Page 31 of Love Bites

“Yeah, your sister takes no shit,” I admitted. I’d never had so much grass shoved into my mouth. He made a sound of admiration. I folded my legs into a lotus then turned to look at him. “I’m sorry I’ve not done your books in the past few weeks. Things have gotten really crazy.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, no it’s not. Phillip has turned my world inside-out.” His gaze darted from the stream to me. He said nothing. Which was not a new thing. Ryan could be incredibly quiet at times. “I hope we’re okay. I know you were really upset before.”

“I was worried that you were going to sell and leave Caldwell Crossing.” He blew out a big breath that puffed his cheeks. “I wasn’t jealous or anything but if you had thought I was I could see why.”

“Nope, never crossed my mind. We’re brothers.” I thumped him on the shoulder with the side of my fist. “So we’re good. Right?”

“Yeah, we’re tight. I’m sorry for being such an asshole. You know I don’t really make friends easily. Just the thought of you leaving for parts unknown kind of freaked me out. That was shitty of me.”

“Nah, it was normal. I’d lose it if you left.” He gave me a wobbly smile before grabbing me for a fast hug. I cinched him in tight. Thering-ringof a bike bell broke into the bro hug. We released each other to see Conor and Sam arriving on three speeds with old wicker baskets. Talk about a blast from the past. “Did you two pedal all the way from the maple farm?”

“Yep,” Conor said then gave his bell another ring.

“Holy shit, my hamstrings,” Sam moaned as he ditched the bike then fell on his side next to Ryan. “My balls are aching. How did we ride those damn things all over the place?”

“We were younger and in better shape,” I replied.

“Speak for yourselves,” Conor chimed in, placing his bike on its stand then dropping down to sit with us under the tree after taking four cold bottles of lemon-lime soda from the basket on the handlebars of his bike. “I’m in great shape. Look at these guns.” He flexed his biceps. They were impressive. He then passed out the drinks. Sam asked him about the auction but Conor just grumbled and said he didn’t wish to talk about it. Things sounded really tense with Conor and Dallas.

“Your Mr. March spread proved that,” Ryan teased.

Conor chuckled and blushed. Hot fireman calendars raised lots of money for the fire station. Everyone in town had one of last year’s calendars stashed away. Conor made a hella hot leprechaun.

“March seems like so far away,” I mused as I twisted the cap off my soda and took a pull. The other guys nodded. “So much has changed. Sam found his forever man and I’m…” I paused to parse. “I’m somewhere doing something big with someone who I literally hated a month ago.”

“Yeah, we could use a bit more clarity about what the hell is going on with Phillip, you, and Harmony Chocolates,” Sam piped in as he pushed up to sitting, cold soda still unopened in his hand.

“Man, I don’t even know where to start,” I sighed, took a sip, and began at the very beginning. Way back in time. I’d never told anyone about the situation with Mamie and Bernhard Brauning. She’d not wished anyone outside the family to know. I think she was ashamed, which was crazy as she had nothing to be ashamed of. But I got it. Somethings you wanted to keep to yourself and your closest loved ones. I didn’t go into graphic details. I only said that they had dated and the break-up had not been amicable. Then I filled in the rest of the history as I knew it, pausing to take a drink or push some curls from my face, or answer a question the guys may have had. We arrived at today slowly, and now they were all gazing at me with less animosity when I mentioned Phillip’s name.

“Do you think he’ll really go against his grandfather?” Conor enquired.

I nodded. “Oh yeah. He is beyond pissed. They have a strained relationship anyway. He loves him because he’s his grandpa but he also dislikes his biases. And after hearing the truth from Mamie, well, I suspect the shit will hit the fan.”

“Good. The bastard needs to be raked over the coals for being such a douche to Mamie,” Sam snarled.

Everyone agreed, me included.

“I guess that’s the story as it stands. He’s going to get things settled over in Germany then come back. We’re going to date. We just kind of skipped the whole courting thing and dove into the fucking-like-wild-chinchillas part.” I chuckled a bit as the others rolled their eyes. “I don’t want you guys to be shits to him when he comes back.” They all looked shocked as if they would never even contemplate such a thing. I knew better though. AndI loved them for it. “I like him. A lot. And I know you’re all going to say he’s too old, or he’s too rich, or it’s been too fast. Maybe it has been or maybe not. Hell, maybe we’ll crash and burn in a month, but I want our success or failures both personally and or professionally to be because we just didn’t suit, not because of nosy but awesome friends. There’s lots of stuff to sort out and I…well, maybe I should think about discussing my anxiety with a professional.” I waited to see what they said. They all just nodded while giving me a pat on the shoulder. “So yeah, that’s Haider at the moment. A mess, but hey, what else is new?”

“We’ll watch out for you, Cupid, no matter what way things go with Phillip,” Sam said. I knew they would. They were the best friends a man could ask for.

“I love that you guys want to protect me, I do, but this time I want to soar or crash on my own.”

“Can we bring you tissues and cheap wine if you hit the ground, Icarus?” Ryan asked with a wink. How cool that he said if and not when. One simple word can make such a difference when someone was feeling vulnerable.

I nodded. They could so do that. I just prayed they wouldn’t have to.

WHILE I WASnot exactly looking forward to the upcoming showdown with my grandfather, the delay in taking off from the quaint airport at the crack of dawn after a night spent pacing and sipping strong coffee was even more grating.

Seeing that I was about to share the flight with my mother Luisa and her two toy poodles added what was the icing on what would be a very long trip.

“Hallo Mutter,” I said as she sailed onto the Brauning jet, a black poodle in a pink or blue vest tucked into a small carrying case—both matching her luggage—on each shoulder.

“Hallo mein Schatz,” she replied as she offered me her cheek to buss. A smooth cheek still even though she was in her late sixties. Mother treated her skin as if it were crafted from ivory. Also, she had wonderfully expensive plastic surgeons. She always called me her darling when she was in a good mood, and she seemed to be quite pleased with herself this morning. A true oddity as Mother did not like to wake early most generally. “You look haggard,” she said as she patted my cheek. “Edgar, my bags are in the limo. Did you know that I had to track you down to secure a flight home today? The limo from Boston to this tiny village was extravagant. Why are you out here in the wilds of Vermont?”

Edgar gave the dogs a glance then, because he was a devoted servant to my mother, unbuckled his seat belt and went to oversee her bags were loaded with care. Mother disliked scuffs on her luggage.

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