It was his night with his parents and he was looking forward to it.
Not just because he didn’t have to find food for himself in the house but also because he wanted to know more about Adriana.
Once he was done with his shower and dried off, he walked naked back to his room and picked up his sweat-drenched shorts and T-shirt and threw them into the hamper. Laundry would be on the list of things to do tonight when he returned.
Dressed and running out the door, he drove to his parents’ home just in time to hear his mother say when he walked into the back of the house where she was putting dinner on the table, “I wasn’t sure if you got held up at work or not. We were going to start without you.”
“Sorry,” he said, walking over and giving her a kiss on the cheek. Then he walked to the fridge for a beer. He didn’t normally drink during the week, but for some reason he wanted one of his cousin Mason’s brews. “Dad, do you want one?”
“Sure,” his father said.
When Wyatt was done pouring two glasses he sat at the table and said, “I actually got out early and took advantage of the time to get a workout in. Guess I cut it closer than I thought.”
“You’re here on time,” his mother said. “We know how it goes. You tend to get held up in surgery more than Sam.”
“That’s because my entire job is in the OR. I don’t see patients or have appointments like he does. I’m only in the office doing paperwork a few hours a week if that.”
“You like it that way,” his father said. “It’d drive you nuts if you had to sit in an office all by yourself for more than the time it took to finish up a task.”
Was that how everyone really saw him? That he couldn’t be alone?
He supposed it was true to an extent. Even when he was home, he found a reason to not sit around if he didn’t have things to do.
Give him chores or work, sure, he’d stay home and do it. But sit in front of the TV and watch a show alone? Not usually.
Even at the gym earlier, he was talking with people the entire time he was working out. If not, just being around watching the action was enough to not feel like he was by himself.
Now that all his male cousins were dropping like mosquitoes out of an electric lamp, he didn’t have as many options for catching a game with someone or going for a drink. There was always Ryder, but he normally had a date.
Now, Ryder, he truly couldn’t be alone. Wyatt could at least suck it up for the short term if he had to.
“I wasn’t meant to sit behind a desk for my career. If I weren’t doing this, I’m not sure what I’d do,” he said.
“You would have stayed in the medical field,” his mother said. “It’s your love. For as much as you goof off, you take that one thing seriously. This was always the field you’d be in and you know it. Failure had never been an option.”
It was good to know his parents understood him so well.
“You’re probably right. So many people thought I couldn’t do it or wouldn’t last. You know I had to prove them all wrong.”
His father shook his head and picked up a steak to put on his plate, then passed the dish to him. He speared one and slapped it down. Red meat was going to hit the spot tonight.
“You are who you are, Wyatt,” his father said. “When you behave the way you do, you have to answer for it at times.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. “I don’t behave badly,” he argued.
“Your father didn’t mean it that way. He just meant that you liked to have fun. You liked to terrorize your sister and brothers, even your cousins. Everyone knew you for those things. When you said what you were going to college for, most thought you were joking. So from day one, you’ve had to prove everyone wrong.”
“Point taken,” he said.
He had no one to blame but himself, he knew that. But he’d thought he was beyond proving himself.
“So what else have you been up to?” his mother asked.
“Not much. I had lunch with Sam today and we talked about the wedding a little. He seems excited more than nervous.”
“Why ever would he be nervous?” his mother said.
Wyatt shrugged. “No clue. I just figured he would be, but I got the little lecture about letting go of shit from him in order to be happy.”
He scooped the potatoes on his plate and accepted the dish of carrots next. “Are you not happy?” his mother asked.
“I’m happy. I’m always happy,” he said. “I’m not sure what Sam was smoking.”
“It’s called love,” his father said, letting out a laugh. “When you find it someday you’ll understand. Are you feeling out of sorts because your brothers are engaged now?”
“Not really. I mean I thought it was fast with Kara, but not nearly as fast as it was with Noah. Though Paige is great. Sebastian is a riot. I told him I’d take him to a basketball game in a few weeks. I got two tickets and thought I’d ask one of the guys, but figured Sebastian would like it.”
“I think he’d love it,” his mother said, reaching her hand over and laying it on his. “That’s a very sweet thing to do. He looks up to you in an odd sort of way.”
“What’s so odd about it? Other than I know it annoys Noah.”
“Which is why you are asking, isn’t it?” his father asked. “To tweak your brother?”
“That’s just a nice side
