Rugged Guard - Jason Collins Page 0,73

the couch.

“I already know what you want to talk to me about,” Austin murmured as he sat across from me in the Bed & Breakfast lobby. “You want to talk to me about why I’ve been staying here so long, right?”

“I mean, that’s probably going to be part of it—” Eddie started.

But I gently cut him off. “Austin, we think… well we know the reason you’ve probably been staying here. And… we just wanted to let you know that we… know now, too.”

“You know?” Austin leaned forward in his seat. “About… your dad and my mom?”

“Our dad,” I corrected him with a small smile. “And yes. Thanks to the work of the best private investigator on this side of the country, we got everything figured out.”

“Fuck.” Austin let out an extended sigh of relief. “Thank fuck. It was getting so hard to hold it in, you know? And I didn’t want to say anything and be wrong about it or have you tell me that your dad wouldn’t have ever cheated on your mom or—”

“We know who our dad was,” I replied with a shrug. “And I’m not saying he was all bad, but we know he wasn’t all good, either.”

“He was a complicated man,” Eddie repeated one of his oft-said quotes about our father. “But, you know, he tried his best, when he could.”

“How long have you known, Austin?” I asked. “That you were our brother?”

“I only found out a few weeks ago,” he answered. “After your dad died, my mom died around the same time. And my aunt… Tina… told me the truth about my dad, at my mom’s funeral. She said it wouldn’t matter anymore, since they were both gone. There was no point in her keeping their secrets for them anymore.”

“I’m sorry we found out so late,” I said. “If we would’ve known, we could’ve spent time with our father together—”

“I think it might be better this way,” Austin muttered. “I know it might make me sound insane, but not having to meet my father… it’s sort of a strange relief. Of course, I’m disappointed too, but now I never have to wonder about the why… how it all happened. I just get to know the truth without any of the burdens of it.”

“Well, now you know the truth.” I smiled over at him again. “And you’re welcome to stay with us, Austin, for as long as you want. We’ll stop charging the room and try to get a refund to you as fast as we can.”

“That’s a lovely offer, but I wouldn’t want to intrude—”

“It’s not intruding. Not when you’re family,” Eddie corrected him. “And we have enough space. Don’t worry about it. You can just take the guestroom in the basement.”

“Eddie, Derek is staying in the guestroom—” I started.

But I soon felt a familiar hand on my shoulder as Derek appeared in the conversation. “What’s happening with the guestroom?”

“Austin’s going to be staying in the guestroom, since he needs a place to stay, but we can’t let him keep renting out one of the rooms,” Eddie explained. “You can just move in with Parker, right?”

“Yeah. Sounds good,” Derek said before he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ve got to go finish up writing an intel report with Viv about everything over the last few weeks. I’ll see you a little later, all right?”

“See you later, future-brother-in-law!” Eddie called out as Derek walked away. “Feel free to hook me up with some earplugs! Whenever you get the chance! Just add it to your shopping list!”

And I then sank even further into my seat, my cheeks going red hot as I remembered Eddie’s earlier comments about earplugs. I then looked over at Austin, who seemed amused by the entire situation, even though I knew there was no way he already knew what was going on.

At least, I hoped he didn’t.

“Welcome to the family, Austin,” I offered as I slid even further down in my chair.

“Can’t wait.” Austin beamed at me in return.

22

Derek

One Month Later

“Congratulations! Congratulations!” Iris cheered as she pulled me in for a tight embrace. “Oh, I always knew you could do it!”

“What did I do?” I asked when she finally released me from her arms, my feet settling back onto the kitchen floor. “Is this one of those situations where you’re congratulating me on waking up in the morning or something?”

“And why would I ever do a thing like that?”

“Because I’ve been unemployed for the last month and you’re trying to