Chapter 2 #2
“Your grandfather seems like a great guy.”
“He’s the best guy we know, hands down.”
“How old is he?”
“Ninety-four in a few weeks, and other than some issues with his legs, he’s fit as a fiddle.”
“Where does he live now?”
“In an assisted living facility a few miles from here. He calls it rehab, but he knows it’s most likely permanent.
He didn’t want live-in help, and we thought it would be good for him to be around other people, so we compromised.
I was glad to hear he was playing cribbage, because he refused to engage with the other residents for the first two months.
He said he had no time for a bunch of old people. ”
“I already love him, and I’ve never even met him.”
“He has that effect on people. Tell me when you’re ready to go home. I don’t want to keep you out past your curfew.”
She laughed. “I have a babysitter for a rare night out, so I’m not in any rush, but I don’t have to work in the morning, and you do, so we can go whenever you want.”
“I’d like to sit here for a while longer, if that’s okay.”
“Fine by me.”
“Why is this a rare night out? You must have people you can ask to watch Ty.”
“I have a lot of people, but I only ever leave him with our nanny, Julia, my best friend, Marlene, or my Aunt Dee, who was always there for me while my mom was in and out of rehab. I don’t trust anyone else with him.”
“Because of his father?” Carson asked as he processed what she’d shared about her childhood. He wondered what she’d think of hearing that he, too, had been in and out of rehab once upon a time. After what she’d probably endured with her mother, she wouldn’t like him as much as she thought she did.
“I live in fear of him taking off with Ty. I’d never survive that.”
Carson turned to face her and was amazed again by how gloriously beautiful she was. The epitome of Southern California cool, she was blonde and blue-eyed, with dimpled cheeks and a smile that lit up the world. “I hate that you have to live with that kind of fear.”
“I’m used to it, but it never gets easier to let him out of my sight. I prefer staying home with him to leaving him if I don’t have to. Hayden and Flynn are longtime friends, so I wanted to support them tonight. This film is so near and dear to them.”
“It was incredible.”
“I love Flynn and Natalie’s story. They went through so much to have the life they do now, more than most people realize.”
Intrigued, Carson said, “So there was more to the story than what was shown in the film?”
“Isn’t there always more to the story?”
“I suppose so.”
“Suffice to say they worked hard for every bit of happiness life has given them.”
“He’s always been a great guy. Jules and I knew him in high school. Our parents were close friends.”
“Are you and Julian close?”
“Most of the time. Lately, we’re on different wavelengths.”
“Because of Isla, right?”
He was impressed by her astute summary of the situation. “It’s got nothing to do with her. I’m sure she’s a lovely person.”
“They seem really happy together.”
“Yeah.”
“And that annoys you?”
“If I say yes, I sound like an asshole or like I’m envious because my brother has found someone he obviously cares about, but that’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
Carson chose his words carefully because he didn’t want her to think he was a total jerk.
“It’s so far out of character for him that it’s concerning to see him completely gone over a woman with little kids, who he also claims to adore.
My brother doesn’t love kids. As far as I knew, he didn’t even like them.
” He took a sip of his water. “A few months ago, we were out to dinner, and he was so pissed off at the kids raising a ruckus at the next table. He said something like, ‘Why do people bring their kids out to eat if they can’t freaking behave?’ That’s the Julian I know and love. ”
“Can you still love the Julian who’s in love with Isla?”
“I don’t recognize him as the brother I’ve known all my life, the same one who’s spent years saying he never wanted the things he now seems to want more than anything. It makes no sense to me.”
“People change. They learn and grow and evolve.”
“Not him. I’m sure it sounds like I’m bitter or jealous or whatever, but I swear that’s not it. If anything, I’m worried about him.”
“You’re actually worried?”
Carson nodded as he said the words out loud for the first time since he’d realized the full extent of what was happening between him and Isla.
“Imagine if Ty suddenly stopped being interested in sports. Wouldn’t you fear something was wrong?
” Every inch of wall space in Ty’s room was devoted to one LA team or another, along with posters of his favorite players.
He’d proudly shown Carson his bedroom after Carson had assisted him and his mother during a confrontation with Ty’s father, Marlon Beckett.
“I suppose I would.”
“It’s like that for me and the others with Jules. He’s been this one guy all his life, and it’s like he woke up as someone completely different, and we’re not sure how to reconcile the new guy with the one we’ve always known.”
“That’s fair.”
“I swear it’s not about her or her kids, who are, by all accounts, adorable and well-behaved. The whole office was talking about how cute they were when they first came in to meet with him about her divorce. My ire, such as it is, is focused squarely on him.”
“You wouldn’t let it come between the two of you, would you?”
The question hit him like a throat punch.
Would he let it come between him and Julian?
“I don’t think so,” he said with less conviction than he should’ve had about such a thing.
His siblings were the most important people in his life and always had been.
The thought of being on the outs with any of them was too painful to contemplate.
“You want to know what I think?”
“Yeah, I do.” Her opinion truly mattered to him, which surprised him. He’d known her for only a couple of weeks and had spent much of that time following either her or Marlon around to make sure he wasn’t hassling her or Ty.
“Your brother has presented you with a done deal. He loves her. He loves her kids. Is it what you want for him? Not at all, but it’s what he wants for himself. If you force him to choose between you and them, you may be unpleasantly surprised by who he picks.”
Carson’s heart sank as he realized that she was one hundred percent right. He let his deep sigh speak for him.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly.
He began to wish he hadn’t told her earlier that it wasn’t going to happen between them, because having her there during this difficult moment had been…
comforting. He shook off that thought as soon as he had it.
He didn’t need comfort so badly that he’d risk hurting her or her precious son with his many hang-ups.
“It’s true. What you said. I’d like to think that no one will ever be more important to any of us than each other, but I suppose that’s not realistic. ”
“It’s disappointing to the rest of you that he changed the rules you live by without consulting with you.”
Carson looked at her with true respect. “I’m impressed by your astounding insight into people you’ve only recently met.”
She smiled, and holy moly… If you wanted to know why she was an international sensation, all you needed was to see that smile.
“I’m a bit of an empath. I pick up on vibes, and what I got from your family was a group that sticks together through thick and thin, even when you don’t always agree on the path forward. ”
“That about sums us up.”
“So it’s deeply upsetting to see one of them doing something that could get them hurt like they’ve never been before.”
His emotional reaction to her softly spoken words shocked him.
He didn’t get emotional about anything. He kept himself on an even keel at all times, which was essential to his health and well-being.
If he’d learned anything in recovery, it was how essential it was for him to be honest with himself, even if he was lying to everyone else.
“Very upsetting, especially because it’s him.
I can’t even think about it without wanting to howl.
And the worst part is that he’s just barreling headfirst toward the rapids and doesn’t care in the least that it could be a fatal fall.
Even though she says her marriage had been over for a long time, she only recently left her husband, and then the guy up and died.
What’ll happen when she wakes up to discover she’s in no way ready for this thing with Julian? ”
“She seemed as into him as he is with her.”
“For now… I’m worried about what happens when the other shoe drops, because it always does.”