Page 51 of Family Forever
Nodding, Luke wrapped his arms around Dylan’s neck and he carried him downstairs. He sat on the rocker recliner with Luke on his lap. Within minutes, his brother had fallen asleep. Selfishly, Dylan considered slipping out from under him and going to Jake's, but the thought of Luke waking while he was gone was enough to keep him home.
As he held his brother, he wondered what his life would be like right now had his parents not died. He would be free like Cole, and probably be at Jake's right now, holding Marissa, and kissing her at midnight. Actually, he probably wouldn’t be with Marissa because if his parents were still alive, he and Marissa’s paths may not have crossed. What would his life be like right now?
He looked at the clock, it was half past midnight already. Terry was probably breathless after the New Year’s kiss he shared with Marissa. Shame saturated every cell in Dylan’s body as a small part of him resented his little brother at this very moment. It took less than thirty seconds for Dylan to pray for forgiveness for that awful thought and thank God for the overabundance of love that filled his house. He kissed his brother on the head. “I love you, buddy.” The boy didn’t move.
The ordeal that just occurred with Luke was exactly why he pushed Marissa to sample life. He couldn’t bear the thought of saddling her with such responsibility at such a young age. Nope, he couldn’t do that to her, and Luke’s episode tonight was probably a sign from God substantiating his decision. And truth be told, how could he compete with someone like this Terry guy anyhow. He was rich and probably had no baggage. Someone like him was better for Marissa anyway.
A car pulled up the driveway. Doors slammed. The kitchen door opened and the sounds of Cole, Marissa, and Terry’s voices and laughter carried into the living room. They quieted when they saw Dylan rocking Luke. Luke’s eyes fluttered open.
“Why are you guys down here? What happened?” Marissa asked. Her beautiful blue eyes filled with concern.
“He had a bad dream.”
She stepped toward them, crouched down and placed her hand on Luke’s cheek. “You poor thing. Everything’s okay now?”
Luke nodded.
She smiled warmly at Luke and shot a quick glance to Dylan, and then looked back to Luke. “Your brother took care of everything for you, didn’t he?”
“Ah huh.”
Luke reached for her and she scooped him up, holding him tight against her, swaying back and forth. “How about I tuck you in?”
“No, I want to sleep with Dylan.”
Her soft blue-eyed gaze drifted to him and he nodded.
“Okay then, how about I tuck you into Dylan’s bed?”
Marissa disappeared into his bedroom and returned a moment later. She scanned the length of him. “Why are you all dressed up?”
“That’s the same thing I was about to ask,” Cole said with a knowing smirk.
“I decided I was going to Jake’s party until Luke had his bad dream, anyway. Now just leave it alone,” Dylan snapped at Cole.
“You were going to come to his party?” Marissa asked. Her bright eyes lit with excitement. Did she know what he’d planned to do once he got to Jake’s?
Behind her, Dylan caught a glimpse of Terry and his excitement to her reaction quickly diminished. Yes, Terry, the other man in the current picture.
“Well, yeah, but it didn’t work out.” He looked at his watch. “I guess I better get some rest, four o’clock comes mighty early.”
“Cole, since Luke will be sleeping with me tonight you can have Luke’s bed. Braden pulled the plug on the air mattress and claimed his own bed back.”
Dylan purposely fixed his gaze on the couch, before focusing on Terry, hoping the man would get the hint that the couch was where he should sleep. Nowhere else.
Marissa swung her gaze from Dylan to Terry. “The couch is a pullout, I’ll get some bedding for you. But just to warn you, the boys will probably get up early. Sorry.”
Everyone parted ways.
Dylan pushed Luke over and slid into bed but sleep didn’t come. He lay on his back with his hands clasped behind his head as visions of Marissa in that beautiful red dress invaded his mind. What was he to do? He couldn’t have it all, could he? A beautiful woman at his side, one who would accept his brothers into her heart, unconditionally. Was having such just a pipe dream?
His alarm buzzed, Luke didn’t flinch. Dylan rolled out of bed, dressed, and nearly tiptoed through the living room as to not wake their guest, who, he was happy to see, had remained on the couch. A small part of him worried he wouldn’t find him there.
Aric met him at the foot of the stairs and gave him the once-over. “You look like death. Did you sleep at all last night?”
“No, but as you know as well as I, the cows don’t care if we slept or not, they need to be milked.”
“Yep.”
The two headed out to the barn. By the time they returned to the house, Marissa was in the kitchen whipping up breakfast for everyone. Cole and Terry sat at the table sipping coffee. Luke sat next to Cole, running his toy tractor back and forth over the tabletop. Braden and Nate were setting the table, under Marissa’s direction he assumed.
The lovely woman cooking breakfast glanced at him. “I thought we’d all have a nice breakfast together before Cole, Terry, and I head back to school.” Her voice trailed off, and the sad look in her eyes let him know she was going to miss them as much as he and his brothers were going to miss her. He almost wished she hadn’t signed up for the January interim class, and though she wasn’t that far away, he tried not to pressure her to come home more often. Secretly, he’d love for her to stay longer and visit more often.
Dylan quickly showered and returned to the kitchen just as Marissa was setting the serving plates on the table. Marissa took the seat between him and Terry. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the two interact comfortably, yet not overly enthusiastically like new couples sometimes act. How long exactly had they been dating? His heart sunk, evidently long enough to create ease among their interaction with one another. Yet, not a word or inkling had been said about him at Thanksgiving. Skepticism inched its way into his thought process, or was it wishful thinking?
