Since You've Been Gone (Welcome to Paradise) (11 page)

He seemed slightly embarrassed by the praise but didn’t get a chance to respond because someone had called out his name.

“Austin!” Two seconds later, a pretty brunette in green Capris and a white tank top rushed up and hugged him tight.

“Hey Maddie,” Austin greeted the woman. “It’s good to see yo—”

He’d barely finished his sentence when another female hurried over, this one with jet-black hair and vivid blue eyes. Austin endured another long, chest-squeezing hug, then smiled wryly and introduced Mari to his sister-in-law, Maddie and his brother’s girlfriend, Bree.

Mari had just finished saying hello when two more people wandered over—a stunning blonde in a white sundress, and a black-haired man who screamed
bad boy
.

“Mari, this is Lexie and her boyfriend, Cooper,” Austin explained.

“Fiancé,” the bad boy replied smugly. He leaned in to nuzzle the blonde’s graceful neck. “I finally convinced her to say yes.”

Mari tried to hide her surprise, but inside she was wondering how the heck Lexie, who looked so prim and proper, had wound up with Cooper, who, with his messy hair, black muscle tee and faded jeans, seemed incredibly rough around the edges. She made a mental note to ask Charlotte about the odd coupling later.

At the thought of Charlotte, Mari searched the yard for the singer and spotted her engaged in conversation with a couple that looked like they’d dressed for a cocktail party. The white-haired man was in a gray wool suit with an honest-to-God handkerchief artfully sticking out of the breast pocket, while the woman by his side wore a halter-style blue dress that fell to her ankles and a diamond pendant that sparkled in the growing darkness. The woman’s black hair and blue eyes, combined with the man’s resemblance to Bree, told Mari that they must be related somehow. Bree’s parents maybe?

“Owen’s pissed at you.”

Maddie’s frank declaration recaptured Mari’s attention, and she didn’t miss the groove of irritation that dug into Austin’s forehead.

“What else is new?” he said lightly, before shifting his head to examine the yard. “Where is he, anyway?”

Maddie hooked a thumb at the gazebo. “The three of them have been huddled in there for the past twenty minutes.”

Mari saw Austin’s shoulders tense. She didn’t need to be psychic to know that Nate must have divulged Austin’s confession to their twin brothers.

“You wanna tell us what their hush-hush powwow is all about?” Maddie asked pointedly.

Austin shot her a crooked grin. “Nope.”

Bree rolled her eyes. “Shocking.”

His gaze moved to the gazebo again, a frown marring his lips. “I should go over there,” he told Mari. “Will you be okay without me? I’m sure these ladies can entertain you with lots of colorful stories about me.”

“We sure can,” Bree said wryly.

“Yeah, get lost already, Austin,” Maddie cracked. “We want to gossip with your new girlfriend.”

“I’ll be back soon,” Austin murmured as he leaned down to plant a kiss on her cheek.

“Take your time,” she murmured back.

The moment Austin stepped into the gazebo, three heads snapped up to reveal three grave faces.

“Is it true?” Jake asked without preamble. Just like Nate, Jake wasn’t one for pleasantries either.

Jake’s twin, however, was not as curt. “I’m glad you’re home,” Owen said quietly. With a tentative smile, he came forward and gave Austin a quick hug.

Jake, of course, stayed put. Mr. Military Man didn’t do hugs. Though Austin noticed that his brother did look more approachable than usual, thanks to his gray trousers, white button-down and clean-shaven face.

A face that sported a scowl as Jake repeated the question. “Is it true?”

“Yes,” Austin said simply.

Jake ran a hand over his buzz cut. “When did you find out?”

“Last year. Ironically, a few days before mom’s last birthday.”

Sighing, Owen moved toward one of the support posts in the gazebo and leaned against it. “So Rice is your old man, huh?”

Austin stared at him in shock.

“It wasn’t hard to guess,” Nate spoke up, his voice wry. “All we had to do was ask ourselves, who’s the only other man aside from Dad that Mom spent more than five minutes with?”

“How do you know she didn’t have a one-night stand?” he challenged.

“Because that’s not her style,” Jake said gruffly. “Mom would never hook up with a random dude. She’d probably consider it immoral.”

Austin shook his head in disbelief. “But having an affair with her husband’s brother is better?”

The three of them exchanged a look, and then Owen let out another sigh, this one tinged with defeat. “Do you really blame her?”

“Dad treated her like shit,” Jake said angrily. “If she found comfort somewhere else, I’m not sure I can hold that against her.”

“God knows Dad found a shit-ton of comfort outside his marriage,” Nate added bitterly.

“So that made it okay for her to cheat?” Austin demanded.

Jake rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, little brother, you know you’re not pissed about the cheating thing. You’re mad that she lied to you.”

“Let me guess,” he said sarcastically, “you guys are okay with that too.”

“Not at all,” Owen replied calmly. “She shouldn’t have lied to you—to
us
—all these years. But…I understand why she did.”

“Christ, can you imagine what would’ve happened if Dad found out his wife slept with Uncle Rice?” Jake whistled under his breath. “He would’ve freaked the fuck out.”

Austin didn’t doubt it. Ironically, although Henry had cheated on Della constantly, he’d been oddly possessive of his wife, not to mention jealous as hell.

“I don’t blame her for keeping the affair from Henry,” Austin said darkly. “I blame her for keeping it from
me
. She should have told me the truth.”

Owen spoke up in a careful tone. “What difference would it have made? You would’ve needed to keep Dad in the dark, which means pretending he was still your father.”

“Fine, then she should’ve just told Dad and let the chips fall where they may.” His jaw stiffened. “Or in the very least, she could’ve told me ten fucking years ago after he died. I was fifteen then, more than old enough to know the truth.”

“She made a mistake,” Nate agreed. “And we get why you’re pissed, okay?”

“And why you’ve been acting like a surly bastard lately,” Jake added.

“You should have told us sooner,” Owen chimed in, frowning.

He dragged a frustrated hand through his hair. “I needed time to process it.”

“Well, you’ve had plenty of fucking time, Austin.” Nate donned a stern look. “The question is, what are you going to do now?”

“How is that a question?” Jake argued. “Mom fucked up, but now he’s going to forgive her.”

Austin arched a brow. “Oh, am I?”

“Damn right you are,” Jake snapped. “She’s your mother. She loves you—hell, she probably loves you more than all of us combined. You’ve always been her favorite and you know it.”

Yeah, because she probably felt guilty.

He bit his tongue before the words could slip out. Ever since he’d learned the truth, he couldn’t help wondering why Della had always treated
him
like the favorite. Before, he’d figured it was because he was the youngest, the baby of the family, but now, the cynic in him suspected she’d lavished so much attention on him because she felt bad about lying to him.

“Don’t push me on this,” he finally said, taking a moment to look each one of his brothers square in the eye. “I’ll work things out with her in my own time.”

Nate didn’t look happy.

Jake mumbled something less than complimentary under his breath.

But Owen, as usual, tried to see the bright side. “Hey,” he told Nate and his twin, “he didn’t say he’s cutting her out of his life. They
will
work things out.” Owen shot Austin a stern glare. “Right?”

“Right,” he answered vaguely.

A short silence fell, the sounds of the party drifting into the gazebo and reminding Austin of the fact that they couldn’t hide out here all night.

“We should go mingle,” he said, turning toward the steps.

Nate cleared his throat. “This doesn’t change anything, by the way.”

Austin bit the inside of his cheek and slowly turned back around. “No?”

“Fuck no,” Nate declared. “You’re still our annoying little brother. You know, the pest who used to spy on me when I had girls over?”

“And the asshole who put poison oak inside my pillowcase that one time?” Owen piped up.

“I don’t give a shit whose sperm gave you life,” Jake said with a shrug. “You’re one of us, and we love you.”

Austin’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. Had Jake really just given a declaration of love? Wow. Clearly being with Bree had softened the guy.

“So stop being a sulky motherfucker and be part of this family again,” Jake finished, proving that he was still as crass as ever.

Austin took a breath. “I’ll try.”

Chapter Eight

It was official—Mari adored Austin’s family. She couldn’t explain it, but as she wandered around the party and mingled, she felt like she’d known everyone her entire life. Maddie’s sarcasm made her laugh constantly, and listening to the brunette bicker with Austin’s brother Owen was insanely entertaining. Bree was super nice in a quiet, laidback way, which seemed to compliment Jake’s prickly nature. Charlotte, of course, was so easy to be with, but Mari spent quite a bit of time getting to know Nate too, who was gruff and intelligent and funnier than she’d expected.

She also spent a good portion of the evening with Austin’s mother, and it didn’t take long for Mari to decide that Della Bishop was the sweetest woman in the world. Her love for her sons was undeniable, and she went out of her way to make sure every guest at the party had enough to eat and drink. As Della bustled around from person to person, Mari felt a flicker of admiration toward the woman.

The best part of the night was that she could feel Austin softening toward his family. He was more talkative than she’d ever seen him, and though he tensed up whenever Della joined the conversation, he had actually smiled at his mother several times and even laughed at one of her jokes.

And yet just when Mari decided that the party was a great success and a big step toward progress, a new arrival joined the fold and screwed it all up.

She and Austin had been telling Bree and Jake about the towns they’d visited during the road trip, but when a tall dark-haired man appeared on the deck, Austin halted midsentence.

Mari took one look at the newcomer and knew he was Austin’s uncle. Well, father. Rice Bishop shared Austin’s classically handsome features, but more importantly, he had the same striking moss-green eyes.

Rice hadn’t seemed to notice Austin yet. He’d made a beeline for Della, who stood near the deck railing with Nate and Charlotte.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” they heard him say. “I got a flat tire on the way here, stopped to fix it, and turns out my spare was flat too! I had to wait two hours for Joe to drag his ass out of bed to tow my truck to his shop.”

Mari didn’t catch what Della said in response—she was too busy watching Austin’s reaction to his father’s arrival. He had a stricken look on his face, and was already edging away from Bree and Jake as if planning his escape.

“Be cool, little bro,” Jake murmured.

Austin didn’t answer. He simply turned to Mari and said, “I think I’m ready to call it a night.”

Masking her disappointment, she offered a quick nod. “No problem.”

She tried to look on the bright side, which was that Austin had stuck it out for much longer than she’d expected. For several hours, in fact, and he’d even been the one to cut the first piece of chocolate cake and hand it to his mother. So all in all, she couldn’t complain that they were leaving, even though she would have liked to stay and chat with everyone a while longer.

They said their goodbyes to the folks milling on the grass, then headed for the deck. Wariness trickled along Mari’s spine as the two of them ascended the wide stairs. Austin’s body language became rigid and detached the closer they got to his mother and uncle.

Rice Bishop looked startled as hell when he spotted them. “Austin! I didn’t realize you were home.”

“I just got in tonight,” Austin said coolly.

Discomfort creased the older man’s face. “Ah. Well. It’s good to see you.”

Austin didn’t answer. After a beat, he glanced at his mother and said, “Mari and I are taking off now.”

Unlike Mari, Della didn’t bother hiding her disappointment. “Oh. All right.”

“It’s been a long day of driving for us,” Austin reminded her. “But I’ll see you tomorrow morning, remember?”

A hopeful smile lifted his mother’s lips. “Yes, we’ll see each other tomorrow. Thanks again for my gift, sweetie.”

“You’re welcome.” Completely ignoring his uncle, Austin leaned in to give Della a quick kiss on the cheek. “Happy birthday, Mom.”

“Happy birthday,” Mari echoed. “And thank you so much for inviting me into your home.”