I tipped my head to the side and asked, “So, Rex and Joel?”

His grin spread to a smile then he moved and before I knew it, in fact, even after it happened I wasn’t sure how I got flat on my back on the couch with Brock on top of me. All I knew was that I was there.

“Rex and Joel,” he stated, his eyes holding mine, his holding mirth, his hands moving on me in ways not conducive to relaxing or having a life sharing chat. “My boys. I was married to their mother for five of the most miserable years of my life. Then I was divorced from her for five of the second most miserable years of my life. Then, two years ago, she got remarried and now she’s making her new husband’s life miserable and, lucky for me, she’s not able to multitask. Rex is ten, Joel is twelve. They’re good kids, I get them every other weekend, two weeks in the summer and whenever Olivia’s at the spa, which, considering her new victim is loaded, is often and this works for me because I think the world of my boys and clearly my genes are dominant because they aren’t pains in the ass like their mother is.”

“I’m reading from that you two did not have an amicable divorce and remain friends,” I noted and the mirth in his eyes hit the room and also hit his body which shook over mine with suppressed laughter.

“Yeah, babe, sorry I didn’t make that more clear.”

“So being with her was the five most miserable years of your life?”

“Yeah, and she made being without her miserable too but being without her was not the miserable part.”

“So why did you marry her?”

His head tipped slightly to the side and his face got slightly more serious.

Then he answered, “Because there was the Olivia I met, dated, fell in love with and asked to marry me. Then there was the Olivia who I went on my honeymoon with. Night and day.

Dark and light. Kid you not, sweetness, it was like she wasn’t even the same woman. It was whacked.”

I stared at him, shocked and intrigued by this story.

“Really?” I asked.

“Really,” he answered.

“That’s kind of…” I hesitated, “scary.”

“You’re tellin’ me,” he stated with feeling and I thought about Ada and Vic and how Ada showed Vic everything he wanted to see then the minute she got his ring on her finger, Ada showed him Ada and set about making him the Vic she wanted him to be.

“Why do women do that?” I asked.

“Seein’ as I have a dick, I was hopin’ you’d answer that question,” he replied.

“I’ve no idea,” I told him and his mirth came back through his smile and his body shaking on mine.

Then he asked, “Are you gettin’ it yet?”

“Getting what?” I asked back.

His roaming hands stopped and one came to frame the side of my face as he dipped his close.

Then, he whispered, “With Tessa O’Hara, what you see is what you get. No bullshit. No games. No masks. No lies. No nothin’. Just her, all her. I’m forty-five years old and, baby, I gotta tell you, I’m so sick of that shit you wouldn’t believe it. Meeting a woman who doesn’t have a clue how to even initiate a play was f**king refreshing.”

Oh my.

At that point, for some totally unhinged reason, my mouth blurted, “Ellie has ordered a pink flower girl dress.”

Brock stared at me. Then he burst out laughing and shoved his face in my neck to do it.

Then, while still doing it, he rolled to his back so I was on top and I lifted my head to watch as the laughter died to chuckles and his hands came up to gather my hair at the back of my head.

And when he controlled his hilarity, his warm, quicksilver eyes locked on mine and he said quietly, “There it is. My sweet Tess doesn’t have a clue how to initiate a play. No bullshit. No games. No masks. No lies.”

“Brock,” I whispered.

“Thanks for dealin’ with the kids so I could deal with Mom and Dad.”

“You’re welcome,” I said softly and he pulled my face to his for a lip touch then moved it back an inch whereupon I informed him, “Just a head’s up. Grady hears stuff, so much of it, he might go out of his way to listen and he doesn’t forget much.”

He pulled in a breath. Then he shared openly, “We got dissension. Laura and my older sister Jill want my Dad back in the fold. My younger brother Levi, Laura’s husband Austin, Jill’s partner Fritz and obviously my Mom disagree. Austin because he’s overprotective of Laura. He met her two years after she was raped, she was still raw but he liked what he saw, put on the kid gloves and hasn’t taken them off. He’s a good man, a family man and he loves her. He doesn’t like the history and he didn’t like it when my Dad came around and asked for money. Fritz because Fritz likes his money and that’s because he works his ass off for it and anyone comin’ around and askin’ him to give it away isn’t real popular. Levi because my brother hasn’t worked shit through, he’s got a short fuse, carries a mean grudge and takes loyalty to extremes. Shit’s comin’ to a head. There’s a lot of talk. Grady’s a smart kid, he feels deep, he loves his Mom and he’s gonna hear and be confused.” He paused then said,

“I’ll have a word with Laura.”

“Why is this happening?” I asked. “I mean, you’re all adults. Can’t those who want your Dad in their fold do it and those who don’t –?”

Brock cut me off with, “Dad’s got cancer, Tess.”

My body stilled on top of his and I whispered, “Ohmigod.”

“Yeah,” he whispered back. “This is the second time. It’s come back. First time, he beat it easy. This time, they say it’s more aggressive. He wants to make amends, wants his family back, wants peace in case he passes. There are those in our ranks who question his motives and timing. There are those who see our Dad is gettin’ old, he’s sick, he’s not only f**ked us over but also a lot of other people so he’s lonely and he’s a social guy but even if he wasn’t, lonely isn’t good when you’re sick. So we got dissension, it’s bringin’ up shit that’s been buried awhile and emotions are high.”

I slid my hand up to curl my fingers around his neck as I whispered, “I’m so sorry, honey.”

“I am too. This shit sucks.”

“Yeah it does,” I agreed, still whispering and I saw his eyes intense on me.