The Only Thing

by Marie Harte

  Gavin and Theo chuckled, and Gavin said, “Told you so.”

  “Told him what?” Hope wanted to know.

  Linda returned, the flowers now in a vase she set on the coffee table. “Dinner is ready if you’d all sit at the table.”

  Her parents set the food out while the rest of them sat down. Hope sat at the other end of the dining table, across from her father, who took the head chair. Her mother sat on one side of him, while Hope’s older brothers sat on the other side. J.T. sat sandwiched between Hope and Theo, who sat next to Linda. With any luck, their current buffers would provide a bit of ease from the tension she could sense growing once more.

  Landon and Linda kept staring at J.T., then looking at Hope, as if waiting for something. She didn’t know what. Theo kept his head down, ready to shovel in the food, she was sure. And Gavin and her father joked about the gym where Gavin worked.

  “So you think I’m getting puny, is that it, boy?” her father asked.

  “Sorry, Dad. But yeah. Come down to Jameson’s, and I’ll work on bulking you back up.” Gavin, a trainer at the popular Jameson’s Gym, was the go-to man for everyone serious about health and training. Hope loved that he’d lost that wounded look he’d come back to the States with. After too many years fighting overseas in the military, Gavin had seen and done a lot to wound his soul. But now he’d settled, found love, and thought more about the future than the past. Zoe was good for him. And speaking of which…

  “Hey, Gavin. Where’s Zoe?”

  “She and Ava are having a movie night. It was some chick flick I had no urge to see.”

  Well, at least Hope didn’t have to deal with Ava’s discerning gaze, because Dr. Ava would no doubt see through Hope’s calm facade to the confused woman afraid of falling for her pretend boyfriend.

  Who had no problem with his appetite.

  J.T. tucked into the food her parents passed around. “You guys eat like this all the time? Because, wow. What a spread.”

  Linda looked down her nose at him.

  Oh, goody. It was on.

  “Really? You don’t seem like a small man who’s missed too many meals. Are you telling us you don’t eat?”

  J.T. smiled at her. “Well, with all my kids underfoot, I try to make sure they’re fed before I get my plate. And you know, what with me in and out of jail all the time, I gotta see to the young’uns first.”

  Hope sighed. He wasn’t sticking to the plan. His boasts were nothing so much as screaming they were lies. If he kept it up, Linda would never believe their carefully constructed story. Then Hope wouldn’t be able to rub her nose it in afterward when they told the truth about J.T. being a decent, no-drama human being.

  Her father wore a huge grin. He apparently wasn’t buying any of J.T.’s nonsense. Gavin rolled his eyes, and Theo ate and laughed, another lost cause. But Landon, like their mother, seemed poised to pounce.

  Then Landon ruined it by laughing. “You’re so full of shit. Young’funs? Buddy, I know for a fact you’re not a hick, and you sure as shit weren’t raised down South.”

  Linda glared. “Landon, watch your mouth.”

  “Yeah,” Hope said, hating to agree with her mother, but Landon was killing the mood before she’d gotten a chance to scam everyone.

  “Oh, please.” Linda huffed. “I know ‘your man,’ Hope. He’s no more your boyfriend than he’s a prison escapee. And I highly doubt Liam lets his son wander the country impregnating women left and right.”

  J.T. choked on his water. “You know my dad?”

  “We’ve met. He is dating my sister.” Linda shook her head. “I knew you were lying, Hope. But pulling poor J.T. into your scheme is beneath you.”

  “I’ll tell you exactly what’s beneath me. Or whom, I should probably say,” she started, losing all sense.

  * * *

  “God, no,” Theo sputtered.

  “Stop. I can’t hear this. I’ll need even more therapy to be right again,” Gavin whined.

  Landon grimaced.

  J.T. squeezed her hand under the table and took charge before her parents could get a word in. “Linda, you’ll have to forgive us. Hope was annoyed with you and told you about us before we were ready. It was my fault, really.”

  “I don’t—”

  He talked over his girlfriend, knowing Hope would be annoyed, but he just couldn’t go along with her scheme. Too many of the Donnigans knew his father, and J.T. had socialized with Landon and Theo a few times as well. Just in passing, but they’d know he didn’t possess a poor reputation at all, unless it had to do with being a little too popular with the ladies.

  “Hope is smart, funny, and beautiful. She doesn’t need any help snagging a man. She’s got great taste—she has me.”

  The others laughed, though Landon didn’t seem too pleased, and Hope’s mom still looked unconvinced. A glance at Hope showed her thoughtful instead of annoyed, so maybe he had a shot at getting home tonight unscathed.

  He forked more steak into his mouth, wondering if he could keep Van when this was all over, because damn, the man could cook.

  “Just to be clear.” Linda enunciated each word. “You have not been in prison recently. You don’t have a litter of children by different mothers, and you aren’t a tattoo artist.”

  “No jail.” Recently, she’d said. “I don’t have any kids.” That I know of. “But I do own the best studio in the city. Tull Paint & Body is my place.”

  “And they’re amazing.” Hope nodded. “You should see some of the artwork they do. Oh my gosh. J.T. is so talented.”

  He flushed, wondering why the compliment had gone to his head when Hope was no doubt just gushing to screw with her mom.

  “I thought about getting a tattoo,” Theo said. “But Mom would have a hissy.”

  “Why?” J.T. asked Linda.

  She ticked off each finger. “Infection. Scarring. It’s permanent.”

  “Well now, that’s all dependent on where you get your work done.”

  “And it’s not something a professional would have on his or her body.”

  J.T. shook his head. “Not so. At least, not anymore. I know it used to be that having a tattoo pretty much meant you’d done jail time or were in a gang, but that was years ago.” More like decades. “You’d be surprised at the variety of my clients. And they’re not all men. A ton of women are getting tattoos as well. I just did a full sleeve on a woman who owns a small up-and-coming IT firm. It’s beautiful, vines and flowers and lots of color. She wanted something that said growth but was techy, so I used her logo too. It’s really cool,” he said to Hope, excited about the project all over again.

  “I would have gotten one years ago,” Gavin added. “But I knew Mom would lose it, so I didn’t.”

  “Well, I never wanted one,” Landon grumbled.

  Hope said in a loud whisper, “He doesn’t like needles.”

  J.T. tried not to laugh at Landon’s annoyance. The guys’ dad had no compunction about hiding it though.

  Amused, Van said, “Well, I for one am a fan of the arts. When I learned just who was dating my daughter, I looked at your website.”

  Linda frowned. “You did?”

  Wait. Who had told her father about J.T.? He shouldn’t have known J.T.’s name before she arrived.

  “Yes. And for what he charges for his work, I don’t think you can call him a hobbyist or an amateur. What he does is nothing short of inventive. Do you do all your own work, or do you sometimes do art that clients bring to you?”

  “We have portrait artists in the studio. Most of my clients have their own ideas that I put into an actual image.” He described his process and out of the corner of his eye saw Hope nodding, encouraging.

  He clasped her hand on top of the table, then let her go when Theo nudged him with a new platter of roasted vegetables.

  Lind
a remained quiet while Van and Hope’s brothers asked him questions about his job and his associations with the people who hung out at Ray’s. Apparently the guys had gone there a while ago to kick ass. Greg, Hope’s ex, had gotten a tough talking-to.

  “So you’re really dating my daughter?” Linda asked as they were having dessert.

  “Yes, I am.” He couldn’t look away from his plate. “This is some serious carrot cake.” He stared at the thing in awe. “It has, like, five layers.”

  Van gave a bashful shrug. “Six, actually. I like to bake.”

  “Dad’s the man in the kitchen.” Gavin smiled. “I’m supposed to take a piece of anything left over home to Zoe. She ordered me to.”

  “Anything for Zoe,” Van agreed.

  “And Ava,” Landon added.

  “Her too.”

  “I don’t understand.” Linda seemed puzzled.

  “What?” Hope asked, belligerent.

  J.T. had sensed the discord under all the polite and not-so-polite chatter, but Hope hadn’t been overly antagonistic. And frankly, her mother had been quiet but pleasant. He didn’t see why Hope should be so aggravated with the woman. So she was protective of her only daughter? Liam acted like a wounded bear whenever Del had a hiccup, and she was meaner than half the guys he knew…on a good day.

  “My daughter has a history of dating men clearly beneath her. She bragged about you being poor and basically bad dating material.”

  “Note the word poor,” Hope repeated. “So yeah, I gave him some other bad character traits. To teach you a lesson, Mom. You can’t judge a person just because they’ve had a hard history. And you really shouldn’t judge a person for not being wealthy.”

  “Ah, I’m not exactly poor, I—”

  “Please, Hope. J.T. is obviously good-looking. He’s got character, a nice enough family. But he tattoos people for a living. He’s not what you need.”

  “How dare you presume to know what I need? I’m not Linda Junior, Mom. I’m Hope, and I have my own wants and needs.”

  “What say we adjourn to the living room and let them talk it out?” Van suggested to J.T.

  J.T. grabbed his plate and followed Van out of the room, doing his best to ignore the yelling. Her brothers joined them, obviously intelligent enough to realize it wouldn’t be smart to get between mother and daughter.

  “Do they always get along so well?” J.T. asked wryly.

  Van sighed. “Lately, yes. My wife is a sweet woman, but”—he glared at his sons choking on Attila the Mom, ballbuster, and yeah, right—“she has high standards she thinks her children should meet. She’s always been harder on Hope than the boys for some reason. She nags from a place of love, but Hope has always felt as if she has to measure up. She doesn’t.”

  “No, she doesn’t.” He felt for her. Some of the things her mother had said, and was still saying, had to hurt. Hope wasn’t a loser for not meeting her potential. And she sure the hell had a great life, despite not making the money her mother thought she should. “Hope is a smart woman with different goals. I think she’d be happy if her mother could just let her be.”

  The others stared at him.

  “What? Was I supposed to ignore the fact her mom is totally cutting her down? And it has nothing to do with me.”

  “It never did.” Van smiled.

  “Why are you so happy?”

  “Because I like you. You’re the first decent guy my daughter has brought home in a long time.”

  “Yeah, about that,” Landon said, stepping closer to J.T.

  J.T. kept his cool, though Landon was no one he’d choose to take on, if he had his way. And certainly not with Gavin so close behind him.

  “What’s the deal with the flowers and attention from her secret admirer at the office? You and Cam were kind of unclear on the message you guys sent us.”

  “What’s that?” Van frowned. “Someone’s been bothering Hope?”

  J.T. wished Hope had told her family what was going on. Still, the night wasn’t a total loss. At least no one had tried to pound him for dating their precious sister yet.

  “And don’t think we’re not going to talk about what you’re getting up to with my sister,” Landon added in a growl.

  Hell.

  Chapter 14

  “Mom, just…enough. You’re being ridiculous now. I don’t need you setting me up with men. I don’t need more criticism about the way I dress, my job, or how I’m not living up to your expectations. Jesus, do you love me for me or not?”

  “Of course I love you,” her mother snapped. “You’re as annoying as I am when I do things my own way. Or so your father says.”

  Hope paused, not having heard that one before.

  “You can be a real bitch, Hope. And I say that with love.” Linda sighed, all the fight seeming to seep out of her. “It’s a Donnigan family trait, you know, to think you know what’s best for everyone. Oh, I know what you’re thinking. Your father’s not like that. But he is. He’s just subtler about it.”

  “Maybe, but he doesn’t make me feel like I’m stupid for doing things my own way. I have to make my own mistakes, Mom.”

  “It’s just that you’ve made so many of them so often,” Linda murmured.

  “Oh! That’s my point! You’re always throwing my boyfriends or my job in my face. Honestly? I like working for Cam, but it’s not my dream job. I don’t have a dream job. Someday I’d like to get married and have a family. That’s my dream job.”

  “I know.”

  “And that’s okay, because that’s who I am. I’m not you.”

  “I know.”

  But Hope was on a roll. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with J.T. He’s the first guy in a long time I actually like. He’s funny and smart. And he treats me well.”

  “It’s about time.”

  “Yes, it is. He’s not rich. I don’t know how much money he makes, if you want the truth. But I don’t care.”

  “You should.”

  “Why? You raised me to be an independent woman. I have a job. I buy my own clothes, rent my own apartment. Why do I need a man to buy me things?”

  Linda frowned. “You don’t. But he should pull his own weight. Do you have any idea how many friends I have who do everything? Janice has been working her ass off for twenty years, all so her louse of a husband can sit on his sorry butt and pretend to be looking for work. It’s a joke.”

  “Yeah, and it’s on Janice for putting up with it. I admit some of my exes weren’t great, but I know that now. It helps that I have someone so sweet to show me the difference.” Sweet? Well, J.T. treated her like…a queen, actually. Something to think about—in addition to the fact that she was as bothered about her mother dissing J.T. as she was about her mother getting on her case.

  “I’m happy for you if you are, I guess.” Linda shrugged. “But this thing with him seems sudden.”

  “It’s a recent relationship. We just clicked.” Truth. “Each of us is accepting the other person, Mom. I’m not trying to make him into Dad, and he’s not trying to make me his next baby’s mother,” she teased.

  “You do realize I couldn’t care less if he’s black, white, red, or purple. Your significant other should have decent employment and a need to better himself. Trust me.”

  “Oh my God, Mom. I’m not with J.T. for his money. I like him.”

  “You can’t like a man who can support you?”

  “I support myself,” she growled, feeling like a broken record.

  “Well, I admit I like this one more than the others. He was polite and dressed nicely, I suppose. I mean, I didn’t see any holes or stains on his clothing.”

  Hope wanted to beat her head against the table. “Why weren’t you like this with Ava or Zoe?”

  “I didn’t have to be. Ava has ‘Dr.’ in front of her name. And when I learned about
Zoe’s big job in the medical clinic, where your father has a few friends, I was satisfied. Both of them are lovely women. They found good men in your brothers. But frankly, Ava and Zoe aren’t my daughters. You are.”

  Linda sighed. “I know you think I’m a snob, and maybe I am. But your father and I spent years working to provide for this family. You take for granted having food and a nice place to live. We didn’t have that—all this—for a long time. And there’s no way I’m going back to the way it was.”

  “So you’re saying if Dad turned poor tomorrow, you’d leave him?”

  “That is not what I said,” Linda snapped. “I’m trying to have a discussion with you, but you’re so difficult.”

  “I’m just like you.”

  “Please. I’m trying to tell you that while I think you have your heart in the right place, you’re not hearing what I’m saying.”

  Hope prayed J.T. was faring better with her dad.

  “Linda? Hope?” Her father frowned at them from the doorway of the kitchen. “Are you two okay?”

  Make that, faring better with her brothers.

  * * *

  “So let me get this straight. Three weeks ago, you catch my sister kicking Greg’s ass.”

  J.T. nodded to Landon. “Yep.”

  “Man, I’d have loved to have seen that,” Gavin said.

  “It was pretty amazing. She’s wearing this pink gown, and she’s looking all pretty and girlie. Then Greg puts his hand on her. I was two steps from tossing him down the hill when she put a hurt on him.” J.T. grinned. “Epic.”

  “And he was bothering her why? I thought they broke up months ago.”

  “You mean, after you two pounded him at Ray’s? Yeah, I heard. Everyone heard about the two yuppies taking up for their sister. I hadn’t realized it was you two until Rena mentioned Hope’s name.”

  “Wait. Yuppies?” Landon frowned.

  “They call everyone who doesn’t hang at Ray’s ‘yuppies.’” J.T. shrugged. “Anyway, according to Greg, someone trashed his car, and he thought it was you two.”

  Gavin shook his head. “Why did Greg think it was us?”