Yours to Keep by Claudia Burgoa

Chapter Twenty-Four

Vance

In Baker’s Creek,we celebrate Oktoberfest from the last weekend of September to the first weekend of November. Every day, the bar has a different beer on tap. All the proceeds go to charity. Last year, my brothers and I promised to do a drinking marathon during the festival’s final weekend. We’re challenging each other to see who’ll last longer, and well, of course, we’re going to raise more money.

A lot of people from the town are here just to watch the show. I hope we deliver the best we can. We start the marathon at noon, the same day the town celebrates The Pumpkin and Corn Festival. I still don’t understand the purpose of that festival when Halloween is over, and we don’t even have cornfields in this town.

The wives aren’t too happy about our nonsense. Thankfully, I don’t have a wife. I do have a Darren, though. Today, he’s covering the medical practice since Hayes is part of the challenge, and Blaire is at home fighting another lousy case of hyperemesis gravidarum. Pregnancy doesn’t look good on her. I have to give it to her though, she makes cute babies.

Before we can start drinking, Dare sends me a text telling me to think about my liver. He’s been nagging me about that since last night. Something about cirrhosis. Though he sounds hot when he throws out medical terms out of the blue, I won’t forfeit.

Not even for him.

He should understand that it’s not all about drinking or getting hammered. It’s about bonding with my brothers. In a month, the stipulations will come to an end. I don’t know who is leaving, staying, or what I’ll be doing by December. I want to make sure that we have these memories. What if we don’t see each other daily? We can bring up that time when we were so fucking drunk we couldn’t remember where we lived. The few memories we have from our childhood are good but not great. The adults in our lives never let us be brothers, and now that we’re finally a family, we don’t want to lose what we’ve built.

Also, there are tacos, ribs, and pastries, among other delicious food donated by the local businesses. It’s like a party that we didn’t have to organize, and we won’t have to clean up after ourselves.

When Dare appears at two in the afternoon, I have a slight buzz going on.

“Hey, babe,” I say, grinning at him. He looks at me, somewhat confused. I like when he’s a little flustered. I’m usually the one who’s speechless in this relationship. He’s always aware of his surroundings and his emotions. He likes to talk. I hate it. It’s kind of funny that I take charge of our physical relationship, and he’s the one who handles the messy emotional shit. He’s aware that I can’t feel shit, and he knows how to navigate my issues like a pro. If I wasn’t so broken, I’d try to change this from casual to…how far can a guy like me go?

I never dare to ask myself that question, but Dare Russell makes me challenge my beliefs. It’s kind of ironic and funny to say that Dare makes me want to dare. I’m still puzzled about his presence and his long face. He’s not happy. I hate when something bothers him, and I’ll fix it for him if he tells me what happened. Fuck, let’s pray he doesn’t need me to fly him to Oregon because I’m in no condition to do so.

“This is a nice surprise,” I say, reaching for his hand.

“Umm…Do you think you can leave early?” he asks nervously. This is so unlike Darren, and it kind of looks cute on him.

I grin, rise from the barstool, and kiss him. I guess the alcohol knocked out my common sense because I’m kissing him, openmouthed, in the middle of the bar. He kisses me back with fervor. We share a hunger that can never be satiated. I wish he would never leave me, but I know that someone like Darren isn’t meant to stick around with a guy like me. I sober up a little, now drunk on him and our kiss, and ask, “You came to cheer me up?”

Someone clears his throat. That’s when I notice an older man, about five-ten, with salt and pepper hair and brown eyes, giving me a disapproving look. And just then, I realize the entire town just watched me kiss Darren as if I was about to fuck him.

Shit.

I glare at the man who isn’t comfortable with PDA, or probably PDA between two men. When he says, “It’s too early to be drinking.” I understand that he’s judging me because I’m buzzed and not because I kissed my man. I explain it’s for a good cause.

“Which charity? The one that pays for your liver transplant?” stuffy guy asks.

I ignore his remark and say, “It depends on the day. Women’s shelters, group homes, The Trevor Project…I don’t know what he’s going to do today.”

The guy looks around. “Is there a jar or something where we can donate without having to consume large amounts of alcohol?”

Drew, the bar owner, lifts the big plastic container he has on the counter. “Right here. If you’d like to donate, we’re happy to receive your money. We’re still not going to stop this fun event, though.”

I ignore the stuffy man, and my attention goes back to Dare. “Why are you here?”

“My parents are in town. You just met my dad.”

Fuck, I mouth. I’m totally sober now. “I’m sorry?”

He shakes his head. “I’m not sure what to say.”

“Can we leave this place, Darren?” the man asks.

“Dad, meet Vance. Van, this is my father, Joseph Russell.”

I shake his hand. “Mr. Russell, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

He looks around. “Can we leave?”

I sigh. “Yeah. I forfeit.”

“Loser one is gone. Who’s next?” Pierce claps and whistles. I hate my brothers. When they’re drunk, they behave as if they’ve been raised by wolves.

“That’s a lot of nonsense,” Mr. Russell complains.

“We’re competitive,” I say as we head outside the bar, not to mention that I’m related to my brothers. I’m not ashamed of them, but they’re in bad shape. They say it’s all about first impressions. Not that I care what anyone thinks. I’m just doing it for Darren.

“You know, it’d be easier if you just put some money in the jar. Drinking isn’t everything,” Mr. Russell suggests, or maybe he’s lecturing me.

“Dad, let it go.”

“No. This is what’s wrong with society. The money they’re spending on a buzz can be sent directly to the people who need it.”

I glance at Darren because this guy is getting on my nerves, and we just met.

“What do you do for a living, Mr. Aldridge?”

“I’m currently between jobs,” I answer.

“And you’re spending your money on drinks? I hope you don’t expect my son to be the breadwinner in this relationship.” He scoffs.

I look at Dare, who flinches. This isn’t what I expect from meeting his father or his family. I stay quiet because I don’t want to create any problems between him and his family, but he better make this worth it.

When we arrive at his house, his mother swings the door open and runs to hug me. “Vance, it’s so nice to see you again.”

I stare down at her, almost begging her not to touch me. Personal space, lady. “Where is your family? I’m dying to meet everyone.”

“His brothers are at the bar, getting drunk,” Mr. Russell complains.

I glare at Darren. Did he tell his father my brothers were there too? I do an internal groan.

“It’s for a good cause, Dad.” Darren tries to defend me, but his voice is low and almost apologetic.

What did I do? Or what did he do?

Clearly, something is upsetting this man, and I don’t care to stay in a place where I’m not welcomed.

“That’s not an excuse. Did you know his boyfriend doesn’t have a job?”

I groan and stare at Darren. He should jump in and say something. Move the attention away from me. If he doesn’t do it soon, I’m going to go off on his parents. As in, they might never want to see me again.

He’s frozen. He’s actually frozen. What the fuck?

“So, what do you do all day, drink?” his mother asks, and that loving, gushing tone is totally gone.

Since it’s clear that Dare isn’t going to say a word, I do. I just hope he doesn’t expect me to stick around.

“Whether I drink or not, it’s none of your business. No, I don’t have a job. After I retired from the military, I got a job as a private consultant. Since my father died, we had to come to this town to help with his businesses. Not just me, but my brothers too. We left our lives and our jobs to help the town. I don’t call it work, more like assisting my brothers. It’s not because I’m a lazy asshole who expects to live off the salary of your son.” I don’t add that the Aldridge company pays his salary. “We have plenty of money. We donate to different charities. We support the dispensary. We’re building a hospital for the town. I fly people in and out of the town when there’s an emergency. I don’t need to justify myself to you or anyone else. I don’t care if you like me or accept me. I’m not sure what your problem with me is, but I hope for the sake of your son we find a way to get along.”

I turn to look at Darren and say, “I have the feeling that you owe me an explanation. Enjoy your family. I’m going back to mine.”