by Amy Brent
I opened my mouth to say something back, to ask her what she meant, but snapped it shut again as the plane started to land. It took all my effort just to keep the meager contents of my stomach in place, let alone to keep up a conversation, especially with Faye.
She was able to spin me around with just a few simple words, confusing my already tumultuous emotions. I squeezed my eyes shut at the mental image of being spun around and held on to the armrests for dear life until the airplane finally came to a halt and I was safely on the ground again.
It took us ten more minutes before the flight attendant announced that we could disembark the plane, and I was so grateful to be on solid ground that I nearly tripped in my haste to grab my carry-on bag from the overhead bin. Once Faye had hers as well as, we headed down the ramp, but my relief was short-lived.
As soon as we started walking through the airport, I began regretting ever coming up with this stupid idea. Why hadn’t I thought it through all the way?
I was still fuming at myself as we walked when something brushed my hand, and I nearly jumped out of my skin before realizing it was Faye. She had slid her palm against mine and held my fingers tightly.
She was just as nervous as I was, and I was equal parts awed and surprised by that. I shot her a sideways glance just in time to see her swallowing hard on the same nerves that made me want to turn around and go back, even if it did mean getting back on a damned plane.
As much as I hated to see Faye in any sort of distress, it did make me feel a little bit better that I wasn’t alone. I had to remind myself why we were doing all this in the first place. It was for Faye, to keep her safe. And if I have to sit through a terribly uncomfortable family dinner, well then, so bet it.
Besides, it couldn’t be worse than some of the foster homes and shelters I’d had to stay at as a teenager. If I could survive that, then surely I could survive one night with Faye’s family.
“Dad!” Faye said suddenly, making me jump like a nervous horse. She rushed toward a broad-shouldered, heavily muscled older man with more gray in his hair than black.
He was about as tall as I was and nearly three times as wide. It seemed like age hadn’t affected his strength one bit. I gulped down one last breath as all those nerves Faye had chased away came rushing back to the forefront.
Faye and her dad hugged, the older man lifting her off the ground and spinning her around as they both laughed. It wasn’t until he put her back down again that he noticed me for the first time. The laughter faded from his face and he shot me a hard look before holding out one hand in my direction.
“I’m Pete, Faye’s father,” he said gruffly, his expression not lightening one bit with his sharp smile. “You must be one hell of a man to have gotten my Faye to agree to marrying you.”
I was still holding my breath as I reached out my hand, taking a hold of Faye’s father’s and giving it a shake. Pete squeezed my fingers in a hard grip, harder than he necessary, and I tried to hold back a wince.
“I’m Sam,” I said. “Sam Weis. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”
He gave me that same hard look for another long minute before finally nodding. “I’m sure it is, son. Come on, Faye, let your man carry your bags. I’ve got the car waiting.”
Faye rolled her eyes at her father and tried to protest, saying that she was perfectly capable of carrying her own bags, but Pete insisted. I ended up trailing behind them, juggling the two carry-on bags as well as Faye’s oversized purse. What the hell did she carry in the thing? Bricks?
I heaved a sigh of relief when we made it to Faye’s dad’s beat-up old truck and gratefully put the bags in the back before wiping the beads of sweat off my forehead. If that was just a taste of what I’d get from the man, it was going to be a long twenty-four hours.
I tried to push back my nerves as we got on a highway and drove away from the airport. The area became more and more urban as we drove. Nearly an hour later, we were pulling down a tree-lined driveway.
Green grass covered the rolling hill the house was perched on, and more trees framed the two-story farmhouse. I glanced over at Faye in surprise. I had never pictured her as a country girl. She was all city hustle and take no prisoners, always going after the next big thing. But she looked just as comfortable hiking across the gravel driveway as she did eating in five-star restaurants in Seattle.
And just as gorgeous. For a moment, with the sun streaking through her hair, surrounded by the lush green trees and with the summer breeze blowing her dress against her legs, I was stunned.
Just watching her, it was all I could do not to drool all over myself, and I swiped a hand across my chin just to make sure. With a shake of my head, I forced myself to continue walking after them as Faye and her father crossed the big white-washed front porch and went in through the front door.
The first thing I noticed was the noise. As soon as I walked inside, I was bombarded with a chorus of greetings and exclamations. A whole swarm of people swooped down on Faye, giving her hugs and smiles.
I was caught by surprise when the hugs didn’t stop with Faye and I was pulled into several embraces by Faye’s family as they smiled and sent me words of welcome. It was all so much to take in at first that I stood there, frozen.
Faye’s dad must have caught the look of panic that fluttered across my face, because he just gave a commiserating shake of his head as he clapped me on the shoulder.
“Might as well get used to it, Sam. Donnellys are huggers.” His voice lowered conspiratorially. “There’s no escaping it. Don’t fight. It’s better that way.”
Just then, Faye’s Aunt Jan came up and squeezed the breath out of me, and all the while I was still standing there holding the bags.
I felt a moment of comradery with Faye’s dad as he eventually shooed everyone away with a muttered “no need to smother the boy.” Well, all except for the boy part.
Finally, we made it through the crowd of Faye’s family and settled in, and I was able to put the bags down when Faye started introductions.
She ran through a long list of names that I tried to keep track of, but I had a feeling I would be hard-pressed to remember everyone’s name. Finally, the litany of names slowed as another woman walked into the living room through the kitchen.
She was petite, and even though she looked like she was in her late fifties, she moved with a sprightliness like she was just on the verge of breaking into dance. With the same long, flowing dark brown hair and big laughing eyes as Faye, I could tell immediately that she was Faye’s mother.
I forced a smile to my lips and prayed I didn’t look as nervous as I felt as Faye gave her mother a hug before bringing her over to where I was still standing, rooted in place.
“Mom, this is Sam,” Faye said. She was smiling at me, but I could see the wide-eyed panic in her eyes. The same was roiling inside me as well. Shit, at least we were in this together. I tried to give Faye a reassuring look but couldn’t tell if it made any difference.
“Sam, this is my mom, Julia,” Faye said. I held out my hand, but her mom enclosed me in a warm hug.
“Welcome to the family, Sam. I’m so looking forward to getting to know all about you.” She rolled her eyes at her daughter, and I could see the same fire that Faye had burning inside her in her mother as well. “Because no one else bothered to fill me in.”
Faye blushed, shrugging as she stammered out a string of words.
“I just…well…I would have but it all…”
“It’s been kind of a whirlwind, Mrs. Donnelly,” I said, stepping in to save Faye. She shot me a grateful look. “For both of us.”
“Please, Sam, call me Julia. And I want to know all about how you two—”
“Is Grandma here?” Faye said, interrupting her mother before she could start her interrogation. “Where’s Grandma Faye?”
I couldn’t help the wide-eyed look I shot Faye. “There’s another one of you?”
“I’m named after
her,” Faye said with a chuckle, but her mother just rolled her eyes.
“Believe me, one Faye is enough for any family,” Julia said, then nodded toward the dining room. “She’s at the table. Actually, dinner is just about ready if everyone wants to take a seat!”
There was a stampede as aunts and uncles and cousins all made a beeline for the dining room, but I followed more slowly, edging my way behind Faye.
“How am I doing?” I asked softly. She shot me a sweet smile over her shoulder.
“You’re doing great, Sam.” Her smile widened, then faded as if a thought had just occurred to her. “Don’t let my mom get you alone.”
“Your mom? I was more worried about your father.”
“Please, my dad is a teddy bear compared to my mom. She’s the one you need to worry about.”
I gulped. Oh, that was just great. Super. Thanks for that, Faye. I was about to tell her just exactly how much I appreciated her warning, but everyone was already seated and waiting for us.
Faye grabbed a chair, and I sat down next to her, feeling uncomfortable in the unfamiliar situation. I couldn’t remember the last time I had sat down to a loud and boisterous family dinner. Hell, I may have never sat down to a family dinner. Not like this. Not even close.
As soon as we were seated, everyone started talking at once, and I was more than happy to eat in silence, answering the random question every now and then but for the most part keeping to myself.
Faye seemed as in her element as ever as she chatted with her grandmother, who looked so much like her that it was easy to see the resemblance, even down to the steely, determined look in their dark eyes.
Thankfully, the meal progressed without too many awkward questions, and by the end I was almost starting to feel comfortable, happy enough to sit back and watch the fascinating way the family all talked and joked and argued and laughed with each other.
I couldn’t help but think of how different Faye’s childhood had been from my own. Even as a child, before everything had gone to shit, I’d been a loner, an only child of a small family. Dinners had been a quiet affair, not nearly as loud and intense as the Donnellys’.
Full from the delicious food, I began to finally relax as the plates were cleared away. Then Faye’s father leaned forward.
“You’ve been real quiet, Sam,” Pete said. “Your family not as loud or crazy as this one, huh? Lucky you.”
“We are not crazy, Pete,” Faye’s mom said, chastising him and slapping him good-naturedly with a towel. The nerves were back, going wild in my stomach, but Pete was still looking at me intently, obviously waiting for an answer.
Slowly, I shook my head, struggling to find the right words. “I, uh…I don’t really have a family.”
Pete frowned in confusion, tilting his head to one side as if he hadn’t quite heard me correctly, but it was the simple truth. Nerves had me opening my mouth, more words falling out despite my best effort to stop them.
“My parents died in a house fire when I was twelve and I didn’t have any other family. I grew up in the foster system,” I said, and then looked around the table at all the wide-eyed stares being sent in my direction. “I have Alice, who is more like a big sister to me than anything else. We were in the foster system together. She, uh, she really saved me.”
I bit my tongue to finally stop the tirade, drawing a deep breath in through my nose as silence fell over the dining room. I could have heard a pin drop, it was so quiet.
“Well, you’ve got Faye now,” Julia said, her voice gruff, and I saw her wipe away a tear. “And all of us too. A whole new family.”
Suddenly, I felt tears sting the corners of my eyes, and I blinked them away. I looked down to find Faye holding my hand in hers, sympathy shining brightly in her gleaming dark eyes, and I realized that she hadn’t known.
I didn’t know why that surprised me. I knew Alice didn’t talk about our past much, and I sure as hell had never had reason to bring it up.
“My condolences, Sam,” Pete said, breaking the tension as he patted me on the shoulder, “that you got this family.”
“Oh, enough of that now,” Julia said, swatting at him again, but there was a deep and abiding love in her gaze when she looked at Faye’s father.
“Enough of this sappy stuff,” Grandma Faye said suddenly. “Who wants dessert?” That was enough to have everyone chuckling and reaching to grab pieces of the several pies that were spread out on the table.
Now that everyone’s eyes weren’t on me, I felt like I could breathe again, but as I exhaled, I could still feel one stare. I glanced over and met Faye’s dark, unreadable gaze, and I couldn’t help but wonder what she thought of me now. Her eyes didn’t give anything away, but the squeeze of her fingers around mine gave me the courage I needed to move on, for the moment at least.
Chapter 15
Faye
“How was the couch?” I asked, casting a sympathetic look in Sam’s direction as he twisted and turned his neck as if trying to get out a few new kinks.
“Oh, it was great. Regular old Four Seasons over here.”
I couldn’t hold back the giggle at his sour look, but at the sound, his expression softened with a grin of his own.
I hurried to pack the rest of my bag as an awkward silence fell between us. I snuck another sideways look at him as he did the same. We’d have to leave to catch our flight soon, but for the moment it was nice to enjoy the little bit of normalcy before heading back to Seattle and everything that waited for us there.
Last night, I’d realized just how little I really knew about him, about his life, about the accident with his parents. It broke my heart all over again just thinking about it. If I had known, maybe I could have stopped my dad from bringing it up. But how could I have known? I had been avoiding him like the plague. I hadn’t given him a chance to share any of that with me, and I knew it went both ways.
We were planning on getting married in a month and we barely knew anything about each other.
Fake married, I reminded myself firmly as I zipped up the small rolling suitcase. For some reason, that didn’t settle any of the doubts inside me. If anything, it only made them bubble up harder and more insistent.
“I’m sorry. About last night at dinner,” I said, apologizing in a rush and not quite looking at Sam even though I could feel his intent stare on me. “About what my dad said I mean. I never thought… I didn’t know…about your family.”
I wasn’t sure what else to say, what else I should say, but Sam just shrugged.
“It’s okay. It’s not something I talk about much,” he said softly.
I collapsed on the couch, pulling my feet up underneath me as I propped my chin on my elbow and looked at him, really looked at him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
His glance was full of surprise as he sat down next to me. The heat of his body warming mine was distracting, but I was surprised to find that I needed to hear the answer. I was even more surprised to discover that I was hurt that he hadn’t told me, as dumb as it was. I wanted Sam to be able to talk to me, to tell me about himself.
But why should he have trusted me? I hadn’t trusted him.
“When I was ten, my grandfather died in a boating accident,” I said softly. “He was out and a storm rolled in too fast. He couldn’t swim back to shore. They found him a few days later in the water.” I wasn’t entirely sure why the words were coming out, but I knew it was important. “I know it’s nothing like…like what you went through, but I do understand. Losing someone you love, it changes you.”
“I’m sorry about your grandpa.” Sam inched closer, taking my hand and offering me comfort as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“I didn’t… You don’t have to be sorry, Sam. That’s not why I told you.”
“I know. I get it. And honestly, it’s not that I didn’t not tell you about my past. It’s just—” He paused and shrugged again. “I don’t tell an
yone about it. I just never talk about it. Not even with Alice, and she’s been there for me since the beginning. I guess it just still hurts too much.”
“So, you and Alice are like family?” I asked as casually as I could, hating the edge of jealousy inside me. I hated the relief I felt when he nodded just as much.
“She’s like a sister, a big sister.” Sam wrinkled his nose. “A very annoying big sister.”
“And you two have never…” I let the words trail off. I couldn’t finish the sentence, but even still, Sam knew what I was asking. He threw his head back on a laugh.
“Me and Alice? No. Gross. Besides, Connor would kill me,” he said, humor still flashing in his dark brown eyes as he turned a lopsided smile on me. “Why, you jealous?”
“No! No, of course not. I just…I wouldn’t want Alice to be upset with you and me…”
“What? Getting pretend married?” Sam snorted. “Alice couldn’t care less, except about the threats and dead bird thing. We all care about that.”
“That’s why we’re doing all this, right? That’s the big reason behind it all.”
“The big reason behind what?”
I jumped in my seat as I stared up at my dad, who’d just walked in with my mother.
“The reason behind…this, uh…this trip! I’m so glad I got to see you both,” I said, jumping to my feet as I rushed to give them both big hugs.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you to the airport, honey? It’s really no problem.”
“It’s fine, Dad. The cab will be here any minute.”
“A cab… I don’t know about that.”
“Really, Dad, we’ll be okay,” I said, rolling my eyes at my father. He could be a bit overprotective at times, but I really did love him.
I glanced back and forth between my parents and thought of Sam. How terrible it must have been for him to be so young and to lose so much. It made me appreciate what I had with my family even more. I leaned forward and gave my dad another impulsive hug and then my mom.
