Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Marshall
D inner was fine. My family spent more time talking to Saylor than me, but that was okay. I wasn't ready to talk yet. After dinner, we set up the fire pit.
Instead of breaking off to play volleyball, everyone hung around the fire. I ended up with the guys, while the girls were on the other side of the fire.
Brady approached me with a beer. "Are you planning on talking to Hudson or Dad?"
I gripped the beer bottle for something to do with my hands. "I need to."
"You should do it sooner rather than later."
I let out a breath. "I don't even know what to say."
"Start with the truth."
"I wasn't ready to come home and take over the business. I wanted to do something else. I sound like a punk-ass kid saying that."
Brady shook his head. "We all do things that our families don't necessarily agree with."
"Really?" Everyone else had come home and worked for Dad. I was the only holdout.
"I started a side business where I film video games and play them on streaming services. I hid that from everyone for a long time, even Hazel."
"I didn't know you did that."
Brady nodded. "I only told them recently."
"I want Hayden to know her family."
"You came home for her."
"I'd like to work for the family business again. I don't know if that's a possibility. I hurt everyone when I left."
While we were talking, Dad approached with Hudson in tow.
"You planning to come back to work?" Dad asked.
"I'd like to. But I understand that not everyone might want that." If I needed to move off the island to find work, then I'd do it. "I have a little saved but I'll need to start looking for something soon."
Dad's brow furrowed. "Who said we wouldn't want you to work for Kingston Construction?"
"I think we need to have a talk before that happens," Hudson said gruffly.
"I know you were depending on me to be by your side, but the pressure was too much. I couldn't imagine taking over the business then. I needed something else."
"You could have talked to us," Hudson said, his jaw tight.
"I wasn't ready to take it on then, but I am now. I want to be part of our family's legacy."
Hudson shook his head.
"We'll have to talk about it," Dad finally said. "For now, we're happy to have you home. Along with Hayden."
"I want Hayden to get to know her family.
I'd hoped that Billie would have brought her to more family events, but she thought it was my job.
I can't blame her for thinking that. I should have been here more often.
" I should have gotten out of the military sooner.
I couldn't believe I'd waited so long. I almost missed Hayden's childhood entirely.
"Hopefully, we'll be seeing more of both of you," Dad said.
Mom brought out a platter of graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate squares.
I helped put marshmallows on the skewers and handed them out.
It was nice to be back with my family. I'd missed this.
The sheer number of us, which had grown since I'd been gone.
Most of my brothers had found a significant other and appeared to be happy in their lives.
It made me wonder if I could have something similar.
We ate s'mores and talked for a while. When it was nine, I saw Hayden yawn, so I gathered our things. We said our goodbyes, and Mom invited Hayden to go shopping with her sometime.
In the truck, it was quiet as we drove home. Inside the cottage, Hayden said good night and closed her bedroom door.
I was amped up after seeing my family, so I headed outside with a beer, wanting to listen to the sound of the waves. I'd missed this so much when I was gone. It had the power to soothe any mood.
A few seconds later, the slider opened, and Saylor came outside. "Do you mind if I join you?"
"Not at all." I shifted to make room for her on the couch.
"Are you okay?" she asked me.
"It was good."
"Did you talk to your father about what happened?"
"Hudson wasn't happy about it. I think he was hurt more than anyone when I left. Dad seemed more amenable to me coming back."
Saylor nodded. "It might take time."
I dropped my head between my hands. "Will he ever forgive me?"
"Only Hudson can answer that, but I'd like to think so."
I wanted Saylor to touch me, but we weren't in a relationship. "It sucks."
"Maybe you should ask to talk to him one-on-one when no one else is around. He might be more inclined to tell you how he feels."
I raised my head. "That's a good idea actually."
Saylor smiled. "I have lots of great ideas when it comes to other people's lives. It's mine that's a mess."
"That's not true. As soon as you realized what was going on with your ex, you got out of that situation."
"It took me a while to figure it out. I thought I was going crazy, being paranoid and jealous when I've never been that before."
"Not every man is like that. In fact, most aren't."
"I'd like to think that's true." Saylor sighed. "We're going to get through this and be stronger on the other side. It's just going to take some time."
"Hayden seemed to enjoy being around our family. I wasn't seeing as many of the eye rolls tonight." I kept an eye on her, ready to swoop in if she gave my family any attitude, but she'd been polite all evening.
"She's a great kid. You're doing a good job with her."
"I'm finally making some headway with her, but I have you to thank for that."
She shook her head. "Oh, I don't know about that."
"You connected with her first." Maybe because she was another woman who didn't have a stake in our family. But it cleared the way for me, and I was grateful.
She rested her hand on my thigh. "I'm glad I could help." Then she removed her hand and stood. "I'm going to head to bed."
"Good night." I wanted to follow her, but we hadn't established any rules or guidelines. Would we hook up when Hayden wasn't in the house? I didn't know if it was a good idea.
When she was gone, I felt restless, I dropped my bottle in the recycling bin and locked up. Then I headed upstairs and brushed my teeth. The light was off under the door to Saylor's room, but it was unlocked. It felt like an invitation.
I opened it, quickly turning off the bathroom light so it wasn't too bright.
"What are you doing?" Saylor asked, and I froze.
Had I made a mistake coming into her room? Was I stepping over a line? Did she not want me here?
“I need to be close to you,” I finally said, and she lifted the sheet in an open invitation for me to climb in next to her.
I pulled off my shirt and shorts, leaving me in boxer briefs. Under the cool sheets, I reached for her, and she curled against my chest, facing away from me. This wasn't sexual.
I breathed in her lavender scent, never wanting to leave, and in no time, I was asleep.
The next morning, I woke up early before the sun had fully risen.
At some point, I'd moved to my back, and Saylor was curled into my side, her head on my shoulder.
It felt good to hold her. It brought back memories of us spending hours in the bed of my truck gazing at the stars.
Back then, we had a lot of time to be together.
We'd cuddle and talk for hours about our dreams and desires.
Now reality had kicked in, and we didn't have that luxury anymore. I had a daughter, and Saylor had a job that would take her elsewhere. There were obligations that tugged us in different directions.
But I could enjoy this moment when the sun hadn't fully risen, and the world around us was quiet. Saylor left the slider open to the deck, and I could hear the waves crashing on the shore.
A few seconds later, Saylor stirred. "Are you awake?"
"Yes."
She shifted so that she could see my face. "You stayed."
"Is that okay? I know we didn't talk about this." I held my breath while I waited for her to answer.
She pushed her hair out of her face. "I liked having you here."
"I did too."
"Are you worried that Hayden would need you in the middle of the night?" Her voice was thick with sleep.
"She's never come into my room."
"As long as you're not worried about what she'd think if she found us together."
"I'm not ready for her to know yet, but she's never come up here. She sees it as our private space."
Saylor dropped down so that she was resting on my shoulder, her hand on my chest. "This is nice. A warm body and the sound of the waves."
I pinched her butt lightly. "Is that all you like?"
"I like the sound of your voice in the morning, all gravelly and rough."
I squeezed her to me. "That was a good answer."
"This brings back so many memories, doesn't it?" she asked.
"Hanging out in the bed of my truck?—"
"Movies in that tiny theater, ice cream stops, and long walks on the beach," she added.
"We should do some of that stuff now. We haven't really gone anywhere since we've been here. The beach is nice, but I should show Hayden what makes the island special."
"That's a great idea."
I squeezed her shoulder. "And you should come too."
Her forehead wrinkled. "Are you sure? I don't want to intrude on your time with her."
"We'll see how it goes, but I'd like to have you there, and Hayden enjoys your company."
"This is turning out to be a great summer. I thought I'd wallow about how stupid I was when it came to relationships. But I've been able to forget about Flynn."
"The trust issues might linger, but Flynn isn't worth your time or effort."
Saylor sighed against my skin. "I have to agree."
We lay there like that for a few more minutes, and then we both decided to get up and sit on the deck to watch the sun finish coming up. Outside, the air was a little cooler.
"We should put a coffee machine up here so we can drink it while we watch the sunrise." Saylor smiled at me, and I wanted to put that look on her face more often.