Carson smiles, his face so handsome I want to just kiss him right now, but his smile fades. “If our families object? I can't ignore 'Lissa, and I can see from how you are with Jackson and Katrina, you can't ignore them either.”
“Let's talk with them,” I reply, looking forward. “I can’t see them acting that way.”
Katrina and Jackson are outside enjoying the relatively cool autumn air when Carson drops me off in front of the house. When I get around back, I see that Jackson's sitting on the edge of the porch, his cast leg dangling as he watches Katrina and BA play in the dooryard. “Well, well, how was the hospital visit? All hugs and family reunions?”
I laugh and sit down next to Jackson, patting him on the knee. “Hardly. Got to see Margaret, by the way.”
“Oh really? And how is she doing?” Jackson asks. I see Katrina slow down slightly, but she's happy playing with BA, although I can tell she's listening in.
“She looks like the Wicked Witch of the West had a facelift,” I reply, causing Jackson to chuckle. He winces slightly, and I stop. “How're the ribs?”
“Achy, but they told me when they wrapped me up that they're not busted up too bad. If I were an NFL player, they'd probably tell me to bear down and suck it up. I actually walked my butt out here all by myself after Darcy left with Henry. It was good to see her again, sorry I couldn't help the other night.”
“You did more than enough,” I reassure him. “You watched the kids, and that's a full-time job in itself. Jackson, you mind if we have a talk about something serious?”
“Been lots of serious talk over the past few weeks,” Jackson sighs, sitting back. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Me... and Carson.”
Jackson grins and shakes his head. “That isn't serious, Andi. That's goodness right there.”
I stop, stunned. “Say what?”
Jackson half-turns so that he can lean against the porch railing, and gives me a grin. “You heard me. You and him together, that's a good thing. So why are you coming to me all worried?”
“How long have you known?” I ask, giving Katrina a look. She shakes her head though before picking BA up and spinning her around.
“Don't look at me. I told you that it would stay between us, and I kept that promise.” She stops spinning, popping BA onto her hip and coming over to sit down on the steps next to Jackson. “You've been giving off enough signals that anyone with half a brain should have been able to see it. Him, too.”
Jackson cocks an eyebrow. “Andi, what's the problem?” he asks, growing serious. “I mean seriously, what's causing you to stress?”
“Jackson... he's family,” I protest. “He's Melissa's brother, which means he's my brother too, right?”
Jackson shakes his head. “We've talked about this before. He's not, except in the most stretched definition of the word. If you want to look at it from an emotional standpoint, Melissa is the unacknowledged daughter of another one of Peter's affairs, maybe his first actually. It's not like you and me, where we've known each other since we were kids and have an emotional history. Until roughly three weeks ago, you didn't even know Melissa Sands existed. So while it's not your typical relationship, there's nothing that I think anyone but the most stuck-up idiot would want to say about you and Carson being together. Let me ask you the most important question then. Do you love him?”
“I think so,” I answer immediately, then blush. “It’s not like I have much experience with that word. But he does bring things out in me that no one else has.”
“Oh yeah?” Jackson asks, surprised. “What's this?”
“He’s a good man,” I tell Katrina, ignoring Jackson's smirk. He's getting better, but he's still immature sometimes. “I told him today, he's the first and only man who will ever bring it out in me.” I’m sure she gets my meaning, since she overheard us and all.
Jackson goes to make a comment, then goes serious. “We’re happy for you.”
It's my turn to be surprised as I give Katrina a look, and she shrugs. “He has his days. You know, there's a good reason why we named our daughter after you, Andrea. Because I love you, Jackson loves you, and we want to always have a piece of you with us, even if it was just a namesake. When you and Jackson parted fourteen months ago, he was convinced that we'd never see each other again, and that hurt him, because he realized how much he missed out on with you. Now that we're a more active part of each other's lives again, I don't want to wait another fourteen months before seeing you again.”
“I don't want to go fourteen days without seeing you guys again, let alone months, what are you talking about?” I laugh, smiling. “So you guys are cool with it?”
“Of course. We love you, and we want you to be happy. What else is there to worry about?”
“You mean besides the fact that Peter's hellbent on making sure all of us don't live to see our next birthdays?” I ask, and Katrina laughs.
“Yeah, little things like that, but I'm sure you told him off the right way.”
“Sure. I told him if he tried it, we'd take the rest of what he has away from him, and he'd still fail.”
Jackson reaches out, taking my hand. We interlock fingers, palm to palm like we did when we were little, before we drifted apart for too many years. “That's my sister, all right. I love you, Andrea.”
BA, hearing what she thinks is her name, coos and then laughs, reaching out for her father. We all laugh, and Jackson gets a twinkle in his eye. “Hey guys, I had an idea. How about we teach BA here what a three person belly blower feels like?”
Sounds wonderful to me.
Chapter 24
Carson
The monitors are gone when I get to the clinic, but Melissa is still sitting where's she's been for most of the past two days, other than when she needs to use the restroom. Jeff's gone home, but we're still being cautious. At least, I don't think there's any other hospital room in the area where the bedside guest is carrying a pistol.
“How's he doing?” I ask, sitting down next to Melissa. “He looks stronger.”
“The staff says that he should be waking up any time now. They left the IVs in just to let him stay hydrated, but they stopped the antibiotics and other stuff,” Melissa says, not taking her eyes off of Nathan. “I keep seeing his eyes flutter, like he's having a dream, so when he starts to sound like he's in trouble, I'm helping him out. Kind of like how you do for me.”
“I gotcha,” I reply, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees. “It'll be nice to see him up and about, that's for sure.”
“I know. By the way, Katrina called earlier, said you went with Andrea to talk to Peter DeLaCoeur. How'd that go?”
“About how you'd expect. We warned him to stay away, he swore there'd be repercussions, that sort of stuff. I hope, but I'm not going to expect that it's over with him.”
“Which is why you want Nathan back,” Melissa says, looking over when I shake my head. “What?”
“I like the man. He's got a calm presence, and he's good to have around. Also, if you don't mind me saying, you seem to like him, too.”
Melissa gives me a sad little smirk and shakes her head. “It doesn't matter whether I do or not. I'm pretty sure it's one-sided on my part. Why worry about if I like him or not?”
“Because your happiness is my concern,” I tell her. “It always has been. I love you, 'Lissa. And I'll let you in on a little thing I've seen.”
“What?” she asks, still so shy.
“There's an old saying, right? Still waters run deep. Nathan's a very, very still man. But I've seen some things from him that give me hope.”
Melissa smiles, then shakes her head. “You're just being nice.”
It's my turn to shake my head, smiling in return. “Nope,” I say, before growing serious. “But I do have something that I need to talk to you about.”
Melissa gives me a worried look, and I want to reassure her, but I'm too nervous myself to even make a weak attempt. “What's going on, Carson?
Is it something with the house? The gallery?”
“No... it's Andrea,” I say, looking down. “Something's happened between us.”
“Oh no,” Melissa says, saddened. “Please tell me you two didn't fight and she's angry at us.”
“No, no, it's not that,” I quickly say, shaking my head. “Uh... 'Lissa, Andrea and I have feelings for one another.”
Melissa nods, not understanding what I'm actually getting at. “Well of course you do, you're family and... oh.” Realization slowly dawns on her face.
“Yeah. Not the brother-sister kind.”
“Well now,” Melissa replies, looking forward. “This is different.”
“Tell me about it,” I say, getting up and walking to the window. “I mean, it's not like I planned this, 'Lissa. I mean, I'm not saying I never wanted to fall in love, but I certainly didn't expect this.”
“I wouldn't think you would,” Melissa says primly, then sighs. “Sorry. I didn't mean to come off as bitchy. Just... Carson, I mean, I understand. Andrea's a great girl, and the way she and I bonded so quickly, I guess it's not out of the question.”
“It's more than that, 'Lissa,” I counter, turning around. “It's the way she moves, the way she smiles, the way she and I just have this pull on each other. When I was facing Vadim Orloff, I was certain that everything would work out because I glanced in her eyes, and in that instant we communicated everything that needed to happen. I could see she trusted me totally, and that we were on one single, permanent wavelength. Even more than the night before...”
“You two…” Melissa starts to ask, and I nod. “I see. Go on.”
“Melissa, I know this is hard. I know this is weird,” I plead. “But I need you to be okay with this. I love you 'Lissa, and you know I'll never, ever leave you or abandon you. You've been my rock for twenty-three years. We're a team. But... is there room in your heart for me to be part of another team too?”
Before Melissa can answer, Nathan stirs on the bed, opening his eyes. “If I were you, I'd say yes. Andrea is a great person.”
Melissa smiles, looking down on Nathan, and reaches out, taking his hand. “Glad to have you back with us.”
“Thanks,” Nathan rasps, clearing his throat. “Think I can get some water?”
Melissa jumps up, rushing to get him a cup of water, while I help him to a sitting position. The clinic doesn't have powered beds. “Hey big man, how're you feeling?”
“Like I have been sleeping for three or four days,” Nathan says, groaning as I help him up. “How long was I out?”
“Four actually. Good guess,” I inform him, giving him a small smile. “So how much did you hear?”
“Enough to know that you and Andrea are finally being honest with each other. Thanks,” Nathan says, taking the cup from Melissa and sipping gratefully. He clears his throat, grateful when he finishes his sip. “That's better. So Melissa, how long were you sitting here?”
Melissa goes red and doesn't answer, and I take her hand. In a welcome sign, she accepts it, and lets me pull her in for a hug. “She's been here the whole time.”
“Thank you,” he says sincerely. “So fill me in.”
“Well, everyone's alive, Vadim Orloff's dead, Peter DeLaCoeur's in the hospital waiting on skin grafts and has been re-arrested, and Katrina's father might turn state's evidence on him,” I tell him, keeping it short and sweet. “The house has been repainted, and I took care of Maverick. When you get out of here, I'll show you where he is, and we can talk about a permanent headstone or something.”
Nathan nods, and holds his hand out. We shake, and he swallows thickly. “Thank you, Carson. I would appreciate whatever you want to do for Maverick.”
“Well, we'll have time to think about it,” I tell him, smiling. “You want to tell him, 'Lissa?”
“Tell him what?” Nathan asks, and Melissa smiles hopefully.
“Nathan, Carson and I talked about it while you were out, and we were thinking... well, you need a place to convalesce, and Carson needs to spend a lot of time at the gallery now, after all this craziness. And having you around helps me, and then there's the matter of security and...”
“And what my sister is trying to say is that we'd be honored if you'd stay with us, at least until you're totally recovered,” I tell him, cutting her off before she babbles herself into an anxiety attack. “We've got the spare bedrooms, so you don't have to sleep on the couch anymore either.”
Nathan nods, then looks at Melissa warmly. “I would be happy to. Now, there is something I need to know though.”
“What?” Melissa asks, trying to contain her happiness and failing pretty badly.
“Are you okay with Carson and Andrea? I always had a soft spot for Andi, even though I didn't always show it to her. I can’t think of anyone finer for you to fall in love with, Carson.”
I look at Melissa, who sighs and nods. “Okay, okay. Carson, I'm not saying I don't feel a little weird about this. You're my brother, and you're dating my sister. That in and of itself just makes me want to look around for someone to start playing Dueling Banjos. But I know that it's just words, and I know the reality of the relationships. Just promise me that I'm not going to find myself thrown out on the street and forgotten because of this?”
“Thrown out on the street?” I ask, chuckling. “'Lissa, I figure that the next time you get nightmares, if Andrea's around, you're going to find yourself the middle of a family sandwich, keeping you safe the whole time. How's that sound?”
Melissa smiles, nodding. “Okay, I think I can get used to that. Glad I have a king-size bed then. I think we'll need to buy some more pillows though.”
“I'm pretty sure we can do that.”
Chapter 25
Andrea
Dinner tonight is relaxed, and in that way it's also strange, adding to the surreal nature of the past few days. We decide to barbecue, since Jackson's feeling a little bit better, stumping around the dooryard with BA on his shoulders, while Carson and I get the fire going.
“Okay, side effect of becoming a fitness fanatic along with Katrina,” he complains good-naturedly while Carson squirts the briquettes with starter fluid. After they're going, we'll add the chunks of wood that really makes barbecue special. “I'm hurt, I know I should be sitting on my butt and just chilling out for another few days, but I can't. I'm barely able to control my energy as it is.”
“That's not being a fitness fanatic, that's you being an overgrown toddler,” I call over, and Carson laughs quietly. “Well, he is.”
“I can own up to that,” Jackson says without any hurt feelings. “How's the fire looking?”
“I'm about ready to burn off my eyebrows,” Carson says, finishing his squirting. “You ready, Andrea?”
“Actually, I kinda like your eyebrows,” I joke, pushing him back. “Let me.”
I use a stick from the wood pile to start the fire, which does start with a massive floomp and even a bit of a mushroom cloud of flame. “Whoa. Someone call the EPA.”
“Hey, be glad I didn't use gasoline, but the gel stuff,” Carson jokes, watching as the flames subside a bit and the fire starts to calm down some. “Nice idea with the stick.”
“I'd prefer to keep us from getting any more injuries,” I reply, tracing my thumb along the cut on my jawline. I know it's healing, since it itches nonstop, which is irritating, but I can't stop myself even though I shouldn't be touching it. I see the mark every time I look in the mirror, and all I can can do is imagine how it's going to scar.
Carson notices, and takes my wrist in his hand, pulling it away gently. His injuries have faded as well, and while his cheekbone is still cracked, the swelling and bruising have faded for the most part, the purpling gone down to just a light sickly yellow under his left eye. “It doesn't matter.”
“The hell it doesn't,” I grumble, wishing I could look at it in a mirror. “Four inch long cuts to the face matter. A lot.”
Carson pulls me in closer, wrapping his arms around me and talk
ing softly in my ear. “No, it doesn't, my love. The cut could have taken out one of your perfect, amazing eyes, and it wouldn't change what I feel.”
“Feels good to say that in public, doesn't it?” I ask, smiling. He nods, and I wrap my arms around his neck, kissing him tenderly. “That feels even better.”
“Hey, there's immature children here!” Jackson protests with a laughing jeer, starting another lap of the dooryard.
“Yeah, that's why we have BA watching you,” Carson replies, chuckling. “Hey Jackson?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for being cool with this.”
Jackson stops his laps and comes over, looking Carson in the eyes. With a slightly pained grunt he lifts BA off his shoulders and hands her to me before putting his hands on Carson's shoulders. “You are a good man, from everything I've seen. I like you, Carson. And some day, maybe I can honestly call you my brother, I've never had one and I'd like that. But, and I'm saying this knowing that Andrea's right here... she's my sister. You hurt her, at least intentionally, and you'll find that I’ve become protective of my sister.”
Most men I know would be intimidated by Jackson's words. Even with a broken leg and broken ribs, Jackson's an intimidating figure, with his hundred and ninety five or so pounds spread out powerfully on his frame, and hardly an extra ounce of fat on him even after four days of mostly sitting around despite his extra energy. Carson though doesn't flinch, and instead puts his hands on Jackson's shoulders, the two most important men in my life staring eye to eye. “I promise you Jackson, it will never, ever happen.”
Jackson nods, and pats Carson on the shoulders. “I figured as much. But I had to be clear, know what I mean?”
“I know. Now, let's get some food ready.”
After cooking up a mountain of pork chops, hamburgers, and a salad for everyone, we all sit around outside, enjoying the cool evening air. “So Melissa said that Nathan can probably come home tomorrow,” Carson says conversationally while munching on a piece of carrot from his salad. Katrina made sure we ate at least something nutritious, that's just the way she is. I don't mind the junk food, since two days of nothing but meal replacement shakes caused me to drop five pounds. “Think you guys can help me fix up one of the bedrooms for him?”
Secrets & Lies Page 43