Chapter Nine

Wyatt

I couldn't believe after all this time Brandy walked back into my life. And it was my job that made our paths cross. I hadn't given much thought to that night at the bar since it happened, knowing it was never a good thing to dwell on. After all, I was only back in Miami because of Damon's injury and I would rather leave those nasty memories in the past, where they belonged. Damon pulled through it and was doing great and that was all that mattered.

That aside, it didn't change how I felt when I saw Brandy at Laurel's penthouse suite. No woman had made me feel that way since Susan. I closed my eyes and tried to think about anything else but my run-in with her.

"Dude, are you trying to doze off?" I opened my eyes to the sound of Damon's voice.

I peered over to the driver's seat where he was sitting and raised a brow. "With you driving, I can't take the chance."

He snickered. "Please, you know I'm the best driver of all of us. Colt failed his test twice before finally passing, so if there's anyone you shouldn't fall asleep in the car with it's him, not me."

I stared at him for a moment before looking back at the road ahead. "I can't believe you roped me into coming with you in the first place."

He looked over at me for a second and I pointed to the road. He looked back before saying, "I don't know why you wouldn't want to go with me anyway. It'll be fun. We always loved going bowling."

"When we were kids, that was one thing."

He chuckled. "Man, I thought Deacon was bad."

I rolled my eyes, remembering how Damon all but dragged me out of my suite to get me to go bowling with him. He said one of his repeat customers and a good friend of his had just opened a bowling alley in Downtown West Palm Beach and Damon said he'd go to support him and his new endeavor. I still didn't know what that had to do with me. "I had work to do, that's all."

Now, he rolled his eyes. "Come on, man, you always have work to do. We see you as little now as we did when you in the Army."

I eyed him and he backed off.

"I'm just saying," he tried again, "you really should consider doing something other than working."

"I like what I do." Then I ventured, "Don't you like what you do?"

He nodded. "You know I do. I love working in the garage."

"There you go, then, and when Marcus has you working late, you shut your mouth and do it because it's a paycheck and you take pride in your work."

"Sure."

Just then, he pulled into an empty spot in front of the bowling alley and parked the car. "What about some nachos?" I asked, trying to change the subject. "I'm starved."

He nodded, likely knowing what I was doing, but let me get away with it as he opened the door to get out and I did the same. "Nachos, pizza, and beer."

We walked into the bowling alley and I immediately spotted the shoe rental counter. "We renting shoes?"

Damon nodded and looked around as we walked to the desk. "Where's Deacon?" he asked me. "He said he'd meet us here."

I looked around and then back at the door and shrugged my shoulders. "He's probably late."

"Clearly," Damon said. "You know, he's been much more fun to be around since Jenna came back into his life."

I snickered and repeated a statement I'd heard him say many times before, "Less with a pole up his ass?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, something like that."

We requested a lane and Damon asked if the owner was around, wanting to let him know he stopped by, but with it being opening weekend I kind of figured he would be. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around. "Hey, man," Deacon said. "Sorry I'm late."

I shook my head. "Not that late. We're just getting our shoes."

"You know, you could've just hitched a ride with us," Damon said.

Deacon brushed the comment aside. "Nah, Jenna and I had a meeting with an adoption agency and I didn't know how long it'd take."

Damon nodded his understanding. Deacon and Jenna had decided they wanted to grow their family by adopting, but they also knew how long it could take to get approved by an adoption agency, so they figured they'd start the process now. Deacon had told us all about Jenna's miscarriage while he was enlisted and how she had to go through it all alone. Neither one of them wanted to deal with that potential heartbreak again, and no matter how hard they tried, they were finding it hard to conceive, Deacon had told us. Which was why they decided to adopt. That and they'd be doing a good thing, providing a loving, stable home to a kid who needed one.

Damon finally said, "I don't know why you didn't try surrogacy."

"We looked at that as an option," Deacon said, "but this just seemed right. There are so many babies that are born into this world and need a safe home, a family that loves them, and Jenna and I want to provide that for them. We want to be their parents."

I cracked my knuckles as I listened to Deacon and we waited in the short line to get our food. "Well, I think it's honorable," I said. "And you and Jenna are going to make great parents." I wondered what Susan and I would've done. Would we have had a baby or waited?

"Thanks," he remarked. Then he shook his head. "Enough about that, though, what's going on with you?"

I shrugged my shoulders and acted like I didn't know where this was heading. I really hoped I was wrong, though, because I didn't want to talk about it.

Damon rested a hand on the top of my shoulder and rolled his eyes dramatically. Definitely not wrong. "This guy doesn't want to talk about his lack of a life," he said, pointing at me like we didn't all know he was talking about me, that I was the guy.

"I have a life," I countered. "It's just not the life you two think is acceptable, so you're on my case about it."

"Don't you think it's time you got back out there?" Deacon asked. "You're young, you've got a whole life to live, you should start living it."

I looked at my watch and suddenly couldn't wait for the time this hangout would be over. It was starting to feel like an interrogation again and I couldn't stand that. "I don't push you guys, so why are you pushing me?"

"We know you miss Susan," Damon started, "but you're worrying us."

"Worrying you because I'm not married like you or engaged like Deke or Colt?" I raised a brow. "You two are ridiculous."

"Sabrina's friend Cami is single and I'm sure Sabrina would love to set you two up."

I shook my head profusely. "I don't think so."

"What about Jenna? She doesn't have any friends, but I'm sure she can set you up with someone from work," Deke offered.

"No thanks."

"This is why I'm Mom's favorite," Damon noted.

I cocked a brow and he clarified, "Because I never gave up on love."

"Hey," Deke inserted, "you didn't invent the concept."

I shook my head and fantasized about taking that first sip of the beer I was waiting for. In a perfect world, it would've been something a lot harder, but this was a bowling alley, after all, so a beer would have to do. "Are you two kidding? Who cares about this?"

"Mom," they both said practically in unison.

I groaned. "If I promise to make more of an effort to get out more, does that mean you two will drop this?"

They looked at each other and then back at me. "Yes," they agreed.

"Great," I said as the line moved up and we were next. "Now, aren't we hear to bowl?"

"And kiss Damon's friend's ass," Deke teased and for the first time I laughed because they were finally ragging on someone other than me.