“Do you mind me being frank with you?” she spoke, and I turned to look at her. Without thinking, I opened my mouth and replied.
“Not at all, as long as you don’t mind me still being Stef.” I smarted off. My hand moved to my mouth, and I saw the woman’s lips twitch.
“Smartass,” she muttered under her breath, and I couldn’t get myself to feel the tiniest upset about it.
“Better than a dumbass.” It was like my mouth couldn’t stop. This time, she stared at me and her face broke apart as she cracked a smile.
“You make it hard not to like you.” She winked and went on to looking ahead, so I followed suit and did the same. “So, you were the one who looked after him? After he let those punks kick his ass? Before Valentine’s Day?” Huh. It had been before Valentine’s Day, and now his Cupid comment sorta made sense. I was going to have to ask him about that.
“I did,” I answered when she cleared her throat. I was obviously taking too long for her to answer.
“Why?” She turned and asked me seriously.
“He was hurt.”
“Why would a young woman do such a stupid thing?” My eyes went wide.
“Excuse me?”
“He’s double your size, child.” Something about her tone made me sit up and take her seriously. “Didn’t your mother teach you common sense?”
“I didn’t have a mother, so I guess no, she didn’t,” I quickly replied, sitting straighter in my seat. “He was drunk and beaten and didn’t want to go to the hospital. What else could I have done?”
“Dumped his sorry ass on the corner,” she said without hesitation or doubt.
“What?” I didn’t think my eyes could get any wider.
“That boy. That boy…” She shook her head, and when her eyes met mine, I could see the love and worry her grandson had put her through. “He let them, didn’t he?” she asked.
“I think so,” I answered honestly because she was older, and even though I never had a mom to teach me manners, I knew enough to know you should respect your elders.
“He was punishing himself,” she muttered under her breath, and my heart hurt.
“Why?”
“The anniversary of the day his buddies died. Survivor’s guilt. Stubborn idiocy. Pick one.” She shook her head, then rested it against the chair, and without looking at me or hiding anything, she blew me away, and I quickly understood all of Garrett’s warning about his grandmother being a wild card.
“What are you doing, seeing my grandson?”
“Excuse me?”
“Come on. Bright girl like you, a man like him. Is it the money?”
“What?” I couldn’t believe what the woman was asking, and I sat straight up in my chair.
“I might be old, honey, but I’m not a fool.” She turned to look at me, her face like stone, and I froze. “Your clothes, your shoes, they say it all.” I looked down at myself and frowned. We had been invited over for a BBQ, not the Met Gala. My denim skirt and black tank top with soft pink cardigan seemed fitting. Glancing further down, I looked at my black low-top Chucks. They weren’t brand new, a little worn in, but not falling apart. They also weren’t the spiked stripper heels Nicola was making them seem.
“I’m sorry if I don’t follow what you’re trying to insinuate.”
“Did you know about his brother? Is that why you took care of him and have him hooked? Having him spend all his time out in the desert in the middle of nothing? You trying to cash in?”
“Wow.” For a moment I sat there, completely stunned. “Okay, first off, I had no idea about any of them. I mean, I knew he had brothers, but until about a week ago, I had no idea about a movie star brother. Or the lifestyle that came with it. And honestly, I’m not that kind of person.”
“Right.” Her lips pressed together into a thin line, and I laughed. I couldn’t help it.
“What’s so funny, young lady? Afraid you got caught?”
“I think you’re going senile,” I said out loud, not missing the way her shrewd eyes slightly softened. “If you think I am with your grandson because your other one has money, you seriously underestimate Garrett.”
“Now, look here, no one talks to me—”
“No.” I sat up, brushing my skirt down before meeting her eyes head on. “No. Just no. I get it. You’re older, and with that comes respect, but I’ve done my bit. I’ve listened, and you spoke frankly. Very frankly. And honestly, I can guess what you see when you look at me. I’m younger than him, but I’m not a kid. I’m from a lower income bracket, which honestly all of you still would be if it weren’t for Marc and his fame—”
“Excuse me?” She was obviously surprised at my words, but I couldn’t stop myself. Kip warned me about my temper and how I spout off when I was ticked, and today was no different.
“I didn’t stutter.” I stood up. “To think someone would be with Garrett for any other reason than Garrett being him is absurd. He’s an amazing man. He’s kind and generous and funny beneath his gruff exterior. I know he deals with things in his own way, and I get he’s a little lost. But at the end of the day, we’re all a little lost. He’s done shitty things to your family; he’s told me. I get he’s put you through the wringer.”
“He’s shared, huh?” he asked. The defeated tone in her voice made me want to sit, but I couldn’t get myself to sit back down. “Sit down, Stefanie.”
“Why? So you can insult me some more?”
“I… I’m sorry. I…” She sighed. “Will you sit! You’re short, but I’m an old woman. My neck is going to get a crick looking up at you.” When I sat down, her hand covered mine. “He was my first grandkid,” she shared and squeezed her hand. “He’s always been stubborn.” Her lips quirked up, and I knew she was thinking of some kind of memory from the past. “When he enlisted, my husband worried.”
“I can imagine,” I choked out, not sure why I was still sitting with the slightly mean, old woman with crazy mood swings.
“You have to remember my generation saw a lot of wars. We especially saw the aftermath of what happened to those boys who went off to fight them. I saw the very ugly side of how much it tore a man down.”
“Was your husband in the military?” I asked wondering if maybe that’s’ where Garrett had got the idea from.
“God, no.” She cracked a smile. “My Rick was too stubborn to listen to anyone. Maybe that’s why it shocked me when Garrett announced he was enlisting. He was a lot like his grandad that way.” She looked away and sighed. “I’ve seen stronger men than my grandson get lost in the nightmare of survival.”
“You think it’s a nightmare to survive?” I asked, thinking about all the things I survived and how grateful I was, never thinking of it as a burden. Though, what I survived was nothing like the things I could only imagine a soldier did. Still, life is so precious.
“For them? For Garrett? Sometimes I do. More than I think any of us want to admit. The version of Garrett you have met, I suspect… I don’t know… I’m sorry for saying what I did.” Her apology took me off guard, and I lifted and dropped my shoulders.
“Don’t worry about it. I get it.” And I kind of did. She squeezed my hand, making our eyes meet.
“I don’t think you do. You see, we’re a bunch of Nosey Nellies, and we were all watching you when you first arrived. The boys went out there, and I couldn’t get myself to come out…”
“Why?” I gently pried, needing to understand her. Nicola’s eyes were filled with so much emotion my stomach clenched.
“The man he is with you… I haven’t seen, not even a glimpse of him, in years,” she whispered. “I was a cow to you today, and I am really sorry.”
“Nicola—”
“I just needed to know he is in good hands.”
“I would never hurt him,” I whispered, and she tilted her head, her eyes brightening.
“Garrett is not only my oldest, but he’s the biggest of them. You saw them all standing together. The four of ‘em.” I liked how
she considered her grandsons’ best friend her blood. It said a lot about the kind of woman she was, even if I hadn’t got the best of first impressions from her. “Garrett’s always had a presence to him. His size and strength, but more than that.”
“I know what you mean.” I sighed dreamily because I couldn’t help it. There was something about Garrett that drew me to him like nothing ever had.
“But he’s also the one who has been through the most. I’ve seen him be callous—” She stopped trying to find the right word. “Ruthless for the sake of being so. He was horrible in a way I thought I had lost the sweet kid I’d watched come into this world.” She shook her head and smiled before clearing her throat. “I saw him be him. He’s had trouble finding his way back. With you, he seems, I don’t know, lighter. Like he can be himself with you. I don’t know if I’m making sense or if I’m being too heavy with you. You hardly know us.”
“I get it. Or I can try to, at least. You’re a tightly-knit bunch, and you look after one another.” I’d never been a part of something like that, but it didn’t mean I hadn’t daydreamed about it. I had. God, I had. So much, especially when I was younger. A kid who learned better because the older I got, the less I believed in things like that.
“He’s leaps and bounds better.”
“Nicola—”
“It’s because of you,” she confidently put out there, and I reacted without thinking.
“I don’t think so.” I shook my head. The weight of that responsibility was almost overwhelming. “He… He’s, you know… He’s talking to someone.” I winced, feeling guilty about sharing, somehow outing his working with a therapist.
“Child, he’s been talking to someone for a while,” she argued back with attitude, and in that moment, I started to like her, but I had to stay on track.
“He’s just going through therapy, and it’s not because of me—”
“Love does things to people,” she shared softly. Her words filled with wisdom only made my heart panic, racing past a flutter.
Love.
Does he love me?
Because I wasn’t stupid, I was never the kind to lie to herself.
I knew I was head over heels gone in love with him even if I wasn’t willing to admit it out loud.
Chapter Fifteen
Garrett
The collar of the damn polo he had stupidly decided to wear today was starting to feel like a noose around his neck. Everyone was hanging out in the living room, laughing a little too loudly, getting along great when he’d gone to the bathroom to take a moment for himself. He’d kissed the top of Stef’s head and went on to splash water on his face to give himself a moment like his therapist had recommended when the walls were starting to close in on him.
The funny thing was he had wanted to be there. Among the laughter and craziness. Marc talking about the logistics of a green screen, while Val and Bryan went on about the addition they wanted to do before the end of the summer. Hell, even his parents had gone on and on about the ranch and urging him to tell Stef all about it.
Looking into the mirror, he found his lips crooking upward. She fit with them. She fit fucking fantastically. The only thing that had him on edge was Nicola’s unusual quiet demeanor. Quiet and his grandmother weren’t things that mixed well or at all.
Stepping out of the bathroom, heading back to everyone, he immediately noticed his bit of sunshine was gone.
Ignoring his mother call his name, he moved through the house, probably like a bull in a china shop, but he couldn’t help himself. He spotted her immediately sitting next to his grandmother.
“Relax,” a deep voice said behind him, “they’re fine. She’s fine.”
“How would you know?” he growled, not bothering to look behind him, hating the fact her back was to him. He couldn’t get a read on her.
“Because I’ve kept an eye on her since Nicola hobbled over there.” Donnie shared, and Garrett exhaled slowly before turning to look at the man who his family might as well adopt.
“You sure?”
“Nicola must have said something a little bit ago. Your girl looked upset, ready to storm off. I was about to walk out there to see how I could help, but you know Nicola. She must have charmed her way back into Stefanie’s good graces.” Garrett grunted.
“Why you lookin’ after her?” he asked in a low tone.
“Relax, G.” Donnie put his two hands out before sitting down, putting a leg on over his other knee, obviously getting comfortable. “I just know how Nicola can be, and well, we all saw it didn’t happen earlier, and I’ve been watching the old broad,” he said taking a sip of his water bottle as he looked out at them. Garrett knew it was a term of endearment, one Nicola would wear like a badge if she heard Donnie say it. “When women join this circus the first time, everyone being together is always a show. Nicola being off, I had to make sure she was okay. She’s tiny.”
“Of course, she is. She’s old.”
Donnie laughed shaking his head. “I meant Stefanie. She’s an itty-bitty thing. She looks even smaller standing by you.”
“She is,” he gruffed, taking a seat and looking out at the women in the backyard with Donnie. His grandmother had her hand over Stefanie’s. He frowned.
“She didn’t want to come,” he shared with Don.
“I wonder why,” he muttered, and Garrett rolled his eyes.
“I know you know why,” he said, laying it out. He knew Donnie turned to look at him; he could feel his buddy’s eyes on him, but he didn’t meet them. “I get it. You have the hardest job of all of us in the family.”
“I do, do I?”
“Keeping us safe. Making sure people don’t latch on for the sake of latching on or publicity,” Garrett pointed out. He didn’t envy Donnie for anything in the world.
“Garrett, you gotta know, man, I didn’t mean any disrespect. It’s just what I have to do anytime someone comes into our lives. I did it with Val and Grace.”
“There isn’t anything in that file your people gave you that would make me change my mind about her,” he said, out loud, admitting it as much to Donnie as to himself.
He’d known it for a while.
He felt it in the marrow of his bones that she was it for him.
“She’s a good one.” He sighed once he broke his silence. “I mean, if you wanna get yourself tied up with someone.” Garrett almost wanted to laugh at Don’s choice of words.
“She’s the best.” He turned to Donnie and caught his face changing.
“G, I think it’s time for you to make your way out there.” He didn’t look at what Don was warning; he just moved.
And didn’t stop until he was right behind her, his hand on her shoulder, his grandmother’s inquisitive eyes pinned on him.
“Garrett.”
“Mom’s looking for you,” he lied.
“Really?” Nicola knew he was full of it, but thankfully, she didn’t straight up call him on it.
“Something about wanting to know where you left some blanket for Henry, or about planning a shopping trip for some baby chair thing that would help Bryan and Val get Henry to sleep.” That was a lie, too, but one that had possibility of being true. His nephew was the apple of his mom’s eye, and anytime he had listened in to his mom talking to Val, there had been something Val needed to have.
“Well,” she sighed, tapping her hand on Stefanie’s, “it was lovely talking to you.” He watched as she stood and walked back into the house, closing the French doors behind her.
“Lovely talking to you?” he repeated as he moved around and in front of her, kneeling at her feet.
“I am pretty lovely to talk to.” She shrugged, not giving anything away. He watched her as she sat there and thought about the day. Having seen her hold Henry had given him a jolt he hadn’t expected. The softness of her smile, the serenity that filled her, and the delicate way she’d held the baby was all a glimpse of what she would give to her own children one day. Mine. That stupid voice wouldn’t le
ave his head.
“Don’t I know it,” he muttered, studying her for a longer moment before asking, “You okay?”
“Yeah. I think I’m just tired.”
“She wear you out?” he asked, nodding his head toward the house, knowing she would understand he meant his grandmother.
“I… No. It’s been a great day meeting everyone,” she answered. He noticed she didn’t say anything specific about his grandmother, and he wondered about it. “It’s just been a long day.” Her hand touched his chest, and his semi aroused body shot off like a rocket. He wanted to feel more of her, and soon.
“You wanna get going, or should we crash in their guest room?”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to sleep in my own bed.” Our bed, he wanted to correct but shook his head and stood up.
“Anything you want, sunshine. Let’s get out of here,” he said and gave her his hand,
_______________
“Babe.” He looked down at her sleeping face. She sighed, mumbling something under her breath as he kneeled in front of her.
He had driven them home and didn’t miss her quietness, but he tried not to let it worry him. He knew she’d had a long day and needed to process everything. He had grown up with all of them, and they were a lot to take in for him. Holding her hand as he drove was enough for him. About thirty minutes into their drive, he was about to break the silence only to find her fast asleep and hadn’t had the heart to wake her. Sneaking peeks at her as she slept, he didn’t think there was anything more beautiful.
“Mmm…” she muttered.
“Baby,” he softly called again as he reached to undo her seat belt when her head moved and landed on his shoulder.
“Mmm,” she grunted, snuggling even closer into him. He felt his face break into a huge smile.
“Stef, baby, we’re home,” he said softly to the top of her head and felt her sigh.
“I love it when you call me that.” She yawned, lifting her head from his shoulder to look up at him, and he really fucking liked what he saw. Sleepy, warm eyes filled with something he wasn’t brave enough to name.
“Stef?”
CHEAT (Right Men Series Book 3) Page 14