Brides and Brothers by Anneka R. Walker

Chapter 33

Aiden

Time had been Aiden’s enemy all month. He was all packed, and it was only Monday night. He wasn’t supposed to leave until Wednesday. He had already had dinner, worked out, and showered—all before seven in the evening. He’d rather eat frozen food for the rest of the year than spend one more night in a hotel. Having never aspired to be a traveling businessman, Aiden anticipated checking this off his list of unfortunate experiences.

He flipped through the channels on the TV before turning it back off, remembering the one thing he still had left to do. He picked up his scriptures and pulled on the ribbon that marked where he had left off the day before in the book of Judges. He had always been intrigued by the tribes of Israel and the problems those brothers and their families had faced. After a devastating battle against the tribe of Benjamin, the majority of the tribes had sworn off any marriages between their daughters and the sons of Benjamin. The humbling circumstance had led the sons of Benjamin to find wives for their brethren in a most unique manner.

Aiden’s phone buzzed. He put his scriptures aside and pulled his phone off the end table. It was Benson. They had called each other at least once a week since Aiden had left home. He had needed someone to report to him on his brothers and reassure him that his wife was okay.

He pushed the accept button and held the phone to his ear. “Hey, what’s up?”

“We’ve got a situation I can’t figure out on my own.”

Aiden let his shoulder prop up his phone while he pulled his scriptures closer. He had learned a long time ago that there were some situations only God could solve. His faith had seen him through the death of his parents and the last ten years. By the sound of Benson’s voice, this was going to be one of those times Aiden would need heaven’s help. “Is this about apartment 206?”

“You know their apartment number?” Benson asked, incredulous of Aiden’s knowledge.

“Camille lived in 205, remember? And I hear about this apartment in almost every phone call I get from home these days. If it’s that important to my family, then it’s important to me.”

He waited for Benson to gather his thoughts. Benson finally asked, “How do you fix a problem when you don’t know how it got to be a problem in the first place?”

The tribes of Israel had been confused about the division between their tribes too, but war was not the answer here. “Even though I’ve talked to Camille about this already, I understand less than anyone who’s mad at who and why no one is speaking to each other.” He could hear cars passing in the background on the other end. Benson must be outside; he’d always required fresh air to clear his mind when he needed to think something out.

“Camille finally got ahold of Daisha yesterday afternoon. Daisha said the women are taking a break from all Peterson boys until after Thanksgiving. It was Amy’s idea, actually, and they all agreed to it. Something about a boy fast.”

“What about Sage?” Aiden didn’t think an engaged couple would agree to a week apart from each other if they could help it.

“Sage is in on it too. I guess she and Flynn had their first fight.”

“I thought Flynn drove down to Ogden to meet her parents this weekend.”

“Yep,” Benson answered, “and apparently, Sage’s parents want her to wait until she has her associate’s degree to get married, which is around the same time her brother, who lives overseas, will be back in town.”

Aiden would have been upset too. “When is their proposed wedding date, then?”

“Sage hasn’t been the best student, so they’re looking at another year at least—possibly a year and a half.”

Aiden whistled. That was a long engagement. “So Flynn’s upset because Sage wants to cleave to her parents and fulfill all their harebrained desires?”

Benson chuckled. “Nope. Flynn wants to please the parents, and Sage wants to elope. She’s one of the ringleaders for the expulsion of the Petersons.”

Aiden shook his head. He had learned a lot about women since he got married, and the one thing that came to the forefront of his mind was that women often reasoned with their emotions. “Maybe I should talk to Amy. She’s always liked me. I know she’ll answer my call. If we can get one woman on our side besides Camille, maybe she can convince the others to call it quits.”

“That would be helpful,” Benson said with a sigh. “I know the other guys would appreciate it too.”

“I’ll talk to her right now and call you back.”

Aiden hung up, then scrolled down his contact list for his sister-in-law’s name. He clicked on her name, and on the fifth ring she picked up.

“Aiden?”

“Hey, Amy.”

Amy spoke before he could even tell her why he’d called. “Why are you calling me? Is something wrong with Grant? I knew it! I’ll never forgive myself if something happened to him.”

“Amy, please, stop. Nothing is wrong with Grant. I got a letter from him yesterday, and he’s perfectly fine.”

“Then, why are you calling? Aren’t you still in LA?”

“Yes. I’m calling because my brothers are upset. I’m concerned about it, and I know you’ve always been a huge support to us, and—”

“No, I’m sorry. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, but I can’t help you out on this one.”

“Come on, Amy. We’re family now. I’m your brother-in-law.” Aiden fingered the fine edges of his scriptures and said a little prayer for help.

Her voice was quiet. “Honestly, I’m upset with Grant, so I’m not feeling like the biggest fan of the Petersons right now myself.”

Aiden’s brow drew tight in confusion. Hadn’t Amy been on the verge of tears when she thought something was wrong with Grant? If he was right, all the women in apartment 206 were concerned with his brothers’ welfare. He needed to get to the bottom of this. If only he could go there in person.

Aiden switched his phone to his other ear. “Do you want to tell me about what happened between you and Grant?”

“Not really.” Amy sniffed.

“Come on, Amy. I’m your big brother. I want to be there for you.”

“You’re his big brother first,” Amy threw back at him.

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I care less for your happiness. Tell me what’s going on. I can’t promise to fix it, but I can listen.”

“Do you have time for this?”

Aiden’s hotel clock had hardly moved the last hour. He rolled his eyes. “Time is all I have.”

“Grant was writing to me several times a week,” Amy started, “and I was concerned he wasn’t focusing as much as he should be. I wanted us to date long distance, but I realized we needed to put our relationship on hold so Grant could keep his mind on track. I told him, but I didn’t mean I didn’t want him in my life at all. I haven’t heard from him in over a month. At first, I was worried sick about him, but last week one of your brothers told me he’s been writing them and is doing awesome.”

Aiden furrowed his brow. “So you’re mad because he’s still writing to my brothers?”

“No!” Amy growled into the phone. “I’m upset because he hasn’t once written to tell me he’s still alive. He didn’t bother sending me a letter to agree with me, to fight for me, or to touch base with me. Instead he’s doing awesome! He can’t possibly have any feelings for me. He owes me an explanation, but I doubt he’ll go to the effort to give me one. No offense, but I’m supporting the boy fast one hundred percent.”

Aiden rubbed his temples with his free hand. Amy’s voice was similar to Camille’s, but Camille’s personality was generally calmer. He wished he were talking to her right now instead of her sister. “You must think Grant has a greater imagination than he does. He’s not smart enough to think of any of those things. If I was a betting man, which I’m not, then I would stake my life that Grant is trying to please you by not writing at all. He’s simply doing awesome because that’s all Grant knows how to do. He’s a happy guy, and when tough times come he does his best to push through them.”

“I miss him.”

“Me too. I’ll write and tell him he’s hurt your feelings. Everything will work itself out. I promise.”

“Thank you. I’ve been sick not hearing from him, and devastated wondering if he stopped caring. I can’t even talk to my mom because I know she’ll ask about him. She’s never liked the idea of me dating a devout Christian, and I know she’ll be ecstatic if I tell her Grant hasn’t written to me. I can’t handle that.”

Terry Klinger, Camille and Amy’s mom, was a perfect stranger to him. He’d never met her, talked to her, or had reason to respect her. He didn’t hate her or anything, but he also didn’t feel the need to like her. Still, the woman was probably worried about her daughter. “You don’t have to be sick about it any longer. Why don’t I hang up so you can go call your mom. If she asks about Grant, tell her what you know. You don’t have to talk about your relationship unless you want to.”

Amy sighed. “There’s one other thing.”

“What’s that?”

“The other women aren’t going to change their minds because I tell them to.”

“Why is that?” Aiden wanted to groan. Nothing was going his way today, and he could tell by the fact that it was still Monday.

“Because they want to know if, after some time apart, they still like your brothers as much as they did before. It’s a tested theory and has proven to be a deciding factor for many relationships.”

Rubbing his temples again, he asked, “Who tested this theory?”

“I did,” Amy said.

Aiden said goodbye to Amy and finally let his groan escape. What was he going to tell Benson? Grant was thousands of miles away and causing nearly as much grief as the others. He had always been a happy guy with a pleaser personality, but right now Aiden wanted to sock him.

Aiden called Benson back. This time he could hear voices in the background instead of cars. “Hey, Benson. Amy wasn’t completely helpful, but—” Aiden suddenly realized his scriptures would provide the answers he needed after all. “I’ve had some inspiration that will fix everything.”