Chapter 5 Drake
DRAKE
I went to my sister's after finishing my first full workday. Suze lived in a huge house in Lakeshore East, and the reason for my visit was to talk some sense into her. Keeping this house wasn't in her best financial interests.
Switch off the business brain, Drake. She needs you as her brother, not a manager.
She opened the door seconds after the doorbell rang.
"Oh, you’re here. Thank God. I've missed you, brother."
“I missed you, too, Suze."
She was holding baby Michael in her arms. I leaned in and kissed her cheek, noting that she looked completely exhausted. Her hair was bunched on one shoulder and kind of messy, and her black sweater had damp stains on it.
"Come in. Don't mind the state of everything. I'm trying to survive."
"I know," I replied.
A few months ago, I realized my sister couldn't manage on her own, which was why I came to Chicago.
I knew she needed me close, at least for moral support so she wouldn't feel completely alone.
Her bastard of a husband took off when she was four months pregnant, and now her life was in shambles. And she also had a baby to look after.
"Want me to hold Michael for a while?"
She snorted as she led me to the living room. "Brother dearest, are you any better with babies than the last time we met?"
"No, but I'm a fast learner."
"Michael is fussy after he eats, so I'm going to keep him for now. Otherwise, he might spit up and stain your precious suit."
I looked around, taking in the place. She wasn't kidding. It was a mess.
"Suze, want me to order dinner?"
"Sure, sure. There are plenty of deliveries in the area."
I took out my phone. "Soba noodles still your favorite?" I checked.
She smiled. "Yes. Oh God, it's good to have you here."
I ordered the same for me. I didn't care what I had for dinner as long as it was something substantial.
My sister sat down on the couch, propping herself on one side. "How's work? Tell me.”
“Suze, you are important. Tell me how you've been."
"Um, a mess, but you already know that. Nothing's changed, so I insist you tell me about your work. And I hope you're in love with it, because otherwise, I think the guilt might consume me."
"You don't have anything to feel guilty for. I mean it."
"You moved here because of me."
"I moved here because this job was an interesting challenge." he cocked a brow. And it was close to you, I'll admit it. It's good. I think I can get used to working in a family-owned hotel."
"Your enthusiasm is overflowing," she said.
Michael moved around in her arms but then seemed to fall asleep.
"It was only my first day. I can't tell much.”
“How is that Kimberly you were fighting with via email?"
I schooled my features. "Can't make up my mind yet."
Suze threw her head back, laughing. I hadn't seen her smile in a while, so this was good.
"I think she's giving you a run for your money. Someone should. You can't go around telling everyone what to do."
"Yes, I can. I'm very good at it," I replied.
Suze winked. "Well, apparently it's not working on Kimberly."
It wasn't, and it was both infuriating and challenging.
“How are you… with the breakup?” she asked.
I waved a hand. “Not worth mentioning.”
Lulu and I had been dating for a few months when Suze’s life imploded. When I told her I might have to move here, she said she didn’t need the complication. I immediately cut her loose.
“Seriously, Suze, tell me, how are you? What can I do to help? How are you managing everything?" I looked around the house, taking it all in.
She sighed, patting the baby on the back. "I know it's on the tip of your tongue. You want me to sell.”
“I don't want you to do anything. But I think it would make sense."
"I don't have it in me to do that whole thing, you know? I've got so many things I need to take care of first. I can't even pull myself together enough to go back to work."
My sister was a software engineer, and a damn good one at that.
"Suze, come on. You only gave birth a few months ago."
"I know, but the mortgage on this place is eating up all my savings. Honestly, I'm just getting through day by day. I can't even focus on dealing with any…." She hesitated, and I knew what she would say before she said it. "To take care of the divorce.”
“I can take that over," I offered.
"Which part?" she asked. I knew she was being sarcastic, but I meant it.
“All of it. The move, the mortgage, making that asshole disappear and having it look like an accident.”
She chuckled again, but there was no humor in it. "As much as I'd like to take you up on the last part, this little one will need to meet his dad one way or the other. I want us to be on good terms."
I stilled. She was holding on to the hope that the bastard would be decent to her?
That was not the impression I got when I tracked him down after he left my sister.
He told me he couldn’t stand being married anymore.
That marriage felt like shackles. He wanted to say more but didn’t get a chance before my fist connected with his face.
"Then the mortgage. I'll pay the mortgage," I insisted.
Money wasn’t an issue. I started working when I was twenty-two and saved a lot. I’d had extremely high-paying jobs since I turned twenty-seven and also made smart investments that really paid off.
She sighed. "I can't let you do that."
"Suze, come on. I'm your brother. Let me do something."
She winked. "You can come around and keep Michael company so I can at least go outside by myself for half an hour."
Fuck me. I was good at throwing money at problems. Taking care of the mortgage was easy. Taking care of the baby was rocket science in my book, but for my sister, I'd try.
"Anything that helps. I mean it."
Our food was delivered a few minutes later. I put everything on a plate, threw away the empty containers, and brought the food to the table. It became obvious that my sister couldn't eat while holding Michael.
"I can take him," I said.
A smile played on her lips as she got off the couch and deposited him in my arms. Damn, he was small. He seemed like he would break if I as much as breathed the wrong way.
How did people care for infants? It seemed like an impossible task, and my sister was doing it all on her own.
I startled when she snapped a picture of me.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Immortalizing this moment. You look good with him in your arms. And you can breathe. I promise he won't break. Just take care of his head.” She adjusted my arm to support Michael better, then said, “I'll eat quickly."
"Take your time. I can do this."
She smiled, sitting on the couch again, placing her dinner in her lap.
I couldn't believe things had turned to shit for my sister. For the longest time, she seemed to have everything: a good marriage, a great job. Only two Christmases ago, she'd confided in me that she never thought life could be so good, and now it had all been taken away from her. I couldn't imagine how that felt. Lulu and I hadn’t even been that close, and the betrayal still hurt. I hadn’t had a serious relationship since after college. I’d invested so much in my career that there hadn’t been time for anything else.
"Okay, I can take him now," she said. "You eat."
I only realized how hungry I was after the first bite. I ate the noodles in no time while my sister patted Michael on the back.
Once we both finished dinner, I tackled another difficult subject. "Have you spoken with Mom and Dad recently?"
She snorted. "Yeah. They're still lecturing me about not being able to keep my husband."
Fucking hell. I'm going to have a word with them. They still lived in Oregon, in the house where Suze and I grew up. We didn’t have a close relationship, but this was a low blow, even for them.
"Don't believe it for one second."
"Don't worry, I don't. But it does hurt to hear my parents blaming me.”
I wished there was more I could do to help her on that front.
She glanced around and sighed. “God, I miss just going out and stretching my legs."
"Want me to hold him while you go for a stroll?” I had no clue if I could keep him alive for half an hour, but I was going to do my best.
"No, I don't think I'm ready to be apart from him. I haven't done it yet, and let me tell you, showering is a shit show."
"Then let's go for a quick walk together."
She lit up before looking at me very seriously. "But you don't like going for walks."
It was true. I thought they were a waste of time.
You didn't have a destination or a purpose.
But I knew how much my sister liked them.
Even as a kid, she'd drag me around with her.
My parents wouldn't allow her to go on her own, which was ridiculous, in my opinion, since we lived in a safe neighborhood, but they were adamant about it.
"It's going to do me good to stretch my legs too." There, that wasn't a lie.
"Okay then, brace yourself. It's going to take me forever to get out the door."
She wasn't exaggerating. We managed to leave forty minutes later, and it seemed like we were carrying the contents of the whole house stuffed into the bottom of the stroller.
"The glamorous life of a new mom," she said as we headed along the lake.
There was no good time for a walk, in my opinion, but January in Chicago was especially shit. The baby was all zipped in and protected by the stroller, and Suze had on a long coat with a hood. I didn't.
But despite all that, I understood when she said, "This is so peaceful."
That was a good point. Strolling might be useless, but it was peaceful.
"So what's your gut feeling? You think you're going to enjoy your life in Chicago?" she asked after a while.
"I think I will." I was definitely happy to be closer to Suze, and I liked what I did at Maxwell Hotels. It was different from my previous jobs, and I enjoyed trying out new things.
Kimberly Maxwell was still a challenge—a delicious one that I relished. I would wear her down sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, I had to stop thinking about claiming her mouth every time I saw her.