A Better Man(98)

Trying to work things out in his head, he went for a run, then to the gym. Then he busted all his hard work to hell by stopping at Sugarbuns and satisfying his sweet tooth with an apricot-­almond breakfast pastry. Halfway through his workout Ryan had called another family meeting, so he also picked up a dozen donuts but only managed to make it home with eleven. Somewhere along the way a glazed old-­fashioned had disappeared.

When he walked into his parents' house, the place was silent. He set the donut box down on the kitchen table and wandered back into the living room, once again looking at the endless array of group photos and the solitary photo of him. One day he'd change that.

Sooner than later, he hoped.

As a start he took his picture off the mantel and shoved it into a side table drawer. He'd rather not be there at all than be there alone. 

Ethan and Declan came into the kitchen as he was making a pot of coffee.

"Don't take this personally, Jordy." Declan snatched a coffee mug off the counter. "But you look like ten miles of a bumpy road in hell."

"Too much stress." Jordan snapped the lid closed on the coffeemaker. "No sleep."

"And now another family pow-­wow," Ethan said, grabbing his own coffee cup.

"Yeah. Hopefully Ryan has some good news."

At that moment Ryan and Riley-­still in her footie pajamas and looking sleepy-­strolled into the kitchen. Ryan handed his daughter a donut on a napkin, gave her a kiss on the forehead, and sent her off to the den to watch cartoons. Judging by the look on Ryan's face, Jordan figured the news was going to be anything but good.

"This couldn't have waited until later?" Jordan asked. "Riley still looks half asleep."

"Yeah." Ryan glanced toward the doorway his little girl had disappeared through. "She's not too happy with me right now. But things need to be discussed so we can start moving forward. And since everyone has lives to get back to, it needed to happen."

Jordan agreed, but his heart still went out to little Riley. Admittedly, until he'd come back home he'd never put much thought into his niece other than she was adorable and she'd gotten the shit end of the stick when her mom took off.

Jordan saw her in a whole different light now. She was a sharp little cookie with a sweet smile that melted his heart. He'd never thought much about having kids. He'd just figured someday they'd come along when he finally decided to settle down. Now he could picture himself with a couple of cute little brainiacs that looked just like Lucy.

"Your little girl deserves a break."

Ryan nodded. "I figured once everything settled down a little I'd take her somewhere like Disneyland to take her mind off things. In the meantime . . ." He tossed a thin newspaper on the table. "Looks like you made a visit to Talk of the Town."

Only after Lucy had already taken a stand.

Jordan lifted the paper and read the headline story that was a retraction and apology. "Yeah." He chuckled. "I threatened to sue her nasty ass."

Ethan cocked his head and looked over Jordan's shoulder at the paper. "Looks like she took you seriously. That paper doesn't have a Sunday edition."

"Told her she wouldn't have any edition unless she apologized. We all have enough to worry about without some mean old biddy trying to stir up a hornet's nest."

"Who's stirring up trouble?" Parker came into the room looking like he might be dealing with a hangover as he reached up into the cupboard and grabbed a coffee mug.

"Jordy single-­handedly took down the wicked witch at Talk of the Town," Ethan drawled while he perused the selection of donuts.

"Not single-­handedly," Jordan said. "Lucy got there before me and took her down a couple of notches before I even got warmed up."

"My kind of woman," Declan said.

"Not your kind of woman," Jordan shot back. "My kind."

His brothers raised their eyebrows because even though back in the day they'd often been in competition, he'd never before claimed a woman.



       
         
       
        

"Duly noted," Dec said, selecting a regular glazed donut from the box. "Hands off the schoolteacher."

"Hey," Ethan complained. "That's the donut I was going to take."

Parker scoffed. "You've been in this family for thirty-­one years and you still haven't learned to act fast when there's food around?"

Jordan chuckled. He'd missed the banter with his brothers. When they'd been younger they'd all tried to prove who was bigger and badder by basically beating the crap out of each other. One or the other had often sported a black eye or a busted lip. Their mother had always shaken her head in disgust and complained about too much testosterone in the house. Now, Jordan realized, he was grateful to have his brothers. And he was grateful to have the chance to get to know them again.