Chapter Twenty-three
Eric
He’d made a terrible mistake. Eric looked at the dozens of people loitering around the Collingswood family’s back yard and wondered how fast he could extricate Bree from the situation. He had to think of it as hostile environment; they’d only been there ten minutes and he’d already avoided two emotional landmines and triggered one verbal one.
The yard was big enough to hold such a large gathering. A large, tiered deck augmented the back of the house. It ended on a massive, perfectly manicured lawn. A small vegetable garden ran the length of one fence. A long banquet table had been set up on the grass. Lawn chairs were scattered in groups all over the place. Just outside the kitchen door, John Collingswood Senior and Junior manned a pair of barbecues. John Junior was a clone of his father, from his looks to his career in the Winnipeg Fire Department. At least he’d managed a neutral greeting when Eric walked in with Bree.
Adam had been thrilled Eric had talked her into coming. He’d greeted his big sister with a hug and a sincere thank you when he’d seen them. Unfortunately, he’d been called away to help his mother, leaving them without a buffer when it came to the other firefighters and significant others who were present.
Eric knew a lot of them. Like cops, firefighters had a strong unity. To mess with one was to mess with them all. If John Sr. didn’t approve of his daughter, they weren’t going to go against him at his own home. Most of them were frostily polite but a few silently let Bree knew she was unwelcome. Eric was about to manufacture an urgent call from the station when John Sr. took a break from the grill and headed their way.
The man of the hour stank of sweat and barbecue, but mostly beer. He’d been working the barbecue for a while, which would excuse the first two odors, but the beer overpowered everything else and it wasn’t even two in the afternoon yet.
“Happy birthday, sir,” Eric said.
“Thanks for coming out, Parker.” John Sr. didn’t look his daughter’s way. “What have you been doing with yourself?” he asked.
Eric wrapped his arm around Bree’s shoulders. “I finally pulled my head out of my ass and tracked down Bree. She’s giving me a second chance.”
John Sr. shrugged as he took another swig from his bottle. “You could do better.”
Bree tensed under his grip. “I’m done here.”
“No, sir, I couldn’t do better. Your daughter is an amazing woman and it is my privilege to be in her life. I may not have understood that the first time we were together but I sure as shit get it now,” Eric said. He knew he was getting loud but he didn’t care. He couldn’t believe a father could stand there and insult his own daughter to her face.
“She left you. You left first, but it’s her job to wait for you to come back. So you decided to test the waters while you were together. So what? A woman understands that a man needs to stretch his wings on occasion. You wear a uniform. You deserved better. She should have waited for you to come back. You look like a pussy taking her back after the way she treated you,” John Sr. insisted.
“If my daughter’s fiancé had treated her half as badly as I treated Bree, I would have knocked the fucker on his ass and helped her pack. You say I deserved better? I know Bree deserved better. At least I’m making it up to her, even if it takes me years. Maybe you should think of doing the same while you still have the chance.”
An irritating tug on his arm finally got his attention. He broke his staring contest with John Sr. to see Bree’s white face looking up at him. “Eric, it’s okay. Let’s just go.”
He wanted to tell her it wasn’t okay, that nobody should blame her for taking care of herself when her family didn’t, but her expression stopped him. She didn’t need him to defend her right now. She needed him to get her out of a bad situation, one he’d dragged her into with the promise he’d look after her. In this case, looking after her meant making an immediate exit.
“Adam, we’re out of here. See you tomorrow,” he shouted to his partner, who’d witnessed the debacle from the deck.
“I’ll be right behind you as soon as I talk to Pops,” Adam yelled back.
Next time Bree said she didn’t want to go somewhere, Eric promised himself he wouldn’t force the issue.
