by Ann, Natalie
The next morning, she was sitting at Wyatt’s island while he was pouring their coffee. It was only the second time she’d spent the night with him. He asked her more often, but since he was on call and busy she used that as an excuse not to.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to as much as she didn’t want him getting too used to it being something to expect every weekend. Or during the week.
They weren’t even close to being there yet in her eyes. But she caved last night and stayed because she wanted to.
“Here’s your creamer,” he said, putting it down in front of her with her coffee.
“You bought it for me?” she asked. Talk about sweet, considering she didn’t drink coffee except in the morning, so again, only the second time. He drank it strong and black. Bitter even. She couldn’t even choke it down with milk in it last time. “Could you get a bigger container of it?”
“As you can tell it’s the largest container I could find. I’d have bought a gallon of it if I could find it.”
“You like to push, don’t you? Is this your way of wanting to make sure I don’t have an excuse not to stay again?”
He laughed. “Maybe,” he said, then winked. “I just wanted to make sure you had enough. There might be another one in the fridge too just in case you use all of that this morning.”
“Jerk,” she said, laughing. He didn’t often play jokes on her. Not like everyone else said he did, but he had really given her crap about not being able to finish his coffee last time with the milk in it.
The more she thought of it, she’d only heard he was the joker of the family more than witnessing anything with the exception of Dr. Jones.
She added her creamer to her coffee, took a sip and had to add more, then caught his smirk. “How do you drink this? It’s like sludge.”
“It keeps me awake. I lived off of it in med school and during my residency.”
“I bet this is the reason you never sit still,” she said, taking another sip. It was almost tolerable right now. As much as she wanted to add more creamer she wouldn’t. That would just prove his funny point he tried to make.
He took her cup out of her hand and dumped it, then turned on the Keurig in the corner. “I’ll make you one of my mom’s. That’s lighter. No reason to drink something that makes you shudder with each sip.”
“You have coffee here just for your mom? And why didn’t you make me that last time? You said you were out.”
“Because it was funny watching you gag last time. And I don’t have the flavors she likes anymore. She likes flavored ones. I forgot which, but Noah and Drake never let me live it down that I don’t have what Mom drinks in the house. She won’t drink it out of the pot when I make it. My father bought me this months ago and said that he got sick of my mother complaining after she left my house that she couldn’t have a cup of coffee. He gave me a bunch of the flavors she drinks, but they are gone now. Only the plain ones are left.”
“Your mother is here that much that she drank it all? And can I say that is super nice your father did that for her.”
“It was more a shot at me for not having it here for her,” he said, laughing. “My family gets me every time they can. And no, she isn’t here that much, but she has two cups when she is and then everyone else that comes over drinks it too. Since the last time my mother was here she was complaining all her favorites were gone, I’m starting to think my brothers drank it on purpose knowing I’d run out.” He put the cup in front of her.
“I’ll take it,” she said. “You should find out what your mom likes and buy it for her. That way the next time she comes over she won’t have something to complain about.”
“I should,” he said. “But she likes to find something to bust on me about. I might as well leave it at that.”
She just shook her head. “When is our T time?”
“Ten,” he said. “So we should eat something and then get ready. We need to stop and get Jade’s clubs too. I made coffee, you can do breakfast.”
“I didn’t know we were playing it that way. I would have made my own coffee,” she said but got up and walked to his fridge. She was in his T-shirt that was hanging down over her hips and stopping mid-thigh. Normally she slept in a tank top but had completely forgotten to pack one.
“We have to share the responsibilities,” he said. “That is what my mother always told us boys.”
She imagined Carolyn wanted her boys to not rely on a woman for things but yet Wyatt still wanted her to cook. Yes, he was grinning wide when he said it so she figured why not make one of her favorite breakfasts.
“Where are your spices?” she asked. “I’ll make some omelets.”
He walked over and opened a cabinet. “That’s what I’ve got. Someone gave me one of those full racks. Probably Ryder. He’s the cook of all of us. Anyway, help yourself and I’ll go shower quick if you don’t mind.”
“Go ahead,” she said, prepared to get to work.
When he came out, she was sliding his omelet and toast in front of him, then taking his cup and filling his coffee up again.
He dove right in with a large bite and then started to cough. “What the hell is in this?”
“Cayenne. Chili powder, some red pepper flakes. I would have added jalapenos if you had any in the house. The mushrooms and cheese mellow it out. Don’t be a baby and just wash it down with that sludge of yours. I thought you liked spicy food? I had the Spanish rice and enchiladas your mom made leftover weeks ago.”
“I don’t mind it, but it wasn’t as hot as this. Nor do I make a habit of having it for breakfast on an empty stomach.”
He did dig in and eat another bite though as she continued. “You don’t have to eat it if it’s too hot. I’ll make you another. Don’t you remember asking me if I liked it hot? I told you I did.”
He reached his fork over and tasted hers and coughed even more. “Jesus. I thought you might have been playing with me and yours wasn’t as bad, but it’s worse.”
“Of course it is,” she said. “I went light on yours.” She reached for his dish. “I’ll make you another.”
“No,” he said, getting up with his plate and going to the fridge. He found sour cream and slapped it on top. “That will help.”
“Wuss.” That would teach him to be cute about her not being able to handle his coffee.
29
Watching Her Squirm
“Got any antacids?” Wyatt asked his sister when they were picking up her clubs.
“Somewhere,” she said. “Hang on. Where’s Adriana?”
“She’s waiting in the car. I said I’d just be a minute and we are running late.”
“Couldn’t get your butt out of bed this morning?”
“No,” he said. “We were up on time, but she made eggs and then I had to help her clean up.”
He would have done it when she was in the shower, but he was too busy chugging a glass of milk to cool his stomach down.
He followed Jade into the kitchen where she was moving things around and finally found a bottle of antacids. He opened it and put five in his mouth.
“Geez, Wyatt. What’s wrong with you?”
“Adriana made omelets this morning.”
“She’s not a good cook?” Jade asked. “Eggs aren’t that hard to make.”
“No, she’s a good cook. Once I could get past the heat.”
Jade started to laugh. “That bad?”
“She did it on purpose. I know she did. I almost thought hers wasn’t as bad, but hers was worse, which of course was part of her plan to call me a wuss.”
“I like her. You must have done something to make her want to give you heartburn.”
“I gave her shit about not being able to drink my coffee a few weeks ago without gagging. I had no creamer for her and she insisted the milk curdled in it it was so bad.”
“We tell you all the time no one can drink that stuff. Why not just give her a cup of Mom’s?”
“It was too funny to watch. But
today I put a massive container of creamer in front of her and said there was another in the fridge to get her through. I felt bad watching her add it and still gag, so I dumped it and made her one of Mom’s. She wanted to know why I didn’t do that last time.”
“And you told her it was too entertaining watching her squirm?” his twin asked, lifting her eyebrows.
“I might have.”
Jade started to laugh. “I told her not to take any of your crap. Good for her. That will teach you.”
“Yeah. Anyway, thanks. We’ll drop these back off later.”
“If I’m not here just let yourself in and leave them by the front door. I’ve got errands to run today.”
“Thanks.”
He left and went down to the car just as Adriana was getting out. “I was wondering what was taking you so long. Did you have to use the bathroom?”
“Aren’t you the little joker now?”
“It was a serious question. Sometimes spicy foods do that to a person first thing in the morning if they aren’t used to them.”
“Do you eat like that every morning?” he asked when he got in the car and started it up.
“Nah. That is a treat for me. I don’t normally have time for that big of a breakfast.”
“A treat?” he asked.
“My mother may not win any mother of the year awards, but she was a good cook. Do you like salsa?”
“I do but I’m not sure I’d like yours.”
“I’ll go light on it. I promise. But it’s really good, especially because it’s fresh.”
“I’d like to try it,” he said. “Maybe you can make it tomorrow?”
“You don’t have the ingredients in your house. And is that your way to get me to spend two nights in a row?”
She was on to him. Might as well be honest. “Yes. And we can get what you need when we are done golfing if you want.”
“I’ll think about it.”
They got to the golf course and stopped talking about food and spending the night. It was time to pay and get on the course.
He had fun watching her play. She was better than she let on. She could definitely drive the ball, she just didn’t seem to have a lot of control or finesse as they got closer to the green. Chipping and putting went out the window on her.
“You just wanted to do this so you could kick my butt,” she said, poking him in the side with her finger. A nice playful move she never did out in public. Or did rarely if at all.
He pulled her close to his side. “That wasn’t the reason, but it’s a nice side benefit. I don’t complain when you beat me.”
“I’m not complaining,” she said.
“Whining then?” he asked.
She narrowed her eyes and he loved the spark in them.
“I don’t whine. I’m not a sore loser.”
“Good to know,” he said.
They finished out their eighteen holes. He’d wanted to stop keeping score halfway through. There was no reason to continue, but she said she wanted to see how bad she did so she could improve next time.
He liked that trait in her too. She didn’t do well but wasn’t going to throw in the towel either.
“I’m going to run to the bathroom quick,” she said when they were putting the clubs in his car. “I’m starving.”
“We can eat lunch in the clubhouse,” he offered.
It was close to three. They’d gotten a little bottled up from the people ahead of them. He was glad in a way, as he didn’t want the two of them to be causing the backup. They’d caught up to people and were waiting for their last four holes and he could only imagine the bottleneck behind them.
“Works for me,” she said.
When they got back inside, she went into the ladies’ room, him into the men’s room. As he was standing in the hall waiting for her, he looked up and saw his brothers come around the corner the same time Adriana opened the door saying, “I could eat a whole cow. I hope they’ve got big burgers on the menu in the clubhouse.”
“Fancy meeting you two here. Just get done?” Drake asked.
“About ten minutes ago,” he said. “Why? Were you behind us?”
“Yeah. Someone was holding everyone up. I think we caught up to you guys at one point. I wondered if it was you two going so slow since you were walking but then realized you were waiting too.”
“I suck,” Adriana said. “But we still moved fast and were waiting around that last four holes.”
“I don’t know about that,” Noah said. “I saw a few of your drives from the distance.”
“Oh, I can connect with the ball off a tee. After that, it’s anyone’s guess.”
Wyatt laughed. “She takes a full swing at every shot.”
“Oh,” Drake said. “Wyatt has the magic touch on the course. He and Jade. The two of them always kicked our butts.”
“So you guys are all competitive?” she asked. “I thought Wyatt didn’t care if he won.”
She was smirking when she said it. “I want to win when it’s important.”
“Jade is the one that had to best us,” Drake said. “She always pushed Wyatt too.”
“Did I hear you two kids were getting lunch?” Noah said. “I’m starving myself. Weren’t you just talking about wanting something to eat, Drake?”
“I sure was.” Drake put his hand on Wyatt’s back. “Table for four.”
“Sure,” he said. Damn it.
“So is it safe to say you aren’t just friends?” Noah asked Adriana at the table. “Wyatt tried to say you were but no one believed it.”
She looked at him and he just shrugged. “We’re dating. Got any advice for me in dealing with your baby brother?”
Noah started to laugh. “We could tell you all sorts of things. For some reason Sebastian just idolizes Wyatt though.”
“That kid loves me,” he said. “Noah is an authority figure to him.”
“Only during the day,” Noah argued.
“Even after hours you’re still going to be his ‘dad.’ He’s never had one and he looks up to you for that. But me, I’m the cool uncle that he can say what he wants to and I’m not going to take his video games away.”
Adriana laughed. “There is something to be said for that.”
“Paige takes his games away. I don’t,” Noah said.
“No. You punish him in other ways by fixing his wrongs and making him join clubs and spread the word,” Drake said.
“He’s doing a good thing for Voices Matter and you know it,” Noah said.
“Boys,” Wyatt said. “You’re ruining my lunch.” He turned to Adriana. “Sebastian was bullied in school and got into some fights. Rather than be suspended, Noah made him and another kid start a club to talk about bullying. An anti-bulling campaign.”
“It’s called Voices Matter?” she asked. “That’s a great name.”
“Sebastian’s idea,” Noah said. “He’s a smart kid. And it was a good move. He’s made a lot of friends and he’s having a good time doing it.”
“My point is,” Wyatt said, “he doesn’t have to be guarded with me.”
“He just likes that you’re the prankster of the family,” Noah said.
“Hey, he bested me with the Elf on the Shelf,” he said.
“I’m confused,” Adriana said. “The Christmas toy?”
Drake shifted in his chair as if he was uncomfortable. “Let’s not talk about that. Wyatt had that stupid doll popping up everywhere and violated our things with it. When he left home Mom threw it in the fireplace and we all watched it burn.”
“No,” Wyatt said. “She told me she had it packed away and couldn’t find it in a box when I asked for it after college.”
“Sorry,” Drake said. “Mom lied to you. Ask Jade.”
“I’m going to ask Mom. Why would I go to Jade?” he asked.
“Because it was her idea,” Noah said.
“I like your family,” Adriana said. “I missed this growing up and didn’t even have it with my friends
. Not like you guys have talking back and forth all the time.”
And forty minutes later when his brothers left him with the bill he turned to her and said, “Do you still like my family? That’s twice now I’ve got hit with a big bill.”
She winced. “You said it wouldn’t happen again. I thought for sure when they sat down to join us they’d be splitting it. Though they did seem to order a lot.”
“I knew right away what was going to happen,” he said.
“Then I guess it’s just payback. You must have really gotten them good growing up.”
“In their eyes they will be paying me back the rest of my life.”
“Then maybe it’s not as much payback as their form of love. Kind of like what you do to them?”
He never thought of it that way before.
Sure, it started out being something funny he could get attention for but then turned into a habit.
Everyone in his family expected it of him now more than anything else.
Just like he expected Drake to always be chill and nothing could upset him, and Noah would always want to help people better themselves, and Jade would always be competitive and have an addiction to shopping.
These were the things about his family that he came to depend on. Something that would never change.
The question was, did he need to change to get the woman he wanted?
30
A First
“Maggie, wait up.”
Carolyn walked fast to grab Maggie Lopez before she got to her classroom. “Hi, Carolyn.”’
“Do you have a few minutes to talk?”
“Sure. I’ve been meaning to touch base with you. I think maybe we want to talk about the same thing.”
“I know we do,” she said. “My room should be empty now if you want to go there?”
“Yes,” Maggie said. “I’ve got kids in mine working on a project during their lunch period. Let me just go pop my head in so they know.”