21. Brock Jones
Chapter twenty-one
Brock Jones
A peal of thunder sounds out as I pull into my parents’ driveway behind Ariel’s car.
Fitting, since I feel as though this night is going to be a nightmare.
I love my family more than anything, but the more time I spend on work, the more pushy they become.
After a long, grueling day, the last thing I want is to be lectured about how I don’t come home enough.
No one bats an eye at Shaw and Sutton while they jet-set around the country during hockey season.
But everyone throws a fit about me being gone too much.
I grab the roses I got for my mom in hopes they’ll keep her from scolding me too much, and get out of my car. I walk through the door without knocking. Maybe I can stay under the radar…
“The prodigal son returns!” my dad bellows from his recliner. He’s turned it to face the door instead of the TV. Clever.
“Hello to you too, Dad.”
My mom rushes into the living room and throws her arms around my neck. She smells like her signature perfume and a little like garlic–she must be cooking.
“It’s been way too long,” she says as she pulls back. Her hands frame my face. “You look tired.”
I force a smile. “Thanks, Mom. Here, I brought you these.” I hold the flowers up between us.
She gasps. “These are gorgeous. I’ll go put them in a vase.” She turns to my dad. “Come help me get a vase off the top shelf.”
Dad pushes out of his recliner with an exaggerated groan, then lumbers off after my mom.
“If you think a bouquet of flowers is going to keep Mom from lecturing you, you’re wrong,” Sutton says as she stands up off the couch where she was sitting between Ariel and Shaw.
“Would a diamond necklace do it? Because I can run to the store really quick,” I say with a smile.
She rolls her eyes and wraps her arms around me. I hug her back. My throat tightens with emotion unexpectedly. I catch Ariel’s gaze over Sutton’s shoulder. She’s smiling, but I can see the concern lining her expression.
“I missed you, idiot,” Sutton says.
I squeeze her back. “I missed you too.”
“Yeah, well you have a funny way of showing it.” She steps back and shoves my chest. “If you don’t start answering my calls more often, I’m going to resort to drastic measures.”
“I’m tempted to ignore you just to see what those are.”
“I wouldn’t if I were you,” Shaw says as he walks up to join us. “She’s told me them. They’re colorful in the violent sort of way.”
Sutton smiles. “He gave me points for my creative use of a hammer.”
I take it all back. I don’t wanna know.
“Has anyone ever told you you’re a little scary?” I ask.
“Yes,” Shaw and Ariel say in unison, making our whole group break out in laughter.
“Aww,” my mom says as she enters the room. “All of my babies laughing together. My heart is so full.” She places a hand over her chest.
“It’s good to be here, Mama Jones,” Shaw says as he throws an arm around me. “We’ll try to make it more of a habit.”
I work to maintain a smile. It’s easy to hear the underlying message in Shaw’s words.
“Good,” Mom says with a smile. “Now, how about we eat dinner? I made lasagna, and there’s garlic bread and salad as well.”
“Sounds amazing,” I say.
Shaw and Sutton follow my mom to the dining room. I hang back to wait for Ariel. She steps up beside me.
“The flowers were a nice touch. Now when she sees them dying, she’ll be reminded of how you don’t come by often enough to replace them.”
Ouch. Note to self: Have Marie send weekly flowers to my mom. Problem solved.
“Starting off the night heavy on the insults,” I say as we make our way to the dining room. “Should I be worried you’re going to throw garlic bread at me like you did at my office?”
“As long as you’re on your best behavior, no.”
“And I’m guessing you’re the judge of that?”
She grins. “Naturally.”
I shake my head. “You’re something else, Duke.”
“It’s okay to admit you like it, Carolina,” she says as we walk into the dining room.
Ariel takes a seat, and the only one left at the table is next to her, so I take it. She side-eyes me as I do.
“So, Ariel, how’s being a realtor treating you? It feels like forever since we’ve had a chance to catch up,” Mom says as she serves herself some salad, then passes the bowl to Sutton.
I lean over and whisper, “Looks like you don’t come around much either.”
She smiles and hisses through clenched teeth, “They’re not my parents.” Then louder, she says, “It’s going great, thank you for asking. How’s your garden going?”
My mom immediately starts rambling about weeds in her flower beds, and how big her squash are this year. The salad bowl gets passed to me. I put some on my plate, then pass it to Ariel.
“Not going to tell her about Houston Vonjerkface?” I ask under my breath.
She cracks a smile. “Be quiet or I’ll bring up your job.”
I catch Shaw eyeing us across the table with an interested expression. I straighten in my chair. Neither he nor Sutton need to have any reason to analyze us.
“Maybe next year you can teach me how to garden,” Ariel says once my mom finishes her monologue about the soil quality of her tomato plants. “I’d love to have a small garden in my back yard.”
Mom beams. “That would be wonderful! Especially since my daughter refuses to learn.” She gives Sutton a pointed look.
“I’ve sent you photos of the plant cemetery in our house,” Sutton explains. “I’m terrible with plants, and Shaw is no better.”
“Hey, I kept that cactus alive, until someone over-watered it,” Shaw says as he spoons lasagna onto his plate.
Gooey cheese stretches over the side of the dish.
My mouth waters. It’s been too long since I’ve enjoyed my mom’s lasagna.
Hopefully there will be enough left to take some home with me after this.
It can be my trophy for surviving the inevitable interrogation.
“It looked dry!” Sutton says.
I laugh. “It’s a cactus, aren’t they supposed to be dry?”
She shoots me a glare. “And what kind of plants do you have?”
Ariel snorts. “None. He doesn’t even have any flowers in front of his house.” Everyone looks at her in confusion. She quickly adds, “I’m guessing. He doesn’t seem like the gardener type.”
I give her a wide-eyed look. She cringes.
“Brock used to help me in the garden all the time,” Mom says with a sweet smile. “I’m sure he has some plants.”
“Um.” I scratch the back of my neck. “I don’t have any right now. It’s hard to take care of them when I’m traveling so much.”
Mom’s face falls. “That makes sense. How is work?”
Here we go. I feel the eyes of everyone at the table on me.
“Yeah, how’s the business faring?” my dad asks with a good-natured smile.
“It’s going great,” I reply and take a piece of garlic bread from the basket in the center of the table. “I’ve got amazing clients, and I’m making good brand deals for them. It’s busy, but that’s all a part of a growing business.”
“That’s wonderful to hear, son,” my dad says with a nod.
“Yes,” my mom agrees, her voice tentative. “But do you think that you’ll be able to slow down soon? I’m worried about how hard you’re working.”
I take a bite of bread to avoid answering. A hand rests on my right knee. I glance in surprise at Ariel. She gives me an encouraging smile that sends warmth through me.
“Maybe,” I say, because telling my mom no seems too harsh. “I’m still in the early stages of my career. It’s normal to have these…” I search for a term. “Growing pains.”
Mom nods slowly. “That makes sense. Well, I hope you’re able to get through this stage quickly.”
“Me too.”
Relief washes over me. That wasn’t so bad. Maybe I can get through tonight unscathed.
I look over and find Sutton glaring at me while stabbing at her lasagna. On second thought…I better keep my guard up.