Hope on the Rocks by Annabeth Albert

Thirty-Three

Adam

“There. I think it’s fixed.” I scooted away from Ramona’s dishwasher before shutting the door and starting a cycle so we could make sure it was, in fact, running again as promised. I might not be able to fix my love life, but repairing an ornery appliance was still a certain kind of satisfying.

“Thanks for coming.” Ramona leaned against the counter, looking less tired than she had the last time I’d seen her. Maybe she was turning the corner on her early pregnancy exhaustion. I hoped so. But she still seemed nervous, biting her lower lip. “I didn’t want to tell Mom that it broke again.”

“It’s okay.” I understood that it was awkward in that she technically rented from Mom and that the landlord side of their relationship could be as complicated as the parent/kid one. Besides, this had been a good distraction for me. “The machine is going to need replacing sometime soon, but it should hold for now.”

“Good. The less I talk to Mom for a few days, the better.”

“You’re mad that she found out your news? Or more mad that she told me?” In the end, I hadn’t been able to play dumb like I’d told Mom I would. Ramona had assumed that Mom had told me, and I couldn’t outright lie to her.

“Not really. I was going to have to tell you both eventually. She didn’t have to ask that hard.” Ramona gave a resigned shrug. “But she sure does have opinions about what I should do.”

“You don’t have to take her advice.” Standing, I patted her shoulder. “Or anyone else’s. You do what you want to do, what feels right for you. I’ll stand by you. And she will too, opinions and all.”

Ramona let out a breathy sigh. “I want this baby, impractical as it is.”

“Sometimes we want impractical things.” I echoed her sigh. Quinn came to mind there. Was it practical to have a relationship right now when so many other things needed me? No. But fuck being practical. Quinn was all about being reasonable and practical and avoiding excess hurt while ignoring what we each wanted deep down.

“And I miss Darren so much,” Ramona continued, leaning into my hand. “Teddy keeps me too busy most days to cry, but then night hits, and I’m sitting there with my phone trying to figure out how to tell him how much I miss him without being negative pressure on him about the job.”

“If you need to go back up there, I can help you with airfare or whatever else you might need. And keep Teddy for a few days.” How I was supposed to find the time for that in the middle of a busy August countdown to the Labor Day onslaught at the tavern, I had no clue, but I’d make it work for Ramona. Somehow.

“Thanks. You’re the best brother.” Tilting her head back, she smiled up at me. “And I am going to have to talk to him. I don’t want to tell him via text.”

“Then don’t.” Some things were that simple. That was what I’d tried to tell Quinn that morning and failed at. If he didn’t want to end things, then he shouldn’t.

Ramona stepped away to grab a dishcloth and resume wiping down her counters. Out in the living area, Teddy was playing some video game, bouncing on the couch cushions. “Not sure it’s that easy. But you’re always so good at drilling down to the root of a problem.”

“Not always.” I stifled a groan. That morning’s conversation was the opposite of a success story.

“What’s wrong?” Ramona knew me too well. Spinning, she gave me an appraising stare. “I am kind of surprised you aren’t working tonight.”

“It’s a Monday. We were slow.” I made a dismissive gesture even though I’d worked plenty of Mondays far slower than this one. “I had a bad headache yesterday. Went in for a few hours, but Mason sent me home when I got the text from you.”

“Translation being, you were a bear and he figured someone else should have to deal with you?” She laughed, but she was right on the money. Better your sister pry whatever thorn is in your paw out of you, were Mason’s exact words after I refused to tell him or Logan why I was in such a terrible mood.

“Maybe.”

“That’s not like you, even coming off a headache. What happened? Did you and Quinn break up?” God. Why did she have to get the family talent for mind-reading? I preferred being the one reaching accurate conclusions, not having the trick used on me.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I clenched my jaw, mouth firming up and eyes hardening. She might be right about why I was in a mood, but I still wasn’t talking.

But Ramona wasn’t dropping anything. “Tell me you and Mom aren’t blaming him for not telling about the pregnancy?”

“Of course not.” I rolled my eyes at her. Something about being around my sister always knocked several years off my maturity level. “He has those doctor rules.”

“Good. I like him. He gave me his number, which probably went against some of those rules, but he never tried to tell me what to do. He’s nice and a good doctor too.”

“He is.” I huffed out a breath. That wasn’t the issue. He was good at what he did, and like me, he worked long hours, but unlike me, he took breaks. Days off when he could. His beach walks. His towering stacks of books. He had hobbies. When was the last time I did something purely for pleasure? The camping trip with Quinn? That had been weeks ago. Damn it. He had a point about how out of balance my life was, but hell if I knew how to fix it. “I thought we were talking about your love life, not mine.”

But before Ramona could continue to press, Teddy came hurtling into the kitchen. “Mom! Darren is here! Like right here! Right now.”

“Oh. My. God.” Ramona’s eyes went flying saucer wide. “If our mother told him, the cove isn’t big enough for her to hide from my wrath.”

“I’ll help,” I promised, hoping like hell that Ramona was wrong and Mom wasn’t behind this. “But go see what he wants. Teddy, bud, why don’t you stay over here with me.”

“Can I have an ice pop?” Typical bottomless pit kid, he was more concerned with food than incoming relationship drama and was already pawing through the fridge.

“Sure,” I said as I tried not to listen to Ramona and Darren in the living room, but their voices carried.

“What are you doing here?” Ramona didn’t sound particularly happy to see Darren, but to his credit, he didn’t snap back.

“I missed you. Maybe I got tired of seeing those three dots pop up in chat only to disappear.”

“Sorry.” A lot of the steam left Ramona’s voice. “I’ve…there’s a lot going on.”

“Which you could try telling me about.” Darren’s tone was all patient. “I thought we were partners in this thing.”

Huh. There was an idea. A partnership. I’d called Quinn my boyfriend, but were we partners? A unit that made decisions together? What would that look like? I wasn’t sure, but I redirected my attention to their conversation because listening was easier than my own jumbled thoughts.

“We do work well together. But this partner doesn’t want to relocate to Alaska. Sorry. I keep thinking about it. I’ve made list after list. I love you.” Ramona’s voice was all trembly now. That took guts, using the L-word so easily. “So much that it’s not fair to not support you taking this job. But I can’t move myself.”

“Then don’t.”

Ramon made a frustrated noise. “You sound like Adam.”

I couldn’t help swiveling at the sound of my name, looking into the living room. My eyes met Darren’s as he gave me a sheepish smile.

“He’s a smart guy.”

“But I can’t ask you to not take the job.” Ramona paced away from him.

“If we’re partners, then we’re a team, and we decide things together, right?” Darren spread his hands wide. “And if one part of the team has a stack of lists, well, then maybe I want to listen to that.”

“Oh.” Ramona’s surprised tone hit me square in the chest. Fuck it. Had I listened to Quinn? At all? He’d had concerns, and all I’d done was dismiss them, told him I had it handled. But I hadn’t listened.

“You’re the center of my whole universe.” Darren had a way with words. Maybe I should hire the guy to write my apology speech to Quinn. “There will be other jobs. I know how important this place is to you. Your family. And I’m not asking you to give them up. I just want to be family too.”

“You pretty much are.” Ramona walked back over to him, voice soft.

“Maybe I want more than pretty much.” Darren lowered himself to one knee. He was a tall guy, and there was only one reason a big dude like him got on his knees. Sure enough, he pulled out a little box. “I want to make the partner thing official. Marry me, Ramona. Then we can figure out together where we best belong for the future.”

Ramona didn’t squeal with delight like one of those viral videos, instead slumping against the nearby couch. “Damn it. My mom got to you, didn’t she?”

“Your mom?” Darren sounded genuinely perplexed and kept holding the box out. “Sweetie, no. I love you. And your brother is great. Your mom is nice too, but I didn’t think you’d want me to do the whole asking permission thing.”

“She didn’t tell you anything?” Ramona was so suspicious that I really felt for Darren there on the floor, waiting for his answer. I sent him a sympathetic look, but all his attention was on my sister.

“No. Should she have?”

“Maybe.” Ramona took a deep breath that I could hear all the way in the kitchen. “Before you propose, I need to tell you something.”

“Nothing can change how I feel about you. Whatever it is, we’ll deal.” Darren threw out another truth bomb that hit me square in the chest. He was so damn brave here, putting his heart on the line. I couldn’t say the same.

“You’re going to make me cry.” Ramona waved a hand in front of her face. “I’m pregnant.”

“For real?” Darren had the exact perfect reaction, voice all full of wonder and sounding like he was struggling not to cry himself. “I thought you said it wasn’t likely to happen for you again.”

“It wasn’t. It’s kind of a miracle.”

“Our miracle. You really think I’m going to take back my proposal now?” Darren was all indignant now. This was love. Love didn’t run when things got hard. And damn it, I wanted this sort of permanency in my life too. I’d spent a lot of years telling myself I didn’t need a relationship, but the jealousy pumping through my veins said otherwise.

“No, but I don’t want the baby to be the reason why we get married.” Ramona’s voice broke.

“It’s not. It’s the best surprise you could have given me, but I want you. You’re it for me. Reasons one through one hundred.”

“Oh wow. Wow.” Now Ramona sounded more like the recipient of a movie-worthy proposal, tone all swoony as she braced one hand on the couch. “Yes. Yes. I want to be a team. And I’m sorry I didn’t give you a chance to work all this out in Alaska.”

“Maybe we both needed time to think. Get our priorities straight.”

Reasons one through one hundred. Oh fuck. He was right. Ramona deserved to come first for him. He had his priorities right. Quinn had been so sure of my priorities, so certain he’d come in last, and that was on me. I’d pretty much told him I’d squeeze him in. Like Ramona, he deserved to come in first for someone.

I was still dazed as Teddy rushed by me to launch himself at both of them.

“We’re getting married!” he crowed. “I get a second dad now!”

Darren was a lot better than Ramona’s ex, but of course, I couldn’t say that where Teddy could hear. Instead, I gave up all pretense of not listening and went to give Darren a hand off the floor. “Congrats, man.”

“Oh my God. We’re getting married.” Ramona sounded all giddy. “Mom is gonna flip.”

“You don’t have to tell her right away,” I said quickly.

“Smart man.” Darren nodded.

“No, I do. I want to tell everyone.” Ramona beamed so wide that I had to hug her, try to absorb some of that happiness and certainty for myself before she left my embrace to wrap herself around Darren. “We should go surprise her with the news.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Darren sounded resigned but happy.

“Uncle Adam, you coming?” Teddy asked.

“Not right now. Welcome to the family, Darren, but I’ve…there’s something I have to do. Right now.”

Ramona laughed knowingly. “Go get him.”