“Seventy-five percent of pregnant women experience morning sickness,” Owen replied. “It’s most common in the first twelve weeks, or the first trimester, but some women have it throughout their entire pregnancy. And it’s not just limited to the morning, you know.”
“Well, that settles it.”
“Settles what?”
“You’re not allowed to talk to Savannah yet. You’ll freak her out if you start talking statistics like that to her. She’s feeling good, and she’s optimistic about the whole pregnancy thing, and I want her to stay that way.”
Owen felt terrible. It wasn’t something he even thought about—sharing statistics and scientific facts about the things he knew. But this was the first time he realized how sometimes those statements could upset the people around him. And he certainly didn’t want to upset Savannah.
“I…I’m sorry. I won’t say anything like that again,” he stammered. “I promise. Please don’t let me freak her out. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Dude, all you do is think,” Riley said, but he said it with humor. “It’s one of the things we all love about you. But right now Savannah’s emotions are…well…they’re all over the place, and I never know what’s going to set her off. She’s cries a lot lately—like at the drop of a hat. I came home today and found her on our closet floor crying.”
“What happened? Was she hurt?”
“Nope. She was putting laundry away and realized our hangers didn’t all match.” He gave a small chuckle. “I mean…who cares about matching hangers?”
“Obviously, your wife does,” Owen reasoned.
“This is what I’m saying—she’s emotional. I’m not used to seeing her like this—she’s normally very calm and levelheaded, and to see her crying all the time? It’s killing me. And we’ve still got, like…months to go!”
“Thirty-four weeks.”
“You’re not helping, Owen!”
“Sorry.” He took a minute to collect his thoughts. “Okay, so…you’re having a baby. You’re going to be a dad. Are you freaking out?”
“I love how you don’t beat around the bush.”
“Oh, come on. You can’t tell me Quinn, Hugh, and Aidan haven’t said the same thing to you already.”
“They haven’t,” Riley said evenly.
“Really? They haven’t? Why not?”
“Because I haven’t told them yet.”
“What?” Owen cried.
“You’re the first to know. I haven’t even told Dad yet.”
“But…but…why?”
“Are you seriously asking me that? Owen…you and me? We’re like…one. This is the biggest thing to ever happen to me. Of course you’re the first one I’m going to tell.”
A lump the size of a golf ball lodged itself in Owen’s throat. More than anything he wished he were in the same room with his brother so he could hug him. “I…I’m honored.”
They were silent for a moment. “I am scared,” Riley said softly.
And now even more, Owen wished they were together. “Why?”
“Savannah grew up as an only child, and we grew up in relative chaos. I know we were a little bit older when Darcy was born, so being around babies doesn’t freak me out, but…it’s just so much, you know?”
Owen didn’t, but he figured he’d let his brother speak.
“Dad worked so much when we were growing up, and he missed a lot. I don’t want to do that. I want to be there for everything. I don’t want it to be on Savannah’s shoulders to do all the parenting like it was for Mom for so long.”
“So you’ll be there,” Owen said reasonably. “You can control your schedule, Ry. That’s the beauty in what you do. Your family can come on tour with you. And think of all the amazing things you’ll be able to show him…or her.”
Riley sighed loudly. “Yeah, I know, but…but what if something happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like with Mom,” he said, and Owen could feel the sadness his brother was feeling. “What if something were to happen to Savannah, and then it was just me and the baby?”
“You can’t think like that, Riley,” Owen said carefully. “You just can’t.”
“It’s kind of hard not to. I mean, I get it. I know we have no control over things like that. Accidents happen all the time, but… I don’t know. Maybe Savannah’s not the only one who’s emotional right now. Maybe this is sympathy emotions. Is that even a thing?” he asked with a nervous chuckle.
“Probably not,” Owen replied, laughing a little.
“Okay, so…distract me. Tell me what’s going on with you. How are your lectures going?”
“They’re okay.”
Riley sighed loudly again. “Owen…”
“What?”
“What is going on with you? You sound even more…I don’t know…disenchanted than you usually do.”
“I usually sound disenchanted? Since when? When did that start? Why haven’t you mentioned it before?”
“Okay, maybe that’s not the right word, but…you sound different. What’s up?”
The last thing Owen wanted to do was burden his brother, especially now, but maybe talking about his situation would help him.
“A beautiful woman wants to go to the desert with me,” Owen blurted out before he could stop himself.
“Holy shit! What?” Riley cried. “Wait, wait, wait. Start at the beginning and go slow. I have a feeling you’ve left out some key information here.” He paused, and Owen could hear his brother murmuring something to Savannah. “Hold on.”
It was Owen’s turn to sigh, and the next thing he knew, his laptop was beeping with an incoming Skype call. Great. Now Riley would not only get to hear how freaked out he was, but he’d be able to see it too. Clicking on the icon, Owen accepted the call and couldn’t help but smile when his brother’s face filled the screen. “I take it Savannah figured out the problem?”
Riley chuckled. “Um…yeah. Apparently, I forgot to plug the damn thing in earlier, so it was dead. And then we couldn’t find the charger because I left it down in the studio. So basically it was all my fault.” He laughed again. “As usual. I hate all this electronic crap. It’s hard to keep track of it all.”
“Not really. If you keep a universal charger in key areas of your home, then you won’t have to—”
“Stop trying to change the subject and go back to the beautiful woman in the desert!”
“Oh…right,” Owen mumbled and then went on to tell Riley about his meeting with Howard and Brooke. Owen hadn’t spoken long when Riley interrupted him.
“I have to stop you right there. Are you telling me her name is Brooke Matthews? Seriously?”
Owen sagged with a bit of embarrassment. “So you know who this famous Brooke is too?”
“Dude, everyone knows who she is. She used to be one of the biggest models in the world, and she’s a great actress and a spokesperson for several big companies. You have to know who she is.”
“I had to use Google.”
Riley groaned lightly. “I know you watch television, Owen.”
“I do, but…it’s normally documentaries or the History Channel. I don’t watch a lot of what’s popular on television. Besides, it’s not a crime for me not to know the name of a model.”
“Have you seen her?” he teased. “Yes, it is.”
“Can we move on from this? I was explaining to you about how this Brooke Matthews is Howard’s niece and why he thought she and I should work together.”
“You’re right, you’re right. Sorry. Go on.”
Owen went on to describe their conversation and how Brooke was an artist.
“So…wait. She’s an artist, and she wants to paint in the desert?” Riley asked.
Owen nodded.
“But Howard thinks she’d make a good assista
nt? How? Why? I mean, I get the whole two birds with one stone thing, but if she’s just interested in painting, what good is she going to be to you?”
“She claims she’s also good at organizing things, and Howard feels…” He paused, shaking his head. He hated to have to admit this again—even to Riley. “He feels I need someone to help me learn how to be better at social interaction.”
He expected his brother to laugh—or at the very least grin.
But he didn’t.
If anything, Riley looked fierce and pissed off.
“I hope you told them both to go to hell,” Riley said firmly.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” Then he stopped and took a calming breath. “Owen, there isn’t a damn thing wrong with you. You’re an amazing scientist, and you love what you do. That’s all that should matter. Who cares if you can make social chitchat with people? The truth is you talk about the things that are important to you. And, if memory serves, this whole project out in Nevada is about teaching people about the meteors. So…why are they harping on this social skills thing? You know how to talk about meteors and the planets and the stars! That’s what they’re paying you to go there and talk about, not about pop culture or whatever current event people are gossiping about!” He cursed. “That’s just bullshit!”
If there was one thing Owen loved about his brother, it was how, no matter what, Riley was fiercely defensive of him. No matter what the situation was, Riley had Owen’s back, and it was at times like this that Owen was grateful.
“It’s not so bad. Really. I…I do need to work on my social skills. Maybe then I’d be a little less of a—”
“Don’t say it.”
Owen frowned and looked at his brother. “Not saying it doesn’t make it any less true, Ry. I’m a freak—socially. I’m not comfortable around people.”
“You do fine around us.”
“That’s family, and it’s different, and even then…you guys all make fun of me from time to time. I know it, and I’m okay with it.”
“We don’t make fun,” Riley said with a hint of defensiveness. “You’re just very overwhelming. You make the rest of us feel like idiots.”
“That’s not my intention. Ever. I…I have so much going on in my brain, and sometimes stuff comes out before I can stop it. It usually isn’t until after I’ve said something that I realize how ridiculous it sounds. I mean…no one wants to hear random statistics spouted out at them all the time. I wish I could change it, I do, but I don’t know how!”
“Okay,” Riley said, sounding calmer. “Then maybe this Brooke person isn’t such a bad idea.”
“That just sounds…wrong.”
“Hear me out—if Howard recommended her, then you know you can trust her. I know how close you and Howard are, and you know he wouldn’t steer you wrong, right?”
“Steer me? He’s not driving me anywhere.”
“Figure of speech, Bro. Try to keep up,” Riley teased. “All I’m saying is if you need an assistant on this trip, and it seems like you do, then maybe you should take her up on the offer. And you said she’s beautiful, right?”
Owen nodded. “I’m not sure what that has to do with anything.”
Riley rolled his eyes. “Do you have something against beautiful women?”
“Not exactly.”
That fierce look was back on Riley’s face. “Was she mean to you? Did she say anything to upset you? And for that matter, do you think Howard would even suggest this working scenario to you if she was going to make you uncomfortable?”
“All women make me uncomfortable,” Owen reminded him.
“You do better than you think. You’re totally at ease with Savannah, Zoe, Aubrey, Anna, and Darcy.”
“That’s because they’re all family now—and Darcy’s our sister! It’s not the same thing.”
“It’s exactly the same thing!”
“So you’re saying I should look at Brooke like she’s my sister?” He gave a mirthless yet nervous laugh. “I don’t think that’s even possible.”
“Ah…so you do find her attractive!”
Ugh. He always hated talking about women with his brother—any of his brothers. They were all so at ease with the opposite sex while Owen was…not. He could actually feel his face turning red and suddenly wished they had stuck to just talking on the phone.
“Tell me about her,” Riley prompted, and Owen knew he wasn’t going to be able to avoid doing so.
“She’s beautiful,” he started. “When she walked into the lecture hall, I was… I don’t even know how to describe it. Honestly, no more than the sight of her left me speechless. Besides the fact that women like her don’t normally take my classes or come to hear me speak, she walked in and…the entire room was brighter.”
A slow grin tugged at Riley’s lips, but he stayed silent.
“When she approached me after class and then I was close to her, I realized she was more than beautiful—that word seemed too small to describe her. She smiled, and her entire face glowed,” he said with awe. “Fair skin, light-blue eyes, and she has this amazing long blond hair. You just know it would feel soft.”
Riley’s smile grew, but Owen wasn’t paying attention; he was too lost in remembering everything about Brooke.
“And she talked to me like…you know…like I was normal. She seemed excited to work with me.” He paused and remembered the sweet sound of her voice as she talked about her skills. “And then there’s her art. Her paintings. Riley, they were… I’ve never seen anything like them before. Maybe in a museum, but…” Owen trailed off, unable to find the right words.
By now Riley was grinning like a loon.
“When I picked them up, I felt like I was actually touching the sky—the entire universe! She has this way of making the colors draw you in, and then there’re the textures, and the way she sees them is almost…magical.”
Riley’s face came close to the screen. “Magical? Did you seriously just use the term magical?”
“Um—”
“You, Owen Shaughnessy, don’t believe in things like that. You’ve never looked at anything that way. You’re a man of science. Of practicality. Even with the most whimsical of things, you tend to look at them in a logical and pragmatic way. And you’re sitting here telling me Brooke’s work is magical?”
Owen hung his head. “I know. This is a terrible idea, right? I shouldn’t even be considering it.”
“Hold on.” This came from Savannah, who was pushing her husband aside so she could be seen on the screen. “Owen? Look at me.”
Her tone was sweet but firm, and knowing she was a little fragile at the moment, Owen did as she asked without arguing.
“Do not listen to your brother.” She playfully slapped Riley on the back of the head. “If you think her work is magical, then I think that’s great! And if you had that strong of a reaction to it, then she is truly talented. Don’t feel bad about how you feel!”
“I…I wasn’t. I know Riley was teasing. And he’s right. I never look at anything that way, but when Brooke walked into the room in her flowy skirt and bracelets, she reminded me of…” He stopped and shook his head. “Never mind.”
“Oh, no,” Riley said. “You can’t get out of it that easy. Finish the sentence.”
“Riley,” Savannah sighed, bumping her husband’s shoulder. “Leave him alone.”
“Hell no. Do you know this has never happened?” He looked at his wife with a big grin still in place. “Owen never gets like this over a girl. Never.”
“Well…” Owen stammered.
Riley sighed and gave another exaggerated eye roll. “Okay, he was mildly intrigued by you when he first met you, and he was the one to convince me to stop being such an ass around you, but still. This is different.” He turned back to the screen and leaned in close again. “Out with it. What
did she remind you of?”
“A fairy. A gypsy. A nymph,” he said, his face flaming. “It… I…I never—”
“Okay, okay,” Riley said, sitting back and looking satisfied. “We get it. You’re totally crushing on her right now. Which makes this whole situation perfect.”
“Oh, this I must hear,” Savannah said, grinning.
“Hear me out—again. If you let Brooke help you on this project and you find you’re comfortable around her, then it’s a game changer.”
Owen wasn’t following.
“If you can sit and comfortably talk with a beautiful woman—have conversations with her that aren’t just you spouting encyclopedia passages—then it’s going to completely change your world, Bro.”
“I think you’re oversimplifying this.”
Riley shook his head. “Nuh-uh. No way. Trust me on this. Girls make you nervous in general. Pretty girls make you more than a little uncomfortable. Beautiful women practically render you catatonic. Now, according to your theory, you can get over it when you’re related to them—like all of your sisters-in-law—but not any other way. Maybe by spending time with Brooke, you’ll relax and see she’s just like everyone else.”
“Somehow I doubt that.”
“Owen, you just met her, and from what you described, it lasted all of fifteen minutes. Don’t write her off yet.”
“I’m not writing her off,” Owen said defensively and then huffed with agitation. Why did he have to keep explaining himself over and over and over? “I like Brooke. A lot. And spending time with her? Um…it’s not going to do anything but make me even more attracted to her!”
Once again Savannah slapped Riley on the back of the head. “Stop giving your brother bad advice.” She shook her head and looked into the camera. “Owen, the decision has to be yours, and you need to be comfortable. While Riley might be onto something, the fact remains you have an important event you’re prepping for, and you have to decide if you need the distraction.”
A Sky Full of Stars Page 4