Surrounded (Unsettled Series Book 2) (21 page)

Brooklyn

I looked at the clock. It was already Monday afternoon and the day had flown by way too fast. I’d been scrolling over government sites to determine how to copyright my new business and I wanted to pull my hair out. I had officially been unemployed for almost two months. The summer was upon us and, if nothing else, I needed a job to help pay for the high electricity bill from running the air conditioner. I hoped I could get my business off the ground soon, but knew it could be a while. I didn’t savor the idea of not having a steady source of income. I knew if I wanted to make a decent wage I should seriously be looking for jobs in my field, but I didn’t want to accept a dead end job yet again. I’d had a taste of what it would be like to do something I was truly passionate about, and the thought of going back to the nine-to-five grind of a job I wasn’t excited about felt like a death sentence. My only concern was that the small savings I’d managed to put aside during my time at Copple was dwindling at a rapid rate. Logan was always chivalrous and paid for our meals together, but I hadn’t accepted money for basic things like rent and utilities. I hoped I wouldn’t have to, but I needed to get
some
kind of income coming in soon.

Not to mention there was the boat outing with Logan’s parents coming up and I wanted to make a good impression. Logan may not have cared if his parents didn’t like me, but the last thing I wanted was to add more tension to his relationship with his father. If anything, I wanted to help heal their rift—not come into it like a jackhammer. Hopefully spending time with his father on the boat outing would help me find a way to help Logan move forward.

My phone vibrated on my nightstand, startling me. I opened up the text message from Logan. There were no words, just a series of numbers. I had no idea what his cryptic message meant. Maybe he accidentally pocket texted me?

I looked at the message again: 1 * 1778177* 70*70173 * 4017 * 4317312

I was at a loss for what the code meant. I texted him back.

What is this?

One second later my phone began to ring and I smiled.

“Hello?”

“I’ll give you one hint” he said, laughing into the phone. I loved hearing his voice and knowing that he was thinking about me—even when he was in the middle of a busy day, made my heart swell with happiness.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Take a screen shot and turn your phone upside down. Damn, now you got two hints. Gotta go, babe, Scott just came into my office.”

“You’re leaving me already?” I said, whining like a toddler.

“I’ll be there before you know it.” Logan had been staying at my place a lot lately. Some days he’d even work remotely. One day Scott called, asking if everything was okay. Logan told him that everything was good—he just didn’t want to be away from ‘his girl.’ I rewarded him handsomely for that comment. Everything was perfect. Almost.

“Crack the code, babe. Love you.” My heart still melted every time he said those words.

“Love you, too.” I said, and just like that he was gone.

Our relationship was right on track.

Now if only Logan could patch things up with his dad and I could put my business plan into action.

Logan

I slid my key into the front door of Brooklyn’s house. She’d decided to give me unlimited access to her after we came back from California, with Alex and Jay’s blessing since they shared the house with her. Since then, I’d been staying at her place more and more. Wherever she was is where I wanted to be. When we weren’t together it was torture. I liked when I walked into her place, I could count on her being there to welcome me. It was a vast difference from when I stayed at my place, and the only thing left to greet me was the warm dinner that Amelia left in the kitchen.

For as much time as I was staying there, I felt it only fair to help pay rent. But as usual, my stubborn girlfriend wouldn’t even entertain the idea. She was such the polar opposite of Ashley, who would have let me pay for everything from dinners to rent to luxury vacations to cars.

I unlocked the door and stepped inside. “Babe?” I called.

“She’s in her room,” Alex said from the kitchen.

“Hey, Alex.” I hung my keys on the rack. “What are you making tonight?”

“Nothing special. Chicken and wild rice.”

“Cool.” I ducked into the kitchen before Brooklyn realized I was there. “How are the plans coming along?” I whispered.

“Good. Everyone arrives Friday morning so we’ll be bombarding your house to decorate. I already requested to work a half day.”

I was dying to tell Brooklyn about her party. In two weeks, my girl was turning twenty five and I wasn’t going to let her forget it. The plan was to fly her family to town to
celebrate with her because as much as she acted like it wasn’t a big deal, I could tell she wanted to see them. I was taking a personal day to pick everyone up at the airport. There was no way I was going to have her family shuttled around by a car service. Plus, I wanted to do it myself. I needed her family—especially Richard—to know that Brooklyn was not dating some asshole with money. I would never miss a birthday, anniversary or any other important event in his daughter’s life. I wouldn’t be the guy that threw money at every problem. I wanted to help her accomplish all her dreams and still be the one that held her at night when things didn’t go her way.

“Sweet. See you at dinner!” I called, heading down the hallway.

I tapped on Brooklyn’s door and then stepped in. She looked up from where she was sitting on her bed.

“Hey, babe.” She was painting her fingernails. “Can I be next?” I joked.

“Sure, I only have one more finger. What color do you want? Pink or purple?” she asked with a smile.

“I think I’m more of a black man. Isn’t that the ‘in’ thing right now?” I laughed. Like I knew about ‘in’ fashion at all. She knew I was as clueless as the next guy about that stuff. I kneeled down and kissed her on the forehead. “How was your day?”

“It was actually pretty productive. I looked up a couple things on starting a small business and put some more photos on my website.” She fanned her hands in the air to dry her nails. “And…exciting news. Someone brought some of the pictures from the SF trip.” She grinned, lighting up her whole face. A couple weeks ago, I’d pulled my company’s graphic designer aside and told him to make Brooklyn’s site top of the line. She was really excited about it, and as long as she was happy, I was happy.

“Which prints?” I asked, sitting next to her on the bed as she put the cap on the nail polish.

“One I took while we were on the ferry.” I didn’t want to tell her that I had Jen buy one of those so I could have it framed and hung in my office. My trip to LA may have been to get her back, but our trip to SF had been a new beginning for me. I was really trying to keep my promise and not let my whole life be consumed with one bad, life-altering event that happened seventeen years ago.

”That’s cool, babe. I told you things would take off.” The truth was though, anyt
hing that she put on the market I’d buy because I wanted my girl to be and feel successful. I even sent the link for her new site to my family and told them to take a look. If I was her first or last sale, so be it.

Even if Brooklyn’s pride got in the way, I knew that was
how most small businesses got started. It takes lots of support from family and an inner circle of friends, and
that
ultimately led to more exposure and more customers. Having her photograph in my office allowed a hell of a lot of people to see it. It was, in essence, free advertising—same for the rest of my family buying prints.

I loved my girl to pieces, and there was no doubt she was a smart woman. But sometimes her pride got in her way. We’d even laughed about it on occasion.

“Any sale is a good sale, babe,” I said. “All it takes is the right person seeing your work.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m just surprised that people actually think I have a good eye.”

“Me, too.” I said seriously.

“Shut up!” She swatted her hand at me. “Not funny!”

I laughed at her reaction to my teasing. “It was, just a little bit.”

She grabbed for my shirt, “You’re in trouble now!”

“Mmm, is that you talking dirty?”

“Nope
,” but this is. I daydreamed about your sexy ass all day,” she said in a breathy tone.

I tweaked her nose, making it crinkle. “If you weren’t so cute, I’d tell you that was the worst phone sex operator impersonation in history. But I’ll take it.”

“Good, cause I’ve got more where that came from” she said, leaning in and bringing her lips with mine.

“What did that cryptic text message earlier mean?” Brooklyn asked an hour later as we lay in bed letting our heart beats return to normal.

“Ohh….you didn’t figure that out?”

“Um… no. What was that?”

“Pager code” I said laughing. I had no idea what made me send her that message.

“Well no wonder…I haven’t seen that in like…forever” she giggled.

“What do you think it means?”

“I don’t know! That’s why I asked you!”

“What do you want to do for your birthday? The big two five” I asked.

“Way to switch up the convo!”

“Answer my question and then I’ll answer yours.”

“Okay…honestly, I don’t know what I’m going to do. Me and Alex might splurge and get massages or something but other than that, I don’t think we’ll do much else. I was supposed to go visit my family, spend the weekend with Dani and do some wild and crazy stuff to celebrate, but she got assigned to go on a work trip, so that’s out.”

“So what you’re really saying is you want a surprise party w
ith all your family and friends at the Wildomar, right?”

“No!! Don’t even think about it. I
do not
want a party.” She said, punctuating every word. It was too bad for her the party was already being planned, and Danielle and Alex were the main planners.

“Now back to you. What does it mean?”
she said, poking me in the chest.

I pulled her to me and
squeezed tightly. “I want to love you forever.”

Brooklyn

“Hi everyone” I said, climbing aboard Logan’s parents’ boat the following Saturday.

“Brooklyn it is nice to see you again,” Logan’s mom pulled me in for a quick hug. I secretly hoped she hadn’t seen my dramatic exit from the benefit. It was embarrassing now that I knew the whole story and not just the snippets I’d overheard.

Logan’s mom looked less formal than the last time I saw her, but she still put my nautical outfit to serious shame. I decided to wear flats and jeans, while she was bedazzled from head to toe in a knee length sun dress and sandals. I had no idea people got so dressed up to go boating. Thankfully, Laura and Scott were more casual so I felt less out of place.

“Good to see you again B,” Scott said, walking up to greet me. I’d seen him more than Laura since he and Logan worked together, so it wasn’t weird to hear him call me by one of my many nicknames. Laura walked up and and also gave me a light hug. “Glad you could make it. You remember my husband, Jonathan,” she said, nodding towards him. I actually hadn’t seen Lauren or Jonathan since the night I stormed out of the charity gala.

“Nice to see you again.” I smiled at them both.

Logan Sr. popped his head up from the cabin of the boat. “Hey Brooklyn, are you ready to earn your sea legs?” Logan Sr. was so friendly every time I saw him. It baffled me that he and Logan couldn’t find a way to move past what happened. I hoped for Logan’s sake, one day they’d patch things up. Instead of answering his question, I pointed to the multi colored boat shoes I’d found on clearance just for the occasion. I at least wanted to look like I knew what to do on a boat.

“Nice!” Logan’s dad laughed. “Now all we have to do is get you behind the wheel.”

“Oh, no!” I shook my head. “I’m just here to observe.” I leaned into Logan, who was standing next to me in a black polo and jeans. “He’s joking right?” I asked under my breath.

“Yeah, he barely lets my mom take the helm. I doubt you have anything to worry about.”

“Good.”

His father spoke again. “Boys, why don’t you help me finish untying the sails.”

“You okay with my mom and sis?”

“I got this,” I assured him. Jonathan, Logan and Scott filed behind Logan Sr. to get to work.

I fell into a nice conversation with the other ladies, but was soon interrupted by a little boy and girl patting on my leg. “What’s your name?” the little boy asked. “I’m Landon.”

I knelt down and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Landon. And what’s your name?” I asked the little girl standing next to him. She had to be about the same age as Aiden. After she spent a few seconds deciding if she was going to talk to me, she let loose. “My name is Laurelin…and…and this is my grandpa’s boat.”

“Wow, Laurelin, that is a very pretty name, and yes, your grandpa’s boat is very pretty.”

Just then, Laura came over and kneeled down next to me. “This is Uncle Logan’s girlfriend, Brooklyn. Are you guys going to behave while she’s here?”

“Yes, Mommy, I will,” Laurelin said resolutely.

“Yes, Mom, I’ll be nice to her. Can we go play now?” Landon whined, as if him not being able to run along the deck of the ship was equivalent to being denied lunch.

Laura smiled at me. “They’re too much, if you can’t already tell.” She turned back to Landon, “Go play, and don’t break anything!” In a flash the only thing I could see was the back of the kids’ life vests. “And stay away from the bathroom!” she called after them. “Sometimes they are too busy for their own good.”

I laughed, “I bet.”

“Oh, by the way, I looked at your photography site. Very impressive. I think I’m going to be buying a few things. Jonathan’s office and our bedroom need an updated look.”

“Wow, I didn’t know Logan told anyone about the business. Thanks for checking it out. I hope you see some things you like.”
Logan and Alex showed me a couple ways I could grow C
2
. Social media, and email blasts were my new best friends. I’d also signed up to participate in a few neighborhood fairs, where I could set up a table and display my photographs. Since I was limited in what I could print up and display, I had the rest of my photos running on loop on my laptop. That way people could order what they wanted in case I didn’t have that particular print already mounted. I was lucky it was still summer. Once the weather got cold they didn’t do the neighborhood art fairs, which meant I’d need to find another way to grow sales.

“I did. As a matter of fact I also forwarded Logan’s email to a couple of my girlfriends. Hopefully, you’ll get some sales from that too.”

“Thank you, Laura. I really appreciate that.”

“Anytime. Well, I better go check and see what trouble the kids are into. It’s already too quiet on this vessel.” Laura disappeared behind the cabin door, leaving me and Olivia, Logan’s mom, alone.

“Let’s sit down,” she said, pointing towards the bench seats near the steps of the boat. “How have you been?”

I did as she suggested, then pulled my hair to one side to keep it from blowing away. “Good. And you?”

“I’m doing well. This is an exciting time for you, I’m sure. Going into business for yourself…I wish you nothing but the best. I haven’t had a chance to look at the site yet, but I certainly will.”

“Yes, it’s exciting and terrifying, but we’ll see what happens.” I just hoped that my new venture wasn’t a complete and utter failure. 

“I’m sure it will be fine. I always wished I’d had the guts to open my own business, but ultimately decided to leave pounding the pavement to Logan’s father so I could stay home with the kids.”

“I can understand that.” My mom stayed home with me and Dani until we started school.
It was only when I started kindergarten did she decide to start working again. “You have a very nice boat,” I observed. I really wasn’t all that great at making small talk.

“We love the boat. I like to have everyone get together now and again, even though everyone’s schedules are busy. Hopefully, we’ll be able to sail up to Canada next year after Patrick retires.”

“Patrick?”

“Logan’s father—I got used to calling him by his middle name a long time ago to keep Logan and his dad separate. Having two people in a house with the same name can get very confusing.”

I smiled politely at her comment, “Oh…yeah that can get complicated. Canada sounds amazing. I know exactly what you mean about having busy schedules. My family has the same problem, although I try to go visit every six months or so. I’m sure Laura has her hands full, and I know Logan and Scott work a lot.”

“Yeah, they do, but I’m so glad you and Logan are getting along. Even with his busy schedule, he seems so much
happier.”

“Yes, things are good between us.”
Olivia smiled timidly at me and I could feel my cheeks heating. I couldn’t help but wonder if she knew how things had almost ended between us.

“Good, that’s encouraging news. Logan can be so…closed up since the car accident. He used to be such a talkative, outgoing child. But now…” She shook her head. “As a mom, I just want to see all my children happy.”

“You raised amazing kids from what I can tell. And Logan has such a great heart. I just hope one day he and his father can work through their issues so he can let the pain of the accident go.” I pulled my hair back and secured it with the rubber band on my wrist. The winds in the harbor were starting to pick up.

“What are you talking about? What issues?”
Shit! Shit! Shit!
Me and my big ass mouth!

“I’m sorry. That wasn’t my place to say.” Even as I spoke those words I knew I’d said too much and there was no turning back.

“Brooklyn, please tell me. It’s hard to get Logan to talk to me about these kinds of things. I would just like to know what is going on with my son. I will not discuss what we talk about with Patrick or anyone else, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

I wasn’t as concerned about her spilling the beans, as much as I was worried that Logan would be pissed at me for having a blabber mouth.

I ran down the little I knew about Logan and his father’s discontent with Olivia at a high rate of speed. I couldn’t help but feel like this was going to blow up in my face, but she asked me and I didn’t want to lie to her. When I got to the part where Logan’s dad told him he was selfish and his grandparents’ death was his fault, Olivia’s breathe hitched. By the time I was finished, all the color in her face had drained. I was so glad everyone else was busy doing other things so they didn’t notice how tense our conversation had become.

“Patrick said that?” she murmured. I was pretty sure she was talking more to herself than to me.

“Yes. No. I don’t know. I wasn’t there. I don’t want to get involved, really. It was stupid of me to mention anything. It’s not my place.”

“No, I think it is your place. Logan opened up to you, and that says a lot. Believe me.  I had no idea this was even going on between them. Thank you for telling me. And please don’t worry, Brooklyn, trust me,” she whispered, pulling my hand from my mouth. Now I was not only mortified that I spilled the beans, but embarrassed that I was acting like a two year old in front of his mother and chewing on my thumb nail.

“Sorry…”

‘Don’t be. I’m very glad you told me. I’ve wondered all these years why their relationship was so…distant. Patrick and Scott get along well enough, but Logan and Patrick…it’s always been different. Now it makes more sense.”

Just then the cabin door flew open and startled me. Landon popped out and turned back to tauntingly yell down the stairwell, “Na, na, na, na, na, na…”

“You’re mean, Landon. I’m telling mommy,” I heard Laurelin cry from inside the cabin.

Olivia rolled her eyes. “One thing you should know about this family—there is never a dull moment.” She patted my hand and then stood. “I’m glad you’re here.” Olivia took a few steps and then turned around to face me again. “Oh, and Brooklyn?”

“Yes?”

“Welcome to the family” she said with a warm smile.

The boats engine whirled to life
and after I could breathe again, my heart sang at her words. There was no better feeling than winning over your boyfriend’s mother.

Logan

“Do you need help with anything, Logan?” Brooklyn’s mom kept buzzing around the kitchen touching everything. She couldn’t wait to
surprise her daughter. It was finally Brooklyn’s surprise party and everyone was pretty excited.

We’d managed to get everything set up, although the July humidity had been unbearable earlier in the day.

“No, I’m pretty sure everything is done. The food is ready and Danielle is outside doing something…what, I don’t know” I laughed. Danielle was as nervous as her mom. These Caldwell women were hilarious. I had no idea a surprise party could be so stressful. Apparently Alex was much cooler under pressure than her best friend’s family.

“How’s the pie coming along?” I asked Richard. He’d insisted on making his prized dish for his baby girl’s birthday.

I’d arranged for them to stay at a hotel while they were in town so Brooklyn and I could have some time together tonight. I was hoping she’d be so floored by her birthday surprise—that she’d want to thank me all night long until the early hours of the morning.

Danielle walked into the kitchen from the back patio. “They’re on their way. They should be here in fifteen.”

No matter how much Brooklyn argued against it, Alex would not let her out of their scheduled spa day. My girl hadn’t been thrilled this morning when I practically pushed her out of bed and into the arms of an over-eager Alex.

I’d stayed at her place last night.
I woke her up at exactly midnight and sang happy birthday to her with a cupcake and candle in hand. First she thought I was completely out of my mind, but then she engulfed me in a hug and smothered me with kisses.

Fifteen minutes went by way too quickly, and when I heard Brooklyn’s key turning in the front door, I suddenly got nervous. I hoped I hadn’t completely screwed up by planning a birthday surprise. She’d been adamant that she didn’t want a big ruckus.
Of course, I’d done the complete opposite. I’d even gone out on a limb and invited my family, Trev and Mel. Everyone showed up with bells on, including my dad, which surprised me. He even brought a bottle of Champagne. Even more surprisingly, though? Everyone clicked immediately.