Page 84 of The Triple Threat
“Bronte has?” His eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline. “Really?”
“Yeah, and well Ellie’s kind of worried you might be flattered and do something about it.”
“She does?” He pushed his hands on his hips and moved his upper body closer to mine. “Why the fuck would she think that?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, but that’s what she thinks.”
“Well, I promise you, I don’t. I never would. She’s a pretty girl, but that’s exactly what she is, a girl. Beside the fact that Jim and Darcy are two of my closest friends. I would never risk that.”
“And that’s what I told Ellie,” I replied. “But she’s got this damn idea that we need to stop it happening. She’s doing everything she can to get Carter and Bronte together, so that she’ll stop crushing on you.”
“Shit,” Pop groaned. “Bronte and Carter. Damn son, that’s like fire and gasoline. Only one way that’s going to go and that’s boom.”
“That’s what I told her, but she’s adamant that nothing is going to spoil all the friendships you guys have.”
“You can tell her to stop fretting about it,” Pop said as he placed a hand on my shoulder. “It’s not and will not ever happen. Too damn weird. I think I changed that girl’s butt once when she was a baby. So why you asking me about this? Do you think I might do something about it?”
I’d thought about it a lot over the last few weeks and was dubious about Ellie’s claims. Now seeing Pop’s face and hearing what he had to say I was sure. “No, Pop. No, I don’t, but you know Ellie.”
He gave a quiet laugh and shook his head. “Yeah, I do. Seems you maybe need to explain a few things to her.”
“I think I do.”
Images of her came into my head and I felt weird in my stomach. Like I’d just been on a Ferris Wheel that had gone twice the speed it should’ve.
“It explains a lot though,” Pop added, stooping to pick up the towel he’d dropped.
“Like what?” I asked.
“Why she keeps shutting you down. She’s got a happy life. Everything in her garden is rosy. She’s never lost anyone, her folks are still together, we’re all one big happy family. She likes everyone to be happy—hence her getting Melinda to invite us all for Thanksgiving. Ellie thought we could all be happy again.”
“That doesn’t explain why she says no to me,” I said, thrusting my hands into my pockets like a sulky little kid.
“She’s scared, son.” Pop cupped my cheek with his big, rough hand. “Ellie’s scared that she says yes and you two don’t work out, we’ll all suffer. No more, big happy group of friends meeting up for Thanksgiving.”
I thought about what he said and knew that there was an element of truth in what he was saying; all the exact same reasons Ellie had given. Getting Bronte and Carter together didn’t matter because if they didn’t work out, no one would be surprised. They hated each other, had for years, so it wouldn’t change the order of things.
“You know, it could also mean that she’s scared of totally losing you. You and she are friends at the moment, but what happens if you become more and it doesn’t work out. What then?”
“No one can predict the future. Ellie certainly can’t. I could be the best damn thing to happen to her, and she to me.” I threw my hands in the air, frustrated by it all, even if I did see her point of view.
“That damn stubbornness we talked about.” Pop smiled and slapped me on the back. “I guess you need to persuade her of that.”
I grimaced and hung my head. “To be truthful, she may actually not be talking to me right now.”
Pop rolled his eyes. “What you do, son?”
“Well, last night she gave Bronte’s cat laxative so that she had to take it to Carter. Ellie told me what she’d done, so I made her go and clean the shit up from the surgery and sit with the cat so Carter could come and have a beer with me.”
“And he allowed that? His sister in the surgery while he was in Stars & Stripes?”
I raised my brows and shrugged.
“Fuck,” Pop muttered. “No wonder Lance isn’t ready to hand over the reins to him. Well, I guess you’ll only find out how big a grudge she holds when you go around there, and there’s no better time than now.” He slapped a hand on my shoulder and when I opened my mouth to protest, he continued. “I didn’t raise you to be a coward, son. So, seeing as we already got a lot done this morning, I suggest you go wash up and I’ll put the coffee on. Oh, and Hunter.”
“Yep.”
“When you tell her how you feel, maybe be the gentleman your mom raised you to be.”