Best Friend's Sister (Slade Brothers Book 5)

by Alexis Winter

  “Deven, this is my brother, Clay. Clay, this is my fiancée, Deven,” Hudson says.

  I hold out my hand, still breathing a little too hard for my liking. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  He shakes my hand. “You too. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.”

  I smile and look up at Hudson. “Have you now?”

  Hudson shrugs and puts his arm around my shoulder, turning me around and walking to the hood of the truck. Clay follows us, and it’s only now that I notice the big tube in his hand. He pops off the cap and pulls out some papers. I’m completely confused until he rolls them out on the hood, showing me the most beautiful sketch of a house I’ve ever seen.

  Hudson looks at me. “What do you think?”

  I look at the sketch and back to Hudson. “I think your brother is an amazing artist.” My eyes are wide as I take in the brick front, the beautiful landscaping, the wooden wraparound porch, and the garage in the back.

  “Dev, I thought that since we were going to get married and start working on our future, we needed to get started on our house. You know, so that we have a place to call home when we’re ready to start our lives together.”

  My eyes double in size as I take in the drawing once again. “This…this is going to be our house?” I ask, breathless but now for a whole different reason.

  He nods and smiles. “If you like it. Do you like it?”

  “I love it,” I breathe out, unable to pull my eyes away.

  Hudson hugs me closer to his side and presses a kiss to my head. “Good.”

  Clay removes the picture on top to show us the floor plan. “I was thinking four bedroom, three baths. That way, you could have one bathroom for the kids upstairs, one for guests downstairs, and you could have your own bathroom in the master suite.” He points at the front of the house. “This will be the front door and you’ll walk into a beautiful entry way. There will be the wooden staircase and some kind of fixture of your choosing, of course, maybe something nice like a chandelier. Then back here is the eat-in kitchen. There will be plenty of counter space, a breakfast bar, and a pantry. Over in this corner will be a small table. Then the formal dining room will be over here, just off the kitchen. I put it back here in this corner because I figured this room wouldn’t be used daily, mostly for the kids’ birthday parties and family holiday dinners.”

  I can’t hold back my smile as I listen to him talk about our kids and our future.

  “Here’s the living room, and I thought we could add in an office or library over here. Really, it’s just extra room that you could use for anything. Upstairs, we have three bedrooms and two baths.”

  “I thought you said four bedrooms?”

  He shrugs. “I was counting the extra room downstairs. It could be a guest bedroom if you have family that wants to come visit,” he says to Deven. “Or anything you want. A playroom for the kids, a library, office, game room, man cave with a bar.”

  “What do you think?” Hudson asks, looking down at me.

  “I think it’s perfect,” I agree.

  Clay continues on with his plans for the surrounding property, but I don’t even bother to listen. I’m too caught up in this new house that will soon belong to Hudson, our growing family, and me. The guys walk me around the property and talk about lines and where things will be, but I can’t do anything but stand in what will be my backyard and take in the view. It’s absolutely beautiful out here. There’s a large field all around us, giving us plenty of privacy and the security with the forest in the very back.

  “We could even dig you up a pond if you want,” I hear Clay say. “A barn, horses, you name it.”

  I laugh and shake my head, unable to believe that this is where I am. I never thought when I was drinking myself into oblivion and getting arrested and thrown out of school that my life would turn out this way, but here I am. I’m grown. I’m on my own with a man who loves me by my side. And this is only just the beginning of our story.

  I watch as Hudson writes out a check and hands it over to Clay to get started on the build, and my jaw drops when I see how much the check is made out for. I’ve never seen a number so large in my life. When Clay walks back to his truck and pulls off, I grab Hudson’s hand and turn him to face me.

  “We can’t do this,” I tell him, starting to panic.

  “What? Why? I thought you loved it?” I can see in his eyes that he’s starting to panic too, but not because of the money. He’s afraid I’ve changed my mind about him. That would never be the case.

  “That was a lot of money, Hudson! I’ve never in my life seen a number that big, especially when it comes to money.”

  He laughs and pulls me against his chest. “It’s fine, Dev. I have more than enough.”

  I shake my head, not understanding. “I don’t want you spending every cent you have on this house. It’s too much. We can buy a house in town. I mean, I don’t make much, and I know my mom isn’t going to chip in for the wedding. Plus, we have the honeymoon to think about and then saving for the kids we want to have and their college funds. We can’t drop that much on a house.”

  He places his hands on either side of my face and forces my panicked eyes to look into his. “Deven, I have it. I have enough for all of it.”

  “All of it?” I ask, eyes wide and mouth dropping open when I think about how much all of that will cost.

  He smiles and nods. “All of it. I have us. I have more money than most people see in their entire lifetime. All of us do. It’s all family money. I got a chunk for my sixteenth birthday, then I got more for graduating, then I got more for joining the army. I made money in the army, and I get monthly payments from the brewery for my share. The land was already mine, given to me when I became of age. It was all set up by my great, great grandfather and passed down for generations. I know we don’t act like we’re millionaires, but babe, we’re millionaires.” He smiles wide, and all the air is sucked from my lungs.

  I feel panic rising in my chest. “You…you have money. A lot of money,” I say, starting to pace. “Why in the hell were you living in that tiny two-bedroom apartment with us then?”

  He shrugs. “Brad needed help and I wasn’t ready to put down roots here yet. Figured I’d buy myself some time and help out an old buddy at the same time. I didn’t know what I wanted until I had you anyway. Then it all made since. This is the only thing I want now.”

  “So, like, we never have to work again if we didn’t want to?”

  He laughs. “Nope.”

  “And even if we have fifteen children, we’d be able to put them through college and feed them, right?”

  He nods. “Feed them, clothe them, spoil them, pay for college, weddings, houses, you name it. It’s covered.”

  I breathe out a sigh of relief as tears fill my eyes. I rush to his chest and pull myself against him. His arms hold me tight.

  “What’s the matter? Most people are relieved when they have money, not panicked,” he jokes.

  I shake my head. “I’ve just…I’ve been broke for so long. I’ve had to worry and stress about how I’m going to make this last twenty dollars feed me for a week and put gas in my tank to get to work. It’s just so relieving that I won’t have to do that anymore. I won’t have to worry about how I’m going to eat or pay a bill or how we’re going to take care of our family.”

  His hands land on my hips and he picks me up, setting me down on the hood of the truck. His eyes land on mine. “You know what we need to do now?”

  I laugh and wipe my tears away. “What?”

  “Go car shopping. That little two-door car you have won’t do you any good when the kids come along. It will suck driving it down these country roads that never see a snowplow.”

  I laugh and shake my head. “You’re not buying me a new car, Hudson. I’m not even pregnant yet.”

  “Come on. I need to buy myself a truck too, so I can give this one back to Drake.”

  “I’ll come with you to buy your tuck, but we’re not ge
tting anything for me. Got it?”

  “Fine,” he agrees, closing the distance between the two of us. His kiss makes me forget everything else.

  I pull away slightly. “Hey, aren’t you supposed to punish me for something?”

  He laughs. “Oh yeah. What do you say we have sex right here before the house is even built?”

  I wag my brows. “I like the sound of that.”

  His mouth is back on mine as his hands pull me against his chest. It only takes us minutes to have each other completely stripped down. He picks me up against him and presses my back to the side of the truck as he slides into me. We’re home.

  It’s going on five when Hudson and I are leaving the dealership with his brand new, black Dodge Ram truck. He said that half his brothers are Chevy guys while the other half are Ford guys, but he didn’t want to pick either and went with the Dodge. I’m driving the new truck as he drives the old one back to Drake’s house. He pulls into the drive and I follow in after him. I love this truck. It’s so big, and it makes me feel powerful and important. I nearly pout when I shut off the rumbling engine and jump out, leaving the new car smell behind. Maybe I should’ve let him buy me a new car.

  Drake must hear us pull up because he comes walking out of the house with a big smile. “Finally got that new truck, huh?” he asks, pulling Hudson in for a hug while taking back the keys to the old truck.

  “Yeah. I’ve spent more money today than I have in my whole life,” he says, looking at the new truck.

  “Yeah, I talked to Clay and he mentioned getting started on your house soon. Finally made up your mind?”

  He nods. “Yeah, it didn’t take long. All I had to do was find the one I wanted to start my life with, and here she is,” he says, holding out his arm so I walk up to his side. He wraps his arm around me.

  “I’m Deven. It’s nice to meet you,” I say, holding out my hand to Drake.

  “The infamous Deven,” he says, shaking it. “I’m Drake.”

  I look up at Hudson. “Infamous, huh?”

  Drake laughs. “Oh yeah. You didn’t hear about that?”

  “Shut it,” Hudson says, looking at Drake.

  “Why don’t you two come in and say hi to Celeste? I think she just put Tyler down.” He opens the screen door and leads us into his house.

  On our way home, my phone rings and I pull it out of my bag. “Hello?” I answer.

  “Hey,” Brad says.

  “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Mom just left. She’s going to pack up her things and then she’s moving back here.”

  “What? She’s actually leaving him?”

  “Yep, I’m proud of her. She hasn’t been on her own in a long time now, so she’s really going to need our support.”

  “Of course. Where’s she staying?”

  He lets out a bitter laugh. “Here with me until she can get her own place. I was going to see if you and Hudson wanted to move back in, but then she dropped the bomb that she needed a place to stay, so here we are.”

  “That’s sweet, but I think we’ll stay where we are for now.” No way could I step foot back into that bedroom, not after what happened in there. It’s a shame that I have so many good memories of Hudson and me in there, and now they’re all overshadowed by that one terrible moment with Marco. “When does she get back? We can set up a dinner with all of us so she can formally meet Hudson.”

  “She should be back by Saturday. You want to come over here around five?”

  “Sounds good,” I agree, hanging up and looking over at Hudson.

  “What?”

  “Mom’s leaving Marco and moving into your old room at Brad’s. We’re going to have dinner with them Saturday night. Is that okay?”

  “Absolutely,” he says, picking up my hand and pressing a kiss to the top.

  Saturday rolls around, and Hudson and I get dressed and head over to Brad’s. I don’t bother knocking. I just walk right in like I still live there. Brad’s in the kitchen cooking dinner, so we go in there directly.

  “Where’s Mom?” I ask, sitting down at the table.

  “She’s in her room, unpacking and getting settled.” He brings over the salad and places it on the table. “What’s new with you guys?”

  Hudson sits down next to me. “I bought a new truck.”

  “Nice. I guess the fire department is paying you well then, huh?” Brad has no idea about how much money Hudson has, just like I didn’t.

  “Not too bad,” he answers, not wanting to bring it up. I always thought that people didn’t talk about their money because they were greedy and didn’t want anyone to know, but now I know that isn’t true. Hudson doesn’t talk about his money because to him, it doesn’t matter. He’s still the same guy he’s always been, good, caring, and reliable.

  Mom walks into the kitchen and sits down across from me and next to Hudson. “I had no idea you guys were here already. How are things?” she asks. “It’s nice to see you again, Hudson. You’ve grown so much since we moved away.” She flashes him a smile.

  He nods. “It’s been a long time, ma’am.”

  She laughs. “Oh, please. Call me Janel like you always used to. Deven, how are you doing, honey?”

  I’m thrown off by her nice tone of voice, but I don’t mention it, wanting tonight to go smoothly. “Good, actually. We have some news.”

  Brad looks over his shoulder at me just as I hold up my left hand, showing them both my engagement ring.

  “We’re getting married!”

  Brad laughs and comes over to hug Hudson, and my mom just gushes over how big the diamond is and how it had to cost a pretty penny. I don’t know how my mother has changed so much over time. When I was little, she was the best mom I could’ve asked for. She took care of me, made sure I had everything I needed, and she spoiled me rotten. I guess my years of misbehaving and then being with Marco ruined her. Now she seems to hold a grudge against me, and only cares about money. Looks like she has a rude awakening coming.

  “We’re also building a house,” I continue on with the good news.

  “Really? Where at?” Brad asks, coming to sit at the table with us.

  “Well, you know my dad. When he split up the estate, he gave me and each of my brothers a chunk of property. I figured it was time to put it to good use. Now we’re smack dab in the middle of Colton and Drake.”

  “We are?” I ask, looking over at him. I don’t remember seeing either of their houses.

  He nods. “There’s miles and miles of forest between us, but yeah, they’re our neighbors.”

  “Look at the sketch,” I say, pulling my phone out of my pocket. I pull up the picture that Clay sent to me to show off.

  Brad takes it and looks over it. “Wow, that’s amazing,” he says, passing the phone over to my mom.

  She looks at it and her mouth drops. She looks up at me, over to Hudson, then back to the screen. “This place is going to be beautiful, Deven. Looks like you’ve got yourself a good man here.” She flashes him a smile.

  I nod. “I know,” I say, looking over at him and squeezing his thigh under the table.

  My mom hands my phone back, and we all begin eating the dinner that Brad has prepared. Talk is easy among us. Brad talks about work and that girl Abby he’s been seeing. Hudson and I talk about our house and how we see our future going, and Mom just sits back and listens to it all, only adding in her opinion here and there. She never gives the conversation anything of her own, but what could she have that she actually wants to talk about? Her boyfriend of the last ten years has been arrested, pending charges, and she’s quit her job back in Denver to move all her things out of that big mansion into this tiny two-bedroom apartment she shares with her son. I can only hope that as time passes, she returns to the woman she used to be and not the woman before me.

  After dinner, Mom and I offer to clean up while the guys move into the living room to watch TV and have a beer. Mom stands at the sink washing dishes while I’m cleaning off the table.

>   “Tell me what happened, Deven. What really lead to that final argument we had?”

  I take a deep breath and tell her the story just as I told it to Hudson. I tell her about coming home from a party and being drunk. I tell her about how I thought Marco was the boyfriend I had at the time, but how I quickly realized my mistake and how I pushed him away.”

  She hangs her head. “I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you then, Dev. I just…was so confused. Marco didn’t seem like the type and not that I’m saying you did, but you were so troubled back then. You’ve really blossomed into a beautiful, smart, responsible young lady, you know?”

  I offer up a smile. “Thanks, Mom. I have the suspicion that it’s thanks for Brad and Hudson. I really got my ass handed to me when I moved here. I suddenly had to get a job and provide for myself. It was my personal mission to recover from my past.”

  She nods in understanding. “I can’t believe I brought him back into your life after you were doing so well.”

  “You didn’t know,” I say.

  “That’s because I didn’t trust you, Dev. All I had to do was listen, but I was convinced that you were a bad apple and that you couldn’t be trusted. I’m so sorry. I don’t know how you could ever forgive me, but I pray that one day you’ll be able to find it in your heart to do so.”

  I place my hands on her shoulders. “I already have,” I promise, pulling her in for a hug.

  I feel a sob run through her as I hold her.

  “I miss your father,” she says, crying on my shoulder.

  “I do too,” I whisper, feeling tears stinging at my own eyes.

  “None of this would’ve happened had he been here with us, you know?”

  “I do know, Mama, but we can’t change the past. We can only look to the future and make sure we don’t repeat the same mistakes. You have a long road ahead of you, but one of these days, you’ll be looking back at these times and you’ll be able to say, I made it. I know because that’s what I’m doing now. I look at how I used to be and look at everything I have now, and I’m amazed by the woman I’ve become and everything I have now: Hudson, getting married, building a house, and looking forward to starting family. I never thought I’d have any of that.”