Chapter Six
Gideon frowned, feeling like the biggest heel alive. “You’re going to hold against me something I did when I was sixteen? That was ten years ago.”
Brittany shook her head. “I know it sounds like I’m being ridiculous, but even then, I knew you were the love of my life. I’ve never been able to stop loving you, Gideon, but I’ve also never been able to completely trust you again.”
He closed his eyes. “So why did you marry me?”
“I’m still not sure. I know that I want to be around you every day for the rest of my life. It’s almost like there’s some part of me that wants to be tortured by you. It doesn’t make sense, but it is the truth. I don’t want to love you anymore. But I just can’t seem to stop myself.”
“I don’t want you to stop loving me, because I never stopped loving you. I tried very hard. Have you noticed that in all the years since our break up, I haven’t dated anyone else? Every other woman I’ve met in my entire life has been compared to you—and found lacking.”
“I’ve never dated anyone else either,” Brittany said softly. Of course, it would have been a lot harder for her to date with her brother and sister tagging along, but she hadn’t even been tempted.
“You have to know that the reason we’ve never dated other people is we belong together. We’re meant to be together every day for the rest of our lives.”
Brittany looked down, not able to meet the heat in his blue-gray eyes. “I do think we’re meant to be together. And I still don’t trust you. I don’t know where that leaves me, but I’m sitting here very confused.”
“But you love me?” Gideon said, grasping on to the only good thing that had come from this conversation.
“Of course I love you, you big dunderhead! I wouldn’t have married you without loving you. It wouldn’t have tortured me as much or allowed me to live with as much angst. I feel like I’m living in the middle of some new-adult romance.”
“You have to tell me how I can fix this. How can I prove to you that you can trust me again? I’ll do just about anything for you, Brittany. But I’m sure you know that, because I’ve always been that way.”
She sighed. “It’s such an awkward position to be in, because I love you with everything inside me…but I can’t trust you with my heart. So where do we stand?”
He cupped her face in his hands. “Maybe we could try starting over.”
“After all these years? You’ve lost your mind!”
He lowered his lips to hers, teasing hers, his hands never leaving her face. He kissed her with all of his love and all of his passion that was reserved just for her. When he lifted his head, she looked dazed and slightly confused. “I like that a lot more than I should.”
He lowered his head again, deepening the kiss. If this was the only way he could convince her that he loved her, then he would kiss her until the end of time.
This time when he looked down at her again, she sighed. “Take me to bed, Gideon. You’re right. We’re married. There’s no reason to wait.”
His conscience told him it wasn’t the right thing to do, but he ignored it. It was his wedding night, and he loved her more than he had ever dreamed it was possible to love another human.
When Brittany woke up the next morning, the bed was empty beside her. She rolled to her side and felt a tear drop drip down and roll across the pillow. Gideon hadn’t even been there when she woke up. What on earth was wrong with her that he couldn’t stick around for that long?
She was just starting to swing her feet out of bed when he entered the room, a tray in his hands. “I brought you breakfast in bed.” He waited for her to move into a sitting position with her back against the headboard, and then he lowered the tray to her lap.
She looked at the flower in the vase and smiled. “The roses aren’t blooming yet.”
He sat down in a chair beside the bed and smiled at her. “The roses do as they’re told.”
Her eyes widened as she understood his meaning. “You grew this for me?”
He smiled. “How could I not have a rose for my beautiful bride? Of course I grew it for you.”
She took a bite of the eggs he’d cooked, and shrugged. They weren’t great, but they weren’t terrible. “There’s an African violet that my mom loved dying on the windowsill. It’s been trying to die since a few months after she was gone, but I’ve kept it barely alive.”
Gideon stood up and walked to the violet in question, putting one finger in the dirt and asking it to grow. My bride wants you to be big and beautiful. Will you grow for me? He didn’t have to look to know the flower was growing. She gasped, staring at it. He grinned at her. “Didn’t you believe I could do it?”
“Sure, I did, but seeing it is so much more powerful than just believing it’s possible. It’s so beautiful, Gideon!”
“We’ll have to make sure to put this in a place of honor when we get home.”
She smiled at that. “Home. Your house has always felt like it should be home to me, as crazy as that seems.”
“It doesn’t seem crazy at all. I think our home holds part of our magic, or whatever you want to call it. It seems to welcome those who belong there. I know some of my aunts said that about the house, my mother has always said it, and Claire said it, too. You belong to the McClains, so the house welcomed you.”
“I like that idea. Whether it’s true or not, I’m going to choose to believe it.”
He grinned at her. “I woke up early to make you breakfast in bed.”
“That was very kind—wait…who are you and what have you done with my Gideon? He doesn’t get up before noon if he has a choice!”
He laughed. “I wanted to make you smile, so I did something special for you. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?”
She nodded, surprised though. He was treating her—well, like he really was in love with her. Someday she might be able to believe that. “I have a lot to do today,” she said, changing the subject from the difficult one they were discussing. “Lots of packing to finish up. I’m trying to decide if I want to have an estate sale, or just call one of the local charities to come get the furniture here.”
“You could also put it in storage for Madison and Kaeden? They may want it a few years down the road.”
“They may. I think I’m going to donate it though, if you don’t mind. It seems like the right thing to do.”
“Absolutely,” Gideon said with a nod. “We use donations on the ranch, and we often dress the boys in donated clothes. But only after Mom makes sure there are no tears or stains and they’re in perfect condition.”
“Do the boys mind donated clothes?”
“Truthfully, with most of the boys, they’re fed and clothed better at the ranch than they ever were with their parents. None of them have ever complained about it, that’s for sure.”
His words made her think of Nick, one of the boys she knew was in his house now. She knew he’d never been able to talk to her about the boys really, but she got information from their files, and now that she was his wife, she was pretty sure things would be different. “How’s Nick doing?”
Gideon nodded, smiling a bit. “I think he’s talked about everything that’s happened to him with Adam now. Daniel is no longer in pain if he brushes up against him. Truly, it’s like he’s a different kid. Adam says it always takes about six months for the tough ones, and I think he was right this time.”
“I’m so glad. I’ve worried about him a lot. I was there the day they brought him in, and he was devastated. It was a tough day for Adam. I think we could all tell.”
“Adam can take it. We’re all a team, you know.”
“I do know that. I’ve always been impressed by how seamless you all make it seem. There are seven brothers, many employees, but you make it seem like you’re in sync. Does that make sense?”
He nodded. “We try hard. At this moment, Adam is in charge, but now that I’m married, I’ll slowly take the reins. He’ll still work with the boys as t
he ranch psychiatrist, but he won’t deal with the day-to-day running of the ranch, and I’ll no longer be one of the counselors.”
“Is that a job you want?” she asked, surprised that Adam would step down.
Gideon shrugged. “I’ve always known the job would be mine, and so have my brothers. It’s how things work for us.”
“Your family is very rooted in tradition. I guess I knew that on some level, but seeing just how much is a little surprising.” She finished her eggs and pushed the tray away. “Thank you for breakfast in bed.”
“You’re welcome. And let me know if there are any other plants you need help with!”
She grinned. “There are some flowers outside, some cannas that Mom just loved. Think you and Benjamin could dig them up and replant them at the ranch?”
“Yup. In fact…” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Benjamin. When his brother answered, he said simply, “I’ve got a plant emergency.” Five minutes later, he’d hung up. “You might want to get dressed, because he’s bringing over Caleb and the six boys that are theirs. They’re going to plant them on the south side of the house, because Benjamin says they’ll grow best there.”
She flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around him. “Thank you!” She had tears in her eyes. “I know that doesn’t seem like a big deal to you, but those flowers were my mother’s pride and joy.”
“Not you?”
She shook her head. “Definitely not me. My dad was a drifter. He came into her life and left her pregnant with me a few months later. She didn’t marry my step-dad until I was eight, and he was never terribly fond of me.”
“I didn’t know that. I thought the man who raised you was your father.”
“No, but I wasn’t allowed to talk about it. For some reason, Mom was absolutely ashamed that I wasn’t his, so I was required to call him Dad from the day they married. I honestly thought everyone knew. It’s not like this is a big town.”
“Did he adopt you?”
She nodded. “Yeah, he made it legal, but I’m not sure why. It was pretty obvious it’s not something he wanted to do.”
“I’m sorry. I think children should always feel wanted and loved.”
“I do my best to make my brother and sister feel that way. And I promise I’ll do my best with our boys.” She gulped thinking about it. “All seven of them.”
He chuckled. “Who doesn’t want to have seven sons, one of them with powers? Imagine how it was for my mom when all of us had powers. She was only expecting me to.”
“Oh, no! So how did she find out it was a seventh-generation thing?” Brittany asked.
“Well, my family has always kept amazingly detailed records of the powers we have. There are lots of papers up in the attic, and a lot more that my grandmother insisted needed to be filmed onto microfiche. She actually bought her own machine to do it, because she couldn’t deal with the idea of anyone else finding out.”
“Really?” She tilted her head to one side, thinking about what he’d said. “Would you have a problem if I looked at the records?”
“Not at all.” He noticed her face light up, and he looked at her closely. “What are you going to do with these records?”
She shrugged. “I’ve dabbled in writing for years. I think your family history would make a wonderful series of romance books, don’t you? I could start as far back as you can trace your family and write about every seventh son and how he found love.”
“Are you kidding? You’ve been writing?”
“Yeah, but I haven’t told anyone. And I know I’m not going to have time to do it anytime soon. Maybe it would be a good retirement project for me. You know, when our seventh son marries and takes over the house.”
Gideon grinned. “Sounds like a good time for it to me. Maybe you can make some notes for those books in between diaper changes, cooking for Friday night barbecues, helping with math homework, and keeping our little fire-starter from flaming the house!”
“Fire-starter? Oh, don’t give me nightmares, Gideon McClain! I want my seventh son to have an easy power. Like maybe he can make people and objects from books come alive! Wouldn’t that be a fun power?”
“Just don’t ever let him read Puff the Magic Dragon! Or any of the Harry Potter books. Can you imagine having Voldemort running around our living room, yelling, ‘Avada Kedavra!’ at everyone who angers him?”
She grinned. “I should probably put some clothes on. I’m wearing shorts today so I can get more done. I refuse to be uncomfortable while packing up my house.”
He caught her by the shoulders and kissed her. “I love you, Brittany McClain, and if it takes the rest of my life, you’re going to believe me and trust me again. I promise you this.”
Chapter Seven
By the time Monday rolled around, Brittany felt a great deal more comfortable with Gideon, but she was still unsure about stepping into Lillian’s shoes. When they drove to the ranch together on Monday morning, Gideon headed straight to the cabin he had shared with Frank, and Brittany went to the big house.
She found Lillian supervising all of the ranch hands in the proper loading of a moving truck. “You don’t have to go this morning!” Brittany protested. She’d been looking forward to some time with Lillian to learn everything she needed to learn.
“Yes, I do! You are not starting out your marriage with your mother-in-law living in the house with you. I want you to still love me in six months!”
Brittany frowned, but she knew Lillian was right. She needed to learn to stand on her own two feet as quickly as possible. “Where are my two?” she asked, wondering why they weren’t helping at all.
“They’re both still sleeping. They were tired.”
Brittany rolled her eyes. “They’ll be down in a few minutes to help. Which rooms did you put them in?”
Lillian grinned at her, her eyes sparkling. “There are only two rooms upstairs with the doors shut. You may do what you need to do.”
Brittany took the stairs two at a time, opening the first closed door she saw. Her sister was sitting up in bed, playing on her phone. “You told Lillian you were too tired to help so you could text someone? Get out of bed, get dressed, and get down there. Now!”
Madison sighed, as if she was greatly put upon, but she got out of bed and started rummaging through a drawer. “Do you mind? This is my room. You can leave.”
Brittany counted to ten, left the room, and hurried to the next one with the door shut. Her brother was sprawled facedown in bed, and didn’t appear to have any intention of getting up—ever. “Get up! You need to get dressed and get downstairs to help. I can’t believe you didn’t just volunteer!”
Kaeden opened one eye and studied his sister. “Are you mad?”
“Up!”
Kaeden got up and headed straight for the shower, which he should have done more than thirty minutes before.
Brittany hurried back down the stairs. “I’m so sorry, Lillian. I promise you, I’m raising them to have manners and be willing to help others.”
“I never blame the mother for what the child does…or the sister in your case. You’ve been very good to them.”
Brittany scowled. “Maybe too good, if they don’t think they need to help!”
The ranch hands hurried in and out of the house with box after box. “I’m sure going to miss this place,” Lillian said softly, running her hand along the table. “This is an antique. It’s been here for at least five generations. I had to strip it and sand it once, and I’ve heard all the other brides did, too. But it holds up like nothing I’ve ever seen. Don’t replace it…we’ll refinish it together when the time comes.”
Walking to her mother-in-law, Brittany linked arms with her. “I promise, I will keep everything I can. But seven sons can trash things.”
Lillian chuckled. “Don’t I know it. My seven sons did everything they could to tear this house apart.”
“It must be a boy thing.” Brittany rested her head on Lillian’s shoulder. �
�I’m not sure I’m ready for this.”
“I’m sure you are. I’ll be just across the ranch, and I’ll help as much as you need me. But you will need to let me know if and when you need me. I don’t want to get in the way of what you have going.”
“All that’s going to depend on how quickly Adam and Tiffani can replace me. I’m not leaving them without someone to work for them, and I think Gideon would rather murder someone than spend one more day going to the office as my replacement.”
“We’ll put feelers out today. Well, they will. I’m going to get settled into my new home today.” Lillian turned to look at her kitchen one last time. “I’m really going to miss that kitchen, you know. I’ve made so many meals there.”
Brittany hated that Lillian felt like she had to leave, but she understood it was the way the McClains did things. “You are welcome to come every Friday and help me cook. You didn’t think to leave any of your Friday night recipes for me, did you?”
Lillian chuckled. “Let’s do a quick kitchen tour.” She led Brittany to a small shelf, which she opened to reveal cookbooks. And not just any cookbooks. These were handwritten cookbooks. She pulled one out and opened it. “These are the cookies that I make for the boys. There are twenty different recipes I rotate through, and each one makes enough for all the boys, and all seven of my sons. And there are a few left over for the house and some for the ranch hands. I make those on Mondays usually.”
Brittany grinned. “I’ve eaten my share of your cookies over the years.”
“Because you’ve always been one of us.” Lillian pulled out another cookbook. “This is for the Friday night barbecues. There are thirty or so different things I’ve cooked for Friday nights over the years, and each one has notes on who likes it. Remember, we’re still trying to keep Hunter on low fat, so you’re going to want to make special things for him. He doesn’t mind, and he actually gets excited to eat foods that won’t make him sick.”
“Oh, good. I was wondering how he was handling the new diet. I’m sure it’s not easy on him.”
Gideon (Seven Sons Book 7) Page 5
