He scooped me in his arms and kicked open the French doors. “I have some cowboying to do.”
I giggled hysterically. “Is that what you call?”
He took giant steps through the living room and was ready to turn for the staircase when I screamed.
Dylan almost dropped me.
“What the fuck?” he shouted. “Who the fuck, are you?”
My mouth dropped. I knew I was staring at a ghost. I never thought I’d see that face again. It couldn’t be possible, could it?
His lips curled into a smile. He pushed his sandy brown hair out of his eyes.
“Hey sis. Catch you at a bad time?”
“Danny?”
Thirty-Eight
Dylan
I didn’t know what the fuck was going on. After an awkward as hell introduction Vanessa and I left her brother downstairs while we put on some clothes.
She raced around the room. It didn’t look like she could put together an outfit if she wanted to.
“Here.” I shoved a Warriors T-shirt in her hand. “Put this on.”
She was in shock.
I rummaged through her drawers and grabbed a pair of running shorts. “And these.”
She was in a trance getting dressed.
I pulled up my jeans, fastening them as I tugged on a white shirt.
“When was the last time you saw him?” I asked.
She used the pool towel to dry her hair. “Eight years?” She looked at me.
“Damn.”
“I don’t know why he’s here. I don’t get it.”
She paced in front of the door.
“Let’s go find out.” I held her hand.
“What if he wants the team?” I saw the panic in her eyes. “What if that’s why he’s here?”
I shook my head. “That’s not going to happen.”
She was frozen in the doorway. I couldn’t get her to cross the threshold. “You don’t know that. I don’t know that. I don’t know him anymore.”
“I get that I’m not the first man people turn to for advice, but I’ll tell you something Isaac has always said.”
“What’s that?” She looked hopeful.
“Nothing happens if you don’t make it happen.”
I saw the cute little crinkle in her forehead. “That’s the advice?”
“Yeah. It means get your ass downstairs and find out what your brother is doing here. You know we’ll take care of you darlin’. Isaac will be home tomorrow, and we’re not going to let anything happen to you.”
She seemed to accept my approach for now. She squeezed my hand harder than usual as we walked down the stairs together.
When we reached the kitchen Vanessa’s brother had made himself at home, helping himself to one of our beers. It was weird how I could see the familiar resemblance. He had bright blue eyes and high cheekbones, but when I looked at her, I couldn’t see a trace of him.
“So new fiancé, huh?” He chugged my favorite beer.
“So long-lost brother, huh?” I retorted.
“Hey,” Vanessa hushed us both. “I’m surprised to see you, Danny. Shocked really.”
He hopped on the counter, swinging his legs. “Grammy tracked me down.”
“Where?” Vanessa asked.
“Singapore,” he answered. He took a swig of beer. “Hell of a trip.”
“You’ve been on vacation for eight years, Danny.”
I didn’t like drama. I didn’t like family problems. Girl problems. Relationship shit. This wasn’t my scene. But I was in deep with Vanessa. We may never have a wedding. Our entire engagement might have been fake, but I had fallen for this girl.
For her laughter. The sparkle in her eye when she saw a piece of art she loved. For the way she thought through the team’s problems. How she loved me. How she took a chance on a man who had never spent more than a week with the same woman. And I wasn’t going to bail on her now. It wasn’t my fight, but if Vanessa was involved, then it was my fucking business. Her brother would have to get used to that.
I grabbed a beer from the fridge and stood next to her. I would stand by her side as long as she needed me.
I felt her relax into me. I tucked my hand against her waist.
Danny cocked his head. “So this thing looks legit.”
“This thing?” Vanessa stared at him. “Are you talking about our engagement?”
“Grammy said it’s not going to last. Thought I should at least check out the guy who’s going to marry my little sister. Dad would want me to do that.”
Vanessa’s eyes fired. “Don’t even pretend you care what Dad would want. You checked out of this family a long time ago.”
“I’m still your brother, Nessa.”
“The brother who didn’t show up for our grandfather’s funeral. The brother who missed my college graduation. The brother who never answered a call or a single email in eight years. That brother? Is that what you call a brother?”
I tightened my grip on her. I could feel her shake under my fingers.
“Nessa, who are you? Running a football team? Sounding like Granddad already, trying to fit me into a box.”
She groaned. “I’m not trying to fit you into any kind of box.”
Danny hopped from the counter. He had finished his beer. I eyed him closely.
“Grammy wants me here. I’m staying at the house. Maybe we could have breakfast tomorrow.”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I have meetings and Isaac is being released—” she stopped, catching her mistake before she said too much.
“Who?”
I stepped in. “My best friend is going to be released from the hospital in the morning. It’s a big deal around here.”
“Huh. Ok.” Danny walked toward the front door. “Think about the breakfast. I’m still on Singapore time so I’ll be up. My clock is going to take a few days to recalculate. I know Grammy would love to see you.”
I thought I heard her hiss. I held on to her.
Danny strolled to the foyer. “Nice meeting you, Dylan. You two can get back to whatever kinky stuff you had going on. I’ll have to tell you about the shit in Singapore sometime.”
“Man, I don’t think so.” I shook my head.
Danny paused at the door. “But really, congrats on the engagement.”
“Thank you.” Vanessa clenched her jaw.
The door closed and she turned toward me. I didn’t know what to do when women cried. It always made me uncomfortable. But Vanessa’s tears started to fall and I knew I had to hold her. I had to love her until the very last tear dried from her cheeks. We sank to the floor and I pulled her to my chest.
“Shh. Shh.” I calmed her as the sobs wracked her shoulders.
She crawled into my lap like a little girl. I didn’t know what in the hell I was doing. But I hoped I was doing something right.
Thirty-Nine
Vanessa
I chose the black suit for a reason. Gretchen met me at the front door of my grandmother’s house.
“Good morning.” She smiled.
“Hi, Gretchen. I’m having breakfast with my brother this morning.”
“Yes, ma’am. They’re in the dining room.”
I walked into the McCade formal dining room. The table was set with crystal and china. I gawked at the roses and tulips in china vases.
“Nessa.” Grammy’s smile was bright. She clutched Danny’s hand.
“Good morning, Grammy.” I walked over to her to kiss her cheek.
“Not going to tell me good morning?”
I rolled my eyes at Danny. “Good morning.”
“Seems like she’s not completely happy to see me.” He spoke to Grammy like I wasn’t sitting across from him.
“Oh, she is. I know she’s glad you’re here. It’s going to take so much pressure off her.”
My head whipped toward her. “What are you talking about?”
“Danny’s back. He’s a part of the family. He’s a McCade. Naturally, he should ta
ke over running the Warriors.”
My fingernails dug into my palms. “Why? Because he’s a guy? Because he has a penis you think he should take the team?”
Grammy’s mouth opened. “Nessa, that is crude.”
“Isn’t that what you’re saying? That Y chromosome he has makes him more qualified than me? Or is it the eight years of professional drinking and sleeping around that makes him a good asset to the franchise?”
The maid walked in with a tray of coffee on the silver service. I turned my nose at it. It smelled horrible.
“No thank you.” I waved her off when she tried to pour a cup for me.
“Nessa, I have never kept my opinion of your grandfather’s plan a secret. I’ve always thought it was ludicrous. It’s not in your nature, dear. You’re a creative spirit. You always have been. He only left you the team because he was out of options. Our options just increased.” She looked satisfied with herself.
I wasn’t going to back down. I thought about all the things that had happened this season. The way I had re-negotiated each and every contract on the team. The raises I had given the employees. The plans to redesign the facilities. The contract for the new practice field.
And they were winning. Seven games were in the W column. The guys were no doubt going far in the playoffs. I had even let myself dream we’d end up in New Orleans for the Super Bowl in February.
On top of that our ticket sales were up. I had signed two new network deals. For someone who wasn’t a business woman I had found my footing. I wasn’t giving up one inch to them.
“No.” I stared at them.
“What?” Danny looked startled.
“I said no.” I threw the linen napkin on the table. “You can’t have my team.”
Grammy chocked on her coffee. “Nessa!”
“I’m sorry Grammy. Or maybe I’m not sorry for saying it. But I was raised a warrior and this is me finally becoming one. If you want my team, you’re going to have to fight me for it.”
I stormed out of the family house. Past the portrait of my grandfather in the hall. Over the past couple of months I had done everything the opposite of that man, until this moment. I looked at him as I marched into the sun.
I pulled out my cell phone as I slid behind the wheel of my car.
“Charlie, I’m going to need to see you at the office. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
I hung up as I raced through the guard gate and toward Austin. Toward my team.
Forty
Vanessa
Candy greeted me in the executive lobby with a latte. I turned my head. Why did all the coffee smell so terrible?
“Here you go.”
“Thanks.” I took the cup, wanting to be polite.
“Charlie Maine is already in your office. I let her in.”
“Good.” I had never felt like a mission was this important. Candy fell back as I rushed to my office.
Charlie stood in front of the windows, looking out onto the stadium. She turned when I walked in the room.
“I guess you’re anxious to hear my great Isaac plan.”
“Oh that. Yeah. I am.”
“Oh that? I’ve been working all week on it. You hand me the biggest scandal of the century and somehow reduced it to oh that?”
I closed the door behind me. “I have a bigger problem. Or an equally as big problem.”
“I’m going to have to start charging you more.” She exhaled.
“It’s my brother. He’s returned from his eight years of being a professional partier and he wants to take the Warriors from me.”
“Holy shit.”
“What can I do?”
“That’s a question for your legal team. That’s way outside of my area.”
“But it’s going to blow up in my face. There has to be a way to protect the team from this. That’s what you’re good at doing. This is your wheelhouse, Charlie.”
She considered what I said. “Why does he want it?”
I shook my head. “I have no idea.”
“Who is pushing this?” she asked.
“Grammy. That’s my grandmother. She has changed since my grandfather died. She’s mean. Vindictive and has a sexist streak I’d never noticed before. She tracked him down, despite how absent he’s been. She didn’t’ care he didn’t come to the funeral. She didn’t care he hasn’t been home for Christmas. It makes no sense.”
Charlie sat, her tight skirt sliding along her legs as she nestled into my new office furniture. I had gone with touches of white and cream. I loved how strong and feminine it looked. I had the Warriors W embroidered on the pillows. I also had hung the watercolor of Isaac and Dylan over the couch. I loved that we were the only three who knew how to interrupt the tangled three colors.
“I’m not a psychologist, Vanessa. People do some crazy shit in grief. I’ve had clients who were out of their loving minds. I can’t psychoanalyze your grandmother beyond what it looks like.”
“And what do you think it looks like?”
She sighed. “It looks like a woman who lost her son. Lost her husband, and is losing the only life she knew—the Warriors. Your brother seems to embody that life more than you can. And yeah, it’s just because he’s a guy. Probably reminds her of your dad. Maybe it reminds her of both of them.”
“Are you sure you aren’t a psychologist?” I was stunned.
I felt another lurch in my stomach. The stress this situation was causing was making me more nauseated by the second. “Oh God.”
I rushed to the trashcan under my desk and hurled into it.
“Vanessa, are you ok?”
I nodded, kneeling in front of the wastebasket. “I can’t handle all the stress.” I reached for bottle of water on the drink cart Candy kept stocked in my office.
“Or maybe you’re pregnant?” Charlie cocked one eyebrow higher than the other.
“What?”
She shook her head. “You do like things in threes. Why not make me work three projects at once?”
“No. No, no, no.” I couldn’t be.
“Who is the father? Dylan or Isaac?”
“Charlie,” I hissed. But then my eyes landed on the painting. And I knew.
It had only happened once, but that’s all it took. I knew with everything in my being the night we made this baby.
I closed my eyes. “It’s Isaac’s.”
I fumbled for my chair. I chugged the water. I hadn’t had a period, but it didn’t occur to me until now that I should have been watching my calendar. I should have paid attention.
“Should we go into my plan, I guess?” Charlie offered.
I nodded. My hand rested on my stomach. I was pregnant.
Forty-One
Vanessa
I hung up the phone with Steve just before the car pulled to the front of the house. I rushed outside to meet Isaac. Dylan strolled along next to me.
The driver walked around to the back of the stretch limo and opened the door. Isaac put one foot on the driveway and then the other. I had to fight the impulse to help him, but I knew he was stubborn and proud. He wouldn’t want my help.
“Glad you’re home, man.” Dylan grabbed his bag from him.
“Glad to be out of that damn hospital, brother.” Isaac slapped him on the back.
“Can we please go inside so I can kiss you?” I leaned toward his ear to whisper.
“Hell yeah.” He walked gingerly. I was surprised there were no crutches, but his doctors said he could use them when he felt it was necessary. I knew that meant never.
“I’ll take this upstairs,” Dylan reported, leaving us alone for a minute in the foyer.
I slipped the engagement ring off my finger and deposited it in the bowl by the front door. It was a new habit I had. When I walked through this door I was theirs.
I wrapped my hands around his neck. “Don’t you think you should sit?” I asked.
“And miss my homecoming kiss?”
His mouth landed on mine and I was instant
ly lost in the heat of his tongue. It twined, lashing in my mouth. I tasted the mint on his lips and tugged against his neck, sinking into the kiss.
“I missed you,” I whispered.
“Not as much as I did.”
“Come on. Let’s get your leg elevated.” I threaded my fingers through his and led him to the living room.
“It’s fine. Really. Normal activity.”
I shook my head. “Let me take care of you.”
He exhaled as I pushed him to the couch. I had so much to tell him. So much to tell both of them. I didn’t know where to begin. For now, I wanted to live in this moment when Isaac was home.
“That’s not how this works, baby.” He grinned. “It’s my job to take care of you.”
I felt the little flutter in my core. If only it were that easy.
“But I have a surprise for you.” I smiled.
I heard Dylan’s footsteps coming down the hall. “I want in on the surprise.”
I looked between them. My heart melted. My insides shook. It had been so long since we had been together. Since I had loved them together. I changed my mind on the surprise. Big conversations and serious talks could wait a little longer.
“I don’t think you should climb the stairs.” I twisted my lip under my teeth. “Why don’t I meet you two in the guest room?”
“I can climb stairs,” Isaac countered. “It was laser surgery.”
“Yes, but you had three,” I argued.
“I’d like to have a damn three-way, so stop giving me a hard time, baby.”
I giggled. “I’ll meet you in the guestroom in two minutes.”
I ran out of the room and up the stairs. I dug through the back of my closet looking for the naughty nurse lingerie I bought.
I found the black bag and held it up in triumphant. I quickly peeled my suit off and slipped into the sheer number, adding the white coat that barely covered my ass. I liked that there were layers. One surprise after another. I fastened the hat, pinning it above my ears. I threaded the stockings over my thighs and clipped them with the garters. I felt sexy.
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