Red Flags (39 page)

The walk to the main house, while relatively
short, felt like walking the plank. I didn’t khow I’d be received…
I didn’t know how I would receive them, especially Jason’s dad, who
I recently found out was a source of antagonism in his life. I
looked myself over before taking the turn that led to the back door
of the house, where Jason said his parents were awaiting us. I
surely hoped cut off shorts and a tank top were presentable to meet
your boyfriend’s parents in, because the thought of anymore
clothing brought me to the brink of heat stroke.

Jason tightened his grip on my hand as we
made the last turn towards the house, and before I could see what
had him so bothered, a curly haired, little blond girl ran and
wrapped her arms around his legs, yelling, “Uncle Jason, Uncle
Jason.” I recognized her to be his niece, Abigail, and while the
sight of her and her outward pouring of affection was heart
melting, I knew her parents weren’t far behind. Jacob and Heather
were the source of tension that had Jason squeezing my hand like he
was hoping to get water out of rocks.

Chapter 19

I couldn’t even say anything before Jason’s
mom had her arms wrapped around me, and was squealing about how
excited she was to finally meet me. She was a gorgeous woman, her
tanned skin, similar to Jason’s, was beautifully contrasted with
platinum blond hair that was cut into long layers that fell to her
shoulders. She wasn’t much taller than me; in fact, we stood about
equal to one another. When she pulled back, I gave her a vibrant
smile, and couldn’t help but notice the dark hue of green that
twinkled in her eyes. She moved aside and motioned for me to meet
her husband, Mr. Bradley.

“Jim, I want you to meet Cara.” Jim Bradley
was a man that exuded power. He was tall, maybe a couple of inches
taller than Jason, and had big broad shoulders. His hair was the
same mocha frap color of Jason’s, but showed signs of grey around
his temples, and was cut low. His eyes were low, but twinkled with
the same hue of green just as his wife’s, and even though there
were slight wrinkles on his face that further gave away his age, he
looked impeccable in his Dockers shorts, and blue polo shirt. I
couldn’t for the life of me figure out how he could stand to be in
that thick cotton mess, given the atrocious climate the sun and
humidity had graced us with, but I quickly swept that out of my
mind and held out my hand to greet him.

“It’s nice to meet you Mr. Bradley.” He took
my hand, in an overly firm grasp and kissed the top, making me skin
tingle, and not in a good way.

“Sorry I don’t carry all of the excitement
that Tina does. But it’s a pleasure to finally meet you Cara. Glad
you got my boy down here for something good for a change.”

I had no idea what he was talking about, and
from the slap on the pecks that Tina gave him, I could see it
wasn’t something to be discussed within the first few minutes of
meeting a total stranger.

Jason walked Abigail over to where we were
standing, and took the same warm greeting from his mom that I had
just received; only she kissed him a few times on the cheek. He
tore away from her embrace to reach his hand out for a handshake
with his dad, and a very awkward looking guy-hug. His body went
from being limp and relaxed to rigid like stone. No one seemed to
notice the awkwardness brewing between the two men, so I swept it
aside and just chalked it up to business as usual.

Out of the house came Heather Bradley and I
knew it was her from the pictures I had previously seen. She was
much prettier in person, with long flowing blond hair that was
curled at the ends. Her sun dress flowed as she made her way out of
the house and over to me.

“Nice to meet you Cara, we’ve been hearing a
lot about you.” Her tone was also laced with a hefty dose southern
drawl. I felt the force of Jason’s accusatory eyes before he made
his way over to Heather and gave her a genuinely, warm hug. Abigail
tugged on my shorts before I leaned down and gave her a big hug;
she was the sweetest little girl, with the most angelic of faces.
Her soft voice could melt ice, and it seemed she did just that –
from right around Jason’s heart.

“Where’s Jacob?” I blurted out, without even
thinking. I felt Jason’s hand tighten on my back, and he let out a
deep sigh, but didn’t say anything.

“He ran up the road to their house, ya’ll
meet in a minute.” Mr. Bradley announced, as we all walked into the
main house.

I was in awe from the second I walked into
the house. I felt my knees shake and Jason caught me before
repeating, “It’s all superficial,” in a low and husky voice, that
was littered with irritation. The house looked like something you
would find in Beverly Hills, not in the pastoral openings of Texas.
The same mahogany wood that was placed in the guesthouse was also
used throughout this home. The living room looked more like a
ballroom from an extravagant hotel than a living room for a family
to sit and mingle in. Tina Bradley raved about her design
aesthetic, and how some man with a fancy name helped her design
every aspect of the 50,000 square foot home. I had to catch my
breath at the mere mention of the square footage; it seemed unreal
to be standing in a home of this magnitude.

We walked around to the entryway where
crystal, China, and silver were on full display. Jason’s
grandmother had passed away and left all of it to Tina, and it was
her pride and joy, waiting to be admired from the second a guest
entered the home. The staircase was made of wrought iron that was
shaped in elegant swirls all the way to the top. I didn’t need to
make my way to the top floor to see that there was essentially
another home on the upper level.

In a hallway leading to one of the many guest
bathrooms on the first floor, Mrs. Bradley showed me pictures of
Jason and Jacob when they were kids. Happy, smiling boys: playing
soccer, and football, holding guns, and riding in a boat. They
looked like your normal, All-American kids. The pictures of Jason
in his teen years showed rebellion. It wasn’t anything shocking,
but the earlier smiles had faded, he wasn’t as clean cut as Jacob,
and it almost looked like getting a picture of him was no easy
task. I softly laughed. I could remember Ryan hitting that stage,
and how frustrated my mom had been with him.

On our way back to the living room, which
opened to the opulent kitchen, I heard the front door shut, and
when I turned to the sound, in walked Jacob Bradley, looking just
as hot as Jason, only with shorter hair. He looked me up and down
with a devilish smile that made me wholly uncomfortable. Stalking
over in my direction, like he was ready to devour his prey, I
reached out my hand for him, but he bypassed it and wrapped me up
in an almighty, semi-inappropriate hug, that had me lifted from the
ground.

“Nice to meet you Cara, I’ve been waiting for
this day.” I smiled, as much as I could under such uneasy
circumstances, and reciprocated the statement. His Southern drawl
wasn’t as thick as Jason’s which shocked me, considering he still
lived in Texas and Jason didn’t. When he finally put me down, I
backed away from him, and tugged at my clothing, making it go back
to its original fitting. Mrs. Bradley must have sensed my unease
because she walked over to Jacob and put her on his back, trying to
diffuse the tension that had built up in the room.

“Sorry Cara. Jake is my teddy bear. He and
Jason may look alike, but personality wise, they couldn’t be more
opposite.” She laughed, and while I was laughing on the outside, I
was cringing on the inside. Thankfully, Jason came strolling into
the room. He and Jacob looked at one another at the same time, with
gazes that could have frozen the entire state of Texas. Jacob
pulled Jason into a most unwelcomed hug, and glancing around the
room, I caught of glimpse of Mrs. Bradley’s hopeful, yet anxious
face. I wanted to be swallowed up and removed from the room, and I
had only been dealing with this situation for a few minutes.

“Don’t act so damn excited to see me bro,”
Jacob snidely commented.

“Cut the shit Jake.” Jason retorted.

Mrs. Bradley moved in between both of her
boys, and putting her arms around both of their waists, led them
back into the living area. I wanted a drink, no a shot -- or two. I
was starting to see why Jason hated to be home, and we had to spend
another couple days here.

Dinner was tense, the Bradley’s congratulated
us on our accomplishments, but the air in the room never thinned,
or made for light and airy conversation. Jason spent the bulk of
the night pushing back against Jacob; Mrs. Bradley spent the night
trying to diffuse the developing arguments between the two. I got
the sense that Mr. Bradley rather enjoyed seeing the show as he
made no attempts to break them up, in fact, he sometimes threw in
small jabs that further egged Jacob on, which continued to
infuriate Jason.

The only good thing about dinner was the fact
that the brisket was cooked to perfection – the Bradley’s cook was
a genius -- and Abigail. No matter how wrought with dissention the
room got, little Abigail’s smiles and adorable words were just the
ticket to dousing the flames. It was clear that everyone in the
family, no matter how much they couldn’t stand one another, doted
on little Abby.

Dessert had been served when Jacob, losing
all manners and shoving a forkful of pecan pie into his mouth
asked, “So when’s Stacey getting’ in?” My stomach dropped at the
sound of her name. I was aware that she would be coming to Heath
this weekend, but I wanted, just for the day, to forget about her
until I had to face her. Jason grumbled something under his breath,
and Heather, looking obligated to answer, turned to Jacob and
politely replied, “In the morning.”

The meal never took on a friendly tone, and
after rebuffing his mom’s requests for late night drinks, Jason
excused us from the table, and walked us out through the backdoor.
I made sure to thank the Bradley’s for the meal, and their
hospitality before leaving.

The walk back to the guesthouse was filled
with kicks of the grass, profanity, and deep sighs. Jason had been
completely infuriated for the couple of hours that we spent with
his family, and honestly, I was proud that he didn’t lose himself
by the numerous bait attempts shamelessly put on by Jacob.

I walked into the house and as Jason pulled
two beers from the fridge, I remembered that I hadn’t let me
parents know that we had made it safely. I looked at the screen to
find two missed calls and numerous texts, so I sent a group text to
my parents, Ryan, and Mila, letting them know that we were here,
safe and sound. Jason had moved to the wooden deck that overlooked
the lake and tapped on the seat next to him for me to join him. He
pulled me close and rested his chin on the top of my head, and let
out a deep breath that contained the hours of strain that had
manifested itself in his body over the course of dinner. We sat
watching the moon shine its bright light over the calm waters of
the lake. We sipped, kissed, and just enjoyed the silent
tranquility of being in one another’s presence. I knew another
source of tension would be heading our way, in the form of Chelsea
Peters.

<>

Our alone time lasted another 45 minutes
before Patrick was walking through the doors with Chelsea and
Hunter’s luggage. Chelsea came roaring through the house, screaming
excitedly, and throwing herself on me. I laughed as I hugged her
back, grateful for a familiar face. Jason and Hunter gave each
other the non-awkward guy hug, and for the first time since we had
been at the Bradley residence, I watched Jason relax and enjoy
himself.

Jason walked into the kitchen and grabbed
more beers for everyone. From the looks, and smell of things,
Chelsea didn’t need anything else to drink, but I guess since we
were staying in for the night, it didn’t really matter. We made our
way back out to the deck, and sat with our feet dangling over the
edge, just shy of dropping into the water.

“You happy to be home Bradley? You look like
you’ve lost the proverbial stick that’s always up your ass.” I
smacked Chelsea on the thigh, but it only made her chuckle louder.
Jason took another swig of his beer, and then looked over to
Hunter.

“It would be gone if Hunter had come alone,”
he replied, and I laughed if for no other reason than to keep the
stale air from dinner from seeping onto the deck.

Chelsea nudged Jason’s shoulder and shouted,
“Truce,” which promoted Jason to raise his beer. I breathed a sigh
of relief and relaxed. The Bradley main house had been too much,
and I was in no mood to play Mrs. Bradley when it came to Jason and
Chelsea.

We spent the next couple of hours out on the
deck. The humidity had died down but was still horribly thick.
Luckily, now that the sun had gone down, the heat wasn’t as
stifling, but it still wasn’t as comfortable as the San Diego night
time breeze.

Jason took Hunter and Chelsea on a tour of
the house, and while Hunter nodded his approval, Chelsea loudly
spoke hers. I wanted nothing more than to get her to bed. I was
exhausted from the day, the stalemate in the Bradley home, and now
Chelsea’s drunken behavior. As soon as we got to the bedrooms,
Hunter read my mind and pulled Chelsea into the room. Jason mumbled
something to him and that was it, the door shut, and we were
marching down the hall to our own bedroom. All I wanted was to
snuggle into Jason and let him rub my exhaustion away. He was so
good at that; his methodical hands working ever so deftly.

We lay down on the bed, staring up at the
ceiling and I watched Jason rub his hands over his eyes, sighing
heavily. Being home didn’t bring him the enjoyment and satisfaction
that it would have brought most people. He was here out of total
obligation, and felt compelled to endure the nausea inducing
interactions that came along with family visits. Jacob made me
squirm, and while Mrs. Bradley chalked it up to him being a teddy
bear, I got the feeling that he was just a douche.