Chapter 11 Paula
CHAPTER ELEVEN
paula
It didn’t even take a full twenty-four hours for my brother to lay into me. How did an innocent conversation take such a hard left turn?
Pierce didn’t say anything after Tristan said how we met, which he did perfectly. I was listening from the hallway. Creepy? Maybe. Do I care? No.
I thought all crappy comments from my older brother would be held back after Phillip geeked out over Tristan working for Crooked Halo. But no. He waited until I came into the room to lay into me. The only thing I did was walk into the room.
The sand shifts beneath my feet, and slips into my shoes as I stomp across the beach. It’s not giving me the angry satisfaction I so desperately want. The sand is too soft to get that frustrated sound I’m looking for.
I’m not sure how far I am from the house.
I didn’t think when I stormed out. The only thing fueling me was the need to get out of there and away from Pierce.
Loathing bubbles up to the surface. He always has to do something other than make my life hell.
Even growing up, he would do whatever he could to catch me doing something I wasn’t supposed to all to get me in trouble. Never the other siblings. Just me.
Honestly, it feels like he’s had it out for me since day one.
Siblings are supposed to get along, not make each other feel like shit.
I’ve watched the relationship between Kai and Kate.
While they bicker, it’s all in good fun.
They don’t go out of their way to intentionally make the other feel like crap.
I have that with most of brothers and sister.
The only ones I’ve never meshed well with are Pierce and Peter.
As much as I’d like to change that, I’m not sure it ever will.
If I don’t focus on something else, I’ll end up packing my bags and leaving. Even though I didn’t want to be here to begin with, I don’t want to leave in anger.
The beach is secluded. Not a single person as far as I can see. Probably because they are smart. It’s cooler by the water than I thought it would be. That’s what I get for acting out of frustration, but being cold out here is better than fighting with my brother.
Breathe, Paula. Breathe.
The waves crashing against the shore is the soundtrack to my breathe exercise. I breathe the salty air in and out. My pounding heartbeat begins to slow and even out. I’m no longer trying to stomp my anger out. It’s still there, but not all consuming the way it was minutes ago.
Maybe Emily is rubbing off on me more than she thought. I’ve watched her go over mediation techniques with Samantha countless times. Even Kate needs her help at times to cool off when a bride is being overly dramatic.
It’s a good thing I found these ladies when I did. Otherwise, there’s a possibility I would have gotten into an actual fight with my brother. Not that he’d lay a hand on me, but I don’t know if I would forgive myself if I lashed out like that.
Running and hiding seems like a much more viable way to handle things. The sun is setting and I need to head back, but I can’t bring myself to turn around. I wrap my arms tighter around myself to try to stave off the cold.
I feel something wrap around my shoulders and I turn too fast. My balance is gone, but I don’t hit the sand.
Arms wrap around me and I’m staring up at Tristan. “This time you tried to kill me.”
“Sorry about that.” His soft chuckle is everything I need right now. A friendly face to push away all the crap with my brother. “I tried calling your name, but I don’t think you heard me.”
“How long have you been following me?”
“Not long.” He helps me stand and adjusts the jacket he put over my shoulders. “I came after you, but you seemed like you needed some time, so I hung back.”
“Oh.” The fact he can read me better than my family is an oddity. We’ve been around each other a handful of times, but he seems to know me better than most despite every wall I’ve put up against him. “Thank you for the jacket.”
“No problem.” He shrugs and shoves his hands in his pockets. His thin, long sleeved shirt isn’t going to do much against the cold, and I feel bad he gave me his only source of warmth. “You didn’t take anything with you, and I thought you might get cold. Looks like I was right.”
Neither of us says another word. The ocean waves are the only soundtrack, and it feels easy. Like this is how it’s supposed to be. He doesn’t try to rush me back to the house. Only stands in solidarity until I decide what I want to do.
His phone dings in his pocket, but he doesn’t rush to pull it out. His sole focus is on me.
“Are you gonna get that?”
“It can wait.”
It dings two more times.
“You should probably see who that is.”
He shakes his head, but pulls his phone out and glances at the screen. His eyebrows pinch in confusion.
“How did he get my number?”
“Who?”
“Parker. He said they’re about to leave for dinner and we should hurry back.”
“I’m going to kill him.”
Tristan taps out a quick response and pockets his phone again.
“Why?”
“Because the little jerk went through my contacts. And if he saw our text messages, then he knows we aren’t actually dating. He better keep his mouth shut.” Nothing about the past few minutes feels fake, though.
“That’s a future problem.” He waits for me to say something else, but I don’t. What else is there to say? “I told him to send me the address and we’ll meet them there.”
“We should probably head back.” I don’t want to burst this bubble of calm I have, but I know if we don’t meet up with the family, I’ll have to answer to my parents. Shockingly they weren’t the cause of this afternoon’s explosion.
“Whenever you’re ready. We go on your time, not theirs.” He slides his hand into mine. “I’m by your side, you don’t have to worry.”
Every part of me melts at the words. Not once has anyone put me, and my wants, first. It’s always what I can do for them.
“Sorry about earlier.” My focus is on the sand ahead of us as I lead us back to the beach house. I’m not even sure how far away we are.
“You don’t need to apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.” He gives my hand a quick squeeze. “What’s his problem anyway?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. There’s always been friction between us for as long as I can remember. Part of me wonders if he’s mad because he’s not Dad’s namesake. Or if he never wanted a little sister. It’s just weird because he’s not like this with the other siblings.”
Tristan is quiet for a moment, letting what I’ve said sink in. It’s one of the things I’m coming to admire about him. He doesn’t fly off the handle like me. He takes time to consider what he wants to say.
“Do you think it’s because you don’t fall in line with the rest of your siblings? From the outside looking in, it seems like he’s trying to be a parent instead of a brother. That isn’t fair to you, or him.”
I never thought of it like that. Looking back, he has always put himself in that role. I don’t understand why. Our parents have always been around and did their job. They still do.
“It’s probably because Dad is preparing him to take over the company. He’s been getting him ready for it for as long as I can remember. He knows it’s part of our family legacy, and I think me not wanting to do it is a thorn in his side.”
“That could be it. But there’s no reason for him to be a jackass about the situation. Each person is allowed to do what they want. Working for the winery isn’t something you want to do right now, and he shouldn’t pressure you into it.”
He’s not wrong, but he also hasn’t had something like this held over his head his entire life.
Despite all the stuff with the winery, we’re a closeknit family.
Even though I don’t really talk to Pierce on a personal level, he knows what’s going on in my life.
All of our siblings talk, and we hang out.
He’s never pushed as hard as he is now, though. That’s the problem.
“I’ll figure out a way to talk to him about while we’re here. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try.”
He pulls us to stop and moves in front of me. Lifting his free hand to my face, he tilts my head until my eyes meet his.
“Wrong answer. Remember that deal we made for me to come with you? You have to stand up for yourself. I’ll be right beside you if you need me to be, but you can do it.”
Shit. I forgot about that little stipulation. We still have three more days of this trip. That’s plenty of time to take my stand. Maybe.
“Okay.”
“That’s it? Okay? You’re not going to fight me on this?” He seems confused.
“It’s been a long afternoon. I’m afraid I don’t have any fight left at the moment.” I’m not lying. Even though the spat with Pierce was brief, it took a lot out of me. Maybe it’s because it happened in front of Tristan. I don’t know. But I don’t have it in me to put up another argument right now.
“I guess it’s a good thing you have me here to help you do just that when the time comes.”
“That means more than you realize.” Everything he’s done in the twenty-four hours we’ve been here has been to make sure I’m okay and comfortable. He really doesn’t know how much it means that someone is putting me first.
“Oh, I think I do.” He leans closer.
Is he about to kiss me? I’ve been looking forward to this part of our performance since our practice kiss in the parking lot.
Except right now we don’t have an audience. This is something he wants to do. I move to meet him, and my stomach decides it’s a perfect time to growl.
Tristan chuckles and pulls away. “We should probably hurry so we can get you fed.”
Damn you stomach. For a split second he looked at me like more than a friend, and maybe that’s something I want. Ugh, stupid feelings. This is why I’ve never done relationships. These emotions are confusing.