Page 67 of Family Forever
He motioned for the boys to follow him, and he quickly turned away from her.
Cole gave her arm a reassuring squeeze as he walked by her.
Aric shrugged. "Got me."
She watched from the kitchen doorway as they filed into Dylan's bedroom. Nate and Braden exchanged a few whispers before one of them shut the door. The normally loud house was eerily quiet, yet she couldn't hear a word they said. What on earth were they talking about that needed such privacy? They'd never excluded her like that before.
* * * *
Dylan slid his office chair out from under his desk, sat, and then rotated to face his brothers. He gestured toward the bed. "Why don't you guys sit? I have something very important to talk to you about."
Maybe it was the seriousness in his tone, but for once nobody gave him any grief, though they eyed him momentarily before all but Cole took a seat on the edge of the bed. He stood at the corner of the bed.
Dylan was sure Cole knew what was about to happen.
He took a few moments to put his thoughts in order. He'd thought he was ready when he went into the kitchen to get them, but now that they all sat there staring at him, he wasn’t quite sure how to go about broaching the subject.
"You're not sick are you, Dylan?" Nate asked. His voice carried a higher pitch than usual and cracked half way through saying his name.
"No." Why on earth would his brother ask him that?
Nate elbowed Braden. "See, I told you."
Dylan leaned forward in his chair. "Braden, why did you think I was sick?"
His brother's sheepish gaze landed on the floor and he chewed on his bottom lip before returning his gaze to him. "Well, you've looked like crap lately and at least up until a few days ago, you haven't been eating and you look thin. And now you've called us all together to talk to us. What was I supposed to think?"
He really needed to give the boys more credit. They were a lot more perceptive than he thought. What else were they aware of?
"You'd better get on with it before they draw more crazy conclusions," Cole prodded, a teasing grin spanning his face.
"Get on with what? What's going on?" Aric asked.
"I have something important to ask you guys and I want you to think about it for a while before you answer. Can you do that for me?"
The younger boys nodded and Cole and Aric answered verbally.
Dylan's pulse pounded and hands shook. Why was he so nervous? He knew darn well why because his happiness and the rest of his life would soon be determined by his brothers, a six-year-old, a ten-year-old, two teenagers, and a young adult. Without their support, he wouldn’t go forward with what he wanted to do more than anything.
How had he come to be here, staring at his brothers who over the past three years had become more like his children rather than his brothers? One minute he'd been having the time of his life in college, and in one split second, one phone call, everything changed. Life as he'd known it had been totally altered beyond anything he'd ever imagined. Reality and responsibility crashed into him, flipping his world upside down. Like a thousand times before, he wondered where he'd be if his parents were still alive. Would he be home working on the family farm? Would he have settled elsewhere with some fancy job using his business degree? Deep down, he knew the answer. He'd be working the family farm which was exactly what he was destined to do, though he wouldn't be serving in a parental role to his brothers.
Memories of the past three years sifted through his mind and realization sunk in. Yeah, he'd seen his share of bad times, but overall he'd been blessed with more good times. He loved his brothers, and they loved him, and if not for them he wouldn't have been molded into the man he was today. A man exactly where he wanted to be, in the midst of a loving family, about to claim a kind, sweet, loving woman. And the icing on the cake, doing exactly as he always wanted—working the family farm. How many men can say they have it all? Truth be told, he had a little work to do yet, but he was almost there, he needed to secure the 'Marissa' piece.
"We can't answer what we haven't been asked," Aric stated, knocking Dylan out of his daydream.
Dylan cleared his throat. "Guys, I'd like to ask Marissa to marry me, but I want to know how you feel about that, and I want your blessings."
There, done, he asked, now all he had to do was wait for their responses. He hoped for the best and shot off a quick little silent prayer as they all just sat there staring at him.
The silence was excruciating. "Well?"
"Well, what?" Aric asked.
Dylan sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "What are your thoughts on the matter?" Dylan was sure Aric had something to say, he always did.
Aric shrugged. "You told us not to answer you right away. You said to think about it for a while. I'm thinking."
Cole laughed. Dylan couldn’t blame him, for the first time in three years his smart-mouth brother actually listened to him, the one time he didn't really want him to.
