Starting Over (Treading Water Trilogy)

by Force, Marie

  “I wouldn’t have been ready for you then.”

  “No matter what happens, I’ll be there for you. We’ll get through it together.”

  She mulled it over for another moment. “Okay,” she finally said. “I’ll do it for you.”

  He wanted her to do it for herself, but he’d take what he could get. Tugging her closer to him in the wide first-class seat, he hoped he was doing the right thing by encouraging her to see Kevin. “So what kind of wedding do you want?”

  “I want the fairy tale.”

  He raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Didn’t you just say you hadn’t given it any thought?”

  “I’ve had almost twenty-four hours to think of nothing else.”

  He groaned. “My mother’s going to love you.”

  “Sweet Mary, Mother of God,” was Colleen’s reaction to learning that another of her sons was engaged. “Are you boys trying to put me in an early grave?”

  Colin laughed. “I swear it’s not a conspiracy, Mum.”

  “She’s a beautiful girl,” Colleen said, glancing across the room to where Dennis was doing his best to charm Meredith.

  “I know.”

  “It’s kind of fast, though, isn’t it, love? You’re sure?”

  “Do you remember how upset I was when Nicole called off our wedding?”

  “Of course I do. That was an awful time for you, for all of us.”

  “All I can think about now is how grateful I am to Nicole for not marrying me. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d met Meredith when I was married to someone else. She’s the one for me. I knew it right away.”

  She hugged him. “I’m happy for you, love. I just can’t believe my boys are finally settling down—all at once.”

  “Except for Aidan.”

  She shook her head with dismay. “I don’t know what we’re going to do about that poor boy.”

  Colin smiled at her description of his forty-year-old brother. “He’ll land on his feet.”

  “I hope you’re right. What’s her family like?”

  “I’m meeting them tomorrow night.”

  “You brought her here first,” Colleen said with a satisfied smirk.

  “I told her we had to come here first because if my Mum didn’t like her, I couldn’t marry her.”

  Colleen swatted him. “Don’t give me that malarkey, Colin O’Malley! You didn’t say any such thing.”

  “Um, okay. If you say so.”

  Chapter 31, Day 100

  Brandon marked his one-hundredth day of sobriety in mid-May by presiding with Daphne over Mike’s sixth birthday party in the backyard at his house where they were living during the renovations to the apartment. It took a crane, a flatbed truck, and six men, but Brandon managed to move the playground from the apartment building to his yard. Between the O’Malley clan, Alan’s family, and Mike’s friends from school, almost thirty kids had taken the place over for the afternoon.

  That night Brandon tucked Mike into bed and read her two of the books she’d gotten for her birthday while Daphne cleaned up.

  “So what was your favorite part of the party?”

  “When you almost dropped my cake,” she said, choking on a giggle.

  “It was my first time! A rookie mistake.” He pushed his lip into a pout that sent her into hysterics. “Good thing Meredith was able to grab it before I lost it, huh?” The save had earned his future sister-in-law a permanent place in Brandon’s heart.

  Mike nodded, still convulsed with laughter. Just when he thought she couldn’t get any cuter, she’d lost her two front teeth in time for her birthday.

  “Are you done laughing at me yet?”

  She wiped the tears from her eyes. “Almost.”

  “Brat,” he muttered, poking her ribs and sending her into a new fit of giggles.

  When she finally settled down, she reached for his hand. “Thanks again for the party and the bike.”

  “You’re welcome. What’s the rule?”

  “Always wear the helmet,” she mimicked.

  “Are you sure you want to be making fun of me again?” he asked, threatening to tickle her.

  She tugged playfully on his hair. “Brandon, what’s a coholic?”

  “Huh? A what?”

  “A coholic.”

  “Oh.” He felt like he’d been sucker punched when he realized what she was asking. “Do you mean an alcoholic?”

  She nodded.

  His stomach twisted with anxiety. “Where did you hear that word?”

  “Josh told me you were a coholic, but he said I don’t need to be worried about it because you’re not mean anymore.”

  All the air left Brandon’s lungs in one big exhale as he said a quick, silent prayer for guidance. “An alcoholic is someone who can’t drink things like beer and wine the way other people do because they can’t stop once they start. It’s a disease.”

  “Can you die from it?” she asked with big solemn eyes.

  “People who don’t stop drinking can die from it, yes.”

  “But you’re not going to die, are you?”

  Overwhelmed by her concern, he fought the urge to weep. “No, baby. I don’t drink alcohol anymore. Do you know those meetings I go to in the mornings?”

  She nodded.

  “The people I see there are alcoholics, too, and they remind me of all the good things I have in my life now—like you and your mommy—so I won’t drink anymore.”

  “Can I come with you sometime?”

  “When you’re a little older, I’d be happy to take you.” He waited, giving her a chance to process it all.

  “So if you stopped drinking, then you aren’t an alcoholic anymore, right?”

  “I’ll be an alcoholic for the rest of my life. It’s not something that goes away. You just learn to live with it.”

  “You aren’t going to drink again, are you?”

  “I don’t plan to, and I hope I never will.”

  “Were you mean like Josh said?”

  “Sometimes. I didn’t want to be mean, though, because I love Josh and his brother and sisters, but the disease made me do a lot of things I’m not proud of. I’ll never be mean to you, though. I promise. Do you believe me?”

  She reached for him. “I believe you.”

  “Good.” She hugged him for a long time before he kissed her good-night. “I love you, squirt.”

  “Love you, too.”

  He turned off the light and found Daphne waiting for him in the hallway.

  She held out her arms to him. “Are you okay?” she whispered.

  “Yeah.” He let her wrap him in her love. “She kind of knocked the wind out of me for a minute there.”

  “When I heard what you were talking about, I didn’t know what to do. You handled it so well, Brandon.”

  “Do you think so? I was freaking out.”

  “You did great. Between birthday cakes and life lessons at bedtime, we might just be making a daddy out of you.”

  “Don’t forget the hazardous duty points for the head bump and the puking.”

  She laughed softly so they wouldn’t disturb Mike and reached up to bury her hands in his hair. “I love you,” she said, bringing him down to her.

  “Mmm,” he said against her lips. “Me, too.”

  After they restored order to the house, Daphne said she had some work to do for her client, so Brandon took his cell phone to the back deck and called Aidan.

  “Hi, Brand. How’s it going?”

  “Well, I survived a six-year-old’s birthday party today.” Brandon hated the flutter of anxiety he still felt at the sound of his older brother’s voice. He hoped it would fade in time.

  “Sorry I missed it.”

  Brandon chuckled. “No, you’re not. So how are you?”

  “Hanging in there.”

  “How about Colin, huh? The two of them in one week! Can you believe it?”

  “Must be something in the water down there. You guys are falling like dominoes.”
/>   “I won’t be far behind them.”

  “Really?” Aidan asked, laughing. “Mum will have a total meltdown.”

  “Hey, she’s been after us to get married for years.”

  “I don’t think she meant all at the same time.”

  They shared a laugh, and Brandon relaxed a bit. “Listen, the reason I called is I’m looking for some advice.”

  “Sure, shoot.”

  Brandon outlined his idea for a restoration and renovation arm of O’Malley & Sons. “I’m wondering if you think the market would be as good here as it’s been for you in Vermont.”

  “Definitely. New England is full of old homes in need of updating.”

  “How did you get the ball rolling once you decided to do it?”

  “I never really decided. I did a house for a friend, and he told someone, and the next thing I knew, I had a business. Once you do a couple of houses, I’m sure it would be the same for you.”

  “Do you think the others will go for it as part of O’Malley & Sons?”

  “They’d be foolish not to. It’s a gold mine if you do it right, and I’m sure you will.”

  “I’m meeting with them in the morning to pitch it to them. Would you be willing to be on the phone during the meeting? Just in case they have questions I can’t answer.”

  “I’d be happy to.”

  “Thanks, Aidan.”

  Brandon was nervous, even though he knew he shouldn’t be. After all, it was just his father, his brothers, and his brother-in-law in the room. But they’d be determining his future in the next hour or so, and he hoped it would include O’Malley & Sons. With a potential custody battle looming, it wasn’t the time for Brandon to be quitting his job. However, if he’d learned anything in his one hundred and one days of sobriety, it was that he couldn’t fake it anymore. This was what he wanted to do, and one way or the other, he’d find a way to do it.

  “I’ve asked Aidan to join us by phone,” Brandon said, dialing Aidan in on the conference room phone.

  “Why?” Colin asked.

  Aidan had signed over his shares in the company to his siblings years ago and had no say in its operation.

  “I’ll explain in a minute,” Brandon said.

  When Aidan answered and they’d had a chance to say hello, Brandon cleared his throat. “The reason I asked you all to meet with me today is I want to propose a new branch of O’Malley & Sons, focused on the restoration of old houses, like what I did at Da’s apartment building, and the renovation of newer homes that need updating.”

  When no one raised an immediate objection, he continued. He’d done his homework and had statistics on the number of homes built on the mid and lower Cape before and after 1960, and a list of the services he planned to offer. “Aidan agrees there’s a market for it here, and he thinks that once we get a few under our belts, we’ll benefit from referrals.”

  “Let me add one more thing,” Aidan said. “I’ve been seeing a real trend up here of people buying their second or third homes. They’ve got more money than they had the first time around, and they want to tear out the old kitchens and bathrooms. They’re willing to pay, and Brandon knows what he’s doing. Plus you’d have the added benefit of name recognition.”

  “Do you plan to go it alone or would you want a crew?” Declan asked.

  “By myself until I’m turning a profit,” Brandon said. “If I stay with the company to do this, my salary would be enough of a drain until it’s profitable. I wouldn’t expect you guys to take a further hit by paying a crew.”

  “Wouldn’t you make money faster if you had help?” Tommy asked.

  “I guess so,” Brandon said. “I hadn’t really given that much thought. I figured I’d do it on my own.”

  “What did you mean when you said ‘if I stay with the company’?” Colin asked.

  “I’m prepared to leave—with no hard feelings—if you guys aren’t into it. I’m going to do this, with or without the company, but I’m hoping it’ll be with the company.”

  “What do you think, Da?” Declan asked.

  “You boys are in charge now, so it’s your decision,” Dennis said.

  “But you still have a financial stake,” Brandon reminded him.

  “I’m in no danger of starving to death any time soon.” Dennis patted his round belly. “So I leave it in your capable hands.”

  “How about you, Col?” Brandon asked, knowing Colin’s opinion was the one that mattered most.

  “It’s interesting you should have this idea right now, because I’ve been doing some thinking about how we could reorganize to be more efficient,” Colin said.

  “How do you mean?” Tommy asked.

  “I want to have a life away from this place, so I’ve been trying to figure out how I can free myself up some. In light of Brandon’s idea, I picture three divisions—excavation, new construction, and renovation/restoration.”

  With those words from Colin, Brandon knew he wouldn’t be leaving the company.

  “Tommy would head up excavation, Dec would oversee new construction, and Brand would have renovation,” Colin said. “Each of you would be entirely independent to make any and all decisions in your areas, bringing me in as needed. I’d oversee estimating, equipment, maintenance, the office, inventory, etc. What do you think?”

  “How would we divide the guys?” Dec asked.

  “We’d let them pick where they want to work based on seniority,” Colin said.

  “Sounds good to me,” Tommy said.

  “It might take a year or two to make my end profitable,” Brandon warned them.

  “I don’t think it’ll take that long, Brandon,” Aidan said. “Especially if you have help.”

  “I appreciate the vote of confidence,” Brandon said, touched by his older brother’s support.

  “I’d like to say something,” Dennis said, and all eyes turned to him. “Three months ago, I asked Colin to take the helm and work with the rest of you to make this business your own. I’m very pleased by the way you all have supported him and the steps you’re taking to position the company for the future. It’s your legacy to your children—that is if they want it,” he added with a wink for Brandon.

  Brandon smiled at him, and for the first time in his life, the business felt like a blessing rather than a burden.

  “We’ll announce the plan at a staff meeting in the morning,” Colin said, pushing back from the table.

  “Before you all run away, there’s something else I want to talk to you about.” Brandon asked Aidan to stay on the phone while he filled them in on the situation with Mike’s grandparents. “Needless to say, we could be looking at quite a battle.”

  “It’s an outrage!” Dennis said, his face reddening. “No wonder Daphne was so secretive. I feel terrible for what I said about her, son.”

  “You didn’t know, Da, and from your point of view, her behavior was odd. I told Tommy and Erin about it when Mike spent the night with them, but no one else knew.”

  “They can’t just snatch her child away from her,” Declan said. “We can’t let that happen.”

  “I’m not going to let it,” Brandon said. “But they’ve tried to grab her once before, and we believe they’d do it again if they knew where she was. Daphne’s convinced it’s only a matter of time before they find her, so we’re hoping to work something out before that happens.”

  “What did Alan suggest you do?” Colin asked.

  Brandon told them about the private investigator and the letter Alan sent to the Monroe’s attorneys.

  “Do you need money?” Aidan asked.

  “I might,” Brandon said. “I’m good for now, but this could get long and ugly.”

  “Whatever you need. Just let me know.”

  “Thank you, Aidan,” Brandon said in a hushed tone. “Thank you all for your support and for standing by me while I got my life together.”

  “Just let us know what we can do to help you and Daphne,” Dec said.

  “I will.�
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  Chapter 32, Day 108

  Brandon was applying yellow paint to the exterior of the apartment building the following week when Colleen’s silver Cadillac skidded to a stop at the curb. She bounded out of the car and came rushing through the front gate.