Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
GREG
I wake up on New Year’s Day with Joanie curled against my side, her soft breaths tickling my chest. Last night was incredible, both the party and the private celebration with Joanie afterward. I should be feeling great and ready to start the year strong.
Instead, my mind is consumed with thoughts of Ned and the stunt he tried to pull with Carrie. I spin through all the times he’s crossed the line by propositioning women who come through his checkout. And that’s not even the worst of it. I knew it had escalated lately, hearing through the town’s grapevine that he’d recently put his hands on at least two women. Unfortunately, he’s always careful to stay in line when Nate or I are around, even if he does mutter insults under his breath that he thinks we can’t hear. That shit is nothing. But groping … I should’ve realized it was a progression toward something even worse.
I’m sick to my stomach, not just over his behavior, but that I haven’t found a way to put a stop to it sooner. Based on the discussion Nate and I had last night, he feels the same way. Surely, between us, we should’ve seen this coming and been able to stop it before he got as far as he did.
And yet, we weren’t. My biggest fear is that he’ll succeed sooner rather than later because one of us won’t always be there to stop him.
Restless and agitated, I slip out of bed, careful not to wake Joanie, pulling the bedroom door closed behind me. I walk through the living room and head to the kitchen to make coffee. I’ll think better with caffeine, though I feel pretty fucking defeated on the idea front right now.
I suddenly wish I’d thought to put socks on. The tiled floors are cold, and though I’d gone with all the bells and whistles for my bachelor pad, the heated floors take longer than I’ve got to start working their magic.
With a sigh, I drag the coffee maker across the granite countertop and pull the supplies out for my usual brew. The rich aroma fills the air, soothing me a bit. I lean against the counter and rub a hand over my face as I stare out the living room window at the quiet, snow-covered forest surrounding the house.
Despite the calmness I’d purposely designed for myself here, this whole thing with Ned has me shaking and doubting myself in other ways, too.
Really, how can I be of any use to Joanie with the town’s incorporation when I can’t even keep my own family in check? What kind of person does that make me?
And then there’s the reaction from my aunt and uncle. Their blind defense of Ned, their anger at me for calling out his behavior — it’s disheartening. They’ve always been my dad’s little soldiers, but this? This is a new low.
I pour myself a cup of coffee and wander to the living room, sinking onto the soft, brown leather couch. The worst part is that I know this will get back to my father. And that’s sure to stir up even more drama. As evidenced by his Christmas morning tirade, he’s never approved of my “abandonment” of the family business, and this will be one more thing for him to hold against me.
I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t hear Joanie approach until she’s beside me, with a concerned look, wearing only one of my T-shirts. It just goes to show how pissed off I am that it barely stirs me to see so much of her creamy skin on display and the outline of her soft, perky tits through the thin fabric.
“Hey,” she says softly, sitting down next to me. “I was surprised to wake up alone. You okay?”
I force a smile. “Yeah, just thinking about everything that needs to be done at the community center,” I lie.
She studies me for a moment, clearly not buying it, but for the first time possibly ever, she doesn’t push. I’m partly relieved and partly disappointed.
“Okay. Um. Are you going in today, then?” she asks tentatively.
Something’s off about her tone, but I’m too distracted by my bullshit to pull at the thread of whatever hers might be.
I shrug, rising from the couch. “Yeah, actually. I should put everything back so the center’s ready for tomorrow.”
“All right … well, I’ll dive into more research today. Don’t forget, Mia’s making dinner tonight,” she replies.
I grunt my understanding and dump the dregs of my coffee in the sink before heading upstairs for a shower. I’m just not capable of talking about this right now, which I know is making me an asshole. Which, in turn, makes me feel like even more of a failure. Definitely not how I saw the new year starting.
* * *
It only gets worse over the next few days. I spend every day at the community center, thankful for New Year’s resolutions and the influx of people who want to get fit. It’s exactly the distraction I need.
Joanie buries herself in her work and doesn’t even stop when I get home. She’s always polite and asks how my day was, but there’s a wall between us that wasn’t there before. As the week rolls by, she becomes more and more distant.
It’s not until the end of the week, when I’m showering at the center before heading home, that the massive erection I get soaping myself makes me realize we haven’t had sex since New Year’s Eve.
Every night, I’ve been going to sleep early, physically exhausted from the day, assuming she’d wake me up when she came to bed. But she never did. By morning, my dreams had chased me from sleep and dragged me deeper into my pit of self-flagellation.
How could I be so distracted not to realize we’d drifted so far? And why hasn’t she said anything?
I resist the urge to jerk off, intent on fixing this between us. Whatever it is that needs fixing.
And then, as I’m dressing, it hits me like a sledgehammer why Joanie wouldn’t seek me out for sex, why she’d be burying herself in research and not demanding to know what the hell my problem was this week.
She thinks I’m pulling away because she didn’t say “I love you” back. And like an idiot, I didn’t even realize it.
I hurry through the rest of my tasks for the day and am just about to head out when there’s a knock on the community center door.
Confused, I open it to find a stern-faced man in a suit.
“Gregory Tyler?” he asks.
“Yes?” I reply suspiciously.
He thrusts a packet of papers at me. “You’ve been served. Have a nice day.”
Well, shit. This can’t be anything good.
My heart sinks as I close the door and look down at the documents in my hand. As I read, my confusion turns to anger and disbelief.
It’s a lawsuit from my father to start a partition action on the property we co-own. On the surface, it’s baffling because I thought a partition action was when one property co-owner doesn’t want to sell, and the other does. While my father has asked me to agree to development, he’s never said a word about selling the property. But clearly, I don’t understand all the ins and outs of partition actions because this paperwork flat out says that the motherfucker is claiming rights to all the land, citing mishandling of the original trust from my grandfather.
While I know fuck all about the legalities of trusts and how someone could challenge one this long after the fact, or what that has anything to do with a partition action, luckily, I know someone who almost certainly does.
With shaking hands, I pull out my phone and call my second cousin, Sera. She inherited my grandfather’s brother’s investments and owns a real estate business in Seattle. If anyone can make sense of this, it’s her.
“Greg!” she answers warmly. “It’s been a while. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Hey, Sera. I wish I were calling under better circumstances. Unfortunately, I just got served with some papers from my dad, and I could use your help figuring out if what he’s trying to do is even legal and, if it is, how I can stop him. He’s trying to claim full ownership of the properties we co-inherited from my grandfather.”
There’s a pause on the other end of the line. “Shit, Greg, I’m sorry. Your dad’s a real piece of work, isn’t he? My mother was talking about doing something similar when my grandfather died. Luckily for you, that means I’m pretty familiar with this kind of scenario. Send me the paperwork. I’ll take a look and see what your options are, okay?”
I let out a massive sigh of relief. “Thanks, Sera. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. Or, actually, maybe you do,” I reply.
She chuckles empathetically. “Family legacies, eh?”
“Indeed,” I murmur, realizing that Sera, on top of being smart as a whip, has gone through a lot in the last few years and probably understands where I’m at better than anyone. “Maybe we can meet for lunch to talk when you’ve got something?”
“I’d love that,” she replies sincerely.
“Great. Talk to you soon, then.”
We say our goodbyes, and I hang up, feeling marginally better. At least I have someone in my corner who knows their shit. Now it’s time to head home and make things right with Joanie.
I find Joanie hunched over her laptop in my home office, which I’d encouraged her to use. She looks up as I enter, her expression guarded. Her long, dark brown hair is piled haphazardly on her head, and she’s wearing another one of my T-shirts. I resist smiling at her adorably disheveled appearance. She’s obviously buried herself in her task to the exclusion of all else.
My throat constricts, knowing it’s because she’s avoiding me.
“Can we talk?” I ask.
Her wary, ice-blue eyes thaw a bit, and she nods, closing her laptop. “Of course. What’s up?” She pulls her legs up to her chest and wraps her arms around them.
The move is so defensive it makes my chest hurt.
I settle on the loveseat next to the window on the opposite wall from the desk and gesture for her to join me.
It takes her a minute, but she eventually unwraps herself and rises, revealing pink plaid lounge pants and purple fuzzy slippers that make her look even more adorable. She settles tentatively on the other seat but still draws her legs up in front of her, though her hands rest on the cushion.
I reach out and offer a hand. She slips hers in it, and the tightness in my chest eases a bit.
“First of all, I’m sorry. I know I’ve been distant this week, and I didn’t realize until today that you probably think it was because of what happened on New Year’s. What you didn’t say, I mean. But that’s not it at all.”
Her expression softens. “It’s not?” she asks so tentatively that I want to punch myself in the fucking face for not realizing it and reassuring her sooner.
“No,” I reply adamantly. “The truth is, I’ve been stressed about Ned. And about what he might do next. I’m frustrated that my family can’t see him for what he is. That I haven’t been able to stop his escalating behavior somehow.”
Joanie shocks me by climbing onto my lap and cupping my face in her hands. “Well, now I feel like the asshole for assuming it had anything to do with me. I can see why it would bother you, but listen to me,” she says, gripping my face tighter and looking deep into my eyes. “It’s not your fault that your piece-of-shit cousin is a walking felony waiting to happen. It is, however, my fault for letting you deal with this alone. I should’ve asked what was happening with you instead of conceitedly assuming it was all about me.” She tips her head back and groans.
“Okay, fine, we’re both assholes,” I murmur teasingly. Still, I can only be mildly amused because I haven’t told her the worst part. I want to kiss her so badly, but I don’t want to get distracted from the rest of the conversation we need to have. I sigh heavily and lean my forehead against hers. “There’s more. My aunt and uncle clearly ran and tattled on me because my dad just served me with papers. He’s trying to claim full ownership of the property we inherited.”
She pulls back abruptly, shock written all over her face. “Are you fucking kidding me? Can he even do that?”
I huff out a breath and shake my head. “I don’t know. I’ve got my cousin Sera looking into it. She’s in real estate and has dealt with this kind of thing before, so hopefully, she can help me figure out my next steps.”
Joanie chews on her lower lip. “How can I help?” she asks softly.
I look up into her eyes. Concern and something more is written there. To me? It looks like love. It’s not the first time she’s looked at me this way, and it’s why I was so confident she’d say “I love you” back. But the rawness I’m feeling right now makes her obvious feelings hit differently. I want to beg her to say it. But I know I can’t. She needs to say it when she’s ready.
“Just knowing you’re not upset anymore is all I need,” I promise.
She gives me a faint smile. “I’m not. I was never upset with you. I was upset with myself, which was silly. And so not me,” she says with a shake of her head.
I tug on an escaped lock of her hair. “I wasn’t exactly myself this week either,” I offer. “But I’m glad we finally talked. Forgive me?”
She smirks. “I’d say there’s nothing to forgive, but you were pretty moody all week. And apparently extremely oblivious to how that came off,” she teases, poking me in the stomach.
I wrap my hand around her finger and lift it to my mouth, placing a gentle kiss on the tip. “How can I make it up to you?”
Her smirk turns into a salacious grin. “Oh, I can think of many, many ways,” she murmurs, giving me a searing look as her hands trace my chest.
“So can I, city girl,” I murmur, running a finger down her cheek. “Starting with eating that pussy while you ride my face.”
Her pupils dilate, and a small, breathy gasp slips between her lips.
“Dirty boy,” she says mock-accusingly.
I can’t help but unleash a predatory smile. “Are you going to punish me?” I reply teasingly.
In answer, she lifts her shirt and tosses it aside. Her creamy breasts are a sight for sore eyes, and her nipples are tight. She brushes a hand down her chest, over one rosy peak invitingly.
“No, I’m going to reward you, silly. So. Do you want me to fuck you here or in bed, mountain man?” she asks sultrily.
My balls tighten in anticipation. “There’s not enough room here for you to ride me like I want, baby.”
Her back arches, and she inhales sharply, and I can tell she feels those words down to her core — a core I want wrapped around me as soon as possible.
I shift her off my lap and turn her toward the door with a playful smack on the ass.
And as she leads me to the bedroom, stripping off her pants as she goes, giving me a gorgeous view of her perfect ass, I feel a weight lift off my shoulders.
Yes, there are challenges ahead. But if we can end a week this epically awful with understanding and amazing sex? Well, it makes me realize that I can face anything with Joanie by my side.
I also realize she probably needs this as much as I do, though in a different way. So, I will also focus on reassuring her of how much she means to me and that it doesn’t matter if she’s not ready to leap. But that when she is, I’m here to catch her. With lots and lots of orgasms. And killer grilled cheese sandwiches, of course. What woman could resist that combo?