Count on Me: Brothers Pub, #3

Prologue

Dev – 22 years earlier

Isat slumped in the hard plastic chair, staring at the floor. The overhead lights buzzed, the sound mixing with others – muffled voices from somewhere, soft footsteps, the swish of automatic doors. There was no one in sight and nothing to see, just the long empty hallway. Even with my eyes closed, though, I would have known where I was. The hushed sounds and smell of disinfectant screamed hospital.  

I had no idea how long I’d sat there or how much time had passed since a normal night of dinner, 7th grade homework, and video games had been interrupted by the phone ringing, then my mom’s frantic calls for my dad. Minutes later, my dad had yelled my name and rushed me into the car where my mom already sat sobbing in the front seat. Without asking, I knew something must have happened to Chase. Older than me by almost 6 years, my brother Chase was a senior in high school. He was great at everything – school, sports – and the best brother. Most of all, he was my parents’ favorite. To them, Chase was perfect. I didn’t mind, at least not much. Chase never acted like he was better than me. He was my best friend. Who cared if my parents loved him more than they did me?

When we got to the hospital we’d rushed in through the emergency room entrance, my dad holding my mom tight against his side. Dad talked to the people at the desk for a minute, then a woman wearing scrubs came to walk us down a hall. Over his shoulder, my dad had told me to wait for them, nodded toward the tiny waiting room, and disappeared through the doors at the end of the hall with my mom and the woman in scrubs.

So, I sat, alone. And waited.

Though no one had taken time to tell me what was going on, from the little I’d overheard I figured Chase had been in a car accident. He’d obviously been hurt since we were here at the hospital and my mom had been crying, but I had no idea how bad it was. My mom crying didn’t tell me much – she cried about a lot of stuff. Whatever had happened, I hoped it wasn’t bad enough to keep Chase from playing his senior baseball season. It was starting in just a couple of weeks, and he’d been training hard to get ready for it. Chase was good at a lot of sports, but baseball was his best and the one he really loved. He was guaranteed to get offers to play for some of the top college baseball programs in the country. His only problem would be choosing where to play. If something happened now to screw that up, Chase would be wrecked.

I didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep until I jerked awake at the sound of footsteps. I looked up to see my Aunt Bennie hurrying down the hall toward me. I could tell she’d been crying, which made me worry a little. Aunt Bennie wasn’t like my mom; I’d hardly ever seen her upset. Seeing that she’d been crying made me wonder what was going on with Chase.

Devlin, honey, I’m so sorry it took me so long to get here.

Aunt Bennie sat down next to me and gave me a hug, then set the huge purse she always carried around on the chair next to her. She was dressed in her usual jeans and sweatshirt and smelled like apples like she always did. I wasn’t sure why she was here – my Aunt Bennie and Uncle Ray lived almost an hour away – but I was glad she was. I liked Aunt Bennie and felt better with her here.

Did Mom call you? Where’s Uncle Ray?

Your dad called.

I was surprised to hear that. Uncle Ray was my mom’s older brother. He and my dad had never gotten along, even before my mom and dad were married. When my mom and Chase and I went to see Uncle Ray and Aunt Bennie, my dad usually stayed home.

Ray’s out of town at a competition. He’ll be here tomorrow, but I told your dad that I’d come right away.

It wasn’t unusual for my uncle to be out of town. He owned a boxing gym and he traveled a lot going to competitions with the fighters he trained.

Have you seen my mom or dad? They’ve been gone a long time and I don’t know where they are. Do you know when we can see Chase?

As soon as the words left my mouth and I saw Aunt Bennie’s face, I knew.

Something was wrong...horribly, terribly wrong.

Aunt Bennie’s eyes filled with tears and she pressed her fingers to her mouth as she stared at me. I stared back, hoping as hard as I could that I’d made a mistake, that everything would be okay after all.

After a few seconds, Aunt Bennie lowered her hand and took a quick breath.  

Oh, Devlin. Honey, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize they hadn’t told you. Chase...he...

No.

No, no, no.

I shook my head, knowing what was coming. Not wanting to hear. Not wanting to believe.

They did everything they could, but his injuries...

Aunt Bennie reached out and gripped my hand in hers, like she was trying to anchor me against the words that would bring my world crashing down around me.

He didn’t make it, honey. I’m so sorry. Chase is gone.    

Chapter 1

Dev – Present day

I’d been knocked on my ass in this gym a few times, but never before by a woman.

And never without so much as a touch.

I was walking out of the office of the gym I co-owned when a woman’s laugh stopped me like I’d walked into a wall. Thank God nobody was paying attention to me or they would have wondered why the hell I’d just come to a dead stop in the middle of the gym. The place was packed, with one youth class just finishing up and another starting, several individual clients working out, and a group of teen boxers training with Dante, the other co-owner. Most of the serious fighters trained earlier in the day, keeping the gym plenty busy most of the time.

I had no idea how I’d heard her laugh through the chaos of a busy gym, but it couldn’t have been clearer if she’d been standing right next to me. When I got my feet moving again, I headed in the direction of the gym’s front desk. I came around the end of the wall that separated the gym from the front desk and saw Mia, Dante’s girlfriend, with the woman who I assumed owned the laugh that had somehow tilted my world on its axis. The woman – girl? Damn, she looked young – was talking with Mia, her hand on the shoulder of one of our youth program kids, TJ. TJ’s best buddy, Tyler, stood by his side. The four of them were talking and joking with each other and paying zero attention to me. I took the opportunity to stare without getting caught and catalog a lot of details about her.

She was short compared to me – though at 6’4 that was true of most women I’d met – and also a little shorter than Mia, who stood about 5’9. Her blond hair was completely straight, not a hint of wave or curl, and held a dozen different shades of gold, even in the LED lighting of the gym. Outside, in the full sunshine, it would be spectacular. Her eyes were green with flecks of brown and gold. She was slim but had curves in all the right places.

Holly, have you met Dev?

Snapping out of trance I was in, I realized that Mia was introducing me to the woman standing in front of me.

Holly. Her name was Holly.

Then Holly turned those beautiful eyes on me and I swear if I’d said a word I’d have stuttered like a pre-teen talking to his crush.

This was not me. I did not get tongue-tied or nervous around women, even women as beautiful as the one standing in front of me.  

Holly Cole. It’s good to meet you.

Holly held out her hand for me to shake and I pulled myself together enough to shake it without looking like a complete idiot. I hoped.

Dev Ryan, I choked out, hoping it sounded somewhat normal but realizing from the look Mia was giving me that I hadn’t completely pulled it off. Thankfully, she jumped in.  

Dev co-owns the gym with Dante.

Well, TJ and Tyler seem to love it here, so I’d say you’re doing a great job. Holly smiled down at the boys standing next to her, who enthusiastically agreed that the gym was great.

Mia said something that I didn’t catch, then the boys and Holly said their goodbyes and moved toward the door. Holly looked back over her shoulder and her eyes met mine again.

It was good to meet you, Dev. She sounded a little hesitant, a little unsure this time. I was sure I was freaking her out with my continued silence and intense stare, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. I managed a nod to acknowledge her statement, but that was the best I could do.

As soon as the door closed behind Holly and the boys, Mia turned to me.

What in the world was that?

I just shook my head, in no mood to get into it with Mia when I was still so off-balance. Besides, what would I tell her? The truth?

I have no fucking idea.

I turned and walked away, realizing that I’d told her the truth after all.

Chapter 2

Holly

Ilet myself into my apartment, ready to make something quick for dinner and, most of all, sit down. My job as a veterinary technician kept me on my feet for most of the day. On the days I didn’t pick up TJ and Tyler from boxing, all I wanted to do was sit on the couch and relax. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the way the world worked, at least not my little part of it. There was still laundry to be done, groceries to be bought, meals to be made and an apartment – even though it was a small one – to keep clean. And now that I had TJ a couple of nights each week and had started volunteering for the local animal shelter, I had even less time on my hands to do all the things that needed to be done. When TJ stayed with me the evenings were filled helping with his third-grade homework – which was way harder than I remembered from my own experience in third grade – and hanging out with TJ, doing things he enjoyed.  

It wasn’t the life most 23-year-olds had, but I wasn’t complaining. This was the reason I’d moved back to the area after finishing my vet tech program – to spend time with TJ and my mom and to help raise TJ. I loved my mom and she was a good person, but to she was also flighty and undependable. It was as if she used every bit of her organizational capabilities to do her job as a clerk in the local court system, a job she’d held for as long as I could remember. Beyond that, though, she was always running late and missing appointments. She forgot birthdays, plans that had been made, and even entire conversations on a regular basis. I was grateful for the ability to schedule bill payments to come directly out of her checking account, because I was sure she’d forget to do that, too.

After my dad had passed away when I was eleven, I’d come to realize how much of the responsibility he’d shouldered. My mom had never been what you’d call self-sufficient, but after my father’s death she seemed either unwilling or unable to manage many of the complexities of everyday life. Out of necessity, I’d stepped up and taken on a lot of things that most kids my age had never had to deal with. I didn’t want TJ to have to grow up that way, so here I was. My plan had always been to move back to the area to help raise TJ – and to take care of my mom – once I finished school. Despite whatever her shortcomings were, I knew that my mom loved me and TJ, and that was much more than a lot of people ever got from their mother.  

After I changed out of my work scrubs, I headed to the kitchen to figure out dinner. I sighed as I looked through my fridge and pantry, realizing I probably should have stopped at the grocery on the way home. I was picking up TJ and Tyler from boxing tomorrow and keeping both overnight for a sleepover since it was Friday. We were going to the new arcade that had just opened with Brian, the guy I was currently seeing. He was picking me up from work, then we’d head to the gym to pick up the boys. I knew we’d have pizza or something else at the arcade, so that took care of dinner. I had plenty of bread and some peanut butter to make the boys peanut butter toast for breakfast on Saturday, so that would just have to do. Luckily for me, they weren’t at the eat everything in sight phase just yet.

I pulled a bowl of leftover spaghetti and some carrot sticks out of the fridge for dinner, ran myself a glass of tap water, and settled in at my small dining table. I’d gotten the table from a co-worker who was upgrading to a larger set and it fit perfectly in the little space next to my kitchen. My apartment wasn’t much – just a sitting area, a galley kitchen, the dining nook, one bedroom and one bathroom – but it was affordable and in a decent area near my mom and TJ. I’d hoped to find a place with a second bedroom so TJ could have his own space when he stayed with me, but my budget didn’t allow for that.

Thinking again about picking up TJ and Tyler from the gym the next day, my mind went straight to the man who had filled my thoughts lately – Dev Ryan. I hadn’t physically been back to the gym since I’d met him a few days before, but my mind had gone there again and again. The way he’d looked at me had been so direct, so intense. It was as if he’d been able to see only me. I’d never had anyone study me with such intensity before. It was unnerving, sure, but also kind of...hot. I shook my head at how juvenile that sounded, but it was true.

To have that kind of laser-focused attention from a man like Dev Ryan – huge, built, and gorgeous, with dark hair, dark eyes and a short, sexy beard – that just didn’t happen every day, at least not to me. Maybe some women wouldn’t have been fazed but as far as I was concerned he’d left quite an impression. When I thought about the possibility of seeing him again, a shiver went through me. I knew he couldn’t possibly be interested in me. He was obviously older than me – by how much I didn’t know but I guessed him at maybe early thirties? – and from what TJ had told me, he was a former champion boxer. With looks and a body like his he had to have women falling at his feet. But still...that stare. I could feel it even days later.

I was well aware I shouldn’t be spending this much time thinking about Dev, let alone getting butterflies in my stomach at the thought of possibly seeing him again, when I was dating someone else. I’d met Brian when I’d let my co-worker and new friend, Jenna, talk me into going out for happy hour. Brian had been at the same bar with some of his co-workers from the bank down the street. We’d started talking, exchanged numbers, and the next day Brian had called to ask me out. We’d been seeing each other for a few weeks and it was...nice. Brian was a good-looking guy with a great sense of humor who shared my taste in movies and music. We had fun together and he got along well with TJ and Tyler. He was a good kisser and he hadn’t pushed for anything more, at least not yet. But in the weeks we’d been seeing each other, I’d never once felt a shiver run through me or gotten butterflies in my stomach at the mere thought of seeing him. It seemed those reactions were reserved for Dev Ryan.

That thought made me feel a little guilty. Was I cheating on Brian by thinking about Dev so much? Brian and I hadn’t agreed to be exclusive, but still. Maybe if I saw Dev again, if we had a normal conversation, these reactions would go away and I’d stop thinking about him all the time. I’d probably just caught him off guard for some reason and that stare had had nothing to do with me. Who knew? Maybe I reminded him of someone he’d once known. Whatever had happened, I’d pick up the boys tomorrow, have an ordinary, typical interaction with Dev, and that would be that. Everything would go back to normal.

Ignoring the flood of disappointment that filled me at that thought, I stepped into the kitchen, set my bowl in the dishwasher, and headed to my bedroom for an exciting evening of folding laundry.

Chapter 3

Holly

When I walked through the front doors of the gym on Friday, I saw Dev immediately. He was standing off to the side, talking to a couple of teens I’d seen once or twice when I’d picked up the boys. As if on cue, his head turned and his eyes locked on mine. He acknowledged me with a nod, which I returned with a smile that I hoped looked more natural than it felt. Mia was talking on the phone at the front desk and I returned her wave as TJ and Tyler skidded to a halt in front of me.

Come on, Holly, let’s go! Where’s Brian? TJ was practically vibrating with excitement. He and Brian had done some good-natured trash-talking about playing some game at the arcade we were going to and TJ had been amped up for days about their showdown.

He’s outside, but you and Tyler need to go change. I handed each boy a bag with a change of clothes and nudged them in the direction of the locker rooms. Brian was waiting for us in his car, but I knew the boys would be sweaty from their lesson.

I’m not spending the whole evening with two stinky boys. The quicker you change, the quicker we can go.

TJ started to argue, but Tyler grabbed him by the arm and headed toward the locker room without a word. I found myself thanking heaven, as I often did, that TJ had Tyler in his life. TJ was a high-energy kid who could be a bit hyper at times. Tyler was a year older and as steady as a 9-year-old could be. TJ and Tyler had been paired up for a drill on the first day of the boxing program and had become instant best friends. TJ brought Tyler out of his quiet shell a bit, Tyler calmed TJ down, and they couldn’t have been closer if they were literally attached at the hip. Luckily Tyler’s parents thought the world of TJ, as my mom and I did Tyler, and were happy to have the boys spend as much time together as possible. Tyler’s mom was great about picking up TJ when needed, just like my mom or I often picked up Tyler.

As the boys ran off, Mia hung up the phone and waved me over. Glad for something to distract me from letting my eyes wander back over to Dev, I chatted with Mia, resolutely focusing on her while I could swear I felt the weight of Dev’s stare. I told myself that I had to be mistaken. There was no reason on earth for a man like Dev Ryan to be staring at someone like me.

I almost had myself convinced when I saw movement from the corner of my eye. I looked up, straight into the beautiful dark eyes of the man who would not leave my mind. Dev stood close to me, so close I could feel the warmth radiating off his body. The second my eyes met his, the rest of the world faded away. There was no gym, no Mia, no anything, except the man beside me. Dev’s lips parted slightly as he inhaled and my gaze slipped to his mouth. What would it feel like to have his lips on mine? We were so close. All he had to do was bend his head a little and lean in and...

I jolted back into reality as TJ’s arms wrapped around my waist and he all but crashed into me from behind.

We’re ready, Holly! Come on!

I blinked a couple of times, trying to reorient myself. Beside me, I heard Dev take a deep breath as he shifted away a bit, and I wondered if he felt as off-balance as I did. Avoiding his gaze, I looked down at the eager faces of the boys in front of me.

Smiling