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Lucinda had let all of his messages go unanswered and his calls go to voicemail, and it was really starting to piss him off. He wished that they could put all of the negativity behind them and move on. He wanted his sister to be happy not only for him but also for Journey. He saw the sadness in her eyes every time she checked her phone and realized that Lucinda hadn’t called her.
“Hey,” she shouted from the front door. “I’d really love some help. I stopped at the grocery store.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” he said. “I could have gone.” She had been working nonstop at the office, trying to land some of the bigger stories with her boss constantly shooting her down. He was hoping to find a way to make her life easier, but that might require some begging and a whole lot of convincing on his part. He wanted Journey to move in with him. They had been going back and forth between her place and his, mostly spending nights at his townhome since it was bigger than her apartment. Ford could tell that all of the going back and forth was really beginning to take its toll on her.
“I know that I didn’t have to, but I’m practically living here, and I’d really love to help out as much as I can.” He took the two big bags from her and carried them into the kitchen. Journey scrunched up her nose and smiled, “There are two more in the trunk if you wouldn’t mind grabbing them.”
“Not at all,” he agreed. “You know,” he said, “instead of practically living here, why not actually live here?” he asked.
“Are you asking me to move in with you?” she asked.
He shrugged, trying for casual. “Sure,” he said. “I mean, you said it yourself, you are already practically living here. Why not just move in with me so we don’t have to keep killing ourselves going back and forth?”
“Gee, how romantic,” she drawled. “You want me to move in with you to make things easier on us?”
“Not exactly,” he said. “I want you to move in because I’m in love with you and I’m hoping that you’ll want to live with me.”
“Well, that’s better,” she teased. “I mean, more romantic and all that stuff.” She giggled and he couldn’t help his smile.
“I’m glad that you think so,” he teased. “So, how about it? Will you move in here with me and make this thing between us more official?”
“I’d love to,” she agreed. “But what do you think Lucinda will say about us living with each other?”
“I really don’t care what my sister thinks about us living together. Honestly, I’m pissed off at her for not calling us back. It’s been a month and she’s acting like a child.”
“I agree, but it still hurts,” she admitted. “I thought that she’d come around before now.” He did too, but he wasn’t about to admit that to her.
“Well, when she does come around, we’ll tell her our good news. Until then, I just want to concentrate on us. How does that sound?” Ford asked.
“It sounds perfect,” Journey agreed. He was glad that she thought so because he thought it was a perfect plan too—even if he was the one who had come up with it. Having Journey in his life and his space felt right. His life felt right for the first time in a damn long time, and he wasn’t about to let his sister or anyone else ruin that for him.
* * *
Ford was never one to borrow trouble, but after a few months of living with Journey, he was sure that he was going to have to stir up some shit if he wanted to get Lucinda back into their lives. His first step was to call Ty, his brother-in-law, to put their heads together and come up with a plan.
He called Ty and almost choked when he answered the phone saying, “It’s about damn time.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Ford asked.
“It means that our women haven’t been talking for about four months and it’s about damn time we put a stop to it. They’re both being bullheaded,” Ty said.
“My sister is the one who’s not talking to Journey or me. You would think she’d be happy for us since we’re both happy.”
“Are you happy, man?” Ty asked.
“I am,” Ford said. “I’ve loved Journey for a damn long time now, and she’s moved in with me. I’ve never been this happy in my life, and it pisses me off that Lucinda can’t accept that.”
“I get it, but you have to put yourself in her shoes. She’s upset that you and Journey had feelings for each other this whole time and never told her how you felt.”
“That’s because we never admitted how we felt about each other. Hell, I joined the military before to avoid my feelings for Journey. We were both in denial and that had everything to do with not wanting to hurt Luci,” Ford admitted.
“And it probably had a bit to do with the fact that when you left for the Army, Journey was still underage,” Ty reminded.
“But we’re both adults now, and Luci should see that and be happy for us both. This not speaking to us thing is getting ridiculous.”
“I agree, and that’s why I’m glad you called me,” Ty said. “You have a plan?”
“Not really, other than getting Journey and Luci in a room together to talk things out. I’m betting that if we can do that, they’ll find a way to work everything out and then, we can get on with being a happy family, as we should be,” Ford said.
