Chapter 14
HAVE HIS BACK
Dean stumbled into his kitchen the next morning to see his sister putting dishes away. “What are you doing?” Geez, why was she up so freaking early?
“Cleaning up. I thought you were neater than this.”
“I am neat, Willow,” he said, going to the coffee pot. Thankfully, it was on and full. He needed it desperately after having to cover the bar last night last minute.
He hated that he had to call Carly to cover, but Sheila was sick and Rob was out of town for the day.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that he’d screwed Molly’s brains out and wanted to do it again, he’d also put his foot in his mouth.
He’d seen the hurt in her eyes and he was so sorry for it. He’d told her he hadn’t meant for it to sound the way it came out, but he knew right away she didn’t believe it.
She was right though. Neither of them was a virgin. He didn’t think it was that bad to say he’d never been with a redhead before. A true redhead at least. Good thing he didn’t say that.
On top of it, she was the one who started the whole thing. Not just offering it up, but undressing him.
She made the first move, not him.
He’d had no idea he’d end up in her bed when they met for lunch, even as much as he hoped for it.
Sure, it’s not like he was going to turn her down. Only an idiot would do that and everyone knew how smart he was.
“No one would know that with the way you had dishes in the sink and crumbs on the counter.”
“I was in a hurry to leave yesterday,” he said. “I got called in last minute.” Though Carly had cleaned up for him, he’d come home and eaten something else before landing in bed past midnight.
Getting the call from Carly that Willow had just shown up unannounced, yesterday of all days when he couldn’t leave to find out what was going on hadn’t been good news.
Then the minute he got home, Carly was gone, Willow in the living room watching TV.
Part of him was pissed his sister had dismissed his nanny without his knowledge, but Carly was only steps away.
And Jonah was sleeping, so it’s not like anything was going to happen.
Hell, Willow showed up when Jonah was already in bed and his son didn’t even know his aunt was here.
The first words out of his mouth had been, “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I had a fight with Grandpa. I did what you said and it didn’t work out.”
“And you figured you could come here without telling me?” he asked. His family had been here a handful of times. That’s it.
For Jonah’s birth and his first birthday and a few Christmases. They couldn’t be bothered again.
He was on the family shit list and had no problem being at the top.
“You told me to do it and now he’s not talking to me. He threatened to cut me off.”
“So stay with Mom and Dad,” he said. Willow at twenty-five lived in an apartment that his grandfather paid for. Being cut off was her worst nightmare. Sure, his parents’ house—mansion—was plenty big enough and they were out of each other’s way. But he couldn’t wait to get away.
Not Willow. She needed to be loved. She needed people to hold her hand. She needed to be... needed.
What she couldn’t do was stand on her own two feet. She couldn’t make her own decisions. And she couldn’t stick to her guns if she tried to make a decision.
“Mom is mad at me too. She said I should know better than to go up against him.”
He had rolled his eyes and wanted a beer but it’d only keep him up. He didn’t drink when he came home from work, but he didn’t need to deal with a family crisis after his date with Molly either.
“You pick your battles, Willow. Not my problem. It always blows over in a day or so and you know it.”
“Not this time,” she said, lifting her chin. He didn’t like that look.
“And why is that?”
“Because there is a culinary school close by. I looked. I can stay with you and go there.”
“No,” he said firmly. “You are not living with me. I like my space. I like my privacy. And I’m not around enough to keep an eye on you or hold your hand.”
“I don’t need anyone to hold my hand,” she argued.
“Really? How long did it take you to decide if you should get a taxi or an Uber here?”
She wrinkled her nose at him. Willow didn’t drive. She never got her license. She didn’t like public transportation either. His parents had drivers at their disposal and that was how Willow was used to living. He was surprised she’d managed to get here as it was. Probably flew.
“I got an Uber when I didn’t see any taxis waiting outside the airport,” she said, lifting her chin again.
“Didn’t expect or plan on any of that, did you?”
“No,” she said, putting her chin down.
“Do you even know how to register for culinary school?”
“I thought you could help me.”
“No,” he said again. There was a reason his grandfather controlled her, because she let him. And she enjoyed it even though she insisted she didn’t.
“Why?” she asked, stomping her foot and crossing her arms.
“Because at your age you should be able to do simple things like this on your own. You’re sick and tired of everyone telling you what to do, but you need them to do it. I’m not them, I never will be. If you want to be free of it, then you better learn to stand on your own two feet.”
Her bottom lip wobbled a little. “Can’t you show me?”
“Willow,” he said. “This is nuts. You aren’t ten. You’re a full-grown adult.”
“That’s right and I made it here.”
“Fine, you can stay for a few days to cool off and then you need to make other plans.” He’d grabbed a bottle of water, then slammed the door to his room louder than necessary and hoped to hell he didn’t wake his kid up.
He was so pissed off, he hadn’t even gone upstairs to check on his son.
Once the house was quiet and he knew he wouldn’t run into Willow again, he snuck up, saw Jonah content with not a care in the world, the light on under the door in the spare room, but it was quiet and he went back to his bed.
And here he was at six in the morning being woken up because she was slamming cabinets while she tried to figure out where to put things.
Again, not even caring that there was a child sleeping above her.
Then he realized she wasn’t doing that. “Are you rearranging my kitchen?”
“It doesn’t flow properly,” Willow said. “I should know. I have a degree in interior design. This whole place could use a woman’s touch.”
“You’re going to piss me off,” he snarled.
“Fine. I’ll figure out where they go and put them away. So, what are we doing today?”
He just stared at her. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but I’ve got a job.”
“You own the place. You can take off any time you want,” she argued. “Take me around and show me your city.”
His head swiveled as he looked around the place hoping to find an answer on the wall of what to say to his impulsive sister.
“It’s not my city. If you want to explore, then call an Uber.
Look up things on your phone to entertain you.
Or better yet, maybe spend some time with your damn nephew while you’re here. He doesn’t even know you.”
“I sent him gifts all the time.”
His lips were twitching. “He doesn’t care about those things.”
“All kids do.”
“No, you did. I’ve got to work in a few hours. End of story. Carly will be here with Jonah, but you could stay and get to know him. Or not. You do what you want anyway.”
“You never were nice to me when I needed you,” she said.
“Willow. I’m not trying to be mean. I’m trying to get you to look in the mirror and grow up.
You hate being told what to do, but you can’t do anything on your own.
You don’t even try half the time. You just want everyone to hand everything over to you while you fall in line.
Fine, do that, but don’t bitch to me that you want freedom too. ”
“I just don’t know why Grandpa can’t give us our money.”
“It’s not your money. It’s his,” he hissed. “That is what you all are failing to see. Even Mom and Dad.”
He’d never get through to them. Maybe his grandfather was right—they were alike. They thought alike, they were both highly intelligent, but he never considered himself a tyrant.
Though he would bet Willow thought that now.
The truth was, he’d known his whole life that his grandfather was planning out everyone’s life and using his wealth to do it. His parents, his sister, his cousins, they were all greedy little bastards who got what was coming to them.
He wasn’t them. He wasn’t greedy. And he was damn well going to live his life his way.
“Fine,” Willow said. “I’ll figure something out.”
He took his coffee with him to his bathroom to shower for the day. There was no way he was going to get any sleep at this rate. Not that he got much last night because he’d spent too much time thinking of Molly naked on her bed while he was slamming into her.
Now he had two problems to deal with. What to do with Molly and how to get his sister back home.
When he came out of the shower, he marched up the stairs, took a deep breath, and woke his son up.
“Hey, bud. I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“You do,” Jonah said, stretching like he always did, yawning and blinking his bright blue eyes.
“Yep. We got a visitor last night when you were sleeping. It’s your Aunt Willow. Do you remember her?”
“No. Is she the one who sent me the new Gameboy?”
“No,” he said. “That was your grandmother. Willow sent you the new Jordan high tops for your birthday.”
“Oh, sweet. She’s here. Is she here to visit with me?”
His son was climbing out of bed. He didn’t want to lie because he didn’t know what the hell was going on.
“She’s staying a few days. I’m not sure of her plans today, but why don’t we get up and go say hi while I cook breakfast for us?”
Jonah ran to the bathroom and Dean went back to the kitchen.
“Be nice to him,” he said to his sister. “He’s excited you’re here. Of course he only remembers what you sent him and nothing more.”
“See, kids remember gifts.”
He kept his snarl back.
By the time he left for work, Willow was flipping through the channels and sulking, not interacting with Jonah while Carly shot more than one sympathetic look at him.
It wasn’t his nanny’s fault for letting his sister in the door. He wouldn’t leave her to fend for herself, even if he wanted to.
It was probably a good thing she couldn’t drive or she’d want his car. As it was, if she wanted to leave, she’d have to figure it out on her own because he told Carly she is not to be a chauffeur.
When he walked into the bar it was a bustle of activity. “Hey, Rob, crazy day already.”
“The holiday week has us hopping. Sorry I wasn’t around last night and couldn’t cover.”
“No worries. I got it handled.”
“Yeah, but you hate working nights and leaving Jonah.”
“That’s what I’ve got Carly for.”
Normally that wasn’t much of a problem, but with July Fourth in a few days, a lot of the young vacationers come in during the day to eat, get out of the heat, maybe pick someone up.
Pulse had been named in a few travel blogs as the place to be in the Capital Region, so in the summer, they took advantage of it and he needed as many staff on as he could.
He went to his office and went through whatever paperwork was sitting on his desk for the day. Then he walked into the kitchen and saw Marcus having another fit. The dude needed to get a grip.
He’d found running a business from a technical part was fine. It was the personalities that got the best of him.
Which was why he had so much trouble with women. And maybe why he put his foot in his mouth with Molly.
Again, his mind went back to her.
Hours later, he looked up when he felt eyes on him at the bar. He hoped it was Molly but it was his sister.
“Oh, you managed to make your way here?”
She sat at the bar. “Can I have a wine? I got an Uber. I don’t suppose you can bring me home?”
“It’s four o’clock. I’m here until eight. Are you going to stay here at the bar until then? Maybe you should go in the kitchen and see how it’s run,” he said as an afterthought.
“I think I will,” she said. “Did you do this on purpose?”
“Do what?”
“I thought the name of the bar was ironic considering—”
“Not here,” he said, narrowing his eyes. Figures Willow would do this. It’s not like she’d ever stepped foot here before.
It was probably a good thing his family looked down on his business, then he wouldn’t have had to explain that no one knew he owned the place and didn’t just manage it.
He liked having that privacy.
“Why?”
He leaned closer, whispering, “No one knows I own the place. They think I manage it, which I do. Try not to give away who I am or you have to leave. You can say you’re my sister, but keep in mind, I only manage the place.”
“Oh,” Willow said. “Whatever. Anyway.” She stopped and leaned closer. “The decor in here is the best. It’s almost like everything you’d see in a hospital. Charts, equipment, lab coats. Where did you get it all?”
“You can get anything online.”
“Isn’t that Grandpa’s...?”
“Yes,” he said, laughing. “There’s the old man’s little device to help stop or repair cardiac arrest. No one knows what it is exactly, just like a lot of other things.”
“Okay, Dean. You’re funnier than I thought you were.”
He supposed that was about one of the best compliments he could get from her.