by Sky McCoy
When I reached the door, I opened it. Thomas looked at me without saying a word.
“People are more important. Try being a big brother to Carter for once.”
Thomas just stepped out and I slammed the door on him.
Chapter 7
Jeremy
The day started like shit and I hoped it would get better, but like the weather, there was no controlling what was uncontrollable. The nurse was due any minute, and the cleaning lady was out sick. I’d tried to hide what I could, stuff the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. The only problem being I didn’t know where she kept the pods, or how to turn that thing on. I just glared at the knobs and pushed.
The nurse would ring my bell just after lunch if she was dependable. I glanced at my clock anxiously tightening my fist, turning around to see what I’d missed. Got the jockstraps out of sight, checked between the cushions, nothing there, not even change.
Jack had said that he’d known her since his time in the VA hospital, and she was the best pediatric nurse he’d known. “Molly. Yes, that’s her name,” I said, pacing the floor, listening for a sound. Molly got her RN when she’d gone into the army and she’d worked at several hospitals, and now owned her own company. She received her BSN and later became licensed for pediatrics. If for any reason she didn’t take this position, I’d have to start interviewing for a nurse all over again, and that could take months. I just didn’t have the time for that.
My baby was coming home on Monday.
It was now one o’clock, when I headed for the door to look through the peephole, the bell rang. Prompt. On time. This is going to work out, I thought.
I opened the door with a smile. “Who are you?”
“Parker Hagen. I’m Molly’s brother. You know, Molly your nurse.” He slanted his head and glared at me as if he had come to the wrong door, and I’d been certain that he was at the wrong door. I’d wanted a woman not a man to take care of my little girl.
“Then where is she?” I questioned with furrowed brow and my mouth ajar. I glanced behind him. “What is she doing, parking the car, you’re bring up her luggage?”
“She took on another assignment and sent me here in her place. We have this nursing business and she had to be in another state so she sent me instead.”
“You? You’re a man.”
“Last time I checked, and you’re a man too,” Parker said, watching me intently. “Are you saying that you don’t want me because I’m a man?”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I’m just shocked to see a man as a baby nurse. I thought that was more of a woman’s job.”
“Do they assign work these days as belonging to men or women when it comes to feeding, or changing diapers? You know you will have to do all those things if you don’t have a nurse.” He’d made a great point, but still, I wasn’t convinced that he’d be a good fit to take care of my little girl.
“I called Jack and he said that he would inform you and if you didn’t agree then you would call me back and cancel, but you never did, so here I am.”
“Come in.”
Parker stood five feet nine with brownish-blond hair. He looked as if he’d been a surfer in his other life. A handsome young man, with wide shoulders, wore a leather jacket, a blue button-down shirt with khakis, and on the shirt with the logo of his company on the pocket.
“I know you’re wondering if you should hire me, but I assure you if you need letters from my past employment, I have them here. He carried a rollaway suitcase, a messenger bag across his shoulder, and a backpack.
“I’ve brought everything here,” he assured, reaching into his bag and pulling out a folder, then offering me a flash drive. “If you have any doubts, Mr. Westbrook, please call my references before you hire me.”
I intended on doing just that, and making a call to Jack as well.
“I have a hotel room. Jack said I could use his until my flight out if for some reason you didn’t hire me. I assure you that I’m a certified baby nurse and I have children of my own. They’re with their mother now, but I was a stay-at-home dad from the time they were babies. Jack can give me references as well. I cook too and clean.”
“I have someone that comes in to clean. If I hire you, all you have to do is be here with my little girl and take good care of her.”
“Are there parks within walking distance? I like to take walks when the weather is warm, and it will do the baby good to get out. Fresh air.”
“Excuse me. Please sit. I have to make a call.” I walked into the kitchen and picked up my phone, scrolled through to Jack’s number. I’d been happy he’d answered and I didn’t have to text him.
“Jack. What the fuck? A dude named Parker Hagen just showed up at my door saying he’s Molly’s brother.”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you that Molly called me and said she’d been out of town and couldn’t make it, and she’d send Parker. You know how I am around Max. I can’t think. But the dude’s okay by my book.”
“And what book is that?”
“The one where he’s a friend. He’s had lots of experience, he’s a nurse, and you need someone ASAP. Don’t worry, Jeremy, he’s a nice guy. I can vouch for him. I wouldn’t send just anyone to take care of a baby, and I’ve known him and Molly for ten years. Did he tell you he was a stay-at-home dad?”
“Yeah. He did mention that. I... don’t know?” I’d been apprehensive to go with anyone Jack had suggested because I’d met some of the characters he’d hung out with. “You vouched for that guy when I needed someone to drive my car back from Los Angeles.”
“How the fuck was I supposed to know that he was on psychotic drugs?”
“He was in a psych ward with you. You didn’t tell me that, just like you forgot to tell me about Parker. Is there anything you left out? I don’t want to find out too late because there’s a baby involved, my child, and your niece.
“Only that he was a damn good father to his children. When his wife left him, she gave him a recommendation letter. Now what do you say about that?” That she’d been glad to get rid of him. “He has his RN certification and he’s licensed in pediatrics. See, I do take care of my big brother. Call his references if mine aren’t good enough.”
I’d calmed down somewhat, but I was still nervous about another man in the house. I liked my privacy and I wouldn’t have that until I moved into the larger home yet to be built, if then. I didn’t know how long it would be to completion, and the way Dorian and I parted, it wasn’t going to be any time soon. I had to trust Jack because I didn’t have anyone else I could turn to, and asking Annalisa would be like—I didn’t want to think about it or her for now.
“Is everything going okay with Max and Jami?” I questioned Jack.
“Yeah. Max hasn’t been here for a few days, and Jami did need someone to guard him and the twins. As soon as I train these guys, I’m headed back to Seattle. Jami is so nice and he doesn’t need me getting all worked up over Max whenever he’s around.”
“I thought you were over him?”
“Can anyone get over a man like Max?”
I guessed Jack was right. Just like me trying to get over that handsome, impetuous, young architect—Dorian Hart. I didn’t know what I would do now. I needed some help so I could pursue Dorian to stabilize my life, so I could have a life.
“Maybe it’s best that you come back here and help me out especially since I’m having a house built.”
“I have to go now. Jami and I are taking the children out to the park.” Jack sounded too happy to be going to the park with Max’s husband. I hoped he knew what he was doing. I realized that I’d left Parker in the living area so I hit the button before I cautioned Jack about Max and Jami. My days were over of taking care of younger brothers. They had to get their shit together without me. They were men now, and I had a baby to raise.
I strolled back to where Parker was sitting. He’d been flipping through pages of one of my family albums. Pictures of our parents and of all five boys. When I st
ood in front of him and looked over at him, he smiled and glanced up at me.
“Nice family. Five boys. Wow. You don’t see that much these days. Everyone is having a child and a half. That’s what the statistics say. What is a half child? Five handsome strong boys who look perfect and have perfect lives.”
“You wouldn’t say that if you knew them,” I added.
“Yeah. The typical family, but it’s just me and my sister Moll,” Parker mused, not hearing me or the sound of my disappointed voice when I thought of all my mother’s lovely boys, as she’d once said with pride.
“I guess you could say we’re a typical family of boys and no girls. Five boys and two are gay.”
His eyes swung up to me in surprise. “I thought Jack was the only gay one.”
“He’s being charitable. Didn’t want to out me before I had a chance to do it myself.”
“And are you out of the closet?”
“Not yet. Well, not so anyone would notice,” I admitted. “Come on, we have plenty of time to talk. You can take your suitcase into the guest bedroom. The one next to you is Jack’s, but it’s temporary. I think the hotel room is his permanent home when he gets kicked out from wherever the fuck he hides out to take care of business. You have to share a bath with Jack if he comes home, that is until I have my new home built.”
“I didn’t know you were moving?”
“This place is too small.”
“It’s larger than my place. Everything is larger than my place. Even the bathroom is larger,” Parker said, opening and closing the bathroom door. His face lit up and a broad smile crossed it.
“We need to talk about living arrangements. Do you have a boyfriend?”
“I’m not bisexual or gay.”
“I thought you were. Do you have a girl? Because I’ll have to ask that she goes through a background check before I can have her come here,” I said as he dropped his bags and followed me around my apartment where I showed him where he could find linen. “How did you meet Jack?”
“He dated my sister Molly on and off after he’d gotten out of the Marines. She met him at the veteran’s hospital. They were just friends, to go out dancing and dinner. When I got divorced I would hang out with them. We were all just friends.” I noticed that he didn’t answer about the girlfriend part, and I needed to know who was coming into my home and around my baby.
“Do you have a girl?”
“You can’t keep a girl when you have to work all the time and don’t get much time off. Not much money because I have to pay child support.”
“Couldn’t your ex help you when you weren’t working?”
“My sister took me into her business so I could take care of my children. My wife is now married and we get along great. We should never have been married in the first place. The sex was terrible. You know, that’s what keeps a marriage together. Knowing how to satisfy your wife and for her to satisfy you.” Parker turned to me and peppered me with a few questions.
“Do you have a partner? Should I expect to meet him, and are you planning on getting married?” Parker grinned.
“You ask a lot of questions. Are you hungry?”
“Yes. I haven’t had a chance to eat. There’s this wonderful restaurant in this hotel where I live and where Jack keeps a room. Why don’t you drop me there so I can pick up the rest of my things, and we can eat at the restaurant? It’s famous for steaks and seafood. I’m a seafood guy. Can’t afford to eat there. I just thought you would give me an advance on my pay.”
“I’m steak and potatoes man, and the meal’s on me,” I said.
Chapter 8
Dorian
I strolled into work on my day off because I had to finish the plans for Jeremy’s house and some shit Phillip left unattended because he’d fallen in love, and he was still in that “we have to fuck everyday, every minute” mode. I envied him and Eric, not because I thought they had a perfect relationship, but because they had a relationship, and I had none.
Staring at the plans, biting my nails and then my thumb, I glanced out the window in front of me, and saw the sunlight. I swore it was cloudy and raining outside and inside. And to hell if it wasn’t. I felt as if I couldn’t breathe because I’d given up and drowned.
Leaving Jeremy the way I did, I’d realized that had been a mistake. I was sitting and still fidgeting with my pen when Phillip walked into my office. “I’m sorry about last night.”
“Not as much as I was. I had to get an Uber home. And you know how it is riding in a taxi. Some of the drivers are out of their minds. They want you to talk to them if they start a conversation. Well, it was the opposite with me last night. I wanted to talk about Jeremy and how I broke up with him.”
Phillip strolled over to my couch and sat, the same one Jeremy had fucked me on. I smiled. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. You wouldn’t appreciate the joke.”
Phillip rose, he must have read my mind, walked to my table, pushed aside some plans and looked up at me. “Have you completed the Hoffman project?”
“The one where you didn’t realize that you left off two important floors. That mistake could have had both our asses in a sling? Yes. While you and Eric...” I’d always got a bad taste in my mouth whenever I called his name, “...were fucking, I finished that job. Now I have to complete the house that Jeremy is building.”
“Your Jeremy?” Phillip said as he headed back to sit on the couch.
“I mentioned it to you. You never listen to me, Phillip. You’re letting Eric distract you. Jeremy came here and said that Maxwell Gold had recommended this firm.”
“I didn’t know that you and Maxwell Gold were that close.”
“We aren’t. Jeremy is one of his best friends.”
“You’re probably closer to Maxwell than I’ll ever get,” Phillip gushed, looking at me as if I was a celebrity. “Imagine that. You fucked the man who shook the hand of Maxwell Gold.”
“Yeah. Imagine that, and we fucked right where you’re sitting.” Phillip shot up like he’d been set on fire, turned and looked at the cushions.
“You mean you fucked Jeremy—”
“Yes, in that seat and on that cushion.”
“It’s time to eat. For all your hard work, I’ll buy you lunch at that fancy restaurant where we used to go in that hotel. The one where you saw your boyfriend’s twin brother. Maybe we can run into him. Do you think he’s single?”
“If he is, you’re not.”
“We’re going to have an open marriage,” Phillip said, turning with his hand on the doorhandle, then opening the door after I shrugged my arms into my jacket.
“Jack is not for you,” I emphasized. “Remember what I said about him. Phillip glared at me as if he’d never heard me when I warned him against Jack. We walked into the elevator and the door closed with us and the late lunch crowd. “Jack is dangerous. Too dangerous for a man like you.” Phillip raised his eyebrow and I could see his mind working when a sly smile crawled across his face.
When the door opened, and we stepped out, we stopped and Phillip stared at me and said, “Maybe he’d be up for a threesome.”
“I don’t think he’s the kind of guy who would let Eric fuck him. You’re a sexual submissive except when it came to me.” We continued walking. I didn’t like where this conversation was going, so I tried to change the subject. The hotel was around the corner and it took ten minutes to get there.
“Why don’t we have a peaceful lunch and let’s not talk about Jack anymore.”
“Would you prefer to talk about Jeremy? Now that’s a man if I’d gotten a chance to meet him and had him fall for me, I’d never let him go. I bet you want to fuck him and his brother and you don’t want to admit it.”
“Once again I know you’ve lost your mind. Too much drugs. What kind of drugs is Eric giving you these days? Horse tranquilizers?”
“Get serious, Dorian. Stop with the drug jokes.”
“It’s not a joke. I don’t want two men. I
never wanted to be with two men. When I was with you it was only you. You didn’t appreciate that. I wanted one and now that man is Jeremy Westbrook.”
We stood in line and the host sat us at our usual table. It had been where Phillip and I had spent the best time of my life. I didn’t know how it was for Phillip, but when I thought I’d been in love with him, it was the best. We’d work hard and played hard that night in a beautiful suite Phillip kept for us when we were too tired to go home.
It had been where I’d caught him fucking Eric among other places like our apartment. At first it bothered me, and then I’d rationalized that I didn’t really love him, he’d just been someone familiar and a friend. I didn’t have anyone at the time and because I was with Phillip I wasn’t looking. However, that didn’t stop Phillip, he’d probably brought guys there for years and I was too stupid to know better.
Phillip had said when I’d caught him in bed with Eric that he wouldn’t see him again. But then I came home from Europe and found him in our bed with Eric. I knew then that it was over and he left with the bed I’d caught him fucking in.
After we’d ordered and the waitress had taken her time bringing our drinks, I rose and walked over to the bar. When I glanced to my right, I thought I recognized that figure. Tall and slim, wide shoulders wearing an expensive dark suit, white shirt without a tie, gliding my way. I reached for my eyeglasses, however, I’d left them on the table when looking at the menu. It was that clear sexy baritone voice that I did recognize.
That voice had whispered into my ear, “I love you. I want you to be mine. Marry me.” It was no mistaking it. I’d heard it only a few days ago.
