Boyfriend for Hire (29 page)

Mateo took Alastair’s hand in his. “We plan to adopt two children in a couple of years. This way Alastair can stay home with the first one for a year and then I can with the second one.”

“Only two?” Mrs. Torres held her hands to her chest with a crushed look on her face.

“Katia, you promised not to interrupt,” Father Pat scolded.

“My apologies, Father,” she said in a sad, dejected voice.

“Good, good. You boys are ahead of the game. What about finances? Have you talked about who will handle the money? Separate or joint accounts? Budgets? Adoption and children are expensive, as is life, retirement, and death.”

Dave’s head came up at the last part. Jeez, the guys hadn’t even said “I do” and the priest was talking about dying. Maybe he figured if he couldn’t marry them, he could at least bury them.

This time Alastair spoke up first. “We’ll have both. A joint checking account to pay for household expenses, entertainment, children, as well as a joint savings account for the future. We’ll also have separate accounts for our own personal spending. This way Mateo won’t know what he’s getting for Christmas or his birthday.”

Tawny laughed, and when Dave looked her way, she shrugged.

“He snoops,” she muttered.

Alastair and the parents all nodded in agreement.

“We’ll do the bills together and we’ve both already set up retirement plans,” said the snoop in question.

This didn’t surprise Dave, as he knew Tawny had already set up her IRA accounts and talked to both Cherry and Jason about theirs. She might not work in finance anymore, but her head was still in the game. Dave zoned out for a few while they continued to talk money. Mentally he ran through the B&B project, checking off items and trying to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. They were near to completion and he wanted, no, needed to prove to the guys and himself that he could be counted on to lead the projects. He didn’t wanted this job in the beginning, but as he’d come to terms with how to deal with his ADD, he found he liked the sense of accomplishment the job gave.

A lot of credit went to Tawny. She’d set him up with a top ten list and talked him into delegating to his workers. He was still working on cutting out the caffeine like she’d suggested. He’d cut it down, but a body needed something to jump-start the brain in the morning, especially when he didn’t get a full night’s sleep.

Not that he’d complain about that.

The priest’s voice cut into his thoughts as he brought up fighting. What would Tawny be like in an argument? So far they’d been lucky and hadn’t had any arguments, which surprised him, given how things were with Mandi—they’d fought from day one—and then his parents, who couldn’t say hello without the other taking it wrong. Until now.

“I admit I’m a yeller.” Mateo grimaced. “I can go from zero to pissed off in nothing flat.”

“And I hold everything in,” replied Alastair.

Not surprising, given the guy’s demeanor. Dave would bet another night of playing out fantasies that Tawny was very much like her brother and that both took after their mother. In the months that he’d known the Torres family, and they’d all attended several events together now, he could probably count on less than two hands the words he’d heard from Tawny’s dad. The man took “the quiet type” to the extreme.

The father droned on about communications and problems. Too bad his parents hadn’t talked to Father Pat before they’d tied the knot. Maybe if they had, they would have stayed together instead of throwing away the last twenty years.

Tawny leaned over toward him. “I’m going to go set up the table for lunch, want to join me?”

He walked into the kitchen not realizing Tawny’s parents were already in there. Man, he must have really been lost in his own thoughts. Tawny’s mom handed her a stack of dishes with instructions to set the table outside.

“David, perhaps you can start the fire in the pit outside. It’s nice, but there’s a nip in the air.”

“Sure thing.”

Tawny showed him where the wood was kept, and he got to work on the fire while she set the table and ran back inside. After a few minutes, Mr. Torres came out and disappeared into his shed. Determined to win over at least one of Tawny’s parents, Dave followed the man inside.

He was sitting at his workbench with his back to the door.

“Mr. Torres, I’ve got the fire started. Is there anything else I can do to help?”

He turned around holding a sharp awl used for making holes in wood. At least that’s what Dave hoped he intended to do with it.

“Hand me that mallet.”

Dave did as asked, and when he stepped closer he saw that Mr. Torres was actually punching holes in a small leather belt. “What are you making, sir?”

At first he didn’t answer, simply drove the awl through the leather and into the wood beneath. He repeated the process a few more times before he slid the belt through a canvas Dave hadn’t noticed before. When Mr. Torres was done he turned around, holding up a small tool belt. “It’s for my grandson, Georgie. He wants one like his papa.”

“It’ll look good on him.”

The man grunted and set the belt down. Thinking their conversation was over Dave turned to leave. “You’re a good boy, or so my friend Daniel Ryan says. You fixed their electrical panel for them.”

“I try, sir.” Dave wasn’t exactly sure where this conversation was going, but he stayed put.

“My girl has a good head, she’s smart, but doesn’t always think before she acts, especially when it comes to boys.” Tawny’s dad picked the awl back up. He didn’t do anything with it, simply stared at the tool. “I never worried about my older boys. They’ve always made good choices. Those two younger ones are a lot alike, leading their lives by their hearts. Alastair is good for Mateo. He’s got a good head and heart. Are you good for my girl, David?”

“I think so, sir.”

“You make her smile. You also make her think about other things than work.”

Dave crossed his arms in front of him and planted his feet. “Sir, life is more—”

“Than just work.” Mr. Torres looked around the shed and Dave tracked his gaze. This was Mr. Torres’s playground, he could see it from the gleam in his eyes before they landed back on him. “She’s not as tough as she looks. Do you understand me?” He flicked his thumb over the end of the tool.

Loud and clear. “Yes, sir.” Dave stepped back out into the cooling air and figured that was the closest he was going to come to getting Tawny’s dad’s blessing. Not that he was asking for anything life altering.

“Hey, there you are.” Tawny walked up and slipped her hands behind his neck. “Thought maybe you snuck out the side gate and were halfway to Canada by now.”

He smiled down at her. “Nope, was in the shed talking to your dad.”

Pain crossed her face. “Tell me he was nice.”

“I think he likes me.”

“Good to know. Okay then, well, the snorefest in the living room is almost done, and Mom’s got dinner ready to come out. I have no idea why Matty insisted I be here. He didn’t need me at all. If anything, he put the pressure back on me with that whole ‘we’ll adopt in a couple of years’ bit.”

Dave had a pretty good idea what his old friend had been up to, and Tawny nailed it on the head. The guy directed his mother’s attention back onto his sister and away from him. For once, Dave was kind of glad he’d been an only child. “I’ll start carrying the food out.”

“Thanks. I’ll go let Dad know.”

Dave made a couple of trips back and forth between the kitchen and the table. Tawny’s mom had made enough food to feed the neighborhood. On his last trip out he heard the priest joking with the guys and figured they’d be out any minute. He’d also noticed Tawny and her dad hadn’t emerged from the shed. Worried about her, he headed in that direction. He knew Tawny had been upset for several weeks because of something she’d said that came out wrong and hurt her dad’s feelings, enough so that he’d hardly talked to her for the past couple of months now.

“Dad, when are you going to forgive me?”

The anger in Tawny’s voice pulled Dave up short outside the shed.

“I already have.”

“Then why won’t you talk to me?”

“Would you listen to me if I did?”

“What does that mean?”

“You’re a smart girl, but you don’t always use your brain before doing.”

“Dad, it wasn’t my fault, getting laid off from the bank. I told you, it was because of the economy.”

“You lied to me, to your mother. You should have come to us when it happened and told us. We could have helped you.”

“Daddy, I didn’t need help. At least, not yet. And everything turned out okay. I really like my new job and they love me there. So you don’t have to keep worrying about me.”

“Are you sure?” her dad asked.

“Are you talking about work or David now?”

“You haven’t been seeing him that long, yet you brought him home today. You know what your mother will think.” The old man chuckled. “She had her sights set on that Ivan.”

“I know she did and what she’s thinking right now. Ivan isn’t the one for me. I’m not sure if Dave is either. I care about him a lot, Dad. He makes my life better, more fun, more balanced, makes me feel good about myself, and I’m not so scared of the future anymore. I know you’ll still worry about me, but I think I’m going to be okay. I hear Mom, which means dinner’s ready.”

“I’ll be there in a minute and,
mija
, if he hurts you, I’ll hurt him.”

Tawny was laughing as she came out of the shed and ran straight into Dave’s arms. He’d been so shocked by what she said he hadn’t thought to move.

“I take back what I said yesterday. Your dad scares me.”

As if one family event in a week wasn’t enough, Dave got a call in the afternoon from his mom begging him to come to dinner. Not just any dinner, but one with him and both of his parents. A family dinner with just the three of them.

He’d rather be at Paddy’s Bar celebrating hump day with his buds, or spending the evening with Tawny, or getting a limb cut off without anesthesia. Not that the first two fell into the same category as the last.

In all honestly, he was dog tired and really wanted to kick back on the couch with a beer in one hand and his girl snuggled up next to him as they watched
Doctor Who
. He didn’t have the energy to deal with his parents, to jump in the middle and referee their arguments (because he highly doubted they’d make it all night without one), or even worse, watch them make googly eyes at each other. If they could conduct their whatever they were doing without him and then update him when it was over, he’d be fine.

Nope, his mom’s goal in life was to torment him, thus here he sat in front of her house trying to talk himself into going inside. At least as a kid, he could drag Brody or Jason home with him to break up the tension. He didn’t even know what to say to his parents together.

He slid out of his truck and made the trek over the lawn to see his mom standing in the doorway.

“I was beginning to think you were going to sit out here all night.”

“Thought about it. Where’s Dad?”

She stepped out of the way and headed to the kitchen with Dave in her shadow. “He ran to the store for ice cream to go on top of the pie I baked.”

Dave automatically reached for the dishes and began setting the table. “You baked dessert. You never baked when I lived here.”

“You didn’t need me to. Dena baked, and you boys ate enough at her house that you didn’t need more sweets when you came home. Besides, I have more free time these days. So I learned to bake. Take most of it to the local shelter. Maybe Jason and Cherry will give me an honorary grandchild I can spoil.”

Was it something in the air? First, Tawny’s mom with the grandkids, and now his mom. “I’ll mention it to them.”

“Unless you have something you’d like to tell me?”

“Like what?”

“You and Tawny looked pretty cozy at the party. Things getting serious between you?”

Dave sat the last of the condiments on the table, being sure to grab the ketchup for his dad—he put it on everything. “I don’t know what we are, but I know it’s way too soon to think about grandkids. You’re too young to be a grandma.”

“You’re thirty-two, which means I am not too young.”

“Too young for what?” Dave’s dad asked from the kitchen doorway.

“Grandkids.”

“Nothing.” They answered together.

His mom took the bag, but not before kissing his dad. Dave’s stomach knotted up. Not in the “eww my parents are kissing” that kids get. This was more that he could see the happiness on both of their faces when they looked at each other, and he was afraid if things didn’t work out this time, he’d be put in the middle. For a kid from a broken home, he’d done okay. Neither of his parents had tried to turn him against the other one. Once they split, they’d kept their feelings about each other to themselves. Mostly. Visitation days and pickups tended to run right below the detonation level. They’d maintained, at least in front of him.

“You men go sit at the table. I have everything ready and will bring it over.” His mom shooed them toward the dining area of her small Cape Cod–style house, which meant the eating area was three feet from the cooking space.

Dave sat and watched the interaction between his parents. His dad took the hot plates from the oven even though his ex told him she had it. Instead he’d replied he wanted to help. For a brief moment, Dave thought his mom was going to lose her temper. Instead she smiled and grabbed the salad from the fridge. Once his mom relented her control of the kitchen, the two of them worked in sync to bring the food to the table and sat down together.

Maybe they had learned a thing or two over the years.

“How’s the B-and-B coming along, son?” His dad handed him fried chicken and took the cheesy potatoes from him.

“Good. Almost done, barring any more problems. It’s an old place, so you never know what you’ll find around the next corner.”

His parents exchanged a look before looking back to meet his gaze. “What?”

“It’s nothing,” his mom said.

“Look, I know I’m not used to seeing you two work together, but I remember that look.” He pushed his plate away and rested his arm in front of him.