As Tears Go By (20 page)

She
jumped when Braydon approached her at the sink after breakfast.

“Skittish
this morning?”

“You
snuck up on me.”

“I came
to give you a kiss.” His lips pressed into her neck. “Hunter’s waiting at the
window, so the guys are gonna get started.”

“Shouldn’t
there be more help? Are two guys enough to remove a tree like that?”

A
smile, full of cockiness, spread over his face. “We’re McCulloughs, Becca.
We’re used to handling big things.”

She
smacked him with the towel. “Cocky.”

“Exactly.”

Of
course he was right. Two McCulloughs were plenty to handle the tree. Hunter
wasn’t the only one fascinated by the removal. They all gawked as Luke and Finn
climbed the limbs with saws and chopped it into nothing. The most exhilarating
part came when the trunk went down.

A bit
of sadness came with the new, open view in her front yard, but something about
the day’s events lightened the burden of having to say goodbye to the tree that
had been there since she bought the house.

When
they finished there was nothing but sawdust where the stump had been. Braydon’s
fingers curled around hers as he quietly asked, “How about we order some pizzas
for dunch?”

“Dunch?”

“Dinner
slash lunch. The guys have a long ride home. My treat.”

She
nodded. “Okay, but I’m buying.” Pizza was the least she could offer. At dinner
the men talked to Hunter about trucks and trees and she saw a new interest come
to life in her son’s eyes.

“You
guys should hear Hunter play the piano. You think Kate’s got talent? She’s got
nothing on Hunter.”

Finn
smiled. “Really? You like the piano, my man?”

Hunter
nodded. “Rolling Stones.”

“Oh,
yeah?” Finn stood and carried his plate to the sink. “I’ve been told I got the
moves like Jagger.”

Hunter
laughed. “I can play now?”

She
nodded, enjoying this social moment. “Go ahead.”

Typically
her son didn’t acknowledge outsiders, but he was really taken by these men. He
wasn’t the only one.

They traveled
to the piano and Hunter settled onto the bench. The moment he touched the keys,
his talent impressed the men. Hunter played a beautiful rendition of
Angie.

He
performed several songs, and when it was time for the guys to head home it was
nearly eight o’clock. She’d offered them money, but they refused. They also
invited her to come to what they all seemed to call McCullough Mountain and
meet the others.

It was
tempting, but intimidating. Again she worried if leaving the area while Kevin
had Hunter was wise.

After
putting Hunter to bed, she and Braydon finally delved into that bottle of wine.
“What are you thinking about?”

Braydon
turned. “I want you to come to Center County with me. I know you’re worried
about Hunter, but he’ll be fine. We can bring him or if you’d rather come when
he’s with Kevin, we’ll come home immediately if anything goes wrong. I don’t
want to drive separately.”

Curiosity
overruled caution, her answer slipping out with little thought. “Okay.”

He
seemed surprised at her agreement. Truth be told, so was she, but meeting his
brothers intrigued her. She wanted to see if they were all that nice. “Really?
Just like that?”

“Your
brothers are really sweet. I’d like to meet the rest of them.”

His
shoulders lifted as he drew in a deep breath. “Just…”

She
tipped her head in question as a glimpse of insecurity showed in his eyes.
“Just what?”

“Promise
you won’t go falling in love with any of them.”

She
laughed. “What?” They were all nice looking, but no one would ever top
Braydon.
 

“Last
time I brought a girl home to meet my family, my brother ended up marrying
her.”

Her
expression sobered. “Seriously?”

“Yeah.
He was the last brother I was worried about poaching from me. If he’d never met
Sammy he’d be a priest right now.”

“He was
going to be
a priest
?” Talk about scandal.

Braydon
laughed at her shock, but there was a telling concern in his eyes he couldn’t
hide. He’d been hurt on some level by what had happened, no matter how much he
accepted it now.

“Do you
talk to them?”

“Of
course. I could never ignore my family. I love them and, believe it or not,
they make a lot of sense together. I just get nervous bringing anyone home. She
was the last girl I introduced to the family.”

That
was huge. “When did this happen?”

“When I
was still in college.”

“Did
you love her?”

His
head twisted and he thought for a long moment. “No. Not the way a couple should
love each other I think, but I didn’t know that when I brought her home.”

“Now
I’m nervous,” she confessed.

He
grinned. “They’re savages, really, and there’s no way of predicting how they’ll
behave. But so long as I have your word…”

Pressing
her lips to his cheek, she promised, “I swear I won’t fall in love with anyone
at the mountain. I’ve already got the best McCullough anyway.”

“Or the
pub. Kelly’s another one I have to watch.”

“Wait,
aren’t all your siblings married?”

“Yes,
but flirting’s an incurable affliction every McCullough suffers.”

He was
so cute. “When did you want to go?”

“It’s
up to you. I’d like to go sometime in the next few weeks.”

She
contemplated her schedule. It would be nice to go when Kevin had Hunter. She
hadn’t had any sort of vacation in years. “How about over Thanksgiving? Kevin
will have Hunter and I was dreading spending the holiday alone, but this’ll
distract me.”

“Perfect.
I’ll tell my mum to add an extra place setting.”

“Oh.”
Her hopes crashed. “I promised Nikki and Carla I’d spend Thanksgiving with them
since Nikki’s husband’s going to be away on business. Well, maybe they’ll
understand.”

“You
could always invite them.”

She
snorted. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Carla’s just as bad as her sister.
They might break your mountain.”

He
laughed. “Trust me. We can handle them.”

Chapter Nine

“Giddy
up!” Carla yelled as Braydon tucked the last of Becca’s belongings into his
trunk. “Now, how many brothers did you say you have?”

“They’re
all married, Carla. Calm yourself,” Becca said, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah,
but you have cousins, too, right, Braydon?”

“I have
some single cousins.”

Nikki
beeped the horn and yelled out the window of her car, parked behind Braydon’s
Jetta. “Get in the car or I’m leaving without you.”

Becca
turned and gave Carla a hug. “Try not to distract Nikki while she’s driving.
Call me if you get lost. We’ll be right ahead of you.”

Braydon
advised them to stay close, because once they made it to the mountain GPS was
useless. Hunter had gone to Kevin’s that morning and Becca had five whole days
to relax and have fun. She was actually excited, even if she was incredibly
nervous.

“They’ll
be fine,” Braydon said tapping her knee.

She
snorted. “Let’s just hope they don’t back into a tree. Carla’s not the best
co-pilot.”

“What
about Nikki?”

“She’s
consistently a maniac, so her typical blanket warning applies.”

Once
Becca was buckled up she turned into a ball of energy. “How far is it?”

“A
little under three hours.”

“Wanna
play a game?”

He
laughed. “You’re hyper.”

“I’m a
free woman for the next five days. I haven’t done this since…ever.”

“What
about before you were a mother?”

She
shrugged. “I don’t know. I was a kid.”

“How
about when you were first married?”

She
snorted. “Kevin’s no fun.”

That
really made him laugh. As they drove they chatted about the deal their
companies were working on together. Now that the construction was underway, her
part was nearly finished.

“Your
boss makes me nervous,” she admitted.

“Miranda?
Why?”

“She’s
very pretty, and you two have a history.”

“That’s
in the past.”

“Yeah,
but dating her was probably a lot different from dating me.”

“It was
,
that’s why we broke up. I prefer us.”

Reaching
into the console, he picked up his phone and powered it off, which was strange
since it wasn’t ringing. Maybe he didn’t want to be disturbed while on the
highway. His hand curled over hers and squeezed.

When
they arrived in Center County it was mid-afternoon. Braydon turned onto a
desolate street and her heart raced as they followed the incline of dusty road.
“Is this the mountain?”

“Yup.
In about two miles you’ll see my parents’ house on the right. Look for a
cleared patch in the trees and a log cabin on a hill.”

The
fresh air was exhilarating. Deep patches of evergreens made up an impressive
horizon. Deer nibbled at shrubs as they crept up the scenic path. They were
deep in the woods, but every so often a house would come into view. “That’s
Sammy and Colin’s house over there.”

“Your
ex?”

“Yeah,
but I hardly think of her like that anymore. Over there’s Finn and Mallory’s
home. You can’t really see it through the trees, but if you take that bit of
road you’ll hit it.”

“You
guys all really live on the mountain?”

“Everyone
but Sheilagh and Kelly. Kelly lives on the farm with Ashlynn.”

“And
Sheilagh?”

“She’s
in Princeton, but she’ll be home for Thanksgiving with her husband Alec.”

“The
professor?” It was a lot to keep track of.

“Right.”

When
she spotted the log cabin she gasped. It was striking, perched at the top of a
grassy knoll. Immediately she thought of things like stacked pancakes and
Abraham Lincoln, plaid tablecloths and other Americana representations. “It
looks like a centerfold in
Better Homes and Gardens
.”

“One
day I’m going to build something equally as breathtaking.”

His
dream was sweet, but with the admission came a sharp bite of anxiety. “You
really aren’t staying in Pittsburgh?”

He
glanced at her. “If I had to I would, but I miss home. I always imagined
building my wife her dream house right over there.”

Her
eyes blinked as her stomach rolled with disappointment. It was a beautiful
patch of land behind a divide of tall pines. She could imagine Braydon building
the perfect home there—when he found the perfect wife. Somehow, that vision
didn’t seem to include her, but then, she’d known that when they embarked on
whatever this was.

They
parked next to a large barn and Carla and Nikki pulled up beside them. As they
climbed out and stretched their legs, the screen door on the porch snapped open
and a striking redhead emerged.

“Mum!
He’s here!” The girl shrieked as she barreled down the porch steps, her pace
not slowing until she propelled herself into Braydon’s arms.

“Hey,
Devil! Welcome home.”

Becca
realized this must be his youngest sister, Sheilagh. Sheilagh brushed her hands
over Braydon’s face and smiled. “Welcome home, Bray.”

The
screen door opened again and a woman in an aproned dress with work boots came
out followed by a tall man dressed in flannel and denim. “Stop hogging him,
Sheilagh, and let us all get a piece of him.”

Braydon’s
head turned and a childlike smile lit his face. “Mum,” he whispered, taking
Becca’s hand and pulling her to the front of the house. “Come let me introduce
you.”

Nerves
jangled inside her as he towed her along to meet his family. Carla and Nikki
introduced themselves to Sheilagh, who Becca had yet to garner an introduction
to.

“Well,
now, will you look at our boy, Frank? That’s the look of a man in love.”

“Hi,
Mum,” he hummed, as she pulled him into a tight hug. It was probably the most
darling thing Becca had ever seen, the way Braydon’s eyes closed in a moment of
bliss as he rested his head on his mother’s shoulder and simply breathed in her
familiar form. Envy at such a precious moment had Becca smiling.

“I’m
Frank.”

She
turned and shook the man’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Becca. Your home
is beautiful.”

He
nodded his appreciation and Braydon’s mother finally released her son. “Now,
who do we have here, love?”

“Mum,
this is Becca, my girlfriend.”

Becca
held out her hand and nearly groped the woman as she ignored her outstretched
palm and yanked her into a bear hug. “Welcome to our home, love.” She gripped
Becca’s shoulders and pressed her back a step. “And what a lovely little lass
you are! She’s cute, isn’t she, Frank? Well, introduce me to your other
friends, Braydon.” Turning to Becca, she announced, “Now, all my boys are
married. I’m afraid you got the last one on the market, but I have strapping
nephews. Are your friends married, dearie?”

Good
grief the woman spoke fast. “Um, Carla’s single. Nikki’s married. Her husband’s
away on business until Saturday.”

Braydon’s
mother clapped. “Perfect. Braydon, you’ll have to call Ryan and introduce the
two. Which one’s Carla? Oh, they’re both pretty.”

“Maureen,
give them a second to settle before you go trying to marry everyone off,”
Braydon’s father said.

“Hush,
Frank.”

They
met the others at the cars where Carla and Nikki were laughing with Sheilagh.
“Bray
,
these girls are a hoot! We’re gonna have so
much fun this weekend.”

“Take
it easy, Devil.”

“Hey,
GQ, how come you never mentioned having a cool sister? She doesn’t have a bit
of that conservativeness you have going on,” Nikki teased.

Maureen,
Braydon’s mother, frowned. “You better not have gone and turned conservative on
us, Braydon. You’re a McCullough. We don’t do moderation well.”

Braydon
tugged Becca close. “Sheilagh, this is my girlfriend Becca and I see you
already met Nikki and Carla. Becca, this is my baby sister, Shei-Devil.”

Like
her mother, Sheilagh pulled her into a tight hug. “Welcome to our mountain.”

Overwhelmed
by such an enthusiastic welcome, Becca simply smiled. There were only three of
them at the moment, but they each seemed packed to the gills with vitality.
Well, everyone but Frank, that is. Braydon’s father appeared the most refined.

Suddenly,
Braydon’s sister tensed. It was very subtle, but Becca picked up on it. Turning
to see what caused the slight change in her demeanor, Becca recognized Luke
coming out of the barn followed by another man. A second later, yet another
man, this one wearing a tweed blazer, emerged from the big house and Sheilagh
noticeably relaxed.

“Hey Becca,” Luke greeted, giving her a gentle hug. “This is
Tristan, my partner.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Becca,” Tristan said, with a
slight southern lilt to his speech.

The man wearing the blazer wrapped an arm around Sheilagh’s
shoulders. “Hello. I’m Alec, Sheilagh’s husband.”

Taken off guard by his British accent, Becca drew in a
breath, hoping she could keep everyone’s names straight. “Nice to meet you,
Alec. I’m Becca and this is Carla and Nikki.”

“Pleasure.”

“Well, why don’t you kids settle in and then we’ll have
dinner. I’m sure your brothers’ll be wantin’ you to join them at O’Malley’s
tonight, so I’m just making soup and dumplings. Tomorrow I’ll be cooking up a
feast, and I’m saving my strength.”

Sheilagh leaned close. “You may want to take a room far away
from Mum and Dad’s. They’re perverted and loud now that Dad’s hearing’s going.”

Braydon stilled, his face contorting with a frown. “Ew.”
Shaking his head he glared at his sister. “Why would you put that image in my
head, brat?”

She shrugged and took Alec by the hand. “Just trying to warn
you. We’re in Kate’s old room at the
far
end of the hall.”

Braydon
carried their luggage to his childhood bedroom and Becca enjoyed the glimpses
of his personality displayed there. It was very similar to his apartment in
that it was decorated in cool gray colors and straight edged furniture.
However, in this room there was a touch of earthiness she didn’t find at his
home in the city.

A large
antlered skull was mounted to the wall and a fur blanket covered the bed. “Did
you catch that?”

“Nah,
it’s hard to catch a deer. Shot it with an arrow though.”

“What
was he armed with?” she joked.

He
grinned and placed their belongings at the foot of the bed. “That was my first
kill.”

She
wasn’t a fan of hunting, but something about imagining fancy Braydon out of his
suit and geared up for the hunt did things to her. It was difficult picturing
him in such a rough and wild setting, but she was slowly piecing it together.

The
sound of the girls making their way up the stairs had them turning. “Where did
they go? This place is huge.” She heard Nikki wonder aloud.

“We’re
in here.”

The
girls dropped their luggage in the hall. “Where are we sleeping?”

“Carla,
you can take my brother Kelly’s room down the hall and Nikki, you can take
Sheilagh’s since she’s in Kate’s old room.”

“Which
one’s Sheilagh’s room?”

“It’s
the hideous pink one at the end. You can’t miss it.”

The
girls disappeared and Braydon shut the door. When he gave Becca “the look” she
giggled. “What do you want?”

“You
know what I want.” Stalking her with slow strides, he backed her to the bed.

“Your
mother’s making dinner.”

“We
have a few minutes. Let me do bad things to you.”

Her
mouth tightened in a smirk. “Maybe I want to do bad things to you.”

That
brought him up short. “Really? Like what?”

Her
lips pressed to his and she hummed, loving the taste of his kiss. “Mmmm, I
don’t know. How much time do we have?”

“I’d
say at least twenty minutes until the natives get restless.”

“Oh, I
can do a lot in twenty minutes,” she purred.

“I have
no doubt. Show me.”

“Did
you lock the door?”

“Of
course.”

Her
fingers went to his belt and she quickly unclasped the latch and slid the
leather free. Slipping down his zipper, she fed her hand into his pants and
wrapped her fingers around hot, hard flesh. He groaned in pleasure as she slid
to her knees. Since Braydon awakened this new sexual side of her, she’d
acquired quite a taste for his body.

“Wow,
what did I do to deserve this?”

“I’ve
actually been fantasizing about doing this since last night when I was packing.
It just so happens seeing you here tipped the cuteness scales in your favor,
and I can’t wait any longer.”