Chapter Five
H e’s our son.
Simon still couldn’t temper his anger at those three words as he watched his sister and the others hustle Eva into the public restrooms on the landscaped council block next door.
To have a family and just… throw them away. He couldn’t fathom it.
If only he’d known before Vance had left. He’d have sat the bastard on his ass, right there.
His gut tumbled and twisted, threatening to relieve him of his coffee and cupcake. He shoved his hand through his hair again. At this rate, he must look like Krusty the Clown with the number of times he’d scruffed his fingers through it.
He couldn’t comprehend the sheer gall of the prick turning up today, on such an important day for her, and the hide of him to do so after no contact whatsoever.
A sneer twisted his mouth. Yeah, he knew exactly why the prick had turned up.
He’d been wearing a fancy suit worth a fortune, but he’d arrived in a rental car. Simon had seen him slide into the Lexus, but he’d also seen the rental plates.
Either he lived elsewhere and had rented one at the airport; or he didn’t own a car or it was a normal, everyday car, and he was putting on a show.
He’d place money on the second option.
He’d come across plenty of pretentious people in his years working at the Cow, and now the Bistro, where he picked up whatever shifts he could to keep his mind busy. Plenty of posers who tried to come across as educated or wealthy, or both. He usually paid them no attention, unless they became painful. But something about this guy ratcheted his asshole-metre to one hundred.
He cast one last look toward the public restrooms, then turned, looking for Max or Gabe.
Both were looking right at him.
Both were surrounded by people, but it was obvious they wanted to know what was going on, that they’d seen—if not all of what occurred, then at least some. He pulled out his phone and swiped the messaging app and tapped the chat he had with just his brothers.
Eva’s until-now absent ex. Was harassing her. Upset her. Sent him on his way .
He glanced up at them as both their phones dinged at the same time and they pulled them out of their respective pockets. Identical frowns appeared almost simultaneously, and it would’ve been enough to make him laugh if it hadn’t been so serious.
Gabe started tapping at his phone and Max looked up at that moment and caught his gaze, a singular, decisive nod on his stony face telling Simon all he needed to know.
His own phone pinged. He glanced down to see Gabe’s thumbs up on his screen.
Good . Both of them were on board. Not that he’d thought they wouldn’t be.
He knew Eva was in good hands with his sister and the others, but it didn’t stop him from being concerned. Particularly if that douche got it in his head to turn up more often.
He wasn’t usually one to get suspicious, but everything about the guy had sent his Spidey-sense clanging.
Eva’s ex was going to be a royal pain in the ass, he could just feel it.
Sighing, he walked toward where his father stood chatting with the mayor. Roland Suffolk had been re-elected earlier in the year. Simon didn’t know how the man kept doing it. Both the re-electing and the actual job. Simon was busy enough just doing a normal job, let alone running an entire district.
Just the thought of all the paperwork involved was enough to send shivers racing down his spine.
Simon stopped beside his father and nodded a hello to Roland. Ed patted Simon on the shoulder absently as he kept talking about cattle prices and the latest in-vitro techniques Gabe was trying out to maximise conception in his small herd.
He hid his smile. His father was so proud of the herd that anyone would think he owned the cows and not Gabe.
He glanced at his brother. Gabe chatted happily with a small group off to the side of Max. Simon still hadn’t been out to his farm since…
Since.
He rubbed at his face, suddenly tired.
He would. He’d go back out there. Soon.
It wasn’t as if he was scared of the place or anxious about it. He’d just… avoided facing it yet.
Simon looked down at a tug on his jeans. Finn hung off his leg and grinned up at him, something that had once been food all smooshed up in his fist; a fist that he was sucking on so that the mush was squeezing out the sides.
Simon fought the simultaneous stomach drop and instinct that insisted he pick up his nephew and raised a brow at the tiny human. “Dude. That’s just gross.”
Finn held up his hand as if to share it with him. Simon’s face twisted. “Eww. No, man. No thanks. I’m good. You eat it up.”
Finn’s smile only grew, and Ryan swooped in to grab his now-giggling son. “Sorry, Si. I don’t think he left a mess on your jeans.”
Simon shrugged. He didn’t care about mess. “Don’t stress about it. I’m good.”
Ryan eyed him, then nodded slowly. Simon shuffled uncomfortably. He hated how they all walked on eggshells around him regarding the kids. It’s not as if he didn’t like them, because he did, he just…
He almost sighed out loud at his own messed-up head. The kids themselves were still too young to notice or understand that Uncle Simon was a head case, but they would, and soon enough if he didn’t sort himself out.
Ryan scooped up Finn and stepped backward, then gagged as Finn shoved the food into his mouth. He jerked his head back and tried to wipe his mouth on his shoulder.
“Oh, yuck! Finn, buddy!”
Simon’s laughter rang around them. It felt good to laugh like this. Really good. His father stepped forward and took the squirming Finn.
“Go clean yourself up, Ryan. I’ll see to this little terror.” Ed smiled indulgently down at his grandson. “Not that you are, hey, little man? We’ll just let daddy think so, shall we?”
Finn garbled a reply and Simon shook his head. This was something he would now never get to experience for himself.
The sense of loss washed over him, but more tempered, not as strong as it had been. He’d come a long way in the last six months. Some days were still hard, but they were easing. Sometimes things still stung, though, and he could never tell what was going to cause it.
A bright pink tablecloth.
A stained-glass lamp.
A certain scent.
All of it had the power to undo him, but he’d learned from bitter experience to work his way through it.
He glanced at Max, holding little Juliet, and fought the sadness that tried to well up. He wanted to be there for Max, wanted to be a good uncle for both the kids, but…
His therapist had told him in his last session that it would get easier, that he would get to that point eventually. He just hoped it would be before they were old enough to start noticing.
Max caught him looking and motioned him over with a jerk of his chin. Swallowing his morose thoughts, he nodded and planted the smile they all wanted to see on his face and headed toward his brother.