SWNOVELS Downpour: Chapter 33
“Everyone’s gonna have to squeeze in tonight,” Momma said as she opened the door for Brooke and me. “We’ve got some extra folks joining us.”
She gave Brooke a tight hug. “Hey, sweetie. How was work?”
Brooke was still wearing her official Griffith Brothers Ranch polo shirt, having managed the first field trip full of excited school kids who wanted to learn all about horses.
I had watched from a distance as she guided them through the barns and delivered the speech she had rehearsed a thousand times in our bedroom.
Brooke beamed from ear to ear. “It was great. I think the kids had a really good time.”
Momma squeezed her hands. “Cassandra told me you did a great job.”
Brooke gasped. “Really?”
“Well, she said it went smoothly. That’s basically the same thing to her.”
Brooke laughed. “I’ll take it.”
“And how was your day?” Mom asked as she leaned down and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
“I see how it is. I bring a pretty girl around and suddenly I’m an afterthought,” I said, teasing her simply because I could.
Mom scoffed. “Well, I talked to Brooke first because I know I’ll get more words out of her. But if you want to have a chat, then I’ll ask how you are first next time.”
I chuckled. “My day was fine. I was on a video call with Marty for most of it, dealing with contract negotiations.”
Mom pressed her palm to my cheek like I was still the six-year-old boy who ran amok all over the ranch. “I’m glad you’re getting back at it. I know it’s not the same.”
It wasn’t. The rodeo was my first love, but she was my forever.
I would have been perfectly content following Brooke around like a lost puppy for the rest of my life, but I was fairly certain she would get tired of that. I needed to find a new dream, whatever that was.
I didn’t think appearing in ad campaigns was my life’s calling but, for now, it was a start.
“We’ll see if they’re willing to shell out what Marty’s asking. He drives a hard bargain.”
“Who else is coming tonight?” Brooke asked as she looked around.
It seemed like we were the last to show up. CJ was already here, talking to Nate and Becks. My dad had their daughter, Charlie, on his knee as he read her a story. Christian and Gracie were on the couch. Bree was pacing in the corner, looking at her phone.
It looked like Cassandra was the only one missing.
“One of the bigwig investors in the restaurant was here today to look at the damage from the fire,” Mom said. “Cass called a little while ago and said their meeting was running long, so I offered to have everyone up here for dinner.”
A car pulled down the drive, and Bree bolted past us and onto the porch.
Christian jumped off the couch.
Mom looked at me and Bree. “And your brother compromised with his daughter. Bree can’t go on dates with the boy just yet, but he’s allowed to join us for dinner.”
“This is going to be entertaining,” I said to Brooke as I wheeled into the house.
She laughed. “Have a little faith. I think it’s sweet that Christian came around.”
“This kid doesn’t know what he’s in for.”
The door opened, and the living and dining rooms went silent as Bree walked in, holding the hand of some floppy-haired, good-for-nothing punk.
“Be nice,” Brooke whispered.
“Well, hey there,” Mom said to the future corpse. “You must be Mason. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Bree’s grandma.”
“Hi, Mrs. Griffith,” Mason stammered out. He spotted Gracie and offered a wave. “Hey.”
Gracie gave him a chin tip. “‘Sup.”
“This is my Uncle Ray and Brooke,” Bree said, braving the gauntlet as she led the kid I wanted to barbecue into the house.
“Nice to meet you, Mason,” Brooke said with a sweet-as-pie smile as she jabbed her elbow into my shoulder.
“Hi. Uh…” Mason looked down at me and cleared his throat. “Bree’s told me a lot about you. She said you’re her favorite uncle.”
“Hey!” CJ and Nate shouted from the living room.
Brooke snickered.
Mason squeezed Bree’s hand. “But, uh… I’m a big fan, actually.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere,” I said. “There’s plenty of space out here to hide a body, and you’re not that big.”
Brooke dropped her head into her hands. “Please excuse Bree’s uncles. They’re still being house-trained.”
Bree giggled.
I looked at Bree and tipped my head toward Christian, who had come up behind me. “Better get it over with, squirt.”
Bree looked up at her father with doe eyes. “Daddy, this is Mason. Mason, this is my dad.”
Mason’s Adam’s apple bobbed like a cartoon. “Hello, sir.”
Christian silently crossed his arms over his chest, and worry filled Bree’s eyes. I pulled against the wheels and backed my wheelchair up and over his foot.
“Hey!” he shouted, jumping back. “What the hell? That hurt.”
“My bad,” I said innocently as I tossed a wink to Bree.
Christian sighed. “Nice to meet you.”
“You know,” I teased. “I think you can do better than that. Wanna try again? You’ve got another foot.”
Bree dragged Mason into the living room to meet the rest of the motley crew.
Brooke crossed her arms and glared at me. “Really?”
“What?” I said innocently.
She huffed. “Don’t pull the tough-guy act. You know damn well you would do anything for her.”
I loved when Brooke looked angry. It was adorable.
I hitched my thumb over my shoulder at Christian. “I ran over his foot, didn’t I?”
“I fucking hate this,” Christian grumbled.
I peered into the living room and saw that Bree and Mason had taken up residence on the loveseat. They were sitting an appropriate twelve inches apart and both looked like they were about to throw up. Still, that punk-ass kid looked at Bree like she hung the moon and stars.
I couldn’t really be mad at that.
I went ahead and got settled at the long line of tables that had been pushed together so there were enough seats. I didn’t want to be struggling to get in and out when there were people I wasn’t familiar with joining us for dinner.
“What crawled up your ass and died?” I asked CJ when he stormed into the kitchen.
He grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down across from Brooke and me.
“More fuckin’ people,” he grumbled.
I raised an eyebrow. “What? On the ranch?” I rested my hands on the table. “You knew this was coming. All these deals were signed before my accident.”
He took a long drink. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it. You saw what happened at the build site. Putting all these things on the ranch is just asking for trouble. Mark my words, there’s gonna be more of it.”
CJ would live and die for the ranch. More than my father. More than Christian. He was a purist, loving the land more than the ability to keep it afloat. He didn’t take kindly to change, and I had a feeling he would hold on to that anger as long as possible.
We were alike in our ability to hold grudges.
The door swung open and Cassandra strolled in with some fancy-pants man on her heels. He was in a tailored suit, squeaky clean loafers, and had a watch that I knew sold for at least five figures.
“Oh my god,” Brooke whispered.
I glared at her. “Eyes on your own man.”
She snickered.
Cassandra’s face was stern and all business as she strode to the center of the living and dining room. “Everyone, this is Luca DeRossi.”
He tipped his perfectly coiffed black hair. “Pleasure to meet you all.”
“He’s the head of the DeRossi Hospitality Group and will be the co-owner and executive chef of the steakhouse,” Cassandra said.
Mom wiped her hands on a dish towel. “We’re glad to have you for dinner, Mr. DeRossi. We’re not fancy, so I hope you like sloppy Joes.”
He flashed a toothpaste-commercial smile. “I love them. Thank you for having me. It’ll be great to get to know everyone. I’m excited to partner with a family for this venture.”
And with that, CJ finished his beer, slammed it down, and pushed away from the table. “I’ll eat in the bunkhouse,” he grumbled as he stormed out.
Worry flashed in Brooke’s eyes.
No one said a word until Bree broke the silence. “Cass, this is Mason.”
Cassandra’s intimidating gaze turned on the teenager. “Right. No red flags on your background check, but just know that I have eyes and ears everywhere.”
He nodded nervously. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Don’t say that!” Bree whispered to him.
“Uh—Um—Yes, Ms. Parker,” Mason recited.
“Well,” Mom said as she glanced at the door. “I suppose we should start eating before it gets cold.”
The tension from CJ’s sudden departure faded as we dug into our meal. Luca shared his vision for the restaurant and, I had to admit, it didn’t sound half-bad. Laughter filled the table as he talked about a woman he was going to propose to—a pastry chef from a restaurant his group recently acquired—and how they met.
An hour later, Luca said his goodbyes and headed out to catch a flight to North Carolina.
Bree and Mason had slipped out for a walk around the front of the property that was supervised by Gracie, leaving Christian to commiserate with Becks and Nate. I stole Brooke away from her conversation with my dad and led her out to the porch to watch the sun set.
Cicadas sang as Brooke helped me transfer to one of the rocking chairs.
“Thanks, baby,” I said as I adjusted my legs and leaned back.
Brooke made a move for the other rocking chair, but I caught her around the waist and pulled her onto my lap.
“This is nice,” she said as she rested her temple in the crook of my neck and closed her eyes.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Can I ask you something?”
“What’s that?”
“Are you happy here?”
Brooke laughed. “What kind of question is that? Of course I’m happy here.”
I tucked her hair behind her ear. “I mean it. If all your days looked like this one, would you be happy?”
She tapped her chin. “Let me think… Waking up to you? Yes. Walking to work? Yes. My job? Yes. Coming home to you? Yes. Not having to cook dinner? Absolutely. Falling asleep with you? Yes.” She kissed my cheek. “I couldn’t have dreamed up anything better. You’ve given me everything I never knew I wanted.”
She felt so good in my arms. And, for the first time in a long time, I was at peace with where I was.
“What about in there?”
“In the house?”
I nodded. “What if your life looked like that? A big family. A front porch to sit on when the day is done. A whole bunch of kids running around, causing chaos.”
Her fingers glided over the tattoos on my forearms. “I think that sounds like a dream.”
I kissed her lips. “What about all of that here? With me?”
Her hands pressed against my cheeks as she tipped her head to the side and kissed me long and slow. “I’m in for the ride.”