Forever Too Far (14 page)

Then I got another call. My son wanted to meet me.”

I turned in Rush’s arms to look at Captain. He was leaning against his boat looking out over the water

but he was listening. His body was tense. He was waiting. Was he... did I have a brother?

“Everything happened with you and I came clean. I needed to start over. Try to live the rest of my life

the right way because all I’d done was fuck it up so far. The only good thing I’d ever done was loving

your mother and being blessed with you and Valerie. So, I called my son and came down south to

meet him,” he paused and nodded to Captain. “River Joshua Kipling also known as Captain, is your

brother.”

“Fuck,” Rush whispered and I felt like saying it too. Would my dad’s secrets never end?

“Captain was your mother’s last gift to me. If she hadn’t been so determined to find him then I never

would have gotten to know him.”

My dad wasn’t as alone as I’d thought. I wasn’t angry or hurt. I was... happy. I was relieved. He had a

lot in life to atone for. I knew he was atoning for not being the man he should’ve been, by having a

relationship with his son. My baby kicked against his father’s hands and I couldn’t imagine handing

over this baby. Never to know it or hold it. That had to be like losing a part of yourself. My dad

hadn’t been a whole man since he was sixteen. Since he’d given a part of himself away. My heart

broke for him and I eased out of Rush’s arms and walked over to my father.

I wrapped both arms around his waist and held him. I didn’t have the words just yet to tell him that I

was happy for him. I wasn’t sure if those words were even accurate. I was more than happy. I was

thankful. It was time for him to heal. This was a part of that.

“You okay with this, Blaire bear?” he asked, squeezing me in a hug.

“I’m glad you found him,” I replied honestly. For right now that was the only thing I could say.

“Thank you.” The emotion in his voice was thick.

“Real glad I don’t have to beat your ass for looking at my woman,” I heard Rush say and I smiled

against my dad’s chest.

We stayed for five more days and let Blaire get to know her brother. Captain was a lot easier to

tolerate once I realized he wasn’t checking Blaire out in a sexual way. He was just curious about his

sister. I understood that. But I was also glad to pack up and go home. It was only three weeks until

Christmas and I wanted to spend that in Rosemary with Blaire. In our home. I also wanted to pin my

last name on her and beat on my chest like a fucking crazy man.

Blaire had gone straight to bed when we got back to Rosemary. She smiled happily when we walked

inside then looked at me and told me unless I just wanted to snuggle to leave her alone while she went

to take a nap.

I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to just snuggle so I stayed downstairs and enjoyed being home. I

got a soda from the fridge and headed out to sit on the deck and enjoy the gulf. I’d missed it. I hadn’t even gotten comfortable when I heard the door behind me open.

Grant walked out and nodded at me before taking the seat beside me. We hadn’t spoken since the day

before Thanksgiving when I’d called him about Nan. I had been busy and I was sure he was dodging

me. Apparently, the Rosemary radar was working because we hadn’t been back for thirty minutes and

he was already at my house. I hadn’t even realized Grant was in town. Normally he spent his winters

skiing. Last I’d heard he was headed to Vail.

“How is she?” were the first words out of his mouth.

He wasn’t asking about Blaire. I knew from the sad tone in his voice that this was about Nan. “Fucked

the hell up. You know that.”

Grant let out a sigh and crossed his legs at the ankles. “Yeah, I know. But I called her last night

because I was drunk and weak and being stupid as shit. Your mother answered. She said Nan was

getting help.”

“She tried to overdose. I found her and got her to the hospital in time. She was okay physically but

mentally she has snapped. Kiro is a shit for a dad and Harlow knows that but Nan will never accept it

the way Harlow has.”

“Who’s Harlow?” Grant asked and I realized that there were parts of my life that even Grant didn’t

know. I had kept my life in Rosemary separate from my life with my dad.

“Kiro’s other daughter. The one he did take care of. Well, he at least left her with a grandmother who

loved her far away from his fucked up world. Harlow was his shiny toy he went and got every once in

awhile and then sent back to her grandmother when being a Dad got in his way. It worked for him

because Harlow is quiet, polite, and stays out of the way. Nan is none of those things. So, he has no

use for her.”

Grant let out a deep sigh. “Damn.”

Damn wasn’t even scratching the surface.

We sat in silence for awhile and stared out at the water. I wasn’t sure how deep he was in with Nan

but I hoped he could walk away. She wasn’t stable. She never would be. Not enough to make Grant

happy.

“You gonna get married anytime soon?” Grant finally asked.

Smiling, I thought about Blaire curled up in my bed upstairs... our bed. “Yeah. When she wakes up

from her nap I’m letting her know that she has a week to plan it. I can’t wait any longer. I’ve waited

long enough.”

Grant chuckled. “I’m the best man, right?”

“Of course. I’m afraid you’ll be stuck with Bethy as a partner though so get ready for Jace to be

breathing down your neck like a crazy motherfucker. I have no doubt that Bethy will be her maid of

honor. The other option will be Jimmy and I doubt you want him groping your ass.”

“I can deal with Bethy and Jace,” Grant replied in an amused tone. “But is Jimmy really going to be a

bridesmaid?”

I grinned and nodded. “Yep. She asked him when we first started planning this wedding.”

I had left plane tickets with both Abe and Captain before we left. Blaire wanted her father here and

after watching her and Captain get to know each other I knew she’d want her brother too. They had

both agreed to come up for it in a week. Blaire didn’t know about it yet though. I hadn’t been in the

mood to argue with her in case she had a reason to put it off.

“Nan coming to the wedding?” Grant asked.

I’d never imagined I’d get married without my mom and sister being in attendance. However, I

wanted nothing to spoil our wedding memories for Blaire and I knew that they would somehow

manage to do just that. I wouldn’t allow it.

“No. I can’t have her here. She still hates Blaire,” I replied.

Grant nodded and his shoulders relaxed. He hadn’t wanted to see her. That much was obvious. I

couldn’t blame him.

“You know dumbass Woods is gonna marry that chick from New York his parents want him to. He

isn’t engaged yet but he will be soon. He admitted to me over tequila the other night that if he wanted

the club then he had to marry her. His dad’s forcing his hand. He’s gonna be miserable with that

uptight woman.”

I hated that for Woods. I knew what it felt like to anticipate your wedding and the rest of your life

with the woman you loved. Everyone should know that feeling. Going into it with regret and

bitterness wasn’t the way to get married.

“His choice, I guess. He could always say no.”

“And run off like Tripp? That ain’t a great plan either,” Grant replied.

Tripp had been a few years older than us. He was Jace’s cousin and we’d all looked up to him. Then

his parents pressured him to lead the life they wanted and he bolted. Left his millions behind and

fucking ran. He became immortalized in our eyes as teenagers because he had the balls to say fuck off

and leave. Now we were older we understood more about the sacrifice he’d made. I just hoped he

was happy.

“Better choice than marrying a spoiled bitch,” I said.

“True,” he paused and reached for my soda to take a drink. The dickhead knew I wouldn’t drink after

him now. “How’s your dad?”

“Same. Drinks and smokes too much. Has sex with random women my age. You know the drill.”

Grant smiled. “Yeah. But what a life.”

It wasn’t a life at all but I knew Grant wouldn’t agree with me so I let it go. He hadn’t found someone

like Blaire so he didn’t have a clue just how shallow my dad’s life really was. He had to be lonely.

“Everyone knows y’all are back in town. You up for company tonight?”

No. I wanted Blaire all to myself. We’d been sharing a boat with her dad for five days too long. “Not

tonight. Blaire needs her rest.”

“Or you just need Blaire. Be honest, bro.”

“Yeah, I need Blaire,” I replied with a smile.

Rush had set the date for our wedding. He’d given me one week. I didn’t even try to argue. The

determination in his eyes had told me there was no point. I was more than ready to marry the man but I

got the feeling he was worried that I would back out. Especially after what happened at his dad’s

with Nan.

We would be getting married twelve days before Christmas. The plan was to spend Christmas and

New Year’s at home together then leave New Year’s day to go on an extended honeymoon. He had

been torn between wanting to take me all over the world and not wanting to make me travel too much.

He was worried about keeping me rested. Which was also making wedding preparations difficult. In

the end, I had convinced him that staying in his penthouse in Manhattan was what I wanted to do. I had

never been to New York so it would be an adventure for me. We would also have the comfort of his

home there and my obstetrician was going to set me up with one there to check on me while I was

away.

Luckily, Rush had the money to make this wedding happen fast and still be beautiful. I’d wanted

things simple and I’d wanted to get married here at our house. Surprisingly, simple took a lot of

preparation too. I wouldn’t have been able to pull any of it off without Bethy’s help. Jimmy had been

a lot of help too but he and Bethy had almost killed each other more than once. They were fighting for

who was in control.

Rush had hired Henrietta to come stay with us for the entire week before the wedding. Seeing

Henrietta go into the pantry each night to go to her room under the stairs always made me smile. I had

fond memories of that room.

When the doorbell rang after breakfast I had jumped up and hurried to get it. I was expecting my dad

and Captain today. Tonight was the wedding rehearsal and I needed Dad here to practice walking me

down the aisle. Jerking the door open I was surprised to find Dean and Harlow instead. I hadn’t

expected them until tomorrow.

“Surprise, we’re here a day early. I didn’t want to miss any festivities,” Dean said with a smirk and

walked inside the house carrying his bag and letting Harlow carry hers as she walked in quietly

behind him. “Where’s my boy?” Dean asked looking around.

“Rush left this morning to pick up tuxes with Grant,” I explained. “They’ll be back soon. Come on up

and I’ll show you to your room, Harlow. Dean, I assume you know where yours is.”

“Yeah, I’ll go up to mine in a few. I need a drink and some sunshine.”

I smiled over at Harlow. “I picked out my favorite room for you. It has the best view. Used to be my

room,” I told her.

“Thank you. I hate to take up one of the best rooms though. I’ll gladly take the smallest one. I know

you have family coming in too,” she said and paused on the top step.

“My dad and my... um... my brother live on old fishing boats. Trust me when I tell you that the

smallest room we have here will be all they desire. I want you to enjoy this room. It’s farther away

from everyone too. So you’ll have more privacy.”

Harlow smiled shyly and nodded. I led her back to the room I’d stayed in very briefly before I’d

moved up stairs.

“Was the flight good?” I asked when I really wanted to ask how things were at home.

“It was nice. I watched
Pride and Prejudice
again. Made the trip go by quicker.”

“I love that movie,” I admitted. “So, how are things at home? With Nan gone?” Rush hadn’t brought

up Nan once since we’d been home. I knew she wasn’t invited to the wedding and it made me feel so

guilty. But the fear that she would make a scene and ruin our wedding was real.

“Quiet again. Dad does his thing. I do mine. Dean does his. They’ll be going on tour in a couple of

months and it will be really quiet.”

I felt sad for her. She didn’t have anyone really. Living in that big house with a father like Kiro had to be lonely. Then with him gone just her being there. That was no life at all. Money couldn’t buy you

everything. Harlow was proof of that.

“Why don’t you have Kiro buy you a house here? It’s beautiful here and there are people our age

everywhere. Cute guys,” I flashed her a teasing smile. As perfect as Harlow looked appearance-wise

I couldn’t imagine her with a guy. She was so shy. How would she ever open up to one and get to

know him?

“I can’t ask Dad that. I’m at UCLA on a full ride scholarship. He would have to pay for my tuition if I

went somewhere else. And I do get out and go to my classes,” she trailed off. I knew from being there

that although she went to her classes she had no friends.

“I think he can afford it,” I assured her.

She shrugged but didn’t reply. I wasn’t going to badger her now. Maybe later. “I need to go get

dressed. I have a salon appointment for a manicure and pedicure in an hour. You wanna come?”