by Meg Harding
“Yeah. She was a character. I’ve spent my fair share of Sunday evenings having dinner at her house with your brothers. She bought up and renovated what used to be a warehouse and opened a gym. The guys run it. I teach a few classes throughout the week, and there’s a physical therapy unit built in.” He smiled. “She was a nurse, you know? She loved helping people.”
Jaden didn't know. He scratched his neck, nerves blooming inside him. He was going to be an outsider coming in. Trying to… what? Interrupt something already running smoothly? “I didn’t actually know her,” he mumbled.
“Oh.”
Cue the awkward silence.
It was the longest 10ish minutes of his life ever, and he’d had some pretty long ones before.
There wasn't anyone at the gas station when they got there, and Jaden was able to breeze through buying a can and filling it. Chase had taken Magneto out of the car, and he was walking him around the grass area, letting him anoint the weeds and bushes.
Apparently Chase wasn't great with silence, though. A couple minutes into the return journey, he cleared his throat before asking, “So how long are you planning to stay for?”
“A few weeks? Maybe a month.” At least, that was the initial plan. Long enough to get whatever needed done taken care of. But there was nothing that really needed doing now. Her business was already being run, and his half-brothers had probably already cleaned out her house. At most, he’d be picking up a few random knickknacks and dealing with the legalities of selling his part of the business. His half-brothers weren't going to want him to come in out of nowhere and try to insert himself in their lives.
“It’s a pretty small town, about five thousand people, but I like to think Serenity is a cool place. We’ve got a lot to offer.”
Jaden picked a piece of lint off his pants. Really, he shouldn’t ask Chase… but he was going to. “Can you tell me about them? My… brothers.” He kept his gaze directed at the trees seemingly flying by outside his window.
There was a slight hesitation, but then Chase turned the radio down a notch and his voice filled the space. “There’s Elliot, Phoenix, and Zane. Phoenix and Zane were here when I moved to town. About six years ago now. Elliot came about a year or so later. From what I’ve heard, they were looking for their dad and decided to stay. Zane runs the physical therapy unit at the gym, and Elliot handles personal training. Phoenix comes and goes. He runs a wildlife rehabilitation center and domestic kennel, so a lot of time is spent on that. They’ve all got their own places, though Elliot stayed with Lily-Anne for the last six months to help her.” He stopped alongside Jaden’s car. His tone was warm, reassuring. “They’re really nice guys. You don’t have anything to worry about.”
Smiling tightly, his stomach doing antsy, nauseating dancing despite the knowledge he’d assumed wrongly they’d all been raised together, Jaden wished getting rid of his worry was that easy.
Grandma Lily-Anne Bannister lived in a two story ranch style house. It was a large brick fronted structure, with an open sun porch and a short wooden railing, and steps to get up to the double front doors. There was a guy sitting on those steps when Jaden pulled into the long driveway. He sat midway up them, his long jean clad legs sprawled out in front of him, booted feet propped on a lower step while his elbows held him up on the step behind. It was a very laidback look.
Jaden tried to swallow the nervous lump in his throat. “Which one do you think he is?” Jaden asked Magneto. The dog had opted to ride to the house in the shotgun position, tongue dripping over the dashboard. He licked his big chops like he was thinking about Jaden’s question. Jaden gave him a second, and then nodded. “Yeah, your guess is as good as mine.”
He could sit in the car all day and dither, or he could grow a pair and go meet a stranger who shared half of his DNA.
It was tempting to stay where he was till the heat finally killed him.
Sensing his cowardice, Magneto planted a tiger-sized paw on Jaden’s thigh and applied pressure. He stared solemnly at Jaden.
“You’re awfully judgy for a dog,” Jaden said, trying not to pout. It wasn't a good sign when your dog was able to guilt you.
Deep, grounding breath in. Shaky one out.
He opened the door and then levered himself up and out. Magneto followed, his head butting Jaden in the middle of his back and staggering him a step forward.
The man on the stairs stood, making his way toward Jaden at an easy, loping pace. He wore a faded pair of jeans with holes in both knees and fraying hems. His shirt was plain, like the ones that came out of the Hanes packs at Walmart. There were muddy brown boots on his feet. The closer he got, the better Jaden could make out his features, and he couldn't help but search for similarities.
This man—his half-brother—had wavy, shoulder length brown hair with natural blond highlights showing through. And a beard. One of those well groomed ones that was kind of long but in style. He looked like he should be on the set of a Pantene commercial.
Jaden couldn't grow a beard to save his life. Drew had once asked him to, and all Jaden had managed was a patchy, scraggly looking mess. The cleft in his lip refused to grow hair, and his mustache looked dumb unable to connect. He doubted he could rock the long hair either. His fingers curled into a fist so he didn't reach up to touch his short hair in its typical, boring style self-consciously.
“Hey,” said Mr. Pantene. “You must be Jaden.” He extended a hand. “It’s really nice to meet you. I’m Elliot.” His smile was friendly and open. His eyes were the same shade of navy blue as Jaden’s, and they were almond shaped like his. Where Jaden’s lashes were dark, Elliot’s were blond and could barely be seen when he tilted his head a certain way.
“Hi. I’m Jaden.” He winced. Elliot already knew that. Way to sound awkward. “Nice to meet you, too.” His mind was an empty slate. He had nothing to say next. “Um.”
Elliot cleared his throat and scratched at his beard as he rocked back onto his heels. “A friend of mine called and said to expect you. Are you planning to stay here? I can show you around the house.” He smiled sheepishly. “We haven’t turned off any of the utilities, so it’s livable.”
Truth be told, Jaden planned to stay at a hotel. He opened his mouth to tell Elliot that. But what came out was, “Uh, sure.” He snapped his mouth shut. Was there a polite way to say he’d lost his mind and he’d like to take the words back?
Elliot beamed, already turning toward the house. Jaden hadn’t noticed the tenseness in his posture until he witnessed the relaxing of Elliot’s shoulders. “That’s great. We haven’t taken anything out, really. It’s all the same. Never seems like the right time, and we’re not really sure what to do with it all. You can make yourself at home. I can take you grocery shopping, if you want? Or you could come to dinner at mine. I know Phoenix and Zane want to meet you. But I understand if you’re tired and need a day to yourself.”
Without much of a choice, Jaden followed him, having to trot a little to catch up. He was going to have to interrupt Elliot to get a word in. “Um,” he said again, feeling entirely overwhelmed and unsure of himself. “I am kinda tired.”
“No problem. I’ll get you set up, and we can take care of everything else tomorrow. Don’t worry.” Elliot opened the front doors, gesturing with an arm at the tile foyer. “After you.”
Jaden wondered if this was how Alice felt when she followed the rabbit down the hole.
He walked inside.
Chapter 2
The thing about living somewhere with a small population was privacy didn't exist. Chase was behind the counter of his small smoothie shop, Healthy Blends, for about ten minutes before someone asked about the new guy in town. He raised his eyebrows questioningly at Lanie Kingsleigh. “How did you hear about him?” She was somewhere between sixty and eighty—she gave a different age to everyone who asked—and she was a giant gossip. If life were a game of telephone, she’d be the one starting it. Her dyed brown hair was in curlers today. They bounced when she moved
.
“Jacob called me. He was sparse on the details, though.” She tilted forward. “You’re putting too much mango in that.”
He stopped pouring her smoothie. “You ordered a mango smoothie,” he reminded her.
“Light on the mango. Now, are you going to tell me who he is?”
Chase wasn't sure how a mango smoothie was supposed be “light on the mango.” He turned his back and pretended to dump out the smoothie and start a new one. She made him do this every single time. “I’m not,” he said pleasantly. He handed her the smoothie. “Have a great day.”
She huffed, but she left. Chase called it a win.
Three minutes later, he was asked yet again about the new guy by one of the PTA moms, and it snowballed from there. He wondered if Jacob at the gas station had put out a bulletin about Jaden Matthew’s arrival. They wanted to know how he talked—did he have an accent, was he cultured sounding? What business did he have in Serenity?
Once everyone figured out who he was, the chatter would explode. Because Jaden… Jaden was news. Lily-Anne was as close to a town icon as Serenity got. She’d been born here, and she’d lived here her whole life. She’d run town hall meetings, and there hadn’t been a person who didn’t know and respect her.
They’d all heard things about her son. Chase came along too late to meet him. Lily-Anne described him as flighty. “Just as quick to love as to leave,” she’d said. Others had been less kind, labeling him a troublemaker and loser. He didn’t like to stay in one place. When his offspring had come traipsing in all those years ago, she’d been over the moon to meet them. And so had the town. Now that they were over that shock, the addition of Jaden would be like candy to a sugar addict.
Someone new to analyze.
And from what he’d been led to understand, Jaden was the first grandkid. With a mom from Serenity, who’d packed her bags and never come back, taking Jaden with her. He’d been the only one Lily-Anne was aware existed. She liked to say the other three showing up were surprises—and gifts—from God.
One of those gifts entered his shop right then, the bell above the door cheerily jingling.
Phoenix’s long blue hair was up in a knot, showing off the many piercings in his ears. His nose ring glinted under the fluorescent lighting. He had a cat cradled in his arms. Chase didn't bother to tell him animals weren't allowed inside. He knew by now that’d get him nowhere. “Who’ve you got with you today?” he asked, already getting started on Phoenix’s usual, a strawberry cheesecake smoothie.
“Haven’t named her yet. I found her in your dumpster.”
Chase reached for the milk, and then filled a small bowl full. He scooted it across the counter. “Should I ask what you were doing looking in my dumpster?”
Phoenix’s grin was wide and toothy. “Nah.”
Chase didn’t think so.
The small cat purred as she lapped up the milk, flicking droplets onto his counter. He'd have to disinfect the surface when she left it. Her tail flicked lazily above her hind end, brushing Phoenix’s abdomen, leaving cat fur all over his black shirt. She was matted and scrawny, but other than looking malnourished and dirty, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with her. Both eyes were wide pools of curious yellow and her ears were upright triangles. No nicks or missing body parts. He held his hand out and waited for her to hesitantly sniff it before curling his fingers to scratch under her jaw.
“She’s cute,” he said, grinning down at her trying to playfully bite his finger with her sharp little teeth.
“You want her?”
Chase laughed.
“I’m serious.”
“That’s why I’m laughing.” Chase had accepted one rescue from Phoenix over the years, and he loved Cleopatra with everything in him. Cleo was a blue nose pit mix, a rescue from a dog fighting ring in Miami. He’d hand-fed her and taken her to the vet to fix every problem that popped up. She’d slept in his bed and rode shotgun in his car. Eight months ago, she’d passed away from cancer.
Chase wasn't ready to let something else into his life that he could lose. He was kind of over the whole loving something and letting it go thing at this point. He was edging on thirty, and he’d had to deal with loss too much. He was throwing in the towel. Waving the white flag. He was attached enough to this town and its people as it was. He didn't need a four-pound furball to be one more thing for him to worry about.
Phoenix huffed. “I’ll wear you down,” he said.
Chase smiled and shrugged noncommittally.
“So you gonna tell me about my brother?”
“Well, Zane is a—”
“The half-one who you gave a ride to today,” said Phoenix, interrupting Chase rudely. “I know you called Elliot to have him meet the guy at the house. He called me in a panic about it.”
“Jaden,” said Chase. “Your half-brother’s name is Jaden. Why don’t you wait to quiz him yourself? And what’s Elliot worried about? Jaden seemed nice.”
Phoenix hopped onto his counter, sitting his ass on the granite surface like he wasn't in a respectable business establishment. The cat gave him a wide-eyed, disapproving look before returning to the milk. Chase’s heartstrings tugged. “Nice, huh? Elliot said he wasn't coming to dinner tonight. He’s ‘tired.’ Elliot wants to get another brother out of this, but he’s realistic enough to know anything could happen. A brush-off to start things? Yeah, Elliot’s worried.” He twisted his lips down.
“I doubt it was personal. Elliot likes to worry,” said Chase. The air quotes were so heavily implied, Phoenix might as well have finger-quoted tired.
“Right.”
“I think he drove the whole way. Jaden probably is tired.” He’d looked it. The circles under his eyes were dark and decent sized, his face strained. Where the other three brothers radiated, or feigned, calm most of the time, Jaden blasted tension and stress. “I think he’s a pretty high-strung kind of dude.” The cat finished with her milk and daintily walked over it, coming to a standstill in front of Chase. She stared up expectantly.
Chase sighed. She meowed.
Chase was a weak, weak man. He picked her up, cradling her to his chest as he went to flip the open sign on the door to closed. It was after five. He probably wouldn’t have gotten much more business, anyway.
“Why do you think he’s high-strung?” asked Phoenix nosily. “What about him gives you that impression?”
God save Chase from gossips. “Ask Elliot when you see him later.” He bounced the cat in his arms lightly. “He’s a nosy motherfucker,” he whispered. He’d been with Jaden long enough to get an impression—not concrete details—of who he was, and not that good of one. He wasn't going to spread rumors or start one because he assumed something. He still recalled the chaos surrounding his own introduction to Serenity.
Somehow, in the town wide game of telephone, people had become convinced Chase’s bum shoulder wasn’t from a car accident but from a surfing incident when his jilted lover pushed him from the board in a fit of rage. Dramatic much? Yes. Even a little bit true? No. Chase didn't even know how to surf.
“I heard that.”
“Figured you would.”
Phoenix slurped his smoothie loudly, because he was a dick, and he knew it bugged Chase.
It was Phoenix who finally caved, sighing loudly, clearly put out. “Fine. Don’t spill any beans.”
Chase grinned.
If anyone found out and asked Chase about this, he would blame his mom. She'd spent his entire life drilling into him the importance of being thoughtful. Of having manners. He’d spent a few years pretending to forget everything she told him, but those days were gone. Which was why he was standing on the doorstep of what was once Lily-Anne’s house, after having stopped at the local Publix to pick up a tub of macaroni salad, some mac n’ cheese for good measure, and a carton of Buffalo chicken wings. What could he say? He was a nice guy, and he had a feeling Jaden wasn't planning to venture out for food.
It was sort of awkward, and Jaden might fi
nd the gesture weird, so the fluttering in his belly as Chase rang the doorbell was justified.
It had absolutely nothing to do with the thought of seeing Jaden again. Jaden with his big, dark blue eyes and his George Clooney hair. His face said mid-maybe-upper thirties, but his hair was a light brown with streaks of premature silver making him look older. It was cut short, nothing fancy or styled to it. He was average height, slightly on the shorter side, and somewhat petite. His features were fine, sharp cheekbones and a defined jaw.
Objectively speaking, Jaden was a good-looking guy. All right. He was better than “good-looking,” maybe along the lines of “hot damn, he’s a cutie,” but Chase wasn't going there. His dick wasn't the one leading this parade. His kindness and caring personality was.
It was that simple.
The door swung open, and there stood Jaden, looking surprised. His plump lips were parted and as Chase watched, he sank his teeth into the bottom one, worrying it for a moment. It left barely there indents.
Chase held up the Publix bag. “I brought you food.”
“You brought me food.”
It occurred to Chase that there was a chance Jaden might not want company while he ate. And Chase had assumed Jaden would. Which was a big assumption. He felt very put-on-the-spot, and he had only himself to blame. “I heard from Phoenix, who heard from Elliot, that you were tired. And I thought, since you don’t know the town, you probably wouldn’t go out to get food, and I doubt there’s any here. So I stopped and got you some.” His nerves were making him ramble. Joy. “There’s chicken wings, and macaroni salad, and mac n’ cheese. I figured you’d like something in all that. And I understand if you don’t want company. The food’s all yours.”
Jaden didn't reach for the proffered bag. He poked his tongue out, licked over his lips. He kept glancing from the bag to Chase.
Any minute now, Chase would start fidgeting.
