Keeping the Pieces

by Brenda Lowder

  “Wow,” is all Derek said. It was a testament to their upbringing that neither Derek nor his three younger brothers had run into this problem before.

  “What are you going to do?” Derek tried not to cringe. This wasn’t the future he’d imagined for Ryder, but a man had to live up to his responsibilities. And take care of his family members, however you ended up with them. Like Derek had.

  At twenty-two Ryder was already three years older than Derek had been when he’d become legal guardian to his brothers, but Ryder was the baby. Derek couldn’t picture him being grown up enough to care for a goldfish, let alone an infant.

  “I’m going to marry her, of course. If she’ll have me.” Ryder nodded and clasped his hands together as if holding fast to his decision. He had to, Derek thought, because he knew he was in for a fight.

  One of the gym regulars, an older gentleman named Otis, walked between Derek and Ryder to get to the rack of free weights. He nodded and greeted Derek, and Derek chatted with him as he tried to formulate his response to his brother.

  Man, how he wished their dad were here right now. John Chase hadn’t been a big talker and had held his feelings in like a real man, but he was good and fair and always took care of the people he loved, especially their mother.

  When Otis moved past them, Derek regarded his brother with a frown. “You and Macey have only been back together for three weeks.”

  Ryder’s face closed off. “Don’t you think I know that?” He took a deep breath and seemed to shrink down farther on the bench. “This isn’t like it was before. She’s not just playing with me. There’s a baby to consider. My baby.”

  Derek nodded. Ryder got prickly when he thought anyone—especially one of his older brothers—was questioning his judgment. Probably part of being the youngest.

  Checking his watch, Derek said, “You know what? I think I’ve worked out enough for today. I don’t have a client until nine thirty. How about I take you to breakfast?”

  Ryder half smiled. “Yeah. Okay. Thanks.”

  Ten minutes later they were seated in Derek’s booth at the diner in the stripmall a block away from the gym. It was Derek’s kind of place—not fancy or fussy and served breakfast and lunch items all day long. He ordered a burger and fries and shook his head when Ryder ordered an egg white omelet with spinach and mushrooms.

  Ryder handed his menu back to the waitress after ordering. “Don’t say it,” he directed at Derek. “You’re the crazy one here. Not me. You’re a personal trainer, and you still eat that crap.”

  “Well good that you turned out better than me, then.”

  Ryder snorted.

  Derek leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. Ryder plucked a sugar packet from the dish by the wall and played with it, avoiding Derek’s gaze.

  He knew he couldn’t say any of the things he wanted to say to Ryder. True things like a woman who cheats on you once is going to do it again. And a woman who leaves you—twice now—is going to do it again. And a woman who treats you like an afterthought is never going to see you as a priority.

  But he couldn’t tell his brother any of that because a man can’t be told whom he can love.

  Hell, he couldn’t even tell himself.

  But Macey was all kinds of bad for Ryder—not even counting this latest life-changing event. Something needed to be said.

  Derek shifted in his seat. “The thing is—”

  Ryder held his hand up. “I know what you’re going to say.”

  “Okay.”

  “You’re going to say the baby might not be mine.”

  Derek let out a breath and nodded.

  “You’re going to say that Macey can’t be trusted because she’s left me before. She takes off all the time, without a thought for other people. She could leave me and the baby next time.”

  Derek raised his palms from the table in a gesture of, “Why not?”

  The waitress returned with glasses of water. “Just another minute on your food, boys.”

  “Thanks, Dee.”

  The older woman smiled at Derek before moving on to the next table. Derek returned his attention to his little brother.

  “So if you already know everything I’m going to say, why are you here?”

  “I’ve got to quit school.”

  That was something Derek had not been expecting.

  “No.” Derek’s voice was steel. His brother paused a moment before trying again.

  “Just listen, I—”

  “No.” The steel edge sharpened.

  “But I—”

  “No.” Derek slammed his hand on the table and Ryder jumped.

  Derek shook his head. “We promised Mom. I promised Mom. More than anything, she wanted each of us to have a college education. We’re doing it. Cole graduated, Alex graduated, and you’re one year from graduating, and you will finish. I don’t care if Macey has a dozen babies and says they’re all yours. We’ll pull together and help each other like we always have.”

  Dee appeared at their table and set their plates of hot food in front of them. “Y’all enjoy.”

  “Thanks, Dee.” When she’d gone, Derek took a deep breath and continued.

  “We’re here for you, Ryder. You can marry Macey. You can take care of her and the baby, and you can finish your degree.” Derek picked up his burger.

  “You didn’t.”

  Derek put his burger back down again and wiped his fingers on a napkin.

  “Actually, I’m in school right now.”

  Ryder’s eyes lit up. “You’re kidding.”

  “I’m taking classes online from Georgia Southern.”

  “Huh. That’s great. Good for you.” He picked at his egg-white omelet and ogled Derek’s burger. “What made you do it? You always pushed us toward college, but you said you couldn’t go.”

  “I discovered I could.” Derek ignored the warmth in his chest remembering Honey’s encouragement, her insistence that he make his own future a priority too.

  “And?”

  “And what?”

  “And what’s the whole story?”

  Derek cut his burger in half and put a portion on Ryder’s plate. His brother shot him a grateful look before diving for the ketchup.

  “There’s somebody.”

  “A girl?”

  “Yes, a girl.”

  “Aha! I knew it. I knew there was a reason.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Derek held his hand out for the bottle of ketchup. Ryder moved it out of reach.

  “This is huge.”

  “This isn’t huge. There’s always a girl. Gimme the ketchup.”

  “There’s always a girl for you, yes, but there hasn’t been somebody for you since Caroline. Someone who can actually get you to do something you don’t want to do.” He handed over the ketchup.

  Ryder was pushing his luck bringing up Caroline. That relationship was several years ago and never discussed. She married someone else.

  “Yes, she’s somebody. And she’s like no one I’ve ever known. She’s…well, she’s…organized.” He warmed to the topic. “And focused in the most delightful and attractive way. She sticks her tongue out when she’s thinking hard—I don’t even think she knows she’s doing it. She’s so smart and just…driven. She could do anything.”

  Ryder raised his eyebrows. “Doesn’t sound like any socialite I’ve ever known.”

  Derek’s gut flipped. What the hell? How had he rattled off about Emma? Must be they’d been spending too much time together lately. She was confusing him. He sat up straighter.

  “Honey is the best. Literally. She expects the best of herself and everyone around her. She makes me want to be better. She’s what drove me to go back to school.”

  Ryder squinted at him and stole two of his fries. Derek didn’t think Ryder had caught his mistake in talking about two different women. “Well, I guess if you can go to school, I can too.”

  “Damn right you can.”

  “And then you and Cole and Alex can help
me change diapers and do the burping and babysit and all that stuff.”

  Derek grimaced and moved his plate out of reach. “Something like that.”

  “It’ll be an adventure.” Ryder grinned.

  Derek tried to picture his little brother as a father playing with blocks on the floor with his child. The really wild thing was that he could.

  “It already is.” He handed Ryder another fry.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Emma went over to Derek’s apartment on Wednesday night after work. She texted first, of course, saying she wanted to bring him the ten dollars she owed him for their bet, but more than that, she didn’t want to be alone.

  She didn’t know whether it was the stress of their upcoming social interactions with Honey and Cam, the hit her ego had taken from Cam still choosing Honey, or the feeling of loss stemming from both of her parents being MIA at the moment, but she could use a friend. And Derek was literally the only person who knew what she was going through.

  “Welcome,” Derek said with a smile as he opened his apartment door to let her in.

  “Thanks.” Emma stepped through, and he closed the door behind her.

  “Here’s the ten dollars I owe you.” She pulled the folded bill from her purse and held it out to him.

  “Wasn’t it twenty?” His eyes twinkled as he took it from her.

  “Nope.”

  “I could’ve sworn I bet more. Betting against Cameron is such a sure thing.”

  “Ha ha,” she said without humor. She walked the few steps it took to be in the living room. Derek followed.

  “Did you want to give me the tour?” she asked, looking around.

  He looked at her blankly. She laughed. “I’m just kidding. I’ve never met a single man yet who wanted to give a tour of his apartment.”

  “I think you never will unless you start dating gay men.”

  “Touché.”

  He strode the short distance to the kitchen, and she trailed after him. “Would you like something to drink?” he asked over his shoulder.

  “What do you have?”

  He opened the fridge. “Beer.”

  “Sure.”

  With a pleased smile he took the lid off a long neck and handed it to her.

  She set her purse on the counter and climbed onto a stool at the kitchen bar. She took a sip of her frosty beer. It was cold and refreshing, and she wished she were drinking it on a beach somewhere, staring at clear turquoise water.

  Was her mother doing that very thing right now? Staring at a Mexican beach somewhere with Draxton Ayers?

  “Do you ever get the feeling that you know so much more than your parents?”

  Derek sat on the barstool next to her and opened his own beer. “Never.” He took a sip and licked his lips. “My parents are dead.”

  “Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry.” Emma covered her mouth with her hand. Derek shook his head slowly. “It’s okay. You didn’t know.” He shrugged, a casual gesture he probably intended as deflective body language, but Emma could see the deepening grooves around his eyes.

  “When did you lose them?” she asked in a quiet voice.

  “I was nineteen.”

  She studied his strong profile as he took another drink from his bottle. “That must have been awful—being all on your own—only just becoming an adult.”

  He set his bottle on the counter. “I wasn’t on my own. I had—have—three younger brothers. I took care of them.”

  Emma’s heart went out to the responsible young man he must have been, alone and grieving, suddenly faced with a whole new life he hadn’t chosen for himself.

  “That’s incredible. You raised three younger brothers? You were barely more than a kid yourself.” And Cam had tried to tell her Derek was unreliable. She shook her head. Derek was probably the most responsible person she’d ever known.

  The idea of taking care of three whole people blew her mind. She didn’t want to be in charge of Baxter, and he was only her canine brother. “Tell me about your brothers. How old are they? What do they do? Do they live close by?”

  He set his beer on the counter. “Cole is closest to me in age. He’s a divorce attorney, and a good one from what he tells me. He’s just two years younger—thirty-two. Alex is two years younger than him, so he’s thirty. He’s an accountant. And Ryder’s the youngest. He’s twenty-two, and he’s still in school at the University of Georgia in Athens.”

  His voice was so full of pride as he spoke of them. Emma felt sure that pride was well-earned by this strong man beside her.

  “What’s Ryder studying?” She wrapped her fingers around her beer.

  “Hell if I know. He’s changed his major three times. At this point we’re just hoping he won’t drop out.” Derek took a long pull from his bottle before continuing. “If he straightens up and takes the courses he needs, I think he’ll end up being a teacher.”

  “Wow.” Emma shook her head and drank, gazing around at Derek’s small, well-organized kitchen.

  “What?” He cocked a thick eyebrow at her.

  “Just, wow.” She swiveled toward him. “You’re a very impressive person. I can’t keep a plant alive, but you raised your brothers and got them through school and now they’re grown-up, productive people. You’re amazing.”

  He looked down at the bar. “It wasn’t all me. Cole and Alex are really close to me in age. They practically raised themselves. And there were grants and student loans and kind people who helped us out now and then.”

  “And modest too.” Emma smiled. This man was so wasted on Honey Covington. Did she even know what she had in Derek? His brand of loyalty and determination was rare.

  “How are things with your parents?” he asked, obviously anxious to change the subject.

  She sighed and rested her chin in her hand. “Bad. I don’t know. The same. They’re both still missing, and they’re both still crazy.” She shot a guilty look at Derek. “I guess I should be grateful I still have them to worry about, though.”

  Derek shrugged and nursed his drink. Just when she thought he was done with the sharing, he spoke.

  “Everybody’s different. I’ve been thinking a lot the past couple of days about what makes a good parent.”

  She leaned away and raised her eyebrows at him. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

  He gave her half a smile. “Not me. My brother, Ryder. Just told me his girlfriend’s pregnant.”

  “Uh-oh.”

  “Yeah.” He ran a hand over his head, the thick, dark hairs curling slightly around his fingers. “It’s a mess, though. I don’t think the baby’s his.”

  Emma just looked at him. He sighed.

  “Macey disappears a lot. Ryder says she just needs her space. But she does this all the time. She likes her freedom. She’s already dropped out of school.”

  He pushed back from the bar. “The last time she left was more than a month ago. Left Ryder crying his eyes out. Suddenly she’s back and pregnant and saying it’s his.”

  “Sounds like it could be.”

  Derek nodded. “Yeah. It’s a possibility. But I don’t think so.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because she knows that Ryder will take care of her. That’s why she’s back. Not because it’s his. I wish it were.”

  “You do?”

  He shook his head and slumped against the counter. “Yeah. I do. He’s never stopped loving her, and he’s in love with the baby already. He’s fully invested, and she’s going to break his heart.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah. I hope I’m wrong.”

  Emma patted his back and hoped he was wrong too.

  Chapter Twenty

  Derek stumbled over the curb in the dark parking lot, but luckily no one was around to see. He’d never been to a locked-room experience before, and it seemed like a bad idea. Why would he want to pay someone to lock him up somewhere? Rich people had too much money.

  The squat, unadorned building at the back of the office park
didn’t look like much. In fact, it looked dark and lonely enough to play host to a real kidnapping. If he had any money worth holding him hostage for right now, he’d be worried.

  He spotted Emma’s little car parked in the northwest corner of the parking lot. Good. She was here. He was already feeling uncomfortable, and he hadn’t even entered the building. At least Emma would make the place feel friendlier.

  All the lights in the building seemed to be on. As he went through the front door, fluorescent bulbs cast a harsh, garish glow. His shoes echoed hollowly on the hardwood floor. A long hallway stretched in front of him with an elevator to the far left and a water fountain and clearly labeled restroom doors down on the right.

  On his immediate left a glass door showcased an empty office. Drop-ceiling tiles lay on the floor, while wires and cords dangled from the overhead space uncorralled. One chair with a broken leg sat in the center of the room. It looked like an interrogation gone wrong. He tried the door, but it was locked.

  Derek turned to the door on his right. It was made of solid wood and would have looked at home in an attorney’s office. A small metal placard on the wall next to it read, “Great Escapes,” and under that, “Your adventure awaits!”

  He rolled his eyes. The middle of his back started to itch, and he put his hand on his neck and rubbed, fighting the urge to turn around and head back to his car. He took a deep breath and opened the door. He almost closed it again. A room full of people turned and looked at him, their conversations grinding to a halt. He was the last to arrive.

  A man Derek had never met before clapped his hands together and smiled. “Great! Now we’re all here. Derek, right? If you’d just put your cell phone in one of those lockers,” he nodded to a bank of small lockers on the wall, “and sign the waiver, we can get started.” He directed Derek to one of four iPads on a counter. Derek stowed his phone and then entered his information and signature into the tablet, assuming he just relinquished his right to sue in case of injury, dismemberment, or death.

  When he’d finished, he took a seat next to Emma, who’d left him space at her side on the long padded bench where she sat with Cam and Honey and four strangers.

  “Let’s play a quick getting-to-know-you game to introduce ourselves. I’ll start. I’m Joel Trilby, owner of Great Escapes, and your master of ceremonies.” He executed a half bow and looked at them expectantly. Did he want applause? “Mangoes are my favorite fruit.” He leaned against the counter. “And let’s start with you.” He turned his head to the other end of the couch, and Derek breathed a relieved sigh.