Chapter Twenty Seven
GABE
"Thanks for doing this, man," I told Leo on Tuesday.
"Of course. What's the point of having one of the biggest real estate agencies in the country if not to help out family?"
“And you, too, Maddox. For wanting to invest in this with me.”
"How about me? I don't get even a thanks for tagging along?" Nick asked.
Maddox and Nick were in the back seat.
"Of course you do."
"Do you have a time frame for this? A plan?" Leo asked.
I nodded. "If we like it, I want to make an offer right away.”
Maddox laughed. "That sounds like my kind of plan."
"But let's see the place first," Leo replied. "Make sure it's what you need."
We arrived a short while later. The lot of land was right next to the town of Essex. There wasn't much to check out, since it was basically a field.
"And you're sure it's approved for industrial use?" I asked.
"Man, I wouldn't waste your time," Leo said.
"Just double-checking." I knew my brother was a pro.
Maddox and Nick looked around.
“It’s not Stockbridge,” Leo mocked, “but it’ll do.”
“You wanted to open a hotel in Stockbridge? How come?” Nick asked.
I shrugged. "It's a nostalgic thing. We went there a lot during the summers with Mom while growing up. But this will work. I like it.”
Leo glanced between us. “Have you two discussed how a hotel and a distillery will fit together?”
“Yes,” Maddox replied. “We’ll make this an experience. Offer a tour of the distillery and so on.”
This space was big enough, and it was close to the interstate, so all the trucks had direct access to the transportation system. Logistically, it was great.
I turned around to face them. "All right, this is legit. I vote we make an offer before Dad does.”
“I agree,” Maddox said.
Leo cleared his throat. “He already did, but I spoke to the seller. Asked him to wait for yours too. I might have filled him in on the kind of asshole Dad is. He agreed to wait. And if you outbid Dad by just 1 percent, he’ll take your offer.”
“How the fuck are they supposed to know how much Dad offered?” Nick asked.
“I found that out,” Leo said smugly.
I clapped him on the shoulder. "Thanks, man. Wasn't expecting that."
"Always the best for my brothers," he said.
He told us the sum Dad had bid. Maddox and I immediately agreed to offer 5 percent more—just to make sure. Leo sent an email to the seller right away.
“All right. Let’s go celebrate,” I said.
As we got in the car, I checked my messages. Seeing one from Diane, I opened it quickly and got confused. She'd texted me a link. When I clicked on it, it showed me a real estate listing. Maybe she'd sent it by mistake.
"Dude, are we going or what?" Leo asked.
"Just a second."
It was a one-bedroom apartment at the end of the world. How was that even Boston anymore? I didn't get it. Why was she sending me this?
Then I saw her message.
Diane: Hey, I just found this apartment, and it's something I could afford. What do you think? I'd love an opinion. My sister says it's a dump, but I really like the rent.
I felt as if someone had punched me in the throat. What the hell? She's been looking for apartments? Why would she do that?
"You're angry," Maddox said when I tossed the phone in the cupholder and gunned the engine.
"You could say that," I replied through gritted teeth. "I got a message from Diane."
"She decided to dump your ass?" Nick asked.
I frowned at him in the rearview mirror.
"Oh fuck, she did, huh? Why?"
"No. She sent me a link to a shitty apartment where she thinks she can move."
"Wait, you broke up?" Leo asked. "Also, why wouldn't she ask me to help her look for an apartment?"
"Dude, why would she do that if she planned to dump him? Then you’d tell him," Nick reasoned.
"She isn't dumping me," I said. "She's just…"
What? I had no idea.
"The living arrangement was supposed to be temporary," I explained, trying to make sense of it.
"Yeah, but that's before you hooked up, right?" Maddox said.
"Don't you dare talk about Diane like that." What Diane and I had was more than sexual. I cared about her and wanted—no, needed her with me. How did she not know that?
"What's gotten into you?" Leo asked.
Maddox turned around. "Show some compassion, will you? His woman's just announced she doesn't want to live with him anymore."
That's right. My woman. Why the fuck would she want to move?
"I want to see the apartment," Leo declared, and I gave him the phone.
"What the fuck? This is a shithole," he said. "I can find her something much better. Wait… is that her maximum budget?"
"Probably," I said.
"Then I take it back. I can't do wonders."
"That’s beside the point," Maddox said, finally getting it. He turned to me. "Why does she even want to move out?"
"That's the question, isn't it?" I was still speaking through gritted teeth.
There was a knot in my throat, strangling my every breath and word.
It was a completely unfamiliar sensation to me.
I felt like a rug had been pulled from under me and I'd fallen into a dark hole. Why did she want to do this? It wasn’t even close to downtown where she did her tours.
"You've never discussed living arrangements?" Maddox asked.
"What do you mean?" I replied. “She’s living with me now.”
"Right, that’s now. Once you went from being roommates to—"
"Be careful," I warned.
"To being more. Damn, you’re testy today. What I’m asking is, you didn’t talk about what would happen further down the road?"
I shrugged. "No. Why should I? She knows we’re together."
"Because that's what couples do, I'm told." That came from Nick. "Not that I'm an expert."
"Yeah, none of us are," Leo added helpfully.
"But why wouldn't you come to an agreement about how things would go? Your house is going to be ready in a few months anyway, right?" Maddox asked.
"Yeah. Two months tops," I confirmed.
"See? So it's not unreasonable for her to be looking for other spaces, knowing you'll move out. She probably doesn't want to share a space with someone else."
"That never occurred to me. We never talked about that, but I thought we had an understanding, I guess." Fuck, I was so messed-up right now.
"Should we head to the distillery?" Maddox suggested. "We can do shots."
I shook my head. "No, it's insanely busy at happy hour. We’d barely have enough space to grab a drink.”
"That's a good problem to have," Nick replied.
"Then let’s all gather someplace else," Maddox suggested. "You clearly need family counsel."
I pressed my head into the backrest. "No, I just need to clear my head and understand what's going on."
"Women are good at giving hints," Leo said. "I mean, I'm always oblivious, but then, when an arrangement goes to dust, one of the things I often hear is 'Oh, I gave you hints about that.' And I'm like 'What? When?' So my question is, did she give you any hints?"
I thought back to our past conversations. Had she given me hints? "Whenever we went by the house, she'd always tell me how much she liked it. She even mentioned how she'd decorate some of the spaces."
"See?" Maddox said. "That's a hint right there."
"Why won't she just come out and say it? I'm not good at playing games."
"Dude, what you had was casual, right?" Nick asked.
"We agreed that we’re not seeing other people. That’s serious, don’t you think?"
"That's a committed relationship in my book," Maddox said.
"You know what? Those drinks sound good," I said. The plan was to drop off my half brothers at Maddox's. "Can we go to your place?"
Maddox hesitated. "Yes, but Mom is visiting again."
I nodded carefully. "That's great because I actually wanted to apologize to her."
There was another pause, and then Nick asked. "What for, man?"
"Last time I was not myself."
"She actually praised you for being so polite."
Fucking hell, what had she expected?
"I didn't like how I handled that," I said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Maddox replied.
My brothers pitched in with relationship advice and prodded me with questions all the way to Maddox's home. But I didn't have any answers.
That was the problem. They were focused on what was said or not between Diane and me, but they were missing the obvious.
What if she just preferred to move out? What if she simply didn't want to live with me, and that was all there was to it?
I didn't like being at a loss. All my life I knew exactly what I wanted to do next, and I went ahead and did it.
Maybe I should call the rest of the family. Since my brothers were all in relationships, they would for sure have better input than these three bozos.
Once we arrived at Maddox's place, we all got out at the same time. "How come you're still living here?" I asked. "You've been talking about moving forever."
"Because this dude keeps failing me." He jerked his thumb at Leo.
"You’re my most annoying client. It's impossible to please him."
Maddox rolled his eyes. "I just know what I want."
"Why don't you build a house?" I suggested.
"I'm not getting into that," Maddox said. "No way in hell."
"See?" Leo said. "That's basically his reply to anything I come up with. It's infuriating."
I laughed, trying to put myself in Leo's shoes. Yeah, that would be annoying.
Once inside the house, Helen called out. "You boys came back early."
She stopped in the living room, and her smile dimmed when she saw me. "Gabe, hi. Nice to see you again."
"Mom, Gabe's got some personal issues he's dealing with, so we brought him here to get drunk," Maddox explained.
"I won't stand in your way, then," she said.
"I’m not intending to get drunk," I corrected. "Just a shot or something to clear my mind."
Helen frowned. "You plan to drive when you leave here?"
Leo laughed. "Mom, cut that out."
The experience was bizarre. My mom would have asked me the exact same thing.
"I'll take an Uber if I have a drink," I assured her.
"Good."
“But I’d actually like to talk to you." I looked at my brothers. "Alone."
"Sure. We'll go into the other room in the bar area," Maddox said.
"See, why the hell do you even need another house?" Nick asked. "This one is humongous."
"Are you two going to give me shit about this the whole evening?"
"Yes," Leo replied as they all left the room.
Once they were out of earshot, Helen pointed at one of the couches. "Want to sit down?"
"No, I've got too much adrenaline," I confessed. "Listen, I'll be quick. First, I just wanted to apologize for last time we met. I’d completely forgotten that Maddox told me you were here visiting. I wouldn't have interrupted your family time."
"You didn't interrupt anything. You just came by to see your brothers. I don't mind." She watched me with a kind smile.
“Second, I… well, I wasn't myself.”
Her smile widened. "Maddox said you're usually very quick with a joke and very at ease with everything.
Dear boy, I don't blame you for anything.
It was never going to be an easy thing, meeting each other.
But I have to say, I'm glad I did. I've heard so much about you and the rest of your brothers from my boys over the years and often wondered if I’d get the chance to meet any of you.
Especially you because you're so close with my trio.
" She laughed. "I hope they haven't heard me call them that. They’d give me grief. Good God, they used to like it when they were kids.”
“Thank you, Helen, for being so understanding."
“My boys told me you and Maddox are going into business together. That you’re buying the lot of land your… father wanted.”
My spine stiffened. “Are you in contact with him?”
She shook her head. “No. The day I found out about… well, your family… was the last time I spoke to him. I would have reached a compromise if he wanted to still be part of my boys’ lives, but as you know, he never did.” She took a deep breath. “I’m glad you two snatched that property from him.”
"It won’t stop him from trying again, but it will send a message loud and clear that Boston is off-limits." I ran a hand through my hair.
"You seem stressed."
"That obvious, huh?"
"Yes, and I don’t even know you well.”
"I don't know if Maddox or the others told you, but Diane and I—”
“Are you in a relationship? I gathered that.”
I nodded. "Anyway, she's now messaged me that she found a new place to live."
"Oh, darling, I'm so sorry. I didn't know you broke up."
"But that's it. We didn't. We just… never discussed the future.
Relationships aren't my thing," I confessed.
"I've always kept things very easygoing.
I've never had a serious relationship. I never planned on having one.
Does that make me like Father?" I asked.
I hadn't even realized that I had this fear buried somewhere deep down.
Her expression instantly changed. She rolled her shoulders back, clasping her hands in front of her, and stepped closer.
"Gabe, you listen to me. None of you—neither your brothers or my boys—are anything like your father. He looked all of us in the eyes for years and lied. Every word he said was a lie. Everything he did was a lie. Not wanting a relationship doesn’t make you anything like him.
You’re all young and living your lives as you choose to. Have you ever lied to Diane?"
"No. Never. It's not what I do."
"See, that's my point exactly. You’re nothing like your father. If you believe one thing, believe that."
"Thank you. I needed to hear that."
She smiled. "Now, when it comes to Diane, my understanding was that you're moving into a new house soon."
I nodded.
"Have you ever hinted that you would like for her to live with you?"
"I'm not good with hints. I'm very in your face. I say things like I mean them. That's the same way I process information. I don't take hints. I'm so far out of my comfort zone right now that it's actually hilarious."
"But what do you want?" she asked me.
"I don't want her to move away. I don't even want her to think about it."
"All right, so you just said you’re very… direct, right?”
“Exactly.”
Helen smiled again. “Sounds like you know what to do after all.”
A plan started forming in my mind instantly.
“Thanks, Helen.”
Turning around, I headed inside the living room, straight to the bar area where my brothers were gathered. "Guys, I'm leaving."
"How about the shots?" Maddox asked.
"Not right now. I've got an idea."
"What the hell, man!" Leo said. "We were just about to call the others."
"We can still do that. Maybe they can voice message you their advice,” Nick called out.
“I don't need any. I know exactly what I want to do."
The three of them stared at me almost comically as I bid them and Helen goodbye, then left the house.