CHAPTER 15

TRISTAN

Being in the midst of this family was an eye-opener. I knew that families like this existed, but until you’d been in the midst of one, you didn’t realise how cold and clinical your own family had been.

I still couldn’t believe that they’d just stepped in and helped with no personal gain. And the fact that Navy really seemed to care for my sister after only just meeting her boggled my mind. Although why it did, I wasn’t sure as I’d felt like I’d been hit by a two by four when I’d opened the door and seen Derek. The man was sex on a stick. I wasn’t sure if he was interested or not. Time would tell, but I’d certainly not say no if he made a move.

Not only was he delicious looking, but he was also protective, he’d not wasted any time in filling me in on what had been happening and what he was going to do to keep me safe in the meantime. I guess Gia and I had more in common than just being siblings, we also seemed to have the same taste in men.

We’d never discussed it in my family and while I didn’t hide that I was gay, I didn’t flaunt it either, being very aware that even in this day and age appearances mattered. I knew there were older members of the board that would balk at the idea of me running the company and I didn’t want to rock the boat until I had everything secure in my name so that I could ensure that my grandmother and sister were cared for.

I was still having trouble believing that Julian had gone off the deep end like he had. He’d always hated Gia, but to go to the lengths that he’d gone to split us up was ridiculous. My twenty-first birthday couldn’t come quick enough but as there wasn’t much I could do and until then, I’d concentrate on helping Gia and Navy where I could to get the paperwork in order.

Gia was more than capable of running the company, and if my father hadn’t been such a wanker where she was concerned, he’d have had her working for him when she left college. Ah, well, his loss was my gain. There’d always be a place for her in the company should she want it.

Lunch was over and I decided that I’d join the men and children in cleaning out a loft in a barn. From the conversation over lunch, it seemed that Navy’s MC brothers and their families would be coming over next weekend. I’d been concerned when I’d found out that Navy belonged to an MC, but Derek had put me straight and assured me that they weren’t a one percent club. But then he also said they weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty if need be. Honestly, with the way Julian was behaving, I didn’t care what they did as long as my sister and Gram were safe by the end of it.

It had been a while since I’d got my hands dirty, I hadn’t been able to keep up with my hobby of restoring old cars while I was at university but as soon as I was finished, and I had time again, I’d find another one to work on. It was something I’d been doing ever since I found our driver working on a car in the garage when I was about twelve. I’d needed to get out of the house and the screaming and shouting that seemed to be a daily occurrence. At first, he’d been surprised at my wanting to learn, but when he realised that I was genuinely interested, he started to teach me right up until he retired when I went to university.

Following along behind Navy and Bas with Violet and George charging ahead, a smile touched my lips as Derek fell back to walk beside me. His arm casually brushing up against mine.

Up ahead Navy turned and looked at us over his shoulder, his eyes slightly narrowed on our closeness, his eyes bored into mine only turning back to Bas when he said something.

I heaved a silent sigh; it would seem that I had my work cut out for me to prove to him I was nothing like Julian. I’d do it because the fact that he was so protective not just over my sister but also his family just made me want to earn it more. It also made me miss something that I didn’t even know I needed because I’d never had it.

Derek nudged me gently, “Don’t worry about Navy, he’ll come round. He doesn’t do well with people he’s not sure he can trust. But once you prove he can trust you, he’ll do anything for you.”

“I’ll do what I can,” I agree. “Not sure how I’m going to show I’m nothing like Julian.”

Derek clasps my shoulder, “Just be you. I promise it’s more than enough.”

Turning to look at him, I was once again struck at the blueness of his eyes. “Yeah, how do you know it’s enough?”

Turning to walk backwards, he grinned at me, “Because it’s enough for me.” With those words and one last smirk, he loped off past Bas and Navy towards the barn.

‘Holy fuck, why was that so hot,’ I thought. Realising I’d come to a stop at his words, I snapped my mouth closed and jogged to catch up. I guess my worry about whether or not he’d felt the same instant connection as me had been answered.

Entering the large barn, I had to smile. It was probably the cleanest barn I’d ever been in. From the few cleaned up oil stains on the floor, I assumed that it usually housed machinery, but it had all been moved out so the kids could camp in the barn over the weekend. I’d have loved to have done something like this as a kid but could just imagine what my mother and father would have had to say about it.

“Come on,” Derek says waving his hand towards the ladder. Taking hold of it, I give it a good shake to test it. It seems sturdy enough.

“It’s fine,” Derek assures me. “I’d never let you or any of my family get hurt.”

Taking hold of the sides of the ladder, I climb very aware of the man coming up behind me.

Once I’m in the loft, I step aside and take a look around. They’ve done a pretty good job of clearing it all out. It now just needs to be cleaned.

It was a good afternoon. I’d not had so much fun in a long time. Vi and George were hilarious. I’d not spent much time around younger children, but I couldn’t imagine they were all like this. And they adored Navy, which went a long way to easing my mind even further that he was everything that he seemed.

“What do you have to do tomorrow?” I ask George and Vi curiously.

“We’ll bring the camp beds, sleeping bags, and the solar lamps and start setting them up. I know we’ll probably have adults here, but we’ll put them downstairs.” Violet looked at Navy a question in her eyes, “Will that be okay, Uncle Alan?”

“That will be fine, sweetheart,” he assures her. “Better make it three beds for the MC.”

“Five,” Derek tells her. “Make it five all together. Tristan and I’ll stay here as well.”

Surprised, I don’t say anything. I was actually looking forward to this weekend.

Navy raised a brow but didn’t veto Derek’s suggestion.

“Five it is,” he agreed.

“I’m not sure if we have enough camp beds and sleeping bags for everyone,” Vi worries.

Derek pulls gently on her ponytail, “Don’t worry, Vi, tomorrow you and I can go to the camp store and buy what we need. It will be fine, sweetheart. I promise.”

She gives him a bright smile, throwing her arms around him, “Thank you, Derek.”

Not giving him time to reply, she releases him and runs out the barn door, shouting for her brother who’d left earlier with his dad. With them gone, it left only Navy, Derek, and me in the barn.

His eyes on Derek, Navy tilts his head towards the barn door. Derek frowns and crosses his arms over his chest. Navy does nothing, just stares at him for what seems hours but I’m sure it’s just a few minutes until Derek caves.

“Fine,” he huffs before walking towards the doors where he stops to point at Navy. “Don’t fuck things up.” With one last look at me, he walks out the doors.

I wait and I wait until finally I can’t help but blurt out, “I’m not like Julian. I’m not him.”

“I know,” Navy grins at me. I let out a sigh of relief. Until that moment, I hadn’t realised how much I wanted Navy to like me. Not just for my sister, but if things went where I hoped they would with Derek, then our lives would be entwined twice over.

“Fuck,” I let out another breath that left me on a whistle.

“I had to be sure,” Navy explains. “Not only for Gia’s sake but also because you seem to have caught Derek’s interest and that in itself is something.”

“Why?”

Navy shrugs and leans against the open barn door. Joining him, I lean against the other door and look out at a paddock that had sheep. It was a picturesque scene, with the sun just going down.

“Derek’s in charge of our security. He takes his job seriously. When he was about your age, someone tried to take advantage of that. It was a lesson learned and since then he’s always held back until he could be sure that there is no harm meant to our family. But with you, he hasn’t done that. I’m not the oldest, but out of the three of us, I have the most knowledge and experience when it comes to fuckery and people that cater to fuckery. It’s up to me to look out for them even if they don’t want it.

“I needed to make sure you were trustworthy even if Gia and your grandmother assured me you were. I’m a pretty good judge of character, so I waited and observed. You had a good time this afternoon.”

“I did,” I agreed. “I’ve had a good time since I arrived this morning. I didn’t realise that families could be like this.”

Navy laughs, “You think this is madness, wait until the rest of the family arrive this weekend. I’m glad you’re staying.”

“Thanks.”

“Come on, let’s go get washed, supper will be on soon.”

Walking out, I wait as Navy closes and locks the doors. It’s as we are about to leave that his next words stop me cold and I know that the cheerful, affable, loving man that I’d seen until now could turn into a cold killer if there was ever a need.

“One more thing, Tristan,” Navy calls out.

Turning back towards him, I wait.

“If I ever find out you’ve fucked Derek or Gia over. They’ll never find your body.”

Swallowing hard, all I can do is nod and agree, “Okay.”

“Excellent,” Navy claps a hand onto my shoulder, turning me towards the house. “I knew you were a smart one.”

Not knowing how to reply to his comment, I keep walking, thinking there was no way I would ever want to be on this man’s bad side.