Priceless

by Linda Kage

  “Wait. What?” Pressing my hands to my aching head, I counted to five with my eyes shut before dropping my fingers and narrowing my gaze on my sister and her annoying husband. “First of all...what the hell are you three doing here?”

  “Teagan has a play date with Beau,” my sister answered as she brushed cookie crumbs from her daughter’s mouth while Teagan selected a new cookie to eat. “But he was napping when we arrived, so now we’re just waiting for him to wake up.”

  “Nap?” Teagan lifted her face, looking worried.

  Caroline laughed. “No, baby. We’re not making you take another nap.” It was a well-known fact Ten and Caroline’s daughter hated the dreaded n-word. “Beau’s taking a nap.”

  “Beau,” Teagan cheered. “Beau-Beau play now?”

  “As soon as he wakes his lazy ass up,” Ten told her.

  “Lazy ass,” Teagan repeated solemnly.

  “He is,” her father agreed, “Just like his daddy.”

  “I heard that, asshole,” Noel grumbled as he strolled into the kitchen behind me and went to the refrigerator to get a bottle of Gatorade.

  As he shut the door and cracked open the lid, his gaze scanned over me. “Are you just now waking up? Damn, Brandt.”

  I folded my arms over my chest and glared. “Are you in on this too?”

  After taking a sip, he blinked blankly. “In on what?”

  Caroline snorted. “As if he could ever be as devious as Colton and me? Of course we didn’t involve Noel.”

  “Colton?” I growled, remembering how he’d enticed me into visiting Sarah last night. Holy fuck, I’d been played...by my own family.

  By Sarah.

  Oh my God. That deception was the worst. She’d cried, she’d gotten my jealousy stewing, and she’d worn that slinky fucking lingerie. She’d known what she’d been doing the entire fucking time.

  I felt sick to my stomach.

  “Involved me in what?” Noel repeated, beginning to frown.

  “Well, Colton may or may not have learned from Sarah that she and Brandt were discussing...you know.”

  Noel blinked. “No. I don’t know.”

  “Sex,” Ten said, rolling his eyes. “They’ve finally been talking about doing it.”

  Glancing at me as if confused, my older brother said, “You mean, you two haven’t already?”

  My jaw dropped. What the hell? “She’s my friend. Of course we haven’t.” Was I the only sane, rational person left on the planet?

  “So you didn’t last night either?” Caroline broke in. “Yes!” She punched Ten in the arm. “I win. You lose. Sucka!”

  Ten rubbed his arm and scowled at me. “Damn it, what is wrong with you? You seriously turned down the black and red panty set? Dude.” He blew out a low whistle as if he was either impressed or severely disappointed by my willpower.

  Unable to take it a second longer, I exploded. “How the fuck do you even know what color of underwear Sarah was wearing last night?”

  “Hey, shhh,” Noel warned. “Beau’s taking his nap.”

  “Or he was,” Caroline muttered, rolling her eyes.

  Their complete nonchalance was pissing me the ever-loving-fuck off.

  “Dammit.” I set my hands on my hips and looked up at the ceiling, wishing I could yell in a house where I didn’t have to worry about waking up any kids. “Will someone please tell me how the hell you all knew what Sarah would be wearing last night?”

  “Because Zoey and I helped her pick out the outfit,” Caroline answered logically. “Duh.”

  I spun to her, glaring. “You actually helped her? What the hell, Care?”

  “Hold up,” Ten broke in, lifting his hands to stop us before he reached for his daughter and snagged her from Caroline’s lap. “Let me just grab my spawn here and get her out of firing range before you two really go at each other.”

  As soon as Teagan was safely on his hip, Caroline shot to her feet, glaring back at me. “Yes! We helped her. You two are so destined for each other it’s not even funny. And we’re getting tired of waiting for you to figure it out already, so fine...we intervened.” My scowl made her shy back and more hesitantly add, “Just the tiniest bit.”

  A vein in my temple throbbed and my jaw felt as if it might crack any second. “And Sarah just...went along with this?”

  My sister’s grin was rueful. “Well...once Colton dragged it out of her that she wanted to get naughty with you, we kind of more like...shanghaied her. Sort of willing, but mostly without any consent. Honestly, by the way she left us yesterday, I didn’t think she’d go through with it.”

  My mind raced. Sarah really hadn’t been acting as if she’d been expecting me to show up. She’d tried to get me to leave more than once. But she’d still been wearing the outfit they’d helped her pick out, except it’d been obvious she hadn’t wanted me to see it. Damn, I was so fucking confused.

  “I still can’t believe you and she have seriously never had sex,” Noel murmured, still stuck on that issue.

  “I told you,” I bit out. “We’re just friends.”

  “And Caroline’s my best friend,” Ten said, placing a kiss on the top of Teagan’s head. “But I still fuck her every chance I get.”

  Noel and I winced together. “Eww.”

  But then Aspen entered the kitchen, carrying a still sleepy-eyed Beau, and Noel snagged her around the waist to draw her to his side. “But he’s right. This is my best friend, right here.” After pressing his mouth to the side of Aspen’s head, he sent me a telling look, arching his eyebrows.

  I threw my hands in the air in defeat. “Well congratulations to you. I guess I’m just not as secure in my friendship as you two assholes are.”

  Stalking from the kitchen, I started back for my room, deciding I’d just change into some clothes and eat out for lunch.

  “Hey, where are you going?” Noel called after me.

  “The gym,” I yelled back. Once I filled my empty stomach, I really needed to hit something.

  SARAH

  I owed my best friend the biggest apology ever.

  I’d written him about twenty different texts throughout the day. Hadn’t sent any of them. I knew I needed to speak to him face-to-face, but I was scared.

  He’d warned me, over and over, that we couldn’t sleep together, but I’d refused to listen. And I wasn’t sure what exactly had happened to him last night, but I knew it had hurt him.

  Hurting him had never been my intention. But in my defense, I hadn’t even known it would be possible.

  I still couldn’t believe Brandt had a secret, something he’d never told me, something that haunted him.

  That stung. I thought I knew everything, every deep, dark corner of his being. But then I realized the only part of him he’d ever kept from me was his sex life, and this obviously had something to do with that, so...I guess it made sense.

  Still. I couldn’t figure out what his secret was. He’d flipped out when he’d gagged me, so the only idea I came up with was he’d choked some poor girl to death with his dick and had to hide the body, and...yeah, that was beyond far-fetched, even for me to believe, so...I was back to being confused.

  But still sorry.

  I was definitely going to apologize. And bake cookies, which I did first, as a form of apology-procrastination, because I was afraid he wouldn’t forgive me no matter how I apologized.

  With a plate full of still-warm chocolate chip drops in the passenger seat, I pulled my SUV to a stop in front of his house late in the afternoon.

  He hadn’t called all day, which I was kind of worried about. And he may have asked me for some space, but dang it, I needed to ease his mind and let him know I was done trying to seduce him. His friendship was too important to me to lose him over this. If he could forgive me for pushing him to his limit, I would immediately desist any and all attempts to get kinky.

  So here I was. I climbed from my car and made my way to the back before lowering my chair to the ground and sliding into the sea
t. The driveway was a smooth ride for me because Brandt made sure I could roll down it without any problems. And the ramp waiting in the back reminded me even more how much he’d done over the years to make room for me in his life.

  He’d gone above and beyond, time after time. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever properly thanked him for even half of it. I hoped I hadn’t ruined our relationship. I didn’t know what I’d do without him.

  Scared, nervous, but resolved, I reached the back entrance and knocked gently as I opened the door. Ten stood at the counter, pouring milk into two sippy cups. On the stove, something was simmering under a closed lid.

  Glancing over his shoulder, Ten grinned when he saw me. “Hey, Hot Wheels. Heard you crashed and burned last night. Them’s the breaks, huh, kid?” After a sympathetic wince, he announced, “I was so sure he’d fall for it, too. I lost twenty bucks from the whole ordeal.”

  “Twenty...?” My body went cold with dread as I set the cookies on the table.

  Oh no. What if Brandt thought I’d started out last night purposely attempting to seduce him? He’d feel so betrayed. He’d...I couldn’t even stomach the worst-case scenario. Abdomen swirling with an acidic regret and deep humiliation, I asked, “Is he here?”

  “Nah.” Ten screwed the cap onto each cup and put the milk away. “He ran off to the gym, but he’s been gone a while so he should return any minute. Come on into the living room and hang with us until he gets back.”

  I blew out a breath as he stole a cookie before he left the kitchen, but then I decided I couldn’t back out of this, so I followed.

  Stretched in the La-Z-Boy with the feet kicked up, Noel watched some political discussion on an all-news channel while Aspen sat on the floor with the two kids, helping them build a Lego...thing. Caroline was curled on the couch asleep.

  Ten trailed his fingers lovingly over her hair before turning to the kids and asking, “Who’s thirsty?”

  While Beau and Teagan gathered around him for their drinks, Noel noticed me lingering in the doorway. “Hey, Sarah. When’d you get here?”

  “She just showed up,” Ten answered for me. “Came to see Butthead. And FYI...” He lifted his hand to his mouth and lowered his voice as he kept talking to Noel. “I brought up the s-e-x thing to her, which she didn’t seem to appreciate, so it’s probably best not to go there.”

  I groaned and sank lower into my chair. “Does everyone know about that?”

  “In this family?” Aspen lifted her eyebrows my way. “I’m afraid so.”

  “Don’t worry about Brandt,” Noel assured me. “He’ll pull his head out of his ass soon enough, and you two will be getting married before you know it.”

  I winced. Marriage was still the very last thing that would ever happen between me and Brandt. I was just hoping I could still be his friend by the end of the day.

  I opened my mouth to answer, though I wasn’t sure what I was going to say, when someone knocked on the front door.

  Noel and Aspen exchanged a confused glance, and Caroline stirred from her nap.

  “I’ll get it,” Aspen answered, popping to her feet though Noel kicked down the footrest of his chair and stood as well.

  The hair crackled on the back of my neck, and Ten must’ve sensed something off too because he moved closer to the children, who continued to blissfully play on the floor while drinking from their sippy cups with one hand.

  Aspen opened the door just as Caroline sat up, smoothing her hair out of her face.

  “Hi, can I help you?”

  I couldn’t see the caller, but it was obviously a woman by the sound of her voice when she said, “Is...does Noel Gamble live here?”

  “What the hell?” Noel murmured, obviously recognizing the voice. He stormed toward the door, only to stop dead next to Aspen and gape out the exit.

  “Hello, Noel,” the visitor answered calmly enough, but he recoiled as if she’d slapped him. Then he turned his head and looked straight at his sister, his gaze intense.

  She pushed to her feet, frowning. “Who is it?”

  The women stepped into the living room without being invited. Caroline gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.

  Ten turned his head, looking at me as he mouthed, “Who the fuck is she?”

  I shrugged and shook my head, but something about the blue in the woman’s eyes was familiar. It was the same blue in Noel’s, Caroline’s and even Brandt’s eyes.

  “Caroline,” the woman murmured, blinking rapidly. “My...goodness. You’ve grown up so pretty.” She glanced to Noel. “Both of you. You look...you look well.”

  Noel narrowed his eyes. “What’re you doing here?”

  The woman gave a helpless little laugh. “I don’t...I just...I’ve been clean for two years now, and I thought maybe...I don’t know, maybe we could all make...amends. I also wanted to see how my four babies turned out and if maybe there were any...grandchildren.”

  When her gaze shifted to Beau and Teagan on the floor, Ten reached out and unapologetically scooped up both kids before plopping them protectively into his lap.

  Scowling at the woman for even looking at them, he said, “My kid already has a grandma, thanks.”

  “Ten,” Noel muttered, shaking his head, but there wasn’t any real censure in his voice.

  “What?” Ten snapped back. “If this is supposed to be your mother, then I’m not impressed. Where the fuck’s she been for the past nine years?”

  “I...I’ve been pretty messed up,” Daisy Gamble answered, her voice wavering.

  “Yeah, well boo-fucking-hoo.” Ten obviously had no compassion for her. “Your children had to raise themselves, so my sympathy’s a little busy elsewhere, sorry.” He totally didn’t sound sorry.

  “Who the hell is he?” Daisy demanded, turning to Noel, who was rubbing at a spot on the center of his head. “He can’t be Brandt or...Colton.” She winced uncertainly over Colton’s name, though, like maybe wondering if he was her youngest son after all.

  “He’s my husband,” Caroline answered firmly, moving close to Ten. “Oren Tenning.”

  Her mother’s gaze shifted between them before it roved around the room and settled on me. She squinted slightly, unable to place me, and no one enlightened her as to my identity, so she turned back to Noel.

  “Where are Brandt and Colton?”

  Noel clenched his teeth. As Aspen moved to his side, he took her hand and asked his mother, “What do you really want from us?”

  “Nothing!” Flushing, she threw her hands in the air. “My goodness. I just...I want to reconnect with my children again. I want a second chance. Is that so hard to believe?”

  While Ten snorted, Noel and Caroline shared a silent glance. Caroline lifted an uncertain shoulder. So Noel sighed and turned back to Daisy.

  “Honestly,” he answered, “I have no use for you.” When Daisy sucked in a breath and looked as if she was going to start bawling, Noel added, “But if the others want a relationship, that’s fine. Wait, you do know they’re all over eighteen now, right? You can’t try to get custody over any of them any longer.”

  Lie. Colton wouldn’t be eighteen for another three months, but Daisy nodded and said, “I know.”

  My mouth dropped open. But...holy wow. Did she really not know how old her own children were?

  And I’d thought my mom had been crappy.

  “What about you, Care?” Noel asked his sister, arching his brows her way.

  Her eyes widened. “I...” Shaking her head, she looked to Ten for help. “I don’t know.”

  He stroked her leg. “Whatever you want, baby. I’ll support you no matter what.”

  “We can ease into it,” Daisy rushed to say. “Meet once a month for dinner, or something. Start off casual, nothing big.”

  “Then...maybe,” Caroline answered, gulping as if afraid she’d made the wrong choice.

  Daisy brought her fingers to her mouth. “Thank you. Thank you for giving me a chance.”

  Her daughter nodded, even thou
gh she appeared sick about the chance she’d just given.

  Glancing down at the children still corralled on Ten’s lap, Daisy asked, “And who are these two little beauties?”

  “Oh, uh...” Aspen swept forward cordially. “This little guy is actually mine.” She extracted Beau from Ten and swept him up onto her hip.

  Finally noticing a new person, Beau shied against his mother’s cheek and gazed at Daisy from wary blue eyes. When Aspen glanced uncertainly toward Noel, he nodded once.

  “This is Beau,” she introduced. “And I’m Aspen, Noel’s wife.”

  “So nice to meet you,” Daisy told her warmly before turning to Teagan.

  “My daughter, Teagan,” Caroline said.

  Not as cautious as her cousin, Teagan sprang forward to hold up a toy, eager to share it with Daisy as she announced, “Lego.”

  Her grandmother smiled and accepted. “Yes, I see that.”

  Teagan kept blinking at her expectantly, which roused a confused glance from Daisy to Caroline.

  “She wants to play Legos with you,” Ten translated dryly.

  “Oh! Well...I guess. Okay.”

  As Daisy knelt on the floor and played with Teagan, Beau grew curious and finally wanted to get down to play too.

  All the adults pretty much just hovered, watching closely as their children interacted with Daisy.

  She never again looked in my direction or asked who I was, which I didn’t mind, but still...rude.

  Probably beginning to feel like a bug tacked to a board by how closely we watched every move she made, Daisy finally lifted back to her feet and brushed off her knees. “Do you have a washroom around here I can use?”

  “Down the hall,” Noel told her after a beat, as if deciding whether he really wanted her in his bathroom. “Middle door on the right.”

  “Thank you.” She moved past me and disappeared down the hall.

  “I don’t like this,” Ten immediately announced.

  Noel and Caroline didn’t answer, but they didn’t exactly look pleased.

  Aspen began to wring her hands. “How do you think Brandt and Colton are going to react?”