Page 46 of The Roadie
“I know you probably don’t like to come in here,” Kira began, cautious about crossing a line. “This room is special. Intimate. It holds a ton of memories that probably stir up very private emotions. I get that. But I think it’s good to come in here once in a while. I bet you can almost feel their presence. And that’s good. I think we need to feel that connection.”
They were both looking at her with pained expressions, and she knew that her words struck a chord. “My mother died when I was a child,” she told Grant. He nodded, solemnly, as if he already knew. “I used to go into my parents’ room when my father wasn’t home and sit on her side of the bed. Sometimes I used to cry, but every time I went in there, I left feeling stronger and better able to deal with the grief.” She exhaled a quivering sigh. “I’m not going to lie and say the hurt and loss goes away, because it doesn’t. But it gets tolerable, and you accept it.” She placed her hand over her heart. “They’re always in here, though. Always.”
Two sets of masculine arms wrapped her in a strong embrace. They circled her, with Grant’s head on her left shoulder and Brett’s face pressed into her neck. Her arms were sort of pinned to her sides, but she returned the hug as best she could, holding onto Brett’s forearm with one hand and Grant’s elbow with the other. They stayed like that for a long time, each dealing with their own bereavement, then slowly broke the embrace. Brett and Grant took a minute to look around the bedroom before the three of them left the room.
“Don’t close it,” Grant said, stopping the door with his hand. “Let’s leave it open today. Actually, let’s leave it open one day a week. On Sundays. That’s when Mom would make the big family dinner. We can honor that by leaving the door open.”
One side of Brett’s beard twitched as he stared at his brother. “Yeah. That’s a good idea.”
“I think it’s beautiful,” Kira managed to say, her voice quivering. As they made their way down the foyer and away from the open bedroom door, Brett walked with his arm around his brother. She felt awful about running out for the day with Brett and leaving Grant home alone when he was clearly missing his family and sharing a moment with his brother. “Come with us to breakfast,” she told Grant.
“No way,” Grant replied. “I’m not intruding on your last day together.”
“We want you to come.” Kira spoke up because Brett was staring at her with his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, and she knew he couldn’t find his voice.
“Really?” Grant asked, with a happy but unsure smile as the three of them stood in the foyer.
“Yeah,” Brett’s voice was barely a whisper. “It’s actually the perfect way to spend our last day together.” He looked at Kira. “Thank you,” he said, but no sound came out.
The three of them had breakfast at Mar’sel, which had the most breathtaking view of the ocean that Kira had ever seen. The food was exquisite, and the service was excellent. She knew the bill cost a fortune, but she didn’t want to insult Brett by offering to pay.
After they finished their meal, he rented a boat, and they navigated the waters between Long Beach and Catalina Island. The water was the bluest blue, like a Caribbean getaway.
Kira shielded her eyes with her hand and watched the coastline disappear. A fin breached the water. Then another. And another. She took in a gust of breath and tugged the sleeve of Brett’s T-shirt. “Dolphins! There are dolphins! Right there!” She pointed at the trio just as they jumped above the water’s surface. “Oh my God! I love California!”
Brett was smiling at her, but as soon as she said the last sentence, his smile doubled in size and his eyes grew larger.
She knew what he was thinking and let a few seconds of silence pass while she thought about her answer. He was wondering if she loved California enough to consider moving here. These last few days certainly made her consider it. Unfortunately, her answer hadn’t changed. She sighed through her smile and wrapped her hand around his bicep as she continued to watch the pod of dolphins. “I have to admit that this is nothing like what I expected. Orange County is very beautiful. It’s fun and relaxing at the same time. There’s so much landscape to appreciate. I do love it.” Her hand slipped down to entwine their fingers together, and she focused on their hands. Instead of outright telling him, for the dozenth time, that she was a New York girl, she remained cheerfully optimistic. “I’m looking forward to visiting often and spending a lot more time with you, Brett.”
“I’m looking forward to that too.”
After two and a half hours cruising around Catalina Island, they docked and had lunch. It was a paradise. Lush and green with shrubbery and alive with wildlife. While they sat at an outdoor café enjoying appetizers, Kira gazed at her surroundings with serenity. She could really get used to this sedate lifestyle, but also wondered if she’d get bored with the slow pace after a while. Movement behind a thick bush caught her attention, and then three little black noses peeked out between the foliage. “There are deer here,” Kira said, her voice raising with excitement, as if she’d never seen one before, which, she hadn’t. They looked like a little family, with a daddy, a mama and a baby. “They’re adorable!” she exclaimed, with her hands pressed to her cheeks. “How come I’ve never seen a deer before?” she asked, to no one in particular.
“They don’t exactly walk down 5thAvenue,” Brett said, with a laugh.
“What are you doing?” she blurted out, surprised, when Grant inched closer to the group of deer with a slice of apple in his hand. The medium-size one, which she dubbed “Mama”, bravely stepped forward and took the piece of fruit from Grant while the other two watched. “Oh my God!” she whisper-shouted and clutched Brett’s arm. “Did you see that?”
Brett handed her an apple slice from the platter of fruit on the table. “Go ahead. Deer are friendly here.”
She took it and crouched down on the grass, barely able to contain her joy, but afraid she’d scare them away. “Here, baby,” she cooed to the little one. Its nose twitched like a bunny and then it bolted forward and stole the apple from her hand. She got so excited that she shot to her feet, causing all three deer to take off into the shrubbery. “Oh no! The big one didn’t get any!”
“Don’t worry about it,” Brett assured her. “People feed them all the time. That’s why they’re so friendly.”
She still felt bad, so she took a bunch of fruit from the tray and tossed it into the bush where the deer retreated, even though they weren’t in sight. “That was so amazing,” she exclaimed, with her palm to her chest, feeling her rapidly beating heart.
Brett took her hand and squeezed it when she sat back at the table. “I hope you had a nice day today. I wanted to show you California this weekend. I wanted to show you my life here.” He glanced at his brother. “My family and my friends.”
Her heart was beating all over the place, not just from the encounter with the deer, but from the combination of everything that happened these last few days. She thought this weekend would be filled with sex and lust and ripping each other’s clothing off. Instead, it was about family and quality time spent together and getting to know the people in Brett’s life. Reaching across the table to take Grant’s hand, her heartrate settled and fell into a steady rhythm. She squeezed both Brett and Grant’s hands a little tighter. “This weekend has been absolutely perfect, and I can’t wait to visit again.”
