Yes, I cried for David.
And I cried later that night when I held Jason in my arms again. Skype just was not good enough. As much as I’d enjoyed my weekend in New York, there was nothing like holding my son. Absolutely nothing like being back in my house with him even if I could hear the ghosts again.
But I tried to push that pain away. What really mattered was that David had gone eight long years without a mother, and now, they were going to work toward a relationship again. It almost felt too good to be true. Like I’d expected Celeste Van Pelt to somehow live up to her villainous name. For her to cackle like Cruella de Vil and traipse off into the shadows in a mink coat. Except she had been genuine, and that one trip to New York City had spun it all into motion.
Even though Jason had his own bed, I let him crawl into bed with me. I brushed his hair back, which looked so like his daddy’s, and watched him fall to sleep, knowing I was so lucky. So very lucky. I might not have his father anymore, but there was a big piece of him right here with me.
Having Jason close again lulled me to sleep, and I woke early the next morning, feeling remarkably rested for someone with a toddler.
It was probably the afterglow of New York. Of David telling me he loved me.
I’d thought for so long that it would be impossible to love again.
That Maverick’s death had sapped the love right out of me.
Seeing other people’s happiness had felt like a stab to the chest. Even though I’d wanted my family to be happy, it had still hurt, knowing that I’d been the happiest of them all and it had been callously stolen from me. Now, I had new happiness…something entirely new. And it made me both ecstatic and worried. Would this get torn away, too?
I hated second-guessing, but when something so horrible had happened, it was impossible not to.
I shook my head and went about getting Jason ready for the day. Jenny would be here soon. I needed to stop stressing and embrace this. That was what Maverick would have wanted. That was how we had always been together, and he wouldn’t have wanted me to do anything else now.
I’d told David I loved him. I meant it.
And, now, I was ready to show that to the world.
I picked up my phone and dialed David’s number. It was early, but I knew he’d be up. Probably just coming out of the gym, working off the extra calories he’d consumed in New York this weekend. The thought brought a quick smile to my face.
“Good morning, beautiful,” David said when he answered the phone.
“Morning,” I said. “I wish I were waking up next to you. Though I had another man to keep me company.”
“Oh, yeah? Do I need to beat someone up?”
“Depends. Can you measure up to someone who is about twenty-eight pounds?”
David clucked his tongue twice. “I don’t know. He could probably take me.”
“Probably. He does have a voracious appetite.”
“And such a lucky guy, having such a great mom.”
I beamed. It was impossible not to smile when someone called me a great mom. “So, I just remembered that my cousin and aunt are officially moving into town this afternoon. I know that Julian and Jordan will be there to help with moving and likely the rest of my family because that’s just the kind of people we are. Do you have any interest in going?”
“I could be persuaded. How much heavy lifting will be involved?”
“Probably a lot for you and none for me.”
“Seems fair.” David paused on the line for a second. “What are you going to say to your family?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do they know that we’re dating again? We kind of just jetted off for New York. I don’t know if you’ve told them or if it’s going to be awkward.”
“Right,” I said.
For some reason, it had completely slipped my mind that I hadn’t told anyone about this. Everyone had been so busy with the wedding, and Jason’s grandparents had taken him for the weekend. Of course, Morgan knew because David had gotten the time off on Friday. But…my nosy brothers didn’t know.
“Still want to do this?”
“Yes,” I said at once. “If I’m happy, they should be fine.”
“Does that sound like them?”
“It’ll be fine,” I repeated. “I’ll text you the address and meet you after work.”
“Can’t wait.”
My stomach twisted at the thought of how this was going to go down with my family. They had my back. They loved me. I knew that they would do anything for me. But they were also overbearing, and I wasn’t really looking forward to dealing with their judgment. As if they were all perfect.
Pfft!
I hurried home after work to grab Jason and let Jenny off the hook.
“Where are you off to?” she asked, gathering her things.
“My aunt moved into town today with Julian. I’m going over to help them move.”
Jenny raised her eyebrows. “I didn’t realize they were moving this soon.”
“Yeah. I guess they rented a house in the meantime, so they could get started with her breast cancer treatments.”
“How awful.”
“I know. I think Jordan is staying in Vancouver until they can find a replacement for him in the Canadian branch of Wright, and then he’s going to join them.”
Jenny tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Need an extra set of hands?”
My eyebrows rose. “I thought you had test prep.”
“Not until later tonight. I could…go with you.”
“You want to see Julian?”
“Maybe…”
“Grab Jason’s bag, and let’s go,” I said with a laugh.
Only a couple of minutes later, we secured Jason into the car seat, and we drove to the rental property. If the line of cars in front of the house was any indication, they probably didn’t need our help moving, but we parked and entered anyway.
As I’d expected, the house was full of people. My family really knew how to roll out the red carpet. My brothers were busy with helping my cousins carry assorted furniture out of the moving van that had just shown up. Jenny gestured off to the side, as if to say she was going to find Julian, and then left.
Aunt Helene waved when we walked up to where she was seated in a lawn chair. “Hello, dear.” She smiled at Jason. “And hello there, Jason.”
Jason promptly hid behind my leg. He wasn’t shy once you got to know him, but he was definitely in that clingy stage otherwise.
“It takes him a minute to warm up.”
“That’s fine. I’ll be around for a long while, and I would love to get to see him more. He’s adorable.”
“Thank you. How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” Helene said. “Just taking it one day at a time.”
“Well, if there’s anything I can do, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“You all are so kind. I really do regret not coming down here sooner.”
A dark cloud crossed over her face. I wondered if she was thinking about how my uncle Owen had hamstrung her for all those years. He’d left a foul taste in my mouth. It wasn’t a good thing to bring up in front of Morgan either. She would go postal. With good reason.
I spoke with Helene for a few more minutes and let Jason gradually warm up to her. Once she pulled out children’s books, I knew that she had him. By that time, my eyes were drawn to the front door. In walked David, still in his suit from work. I didn’t know how he was going to lift boxes in that, but who was I to complain about a well-cut suit?
Morgan followed in behind him. Her eyes flitted between me and David, and then she winked at me. I laughed, made sure Jason was okay with Helene, and then approached them.
“Hey, Mor.”
“Sutton,” she said. “I see things are in better shape than when I last saw y’all.”
“They are,” I agreed.
“No more lying or hiding?” Morgan asked David.
He shook his head. “No more hiding. This is who I am.”
“Good,” Morgan said. “I get tired of always putting my siblings’ relationships back together.”
I swatted at her arm. “Hey now. Last I checked, I had to put you and Patrick back together.”
“Speaking of,” Morgan said, glancing around the room, “where is my man?”
“He’s in the garage,” Austin called as he hauled in a chair with Landon. “Carrying in boxes and leaving the hard stuff to us men.”
Morgan rolled her eyes dramatically. “I’m sure that’s exactly what’s happening.”
“He’s actually carrying in all the boxes of books,” Landon said. “There’s probably a hundred of them, and they’re all backbreakers.”
“Hope there’s a fucking library, is all I’m saying,” Austin grumbled.
They set the chair down, and my brothers staggered over to us. Landon rubbed his back.
“Should you be doing that?” I asked.
Landon had injured his back in what we all thought was a career-ending move. He’d taken eighteen months off, and he was back at it again. It was kind of a miracle.
“Probably not. I have a clean bill of health, but I’m starting back full-time on the circuit in the fall. Can’t afford any new injuries.”
“Maybe leave the heavy stuff to the other idiots,” Morgan said.
That was about the moment when Austin realized that David was standing there with us.
His brows furrowed, and his jaw clenched. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
David seemed unfazed. “I came to help.”
“Your help isn’t needed.”
I put my hand out between Austin and David before Austin got it in his thick skull to punch David again. “It’s okay. We’re okay here.”
“He lied to you. To all of us.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “He did. But so did Julia, and you seemed to have forgiven her.”
“That was different!”
“Maybe, but this is different, too. You don’t know why he did what he did. We all jumped to conclusions instead of thinking about it reasonably.”
“Maybe you’re not thinking about it reasonably, Sut,” Austin said in frustration. “I told him, if he ever hurt you, I’d kill him. Then, he totally fucked this up, and you’re just going to let him back in your life. It’s hardly been any time at all.”
“First off, I can handle this myself. Second, you do not get to kill people. Nor do you need to threaten anyone. David and I are together, okay? You might think it’s too soon, but that’s just how it is.”
“I want what’s best for you,” Austin argued. “You deserve the best. Not some trumped up Van Pelt masquerading as one of us.”
“Austin, back off,” Morgan said.
“Yeah, I think Sutton can handle this,” Landon agreed.
David still hadn’t said anything. He was standing there, taking the assault Austin was laying on him. I hated that he let Austin say whatever he wanted. He didn’t deserve this.
“Why are you all on his side?” Austin asked in confusion. He looked between his siblings. “What do we really know about this guy? It’s not been very long. Hardly enough time to even verify whatever spin he put on his story. This isn’t the right move.”
“Austin, I appreciate you looking out for me,” I said calmly. “But fuck off.”
“Sut—”
“No, you don’t get to say these things about me or David. Now is not the time. I love you. And, if you love me, you’ll accept that I’m happy. David makes me happy.”
David moved forward then and extended his hand. “I never want to hurt her again. Truce?”
Austin looked at all of our earnest faces. He shook his head and then grabbed David’s hand. “Don’t fuck this up again.”
“I have no intention of doing that.”
I sighed with relief as the tension dissipated between them.
David went off with my brothers to help them bring more boxes inside. And I was left thinking about all the things Austin had just thrown in my face. He wasn’t wrong exactly. It had been fast. David and I had rushed things a bit. But we’d deal with those things later and work it out together. I knew I wasn’t going to fix trust issues overnight. I just hated that I was even thinking about this.
We’d had one blissful weekend, and now, we were back to reality. Reality sucked.