes,” Elias said.
“Ass,” he said. “I’m not that sneaky.”
“Darn close to it,” Elias said. “We’ve had bets going to see how long you would last. We all lost. Some said you’d sneak out after the toast, others after dinner. You made it for the cake cutting.”
He hated that he was watched that closely, even if it was only in jest.
“And yet Mom couldn’t see that,” he said.
The two of them were walking and talking. He had his jacket on that he’d retrieved twenty minutes ago when he was trying to find the perfect moment to slip out sight unseen.
Busted though.
“She’s happy so many people are together. Can you blame her?” Elias asked. “I think the last time this happened was Dad’s funeral.”
A time he didn’t want to remember. Not that he was close to his father, but it still hurt like hell to lose the man you looked up to when you were eleven years old.
“No,” he said. “I can’t blame her. But I don’t do well with people. I can barely handle our family.”
“It’s only family here,” Elias said, laughing.
“I’m talking about the extended family we haven’t seen in years. I’m not good with small talk.”
“You’re not good with talk at all,” Elias said. “Which is why you found a way to make sure your SUV was parked so that no one could block you in. It was the first thing I noticed.”
He laughed. Might be the first honest laugh he had today.
Foster didn’t think he was much of a dick, but he’d had a lot of anxiety over the sheer number of people he was going to have to play nice with today.
He played nice every day of the week at his job and it was exhausting. But the last thing he’d want to do was bring shame or attention to the family name.
Staying in the shadows was what he’d always been good at. Having to be one of the groomsmen for the wedding only pulled him out of the darkness and into the spotlight for the day.
“I’m sure everyone did. Do you want to leave with me or are you going back to the hotel with someone else?”
“I’d love nothing more than to go back to your place, but I’m already going to get into trouble when Mom finds out I lied about Abby looking for her.”
He slapped his hand on Elias’s back. “Appreciate it. I’ll see you on Sunday.”
“Positive?” Elias asked.
“Yeah. Mom would drive to my place and get me if I didn’t come. I don’t have a death wish.”
“There’d been times in your life we thought you did,” Elias said, smirking.
He didn’t need that reminder.
“I’m not that idiot anymore,” he said. “Which is why I know my limits and it’s time for me to go. No reason to embarrass Mom.”
Elias shook his head and Foster climbed into his SUV, backed out, and pulled away.
He used the hour drive home to blast hard rock music to help clear his head. Music was soothing to his soul, even the headbanging kind.
His body almost sagged in relief when he pulled down his street, then got close to his long driveway to bring him to the water on Merrick Bay. He was set back from other houses and liked it that way.
The small cottage before his driveway had been empty for a month, but he noticed the “for sale” sign gone and a vehicle in the driveway a few days ago. He should have bought it himself and let it stay empty.
Though it was dark out, there was a security light on in the backyard causing him to turn his head. Normally he minded his own business, but he noticed a woman walking what looked to be a puppy in the backyard.
She lifted her hand and waved with a bright smile, he did the same to not be an ass, but he kept his smile to himself.
Just what he needed. Another person to play nice with.