“Want to sleep over?” I said as casually as possible.
“I wish I could, but it’s my first day at the fire department tomorrow, and I’m starting early, so I think I need to be home. If I’m here with you, I’m going to be far too distracted to sleep.”
I smiled and told him that it was okay, but I couldn’t help but wonder if he only saw me as someone to have sex with. We still hadn’t spoken about what this thing between us really was. It had all just happened so quickly, and now I didn’t want to be the one that mentioned it. But it was nice having him there, and I couldn’t deny that the sex was amazing. I’d just have to accept that he might not be here to stay. He got out of bed and started to change, and I climbed out too and put my robe on.
“So, I was thinking of organizing the dinner with my father, or not my father, whatever that turns out to be, for Thursday. Does that work for you?”
He smiled and kissed me on the forehead. “That works for me. I will definitely be there, Em.”
“Thank you so much. I really appreciate you doing this for me. And good luck for tomorrow. You’ve got this, Grant!”
I waited until he left and then I climbed back into bed and called Terra.
“Hey you, how’s it going? Flip, great minds! I was just about to call you.”
“You were? I think now that we lived together we’re a bit more in sync, don’t you think? Or have we always been like that?”
“We’ve always been like that. So, what’s up?”
“Grant just left, and I thought I’d call and tell you that I’m going to see my father. I’m going to organize it for Thursday I think.”
“What? Are you serious? And Grant was okay with that? I thought he’d agree with me that it might be dangerous.”
“He did agree with you, actually. But I asked him to come with me and pretend to be my boyfriend. That way he can protect me whether it is my father or not. I need to do this, Terra. I need to know who he is, no matter what the outcome. I know I won’t be happy until I do.”
She sighed. “I get it, Em. It’s easy for me to tell you what to do from the outside, but if I were in your shoes, I’d probably do the same thing. I know I would. But I’m so glad that you’ve asked Grant to come with you. That makes me feel a lot better.”
“Thanks for understanding, Terra. So, help me get my mind off all of this. Tell me something interesting.”
“I slept with Brady.”
I sat up straight and gasped. “WHAT? Okay, are you kidding me?”
She laughed. “I’m not. He left something at my house that day he was helping you move. He came to get it, and one thing led to another.”
“Wow. And, how was it?”
“It was amazing. Mind blowing, to be honest.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. He’s probably the best I’ve ever had, and I’m not joking. It was honestly that good. But I’m not sure I’m going to see him again.”
“What? Why not? How do you go from mind blowing sex to not seeing the person again? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Brady doesn’t make all that much sense. He’s a strange character, that one. The sex was great, and I could tell he loved it too. But afterward, he acted all aloof. It’s like he doesn’t know what he wants in life. And to be honest, Em, I’m not sure I want to be the one to tell him what he wants. He needs to figure that out for himself. So, we’ll see what happens. But right now I’m not sure if anything is going to happen.”
“Are you okay?” Although I wasn’t all that surprised in a way. Brady was a nice guy, but there was something about him that confused me. Something about him that I didn’t quite understand.
“I’m okay,” she said. “At least I got some good sex out of it.”
I chuckled. “I love you, Terra.”
“I love you too, Em.”
I put down the phone and thought about everything she’d said. Was Grant just like Brady? Were all the Maxwell brothers this confused about life and what they wanted?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Grant
My first day at the fire station was all that I had hoped it would be. The boys were extremely accepting of me, the chief seemed happy to have me, and the day went by quickly. There was no fire that day, but they took me through all the training and drills. There was still a lot I had to learn, but I felt confident I’d get there. Despite wanting to sleep over at Emily’s the night before, I was glad that I’d decided not to. I didn’t know how much sleeping I would get with her around.
But that morning, as I was preparing for my second day, one of the boys called me.
“Hey, Grant. Glad I caught you. Look, the chief has decided that there’s no point coming in today. He’s gone right now, anyway. So he’s given us the day off. Obviously, if there’s a fire, we’ll be there. But I doubt that will happen.”
I felt surprisingly disappointed at hearing I had a day off. I almost laughed as I tried to imagine being disappointed at a day off when I worked in the office.
“Okay, well, thanks for letting me know. Are we going in tomorrow?”
“Yeah, the chief is only away today. But we might get together for a beer or something later if you’re free.”
“Actually, I might help out Brady today instead,” I said. I’d promised myself that I’d help Brady out as often as I could so that he didn’t think I’d just abandoned him.
“Brady? Don’t you mean Shotgun?” Zach said and laughed. Ever since they’d found out about the nicknames, they’d tried to find a way to include it in the conversation.
“Hey, you better be nice to me. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you get a nickname that you don’t like. And trust me, those nicknames stick for the rest of your life.”
Zach chuckled. “Have a wonderful day, Grant. Have I told you lately how awesome I think you are?”
I went downstairs to let Brady know that I’d be joining him, and he seemed delighted to have the help. I patted myself on the back. It was a good call. After breakfast, we made our way to the ranch together while he told me all about the new guy.
“He’s a nice guy, and a hard worker, but he already took today off due to some emergency. He promised me that it wouldn’t happen again, and I do believe him. But still . . . he’s only just starting, and he’s taking a day off!” Brady shook his head as if it were something he would never do. “Let’s just say that you helping me today came at a good time.”
“No problem, Shotgun. I said I’d help whenever I could. So, what’s on the agenda for today?” I asked.
I spent the first half of the day alone, working through the list that Brady had given me, and lost in my own thoughts. It was nice. I kept thinking about my decision to move to Buffalo for a while and how different it had turned out to what I had thought it would be. I’d certainly never expected to be sleeping with a girl so quickly. Nor had I thought I’d be so involved in the fire department. Life had a funny way of working when you just let it work out on its own. I wondered if I was naturally just getting put into the place where I wanted to be. After a year of unhappiness and stress, it felt good not to worry for a change.
At midday, I went to get something to eat but saw that Brady wasn’t there. I sat alone, eating a triple layered sandwich and wondering where he was. When I was done, I made my way to the barn for the second half of day where I was going to be working alongside Brady. He was already there, lifting up bales of hay with ease.
“Hey, no lunch today?” I said when I got inside.
“Is it really lunch time already? Wow, the time flies. Ah, I’ll grab something later. How was it?”
“Delicious. As always. You sure you don’t want to go and get something now? I don’t mind carrying on where you left off?”
Brady shook his head. “Nah, I’m in work mode now. I’ll get some later.”
“So,” I asked as I went to help him out. “What do you think of Terra?”
“Terra? What do you mean? What about her?”
“Wel
l, I just thought the two of you got along pretty nicely. And she’s pretty gorgeous, don’t you think?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“You don’t like her?”
“Ah, she’s okay. We slept together, but I’m not sure it will happen again.”
I stopped in my tracks. This was news to me. I wondered if Emily knew about this.
“You slept together? Since when?”
“Oh, the other day. I left something at her house when we were helping Emily move. So I went to get it. And, I don’t know, I guess one thing just led to another.”
One thing led to another? I couldn’t imagine Brady getting swept up in a situation like that. It didn’t seem like him at all. I was so shocked that I stood there staring at him like an idiot.
“Why aren’t you working?” he asked.
I laughed. “Because you just dropped a bombshell on me,” I said and continued with the work. “So, you slept with her. How was it?”
“Pretty amazing, actually. She’s great in bed. And, you know, it’s been quite a while for me.”
“But you don’t to see her again?”
“Nah, she talks too much. She’s not really my type.”
“How do you know? You haven’t even given her a chance. She’s a really nice person.”
“Not my type,” he said again in a way that I knew meant that he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. I decided not to push it. But I was definitely going to ask Emily about it.
“Okay, well . . . to each their own, I guess.”
“How are things with you and Emily? You seem to be pretty cozy.”
“Yeah, it’s going well. She’s a cool chick,” I said casually. “But she’s been going through a rough time lately. I feel sorry for her.”
“Yeah, man, not cool that her house burned down,” he said.
“Oh, it’s more than just the house.”
I told him all about her father calling her out the blue and how I was going to join them for dinner and pretend to be her boyfriend just in case.
Brady raised his eyebrows at me. “You’re going to pretend to be her boyfriend? Aren’t you already her boyfriend?”
“Uh, no. I mean, we haven’t really discussed that. No, I don’t think so. We’re just seeing each other whenever we feel like it, I guess. Whatever that is.”
“Okay then, so how would you feel about her sleeping with someone else?”
“What? Who has she slept with?” I said, and I could feel the anger rising up inside me at the thought of her with another man.
“Whoa. Calm down. She’s not sleeping with anyone else. Well, at least not as far as I know. It’s a hypothetical question. How would you feel about her sleeping with someone other than you? Although, judging by your reaction, I guess I already know the answer to that one.”
“I’d be fine with it,” I said, but my voice came out all funny.
Brady laughed. “Really?”
I sighed. “No. I’d want to kill the guy.”
“I thought so,” Brady said.
We didn’t say anything more on the subject. We just got back to work. I didn’t want to talk any more about my feelings for Emily, and he didn’t want to talk about Terra. Work was our saving grace.
“Listen, Brady,” I said later that day as we were finishing up their dinner. “I’ve been thinking about our living arrangements. I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for me. But I think it’s time that I look for somewhere else to stay. I do realize I can’t stay here forever. And . . . I’m starting to think that I’m going to hang around Buffalo for a while. I like it here.”
Brady grinned. “I knew you would. It’s a cool place. Okay, well, you’re free to stay here as long as you want. But I know probably more than most people how nice it is to have your own space. So I totally understand. Have you started looking around?”
“No, not yet. Have any ideas? Or anyone that I should talk to?”
“Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t you purchase Emily’s old house?”
“Emily’s old house? But it’s in ruins!”
“Not all of it. You could do it up again. It could be a fun project, and because of the state it’s in, you’ll probably get it for a steal.”
Fix up Emily’s old house? The thought had never occurred to me. At first, it seemed like a crazy idea. But the more I thought about it, the more I started to like it.
“You know, that’s not a bad idea. And fixing it back up could be quite a fun project to be a part of.”
“Yeah, I’ll give you the name of someone that you can talk to about it. I think you should snap it up before anyone else does. The foundation is still in place, so it’s a great starting place.”
The more we spoke about the idea, the more excited I got about it, and the more I realized I wanted to do it. The idea of staying in Buffalo was now becoming more and more of a reality to me. And instead of making me feel suffocated, the way decisions like this usually did, I realized it was making me feel free. I was still smiling when I made my way upstairs. My phone rang, and when I saw it was my father, I answered with glee.
“Pop! Good to hear from you.”
“You sound happy.”
“I am! How about you? How’ve you been? I’ve been thinking a lot about you these days.”
“Oh, you have? Then why aren’t you back?”
“To tell you the truth, Pop, life here is very different from what I thought it would be. I’m making a lot of connections, and I’m feeling a lot better about everything.”
“You’re feeling good about the fact that you’re away from your father? Is that it? Away from the rest of your family?”
I was completely taken aback by my father’s tone. I knew he missed me, but I didn’t expect him to be this upset. I thought he’d be happy for me.
“Of course not. Why would I be happy to be away from you?”
“It’s Brady, isn’t it?”
“Brady? What does he have to do with any of this?”
“He’s the one that convinced you to go there in the first place.”
“He didn’t convince me of anything. I came here on my own accord. And you know what, Pop? I really like it here. It’s a great place. I have a good job for the first time in forever, and I’m actually happy. Happy! Since when have you heard me say that before? I know this was supposed to be a short visit, but I think I’m going to stay. At least for a while longer. This has nothing to do with you or with Brady. This has everything to do with me and what I want in life.”
“But he’s making you think that way. You’re not a small-town guy. You need action. Brady is brainwashing you. That’s what it is.”
“What? No, he’s not.”
“Put him on the line.”
“You want to talk to Brady? Why?”
“I want to know why he’s doing this to you.”
“Pop, Brady hasn’t done anything. I do want the two of you to talk, but not like this. Brady wasn’t the one that made me want to stay here. This is my decision. And he’s been nothing but supportive of me.”
“I can’t believe you’d go behind my back like this.”
“I’m not. I love you, Pop. You know that.”
I waited for him to reply, but he’d already put the phone down. My father and I had always gotten along so well. I was surprised to hear him so angry. I knew there was a rift between him and Brady, but I’d never known it to be this bad. He’d never spoken poorly of Brady before. He’d simply let him live his life, and I’d always assumed that one day they’d reconnect before. Things were obviously a lot worse than I thought they were. But what was I supposed to do? I loved my father dearly, but Brady had been good to me, and I was happy here in Buffalo. Was I supposed to just stay here and let my relationship between my father die in the same way that it had for him and Brady? Or should I do my best to try and salvage it? But how?
My head hurt as I lay down on the bed. I couldn’t believe how quickly I went from feeling elated to
feeling devastated.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Emily
When I’d first made the decision to meet up with my father, I’d, felt confident that I was doing the right thing. But now that the day was here, I had the shakes. I was feeling nervous about it all. Grant had come over early while I got ready. I think he knew I’d be nervous, and I was glad to have him there. I put on a pair of jeans and a top I’d always liked and looked in the mirror.
“Are you okay?” Grant asked.
I shook my head. “I keep wondering if he’ll like my outfit, and then I get cross with myself for even thinking that way. Why should I care what he thinks of me? He left me! And yet . . . I do care. And that makes me so angry.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Em. This is a very weird situation. It’s not exactly something you can prepare for. You’re doing so well. And you look absolutely beautiful.”
Grant pulled me toward him and kissed me gently on the mouth. We sat there for a while, talking about anything other than the dinner we were about to go to, and I knew he was only trying to get me to relax. I looked at him and smiled. For the first time since being with Grant, I couldn’t help but wonder if this would end up being a real relationship. Why would he go so out of his way to be there for me if he didn’t want it to go further? And for the first time, I felt like I wanted more out of it.
“Thanks, Grant. I appreciate you being here so much,” I said.
He smiled. “It’s my pleasure. So, are you ready?”
“I don’t know if that’s the right word. But yeah, I guess I am.”
“Remember, no matter what happens, I’m here for you. And this is a good thing, Em. No matter what way this ends up going, it’s going to give you some sort of clarity that you never had before. Either way, this is going to be good.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
I stood, took a deep breath, and smiled.
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