Chapter Fourteen
“Gavin Patrick Boudreau, how many times have I told you not to take a bite of a chocolate and put it back in the box?”
He yanked his hand back before his mom could rap the back of his knuckles with the slotted spoon she had in her hand. Moms always seemed to have kitchen weapons when they needed them. “I don’t like the coconut ones.”
“Look at the diagram and only take the ones you like.”
“I looked at the diagram.” He showed her the drawing on the underside of the box lid and then tried to match it to the contents of the box. Even turning the lid a hundred and eighty degrees didn’t make it look like the chocolates.
After a few moments of analysis, he picked up another chocolate and nibbled at the corner. “This one’s coconut, too.”
He was about to set it back in its slot, but his mom cleared her throat and he set it on the counter instead.
His dad wandered in and opened the fridge to grab the pitcher of lemonade he drank year-round. “Stop eating your mother’s Valentine’s Day chocolates.”
“Did you buy these half-off at a gas station or what? The diagram is messed up.”
His dad walked to the box and picked one at random. After biting off a corner, he held it up. “This one’s an orange.”
“My favorite.” Gavin reached for it, but his dad popped it into his mouth. “I’m going to remember that the next time your snowblower won’t start and your back suddenly hurts too much to shovel.”
“Hey, I have a bad back.”
“And so will I if I keep shoveling your snow because you’re too cheap to buy a new snowblower.”
“Enough,” his mom said, putting an end to the lighthearted banter. “I want to hear how your dinner went.”
“South,” he muttered without thinking and his mom’s brow furrowed. “No, it was a nice dinner. And Diane is a super lady, which isn’t a surprise considering how awesome her daughter is.”
“So what happened?” his dad asked.
He filled them in on how the night had ended. He’d talked to them a little about Cait’s family dynamic over the last couple of weeks, mostly because they were good listeners and also didn’t hesitate to let him know if he had his head up his ass.
“I knew going in there was a chance it would be too hard for Diane, so I’m glad that we were able to have a good night together,” he said. “But it’s frustrating because Cait... It’s not like her not coming back to my place was a big deal, even though it would have been nice. There will be other nights.”
“You want a sign that Cait’s going to be able to move on with her own life soon,” his mom said quietly.
He nodded, because that was exactly right. “But I feel like an a—like a jerk, because that’s selfish of me. If you needed me, I wouldn’t leave you for anything or anybody.”
She reached out and squeezed his hand. “You don’t have a selfish bone in your body. And of course you expect her to be there for her family, just like you would be.”
“The problem,” his dad said, “is that you and Cait have different ideas on whether or not her mom actually needs her as much as Cait thinks she does.”
Gavin watched as his dad picked a chocolate out of the box and split the bottom just enough to see the inside before setting it back in its spot. Then he did another and another, until he found one with orange filling. He handed it to Gavin.
He popped the candy in his mouth, using the chewing time to process what his parents had said. Then he swallowed and asked the question he’d been asking himself since he walked away from Cait’s door last night. “What do I do about it?”
“Are you willing to break off your relationship with Cait?” his mom asked.
“No.” He said it without thinking, but he wasn’t sure his answer would be any different if he had. And no matter how frustrated he’d been since dropping her off, it had never really crossed his mind.
The quickness of his response made his mom smile, but it was his dad who answered. “Then you’re going to have to be patient, son. If you put Cait in a situation where she thinks she has to choose between you and her mother, you will lose.”
“Even if you don’t think it’s a choice,” his mom added. “Even if you think her mom’s fine, if Cait doesn’t, she’ll push back against you. And I know right now you’re thinking you won’t let her, but no matter how much you love somebody, you can only be pushed away so many times before you don’t come back.”
He let the L-word slide, since he thought she was using it in a general sense and not with regard to him and Cait specifically. Still, it rattled around in his brain for a few seconds, refusing to be ignored.
He judged relationships against others in his life—like his parents’ and his sister’s—and he didn’t believe love was something that hit you like a wrecking ball. It was built over time, through good times and bad, and so far he and Cait had had a lot of good times.
And if he wanted to find out if what they had was love, he’d have to stick through the bad times, too.
He looked at his mom. “But she’s lived there for months. Don’t you think there’s a possibility that having Cait there is keeping Diane from having to manage her grief? Or that Diane is manipulating her to keep her around?”
“That’s not for you to judge, son,” his dad said firmly.
“I know, but...it can be frustrating. That’s all.”
“You said that it was okay that Cait didn’t go home with you because you spend a lot of time together. That’s what you need to focus on,” his mom said. “Sometimes we need you or the guys you work with need you and you’re there. You’d expect her to understand. Like when you were leaving for a date but had to fix your sister’s toilet first.”
Gavin braced himself for what was coming next and sure enough...
“And don’t think I’m not aware that Jill has met Cait and I haven’t.”
“I know. You will soon. I’m hoping she’ll go to Kincaid’s with me Saturday night and I’ll bring it up.”
“You’re bringing her to meet your firefighter buddies before your own mother?”
Cornered, Gavin gave his mother his best grin as he picked up the box of mauled chocolates and held them out to her. “Soon. I promise.”
* * *
It wasn’t until Friday’s shift, when Rick gave him a questioning look he couldn’t miss—and included a shooting-pool motion that looked obscene out of context—that Gavin made his decision. Before he could second-guess himself—or however many guesses it would be after days of overthinking it—he pulled out his phone and shot Cait a text.
The guys are planning to hang at Kincaid’s tomorrow night. Wanna go shoot some pool with me?
It was almost an hour before he got a response, which was normal for the two of them. Sometimes it was immediate and sometimes it was hours, depending on what was happening. He liked that, because he’d dated some women who expected him to respond right away and couldn’t seem to grasp that if he was at a scene, whether it was a fire or an MVA or a false alarm, he couldn’t call a time-out to talk to his girlfriend.
Time to introduce me to the other guys?
He should have guessed she’d see the invite for what it was. She was too smart not to and, even though he hadn’t been gifted with the heart emoji again, she had to be as aware as he was that they had turned the corner into a real, presumably long-term relationship.
Yeah. Also, I’d like to see more of that black lace bra.
It has matching panties, too.
Gavin actually groaned out loud. We’ll have one beer and leave.
That would be rude.
So would banging you in the storage room.
She sent back a laughing emoji and then a final text. I’ll see you tomorrow.
* * *
“You can’t see through my shirt, Gavin, no matter how much you stare at my boobs.”
“I have a vivid imagination.”
“Your truck’s going to run out of gas if we sit here much longer.” She knew him—and herself—well enough to know if she’d gone upstairs to his apartment, they’d never make it to Kincaid’s Pub.
Being introduced to the guys as his girlfriend was a big deal and she didn’t intend to miss it. She knew some of them in passing and knew of most of them, but this was different.
So she’d sent him a text message that she was on her way and he should meet her outside. He’d tried to get her upstairs, but she’d been firm about it. And when he walked out the door and his gaze went immediately to her chest, as though he could see through her coat and shirt to the black lace below, she knew she’d been right.
He’d kept glancing over as they walked to his truck and now they’d been sitting in the idling vehicle for almost two minutes.
“She’s got three quarters of a tank,” he pointed out. “And she gets pretty good gas mileage. Plenty of time.”
“I’m not having sex with you in a truck parked on the street. There is zero chance of that, so let’s go to the bar and have a good time.” She turned her head to give him a suggestive smile. “And then we’ll come back and have a better time.”
That got him moving. He had to park a little farther from the bar than she would have liked, considering how cold it was, but once her gloved hand was in his and his body was helping block the wind, she didn’t mind the walk so much.
As they reached the door, he slowed their pace slightly. “So, listen. They all think they’re comedians, so they’ll probably give me a bunch of shit. And probably you, too. But it’s all in fun, so just try to think of them as really annoying brothers.”
“I doubt they’ll give me any shit.” Through the corner of her eye, she saw him wince. “What?”
“You’re the EMT who pushed the firefighter down the stairs.”
“Seriously? I’ll just tell them the truth like I told you.”
“They know the truth, Cait, but the truth isn’t as fun. Annoying, wannabe comedian brothers, remember?” He bumped her shoulder with his. “I know you can handle them, but I figured I’d give you a heads-up.”
It seemed like they were all there, and the introductions were a whirl of faces and names. They weren’t technically introductions since she knew most of them in passing and they all recognized her, but she thought maybe it was more symbolic for Gavin. She wasn’t being introduced to them professionally, but as his girlfriend.
“So,” Scott said once they’d done the rounds and she had a beer in her hand, “tell us why you pushed a firefighter down the stairs.”
She was never going to live that down, she thought with a laugh. “Joe got in the way. Then he wasn’t in my way anymore.”
Scott’s eyes widened while the other guys laughed, which meant Gavin had been right. Scott Kincaid knew the real story of what had happened with Joe Grassano, but it wasn’t a fun story. So she’d give him one.
“He’s a big guy,” she continued. “It wasn’t easy.”
After blinking at her a couple of times, Scott joined in the others’ laughter. “My wife would like you. I don’t want you in the same room because God only knows what evil you could get up to, but she’d like you.”
They all milled around the alcove chatting and laughing, sometimes spilling into the bar area to make room for the guys shooting pool. At some point, a second mug of beer replaced the empty first and she made a mental note to keep track of how much she was drinking. She was a sleepy drunk and she had plans for later.
“Hey, do you know Derek?” Gavin pointed to a dark blond guy who’d come in later. He was in a BFD T-shirt like most of them, and Cait recognized the scar on his face. It made him look a little sinister, though she knew that was far from the truth. “He’s Engine 59, but he works Wednesdays and Saturdays. Usually, anyway. I’m surprised to see him here tonight.”
“We’ve met a few times.”
Derek spotted them looking at him and made his way over. “Hey, Boudreau. Hi, Cait. How you been?”
“Good. You?”
“Same shit, different day. I had to switch shifts because my kids had a thing today, but it’s their weekend with their mom so rather than go home alone, I thought I’d come hang out and shoot some pool.”
She’d heard about his divorce through the grapevine, and rumor had it everything had been amicable. “How are the kids?”
He smiled, and it totally softened his face. “They’re good. It’s tough during the school year because I have the Saturday tour and they don’t have much free time during the week, but we make it work.”
They chatted for a few minutes, and then somebody called his name, so off he went. The entire night was a rotating conversation, but she didn’t mind. Gavin was clearly enjoying himself, too, and even though he was surrounded by guys who were like brothers to him, he was never far from her.
Cait got a little nervous when Rick Gullotti approached her. Not only was he Gavin’s LT, but she knew he had a huge amount of respect for the man and his opinion of Cait could actually matter. Not that she thought he’d dislike her, but she couldn’t help being aware of his importance in Gavin’s life.
“You having a good time?”
“I am, actually. And that’s not just the beer talking.”
He laughed and lifted his own mug. “Doesn’t hurt, though. Especially with this crowd.”
“I was expecting a little more in the way of giving him a hard time, though. They’re all being pretty nice.”
“Give them time.” He shrugged as he scanned the room. “But, yeah, they’re going easy on the kid. It’s the first time he’s ever brought a girlfriend here.”
“Really?” She filed that away to obsess over later—what did it mean—and limited herself to a mental woohoo!
“Yup. And I think I’ve met your sister, actually. Michelle, right?”
“Yeah. She married a military guy so she’s out in Texas right now.”
“It was a friend-of-a-mutual-friend thing, so I didn’t know her well, but I remembered the last name.”
She watched Gavin extricate himself from a group of guys and head toward her. He nodded to Rick as he slid his arm around her waist. “What are you guys talking about?”
“Rick was just telling me he’s met my sister Michelle before. It’s a small world, I guess.”
A few minutes later, it was Rick’s turn to shoot pool and they were left alone in the back corner of the alcove. They watched people in companionable silence for a little while, until Gavin leaned close so she could hear him over the crowd noise.
“You know, I haven’t really heard you talk about your sister much.”
Cait shrugged, not really wanting to talk about her now, either. “I’m frustrated that she can’t be here to help, and she’s frustrated she can’t help from there, and our phone conversations don’t go well.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I would hate to have friction with Jill, so I can’t imagine how difficult that is on top of everything you have to deal with.”
“I do video chats with my nephew, and Michelle and I text sometimes. It’s one more thing about losing Duke that makes everything hard, but we’ll be okay.” She took a sip of her beer and then leaned back in her chair. “And I didn’t come here to talk about my family.”
“Amen to that,” he said, tipping his mug toward her before taking a drink. She felt a flash of annoyance at his tone, but then he winked at her. “I came here to see how many beers it takes to get you to go in the store room with me and show me what you’re wearing under that shirt.”
“I would actually throw up before I drank enough beer to have sex with you in the store room of a bar.”
“Even this bar? They’re practically family. And it’s really clean back there. You’d be surprised.”
She laughed at his earnest tone. “Even this bar, no matter how clean it is.”
He leaned close to kiss his way up her neck to her earlobe. “You’ve had a good time, right?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Can we go home and have a better time now?”
She shivered, though she wasn’t sure if it was his breath against her ear or the fact he’d said home instead of my place, but the answer was definitely yes. “Let’s go.”
There was some whistling and hooting as they waved to the crowd as a whole and headed for the door, but Cait didn’t mind. There would have been polite goodbyes if they hadn’t liked her, not laughter as Gavin lifted his middle finger in the air in a final farewell bird.
“I like them,” she said when they were out on the sidewalk.
The smile he gave her warmed her, despite the cold night air. “They liked you, too. Believe it or not, they were mostly on their best behavior, so the more you’re there, the more comfortable they’ll get saying stuff they probably shouldn’t.”
“I’ll probably just say questionably appropriate things back to them.”
He laughed and two women on the sidewalk ahead of them turned to look. Cait tugged him closer as they walked, and the women resumed their pace. This guy was all hers, she thought, and she was a lucky woman.
And, judging by the heat in Gavin’s eyes when he looked at her, she was about to get a whole lot luckier.