Home > As We Are (The Baker’s Creek Billionaire Brothers #5)(6)

As We Are (The Baker’s Creek Billionaire Brothers #5)(6)
Author: Claudia Y. Burgoa

“We need a car,” I retort, trying to wiggle my way out of this situation. He can fly with Darren.

“Wonderful,” Darren says, having been waiting patiently for his turn. He points a finger in Vance’s direction. “He has a helicopter and a car. We’re set. It would be wiser if we cut the traveling time and enjoy our time in Portland.”

Ugh, I hate people who look at the practical, logical, and more sensible solution. I need to get the fuck out of this town without my brothers. But he’s right about one thing. Arden will be better if we fly.

Vance gives me his best annoyed look. “He has a point.”

I take a moment to think about his offer. Maybe he doesn’t want to be alone. In the end, I agree. If nothing else, I can convince them to join me in the rink. Maybe they can watch Arden for ten minutes while I speed skate. I miss skating so fucking much. What are a few hours with my brother and a haughty neurosurgeon?

 

 

Our trip to Portland is better than I anticipated. I hate to admit it, but including Darren, or “Dare” as he likes to be called, makes a big difference. He keeps Vance on his toes and helps me a lot with Arden while I skate by myself. He sits by the bench playing with Arden’s plushy Orca. During lunchtime he convinces him that broccoli is yummy.

I let the man lie. If he can make my son eat vegetables, the guy is more than okay in my book. While Vance drives us back to the airport, Dare tells me he has a three-year-old niece who he babysits when her parents need a break. Maybe Hayes convinced him to move to Baker’s Creek so he can help us take care of the kids. I doubt he’ll have any patients.

We arrive at home around eight. For the first time since Machlan came home, Arden is asleep, even before his nine o’clock bedtime. Between the newborn baby, Beacon not being home, and everyone’s stress, he hasn’t been able to fall asleep on time. I skip his bath and just change him into his pajamas. One day without his night routine won’t affect him.

I set up the baby monitor and head downstairs, catching Vance as he enters the house.

“So he made you drive him home, huh?” I ask, trying not to laugh.

“Not only that, he made me walk him to his door,” he grunts. “Someone has to tell him that I’m not available.”

“You could do it,” I say. “Just tell him you got out of a serious relationship that ended up.” I pause for effect. “Deadly.”

Vance glares at me. “You’re not Beacon. He might’ve said something funny. You’re just an idiot impersonating him. And no, it’s not because of Bennett. I’m just not in a good place to date. He and I were just friends with benefits.”

I wave away his excuses and head to the kitchen for a six pack. “Do you want to hang out on the patio?”

It’s a simple request, but it’s something Beacon and I usually do together. Sometimes others will join us, like his bandmates, but it was a rare occasion for our other brothers to be there.

“Do you think we should build a covered patio around the firepit?” Vance asks, pointing at the old castle-style fire pit that we built almost a year ago.

This land was abandoned. Now, the house has a new stucco exterior the color of the sand. Pierce is building a house on the far west side of the lake, opposite of Hayes. Not that he can live there. According to the stipulations of my father’s will, no one can live outside of the main house for eighteen months.

As Vance starts the fire, I ignore his question and say, “Dare is fun.” We don’t need to do another do-it-yourself project. Not with all the chaos happening in the house.

I wish I could see his face when he retorts, “He’s annoying.”

“You laughed for the first time since the explosion. Maybe for the first time since we moved to Baker’s Creek. I haven’t seen you have so much fun since we were children.”

We made this a fun day for everyone. Even when we had to buy a few things for Dare’s place, we still went to the ice rink where he flirted a lot with Vance. Then, we went for lunch, where Dare paid and called it a date.

He shrugs. “You shouldn’t have invited him to have dinner with us this Sunday.”

“The guy doesn’t know anyone in town. It’s not like I set you up to go on a second date,” I laugh. “Three more, and you get lucky.”

If glares could kill, I’d be dead right about now. “Darren isn’t my type.”

“Why?” I ask with a smirk. “Because he’s not a sociopath trying to kill your family?”

Vance chuckles. He actually chuckles. And here I was worried that it was too soon to make that joke. Did he swap personalities while we were out?

Was it the air in Portland, the hour we spent teaching him how to skate on ice, or Darren Russell?

“One more stupid comment about the doctor and I’ll kill you,” he threatens me.

I open my beer and take a seat. “You could date one of the Marys,” I tease him.

“I heard you’re the father of the unborn kid. Don’t you have any restraint, Mills?”

“Fuck you!” I give him the finger.

He grins. “You started it.”

“Honestly, I feel bad for Mary Beth. If she’s pregnant, that’s going to be like having a scarlet letter sewn into her clothing. If she’s not...why did she leave town?”

Vance groans. “God, we’re starting to sound like everyone else in this town. Why do we care about other people’s business?”

“We don’t, but I worry about her. Being a single parent is hard. I didn’t live in a small town, but my life since Arden’s mom got pregnant is in every tabloid, social media outlet, or internet article. You can see the evolution of Mills Aldridge's road to parenting on any of them. Everyone had an opinion about my relationship with his mother, a relationship that didn’t even exist. They criticized me for not marrying her, while others supported me. It’s exhausting to be under the scrutiny of so many people.”

Vance glances at me. “I didn’t see it that way, but you’re right. I wish I had been there for you.”

“In no way am I judging her,” I continue, ignoring his regret.

That’s easily the most used phrase in this household. We all wished we had been there for each other, but we can’t fix the past, can’t we?

“So, why didn’t you share custody of Arden with his mom?”

This is so unlike Vance. He’s never been one for talking, especially talking about feelings, so I take advantage of this moment. I tell him about Margaret, Arden’s Mom. The bad choices that led me to the best thing in my life, my son.

“There’s always a group of puck bunnies who follow the team to every game. I didn’t think much of her; I’m ashamed to admit that those fans are the easiest lay. So, I slept with her a couple of times. The condom broke during one of those times. I suggested we get the morning after pill but she said she was on the pill.”

“Let me guess,” Vance says. “She wasn’t.”

I shrug because who the fuck knows. “I’m sure you think I’m an idiot for believing her, and you’re right. She was about sixteen weeks pregnant when she figured it out. She wanted me to marry her.”

“I take it that you didn’t want to marry an almost stranger.”

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