Chapter Five
Derek
A familiar sense of foreboding settled over me as I watched Wyatt approach with his usual swagger, and the shit-eating grin that's practically his trademark. This was a complication I hadn't foreseen.
"My man." He pulled me in for one of those one-armed bro hugs we'd been greeting each other with for most of our adult lives. "What's happening? And where in the hell are we? It's like the carnival scene from Grease, or something. Are they kidding me with this place, or what?"
I closed my eyes and prayed for patience—and for Gabby and Phoebe to not take offense. This was their hometown, for fuck's sake. "What are you doing here, Wyatt?"
"Whaddaya mean, why am I here? I'm crashing your wedding. What'd you think?"
Of course. I really should have expected that. I should never have texted him that I was getting married until after the fact. I shouldn't have assumed his response, Holy shit. For reals? Are you mental? would be the end of it. And I should never, ever have risen to the bait and answered his next text, the one that read: When? Where? WHY?
"Do you believe this guy?" he asked now, shaking his head and gazing at Gabby and Phoebe with mock sorrow. "Like I was really gonna miss seeing my only brother tie a noose around his neck." His glance tracked back and forth between the two women for a moment longer, then he asked, "Okay, help me out. Which of you ladies has him whipped? I'm assuming you're not a tag team—you're not, are you? 'Cause that would be amazeballs."
Gabby flashed him a smile. "Hi, I'm Gabby."
"'Course you are. C'mere." Ignoring her outstretched hand, he grabbed her in a bear hug and kissed her loudly on the cheek. "I'm Wyatt. Your new favorite relative."
"Easy," I warned, worried for the baby, as he squeezed her tight. "You're gonna crack her ribs, for fuck's sake."
"Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed, ignoring that too. Typical.
Having finally relaxed his grip on Gabby, Wyatt turned his attention to Phoebe. "And you are?"
"Leaving," she replied with a throaty chuckle. "Gotta catch up with my own family. But you all enjoy your reunion. I'm sure I'll be seeing you later."
"Thanks again, Phoebe," Gabby called after her. "I owe you."
"No, you don't. It was my pleasure." Then she winked at Gabby and added, "But tell your sister she needs to get her ass back to book club. We've missed her."
"You have a sister?" Wyatt asked, shooting my girl a too-playful look. "Sweet. Not as pretty as you, I bet." He still had his arm draped around her shoulders and seemed disinclined to remove it.
Gabby, too, seemed just fine with that arrangement. She shot Wyatt a teasing glance. "Nope. She's prettier."
"What? No way."
"Oh, yes," she replied, smiling that smile. Her eyes danced with laughter. "Way."
"All right, that's enough," I snapped, scowling at them both. "Cut it out."
They stared at me in surprise. "What crawled up your ass and died?"
"Seriously? You need to ask? You just met each other and already you're flirting."
"We're what?" Gabby's mouth dropped open. "Derek!"
"Nah, dawg, that ain't right." Wyatt shook his head. "I know you know me better than that."
"I'm not jealous, if that's what you're implying." I had no reason to be—and we all knew it. Gabby doesn't cheat, Wyatt doesn't poach, and no matter how many title matches my brother might have won in the course of his made-for-TV wrestling career, we both knew that in real life I could still probably kick his ass. Even with his height and weight advantage.
"Okay, then what is your problem?"
I'd opened my mouth, all ready to tell him off, when it hit me that I didn't have a clue. Why did it bother me to see two of the people I cared most about in the world getting along with each other? All I knew was that there was a tightness in my chest that refused to be dislodged. "I don't know."
I scrubbed a hand across my face, and tried to think. Maybe it had something to do with the fact Gabby was already getting along so much better with my family than I was with hers. That was stupid, but it made as much sense as anything else.
"Awww." Gabby eyes gleamed wickedly. "Poor Derek. Are you feeling left out?"
I shrugged in response. Maybe I was. A little.
"I'm sorry, baby." She lowered her head and gazed contritely up at me through her lashes. She knows how much I dig it when she plays submissive. Even knowing it's an act, it still turns me on.
I reached for her automatically, shaping my hands to her waist. She melted against me, slid her arms around my neck, and whispered sweetly in my ear, "Now who's acting all moody and irrational? And you don’t have a hormonal excuse. So, stop it." But then she kissed me, so I really didn't care.
Sympathetic Pregnancy Syndrome? Yeah, it's real. And I suppose that could explain what was happening. But I was beginning to suspect it was something even simpler. Maybe what I was really worried about was how Gabby's family was going to react to my brother.
Look, I make no excuses for Wyatt, all right? For one thing, I don't see that I need to; he's a great guy. But he's also loud and flamboyant. And that’s two things Gabby's family is not. At least so far as I could tell.
I'd met the remaining members of the Browne tribe last night over dinner: Micah's wife Lana, their daughters Cassie and Jo, their son Sam, and Arielle's sons Keith and Garth. They were all pleasant enough, but I didn't feel like I'd really hit it off with any of them. And while I don't ordinarily stress over stupid stuff like what other people think of me, this was different.
Then again, maybe I was still overthinking things. Perhaps the problem was that it wasn't all that different. Dinner last night had felt a little like an audition, a little like a job interview, and a whole lot like every first night with every foster family I'd ever lived with. All I wanted was to make a good impression, to fit in, to win someone's approval. Yet I kept getting the feeling that I wasn't quite making the cut. Throwing Wyatt into that mix was not going to help.
Great guy or not, my brother can be a bit overwhelming—like a riptide, or an avalanche. I know from experience how easy it is to find yourself getting bowled over or swept away on the tide of his exuberance. It can happen so fast you don't even notice, not until you find yourself completely at sea, or buried, several feet deep, with no idea which way is up.
"Better?" Gabby asked, pulling back far enough to look at me.
I nodded. "I think I needed that."
"I think so, too," She murmured, in a voice laced with amusement.
I turned to Wyatt. "Sorry. I was out of line."
"I'll say."
Rational or not, with Gabby back in my arms I was finally able to get enough brain cells together to start a plan. Obviously, my best chance for avoiding disaster, was to minimize contact between Wyatt and my future in-laws. With that in mind, I asked my brother, "So where are you staying, anyway?"
I was thinking we could grab some lunch, and then perhaps the three of us could see what else the festival had to offer. The haunted house was probably off the list for now, but I was sure there were plenty of other activities.
Wyatt shrugged. "I don't know yet. Where are you staying?"
"We're staying with Gabby's family. On their farm."
"Sounds cozy. Maybe I'll join you."
"You what?" Gabby's eyes went wide.
"Wyatt..."
"Oh, chillax.," he said with a groan. "Dude, really, what the fuck has happened to your sense of humor?"
"Just quit playing around and answer the question, damn it."
"All right, all right. Fuck. Do you really think I’d drag my ass halfway 'cross the country without a plan?" He shook his head. "I'm a big boy, son. I figure out pissant shit like this all the time. As it happens, I got a tent and a sleeping bag strapped to my bike. I think I passed a campground on my way into town, didn't I?"
I sighed in relief. "Yeah. I think so. Just on the other side of the highway?"
"That's the one. I'll stay there."
"Sounds great."
"No it doesn’t," Gabby said. "You can't."
Wyatt scowled. "Why the hell not?"
"What are you saying, Gabe?"
"They've been booked out for months." She turned and glared at me. "Don't you remember? We tried to reserve a spot there ourselves."
"Ah, shit. That's right."
"You know, a few years ago, none of this would have been a problem. But ever since IAS moved their headquarters to Sapphire Falls, the number of out-of-towners who attend the festival each year has more than tripled."
"Well, hell." Wyatt rubbed the back of his neck, looking shamefaced.
Gabby nodded. "Yeah. So, I guess the joke's on you, big guy. Looks like you really are staying with us."
"Explain something to me," Gabby said, a few hours later, as we were on our way back to the farm. "You and your brother seem like you get along okay. Why didn't you just invite him to the wedding in the first place? You'd have saved us all a lot of trouble."
"I didn't think he'd come." After chilling at the festival, eating some seriously badass Texas barbecue, and drinking a few killer brews, I was feeling a lot more mellow. "Wyatt and I... We're not into family all that much."
Gabby snorted. "Coulda fooled me."
"Yeah, well..." I'd been reluctant to bring it up, but this seemed as good a time as any to broach the subject. "I guess what I mean is our upbringing didn't leave us feeling positive about stuff like marriage or parenthood. You heard him. He thinks marriage is a trap. To tell you the truth, until I met you, I felt the same way."
"Hold up." Gabby turned to glare at me. "Are you saying I was right all along? You really don't want to get married?"
"Would you watch the road?" I glanced pointedly at her left hand. "Seriously? We need to revisit the whole diamond-ring-in-my-travel-kit conversation? I said that's how I felt before I met you. Everything's different now. But as far as I know, Wyatt still feels the same. I didn't invite him because I figured the only reason he'd show would be so he could stand up and raise objections in the middle of the ceremony."
"What?" The truck swerved abruptly as Gabby turned to stare at me in horror. "You don't really think that's why he's here do you?"
"The road," I repeated, leveling a finger at the windshield. "I know you said you could drive these roads blindfolded, but let's not put that to the test, all right?"
"Would you relax?" She shot me an exasperated glare. "Are you serious about your brother being here to cause trouble or not?"
"Honestly? I have no idea. I know it's hard to believe, but he's actually kind of shy. I don't think he'd pull a stunt like that, but I'll have a talk with him ahead of time, just to be sure." I hesitated before adding, "But, assuming that's not why he's here, I'm thinking I should ask him to be my best man instead of Chase. He is my brother, after all."
"That makes sense."
"Yep." If nothing else, it struck me as a fairly smart precaution. Even though Wyatt basically lies for a living, I trusted him to be straight with me. If he agreed to stand up with me at the ceremony, I'd know he wasn't planning on disrupting it.
Gabby had fallen silent. I glanced across at her, curious as to what was on her mind. "What are you thinking about?"
"I was just wondering. Do you suppose that part of the reason why you held off so long on asking Chase was because, deep down, you were really hoping your brother would show?"
"I don't know." I didn't really think that was the case but, "Anything's possible."
When we arrived at the farm, the noise of Wyatt's engine brought everyone out to see what was going on. And I found myself growing irritated once again. There had to be an auto parts store, or failing that a decent mechanic, somewhere in Sapphire Falls. Tomorrow I would have to see what I could do about getting Wyatt some slip-in baffles to quiet that thing down. I didn't care if it would hamper the bike's performance. For the next week, he'd just have to deal with it.
While Gabby introduced Wyatt to her parents and sister—and explained that he'd be needing a place to pitch his tent—I noticed Arielle's two boys whispering fiercely together and shooting covert glances at my brother. The boys were eleven and fourteen, so I had a pretty good suspicion what that was about.
I crossed my arms and tried not to smile while I waited to see if my hunch was correct. It didn't take long. In another minute Keith—the older of the two—walked up to Wyatt and asked, in diffident tones, "Excuse me. Are you...Low Blow Novello?"
"Guess your secret's out," I chuckled as Wyatt's cheeks turned fiery red.
He shot me a panicked glance as he paused to clear his throat. "Yes, I-I am. But, um... Well, you know what, outside the ring I generally just go by Wyatt. So why don't we stick to that, okay?"
Gabby turned to me. "Low Blow?" she mouthed, looking puzzled.
"Wyatt's stage name. I mentioned he's a wrestler, didn't I?"
"He's a what?" Arielle's eyes widened in dismay. "Like the ones on TV?"
"Afraid so."
"I don't believe this."
I smiled in sympathy. "I take it your boys are fans, but you aren't?"
"Something like that."
"Why Low Blow?" Gabby asked. "I mean, I get that it rhymes with Novello, but it doesn't sound very complimentary."
"It's not meant to," I explained. "Wyatt's a heel. You know, a bad guy? It's all an act, of course, but...well, he takes a lot of cheap shots, makes a lot of illegal moves. Low blows are kind of his specialty."
Arielle sighed. "Dear lord." Shaking her head, she turned and walked away. I couldn't help but notice how my brother's gaze followed her all the way to the house.
I won't say that dinner that night was significantly less awkward then the night before. Alice didn't seem to know what to make of Wyatt; Mick had yet to warm up to me. But at least I was no longer the only outsider. Neither of Gabby's brothers were there; Micah had taken his family to the festival, and Rafe was actually competing for Festival King. So, it was just eight of us. Gabby's parents were excited to learn about the mobile chapel, and the three of them were quickly embroiled in a lively discussion over where it should be situated. The two boys continued to pepper Wyatt with questions all through dinner, and most of Arielle's conversation consisted of repeated admonitions for them to eat their dinner and stop pestering their guest.
"I don't mind," Wyatt finally told her. He flashed a hesitant smile in her direction, a pale shadow of his usual, confident grin, one that disappeared an instant later when she refused to even look at him.
"Well, I do," she muttered as she continued to scowl at her plate.
After dinner, I helped a subdued Wyatt set up his tent. The night had turned unexpectedly sultry and the distant rumble of thunder could be heard from time to time. After living in LA for the past few years, I'd almost forgotten what that sounded like.
"So, I have to ask," I said when we'd finished, when Wyatt was stretched out on his sleeping bag, and I was seated cross-legged by the door. "What made you decide to come all the way out here anyway?"
"You mean beside the wedding?"
I shot him a glance. "You know what I mean. ’Last I heard, you weren't a huge fan of marriage. This doesn't seem like the kind of thing you'd want to celebrate."
"Last I heard, you weren't a big fan either." He shrugged. "I guess maybe I wanted to see what was so special about this girl, what it was that changed your mind."
I nodded. It was a reasonable question. "I love her."
Wyatt sighed. "Well, I figured that. But marriage? Tell me the truth. Did she talk you into it? I mean, was this her idea and you're just going along with it because she gave you an ultimatum? Because, if that's the only reason..."
"It's not," I assured him. "It's nothing like that. This was all my idea." Then I reconsidered. "Well, getting married was my idea. The rest of it, not so much. I'd have been just as happy to have gone to Vegas. Happier, probably."
"I'll bet." Wyatt nodded. "I only caught the tail end, but it sounds like it's been a real circus."
"Lotta complications," I agreed with a sigh.
"I still don't understand. Why the rush? Why now? You two have only been together, what? Three months?"
"We've only been dating for three months. But that's just because we were both with other people when we met. If things had been otherwise, we'd've gotten together a lot sooner than we did."
"Uh-huh. Let me guess. Neither of you are cheaters, so nothing was ever gonna happen while there were other people involved. Is that it?"
"Exactly. That's how come I started calling her Gabe instead of Gabby. She was driving me crazy. I needed some way to remind myself that we weren't a couple, that we could only be friends."
Wyatt nodded thoughtfully. "I'd wondered. It seemed strange that you were the only one to call her that."
“You’re not the first to ask.” What I didn't tell him, what I'd never told anyone, was that it had become something else now, the name only I ever use for her. I'm pretty sure she has no idea that when I call her Gabe what I'm really saying is, I love you.
I shook my head, remembering. "It's kind of ironic. It took me months to coax her out of the friend zone once we were both free. She didn't want to risk losing what we had." I hadn't wanted to lose it either, but I always knew we could be more. "Once we finally made the leap from friends to lovers, I guess I figured we’d already wasted enough time. Why wait any longer?"
"So, you're saying it's like that movie with Billy Crystal. Now that you've found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want the rest of your life to start now?"
"When Harry Met Sally? Yeah, pretty much." What I didn't say—though I really wanted to—was, "you've actually seen that film?" I'd have bet anything that Wyatt was strictly an action movie type of guy. Maybe he saw it on a date?
"And you swear it's got nothing to do with how pretty she is?"
"I wouldn't say it had nothing to do with it. I'm not blind. But c'mon, you've been to LA. There are beautiful women all over the place."
My last girlfriend had been a movie star. She's stunning, one of the nicest people you could ever meet, and enough of a freak between the sheets to keep just about anyone satisfied. Not that Wyatt needed to know that.
"Gabby's gorgeous," I said. "But that's not why I love her. It's just... It's just her."
It was everything about her. Her heart, her mind, her soul. I still can’t explain it, but I’m happier when I’m with her than I am when I’m not. If we were really going to start quoting movie lines at each other, I'd have gone with Jerry McGuire, and said 'she completes me' but that would have been weird.
"Well, it's your funeral."
I fixed him with a stern look. "So, you promise you're not here to cause any trouble, or to try and talk me into backing out? You're not gonna stand up in the middle of the ceremony and say, 'I object'?"
"You really think I'd pull a dick move like that?"
"If you thought I was making a mistake? I dunno. Maybe. You've done crazier things."
He heaved a sigh, and raised himself up on an elbow. "Of course I think you're making a mistake! But, what am I gonna do? You're a grown-ass man. And, even as a kid, couldn't no one get you to change your mind once it was made up. As long as you're going into this with your eyes open, it's not my business to object. But...do you think she's gonna want kids? 'Cause, I mean, dude! You didn't drink all the Kool-aid, did you?"
Yeah, about that, "She's pregnant."
"Sonofabitch." Wyatt's face darkened. "You stupid fuck. I knew there had to be a reason. That's why you're doing this? Jesus, Derek."
"Calm the fuck down," I snapped. "Did you listen to anything I said? That's not why. It has nothing to do with it. I asked her before we even knew about the baby." Okay, that was not exactly true, but it was close enough. After all, I had planned to ask her before I found out. "And, if you wanna know the truth, it turns out we're both pretty happy about it."
"Really? You're happy about it?"
"Yeah. Really. I am." I was also scared out of my mind. But, again, not something he needed to know.
"Wow." He lay down again and stared at the ceiling. "A kid? You're not pranking me or anything, right?"
"Nope."
"Shit. You don't do anything by halves, do you?"
"Apparently not."
Another long moment passed in silence. "Well, I don't know what to tell you," Wyatt said at last. "If you're happy, then I guess I'm happy for you."
"Thanks. That means a lot."
"Yeah, but if you fuck that kid over, like was done to us, you'd best believe I'm gonna beat the crap outa you, even if I have to recruit ten guys to help me do it."
I snorted. "Maybe I should make you the kid's godfather? Give you a legit excuse to get involved."
"Oh, like I'd need an excuse?"
"And while we're on the subject, what would you say to being my best man?"
Wyatt shrugged. "Now that I'd have to think about. Would I need a tux?"
"No, asshole. Just a nice suit. Think you can manage that?"
"Could be." He flashed me a grin. "I guess it's lucky for you I just happened to buy one this morning when I passed through York. Alterations'll be done by Friday."
"Great. That ought to work out fine then."
"Yeah." Wyatt looked pensive for a moment. I waited. His next words, however, caught me by surprise. "She wasn't lying, was she?"
"Who wasn't lying about what?" If he was gonna suggest that Gabby had lied about being pregnant, this conversation was gonna end real fast.
"Gabby wasn't lying about her sister."
I frowned in confusion. "What about her sister?"
"She said she was pretty, and I mean, dude! Have you seen her?"
"Uh-huh." I kept my expression deliberately neutral. What Gabby had said, now that he'd reminded me, was that Arielle was prettier than she was. There was no way I could agree to that. "They're both knock-outs. For that matter, so's their mom."
Wyatt shook his head impatiently. "Yeah, but not like her. She's like...like a goddess, or something."
"Better watch yourself," I cautioned as I unzipped the tent and prepared to leave. "That's just what I thought about Gabby when I met her. And look how that's turned out."
"Yeah, except I'm smarter than you," Wyatt called as I left.
"We'll see, bro," I said as I turned away. "We'll just see about that."