Chapter Eight
More Than Six Months Later
Mike
I’d been home for a while now, long enough for a lot of things to change. One of the biggest things was that Rhett was now a father. AJ was the best things to happen to him. She’s a great girl, and though it wasn’t easy to get where they were, it was worth it. She was part of the family—our big, crazy, messed-up family.
We liked to tease her about when she actually got pregnant. Well, I liked to tease her. So many times, I ran interference so she and Rhett weren’t found going at it in the unfinished apartment above the garage. It was finished now, but during the time of remodeling, there was a time, or ten, that I’d distracted Reed or Colton, sometimes, even my dad. Each time, though, sweet AJ gave it away. If it wasn’t her embarrassed blush, it was that fact that she hadn’t verified before exiting if she had her shirt on backwards or even inside out. The girl was a mess, and when she got nervous, she talked a mile a minute. It was always a dead giveaway. She couldn’t keep a secret. And she had absolutely no future in acting.
After all the heartache and joy, though, we all found ourselves pulled together once more to share a beautiful day.
We all stood around the bed, watching Rhett and AJ show off their son. He was so small with so much black hair. The women cooed, and the men stared on, proud of Rhett and the man he’d become.
When I left more than nine years ago, he was such a little shit. Rough and crazy, always trying to find the next round of trouble. Now here he was, a man, a father.
I’d seen some shit over the years, things that had made me question the purpose of life. I’d seen suffering and torture, and I would admit those times made me harder. They’d made me distant and callous even. But being back in Brooklet with my family, life once again had meaning for me. My family wasn’t blood relation to me, but the bond we all shared was unbreakable. We were solid, strong, and I was proud to be part of it. But though I was surrounded by so much love and support, it never really dulled the ache I’d felt from the loss of my own parents.
Did I want a life like Rhett now had? No, I was happy enough to see those around me experience those joys. I wasn’t the kind of guy who enjoyed movies on the couch or picnics near the water. I was more of a search out the woman who wanted nothing more than a roll in the sheets and move on kind of guy. Detachment—it was who I was, who I wanted to be. It was easier that way.
“He looks just like you did, Rhett,” my aunt Kori announced, and the tears rolling down her cheeks made my throat feel raw. I watched as she and Rhett shared a knowing glance, and I understood what they were thinking. Rhett was the spitting image of his biological father, Blake, who this little bundle was named after. They’d lost him on the same day Rhett was born. So mentioning that Blake looked like Rhett meant he looked like Rhett’s father too.
It was a bittersweet moment they shared, and Reed understood as he wrapped his arm around Kori’s shoulder and pulled her in close. He’d whispered something near her ear that made her smile just before he pressed a kiss to her forehead. I’d admired the guy, always had. He loved Kori so deeply that he’d openly welcomed the memory of Blake, Rhett’s father, in his home too. There was no room for jealousy, only acceptance.
“What’s his middle name?” the dark-haired beauty, also known as Raven, at AJ’s side asked.
“Reed,” Rhett announced, and all eyes turned toward Reed. “We wanted him to be named after the two men who gave me life. One who I feel like is watching over me, though he can’t be seen, and the other who watched over me and showed me how to be the man I am today.”
There were only a few times I’d ever seen Reed choked up. Once was when my mom was rushed to the hospital after I had to make a call to 911 when she was pregnant with my brother, and the second time was when Grace was born. Yet, there he stood, his nostrils flared as he attempted to fight the tears in his eyes, staring back at Rhett.
“I’m honored.” He’d finally been able to speak the words before he stepped forward to hug Rhett and offer AJ a kiss on the cheek.
“I knew you weren’t as closed off as you tried to convince everyone you are.” I looked away from Reed and Rhett and locked eyes with Raven, her bright green eyes shining with her own emotions. “I think I may have just got a glimpse of the soft guy inside you."
“There isn’t a soft thing about me, sweetheart. You’re mistaken.” I watched the way her eyes roped over me, slowly downward, then back up before she found my gaze once more.
“You put up a good front, Mike.” She took a step toward me, squaring off with me. “But you’re not fooling me. There’s a side of you that I think you keep hidden, but I may be tempted enough to show you that the right girl can bring it out.”
“So you’re the right girl?”
She shrugged. “I may be. Or I may just be a glutton for punishment.” She bit her lip, and I did my best to be unaffected. Her forwardness, I’d admit, had always been somewhat of a turn-on. The woman had no
