Blues Beach [Suncoast Society]

by Tymber Dalton

  “No,” Tracey said. “What’d he say?”

  “He went over to the beach to think for a while.” He walked over and sat on the coffee table and took her hands in his. “He’s…I’m worried about him, hon. Emma really tore into him, based on what Grace said. And he told Emma he wouldn’t move in with you if she didn’t approve it, and…” He sighed. “I’m going to be honest, Trace, I think he’s legitimately depressed. And I think maybe he might need to see a doctor. Did you know he was hospitalized after his wife’s death?”

  She nodded. “He told me that, that he blamed himself.”

  “I think he’s a great guy, but I also think he’s got a lot of issues to work through. And if we can’t make Emma see reason, I think he really means it when he says he’ll back off.”

  She stood. “I need to go talk to him.”

  Brandon caught her hand. “Honey, it’s after two in the morning.”

  “I don’t care. I love him, and I’m not letting him get away a second time. Maybe the guilty person in all of this is me, okay? If I hadn’t broken up with him, Paige wouldn’t be dead.”

  “Don’t go there,” Stuart gently warned. “Because Emma will extrapolate that to mean you don’t want her.”

  Brandon pointed at him. “Exactly that. Everyone needs to just chill the fuck out right now. Tensions are high, and Emma’s not thinking straight. Maybe there’s more going on in her mind than worrying about a repeat of Pat. She was an only child. Maybe she’s worried that with a baby you won’t have time for her.”

  “That’s silly! She’s my daughter.”

  “And she played second fiddle to Pat and Corey for a lot of years, hon.”

  Her heart deflated. “How do I make this right and convince her he’s not like Pat?”

  Brandon finally released her arm. “I don’t know, but first we need to find her. I don’t want to call the police and file a report, but if she’s not back by morning, I’m going to.”

  “I agree.”

  He stood and hugged her. “Keep your phone turned on. I’ll call you if she comes home.”

  Tracey didn’t even bother calling Eric. She got in her car and headed there, parking next to his car and walking up to his room. When her key card didn’t work, she suspected he’d thrown the deadbolt.

  She knocked…waited.

  Knocked again.

  Then she pressed her forehead against the door. “Eric, please let me in. I’m not leaving until you do.”

  Maybe it was her imagination, but she sensed him standing on the other side, looking through the viewfinder, maybe wishing she’d go away so he could wallow in his misery.

  She wouldn’t let him do that.

  Emma wasn’t the kind of kid who’d do something like hurt herself. She was most likely parked somewhere safe and stewing and hoping they were scared and worried about her. She wasn’t a baby—she was a genius teenager with a driver’s license, and she wasn’t listening to reason.

  No matter how smart she was, she was still a hormonal teenager with some legitimate emotional issues to deal with. But she’d never been stupid in terms of her safety.

  Tracey tried again, not wanting to get too loud and disturb other rooms. “Eric, I’m not going away. If I have to sit out here all night, I’ll wait for you to let me in.”

  Finally, she heard the sound of the safety bar being unfastened, the deadbolt turning. He opened the door and when she spotted the obvious evidence that he’d been crying, she shoved everything else out of her mind and wrapped her arms around him after he locked the door behind her.

  “I don’t care what Emma says,” she mumbled against his chest. “I love you, and you’re the father of our baby, and I want to be with you.”

  “I won’t go back on my word. If I do, I’m no better than Pat. Maybe she’ll come around before the baby’s born.”

  * * * *

  Eric didn’t honestly think that, but he didn’t want to admit it to Tracey.

  Not yet.

  “This is silly. You’re going to come move in with me until we can find a place together. Emma is going to have to accept it.”

  He gently caught her hands and made her look up at him. “No.”

  “What do you mean, no?”

  “I mean what I mean. She will never trust me if I do that.”

  “She’s a damn teenager. I love her, and yes, I fucked up big time with Pat, I’ll be the first to admit it. But trust me as the person who lived through it when I say you are nothing like Pat, and this situation is nothing like that.”

  “But it is to her. That’s what’s important. You didn’t hear her tonight. As someone who’s got an intimate first-hand knowledge of deep emotional pain, I can unfortunately recognize it in someone else.”

  “Now you’re being as stubborn as she is.”

  “I’m the adult. I need to set the example.”

  “I need you! I can’t do this by myself! And I don’t want to be away from you.”

  “You won’t be by yourself. I’ll help out as much as I can—as much as Emma will tolerate me helping—and you’ll have the guys. Emma made it perfectly clear she doesn’t want me around.”

  “I’m not walking away from you again. Especially not now.”

  He folded her in his arms as she started crying, his heart shattered.

  No matter what he did, he’d end up wrecking someone.

  “I can’t drive a wedge between you and Emma when you’ve worked so hard to rebuild that bridge. I won’t be that guy.”

  “This is different!”

  “It’s not. Not really. We all can see why she’s feeling like this, but feelings are. Based on what everyone’s told me about the asshole, her feelings regarding Pat are pretty intense and spot-on. It sucks, and it’s not fair, but it is what it is.”

  “She’ll come around. Grace loves you.”

  “She’s not happy with Grace right now. That’s yet another wedge my presence has caused.”

  “Emma is acting like a brat.” She stared up at him. “I love her, but in this case, she’s wrong, and Grace is the one who said it first, with total agreement from the guys. So it’s not only me thinking like that.”

  “Even more reason for me to back off. We’ll work things out around her.”

  “I’m not going to sneak around with you. I shouldn’t have to.”

  He cupped her face in his hands and tried to summon strength he damn sure didn’t feel. “Did you mean it when you said you wanted to be my submissive?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Then you need to listen to me and do what I say, baby.”

  “But—”

  He gently placed his thumbs on her lips. “Shh. We’re done talking tonight, and I’m exhausted. You must be, too. Let’s go to sleep. I have to be up early for work.”

  He knew that wasn’t the answer she wanted, but she finally nodded. They undressed and curled up together in bed, wrapped in each other’s arms.

  If only this didn’t feel so damn perfect.

  It would hurt that much more when Emma eventually gave Tracey the ultimatum for her to pick between them. She’d been placed second for years, and no doubt would demand that.

  When Emma did that, he wouldn’t make Tracey choose.

  He’d make the choice for her.

  * * * *

  Brandon lay awake, tossing and turning, worried about Em, yes, but also worried about Tracey and Eric.

  The man was in deep emotional pain, that much was obvious.

  People in pain sometimes made really bad decisions based on really faulty thought processes.

  Case in point—Emma.

  Brandon was rooting for Tracey and Eric. He genuinely liked the guy, and it was damn sure time Tracey got a happily ever after of her own. Yes, the baby threw a massive curveball into the works, but it was the situation.

  Play it as it lie. Lay? Laid?

  What-fucking-ever.

  This is why he didn’t play golf.

  Now even my thoughts are ramb
ling.

  It was almost five in the morning. He hovered in that twilight zone between sound asleep and wide awake when he heard a noise, the sound of water running through the pipes, a toilet flushing. He almost went back to sleep when he realized Jeff and Stuart were both sound asleep in bed, Jeff in the middle.

  Brandon jumped out of bed, pulled on shorts, and quietly opened their bedroom door.

  The hall bathroom Emma usually used was closed, and her bedroom door stood open where it hadn’t been when they went to bed.

  Moving silently, he walked into her bedroom and stood just inside the doorway, next to the wall, where she wouldn’t see him, at first.

  A moment later, he heard the bathroom door quietly open, a long pause, then the soft sound of bare feet padding across the floor.

  She turned to close the door when he reached out and snapped the overhead light on, making her scream as she wheeled around.

  The first thing he did was spot her keys sitting on the dresser. He grabbed them and pocketed them. “Where have you been?”

  Straight to Dom tone, knowing even Dad voice wouldn’t gain any traction this time.

  He heard Jeff and Stuart now up and moving, drawn by her scream.

  “I-I was here most of the night. I snuck in the window.”

  “Where’s your car?”

  “In the Kendalls’ driveway. They’re out of town.”

  That was four houses down, in the opposite direction from the way all of them nearly always entered and left their neighborhood.

  He held up a finger to silence her as Jeff and Stuart crowded in the doorway. “Grounded. Totally. One month. No car, no nothing but school, swimming, and home. You’d better figure out the school bus schedule or the county busses, or beg rides from parents of your friends, because you just lost your wheels, and I’m not making Jeff or Stuart get up early in the mornings to drive you. No overnights with Grace, no trips to the movies, no concerts, no nothing.”

  “But Dad—”

  “Two months,” he said, ticking up another finger, “Another month grounded for leaving Grace at the restaurant. That was not just rude, but dangerous. And for leaving your bedroom window unlocked. Three, a third month for turning off your phone and disappearing.”

  Her face twisted in anger. “Fine, so everyone’s against me, huh?”

  “Did you stop to think we’re not against you?”

  “You all like him regardless of what I think!”

  “Because you’re not thinking, sweetheart,” Stu softly said. “We get it. We’re not ignoring you. We know you’re hurting, but Eric’s a nice guy. You need to accept they’re having a baby, and they should be able to be together.”

  “He’s going to move in with her anyway! Like I really believe that fucking bullshit—”

  “Add an extra week for the swearing,” Brandon said.

  “Fine! Fucking. Bullshit!” She crossed her arms over her chest, full-on defiant, and for the first time in her life, Brandon truly didn’t recognize his daughter. “Give me an extra week for that!”

  “Two more.”

  “Even better!” she screamed.

  Jeff stepped forward. “Stop, Em. No one’s saying you don’t have the right to have feelings, but you barely know the guy and haven’t given him a chance.”

  “And you all barely know him and are ready to accept him with open fucking arms and give me six months more for saying that, I don’t give a shit!”

  She screamed the last part of that, making Stu flinch.

  Brandon took a deep breath and let it out. She’d never thrown a tantrum like this before.

  Ever.

  “Your mom loves him,” Brandon gently said. “And he loves her. They’ve loved each other a long time. He’s in a lot of emotional pain, and so is she. They can heal together.”

  “And once again, I get tossed aside for her needs, huh?”

  “Is that what this is about?”

  “It’s what she does, Dad. Who fucking has a weekend fling and gets pregnant? You lectured me about irresponsibility and she fucked a guy without a condom?”

  “She’s an adult, and she was on the pill, and that’s irrelevant.”

  “Uh, yeah, it is relevant. It totally is, because once again, I’m going to get fucked over because she fucked up.”

  “So you automatically assume the worst now?”

  “I lived it once. I know how this story ends. All that bullshit she told me about wanting to work on herself. She was going to get her degree and a promotion, and now what, she’ll be changing diapers and stuck as a damn office manager because you know they won’t fucking promote her when she tells them she’s pregnant.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest, stared at the floor for a moment, and drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he struggled to maintain control. “You aren’t a psychic. You don’t know that’s what’ll happen.”

  “Corporate America, Dad. Women get fucked over all the time like that. Don’t tell me you haven’t seen it as a district manager, because I know you have. They’ll say it’s a favor to her to give her time to adjust and come back from maternity leave, but then she’ll start getting passed over for promotions.”

  “So you’re mad at Eric for getting her pregnant and ruining her job chances, not about you?”

  “No! Yes! I mean…” The tears finally erupted as she slumped onto her bed. “It’s Pat all over again. She won’t have time for me, because of the baby, because of work.”

  “What’ll it take to convince you he’s not like that? What does he have to do to earn your trust?”

  Her face twisted again, rage breaking through. “Fine,” she said. “If he’s really fucking serious, if you’re all so fucking serious about him, he moves in here, with Mom.” She tipped her head back a little, chin up, defiant.

  “Okay,” Brandon said.

  She faltered, her bluff called. “What?”

  “Okay. I’ll call them right now and tell them. I’ll help him move in tonight, after work.”

  “He can have my old room,” Jeff said. “We’ll move my stuff to the small guest room Grace uses for now.”

  “Ruth might need a couple month’s notice,” Stu said. “I’m okay chipping in to help Trace pay her rent.”

  Brandon couldn’t have loved his two guys more if he tried.

  He turned back to Em. “So what’s it going to be?”

  She stared at him in disbelief. “Are you serious?”

  “I am. I honestly believe in him that much, that I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is and move him into my home. But here’s my part of the deal—after three months, they need to be free to move out and live where they want to with your legitimate blessing. It’s not fair to ask them to be crammed into this house with us when they have a baby coming. And it’s not fair to ask us to give up that much privacy for that long. If you can’t give him a chance in that amount of time and see he’s a good guy, you’re just being spiteful.”

  She totally closed off, a wall going up. “Deal. It’ll prove I’m right about him and you’re wrong.”

  He started to turn. “Oh, since you’re grounded for four months, that means you’ll be around here plenty to get to know him. Grace can come and visit two afternoons a week after school, for two hours, if her parents can bring her and pick her up. We’re not doing your driving chores for you. No weekend visits. I’ll make sure when I talk to Grace to tell her why you’re grounded. Which means your actions inconvenience her, because now her parents will have to take her to swim practices and school and pick her up.

  “By the way, you owe her a massive apology.” He met her gaze and waited until she finally blinked first. “If you want to trade off time and work your sentence down to one month instead of four, including the extra weeks for the swearing, and you want to earn your car keys back, then you need to make an honest effort to get to know Eric and give him a chance. Plus you need to apologize to him in front of us all, including Grace, and apologize to Grace in fr
ont of us for leaving her.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Apologize? To him? Why?”

  “Because there comes a point where a pain reaction turns into sheer petty bitchiness, and you crossed that line a few miles back. I love you, but you’re acting like Pat now.”

  On that note he left her sitting there, jaw agape, and herded Stu and Jeff out of the bedroom, closing her door behind them.

  He waited until they were safely locked in their bedroom to let out the shaky breath he’d been holding.

  “Holy fuck, Bran,” Jeff muttered. “You went off.”

  “Too much?”

  “Not enough,” Stu said, his expression dark. “You’re absolutely right—she’s acting like Pat now.”

  Knowing there was no way he’d get to sleep at this point, he first called Tracey to tell her that Emma was home safe.

  “I need you two to wait for me there,” he said. “I want to come talk to both of you.”

  “Why?”

  “Just…” He sighed. “I made an executive decision, and we need to talk about it. I’ll be there in an hour. Please tell Eric I’ll cover for him being late to work.”

  “Okay.”

  He ended the call and dug Emma’s keys out of his pocket. “One of you please go get her car for me. It’s at the Kendalls’. Then take her car keys off her keyring, and make sure you grab the spares out of the kitchen drawer. Hide them somewhere. Once everyone’s left for the morning, Jeff, please move her car so your truck’s parking her in.”

  “I’ll take her to swimming,” Jeff said.

  “No. I meant that. You are not to drive her in the mornings, or to pick her up from school. You either, Stuart. That’s an order as your Master, not as your husband. She owns this. She needs to remember empathy and rein in that temper of hers. She wants to be treated like an adult? Fine, she needs to start adulting and figuring out how to get around on her own if she thinks she can control other people’s lives. I’m not going to reinforce her manipulating people. She scared us on purpose by turning off her phone and hiding in her room. That’s the epitome of immaturity. She could have put Grace at risk by leaving her alone at the restaurant like that.”