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Taryn
Five Months Later
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We drive down the street toward Mom’s house. Eric’s quiet in the car and has been for most of the hour and a half ride from the prison. We’d hugged and I’d cried my eyes out when I saw my brother walking out of that prison holding a small bag and wearing a pair of jeans and a blue tee shirt. He informed me the clothes were going straight into the trash when we got home.
Other than that, he’s been quiet, just taking in the scenery of the gray and dreary November Colorado sky passing us by, just occasionally commenting on all of the construction happening on the interstate that seems to have been going on for the past ten years.
I pull my little Audi into the driveway of Mom’s house and put it in park.
“It looks the same,” he comments with his hand on the door handle.
“The inside is a little different,” I say. “Let’s go, get you settled.”
He nods and gets out with his little bag containing everything from the last six years of his life.
I open the door with a key, then hang it up on the key hook board hanging by the front door.
“That’s your key. Mine’s on my keyring. I just had it made for you.”
“Thanks,” he murmurs, looking around. “It does look the same. The TV’s new.”
“Yeah, I bought it for Mom a couple years ago. She was still watching that old one. She needed a Smart TV. Not that she ever took advantage of the smart aspect of it.”
He chuckles softly. “Doesn’t surprise me. As long as she had her soaps and The Bachelor to watch, she didn’t really need anything else.”
“What are those?” he asks, pointing to new, bright white carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. “They look space age.”
I laugh. “Probably should tell you about how I almost died from carbon monoxide poisoning.”
Eric’s eyes go wide. “What the fuck, sis?”
I proceed to tell him the whole story as we stand in the living room.
“So basically you would have fucking died if Christa hadn’t forgotten her phone?” he snaps.
I chuckle. “You sound like Carter. Speaking of—he’s the one who had these things installed. They’re ‘smart’ and hooked up to an app on my phone, which will alert us when the battery’s low and beep loudly if carbon monoxide is detected. I’ll install the app when you get your new phone.”
“That’s pretty cool, but I really should kick your ass for not telling me you almost freaking died.”
I laugh. “Let me show you to your room.”
He follows me down the hall.
“My old room,” he says with a smile.
“You can take the master bedroom if you want, I haven’t completely cleaned it out though, just about half of it. But I did buy you a new bed and dresser, so you can move it in there or not. Obviously, it’s up to you.”
“Thank you,” he says, setting his bag on the new plaid blue and green comforter I’d bought to go on it. “I’m really grateful. And I’ll pay you back for it all.”
“Don’t be silly, it’s perfectly fine. Carter pays me well,” I say, testing the waters by mentioning his name again.
“I would hope so. The guy’s loaded.” He wanders into Mom’s bedroom and flips on the light. The curtains are closed so it’s dark in here.
“Sorry, I rarely come in here. I tried to clean out her closet and got about halfway, but...”
He puts his hand on my arm. “I get it.” His eyes well with tears. “I can’t believe she’s gone and I didn’t get to say goodbye.” He touches the dresser, which has collected a lot of dust, and wipes his hands on his jeans. “I’ll take care of the rest, you don’t need to worry about it. I’ll need to keep busy.”
“I can still help. Just let me know. And I’ll show you where she’s buried so you can go visit her. Okay?”
He nods and flips out the light.
We head toward the kitchen. I open the fridge and offer him a bottle of beer.
He stares at it. “Damn, that looks so good. I better not.”
“Okay,” I say, quickly putting it back. “I hope you don’t think that was mean or anything. I thought maybe you’d want one since you’ve not had any in so long. I mean, I know why you don’t, but—”
He puts his hand on my arm again. “Sis, it’s okay. I think it’s sweet. And if you want one, by all means. I’m just trying to decide if I should even start up again. It’s been six years and I’ve been fine... Well, mostly. No need to drink. Besides, I think my parole officer would frown on it.”
“Yeah, he seemed like kind of a hard-ass when he showed up to do the home inspection a couple months ago,” I say with a laugh.
“Is he? I only have his name, but I have to go check in with him downtown within a few days.”
“You can use Mom’s car. The keys are hanging up as well. I tried to drive it at least once a month around the block so it wouldn’t die or whatever.”
He chuckles. “I’m sure it needs some work but it’ll come in handy.”
“Look, I was gonna get you a cell phone too but I figured I’d let you pick one out. I couldn’t remember if you were an Apple or Android guy.” I smile.
“Hell, I don’t care which. Just having the internet at my fingertips will be like a dream come true,” he says, chuckling. “But you’re probably gonna have to put it in your name or whatever since I’ve been pretty much MIA on my credit report for the last six years. I can only imagine what my score must be.”
“Yeah, no problem. We’ll go out this afternoon and get that set up for ya.”
“I need a new driver’s license first, though,” he reminds me.
I rub my forehead. “Ah, yeah, sorry. Don’t think you can do that today though, gotta make an appointment. I’ll do that from my phone.” I pull up the DMV website and tell him what dates are available. “Friday work?”
He laughs. “What else would I be doing?”
I head over to him and wrap my arms around him. “I’m so glad you’re home. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
I try to pull away but he pulls me tighter, and I can feel his chest heaving. “I’m sorry I put you through that,” he says, his voice squeaking. “I’m sorry Mom died and you were left to face this shit all alone. It wasn’t fair. I can’t imagine how disappointed she was in me.”
I do pull back this time, seeing his eyes are red. “She wasn’t though. We know you didn’t mean it. We know you just made a mistake. And we both knew that you’d spend the rest of your life making up for it.”
“I wrote the lady’s husband and daughter a letter from prison telling them how sorry I was. I don’t think it made a difference, and it really didn’t make me feel better. I just wanted them to know I didn’t mean it. That it was a mistake.”
“I’m sure they appreciated it and knew it was an accident. The dad opened up a drunk driving charity, I heard.”
He nods. “I don’t blame him. I swear I wasn’t drunk though... my phone...”
I put my hand on his arm. “I know. It’s okay. Let’s put it behind us. Maybe you can do some charity work or something.”
“Funny you say that, because I was thinking about doing Doctors Without Borders or something like it with my PT skills. As soon as I get my licenses and stuff back up.”
“That’s a great idea,” I agree, smiling and wiping my cheeks. I head to the fridge and pull the six-pack of beer up by its handle. “I’m gonna go and let you get settled. I’ll take these with me.”
“Leave me one?” he asks.
“You’re sure?” I ask. I know Eric wasn’t an alcoholic. Sure, he partied a little too much but it did cause his life to change.
He nods.
I pull one out of the case and put it on the fridge’s door, then close it.
“Oh,” I say, pulling a card out of my pocket and putting it on the kitchen counter. “This is a Visa debit card. There’s like two hundred bucks on it. Go get some clothes and a haircut. Your hair looks terrible.”
He laughs. “Yes, it does. I had to trade commissary stuff for haircuts with amateurs. It was awful. Most of the time I just shaved it.”
“Go get some food and stuff, too.” I grab a pen from my purse and jot my number down on Mom’s grocery list she kept magneted to the fridge. “Here’s my number, use the house phone to call me.” I point at the cordless phone hanging on the wall.
“Thanks,” he says, walking me to the door. “I’ll be okay. I plan to take a very long, very hot shower, and then literally spend the rest of the day alone in silence.”
“I understand.” I open the screen door to leave. “Oh, and don’t forget about Friday night. A welcome home party for you at Silver Park. It’s a new pub but you’ll have your phone by then so you can use the GPS to get there. Or I can pick you up. That won’t be a problem, the brewery. Right?”
He shakes his head. “Not at all. I can’t wait to see everyone.”
“Love you,” I say, kissing his cheek. “Call if you need anything.”
***
I fidget with the humongous ring on my finger. I felt bad for taking it off when I’d picked up Eric four days ago, but Carter and I decided it would be better to tell my brother about us together. We didn’t think he’d be upset, but we weren’t sure.
“There’s the guest of honor!” I say, watching Eric as he walks through the front doors looking so much better than he had. His sandy hair is cut short and he looks very nice in new jeans and a green button-up shirt. His light-brown eyes have a sparkle to them I hadn’t seen since before he went to prison.
“Oh, my God, your brother’s hot!” Christa whispers, fanning herself. I’d invited her because I wanted to beef up the crowd a little, plus she wouldn’t stop asking if she could come. I’d even invited Lauryn and her new boyfriend, who’s a nurse at the hospital where Declan is hopefully going to be getting Eric a job.
I laugh but ignore my friend as I rush over to hug my brother, Carter next to me.
Eric hugs me then looks at his oldest and best friend. Then, they grip each other in a bone-crushing hug that brings a tear to my eye.
“I’m so fucking glad you’re out of that place,” Carter says as they break apart.
“You and me both, brother,” Eric says.
I lead them to the crowd and make the introductions to my new friends, while Declan shakes his hand and welcomes him home.
As soon as we’re all seated at a massive table, Maria comes by to take drink orders. Eric orders a Dr. Pepper and I order a Sprite. Everyone else orders beer or wine.
“Hey, look,” Eric says, pulling out his wallet and showing me a new Colorado driver’s license.
I whistle through my teeth. “Thank God you got that haircut before the photo!”
He mock punches me. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“It was awful,” I quip, biting back a grin.
He ignores that and shows me a shiny new debit card. “Thanks again for handling the sale of my townhouse and car while I was inside. There’s enough in there to buy something else.”
“What are you going to do with Mom’s house and car?” I ask. I know it’s too soon for him to make that decision but I want to see what he thinks.
“Let’s sell them both, split the profits, and get you a nice house instead of that tiny-ass condo you’re living in.”
I bite my lip and look at Carter, who is holding my hand under the table and squeezes it encouragingly.
“What?” my brother asks.
“Eric, we have something to tell you,” I say.
The table goes silent. Our friends knew we were going to do this, and our thought was, maybe he’d flip out less with an audience.
He looks at me, then Carter, then back to me, then back to Carter, his eyebrows raised. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Shit. Guess we were wrong.
Carter stands and says, “Let’s take a walk, bro.”
He stands but shakes his head, stepping back from my fiancé. “My little sister? Seriously, Carter?” I can see his hand bunching and flexing and realize now this wasn’t the best time.
I also stand and put my hand on his shoulder. “Let’s not flip out here, huh? We like this place. We don’t want to get kicked out.” He didn’t need to know Carter’s good friend Lincoln was the owner.
Eric’s jaw bunches. “How long has this been going on?”
“About eight months,” I answer quickly. “Why are you so upset?”
“Because... because.... I just got out, and... you drop this on me? Why didn’t you tell me over the phone so I could have been prepared to see you guys together? Like this. It’s so weird... and... like, how did this happen?”
“It just did, man. I love her. A lot. And since you’re obviously pissed, let’s just tear off the Band-Aid all at once and tell you that we’re also engaged. Wedding is in May. I need you to be my best man, Eric.”
He stalks off and goes outside. I don’t know if he’s leaving but I feel like garbage. Carter goes after him but I stop him. “Let me.”
I slowly walk outside to find him pacing. He sees me walk out but ignores me, going back to pacing. I just stand and watch him.
“What do you want?” he growls.
“I want you to be okay with this. I want you to be happy for us.”
He stops pacing and looks at me. Two couples walk by and once they’re inside, he says, “I’m trying to process this. It’s fucking weird, Taryn.”
“It’s not, though. I’ve been crushing on Carter since middle school. You know this.”
“A childhood crush is completely different.”
“Is it?” I ask, taking a step closer to him, trying not to shiver in the cold wind that blows my dress around my ankles. “It’s like I always knew it would be him.”
He lifts his eyes to mine. “You did?”
I take another step closer. “I think so. When we got together, it just felt right. He admits it too.”
Eric looks at me suspiciously. “He does?”
“You should have seen him when I was in the hospital. He lost his goddamn mind, Eric. I thought he was going to start flipping over tables.”
He shakes his head and I think I see his lips tip up a little. “That sounds like him.”
“Listen. We love each other. This isn’t some fling. He treats me like a queen and I treat him like a king. He takes care of me. We take care of each other.” I pause, looking at my brother, whose angry countenance has softened slightly. “We’ve been counting down the days for you to get out so we could share our excitement with you. I don’t blame you for your reaction—I was ready for it. I just hope in time you can come to accept us being together, Eric. We’re not breaking up. I’m going to be with him until either he dies or I do. I need you to be an uncle to our future children.”
His jaw bunches and then he shakes his head. “This is a lot to take in. My best friend and my baby sister.”
“I’m not going to apologize for it, but I hope you can be happy for us.”
We both turn to see Carter standing there in front of the door. He makes his way over to us and puts his arm around me. I reach up and touch his hand on my shoulder.
Eric ignores his statement and reaches up to touch my ring, his eyes wide. Then, he looks at Carter. “Fucking show-off.”
I breathe a sigh of relief at the smirk on my brother’s face.
“I told him I didn’t need something so big. He told me if I was going to be his wife, I had to get over it. So, I begrudgingly accepted it.”
Eric smiles wider. “Yes, what a hardship that must have been.”
“It’s not,” I quip, smiling.
“Your employees don’t care?” he asks, pointing at the ring.
Carter chuckles “I’m the fucking CEO, I don’t give a shit if they care. They don’t like it, they can get over it or leave.”
Eric smiles big. “There’s the asshole I missed.”
“We good?” Carter asks, squeezing me to him while looking at his best friend.
Eric puts his hands in the pockets of his jeans and flicks his gaze between us before narrowing his eyes. “For now. But Carter”—he pierces my fiancé with a homicidal look—“you fucking hurt her, you’re done for.”
Carter puts his hands up in surrender and makes a mock noise of fear. “Oh, okay. You got it, boss.”
I shake my head, laughing, and put my hand out for Eric. He grabs it. “Get back inside to your party. I want you to meet someone.”
He eyes me speculatively. “That smoking hot tattooed brunette who looks like a pinup girl from a wet dream?”
“That’s the one.” I wink with a chuckle.
We walk inside, and even though I’d already introduced Eric generally to everyone there he didn’t know, I tell Christa to come and stand next to me.
“Christa, my brother Eric,” I say.
“It’s nice to meet you. You’re gorgeous,” he blurts.
Christa and I both laugh.
“Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself,” she replies, making a hissing noise as she touches his bicep as if it were on fire.
Carter laughs and shakes his head, and we sit down. Maria comes over and we order all the appetizers on the menu to share.
I pick up my drink and take a sip. “That went well, I think.”
Carter laughs and rubs my hand with his thumb. “I was prepared to get punched. Glad he refrained.”
“Me too,” I say, reaching up to kiss him on the lips.
“Oh!” Carter says. “Got good news.”
“Hit me!” I say excitedly.
“Get this... Jim called me today. He met with Congresswoman Fisher. Turns out that wasn’t a sex worker her husband was with but a side piece he had. He was paying for her to come into the Mile High Rooms where they had their fun. He got caught and told her she was some no-name sex worker who meant nothing to him. Jim had to inform her that she wasn’t a working girl and the truth came out. The congresswoman agreed to drop the issue, but she’s also dropping the husband.”
“Wow,” I say, running my hand on Carter’s leg. “I hope Jim’s learned his lesson though.”
He nods. “He sure has. He’s ditching the paid workers, keeping it all consensual.”
“Good call.” I nod.
We turn when we hear someone enter. Lincoln and Quinn walk in. Carter wants Eric to make new friends, so after introducing him to Declan, he invited Lincoln tonight too.
We get up to greet them.
“Hi,” I say to Quinn. “Can I?” I point to her swelling baby bump.
She waves a dismissive hand. “Girl, my sisters-in-law don’t keep their hands off of it, what’s one more?”
I feel the baby kick. “Oh, my gosh! I felt that!”
“Well, yeah, there’s two of them in there.”
My eyes bulge. “Twins?”
“Yep, boy and a girl. I’mma be as big as the broad side of a barn here pretty soon!”
“Congratulations,” Carter says, shaking Lincoln’s hand.
He makes the introductions and Lincoln, Carter, Eric, and Declan sit at the end of the table and begin talking about golf.
Quinn’s prattling on about baby names and maternity clothes and I half listen while I stare at my group of friends—my people, my family—and I can’t stop the huge grin on my face. My brother’s home and I’m about to be married to the love of my life. It really doesn’t get any better than this. But... I can’t wait to get home and play in our playroom.