4. Nathan

The second Saturday night rolled around, it was time to celebrate River and Grant. I loved my brothers, but I was already dreading each moment as we drove together from Mom’s to O’Reilly’s. I even tried to weasel my way out of a night of drinking by offering to help Mom clean up after the big meal she’d cooked for us boys.

She, of course, turned down the request and told me to go have fun with the guys.

“You don’t get enough brotherly time, and you definitely don’t get enough social time. Enjoy it,” Mom said, swatting me out of her kitchen. That was the second time I’d been kicked out of kitchens that week.

“Twenty-six is going to be my year,” River announced, rubbing his hands together in the passenger seat of the car as I drove to O’Reilly’s. Grant was sandwiched in the back seat between Evan and Easton, looking squashed between the two guys. No way were the three of them comfortable based on their size alone. If there was one thing about the Pierce brothers, it was the fact that we didn’t skip arm day. Or leg day, for that matter.

I told them we should’ve taken different cars, but they forced me to drive, claiming I couldn’t sneak out if I was the driver for the evening.

The three sat scrunched up back there like idiots, smiling from ear-to-ear as if they were in for the best night of their lives.

“It’s going to be my year, too, asshat,” Grant replied to his twin.

Unlike Evan and Easton, Grant and River were identical twins. If a person were to look at the two of them side by side, they’d just believe they were seeing double images of the same person. From their wide, toothy grins to their bushy brows and dreadlocks, those two were remarkably the same. It didn’t help that they dressed alike, too. They were both sneakerheads with an addiction to expensive designer clothing.

They even had damn near the same voice. If I closed my eyes and one of them said something, I wouldn’t know which brother spoke. They used to get in a lot of trouble for doing The Parent Trap and switching spots with one another when they were kids.

Mom had her hands full with those troublemakers growing up. I missed a lot of that period because I was off playing baseball, but it was nice to see they grew up to be decent, good men.

When it came to the youngest twins’ dating lives, River and Grant were a mixture of their three older brothers. They didn’t need companionship. They were fine on their own, like Evan and me, but every now and again, they had a soft lover boy side to them, too, like Easton.

River was one to fall fast for a woman. That didn’t always bode well for his sensitive heart. Yet after every breakup, he always hit his personal records with deadlifting in the gym, so that could be seen as a silver lining. It was only about a week ago that he found out his ex-girlfriend Sarah had been cheating on him with his so-called best friend. I figured that was why the guys were so hell-bent on having me stay out with them. Our little River needed to get his mind off a girl who wasn’t good enough for him.

That kind of made me want to stop being a jerk about going out. There wasn’t much that I wouldn’t do to make sure my family was safe and good. If my going out would’ve helped make River happier, then I’d do it. He had his fair share of heartbreak, even at a younger age. I’ve only gone through one heartbreak myself, though I have been known to break others’ hearts without trying.

Which was why I’d kept my heart—and my dick—to myself as of late. I didn’t see any reason to send any woman mixed signals.

As we pulled up to O’Reilly’s, I parked the car, and the guys hopped out, clapping their hands with excitement. They walked into the bar as if they were walking into some Vegas strip club instead of a small-town, hole-in-the-wall bar that served their drinks in plastic cups.

The amount of swag dripping off the sets of twins was ridiculous.

I hated how good they looked, too. They knew they were handsome, looking like our father. Evan was damn near a heartthrob with his thick-ass beard. If he didn’t love his solitude so much and put off that stay-the-hell-away-from-me energy everywhere he went, women would throw themselves at him.

I followed them, still dreading the whole evening. That was until I looked over at the bar and saw a doe-eyed bartender standing there serving drinks. Probably the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

Avery Kingsley bartended at O’Reilly’s?

Well, that shifted my mood a good amount.

“Doesshe still think you’re a dick?” Evan murmured toward me as we sat at a back table, watching the other guys taking yet another shot at the bar.

“Who?”

He gave me a you-know-who look. “Avery. The woman you’ve been hung up on since you were nineteen.”

“Eighteen,” I corrected. “And watch your mouth.” I shoved him in the arm. “I’m not hung up on her. Never have been,” I lied. “Don’t go around spreading that rumor.”

“Can’t spread rumors if I keep to myself. But you’ve been staring at her nonstop since we walked in here. I know I’m the only one who knows you had a short thing with Avery, but if you keep staring at her like you are, everyone in town will know.”

Evan was the only brother who knew about Avery and me. It wasn’t that I was trying to keep her a secret. If anything, at one point, I wanted to shout from the rooftop about Avery and how much I loved her. But it was so short-lived that I didn’t even get a chance to do so. Evan only knew about the whole situation because he walked in on Avery and me once when I was helping her around the farm. He found us making out next to the horse stables.

I averted my eyes away from Avery and grumbled as I took a swig of my beer. “I’m coaching baseball at the high school.”

Evan arched an eyebrow. “No shit. To be closer to Avery?”

“No,” I urged. “To get back into the game I love. I miss it. When the school district came to me with the idea, I ran with it.”

“It didn’t hurt that she’s a coach there, too, huh?”

No, it didn’t.

He didn’t need to know that, though.

“I missed the game,” I explained. “That’s it, that’s all. But I’m pretty sure Avery hates my guts now. The school put me as the head coach. I was under the impression Avery knew about that until she snapped at me.”

“Is that why she’s giving you a solid fuck-off stare whenever she looks your way?”

“That could be the reason, yeah. She still doesn’t know I’m not taking the position. I’m going to be her assistant coach. Alex said he wouldn’t consider partnering with us if I didn’t step down.”

“That’s pretty messed up.”

“It’s loyalty to his sister-in-law. I can’t be mad at a man with family values. I would’ve done the same thing if the roles were reversed,” I said, looking back in Avery’s direction. When I did, she locked eyes with me, and a deep scorn fell on her face before she looked away. She turned to my brothers and smiled brightly, pouring them another shot.

Why did they get her happy smiles?

That didn’t seem fair at all.

“Just a heads-up, she’s engaged,” Evan mentioned as he took a sip of his beer.

I arched an eyebrow. “Why would I care that she’s engaged?”

Evan almost smiled, but before he could reply, we were being called to the bar to take a shot with the other guys. We headed to join them and found a line of shots set out. Easton turned and handed one to me and another to Evan.

“Sweet Miss Avery made some birthday shots for the boys,” Easton said as Avery pulled out a lighter.

“Happy Birthday, River and Grant. This is your year, boys,” Avery stated. Seeing her treat my brothers so kindly while she handled me as if I was scum annoyed me. The tinge of jealousy hit me hard.

River patted his twin’s chest. “See? Told you it’s my year!”

“And mine!” Grant urged.

Avery looked like she was in a damn good mood. She placed the birthday boys’ shots in front of her, sprinkled something on top, and lit them on fire. “Happy Birthday, boys. Make a wish.”

River and Grant shut their eyes for a moment, then blew out the shots.

“Give a toast, Nathan!” Grant requested as he picked up his shot. “You always give the best toasts.”

I smiled and held up my shot glass. “River and Grant, life was a lot less hectic before you came along, but it wasn’t anywhere near as fun. Here’s to the birthday boys, who’ve been copying and pasting each other since day one. May your nights be as long as your arguments and your hangovers be as short as your differences. Cheers, brothers!”

“Cheers!” they all shouted, tapping their glasses on the bar countertop before downing the shots. The moment I put my shot glass on the countertop, I caught Avery’s stare.

It wasn’t packed with the same hatred as before. Her look seemed more curious this time. Soft. Unalert. With haste, she shook off the stare and gathered the shot glasses to clean up.

The guys headed off to play a round of darts, leaving me sitting at the bar as Avery cleaned. She was the only one working behind the counter, but that seemed fine, seeing as how the place wasn’t packed. It had a handful of regulars, my brothers, and me that night. Most people in town went over to Stan’s Bar and Grill on Saturday nights. That was why the boys preferred O’Reilly’s—they had more opportunities to get wasted and take over the jukebox.

“Since when are you a bartender?” I asked when I had built up enough courage to speak to Avery. I didn’t know why, but that woman made me nervous. I wasn’t used to getting nervous around people, but she sure knew how to shake me.

She glanced over her shoulder toward me before returning to drying the shot glasses. “Since I get paid a teacher’s salary.”

“I always thought it was awful how little teachers got paid. Other professions shouldn’t be making anywhere near what they do, compared to teachers.”

“Says the fancy MLB player offered multimillion-dollar contracts,” she huffed. She tossed her towel over her shoulder and placed a hand against her hip. Her hip that she’d popped out. Her hip that my eyes fell straight toward. The way that body curved…

“You need another drink?” she asked.

“No, I still have my beer over at the table.”

“Then stop taking up my bar space.”

I scanned the empty bar. “No one’s here.”

“I like to keep my counter space open if people do wander in. So if you could please leave,” she said as she began to tie up a trash bag. She pulled it from the container and started heading for the back door. I sat in my seat for a moment, still feeling the urge to talk to her about what happened yesterday at the high school. So I stood and I followed her outside to the gated area with the giant trash bins. As I stepped outside, I closed the still-opened door, swinging it shut behind me.

“Hey, Avery. I was hoping we could talk about?—”

She turned quickly at the sound of the slamming door and shouted, “No!” She hurried over to the door right after it clicked shut. Her hand wrapped around the doorknob, and she pulled it repeatedly, but it didn’t budge.

Oh shit.

We were locked out.

“Dammit!” she yipped as she pounded her hands against the door, trying to make as much noise as possible. Unfortunately, the music inside was too loud from the jukebox, which my brothers added more coins to with every passing minute.

She turned to me with a murderous look in her eyes. I could feel her rage from the intensity of her stare. If possible, I wouldn’t have been shocked if smoke started shooting out of her ears.

“What are you doing?!” she shouted, flailing her arms in the air. “That door locks from the inside when it shuts!”

“Why would they make a door that locks from the inside?”

“Why would you follow me out here?” she countered.

Good rebuttal.

I rubbed my hand on the back of my neck. “I was hoping we could talk.”

“Talk?” she grumbled. “By the trash bins?”

“To be fair, you didn’t want me at your bar counter,” I replied.

She didn’t find humor in anything I said. She stared blankly at me for a few moments before returning to the door and pounding against it. “Hey, open up the door!” she shouted. “Let me in!”

No one came, and I felt pretty shitty about it.

I glanced around the area to see if there was an easy way out, but it was enclosed by a fence that went higher than my wannabe Spider-Man self could climb.

Avery gestured toward me. “Do you have your phone? Call your brother.”

“Yeah, of course.” I reached into my back pocket and patted it, only to find no phone. I’d placed it on the table beside my beer before taking the shot with my brothers. “Actually…”

“Oh my goodness,” she groaned as she slapped her hand to her face. “I’m the only one working tonight, Nathan, and the bar is unattended. Do you know how much trouble I could get into for this?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to?—”

“To what?” She cut in. “Disrupt my life? Because it seems you’re on a nice campaign to do exactly that.”

I grimaced as she said those words. Sure, I hadn’t made the best impressions over the past forty-eight hours, but the last thing I wanted to do was cause Avery any trouble. If anything, I wanted to make things right between us. Yet somehow, I’d managed to keep screwing that up.

“Yeah,” I said. “That.”

She rolled her eyes. “I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re the same as you’ve always been.”

“I’m not the same boy you knew back then, Avery. I’m better than that.”

“No, you aren’t. People don’t change. At least not for the better.”

“So you’re telling me that you’re the same person you were when you were eighteen?”

“No,” she disagreed. “I’m a lot harder and a lot more distrusting. That’s what life does to people. It makes them cynics.”

“Not everyone,” I argued.

“Most.” She tugged on the door again, as if the more she pulled, the more likely it would open. She then pounded against it with her open hand, mumbling something under her breath. Probably a few cuss words. With a weighted sigh, she groaned and surrendered from pounding.

“I’m sorry,” I said as I watched her defeated body fall against the cobbled wall.

She shut her eyes and tilted her head up toward the sky. “For what? Getting me locked out here or taking my job? Either way, I don’t forgive you.”

“For both,” I offered. I stood beside her, resting my back against the building. “I didn’t mean to make things harder for you, Avery. That was never my plan. And to be clear, the school district informed me that you were on board with me taking the head coach position. They even made it sound like it was your idea.”

“Does that sound anything like me?”

“Well, looking back on it, no. I just thought…” I didn’t know what I thought. I suppose I didn’t think it through at all. All I saw was a chance to get back into at game that I loved and amend things with the woman I once loved. Sure, I knew it wouldn’t be easy to get in her good graces, but such a big part of me wanted to prove to her that I wasn’t the selfish, hurtful kid I had been. One of my biggest regrets was how I ended things with Avery all those years before.

Yet now I felt as if I had only dug a deeper hole with her on my path to forgiveness.

She glanced over long enough for me to catch her rolling her eyes. “Just forget about it, Nathan. I don’t care, okay? I’m probably going to lose this job, too, thanks to you. My boss is going to kill me when he realizes I got myself locked out by the trash bins.”

Add that to my pile of screwups.

The list kept growing.

“I’ll talk to your boss. I’ll make sure he knows it was my mistake,” I told her. “I know I shouldn’t have followed you out here. I just wanted an opportunity to talk to you and apologize.”

“Cool. You did that. Now, if you could just leave me alone, that would be marvelous.”

“Av—”

“Gah!” she shouted as she pushed herself away from the wall. “What is it with you, huh? Are you on some kind of redemption arc? Are you trying to come back to town to right all your wrongs? What do you want from me, Nathaniel? You want me to forgive you?” She tossed her hands in the air out of frustration. “Fine. I forgive you. You want my coaching position? Okay. It’s yours. I just don’t see why you keep trying with me. We’re never going to be friendly with one another, okay? Just make peace with that.”

That felt like a knife to my gut. A knife that stabbed repeatedly.

Before I could even conjure up a response, the locked door swung open, and Easton popped his head out. “Oh shit! There you are,” he said to me.

“Keep the door open!” Avery shouted as she darted over to the door. She hurried inside, not looking back once. I stood there a moment, still trying to recover from the word bullets Avery shot me with. I didn’t blame her for her coldness. If anything, I deserved every single word that fell from her mouth. Still, it didn’t make it easy.

“Did you two get locked out here?” Easton asked with narrowed eyes. “Are you good, brother?”

“Yeah.” I walked toward him and patted his back. “I’m good. Let’s get another drink.”