Chapter Twenty Six
COLTON
The rest of the week was insane. I spent more time in the lab than in the last month combined. At the same time, my brothers and half brothers reached a decision—they agreed to buy out Father. But we needed to speak to our grandparents first.
That was why, on Saturday, we all met at Spencer’s house.
His yard wasn't as big as the one at our grandparents', but he assured us that he had plenty of space for us all. He lived in a great neighborhood. He’d bought this house right after finding out he was a father, insisting he wanted his son to have a yard and a place to play outside.
Before this, he'd lived in a bachelor pad much like mine.
We'd agreed to tell our grandparents today. They had a right to know if we decided to buy Father out. Grandfather had founded the company in the first place, so the two of them had to agree to it.
“He likes you so much,” Penny exclaimed.
I’d been carrying Ben for the better part of the last half hour. Everyone in the family had been clamoring to hold him, but he'd cried when Jake and Natalie tried, then Meredith, then Gabe. He only seemed to like me.
And I was feeling fucking smug about that.
“He’s so relaxed with you.” Penny touched his small hand, and Ben smiled at her.
I was extremely happy that my brother had met Penny.
He'd had the shock of his life when he found out his ex had had his child.
He hadn't even known she was pregnant. She’d thought the baby belonged to the man she cheated on my brother with.
But Spencer had done well by his son. That was my brother to a T—he could maintain calm even in a difficult situation.
Then he met Penny, and she cared about Ben a lot, basically considered him her son.
She and I came inside when Ben started fussing.
I didn't know how to prepare his bottle. I watched Penny intently, memorizing all the steps. It seemed easy enough. Until now, the only ones in the family who’d had him for longer than an hour, and even overnight, were my grandparents.
Before, he'd seemed small and fragile. I'd been afraid to even hold him for too long for fear that I might break him.
But now he was bigger and sturdier. He was eating solids as well.
I was looking forward to spending more time with my nephew.
Zoey came up to us. "Hey, you need any help?"
She cooed at Ben.
Penny chuckled. "You’re trying to see if you can get Ben, huh?”
“You know it. I didn’t want to insist before because everyone was already waiting in line.”
"So you waited until there was no one around. Smart," Penny said.
I liked the ease between Zoey and my brothers' women. They’d only met today, but they seemed to get along.
Zoey stepped closer, looking at me eagerly.
I was planning to move Ben around anyway so he could take the bottle, but I transferred him to Zoey's arms. I watched him carefully, ready to take him back at the slightest sign that he wasn't comfortable. But the little guy immediately laughed at her.
"Hey, he didn't laugh at me," I said.
"Oh, and now you’re jealous." Penny chuckled. “You know, I think the guys are too hard on you. You're not such a grump."
"Yeah, he is. Trust me," Zoey replied, smiling at Ben.
Something tugged inside me. I loved the sight of her with the baby.
“All right. Here's the bottle," Penny exclaimed, capping it and testing the temperature. "That's okay. Oh, Spencer is gesturing that he needs me outside. Do you want to try to feed him?"
"Sure." I took the bottle from her. I usually asked for instructions about everything regarding Ben, but this seemed straightforward. I tipped it, and the little guy began to drink.
Penny grinned. "That's it. Oh, you two are cute."
After Penny went outside, I kept a close eye on him, trying to gauge from his expressions if he was feeling okay.
"You can relax, Colton," Zoey said. "He's happy in my arms."
"You're really good at this. How are you enjoying the day?" I asked.
We'd been here for about two hours. Spencer and Penny had ordered pizza for everyone. They always liked to keep things simple. Everyone enjoyed pizza, and they didn't have to clean or cook. It was a win-win.
“Jeannie looks so much better.”
I couldn't believe she cared so much about my grandmother. She even brought her the water bottle she talked about at the hospital. Grandmother accepted it reluctantly. I was certain that if my brothers or half brothers suggested it, she would have bitten our heads off.
She was right. Grandmother looked much better, although she hadn’t yet made any plans for Martha's Vineyard. She also hadn’t requested to hold Ben even once.
In the past, she'd barely put him down or shared him with anyone else, so I took it as a sign that she hadn’t fully recovered.
But it gave me peace of mind that she seemed to accept that and was acting accordingly.
Half of my mind was still on my research.
My lead scientist was in the lab today. I’d left him some formulas to play around with.
I was trying to loosen my reins, but I wasn’t too successful.
I usually would have spent the whole weekend there, but my brothers and I decided not to postpone this any longer. We needed to speak to our grandparents.
"Okay, I think the little guy is done," Zoey said once the bottle was empty.
Spencer came in at that moment. “Hey, you two. Penny said you fed Ben. I’m gonna burp him.”
"Can I do it?" Zoey asked in a shy voice. I’d never heard her sound like that.
"Are you sure?" Spencer asked.
Zoey nodded.
"Here. This is the cloth we use." He handed her one from the dining room table, arranging it on her shoulder. “He doesn’t need burping as much as before, but he still gets a tummy ache if I don’t do it at all.”
Zoey kept Ben on her shoulder for a few minutes, and then Spencer looked at me.
"How about going outside and breaking the news?"
I nodded. "Let's do that."
Everyone else was sitting outside. My half brothers and Gabe sat nearest to Grandmother. Our grandfather was between Natalie and Meredith. Jake stood next to his wife.
"You know how I measure how well Jeannie's doing? By how much she's plotting, and I'd say she's up to 95 percent," Grandfather said.
"She's already got plans for the rest of the boys?" Natalie inquired.
"Of course," Grandfather assured her.
"So who's next?" Meredith asked.
I walked away from the conversation quickly. I did not want to be privy to that information. Then I’d feel compelled to tell whoever it was, and… well, let's just say, sometimes it was better if you didn't see things coming. It was certainly true in my case.
I cleared my throat. Gabe looked up; he'd been grinning but toned it down. Maddox seemed to immediately catch on and elbowed Nick, who was sharing something with Leo and Grandmother.
Leo also went quiet.
Grandmother narrowed her eyes. "What's going on?"
"How can you tell something’s up?" Leo asked.
"You boys never stop giving each other a hard time even for one second. Now you're all silent." Grandmother looked around, then said, “Spill.”
I nodded at Maddox. He was the one who'd been in contact with Father, so it made sense for him to lead this conversation.
I glanced around and saw Jake staring at us. I figured this had to be hardest on him. He'd been the one to discover the clues that led us to our father’s infidelity, after all.
"All right, Gran, Grandpa, we've got to share something with you."
It still jarred me to hear him say Gran and Grandpa. They'd always been Grandmother and Grandfather to my brothers and me. Mother always insisted we use the proper form.
"Dad contacted me a while ago," Maddox began.
Grandfather turned white. Grandmother pressed her lips together.
"He needs a bailout," Maddox continued. "He started a business that went belly up, and he needs to settle some debts."
"And he dared ask you for money?" Grandfather asked.
I hadn't heard him sound so sharp in years. It was what I used to call his office voice, which I'd only heard a few times.
No one was speaking. Not even Ben was fussing in Zoey’s arms.
"We all talked," Maddox said, pointing around the yard, "and figured that it's not a bad idea to buy out his remaining shares in Whitley Industries. And we wanted to hear your thoughts on that."
"We'll only do it if you agree,” I said.
"I don't care," Grandmother said. "I agree with whatever feels right to you boys."
"Does Whitley Industries even have enough cash?" Grandfather asked. Of course his mind went directly to the business.
"Yes," I said. "We ran the numbers. We can afford it."
He looked around us, focusing on Jake. "You all want to do this?"
Jake spoke next. "Yes. That will solve the problem and also make sure he's out of our lives for good.”
It wasn't as if we'd had anything to do with him since he left. He received money from his shares, but accounting took care of it. But this would be the end of our business dealings with him at all, plus any future contact with him. He could hang nothing over our heads. This would be final.
"Very well," Grandfather said. "If I'm honest, I think it's for the best too. This way you boys get control of everything. You're dividing the shares equally among yourselves?" His voice held an edge. I couldn't help but smile.
“Of course," Jake said.
"Colton is putting up most of the cash," Maddox stated, "so he should get the most shares."
"No," I said categorically. "Whitley Industries belongs to all of us, so we'll share it equally."
Grandmother smiled at me wholeheartedly. I knew how much this meant to her. But I wasn't only insisting on this because it would make our grandparents happy. Maddox, Leo, and Nick were Whitleys just as much as Gabe, Jake, Cade, Spencer, and I.
"That's why you boys brought us out here?" Grandmother asked and laughed.
"Well, not just for that. We've been figuring out a way to get you two out of the house," Maddox said.
“I agree with you boys,” Grandfather said. He nodded at all of us.
"Okay, then. I'll give the lawyers the green light," I said.