One Chance(9)

It took another ten minutes for us to say goodbye and once William was finally gone, I grew restless. Knowing William, he would be at the office longer than he said. He was a man that couldn’t leave a task unfinished. I didn’t want to spend my entire day in bed alone, so I took a shower and got dressed. Then I did two loads of laundry, scrubbed the floors and made lunch. William texted around 1:00 to say that he would be home soon. Two hours after that, I opened the door for him.

William scooped me into his arms and buried his face in my neck, sucking in a deep breath. “I’m sorry I was gone so long.”

“Don’t worry about. Now we’ll just have to make up for lost time.” I kissed him long and deep, melting in his arms. When he pulled away, he looked torn.

“While I was at work, I got a call from Bob.”

I tilted my head. “Your brother? Is everything okay?”

I knew that William’s family wasn’t exactly close. They got together for the big holidays, but otherwise William stayed away from them as much as possible. I had met his brother a couple of times and he seemed decent enough. Apparently, he had an eccentric wife that refused to come around the Connor family. I wasn’t sure if that made her crazy or smart, especially considering how badly William’s mother had treated me.

“His wife took off a few days ago. They had a fight as per usual and she left, only this time she never come home. I guess she’s never been gone this long and Bob is starting to worry. The kids are having a hard time and he’s starting to panic.” William ran a hand through his hair and I noticed how tired he looked. On top of the work trouble, he had to worry about his brother’s family now.

“What can we do to help?”

“I told Bob I’d come over and watch the kids while he tries to track down Courtney,” William said. “You should stay here. You don’t need to be involved in this mess.”

“It’s your family,” I said simply. “Family is supposed to be a mess. That’s the whole point of families. You’re my family now, William. Of course I’m coming with you.”

William’s eyes softened and crinkled at the corners when he smiled. “Just when I think it isn’t possible, I fall even more in love with you.”

“I am pretty amazing,” I agreed, kissing the tip of his nose. “Let’s go rescue Bob. You can prove your own amazingness to me later.”

The best thing about William was that he was amazing in so many ways. Amazing in bed, yes, but even more amazing doing something simple like washing the dishes at his brother’s house.

When we arrived at Bob’s house, it was in a state of disarray. William’s niece and nephew, Callie and Carter, were jumping on the couch in the living room and the floor was littered with toys. A closer look revealed that Carter’s shirt had stains all over it and Callie’s pants were on backward. Bob was in the kitchen, cleaning up a puddle of fruit punch. He looked up at us with wide, uncomprehending eyes.

“I can’t do this anymore,” he said, shaking his head. His eyes were bloodshot and the amount of stubble on his face suggested that he hadn’t shaved in days. “I love my kids. I really do. But right now I can’t stand to be around them.”

“We’re here to help, Bob. Whatever you need.” William stooped next to his brother and took the stack of red-stained paper towels from his hand. “I can get this. Go take a shower.”

“I can’t. I need to make the kids their dinner.” Bob looked around the kitchen helplessly. “I don’t even know if we have any food in the fridge.”

“I’ve got this.” Finally, I saw a way I could help. “You go shower, William will wrangle the kids and I’ll take care of dinner.”

Bob opened his mouth to protest again but changed his mind. “A shower would be good. You’re sure?”

“Absolutely.” I was already rummaging in the fridge.

“The kids… they can be a handful.” Bob was unconvinced that William was up for the challenge of entertaining twin 3-year-olds.

William shoved Bob toward the stairs. “Please. I’m bigger than them. And also, if they are really bad I’ll just tie them up.”

Bob chuckled but then his face turned serious. “You’re kidding, right?”

William slapped him on the back. “Go shower.”

Bob Connor’s kitchen was just about as bleak as it can get barring an apocalypse. I found some frozen veggies in the back of the freezer and a box of macaroni and cheese. It was a less than inspired meal, but Carter and Callie cleaned their plates so I considered it a success. After dinner, William turned on the television for them and helped me clean up the kitchen. Bob was using the rare moment of calm to contact some of Courtney’s friends.