Or what was left of his relationship with her.
The police had been interested in the fact that his place had been vandalized the very night of the fight. Jameson obviously wasn’t smart at all. It was just a matter of finding someone who could place the bastard at the scene, or proof that he’d been there.
“You all right over there?” Evan asked.
“No. Pull over at the next convenience store. I need cigarettes. As soon as I get some, I’m gonna light up five of ’em simultaneously, and inhale those fuckers.”
“Had you quit or something?”
He paused, considering telling him he only hadn’t smoked one yet today, because he honestly didn’t think he was going to get through this day without nicotine. But the truth tumbled out on its own. That was happening a lot lately. “Yeah.”
“Then I’m not pulling over. Hang in there, man.” Evan chuckled. “No wonder you clocked Jameson. You must be climbing the walls.”
“That didn’t have anything to do with why I put that asshole’s lights out.”
“All right. Tell me the story.”
Brian glared over at Evan. “Are you my brother or my prosecutor right now?”
“I’m always your brother, you hotheaded little shit. But you need to exercise better judgment.”
“Really. Let me ask you something, brother. What would you have done if, the day you and Kelsey got back from Hawaii that first time, she had a brother who got in her face and called her a whore right in front of you?”
Evan blew out a whistle. “Damn. I watched her ex-husband call her a bitch the day she caught him and Courtney together. No—he told her to quit acting like a bitch. I lunged, but he jumped back and the girls got between us. Kelsey was in my face yelling at me not to throw everything away over him, because he wasn’t worth it. I thought it totally would be just to feel the bastard’s jaw connect with my fist one time.”
Rock Me
“It did feel pretty damn good. Not so much now, though.” He flexed his fingers, wincing as pain flared through knuckles that were still sore. “You had a hell of a lot more to lose than I did, though.”
“Sounds like you’ve got plenty to lose,” Evan said pointedly. “Don’t mess things up with her by acting like a lunatic. If you want to win her family over, decking her brother isn’t the way to go about it.”
“To hell with her brother. And her family.”
“Okay, how about this, then. I don’t think it’s a good idea to nearly break your drawing hand on a piece of trash like Jameson Andrews.”
“My hand is fine,” he snapped.
“They’re going to come at you any way they can. I don’t think I can get you out of this one.”
“I haven’t asked you to, and don’t do me any favors. I’ll suffer the consequences and like it, as long as it’s for her.” His brother digested that in silence for a while, staring straight ahead at the road. Brian watched him, thinking of a thousand things he wished he’d never done, never said. “Does it freak you out being a dad?”
Evan laughed. “You’re all over the map today, boy.”
“Does it?”
“It makes me feel about a million different things. Mostly insanely happy, but freaked out is definitely in there somewhere… Wait. Shit, Brian. Tell me Candace isn’t pregnant.”
He shrugged. “Anything’s possible.”
“Do you love this girl?” It wasn’t a gentle question. It held all the promise that if Brian gave the wrong answer, Evan was going to pull over and throw him out of the truck.
“I’m fucking crazy about her.”
“Fucking crazy I’ve gathered. But I asked if you love her. I asked if you’ll say the words. I’m talking true, enduring, unconditional, hold-her-hair-while-she’s-puking-from-morning-sickness love.”
“Hell, yes, I’ll say the words! I love her. I told her I love her. I’ll hold any frigging thing she wants me to.”
“Well, you damn sure didn’t talk to her like you loved her earlier. I thought about emasculating you right there in front of everyone.”
“You didn’t hang around long enough to see me grovel. And I appreciate your restraint. I feel emasculated enough as it is.” He reached up and rubbed his face hard. “But I do love her.”
“She’s a sweet girl. Don’t screw up anymore, Brian. And don’t get her pregnant, please? For God’s sake? You are not ready for that level of commitment and respons—”
“Don’t give me your shit, man, it’s not as if I’m trying to. You weren’t either, if I recall.”
Evan grinned. “Kelsey says we’re so in love we can’t help but bond even at the molecular level.”
“You’re not going to be one of those couples who has nineteen kids, are you?”
“Nah. We definitely want at least one more, maybe two, but not right away. Alex is a handful.”
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“You know, as I was sitting in the police department earlier, I had a thought.”
“Uh-oh.”
“At this point, if it weren’t for Candace, I would have no problem moving away with you and Kelsey. Starting over somewhere else…yeah, it sounds pretty awesome right about now. You were right. But now she’s in the picture, and…” He trailed off, frustrated at his own inability to express in words what he was feeling: that no matter what she said to him, or what she did, he wasn’t going anywhere. He could keep his word on that, at least.
“You’ll get things up and going again, don’t worry. Shut down for a couple of weeks or so, get everything functional and you’ll be fine. While you were in giving your statement, I called to have your front windows replaced. They’re going to get to it as fast as they can, so at least everything will be protected from the elements.”
“Thanks, man. For everything. And I’m sorry about all— Shit. I’m just sorry.”
Evan glanced at him, then clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t mention it.”
Brian drew a deep breath, trying to clear out all the gnawing emotion. “Does Dad know?”
“Yeah, I called him too. He’ll help out any way he can. We all will.”
“You guys have given me too much already. I’m starting all over again.”
“Now you’re just being dramatic. Your insurance should cover criminal mischief.”
“That’s great and all, but I still feel like I’m rebuilding the place practically from the ground up, and I want that piece of crap to pay for it, because he can. This was personal, and I want it taken out of his ass.”
“Regardless, we can’t sit around and wait for that to happen. I know you’re pissed, but keep your head on straight.” When Brian didn’t reply, Evan went on. “Everyone is really proud of you, whether you see it or not. And we’re all outraged about this. The damage is definitely in the felony range. If Jameson Andrews did this, they won’t let me work the case but I’ll have a damn good time watching his ass get nailed for every penny.”
They turned onto Dermamania’s street, and Brian’s stomach pitched in sick dismay as the eyesore it now was swung into view. Dramatic, my ass, he thought. Somehow, after being away for a few hours, it looked even worse than before. “You and me both.”
Candace took the week to concentrate on her finals and unwind from the wild events of the prior weekend. Once that was over and done with—and she somehow passed all her courses—she welcomed the lazy days of summer break. She didn’t plan on having too many of them; she spent most of her time poring over want ads and turning in job applications. Even if it was something part time she could fit around her class schedule this fall, having that tiny bit of independence could only be helpful to the soul. And thank God, she got her period. When it was a day late, she’d nearly panicked, thinking that one moment of forgetfulness might’ve had far more serious repercussions than she’d imagined possible. It 172
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might feel awesome and romantic in the moment to think about Brian’s baby growing in her belly, but for twenty-four long hours she’d done nothing but bite her nails and wonder what on God’s green earth she’d do with a kid at this point. Yeah, she’d definitely been scared straight on that one. She’d gone straight to her doctor and gotten on the Pill.
Whenever Brian called, she answered, like he’d said she would. But surprisingly, he didn’t push her. He talked about how Dermamania V2, as he called it, was coming along. She could tell how excited he was to be reopening soon. He and his employees and Evan had been working every day cleaning up the place. Kara and Marco had come down to lend him any equipment he needed until he got his own. Candace was disappointed she didn’t get a chance to see them, but she was determined to stay away for now. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out his strategy. His way of chasing her was giving her the space she’d demanded. It was working better than any flowers, gifts, candy or stalking techniques he could ever have employed, because she missed him like crazy.
She wanted to run to him, and knew she couldn’t. Not yet. There were so many reasons: for herself, for her family where things were slowly getting back to normal. For the fragile relationship with her parents, who seemed to be looking at her in a new light. Despite everything, she found she needed and wanted their support. In the beginning it had been much like walking on eggshells, but now she and her mother had been getting along better than she could ever remember since she was a kid. Seeing Brian again so soon might only tear it all down again.