10. Seth
TEN
Seth
“Okay, I want to hear the whole story about how last night went down.”
Mae, Abi, and I are heading to the caterers on a gorgeous day, so we have the top down on my Bentley. I wish I could’ve seen the fight, but I was only there for the aftermath. I didn’t even see Rick, which is probably a good thing because he would’ve gotten punched in the face again. Mae did not deserve what that asshole did to her.
Once Rick left, Mom got me up to help Dad deal with the bride and her group. She had booked not only her bachelorette party but also her wedding. She canceled the whole thing and demanded her money back. If Dad hadn’t had the influx of cash from my investment and the deposits from our influencer Hideaway weekend, he wouldn’t have had any money to give to her.
The longer I’m here, the more I realize how much I’m needed.
But I can’t get stuck here. The thought of it makes my skin crawl. Getting stuck here means giving up everything I’ve gained. I won’t abandon my family again, but I need to find another solution. Maybe the possibility of a dual residence? Six months here. Six months somewhere else. That I might be able to do. But it still makes me nervous.
Abi leans forward from the back seat. “It was pretty epic.”
“What I want to know is why you two have bandages on your hands.”
Abi giggles. “Mae, you can tell him.”
“Well, I broke Rick’s nose, and Abi punched him in the jaw. She’s lucky she didn’t break her hand, actually.”
I shouldn’t find the idea of Mae punching a guy in the nose arousing, but strangely I do. “Did Keith really catch him and the bride in the act?”
“He did. Said he saw more of both of them than he wanted to.” Mae flushes, and I’m tempted to reach over and grab her hand.
“I realize that you and Abi made your point with him last night, but I seriously want to turn this car around and pay him a visit. One that he won’t walk away from unharmed. I can’t believe he did that.”
“Ooh,” Abi says. “I’ve never pegged you for a violent one. Levi maybe, because he’s a marine. Ethan for sure. But not you.”
“I’m not eager to pick fights, but I can hold my own. For this guy though, I’d bring both Levi and Ethan with me.” Not that I’m sad he’s gone. I want Mae to be mine, but what Rick did is inexcusable.
Mae waves her hand. “It’s not a big deal. We’re over now, and that’s all that matters. I’m pretty sure he left in the middle of the night. Though if my dad got home before he left, he might already be dead.”
My hands clench the steering wheel even harder. “Something Keith and I can bond over. Killing your ex.” Not that either of us would risk jail time over that asshole, but we can definitely fantasize about it.
“It could work,” Abi says. “I’ll help you find a place to bury the body. The cops will never know.”
Mae sinks down in her seat and waves her hand out the window like she’s catching the air. “No one is killing anyone. But we can hope for an alien abduction. I’m done talking about this. Rick is ancient history. But thank you for your willingness to defend my honor. And if he dares to show back up, you can have at him. I’m ready to go eat some amazing food.” A small smile spreads across her face.
A big part of me is glad I’m the one making her smile. I wish her dad could see how happy I’d make her.
* * *
We have a blast at the caterer and eat so much. Mae takes off as soon as we get home because she has plans with her dad. I’m glad she’s spending time with him so that he doesn’t think I’m stealing her away. Though, it hasn’t even been thirty minutes, and I’m already missing her.
I should go back to my office, but instead I follow Abi to the kitchen of the main house. We meet Jacob on the way. The desire to hang out with my family is strong and new. I’m surprised to find everyone there. All of my brothers, my nephew, my parents, the three dogs, and Beverly from next door. She’s sitting next to Noah and fussing with his hair. I don’t know why he lets that old woman dote on him.
Ollie squirms out of Mom’s arms when Jacob comes in. “Daddy,” he squeals and leaps into his arms. My heart squeezes a little. I’ve never really wanted kids before, but now the desire to have one of those with Mae is strong.
Mom smiles. “How was the caterer?”
“Fantastic. They’ll do an awesome job.”
Mae loved all the vegan options, and I even liked a few of them.
“Where’s Mae?”
“Out with her dad.”
Mom loops her arm through mine and drops her voice to a whisper. “When are you two going on a date?”
“We’re just friends.”
She slaps my hand. “That’s nonsense. You two need to stop denying things and start moving on to giving me more grandbabies.”
I shake my head, but I’m more than ready to get started on that.
Dad points at the clock on the wall. “Terry, if we’re going to make our dinner reservations, we have to go now.” Both Bisbee and Gilbert stand and wag their tails eagerly at Dad. “You two have to stay. Sorry. I’m sure someone here will have a dinner they’ll share with you.”
Mom shakes a finger at all of us. “Don’t make a mess of my kitchen.”
There’s a chorus of “We won’t,” and, “You’ll never know.”
Once she leaves, a few of my other brothers bail, leaving me with Levi, Mark, Noah, Abi, and Beverly.
I sit across from them and squirm as Beverly narrows her eyes at me. This woman has always made me a little nervous. She’s been around for as long as I can remember, and I’m not exactly her favorite person. After she was so sweet to me at the flower farm, I thought maybe she’d forgotten my teenage antics.
“Is something wrong?” I ask.
“You seem different than you used to be.”
“It’s been a long time.”
She pats Noah’s hand. “See, this is why I like you. You stick around.”
I ignore the barb, but I realize I do have something to answer for. “Beverly, I owe you an apology.”
“You owe a lot of apologies to your wonderful family.”
“There’s that, but also… My friends and I destroyed some of your flowers when I was in high school.” We got drunk one night, took a couple of four-wheelers down there, and completely demolished a whole section of her flowers.
She creases her eyebrows, and then her eyes widen.
“That was you?” She stands. “You’re gonna pay for that.”
“I’m going to take Beverly home now,” Noah says. The woman is still glaring at me, and I need to figure out how to repay her. I have a feeling it’ll take more than just money. Noah will help me figure it out. Since he was a kid, he’s always spent a lot of time with her and in her flower beds. Though he was helping them grow, not destroying them.
* * *
The next day, I head into town to grab a few groceries. Most of the time I eat with Mom, but she’s become too interested in my relationship with Mae, and I need some time alone.
Pushing a cart through the small store, I browse the limited selection. The meat department is meager, but I should be able to find a few steaks to grill. Just as I’m reaching for a pack of chicken, I hear someone call out my name.
“Seth, is that you?”
I spin around and find myself face-to-face with a former classmate, Eli. His dad worked as a scientist at Green Bank, and he always had more money than the rest of us. He never let us forget it.
“Yeah, it’s good to see you.”
He holds out his hand, and I shake it. I notice his shoes are Santonis, and I’m glad I’m wearing my Hermes today. I know it’s snobby, but wealthy men judge each other by their shoes.
“What are you doing in town?” he asks.
“Helping Dad out a little bit. What about you?”
“Oh, I bought the place next to my parents’ house. I live here with my wife and kids.”
“Nice. What do you do? There’s not much around here but Green Bank.”
“I’m an app developer. I work from home, and I also invest in government land contracts around here. What about you?”
“Corporate fixer. I don’t really live anywhere, but I enjoy the travel.”
Eli nods. “You should come over for dinner sometime and meet my wife Elly.”
“Elly and Eli?” I give him a smirk and hope it’ll deflect from the invite. I don’t really want to go to dinner at his house.
He flushes. “Funny, huh? We named our kids Elijah and Elanor. My wife’s idea.”
I chuckle. “It’s good to see you. And maybe I’ll take you up on your offer if I’m here long enough. Also, come by our place sometime and take the kids swimming.”
I wonder for a second why he stayed, but we aren’t close enough to ask. Eli sticks with me, and we make small talk as we go down the aisles, catching up on each other’s lives since graduation. It’s nice to see a familiar face and someone who isn’t involved in all the drama at the resort.
“Seth-man, I can’t believe that’s you.”
Both Eli and I turn, and I’m practically barreled over by a man six inches taller than me and four times as wide. He engulfs me in a hug and then lets go. He’s missing two teeth when he smiles down at us, and I can’t help but wrinkle my nose. It’s clear he hasn’t showered in days.
“Is there some class reunion I didn’t know about?” Benji slaps Eli on the shoulder like they’re best friends or something.
“I live here,” Eli says and takes a step away from Benji.
Or maybe not.
Benji sniffs. “Coulda fooled me. When’s the last time you came down to the barbecue?”
“We’re busy, Benji. Speaking of, I should be going. I don’t want to keep the wife waiting.” Eli smiles again, this time obviously fake, and gives a wave. “I’ll give you a call,” he says to me.
Benji just grins at me like he can’t quite believe I’m here. We were pretty tight back in high school. I was the quarterback on our tiny football team, and he was an offensive tackle. But I haven’t talked to him since graduation.
“What have you been up to?” I ask him.
“This and that. Bought me a single wide two years ago and put it on the folks’ back forty. Got hitched to Becky, and we got four kids now.”
“Wow. That sounds amazing.”
That actually sounds horrific.
I glance at his shoes. They’re Walmart tennis shoes, almost falling apart at the seams.
“Boog, do not put those down your pants.”
A kid who is probably around eight stands there, one hand on the waistband of his sweatpants and one clenched around several Hershey bars. He meets his dad’s eyes and slowly releases the bars before disappearing around the corner into the next aisle.
Benji looks at me and doesn’t offer an explanation.
“Boog?” I question, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah. Kid had more snot than a cow when he was a baby. We started calling him Booger, and it just stuck. Can’t even remember his real name anymore. His mama probably does though.”
We chat for a few more minutes, and then I manage to escape with no less than three invitations over the next two weeks to his house.
As I pay for my groceries, Benji walks up behind me with a case of Coors Light.
“Benji, I thought I told you to leave Booger at home when you come here.” The store manager, an old man named Ned who was a cashier here back when I was a kid, is dragging Benji’s son up an aisle.
“Sorry. Becky needed a break, and it was too hot to leave him in the car.”
Ned gives Benji a look. Benji just shakes his head and yanks Booger’s shirt off. Candy and small bags of chips fall to the floor. Then he pulls the poor kid’s pants down, and out falls a package of bacon. Ned looks at Booger and spins his finger in a circle. The kid turns around, and I can see the outline of two packages of bubble gum shoved down the back of his underwear.
I’ve seen enough. I quickly pay and make it back to the car and take a couple of deep breaths. This grocery trip makes me wonder how many of my other classmates are still around here. Probably not many, and certainly not many who could wear Santonis.
Benji’s life is exactly what I was afraid of ending up with. Though he seems happy enough. So does Eli for that matter. I’ve always thought—and I realize this is irrational—that marriage and kids were a surefire way to the poor house. I don’t know why I’m so scared of losing everything, but the thought of having to survive on rice and beans like we did when I was a kid is terrifying.
* * *
“We should do a fire,” Levi suggests after inviting himself into my cabin. I finish putting my groceries away, and within a half hour, we’re down by the river with a roaring fire going. Mark and Abi joined us. I don’t know where Mae is, but I don’t want to sound desperate, so I don’t ask.
“I want to do something special for Mae. She was only supposed to be doing the social media, but she’s going way above and beyond.”
Abi rolls her eyes, and Mark smirks. “I thought you were supposed to be staying away from her.”
“I can’t do that since y’all forced me to work with her. She’s doing a fantastic job. She’s got three-quarters of the glamping tents already booked for our influencer Hideaway. And she got us into that social media conference in Vegas where we can pitch the Hideaway Weeks. Have you even seen the website recently? Mom told me yesterday the phone rang off the hook and online bookings have skyrocketed even outside of the Hideaway Weeks. That’s all Mae. Not me. So I want to do something nice for her.”
Levi leans forward, shadows dancing over his face from the flames. “You need to stay away from her. I know she’s doing a good job, but you cannot risk Keith selling out. Do you have any idea what that’ll do to our business? Especially now that things are looking up.”
Abi shrugs. “If Keith sells out, it might not be that bad. I mean, we’re already somewhat restricted. We’ve managed.”
“No internet. No television. No microwaves.” Levi grimaces. “Our guests won’t even be able to bring their cars close if they were built after 2010. It will be a disaster. I like my work here. I don’t want to have to go somewhere else.”
He’s not wrong. I don’t plan on risking anything. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to show her how much I appreciate what she’s done.
“I had a PA in China who meant absolutely nothing to me romantically, and yet, I did stuff for her all the time. I took her and her family with me on trips to Japan, went out to nice restaurants with them, and bought her expensive things. I did it because I appreciated her.”
Levi scoffs. “I doubt you had your PA’s dad looking over your shoulder in China.”
Abi looks thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe you can take the two of us somewhere fun for a few days. We can disguise it as work if we have to.” Abi’s scheming, and I love it. Her eyes glint, and she bounces in her seat. “Can we go to New York City? We want to see ‘Wicked.’”
“Sure. Why not?” That sounds amazing. I absolutely need to get out of town after my run-in with Benji today. I’m not feeling claustrophobic yet, but it’ll come if I’m not careful.
She leaps out of her chair and nearly chokes me with a hug. “You’re the best brother ever. I’m gonna go start packing and text Mae.”
“Hey,” Mark yells. “I thought I was the best brother ever. I gave you a job.”
Abi sticks her tongue out at him. “So did Seth.”
Levi waits until she’s out of earshot. “I thought you might be the one who wants to tell Mae.”
“Why would I do that? This is just me appreciating my amazing assistant. I’m treating her and her best friend to a weekend in New York. Abi can tell her. I don’t care.”
Levi frowns. “I’m still not sure about this. It’d look better if you didn’t go with them.”
“Do you really want our baby sister and Mae running around New York City alone?”
He grumbles and leans back in his chair. “I guess not, but this still might set Keith off.”
“Not if it comes from Abi. They’ll be fine. And he didn’t forbid me from being friends with her, just anything more than that. If we start acting too distant, he might think we’re intentionally sneaking around behind his back. I might invite a couple of other friends to meet me there. That way, if he sees pictures and stuff, it’s a big group.”
And then it’ll be a win-win for me. Time alone with Mae and seeing some of my closest friends again.