“It started with him coming out here to confront Simon, who was just leaving. Thanks for telling Jefferson about that, Ben. Luckily, I told Simon my decision and sent him on his way.” I sighed and pressed my hands to my aching head. Pregnancy sucked so far. “When Charlie walked by and heard me tell Jefferson I’d been seeing someone, he stepped right up and claimed ownership of it. Jefferson overreacted and who knows when he’ll ever stop being angry?”
I touched Charlie’s face again as Ben stood in shocked silence. “Why did you do that, Charlie?”
“What else was I going to do, Avery? Jefferson was upset and confused, and I needed to diffuse the situation,” he insisted as I felt tears in my eyes.
“He hit you, Charlie. Jefferson could take everything away from you because of this. I could have told him something else.” I insisted as he shook his head with pain crossing his face. “What about Ciderworks?”
“He just needs to cool down, Avery.” Charlie winced again, looking around the lobby. “Ben, can you take her somewhere private to let this sink in? I need to get some ice. I’ll meet you guys in your office, okay?” Charlie kissed my forehead gently, promising me that everything would work out just fine. My brother just needed some time to decompress, and he’d accept this.
I watched him head to the restaurant as a tear slipped down my cheek. I didn’t see Jefferson ever forgiving either of us for this, even though there was so much more to the story than he could ever guess.
Charlie had a successful business here at Peaks Lodge. He just did a lot of work promoting it and Jefferson could pull it all out from under Charlie. This was his job and how he made his living and what kept him in Lake Placid. I knew how protective Jefferson was with me and Charlie might have just signed his friendship away, not to mention his job.
I glanced at Ben, who still looked shocked. “I just found out, Ben. Jefferson just overheard me telling Jack and everything blew up. I don’t know how this is going to work out now.”
“Let’s go to my office and sort this out, Avery. You need to sit down.” Ben told me as he placed his hand on the small of my back, taking control of the situation as he always did for me.
I loved my big man and sniffled as we made our way to his office, eager to know that Charlie was going to be okay.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO
BEN
I guided Avery towards my office as she stared down at the floor, closing the door firmly behind me before I told her to sit down on the couch.
I grabbed her cold water from my mini fridge and some tissues, sitting down beside her as the tears poured down her cheeks.
“Are you hurt, Avery? Jefferson didn’t hurt you, did he?” I asked, feeling protective of her as she leaned against my shoulder. I loved her brother as a good friend but laying a hand on a pregnant woman was wrong on any level.
“No, nothing like that. I slapped him after he hit Charlie. It’s just all so quickly and I’m worried that everything is fucked up now, Ben. What if they never speak again?” Avery asked as she cried into my shirt. “I only found this out on Christmas Eve and had to make it through dinner that night and then Christmas the next day. I couldn’t talk to anybody, and I just got so overwhelmed. I’m also so tired and today is just the icing on the cake.”
I stroked her shoulder gently, letting her get her tears and mix of thoughts out. I knew that Avery had been through a lot the last few days and with the way Jefferson reacted to just one man fathering a baby with his baby sister, he might feel that way for a while.
I thought about a baby in a few months. I never thought I’d have the chance after my divorce since I didn’t plan to get involved with anyone again. I gave up the idea of being a parent and now that this happened, that would all change.
I didn’t care which one of us fathered this child. We shared Avery and it worked for all of us and we could do the same with this baby. I never thought I’d be comfortable sharing a woman after my marriage ended in infidelity, but I was.
I accepted everything for what it was with Avery, Jack, and Charlie. It just worked for us but Jefferson didn’t need to know about that. He still needed some time with the news about Charlie and Avery.
Once Avery calmed down, she sipped her water and dried her eyes. “It’s not that I only want Charlie involved in this. He just saw what was happening with Jefferson and stepped up for me, taking the blame. He did it without a second thought, Ben. I tried to stop him.”
“Maybe he did the right thing, Avery. It was wrong for Jefferson to react that way, but he needed to know something, and the truth would kill him.” I told her as she nodded. “I don’t care whose baby it is. It’s ours either way and we’ll all be involved, if you’ll have us. I’m sure Jack feels the same way.”
Avery laughed and wiped happy tears from her eyes. “He didn’t get a chance to tell me, but we’ll talk. I need to find him later.”
“So, Simon is gone?” I asked and she nodded.
“I made it clear I wanted nothing to do with him or his job. I never even considered it when he brought it up.” She looked at me for a long moment. “I got a job offer from the restaurant a few days ago, Ben. I’ve been weighing my options but truly never wanted to go back there. I don’t want to work for someone else forever and I don’t need a review for doing that. My father was the one that joked about me becoming famous, but it wasn’t a thought in my head.”
“Really?” I asked as relief washed over me. This was the best news I could hear along with the pregnancy announcement. “You’re staying?”
“I am and not just because of the baby. I have so much I want to do for myself at my business, whatever that might be. I can make a fresh start here and open a bakery, or maybe do custom work. Who knows?” Happy tears slid down her cheeks as I pulled her into my chest. “I guess now I need to focus on staying healthy and happy for the baby so I’ll keep working at the restaurant if my brother will have me. We’ll just have to see.”
“That makes me so happy, Avery. I didn’t want you to go,” I told her as she laughed against me.
“I love you, Ben. I couldn’t be without you or Jack or Charlie. I couldn’t leave you behind and I’m going to turn down the job and stay here. We’re going to have a baby and raise it with all the love in the world.” Avery wrapped her arms around me, and I held her tight, closing my eyes as I looked forward to my non-traditional future.
“I love you, too.”