Chapter Sixteen
MADDOX
The roads were finally cleared enough by the early evening to be drivable. I headed to Boston right away. My brothers had already stopped by our grandparents' house to check that they were okay, but I decided to head there as well instead of going home.
When I arrived in front of their house, I noticed Leo's and Nick's cars were in front.
I hadn't realized they were still here. The house itself looked in top shape, so maybe the storm hadn't really done too much damage to their neighborhood.
There was some debris on the streets, but not enough to worry me.
Boston had gotten a bit of snow, too, but far less than Essex.
I knocked at the front door and waited a few seconds.
Leo's voice rang out behind it. “That's Maddox. Let’s see what he’s been up to.”
I laughed to myself. My brothers had kept asking where I was when I'd told them I couldn't stop by my grandparents' place yesterday and today. I'd said I was away with business.
Stuff like that never flew with my family. One simply couldn't give them vague answers and expect them to be okay with it.
The door swung open, and Leo looked me up and down.
"Good. You're not dead." There was no trace of smile on his face.
My brothers had indeed jumped to conclusions—just not the ones I'd thought.
"I told you I’m fine."
"Would it have killed you to tell us exactly where you were?"
I hadn't realized they'd been worrying about me.
“Nothing happened to me. I only just got back to the city.”
Nick came into the corridor, folding his arms over his chest. "See, told you not to get your panties in a twist."
"What are you boys talking about?" Gran called loudly.
Nick looked over his shoulder, peering inside the living room. “Leo had this idea that Maddox wasn't telling us where he was because he got caught in the storm or something. Yet here he is, well, looking the same as usual.”
"You boys have wild imaginations," Gran said. “He would have told us if something was wrong.”
I absolutely wouldn't, but it was good to know that our grandparents hadn't worried unnecessarily.
"Thanks for looking after them," I told my brothers, keeping my voice neutral as we all walked into the living room.
The house smelled delicious, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was.
Granddad was sitting with his tablet, probably reading the newspaper, as usual.
One of my earliest memories of him was watching as he drank his evening brandy with the day's newspaper.
He insisted that he never liked to read the newspaper first thing in the morning because it would just pollute his brain with unnecessary information.
He preferred to read it toward the end of the day as entertainment.
I'd asked him if world news wasn't relevant to business, and he'd said, "It is, but not as much as people think. "
If something was important enough, the management team would bring it up. But most news didn't have a direct impact on running a day-to-day business. Hence why he considered it a pollutant.
He scrutinized me before saying, "We've already told your brothers nothing happened. We didn't even have a power outage. And anyway, I check the generator routinely. You didn't have to come by to—”
“Nonsense, I like having my boys here." Gran beamed at us. "I've got pizza in the oven."
So that's what the smell is.
She'd made it the first time we came to their house, years ago.
"I've made pizza. No one fights over pizza," she’d explained.
Gran had been right. We hadn't fought—but it had been awkward as hell. Mom was with us, and it was even weirder for her than for us. But she'd powered through for us kids.
All our lives, she’d struggled with the idea that we didn’t have an extended family. Mom was a single child, and her parents had passed in a car accident before we were born. So when the opportunity came for us to meet our only grandparents, she hadn't hesitated.
“I don't have anything to be ashamed of," she’d said. "The circumstances weren't my fault. I hope I won’t run into your brothers… or their mom. But it's important for me to meet your grandparents face-to-face once."
“I made everyone’s favorite—pepperoni,” Gran went on.
Leo and Nick exchanged glances, but neither of us chastised her for cooking. That was mostly the territory of our half brothers. The three of us just rolled with the punches. Besides, pizza wasn't that difficult to make.
“We’re helping you bring it into the dining room,” I said, and we all walked to the kitchen. As Gran took out oven mitts, I added, “I’ll do that.”
Nick, Leo, and I liked to make fun of the others about always hovering over Gran, but getting that hot tray out by herself wasn't the best idea.
"Oh, you boys. Really?" she said, but she didn't really fight me on it, which was a sign that she appreciated the help.
I got the pizza out immediately. It was huge, and it transported me right back to that day when we first met them. She never changed the recipe.
I put it on the countertop and cut it into equal slices, which I transferred onto a large plate. Gran insisted on never taking trays or pots to put them on the table. "It's not elegant," she'd always say.
As we returned to the living room, Granddad put down his tablet and immediately came to the table. Jeannie Whitley was right about many things, including the fact that pizza was a crowd-pleaser in the Whitley family.
We sat down, everyone taking a slice, and I noticed Gran looking at me.
"So, Maddox darling, won't you be a dear and tell us where you were?"
I chuckled. "Thought you didn't worry?"
"Oh no, but your brothers did. Do put their minds to rest."
Leo and Nick exchanged a glance.
"So that's the only reason you want to know?" I asked her with a laugh.
"Well, no. I'm no busybody—everybody knows that. I was just looking for an excuse.”
"I got trapped in Essex," I said.
Leo and Nick looked utterly disappointed, but Gran sat up straighter.
"How unfortunate," she replied.
"Yes, I went there to meet with the crew. They left earlier than I did. Then I realized the storm had intensified, and there was no way I would make it back into Boston."
"Did you stay at the Gris?" Gran asked.
I shook my head. "No, I found some private accommodations."
"You found an Airbnb at the last minute?" Leo asked.
Nick had a shit-eating grin. "Nah, he's being evasive."
Gran smiled. "Boys, we don't have to know everything. Come on, let's finish the pizza."
"Wait a second, Gran," Leo said. "You look extremely pleased with yourself." He then looked at me and paled, understanding dawning on him. He took a deep breath. "Hell no."
"What's wrong?" Nick asked.
"That face. It's the same one you made after Cade and Meredith kind of got together."
"What are you talking about?" Gran asked, schooling her features.
"Yeah, that won't work with the boys," Granddad said in an uncharacteristically teasing voice. "You can't act around them."
Leo looked at me. "Tell me I’m off base, man. I beg you."
I bit off a mouthful of pizza, buying time. I hadn't expected to be ambushed so quickly by my brothers; I'd figured Gran would eventually want to see if her hunch had panned out. I burned my mouth with the scalding-hot pizza, so I lowered the slice and said, "No, you're not off base."
Leo grinned at me.
Gran pressed her palms together and then put her chin on top of her fingers. "Oh, I'm so happy to hear that. I knew Cami was just what you needed."
"Fucking hell!" Leo exclaimed.
“Language!” Gran scolded.
"Cami from the adventure park?" Nick asked.
"The one and only," I said. I was extremely amused by my brothers' reactions. They both looked personally affronted. Actually, scratch that—Nick seemed horrified.
Granddad looked straight at me. "Son, far be it from me to meddle, but do you think that's smart? You and Gabe are still in the process of convincing her and her father to sell you the land. It's not good business practice to mix your professional and personal lives."
The disappointment in his voice cut me deep. I cleared my throat.
"One thing doesn't have anything to do with the other," I assured him.
"Does Gabe know?" That came from Leo.
"No. I haven't discussed my personal life with Gabe or anyone else.”
"And you don't have to," Gran said. "What you do concerns you alone."
"Yeah, except when it could actually affect the business," Leo countered.
"Oh for fuck's sake!" I exclaimed. Gran covered her ears, and I held up my hands in apology. "You know I have no filter, Gran. I'm sorry."
"But maybe you should tell Gabe," Nick said sarcastically.
"I was intending to do that," I countered. "Now, can we focus on something else?"
Gran smiled politely, turning to Leo and Nick. "Yes, my job here is done. Now I can focus on these two," she said.
If I'd thought my brothers' expressions were horrified before, it was nothing compared to now.
I barely kept myself from telling Gran that her job wasn't anywhere near done, because I was grateful to shift her focus away from me.
But she truly was far off base when it came to me.
I wasn't going to settle down. It just wasn't in my DNA.
It was true that Cami and I had a spectacular weekend together, and I'd like to repeat it soon, but that would in no way lead to anything long term.
I wasn't built for it, and from what Cami told me, she wasn't looking for anything like that either.
But I couldn't tell Gran that. She was from a different generation; the idea of casual relationships was strange to her.
Every time one of my brothers tried to explain it, she'd shut them down, insisting she knew where that would lead.
She'd actually been right on every occasion, but not in my case.
I barely held back laughter when she started to recite the names of all the friends she'd introduce to Leo and Nick.
"Are you going to pitch in and help us out at any point here?" Nick asked me with exasperation.
I grinned. "No. I'm enjoying this immensely."