Chapter Forty-Eight
Brady
I slowed the truck as the gravel drive finally came into view, the tires crunching softly against the stones.
A familiar line of vehicles already was parked near the house like a map of our family’s collective neuroses.
Dad’s was angled sharply, abandoned at a slant that suggested he’d pulled in while thinking about twelve other things.
Drew’s massive SUV sat with one tire aggressively biting past the edge of the packed dirt.
Nora’s little car was tucked tight and protective against the porch.
I eased the Nova to a stop and cut the engine. It had arrived this morning, sent cross country by I still wasn’t sure who. I didn’t move at first. I let my hands rest on the steering wheel and watched the light spill from the windows.
Elise sat beside me, her gaze sweeping over the house before tracking toward the barn set a little way behind it.
The place wasn’t large. It wasn’t new. The wooden porch rail had been repaired in two spots with fresh planks that didn’t quite match the weathered gray of the original structure.
A pair of muddy work boots sat by the door.
Someone had left a worn denim jacket draped carelessly over one of the wicker chairs.
“This is your brother’s home?” she asked, her voice quiet in the cab.
“Yeah.” I reached into the back seat and pulled the heavy crockpot toward me, adjusting the thick dish towel around the handles. “It’s only our fathers who are trapped in a permanent competition with each other. The rest of us are more practical.”
Her dark eyes moved over the simple porch again. “I like it.”
“So do they.”
She studied the line of vehicles near the house. “Will your mother be here too?”
“Yes. It’s still a little strange, but also wonderful. Ever since we started doing these family dinners, she’s joined back in.”
Elise looked at me. “So, it wasn’t always like that?”
“No.” I glanced toward Dad’s vehicle. “But things have been changing. Especially now that we’re blending with the Burkes. We’re healing.”
“Will Nora’s father be here?”
I laughed. “We’re not that healed yet.”
Her mouth curved.
The roast had spent most of the afternoon cooking while Elise checked the recipe often enough to qualify as surveillance. When Nora suggested a potluck, I understood why. It gave all of us something to do besides worry.
I opened my door. The crisp New Hampshire air welcomed me. Voices came through the screen windows in layered, unedited bursts. Someone laughed, a loud, uncontained sound that could only belong to my brother, and another voice instantly cut in over it.
I walked around to let Elise out. It was a small gesture, but one I appreciated that she accepted. I shifted the crockpot to one arm so I could put the other around her. The thin fabric of her flowered dress warmed beneath my palm.
“I hope they like it,” she said.
“It’s Evan’s absolute favorite.”
“Usually our cook prepares important meals.”
“We grew up the same way.” I chuckled, guiding her toward the porch steps. “If it tastes bad, we blame the recipe.”
“That does not make me feel better, Brady.”
“You could blame me.”
She shot me a dry look. “I’d rather be certain it’s good.”
“Trust me,” I said. “The food won’t be what anyone fixates on.”
The door opened before I could knock. Nora stood there, looking a mixture of exhausted and relieved. “You’re here.”
“I brought enough slow-cooked meat to feed a small town,” I announced as I stepped across the threshold. “Hope everyone is hungry.”
“I am,” Drew’s voice called out.
“Let me take it to the kitchen,” Nora added cheerfully as she relieved me of the pot. “I’ll put it next to the bread I haven’t yet burned.”
We followed her through the house. The kitchen was already moving in that chaotic, beautifully unscripted rhythm I knew by heart.
Mom stood near the kitchen counter, reaching for a serving plate.
Drew leaned heavily against the back of a wooden chair, saying something that made Bella roll her eyes even as her mouth twitched.
She stood as soon as she saw us and greeted Elise.
“We’re so glad you came,” she said warmly.
Elise tensed beside me, but smiled back. “Thank you for inviting me.”
Drew stood to greet her as well. Although we’d all technically been together the night before, this was entirely different. “We’ve been hearing wonderful things about you, Elise. Mabel’s ready to adopt you.”
Elise ducked her head. “She’s been very kind to me.”
Bella looked on in approval. “Last night would have scared most people off, but you handled it well.”
All eyes, Elise looked around before answering. “I just did my best to be helpful.”
“Well it was appreciated,” my mother chimed in. “And Mabel can’t have her. Elise is ours.”
“Oh, Mom,” I said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Tone that down until she gets to know us better.”
“Oh,” Drew said with humor. “We’re still trying to give a good impression? How long do you need to date her, Brady, before you admit we’re all a little batshit?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve already figured that out,” Elise said without missing a beat, and a brief pause was followed by a round of laughter.
“Where’s Evan?” I asked with a chuckle.
“In the dining room with your father,” Mom answered.
I nodded for Elise to follow me. She slid her hand into mine and did.
Evan sat at the head of the long table, one arm resting flat on the wood. Dark bruising spread across his cheekbones, and when he shifted his weight, he did it carefully.
Way too carefully.
Dad was seated beside him, but stood when we entered the room. “You made it.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I said and leaned in to hug him.
His gaze settled on Elise. “Nice to have you join us.”
“Thank you,” Elise said. “It was wonderful to be invited.” After a pause she added, “Hello, Evan. Thank you for including me.”
Evan moved to stand, but we rushed to tell him that wasn’t necessary. After settling again into his seat, he said, “So, you’re Elise.”
She swallowed visibly. “Yes.”
“Wait,” Dad said. “You knew about her too? Why am I the last to know anything?”
I could have told him why, but he wouldn’t have heard the truth. We didn’t tell him anything because he had a tendency to act erratically. Yes, we loved him, but that came with the responsibility of handling him as well.
Bella used to work to contain him, but lately she’d pulled back from that role. That decision had become painfully clear when she’d eloped with Drew and had Evan break the news to him.
Evan faced him head on. He’d spent the last few years preferring to be anywhere but with the family, but Nora had brought him back into the fold. He and Dad had a solid, but sometimes tumultuous, relationship.
I was the one who stepped in and took my place beside him after each storm. This time, when it came to Elise, I wasn’t yet sure what my role would be with him. I glanced at her and Dad followed my line of sight for half a second, then looked back at me. “Is there anything I need to know?”
Yes.
I found Thomas Steele.
I love his daughter.
And even though I don’t have any proof to support it, I know her family wasn’t involved in what happened to Evan.
“Not tonight, Dad.”
He studied me, searching for whatever I wasn’t saying. I held his gaze until he finally gave a curt nod.
His attention drifted across toward the kitchen where Mom was talking to Nora in the doorway. The rigidity in his posture softened slightly.
“I still love her,” he said, dropping his voice even lower. “But she’s happier without me.”
I managed to keep my expression neutral. Dad openly wanting something was rare. Admitting he didn’t already have a strategy for getting it was even rarer.
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Dad.”
His jaw worked once. “Nothing, I guess. This whole thing with Evan really started me thinking. I let my pride blind me to what should have been most important.”
As if sensing his attention was on her, my mother turned in the doorway. “Do you need anything, Gabe?”
For just a second my father’s eyes darkened as if he were fighting back some deep regret. I felt for him, but I’d also lived his dismissive treatment of a woman who’d stayed with him longer than she should have. “No, but thank you, Beth.”
“Evan?” she called out. “How about you, honey? Would you like a drink?”
“All set, Mom,” Evan called back. In a low tone, he added, “She hasn’t called me honey since I was little.”
Dad’s attention snapped back to the bruises on Evan’s face, and the brief window of vulnerability closed. “She loves you and we were all worried for you yesterday.” He cleared his throat. “Still are.”
I crossed the room and stopped beside my brother’s chair. “Hey.”
Evan looked up, his smile coming a little slower than it used to. “Hey, little brother.”
“You look absolutely terrible.”
“Are you still making this all about our looks?” he joked.
“I’m really glad you didn’t die.” I said solemnly, putting a hand on his uninjured shoulder. “But, how do I break this to you? I’ll always be the better looking one.”
His laugh was hearty then pained. “Stop, my ribs are still sore.”
Bella and Drew came into the dining room carrying platters of food.
Nora waved for Elise and me to shuttle a few things as well.
There was a brief flurry of activity and then we were all seated.
Nora on one side of Evan, my father and mother on the other side.
Bella and Drew beside Nora then Elise with me.
Glasses were filled, although not with the wine that normally would have been flowing. My mother raised a hand and said, “Before we eat, I’d like to take a moment to simply savor that you are all here.” Her voice thickened. “May we never take this for granted.”
There was a murmur of agreement around the table. I waited for my father to add something, but he didn’t.
Conversation flowed with remarkable ease.
Elise asked questions I knew she knew the answers to, but I understood. This wasn’t about gathering information, this was about building a connection. Would they accept her once they learned who she was?
I didn’t know, but what I was certain of was that I would not follow in my father’s footsteps. I would never stay somewhere the woman I loved wasn’t welcome.
That thought made it difficult to enjoy the food or the conversation.
What I had with Elise was too important to simply hope it worked out.
But what other option did I have?
Her hand brushed against mine and when our eyes met, I felt conflicted.
Am I doing enough to protect her?
How could I be, when clearly, I failed to protect my family.
I don’t know how to do this better, but for her I need to.