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“Well, it’s not enough for me.” Damien pulls out another folder and shows me several photos of Brennan with members of the Irish mob. “These people tried to kill us last year. You don’t have a problem with their meeting? These pictures make it look like these two are pretty comfortable with each other.”
“With all due respect — which is dwindling by the minute — moving out here was my chance to do something for the family. My choice. And you promised that I could do it with minimal interference from you. A promise you are not standing by since right now, you are crossing boundaries that we already agreed upon.”
Damien’s face turns red as he clenches his jaw and closes the folder with the pictures. “I think you need to think long and hard about what you are willing to risk to work with this man.”
I watch Brielle for a moment longer before looking back at my brother. “Brennan deals arms and drugs. He works with a lot of different groups and he remains neutral. I’ve never had a problem with him. Building a name for our family in this town is on me, not you. I will do it how I see fit.”
“Life has just settled down for all of us. I don’t know why you insist on working with a man who may only bring us more problems.”
I lean forward and grab another one of the files, opening it up to look at the profit and loss statements. “There is nothing wrong with these numbers. The business that I’m establishing here is bringing in more money than it’s losing. Until this becomes a problem, I want minimal input from you. Preferably, none, unless I request it.”
Damien starts to rant about how this is a family effort but I stop listening. I know that establishing a stronghold on the coast is an effort that I’m making for the family. That doesn’t mean that it is a family effort, though.
I am doing what I can to establish us, and I am doing it the way that makes sense for where I am. Life is slow here, even with the abundance of wealth in the area. Nobody is in a hurry to go anywhere or do anything.
It takes time.
Damien is failing to see the long game that I’m playing. While it hurts, I’m not surprised. While my brothers may be right to label me unpredictable, I wouldn’t risk the stability of my family for a business relationship I wasn’t sure of.
I’m doing this for the family, as much as I’m doing it for me. One day, hopefully, he sees that.
* * *
The sun is settingand the scent of burgers cooking on the grill fills the air. Aria and Sofia walk by, talking with each other, their children all piled into a wagon that Aria drags behind them.
At first, I wasn’t sold on the thought of buying a bunch of toys for my backyard. I don’t know if I’m still going to be out here once the kids are older. Something tells me that I won’t want to move back home to the estate, but I could change my mind.
However, after Sofia visited the first time, I went out and bought all the toys growing kids would need for the backyard. Even if I don’t stay here forever — and the kids are all still very young — they will at least have things to play with when they visit me.
Grace climbs out of the wagon and Spencer tries to hurry after her. I grin at my niece and nephew both abandoning their baby brother and their cousins.
I never thought I would want kids until I met all of my nieces and nephews. When each came and my heart filled with love for them, I started to think about what a family life would look like for me.
While I’m not searching for someone to start a family with — and won’t be for a long time — I’m not opposed to having a family later on in life.
“Miss the chaos?” Matteo asks as he comes over and passes me a beer.
I shrug and take the beer from my brother. “Of course. But do you know how nice it is to have peace and quiet? I love you guys, but between you and Gio, and then all the kids, I don’t know that I went a day without a headache back home.”
Gio holds up his middle finger from where he stands beside the grill, a large smile on his face. “Happy birthday, baby brother, even if you don’t love me enough to come back home.”
I laugh and take a sip of my beer. Tyson races through the backyard, scooping up Grace and Spencer. The kids laugh as their dad spins them around in a circle. Damien crouches beside the wagon, helping Noah and Isabel out of it. Theo sits in the wagon, playing with one of his little books.
“You really are going to miss all of this,” Aria says, coming over and looping her arm around my waist. She leans against my side. “You know, if anyone told me that you and I would end up being close, I would have called them a liar.”
“Well,” I say, my tone teasing as I slide out of her embrace. “You have always been a little brat. You’ve mellowed out since meeting Tyson.”
Tyson smirks and winks at her. Aria laughs and shakes her head, walking over to join Gio at the grill.
“I’ll just spend time with the brothers who like me, then.” She smiles from ear to ear.
My phone starts vibrating in my pocket before I can say anything else to her. I step away to take the call, a pit opening in my stomach when I hear the shaky breathing on the other end.
“Hello?”
“It’s me,” Brielle says. She sounds as if she’s barely breathing. “I know it’s a bad time to bother you but I just wanted to let you know that I got another message. It’s worse than the last ones. I know you’re busy but I just thought I would make the babysitting easier and tell you what’s going on.”
I put more distance between me and my family, heading into the house. “Brielle, you sound like you’re freaking out.”
