An hour or so later, I’m feeling rather drunk as Mom walks into the room. Shock registers on her face when she notices all three of us hanging out together. “Look at you guys bonding.”
“Whatever. We’re out of booze. I’m leaving.” Flynn runs back upstairs, but I consider today a win. Baby steps and all that.
“Mommy, I brought you a cookie.” My daughter is right behind her grandma, baked goods right off the press and drunken me is thrilled.
“Do you want me to tuck her in?” my mom asks and I nod and say thank you. I give my kid a kiss on the head and off to bed she goes.
“Is it weird? Being a mom?” Luke takes a swig of the last beer on the table while I collapse back into the comfy couch.
“Super weird. I’m responsible for a whole life. And I’ve kept her alive this long, even living on my own. It’s crazy. I never thought this would be my life.” Maddox. Ava. Cancer. Dropping out of college. All of it. My life passes before my eyes in montage form and I briefly wonder how I got so off track. I’m grateful, but I can’t help but wonder regardless.
“You do good, Carson.” He looks like he wants to say more, but we leave it at that.
After a few more minutes, he speaks up again. “This new guy. Is he good to you?” He must be taking advantage of my loose lips tonight.
“He is. He’s one of the good ones. I’m just scared to let him in.”
He nods like he understands because doesn’t he? With everything I’ve been through, I’d think anyone would understand. I only hope Wren does too.
Within the next few minutes, loud winds sound outside and large raindrops pelt against the house. Everything is boarded up, and it’s not our first hurricane, but it’s still unsettling.
I grab my phone for the first time in hours and see a message from Wren. My heart flips and races, my inhibitions and wall nonexistent when I’m this tipsy.
Wren: It’s going to get nasty out quick. Stay safe. Let me know when you get to your parent’s house.
He sent that hours ago and I’m feeling guilty for not seeing it and responding to it sooner.
Carson: Sorry. We’ve been here for a while and we’re safe. You do the same.
Wren: I will. I’ll talk to you tomorrow when this all passes.
I’m smiling like an idiot at my phone and my brother notices. “So, about that bet…”
Twenty-Seven
Carson
The storm passes by the time morning comes and I’m eager to find out the status of my house and when the crew will start working again. Then when that ordeal is settled, I have to arrange a meeting between Wren and Lucas. Yup, I lost the bet, which was stupid and childish to begin with.
When Lucas, Flynn, and I were kids, we used to hide secret messages to each other throughout the house. It was our own version of having a secret language.
Luke thought he was clever and bet I couldn’t find his last message, which he wrote last night so it’s practically cheating. I scoured the entire house, looking in all of our old secret spots, for a shriveled up
paper I’m convinced he never hid to begin with. If he wanted to meet Wren that badly, all he had to do was ask.
The second the clock strikes nine and the rain slows down, I call Wren.
“Hello?”
“Hey. I know it’s early and I’m being a bother.”
“You’re no bother, Carson. I’m on my way to your house now. Do you want to come with me or want me to just give you a call and a status update after?”
I’m sure my parents won’t mind keeping Ava for me for a little while. “I’m coming with you.”
We hang up and I text him my parents’ address as I get ready to go. I search for my parents everywhere, but I can’t find them.
“What’re you doing?” Lucas finds me walking into my parents’ walk-in closet, praying they’re in there or I’ll have to call Wren back.
“Where are Mom and Dad?”
“Dad had to go to work. The office took quite the hit so he’s figuring out next steps. Mom’s already down at the shelter seeing if everyone there is okay and if they need any help.” Shit. “Is everything okay?”
“My, um, architect, Wren, is supposed to pick me up to take me to the house to assess the damage.”
“Your architect is picking you up? Isn’t that a little personal?” The gleam in his eye tells me he knows exactly what’s going on between me and my architect.
“Shush. Now I can’t go anyway because I’m not going to take Ava and Mom and Dad left.”
“Let me watch the kid.”
“Seriously?”
“Of course. You know I love the little troublemaker and she loves me. Besides, it gives me time to pump her full of candy and teach her swear words.” I smack him, but I’m grateful for him at the same time.
“Thank you. I owe you one.”
“Yeah, don’t forget about our bet.”
“Where’d you hide it anyway?”
“I didn’t. I had it the whole time. You’re too trustworthy. I knew you wouldn’t call me out on holding it.” He throws his head back and laughs. Jackass.
҉ ҉ ҉
I have sunglasses on, but my eyes are pinched shut behind them. I’m too scared to see the damage my house sustained from the storm. Gravel crunches under the tires of Wren’s car as we pull into, what I can only assume, is the unfinished driveway.
A sharp intake of breath coming from my left makes my stomach turn. “Carson.” I shake my head. “Maybe I should just take you back home.”
“Oh my God, is it that bad?”
“Aren’t you looking?” He moves my sunglasses and my eyes stay closed. “It’s not that bad. I promise.”
My eyelids creak open like I’m watching a scary movie. The house is still standing and the windows and doors are boarded up. There’s some minor damage with the roof and the one side of the house got hit. I can consider myself lucky, but nausea still grips my stomach knowing how this will affect construction and moving in.
Tears well in my eyes and my hands find my mouth, covering it. “What does this mean?” I look over at Wren and he places a hand on my thigh.
“I’ll head into the office and talk to the crew today. We’ll figure it out.” He goes to put the car in reverse but I stop him. I jump out of the car, needing to see the damage up close and personal.
“Carson,” he admonishes, following me. It’s probably stupid and dangerous for me to investigate the situation myself, but now that I’ve seen it, I need to know just how bad it is.
There are branches and debris lying around. There’s minor flooding and if any of the electrical work was exposed, I’m sure that’s ruined. A panic attack threatens to grip me and take me down. I walk away from the worst of it, moving around the back of the house where thankfully the house itself didn’t harbor much damage. It’s mainly limited to the one side.
I’m grateful the majority of the house is finished or I’d have been in much more trouble. Still, my new house got hit harder than my parents’ place because of its close location to the water. Part of me wants to kick myself for wanting this prime location, but the other part of me knows it’s always been my dream to live on the water and I knew about the risks.
“Come on, Carson. Let’s get out of here.” I take Wren’s hand and he leads me through the wreckage and back to his car. After helping me in, he struts around the front and sits behind the wheel before moving. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m lucky, I know that. It could’ve been worse and it’s a reality I’ll have to get used to once I move in here anyway.” My thoughts are racing with the probability that I’ll be homeless for at least a small period of time because this will, no doubt, cause some setbacks. But I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
The remainder of the ride is silent. I’m sure Wren doesn’t want to say anything to worry me or make any promises he can’t keep. We’ll have more to talk about once he talks to the contractors.
Which is a weird thought,
considering he’s kind of my boyfriend, I guess? I’ve compartmentalized him so well that I can’t view him in that light when we’re at my house. He’s strictly my architect on site which almost makes this car ride awkward.
But things get worse when he pulls into my parents’ driveway and my brother is waiting for us out front. This won’t be good.
Wren, sensing the tension, shuts off his car and gets out to meet Lucas.
“Luke, what are you doing?” The irritation spits out through my teeth, not wanting my little brother to embarrass me in front of my architect-slash-potential-boyfriend.
“We’re not—”
“I’m Wren, Carson’s boyfriend.” He turns to smile at me, encouraging me and it reminds me why I like him so much.
“Wren, huh? Ava’s talked a lot about you. I’m Lucas, Carson’s brother.” He puffs out his chest as if they’re in a pissing match.
It’s not like my brother is The Hulk or a bodybuilder. Wren and Luke are roughly the same size and stature. Lucas’ benefit lies in being nine years younger than my boyfriend. Though I don’t predict them getting into an actual physical altercation ever.
“Yeah, I’m kind of a fan of that little girl.”
Hearing Wren say those words makes my heart swell.
“Well, now you two have met, but Wren has to get back to the office.” I push him back toward his car, hoping he gets the point without being offended.
“Don’t you want to invite him inside? Maybe he can meet Flynn and it can be a real party. I’m sure Ava would love to see him.” My brother is smug and if it wouldn’t hurt my daughter so much, I’d be tempted to murder him right now.
“Another time.” I shoot a pointed look at my brother, praying the daggers in my eyes puncture him.
I drag Wren back to his car and this time I’m the one shutting the door behind him. He rolls the window down, not letting me escape inside.
“Who’s Flynn?” He’s smirking, which I take as a good sign.
“My little sister.” I’m sure she’d try to dig her claws into him if she knew we were dating. That’s just who she is.
“Will I ever get to meet her?”
Maybe on our wedding day. Wait. Where the hell did that come from?
“We will talk about that another time.” I lean in, giving him a quick peck on the lips, though my face immediately heats knowing my brother is still present and probably saw that. “Call me later with an update.”
He waves and drives off while I spin around to head back inside. Lucas has a smug look on his face and he wiggles his brows when I meet his eye.
“Shut up. Where’s Ava?”
“Napping.” He follows close as I head inside. “How’s the house?”
“I’ll find out in a few hours when Wren calls me back.”
“Your boyfriend,” he sing-songs like a pre-teen boy.
“When are you heading back to college?” I smack his arm as he sits in the kitchen while I grab a bottle of water from the fridge.
“The school had some flooding so I’m going to be home for a while.” He tosses an apple in the air before catching it and taking a large bite.
“Have fun here with Flynn.” It’s my turn to be smug.
“Let’s hope your house is done soon. I’m calling dibs on the spare room until I get my own place.”
“Ava will love that.”
We hang out for a while. I cook lunch for us and my daughter until my phone rings and everything halts.
Twenty-Eight
Carson
The damage on my house has pushed construction back two or three months and that’s if we’re lucky. I haven’t felt particularly lucky in my life, well, ever, which doesn’t bode well for my current situation.
Ava and I are back at the apartment, though with every day that passes I become more and more anxious. My time here is running out and I don’t know where I’m going from here.
“Hello?” I pick up my phone which has been ringing nonstop all morning. Meghan has been calling me, but I’m not in the mood for work today. A perk of owning my own business is making my own hours.
“Who pissed in your coffee?”
“I’m kind of dealing with some stuff right now, Meg. Did we have a shoot today I forgot about or something?” I wrack my brain but come up empty.
“No, what’s going on?” I fill her in on the drama, trying to ignore her gasps of horror. I don’t want her pity. I’ve dealt with far worse in my life than a little construction delay.
“Well, I hate to be the bearer of more bad news…”
“What is it now?”
“Nothing major. Just…another delay. The H+J project we shot in Vegas has stalled and they don’t want the article to come out until they open. Which won’t happen until the new year.” We could’ve used the publicity this article was bound to bring us. Not that our company is failing, but it would be nice to expand to greater than just the two of us.
“Okay. Thanks for letting me know.”
“That’s it? Why don’t we meet for lunch and we can figure everything out.”
“I’m not really—you know what, let’s do it. Text me the details.”
A mischievous smile tugs at my lips as I concoct a plan. As soon as Meg texts me where she wants to meet for lunch, I message my brother under the same ruse. That’ll teach him for bombarding me and Wren the other day.
I spend the rest of my time ignoring my phone because I don’t feel like getting yelled at by my brother or best friend. I’ll deal with them later. Instead, I go over my emails and book a few new clients. I spend the day with my daughter since Maddox’s parents are taking her for the night and disregard the slowly building panic taking root in my gut.
A knock on the door after dinner surprises me as I’m not expecting Melanie and Scott to pick up Ava for a little while yet. For a brief moment, I fear it’s Lucas coming to yell at me, but when I glance through the peephole, I’m pleasantly surprised to see Wren on the other side.
“Hi, what are you doing here?” I open the door wider to invite him in and he kisses me on the cheek.
“I thought you could use a pick-me-up after the week you’ve had.” He holds up a bag from my favorite bakery and my mouth waters.
“Wren!” My daughter is ecstatic to see him and I can’t help but smile as I watch them hug.
“Thank you. That was sweet of you.” He shrugs off his coat.
I love how comfortable he is here already, despite the awkwardness of our past dates here. It’s as if he won’t let any of those nights get to him and he’s only focusing on the future. That’s how I’m choosing to perceive it, anyway.
We sit at the table and Wren offers us a slice of cheesecake in three different flavors: raspberry, chocolate swirl, or peanut butter. I’m in awe of how sweet and thoughtful this man is and how he never wavers in proving himself to me. His patience is admirable and I’m starting to fall for him hard.
Opening up my heart to him has been scary and yet after a few short weeks, it’s been so rewarding and I’m happy.
I reach across the table to hold Wren’s hand, not caring anymore if my daughter sees.
“Mommy, why are you holding Wren’s hand?” I smile at my boyfriend when he tries to pull his hand away. I don’t let him.
“Because I like him. We like each other, sweetheart, and I think we’re going to be spending a lot more time with him. Is that okay?”
She has chocolate all over her face, but she nods and smiles. “I like him too, Mommy. Am I allowed to hold his hand too?”
“Yes, if that’s what you want.” We’re like a sitcom family, sitting around the table, holding hands and smiling.
Another knock sounds on the door, pulling us from the moment. That must be Maddox’s parents. I didn’t even realize what time it was.
“Scott, Melanie, hi, come on in.” I’m suddenly acutely aware of having another man in my home since they’re here.
“Hi, sweetheart.” Mrs. Ryan pulls me in for a hug. “I s
poke to your mom today and she told me everything that’s been going on. Why didn’t you tell us? I know we were only going to have her for tonight, but we thought we could help and take Ava off your hands for a few days.”
“She’d like that. Thank you.” They continue to walk into my home but stop at the sight of Wren and Ava still holding hands. Shit.
“This is my um, friend. Wren. Wren, these are Ava’s grandparents.” I pray he takes the hint that I didn’t say they’re my parents.
“Grammy! Pappy!” My daughter bounds over to them, her face full of chocolate and her stomach full of cake.
“Hello, Wren.” Melanie looks back and forth between the two of us and Scott shakes Wren’s hand. Her tone is icy, which throws me for a loop. I’ve never heard her voice harden this way and it shocks me.
“How do you two know each other?” Mrs. Ryan’s voice is skeptical and her eyes dart between us.
“They like each other.” My daughter is too much like her father; she doesn’t know when to shut her mouth.
“He’s my architect. We were just having a, uh, meeting.” I feel Wren side-eyeing me, but I can’t meet his stare right now.
“Right. Okay, well, sweetheart, do you want to spend a few days with us?” Ava nods emphatically and I excuse us, going to pack her bags. I don’t want to leave Wren out there with my in-laws. Ex-in-laws? Either way, it’s awkward all things considered.
Hushed whispers permeate down the hall as I rush to pack all of my daughter’s favorite things. I can’t imagine what they’re talking about out there or what any of them are thinking. I would’ve told Scott and Melanie that I was dating someone, but I haven’t seen them in a while. It’s not a conversation I wanted to have over the phone.
Ava grabs her new doll and I’m tempted to tell her not to take it, but she’s attached to it. She runs back into the living room, wholly unaware of the tension filling the space.
Selfless (A Carolina Coastal Novel Book 1) Page 13