Maintenance Required: A small town romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 1)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  “Yeah, can you put Dad on too. There’s something I have to tell you guys…No, it’s not bad.”

  He waited as his dad came on the line. His eyes slipped closed, and I knew he was gearing up to tell them.

  “Uh…so, I have some good news to share with you. You’re going to be grandparents…No, Derek and Claire aren’t having a baby…I…it’s me.” He cleared his throat again as his right eye started twitching out of control. “I…”

  I shoved out of my chair, unable to watch this anymore. Eric glanced up at me, confused by what I was doing. I grabbed the phone out of his hands and put it on speakerphone.

  “Hello? Mr. and Mrs….” My eyes widened when I realized that I didn’t know Eric’s last name. He quickly muted the phone.

  “Cortell.”

  He unmuted the phone and I continued. “Mr. and Mrs. Cortell, my name is Katherine. I’m your son’s girlfriend.”

  “Girlfriend?” his mom said excitedly. “We didn’t know he was seeing anyone.”

  “It’s new,” Eric said quickly.

  “But not that new,” I clarified. He didn’t want his mom to think he had just knocked me up after a few dates. “It’s something that’s been going on for a while now.”

  “Right after I last saw you,” Eric said quickly. “And we’re going to have a baby now.”

  “Oh my gosh!” his mom squealed. “I’m going to be a grandma!”

  “Stop screaming in my ear,” his dad said. “I’m standing right here. You don’t need to shout at me.”

  “I can’t believe it. This is so exciting. When are you due?”

  “I’m only about eight weeks along.”

  “Oh, I wish I was there to help you out with everything,” his mom gushed. “I’m sure you’re going to have so much fun getting the house ready. Which room will you make the baby’s room?”

  “Uh…we haven’t really worked out all the details yet,” Eric said. I could tell he was calmer, knowing that he wasn’t having to explain this on his own.

  “I hope you’re taking care of her, giving her foot massages every night and keeping the stress down.”

  “He’s taking great care of me, Mrs. Cortell,” I said as I stared into Eric’s eyes. It wasn’t completely a lie. He made me dinner tonight and offered to have dinner waiting for me every night. He stared back at me, affection bright in his eyes. His hand slid over mine and then he intertwined our fingers. I glanced down at our locked hands, thinking how nice this was. We were just two people taking care of each other. We didn’t have any of the romance yet, but for now, this was really nice.

  “Oh, please, call me Ma. Everyone else does.”

  I smiled, chuckling slightly when Eric rolled his eyes. “Alright, Ma.”

  She gushed on and on for a few more minutes, but all I could do was stare at my fingers interlocked with Eric’s.

  “What are you going to do about Joe and Andrew?” his dad asked. “The three of you are going to need your space, and their bachelor lifestyles are going to be a pain in the ass.”

  “We’ll figure it out, Dad.”

  My eyes widened as I realized that they thought we were living together. It was an honest conclusion to come to. We told them we were together. Why wouldn’t they assume that we were living together? When they hung up, I couldn’t help the slight panic that shot through me.

  “They think we live together. What are we going to do?”

  He shook his head slightly. “It doesn’t matter. We have plenty of time to figure that out.”

  I nodded, the panic easing some at his cool demeanor. I went to pull away, but he held tight to my hand.

  “Thank you…for doing that for me. I know you must think that I’m pathetic, not wanting to tell my parents.”

  “Honestly? When you first told me, that’s exactly what I thought. But I know you better now. I don’t think it’s pathetic that you want to protect your parents.”

  “But all this was pointless if we can’t find a way to make this work,” he said frustratedly.

  “We just take this one day at a time,” I said calmly. “There’s no point in panicking over anything just yet. Like you said, we have time to figure all this out. And if it doesn’t work, we’re two grown adults. We’ll figure it out, and I’m sure your parents will understand.”

  He nodded. “Why did you change your mind?”

  A slight smile tilted my lips. “It was like watching cattle getting slaughtered. I just couldn’t do it. Plus, now you have to do the same for me. And my parents are divorced, so we have to do it twice.”

  He paled slightly, but nodded. “I can do that.”

  “Oh, and my dad owns a gun.”

  Eric

  I had the keys to Katherine’s place, but getting there by the time she got off work was going to be a problem. Everything that could go wrong today was going wrong. I just wanted to get over there and keep my word, that she wouldn’t have to worry about dinner when she got home. It was my job as the father of her child to take care of her, but I was completely failing at that right now.

  “Anna, just take care of it,” I snapped as she tried to explain yet another thing that was wrong with my computer system.

  “Wow, somebody’s crabby today.”

  “Look, I have someplace I need to be. I hired an office manager to take care of this shit for me so I didn’t have to deal with it. Are you competent enough to deal with this or do I need to find someone else?”

  Anna’s eyes narrowed in on me just as she picked up a mug. I knew she was going to throw it. I knew I deserved it. I was being an ass, and had been for the last half hour. I ducked right as she hurled the mug through the air. It smashed against the wall and fell to the floor in small pieces.

  She got up from behind the desk and stalked around her desk to get in my face. I shrank back slightly, a little ashamed at how scared I was of this woman. I was going to have to have a serious talk with Robert about hiring this psycho. I took a step back as she approached, but I knew there was no getting out whatever was about to happen here.

  “I want donuts tomorrow morning, or I’ll let you find a new office manager. One that’s competent enough to deal with your shit.”

  I swallowed hard and nodded. “Donuts. Got it.”

  I reached behind me and swung open the door, just barely slipping through as I saw her lips quirk up in a feral grin. When she dated Robert, I didn’t remember her being like this. So, whatever that dickhead did to her, she was going to make my life hell until he fixed it. I got in my truck and pulled up his number as I headed to Katherine’s place.

  “Can this wait? I’m about to walk into a meeting.”

  “No, it can’t wait, because whatever the fuck you did to Anna, she’s taking it out on me.”

  “For no reason? You mean, she’s just being nasty to you and it has nothing to do with you?”

  I considered this for a moment. “Alright, well, I might not be helping, but she was not like this before.”

  “Like you would remember.”

  “Well, I don’t remember the spawn of satan being around much when you were dating, so there’s that.”

  He sighed heavily into the phone. “What do you want me to do about it?”

  “Fix it. Whatever the fuck happened between you two, fix it so that she’ll be nice to me again. Or…for once.”

  “Fine, I’ll fix it.”

  “And you have to buy donuts for her. I’m going broke buying donuts.”

  “Yeah, you’re broke and can’t afford some fucking donuts.”

  “Not when she whips them at my head.”

  “Again, that’s not because of me.”

  “Whatever. I expect donuts delivered tomorrow morning to the office. And they better be fresh.”

  “Fine.”

  “And nothing filled with raspberries,” I added quickly. I had already learned my lesson with that one.

  “Anything else, your Highness?”

  “Fuck off.”

  I pull
ed up outside Katherine’s townhouse as I hung up the phone. She wasn’t home yet, so I quickly got out and pulled out my keys, flipping on the lights as I walked inside. She didn’t have much for dinner, but I could make her something simple. I would have to pick up groceries the next time I came over.

  I started on the chicken and then the potatoes when my phone rang. It was Will.

  “Yeah?”

  “Are you almost home? I’m hungry.”

  “So, make something to eat.”

  “I thought you were cooking.”

  “Will,” I sighed, “you have your own place. Go make your own damn food.”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m at Katherine’s.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m making her dinner.”

  “Why?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Because she works a lot and she’s tired.”

  “You work a lot,” he pointed out.

  “I’m not pregnant.”

  “Thank God for that. You’d make a terrible pregnant woman.”

  “Is there a point to this conversation?”

  “Yeah, what the hell am I going to do for dinner?”

  “Well, just a guess, but you could make it for yourself.”

  “But I’m at your house,” he whined.

  “It used to be your house too.”

  “Doesn’t matter. I’m at your house. You’re supposed to do the cooking.”

  “I didn’t invite you over, asshole.”

  “Since when have you ever invited me over?”

  I squeezed my eyes shut, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’m hanging up now.”

  “No, wait, what am I supposed to do about dinner?”

  I ended the call without another word and finished up preparing the food. I made sure that I had everything right so I didn’t destroy our food like the first time I told her I would cook for her. I was just sticking it in the oven when the doorbell rang. It couldn’t be Katherine. She wouldn’t ring her own doorbell. I wasn’t sure that I should answer, but then again, whoever it was knew that someone was here. I walked to the door and pulled it open, seeing an older man at the door.

  “Can I help you?”

  He quirked an eyebrow and looked me up and down. I was in my dirty clothes still and I was pretty sure I smelled from my long day. “Who the fuck are you?”

  “Eric. Who are you?”

  “George. I’m Katherine’s father. So, you’re him.”

  By you’re him, I could only take that to mean that he knew that I was the one that got Katherine pregnant.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Yes, sir,” he scoffed, shoving me aside as he stepped inside. “Don’t think those pretty manners are gonna make me like you any.”

  “Sir, I know that this isn’t the ideal situation-“

  “Let me tell you something, nobody is good enough for my little girl. Do you love her?”

  “Love her? I barely know her.”

  His eyes narrowed in on me. “You’re standing in her house and she’s not here. I’d say you’d better get to knowing her a lot better than what you’re doing now.”

  “Sir, your daughter is old enough to make her own decisions, without your input. Now, I understand that you might not be happy about the situation-“

  “Not happy? Why the hell would I be happy that you’re here?”

  “Because I’ll take care of her.”

  “Nobody needs to take care of my little girl. She doesn’t need a man in her life. Especially not one that makes himself comfortable in my daughter’s home. Do you even have a job?”

  Anger flared inside me. I didn’t need to take this shit from him. Things might not be perfect between Katherine and I, but I would never take advantage of her.

  “Look, I get that you think I didn’t protect her. It was a mistake, but I’m here to help make it right. From now on, we’ll always be a family because of that baby. I don’t shirk away from my responsibilities.”

  His face mottled in rage and his whole body tensed. “You got my little girl pregnant?”

  I was confused. Wasn’t that what he was so upset about? “Wait, why are you so pissed at me if you didn’t know?”

  “I heard that someone had been hanging around my girl. I was assuming it was you.”

  I swallowed hard, but stood my ground. It was too late to take back the fact that I had just outed the pregnancy to her dad. And then I remembered Katherine’s warning. My dad has a gun. “You don’t have a gun on you, right?”

  “No.” I sighed in relief. “But I don’t need one for this,” he said as he lunged at me. I tried to sidestep him, but he was too fast, catching me around the waist as he tackled me to the ground. I wiggled out easily from underneath him, but he came at me again. There were so many things around the house I could beat him with, but I couldn’t hurt her father. That was just bad manners.

  “Now, hold on, George. Let’s just talk about this like calm, rational adults.”

  “You be calm. I’ll be rational and kick your ass.”

  He swung at me and I ducked, holding up my hands placatingly. “George, your daughter is an adult. She can make up her own mind about who she sleeps with.”

  His face turned almost purple as he swung again. I stepped back, jerking my head away as his fist came at me. “Wrong. Fucking. Answer!”

  He swung harder this time and almost got me. If he kept coming at me, I was going to have to figure something out. I could only back away so much. Maybe he would just wear himself down.

  The front door opened and I turned to see Katherine walking in the door. I missed the fist coming at my face and felt the hard crunch against my jaw. My body jerked with the force of the blow, but I stayed on my feet.

  “Dad!”

  “You got pregnant by him?” George yelled.

  “You told him?” Katherine shrieked at me.

  “I didn’t mean to!”

  “Like you didn’t mean to get her pregnant?” George asked, swinging at me again. I ducked, feeling the air whoosh over my head. Katherine dropped her things and rushed over, trying to get between us. My eyes widened and I shoved her to the side, just as her dad was going to swing again. His fist connected again, but I gladly took it if it meant that Katherine didn’t get caught up in his rage.

  “Dad, stop hitting him!”

  “How many times did I tell you not to spread your legs for the charmers?”

  “Trust me, he’s not a charmer,” Katherine muttered.

  “He doesn’t treat you right?” George fumed and turned back to me, getting in my face again.

  “He does!” Katherine shouted. “He’s just not the most…it doesn’t matter! You can’t just come in here and beat him up!”

  “I think we all need to just take a step back and calm down.”

  George slowly turned to me, rage burning in his eyes. I guess that was the wrong thing to say.

  I sat on Katherine’s couch with two paper towels shoved in my nose to catch the bleeding. George sat beside me, icing his hand as Katherine moved around the kitchen, doing the job that I was supposed to be doing. But after George attacked me yet again, Katherine told us that if we were going to behave like two misbehaving toddlers, then we were going to be put in a timeout like toddlers.

  I glared at George and he glared right back at me. It wasn’t like I meant to tell him about the pregnancy. I just thought Katherine had already done it. Stupid, I know, since she had told me that she was nervous to tell her parents. I had actually thought she was joking when she said I could tell her parents with her. Not that I wasn’t up for it, but Katherine didn’t strike me as the type of woman to shy away from that.

  Katherine walked into the living room, carrying two beers and the dish from the oven. I stood immediately, reaching out to help her.

  “I would have brought that in for you, Kat.”

  “Kat?” her dad snorted.

  I glared at him. I hadn’t meant to call her that. It just fit. It was a hell
uva lot better than Kiki.

  “Dad, can you try for just two minutes to be civil?”

  “I am being civil. Do you see my gun in my hand?”

  “I thought you said you didn’t have it?” I asked.

  “It’s in my truck. Do you want me to get it? I could give you a demonstration.”

  “Alright,” Kat jumped in. “How about we put away the guns and the fighting words and talk about this like adults.” She glared at both of us and then turned to her dad. “Dad, you already know. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I knew you would react like this. But the fact is, Eric and I are having a baby and you need to deal with that. He’s a good man.”

  George snorted. “He’s filthy. What kind of man makes himself welcome in your home and doesn’t even bother to clean up first?”

  “The type of man that got off of work and came over here to make sure that I had dinner because I’m too tired to cook for myself,” she snapped.

  George’s eyebrows shot up and he looked over at me. “You did that?”

  “Well, yeah. She’s pregnant and it’s my kid. I told you, I’ll take care of her.”

  “Well, somebody has to,” he grumbled. “She’s working too much and with a baby on the way, she’s going to be exhausted.”

  “I know, and I offered to take care of her. I didn’t want her working either, especially when she’s going to be on her feet all day.”

  “Excuse me, but-“

  George interrupted Kat. “And she’s not taking care of herself. She looks tired and way too skinny.”

  “That’s why I offered to cook for her. I don’t like the idea of her going to bed hungry because she’s too tired to cook.”

  “You know, I didn’t allow you to do this so you could-“

  “And that’s another thing,” George interrupted again. “What are you planning on doing once the baby’s born?”

  “Well, I wanted her to move in with me, but she didn’t like that idea. I even offered to marry her.”

  “Let me guess, she said no,” George huffed. “Stubborn, just like her mother.”

  “Can you please stop talking about me like I’m not here?” Kat said irritatedly.