by Terri Marie
“Damn straight!” yelled Jacob as he gave Brian a high five.
“You will always be a part this crazy clan,” said Sean as he hugged Brian.
“You’re one of us, Brian, for now and always. We love you,” said Vincent as he ruffled Brian’s hair, then hugged him.
“Let’s go home, Son. I think it’s time for a celebration.” Tyler put his hand on the back of Brian’s neck and walked beside him, back to the van.
“Thanks guys,” said Brian as he looked at each of them before they climbed into the van. “Thank you for giving me the best family in the world, and for not being nut jobs.”
Laughter filled the air on this bittersweet day. Brian’s shoulders seemed like every burden had been lifted from him. On his face was a smile, the biggest one Tyler had seen on the kid in a long time. Life is good, thought Tyler. Very, very good.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Renee did nothing but pace the floor all day. She had to force herself to eat, and even then, she walked. The temptation to call Tyler was overwhelming her, but she knew she couldn’t. Brian had to handle the reins of this hell-horse, and no one could do it for him. The poor kid has had such a horrible life. Trying to survive those monsters who were slowly killing him, only to escape and spend the next several years on the run. But today, all of the running would be over with. He could now be free to enjoy life.
But the suspense was eating her alive. She picked up the phone and called Emma, hoping she’d heard something from Jacob.
“Not a word, Renee. I’ve been trying to keep myself busy. I’m worried sick about Brian. I’m glad the guys went with him.” Renee could hear the exhaustion in her voice.
Suddenly, the sounds of car doors slamming made her run to the window. “I’ll call you back, Emma. They just pulled up!” Renee hung up and ran back into the kitchen. She didn’t want to rush Brian when he walked through the door. She had no idea what his mental condition would be. When the door opened, the brothers came in first, followed by Brian.
Renee turned her head to look at his face. He returned her gaze, but she couldn’t read his expression. Her eyes began to tear up, so she quickly looked down at the sink.
“Hi honey, I’m home!!!” Brian yelled with his arms open wide. He immediately started laughing. It was something Tyler yelled frequently when he came through the door. Even if all he’d been doing was watering the plants.
She walked briskly over to Brian and hugged him tightly. When she let him go, she looked down at all the mud that’d been tracked into the house, from their shoes and pant legs. “I’m so glad you’re home! Are you okay?”
“I really am. You don’t have to worry about me anymore. Today I got to bury the past and start new. I have to admit, I’m pretty hungry though.” The men agreed and Renee knew it couldn’t be all bad if their stomachs were yelling for food.
“There’s a pretty good steak house not far from here,” said Vincent. “Let’s grab the women and go out for a feast!”
“I think a shower is in order first,” added Renee as she laughed.
“Yeah,” began Brian. “A steak sounds perfect, but Renee’s right. We’re tracking mud through the house, and I wouldn’t mind washing the last bit of today down the drain.”
After everyone left, Tyler cleaned up the floor, while Renee went upstairs to change her clothes. When she walked past the bathroom upstairs, she heard the most beautiful sound in the world.
Brian was singing.
CHAPTER 14
SEAN WALKED INTO his empty home. He’d always been grateful for the solitude, but now, something had changed. Elissa. He knew almost right away what was missing, but she was probably overjoyed at being away from him after their ordeal in Ohio. He’d been grumpy, and he knew he must have smelled like a high school locker room, but having her by his side for that time had been a constant reassurance. Any woman who was willing to put her own freedom and life at risk, for the sake of his family, was a keeper. But what did he know? His brothers had the world by the tail, with wonderful women at their sides, but him? He had very little experience with women. Sure, he could talk the talk, but his tongue was tied in knots when he came face to face with a pretty lady.
Maybe he’d forever be the Montclair Bachelor. Suddenly it occurred to him that he should call Elissa and invite her to join in on the family celebration this evening. Maybe she’d agree to let him swing by and pick her up? Sean pulled his phone from his pocket, found her number and stared down at it, too chicken to press the call button. No, I’m sure one of the other girls would have called her by now. He took off his shoes and looked down at the mud he’d carried in with him. He’d clean it up later.
Half-way up the stairs, he stopped and sat down. Sean knew he had to at least check with her. If everyone showed up at the steak house except for her, she’d be devastated when she found out. He could never forgive himself for something like that. Unlike Vincent, his experience with females was limited, and he had never used any of them. Elissa probably thought of him as a playboy, especially after he’d had his hands all over her that day in the cafeteria.
Sean took a deep breath and hit the call button.
“Oh, hi Sean!” She sounded happy to hear from him.
“Elissa, how are you? Did you get some good sleep?” Seriously? That’s the best you can do?
“I did! My boys and I have been hanging out in our new house, and we couldn’t be happier.” She sounded relaxed. The tension in her voice was now absent, and Sean knew that she’d been existing in a life full of stress for too long. “How are you?”
“Tired, but I’m doing okay. We’ve had a pretty eventful past couple of days with Brian, which I’m sure you’ve heard about, but today was the day when the kid was finally able to say goodbye to his past. We’re all going out to celebrate at a nice steak house at eight tonight. I was wondering if I could swing by and pick you up around seven-thirty?”
“Let me call my sitter real quick and I’ll give you a jingle back.” Sean noticed the excitement in her voice.
“If you can’t find a sitter, it’s okay. We’ll just take the boys along.” Miles and Noah were good kids, so he didn’t mind at all if they joined them.
“In that case, I’ll see you at seven-thirty. I’ll still try and find a sitter though. Thank you for inviting me,” she said softly. Sean picked up on Elissa’s shyness.
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you then.” Sean hung up the phone, and with a new spring in his step, he whistled all the way to the shower.
The drive over to Elissa’s house seemed to take less time than normal. Sean felt mentally unprepared to face her. His palms were sweaty, and he felt obsessed with straightening his tie. Hopefully, she’d like the one he’d chosen.
When he pulled up in the driveway, Elissa came out of the house alone. She smiled at him, and he jumped out of his Jeep so he could run around to the passenger side and hold open her door. Why didn’t she want me to come to the door and get her?
“So you found a sitter?” Sean wanted to kick himself. Of course she’d found someone to watch the boys. Elissa wouldn’t exactly leave them alone in the house to fend for themselves. “That was a dumb question,” Sean laughed nervously.
“She’s just going to stay the night tonight, so I don’t have to worry about getting home at a certain time,” she explained. But after she answered him, the small talk diminished. Now, what shouldn’t have been a long drive to this particular steak house, seemed to be taking forever. The silence was killing him.
“Are we okay?” Elissa suddenly blurted. “We shared some pretty intense time together, and now it feels like you’re not very happy to be with me. If you’d be more comfortable, I can go back and get the Equinox, or I could even stay home if that’d make you feel more at ease.”
Way to go, Sean. Now look how you made her feel. Unwanted. He’d done exactly what he never wanted to do. Within thirty minutes of picking her up, he’d managed to totally hurt her feelings. This was unacceptable and h
e had to fix it. When he turned his head to look at her, he could tell she was fighting back tears. He quickly turned onto the first side street he saw.
“Are we turning around to go back to my house?” she asked him softly.
“No, Elissa, I’m not taking you back to your house until this evening has ended. Then, I’d like to bring you back to my house for a night cap before I take you home, if you aren’t too tired. The time we spent together was full of so much stress, we didn’t really get the chance to think about anything other than saving Brian. Now that our mission was a success, and all the tension has faded away, it’s peaceful, and I’m at ease…but I really don’t know how to act. I’m super sorry.”
“Really? That’s why you aren’t talking much?” She turned her body in the seat so she could face him.
“Elissa, before I called you, I knew that Renee or one of the other girls had probably already invited you. I would have been happy regardless of how you got there, but I wanted to bring you with me. I wanted to see you. So to answer your question, yes…we’re perfectly okay.” She looked at him with puppy dog eyes, and he couldn’t resist brushing the hair away from her face and cupping her cheek with his hand. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Now, I’m slightly starving. How about you?”
“I could eat a ten pound steak,” she smiled widely.
“Good. Then I shall buy you one.” Sean held her hand for the remainder of the drive. When he parked the Jeep, he got out, then opened her door for her. “You look beautiful this evening. But that’s nothing new for you.” He was sure that if there was more daylight, he would have seen her blushing. Now that they’d talked, Sean felt completely at ease with her. As they walked to the door, he felt Elissa slip her delicate hand into his. He gently squeezed it and walked inside the restaurant with a smile on his face.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
The place was pretty busy, but Vincent was glad he’d picked this steak house for their celebration. He promised himself that he wouldn’t bring up any depressing topics tonight, but tomorrow would be a different story. Robert’s sentencing had been delayed due to the fact that Judge Weddle was having a family emergency. The hearing would now take place this Friday, which meant there was still plenty of time for them to think about that monster. Too bad Vincent couldn’t have found a way to entomb the guy right beside Hank and Shirley Waters. Everyone in the family needed that man to be long gone.
He was especially worried about Renee. Being pregnant, she certainly didn’t need any more stress. The challenges with Brian had almost put her over the edge, and they’d all worried about her losing the baby at one time or another. But, after this Friday, the only tension any of them should ever have to experience would be from work. A cold beer at the end of the day could make that go away easily though.
Vincent must have seemed like he was a million miles away to Carrie. She slid her warm hand over his thigh and whispered to him.
“What’s wrong, Sweetheart?”
“Nothing at all.” Vincent smiled brightly at her and knew it was imperative that he work a little harder to stay upbeat. She believed him, and that was good enough for now.
Brian was the happiest he’d ever seen him. Tyler gave a touching toast, and even Vincent had to swallow back the tears.
“To Brian, our Son. May God shower you with all the beautiful gifts in life, and may you rise each morning knowing, with every bit of your heart, that you are loved…by all of us. We love you unconditionally, and I must admit, that you, out of all of us, are the bravest man I know. You know how to conquer with grace, to love with sincerity, and to rise above like the hero that you are. Thank you for coming into our lives…and for choosing to stay. I only hope that I can be a father who’ll always deserve you, and not only a good teacher, but a humble enough man to learn from you. Salute!”
“Salute!” everyone responded in unison as they lifted their glasses. Brian took a long drink of his iced tea, and Vincent had the feeling that it was his way to maintain composure. The toast was perfectly worded, but one of the best points was that they could all learn from Brian.
Sean and Elissa were the true definition of a team. Not only did they make a perfect pair on the road, but the way Vincent caught them looking at each other, they were going to be just as successful in life. He couldn’t deny that he was the first one to doubt whether Sean would ever cease being a bachelor. Hell, he’d thought that about himself, so he really had no room to talk. Now it was safe to say, that all the Montclair men were lucky in love and had great women to stand beside them.
Sean had better not screw this up. Elissa was the best secretary Vincent had ever hired, so if his brother did anything to make her quit her job, he’d make him pay…daily.
The steaks were delicious. Not one of them was shy about how much food they were stuffing in their faces. Renee said she was full and proceeded to push her plate away, three times. Brian openly laughed at her each time she swore she couldn’t eat another bite. Vincent was glad though. It seemed to him like she’d lost a few pounds, but her family was all back together, so Tyler would become the grill master once again.
At ten o’clock the women started to yawn. Vincent had to admit he was tired too, and looking forward to a good night’s sleep. Plus, sharing his bed with Carrie for the rest of his life was such an amazing thought. She fit up against him like a warm blanket. When he was holding her in his arms, the rest of the world seemed to melt away. All Vincent needed in his life were his loved ones. Once Robert was sent away, he’d marry Carrie and start a family and have little Vincents running around. Wow, his brothers would kill him. He better make some Vincettes, just to be safe.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Sean and Elissa had only drank one beer a piece with dinner, but his body was feeling like he’d knocked down a few shots of scotch. He felt relaxed and uninhibited; his words flowed easily from his mouth, and he couldn’t wait to get her through the front door of his house. There wasn’t anything he disliked or wanted to change about Elissa. But the way she randomly licked her full lips, made him crazy with the desire to take them inside his mouth. And that’s exactly what she did when he led her through the doorway.
Once inside, Sean lifted both of her hands up and kissed them. She smiled up at him shyly when he told her again how beautiful she was.
“I don’t think there’s anything that spectacular about me, but thank you.”
There was a large mirror by the front entrance, so Sean gently pulled her over to it and made her look at her reflection. “Elissa, you’re absolutely adorable.”
“Aww you’re so sweet, Sean. I don’t think I’ve ever received as many compliments as you’ve given me tonight.” He stepped behind her and moved her hair away from her neck. He brushed his nose and lips up and down her soft skin, making her quiver.
“Do you want me to stop?” he softly whispered in her ear. “I don’t want you to think that this is why I asked you to come over.”
“Umm…” Enough said, thought Sean. If he wasn’t careful he’d offend her or scare her off, and that wasn’t what he wanted to do. “Can I get you something to drink? Maybe a glass of wine?”
“A small glass of wine would be nice. I’m not much of a drinker.” He led her into the living room.
Sean retrieved two glasses from the bar and an expensive bottle of red wine. He sat beside her on the sofa, being careful not too get to close. She stared down at the wine for a moment before taking a sip. Even afterwards, she didn’t look up to meet his eyes.
“I ruined things, didn’t I?” Sean stood up and walked over to the window. He could see Elissa’s reflection in the glass. She was still staring down at her wine. When he turned back around, she finally looked up at him.
“No, you didn’t ruin anything, Sean. The problem lies with me. Once you’ve been in an abusive relationship, you try your hardest to never give any man that opportunity again. I’m not saying you would be like that, but—”
“Wait a minute, Elissa. He h
it you?” Sean was instantly livid. He’d hunt that bastard down and snap his neck.
“No, he never hit me, but he was a womanizer who controlled everything I did, he even picked out my clothes. I felt like I couldn’t leave because of the boys.”
“I’m sorry you went through that.” Sean was still pissed off. He could see some cowardly punk taking advantage of Elissa’s big heart.
“I’m not in that situation anymore and I never will be again. I just recently got to where I can live my own life. To be honest, I think it’d be really unfair to any guy who got mixed up with me.” Elissa reached out and squeezed his hand.
“It’s okay. I totally get it. Here’s to friendship.” Sean lifted his glass and smiled.
At one in the morning, Elissa asked Sean to drive her home. Sean didn’t want their night to end, but he wanted Elissa to feel safe around him. He knew instantly that he’d wait for her. It wasn’t about luring her to his bed though. Sean needed her to know his heart and to understand he’d never hurt her. However long it took, he’d never stop trying to show her the kind of guy he is. The Montclair brothers might seem a bit savage at times, but mistreating women wasn’t a part of their make-up.
When he arrived at Elissa’s house, he walked her up to the door and waited while she fumbled for her keys. He had to admit, she looked adorable when she was frustrated.
“Damn, I think I left them inside on the table.”
“I have spare rooms at my house, so you’re welcome to come back to my place. I’d go through the window for you but…been there done that!” It was nice to hear her laugh again.
“Wait here they are. Thank you for dinner and the wine. I had a nice time this evening.” She said softly.
“The pleasure was all mine. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” Sean turned to go down the porch steps, when he felt Elissa pull on the back of his suit jacket. He turned around and smiled as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. She turned around and let herself in the house.
“Goodnight, Sean,” she said while slowly closing the front door behind her.