Key To My Heart: Stay

by Misty Reigenborn

  “Hey Gav. She’s home.”

  “How is she?”

  “She seems fine. Gav, you’re going to have to make a decision for once and for all. And you need to do it soon. Are you going to spend the rest of your life being scared, or are you going to take a chance on love?”

  “You’re so corny little brother. Next thing I know you’re going to be driving a minivan loaded down with four or five kids.”

  “Maybe we want a lot of kids.”

  “Do you? Have you discussed that with her?”

  “Give me a break Gav. You’re just trying to change the subject so you don’t have to address your own issues. My relationship is right on track. Yours on the other hand, well you can’t even say that you have a real relationship with the woman that you love anymore.”

  “Thanks for reminding me. Are you sure she’s okay?”

  Garett chuckled. “I grew up with her too remember? I promise you that Demi is fine.”

  Gavin sighed. “I hope so. How’s Acasia?”

  “She’s good. It sucks to have to watch her get sick every morning though.”

  “I’m sure it does bro. But between our mother and her mother they must have some tricks to ease the morning sickness.”

  “Yeah. So when are you coming home?”

  “I don’t know. It’s not that simple Gar.”

  “How is it not simple Gav? How much thought have you put into any move you’ve made over the past few years?”

  “I have a system.”

  “Sure you do. Stay somewhere until your boss pisses you off or someone gets too close, then move on. That’s no way to live and you know it.”

  “I know Gar. I know. Thanks for calling.”

  “No problem. I promised you I would, didn’t I?”

  “Yes. And you always stand up to your promises.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing really. Isn’t it exhausting always trying to please other people though?”

  “It is possible to not only be happy yourself, but to make other people happy Gav. Without sacrificing anything.”

  “Not always. Sometimes it’s not worth it.”

  “But sometimes it is.” Acasia was coming his way, and he felt a little guilty that he had run off to call Gavin when she wasn’t happy that unresolved feelings existed between her sister and his brother. “I have to go. I’ll call you again soon. And hopefully you’ll drag your sorry ass back here sooner or later.”

  “Maybe. Take care little brother.”

  “You too. Bye Gavin.”

  Garett disconnected the call and shoved his phone back in his pocket right as Acasia reached him.

  She offered him a puzzled smile. “Why were you in such a hurry to hide your phone?”

  He could tell by the tone of her voice that she was teasing him, but he figured that it would be better to tell her at least a partial truth.

  “It was Gavin.”

  “Oh. Is he planning on coming back to town?”

  “I don’t know babe. And it’s not like my brother ever did anything that anybody ever expected of him anyway.”

  Acasia bit her lip. She glanced across the yard to where Demi was still talking with their mother. “I worry about her.”

  “I know you do baby. It’s what big sisters do. She’s going to be fine. Even if Gavin does come back to town.”

  “I know. I just. . .”

  “Just what baby?”

  She sighed. “I don’t know. I guess I need to back off and let her live her own life. I’m just afraid that she’ll end up getting hurt.”

  “Everyone gets hurt honey, but I think that that’s the last thing on Gavin’s mind right now where Demi is concerned.”

  “I suppose. Can we go home? I’m tired.”

  “Of course baby.”

  He took her hand and they said their goodbyes to everyone and drove home. He wasn’t sure what the future held for Gavin and Demi, and maybe even Jay and Nikki, but he felt as if things were definitely on the right track for him and Acasia.

  Acasia

  She was happy to have her baby sister back in town, though the idea that Gavin would follow still didn’t sit well with Acasia. She knew that she needed to let her sister live her own life, she just wasn’t sure that having Gavin in her life was the best thing for Demi.

  She hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Demi alone that day, and she was hoping that a chance would come up soon. She also knew that it was time to have a talk with Nikki, a real talk with Nikki; and she wasn’t looking forward to either conversation. Everything else seemed to be going smoothly though, and for that she was certainly glad.

  She enjoyed living with Garett, though between both of their work schedules and his work on the house, she sometimes felt as if they spent little quality time together. So they made it a point to set aside some time each day for real conversation, no matter how tired either of them were; where they discussed something besides the wedding, the baby, and the house. It was good for both of them, and Acasia hoped that they would always be able to talk that way.

  Her first doctor’s appointment went well, and Garett was excited that he was able to hear their child’s heartbeat, as was she. But it was while they were at the doctor’s office that Acasia heard the first rumor ironically enough not about her sister that had just returned to Clinton, but about the sister who hadn’t been home since her daughter was born.

  She wasn’t thrilled to know that people were saying that Nikki had had an affair and that Sammi was reported to not be Jay’s child. She considered the rumors ridiculous, especially the latter since Sammi was the picture of her father; but she was protective over both of her sisters, and she didn’t like to hear people talking shit about them.

  Garett had overheard the exchange between the two women as well, and had given her a look of warning. She had offered him an amused smile, and taken his hand, pointedly ignoring the women as they walked past them. She tried to call Nikki as soon as they left the office, but her call went straight to voicemail, and she again wondered what it was that was really going on between Nikki and Jay. She sincerely doubted that either of them had had an affair, but something certainly seemed to be going on between them that neither of them seemed to want to talk about.

  Garett

  Garett wasn’t pleased when he heard the women in the doctor’s office talking about his sister-in-law either, but having lived in Clinton all of his life besides when he was in college, he was certainly used to hearing rumors. Small town dynamics were familiar to him. They were often boring and when nothing of interest was going on, people tended to make things up just to have something to talk about. He was sure that that’s what was going on with the rumors about Nikki, but at the same time, it made his need to talk to Jay even more urgent.

  He attempted to call his brother that afternoon, but his call went straight to voicemail, just as Acasia’s call to Nikki had. It made him worry even more, and he knew that Acasia was worried on her sister’s behalf as well. If there hadn’t already been so much else going on in their lives, he was sure that the whole combined Black/Brown family probably would have taken a trip to confront Jay and Nikki. He figured that if some sort of explanation wasn’t forthcoming that it would happen eventually anyway, but he certainly wasn’t looking forward to such an intervention style confrontation.

  Life was hectic with everything that going on, and Garett sometimes felt as if he rarely had a chance to breathe. But he knew that he might as well get used to the pace. They were going to be parents, and being a parent to him had always seemed to involve non-stop running, no matter what age your children were or how many of them you happened to have.

  He thought the house was coming along well, but there was still so much that needed to be done before the baby was born that it was almost overwhelming. He was almost at the point of trying to bribe his brother into coming back home so he would have some extra help on the house. But he wasn’t quite there yet, and Acasia was more help
ful than she realized, especially when it came to issues of cost.

  His parents had taught him to balance a budget and he hadn’t had extravagant tastes as a single man, so he had saved money and continued to put money away. But he tended to look at cost instead of the overall value. Acasia saw the whole picture and would meticulously plan things out so that whatever they purchased, they always received the best value. She also understood issues such as supply and demand, and could pretty accurately predict when certain products were more likely to be on sale or available at a lower cost. She had quite a head for business, and he had discussed with his father the idea of hiring her to manage the office for Black and Sons after the baby was born.

  His father was in favor of the idea, and Acasia liked the fact that she would be able to bring the baby to the office with her, so it looked like Black and Sons would become even more of a family business in the future. He didn’t care whether they had a son or a daughter, he just hoped that he would be able to pass the business on to his child in some way and was glad that Acasia would be able to share in something that gave him so much pride as well.

  He was able to talk to Jay a week and a half after they had heard the rumors at the doctor’s office and his brother denied them, calling them ridiculous. There had been something in his voice that had made Garett wonder if Jay was telling him the complete truth though. It wasn’t like him to lie, but Garett could understand the need of a man to protect his family, and understood how hurtful rumors could be, whether they happened to be true or not.

  Acasia

  Acasia talked to Nikki a few days after Garett talked to Jay, and Nikki denied the rumors as well. But she had known that Nikki would deny the rumors. People had often spread rumors about Nikki and Jay while they were in high school, though the two had certainly never seemed to do anything to cause them, and Acasia had always known that the rumors had bothered Nikki much more than she had ever wanted to admit. Nikki didn’t like the spotlight, she never had, and wasn’t normally one to do things that would draw attention to her.

  She was worried about her sister, and wished that she had time for a visit. She still hadn’t seen her beautiful niece in person and with Demi being back in town, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for a visit. But with both of them being pregnant, not to mention everything else that was going on in both of their lives; it seemed almost impossible to plan such a trip. She just hoped that Nikki or Jay opened up to someone before it got to the point that their parents planned a surprise intervention. She knew that that was the last thing any of them needed.

  She was happy with the idea of going to work for Black and Sons after the baby was born. She liked that not only would she be able to bring their child to the office with her, but that she would be putting her degree to work as well. She still had a pretty massive student loan debt, and it would feel good not only to use her degree, but to be able to start to make bigger payments to pay down the debt as well.

  Demi’s baby shower went well. She thought that her sister was adjusting well to being back home all around, but they still hadn’t been able to get a moment to talk privately and Acasia was disappointed. She knew that she could talk to her sister on the phone at almost any time, but talking to her sister about Gavin was something that she wanted to do in person.

  Garett

  Time seemed to be racing by at a speeding pace that threatened to make his head spin. He had never done so much planning in his life, nor had he ever been expected to complete such a large project in such a short time. He sometimes felt as if it was all too much and wanted to bury his head in the sand, but he had known for a long time that ignoring things wouldn’t make them go away, and he did his best to address every issue that came up.

  And there were many issues that arose as the weeks passed. Issues with the house, and issues with the wedding plans, though luckily there were no issues with the baby. Acasia had cut her schedule back to three days a week instead of five, and it seemed to be helping both with her mood and her energy level. On the nights she worked, she came home so tired that the only thing she wanted to do was go straight to bed.

  They’d had to change the wedding date, realizing that they had set it too close to Demi’s due date. Acasia hadn’t been thrilled with the idea of pushing the date back, afraid that she wouldn’t be able to find a dress that would suit her as well later in her own pregnancy, but her mother had found a tailor that was experienced in outfitting pregnant woman and who had guaranteed them she would be able to modify any dress that Acasia chose to fit comfortably, no matter how far along in her pregnancy she was. That had seemed to set his beautiful fiancé’s mind at ease, and they had agreed on May 24th as the day they would exchange their vows, though both of their mothers had cautioned them on scheduling their special day on a date that was so close to the due date of the bride.

  Six weeks seemed like a safe distance to both Garett and Acasia though, so they stuck with the date.

  There were problems with the nursery as well. The room they had originally chosen for their son or daughter was more damaged than he had originally thought, actually the worst off of the bedrooms overall. The master bedroom had been in decent condition, so he hadn’t had to do a lot of work on it, but the other bedrooms were in various stages of disrepair.

  Acasia hadn’t been thrilled with the idea that the nursery would have to be moved further down the hall, and had actually dropped tears over it. She apologized later for getting so emotional over the idea of their child’s room being one extra room away from them, but he understood at least some of what she felt. He was working so hard and he was so damned tired all the time that it seemed as if those few extra steps might make a big difference in their lives after the baby had arrived.

  He realized on a night after Acasia came home from work and didn’t even manage to change out of her waitress outfit before she fell asleep that they had both taken on too much. The thought had occurred to him before of course, but he knew that it was time to let go of at least some of their responsibilities. He figured that he would talk to Acasia in the morning about letting their mothers take over the majority of the wedding planning. He knew that they would have to set down some ground rules though, or they would end up with a wedding that was the dream of their mothers instead of their own.

  Acasia

  Acasia wasn’t sure how good of an idea letting their mothers take over the wedding planning was, but she agreed with Garett that something needed to be done to take at least some of the heavy load off of their shoulders. Black & Sons was busy, and Jed needed Garett more than ever. But their own house also demanded attention. She tried to help as much as she could, but she knew that she wasn’t equipped to do much more than the basics, so she felt as if what she did around the house made little difference in the progress towards its being fit for a child to live in.

  She knew that both she and Garett were already a little overprotective of their child, and would probably end up going far beyond just making the house safe for their child, but she also knew that it would be worth it in the end. The old house already felt like home because everything that she loved most in the world was under its roof, but she also knew that a huge load would be taken off of both Garett’s and her shoulders once it was finished.

  She and Garett spoke with their mothers who happily agreed to take over the wedding plans. They did set firm rules down though, to ensure that the wedding would still be theirs. Their mothers were well meaning, and wanted to help, but both women were rather opinionated and had their own ideas of what would make the wedding unforgettable that didn’t necessarily fit with what Acasia and Garett wanted.

  She was embarrassed when she ended up crying over the nursery having to be moved further down the hall, but it felt like the final nail in the coffin that the day had become. She had dropped not one but two plates of food at work, and she had been mortified, and close to tears over her clumsiness when Garett had come in for dinner. He had been able to calm her down like alwa
ys, but when she had come home after work and been given the news that the nursery was going to have to be moved after all of the work he had done to get the room ready, it had been too much.

  She hoped that she wouldn’t turn into a complete emotional mess by the time the baby was born, and wondered over how her baby sister seemed to stay so strong through it all when she faced raising her child alone.

  Garett

  Garett was half asleep on the couch waiting for Acasia to get home from work, nursing the first beer he had had in a month when his phone rang. He knew that it was Gavin from the ring tone, and he almost didn’t want to answer. The idea of trying to talk his brother into coming home again was exhausting. He didn’t know if he had the energy left to deal with his brother’s unrequited love for Demi either, but he picked up the phone anyway, hiding a sigh.

  “Hey big brother.”

  Gavin chuckled. “You sound so happy to hear from me Gar. Is the running around like a chicken with its head cut off finally getting to you?”

  “It’s not funny Gav. Do you know how much work it takes to finish a house in months when the project should take a year or more? Hell, if I hadn’t hooked up with Acasia, it might have taken me years to fix this old place up.”

  “In over your head are you?”

  “Every time I turn around something else comes up with this place that demands immediate attention. Leaks, plumbing, whole walls that need to be replaced. And Dad has got us swamped with work. It seems like he picks up a new project every other day. And not all of them are simple. You should think about coming home Gav. We need the help so much that Dad just might welcome you with open arms.”

  “Fat chance. But there was something that I wanted to talk to you about Gar.”

  “What’s that Gav?”

  “Do you happen to have a couch I can sleep on for a while?”

  “I do actually. I’d offer you a bedroom, but only the master and the nursery are anywhere near ready to sleep in. When are you coming home?”