Fairytale Love - Becca & Brian(42)

Last week, when his dad had decided that he didn't need to listen to his  doctors or even honor the promise he'd made to his son and had come  into the shop, he'd sent Josh home saying that he wanted to give him a  break because his cousin had been working so hard since Brian had been  gone, which was true. Josh had been working like a dog to keep this  place running in Brian's absence, but his dad should not have sent him  home.

He hadn't just overdone it physically, he'd actually over-committed to  repairs that they would have had a hard time completing even if Brian,  his dad, and Josh were all here fulltime. In four days, he'd  overextended them to the point that it would take both Josh and Brian at  least a week to dig out of it.

What was Dad thinking? Brian asked himself as he looked through the  invoices and order forms. There was no way he could have actually  thought he could get all of this done.

His cell phone buzzed and he saw it was a text from Becca.

It read: Can you meet me at The Grill? I guess they've been having  viewing parties for the show, I don't want to face it alone …  xoxo

He'd texted her earlier to say that he would stop by after work. Getting  out of bed this morning and leaving her had been the hardest thing  Brian had ever done. If he had it his way, they'd still be in bed, right  now, and they'd stay there for a week, a month-hell, forever.

Every fantasy he'd had of what being with Becca would be like hadn't  even come close to scratching the surface of what the reality of being  with her had been. It wasn't just the earth-shattering physical aspect.  Brian had never, never felt that connected to another person before.  He'd heard the phrases "I couldn't tell where I ended and they began"  "Two becoming one" and "Losing yourself in another person." But he'd  never experienced any of them-until last night.

When he had been making love to Becca, it had been more than just  sex-more than even making love. Something had happened. It hadn't just  been their bodies that had connected. It had been their souls.

He didn't know how it was all going to work out, how they were going to  work out, but he did know that, after last night, Becca was his and he  was hers. And he didn't give a shit about a TV show or them living in  different states or … anything else. All he cared about was that they were  each other's-officially.

Brian typed: Yeah. Things are a little crazy here. I'll get there as soon as I can. I love you.

For as long as he could remember, he'd told her that he loved her  whenever they got off the phone or when he'd drop her off at the  airport, but he'd never texted it before. It felt like … more.

Before he even set the phone down, it buzzed again.

He picked it up, and it read: I love you, too! Last night was … perfect.                       
       
           



       

A smile spread on his face as a happiness so raw, so full, filled him  completely. Just as he was getting ready to text her back, his office  door opened. He looked up. "Can you give me a-"

He stopped when he saw his mom seated in her wheelchair in the doorway. Tears were running down her cheeks.

Brian's chest tightened and his stomach dropped to the floor. "Dad?" he breathed as he stood.

"No, sorry. It's not Dad." His mom sniffed and waved her hand dismissively.

She rolled in and shut the door behind her, and Brian sat, feeling like  his world had just been shaken. Even though it had only been for a  second, he'd really thought his dad was gone.

"Well, I mean, your dad is fine, but he is the reason I'm upset." His mom continued to sniff as she searched through her purse.

"Here," Brian said as he reached across the desk and handed her a tissue.

She looked up at him and got even more choked up as she took the tissue  and blew her nose. "Thanks," she said, setting the tissue on her lap.  Then, after taking a deep breath, she said, "I'm sorry that I have to  tell you what I'm about to say. I feel horrible for dumping this on you.  It's just I don't know who else to talk to … " She started crying hard  again, and Brian stood and walked around the desk, pulling up a chair  next to her.

"It's okay, Mom. I'm here," he said, trying to comfort her as he rubbed her back while she cried.

Brian had no idea what she was about to tell him, but he did know it was  bad. His mom was not big on dramatics. Trying to prepare himself for  the worst, he waited patiently while she composed herself enough to  speak again.

After what felt like an eternity, she looked up straight in his eyes and  said, "We're going to lose the house. Lose the shop. Lose everything."  She began sobbing again, and she buried her face in her hands.

"What?" Brian had heard the words that had come out of her mouth, but  his brain wasn't processing them as being part of the English language.  He waited to try and see if he could make sense of what she'd said, but  he was lost. "How? What happened?" he finally asked after realizing that  he needed more information if he had any chance at computing what she  was telling him.

"Your dad took out a second mortgage on the house after my surgery.  Then, there have been some complications since then." His mom sucked in a  shaky breath. "Nothing serious. Nothing we wanted to worry you guys  about, but still, there were medical issues that had to be dealt with.  It's all added up. Also, your brother's scholarship covered tuition, but  we're paying room and board. So without telling me, your father decided  to take out a third mortgage with an astronomically high interest rate  once Brittney decided to apply for all the Ivy League schools at the end  of her junior year."

She shrugged and lifted her hands. "I guess he really believed that she  would get in. But then he got sick and he's been trying to move things  around, borrow from Peter to pay Paul, and I guess last month, right at  the time we found out Brit got into Yale, all the financial balls he'd  been juggling came crashing to the ground. That's why he came back last  week even though Dr. Corbin hadn't released him and he'd promised both  of us he wouldn't. Because he was trying anything he could to fix this."

His mom shook her head back and forth as she started breaking down  again. "But there's no fixing this. We're going to lose everything."

"No, you're not, Mom." Brian wrapped his arms around his mom and hugged  her as he made a promise he wasn't sure how he would keep. "We'll figure  something out. We'll figure it out."

Brian's head was swimming. His heart was breaking for his mom and dad.  He couldn't believe the burden his dad had been carrying around with him  for years. Brian knew things had been tight when his mom had been sick,  but he'd had no idea it had gone on for years. And then, this last  year, he had not one, not two, but three mortgages, plus the business.

No wonder he'd taken on so much work last week.

Whatever it took, Brian would fix this. He was not going to let  everything his parents had worked for, and sacrificed for, go down the  drain. He was not going to let them lose everything.





Chapter Twenty-Two





"Can I get your autograph? Oh, and take a picture with you?" a young  girl with a mouthful of braces asked Becca, who was sitting-hiding!-in a  booth tucked back in the darkest corner of The Grill.

"Sure." Becca tried to smile and be gracious as she signed the girl's  napkin and prepped herself to take another picture. "What's your name?"                       
       
           



       

"Penny. My mom drove me here when I found out this was yours and Brian's  hometown, and then we were having lunch here and I told the waitress  that I loved the show and asked her if she knew you and she said ‘yes'  and that they were having a viewing party tonight. But she didn't say  you were going to be here. My mom said we had to leave right after the  show ends to get home. We live in Porterville. So I wanted to come ask  you for your autograph and a picture before we have to go." Penny was  hopping up and down on her heels. Her excitement was palpable.

"Wow. That's quite a drive," Becca commented as she continued signing the small, square cocktail napkin.

Porterville was a four-hour drive to Harper's Crossing. That was quite a  trip just to see where someone lived. Becca felt like the very least  she could do was give the girl an autograph and a picture.

"I can't believe you're actually here! You are my favorite character! Well, girl character at least," Penny qualified.

"Thank you." Becca felt her lips turn up in a smile. It was funny to  hear herself referred to as a "character," but she guessed that was  exactly what she was. Handing the napkin back to Penny, she stood to  take the picture and asked, "Who is your favorite guy?"