WRAPPED: The Manhattan Bound Series, Book Two

by Juliet Braddock

  As her father turned to open his bottle, Maxine pressed into Drew until she pinned him against the wall. She’d already had her spanking the night before. The irony filled her with both unrest and hilarity.

  Just to lure his mind away from all things busted and broken, Maxine made a diversion back to her bedroom to show her dad around, thinking the work Ben and Mandy accomplished in there would calm him down. However, she didn’t expect him to grow so emotional when he stepped inside and looked at each and every corner.

  The small touches, down to the curtains and throw pillows on her bed, brought him a sense of comfort. Maxine could have sworn his eyes welled with tears when he spotted the family photos on the dresser.

  “Well, look—there’s even one of you and this big guy here…” Tom picked up the photo of Maxine and Drew that was taken years ago. He was smiling. “Bet you never guessed at this moment that you’d be where you are right now, did you, Maxie?”

  “Nope!” Maxine reached for Drew’s hand and swung their arms together. “Never thought I’d see my old Pops in New York either.”

  “Yeah, well…” Tom shuffled his feet on the floor. “And Drew, where do you live?”

  “Right across the park. I’m only about fifteen minutes away if she needs anything.”

  “That’s good to know, pal,” Tom said with a squeeze to Drew’s arm.

  Maybe Tom didn’t hate him, after all…

  “You must be starving,” Drew said. “We’ve picked a really fun place for dinner…”

  “Now, now, I’m a simple man,” Tom warned. “None of those fancy places where I gotta wear a suit and tie…”

  “How does a casual, but charming, pizza joint sound to you?” Drew asked. “And it’s within walking distance.”

  “Hey, now we’re talking! Did my little Princess tell you that nothing makes me happier—aside from her—than pizza and hockey?”

  “Yeah…well…” They actually had planned on taking her father to Madison Square Garden without telling him first about the game. However, Drew thought those tickets might be a nice little ice breaker before dinner. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out an envelope. “How about we do both?”

  A look of confusion clouded Tom’s face as he pulled out four tickets. “Drew, this is…it’s a Pens’ game…at the Garden…”

  He shrugged casually. “I thought we’d go. Nothing better than a Sunday hockey match.”

  “Rinkside?” Tom asked, his eyes widening with incredulity. “Are you kidding around here?”

  “Nope. Very serious, Mr. Kirk.”

  “Listen…Drew…?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Cut out the ‘Mr. Kirk,’” he said. “You can call me Tom…”

  # # #

  “Okay, so you kids know what you’re talking about,” Tom said as they turned the corner and staggered back to the crumbling townhouse. He’d had just enough beer to forget about the ruins in which his daughter and her best friend were living. “That pizza was the best I’ve ever had.”

  Patsy’s Pizzeria was quite an institution in New York, and those who knew it loved it dearly. It was a small chain started in the thirties that withstood the true test of time in Manhattan. As Tom noted, they did make one hell of a brick oven pizza, and he was a happy, full man as he climbed the steps toward the foyer, where a light now burned to welcome them home.

  While Maxine and Ben played the perfect hosts and tumbled over each other to make sure that Ben’s bedroom was filled with everything he could need—from extra pillows and blankets to towels—Tom grabbed two more beers from the fridge, then coaxed Drew out to the stoop.

  “Come join me, Drew,” Tom patted the concrete next to him and passed Drew a bottle. “It’s a beautiful evening out here tonight…”

  “It is, Tom,” Drew agreed.

  “So…my daughter spilled a drink on you, did she?” Tom teased.

  Taking a swig of beer, Drew smiled around the lip of the bottle. “That she did,” he recalled so fondly. And that reminded him—he had to wish her a happy five-week anniversary before he returned to his place that evening. They celebrated every Friday. “And I’d relive that night all over again if I could.”

  “Yeah, and I know I’m just her father talking here, but…” Tom stopped to look up at the buildings that rose up around them, the lights glistening like stars in the night sky. He could have lost himself in studying the architecture of each and every arch and peak, but he desperately wanted to talk to this guy for whom his daughter seemed to be falling. “…but there really is something amazing about her. She’s smart. She’s funny. She’s quick—damn quick. And there’s a lot of goodness in her heart.”

  “You know, I’ve never had so much fun with a woman in my life, just laughing and carrying on,” Drew said. “But I’ve also never met someone with as much compassion as Maxine. She reminds me a lot of my own mother.”

  “Well, she takes after Judy, so I’ll just assume that your mom would have gotten along well with her,” he said.

  “It’s…Judy’s passing…I know how rough it’s been for both of you…”

  Tom raised an eyebrow. “Maxie talks to you about her?”

  “She does—all the time, in fact,” he smiled sadly. “And I’m glad she’s told me so much about Judy. It’s the only way I’ll get to know her—through Maxine…through Ben…and through you…”

  “Not a minute goes by that I don’t miss her,” Tom said softly. Talking about his wife was still so very hard for him, even though he’d joined the grief therapy group that Ben had suggested to him. Some days, his emotions felt as raw as they did on the day she died. “Did you ever lose someone that you were close to?”

  Just as he was about to lift the beer to his lips once more, Drew froze, his blood turning to ice. His mind flooded with thoughts of his big sister, Molly.

  “Yes, I did…many years ago…”

  “So you get it,” Tom said. “You understand all of this, and where we’re both coming from.”

  “I do. And I also see the resilience in Maxine to honor her grief, while continuing to build her life.”

  “She’s stronger than she realizes, Drew.”

  “I know she is, and I wish she’d believe me when I tell her,” he lamented. “But she’s making progress.”

  “Drew, I can see the changes in her. She’s gaining weight. Her confidence is coming back. She’s not afraid to have a little fun now,” he admitted, wishing he could have done all of that for her when Maxine was still living at home. However, perhaps that was part of her setback, he realized. She needed New York. Now she’d found her home. “And I just want to say that I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for her. I know I gave you a rough time, but I was just kidding around to see how far I could push you. But you really do care about her, don’t you?”

  “Tom…I…” Now he needed another sip. Shit, he needed the rest of the whole damn case. He never expected this level of intensity in this conversation. “I do care about her. Very much. And I worry about Maxine constantly. I wish I could be with her every minute of the day just to make sure that she’s taking care of herself.”

  “And maybe I can worry a little less about her now, knowing that she’s got both Ben and you to look after her now….”

  “Those words mean a lot to me. I take them very seriously.”

  “You do, don’t you?”

  “Listen, I know we’ve only known each other a short time,” Drew began, but suddenly the lines he’d been rehearsing for days left him. He had so much to say to this man, but couldn’t find the words to express himself. “But I can assure you, I treasure your daughter. She’s been there for me, too, in ways that no one else ever has—or ever could.”

  “Just don’t ever break her heart,” Tom warned.

  “What if she breaks mine first?” Drew challenged.

  “Well…that’s alright…” But Tom was smiling. He was actually beginning to grow fond of this Drew. “You know…since we’re t
alking here…can I be very honest with you?”

  The booze certainly worked as truth serum on Tom…or perhaps he was simply that frank. Maxine certainly didn’t pull any punches when she had something on her mind. Judy, he reckoned, wasn’t the only parent Maxine resembled.

  “Go ahead. Shoot!” A little tipsy himself, Drew stopped and laughed. “Um, not literally, please?”

  “Maxie told you about my rifle collection?”

  Drew swallowed so hard that he could feel his Adam’s apple twitch. “Yes, she did.”

  “My antique pistols, too?”

  “Antique…pistols?” Never in his life did Drew think he could hit the soprano range as he had at that very moment.

  “No, seriously…I have one concern remaining,” Tom said. “You’re almost eleven years older than she is. That scares me a little…”

  “Well, since we’re being open here, I really don’t see any issues with the gap,” Drew defended himself. “Age isn’t something we sit around talking about. In fact, it hasn’t come into play so far. We have so much in common—theater, New York…even our sorrows. And I would even step out on a limb and say that she needs an older man. Certainly, it would be hard to find someone her own age to match wits with…”

  “Don’t disregard our Benjy there!”

  “A straight man, Tom,” Drew chuckled. Oh, fuck yeah, he was drunk! “And she needs someone older and wiser to look out for her in this city…”

  “Because it’s big and bad, and I really don’t want her here, but…”

  “But it’s not!” That’s it, Mack. Argue with her father. He’ll love you just as his own! “I mean…it’s about the company you keep. And Maxine has some really awesome people around her.”

  “Starting with you…”

  Flummoxed, Drew kicked his feet against the steps. “I wasn’t trying to flatter myself here.”

  “I know that. I was being serious,” Tom said. “I think you’re a great guy for her. You haven’t ignored her grief. And you didn’t walk away from her eating disorders. That said a lot about you before I even met you, Drew. Don’t forget—Maxie tells me a lot.”

  “I just…I want her to be happy…and safe…always,” Drew said, sure that he was slurring his words at that point. They’d had quite a few beers with dinner before they cracked open two more bottles, and Drew was sure that they’d probably open a couple more before the night was over. “She…Maxine…she just means so much to me…I—”

  With that, Tom just threw his arms around Drew and gave him the biggest bear hug of his life. “You’re a good man, Drew…”

  “No, Tom, you’re an even better one,” Drew insisted. “And you gave me Maxine…and she…”

  “Oh, shit…” Ben muttered as he threw open the door and nearly spilled his own beer as he tumbled onto the stoop. “Prepare yourself—they’re embracing.”

  “Fuckballs…”

  The hug ended suddenly when Tom pulled away to glimpse his daughter in the dim light filtering through the Tiffany glass panes on the front door.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Oh, she swears now,” Ben told him. “And she also drinks coffee.”

  “Turning into mini-Judy…” Tom muttered.

  “And she eats sushi,” Drew added.

  “With chopsticks!” Maxine shouted. “Don’t forget the chopsticks.”

  “I taught her,” he bragged.

  “Maxine, what am I gonna do with you up here?” Exasperation was evident in Tom’s voice.

  “No, Tom,” Ben butted in. “What am I gonna do with you? You’re all sittin’ out here, hugging it out with Broadway Boy. I thought that I was your special friend.”

  “Well, obviously, Daddy has a bromance brewing with Drew now, so you’re going to have to take a backseat, bestie.”

  “Sorry, Uncle Benjy,” Drew said smugly.

  “You think you can just waltz into our lives here, Drew…and make off with my two best friends…and—”

  Squatting down beside her father, Maxine looped her arm around his neck. “See what I put up with?”

  “Oh, you love it!” Tom insisted.

  “Yeah, I guess I do,” she said, then tapped her bottle to his. “To Mom.”

  “To Mom,” he said. “And to you, little girl…”

  “I love you, Daddy…”

  “Well, just remember this,” Tom began as Drew and Ben continued to banter. “I love you more…”

  Chapter Sixteen

  The thud of a hammer off in the distance brought Maxine’s slumber to an abrupt end early the following morning. While she wanted nothing more than to stomp out of bed and demand to know what the ruckus was all about, she knew inherently already.

  Fists rubbing her tired, sleep-swollen eyes, she shuffled her feet along toward the kitchen, mumbling, “Oh, Daddy…Daddy…Daddy…”

  “Hey, there’s my girl!” Mallet in hand, Tom opened his arms wide. “Happy Birthday, Maxie!”

  “Yeah…happy fucking birthday…” Ben groused as he stirred his first cup of morning coffee. Although he appreciated Tom’s efforts in home repair on their ramshackle abode, there was no escaping the noise while sleeping just a room away on the couch.

  “Found some tools in the basement when I went down last night to flip the fuse switch,” Tom said just as the doorbell rang. “Fixed that damn drawer, and now I’m working on these wobbly chairs. But you should go answer, Max. That’s probably Drew…”

  “How would you know?” she asked.

  “They’ve been texting,” Ben filled her in. “Apparently, the window guy is coming at nine to measure.”

  “Really, Daddy?” Apparently, Tom and Drew made some sort of connection in their collective state of inebriation on that old stoop. As she trudged on through the apartment, she called out, “And I swear I didn’t invite you up here to play handyman!”

  “Happy Birthday, gorgeous,” Drew grinned, as Maxine opened the door and stood high upon her toes. Hooked around his finger was the string from a rather large bakery box. He’d brought breakfast.

  “Quick—kiss me! While no one is looking…”

  He obliged her one chaste buss but pulled away quickly. Drew didn’t want to take a chance with Papa Kirk lurking around the corner. “Did you sleep well?”

  “I never sleep well when you’re not with me these days…” she frowned. Since the night they’d met, they actually hadn’t spent a weekend apart. “Maybe I can hide you in my room tonight, and—”

  “Maxine…I am not going to have a sleepover with your father in the bedroom upstairs!”

  They’d had a bit of a row when Drew insisted upon leaving the previous night. Sometimes, Maxine was a little too risqué for her own good, and Drew had to define his upper hand.

  “Wishful thinking?”

  “Keep thinking, Birthday Girl…” How he wanted nothing more than to just swat her on the ass as she wiggled her way back toward the kitchen—give her one nice crack for good measure—but not with Tom in town.

  “Look, Tom!” Ben shouted. “Your new best friend is here!”

  “Jealous, are we?” Drew mused as he carefully placed the box of cupcakes in the middle of Tom’s tools on the counter.

  Now, Tom was fussing with that window that just never wanted to remain open. He could have easily installed the new one, too, but he simply wasn’t going to be there long enough. Tom knew he could have used a month in this house to get things in working order for these two kids.

  “Alright, Pops, stop for now!” Maxine peered into the box and licked her lips. Drew even thought to bring candles—two number twos—for their little breakfast party.

  “Aw, now I really feel like a loser if Drew’s gonna sing to her,” Ben whined. He was just so cranky without a full night of rest. This was at least a double-cupcake, triple-coffee morning.

  Lifting one scrumptious treat from the box, Maxine snuggled closer to Ben and said, “You are not a loser, Ben.”

  However, Maxine tore off running just as she bop
ped him on the nose with the confection, smearing icing all over Ben’s face. Tom just shrugged as they chased each other around, screaming and squealing, batting frosting between the two of them. He wasn’t about to offer an explanation or an apology to Drew—only commentary.

  “Judy used to call them ‘The Tornado,’” Tom said. “She said they blew in and blew out, then she was left with all the debris.”

  Drew nearly spit his coffee out, laughing at the thought. He wished he’d had the chance to get to know her mother. Now, though, even with Judy’s absence, he had begun to understand the blend of both her parents in her very unique personality. A gem, she was—so silly and smart and everything sweet.

  He couldn’t resist catching her in his arms on her next run through the kitchen, though. As she kicked and screamed gleefully, Drew lifted her off the floor, and then sat her down on the counter.

  “Why didn’t I ever think of doing that?” Tom wondered out loud as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the refrigerator. “Now let’s light the candles because I’m starving here. I’ve been up since six, tinkering around. Your bathroom faucet is no longer leaking, by the way, Benjamin.”

  There was simply nothing that Tom couldn’t fix, and Ben just roared with laughter at the thought of him running around the house finding projects to attend. In fact, Ben was sure that his best friend’s father would have much preferred to toil around their abode all day rather than seeing the sites. However, they had birthdays to celebrate, his included. Ben was born exactly three days before Maxine, and while he had a lovely dinner with Jeffrey, it was time to get his party on with his nearest and dearest.

  Once the candles were lit, Drew cued everyone up to sing to her—and to Ben. Naturally, his voice rose high above the others, and just to be silly, he held the final note, nearly splitting their collective ears with his range.

  “You know…I was gonna beat box it for you, Captain Penelope,” Ben said. “But who can compete with that?”

  “Not bad, pal,” Tom patted Drew on the back. “You might want to quit your day job and pursue that singing thing…”