Page 67 of Always Be True: Tino
Chapter 18
Tino met up with Jack at the beach for a quick lunch before heading to the job site. “Sorry I’m late. We were visiting Natalie’s grandfather, and I lost track of time.”
“How did it go meeting him?”
“Fine. He plays a mean game of chess.”
“So you’ve met her parents and now her grandfather.”
Where was Jack headed with this? “Yeah. So?”
“So, little brother, it seems odd that none of us have gotten to meet her.” Jack stopped to point a fry at Tino before dunking it in ketchup and stuffing it in his mouth. “Tell me if I’m wrong, but I’ve got to wonder what, if anything, you’ve told Natalie about your past or us.”
A burst of what felt suspiciously like shame washed through his veins and left his face burning hot. “She knows I have two brothers, that we lost Dad, and that one of the reasons I left the army was to be close by if Mom needed me.”
“But not the specifics.”
“If by that you mean that we were adopted, then no, I didn’t tell her specifics.”
“Why the hell not?” Jack looked pissed, but his words came out cold and calm. “Unless you’re suddenly ashamed of our family, it’s her reaction that you’re worried about. If Natalie can’t handle where you came from, she doesn’t deserve you.”
Tino’s own temper might take longer to ignite, but it burned just as hot as his brother’s when it did. “Shut the fuck up about Natalie. You don’t know a damn thing about her.”
Jack’s fist pounded down on the table. “My point exactly. The woman obviously means a lot to you, but you haven’t even brought her around to meet Mom. I get that you might not want to spring the whole clan on her at once. God knows Mikhail is barely housebroken, but she’d love Mom. Everybody does.”
That was true. He’d never met a single person who could withstand Marlene’s warmth and kindness for more than a minute. If she’d managed to win over three surly teenagers who had more than the usual amount of bad attitude, a sweetheart like Natalie would be a piece of cake for her.
Tino’s anger blew away on the breeze as he stared out at the waves on Puget Sound. “I’m so out of my league with her, Jack. Her grandfather owns one of those huge houses Dad used to drive us by down in the city. I’m not sure what Cyrus did for a living, but he made enough money to fund the foundation that Natalie runs all by herself. Her father comes from money, too, so Natalie grew up around all kinds of wealthy people. She went to the best schools. Had every advantage.”
Might as well lay it all out there for Jack to see. “I also met her ex-fiancé the other night. He looks like a runway model even if he’s a complete bastard. He’s also an attorney in his family’s big-ass law firm. Then there’s the house she lives in. It’s stuffed full of expensive antiques. When she had me over for dinner, we ate off bone china using sterling silver flatware.”
Jack didn’t look all that impressed. “So?”
“So, I made it out of high school with a B average and spent ten years as an army cop. I’ve earned a few college credits along the way, but not enough for even an associate’s degree. I’d go back to school, but I have no idea of what I want to be when I grow up. With my military experience, I could probably get a job with one of the local police forces, but I can’t see me spending the next twenty-five years writing out speeding tickets and dealing with drunk drivers.”
He crushed his empty cup. “And in case you’ve forgotten, to cap it all off, I live in the garage at my mother’s house. That would be sure to impress Natalie’s parents, don’t you think?”
Instead of slapping Tino down for disparaging the place the three brothers had helped Joe remodel into a man cave for the three of them, Jack did something totally unexpected. He laughed. In fact, he laughed loud and long until his face was beet red, and he struggled to breathe.
After about a minute, he laid his head down on his arms on the tabletop, his huge shoulders still shaking. Okay, his reaction pissed off Tino big-time.
“What is so damn funny?”
Jack sat back up, clearly trying to rein in his amusement but failing miserably. “You are, little brother. You should see your face right now. I always figured when you got around to falling for somebody, you’d fall hard and fast. No wonder you’re running in circles like a dog chasing its tail.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Although he suspected he knew and regretted asking the question for the simple reason that Jack was very likely to answer it. Sure enough, his brother’s eyes filled with what looked like sympathy.
“Have you given any thought to the possibility that she might be the one for you, little brother? Otherwise, you wouldn’t give a damn what she or her family thought about where you sleep at night.”
“Well, shit.”
The truth settled in Tino’s gut. What was he supposed to do now?
Meanwhile, Jack gathered up the remains of their meal and carried it over to the trash can. It was his brother’s way of giving Tino time to regain control. When he came back, Jack crossed his arms over his broad chest.
“You probably don’t want my advice, but I’m going to give it to you anyway, free of charge and everything. You gotta know that it wasn’t easy to tell Caitlyn about my fucked-up childhood or for her to share what her abusive bastard of an ex-husband put her through. But as hard as it was to rip open all those old wounds, we both knew if we wanted to make a go of it, we had to be honest about all that crap. Hell, most of the time I still can’t believe she wanted me anyway.”
