Starting Over (Treading Water Trilogy) (34 page)

“Oh, shut up,” she cried, throwing her arms around him.

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes,” she said, choking on a sob. “That’s a yes.”

On the flight from Miami to Boston the next day, Colin took her hand to admire the way the ring sparkled on her finger. His ring. His fiancée. He still wanted to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

“It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.”

“I’m glad you like it. I was hoping you weren’t one of those girls who always dreamed of picking out her own ring.”

“I didn’t have dreams. I never saw any of this happening to me.”

“Well, start dreaming because it’s become my sole purpose in life to make you happy.”

She pressed her lips to his neck, whispering, “You’re doing a very good job so far.”

“Meredith, honey, there’s something I want you to do for me and for us, but mostly for you.”

Her eyebrows knit with curiosity. “What is it?”

“I want you to see Kevin.” He stopped her protest with a finger to her lips. “I want you to see him and hear him out so you can put it behind you once and for all. I’d be right there with you.”

“I don’t know, Colin. Just the thought of it makes me sick.”

“So let’s do it and get it over with. I don’t want you worried all the time about running into him somewhere. Let’s do it on your terms.”

“You’d really go with me?”

“Of course I would.”

“I’m afraid…”

“Of what, sweetheart?”

“That it’ll cause a setback. I feel so good now, and it took me such a long time to get here.”

“I wish I’d met you years ago.” He hated the idea of all the time she’d spent alone and afraid.

“I wouldn’t have been ready for you then.”

“No matter what happens, I’ll be there for you. We’ll get through it together.”

She mulled it over for another moment. “Okay,” she finally said. “I’ll do it for you.”

He wanted her to do it for herself, but he’d take what he could get. Tugging her closer to him in the wide first-class seat, he hoped he was doing the right thing by encouraging her to see Kevin. “So what kind of wedding do you want?”

“I want the fairy tale.”

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Didn’t you just say you hadn’t given it any thought?”

“I’ve had almost twenty-four hours to think of nothing else.”

He groaned. “My mother’s going to love you.”

“Sweet Mary, Mother of God,” was Colleen’s reaction to learning that another of her sons was engaged. “Are you boys trying to put me in an early grave?”

Colin laughed. “I swear it’s not a conspiracy, Mum.”

“She’s a beautiful girl,” Colleen said, glancing across the room to where Dennis was doing his best to charm Meredith.

“I know.”

“It’s kind of fast, though, isn’t it, love? You’re sure?”

“Do you remember how upset I was when Nicole called off our wedding?”

“Of course I do. That was an awful time for you, for all of us.”

“All I can think about now is how grateful I am to Nicole for not marrying me. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d met Meredith when I was married to someone else. She’s the one for me. I knew it right away.”

She hugged him. “I’m happy for you, love. I just can’t believe my boys are finally settling down—all at once.”

“Except for Aidan.”

She shook her head with dismay. “I don’t know what we’re going to do about that poor boy.”

Colin smiled at her description of his forty-year-old brother. “He’ll land on his feet.”

“I hope you’re right. What’s her family like?”

“I’m meeting them tomorrow night.”

“You brought her here first,” Colleen said with a satisfied smirk.

“I told her we had to come here first because if my Mum didn’t like her, I couldn’t marry her.”

Colleen swatted him. “Don’t give me that malarkey, Colin O’Malley! You didn’t say any such thing.”

“Um, okay. If you say so.”

Chapter 31, Day 100

Brandon marked his one-hundredth day of sobriety in mid-May by presiding with Daphne over Mike’s sixth birthday party in the backyard at his house where they were living during the renovations to the apartment. It took a crane, a flatbed truck, and six men, but Brandon managed to move the playground from the apartment building to his yard. Between the O’Malley clan, Alan’s family, and Mike’s friends from school, almost thirty kids had taken the place over for the afternoon.

That night Brandon tucked Mike into bed and read her two of the books she’d gotten for her birthday while Daphne cleaned up.

“So what was your favorite part of the party?”

“When you almost dropped my cake,” she said, choking on a giggle.

“It was my first time! A rookie mistake.” He pushed his lip into a pout that sent her into hysterics. “Good thing Meredith was able to grab it before I lost it, huh?” The save had earned his future sister-in-law a permanent place in Brandon’s heart.

Mike nodded, still convulsed with laughter. Just when he thought she couldn’t get any cuter, she’d lost her two front teeth in time for her birthday.

“Are you done laughing at me yet?”

She wiped the tears from her eyes. “Almost.”

“Brat,” he muttered, poking her ribs and sending her into a new fit of giggles.

When she finally settled down, she reached for his hand. “Thanks again for the party and the bike.”

“You’re welcome. What’s the rule?”

“Always wear the helmet,” she mimicked.

“Are you sure you want to be making fun of me again?” he asked, threatening to tickle her.

She tugged playfully on his hair. “Brandon, what’s a
coholic
?”

“Huh? A what?”

“A
coholic
.”

“Oh.” He felt like he’d been sucker punched when he realized what she was asking. “Do you mean an alcoholic?”

She nodded.

His stomach twisted with anxiety. “Where did you hear that word?”

“Josh told me you were a
coholic
, but he said I don’t need to be worried about it because you’re not mean anymore.”

All the air left Brandon’s lungs in one big exhale as he said a quick, silent prayer for guidance. “An alcoholic is someone who can’t drink things like beer and wine the way other people do because they can’t stop once they start. It’s a disease.”

“Can you die from it?” she asked with big solemn eyes.

“People who don’t stop drinking can die from it, yes.”

“But you’re not going to die, are you?”

Overwhelmed by her concern, he fought the urge to weep. “No, baby. I don’t drink alcohol anymore. Do you know those meetings I go to in the mornings?”

She nodded.

“The people I see there are alcoholics, too, and they remind me of all the good things I have in my life now—like you and your mommy—so I won’t drink anymore.”

“Can I come with you sometime?”

“When you’re a little older, I’d be happy to take you.” He waited, giving her a chance to process it all.

“So if you stopped drinking, then you aren’t an alcoholic anymore, right?”

“I’ll be an alcoholic for the rest of my life. It’s not something that goes away. You just learn to live with it.”

“You aren’t going to drink again, are you?”

“I don’t plan to, and I hope I never will.”

“Were you mean like Josh said?”

“Sometimes. I didn’t want to be mean, though, because I love Josh and his brother and sisters, but the disease made me do a lot of things I’m not proud of. I’ll never be mean to you, though. I promise. Do you believe me?”

She reached for him. “I believe you.”

“Good.” She hugged him for a long time before he kissed her good-night. “I love you, squirt.”

“Love you, too.”

He turned off the light and found Daphne waiting for him in the hallway.

She held out her arms to him. “Are you okay?” she whispered.

“Yeah.” He let her wrap him in her love. “She kind of knocked the wind out of me for a minute there.”

“When I heard what you were talking about, I didn’t know what to do. You handled it so well, Brandon.”

“Do you think so? I was freaking out.”

“You did great. Between birthday cakes and life lessons at bedtime, we might just be making a daddy out of you.”

“Don’t forget the hazardous duty points for the head bump and the puking.”

She laughed softly so they wouldn’t disturb Mike and reached up to bury her hands in his hair. “I love you,” she said, bringing him down to her.

“
Mmm
,” he said against her lips. “Me, too.”

After they restored order to the house, Daphne said she had some work to do for her client, so Brandon took his cell phone to the back deck and called Aidan.

“Hi, Brand. How’s it going?”

“Well, I survived a six-year-
old’s
birthday party today.” Brandon hated the flutter of anxiety he still felt at the sound of his older brother’s voice. He hoped it would fade in time.

“Sorry I missed it.”

Brandon chuckled. “No, you’re not. So how are you?”

“Hanging in there.”

“How about Colin, huh? The two of them in one week! Can you believe it?”

“Must be something in the water down there. You guys are falling like dominoes.”

“I won’t be far behind them.”

“Really?” Aidan asked, laughing. “Mum will have a total meltdown.”

“Hey, she’s been after us to get married for years.”

“I don’t think she meant all at the same time.”

They shared a laugh, and Brandon relaxed a bit. “Listen, the reason I called is I’m looking for some advice.”

“Sure, shoot.”

Brandon outlined his idea for a restoration and renovation arm of O’Malley & Sons. “I’m wondering if you think the market would be as good here as it’s been for you in Vermont.”

“Definitely. New England is full of old homes in need of updating.”

“How did you get the ball rolling once you decided to do it?”

“I never really decided. I did a house for a friend, and he told someone, and the next thing I knew, I had a business. Once you do a couple of houses, I’m sure it would be the same for you.”

“Do you think the others will go for it as part of O’Malley & Sons?”

“They’d be foolish not to. It’s a gold mine if you do it right, and I’m sure you will.”

“I’m meeting with them in the morning to pitch it to them. Would you be willing to be on the phone during the meeting? Just in case they have questions I can’t answer.”

“I’d be happy to.”

“Thanks, Aidan.”

Brandon was nervous, even though he knew he shouldn’t be. After all, it was just his father, his brothers, and his brother-in-law in the room. But they’d be determining his future in the next hour or so, and he hoped it would include O’Malley & Sons. With a potential custody battle looming, it wasn’t the time for Brandon to be quitting his job. However, if he’d learned anything in his one hundred and one days of sobriety, it was that he couldn’t fake it anymore. This was what he wanted to do, and one way or the other, he’d find a way to do it.

“I’ve asked Aidan to join us by phone,” Brandon said, dialing Aidan in on the conference room phone.

“Why?” Colin asked.

Aidan had signed over his shares in the company to his siblings years ago and had no say in its operation.

“I’ll explain in a minute,” Brandon said.

When Aidan answered and they’d had a chance to say hello, Brandon cleared his throat. “The reason I asked you all to meet with me today is I want to propose a new branch of O’Malley & Sons, focused on the restoration of old houses, like what I did at Da’s apartment building, and the renovation of newer homes that need updating.”

When no one raised an immediate objection, he continued. He’d done his homework and had statistics on the number of homes built on the mid and lower Cape before and after 1960, and a list of the services he planned to offer. “Aidan agrees there’s a market for it here, and he thinks that once we get a few under our belts, we’ll benefit from referrals.”

“Let me add one more thing,” Aidan said. “I’ve been seeing a real trend up here of people buying their second or third homes. They’ve got more money than they had the first time around, and they want to tear out the old kitchens and bathrooms. They’re willing to pay, and Brandon knows what he’s doing. Plus you’d have the added benefit of name recognition.”

“Do you plan to go it alone or would you want a crew?” Declan asked.

“By myself until I’m turning a profit,” Brandon said. “If I stay with the company to do this, my salary would be enough of a drain until it’s profitable. I wouldn’t expect you guys to take a further hit by paying a crew.”