SWNOVELS Dr. Brandt: Chapter 24
After we pulled up to the phenomenal home, built on the cliffs of Carmel with nothing but coastline in front of it, we were greeted by all of Cameron’s friends as if we’d come home for a family reunion.
The wives of Cam’s friends were so kind that, at first, I wondered if it was an act. After suffering the bullshit of Manhattan’s high society for so long, I didn’t expect much from the behavior of billionaires’ wives. Part of me had been dreading this, meeting women who would probably sit around and talk about their kids’ private schools or interior decorators’ designs for their third and fourth vacation homes.
To my pleasure, I was very much mistaken. These women couldn’t have possibly been more delightful. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d met a group of women who enjoyed each other’s company so much. They were down-to-earth, charming, and funny, and they made me feel very welcome.
“Good God,” Avery said, her brilliant blue eyes sparkling against her pitch-black hair. “I swear if we don’t find something for these men to do, they will start making rope swings to fling themselves into the ocean from up here. Seriously,” she laughed, taking a sip of freshly brewed coffee.
“What the hell are they talking about?” Ash asked, craning her neck to see where they were.
Avery and Ash were married to the Mitchell brothers, Jim and Jacob. Jim, Avery’s husband, was the CEO of the global empire Mitchell and Associates. Jacob was the chief cardiothoracic surgeon at St. John’s, where Cam worked. Both men were undeniably drop-dead handsome, and their wives were equally as beautiful.
“All I know is that they seem to have pulled some shit on Collin, and that’s always a good time. We should get in there,” Collin’s wife, Elena, said with a mischievous laugh.
Collin was just as gorgeous as the Mitchell brothers, but with blond hair instead of black. Collin introduced his wife as his Cuban goddess, and from where I sat, she looked like one. I don’t think I’d ever been so envious of someone’s skin tone and natural beauty. They were all just as lovely on the inside as they were on the outside, which was the most important part, in my opinion.
“I have to know,” Elena said, walking into the room and sitting on the arm of the couch next to her husband, “what has Dr. Brooks so blown away?”
“No joke, Jacks here says that some kid flew a Cessna after the pilot blacked out. He landed that son of a bitch and everything,” Collin answered her.
I smiled, knowing what game my son was playing. That kid would do anything to prove video games were good for you. My eyes drifted to where he and Cam sat next to each other on the sofa, their backs to the windows that overlooked the ocean rolling into the cliffs below.
It was a beautiful sight; the heavy fog drifting along the shoreline that went on for miles, rocky bluffs lining the entire view this home was built to enjoy, and Cameron and Jackson. My heart suddenly skipped a beat, and my breath caught while I enjoyed the identical smiles of father and son.
Cam’s arm was relaxed behind Jacks while he sat casually in a humored conversation, resting an ankle on his knee. He was so devastatingly handsome, and I had to stop myself from drooling here and now.
Goddamn hormones.
“So, the kid landed the Cessna safely because he knew how to fly a plane in a mother fu—” Jake stopped himself as soon as his brain caught up with his mouth, and the daggers from each of the mothers’ eyes fell on him.
“Go on,” Cameron said with a laugh, enjoying that Jake was in the cussing hot seat. “Mother fuh? Hmm?”
I smiled while Jim rolled his eyes, his two-year-old daughter Izzy, looking at her uncle Jake from where she sat on Jim’s lap, apparently waiting for him to screw up and get busted too. Izzy’s older sister, Addy, was very well-mannered compared to everyone else in the room, a bit reserved and shy for a ten-year-old, but I sensed that she was feeling things out. Izzy seemed a bit more mischievous of the two; that was apparent.
“Don’t say the f-word, Dad,” Jake’s son, John, said as he walked into the room.
This boy was a little stud, and, like Jacks was Cameron’s mini, John was most certainly Jake’s little doppelgänger. They both sported short, stylish black hair and bright blue eyes that leveled you with a glance. However, the difference between Jake and his son John was in their personalities. John was only five years old, but the kid acted like he could be the chief heart surgeon at St. John’s, not his fun-natured dad.
“I won’t, son.” Jake took it as a challenge, and suddenly it felt like the room was in a silent standoff over whether Jake would recover himself or not.
“No, you won’t,” John said, then his piercing blue eyes met with Ash’s humored ones. “He’s not in trouble, Mommy. He didn’t say it this time.”
“This time?” Ash said, her auburn hair dancing on her shoulders. It was obvious she was trying not to laugh. “Good grief, can we all just pack it up and head to the aquarium for Addy’s birthday party before I drop the f-bomb? How in the world does this happen every single time?”
“What?” I questioned, confused.
“One of these guys lets a curse word slip, and the next thing you know, we’re doing this. Kids are defending their father’s mouths, and the moms are looking like the bad-word police,” Avery said to me with an arched eyebrow. “Let me be the first to say that I don’t give a fuck who hears me drop the f-bomb because I’m a grown-ass woman, and I am who I am. My kids don’t need me pretending to be someone I’m not, and I’m sure as hell not going to sit back and act like any words are off limits when we all know I’d be the first one to bankrupt myself if there were a swear jar sitting around.”
Jim laughed and blew Avery a kiss.
“The family fortune would’ve been long gone if Avery came within ten feet of a swear jar, and we all know it,” Jim said.
“God knows it’s hard enough for the rest of us to keep our colorful language to ourselves, but for Avery, it’s impossible. She’s the only one who gets away with it,” Ash laughed. “Which is baloney if you ask me because Mom gets to be the heavy when the bombs start dropping.”
I grinned at Ash. She wasn’t wrong, and it did suck to be the bad guy all the time. But at least I wasn’t the only one dealing with this. Sometimes I felt like such a prude, and that is precisely how I’d started this trip, by making demands of Cam about cussing.
The worse part was that I swore in front of Jackson semi-regularly, so it wasn’t like my son’s innocence was being violated. What a stupid point for me to try to make. It seemed evident that I’d been trying to flex my control in the situation because I felt so out of control in my life. Why else would I choose to die on such a dumb hill?
The aquarium was a stellar idea. We all blended in like the tourists we most certainly were. The kids held onto their parents’ hands as we passed by massive tanks of endless, exotic fish. Rows of children on school field trips were being ushered around, stopping to gasp at the occasional shark that swam by. The soothing sounds in the background and the dark, cool rooms in this two-story aquarium were almost hypnotic.
Everyone split up into groups, and Cam, Jacks, and I stuck together. I eventually wandered upstairs and sat on a bench in front of a huge tank, leaned forward on my knees, and watched a sea turtle swim with slow strides, pulling each leg through the enormous tank’s backlit water.
“Relaxing, isn’t it?” Ash said, slipping in next to me on the bench.
I sat up and smiled at her. “I could take a nap here,” I joked.
“No shit,” she said with a smile. “So, Cam told us a little bit about your history together. I hope you’ll forgive him for that.”
“Oh, I don’t mind,” I said. “I suppose I’m surprised he would mention that his ex-girlfriend was in town.”
She laughed. “Well, I think he was more or less preparing the guys. I mean, Jacks looks just like him, and all those ding dongs would have had something to say about it.”
I grinned, “It’s probably a good thing he told them because I haven’t told Jacks that Cameron is his father yet, and I’d hate for him to find out that way.”
“Oh, really?” Ash said. “Are you concerned he’ll be upset by that?”
“You know, it’s not like I’ve been keeping it a secret for his whole life. I would’ve gladly spilled those beans ages ago. It’s just that he’s never really asked, and I never felt the need to push it on him. It makes the situation now a little unintentionally sticky, I’ll admit.” I never anticipated we’d be in this position; having to reveal that Jackson’s biological father was also the man trying to remove half his brain seemed a bit like a soap opera, but here we were. “I figured he’d get curious about it one day, but until then, he was perfectly happy to accept my ex-fiancé as his father.”
“Fiancé?”
I shook my head, realizing how strange that bit of information must’ve sounded to a woman I’d just met. “Yeah, we broke up last week.”
“God, I’m so sorry,” Ash said, covering her heart.
“Don’t be. Ending that was one of my better judgment calls. It wasn’t the healthiest relationship, and it was better to part ways, especially before Jacks goes through this surgery.”
She smiled, “Well, I’m here if you need anything. I know we just met, but I went through a similar situation when I moved to LA after my dad had a heart attack.”
“Oh, wow,” I said. “So, you came down here with no friends too?”
“No friends and my dad’s doctor ended up being a previous one-night stand,” she said with an eyebrow arch, then she shook her head and laughed and brought her attention back to the massive two-story aquarium we faced. “I was a fish out of water, and my only quote-unquote friends were a couple of evil bitches I worked for at an art gallery. And, as these stories go, those chicks happened to have a thing for my dad’s surgeon,” she ran her palms over her jeans, “Dr. Jacob Mitchell.”
“Ah,” I smiled. “Well, Cam and I are just friends. There’ll be no relationships other than that for us. There’s just no way I’ll go down that road again.”
“I understand that,” she nodded in understanding, “and who knows where everything goes. But I want you to know that you have a friend here no matter what. I’m here if you just want some time for yourself or someone to get massages or pedicures with. Hell, I’ll even pack peanut butter and jelly sandwiches if you want to go to the beach for a picnic,” she chuckled. “I truly understand the stress and heartache of processing medical issues while living in a foreign place. I did all of that and then decided to date Jacob to add to the stress.” She nudged my arm with her elbow. “I’m glad you’re here. We’re going to make sure you’re okay.”
“Thanks, Ash,” I said sincerely. “You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”
“No problem at all. And last I saw, Jake and John were with Cameron and Jacks in the exhibit where you pet the manta rays. I’m going to head back if you want to join me?”
“Sounds great.”
I enjoyed being around Cameron’s friends. They were warm and inviting, and we had a great time goofing around. Sadly, all the fun came to a screeching halt when Jackson had a seizure while we ate lunch at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the bay.
“Will he be okay?” Avery asked, trying not to show her shock and fear.
“Yeah. He’s got two neurologists barking orders at the restaurant staff, so he’s in good hands.” Collin and Cam were working in tandem to take care of my son. “He’ll be fine, but we’ll have to head to the house because these episodes drain all his energy, and he’s going to need to sleep.”
“Cam, why don’t we sit him up over here?” Collin said before he looked at me as I approached with a glass of water. “You good, Mom?”
“I’m fine. Thanks, Collin,” I answered. I knelt by Jackson’s side where Cam sat protectively near his son, watching him as he lay next to the table where we ate fish and chips moments ago.
“Hey, kiddo.” I smiled at Jackson, seeing his eyes in a daze. “Whatever am I going to do with you?” I asked, running my fingers through his thick black, wavy hair, and smiling at his bashful grin.
Jackson shrugged and grabbed the water, sipping it slowly, then shook his head. He looked up at Cameron, who was on his knees directly across from where I knelt.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“You should be,” Cam answered, smiling, and trying to act annoyed all at once. “I was in the middle of a good story when, apparently, you weren’t getting enough attention and pulled this shit,” he winked and finished with an adorable smile. “You know, if you wanted to get that hot girl’s attention across the room, you could’ve just smiled at her. You know your dashing eyes would’ve done the trick, right?”
“Nah,” Jacks smiled and took another sip of water, “I’m good.”
He was still a bit out of it, which was expected after an episode.
“Ha,” Jake said, joining our little party on the floor of the fancy restaurant, “damn fine move. I was wondering if Cam here would ever stop talking about that ridiculous chopper ride up here. How you doing, kid?”
“I have a pretty bad headache. Sorta ready to go now,” Jacks answered.
“Good idea. I’ll go get the car,” I answered.
“Absolutely not,” Cam said, looking over at Jake, “Can you, Col, or Jim get the Tesla? We’ll wait for you in front of the restaurant.”
“I’ve got it. Keys?” Collin said, stepping toward us and holding out his hand. “Where are you parked?”
“In the parking garage by the Cannery Row bridge,” Cam said as the men moved around, clearing a pathway for us to take the side exit of the restaurant.
“Jim’s outside with the kids. Addy got a little concerned about Jacks and started crying,” Ash said as we moved through the restaurant.
People couldn’t stop staring at us. It was like we were walking a corpse out of the place. I tried not to glance around because seeing all those eyes would only piss me off, even though, I suppose, it was a normal reaction after witnessing a medical emergency. Unfortunately, some people weren’t exactly empathetic, and I had to avoid saying something to those people so as not to embarrass my poor son further.
This was normal, though; this was life since these seizures started again. The interesting part would be the next, though. Warren and I had lost a few friends over Jackson’s public episodes—good fucking riddance. But worse than Warren’s friends being embarrassed by them, Warren was too, and there was no hiding it, no matter how hard he tried. It wasn’t easy to deal with, that’s for sure, but this wasn’t Jackson’s fault. He didn’t ask for this shit, and he was the one who was affected by it the most.
This was the part where I waited for the shock and horror to die down and watched how Cam’s friends started casting side glances at the mention of having Jacks in public with them. Whale watching was tomorrow, and since little Addison was a bit traumatized about what’d happened to her buddy, whom she’d been joking with before the seizure, she might be afraid to have him along.
Jim also seemed extremely protective of his little girl, and I was waiting for the excuses to come: Why don’t we just pass on the whale-watching excursion tomorrow? or Are you sure he should come along after that seizure yesterday? All that would start happening sooner than later. And not far behind that, Cameron would either be rightfully upset at his friends’ reactions or that we’d made a spectacle of ourselves in front of his friends.
“Is Jacks going to be okay?” Addison asked, pulling me out of the string of PTSD thoughts plaguing me in the worst way.
“He’ll be fine, sweetheart,” I said.
Then she hugged me tightly, “I’m sorry that happened to him.”
“I am too, honey,” I said, hugging her back. “He’ll be fine, though. He just needs to sleep for a while at the house.”
“Okay, I was ready to leave anyway.” She smiled and then rolled her eyes, “Don’t tell my dad, but I didn’t want to go to that one place for my birthday cake.”
My mind softened up from my defensive thoughts, expecting all of Cam’s friends to reject us after embarrassing them.
“Why not?” I chuckled. “That little bakery smells delicious.”
She shrugged. “It’s pretty good, I guess.” Then her eyes widened, “Why don’t we get the cake and bring it back home?”
“Honey, you don’t have to stop everything for us. Why don’t you get your cake and eat it at the park by the ocean? You sounded very excited about that earlier. And if you have leftovers, I’m sure your buddy Jacks will love some when you get back.”
“Nope,” she smacked her lips. “We’re going back to the house, and we’ll have cake when Jacks is feeling better. It’s not fair if he misses out and we go play without him.”
I stared at her, entirely shocked that the little girl would be so considerate. Most adults would run away after witnessing a seizure like Jacks just had, but this sweet little girl wasn’t budging on the fact that she wouldn’t allow it to ruin Jackson’s day. She didn’t care that it was cutting the second part of her birthday in half.
“Okay, then, Miss Addy. Run it by your parents, though. Jacks will be asleep for a while, so why don’t you play around here for a bit, and then you can decide what you want to do,” I said.
“We’re going to take the kids back through the aquarium,” Ash said. “Jim overheard Addy talking to you a moment ago, and I think he’s right. So why don’t we let you, Cam, and Jacks head back to the house and give you three some peace and quiet? We’ll come back with cake and stuff in a few hours.”
“The house is stocked up nicely,” Jake said, standing next to his wife. “But if you’d like, the guys and I could go back with Jacks and Cam, and you can stay with the ladies if you want?”
I watched Ash smile and look up at her devastatingly handsome husband. “Nice try, wimp. You’re stuck going through that aquarium one more time, just like the rest of us. And yes,” she smiled back at me, “it was John’s idea to do the aquarium again. Gotta love how these guys like to get out of the hard stuff.” She winked, then looked over at Jackson. “Wow, he’s not missing a step, is he?”
My attention was brought back to my son. This was the easiest time I’d ever had while dealing with Jacks having a seizure. Cameron was sitting next to Jacks, joking and engaging him. It’s like the rest of us didn’t exist. It was just Cam and his son.
This moment took my breath away. It was the most beautiful sight. Jacks was laughing with that extremely exhausted look, but he seemed so damn happy with whatever Cam told him. Likewise, Cameron had his own beautiful smile, chuckling at whatever he was telling his son. It was as if this were one of the best days of his life, but I had no idea why.
Having a son with this medical condition had always made me feel like I didn’t quite fit in with the rest of the world, but I felt like I fit somewhere now.
I fit right here in this moment with the man I’d loved so profoundly so many years ago. As I watched him share my burden of caring for our son, I knew I still loved him. I don’t know if I’d ever stopped or just packed all those feelings away and hid them deep inside because they were too painful to process.
I’d never thought of myself as a girl who needed a hero. Still, as I stood there, watching my son’s worries floating away and feeling the relief that comes with being unburdened, I wondered if maybe everyone needed a hero sometimes.
As quickly as I let these feelings sweep me away, I put them back in their box and packed them away deep inside myself. I couldn’t get caught up in this. There was no way I would get all mushy and let my guard down because the second I did, I would end up paying the price for it.
“All right, Mom,” Cam said, breaking through the ice wall growing around my heart, “the car is here, and we’re getting this kid home. I’ve got bets placed on the NBA game later, so Jacks needs to take a nap before he can watch my Lakers take down his Knicks.”
I smiled again, and the battle to keep my guard up commenced. Would I or wouldn’t I allow myself to love this man again? Our eyes locked, and the way I felt scared the shit out of me.