Renewed: The Unexpected Series

by Roberts, S. E.

  “No, I want to see my brother, and I know Brady does too.”

  “Aunt Avvy, can we go see Eben?” Brady asks beside me. His little stutter makes my heart melt. This kid has me wrapped around his little finger, and he knows it.

  “You bet, buddy.”

  “Alright, sweetheart, I’ve gotta get back to work, but I’ll see you tonight.” Ryke gives Claire a kiss on the mouth, and I look over to see Brady covering his eyes, and I chuckle.

  “That’s yucky!” he hollers, and the three of us roar with laughter.

  “It is,” I say. “Don’t ever kiss girls, okay?”

  He holds his hand out to me to shake. “Deal.” This kid is freaking adorable.

  We pack all three kids up and load them into Claire’s van. That’s one thing I don’t think I’ll ever do as a mom. I love my car too much and don’t think I’d enjoy driving a minibus around town. Although, I don’t think Claire imagined driving one either, but Ryke insisted she get it when she was pregnant with Aria.

  “How’s Evan’s job search?” she asks as I’m reaching behind me, trying to get Zoey’s pacifier back in her mouth.

  I sigh. “Honestly, I don’t know.” I stare out the window.

  “I love my brother, but he’s a stubborn ass.” She looks behind her, obviously making sure Brady didn’t hear her.

  I decide against correcting her, because every time I cuss in front of her kids, I get scolded. I guess my payback will be her teaching Zoey a thing or two we don’t want her repeating.

  I really can’t disagree with her. He is stubborn.

  Ten minutes later, we pull into the parking lot of Howser & Bowman. I grab Zoey’s seat, and we all make our way to the red-bricked building.

  “Hey Hilary,” I greet the receptionist sitting behind the big oak desk.

  “Hey, Avery. Oh, my goodness. Let me see that sweet baby!” In the next second, Zoey is completely unhooked from her car seat and in Hilary’s arms. “Go on back. He was in a meeting with Flynn, but I think they’re finished by now.”

  I thank her and head toward Evan’s office. I was unaware that he had a meeting today. I wonder if it’s about the office closing. If so, I’m guessing he won’t be in a great mood now.

  His door is open, so I don’t bother knocking, but I suddenly have the urge to hit something, or rather, someone.

  “Oh, hey, Avery,” Mallory says as she pulls away from my husband, after stroking his arm with her long ass fingernails. If looks could kill, Barbie would be laid out on the floor right now.

  The part that pisses me off the most? Evan doesn’t even think anything of the fact that she was just touching him. God, I hate when I act like this.

  He’s on the phone, but looks up from his desk, clearly surprised that I’m here. Mallory heads for the door, so I lead the way, intending on saying something to her. She’s chosen the wrong woman to mess with.

  I take a deep, cleansing breath and then turn toward her. “I would appreciate if you would keep your hands off my husband.”

  She gasps dramatically and holds her chest, as if I’ve just offended her.

  “Avery, I work with him, and I know he’s a married man. I would never go after a married man.”

  A part of me doesn’t believe her, and the other part feels like a bitch for assuming she would.

  “Ignore her and go see Evan,” Claire whispers into my ear. I don’t know where she came from, but she probably just kept me from saying something else I’ll regret later. I nod, even though I’m still a little pissed.

  Mallory waves toward Evan’s office. “He’s on the phone with Dallas, trying to get everything finalized before your move.” What the hell is she talking about?

  I make my way past her, and Claire grabs my arm.

  “Av, what the hell is she talking about?”

  “I don’t know. But will you go back out front with Zo?”

  “Yeah, for sure. I’ll wait for you.” She pats my arm and then walks away.

  I take a deep breath before walking back into his office.

  When I enter, he looks up from his desk and then holds his finger up. I set his food on his desk and take one of the leather chairs across from him and try to school my features. I don’t want him to know that Mallory got me riled up. He’s obviously keeping something from me. What the hell did she mean by ‘your move’?

  After what feels like hours, he finally hangs up.

  “Okay, Gerald, I’ll be in touch with you soon. Thanks for calling.”

  He sets his phone on the receiver and then makes his way toward me. I stand, and he pulls me into a hug.

  “This is a nice surprise.” He kisses the top of my head. “Where’s Zo?” he asks as he pulls away.

  “She’s out front with Hilary and Claire.” I’m trying not to show any emotion in my voice, but I’m not sure how well I’m doing at succeeding.

  He pulls away from me. “My sister is here? Oh, that’s right. You girls were going to Ryke’s for lunch today.”

  I nod. “Yeah, and then her and Brady wanted to see you, so we all came.” I give him a tight smile.

  He looks at me with concern on his face. “Av, what’s wrong?”

  I shake my head. “Nothing.” I feel like I’m acting childish, but I’m afraid if I ask him what Mallory was talking about, I’m going to lose my shit in the middle of his office. I really don’t feel like embarrassing myself in front of his co-workers today.

  He grabs my face so I’m forced to look at him. “Don’t lie to me.” And then it’s as if a switch flips, as he realizes what I’m upset about.

  “You know, don’t you?”

  “Know what? No, I don’t know anything, but Mallory said you were finalizing things for the move. What move, Evan?” By now, my tone has turned bitchy.

  He sighs and pulls away from me before running his hand through his hair. That’s always his telltale sign that he’s stressed about something.

  “Sit down.” He points to the chair I had been sitting in earlier, but I don’t sit.

  “I don’t need to sit down. Tell me what the hell is going on.”

  He throws his head back, obviously contemplating his next words. “Gerald Bowman wants to take me on as his partner in Dallas.”

  He wants to move to Dallas? We can’t move. I thought he already turned them down? Everyone important to us is here.

  “And you told him yes?” I ask slowly as I lower myself into a chair.

  “No, but I have to give him an answer by the end of the week.” He kneels between my legs and grabs my hands.

  “Were you going to tell me about this? You told me that you turned them down.”

  He gives me a surprised look. “Of course, I was. I literally just got the offer this morning. Well, I guess this is the third offer I’ve gotten, but I turned him down before. I know you want to stay in Phoenix, but Av, we really need to do this. It would give us so many opportunities.”

  I stare at him with my mouth agape. My dream job is here. This wouldn’t benefit me at all.

  “What kind of opportunities does this give me? Huh?” My voice is getting louder at this point. “My job, family, and my friends are all here. Not in Dallas, Evan.”

  He doesn’t respond right away.

  “I want you to be able to stay home with Zo. Not leave her with some stranger every day. You know your parents aren’t going to watch her forever.”

  I throw my hands up in exasperation. “Are you freaking kidding me?” I shake my head. “We’re in the twenty-first century. Women work, Evan, and kids go to daycare!” I yell, probably a little too loudly. I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone out in the hall just heard my little outburst. I take a deep breath. “I’ll let you eat and get back to work.” I nod toward his food. “Claire and the kids are waiting for me.”

  I stand and turn toward the door, not wanting to discuss this any further right now.

  “Av, we have to finish talking about this.” He gives me a sad smile when I turn to look at him, and it
makes my chest tighten. I hate fighting with him, but I’m angry. I’m angry that he’s even considering moving us across the country. He moved away from his family, and it didn’t bother him a bit, so there’s no way he can understand why this would upset me.

  I feel like if I stay here another minute, I’m going to say something I’ll regret.

  I shake my head. “Fine. You wanna talk about this now?” I point my finger at him. When he doesn’t respond, I go on. “You go ahead and go to Dallas, but we won’t be joining you.” Shit. I should have left.

  I see a flash of anger and hurt on his face.

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” He shakes his head. Two can play this game. If he wants to be controlling, I can be too.

  “No. I’m not kidding, Evan. I have a job here and a newborn. I need to be here. Obviously, that job is more important to you than me and Zoey, so have at it.” I wave my hand in the air. I know I’m acting like a crazy person now, but somehow, I can’t bring myself to care.

  “This is complete shit,” he mumbles under his breath.

  “I’m tired after being up all night with Zoey, so I really don’t feel like dealing with this right now.”

  He walks toward me. “If you stayed home with our daughter, you wouldn’t have the added stress of work and then you wouldn’t be so tired.”

  “I don’t know why you keep trying so hard to make me something I’m not, Evan, but I think it’s time you stop. Maybe you should have married someone who wanted to be Betty Homemaker, but you knew that wasn’t me. I love being a wife and mother, but that doesn’t define who I am.”

  “I never said it did.” He crosses his arms over his chest, and then he sighs. “Avery, I have to have a fucking job. If we stay here, I won’t have a job, and I won’t have a way to take care of my family.”

  I glare at him. “I have a damn job, and I gave you several websites to check out that had local opportunities. You’re an attorney, Evan. You can find something here.”

  “I’ve worked for this company for seven years. I’m going to start at the bottom anywhere else.”

  I shake my head. “Whatever. I can’t do this right now. If you want to go then fucking go.”

  Without letting him get another word in, I exit his office. I steel my spine before reaching Claire and Hilary. Nobody needs to know how upset I am right now, although I’m sure it’s clearly written all over my face.

  Just when I thought everything was perfect with my little family, something has to stand in the way. I just hope we’re strong enough to fight it.

  22

  Evan

  Fuck. I have a feeling that taking flowers home to Avery, isn’t going to make things better. So, I didn’t even bother stopping this time.

  After she left the firm this afternoon, I told Flynn that I would probably be turning down Gerald’s offer. He then informed me that the finances were turning to shit at our office, so it would be in my best interest to take the Dallas job. He failed to mention that before. It looks like the doors may be closing much sooner than we had originally thought. That explains why he’s been so adamant about me going. I can appreciate his willingness to help, but the asshole could have mentioned this sooner.

  Avery was completely and utterly furious at me this afternoon. It pisses me off that Mallory had to be the one to tell her. She obviously didn’t know what she was talking about, because she assumed that I had already taken the position. It’s none of her damn business.

  I pull into the driveway and see that she has the curtains pulled back on the living room windows. This time of day it’s beautiful with the sun beaming through the glass. With the dark furniture and neutral colored walls, our house seems like a cave even during the day, if it’s all closed off. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s got a few windows open as well because it is unusually warm for this time of year.

  I park in the garage next to Avery’s car and then take a deep breath. It’s not like I’m afraid of my wife, but I really don’t like fighting with her, and I know that she’s not thrilled about even entertaining the idea of moving.

  “Hey, Av,” I call out as I set my keys, phone, and briefcase on the hallway table.

  “I’m in the kitchen,” she hollers, and thankfully sounds like she’s in an alright mood.

  When I get back to the kitchen, she is standing at the stove stirring something in a big pot.

  “Smells good in here. What are you making?” I ask as I wrap my arms around her. I feel her tense at my touch, which pisses me off, but I pretend not to notice. I really don’t want to drive a wedge further between us.

  “Goulash. It’s my Grandma’s recipe.” She doesn’t turn toward me, but I still drop a kiss on the side of her face before backing away.

  “You’ve never made that before, have you?” I ask as I bend down to Zoey, who is sitting in her bouncy seat on the floor. “Hi, princess.” I grab one of her tiny hands and bring it to my mouth. “Daddy missed you today.”

  “No, I was craving it though, so I got the recipe from my mom.”

  I sit at the table and watch her continue to work on dinner, and I have to wonder if or when she is going to bring up the Dallas topic again. I really just want her to understand where I’m coming from. If she’s really not onboard after I finish talking to her tonight, I’ll call Gerald first thing in the morning and turn him down. It’s not worth risking my marriage for.

  “What are you thinking about?” she asks with her back still toward me. I don’t like that she won’t look at me, but I’ll let her have her way for now.

  I stand and make my way toward her again.

  “I’m thinking about the fact that I hate that you’re mad at me.” I wrap my arms around her waist.

  She drops the wooden spoon she’d been using, and it crashes onto the stove. It sounds like something broke, but then I realize that there’s just sauce all over the counter, stove, and the oven door. She doesn’t seem to notice this though, because apparently, whatever she is about to say to me is more important.

  She sighs heavily and then finally faces me, but I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.

  “You hate that I’m mad at you, but yet you’re still considering this huge ass move. How could you even decide something like this without talking to me first?”

  I back away from her, wanting to give her a little space. And perhaps because I’m a little frightened of her right now.

  “Av, I didn’t decide anything yet, and I am talking to you about it. I just want you to try to understand why I think this is important.”

  She rolls her eyes in frustration. “Seriously? You don’t think I know why this is important to you? You’re just like your dad. All you care about is success.” As soon as the words are out, her eyes nearly bulge out of her head, seeming to have surprised herself. Her hand goes to her mouth, as if she’s willing them to go back where they came from.

  Fuck, that hurt.

  “Ev, I didn’t mean it.”

  I shake my head as I start to leave the room. “How can you even say that? I’m nothing like my father, and you fucking know that.” I growl.

  I can tell that she’s taken by surprise at my words.

  Her defenses are going up now, and it’s proven by what she says next. “If it’s not important to you, then why do you want to rip me away from everything that’s important to me?”

  What the hell?

  “Everything that’s important to you?” By now, my voice is getting louder. I look toward Zoey to make sure I’m not upsetting her, but she seems oblivious to what’s going on around her. “What about me, Avery? Your husband.” I spit the word husband out like it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

  “Whatever, I’m not doing this with you right now.” She pushes past me, and I grab for her arm. “Let go of me.” She hisses, and I can hear the venom laced in her voice. She’s more pissed at me than before. I should have stayed at work.

  “So, we’re just not going to talk about this?” I say
this in a calmer tone, hoping to get her to talk to me without fighting. But I have a feeling that tonight won’t be the night for that.

  She shakes her head. “No. I need to get Zoey changed and ready for bed. If you’re hungry, dinner is done.”

  “Av, wait.” She surprisingly stops in her tracks and turns back to me.

  I exhale a heavy breath. “It looks like the firm might be closing sooner than we thought.”

  She raises her eyebrows at me. “What are you talking about?”

  “Flynn told me today that the finances have gone to shit because a lot of our clients have already started looking at other firms. I don’t even know if he can afford to employ me much longer.”

  She takes a seat at the table, looking defeated.

  “Let me take this job, and you can find one there. Can you at least agree to that? If you insist on being so independent.”

  “Is that seriously what our marriage has come to, Evan? Just a big compromise?”

  I take the seat across from her. “I don’t know what else to do, but I know I can’t do this without you.”

  “What about those other jobs I told you about?”

  “Av, I already told you, I’d be starting at much lower pay. I really feel like we need to do this.”

  She rests her elbows on the table. “I have a job here. I could probably pick up more hours.”

  I hold my hand up, stopping her. “No.”

  “No?” She throws back at me with her eyebrows raised.

  “I’m not letting you take care of me like that. End of discussion.”

  She slams her hand down on the table. Somehow, Zoey is now sound asleep beside us.

  “We’re supposed to be a fucking team, Evan.”

  “We are a team, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you be the only one working.”

  “You know what? Just take the damn job.”

  “So, you’re on board?” There’s no way she’d agree to this so fast. She’s as stubborn as they come.

  She shakes her head. “Just take the damn job,” she repeats as she goes to stand.

  I grab her by the arm. “I need you to want this.”