Everyone cracks up, and I roll my eyes. “I don’t know… I… It’s way too early to think about that. And besides, I haven’t even gotten to the part where he told me to take a hike.”
“What do you mean he told you to take a hike?” Grace asks. Kellan starts to fuss on the floor, and Derek gets up to take care of him. Also, I suspect, to try not to overhear too much of the conversation in case Tyler wants to talk about it in therapy.
I let out a sigh, coming back to Earth with a thunk after rhapsodizing about how amazing Tyler is for the last few minutes.
“So, Tyler’s mom is in a care home, and he got a call on Friday afternoon telling him she’d fallen down the stairs and was in the hospital, and he needed to get there quickly. I drove him in to Tacoma. He went in to visit her that night, but, but she was unconscious, and there wasn’t anyone around who could give him much detail about her condition. He was pretty upset and overwhelmed after seeing her, so I’m guessing things aren’t looking great. I offered to stay with him, but he said he was more comfortable handling it with his brother. He needed some space, so I’m trying to give it to him. You know. Like an adult.” I can’t resist sassing them all a little bit.
“Wow, poor Tyler. Sounds like he’s got a lot on his plate. I think you did the right thing by giving him space if he asked for it. Very adult-y of you, Sam. Congratulations.” Grace grins at me and raises her wineglass in a toast.
“I don’t know him very well, but I think giving him space to deal with his family crap is a good idea too,” Reed says thoughtfully. “But maybe remind him every so often that you’re ready when he does want to talk. Speaking as someone who comes from a shit upbringing, there’s a ton of shame around it, even though there shouldn’t be, so it’s good not to press him.” Dylan is looking at Reed with a fond smile on his face. Dyl isn’t the touchy-feely type, but it’s obvious how much he loves Reed. It hits me in the chest. I want that. I really fucking want that.
“It can be hard to adjust to having someone care about you if you haven’t had it. I agree with Reed—let him know you’re there if or when he wants to talk. He seems like a great guy. He’ll get himself sorted,” Jackson says.
I nod, absorbing the advice. “I can do that. I think. But this shit is more complicated than it should be.” Everyone laughs.
“Always is,” Mason chuckles.
I’m about to push back from the table since an early night sounds like a good idea when Mason clears his throat again.
“Anyway, before we break up this little party, Jax and I have one more piece of news you all might be interested in.” His eyes are twinkling, and Jax looks like he’s ready to bust out of his skin with excitement.
We all hold our breaths for a moment while Mason lets the suspense build, and just as I think Grace is about to lose her mind, he shouts, “We’re having a baby!”
The room erupts in cheers and laughter as everyone jumps up to congratulate Mason and Jax on their amazing news. We’ve all been expecting it for a while, and again, I’m hit in the gut with a weird happy and sad feeling. Turns out that not only do I want a relationship like theirs, but apparently, I still want to do the whole family thing. I want it all. I had tried to put that desire out of my mind for a long time, again wanting to keep all my options open for when the mythical “Mr. or Miss Right” came along. I wanted to be able to twist myself into exactly who I thought they’d want. But it’s becoming more and more clear to me that isn’t the best way to go about things.
Mason breaks out the champagne as he explains that the surrogate they were matched with a few months back is apparently a real fertile Myrtle, and she got pregnant on their first round of IVF. It’s still early, but the two of them are walking on air, and as envious as I am, it’s amazing to see them so happy. Mason and Jax are going to make incredible parents, and no matter what happens with Tyler and me, I’ll be there as the trusty uncle.
CHAPTER 31
TYLER
After leaving the hospital, we go to Aaron’s condo. He’s moved since we saw each other last. His new place is small and old, but it’s clean and in a much better part of town than I was living in. He shows me to the tiny extra room with an old pull-out couch in it and goes to shower. We decide to order takeout and watch some Netflix before going to bed early. We need to figure out some kind of schedule for being at the hospital for the next few days, at least until Mom’s condition is stable, but we don’t have to figure that out this minute. More importantly, Aaron and I have stuff to discuss.
The pizza arrives, and we take it to his living room, each grabbing a slice. Aaron goes to grab the remote to turn on the TV, but I stop him.
I swallow my nerves and bite the bullet. “Wait, Aaron, we should talk about some stuff.”
He heaves a sigh and looks back at me. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He stares down at his plate. “I’ve been like an ostrich with my head in the sand.” He snorts. “I’m just not great with this kind of shit.”
I snort back at him. “And somehow you think I am?” I scoff. “We were raised by the same person, Aar. It’s a fucking wonder either of us can do anything more than grunt and point at shit to communicate.”
“Ha. That’d be a lot easier.”
I chuckle. “So anyway, I just got a raise at work, and I want to contribute more to paying off her debt.”
My brother shakes his head and pushes his chair back from the table, evidently uncomfortable with the conversation. “It’s fine, Ty. Don’t worry about it. Whatever you can contribute is great. I’m managing.”
I fucking hate that he feels like the entire burden of Mom’s debt and managing her care and everything else falls on his shoulders alone. Especially since it was him she stole from, his life forever changed because of her thoughtless choices and selfishness. Aaron had been close to a major break in his career when he had to rush home and deal with her while I was overseas. He’d been asked to work with Cody West, one of the hottest, up-and-coming country stars around, and he was through the roof with excitement. On the FaceTime chats we used to have before my accident, he’d been so happy and positive about the future. But when he started getting calls from Social Services about Mom, he put everything on hold, including his work with Cody, to come home and tend to her. He worked so hard to drag himself out of the gutter we started out in, only for our mother to once again drag him down as he got close to the top. If Mom hadn’t burdened him with this financial mess or ruined his credit score, he wouldn’t have to work a million hours and could devote more time to music.
“Aaron, I’m serious. I really want to help more. I want you to be able to spend more time on your songwriting. Plus, you need to be in Nashville more often. I can deal with the stuff with Mom once we get through this crisis.”
He bites his lip and looks at me. “Okay, Ty. Thank you. Whatever you can do, I appreciate it.”
I nod, glad he didn’t fight me too hard. Aaron’s not finished though.
“Tyler, I’m, uh—I just want you to know I’m sorry for what I said when we… last talked… I said a lot of awful shit, and I didn’t mean it. I knew it wasn’t true. I was just… I wanted to hurt you the same way I felt like I was getting hurt, you know? I was overwhelmed and fucked-up, and the easiest thing was to blame you instead of facing what was happening.”
Well, this is unexpected.
