“Good girl. That means you’re tough.”
“Like a warrior?”
“Yes! You’re a warrior.” I held out my fist and we bumped them.
Then she went to Tristian. “Daddy, did you do special things with Mommy?” If she only knew.
“I sure did. We had a very fun time.”
“When can I come and live here again?”
“Listen, peanut, Daddy and I are going to have some alone time because he’s going to meet Boppy in Vietnam for work. As soon as he leaves, you’ll come back here.”
Two small creases appeared between her eyes. “But I won’t get to live with Daddy?”
“Sure you will. He’s coming back with Boppy. They’ll only be gone a few weeks.”
“Can he sleep in my room? I can sleep on the floor and give him my bed.”
“That’s very nice of you, dumplin’, but I plan on sleeping with Mommy,” Tristian said. “Maybe when I get back, we can have a campout in the back yard.”
“A real campout in a tent and sleeping bag with a campfire? And roasted marshmallows?”
“Yup. Would you want to do that?”
“Yesssssss! Camping, yay!” She flung herself at him and he caught her, grinning.
“Sounds like you’re in on that. When I get back, we’ll make a plan.”
“Mommy, can you get me a pink princess sleeping bag? With some oonicorns and rainbows on it?”
“I’ll do my best, sweetheart.”
Mom came in and asked, “Easton, what’s taking you so long? You were supposed to be right back out.”
“Mimi! We’re having a campout in the back yard and Mommy’s getting me a pink princess oonicorn rainbow sleeping bag and Daddy’s roasting marshmallows in the campfire.”
“Wow. That’s some big plan. But we have to go, sunshine.”
“Go on,” Tristian said. “Mommy will see you in a couple of days.”
“But you won’t.” Her lower lip trembled. She clung to Tristian like a vine.
“I won’t be gone that long, and I’m counting on you to keep your mommy company for me.”
“Okayyy.” She sure was playing it up for him. “Daddy, will you bring me back some presents?”
“Easton, you don’t ask for things like that,” I scolded. “If someone wants to bring you a present, they’ll do it because of kindness, not because you asked.”
“But Boppy always brings me stuff.”
“Because Boppy spoils you to pieces.”
“I like to be spoiled.”
“I know you do, you little monster.” I tickled her ribs. “Now go with Mimi.”
Tristian set her down and she said, “I know. You and Daddy want to kissy-face.” She kissed the air as she ran off. That child was a mess.
My heart pinged when Tristian said, “I’m really gonna miss her when I’m gone.”
“She’s gonna miss you too. I’ll be fielding her questions every day. Thank God she’s in school or she would drive me crazy.”
“She is inquisitive.”
“You’ve only scratched the surface with her. Wait until your campout.”
“What do you mean my campout? That’s intended for the three of us.”
“Um, thanks but no thanks. I’ll leave that for the two of you. Special bonding time. I may nibble on your roasted marshmallows or help make s’mores, but sleeping in the back yard when I have an extremely comfy bed upstairs? No, thanks.”
“What if I said I’d create the perfect casbah for you, complete with lights and a cot?”
“Send me cool pics of what you have in mind and I’ll decide later. I’m not a fan of creepy-crawly bugs and mosquitos, or other flying insects that buzz around your ears at night. Dad did his best to make me a camper and I’d start out the night with him and end up in my bed before midnight. It was a fun idea though. But I promise to supply you with the pinkest sleeping bag I can find.”
“I’m going to change your mind. Just wait.”
“All right, Mr. Camper Man, but no promises from me.”
“I hate to change the topic, but there is a favor I want to ask of you.”
“Anything.”
He cringed. “You may not be saying that after you hear what I’m going to ask.”
“Don’t keep me in suspense.”
He walked me to the living area and we sat down on the sofa. “This morning while you were picking up your grandfather, I paid a visit to my brothers. They’re eager to meet you and I’d like to take you over there before I leave.”
I took hold of his hand. “What’s so awful about that? I’d love to meet them.”
“It’s not them I’m worried about. When I take you there, you’ll have to meet my viper of a mother and my bitchy sister.”
“Ah, come on now, they can’t be that bad.”
“English, I can’t possibly warn you enough. They are bad. Really bad. You’ll love my younger brother, Landry. He’ll talk your ear off if you give him half a chance. Stanton, my older brother, is fine. I already told you how we didn’t get along before but things are cool now. He and I have a mutual respect for each other. But my mother is… not cool at all. She’s cold, calculating and nasty, which is exactly how my sister is.”
“Count me in. They’re your family and I want to meet your brothers. The others, not so much, but it’s a package deal, so I get it.”
“Do you mind if we go tomorrow then? We could get it over with late morning? Say ten?”
“Tomorrow it is.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Tristian
On the way to visit my family, I filled English in on things she might expect.
“Mom will ask if you know about the will. In other words, she’ll go straight for the jugular on why we got married. I’d prefer to play it off that we’d been dating for a while and kept it quiet. Unless you’re uncomfortable with that.”
“I’m fine. I’m wondering though. Will she dig through your employment with Dad and when you moved? Because how else would we have met?”
“Yeah, I thought of that. We can say we met through a mutual friend when you came to New York.”
“Okay, stop. I’m not good at lying. Terrible, in fact. I always get everything screwed up. Can’t we just stick to the truth and say it was insta-love? And after that first day in the office, we’ve been inseparable.”
The mental turmoil created by this had me weighing it out. “I’ve never done anything like that.”
“Neither have I, so it works perfectly. We swept each other off our feet.”
The more it settled in my mind, the more it made sense. “Okay, we’ll do it your way. I’ve never shared anything about my love life with her anyway. Then we won’t get caught not having the right answers. The only thing we’ll leave out is how you thought I was an asshole at first.”
“Why would we do that?”
I gave her a sidelong glance to see she was playing with me. “You had me there for a second.”
She placed a hand on my thigh and gave it a squeeze. “Good. I was trying very hard.” I was getting used to her familiarity with me.
We were not too far away when she said, “I’ve lived here my entire life—well, not up in this part of the metro area—but I’ve never been here.”
“That’s because we’re on a private road. My family owns all this property.”
“Wait. You own all this?” She gestured to the land surrounding us.
“Yeah. It’s secluded. Dad never wanted neighbors.”
“This is taking it a bit far, isn’t it?”
“I think so, but he loved it out here. I’ll show you the grounds during the visit.”
The road was super curvy, and we got to the final turn. We had less than a quarter mile until the house. When it came into view, English gasped, then said, “Motherfucker. This isn’t a house, Tristian. It’s huge!”
“Yeah, it is. But it’s never been a home to me at all.”
“I’d hug you if you weren’t driving. Yo
u’ll always have a home with me. I can’t imagine how that felt.”
“No, and you don’t want to.”
I stopped in the circular drive in front of the main entrance. We walked up the steps to the front door and I held it open for her. One of the servants came running.
“Mr. Baines, I apologize. We were not informed you’d be arriving this morning with a guest.”
“She’s not a guest, Charles. This is my wife, Mrs. Baines. This is her house now too.”
“Y-your wife, sir?” His wiry brows arched as he sputtered.
“That’s correct. Are my brothers working?”
“Yes, sir, in the new office upstairs.”
I explained to English, “They turned one of the bedrooms upstairs into office space, so Stanton and Landry can work from home until Stanton’s leg is better.”
I held English’s hand as we ascended the stairs. She leaned in and whispered, “This place reminds me of a funeral home.”
A crack of laughter followed, coming from me. “I never thought of it that way, but I agree. So dark and dreary. What do you say we redecorate and bring it up to today’s standards? Bright and cheery.”
“What would your brothers say?”
“They’d love it.” We reached the room where the office was so I knocked, using the secret code from our childhood.
“Get in here, you asswipe. Since when did you knock?”
I opened the door and said, “Since I brought my wife to meet you incorrigible idiots.”
Stanton was actually dressed, in a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Landry had on jeans and a T-shirt.
“Wow. What a nice surprise. You must be English. We’ve heard all about you,” Landry said as he hugged her.
“Yes, I am, and thank you. It’s great to meet you too.”
Stanton used his crutch still but was getting around better and better. He held out a hand and introduced himself.
English swatted it away, saying, “No hug? Seriously?”
He dropped the hand and hugged her instead. She was hard not to love. But the best thing was she left him speechless.
When he released her, he gaped. Clearly, he hadn’t been expecting a woman such as her. Most of the women I’d dated before had more of a dark and sultry look, but not English. She was a blonde and had more of a wholesome, natural beauty.
“So, bro, the question that begs to be asked is has your wife met the poisonous asps of the family yet?” Stanton eyed the two of us.
“Not yet. I’m saving them for last so we can make a hasty exit.”
“You always were a smart little fucker.”
“Stanton, I tower over you so I hardly think I’m little.”
“Tower? By what? An inch? But you’ll always be my younger brother, hence ‘little fucker.’” It was impossible not to laugh at his comeback.
“Touché.”
We talked business for a time and I explained things to English as we went along. Having a discussion and leaving someone out wasn’t fun, so I included her as best I could.
“I hear you have a daughter,” Landry said.
“I do,” English said. “She’s six, going on thirty.”
“Oh, boy. Sounds like fun.”
“She really is. I’d love for you to meet her.”
“I was wondering about that. Does she like horses?”
“Yes, and unicorns too.”
Landry said, “I can’t help with the unicorns, but I can take her riding sometime. I love to ride and we have stables with plenty of horses, even one or two that would be suitable for her. If you’re not comfortable with that, I could have her ride with me.”
English shot me a glance.
“Landry is the expert,” I said. “He’s been riding since he was four. He used to compete and knows more about horses than all of us put together.”
“You wouldn’t mind?” she asked him.
“Not at all. I’d actually love it.”
I pointed to my little bro. “This guy rides almost every day. Bring Easton out and have her give it a go. Who knows? Maybe she’ll end up competing too.”
“Okay. Do I need to buy anything for her?”
“Nope. Just make sure she wears long pants and a jacket if it’s cool. We have riding helmets, but if she has a bike helmet that has a better fit, you can bring that.”
“That sounds great. Do you have a particular day in mind?”
“What about next Saturday?”
“That works for me. Let’s exchange numbers.” English handed Landry her phone so he could text her his. When he handed it back, she hit reply. “All good now. If anything comes up between now and then, I’ll text. And thank you.” He nodded.
I hated to end this, but it was time to push forward with the rest of the visit. “Are you ready to get snake-bitten?”
“When you put it like that…” She shuddered and let out a jittery laugh.
“I’ll protect you.”
“Do you want us to go?” Landry asked.
“It’s fine. They can’t do anything to either of us. Remember, I hold the financial reins here.”
I escorted English back down the long stairway and told George to have my mother meet me in my father’s old office, and not the drawing room, her usual choice. “Bring us some water too, please.” We went into the room and I pulled another chair behind the imposing desk for English. I moved the two seats so they were side-by-side, and then we sat and waited. And waited. And waited.
George delivered the water, but still no Mother. I called George back in and told him to relay a message. “If she wants to retain her financial status, tell her to be in this office in five minutes.”
“Yes, sir.”
I checked the time and five minutes later, on the nose, she strolled in, yawning, wearing a satin robe with feathered slippers. For fuck’s sake, the least she could’ve done was get dressed. But then I leaned back and perused her. This wasn’t the person I normally saw. This woman was flushed and dazed. Though I hated to say it, she appeared freshly fucked.
“Hello, Tristian. And who is this? Your newest conquest?”
“Hardly. This is my wife, English Baines. And what about you? You’re sporting a new look this morning.”
“Your wife?” She tried to look down her nose at English as she stood in front of us, but wearing that robe and with her hair a mess, she looked like a haggard old woman.
“Do you need a hearing aid in your old age?” Maybe that wasn’t very nice, but it was hardly mean compared to what I had endured from her over the years. English nudged my thigh under the desk.
“I am not old, Tristian. I’m barely fifty.” Barely fifty, my ass. She’d passed that age more than a decade ago.
“I hate to say it, but this morning you look like you’ve been rode hard and put up wet, Mother.”
She sucked in a breath. “How dare you!”
“I dare just fine. Maybe if you would get dressed instead of prancing in here in that”—I slashed a hand in the air—“getup, I wouldn’t be tempted to speak to you in such a manner. As it is, you have made a stellar first impression on my wife.”
Her plump lips that had been artificially inflated with some unknown substance pressed together. Or tried to anyway.
“Careful, Mother. You don’t want those lips to burst. If you press them together any harder, we might have a medical emergency on our hands.”
Her skin paled as she stumbled back at my insult.
“Tristian!”
I glanced at English and couldn’t tell if she was angry or getting ready to laugh. Her lips were also pressed together, but since hers were real, I wasn’t worried. “Sorry, love. My words were a bit harsh.”
“No apology for me?” Mother asked.
“No. By the way, who is your lover?”
A hand flew to her throat as it flushed. “My lover? That is none of your concern.”
“It most certainly is, considering you’re entertaining him in my house.”
She
stammered something unintelligible and then recovered. “Let’s get this over with. You came to gloat over your farce of a marriage, so get it over with and get out.”
“I hate to burst your bubble, but it is not a farce. And I didn’t come to gloat. I came to introduce you to English. She’ll be a frequent visitor from now on. If you can’t treat her or her daughter kindly, then you’ll have to find another place to live. Am I clear?”
“Very. May I leave?”
“Not until you tell me who your latest conquest is.”
She exhaled. “Tristian, open your eyes. It’s who it’s always been.”
“If it’s that damn attorney, then he better not ever show his face in here again.”
“And what if he does?”
“You’ll be finding another place to live. You may leave now.”
She did and I seethed. I stood and the chair went flying behind me.
“Tristian, calm down,” English said.
“Sorry, but I can’t. That man fucked my father over. Then he talked my dad into that ridiculous codicil to the will and all because of her. She wanted the control.”
“But it’s fine. It turned out in your favor, didn’t it?”
English’s gentle words stopped my train of thought. I inhaled and said, “Yeah, unexpectedly, it did. Thanks to you.”
Her soft smile eased my tension further so I leaned over and briefly kissed her. “You are exceptionally good for me.”
“Do you think you were too severe on your mom?”
“Babe, if my mom were like yours, then yes. But we’re talking apples and bananas here.”
Dad had a buzzer on his desk and I pressed it. A couple of minutes later, George came in.
“Sir?”
“Please tell Ravina to get in here pronto. And George, use those exact words.”
“Yes, sir.”
Unlike my mother, Ravina entered fully dressed. She wore riding gear, which surprised me. “This is unusual. I haven’t seen you dressed for riding in years.”
“I find that odd, since you’ve spent very little time here over the past years. If you had, you’d know that I ride nearly every day. You can check with Landry if you doubt me.”
“I don’t doubt you. I was just surprised since over the past few months, I hadn’t once seen you wearing riding clothes when I’ve visited.”
For The Love of Easton : A Single Parent Romance and Sequel to For The Love of English Page 20