by Gray Gardner
All or nothing. That’s what it had to be.
Mary wiped her face and found it soaking wet with tears. She walked a little bit off the path and sank down on an old stump, trying desperately to compose herself. She didn’t want that bitch to think that she’d gotten to her. And now she was doubting Mait. He’d never brought up anything like a prenup and he knew that she had her own money.
Mary sniffled and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her sweater when she heard voices not far from her. Night had fallen and it was cold and very dark. Sitting still, she thought they’d just pass her by.
“Hey, hey, come on, stop. Please stop. Look, I’m sorry I was so hard on you yesterday but… you have to understand. A college degree is a dime a dozen these days. Getting a higher degree will set you up for life.”
That voice sounded like Dr. Carlson Frasier the Giant. It was the next voice that totally surprised her.
“I know… I know. I just, it’s just, I feel like I’m just completely freeloading off of you. I have nothing and you have everything. How is this fair? I really just feel like dropping out and getting a job is my best option right now.”
That voice belonged to the iniquitous Mr. Nathaniel Worthington. What in the world was he doing at the Frasier Manor? With Carlson?
“I told you, Nathaniel. I see something so special in you. I just want you to see it, too.”
“Why? Why do you see that? No one else does.”
“Well that, for starters, is what I want to you see. Your dad has beaten you down your whole life. I just… I want to build you up. You’re smart and I can see your gentle heart even though no one else can appreciate it. I appreciate it. And I’m not going to stop until you recognize all of your potential.”
“How can you have so much faith in me?”
They came into view and Mary saw that they were holding hands. She froze even more if that was possible. What in the hell was going on? The infamous Carlson was being so sweet to her attacker. Seriously? This family had serious mental problems.
“It kills me that I’m the only one who has even seen all of the good in you,” Carlson whispered, holding Nathaniel’s face in his hands and leaning down. There was only about a four-inch difference between them so he didn’t have to lean far, but he gave the gentlest kiss and then a passionate stare.
“Carlson…”
“You’ll see,” he replied, kissing him again. “I’ll make damn sure one day you will see how great you really are. That’s a promise.”
Nathaniel leaned into him and his shoulders relaxed as Carlson gently rubbed his back. It was all really sweet, actually. Until she ruined the moment by snapping a twig. The two men immediately pushed off of each other.
“Sorry. I’m sorry,” Mary said, holding up her hands as she picked her way back to the path. “I was out here talking to your mom and then I got lost… but I didn’t hear or see anything.”
Carlson frowned as he cupped her chin in his hand and turned her head towards the light reflecting off of the pond. “You were talking to my mother. Is that why you’ve been crying?”
Mary pressed her lips together as she glanced at Nathaniel. He had his hands in his pockets and was really interested in his shoes.
“You’re an asshole,” she said to him, making his head pop up. “But, you knew that already. You’re smart though, smart enough to know that a masters from Eastland will get you in any door. So don’t drop out, ’kay?”
“Thanks for inspiring him,” Carlson chuckled, hands behind his back. “But don’t deflect. Why have you been crying? What did Felicity say to you?”
“She’s like a broken record,” Mary sighed, shrugging her shoulders. She wiped under her eyes a few times and took a deep breath. “Should we head back?”
“You mean everything to Mait,” Carlson said, holding her elbow and giving her an intense stare. “You’re the love of his life.”
Nodding, Mary replied, “He makes me happier than I’ve ever been.”
Carlson smiled, taking a deep breath and glancing over at Nathaniel. “I have to hide a lot, Mary. From my family, my friends, my work… Nathaniel makes me happier than I’ve been in a long time. Can you understand that?”
“Of course,” Mary answered, frowning at him like he was crazy. “I didn’t see or hear anything, but even if I did I would never tell anybody. Not even Mait.”
“You can’t keep secrets from me, kitten,” Mait said, walking up at a brisk pace. He eyed the group and let his arm slap his legs. “What the hell are we all doing out here?”
“Having a discussion,” Carlson replied, keeping his eyes focused on Mary.
“Just talking,” Mary answered, playing with the diamond stud in her ear.
“About how Carlson’s about as gay as the day is long? Yeah, Nic and I know. Liam, too.”
“See? No secrets between the two of you,” Carlson said, raising an eyebrow at her as he grabbed Nathaniel’s hand and they turned to resume on their walk. An eyebrow that said they would continue their conversation about what Felicity Frasier had done later.
Mait kissed Mary on the tip of her nose and took her hand, leading her in the opposite direction towards the house. “Everything okay, baby girl?”
“Yeah.” She nodded, smiling up at him. “I just…”
“Did you and my mom make some concrete plans? June’s coming up very quickly and I know that she will insist on a June wedding. She wants to do it here, right? Is that okay? I mean, I understand if you want to just do it at the courthouse but think about the great pictures and memories we could have for the rest of our lives with a backdrop like this… I’ve lost you, haven’t I? Sorry.”
“Mait,” Mary started, touched by the thought he was putting into everything as well as his enthusiasm. She took a deep breath and squeezed his hand. “I…”
He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it adoringly.
She let out a shaky breath and, unable to crush him, replied, “I want everything you want.”
“Perfect,” he said, leading her back to the tables covered in white cloths on the terrace. They sat with Nicole and Liam, the twins talking animatedly while Mary and Liam sat quietly, picking at the salmon and duchess potatoes and opting for more wine.
“Please don’t be upset,” Liam quietly said in the driveway out front as everyone slowly packed up to go home. “We did do it for you.”
“I know.” Mary nodded, giving a tight-lipped smile. “And as fucked up as that was, it was all for not.”
“What do you mean?” Liam whispered as Nicole said her goodbyes to Mait on the other side of the car.
Mary opened her car door and threw over her shoulder, “The cunt wants us separated. And I just have the terrible feeling that she gets whatever she wants.”
“Mary,” he sighed, looking upset as Mait waved and pulled away.
“Are you sure you’re okay? My family can be a little much…”
“I’m just tired,” she lied, looking out of the window. And afraid.
They pulled up in front of her townhouse and the hits just kept on coming.
“Hey,” Mait said, opening Mary’s door. “You here for a night cap?”
Mary frowned and turned, finding Nicole and Liam, and Carlson and Nathaniel quickly approaching from their parked cars. Good Lord, what was this? A marriage intervention? Was everyone turning against her?
“We need to talk,” Liam stated, pulling Nicole behind him as he walked up the steps to the front door. She looked just as confused as Mait.
“All right, but…”
“Now, little brother,” Carlson ordered in his usual way, pulling Nathaniel behind him.
Mary walked past everyone up the steps, not looking Mait in the eye as she unlocked the door and pushed it open.
“Please don’t do this to him,” she whispered desperately, looking up at Carlson and Liam.
“There isn’t another way,” Carlson declared.
“Somebody better start explaining. Now!” Mait snapped
, turning on the lights in the foyer but keeping his eyes on Mary. “What are you keeping from me?”
“Nothing,” she denied as she shook her head, opening the front door and back looking at their guests. “I think it’s time for you to go and time for y’all to let me handle this!”
“No one is leaving!” Mait, Carlson, and Liam all said at once.
Nicole walked forward and shut the door, giving Mary a half smile. “I have to know what’s going on, too. It’s my family, and it’s yours as well. Get used to the nosiness.”
“Please don’t,” Mary begged, her eyes brimming with the tears that she hated. She looked back and forth between Carlson and Liam with humility. “I’m asking you both. Please. Give me time to fix it. You’ll only hurt him by telling him now.”
“He’s a lot stronger than you think, cutie.” Carlson winked, patting her shoulder reassuringly.
“Somebody is going to enlighten me in the next two minutes,” Mait growled through his teeth. “I don’t care who, but one of you is going to come clean, and one of you is in very big trouble for keeping something from me.” He was speaking to everyone, but his eyes were on Mary as he headed towards the kitchen.
“He is so thrilled because he thinks your fucking mother wants the wedding at her house!” Mary clenched her fists and whispered loudly as soon as Mait was out of sight. “It’s all he wants for posterity and shit! We can still convince her! I can talk some sense into her so don’t ruin this for him!”
“What did she say to you?” Carlson asked, folding his arms across his chest. “Liam said something about trying to break you up.”
Mary glared over at Liam who didn’t shrink away a centimeter.
Mait walked back in with purpose as he held an opened bottle of red and six wine glasses.
“She just said how much she loves Mait and that she wants to be there for a big celebration,” Mary quickly replied, taking her wine and gulping it.
“Quit lying!” Carlson yelled, holding out his hands.
“Hey! She’s not lying!” Mait argued, standing in front of her.
“Then ask her why she was crying her little eyes out alone in your parents’ backyard,” Nathaniel quietly intervened, hands in his pockets. Everyone turned to look at him before shifting their gazes down to Mary.
Rolling her eyes, she set the wine glass down on her dining room table and shook her head. “You really are an asshole, you know that?” she sighed, not giving him a cruel look but a tolerant one. Then she looked at everyone else. “Is there any way Mait and I can do this privately?”
“Sorry, dude, but you’ll never do anything privately again,” Nicole explained, shrugging her shoulder and leaning back into Liam.
“Fine,” Mary softly said, walking around the foyer and rubbing her arms underneath her sweater. She took a couple of breaths and then looked Mait in the eye. “Your mom didn’t talk about our wedding tonight.”
Mait set his wine glass down and rubbed his jaw, then looked at everyone else in the room suspiciously. Did everyone know something he didn’t? Why had his adorable little girlfriend lied to him?
“Go on,” he quietly instructed. He liked how her cheeks flushed as she looked down at the floor guiltily.
“She told me that I was a gold-digging slut who would never get my trailer park trashy hands on Frasier property, Frasier money, or Frasier heirlooms… and at the end of the semester you’ll be done with me because I’ll just be another schoolgirl notch in your bedpost,” she said, choking on the last word and turning her head. She didn’t want everyone to see the tears rolling down her cheeks and she certainly didn’t want to see the looks on their faces. Especially Mait’s.
“Baby girl,” Mait exhaled, spinning her around and picking her up into a tight hug. “Mary, is that what was wrong? You didn’t want to hurt me?”
“Of course I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Sweetheart,” he mumbled into her neck cradling her close. “Don’t worry about that. She said those awful things about you. This is about you, not me.”
“But you were so excited when you thought we were planning the wedding,” Mary sniffled, wiping her eyes when he finally set her back on her feet.
“You don’t have to be strong for both of us. Do you hear me?” he whispered, kissing her soft, wet lips. “Let me carry some of the weight.”
“I just… I just don’t want this to be any harder for you than it already is,” she sighed, dropping down onto the bottom step of the staircase and letting her head fall into her hands.
“This… this isn’t hard for me at all. What do you mean?” he asked, looking back at everyone else as they sipped their wine and watched like it was a soap opera.
“Nothing,” she replied, shaking her head.
“Mary Madeline, what do you mean?”
“I don’t mean anything, just… it’s just that you never thought you wanted to get married and, and you’re my professor,” she admitted, whispering the last word as she eyed Nathaniel.
“He will never breathe a word,” Carlson said, smiling and placing an arm over Nathaniel’s shoulders.
“I would never,” he reassured her, shaking his head.
Mait knelt in front of Mary and rubbed her hands with his thumbs as he held them. “My job, my lifestyle, my mother… none of this will ever get in the way of how I feel about you. You are my life. There is nothing without you. If my mother wants to act like she’s crazytown then all I can say is that it’s her loss. You are way more important to me.”
“Mait,” she whispered and smiled, feeling like they were the only two people in the world.
“And,” Mait grinned, digging in his breast pocket, “I think I have an idea of what prompted this talk of money and heirlooms.”
He pulled out a dark green velvet box, a perfect cube, and smiled over his shoulder as Nicole sucked in a breath and Liam and Carlson grinned from ear to ear.
“Granny approached me tonight and said that she heard I finally had a serious girlfriend. She also said that one way to lock you down would be to get you pregnant,” he huffed, loving the laughs he heard, including Mary’s. He popped open the box. “But she said the other way would be to give you her mother’s ring.”
Mary was speechless. The ring was flawless. Everyone in the room was holding their breath.
“Uh… well, yes, of course,” she laughed, hugging Mait and kissing him as everyone clapped. He slid the delicate ring onto her finger. It was gorgeous. The platinum band was scalloped on both edges and inset with sapphires, while the diamond was a square cut and about the size of a dime.
“The wedding will be at my house. May 31st. No buts,” Carlson stated, still smiling.
Mait stood, taking Mary with him as he held her hand. “Sounds perfect. Thanks.”
“Thank you.” Mary nodded up at Carlson, and then she looked around at everyone else. “All of you. Really. I needed you and you were there.”
“It’s what families do,” Nicole explained. “And like we said, we’re all family here so you’re stuck with us.”
“Well, we’re not all family yet,” Liam said, looking around at everyone. “Seems Granny had a mother-in-law too.” He sank to his knee as he held an identical green velvet box up to Nicole.
* * *
Mary was waving at the opened front door when Mait came up behind her and kissed her behind her ear. She shivered, then felt his soft lips and breath trail down her neck and then back up to her earlobe.
“It’s time to come upstairs for more engagement surprises,” he whispered, taking her hand and leading her up to her room.
“I’m not sure I can take much more,” she sighed, falling back onto her bed. “And can we please talk about Carlson and Nathaniel Worthington? Not that they’re gay but that they’re gay together? I mean, the kid did beat my face up.”
“Let’s tackle the issues one at a time,” Mait chuckled, standing in front of her with his hands behind his back. He raised an eyebrow as he continued. “For
example, you tried to keep something important from me and you lied about it.”
“But I did it for you!” she huffed, sitting up on her elbows and frowning at him.
“And that’s one of the reasons I love you. You’re the sweetest little thing. But we said no lies, so you are going to get paddled tonight.”
“What!” she squealed, sitting up all of the way. Then he pulled a Ping-Pong paddle out from behind his back. “What is that?”
“You know exactly what it is,” he smirked, flipping it around in his hand.
“So this is it, then? This is my future? You always getting your way because you’re faster and bigger?” she pouted, folding her arms across her chest.
“No,” he replied, his lip twitching as he tried not to smile. “This is me doing something for us. What would have been better? You trying to fix everything by yourself, or us working it out like we did an hour ago?”
Chapter 10
“I was just trying to spare your feelings,” she whined, looking up at him.
“What was better?” he repeated, loving the way she squirmed around like she always did when she was about to concede.
“Well, of course it was us working it out together, but I promise to never lie to you again,” she said, looking up at him hopefully. She hoped that she’d been making some good points.
“Oh, I’m sure that you will, my naughty little girl,” he said, his voice laced with desire as he sat next to her and quickly grabbed her arms.
She struggled as he easily pulled her across his lap. Then he flipped her dress up and paused. Christ, what was he doing, taking pictures? This was so humiliating.
“What, no thigh-highs with your cute little dress today?” he asked, a little disappointed but definitely turned on by the lacy navy hip huggers. He dodged one of her swinging feet as she struggled underneath his grip.
“I’m wearing sling-back espadrilles,” she explained, kicking her feet out and pulling on her comforter as it fluffed up around her face.