Chapter 13 Easton
Easton
“Are you sure we’ll be able to sell all the cookies?” Nova asks while she skeptically eyes the boxes filled to the brim with bags.
“You all decided to bake enough to feed a small country. We only needed two hundred,” Rachel mutters. “Whatever we don’t sell, we can donate.”
“You’ll sell everything,” I say as I pick up a box and stack it on top of another. When I carry the boxes out of the kitchen, I add, “I’m going with.”
Rachel follows after me. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I hand the boxes over to Tyler, then tell him, “Grab the rest from the kitchen and get Noah, Ryan, and Eddie. We’re leaving in ten minutes.”
“Yes, sir.”
I turn to face my sister and place my hand on her shoulder. “With me at the table, you’ll sell out quickly. I don’t want you on your feet for too long.”
She lets out a sigh, looking worried. “Every woman’s going to swamp our table. It’s going to be a stampede.”
I gesture at Tyler. “Hence the guards.”
“I don’t know about this,” she mutters as she glances between the SUV and me.
I lean a little down to catch her eyes. “I need to get involved with Lainey’s school obligations.”
“Nova can help with the school stuff.”
“And so will I,” I insist.
Rachel’s eyebrows draw together with sadness, and it has me pulling her into a hug.
“Thanks, Easton,” she mumbles against my chest. “I know how difficult it will be for you.”
“Don’t worry about me.” I press a kiss to the side of her head before letting go so we can walk back into the house.
When Tyler grabs the last box, I call out, “Lainey, Porsha, Nova, let’s go.”
They all come rushing down the stairs, and reaching the bottom, Nova quickly tucks a curl behind Lainey’s ear before asking, “How does her hair look?”
“Beautiful,” I say.
Rachel smiles lovingly. “How did you get her hair to curl?”
“Patience,” Nova replies. “And years of practice with my own.”
“Look at my braid,” Porsha says, twirling in a circle for us to see.
“It’s so pretty,” Rachel praises her.
“See you later, Uncle Easton,” Lainey says.
“I’m coming with.”
Her eyes widen, and then she practically starts bouncing up and down. “Really? Oh my gosh, we’re going to make the most money.”
I let out a chuckle, and when Rachel and the girls head to the front door, I wait for Nova. I place my hand on her lower back and walk alongside her.
“Things might get a bit crazy at Lainey’s school,” I warn her.
“How so?”
I glance down at her. “They’re not used to seeing me there.” Wanting her to be prepared for anything, I say, “There might be reporters, and they will notice you.”
“Reporters?”
I stop by the front door and take hold of Nova’s arm to hold her back, then explain, “There’s a good chance you’ll be photographed with me, and rumors will spread like wildfires.”
She looks up, worry darkening her green irises. “What kind of rumors?”
“Anything from you being Lainey’s nanny to you being in a relationship with Rachel.”
She shrugs. “That won’t bother me.”
“And there will definitely be rumors that we’re in a relationship or even engaged.”
“We? Like you and me?” Her hand waves wildly between us, then she rambles, “Is there anything I can do or say to make them think otherwise? I can kiss Rachel and hold her hand. God, anything so they don’t write lies about you.”
The corner of my mouth lifts. “I don’t mind, but whatever you do, don’t kiss Rachel.”
“Why?”
“The last thing I need is the media thinking you’re romantically involved with Rachel.”
Because then it will look weird as fuck when I eventually make our relationship public.
That’s if I get a chance with Nova.
“What’s wrong with that?” she asks.
Unable to tell her the truth until I’m sure about her feelings for me, I say, “I don’t want to shine a spotlight on Rachel.”
“Oh. Right. Of course.”
“So if you get the urge to kiss someone, just lay one on me,” I tease her before I continue to walk toward the SUV.
Nova lets out a nervous-sounding chuckle, and when she reaches the SUV, Rachel says, “I’ll sit in the back with the girls. You take the front passenger seat.”
I notice Nova’s cheeks are flushed pink as she gets into the vehicle. Walking to the driver’s side, I glance at the other SUV the guards will take before I slide in behind the steering wheel.
“It’s been a while since we all went out together,” Rachel mentions as I start the engine.
“It’s going to be so much fun,” Lainey adds her two cents.
As I drive behind the guards’ SUV, I look at Nova, who seems very nervous.
I’m seventy percent sure she doesn’t view me as a brother. Yesterday, her pulse was racing when I touched her wrist. I pretended I didn’t notice when she yanked away from me, and it set her at ease again.
My love language is touch, and for the most part, it looks like she’s not opposed to it. Every now and then, I catch her looking at me, and she blushes. A lot.
I have to admit her being all innocent and blushing is one hell of a turn-on for me.
But I’ll take it slow so I don’t overwhelm her because the last thing I want to do is to scare off Nova. And I want to be sure about my own feelings toward her, seeing as a relationship between us will affect everyone around us.
“What do you think of LA, Nova?” I ask.
She lets out a chuckle. “I haven’t seen much of it.”
“We can go for a drive after the fundraiser,” Rachel mentions.
I look at my sister in the rearview mirror. “That’s if you’re not tired.”
“Then you can just drop me off at home and take Nova and Lainey out.”
Nova glances over her shoulder. “We’ll see how things go. We might all be tired and end up watching a movie.”
Lainey looks at Porsha. “Do you think your mom will let you watch a movie with us?”
Porsha shakes her head. “We’re going to visit my cousins later. I’m meeting my parents at the bake sale.”
“I wish I had cousins,” Lainey mutters.
My eyes flick to Nova, and when I imagine having kids with her, the corner of my mouth lifts because I know she’ll be an amazing mother.
When we pull up to the school, I find a parking spot next to the guards. Nova opens her door, but I quickly reach over and place my hand on her thigh. “Wait until the guards give us the sign that they’re ready.”
“Okay.”
Tyler comes to open my door while Noah, Ryan, and Eddie open the others.
I grab a pair of sunglasses from the compartment between the seats, and as I climb out, I put them on.
“Eddie, stay with Lainey,” I order. “Noah, you’re with Rachel and Nova.”
They all nod, and we each grab a box of cookies. As we walk toward the baseball field, where all the tables and gazebos are set up, Tyler takes the lead, and Ryan sticks to the right of me.
“Oh my God!” a woman screams, and I let out a groan. “It’s Easton Rowe.”
It always amazes me how quickly a group of fans forms. It’s never just one at a time.
Within seconds, they flank us from all sides, screaming my name. The guards do their work and keep them back while Tyler shouts, “No signatures or photos . . . Give Mr. Rowe and his family privacy . . . No photos . . . Stay back.”
“Holy crap,” Nova whispers behind me. “This is insane.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Rachel tells her. “Don’t make eye contact with anyone and keep walking.”
Sylvia’s probably going to lose her shit when she hears about this.
Finally reaching the table, I move behind it so I can use it as a barrier between me and the crowd.
“Just one photo, Easton,” a fan begs. “Pleeeeease!”
I take a step back so Nova and Rachel can unpack the boxes, then Rachel shouts, “Unless you’re buying cookies, please leave. My daughter would like to start her sale.”
Just like I thought, they all line up to purchase cookies.
Nova moves backward to place an empty box beneath the table and accidentally bumps into me. I grab hold of her hips to keep her standing, and it has half the women in the crowd screaming their heads off.
“He’s touching her!”
“Who is she?”
“God, please tell me you’re not dating!”
“I wish I was her.”
“This was such a bad idea,” Rachel mutters while she grabs a ten-dollar bill before shoving a bag of cookies at the woman.
Nova looks completely rattled, and wanting to get the sale over as quickly as possible, I take off the sunglasses. “This is a fundraiser, right?” I pick up the black marker from the table and scribble my signature on the bags. “The price just went up to a hundred dollars a bag.”
“Give me two.”
“I want three.”
The bags sell as fast as Rachel and Nova are able to move, and we’re sold out before the principal even makes it to our table.
“Mr. Rowe,” Principal Barnes says, holding out his hand as he approaches us.
I nod at Tyler to let the man through, and when I shake his hand, I say, “Quite the successful fundraiser my sister organized.”
“Yes.” He grins from ear to ear. “Since Rachel joined the PTA, everything’s been running smoothly. It’s such an honor to have you here today.”
“Just supporting my niece.”
“Would you like to join me in the teachers’ lounge?” he asks, then he leans in closer. “You’ll have more privacy there.”
“There’s Porsha’s mom,” Lainey says. “Can I stay with them? I want to look at the other tables.”
“Sure.” I glance at Eddie. “Don’t let Lainey out of your sight.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You coming?” I ask Rachel.
“Definitely.”
Walking with Principal Barnes toward the teachers’ lounge, Nova still looks stunned out of her mind, so I take hold of her arm and tug her closer to me.
“Good Lord,” Nova whispers when the fans follow after us, constantly taking photos and calling my name in the hopes of getting my attention.
Principal Barnes lets us walk into the building while he hangs back to tell the crowd of fans, “Go support the fundraiser.”
Knowing Ryan and Noah will keep them from coming into the building, I let out a breath of relief.
When we walk into the lounge, Rachel heads to a fridge, where she helps herself to three bottles of water.
She gives me and Nova each a bottle before she drinks half of hers. Letting out a breath, she says, “You can go home if you want to, and I’ll stay with Lainey for an hour or so.”
“I’m not leaving you alone,” I mutter as I glance around the lounge.
Suddenly, Rachel’s bottle drops to the floor, and the next second, she starts to convulse. I toss my water to the side and grab hold of her just as her body tenses and her eyes roll back in her head.
“Rach!” Nova shrieks, coming to grab hold of Rachel’s hand.
I quickly lower my sister to the floor, then I hear the principal ask, “Does she have epilepsy?”
“No!” I glance around us, then shout, “Tyler!”
He appears in the doorway. “Yes.”
“Bring the car to the front. Now!”
My bodyguard runs off, and I turn my attention back to Rachel. As I take in her clenched jaw and the uncontrolled movements, my heart fucking breaks. So far she’s only been tired and had headaches. This seizure shines a bright light on the fact that Rachel is dying.
Ryan and Noah come rushing into the room. Tyler must’ve told them to check on us.
Even though the seizure only lasts a few seconds longer, it feels like an hour before my sister stills.
“Rachel?” I brush my palm over her hair as I cradle her head to my chest.
It looks like she’s passed out, and my eyes flick to Nova, who’s ungodly pale. “Go get Lainey. Take Ryan with you, and he can bring you to Cedars-Sinai. It’s the hospital I’m taking Rachel to.”
“Okay.” She darts up from the floor and runs out of the room with Ryan right behind her.
Adjusting my arms beneath Rachel, I lift her to my chest as I climb to my feet before looking at Principal Barnes, “Where’s the front exit?”
“This way.”
I follow him with Noah hovering behind me, and when we rush out of the front door of the office building, it’s to see Tyler bringing the SUV to a screeching halt.
Noah runs ahead to open the back door, and I quickly climb in, cradling Rachel on my lap.
“Cedars-Sinai,” I order Tyler, who waits for Noah to jump into the passenger seat before he floors the gas, speeding away from the school.
Staring at Rachel, I brush my hand over the side of her face and whisper, “Wake up.” I press a kiss to her forehead, and closing my eyes, I beg, “Please wake up. It’s too soon. Please, Rach. You can’t leave me yet. Not today. Not like this.”