Left Together (38 page)

“He
is, huh?”

“He promised.”

“I
guess he has to then.” She shoots me a look and I shrug my shoulders. “Let’s
get you dressed.”

It
takes some time until we’re all ready, then we place the booster seat into the
back of my truck. Ethan is probably the only one who could fit back there. The
first stop is a small bait shop. Leaving them in the idling truck, I run in to
grab some worms and a kid-sized rod. When I get back outside, I lift the rod
over the seat and hand it to him.

“This
is for you, buddy.”

His
eyes go wide as he takes it from me. “It’s mine to keep?”

“Yup.”

“Wow.”
He sits there, staring at it.

“Thank
you,” Jenna whispers, watching him.

“It’s
no big deal.”

“Maybe
not to you, but to him, it’s definitely a big deal.”

***

Our
fishing trip goes much smoother than I imagined. For only being six-years-old,
Ethan has the patience of a saint. While I explain how to rig the line, how to
bait the hook, and how to cast, the kid listens intently. Only a few times does
he ask a question or need to be reminded of what to do next. When he reels in
his first fish, he’s so excited, he nearly drops the whole damn rod in the
water. I could do this with him every day.

After
the fish stop biting, Ethan and I sit on the small dock. Jenna stays back in
the grass, giving us some space. As we watch the surface of the water for fish
or turtles, I hear him sigh. He looks as if he has something on his mind.

“What’s
up?”

“Did
my daddy love Mommy?”

I
swear he’s six going on thirty-six with the things he says. “He did. He loved
your mom very much,” I answer honestly.

“Do
you think he would have loved me, too?” The tears in his eyes damn near kill
me. My heart breaks in ways it didn’t even know were possible. How fucked up is
it that this innocent little boy never got to meet his dad? I wrap my arm around
his little body and rest my face on his head.

“Ethan,
your dad would’ve loved you more than anyone or anything in this whole entire
universe. Do you have any idea how big the universe is?”

“Really,
really huge. All the way past the stars.”

“Exactly.
He would’ve been so proud of you. You’re an awesome kid.”

“He
would’ve been proud of you, too. You’re an awesome uncle.” Little does he know,
I’m the universe’s worst uncle. I wasn’t there for him the way I should’ve been,
and his dad definitely would’ve kicked my ass for it.

Shortly
after that gut-wrenching conversation, Jenna comes over and suggests we get
some lunch. We pack our fishing stuff into the back of the truck and drive to
the burger place close to the lake. Ethan talks endlessly to his mom about the
fish he caught, describing how to properly get the fish off the hook without
hurting it. She tells him fishing is reserved for when he comes to visit me
because there’s no way she’s ever touching them.

***

We get
to Aunt Grace’s early, but I know she won’t mind. I’m not sure how she manages
not to cry when she sees Ethan, but she holds it back. I can tell she falls in
love with him the second the kid walks into her house. Jenna’s clearly
uncomfortable, but my aunt and uncle make her feel welcome. However, Meg isn’t
as easy on her, but I didn’t expect her to be. Meg may actually never like her.
All I can hope is she doesn’t say something she shouldn’t so Jenna doesn’t let
us see Ethan again. Deep down, I have a nagging feeling something like that
could happen.

There’s
plenty of time until dinner, so Meg suggests we walk Ethan to the park at the
end of their street. My aunt and uncle stay behind to finish getting dinner
ready, but the rest of us head to the park. When we get there, he chases me
around and we play on the slide before I hang back with Jenna to give Meg a few
minutes with him. I watch as she helps him onto a swing and gives him a push.

“He’s
going to be so miserable when it’s time to go home,” Jenna says.

“So
don’t go.” I’m not sure where the hell that came from, but something makes me
go with it. “Stay here.”

“That’s
cute, Evan. You think everyone can just pack up and move to another state on a
whim?”

“No,
but you can.”

“Life isn’t
that simple. Not when you have a child.”

“Why
not? What the hell’s in New York that you can’t have here?”

“My
job. My apartment. Ethan’s school. Everything he knows is there.”

“You
can find a job anywhere. You can have my condo. It has two bedrooms. Hell, I
never even went into one of them. Ethan can go to Shining Stars where Kacie
works. His family is here. I’m sure it would take no time at all for him to
adjust. I’ll help you get on your feet.” The more I try to convince her, the
better the idea sounds to me. If he was here, I could make up for all the time
I lost with him and I’d never miss anything else. “You’d have all of us to help
with him. You wouldn’t be on your own anymore.”

“I’m
not on my own. I have my neighbors.”

“The
same neighbors you have to call and check in with to feel comfortable enough to
leave him?” She doesn’t answer. “Just think about it, okay? Consider how much
easier your life would be and how happy Ethan would be around his family.”

“Did
you talk to your girlfriend before mentioning this crazy ass idea? She may not
like it.”

“Why
wouldn’t she?”

Jenna
glances at Ethan. “What if he transferred to her school and the two of you broke
up? What happens then?”

“We
aren’t breaking up. Ever.”

As if
she knew I was talking about her, my phone vibrates with a text, making my
whole day.

Be
there in 10.

“You
really love her, don’t you?”

“I
do.” I climb off of the bench, resisting the urge to explain how much I love
her. She probably doesn’t really care anyway. “Please, just think about it,” I
say. “Hey! Are you two ready? Kacie’s on her way.”

Ethan
jumps off of the swing midair, scaring the shit out of Meg. She grabs the front
of her chest as if he jumped out of a damn plane. So dramatic. He comes jogging
over to us, unharmed. “Should I ask her when she gets here?”

“Ask
her what?” Jenna wonders what he’s talking about.

“About
our plans for tomorrow,” I say without elaborating. “Let’s make sure she’s in a
good mood first. I’ll give you a thumbs up when it’s time.”

Jenna
shakes her head. “Don’t teach my son your dirty tricks, Evan Pierce!”

I
smirk. “I’m not doing anything his dad wouldn’t do.” She laughs because she
knows I’m right. Besides, this is part of the reason she brought him here.

By the
time we get back to the house, Kacie is pulling in the driveway. Ethan is the
first one to get to her. The little punk hugs her the second she gets out of
the car! She doesn’t even get a chance to close the damn door! The next lesson
I give him will be how to keep his hands off his uncle’s girl. When I get to them,
he’s almost out of breath from talking so fast. In less than a minute, Kacie
gets the rundown of everything we did today. She’s listening to him as if he’s
telling her the most important thing she’s heard all day. As soon as she sees
me, her smile widens even more. The look on her face shows nothing but happiness
and love.

“Okay.”
I pick Ethan up and put him behind me. “My turn.”

“Uncle
Evan! I was telling her something,” he complains.

“Sweetheart.”
I reach for her. She doesn’t hesitate to kiss me. Take that, kid!

“Eww!”
I hear behind me.

“I
agree.” Meg laughs. “Let’s go see if dinner’s ready.”

When I
pull back, Kacie runs her tongue over her lips. “Do I taste good?”

“Always.
How’d today go?”

“Pretty
well, actually. I…um…” I turn back to make sure they all went inside. “I asked
Jenna to move down here. I wanted to let you know in case she brings it up.”

Kacie
looks shocked. “What did she say?”

“She
gave me a flat-out no. I asked her to think about it.”

“That
would be great if she did. You and Ethan could spend a lot more time together.
I think it would be good for both of you.”

“Thank
you.”

“For?”

“Not
being mad. Jenna was saying how sad she thought he was going to be when they
left, and it just slipped out. I didn’t even give it a thought before.”

“You
know me better than that.” Just for good measure, she kisses me again. I end up
pushing her against the side of the car.

“If we
don’t go in the house, I’m going to finish what you started this morning.”

“I
didn’t start shit, but we have to go in.” She grins, knowing what she’s doing
to me. “I have a strawberry shortcake that needs to be refrigerated.”

“Want
to see what I can do with strawberries and cream?” I whisper in her ear.

“I
know what you can do. I was there the last time, remember?” She goes to the
other side of the car to get the white box out of the passenger side.

“How
could I forget?” I mumble, fixing my shorts. Once again, she gains the upper
hand. I hope Ethan goes to bed as soon as we get home tonight.

When
we walk in, everyone is sitting at the table, waiting. My uncle makes a comment
about eating without us if we took any longer, but my aunt cuts him off before
he says something inappropriate in front of Ethan. Thank goodness Kacie has
such a good sense of humor or else she’d never want to be around Uncle Tim.
He’s constantly blurting shit out. On her way to put the cake down, Kacie hugs
Aunt Grace. She tells her it’s been too long since we’ve gotten together and
not to make a habit out of it. Jenna looks away, not wanting to witness their
closeness. Too damn bad for her.

After
eating, Kacie and Meg clear the table. Without being noticed, the two of them
slip into the other room and don’t come back for at least fifteen minutes.
Jenna offers to do something, but my aunt won’t have it. Just like our friends last
night, my aunt and uncle ask Jenna how things are going in New York. They take
it one step further and make sure she knows that they’re here if she or Ethan
ever needs anything. Hesitantly, my aunt asks Jenna if she’s seen my mom, but I
shake her off. She didn’t realize my parents don’t know about Ethan.

Meg
brings the cake over to the table, while Kacie grabs the dessert plates and
forks sitting on the counter. Ethan is sitting on the opposite side of the
table from me, so it’s not easy to get his attention. When he finally looks up,
I give him the thumbs up and he smirks. Hopefully he can pull this off.

“Kacie?”
She looks at him as she sits back down in her chair. I relax my arm behind her
to run my thumb on the back of her neck. “Uncle Evan said if you go with us,
he’ll take me out on a big boat tomorrow. Can we go? Please?!” That’s not
exactly how I told him to say it, but the look on his face is priceless. She
won’t tell him no.

“Did
he really?” She’s talking to him, but turns her head toward me. I shrug, acting
like I don’t know what he’s talking about. “Using a child to get me on the
boat? How do you sleep at night?”

“Easy.”
I take the piece of cake my aunt is handing me and bite my lip to stop myself
from laughing. “I work out first.”

Evan

Once
we were alone last night, Kacie had no problem letting me know exactly how she
felt about me using Ethan to get her to agree to go on the boat with us. All of
the threatening she did proved to be futile because the second she stopped to
take a breath, I pinned her ass up against the inside of the bathroom door and
made her forget everything else she had to say. It wasn’t my fault. I
was
listening to her. I was at least trying to hear the words coming out of her
mouth, but the fucking dress made it too damn hard to focus. Maybe if she
changed her clothes before she started lecturing me, I would’ve been able to…
Oh, fuck it. There was no way I was going to listen to that shit when the only
thing I wanted to do since she walked into the kitchen yesterday morning was lift
the dress and lose myself in her. So that’s what I did.

Jenna
and Ethan are already awake by the time we get downstairs. They’re dressed and
ready to go to the marina. Ethan’s standing on a chair at the counter next to
his mom. He looks up when he hears us coming. “Uncle Evan! I’m making you
breakfast!” he announces with more energy than any normal person should have at
this time of day.

“What?
You know how to cook?” I peer over the counter to see a silver bowl and pancake
mix. Perfect. I’m starving from my workout last night. The little guy shoots me
an insulted look. “Oh, right. I forgot. You’re six. You can do all kinds of
stuff.”

“He
woke me up before the sun because he was afraid you’d beat him down here. It
was almost impossible to keep him in bed for another hour,” Jenna says, kissing
her son on the head. “He wanted to surprise you.” 

“This
is an awesome surprise. Thanks, Ethan.”

He
grins proudly. “Welcome.”

Kacie
ventures over to get us bottles of water. “What do you need me to do, Ethan?”
she asks. It’s kind of cruel how I know she has a bikini on underneath the
cover-up she’s wearing and I can’t even touch her.

“Nothing,”
Jenna tells her. “We got it. You guys have done enough for us.” She actually
smiles respectfully and motions for her to sit down. I’ll admit it. That slightly
impresses me. Kacie hesitantly sits down when her phone dings.

Looking
at the text, she says, “You better hurry up with those pancakes, Ethan. This
kitchen is about to get really crowded.”

“Is it
Jake?” Ethan asks. After playing football with him the other night, he started
to loosen up with Jake. He likes him.

“Jake,
Jade, and Kyle. They’re coming on the…boat with us.” She says the word
boat
like it’s a disease, so I laugh and shake my head.

Knowing
Jade would be pissed if we went out on the water without her, I sent Kacie over
there last night to invite them. There’s plenty of room. Besides, Meg and Luke
are coming, too. Why not make it a party? Aunt Grace and Uncle Tim have plans
and won’t be able to make it. Jade volunteered to make sandwiches, and Kyle ran
to the liquor store. The main reason I decided to do this was to show Jenna all
the people who would love to have Ethan here. I want her to realize he belongs
in Tampa more than he does in New York. If she gets to know everyone, maybe
she’ll feel comfortable enough to move here. Who knows if it will work or not,
but I have to try everything I possibly can before she takes off. I have to at
least give her something to miss when she’s sitting at home.

The
crew from next door fills our kitchen. Jade jumps in to help make additional
pancakes for the breakfast crashers. If you aren’t used to them, they can be
quite overwhelming. There was a time when it bothered me that they would just
pop in, but not anymore. Sometimes, it can actually be too damn quiet without
the bastards around. Kyle even gets Ethan to chat with him for a bit. I really
hope my plan of getting Jenna to see what she’d be missing doesn’t backfire on
me and make shit harder for the little guy. He doesn’t need any more heartache.

At the
marina, Kacie has to be dragged onto the boat by a six-year-old. Literally. Her
face turns green just looking at the water rocking back and forth. She’s
totally psyching herself out. The fact that everyone is making fun of her
doesn’t matter. She’s gripping onto the railing behind her so damn tight, I can’t
pry her off. I make a comment about the time I distracted her, but it doesn’t
do any good. There are too many people around for me to be able to do that this
time. Luke tries bribing her with a chocolate bar. Every time they bring that
shit up, I panic, thinking it has to mean more than what they’re saying. It’s
bad enough the fucker took his shirt off while standing next to her. If she
wasn’t obviously oblivious to it, I’d toss his ass in the bay without thinking
twice. Jake threatens to throw her over his shoulder and carry her on. If he
makes a move to do it, she may bite him. Jade tells her to stop being so
dramatic and get on the fucking boat.

Then
there’s Ethan. He walks over to her, holds out his hand, and asks her to take
him on the boat because he’s scared, too. To my surprise, she lets go of the
railing and reaches for him. As if he planned it, he leads her directly up the
stairs and sits with her on the bench. I hear them talking about something
completely unrelated. He may have never met his dad, but he’s exactly like him.
My brother was the only one who could steal a girl’s attention from me. If
Ethan was any older, I’d be worried.

The
day goes well. The water is fairly calm, so everyone relaxes and has a good time.
Most importantly, Ethan loves it. Once I’m able to get him unattached from
Kacie’s side, I let him steer the boat. Even though he isn’t the least bit nervous,
his mother is. Jenna starts to freak if I turn my head for a second to talk to
someone. Jake sees my frustration and steps in to assure her I’m perfectly
capable of handling the situation. She backs off somewhat; however, I feel her
watching me. Kacie abandons her spot to come over to me. I know she has no
desire to move, but she does it for me. Her arms slide around my waist and
Jenna’s watchful stare becomes a distant memory.

As we’re
docking the boat, my phone rings. Thinking it’s someone from the club, I answer
on the first ring. “Hello?”

“Hey,
Evan. It’s Pete.” I’ve been waiting for this call for over two months.

“Does
this mean you have something for me?” I ask, turning my back to my friends, who
are busy gathering their things and cleaning up. I don’t want them to overhear
this conversation.

“As a
matter of fact, I do.”

“How
does it look?”

“Honestly,
this is the best thing I’ve ever created,” he gloats. “Although, I’ve never
really had your checkbook to work with before.” I can hear him chuckling. “When
do you want to see it?”

My
options are extremely limited at the moment. I have to get Kacie home, but
it’ll take forever to get to our house and then all the way out to Pete’s. The
Quinns would royally fuck up my plans, so that only leaves me with Meg. “I’m
just bringing the boat in. How long will you be there?”

“Not
sure, but if you’re definitely coming, I won’t go anywhere.”

“I’ll
be there. Thanks, Pete.”

“No
problem. See you soon.”

I hate
lying to Kacie, but I don’t have much of a choice. Luke and Meg have gone below
deck so, against my better judgment, I go down to find them. Thankfully, they’re
clothed and not attached in any way, shape, or form. “Hey, Meg. Could you do me
a favor?”

“Don’t
I always?”

“You’re
adorable. Listen. I need to run somewhere. Would you be able to give me a
lift?”

“Yeah,
but what about Kacie?” There’s no doubt in my mind that when she finds out why
I’m going, she’s going to lose her shit.

“She
needs to get home. Will you be ready soon?”

“Whenever
you are.”

“Give
me five minutes.” I run up the steps to find Kacie. She’s already off the boat
and as far away as she can possibly get without being out of sight. “You
couldn’t wait to get on dry land, could you?” I ask, walking up to her.

“This
is going to cost you,” she warns.

“That
should be fun.”
Knock it off, Pierce. Just say what you have to and get away
from her before she figures out you’re not telling her the truth
. “Would
you kill me if I asked you to take Ethan and Jenna back to the house?”   

“No.
Is everything okay?” The guilt tears at my heart. She goes from threatening to
worried in less than a second.

“Yes.
Kylie called and needs me to run by the club really quick. I have to sign
something because Uncle Tim isn’t answering his phone.”

“I
don’t mind going with you.”

“Meg
said she’ll take me, so you can get Ethan home. He looks pretty worn.” For
emphasis, I look over at him. He’s whining for Jenna to pick him up. Awesome
timing. “I won’t be far behind you. I promise. There are a couple more things I
need to do here, then I’ll shoot over there. You won’t even miss me.”

“Too
late,” she whispers, reaching up to kiss me. “Hurry up or I’m going to cook
something for dinner.”

“Fuck.
You really
are
going to torture me for this whole boat thing, aren’t
you?” I tease. Her only response is a nasty look. I figure it’s time to stop
pushing my luck. “Ethan?” He comes right over. “Kacie is going to take you and
your mom home. I have to stop at work, then I’ll meet you there, okay?” He
agrees without hesitation.

“What’s
going on? You guys want to stop somewhere for dinner?” Jade asks, catching up
to us.

“Evan
has to run into Skyline for a minute. How about we just order something and
bring it home?” Kacie suggests.

“That
sounds good. We’ll stop and pick it up. Meg and Luke coming?”

“Yeah,
they’ll be there,” I add. We put our order in with Jade, she calls it in on the
spot, and I send them on their way.

Meg meets
up with me after she and Luke finish locking up the boat. The three of us head
into town. I don’t want to come out and say where we’re going, so I only give
Luke directions. It isn’t until we’re walking through the door that Meg
questions me. “What the fuck was so important we had to come here now?”

Pete’s
voice prevents me from answering. “I didn’t know you were bringing Meg.”

Meg
follows me over to the counter. “Hi, Pete. How the hell are you?” she says.

“I’m
great. Who’s the dude?”

“This
is my boyfriend, Luke. Luke, this is Pete.” They exchange a handshake.

Pete
shakes his head and smirks. “Boyfriend? Man, do you have any idea what you’re
in for with this one?”

Luke
laughs. “I’m learning the hard way, that’s for sure.” He winks at Meg as he
slides a hand to her hip. “But she’s definitely worth it.”

“Duh,”
she says.

“Taylor!”
Pete calls out for his wife. They’ve been running this place together for
years. “Evan’s here and he brought a surprise.” The tall blonde comes out and hugs
Meg. The girls try to gossip, but I don’t want to wait one more second.

“Enough
with the bullshit! Will you let me see it already?!” Taylor smiles at my
impatience and gently places the pink box she’s holding on the glass counter in
front of us. Everyone falls silent as I take it in my hand. Slowly, I lift the
lid and pull out the smaller box from inside. With shaky fingers, I flip open
the hinged lid. Staring back at me is the masterpiece I created in my head. It’s
absolutely perfect.

“Oh.
My. God!” For a moment, I had forgotten my cousin is standing next to me. “Is
that what I think it is?”

Unable
to answer her, I pull the ring out of the box and hold it in between my index
finger and thumb. Down to every last detail, Pete has done everything I asked
him to. The platinum setting. The two carat round diamond. The alternating
diamond and aquamarine stones surrounding it and running down both sides of the
band. The craftsmanship of the setting is exquisite and fit for a queen.
My
queen.

“Ev?”
Meg sets her hand on my elbow. “That’s the prettiest ring I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s
perfect,” I whisper.

“That
must be some girl,” Taylor comments.

Not
removing my eyes from its sparkle, I reply, “She’s not just some girl. She’s
the
girl.”

“You
do realize the shit you got me into, right?” Pete asks. When I look up at him,
he nods to his wife. “She wants me to make her a new ring now. She wants one
just like it.”

I take
a deep breath. “What the fuck will I do if she says ‘no’?”

“You’re
an idiot,” Meg says.

I
shrug. “We haven’t talked about it. I mean, we say forever, but she’s so much
younger than me. I don’t know if she’s ready for this, but my damn heart won’t
let me wait any longer. It’s been torturing me for months.”

“She’s
younger, but that doesn’t mean anything. She loves you, Evan. There’s no way
she’d turn you down. From what I hear, she’s
never
turned you down.”
Meg’s trying to be a smartass to get me to relax. “When are you asking her?”