Chapter 17
Ramsey~
A fter the guys had left Saturday, I’d waited for Emerson to come back home, and the second that she had walked through the front door, I’d ended up burying myself deep inside her until she had pushed me off her, but not before we’d both exploded like dynamite.
After that, instead of talking our problems out like adults, we’d headed home to Sands Cove in a silent truce, and I’d given Emerson some space since I hadn’t been able to come up with any answers to our current dilemma. Once we’d gotten home, she’d chosen to stay in her office to get some work done, and with little choice, I’d gone to my office to do the same. When it’d finally been time to go to bed, she’d been gracious enough to let me take her twice more before turning her back to me, then falling asleep.
It’d been hell.
Not being able to sleep, I’d gotten up, then had gone back to my office, and like a heartbroken teenage boy, I’d ended up sitting in front of my computer, going through my files, looking over photos of the past twenty-five years of us together. With every picture of Emerson smiling, it occurred to me that I might have stolen her happiness by finally telling her the truth, and the thought had been enough to nearly drive me out of my fucking mind. It’d definitely been enough to send me into another bottle of scotch, another hangover greeting me the next morning.
Luckily for me, Ram and Lake had dropped by early in the day Sunday, so they’d been a welcomed distraction from our bullshit. They’d also brought the baby, so that had helped with Emerson’s mood tremendously. As busy as we all were, Emerson didn’t get to spend enough time with any of the grandkids as much as she’d like, so having the kids over had been a good thing.
Still, as Emerson and I had pretended that we weren’t in the middle of a huge fight, I’d thought about Ace’s question, and watching Emerson, R.J., Lake, and the baby existing happily, it still wasn’t happiness that I’d felt watching them, and I’d finally found the real answer to Ace’s question. When I looked at my family, I felt love. That’s what I felt when I looked at them or thought of them. Yeah, the protectiveness and fear were still there, but I felt love deep in my chest, not happiness, and that’s what I needed to explain to my wife. Loving her didn’t make me unhappy. Loving her made me whole. Emerson made me whole, and this fight between us was proof of that.
“So, what did you do now?”
I turned from the paperwork on the conference table to see R.J. and Maddox walking into my office like I didn’t have shit to do. They were only one year apart, and from afar, they could pass for twins, and looking at all of our faces, there was no denying that they were my sons through and through.
“What?”
“Oh, c’mon,” R.J. drawled out as Maddox shut the door behind him. “You’re not that great of an actor, and neither is Mom. You think I couldn’t tell that something was wrong yesterday?”
I set the report that I had in my hand on the table, turning fully to face my sons. “So, what? You came in here to ambush me?”
“We came in here to tell you to fix whatever it is that you did wrong,” Mad answered bluntly. “We don’t need this kind of headache.”
“Which kind of headache is that, exactly?” I asked, my impatience already showing.
“The kind where you lose your shit, and then we’re left trying to clean it up,” R.J. retorted.
I shot him a look. “You’ve never had to clean up after me,” I reminded him. “Watch yourself, son.”
R.J.’s dark gaze narrowed at me. “Running after people to convince them not to file lawsuits because of your abusive nature is cleaning up after you.”
“I do not have an abusive nature,” I clapped back. “What the hell?”
“According to all the sensitivity training that we all have to go through each year, you do,” Maddox chimed in. “So, what gives?”
“Seriously, Dad,” R.J. added. “If you and Mom are fighting, I’m not going to be happy.”
Yeah, I wasn’t the only one that was protective of Emerson. Ramsey and Maddox adored their mother, and if they were here, it wasn’t only because they wanted me to make things right with her. They also didn’t care if it was my fault or not. Granted, while the arguments about me being difficult whenever me and Emerson were on the outs were valid, they didn’t really care if I was making the employees cry or not. They were worried about their mother, and that was the only reason that they were here.
“We’re having trouble seeing eye-to-eye on something right now,” I finally admitted. “However, it’s nothing to ambush me about.”
This time, Maddox’s dark gaze narrowed at me. “How long have you been fighting?”
“Since none of your business,” I answered sternly.
“Which means that you’ve been fighting for more than one day, and that makes it our business,” R.J. replied, making me regret raising such confident men.
“It doesn’t,” I argued. “Do not forget that I’m your father.”
“Yeah, that’d work if we were scared of you more than we loved Mom,” Maddox retorted. “But since that’s not the case, what’s going on, Dad?”
While I didn’t want to tell them, there was still a chance that I might have to recruit Mad for a deeper background check on Cossacks, so against my better judgement, I decided to tell them the truth, though wise enough to leave out the details.
“Your mother’s new supervisor at work is interested in her,” I finally told them.
Ramsey’s entire body froze in place while Maddox’s head reared back in surprise. If the situation wasn’t so serious, I’d laugh. However, the situation was serious enough that now wasn’t the time. I knew both of my sons well enough to know that once they processed this information, they were not going to be happy.
Five…four…three…two…
“What the fuck?
“Are you kidding us?”
I looked over at Mad. “I assure you that I am not kidding, son.”
“Why haven’t you killed the sonofabitch yet?” R.J. bit out.
“Because I don’t relish your mother trying to divorce me for something that she thinks is irrelevant,” I informed him as calmly as I could.
“Irrelevant? Another dude is after her,” R.J. stated incredulously. “How can she think that’s irrelevant?”
“She claims that he’s irrelevant because she has no interest in him,” I explained.
“That’s bullshit,” Maddox snapped. “He might not matter to her, but he’s a cockroach that needs to be exterminated if he thinks that it’s okay to hit on married women.”
“He hasn’t hit on her,” I informed him.
“Okay, now I’m all confused,” Mad muttered.
“It’s a vibe that I got when I first met him,” I told them. “Then he said some things at the charity event Friday that confirmed my hunch. Not wanting to embarrass your mother or get arrested at a children’s charity event, I warned him off her, but that’s it.”
“What’s his name?”
“Maddox, if your mother-”
“She’ll never have to know,” he said, already knowing how Emerson felt about his hacking hobbies. Once upon a time, it hadn’t bothered her much. However, now that Maddox had a family, she didn’t like him taking unnecessary risks. “I won’t say a word.”
“Omittance is the same thing as lying, Mad. You know this.”
“Then go ahead and tell Mom,” he countered. “Besides, it’s not like I can’t find out, Dad. You’ve already given me enough by telling me that he’s her new supervisor.”
I lifted my hands to start rubbing my temples. “Jesus Christ, Maddox.”
“Dad, even if he’s not a threat to Mom, Maddox is right,” R.J. said. “Guys like that need to be taught a lesson, and who better to teach it to him than us?”
“Your mother won’t see it that way,” I pointed out.
“Maybe not,” R.J. conceded. “However, you act like Mom’s never met us. Is she really going to be all that surprised?”
“Plus, it’s not anything that she’s going to divorce you over,” Maddox chimed in. “Mom would never divorce you.”
This time, it was my eyes that narrowed at my sons. “How can you possibly know that?”
Maddox and Ramsey exchanged a weird look before Maddox looked back over at me. “Are you blind or something?”
“Watch your mouth, Maddox,” I warned.
He just rolled his eyes as R.J. said, “Dad, Mom looks at you like you hold the sun, the moon, and the stars in your hand. How can you not see it?”
Yeah, I really was a fucking idiot.