9. Ford
CHAPTER 9
ford
I walked into Holden’s house without knocking.
My adorable, toe-headed, ten-year-old niece, Maddie, flung herself straight into my arms. “Funcle Fo-shiz!”
“What’s up, Miss Mads?” I lifted Maddie off the ground and hugged her tight. I needed a freaking hug. I set her back on her feet.
“Just practicing my ballet.” She did a fancy spin on one foot.
“Impressive.” I bobbed my head and gave her a fist bump.
“What’s up?” Holden grinned, walking toward me from the kitchen of their two-story farmhouse.
I frowned. “Are you out of your mind? Why would you tell Peyton to propose?”
“Are you getting married?” Maddie squealed. “Can I be the flower girl?”
“No, sweetie,” I said evenly for her sake. “There’s not going to be a wedding.”
Her face fell.
“Yes, there is.” Holden had the audacity to keep on grinning, a mischievous gleam in his stupid eye.
I glared at him. “No, there’s not.”
“You’ve been asking her for years.” He held up his hands like he was dumbfounded. “I thought this is what you wanted.”
“I want a real marriage. The kind where my wife isn’t disgusted at the thought of me touching her. I swear, all of you think I’m a joke.” I stalked to the couch and plopped down. “A punch line. Oh,” I said in a haughty, high-pitched voice. “You need a fake husband, go hit Ford up. He’s desperate.”
Holden pursed his lips. “Don’t be so dramatic.” He sat down on the loveseat across from me. “The conversation didn’t sound anything like that.”
“I’m not being dramatic. Marriage is serious business.”
“You think I don’t know that?” He waved his hands at the family pictures on the wall.
“Incoming!” Liam, their twelve-year-old, yelled, appearing around the corner. A foam football flew straight for my head.
I caught it with ease and tossed it back.
“No throwing the football in the house,” Holden said sternly. Then he pinned his children with a hard stare. “Time for bed.”
I didn’t know how he could command them with a handful of words and a pointed look but he did. Those two were terrified to sass their father. It was beautiful to behold. But in the next beat, he opened his arms and hugged them one at a time.
“Love you, Dad,” Liam said.
“G’night, Daddy.” Maddie smiled.
“Love you both,” he said.
They jetted up the stairs.
I was going to be a good dad like Holden. Like all three of my brothers.
If I can ever freaking get married and make a baby.
Christy walked in from the hall. “What did I miss?” She rubbed her hands together.
My head tilted. “You all knew I was coming?”
“Sure.” Holden chuckled. “Peyton texted me the second you peeled out of your garage.”
“I didn’t even tell her where I was going.” Had hardly said goodbye before jumping in my Jeep.
Holden shrugged. “I guess you’re predictable. Makes logical sense that you’d drive over to cuss me out. It’s what you do, bro.”
The doorbell rang. It was well past nine. Who was here this time of night? You are, noob.
Christy walked over to answer it. “Come on in, guys.” She made a large arm flourish, welcoming them inside.
Silas strode in, wearing basketball shorts and cowboy boots. He was followed by Lemon, Ashton, Tally, Anna, and Blue. Each wore a smirk and a conspiratorial look.
I leaned forward, forearms resting on my knees. “What’s happening? Is this an intervention? Don’t need one of those, guys. I already quit the wild life, remember?”
Anna sat next to me, so of course Blue sat next to her. After nine years of marriage and three kids, they were still attached at the hip. I wanted to be attached at the hip with somebody. No, with Peyton. But all she wanted was my last name, to strap on a chastity belt, and hold her fingers at me in a cross.
“If you want to call it that, you can,” Ashton said with raised brows. “But this is more of a pep talk.”
“A half-time speech.” Blue winked. “If you will.”
“There’s no game, so how can it be a halftime speech?” I grumbled.
“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong.” Christy beamed. “You are about to enter the biggest game of your life.”
They all laughed.
I leaned back, a touch nervous for whatever they had planned.
With all the available seats taken, Tally settled herself at my feet, staring up at me with her big brown eyes. “How’re you doing, Ford?”
“Fine, I guess,” I started to get up. “Here, you can have my spot.”
She rubbed my knee. “No. I’m good.”
Ashton kicked me in the ankle. “I’ll take your seat.”
“Sit your butt down.” I snorted. “I only give up my spot for beautiful women.”
“Are you flirting with my wife?” Ashton scoffed.
I flashed him a grin. “I always flirt with your wife.” I did. Just to get under his skin.
Tally giggled when he pulled her against him and shot me a glare. “Get your own,” he said.
“ That is exactly why we’re here,” Lemon said.
“All right.” Holden smacked the heel of his hand against his thigh like it was a gavel. “I call this meeting to order.”
“What meeting?” I growled.
“The Help Ford Develop A Plan to Win Peyton Over With A Fake Marriage meeting,” he said in a duh voice.
“You’re going to have your very own marriage of convenience.” Tally squealed. “It’s one of my favorite tropes.”
“Tropes?” My face scrunched in irritation. “My life isn’t a sappy romance.”
“Sure, it is.” Anna smiled. “At least, we’re going to help you make it a romance.”
“You just need a plan,” Silas said.
“Wait. You all think I should do this?” I stared at Silas. “Even you?” Silas was the one who never wore his heart on his sleeve and who overthought everything. He was the rule keeper. The one that made sure we all kept the rules. The man didn’t have a spontaneous, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants bone in his body.
Then again, he’d married Lemon three days after they got together. So what did I know?
He grinned. “Even me.”
“Guys.” My jaw ticked. “The woman wants to marry me now, divorce me later, and not let me touch her in between.” Possibly. That part wasn’t clear. “I can’t live in the same house as her and keep my hands to myself. Have you seen her?”
“She’s gorgeous,” Anna said like it was a definite problem.
“So gorgeous,” Lemon agreed.
“And curvy.” Tally chewed her lip, looking suddenly unsure.
“And feisty,” Blue added. “She might claw your eyes out if you look at her wrong.”
“Or worse,” Ashton added, his eyes bright like he’d pay to see that show.
I threw my hands in the air. “Exactly.”
“Restraint.” Silas’s expression was grim. “It’s going to take great restraint.” He aimed himself at me. “But you can do this. You know how I know?”
I frowned at him.
“Because I did it. And we’re cut from the same cloth. We have fifty percent of the same DNA.” He rolled his shoulders back. “I lived with Clem for three months and…” He hesitated.
“Almost made it.” Anna snickered.
I pursed my lips. “Super encouraging. If Silas—The King of Restraint—can’t keep his hands to himself for three months, how am I supposed to pull off five years? This meeting is a waste of time.” I started to stand. Tally quickly sat on my feet and I fell back against the couch. “Tell me why I should put myself through that kind of torture.”
Lemon gave me a sad smile. “First off, for Cash. That boy needs to be with his mom. Braxton is no kind of father. He hardly makes any real food. And he doesn’t actually spend time with him. He’s on the computer while Cash entertains himself doing who knows what. And his morals?”
Christy exhaled a quick tch . “What morals?”
“Exactly.” Lemon nodded. “He’s using Cash as a vindictive bargaining chip.”
She was right. I needed to stop thinking about myself. I should do this for Cash. For Peyton. But the no touching…
“But also for yourself,” Lemon said. “Because this opportunity is exactly what you need to win her over.”
“I’ve been trying to win her over,” I said, frustration bursting from my vocal cords. “What do you think I’ve been doing for the last…” I quickly did the math. “I don’t even know how many years.”
Tally rubbed my knee. “You have. But Peyton’s walls are bulletproof and five feet thick.”
“Which is why this is exactly what you need to break them down,” Anna said, her chin lifted, confident.
“How?” I asked simply.
Lemon smiled, a soft look in her eye. “Living with a man forces you to see them differently.”
“Plus.” Anna shrugged. “Their deep voice.”
“Muscles,” Christy added, her cheeks flushing as she glanced at her husband…who was preening like a peacock.
“Facts,” Tally said. “Ashton’s naked chest still does me in. Every. Single. Time.” She fanned her face.
My brothers and Blue sat taller, chests puffed.
“I swear,” Lemon said. “Testosterone has magical powers. Put a woman in the same house with a handsome man and she doesn’t stand a chance.”
Anna’s face scrunched up. “Except when they get B.O.”
Tally shivered. “Or morning breath.”
“Or they fart.” Christy shuddered.
“Or belch,” Lemon added. “So unbecoming. Don’t do any of those things. Otherwise, Peyton will feel like she’s stuck in a jail cell with you.”
My brothers and Blue deflated.
I chuckled. “Noted.”
“Wow,” Silas said dryly. “Y’all get morning breath and smelly gas too. Don’t try to act like you don’t.”
Lemon patted his arm. “Shhh.”
“We’re going to help you come up with a plan.” Christy held up a finger. “But first, we need paper.” My pixie-sized sister-in-law shot to her feet, jogged to the kitchen, and grabbed a pen and a legal pad.
“This is going to require sacrifice on your part. But that’s what marriage is. So.” She glanced around. “What do we know about Peyton?”
Christy dropped back to her seat, her pen poised and ready.
“She’s a hard worker,” Anna said. “Like, she doesn’t know how to sit still.”
“It’s the ADHD,” I said.
“Right.” Anna agreed with a nod. “But it’s also because?” She tilted her head, her eyes wide, like she was a teacher trying to draw a specific answer out of me.
“Because she’s a caregiver. She’s always taking care of everyone,” Lemon answered.
Anna touched her nose, letting her know she’d hit the nail on the head.
“Peyton has never been taken care of.” Lemon took back over. “She’s an only child who cleaned up her parent’s messes since she was a kid.”
I sunk into my seat, feeling sick. Peyton’s family was about as messed up as they could be. Sure, they’d looked perfect from the outside. That was their standard operating procedure. It’s why her mom had put her in so many beauty pageants. She was obsessed with perceived perfection.
Peyton had gotten a job at McDonald’s the day she turned fourteen to help with the credit cards her mom had run up. It had barely made a dent.
“She won’t let me take care of her,” I said. “If she had, she wouldn’t have lost her house.”
Anna leaned her head on my shoulder. I rested my head against hers. I needed all the cuddles I could get after not being able to cuddle with Peyton for so long.
“You like making grand gestures,” Ashton said. “Most women would be all over that. But she’s not most women.”
“You don’t say.” I scratched my jaw.
Silas rubbed his hands together. “So you do tiny things. Things so small she won’t question you. You’re going to serve the heck out of her.”
“You’ll make her life so incredibly good,” Holden said. “So much easier than it’s ever been that she won’t want a divorce.”
My entire forehead was in a crunch. “I’m intrigued. Continue.”
Christy bounced on her knees. “So do little things like bringing her a cup of coffee in the morning before she wakes up.” She scribbled it at the top of the page.
“Leave sweet notes on the bathroom mirror, inside jokes, or tell her how beautiful she is today,” Anna said. “Blue does that for me.”
“That’s ’cause I have this husband thing down.” Blue grinned. Anna poked his dimple with her finger.
“Keep ‘em coming,” Christy said as she finished writing Anna’s suggestion on her pad.
“Flowers are always nice,” Ashton said.
Tally smiled at her husband. “I never get tired of Ash bringing me flowers. Even if he cuts them from our rose garden.”
“You gotta protect her privacy and well-being from fans,” Blue added. Playing college football and then quarterbacking in the NFL had given him plenty of experience with that.
“For sure,” I said. I was already good at protecting my family from the paparazzi.
“Buy all her favorite snacks,” Tally said with a smile. “But you already do that.”
“Peyton’s going to insist you let Flora Mae go. That she doesn’t need a maid. Don’t do it,” Lemon said. “You can afford help. There’s no reason for Peyton to run herself ragged trying to clean your manor .” Everyone laughed at her use of the word. Even me. “What Peyton needs is two seconds to figure out who she actually is and what she wants to do with her life. I’m not even sure she likes nursing. She needs to know that if she just wants to be Cash’s mom, that’s enough. There’s nothing more disheartening than having your childhood dream of being a stay-at-home mom crushed because your husband doesn’t think it’s a real job.” Lemon had experienced that kind of marriage with her first husband.
“Guys.” I ran a hand over my scruff. “I wouldn’t demand that my wife work. I don’t need whatever measly salary she’d make.”
Ashton rolled his eyes.
I scrubbed my hands over my thighs. “Not trying to be arrogant. It’s the truth.”
“Yes,” Anna said. “But we all know that’s how Braxton made her feel. You’re going to be such a breath of fresh air after him.”
Man, I hoped so. Wait? Was I going to do this? Could I do this?
“But the no touching.” I sounded whiny and helpless. I hated it.
“It’ll be tough,” Silas agreed. “Living across the hall from Clem during those ninety days was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But it was one of the best too.” He got a far-off look, remembering. “I thought I knew her before that but living with her gave me a chance to learn things I never would have in any other way.” He smiled at me. “Try not to focus on how hard it is not to touch Peyton. Instead, take the opportunity to see her for who she is and what she needs. So when she finally does let you touch her, you can love her deeper.”
“You being famous will put doubts in her head,” Blue kissed Anna on the temple. “You have to make her confident that your marriage tops everything else. That whoever tries to mess with your relationship is wasting their time.” He gave me a pointed look. “Even if she walks into your hotel room wearing nothing but trouble.” We’d both had that happen on repeat.
“Faking a relationship takes intense willpower,” Holden said. “But you’ve already overcome hard things. You can do this.”
I snorted. “Living with Peyton and not touching her might be a new all-time suck fest for me.”
“Look, bro,” Ashton said. “You live in a world where you could have any woman you want, whenever you want. It’s made you a little…” I could see him choosing his words carefully. “Entitled.” Okay, not careful at all.
“Seriously?” I scoffed.
His brow arched, challenging me.
“Fine.” I huffed. “You’re right.”
“But.” His head cocked to the side. “You have to think long term. Not right now. Waiting for someone, and not knowing if they’ll ever want you back, is gut-wrenching. What you need to decide is if this woman is worth it. Can you picture your future without her in it?”
“No. I can’t,” I blurted. I already knew that. The Georgia Experiment had proved that. “She’s the only future I see.”
Tally sighed softly and Anna pressed a hand to her heart.
It was a whirlwind after that. Ideas of what I could do to show Peyton I loved her—like truly loved her—came faster and faster. By the time we were done, there was a full page, front and back, step-by-step plan entitled Ford’s Epic Love Strategy.
Everyone stood and stretched. I stayed on the couch, studying the plan, my mind whirling, slightly overwhelmed. Though I hated to admit it, I needed to be real with myself. I’d been that kid that every parent was happy they didn’t have. I’d pouted and whined in public until I got my way. Before rehab, if a woman rejected me, I’d wear them down until they gave in.
Instant gratification had been my motto, whether I’d consciously known it or not. Zero self-restraint. I’d hated myself for it. Loathed. Especially because my brothers were the opposite. They were steadfast, patient, diligent, never yielding in their morals. I’m fairly certain my inability to be like them is why I’d turned to drinking and drugs.
But as I took in my family who’d shown up for me tonight, I knew I wasn’t all bad. I was capable of loving someone more than myself. I knew because I loved them . Every single one. I would do anything for them.
I’d die for them.
I’d certainly kill for them. I had for Ashton and Tally.
I shook my head at the thought. It wasn’t something I enjoyed reflecting on. Had gone to hours of therapy to get Tally’s psychopath abuser’s face out of my head.
Looking at my family now—my brothers and their spouses, my niece and her husband—I wanted what they had. Each couple in this room had worked tirelessly to get where they were. But they were happy. Ridiculously. I wanted that. Even if it was the hardest thing I’d ever do. Silas was right. This was going to take restraint like I’d never exercised before.
He walked over and stared down at me. His eyes were solemn. “This is your chance to become who you want to be. I know you want this, Ford. I can see it in your eyes. The way you look at her.” I wanted to squirm under his intense scrutiny. It was like he was searching the depths of my soul. But then he said, “Remember the Tortoise and the Hare story Mom read to us as kids.”
“Yes.” I’d always hated that story. It went against everything in me. I went fast and I went hard.
“Be the tortoise. Slow and steady wins the race.” He cuffed me on the shoulder. “You love her. I wouldn’t get behind this if I didn’t believe that. None of us would. But you have to put her first. Do you understand?”
I nodded. “Yeah.” I did.
Or, at least, I thought I was beginning to.
Either way, I was about to drink from the fire hose of marriage.
Even if it was fake.