Page 8 of Stay with Me
“Please call me Trish. If you use ma’am for all of us here, you’ll be ma’aming all day,” Trish smiled as she corrected Brody.
Brody started again. “Trish, there’s no reason to be upset at the sergeant major. It seems he didn’t share why I need someoneto do this, and that’s okay.” Brody stopped and took a deep breath. “I grew up in foster care and my last foster parents didn’t respond to my texts or calls. I guess now that I’m graduating and will be moving to Joint Base San Antonio, I’m not their responsibility.” He wasn’t going to be ashamed. He really wasn’t.
“San Antonio? Drew didn’t tell me that part. Do you know where you’re going to live?” Mike asked.
“Your first assignment is JBSA?” Trish asked.
“Oh, I’m definitely fixing your hair. You’ll be visiting me every month or so for upkeep,” Nova said.
Brody was stunned. These people were showing more interest in him than most of his foster families ever had, and he’d only met them today. He looked over at Darien, waiting for him to chime in.
Darien just shrugged. “You’ll get used to them. I still am, actually. I’ve got nothing to add, unless you need a workout partner. I’m an athletic trainer for one of the high schools.”
He really didn’t know where to start answering the questions they had thrown at him. Brody looked around, hoping that the panic that was starting to creep in wasn’t written across his face. How could they understand the lack of support he’d grown up with? He must have given himself away as Nova held a hand out to him and one to Darien.
“Help me up you two. It’s haircut time.” Once they had Nova standing, she put her fingers in her mouth and gave a loud whistle. Everyone in the backyard stopped talking and looked over. “Time for me to polish everyone’s hair. Drew, take your cute tush and go get my bag from the car. Who’s first?”
Brody thought he was in love. Nova had just taken him out of the spotlight, cutting off his panic. He glanced at her out of thecorner of his eye, and she gave him a small wink. Yup, she knew and had his back.
§ § § §
Drew stood with his cousin Noah, just soaking in being with his family again. Right now? He was the golden child, pinning on his officer’s bars tomorrow. Not a fuck-up in sight. Drew moved his right hand to signal Noah before he started signing. He knew that Noah had taken out his hearing aids. He said he had a high-pitched buzzing coming from the right one and he wanted to give his ears a break. Before Drew could get his hands up, Julia hit him full force, almost knocking him on his ass.
“Baby brother! You did it!” Julia screamed in his ear. Great, he was going to need Noah’s aids tomorrow to hear during the ceremony.
“Jules, seriously? Do you want me to get booted out of the Army for hearing loss?” Drew grumbled as he pulled back to look his sister over. “Oh, you look like shit.”
Julia smacked him on the shoulder as Noah started laughing. Ah, Noah had read his lips.
“You’re an idiot,” Noah signed, still laughing. “Not a good start to tell your sister or any female that they’re not looking their best.”
“Ummm… well… in my defense—” Drew was trying to backtrack but he didn’t see a way out of what he said. Julia was really going to kill him. Surprisingly, she dropped her head on his shoulder and let out a huge sigh. Maybe he wasn’t dead man walking.
“Are you okay?” Drew asked softly. It wasn’t like Julia to show any weakness. She nodded but didn’t pull back so he wrapped his arms around her and just stood there. This he could do. Comfort someone? He was a specialist. There had been manya night that he held Julia while she cried out her frustrations over whomever had broken her heart that week. And there was no way he could estimate the number of hours he’d been on the phone with Maggie.
“It was a very, very rough tax season this year. As the junior accountant, I got all the shit accounts. I don’t even know how many ten-forties I processed. Next year? I will damn well have an assistant for that shit,” Julia complained as she straightened to place a kiss on Drew’s cheek. “Please tell me I don’t look that horrid. I don’t want Mom and Dad on my ass.” She remained leaning against Drew as she looked over the crowd. “Did I miss dinner?”
“Nope, haven’t even started yet. Everyone is just doing the ‘we’re all here together’ chit-chat. It’s not like there aren’t ten million text groups among us all,” Drew answered. He glanced over and it looked like his mom and aunts were about to call them. They didn’t do a blessing for meals since they all had their faiths, but with multiple moves none of them had a home church; one of the dads did say something before they ate.
“Who the hell is that and why don’t I know him?” Julia demanded as she stood straighter and ran her hand down her shirt.
Noah and Drew looked to their right and the only person standing there who Julia wouldn’t know was Brody. Noah started to sign something but Drew cut him off.
“That’s Brody. He’s another cadet and when Uncle Mike found out that he didn’t have family coming—”
Julia cut him off. “He invited him to dinner and offered some family. Once a senior enlisted, always a senior enlisted.” Drew shrugged. What else was there to do? They’d all witnessed it more times than they could count. “The more importantquestions are— is he single? Straight? Gay? And if he is gay, why are you not banging him? Because…damn. And how do I not remember meeting him at one of the balls you dragged me to?”
Drew shrugged again. “Bang him? Seriously? Jules, show some decorum. I am not a male slut.” Drew heard Noah laughing again and glared at him.
Noah raised his hands and signed, “You’d have to leave your apartment and books behind to actually meet someone to sleep with. Are you going for born-again virgin status?”
Shaking his head, Drew raised his hands and started signing as he talked, “You are no longer my favorite cousin. I am not a hermit. I go out.” He wasn’t going to fidget as he told that lie. He was going to stand firm. “I’ve been focused on finishing my degree. Studying to be the best officer I can be. You know? Make the parents proud? I have no idea if Brody is gay or not. Rick and I kinda kept to ourselves.” He might die with the focus he’d been putting into being an officer. Maybe he’d be lucky and he’d only get wounded enough to have to be medically discharged. Okay, maybe not wounded to that degree. That would destroy his mother.
“Where is Rick? I haven’t thanked him enough for the past few years. Keeping you safe for me,” Julia asked. It seemed like Noah and Julia were going to let it drop.
“Keep me safe? Don’t you think I can do that myself?” Drew was a bit hurt at that. He didn’t think that Julia thought he was a lightweight but maybe he was wrong. He thought he’d hid it well enough.
“Of course, you can keep yourself safe. I taught you,” Uncle Spook said as he came up behind them. “Your aunts and mothers are ready for us to eat. Time to gather up.” Uncle Spook threw his arm around Drew’s shoulders and pulled him close.“We are so proud of all you’ve done and what you’ll do. Keeping the family tradition going. Well done, Andrew Brian.”
