by Natalie Ann
“Got to pay the bills,” he said, grinning.
She knew enough to let it drop at that point. “So you’re okay with stopping at my parents’ house with Ben?”
“Yeah,” he said. “If you are.”
“Everyone knows we are dating,” she said. “They’ve known for over a month. They wanted you to come over for dinner, but I thought maybe this would be better. You know, to ease into it.”
He laughed. “I’m getting pressure from my mother for a Sunday dinner too.”
“I’d love to see your parents again,” she said, then watched his face for a reaction. Nothing. That was good.
“I’ll let her know.”
“You’re okay with it?”
“I wouldn’t have brought it up if I wasn’t,” he said.
“Just didn’t want you to think I was hitting fast forward or anything.”
“You’re not. I get it. We can’t forget the past, but we were kids and have to let it be. As long as you don’t hold it against me what I did, we are fine.”
“I don’t. Of course I don’t,” she said, her mouth open, some food almost falling out. She closed it quickly and chewed. “Why would you think that? I thought we both said we forgave the other.”
“You seem hesitant on things. I can see it. Like the toys I found in the pantry the other day. You don’t have to hide them.”
Her shoulders dropped. “I’m not trying to crowd you or win Ben over to get to you. I’m not the same girl I was back then seeing all the stars and rainbows. I’ve had a lot of clouds and storms in my life and I guess I’m tiptoeing the best that I can.”
“You don’t have to. I might have been a little out of sorts at first, but I get it. You are watching Ben for me or he’s here at night and it’s easier than me bringing things back and forth. It’s more for me than him.”
“Yes,” she said, thankful he understood that. “I mean it’s for Ben too, but you understand.”
“I do. And we should finish dinner so we can make the rounds. Gillian and my parents saw Ben already, but I still want to get him home and in bed by seven.”
“Got it,” she said, the two of them eating quickly, then cleaning up. She couldn’t wait to show her parents Ben in his outfit.
15
Felt Honored
Trey wasn’t stupid. He knew what was going through Whitney’s head lately. He saw what she was doing. Or trying to do. More like hide. He didn’t want that either.
They needed to talk things through, but he understood where she might be nervous about it. Hell, even his own family kept asking if Whitney was only with him because of Ben.
It was starting to piss him off that no one thought maybe Whitney wanted him again like she did in school.
The jock that a lot of girls longed to date, but he never did seriously. He was always out for fun and fine with that.
But then Whitney Butler caught his eye and the rest was history. She pursued him and he felt honored.
When everyone started to call them the class couple was when things began to change for him. Not enough to end things, but enough to listen to the rumors.
He never was sure if they came from her or her friends having fun. But the comments about them going to the same college, or finding a place together after graduation, her family would pay for it all. Yeah, it was too much for a kid that had a lot of pride and didn’t want anyone giving him anything in life he didn’t earn.
To find out all those things he’d heard came true with her husband made him wonder. Until Whitney told him that she’d cleared up debt on her own that her parents knew nothing about.
It seemed she had as much pride as him.
Then why was he slightly bent that she was worried he might get annoyed if she fast-tracked their relationship? Maybe he wouldn’t mind it himself. Of course he’d have to tell her that and he wasn’t going to. It’d only been about six weeks of dating and if it felt like they were falling back into old ways he had to remind himself he was thirty-three, not seventeen.
He experienced a lot more of life than years ago. He had more responsibilities too and more on the line.
First thing they needed to do though was get through tonight and how her parents were when they saw him again.
They cleaned up dinner, him stuffing Ben back into his costume while he tried to roll away. A few toys kept him distracted enough.
“Before I forget, here is Ben’s trick or treat bag. I didn’t want him to see it when you got here.”
He looked in it and saw a few of Ben’s puffed snacks he liked, a new pacifier, and a small toy. “No candy?” he asked.
“He has three teeth. He shouldn’t be eating candy.”
“I know that. But what if I want some?”
She laughed and pulled a big bowl out of a lower cabinet. “This is for the trick or treaters. I’ll turn my light on when we get back since it’s still early.”
It was a little after five and he liked that she had dinner earlier than normal for him so that they could keep Ben on a schedule. “That works. I’ll get my share before I leave.”
They locked her house up and got in his truck. “Do you remember where my parents live?” she asked.
“Yep,” he said. He’d been in and out of her house a lot in the year they dated. Her parents didn’t even live half a mile away from her so it didn’t take long before he was pulling in behind a black Range Rover.
“Harris and Kaelyn are here with Scarlet.”
“Should I move?”
“Nope. They don’t take her anywhere other than family in the development. We won’t stay long. I really want to hand out candy.”
“You could have done that,” he said.
“I’m going to get the best of both worlds. It’s Ben’s first Halloween. He should experience trick or treat and handing out the candy. I want to run to Ryan’s next, if you’re okay with that?”
“Of course.”
They got out of his truck and then went to the front door. Surprisingly he had more nerves now than he did years ago and wondered why that was.
“We’ve got an elephant here to go with the lion,” Whitney said when they saw the little girl running around in her costume. Scarlet stopped and moved closer to Ben and started to reach up like she wanted to see him. He set Ben on the floor to see how the two of them interacted.
“Hi, Trey,” Wendy Butler said, coming forward. “It’s so nice to see you again. I enjoy visiting with Ben when you’re working. Your son is a doll.”
“Thanks,” he said
Matt Butler moved closer and shook his hand. “Good to see you again. Thanks for taking care of my daughter over a month ago.”
“Just doing my job,” he said of the day he got the call when her alarms went off.
“Trey, you remember Kaelyn and this is her husband, Harris.”
“Nice to see you again,” he said to Kaelyn. He did remember her. He remembered the whole family because he’d spent holidays and birthdays with them. Just like Whitney did with his family. He shook hands with Harris. The guy was big and intimidating, towering five inches or so over his own six feet.
“We’ve been hearing a lot about you,” Harris said.
“All good,” Whitney said. “And look. Scarlet and Ben like each other.”
Scarlet was on the floor sharing a toy with Ben. “Ben likes everyone. He’s a pretty easy child.”
“At least he’s sitting still,” Kaelyn said. “Scarlet never does. This is the most I’ve seen her stay in one spot.”
“Here are the kid’s goodies,” Wendy said. “I’d love for you to stay, but the crowds will be coming soon and I know Whitney loves to hand out the candy.”
“She’s got enough of it in the house. Not sure what was more, the candy or the spiderwebs all over the front porch,” Trey said.
“Whitney is the one that goes all out for the holidays,” Kaelyn said. “Wait until you see what it’s like at Christmas.”
Harris leaned down and faked a whis
per. “Can you say Griswold Christmas?”
“It’s not that bad,” Whitney said, putting her hands on her hips.
“More than I do,” he said.
“Okay, Mom likes to hand out candy too and I told Ryan we’d get there before he took Jeffrey and Maddie out.”
“We just left there,” Kaelyn said. “They are waiting for you. We are on our way to Sarah’s now, then Evan’s.”
Trey picked his kid up off the floor and followed Whitney out the door, glad that went by fast. “You’ll have to tell me where Ryan is.”
“Take a right and go to the end of the road,” she said. “Then take another right.” They were about a mile away when she said, “That is Ryan’s old house. Coincidentally Harris’s sister, Sarah, and her fiancé live there.”
He looked in the rearview mirror and saw Harris’s SUV pulling into the driveway. “Seems like everyone lives around here.” It was always a tight-knit family in his eyes.
“Yes and no,” she said. “Take another left and it’s the third house on the right.”
“Holy shit,” he said.
“Yeah, it’s big.”
“I thought your house was big,” he said. Damn, he knew Ryan’s wife had a lot of money, but he wasn’t expecting this big of a house.
“It is. And well, it’s not the biggest in the family. That would go to Harris.”
“Not surprised.” Now he was starting to feel out of place.
They parked and got out, then went to the front door and were greeted by two small dogs. One in a pink tutu and another in overalls. Talk about ridiculous, until two young kids came running down the hall matching the dog’s outfits.
“Ryan,” Whitney said. “You remember Trey. And this is Shannon, Maddie, Jeffrey, Taffy and Oreo. I’m pretty sure you can figure what dog belongs to what kid.”
“Mommy says the dogs are Ryan’s now because they sit on his lap at night,” Maddie said.
“Is that so?” Trey asked, grinning at Whitney’s brother. No smile coming there. He remembered how serious Ryan always was. Now he was remembering the guy beat the shit out of Whitney’s ex and knew the two of them probably needed to come to some terms.
“It is. I’m not as soft as the kids seem to think I am.”
“Who are you kidding?” A blonde said coming down the hall. “Ryan’s like a marshmallow.”
“My sister, Zoe,” Shannon said.
“She’s the nanny,” Ryan said.
“I am,” Zoe said. “And you’re the new guy we’ve been hearing all about. The one responsible for the googly eyes on Whitney’s face when I see her in the office.”
“Zoe is doing some work for me in the office. We bond over the men in our lives,” she said, smiling.
“Not new,” Ryan said.
Yeah, the two of them needed to talk. “Got a minute?” he asked Ryan.
“Right this way,” Ryan said.
“Don’t be a jerk,” Whitney said to her brother.
“Let them be,” Shannon said. “You know he has to do it.”
He turned and followed Ryan into what he assumed was Shannon’s office, as the room didn’t scream Ryan worked here. “Don’t dick with her again,” Ryan said. “She’s been through enough.”
“She has.” Not that Ryan even knew it all and it wasn’t his place to say any of it. “I have no intentions of doing any of that. I might throw a few punches at her ex if I ever meet him too.”
Ryan cracked a grin. “Yeah. Dickhead. I couldn’t stand the guy. He never should have been in Whitney’s life.”
“You’re not blaming me for that, are you?” He was holding onto his fuse.
“No. Whitney is stubborn and knows what she wants. You know that. We all know what happened years ago.”
“What’s that?”
“That she wanted to play house and no one in their right mind wanted to other than her back then.”
At least her brother wasn’t holding it against him for ending that relationship. “The past is in the past. Whitney and I talk more and have an understanding.”
“And since I got into a relationship with someone with kids, I know it’s not easy to let another into your life if you worry they are leaving again. So I’m going to assume you know what you’re doing this time.”
“One can only hope,” he said.
Ryan nodded his head and the two of them walked out, Whitney standing there tapping her toes. Ben was in Shannon’s arms now letting out big belly laughs over the dogs.
“Are you two all done banging your fists against your chests?” Whitney asked.
“Please,” Ryan said. “You knew we were going to talk. Your taste in men has been nothing but shit since Trey. It’s nice to see you might be getting back on track.”
He wasn’t sure what to say to that and was glad they left shortly after.
When they were in his truck heading back to her place, Whitney said, “What did Ryan say to you?”
“Nothing.”
“He had to say something. As if it’s not embarrassing enough what he said in front of me, I can only imagine what he said behind my back.”
He wouldn’t lie to her. “Not much more than to not mess you up again.”
“He has no right to say that,” she said.
“He does. I get it. But he wasn’t the only one messed up back then and I don’t plan on doing it again.” She opened her mouth and then closed it and grinned. “Wow, you always have something to say back.”
“I don’t need my family putting pressure on you.”
“Because you think I can’t handle it?”
“No. Because we don’t need it.” Which shut him right up too. Guess they both had a way to go and things to get past.
16
The Boyfriend
A few days later, Trey was going through a filing cabinet at the firehouse and turned when he heard, “What are you doing here on your day off?”
Jim was the captain on shift. “I’m working on another job today. I went to check the ducts at a different part of the house and went through the kitchen and it looks like an addition is being put on. There were open wires everywhere. I want to see the building permit.”
“That should be available at the house,” Jim said.
“It should be, but I wasn’t there as a code enforcer. I was there as a furnace repairman. However, that is a fire hazard if I ever saw one. I mentioned something to the woman at the house and she said she had no clue what was going on. Her parents had asked her to stay there to let him in and that is all she was doing.”
Jim snorted. “Got to love people cutting corners like that.”
“Yep and if something catches fire we are all at risk.” He was moving through and didn’t find it. “Shit. I didn’t want to go to City Hall and look for it and hoped it’d be here.”
“Give me the name and I’ll call since I’m on shift.” He wrote it down for Jim. He could call himself but not being on duty, he’d rather not. “I’m on hold. Are you done working there for the day?”
“Yeah. I finished up and left.”
Jim went back to the call, then jotted down some notes.
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
“Well, do they have a permit?”
“They do, but no one has gone out to check on it or gotten any calls that the work was completed. It was issued over five months ago.”
“I hope those wires haven’t been like that for long,” he said but had a feeling it might be. The house was a mess and looked like the homeowners had projects started and stopped all over. He didn’t know how anyone could live like that.
“It won’t be good to have you calling to check up on it, so I’ll give it to Dan to take care of. Getting a call that an inspection is happening will at least get the wires cleaned up or they will be fined.”
“Thanks,” he said, getting ready to leave.
“What’s your hurry?” Jim asked. “I heard you were dating someone.”
That is what his hurry was. He di
dn’t talk about his personal life often and didn’t want to now. It’s not like he was hiding this, but in the small fire community people gossiped. Not to mention he knew Butler Construction sent in a big donation last week to their station.
He’d been a little annoyed and slightly embarrassed over it, but the chief had said, “Thank God our station got it this year.” Seemed the Butlers rotated around the city and that made him feel better. It’s not like he hadn’t been to some of their worksites over the years. As a code enforcer too, he was checking out properties, but he didn’t run into the Butlers often. They weren’t on every site every day; there was no way they could be. And especially not Whitney.
“I didn’t know that was big news.”
“With your son and all, you haven’t seemed to have time for any fun.”
He wanted to argue with that but felt there was no reason to. “Life isn’t all about fun,” he said.
“No. But the interesting news is who they say you’re dating.”
Here it comes. “And who is that?”
“Come on, Trey. We all know who it is.”
“Maybe you’re all wrong,” he said.
“I doubt it. Steve said Whitney Butler brought pizza in over a month ago for the guys. He said you’re on the phone more than normal in the office talking when the guys are having meals. He’s heard the name Whitney.”
“Steve needs to mind his own business,” he said with a grin on his face.
“It’s all in good fun. You got a bum rap and we just want to see you getting lucky.”
He wasn’t going to get pissed hearing Whitney talked about like that. Guys talked smack about their women all the time in the firehouse. He just wasn’t one of them. Nor were they talking smack either.
“Does it matter if I am? I wasn’t aware that it affected my job or my attitude at work.”
“It doesn’t. Not much changes with you.”
He wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or insult and chose to ignore it. “If you don’t have anything else, then I’m going to go get my son.”