With less than a week to the wedding, Beckett opened his house to Carter’s bachelor party. Poker, hot sausage subs — a lame veggie sub for the groom — beer, cigars, and scotch. It was man heaven.

It was also step one of his plan to win Gia back. Beckett hoped Carter didn’t mind his party working a little double duty.

“This is quite the setup,” Carter said, snagging a chip out of the bowl on Beckett’s dining room table.

“Food’s in here, poker’s in the parlor,” Beckett said, dumping a stack of paper plates on the table. “I hope you don’t mind, but I invited Paul.”

Carter stopped mid-chew. “You invited Paul?” He swallowed hard.

“Yeah, and Evan.”

“Evan’s cool,” Carter said, still eyeing him.

“What, don’t you love Paul like the entire rest of the universe?” Beckett asked.

“I think he’s great,” Carter said blandly. I’m just surprised you don’t mind him. Seeing as how he’s your woman’s ex-husband and all.”

“My ex-woman’s ex-husband,” Beckett clarified.

“So you’re starting to come around to him?” Beckett could see his brother trying to work it out.

“Let’s just say keep your friends close —”

“And your enemies closer,” Carter finished. “Just what are you up to?”

“Just being neighborly,” Beckett shrugged. Step one was to figure out where everyone stood. Was Paul serious about getting back together with Gia? Was Gia now seriously considering it since Beckett opened his big, fat trap? And what did Evan think about the situation? It was time for some reconnaissance.

The front door opened, saving him from further interrogation.

Jax and Franklin strolled in.

The greetings were fast and easy. Beckett played host and doled out the first round of beverages. Franklin was another good source to tap, he decided, watching the man unload a tray of seafood bruschetta.

“Listen, Franklin, I was wondering if you had a minute,” Beckett began awkwardly. He’d been nothing short of rude to the man for six months and now that he needed something he was palling around. It was despicable and he wouldn’t blame Franklin for not wanting to hear him out.

“I was actually hoping to talk to you and your brothers tonight about something, too” he said, sliding a hand in the pocket of his khakis. He was wearing another loud Hawaiian shirt tonight. This one had pink and blue surfboards on it.

“Well, you first,” Beckett said.

Franklin pulled his hand out of his pocket clutching a black velvet jewelers box. Beckett’s mouth fell open.

“Holy shit.” Jax and Carter were frozen in the doorway between the dining room and parlor. The bowl of chips Jax held tumbled to the floor.

“Anybody home?” Gianna with Evan and Aurora in tow poked her head into the parlor from the foyer.

She took in the scene in about two seconds flat and recovered even faster. “Can I see you three in the kitchen?” she asked through gritted teeth, pointing at Beckett and his brothers.

When no one moved she gave them all an icy glare. “Now!”

“I’ll just stay out here with Evan and Aurora?” Franklin looked at Beckett with a mix of pity and relief. “Good luck,” he whispered.

They filed past Gianna into Beckett’s kitchen.

“This has gone on long enough,” Gianna snapped. She stationed herself in front of the door, legs braced and hands on hips. “Talk.”

“Talk about what?” Beckett growled.

“About why you don’t want your mother and my father together.” She was still mad. Beckett considered that a good sign. She still had strong feelings for him, even if they all were rage-related.

“Gia’s right. They seem happy,” Carter started. “Why don’t you want her with him?”

Beckett remained sullenly silent and Gia actually stomped her foot.

“You took your issues here out on me, but I swear to God if you try to do that to my father — the man who loves your mother, the man who defended you to me after you were a complete and utter asshole.” Her finger drilled into his chest. “I will destroy you. No one hurts my family and walks away from it.”

Beckett shoved her hand out of the way and fought the overwhelming urge to shove her back against the door. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to shake her or kiss her. Probably both. She’d always had that ability to stir him up, to shake his control.

“Exactly what issues are you accusing me of taking out on you?” he asked.

She didn’t even flinch at the tone that had been known to terrify others. The finger was back in his chest, sharper than ever. “That you were the only one here to pick up the pieces after your father died. And that’s why —”

“Whoa, whoa. Hold on there —” Carter started.

“Shut up, Carter,” Gia ordered without taking her eyes off of Beckett. “Tell them. Tell them why you’d stand in the way of a good man who loves your mother.”

“You weren’t here.” Beckett’s tone was cold, sharp. But he was talking to his brothers now. “You didn’t see her after Dad died. After everyone else went back to their lives and she was left here. Alone.”

“She wasn’t alone,” Jax argued.

“Aunt Rose and Uncle Melvin left a few days after you two did. I went back to school. The man that she had spent every day with for twenty-six years was gone. She was alone, grieving and facing the loss of the only thing she had left.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Carter demanded.

“We almost lost the farm. Dad had been sick for so long, we were falling behind on everything. If it wasn’t for Rainbow at the bank, you both would have come home to nothing,” he snapped. “She gave me a loan when there was no way in hell that I could have qualified for one. I was over my head in law school loans. But she gave me just enough to get us by.”

“If you needed money why didn’t —” Carter began.

“Mom wanted to do this by herself. She was so pissed when she found out about the loan,” Beckett crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. His lips turned up a little. “It had been so long since I saw anything but sad on her face. We had ourselves a good, long screaming battle in the kitchen.”

“The transom,” Jax said suddenly.

Beckett nodded, a sad smile played on his lips. “She threw a cast iron skillet through the window above the kitchen door.”

“You two were so vague about how it broke,” Carter remembered.

“Made me swear never to tell anyone. It was the first night that she didn’t cry herself to sleep.”

Carter stared at the floor.

“So don’t fucking tell me you know what it was like. You had the Army and you had your big-time career,” he said pointing to his brothers. “Mom and I had the land and each other. Even with the help from town, she worked herself to exhaustion every single day until you came home, Carter.”

“Why didn’t she tell us to come home?” Jax kicked at the leg of a barstool.

Beckett shrugged. “I don’t know. She wanted you to live your own lives, make your own choices.”

“Why didn’t she just let the farm go?” Carter swiped a hand through his hair, guilt radiating off of him. “Start over?”

“Because it was the only thing we had left of him,” Beckett said, his voice breaking. “She didn’t want all of us to lose the last thing we had.”

Gianna laid a hand on his back, but said nothing.

The fight had gone out of him.

“I guess that’s why I can’t wrap my head around Franklin. He’s not Dad. He can’t be Dad. But she loves him. And that’s fine.” He ducked his head when Gianna shot a searching glance his way.

“It really is,” he told her. “But it means she could get hurt again. And I’d do anything to make sure she never goes through that again.”

Carter and Jax absorbed it all. The hurt was palpable.

“It almost broke her and that almost broke me,” Beckett said quietly. Silence descended on the kitchen.

“Good,” Gia said, breaking the silence.

“Good?” Beckett’s hands clenched to fists at his side.

“You finally said what you needed to say instead of keeping it all locked up,” Gia nodded. “Let me ask you this. Do you resent your brothers for not being here when you needed them?”

Beckett looked from Carter to Jackson. There had been a time when he had. When he was so tired of carrying the burden alone. But his brothers, he learned, had burdens of their own.

He shook his head. “Not anymore.”

“Good,” Gianna said again. “The way it looks is that each of you had your own path to follow and they all brought you back here. So now it’s up to you to decide what to do with that.”

“Where are you going?” Beckett demanded when she started for the kitchen door.

“I’m taking my daughter to a bachelorette party.” She bustled out the door and down the hallway, returning a moment later with Aurora.

Beckett followed her out the door and onto the back porch. “Don’t you want to know what happens?”

“I already know,” Gianna said, pausing as Aurora skipped down the steps and scampered toward home.

He snagged her wrist and pulled her back to him. “Tell me.”

“You’ll make the right call,” she said quietly, staring into the middle of his chest refusing to meet his gaze. “Because you’re Beckett Pierce and you have the biggest, kindest heart. And as much as you want to protect your mom from pain, you’d rather see her happy. Now, go make your dad proud.”

This time she raised her gaze to his. He could see tears swimming in her eyes, but didn’t know why.

“Gianna.” He didn’t know what else to say. It was only her name on his lips.

“You’re a good man, Beckett. You’ll do the right thing. Or I will make Trudy look like a walk in the park.”

* * *

It had the makings of the lowest key bachelorette party in history. Gia opened up the studio to Summer, Joey, Phoebe, Annette, and a few of the ladies from town for a yoga class, snacks, and bridal shower.

She couldn’t have been worse company.

While Aurora helped Summer attack her giant pile of wedding and baby gifts, Gia stood in the corner and sulked into her wine glass.

“What the hell is your problem?” Joey sidled up next to her with a plate of crudités. “Also, why is there no meat here?”

“Men are idiots, Joey. Complete and total idiots with no regard for anyone else’s feelings,” Gia ranted.

“Are men behind the no-meat thing?”

They applauded politely when Summer unwrapped a jumble of macramé.

“Oh! Is this a plant hanger?” she asked, trying to hide her confusion.

“No, dear,” Elvira Eustace giggled. “It’s a baby swing.”

Summer held up her treasure and smiled widely for the camera. “It’s wonderful. Thank you so much.”

“Ten bucks says she puts the kid in that and they’re flat on the floor in less than thirty seconds.”

“I’m not taking those odds,” Gia agreed.

“So you were saying something about men being idiots?”

Gia looked over to where Phoebe and Annette had their heads together over a set of lumpy, handmade mixing bowls. “I can’t say much here.”

“How much can you say at Shorty’s in half an hour?”

“I can’t take my daughter to a sports bar.” Gia rolled her eyes and felt the slightest bit guilty that she had considered it for a second.

“You’re not,” Joey said. “Phoebe’s taking Rora back to your house after this shindig wraps up. When Paul comes home from Beckett’s, she’ll head out. She gave me fifty bucks and told me to buy ourselves a bottle of something strong and Summer every fried menu item.”

“God, I love that woman,” Gia sighed.

* * *

Shorty’s was Blue Moon-famous for wings and pool tournaments. And Gia could think of no better place to unwind.

“I’m a built in designated driver,” Summer screeched over the twangy country someone played on the jukebox. “So you all have at it.”

Julia from OJ’s cracked open a drink menu. “No breastfeeding tonight!” she announced cheerily. “Ed, my friend,” she said to the bartender. “A dirty, dirty martini for me and whatever these lovely ladies want.” Her pink tipped silver blonde hair shimmered under the bar lights.

“Cranberry juice for me,” Summer sighed. “And a cheese quesadilla. Oh, and the fried pickle chips. To start.” She smiled prettily at him.

Ed grinned back. “How about for you two troublemakers?” he winked at Gia and Joey.

Joey looked at Gia. “Well, Ed, my friend and I are in the market for something strong and mean.”

Ed ranged his long frame over the bar and winked. “I got just the thing.”

A minute later he passed a sexy looking martini to Julia and slid two rocks glasses full of something dangerous looking in front of Gia and Joey.

Gia picked hers up and sniffed it. The fumes were startlingly strong.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Ed warned her. “These are Ed’s Erasers. Won me back-to-back awards at the Bartenders Beat Down in 2012 and 2013.”

“To Summer,” Gia announced, holding up her glass.

“To me.” Summer held up a greasy slice of cheese quesadilla.

They toasted their friend with spirit. The eraser burned on the way down and Gia liked it.

“Another one,” she gasped when she set the glass down.

“You got it, Red.” Gia flinched on the inside when Ed used Beckett’s nickname for her.

Summer squealed from two barstools down. She held up her phone. “It’s Niko! He’ll be here on Wednesday. Which means, Gia, he’ll want to shoot your yoga piece on Friday. I can art direct —”

Gia, bit her lip. “Summer, do you really want to art direct an all-day photo shoot the day after you get married?”

Summer’s face softened. She grinned dreamily. “You guys, I’m getting married!”

“You are getting married and having babies,” Gia corrected her.

“I really hit the jackpot, didn’t I?” she asked, stroking her belly.

The goofy grin on her friend’s face teased a smile out of Gia. “To Mrs. Pierce,” Gia said, holding up her fresh eraser.

“To Mrs. Pierce,” they echoed.

After two erasers, Gia decided to play it safe and switch to beer. She already felt kind of floaty.

“So spill,” Joey ordered. “What’s got you spitting fire all night?”

“Beckett Pierce.” Gia spat his name out like it was poison. She missed the look Joey shot Summer. “Not only did he break up with me and tell me to go back to my irresponsible ex-husband, but I walk in there tonight to drop Evan off and my dad —”

She stopped and looked around. “Look, I know that gossip is the lifeblood of this town, but is there any way we can never discuss what I’m about to tell you in case Beckett didn’t ruin it already and it actually happens?”

Julia frowned. “I think the Current Silence to Protect Future Events Code works here.”

“Perfect!” Gia said, slicing her finger wildly through the air. “So per the Current Silence uh … that code that Julia said, no one can say anything in case Beckett wasn’t an asshole and didn’t tell my dad he couldn’t propose to Phoebe.”

“Franklin’s going to propose?” Summer gasped.

“I don’t know! He had a ring and he was talking to Beckett and Beckett looked like he was staring into the abyss or something.” She mimicked his expression.

“We are so doing this again after the twins,” Summer announced, sipping her cranberry juice.

“So why was Franklin showing Beckett the ring?” Joey asked.

“My dad’s old-fashioned. He was probably asking them for their permission. Which, who knows if Beckett will give since he’s an ass!”

She punctuated the word by setting her beer bottle down hard.

“Oh, boy,” Joey said.

“Oh, boy is right,” Gia said, poking her friend in the shoulder. “What’s wrong with that guy, anyway?”

“Beckett’s a great guy,” Summer started.

“No! Don’t you do that, too,” Gia pouted. “All week everyone in town is ‘Oh, Beckett is the best ever and everything and we love him.’ No one cares that he sucks. He dumped me, he dumped my kids, and told me to get back with Paul I-sleep-around-and-don’t-remember-my-kids’-birthdays Decker.”

“Can we get a water over here, Ed?” Joey asked.

“Yeah, a water so I can throw it in Beckett’s dumb face,” Gia agreed. “Why’s his face all bruised, anyway?” she asked no one in particular. She’d noticed all three of the brothers had been sporting bruises and cuts tonight.

“We aren’t talking about that,” Summer said with uncustomary ire. “Those idiots are going to be wearing layers of makeup for the wedding pictures.”

“What if — and I’m just spit-balling here —” Julia said, trying to get the conversation back on track. “What if he realized he was an idiot and was really sorry?”

Gia frowned. “That would be moderately better.”

“And what if he gave you a really great apology?” Summer suggested.

Gia shook her head. “Oh no. I’ve heard too many apologies in my time. ‘I’m sorry’ means shit — sorry, crap — to me. It’s not the words that are important, it’s the actions. Beckett can say he’s sorry until he’s blue in his sexy, stupid face, but until he starts acting like a human being toward my dad, I don’t have time to listen to any I’m sorries.”

Summer, Julia, and Joey shared a long look.