Why in the hell couldn't they have fallen in love? An image of Amber flashed through his thoughts. Yeah, that was why. He was a complete idiot for denying Deb, but damn it, he wanted Amber. Even with all the unresolved issues between them, their past, her decisions, Gage, his anger, her fear, he still wanted to know if she'd ever truly loved him. She said she had. He wanted to know if perhaps she still did. Her reaction at work when he was talking to Deb seemed to indicate she had some type of lingering attachment. Was he being vain by hoping it was jealousy? Probably. Vain and unrealistic.
"Hey, where did you go just now?" Deb squeezed his hand.
"Sorry, thinking."
"Got it. I'm going to go powder my nose and then head home. It's been a wonderful night, Brody. Thank you for dinner."
"Let me see you out..."
"No need, the car is with the valet. Nurse your drink, and then visit with your sister. I know you don't get to see her often. I'll give you a call when the paperwork goes to the staff—and whoever she is, I hope she knows how lucky she is."
He stood as she left the table and gestured for the waiter. "Coffee."
The waiter took the dinner plates. "May I show you the dessert cart, sir?"
"No, thanks. Coffee for now." The waiter returned moments later and poured him a cup, leaving a small decorative silver pot with a delicate spout. He chuckled at the picture he must have made. Even 'dressed up' in good jeans and a button down, he got stares. He'd perfected his bad boy image. He was big, naturally so. With his frame and genetics bulking up was relatively easy, if you considered hitting the gym almost every night after work easy. He sipped the beverage and enjoyed the bitterness. He gave a chuff of laughter when he reached for the small silver pot. It looked like a child's toy in his hand.
Child's toy. Wow. He was a dad, and he was going to meet his son soon. He removed the picture of Gage from his shirt pocket. He didn't go anywhere without the picture. The first picture Amber had given him. His son. He traced a finger around the image on the glossy paper. He looked happy. The smile on his face was something else.
"Hey."
Brody jerked his head up. "Brie, sorry, I didn't hear you." He pocketed the photograph as his sister sat down.
"I could tell. You were studying that photo intently. Is it work related?" A waiter showed up with a glass of wine for her. "Thank you, Mark. How have things gone tonight?"
"Splendidly, ma'am. Chef is pleased, and the front of the house is running smoothly."
"Excellent. This table is my guest tonight."
"Indeed. I'll inform the wait staff."
"Thank you, but I can afford to buy dinner for myself and my date."
"Where is your date?" Brianna swung around; her long dark brown hair fell across her shoulder as she looked. "Who's your date?"
"I had dinner with Deb. It was business." He took another sip of his coffee. "What were you doing at a council meeting?"
She shook her head and took a sip of her wine before she said, "The city has an ordinance on the books which prohibits restaurants from giving perfectly good food to homeless shelters. It's an archaic law and forces us to throw good food away when it could go to feed people who don't have anything. If I have a surplus at the end of the night which can't be repurposed, it is ridiculous to throw it away." Brianna huffed and tapped her nails against her glass. "I've looked into it. Between the ten restaurants in a two-block radius we could supply enough pre-cooked dinners to feed the occupants of the shelter Tara runs. Every night, Brody. A warm meal for every man, woman, and child."
Brody loved the energy Brianna radiated. She was a passionate woman, but quiet where his other sister, Bekki, was loud. Brie and Bekki couldn’t be more different. Brie was tall and curvy. She had long, dark brown hair and the King eyes. She was driven and successful, as was Bekki, but Bekki was model thin, had a short, trendy haircut and dominated any conversation she’d ever been in. The woman was tenacious, and her investigative reporting was getting better and better. Even though she still called when she wanted to know where to find information, her calls were growing less and less. Two very successful sisters, both passionate, both good looking, and both single. Thank God Brock had gotten married. The rest of them should get some kind of reprieve after that.
"Let me guess, you already have the logistics worked out on how to get the meals to the shelter."
"I do. Takeout containers for this purpose are tax deductible. There is a restaurant up the street, La Casita. They have a catering truck, and they will deliver the meals as long as Tara has someone to receive them. Of course, they'd be delivered at one or two in the morning, but she has staff in the shelter round the clock. They could open the kitchen. We stuff them into the walk-in coolers, and the next night, presto, a full meal. There is no downside to this."
Brody cocked his head. "Except, it is illegal."
"Yeah, except that. They said they'd take it into consideration and get a legal review." Her shoulders lowered as if the fight had left her. "I know what that means. They aren't going to change the ordinance."
Brody tapped the tabletop with his fingers. "You could ask Bekki to run an exposé on the amount of food wasted and the plight of the homeless in Hope City. Get her to ramp up the pressure by showcasing your innovative idea, and let everyone know the city council is the stopping point at this time. I mean, it doesn't cost anyone anything for this support, and Hope City has enough budget woes."
Brianna's eyes got big, and she blinked before a knowing smile spread across her face. "You are my favorite brother."
Brody laughed. "You told Brock the exact same thing last weekend at his wedding."
Brianna straightened her shoulders and flicked her wrist in an indignant flop. "That was then. This is now."
"Fickle."
"True." They both laughed at the running joke. "So, seriously, how are things going? It's good to see you out and about, even if it's a friendly date." She made air quotes around friendly and rolled her eyes.
"Deb is helping me with some paperwork for the section, and we hadn't talked in... wow, six months, I think. She agreed to help but wanted to get together to talk. We drove in separate cars, and she left after we ate. Nothing but friends."
"Can I be snoopy?" Brianna cupped her chin in her hand and stared across the table at him.
"When have you ever asked?" Brody laughed at her when she scrunched her nose up and rolled her eyes.
"Seriously, why didn't it work between you and Deb. You really seemed to like each other."
He shook his head. "Liking isn't loving."
"She still haunts you, doesn't she?"
He didn't need to ask who 'she' was. "If you only knew." He drew a deep breath. "She's working with me. She's been assigned to my team. She's the new DEA agent we were waiting for."
Brianna blinked. She picked up her wine glass and drank the remainder of the chardonnay before motioning Mark over. "Another please."
"Right away, ma'am." The waiter placed the wine glass on his tray and hurried away.
Brianna slowly turned back to him. "Tell me it's a lie. I'm going to punch you if it is, but damn it, tell me it's not true."
"She started the day Brock got married."
"Holy Hell. What are you going to do?"
"Well, we talked—"
"No, no, no, no, no." Brianna held up a finger. "Do not let the woman back into your life. She almost killed you last time."
"She didn't cause the accident."
"Who's talking about the accident?" She hissed and turned to smile tightly at Mark as he handed her another glass of wine. The man had the good sense to beat feet and get the hell away from the table. Brie was seething under her thin veneer of professionalism.
"She wasn't responsible, Brie."
"She tore out your heart. It changed you."
He couldn't argue the point. "Life changes everyone."
"She didn't come see you at the hospital, or after for that matter!"
"She did come to see me
."
"When?"
"When I was in a coma, and then she tried again about two months after the accident. She went to Mom and Dad's looking for me. She asked if she could talk to me."
Brianna's mouth dropped open. "What did she say?"
"I wouldn’t talk to her back then. I should have."
"Why?"
"Maybe it would have answered questions I've been living for ten years." Hindsight was a ruthless motherfucker. Ten years wasted. He shrugged and changed the direction of his thoughts. "Are you going to be at dinner on Sunday?"
"Don't think I didn't see that change of topic, but yeah, I should be. Seriously Brody, when Mom learns Amber is back, and you're working with her, she's going to implode. A black hole of motherly concern. She'll have the hover-copter out, and you'll get four or five calls a day."
"Meh, Mom and I have come to an agreement. She can call, but if I'm busy, I'll call her back."
Brianna's eyes opened wide. "How in the world did you get her to agree to that?"
He laughed at his sister's bug-eyed stare. "I sat her down and explained I loved her, and I wasn't ignoring her, but sometimes I can't talk to her. When I was clear of whatever I was doing, I'd call her back, and I always do, unlike the rest of you."
Brie rolled her eyes again. "She's trying to set me up on a date."
"Not again!" Brody laughed but he couldn't help but feel sorry for his sister. She'd been enduring her mom's matchmaking attempts, but some of the men their mother thought Brianna would like were... interesting.
"Oh, yeah. This one, his name is Chester by the way, is a friend of a friend of Sharon's. As if it isn't bad enough I have Mom trying to set me up, now she's enlisted Sharon’s help." The McBrides had lived next to them for his entire life and his mom and Sharon McBride were best friends.
"So, what does Chester do?" Brody poured the rest of the coffee from the tiny pot into his cup.
"He owns a Crossfit gym." Brianna shrugged her shoulders. "Which is like a thousand rungs up the evolutionary ladder from the last guy, but really, I don't need my mom in my love life."
"Then sit her down and tell her politely you don't appreciate it."
"As if that would work."
"It worked for me when I was dating Amber and Deb." The only serious relationships he'd ever had.
"What you fail to realize is Mom is on a mission, and it is to get all of us settled down. She wants grandchildren. Now that Brock is married, she's taken aim at me. Mark my words, once I find a man, you'll be front and center in her sights."
Well maybe Sunday would take some of the pressure off Brie. He snorted and shook his head. It would also put his mother's full focus on Amber and Gage. On that note... "Hey, when I was with Amber… was Mom… harsh to her?"
"Harsh? No, I don't remember that. I think she wanted to get close to Amber, but the poor girl was so out of her element."
"What do you mean?"
"I think Amber didn't know how to act when Mom hovered, prodded, and asked highly personal questions, you know? We've grown up around it, and we're used to it."
He didn't remember it that way, but... "Kallie didn't have any issues with Mom, did she?"
"Hell no. But take a look at the difference. Kallie had been through hell and survived. She wasn't going to let Mom push her buttons or intimidate her, and she knows when letting Mom have her way will make things easier. Amber was so young. We're loud, and add in the McBrides, and we're a lot to take in. I think Amber wanted to fit in, only she didn't know how, you know? It made her uncomfortable, and her being ill at ease drove Mom crazy—which made the situation even more uncomfortable." Brianna took a sip of her wine. "Why?"
"Something Amber said when we were visiting."
"Yeah, well I hope you forgive me if I don't feel sorry for her. She ripped your heart out and disappeared. You guys were living together, and she leaves? Shows up two months later? Yeah, no matter how young she was, that's cold as Antarctica."
He was going to need someone on his side on Sunday. Someone on Amber's side. Brie was the logical choice, but he needed her to drop the anger on his behalf. "Brie, she came to the hospital as soon as she found out about the accident and sat with me when no one in the family was there, and she'd tried to call my cell. I got a new number, remember? She said she filled up my phone with messages. She went back to the apartment and looked for me, but I wasn't there. She tried to contact me at Mom and Dad’s. I didn't respond."
"Bullshit. If she’d wanted to reach you, all she had to do was contact any of us. You made us promise not to contact her, but if she'd tried to find you, we would have made it happen."
"She did try. Mom told her I'd call if I wanted to talk to her. I was so messed up from the wreck and from my own anger and hurt, I didn't call her. I wish I had."
"Why did it take her two months to try again? What was suddenly so important?"
Brody reached into his shirt pocket and retrieved the photo. "He was." He extended the photo.
Brie took the picture. She gasped softly, and her hand went to her mouth. Her eyes filled with tears, and she glanced at him. "You have a son?"
"Gage. He's ten. I'm going to meet him Saturday, and if all goes well, I'm going to bring him and Amber to the house on Sunday. I need your help, Brie. You have to help Amber and Gage to feel welcome. Mom doesn't know yet."
"Oh God. I'm an aunt? You're a father?"
"Yes." He smiled at her elation.
"Okay, well he is definitely going to take the focus off me and my man-less existence. Thank you in advance for that." She chuckled and once again stared at the picture. "He's adorable. Did Amber ever get married?"
"No. She's a single mom. She, Gage, and her sister live together in the little house in Parkside."
"Damn, a DEA agent and a single mom? I bet she's changed, too, hasn't she?" His sister stared at him and then smiled. "She isn't going to need my help with Mom. If she's grown up enough to raise this little boy and be a professional law enforcement agent, she's strong enough to be her own woman, but I'll be there to support all of you." She sighed and shook her head. "You had no idea?"
"No. She told me Sunday."
"Are you happy?"
"Wow, happy? Yeah, that's in the mix. I'm so out of my depth here. I was shocked, then pissed at her for keeping him from me, then scared, like terrified scared. How do you talk to a ten-year-old?"
"The same way you talk to anyone else. Look, you don't have to be everything all at once. Be yourself, get to know your son and grow into the relationship. You're dating, you know. You'll both put on your best fronts and then as time slips by, he'll see you for who you really are, and you'll see him that way, too. The important thing is you'll always be connected. You're his dad."
A smile split his face. "Damn, you've been hanging around Tara too much."
"Hey, I'll have you know I don't need my best friend to clue me in on this one. Besides, Tara McBride has fallen for Carter. I hardly ever see her anymore."
"Carter Fiske is a good detective and a hell of a guy."
"Ha, McBride and King brother approved, huh? Did you do the macho face off you've done with all my boyfriends?"
"It needed to be done."
"You guys are so full of yourselves. The McBride and King women are capable of picking partners without your help." She lifted her glass to her lips, smiling behind the rim of the glass.
"Is that why Mom and Sharon are fixing you up?"
"Don't be a dick, Brody. Hey... Sunday, the call you got, the one that pissed you off, was it Amber?"
"Yeah."
She studied the photo for a moment before she asked, "What did Dad say about all of this?
He glanced at her. "Why would you assume Dad knows?"
"Because you tell him everything, and don't try to deny it." She pointed the picture at him as she spoke.
"He's concerned, and elated, and pissed that I asked him not to tell Mom. As far as I know, he hasn't let it slip."
"You're goi
ng to spring this little guy on Mom?" Brie cocked her head.
"Well, yeah, I was planning on showing up with them."
"No. That would be bad." She shook her head back and forth and her eyes rounded.
"Why?"
"Mom needs time to prep for this. She'll need to spin out of control for a while, and when she's past the initial shock, you can bring them by."
"So, I'll talk to her Saturday night after I meet him, and I'm sure they'll be coming with me on Sunday." He shrugged. It shouldn't be a problem.
"I want to be there." Brie leaned forward. "I want to watch the fireworks."
"You're sadistic." He snatched Gage's photo away.
She laughed and stood up. "Totally. But the more people there, the more ways to put out the flames if she explodes. Now get out of here. My people want to clear the table."
He stood and opened his arms for a hug. Brie slipped into his embrace. "Congratulations, Brody. I'm so happy for you. I'm here if you need anything, and I can't wait to meet him."
Amber smiled as she pushed the button to end the call. She glanced at the clock. Damn, it was almost one o'clock in the morning. She and Brody had been talking for over four hours. She stretched, pushed back the sheet covering her, and headed into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator door and grabbed a plastic jug of orange juice.
"You'd better use a cup, or I'm telling."
Amber jumped and gasped, "Holy Shit, Dawn!"
"What? I wasn't quiet. You were lost in your head. Must be all the late night talking with Brody." Dawn pushed past her and grabbed the milk from the fridge, putting the orange juice back. "Warm milk this late. OJ is going to spike your blood sugar."
"I don't like warm milk." Amber reached back in the fridge and grabbed the chocolate syrup. "Cocoa."
Brody (Hope City Book 3) Page 10