Page 53 of Rescued by the Single Dad

Brooke’s mouth watered.

Jagger’s lips split into a sexy grin. “Yeah, they’re amazing. Wyatt’s own magic recipe.” He lifted one thick shoulder. “With Clint’s beer, of course.”

She opened up the container, and her belly gurgled when the delicious aroma of Cajun spices, garlic, and beer wafted up her nostrils. Picking up a piping-hot fry, she took a bite and moaned, closing her eyes and rolling them nearly to the back of her head.

“Yeah, that’s everyone’s reaction the first time they try them.”

Jagger took a seat in the low wooden chair with the dark green cushions adjacent to her. He crossed the ankle of his right leg over his left knee. His khaki shorts slid up his thick thigh, dusted with dark hair, revealing quite the tan-line. It made her smile.

“How are you doing? I heard your brother is on his way. That’s great.”

She finished her fry and nodded. “Yeah. It is. I’m relieved he knows I’m not dead.” She scoffed and shook her head. “Never thought I’d say those words. But ... him knowing I’m still alive and not grieving me is a bigger relief than I ever would have thought. To know he’s not alone is huge.”

“You guys are close, then?”

She nodded again. “Yeah, I mean, it’s just the two of us. Even though Rocco lives in Brazil, we talk and text all the time. I try to fly to Rio at least twice a year to visit, too.”

“What about your parents?” It didn’t look like Jagger had chatted with Clint, because his question came innocently. His blue eyes were wide with curiosity behind his glasses. No hidden secret agenda lurked beneath. He wasn’t trying to get her to let down her guard.

Nobody knew about her parents. And she intended to keep it that way.

She merely shrugged and picked up another fry. “Not in the picture. Not close.” She needed to change the subject. “What about your parents? Obviously, the five of you are close, but where are your parents?”

Jagger’s lips formed a thin line as he smiled grimly. “Mom died a few years ago from Parkinson’s and Dad is in a long-term care facility in Seattle for early on-set Alzheimer’s. He was already gone—mentally ...” He pointed to his head, “When Mom went. So he still asks about her a lot, which is tough.”

“Oh, I can just imagine. I’m really sorry.”

“Thanks. We take turns going to see him, since when we all go, it’s overwhelming. He doesn’t recognize us. Or he mistakes us for someone else, like one of his own brothers. He still remembers Mom, though.” His expression turned soft and wistful. “Has their wedding picture on his bedside table and kisses her goodnight every night. Calls her his ‘sweet love’.”

“That’s so beautiful. But also, heartbreaking.”

His head bobbed. “He remembers the past clearly. It’s the present he’s muddled on. He still thinks he’s in his twenties, still in the military, courting our mother and without any kids. Makes it tough to go see him because we’re stuck having to pretend Mom is still alive, and that we’re not alive, that we’re his brothers—blood or in arms. It all just opens up old wounds. You know? Our mom was there for all of us when the women died in the accident. She was our rock. Then a year later she got her diagnosis and a year and a half after that she was gone.”

“What about the other grandparents? The mothers’ parents?”

As sad as this topic was, Brooke was grateful to be off discussing her own past, and it also gave her a greater insight into Clint and his family. They’d all been through so much in such a short span of time. No wonder the brothers all banded together and were helping each other raise their children.

“They’re involved—sort of. Only Dominic’s kids’ grandparents live in Seattle. The rest are spread out. So they see the kids once or twice a year. But they also have other grandchildren, and most live closer to them so ...”

“The kids here are kind of an afterthought.”

Jagger heaved a resentful sigh. “Yeah, kind of. They’re also a visual reminder of the daughter they lost. Which doesn’t help, either.”

Brooke knew what it was like, to be an afterthought.

She and Rocco were afterthoughts when it came to all their family. She was ninety-nine percent convinced her grandparents, aunts and uncles knew what was happening in her home, but they all turned a blind eye and just backed away. If her mother wasn’t doing anything about it, why should anyone else? Her father also did a bang-up job alienating their mother from her side of the family. Brooke could count on one hand the number of times she’d met her maternal grandparents.

Then, when shit hit the fan, and it was just Rocco and Brooke—their mother was gone, dad out of the picture, too—they were less than afterthoughts for their family. They were burdens.

Nobody from her mother’s side stepped up, even with her dad no longer a threat. It was like Brooke and Rocco just didn’t exist.

Her dad’s sister Gina and her husband Rick finally took in Brooke and Rocco—out of obligation—but they were never considered members of the family the way their own children were. Damian and Mary ate steak with their parents while Brooke and Rocco got hotdogs. And her aunt and uncle never let Brooke forget that she was the reason her dad went away. That it was all her fault.

They lived like that for three years until Brooke graduated high school, then a year later Rocco got out as well, and neither of them had spoken to any member of their family since.

Not that family didn’t try. Once she got famous, they came crawling out of the woodwork like rats—even her mother’s side attempted to make contact. But she just ignored them all. If they couldn’t be there for her and Rocco when they needed family the most, why on Earth would she consider them family now?

“You went quiet,” Jagger said softly. “Everything okay?”

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