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I get Raelynn to EJ’s, introduce them, and once I make sure she’s comfortable, I leave. All I want to do is cut out early and see Brayden, but I can’t. I’m the only one who teaches the classes, and there’s one tonight. Maybe seeing only one guy again won’t be so hard. Brayden could make it worth my while in more ways than one; the truth of that hums in my veins. I should call Mom and give her the happy news that just maybe I’m finally settling down. At the very least, I’m returning to monogamous relationships.
The phone is in my hand and her contact is pulled up when the reality of her death hits me all over again. Calling Mom is no longer possible.
“Excuse me, can you help me?”
I glance up at the customer, happy to be needed for the moment.
By the time I make it to Brayden’s, I want to get Otis and go home. While work kept me busy, my thoughts lingered on my mom. I should check on my dad at some point, too. Not today, though. I knock on Brayden’s door, hearing Otis happily barking on the other side. Brayden’s smile slides off his face when he sees me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Where’s his stuff?” I ask as I step inside and pet Otis. His happy-to-see-me face cheers me up slightly.
“You’re leaving?”
“Yeah? Can your surprise be postponed?”
“Not really.” He grabs my hand and pulls me against him. Otis wiggles between our legs in an attempt to separate us. “What’s wrong, Deanna?” My eyes betray me by watering and he guesses, “Your mom?” I nod. “Then why don’t you stay and let’s see my surprise. Don’t you want a distraction instead of going home to be alone?”
I don’t know which I’d prefer.
“You can be alone tomorrow,” he adds.
“Okay, fine. Better be a good surprise.”
He releases me so I can walk Otis before we leave. I worry about leaving him in Brayden’s house because he may get bored and destroy something. Let’s face it: Brayden’s things are nicer than mine, and I am not in the position to replace anything that Otis may ruin.
“Are you sure you want to leave him here?” I ask. “He’ll likely tear something up.”
Brayden nods and grabs a bag I hadn’t noticed from the end table. “I’ve closed all the doors, so he’s limited on where he can go. Plus, here’s a bunch of toys for him to play with. I’m leaving the TV on for him too.”
Hm. I hadn’t thought of doing that. I wonder if it’ll actually curb his boredom to have sounds constantly on. Doubtful, but one can hope.
Brayden dumps the bag of toys, Otis gets to work, and we leave for an unknown destination. I stare unseeing out the window. What would Mom think of Brayden anyway? With the way he looks right now, she’d think he was a hoodlum. She may like the fact that he has money. He’s a pro athlete, so I’m assuming he makes a very good living. His house and his vehicles are examples of this. We never talked about guys, so I honestly don’t know what she would say. Was she hoping for grandchildren?
The thought makes me shudder. Definitely not ready for that any time soon, though a trickle of guilt burns my heart for not giving her any at this point in my life. I could only imagine what she’d say if I did have a kid. She didn’t think I was competent enough to run my grandma’s shop; I highly doubt she’d think I could raise a kid. Hell, I’m not certain at this point I could do it. Bad decisions are still a good friend, if not my best friend.
Then again, Mom may be proud that I snagged a pro athlete. She might even try to push me to start seriously dating him and get him as a boyfriend. She may just think this was the smartest thing I’ve ever done. Somehow, I doubt that. I’ve successfully kept the quilt shop up and running with only one major mistake, and she could never acknowledge the success, only the mistake. There’s no way she would be proud that I found a good man with or without a career like Brayden’s.
“Deanna, we’re here.”
I shift my gaze out the windshield to see a house. Not just any house in the bright moonlight. A house that looks like it’s about to fall over and die. He wants me to walk inside that thing? Hope not. It might collapse on us! Okay, maybe I’m overreacting, but the house is most definitely, without a doubt, in rough shape. “What the hell is this?” I ask.
“Come on.” Brayden gets out of the car without answering me. I hurry to follow along, grabbing the hand he holds out for me to take. He turns on the flashlight on his phone. “Careful of the first two steps,” he says as we reach the porch. That’s because they are broken.
“What kind of hell is this? Are you murdering me here? Is the house going to murder me?”
Brayden laughs. “This is my next project.”
“What?” I’m too busy carefully stepping over the broken steps and worrying when the third one groans from our weight to remember his hobby.
“I buy houses, fix them up, and sell them, remember?”
“In this state?” I didn’t realize he bought houses that were so bad off. “Shouldn’t this house be demolished? How is it not condemned?” But as we step inside, I see that the inside isn’t as bad as the outside looks. “How is this supposed to cheer me up? The house is depressing.” Then, I think of something else. “You’re not planning on having sex with me here, are you? I mean, I’m crazy, but I ain’t that crazy.”
Brayden laughs more heartily now. “No. This is part one of the surprise and the sex will come later. Let me show you around.”
He not only shows me around, but sweeps me up into his vision for what he wants to do for this place. He clearly knows what he’s talking about. I don’t know when he had time to buy a house or to think about all the things he wants to do, but I like this side of him.
