Page 20 of Just One Promise (The Carter Brothers 3)
“I’ll think about it, but that’s all I’m saying on the matter,” standing my ground. I refuse to not pull my weight, somehow.
“Alright,” he picks up my laptop, phone, and then guides me back inside. We never did make it back to bed though, we stayed up until the sun rose and talked the morning away.
31
Heath
Life has come full circle, here we are once again at the jewelry store. I wanted to do this last month, but life got hectic, so today here we are.
Mom, Rome, and Mason met me here. Though, I’m hoping we can grab a bite to eat too. Last night having a nightmare shook me to my core. I don’t want to have them anymore, the worried lines on Audrey’s face this morning after we talked all night about everything, not just about her job. Which I hope like fuck she just quits. That guy is a miserable douchebag, that likes to make her life complete and utter hell. Keeping my mouth shut has not been easy, but I did it. We even talked about my nightmare. She held my hand and listened, her gaze never wavering.
“My boys, I can’t believe all of my boys have found the one they love. I couldn’t be prouder. Now I just need more grandbabies to spoil,” mom says as she comes up to me.
“Summer is taking a break, two years in a row she was pregnant. Now we’re enjoying watching the boys grow up,” Rome states. I think two boys is probably all that’s in the cards for them. Summer still takes a few jobs here and there, but she thoroughly enjoys being a mom to Sawyer and Parker.
“We’re in the process of trying an IVF treatment, but it’s taking a toll on Quinn’s body. If it doesn’t work, then we’re looking at adopting.” It’s not just taking a toll on Quinn, you can see it’s weighing on Mason’s shoulders as well. He worries non-stop about Quinn, as he should. It broke her down for a while when she found out it was going to be difficult to carry her own children.
“What about Heath, shouldn’t you be pestering him?” Rome chimes in.
“I knew this was coming, Audrey and I will be having children, just not right away. She wants a houseful of kids, and I wouldn’t mind having them running around, out on a board with me, and sharing all the love I have to give. That being said, we’re taking our time first.” I see the tears gleaming in mom’s eyes. I take her in my arms hugging her.
“When you say a houseful, how many are we talking? Do I need to get a part time job to support my spoiling habits,” she asks.
Rolling my eyes, she’s so stubborn. We take care of her as much as she’ll allow us to, but we do little things here and there. Usually she doesn’t figure it out until it’s done, and all we have to do is hear her complain about it a little bit and she’s good to go. “Yeah, sure. Like that would ever be allowed,” Rome grunts.
“Let’s get this show on the road, I already know what she’ll love. Though, if we can grab some lunch after, I’d appreciate it. Got something I wanna talk about,” I state.
“I’m game, lead the way,” Mason says.
“Always here for you, baby brother,” Rome grunts.
“I know what she wants probably more than you,” Mom interjects, with a flourish of her hands. The worst part, she’s right, and we’ll probably pick the same damn ring out.
Once we settle on the ring which we both did in fact chose the same damn one, the only difference, I wanted to go big. Mom said, “No, she’ll never wear it, because she’ll be scared to lose it. That’s Audrey, she’s not obsessed with looks, frills, or money,” and she’s fucking right. We pick out a one carat platinum, princess cut diamond.
We get it wrapped up, paid for, and then we head out to lunch. It’s not something I want to talk about, but I know to be a better man, I’ll do what I have to, even if that means getting back in therapy. I don’t want my past fucking with my future.
32
Audrey
I did it. After talking to the girls and Momma Tina, I cut the cord and quit my job before finding a replacement I wasn’t sure I should or could do it, but after talking to them, I felt better about doing it. Apparently, they saw my tired eyes and slumped shoulders.
Typing out my resignation was a freeing moment. After I hit the send button, I closed my laptop, placed it back in the home office, and took a walk down to the beach to join Heath. He came out here earlier, I didn’t tell him what I was doing, wanting to surprise him.
