by LYNN, K. C.
“I’m a roofer. It’s what I do and I’m telling you, it’s going to cave right on your stubborn ass one of these days.”
“Yeah? Well I’m an architect,” John fires back. “The same one who built this place. If my roof was sloped. I’d damn well know it.”
“It might not hurt just to get it looked at, Dad,” Sawyer speaks up, shocking the hell out of me.
It also seems to surprise his father if the betrayal on the older man’s face is any indication. “So that’s how it’s going to be? You, out of all people, are going to take his side?”
“What side?” He throws his hands up. “I just don’t want your fucking roof to cave in, especially while we’re all fucking eating dinner under it.”
“Watch your mouth, Sawyer!” Grace and Catherine snap at the same time.
My father points at John. “You know what your problem is, Evans?”
“Drop it, Dad,” I warn.
“No, no. Let him finish.” John rests back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Humor me, Crawford, what is my fucking problem?”
“Stop this,” Catherine hisses.
Grace quickly ushers the children from the table, knowing all hell is about to break loose.
“You’re too goddamn arrogant for your own good,” my father tells him. “You always have been.”
“I’m the arrogant one?” John bellows, standing from his chair.
Catherine grabs his arm, trying to force him back into his chair. “Sit down, John!”
“The hell I will.” He points back at my father. “You have some fucking nerve coming into my house and insulting my intelligence, old man.”
My father pushes to his own feet now, that vein I know so well protruding from his forehead.
“Stop, Ben. Please,” my mother pleads but he too is beyond reasoning.
“If you weren’t such an egotistical bastard, I wouldn’t have to insult your intelligence. Even your own kids know you have shit for brains.”
Oh Jesus.
John’s eyes practically bulge out of their sockets. “You’re the one to talk considering your own kid moved across the country just to get the hell away from you!”
Before I have a chance to shut that down Catherine lashes out again.
“I mean it, John. Stop this right now!”
The two refuse to listen and continue to fight, hurling insults at the other while their wives try to yell over top of them.
The entire thing is an absolute clusterfuck.
When the grip on my hand tightens, I look over to see Sam crying. That’s when I get really pissed off. No one makes my peaches cry and gets away with it.
I’m just about to stand and shut this shit show down but she ends up jumping to her feet first, knocking her chair over in her haste.
“Stop it!” she cries. “Stop it, stop it, stop it!”
The entire room falls to a dead silence, everyone’s gazes snapping to her.
“This is supposed to be the happiest time of our lives and you both have ruined it over petty insults and past rivalries.” Tears cascade down her face, each drop ripping my heart to shreds as she faces both our fathers.
They at least have the decency to look ashamed.
“All I wanted was one weekend to celebrate our love with our family and friends,” she says. “I thought maybe, just maybe, you two could find some common ground for Jase’s and my sake but obviously I was wrong. Clearly this stupid feud means more to you than we do.” Pushing from the table, she runs out of the kitchen, leaving behind the echo of her sobs.
I’m about to run out after her but Zoey and Jesse beat me to it, the two following her up the stairs.
Silence hovers before Sawyer breaks it. “Well, that went better than I thought.”
“Shut up, Sawyer!” His mother snaps.
Jake clears his throat and stands. “We should go and…do that thing,” he says to the others.
“What thing?” Cam frowns like an idiot.
“That thing,” Austin grits, before pulling him from the table and dragging him from the room.
Catherine throws her napkin on the table and looks over at her husband. “I can’t believe you would do this to our daughter. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
“And so should you, Ben,” my mother adds, backing the other woman up.
“He started it,” my father grumbles.
“The hell I did!”
Having enough of this shit, I shove to my feet. “I don’t give a fuck who started it. I am going to finish it! Right here and now!”
Both men jump at my tone, their heads swiveling in my direction.
“This isn’t about the two of you. This isn’t even about you or me,” I add, gesturing over at Sawyer. “This is about Sam and our wedding, and the simple fact is we don’t need you guys to get married.”
My mother sucks in a sharp breath. “What are you saying, Jasiah?”
By the concern in her voice she knows exactly what I am saying, but I decide to lay it all out anyway. “If you two don’t figure this shit out by morning I’m taking her out of here and we will get married on our own without any of you.”
“No!” Catherine cries out, turning to her husband. “John, fix this! Now!”
John holds a hand up. “All right, now just hold on a damn minute. No one is going anywhere.”
“With all due respect, Mr. Evans, if that’s what it takes that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”
The other man stiffens, looking a little shocked and a little pissed off.
It doesn’t deter me from saying what should have been said long before now. “When I asked for your daughter’s hand in marriage I promised you I would protect her at all costs, and that’s what I am going to do. You just need to decide whether you are here for it or not.”
With nothing left to say, I leave the room and head up the stairs to the only person who matters in this whole fucking mess.
The one person I will protect from it all, even if it means taking her far away from this place and never looking back.
CHAPTER TEN
Sam
Tears stream down my cheeks in a steady flow of despair, casting their grief further upon my heart.
Zoey and my sister sit on either side of me, offering silent comfort because there is really nothing anyone can say about the disaster that just took place downstairs.
It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. Our wedding was supposed to mend these stupid rifts but it seems it has only made them worse, and I have no one to blame but myself. I should have known better. There is too much history, too much…resentment, and it’s time I accept that.
Jase bursts through my bedroom door, his furious strides faltering when he gets his first look at me. The anger on his face melts away, leaving regret in its place.
“We’ll give you two some time to talk,” Jesse says before pulling me in for a hug. “We’ll be back, okay?”
I nod, unable to speak past the hurt clogging my throat.
Zoey gives my hand a comforting squeeze then follows my sister out.
Jase closes the door behind them, giving us privacy, before he comes to kneel before me. His warm hands slide under my skirt to rest on the tops of my bare thighs. “You okay, Peaches?”
I shake my head, answering honestly.
Remorse shadows his expression. “I’m sorry, Sam. I should have stopped it before it got to that point.”
“It’s not your fault,” I choke out, sounding as broken as I feel. “It’s mine.”
“That’s not true.”
“Yes, it is,” I counter. “I should have never insisted we all stay together. I just…I wanted this to work out so badly, Jase.” My breath catches on a sob as I struggle to hold in my pain.
“I know, baby. Me too.” He drops a kiss on each one of my thighs, the magical touch reaching far more than skin deep.
I gaze down at the one person who makes everything in my world better and try to understand how we got
to this point when just two days ago all of our hopes and dreams rested in the palms of our hands.
“How can our love be so right but everything around us be so wrong?” I voice the thought out loud.
The anger he had when he first walked in comes back with a vengeance. “Nothing else matters but us, Sam. You hear me? Nothing.”
He’s wrong. There is more than just us to consider now, more than just us who will be affected by these feuds. He just doesn’t know it yet.
“What happened down there changes nothing,” he continues. “They want to fight it out, let them. We don’t need them. All we need is each other. Just the two of us.”
“The three of us,” I blurt out before I can stop myself.
His brows bunch in confusion. “What?”
“The three of us,” I repeat, my voice softening as I decide to tell him the one secret I’ve been keeping for weeks. “I’m pregnant, Jase.”
He stills before me, complete and utter shock gripping his expression. “Pregnant?”
I nod.
“As in, we’re having a baby?”
I nod again.
It takes a good long moment for the revelation to sink in but once it does he drops lower to his knees, bringing himself face level with my stomach. Reaching out, he rests his warm hand over my abdomen in the most gentle manner, so gentle that you’d think it was made of fragile glass.
“How long have you known for?” he asks, sounding in awe.
“A few weeks.”
He says nothing else, his sole focus where his hand is.
“Are you happy?” I ask, even though I can guess the answer.
“Yeah, baby,” he releases on an exhaled breath. “I’m happy. Really happy.”
The confession brings the first smile to my face. “Good, me too.”
Leaning in, he replaces his hand with his lips, pressing a soft kiss. My eyes fall closed at the sweet gesture, fingers threading through his silky hair as I soak in this moment with him.
“I was going to surprise you tomorrow night,” I confess quietly. “It was supposed to be your wedding present. But then tonight happened and everything just went so…wrong.” Defeat settles over me again as I think about all that happened downstairs and, even worse, what more may arise. “God, Jase. What are we going to do?”
His head snaps up. “We’re going to get married and live a long and happy life together,” he states matter-of-factly. “I meant what I said earlier, Sam, the bullshit that went on down there has nothing to do with us.”
“It has everything to do with us,” I argue. “Think about Christmases and birthdays and holidays. Your parents are moving closer to us, Jase. Which is wonderful but our dads hate each other. You and my brother hate each other. It’s so bad all of you can’t even be in the same room together. At this point I don’t even know what is going to happen at our wedding tomorrow for god’s sake. Everything is just…ugh!” My tirade ends on a frustrated breath.
“So what do you want to happen, Sam. Huh?” he asks. “You want to leave here, runaway from everyone and everything? Because just say the word. I’ll take you out of here and we’ll never look back.”
My gaze lifts back to his, the offer taking me back to another time. A time that resides deep within my soul.
“Where?” I ask, unable to help myself.
“Anywhere.” His deep dark eyes never leave mine as he takes my hand in his, interlocking our fingers. “We could run into the night, hand in hand, and catch the first train to Chicago.”
My breath screeches to a halt as he paints a distant memory, acknowledging the dreams we have both shared.
“Don’t marry him, Rose. Run away with me instead.”
“Where?”
“Chicago.”
Tears helplessly spill down my cheeks as I remember it so vividly. A time when one love conquered the odds that were stacked against it only to lose it all in the end.
His hand slips beneath my hair to cup my wet cheek, the tips of his fingers curling around my neck. “We didn’t have a plan last time. We don’t need one now. All we need is each other. Just the two of us.”
“The three of us,” I remind him with a smile.
“Right. Three of us.” He corrects himself. “Then four,” he adds with a kiss, “then five,” another kiss, “then six…”
I lean back on a laugh. “You’re awfully ambitious, Crawford.”
Though, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t open to the idea of having more. I’d have as many as this man would give me and love them all as much as I do him.
“I am when it comes to you.” My heart warms as he leans in close again, his lips just a breath from mine. “The world is at our fingertips, Sam and it’s ours, this time forever.”
A newfound hope fills my chest.
“I love our families as much as you do but at the end of the day this right here is all that matters,” he says. “As long as we have this, our children will have everything they need and so will we.”
I rest my forehead on his, feeling the fragmented pieces of my heart mending with every word.
“Just tell me what you want and I’ll make it happen.”
Before I can give him any kind of answer, a knock sounds on the door. Turning, I find my sister, Zoey, and Grace, their arms filled with an array of goods.
“We brought reinforcements,” Jesse says, lifting her bag. “We got drinks, munchies, nail polish, and even mud masks. What do you say?”
A genuine smile takes over my face as I turn back to Jase with my answer. “I want to stay,” I tell him. “I want to marry you in front of our closest friends and family tomorrow, and then I want to live the rest of our lives happily ever after.”
That trademark smirk steals his lips. “Done.”
With my heart feeling lighter, I wrap my arms around his neck, hugging him close. “For the record, Crawford,” I whisper, my lips brushing his ear, “I’d leave it all behind and run away with you again in a heartbeat.”
He pulls back, his jaw flexing with whatever emotions he’s battling before he presses a hard kiss to my lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I nod. “I’ll be there.”
As he heads for the door, the other three walk in, Grace being the first to hug me.
“You gonna be okay, Sam?”
My gaze meets Jase’s over her head as he stops at the door and waits to hear the answer himself. “Yeah, Grace. I’m going to be just fine.”
Every word of it is true, because as long as I have him I will always be okay.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Jase
Stars blanket the night sky as I sit in one of the fifty white chairs in the courtyard and stare out at the exact spot I am going to marry the woman who owns every part of me. The same woman who also happens to be carrying my child.
The newfound knowledge still rocks me to my fucking core. I drop my head into my hands, a million emotions plaguing me.
It’s everything I ever wanted—Sam and a family—but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous, especially after the shit show that took place earlier.
As much as I don’t want to admit it, Sam is right. This rivalry doesn’t just affect us anymore. It affects our child, too. A child I will do everything in my power to protect. Not only from the dangers of this world but the feuds that constantly threaten to tear it apart.
The sound of approaching footsteps interrupts my thoughts and pulls my head up. It’s there I find the last person I want to see. “I’m really not in the mood for your shit right now, Evans.”
“I guess it’s a good thing I don’t got shit to throw at ya then, huh?”
Yeah, right.
He always has shit to throw at me. He is so full of shit that I’m surprised it doesn’t come out of his fucking eyeballs.
“Look, I’m not here to cause trouble,” he promises. “Just thought I’d bring you a drink.” Walking closer, he hands me one of the beers from the six-pack he carries.
I
stare at the can then up at him. “Why? You poison it?”
He grunts. “If I wanted you dead, Crawford, you’d already be dead.”
I peer back at him, trying to figure out what his motive is here.
“I’m trying, all right,” he snaps. “Will you just take the fucking beer, please?”
I take the cold can but make no move to open it, not trusting the fucker. It might not be poison but I wouldn’t put it past him to pump the fucking thing full of Ex-Lax or some shit.
“So what is this?” I ask. “A peace offering?”
“Something like that,” he mumbles, taking the chair next to mine. A moment of silence gathers before he speaks again. “Believe it or not, I’m not exactly proud of how I acted in front of my kid today.”
The reminder of that hockey game has my own shame surging to the surface. “Yeah, well, that makes two of us.”
He nods. “I know. I heard what you said to Parker.”
I had a feeling he did.
“The thing is, Crawford,” he continues, gaze training straight ahead. “I don’t really know why it’s like this between us. I don’t even remember when it started. Hell, some days I feel like I was just born hating you.”
I glare back at him, annoyed. “If this is your way of an apology it’s a shitty one.”
A smirk forms on his face before he drops his gaze to the beer he holds. “All I’m saying is, the more I think about it the more I wonder if this is our feud or our fathers’.” He finally looks over at me, his words settling with a truth that I think we have known all along. “What I do know is I love my baby sister, and after tonight I saw how much you do, too.”
I cock a brow. “You seriously just figured that shit out tonight?”
He shrugs. “I might have had an inkling before, but tonight you proved how far you would go by what you said to my dad.” A note of respect enters his voice. “I also figure you’re better than that other asshole she was with so…” He trails off on that last part, ruining all the progress he just made.
“I’m definitely better than that piece of shit.” Just thinking about that asshole and all he did to Sam sends a dangerous fury thrashing through my veins.
