Page 82 of Bad Boys After Dark - Brett
He needed to deal with his father and try to mend the fences he’d broken. His mother had long ago forgiven him for his recklessness, but he’d never even tried to heal the pain he’d caused his father. Mick was probably right about the demise of their family, but that didn’t negate the truth of how Brett had acted in the years following Lorelei’s death. There was a great deal of shame that came along with that confession—including the thing that hurt most. If Lorelei had been able to see him in those destructive years, she’d have seen a brother she wouldn’t have looked up to.
He set his bag on the floor beside Sophie’s, determined to right his wrongs, and headed downstairs. He went slowly, taking in the pictures of Sophie and her friends and family. He recognized a few more faces now. He stopped midway down the steps at the sight of the picture he’d given Sophie of the two of them standing in his mother’s backyard. His chest constricted, but now he knew that was love, a feeling that no longer felt foreign. He didn’t think it was possible to fall in love with a family other than his own, but it was happening just as effortlessly as he’d fallen in love with Sophie.
The smell of baked apples and cinnamon surrounded him like an embrace as he came to the bottom step, and his heart took another hit. Hanging on the wall was a picture of him and Sophie standing beneath the willow tree, moonlight raining down on them. He was cradling Sophie’s face in his hands, gazing into her eyes. How had Lindsay captured the moment he’d told Sophie he loved her? He took a moment to soak it all in. He was in love, and it was as real and undeniable as Lorelei’s death.
He followed the sounds of the others into the kitchen and found Nana and Angel chatting while they sliced pie and doled out ice cream. Lindsay was ladling dollops of whipped cream on top. Del and Poppi stood by the patio door talking, and Brett spotted Sophie heading up from the creek with a handful of wildflowers.
“Thank you for hanging up the pictures of me and Sophie,” he said to Lindsay.
Lindsay smiled. “I don’t think we’ll need screws for those.”
“I have no idea how you timed it so perfectly, or how you could have gotten out there without us seeing you, but I’d really like a copy of that picture for our house.”
“Our house?” Lindsay arched a brow, and the kitchen grew quiet.
He hadn’t even realized he’d said it. He didn’t want to go back to two separate residences, not after spending this time together. He shrugged and smiled. “Slip of the tongue.”
“We like tongue slips,” Nana said as Sophie came in the door.
He imagined his brothers there, eating pie and making snappy retorts to Nana, and it made him almost as happy as Sophie walking into his arms.
“Hey, flower girl. You’ve been busy. Did you see the picture Lindsay took of us?”
“Yes. It made me cry.”
“Aw.” He brushed a kiss over her cheek. “Happy tears are good tears.”
“Tongue slips are even better,” Nana said as she passed by on her way to the table carrying two plates of pie.
“Nana!” Sophie gave Brett a chaste kiss and put the flowers in a vase her mother had filled with water. “Thanks, Mom.”
Angel set the vase on the table and everyone sat down. “I can’t believe you guys are leaving tomorrow. I’m really glad we got this extra time with both of you.”
“I’ve had a wonderful time. Thank you.” Brett pulled out a chair for Sophie, then sat beside her.
“You’ll be back in a few weeks for the Halloween shindig,” Nana said.
“Halloween shindig?” he asked.
“Celebrate every holiday, remember?” Poppi said with a confirming nod.
“And then there’s Thanksgiving and Christmas. Oh, and New Year’s Eve. That’s a biggie around here.” Nana ate a forkful of pie “Mm-mm.”
“Nana, Brett might want to spend the holidays with his family,” Angel reminded her. “But, Brett, I hope you know you’re welcome to join us. In fact, you’re welcome to bring your family here and we can all celebrate together if you’d like.”
Brett reached for Sophie’s hand and squeezed it gently. “Thank you. I guess we have some decisions to make.”
