Chapter 20 #2
“Hey James, I wasn’t trying to drop in so unannounced,” he shot his boyfriend another look, prompting an eye roll, “though I did want to surprise you.”
“Really? Why?” I asked, as curious as I was nervous.
His shoulders slumped, and the last of the fire guttered out.
“Because we never spend time together anymore, and I thought it might be nice. I might have, uh, reached out to your base—IDK if that’s how you say it—to find out when your next leave would be and for how long.
I mean, I tried Mom and Dad first, but it’s not like you told them.
Kind of like how you never told them when you enlisted. ”
Oof. I wasn’t sure what hurt more: the censure in Andy’s voice, the sharp look Mitch was giving me, or the surprised shock on Marc’s face. Yeah, there was no hiding my wince.
“I said I was sorry about that…” I began weakly. But I wasn’t fooling anyone in this room, least of all myself. I was sorry that apparently they had been upset, but I wasn’t sorry I’d done it, as evidenced by the fact that I still didn’t tell my family when I was stateside or on leave.
Mitch reached for Andy again, no doubt expecting another blowup, except Andy held up a hand to stop him. “Anyway, I called up Fort Bragg and eventually someone connected me with a guy named Jones?”
Marc and I shared a look. So much for Jones having a prior engagement; that fucker had totally bailed. Rude. Then again, it was definitely working out in my favor, so I didn’t have much to complain about.
“I’d hoped to convince you to come visit us in Chicago for a bit, but when I heard you were in Alabama of all places, I had to see it for myself.” His gaze slid to Marc, and the subsequent assessing once-over raised my hackles. “No offense.”
“Uh… none taken?” Marc replied, sounding as confused as he looked.
Andy took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders, and it was like I could watch him compartmentalize his agitation.
“Right, so you would have known all of that if you’d checked your phone.
However, I see that we’ve come at an inopportune time, which is undoubtedly why you didn’t.
That’s… that’s on me.” He winced. “I’m sorry, we’ll get out of your hair.
If you could point us to a decent place for the night, we won’t trouble you anymore.
” He stepped backward into Mitch’s waiting embrace, his head bowed.
He might as well have kicked me in the gut.
Hell, it probably would have hurt less if he had.
Did he really believe I didn’t want him here?
I’d always wanted a relationship with my siblings, but we’d never had anything in common, not to mention they were the smart ones and I was the family disappointment. Yet here he was, reaching out.
“Stay.” “Don’t go.” Marc and I said at the same time.
Mitch tightened his hold on my brother. “We don’t want to be an inconvenience.”
I wished I could talk to Marc about it, but I suspected we were on the same page.
“You’re not. I’d love for you to stick around.
Fairhope is a beautiful place. Marc’s been showing me the sights, but there are plenty we haven’t made it to yet.
Hell, we’ve been so busy renovating the flower shop we haven’t even made it to the beach. ”
Andy’s tentative smile gave me hope.
“I remember how much you used to love going to the beach, but you always hated how cold the water was. I suspect that won’t be as much of an issue here.”
Marc crossed his arms and looked at me. “So now you’re saying I owe you a visit to McSharry’s and the beach? Greedy much?”
I snorted a laugh. “You said it, not me.” I was still smiling like a goof at Marc when I clocked Andy watching us with amusement. “Oh, shit, I didn’t introduce everyone. Marc, this is my younger brother, Anderson, and his boyfriend, Mitchum.”
“Andy, please,” my brother said, shaking Marc’s hand.
“Mitch. Did you serve with James?” Mitch asked after Marc finished shaking his hand as well.
“Yep, though never directly. JD, he, uh, he led the USAR team that rescued my unit.” Marc’s gaze darted to me, but he quickly looked away and plastered a smile on his face.
“For the record, there’s no mistaking that you two are related.
Do his freckles multiply, too?” he asked Mitch, who promptly let out a guffaw, while Andy looked like someone had stepped on his tail.
“Yes!” Mitch replied enthusiastically.
“They do not!” Andy argued.
Mitch pulled him into a side hug and smacked his cheek with a kiss. “They absolutely do, kitten. Now go hug your brother like you came here to do.” Andy rolled his eyes but dutifully stepped away, clearly muttering to himself.
“So, um, sorry I didn’t check my phone,” I said awkwardly, shoving my hands in my pockets and trying not to be so fucking tall next to my little brother.
He gave me a side-eye, complete with a raised eyebrow, and continued walking past me until he stood on the other side of the counter where he could blatantly keep an eye on his boyfriend.
Not sure what else to do, I followed his lead and rested my forearms on the counter, making our drastic height difference far less noticeable.
Once I joined him, he tilted his chin toward where Marc was animatedly talking with his hands.
“I can see why you didn’t. Your boyfriend’s cute, though I’m pointedly refusing to acknowledge how we apparently have similar tastes in men.”