Chapter 15 Dean
Dean
It was Thanksgiving, and Archer and I were headed over to the Jameses’ house.
Normally, I would bring a nice bottle of wine, but I felt like it an insult to bring Travis James a bottle of something that he didn’t make himself, so I opted for an expensive bottle of bourbon for him and some flowers for Laurel.
Addison and I weren’t even dating, but I was nervous as fuck, for some reason.
I would be meeting her father and her oldest brother, who happened to be a Navy SEAL.
Luckily, her mother, her other brother, and her younger sister seemed to like me.
As if Archer could sense my nerves, he slapped his hand on my shoulder and squeezed as we walked up to the door. “Breathe, brother.” He smiled.
I shook him off and knocked on the door. A tall older man with gray hair answered the door and smiled. I could see Addison in his smile. He reached his hand out to me. “Dr. Adler, nice to finally meet you.”
I shook his hand. “Please, call me Dean. Nice to meet you as well.”
He stepped aside and motioned into the house. “Please, come on in.”
We stepped into the foyer, and I gestured to my brother. “Mr. James, this is my brother, Archer.”
He shook my brother’s hand and turned back to me.
“Please call me Travis. Mr. James is my father.” He chuckled.
I nodded and smiled, following him back into the giant great room that had floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked their property—a panoramic view of the lush vineyard set against the rolling hills and a winding creek that was tucked behind the property.
The kitchen was attached off to the left where Addison, Ava, and Laurel were all chatting.
Walker and who I assumed was Weston were sitting on the couch, both with a beer in hand, watching football.
Travis cleared his throat. “Dean and Archer are here.” All five heads turned at the same time to look at us.
Addison hopped up from the stool she’d been sitting on with a glass of wine in her hand.
With her family in the room and all eyes on me, I resisted the urge to scan her toned frame for too long.
Her brown hair was styled in long, flowing waves.
She wore a burnt orange cropped sweater with dark jeans that hugged her in all the right places. My mouth went dry at the sight of her.
She hugged me and Archer before turning her attention toward her brothers on the couch. “West, this is Dean and his brother, Archer. Walker, you’ve already met Dean, but this is Archer.”
Her oldest brother stood up, and that motherfucker was huge.
I wasn’t short. I was six foot two, and I could feel some solid inches in our height difference.
He had to be six foot five easy. He was ripped, his arms covered in tattoos, and he had an intimidating-as-fuck look on his face.
He looked like an angry version of their father, Travis.
He held his hand out and firmly shook mine. “Hey, Dean, good to meet you,” he said with zero smile, making me wonder if it was, in fact, good to meet me. He turned and shook Archer’s hand as well.
I nodded. “Yeah, man, good to meet you too.”
Walker slapped his older brother on the shoulder.
“As you can see, Weston over here is a ray of sunshine.” He laughed.
“But don’t let the broody exterior fool you.
He’s a big teddy bear.” Weston gave an impatient glance upward and grumped something under his breath as he made his way back to the couch.
Walker stepped up and shook Archer’s hand. “Thanks for coming, guys. Can I get you both a beer?”
Archer just stared blankly at Walker, completely starstruck. I elbowed him in the ribs. “Dude, chill the fuck out.”
Archer shook his head and cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah, sorry, man. I’d love a beer. I’m sorry, I’m just a big fan.”
Walker chuckled. “No problem, glad to hear it. All right, two beers coming up.” He made his way into the kitchen.
I followed behind and handed Laurel the flowers I brought her before giving the bourbon to Travis.
They both thanked me for the gifts, insisting that it wasn’t necessary, but I could tell that it impressed Addison.
Archer took a seat on a stool in the kitchen, talking Laurel’s ear off while she cooked.
Moms always loved the guy. I took the beer that Walker brought over to me and sat down in a chair to the right of Weston, turning my attention to the game playing on the large flat-screen TV that hung neatly over the stone-faced fireplace.
Weston surprised me and spoke, his eyes never leaving the TV. “Hey, man, thanks for taking care of Cash the other night. That horse means a shit ton to my sister, and if anything happened to him, it would have been tough, to say the least.”
“No problem. I’m just lucky that Walker knew the signs, and he and Addison knew what to do until I got there.” I took a pull from my beer, also keeping my eyes on the screen.
Just then, Walker sat back down on the other side of the couch from Weston, “What did I do?”
“Nothing,” Weston grumped, which made me chuckle. Walker shrugged and took a swig of his beer. Weston then looked over at me, and out of the corner of his mouth, he whispered to me, “He doesn’t need a bigger head than he already has.” I nodded and smiled because Archer was a lot like Walker.
I think Weston and I would get along just fine.
Archer and Travis eventually made their way into the living room to watch the game with all of us.
We talked about football, watched football, and drank beer.
It felt easy with the James family, and I could tell that Archer was comfortable as well.
It was shaping up to be a solid Thanksgiving so far.
Eating with the James family was pure chaos with the constant passing of food, arguing, and laughing. It was loud, but I loved every second of it. Evidently, Travis was the king of dad jokes, and much to his kids’ dismay, he had Thanksgiving-themed dad jokes.
“Ugh, Dad, no more, please,” Ava groaned with her face in her hands. “We’ve got company.” She motioned toward me and Archer.
“Come on, just one more. I’ve got another good one.” Travis smirked. Laurel just sat there shaking her head, completely amused, while she took a sip of her wine.
“By all means, I love a good dad joke,” I said, egging Travis on and in return causing Ava to glare daggers my way.
“Why did the cranberry blush?” Travis looked around excitedly, waiting for someone to guess the answer.
Addison laughed. “Please enlighten us, Dad. Why did the cranberry blush?”
“It saw the turkey dressing.” Travis beamed at us. “Get it? Turkey dressing?” he asked when no one responded.
Weston and Ava groaned, Walker’s head fell back in laughter, and Addison just shook her head with a large grin on her pretty face.
Laurel patted her husband on the arm. “Wow, honey. You really outdid yourself with that one.” The whole table erupted in laughter.
“I don’t know, I’m pretty impressed you had that many Thanksgiving dad jokes, to be honest.” I chuckled before taking another bite of green bean casserole.
Addison elbowed me. “Don’t encourage him.” I reached down and squeezed her thigh. Her eyes widened in surprise at my touch, but she didn’t move my hand.
Everything about this day just felt good.
I loved being around her family. I could see the strong connection and love between them all, and I envied it.
The James family accepted you as you were.
There was no pressure, nobody wanted anything from you, and nobody had ulterior motives.
I could just be myself here. I hadn’t felt this comfortable being with a group of people in a long time.
I could see why everyone in town loved this family.
You just wanted to be around them, be in their orbit.
Several different conversations were flowing around the table at the same time as Laurel stood up and began collecting plates.
I immediately stood up and took Addison’s and Archer’s plates.
Laurel’s gaze met mine, and she smiled warmly.
“Dean, honey, you don’t need to do that.
You’re our guest, please enjoy yourself. ”
I scoffed. “You made all that delicious food, the least I can do is help clean up.” I grabbed some more plates and followed her into the kitchen.
After setting everything down on the counter next to the large farmhouse sink, Laurel turned toward me. “How about you wash, I’ll dry?”
I nodded. “Let’s do it.” I turned on the water, soaped up a sponge, and grabbed the first plate. “Thanks again for inviting us. Archer and I are having a great time with your family.” I handed Laurel the first clean plate.
She took the plate and began drying it off. “You both are always welcome here. I know that my daughter has grown quite fond of you.” She smirked, the comment catching me off guard.
I cleared my throat, unsure of what she knew. “Well, the feeling is mutual.”
Laurel smiled warmly at me. “It’s none of my business, but I wouldn’t be her mother if I didn’t say this.
All I ask is for you always to be honest with her, even when it’s difficult.
I know who your family is, I’ve seen the tabloids.
Addison was pulled into that world before with her ex and came out scathed.
She seems to already trust you, which is pretty incredible, given everything she’s been through.
” She walked over to the cabinet to put a couple of dried plates away.
I nodded in understanding. “We seem to have trust issues in common. I may be from that world, but I don’t trust that world.
It’s why I’m here, to get away from it all.
I would never intentionally hurt Addison.
I care about her a lot.” But I’m just not telling her that her ex-fiancé is my cousin, and I unknowingly helped him cover up cheating on her.
That pit in my stomach, that sickening feeling was forming again.
Laurel nodded. “Good. It’s nice to see her with someone who shares her love for horses. Horses are a part of who she is, always has been.”
I smiled. “They’re a part of who I am as well.” I finished washing the last of the dishes and handed them over to Laurel.
She paused for a moment, her green gaze, the same as Addison’s, studying me. “I’m happy you somehow ended up in Primrose Hill, Dr. Adler.” And with that, she put the last of the dishes away, leaving me to drown in my guilt.
After helping Laurel clean up, I noticed that all the guys had made their way back to the couch to watch some more football, while Laurel and Ava chatted at the dining table.
I looked around and didn’t see Addison. I made my way toward the sliding glass door that led out to their expansive patio and noticed a fire going in the pit.
I slid the door open and popped my head out, seeing Addison sitting on the outdoor sofa with a glass of wine.
Hearing me step out, she turned her head toward me. “Well, hey there, want to come hang out by the fire with me?” She patted the couch cushion next to her.
I made my way over to her and sat down, our legs bumping against each other. I draped my arm over the back of the couch behind her. “I was wondering where you ran off to.”
She smiled up at me, making my chest squeeze. “Well, you found me. Sometimes I need to get away by myself for some peace and quiet. Our family can be a lot and a bit loud, as you may have noticed.” She chuckled.
“I love it. I think your family is great.” I toyed with the ends of her long hair. With a relaxed sigh, she lay her head back against the couch cushion and closed her eyes.
“Thanks. They are pretty great. Just loud,” she responded without opening her eyes.
I laughed. “Fair.”
“You and Archer have been great with them though. I can tell they all love you guys. I’m really glad you came, Dean.” She opened her eyes and rolled her head to look over at me, my fingers still playing with her hair.
I cleared my throat. “So, uh, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
She lifted her head and looked at me curiously. “Okay, what’s up?”
“I’m not great at this. Telling someone how I feel.
” I stared at the fire, hoping it would give me strength, and trying to get the words in my head to come out right.
“I really like you, Addison. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way before or had this unexplainable pull toward someone.
I can’t stop thinking about you, and I can’t stand not to be around you.
I know I said I don’t do relationships, but with you, it’s just different.
I trust you. I want to be with you. I know that this is probably complicated with you being my client and all, but…
” I blew out a long breath and looked over at her. “I don’t care.”
The biggest grin slowly spread across her lips, and she lay her head against my chest, and goddamn if it didn’t feel like she belonged there. “I really like you too, Dean. I feel the same way. I want to be with you too…even if I am your client.” She looked back up at me with a small smirk.
“Yeah? We’re doing this?” I smiled and leaned down to kiss her. She sighed into my mouth as she opened for me to take the kiss deeper. After a moment, she put her hand on my chest and pulled away, looking at me again.
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “I guess we are. I’m running out of excuses and reasons not to.” She wrapped her hand around the back of my head and pulled my mouth back to hers. We made out like a couple of teenagers under the stars with the fire casting a soft glow across her beautiful face.
I can do this. Open up and trust someone enough to give them the power to destroy me again, right? That was what Addison was doing too. I just hoped this time it turned out differently for both of us. I didn’t know about her, but I didn’t think I could survive a repeat of history.