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“Good to see you too, buddy.” Xavier grabs me in a man hug that we didn’t get a chance to at the airport, as always with his sarcastic laugh.
“Now let me see what’s in this bag. I hope you like presents,” I tell the kids. There’s a squeal from them both as I start pulling out the merchandise.
“Great, I just dropped in the favorite uncle ranking,” Xavier says, rolling his eyes at me. “You’re not even family and you’ll be above me now.” We all chuckle as the kids are already gone running to show off their presents. “So where is my present, big fella?”
“My presence is your present.”
Xavier groans as we are walking up the stairs onto the big outside deck where everyone is assembled. Zach and his dad Mitch are on the BBQ grilling up some meat. A few of the women are missing, so I’m guessing they’re inside getting the rest of the food prepared. I make the rounds to greet everyone, then I head inside to finish saying hello.
Following Xavier in through the back door, inside the kitchen is Zach’s mom Sophia, Alesha, and Lilly, who is talking flat-out, which is nothing unusual the few times I’ve met her. Huddled in the corner are Nat and Zara, whispering, and as I approach, Zara looks at me and nudges Nat with her elbow. Not discreet at all.
Finally, I make it around the room to them.
“Hi, Zara, Nat. Nice to see you again.” They both turn around to face me. Nat tries to stand up tall and put up her armor.
Leaning forward, I kiss Nat on the cheek and pull her in for a light hug, like I’ve done for years. The same as you do with any lifelong friend.
Except this time, she stiffens at my touch, which makes me want to say so much, but instead I hold it inside until the timing is right. I’ll give her the space she is craving right now.
As I’m backing away, everyone starts filing in through the doors with Zach leading the way. He has a tray full of cooked meat that smells sensational. I should be on the chicken breast and veggies at the moment, but there is no way I will be turning down a lunch this good.
Sophia is fussing at everyone to take a seat, saying she will deal with the food. She is the kind of mother who is used to dealing with a big family, and the smile on her face tells me how much she loves it. No one dares to say no to her, so I find myself sitting down next to Xavier, and Nat gets pushed into a seat across from me. The look on her face tells me she’s not happy about it, but she is not the kind of person to make a fuss or let anyone know that there is anything wrong.
I can’t help it, though, once again I’m watching every movement she makes. I can feel my body tensing with how close Kane is to her, leaning in to whisper something. I want to launch across the table and pull them apart. Fucker, keep your hands off her. Lilly is obviously yours, so leave Nat out of your games.
My face must be saying everything I can’t, judging by the way he pulls back after her reply. We share a look where he tells meIt’s all cool, man. I’m backing away.
Glad you got the message. Don’t get me wrong, I like Kane, he’s a good guy, just not when he is so close to Nat.
Lunch came and went. We ate, Nat with her sad face and head down every time I looked at her. Kane getting pulled away by Lilly and the kids, giving me the opening I need.
I have already spoken to Xavier and got him on board with what I’m about to do. Well, I might not have given him the whole story, but what I did tell him was enough to have him agreeing with whatever I proposed.
Nat stands as I approach her, and I can tell she’s trying to find a reason to ignore me.
Holding her on the elbow, I direct her toward the back door with determination, not really giving her a chance to say no.
“We need to talk… alone. Don’t even try to argue.” Her arm slackens a little the moment she gives in and knows that I’m not up for any debate with her.
Trying to survey my surroundings quickly, I think around the side of the garage past the cars might be a good spot. It needs to be somewhere no one can see us or hear us. Especially if the voices get raised a little, which is on the cards once I lay all this out.
Nat hasn’t said a word the whole time we’re walking until I stop under the beautiful old tree beside the wall of the shed.
“I’ll give you five minutes and then I’m walking away,” Nat spits out at me, the same as always. The sassiness is her mechanism to deflect me.
“Nice to think you’re in control here, Nat. You need to stand there and listen to everything I have to say. We will walk away when I say we’re done.” The look of shock on her face tells me she isn’t used to this side of me. Fuck, if only she would let me really show her my love for control.
I wait for her to come back at me, but instead, she’s standing there not saying a word and for once doing as I asked her to.
“I’m sorry if I freaked you out last weekend. You must know that’s how I feel about you, though, Nat. I mean seriously, I’ve told you enough times over the years, even when you didn’t want to hear it. But that is not what I got you out here to talk about today.” Pausing, I wait for her to react. Her cheeks are pink and no words are coming from her lips.
“I need your help, Nat. I know this will be hard for you and I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate. I’ve spoken to Xavier, and he agrees it needs to be you.”
“Why are you talking to him about us? I can’t believe you did that…”
I place my finger over her mouth before she winds up into a big rant about something that isn’t true. “Stop talking for once and listen.” Her eyes look at me with fire, but she does as I’m asking.
Dropping my finger from her lips, I continue. “My shoulder is not okay. I don’t know what I’ve done but I need help to fix it. I can’t tell the team, and you and now Xavier are the only ones who know about it. Xavier has organized for me to get a scan at the hospital this afternoon under his name with a doctor he trains. She understands the need for discretion.” I take a breath to make sure she is still with me.
