The Lover

by E. L. Todd

  “It wasn’t the best time I’ve ever had,” he said with a chuckle. “But we helped a lot of people. So many lost their homes and everything that mattered to them. And a lot of people got seriously hurt.”

  “Aww…” She patted his chest with her palm. “You have such a big heart.”

  “I get that from you, Mom.”

  She hugged him tightly then moved to Pepper. “My girl…I’m so happy to see you.” She hugged Pepper tighter than she hugged her own son. “I’m so glad you and Finn found each other. You’re meant to stay in this family, one way or another.”

  Finn greeted Dad. “Need any help, old man?”

  “Nope. You would just screw it up.” He hugged him hard and patted him on the back. “So, it was rough down there?”

  “Yeah. I slept in a sleeping bag on a stadium floor almost every night,” Finn said. “But it was worth it. When disaster strikes, we all have to band together and do what we can.”

  Dad clapped him on the back. “I’m proud of you, son. You never stop helping people. You know, when your mom and I had you, everyone asked if we were going to enroll you guys in private school and make sure you went to the best colleges. But all your mother and I wanted was for you guys to be good people. We succeeded—a million times over.”

  Finn turned quiet, so touched by what Dad said, he didn’t know what to say.

  After Pepper finished talking to Mom, she headed over to my dad and made small talk.

  Finn shook hands with Tom then greeted me with a pat on the back. “It’s nice to see you guys. I missed you.”

  “You missed me?” I asked in surprise.

  “Yep. I can’t believe it either.” Finn chuckled then sat down. “But it was a long month. A really long month.”

  “You must have seen a lot of crazy things,” Tom said. “That was a strong storm. They still don’t have power everywhere down there.”

  “Yeah,” Finn said in agreement. “But I only agreed to a month. It’s someone else’s turn now.”

  “I doubt Pepper would let you go anyway,” I said. “She was so lost without you.”

  He pressed his lips tightly together as the emotion touched his eyes. “Yeah…I know. I was lost without her too.”

  Pepper came to the table and took the seat beside Finn.

  He immediately put his arm around her waist and dragged her closer to his side on the bench, showing her the same level of affection as if my parents weren’t there. His lips moved to the shell of her ear, and he kissed her before facing me again.

  If someone had told me my brother would end up with Pepper, I would have said that wasn’t possible. For one, they never would have gotten together in the first place. And secondly, they wouldn’t have lasted this long. But I was looking at it right in the face, two people clearly in love.

  Pepper and Tom volunteered to do the dishes, so the four of us sat together outside. There was a bowl of watermelon in the center of the table, so I snacked on pieces as we enjoyed one another’s company.

  Mom was over the moon about Pepper, so she couldn’t stop talking about her. “You guys are so cute together.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Finn said with a chuckle. “She’s great. She turned me into a man I didn’t think I was capable of being. But there’s something about her. She earned my respect the moment we met. She’s selfless like me. She’s…perfect.” Finn never had deep conversations about anything, let alone women, so both of my parents had looks of shock on their face.

  “That’s how I felt when I met your mother,” Dad said. “Sometimes you just know…”

  “Yep,” Mom said. “Pepper is so special. She’s the woman you want to bring home to your parents. She’s got a good heart and an even better mind. That woman is so independent. A strong man needs a strong woman…seems like a perfect match to me.”

  Finn stared at the picnic table as he drummed his fingers against the surface. Lightly, his fingers tapped against the wood, making a backdrop of noise. When he took a deep breath, he straightened and expanded his chest. “Yeah, it is. That’s why I’m asking her to marry me.” He said it nonchalantly, like he didn’t just drop an atomic bomb on the entire table.

  We were all stunned. Mom’s jaw dropped like she’d seen a ghost. Dad’s immediate reaction was to twist his neck so he could look at Mom.

  I didn’t know what my reaction was, but I was definitely shocked.

  My brother was going to propose to Pepper.

  Could this really be happening?

  It took nearly a minute for someone to say something.

  Mom went first. “Finn, are you being serious?”

  “Yep.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up the picture. “I bought the ring this week.”

  She yanked it out of his hand and stared at it. “Wow…it’s beautiful.” She showed it to Dad. “Oh god, I’m gonna start crying. I’ve got to keep my shit together…” Mom never cussed, so it was comical to hear those words fly out of her mouth.

  “Wow, that’s very nice, son.” Dad looked at the picture then handed it to me.

  I almost couldn’t look at the picture because I wasn’t ready to accept it. Everything had happened so fast. They hadn’t even been together that long, less than six months. My brother went from a life of complete solitude to buying an engagement ring for a woman he’d been dating a short time.

  I stared at the solitaire ring, the simple design with the large diamond in the center. My hand shook as I looked at the image, imagining Pepper wearing a ring different from the one I had given her. I slowly handed the phone back to him.

  Finn watched me, studying my expression since I didn’t have the same reaction as our parents. “She doesn’t have a family, so I don’t have anyone to ask for permission. Since you’re the closest thing she has…I want to ask you. Do I have your blessing, Colton?”

  I felt his eyes on my face, along with the stares of my parents. He was putting me on the spot, so I didn’t have any choice but to be supportive. “You don’t think this is a little fast?” Maybe that wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear, but I had to ask the question anyway.

  “Yeah, it is really fast,” Finn said. “But I did a lot of thinking while I was on that trip…and it feels right. It felt right the moment I met her.” He hid the photo on his phone then slipped it into his pocket. “You never answered my question, Colt.”

  Now was the moment of truth. I’d thought I was okay with them being together, but now I realized I was really letting her go. She would marry Finn and no longer be my ex-wife. She would be someone else’s wife. Everything was moving so fast, but at the end of the day, it didn’t change anything. Pepper was happy…and I wanted her to be happy with Finn for the rest of her life. “Of course, man. Take care of her.”

  He placed his hand on my back and gave me a gentle pat. “You know I will.”

  19

  Pepper

  Since I was out of clothes, I went by my apartment to pick up a few things. Now I was taking walks with Finn and Soldier on a daily basis, so I needed more workout clothes. Losing weight had never been important to me, so I never bought clothes to wear to the gym. But now, Finn was indirectly forcing me to have a healthy lifestyle.

  I looked through my things and tossed everything into a bag.

  The front door opened. “Pepper?” Colton raised his voice. “Are you here?”

  I stepped out of my old bedroom. “Yeah. What are you doing here?”

  “I ran out of toilet paper, so I came to steal yours.” He held up his key. “But the door was already unlocked.”

  “How long have you been taking my shit?”

  “Not nearly as long as you’ve been taking mine.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m just picking up more clothes before I head back to Finn’s. I’ve been doing all these walks with him, so I need more workout clothes.”

  “Oh, you must hate that.”

  “It’s not so bad, but he likes to walk so far. His goal is to make Soldier tired by b
edtime.”

  “But he’s making you tired?” he teased.

  “Something like that.”

  He helped himself to the bathroom and grabbed a couple of rolls. “With you here, I feel like I have a Costco right next door.”

  I stuck out my tongue at him.

  “Payback is a bitch, ain’t it?”

  “Ain’t isn’t a word.”

  “It sure is to me—and I’m a lawyer.”

  “Put that in your documents, and you’ll be a fired lawyer.”

  He set the toilet paper on the table near the door. “So, what’s the plan? Are you living there now?”

  “I don’t know. He wants me to stay with him for a while, but I’m not officially moving in. So…I’m not really sure.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded.

  “It’s been nice being with him all the time. I missed him so much, and I’m glad he doesn’t feel smothered.”

  “It doesn’t seem like he’s smothered at all…”

  “Yeah. I’ll keep crashing there until I get the hint that he wants me to leave.”

  “Maybe he’ll never want you to leave.”

  I chuckled. “I doubt that. But it would be nice to get rid of this place. I’m paying a fortune in rent for no reason. At least I’m not paying for utilities.”

  “Yeah, true. I wonder what half of Finn’s mortgage is?”

  I shrugged. “Even if I moved in with him, he would never let me pay half. He’s way too proud.”

  “True.”

  I zipped up the bag and held it over my shoulder. “What are you doing tonight?”

  “Just chilling at home.”

  “No Tom?”

  He shook his head. “Just me.”

  “Well, I would ask you to do something, but I don’t think I’ve seen Finn enough. He’s been home for a couple weeks, but it only feels like a few days.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I know you guys missed each other like crazy. Soldier too.”

  I kissed him on the cheek before I walked out. “Don’t take all my stuff, alright?”

  “We’ll see.”

  I turned around when I got to the door. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Yeah…I’ll see you later.” Colton looked at me with emotion in his eyes, as if we were saying goodbye. It was as if I was on the precipice of leaving forever, as if we would never see each other again.

  “Everything alright?”

  “Yeah.” He slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I’m just happy for you…”

  “Happy for me?”

  “You know…that Finn is home and you guys are doing so well. It went well with my parents. It just seems like everything is working out for you.”

  “Yeah…I am happy. Things seem to be going well with you and Tom too.”

  “Yeah…things are good.” He grabbed the two rolls of toilet paper and stuffed them under his arm. “It’s just crazy how things change sometimes. The four of us had dinner with my parents last night like it was no big deal… Who would have thought that would ever happen?”

  “True. I guess it is crazy.”

  He nodded then walked past me into the hallway. “A year ago, I never would have thought we would be here…but here we are.” He crossed the hall back into his apartment then shut the door.

  While that felt like a positive conversation, Colton seemed a little off. He appeared equally sad and heartbroken. Maybe the most serious my relationship with Finn became, the more Colton realized that we were both moving on. Sometimes I forgot I was his ex-wife because it seemed like we were just really good friends. But maybe Colton was struggling with that more than I realized…especially after seeing Finn and me together with his parents. Maybe it bothered him, but he didn’t want to admit that out loud.

  Maybe I should talk to him about it.

  Or maybe it was better left unsaid.

  “What’s this?” Finn came in the door wearing his dark blue scrubs with his stethoscope around his neck. Even in the baggy clothing, he looked like the sexiest piece of man candy in the world.

  “Soldier and I made dinner.”

  He set his keys and wallet on the counter then raised an eyebrow. “You and Soldier?”

  “Well, mostly Soldier.”

  He walked to the stove and looked at the pan of chicken enchiladas. “Wow, those look pretty good.”

  “Why are you surprised?”

  “I guess I shouldn’t be…since Soldier made them.” He turned to me with that sexy smile then kissed the corner of my mouth. “You don’t have to cook, baby. I don’t mind doing it.”

  “I wanted to. When you work all day, I thought it would be nice to come home to a hot meal.”

  He grabbed a fork from the drawer then took a bite. After slowly chewing and savoring the sample, he gave me a look of approval. “That’s pretty damn good. Where did you learn this?”

  “YouTube.”

  “Looks like your bad cooking streak is over.” He pulled out a couple of plates and scooped the enchiladas and rice onto his plate. “Unless you were being serious when you said Soldier did all the cooking?”

  I shrugged. “He might have helped a bit.”

  We gathered our food and sat at the dining table together. He drank water instead of scotch, and all his paperwork for dictation was beside him. He cut into his food and ate quickly, like he hadn’t eaten anything all day.

  “You seem to like it.”

  “Because it’s good. This is a home run.”

  Soldier sat on the ground next to the table, hoping a scrap of food would fall for him to feast on.

  “How was work?” I asked, knowing his day was far more interesting than mine.

  “Uneventful, with the exception of one thing.” He finished chewing before he kept talking. “I worked with Layla today.”

  “Oh?”

  “She was quiet, left me alone, and she didn’t bother me at all. She barely even looked at me. It was nice.”

  Maybe my words got to her, after all.

  “You must have said the right thing to make her change her attitude like that.”

  I shrugged.

  He watched me, approval in his eyes. “Any other woman would have punched her in the face, but you didn’t. You have so much power, you don’t need violence. You always know what to say for any situation.”

  “I don’t know about that…”

  “Well, whatever you did obviously worked. It’s made my life a lot easier.”

  I was glad I’d struck a chord with Layla. Now I wouldn’t have to deal with her desperation anymore.

  “What about your day?” With his elbow on the table, he sat forward and shoveled the food into his mouth, eating like a hungry bear that couldn’t get enough sustenance.

  To me, it seemed like we were a married couple, two people sharing their lives together. We talked about our day while we shared a home-cooked meal. It was nice…so nice that I wished we could do this forever. “It was good. But I had a weird conversation with Colton.”

  Finn stopped eating. He abruptly raised his hand from his plate and looked at me, turning still and quiet as he considered what I’d just said. “What did he say?”

  “I went to my apartment to pick up a few things, and he stopped by to get some toilet paper…because he’s a thief.” I rolled my eyes. “But then we started talking about us, and he said he was happy for me…but he also seemed sad as he said it.”

  Finn’s appetite must have vanished because he set his fork down even though there was still plenty of food on his plate. He sat back against the wood of the chair and stared at me, his mind working furiously behind that pretty face. “And that was it?”

  “He didn’t say much, but what he didn’t say concerns me. I think seeing us together at your parents’ house stirred him up a little bit. The two of us used to go there together all the time, for holidays and birthdays. Now, everything is different. Maybe it bothered him, but he doesn’t want to admit it.”
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  His eyes drifted away, and he sat in silence. He didn’t express his thoughts to me, choosing to let the moment be overshadowed by his sullen mood. His hands rested on the armrests, and his stethoscope shifted slightly around his neck with his movements.

  “I might be overthinking it.”

  “Maybe,” he said noncommittally. “I’ll talk to him and make sure he’s doing alright.”

  “That’s a good idea. If he were unhappy, he probably wouldn’t tell me.”

  “Yeah…you’re probably right.” He leaned forward again and picked up his fork, but this time, he didn’t take a bite. He just stirred his fork around the contents of his plate, his mind elsewhere.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He lifted his chin and looked at me again. “Nothing, baby.”

  20

  Colton

  I’d just put a load of laundry into the washer when there was a knock on the door. Since it was laundry day, I was in old sweatpants and a t-shirt with holes on it. Tom wouldn’t stop by unannounced, so I assumed it was Pepper.

  I opened the door and came face-to-face with my brother instead. He was dressed in his scrubs, and it was clear he’d just finished his shift in the ER. “Hey, what brings you here?”

  “Can we talk?” He stepped inside without waiting for me to initiate an invite.

  “Sure…everything alright?”

  “Does it seem like everything is okay?” He turned around and faced me, looking furious with his tight jaw and hostile eyes. His shoulders were tense, and his forearms were lined with veins. He didn’t need to convey much to show his irritation, and right now, his distaste was amplified to a decibel-breaking volume.

  “I’m not following.”

  “Pepper told me you guys had a weird conversation the other day. She said you were behaving strangely. She didn’t know what to make of it, so she just assumed you have a problem with us. Seeing the two of us together at Mom and Dad’s freaked you out.”