The pancakes had flown; a slab of bacon the size a two-year-old got sliced and cooked. Two dozen eggs were prepared, and throughout it all, his mom and Paige had smiled and shook their heads. Good times.
They were gathered around the table. Paige, of course, was on his lap, and his folks were doing that tag team thing parents did so well as they tried to pry information from Marsh who, as usual, was a font of nothing.
“So, what does that mean, hon? Are you staying? Passing through? Heading where?”
Moms. They knew how to get right to the heart of things.
“Actually, Mom, I’ve got something to keep me busy. I’m calling it Project-Get-a-Life.”
Paige snorted. Marsh had been traipsing around the globe for years following fuck knows what whims. He didn’t share much, and she knew Edward was slightly mystified about what he did with his time. And money.
“Does this life involve getting a job?”
“Oh, that’s rich coming from you, big brother. A job? You mean like what you do? Calling that a job now, are we?”
“Hey, don’t be hating just ‘cause I found a way to make money and have fun.”
They tossed off a few arm punches for good measure.
“What? So you think flashing your pecs for all the soccer moms is better than being an astronaut? Or a writer? Isn’t that what you planned to do when you grew up?”
“An astronaut?” Paige asked. “For real?”
He nodded. “Yep. I wanted to be the Jack Kerouac of outer space.”
“Don’t you mean Jules Verne?”
Marsh cut in. “Oh, hell no! Jules wrote about fantasy. Old Ed wanted actually to ride the rockets then send dispatches that he’d authored from real experiences back to Planet Earth. It was all so futuristic when we were kids. Never too late, hmm?”
“Well, in any case, does this new plan of yours involve settling down in one place?”
It occurred to him as he watched his mother lazily stir her tea with a small, satisfied smile on her face that he’d taken over from them with the third degree of his brother. Damn, they were clever.
Marshall cleared his throat and paused to collect some thoughts. Edward would know that contemplative expression anywhere. Paige sat straighter, aware of the change in the room. His dad stopped tapping his fingers on the table and narrowed his eyes. He wondered if having two sons had been the crazy ride Edward thought it was.
“The thing is,” Marshall began, “I’ve got all these properties. Mostly rentals. Some still in fix-up mode and …”
“Say again?” his mother chimed in. “You have what?”
“Uh, did you say properties?” Paige asked.
Edward went slack-jawed. Was this a joke? What the hell was Marsh talking about?
“Yeah … it’s kind of like this, guys. I know y'all figured I blew Gran’s inheritance.”
Edward went perfectly still. Gran’s inheritance. Holy shit. They’d each received a hefty chunk of cha-ching when she passed on. That was what Edward had been living on when he moved to Los Angeles. All these years they’d all assumed that when Marsh took off to Europe and basically didn’t come home for three years that he was churning and burning his share.
“Almost right away I started building a real estate portfolio …”
He kept talking, but Edward heard nothing after the words real estate and portfolio. Paige had always said that one day Marsh would surprise them all. Looked like that day just arrived.
“So now, I’ve got to make some decisions about what to do next.”
A mini-explosion went off in Edward’s head. “Hey, any of these properties be good for something like, oh, I don’t know … maybe a B&B?”
Paige’s head was whipping back and forth between him and his brother so fast it was a wonder she didn’t get whiplash.
"A B&B?” his mother interjected. “I like the way that sounds. What brought that up, dear?”
Running his hand up and down Paige’s back, he slowly smiled. This was unbelievable. It was like a future of enormous possibilities that had been idle thoughts until spoken out loud were opening up all around them.
“Paige has an idea about a chain of family-oriented guest suites,” he told his mother. Turning to Marsh, he added, “You should talk to her, bro. She’s really on to something.”
“If it means we get to see more of you two, and now Paige, as well, I’m all for it.” His father looked like a man who just hit the jackpot with his last quarter.
“Speaking of which,” Marsh drawled. “I’m invoking the Banning custom of kidnapping the bride before the ceremony.”
“You’re joking, I hope.” Paige chuckled.
His mother got the last word in this conversation. “No joke, dear. Marsh is right. All the Banning brides are waylaid right before the wedding. Last chance for a change of heart. Clarity and all that.”
Over his dead body, Edward fumed.
“Your parents arrive tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Bright and early. Steven’s going to pick them up.”
They were bouncing down a dirt road that skirted along the river in an old work truck that had seen better days.
“It’s not too late, you know.”
She had to grin. This was fun. She’d never been kidnapped before. When Marshall had appeared in his mom’s studio with an old Lone Ranger mask on and a fake pistol that swung from a kid’s holster, she’d played her apart to the hilt. Yelling, “Save me, save me,” as Marsh tossed her over his shoulder while his mother pretended to rescue her.
She caught sight of Edward and Steven up at the house, watching from the porch and laughing their asses off as she was dumped in the passenger seat of the old truck with a thud.
“Yeah, it is. Too late.”
“Why? Did that motherfucker knock you up? Is that what all the rush is about?”
He sounded genuinely put out.
“Where have you been, Marsh?” she quipped. “The second we got together practically everyone we knew screamed at last!”
He swerved to avoid a large rock protruding from the ground.
“Idiot, that one. Too busy looking at his own reflection.”
She knew he was just kidding.
“I’m glad you’re here. It means a lot to Edward.”
Humph. “Is he all you think about?”
“No. I also think about Häagen-Daz vanilla, my 401K, and occasionally Charlie Hunnam. In no particular order.”
They pulled over at a spot far down the river from the house and got out of the truck. Finding spots to sit on a large sun-warmed rock, they talked about how beautiful it was here and how happy his parents were. Once they were talking, she questioned him about his so-called portfolio. What she discovered was quite surprising.
“You’re full of shock and awe these days, little brother.”
“Oh, fuck!” Marsh chuckled. “That’s right. I get a sister out of this deal. How cool is that?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. Don’t change the subject. So were you ever planning on telling anyone that you turned into a mogul?”
Pfft. “No mogul, sis. Just a guy with a head full of dreams who couldn’t hack a nine-to-five office job. I lucked out right from the beginning. That first flip was a way to work off energy, but when I made a huge profit, well …”
Humph. She thought about everything she now knew. Working off a property-flipping whim, he’d stumbled on something he was really good at. Like his brother. They both fell face-first into an unlikely career path.
“What do you think of my B&B plan? Think it has merit?”
“Jeez, Paige, I think anything you do would have merit. Edward didn’t fall for you because you had big tits.”
She slapped on the arm. Hard. “Hey! Be nice.”
“I am being nice.” He chuckled. “It’s a compliment, lady. T and A was never what big bro was about. He needs all that fucking cerebral shit so a fiancée with a fancy degree and some shit-kicking skills? Priceless.”