Chapter 30
30
Brian tried to be good at minding his business and not getting involved in things that didn’t concern him. Yet he was growing tired of biting his tongue while he watched Tracey’s dad talk junk and criticize everything she did while getting him checked out of the hospital and taken back home. He doubted the man could muster up a compliment if Tracey were able to get all the angels in heaven to come down and serenade him. The man was determined to find something wrong with everything she did.
He didn’t ride in the car with them when they left the hospital. Instead he followed them back to her dad’s apartment. Every part of him rebelled at the idea of leaving Tracey alone in the car with her dad. The man wouldn’t hurt her physically, but he had enough bad opinions to do some mental damage. He had told Brian to not even bother to follow them and go home, but Brian refused. He wasn’t going to sit still and watch her suffer in silence. He was still her friend.
Brian could hear her dad complaining as soon as they pulled into the parking lot of his apartment and Tracey opened the car door. Brian quickly moved to help her get him out of the car.
“Didn’t I tell you to go home?” Carl said sounding frustrated. “We don’t need your help.”
“You telling me you want Tracey to struggle getting you up the stairs to your apartment?” Brian asked with a raised brow.
Carl glanced at Tracey, doubt hovering in his gaze when he glared back at Brian. “She can handle me.”
“Maybe she can, but she doesn’t have to handle you alone while I’m here.” Brian looked to Tracey. “I’ve got him.”
He saw the argument in her eyes, the instinctual need she felt to say she could handle this on her own, but a second later the tension left from around her lips and she nodded. “Thanks.”
He wasn’t sure what changed, but she’d been doing just that since he’d shown up at the hospital. She would look like she was going to say no but change her mind and say yes. He wasn’t going to read too much into the reasons. Whatever made Tracey feel okay with letting him help her, he was good with that.
Brian took the man’s arm and wrapped it around his shoulder. “Come on, Mr. Carl, let’s get up these stairs.”
“I don’t need any help. I can manage on my own.” He tried to pull away but wobbled. Brian grabbed him tighter and headed to the stairs.
“I don’t know why you’re here or why you both are acting like I can’t take care of myself,” Carl grumbled but didn’t fight further to get out of Brian’s grip.
Several minutes later, they had him settled on the couch in his living room. Tracey went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “Dad, you don’t have anything to eat in here.”
“I can find food.”
Tracey sighed and shook her head. “I’ll go to the grocery store and pick up some stuff. Devante said he’ll be over when he’s done with his project, and he’ll need to eat, too.”
“When’s your mom coming over?” he asked.
“I don’t know, Dad.”
“Ain’t she staying with you?”
“She went back to Raymond’s house a while ago, so she’s not staying with me anymore.”
Her dad grunted. “You would be okay with that. You were better when you were with Bernard. Did you call him? He should be here with you.” He gave Brian a pointed stare.
Tracey closed the door to the fridge. “I’m going to the store. Brian, you coming with me?”
He glanced at Tracey. She wanted him to come, he could see that written all over her face, but he wasn’t going. He had a few things he needed to straighten out over here.
“Go ahead, I’ll stay and look after your dad.”
Her brows drew together. “You sure?”
He nodded. “Positive.”
Tracey gave him another unsure look. He lifted and lowered his head, giving her a reassuring nod. This had to be handled and he was going to do it today.
“Well, I guess I’ll go to the store, then,” she said.
Her dad pointed to her. “Be sure you bring back some crushed ice.”
Tracey rolled her eyes but nodded. She grabbed her purse, went to the door and walked out. After she was gone Brian turned back to her dad.
Carl raised his brow and glared at him. “So what do you have to say to me? I know that’s the only reason why you stuck behind.”
Brian crossed his arms and eyed the man. “Yeah, I do want to talk to you. I don’t like the way you’re talking to Tracey.”
“You can’t tell me how to talk to my daughter. Who do you think you are?”
“I’m her friend and someone who cares about her. That’s who I am.”
“You see, that’s part of the problem,” Carl said, glaring at Brian. “Bernard knew his place—he didn’t say anything. He knew how to keep his mouth shut.”
“That’s because Bernard didn’t give a damn about Tracey. Do you know why he’s not here? Because he told Tracey that he was too busy to check in on you.”
“She texted him or called him and asked him to come back?”
“No. Tracey doesn’t talk to him unless she has to. But I was there when Bernard texted her to say he heard you were in the hospital and that he would’ve come by but he was too busy. Tracey didn’t even respond to his text because that’s just like him. Always leaving her hanging. Bernard never cared about or appreciated her. And as her father, I can’t understand why you would even push her to go back to a man like that.”
Carl looked away then grumbled, “Bernard loves her.”
“If he loved her he wouldn’t have cheated on her for so many years.”
“Cheating doesn’t mean they don’t love you.”
For the first time Brian actually felt sorry for Carl. He saw in the man’s eyes that he wanted to believe those words. He’d stuck with Loretta after all those years that she cheated and embarrassed him around town. He was urging Tracey to do what he had done for years: sit back, wait and hope that the person you were with realized they should treasure you instead of trample all over you.
“Cheating may not mean that they don’t love you, but it sure as hell means they don’t respect you,” Brian said. “Everyone makes mistakes, but the way Bernard disrespected Tracey on the regular to the point that he actually got her employee pregnant proves he might have loved her but he never respected or cared about her. I care about Tracey. I want what’s best for her, and Bernard is not what’s best for Tracey. If you keep pushing her and belittling her the way you’re doing, you won’t be what’s best for Tracey either.”
“Are you saying you gonna try to keep my daughter away from me?”
“I won’t have to try to keep your daughter away from you. She’ll stay away from you on her own.”
Tracey’s dad crossed his arms and glared at Brian. Brian just stared back. He wasn’t going to back down from this. He meant what he said. Even though he and Tracey might not be together right now, he was still going to be her friend. He might be out of line, but he couldn’t sit back and watch someone belittle her. Even if it was her father.
“Well, are you gonna turn on the TV, or you just gonna stand there and stare at me?” Carl finally muttered.
Brian nodded, accepting the peace offering. He might not ever be her dad’s favorite person, but he’d earned a little bit of respect with him today. Carl could have whatever fight he needed to have with her mom and whatever messed-up relationship they had going on, but while Brian was in her life, he was going to respect the fact that Brian was there for Tracey.
“Yeah, I’ll turn on the TV. Just tell me what you wanna watch.”
***
“What did you do to my dad?” Tracey said later when she and Brian were finally in her office at the inn.
Brian gave her an innocent look that she did not believe for one second as he shrugged. “What do you mean? I didn’t do anything to your dad.”
Tracey placed her hands on her hips and raised a brow. “Don’t even play that with me, sir. I left to go to the store and my dad was being a complete jerk. I come back and the two of you are watching Law & Order and acting as if you’re best friends.”
“First of all, Law & Order is a good show. Second, me and your dad will never be best friends.”
Tracey chuckled: he was right on both of those points. “Seriously, tell me what you did. He was so much better when I got back. Was it one of those man-to-man talks?”
Brian walked closer to her. She expected him to reach out and pull her into his arms, but he didn’t. He kept just enough distance between them to still be respectful of the fact that they were just friends right now.
“Yes, it was one of those man-to-man talks. I had to let him know that as your friend I wasn’t gonna sit around while he talked to you any kind of way.”
Tracey grinned and chuckled. “I can’t believe you said that to him.”
“Did I overstep my bounds?”
Tracey considered his words. She supposed a part of her could be mad at him for telling her dad that. But all she could think about was the fact that, besides her brother, no one had defended her whenever her dad criticized her. Bernard would sit in a corner and listen but never say a word. When she would complain about the way her dad would talk to her, he would just tell her to get over it. Sometimes she’d even catch him nodding or chuckling to himself whenever Carl went off on a rant about how uncaring his kids were. Brian had showed her again that he cared. He had his own stuff he was dealing with, yet there he was helping her all day.
“Is everything all good at the nursery? I know you were with me all day. I kept you from work. I’m sorry about that.”
Brian shook his head. “You don’t have to be sorry. Are you sorry that you weren’t at work today?”
“I’m not, but that’s different. It was my dad who was sick. You didn’t have to miss work because of me.”
“Maybe I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. That’s what friends are for,” he said.
The words were meant to be comforting, but they scratched over Tracey’s heart like a rusted Brillo pad. She didn’t want to just be his friend anymore.
“How are things going with your ex and the baby?”
Brian shook his head. “Being handled. She’s got a deadline to leave, and my brother has sent over a list of places she can afford in Atlanta near her own family. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know about that situation, but I know what you’re doing right now.”
“What am I doing?” She crossed her arms.
He took a step closer, eliminating the space between them. “I see exactly what you’re doing, Tracey. You didn’t ask just to ask, you asked to try to put distance between us because I helped you today. But I need you to understand one thing. I respect that you want to put distance between us. I’m not pushing you for more right now because I understand that I got some stuff I need to take care of on my end. But all of that doesn’t change the way I feel about you. I’m still gonna be there for you. I’m still going to wait for you.”
Tracey’s breathing stuttered. Her heart raced as heat spread through her midsection, chest and cheeks. The way this man could do this to her with just a few words should be a crime. But it wasn’t just the words, it was the sincerity and determination reflected in his dark eyes as he spoke them. Not just a statement but an oath.
“Brian,” she whispered, but she didn’t know what she was going to say. She didn’t want to tell him not to wait on her. She also didn’t want to tell him there was no need to wait because she was ready right now. Fear still made her hesitate. The fear that this was too good to be true and that she’d wake up and the longing in his eyes would be just a dream and the fire between them had all been imagined.
Brian cupped the back of her head and pressed his lips against hers. His tongue glided over her lower lip begging for entrance. Tracey’s lips parted. She couldn’t deny herself. His tongue slid across hers as his chest and thighs were a solid weight holding her up when she would have crumbled. The growing length of his erection as the kiss went on pushed into her belly. She moaned low in her throat. She wanted this man so bad. She wanted him to pick her up and take her upstairs. She wanted him between her legs. But even more she wanted him to stay in her life just like this forever.
Brian pulled back as if he could sense the way she was wavering. His eyes were hot as they stared into hers. Slowly, and with visible effort, he took a step back. “Call me if you need anything, Tracey. I mean that.”
Tracey couldn’t do anything but nod. If she spoke she’d ask him to stay. She’d say forget about him getting things straight with Renee, that she’d help him with this. But his problem was one he had to settle. She would wait until he did. With one last heated look at her, he turned and walked out of her office.