GIVING THANKS--FOR NOTHING?
Thanksgiving. It was never a boring holiday in the Hanson family. No holiday was, for that matter, but Zac especially loved Thanksgiving. It was a day he looked forward to, when he got to eat some of his favorite foods that he only got once a year and when family got together that wouldn't otherwise gather at the same time like this throughout the year.
But most importantly, Thanksgiving bred chaos. And there was never a shortage of that. And with Taylor and Isaac both chasing the same woman this year, with Isaac seemingly having the upper hand, he knew Isaac was about to lose that hand as soon as Taylor walked through the front door and saw the stunt that their older brother had since pulled.
Zac stood in the kitchen with his wife, along with Isaac and a couple of his other siblings, when a chorus of small voices that belonged to his children began to excitedly call for Uncle Tay.
"And the golden child has arrived," Isaac muttered as he turned up his drink.
Backhanding him in the arm, Zac walked out of the kitchen to round up his kids when he stepped out of the doorway and saw the flash of red hair from behind Taylor as Taylor flipped his niece into the air. He didn't need to see any more.
He retreated back into the kitchen, his heart pounding at the situation that had now been created, and he struggled to find the words. "So, uh, Tay brought a guest this year."
Kate's eyes lit up. "Seriously? He never brings anyone!"
Isaac cut dangerously sharp eyes at Zac. "WHAT guest?"
Zac swallowed hard. "Um, an attractive one..."
Setting his glass down on the counter, Isaac headed for the doorway and Zac made a beeline in order to get out of it before he did. At this moment, Taylor and Winn were both smiling as he introduced her to the family present in the room.
Isaac was on Zac's heels and he stopped short in the doorway, the blood draining from his face as he stared at the scene in front of him. Zac was nervous but slightly amused at the same time. He couldn't wait to see how this was going to turn out.
Not to be rude, Zac took a moment to introduce himself, finding it sort of funny how she was involved with both of his brothers and yet he had never spoken a word to her. After she shook his hand and exchanged greetings with him, she looked up and saw Isaac in the doorway, her face lighting up at the sight of him. "Hey, Ike," she smiled. "Happy Thanksgiving."
"Yeah," he replied slowly, still a deer in headlights. "I, uh, wasn't aware you were coming today..."
As Winn made small talk with Isaac, Zac leaned into Taylor's ear. "You shouldn't have brought her here."
Taylor looked over at him, annoyed and offended. "That is completely uncalled for," he whispered.
"No," Zac pressed. "You REALLY shouldn't have brought--"
And then it happened. When the blonde with the perfect curls and the beauty pageant smile appeared beside Isaac in the doorway and wrapped her hand around his arm, the small group fell silent. "Hey, what am I missing?" She asked cheerfully.
Zac couldn't describe the look of devastation and betrayal that washed over Winn's face. The truth was, Zac had never actually met her before today and he already felt bad for her. He had no idea what happened between Winn and Isaac over the past weekend, but this was obviously extremely unexpected on both ends of the spectrum. Even Zac was surprised when he'd walked in with his blonde date earlier.
And then there was Taylor. Taylor's face had reddened and Zac had never seen such hatred in his eyes as he did in that moment when he locked eyes with their older brother. Zac had to admit, it scared him a little.
The torture apparently wasn't over yet. Stacey, Isaac's arm candy, then took it upon herself to push past a still-stunned Isaac and gleefully introduce herself to Taylor and Winn, innocently oblivious to the heavy tension in the room.
Finally Winn spoke, her voice quiet and nervous, as she turned to Taylor. "Um, where's the restroom?"
After Taylor pointed her in the right direction, and Stacey struck again, expressing her concern, he pushed past Isaac in the doorway of the kitchen, purposely knocking him in the shoulder with his own. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?" Zac heard Taylor mutter quietly as he made his way into the kitchen.
Isaac locked eyes with Zac for a second and Zac could only shake his head in disappointment. They all knew who was in the wrong here. And, as usual, it wasn't Taylor.
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Their mother adored Winn. Of course she did. Winn was a likable person. Everyone wanted to be where she was or involved in what she was doing. Zac's kids couldn't stay away from her, Taylor stayed glued to her side with that gooney grin pasted to his face, and the family patriarch was overly interested in talking about her line of work.
As she dove right in, rolling up her sleeves and helping his mother and sisters put dinner together, Isaac couldn't take his eyes off of her, either. He couldn't even get her to look at him. She avoided him at absolutely all costs and he couldn't say he could blame her.
Isaac was angry. So incredibly, overly angry and frustrated because he wasn't entirely sure just where he was supposed to direct the anger. Every time Taylor cut those knowing eyes at him, he wanted to fly off into a maniacal rage and then he had to remind himself that he was the one who brought Stacey to dinner instead of Winn. What the hell had he been thinking? The whole situation was bullshit. Every last part of it.
He tried to get into the ballgame on TV with his father and his brothers, but the constant blonde reminder of his lapse in judgment wouldn't make herself scarce for five minutes. Why couldn't she be like Winn and be social and involved with everyone? Hell, why couldn't she just BE Winn?
Besides that, the women were loud when they talked and Isaac couldn't help but eavesdrop as best as he could.
"So, Winn," his mother was saying. "How come you're not spending Thanksgiving with your family?"
"I'm not from here. I moved here a couple months ago, relocated for work to straighten out a struggling office. My family is six hours away in Abilene, Texas, and my company is open for business tomorrow so going home wasn't really in the cards." Winn paused for a second before she continued. "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to impose today, I actually had my own plans and--"
A chorus of objections to her apology flew from the mouths of his sisters and sister-in-law.
"Alone?" His mother asked incredulously.
"I would have been okay..."
"Absolutely not," his mother said firmly. "My boy did right by inviting you here, there's no reason for you to be alone on Thanksgiving, especially not when you have somewhere to go. Now, here, mix these together while I pull this stuff out of the oven. Jess, take this to the table and Kate, hand me one of those spoons."
As his mother took the reins on dinner once again, Isaac felt like an asshole. It could have been him. He could have asked Winn to dinner. However, he'd just assumed Winn was going home and Stacey had flashed that smile at him at the bar last night. It was easier to just bring her to dinner today than it was to send her on the walk of shame back to wherever it was she had come from. Her hotel, he guessed. She wasn't local.
He glanced over at her and she smiled at him. The same smile that had weakened him in the midst of a good buzz the previous night. The same smile that had splayed her out on his black satin sheets the previous night, the same sheets he was willing to throw away for Winn's sake. Now that same smile made his stomach churn and filled him full of regret. He didn't like this. He didn't like all these foreign emotions that were starting to surface lately.
The day just got worse with dinner. It amazed Isaac every year how they still managed to fit their entire family around one table, even though the one table was multiple tables pushed together and extended from the dining room and into the living room.
He couldn't have had a better line of vision of Taylor and Winn if he tried and it certainly wasn't by choice. As Isaac and Stacey sat closer to the head of the table near his parents, Taylor and Winn sat at the other end, Winn directly diagonal across from him, Taylor to the left, and Zac's kids on the other side of Taylor. Kate sat on the other side of the kids, Zac beside her, a few chairs down where Isaac couldn't see him, and their father sat directly across from Isaac. Stacey sat on Isaac's right and unfortunately he was obligated to entertain her. It was his own doing and he knew it.
He could barely swallow his food as he watched the scene at the other end of the table. It sickened him. The way Taylor and Winn smiled and talked and were lost in their own little world, picking from each other's plates, laughing at each other's jokes, exchanging recipe ideas. When Winn traded their drinks because she liked Taylor's better than hers, and Taylor accepted it like it was nothing and went back to his plate, Isaac had had enough. This was bullshit. Winn was his. Taylor could play knight in shining armor all he damn well wanted to, but he wasn't seeing the sides of Winn that Isaac was seeing. He knew he wasn't. He knew it, because Taylor was still his same, weasely, neurotic, workaholic self and he knew that it would only take one time for Winn to get into his pants and then he wouldn't be near as productive as he was now. Isaac wasn't worried about what he knew wasn't going on sexually between the two of them. He was pissed off at the comfort level between them. Their closeness and their sickeningly obvious bond. Isaac wanted to throw up.
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Dinner was interesting. Interesting because the tension in the air was unmatchable. Even more interesting was the fact that the only ones who were keen to any of it were Isaac, Taylor, Zac, Winn, and Kate. And the only reason Kate knew anything was because Zac told her everything. Kate had worked exceptionally hard to take Winn under her wing and Zac appreciated her for it.
Taylor and Winn were adorable. Kate had already whispered it to Zac several times throughout the day. So why didn't he just go for it? Why wouldn't he just tell her how he felt, asked her on a date, something? Anything? Taylor needed her. Zac wasn't one to delve too much into someone else's personal life, and he wasn't even close to being a match-maker like his wife liked to be, but he knew his brother enough to know what was good for him. And Winn was practically put on this planet especially for him. So how the hell was he SO damn blind to it?
Zac couldn't take his eyes off of Winn, however. He was a worrier. He worried about how bothered she might be, sitting at the table. He knew where she was sitting in relation to Isaac and Stacey. She kind of got stuck there by default and it wasn't really anybody's fault where she ended up sitting. Nobody knew what was going on and Winn apparently wasn't one to draw attention to it. At least he thought she wasn't. Until she opened her mouth.
"So, Stacey," Winn said across the table. Zac nearly died right there. He hated the seating arrangement, so he craned his neck across the table and to the right so he could see his eldest brother and his dirty little secret. He couldn't miss a second of this.
"What do you do?" Winn asked.
"I'm a stylist," Stacey smiled proudly.
Winn nodded as she swallowed her food and took another bite. "Oh. Okay. So you have your own shop, that's cool."
"Oh, I don't have my own shop," she answered, shaking her head.
Winn blinked for a moment and Zac swore he could see amusement in her eyes for a split second. "So...you rent a chair?"
Stacey shook her head again and she smiled, her eyes darting to Isaac and then back at Winn. "Um, not quite. But almost. I'll be finished with cosmetology school in the spring."
Winn's eyes blinked rapidly and a smile crept across her face. She was trying to keep it together as she looked across the table at Stacey. Zac didn't know whether to be amused or afraid. He glanced over at Taylor, who was also witnessing the exchange,and judging by the look on his face, he was thoroughly enjoying it. Then Zac glanced down the table at Isaac, who looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole.
"Cosmetology school, huh?" Winn said as she casually snuck her fork over to Taylor's plate and speared a chunk of turkey off of it and popped it into her mouth.
"Hey," he said quietly to her in objection. "Watch that fork, will you?"
"Sorry," she said, momentarily distracted from her assault on Stacey. "I ran out."
"I'll get you more. You can have anything you want, but I'll fight you for that."
Winn giggled. "It's okay, that's all I wanted." Then she seemed to remember where she was and she turned her attention back to Stacey. "So, you're not quite licensed yet, Stacey?"
Stacey smiled, ever so oblivious. "Not yet, but I will be."
"And your goal is to have your own shop?"
"Well...sort of. I want to be an entertainment stylist." She smiled over at Isaac. "Isaac said he knew some people he could introduce me to."
Zac had never seen Isaac look so uncomfortable in his entire life.
Winn dropped her fork and it clanged loudly and the sound startled her so she snatched it right back up. "So, you think you're going to be around that long?"
Taylor and Zac exchanged looks and now Zac was ready to lose his own mind.
"Pardon?"
"Um, I mean, well isn't that so nice of him?" Winn smiled sweetly. Then she turned to Taylor. "Tay, isn't that nice of your brother to help an innocent fledgling out like that?"
Stacey looked up, confused. "Fledgling?"
Taylor and Winn's eyes darted at each other's and Zac knew exactly what they were thinking because he was thinking it, too. Zac then craned his neck to look at Isaac, who was attempting to hide his face in his hand, and then he looked across at his father, whom he locked eyes with and they both desperately attempted to hide their snickers. Winn's eyes darted around the table before she said, "Yes. Fledgling. As in 'beginning stylist.' "
"Oh. I haven't learned that one..." Then she smiled and straightened up in her seat. "But yes, then. Fledgling. But not for long, though. Like I said, I graduate in the spring. I'm so excited. What do you do, Winn?"
Zac wanted to die. This was great. He couldn't have paid for a better seat.
"I'm the branch manager of a finance company," she answered simply.
Surprisingly, Stacey seemed interested. "Really? Hey, maybe I should come see you when I finish school."
"You're adorable, you know that?" Winn suddenly blurted at her.
Taylor nudged her with his elbow. "You can have all the turkey on my plate right now if you just don't say anything else," he whispered.
On their end of the table, Zac's siblings and in-laws were visibly starting to sense something was up. He glanced up at the table at his parents, his mother choosing to keep her head in her plate, and his father looking thoroughly amused. This was why they were close to their parents. Because they could smell bullshit a mile away and opted to stay out of it. Zac almost felt sorry for Isaac. But only almost. He got himself into this
mess and now he had to face the music.
Winn furrowed his brow at Taylor. "But I don't want any more," she whispered. "I'm just making conversation."
Taylor went back to his plate, defeated. Zac knew that secretly, he wanted to let Winn have a free-for-all all over this girl. What Taylor had yet to observe, was that Zac believed at least half the family was looking forward to it, too. Not that the poor girl was at fault. She couldn't help the situation she'd found herself in. But everyone had warned Isaac that one of these days his actions would come back and bite him and now here
that day was, and he was in no way prepared for it. So while, unfortunately, it fell at the expense of the innocent fledgling, watching Isaac learn a lesson was the real entertainment here.
Stacey just kept digging Isaac's hole for him. "I'm serious. When I graduate, I'm going to need to get my business started and build up my clientele--"
"Your famous clientele," Winn corrected.
"Yes. And maybe you could help me finance it."
This was amazing. Absolutely amazing. Zac just couldn't keep his mouth closed any longer. "Why, of course, Winn. You could absolutely help finance this fledgling, couldn't you? I mean, between your financing and Isaac building up her clientele for her, the two of you could be solely responsible for creating the most successful celebrity stylist in America. Together."
Taylor cut daggers at Zac but Zac couldn't be bothered to care. This was too much fun.
Winn's nostrils flared. "I don't do those types of loans. I do small, personal loans. That's it."
"Oh, it's okay," Stacey said. "I wouldn't need much to start, so that might be perfect for me."
A smile spread across Zac's face as he looked down the table at Isaac, who was trying desperately to hide his face in his plate. He looked at their father once more, who was way too interested in what was going on now. Zac knew they were on the same wavelength and they smirked at each other often.
"How's your credit?" Winn said bluntly across the table as she turned up her drink.
"Um, well, I haven't really looked at it..."
Winn looked at her as if she had three heads. "How do you not know what your credit looks like?"
"Well, I mean, I live at home and my dad is paying for school..."
This was classic. Unbelievable. Zac had to look at Isaac, who was currently sweating bullets. Apparently some of this was news to him, as well. Nearly giving himself whiplash, he turned back to look at Taylor, who was now completely unable to keep it together, and was chuckling as he shook his head, speared more food onto his fork, and shoved it into his mouth.
Finally, Winn looked Stacey square in the eye. "Stacey, how old are you?"
Suddenly, Winn jumped and she looked over at Taylor, offended. "Tay," she hissed. "What was that?"
And then Zac's own daughter's voice rang out, who was seated on the other side of Taylor, "It's not nice to kick, Uncle Tay."
The entire table laughed. Zac couldn't help himself. He laughed right along with them. Kate glared at her husband then turned her attention to her daughter. "Junie-bug," she said quietly. "Do you remember what we talked about, about minding our own business?"
"But, Mama, Uncle Tay kicked and that's not nice!" Then she turned her little head back to her uncle. "You should say you're sorry."
Taylor's face was a thousand shades of red as every pair of eyes at the entire table was on Taylor and Junia. They tried to hide their snickers, but the attempt was futile. Finally, Taylor leaned over and murmured something inaudible to Winn and the situation seemed rectified until Zac's daughter's voice rang out once more, in a tone that flipped his switch in a split second. "Where we can HEAR you."
"Junia that is ENOUGH!" Zac blurted, startling his daughter. She looked at him, wide-eyed and Zac knew he had her attention then. "Your mother just told you to mind your own business and now I'm telling you to mind your mother before you get asked to leave this table and sit in the corner. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"
His daughter nodded quietly.
"Good," he said more calmly. "Now make sure you clean your plate. I don't want to hear another word out of you until you're excused from the table."
Her little eyes fell onto her plate and Zac's heart broke into a million pieces. He hated being a parent sometimes. But he had to suck it up and put his foot down no matter how pitiful their little faces looked. He knew she'd get over it, but it didn't keep him from wanting to scoop her up in his arms anyway.
Except that Stacey couldn't keep from answering Winn's question. Just couldn't leave it alone. "It's okay," she said. "I don't mind answering. I turn twenty-three in two months."
Winn started to choke. And not in the joking sense, either. To the point where she grabbed for her drink and Taylor had to blurt, "Winn, don't chug that so fast, there's alcohol in it. A lot of it."
"Well, dammit, Tay, get the girl some water or something," their mother said, frustrated.
Winn cleared her throat and was able to choke out. "I'm okay. It's okay, thank you." She wiped her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I'm so embarrassed, I'm so sorry."
"Do you need me to get you something?" Taylor asked her, concern in his voice.
"No, thank you," she said. "I'll, um, I'll just--I just need some water, I can get it on my own. Anyone else need anything?"
"You stay right there," Diana said as she stood from the table. "I'm closest to the kitchen, I'll bring you some water, no worries."
As Diana stood from the table, Zac craned his neck to look down the table one more time. Isaac's head hung as he massaged the bridge of his nose. Finally, he stood up and muttered, "Excuse me, I need to step out for some air." And then he went through the kitchen and walked out the back door.
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After awhile, after the dishes had been cleared, the tables separated, and the area cleaned, Taylor found his mother at the kitchen counter, busily cutting dessert bars out of a pan and assembling them on various plates. He walked up and leaned his elbow on the counter next to her. This was how he always talked to her and it made him feel fifteen again. "Mom? Is it okay if Winn and I cut out of here early?"
His mother looked at him in alarm. "Why would you want to do that? You haven't even had dessert yet."
"I know," he said, regretfully. "I think bringing her here may have been a bad idea. I mean, for her sake."
"Well--why not? Is she not having a good time? Is she uncomfortable? Everyone likes her..."
"It's not--I mean, I think she's having some issues with Ike. Like, personal issues..."
Diana dropped the knife and the dessert that she had in her hands and she looked at Taylor in frustrated realization. "Taylor. Did you bring one of your brother's girlfriends here?"
"She's not his girlfriend," he spat quickly. "I mean, they're not--they're not together or anything..."
"But she's seeing him? Sweetie, you don't need to go around messing with Ike's...random women. You need to go meet some of your own."
"She was mine first!" He hissed at her. Then he sighed and he glanced at the floor before looking back at her. "That--that came out wrong, that's not how I meant it. I mean, I've known her longer than he has. She's my best friend."
"Tay, she hasn't been in the area long. That's an awful short amount of time to call someone your best friend."
"But she is. I've never met anyone like her. She likes all the same weird stuff I do. It's like she's tapped in to the me that's, like, deep, deep down, traits that I don't show, interests that I don't talk about. She's open about it, she brings it out in me. I feel like the old me again when I'm around her and I miss it. I miss me, Mom."
"Are you in love with this girl?"
The question was so random and blunt that Taylor could only blink at his mother. After a moment, he said, "Well, isn't it too short an amount of time for that? You just said--"
"What I just said is hogwash, if you love someone, you love them. And if she doesn't know you love her, then I'm ashamed of you. Here." She turned around and hastily wrapped a plate in foil and then opened the refrigerator and took out another foiled dish. She stacked them and handed them both to her son. "Take these with you. Take her home, have dessert, have coffee, and talk to her. Don't you dare come back to this house today. And don't you dare let her go. She's a good girl. A keeper. You got it?"
"Mom--"
"I won't hear another word about it." Then she leaned in close to him and said in a low whisper, "I love Ike. He's my first born, he's my son. But I know his reputation and I know what he does to those women out there. It's not a secret. You GET his claws out of her and you do it now."
At that moment, Winn walked into the kitchen with her cell phone in her hand. Taylor turned his head and then turned his body around to see her head for the back door. "Hey. Everything okay?"
She flashed a slight smile. "My parents are calling, I'm just gonna step outside for a minute. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, of course," he said. "Take all the time you need."
She smiled again and stepped out onto the back porch. Taylor looked at his mother and his mother raised an eyebrow at him. He crossed behind her to the refrigerator and put the dishes she'd handed him back inside it. "Um, I'm gonna just, uh, set these in here until she gets finished with her conversation," he said to her.
His mother simply nodded her head and went back to her work.
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Being the matriarch of a family as large as Diana Hanson's could be exhausting, especially on the holidays. So the rare moment that she found herself a little peace and quiet on such occasions was a blessing for her.
As she stood at the counter, working on dessert preparations, she couldn't help that the kitchen window was cracked to let some air circulate in the room. She also couldn't help that she could hear Winn talking on the phone.
"Hi, Mama," she started. "Happy Thanksgiving. Tell everyone I said so...I know, it's weird...Well, I wanted to come home but I'm so far away now and I have to work...I know, I wish you could have come here, too. Maybe we can plan for Christmas?...Yeah, I have to work the day after Christmas, too. And I won't know if I'm working Christmas Eve till closer to time...People need money, Mama, and it's my job to loan it to them...I know...I know, I miss all of you, too...Uh, no, I'm actually not. You remember me telling you about my friend Taylor? He invited me to dinner with his family...Yeah, it was nice of him...Oh, yeah, everyone is extremely nice...Well, I mean, I was. I would have been okay, I had a couple of your recipes I was going to throw together...How am I the only one who doesn't think that's pathetic?...I know...I know, I AM grateful, I just feel bad, I feel like I'm intruding...I know, Mama, I've always kinda been that way, I can't help it..."
Diana felt for the girl as she continued with her conversation. She was apparently put on the phone with several more of her family members before she finally hung up a few minutes later. Diana watched her shove her phone back in her pocket and she swore she heard a sniff as she raised her hand to her face. Winn's back was turned as she leaned on the wooden rail of the deck and she peered out into the backyard, so she couldn't see her face. But it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that she'd been crying.
Suddenly, Diana heard Isaac's voice from below Winn, but she couldn't see him. "Can I come up?" He asked her. Diana didn't even know Isaac was outside again and where he had come from, she had no idea.
"I don't live here," Winn replied dryly. "You can do whatever you want."
Diana should have shut the window right then, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Maybe she was thinking of Taylor, she didn't know, but she just had to see for herself how this exchange was going to go down. Diana had no clue what was going on, she was pretty sure she didn't want to, but she wanted to protect her sons, as well. She couldn't help it, it was the Mama Bear in her.
She spied Isaac as he climbed the steps and onto the deck, leaning his arm on the wooden railing to face Winn. Winn kept her position and didn't look at him. "I know you're avoiding me," he said to her.
"What was your first clue?" Winn snapped.
He immediately got on the defensive. "You know that little show you put on in there at dinner was uncalled for."
"Please, you deserved it."
"She didn't."
"You're right. She didn't. That girl in there, practically jailbait and completely naeive to real life, didn't deserve it. Good job with that one, Ike."
Isaac sighed and hung his head and then looked back up at her. "I didn't even know you were going to be here. I thought you were going home."
"You never asked me."
"The subject never came up."
"So it's really not my fault you assumed anything. But it's apparently mine that I did."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You lied to me. Every single word that came out of your mouth was a lie." Her tone was flat and she still never once glanced at him. "And I was stupid enough to believe you. And that makes me more mad than the fact that you even lied at all."
"Winn, I never lied to you--"
Finally, she turned to him. "How can you stand there and say that? How can you stand there, with HER in the house, and tell me you didn't lie? You--you brought PROOF."
"I told you, I didn't know you were going to be here--"
"So that makes this okay? How am I ever supposed to trust you or believe anything you ever say ever again? I can't, Ike. I can't. And I won't."
"Hey. I thought we had an understanding? I don't remember saying anything about being exclusive--"
"We didn't. But YOU are the one who quoted the words 'one-woman man.' Not me."
"We agreed that we were just having a good time..."
"Yeah. Except that I'm not out having a good time with anyone else."
"Really, Winn?" Isaac's voice was rising in anger. "Because you showed up at MY family's dinner with Taylor."
"Yeah, except I'm not sleeping with him! He and I are just friends and YOU know it! You're the one who brought your booty call to YOUR family's dinner. That's real classy, Ike. Real classy."
"Come on. You think I don't find it convenient that Taylor spends an entire day at your place the day after our first date and then you don't call? Or how about your little breakfast date with him last week and then you turn around and spend the weekend in bed with me? You're bouncing off of both of us. Why don't we just get Zac involved and we can make it full circle for you?"
Suddenly, Winn slapped him across the face. The act startled Diana and that was when she realized that she'd stopped everything she was doing and was completely involved in this conversation. She was hearing way more than she wanted to hear and she was growing more and more ashamed of her son. She didn't raise him that way, she didn't raise any of her children that way.
"You burn in hell," Winn said to him through her teeth as he looked on at her in shock. "Taylor and I are just friends. Nothing more, nothing less, and I've known him a lot longer than I've known you. And if you were even HALF the man your brother is, I'd be here with you today instead of him. I wanted to give you a chance. I shouldn't have after the first week you disappeared on me. But I thought I saw something in you, I believed every word that came out of your mouth because I WANTED to. I TRY to see the good in people. But not anymore. I'd be just fine if you never even spoke to me again. It's not even worth the headache."
She turned away from him and looked back out into the yard as the sun started to make its descent, casting its golden glow out over the atmosphere. Isaac was speechless. He attempted to reach for her hand but she jerked it away. "Winn, please," he said quietly. "Please don't give up on me."
"I'm not the one that gave up," she said. "You did." She paused and then she took a deep breath before she spoke again. "The roses you sent yesterday were beautiful, by the way. They'll look better in my garbage can later. Because now that's really all they're worth."
Isaac stood there and looked at her for a moment before he finally turned in defeat and made his way though the kitchen door. He stopped short when he saw his mother standing at the sink and she looked him square in the eye as she reached up with one hand and shut the window.
"Great," he breathed as he ran a hand through his hair.
"I just want you to know," Diana began. "That before you came up, that girl had just gotten off the phone with her family. She is homesick, she misses her family, and she's spending the holiday in a house full of strangers. She is upset. And all you just did was kick her while she was down."
He looked toward and door and his eyes widened in objection. "Mom, I didn't know--"
"Well, now you do. I sincerely hope you've learned a lesson today, son. It's high time you straightened up your act. I've had about enough of this, I raised you better than that."
Isaac looked at his mother for a moment, at a loss for words, and then turned to leave. He was stopped by Taylor, who was leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. Taylor raised an eyebrow at Isaac. "Strike out again, Romeo?"
"Tay!" Diana hissed. "Don't you start." Then she nodded toward the window. "Go ahead and take her home now, I think she's had enough of this day."
Diana witnessed the exchanging of looks between her sons as Taylor passed by Isaac to get to the door. Apparently, whatever was going on here was a bigger issue than she thought it was.
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Taylor stepped out onto the back porch and swallowed hard. Winn's back was turned and she leaned against the deck railing and looked out into the yard. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked across the deck, leaning his back against the railing beside her. "Hey," he said gently. "You okay?"
She sighed and she looked at him. "Why are you always such a sight for sore eyes?"
He shrugged nervously. "Uh, I don't know. Because I'm your best friend?"
She nodded as she looked back out into the yard. "Yeah. That's it." She sighed and she tucked her hair behind her ear. "Your parents have a nice yard."
Taylor nodded in agreement. "Yeah, they do. This is where most of our family functions take place."
"Family," she scoffed. Then she turned and looked at him. "How are you so different from him? You grew up together. Why--why is he like that and you're just--not?"
"I don't know, Winn, I don't--I just don't know."
"Did you know? Did you know she was going to be here?"
Taylor shook his head. "No, I had no clue. I met her the same time you did, it was a complete shock."
"We just--we had such a good weekend. He said all these things and--I don't know WHY I thought I could believe him. What was I thinking?"
He looked at her and ran a hand through his hair. He hated being friend-zoned. Because then that meant that it was his job to do whatever he could do to make her feel better. And be on her side. "Look, I--I understand that you like him. And I know you're disappointed. And I don't--I don't KNOW Ike like that. You know? I know him as a brother and as a band mate. And I know he's done some sleazy stuff in his day and I'm sorry this happened, but--I mean I guess I'm saying that I can understand how you could want to--to see the best in him. You know? I mean, he's--he's in there, I just--"
"Are you taking up for him?"
Taylor sighed. "Winn, I don't really know what I'm doing. I want to stand here and sing his praises because he's my brother but I'm just--I'm having a hard time doing that and that bothers me. Because he's my brother and I love him. You know?"
Winn looked at him and tears filled her eyes. She shook her head and her voice cracked. "I didn't mean to start any trouble."
Taylor shook his head rapidly. "Winn, no. Absolutely not, you haven't done anything. Ike's the one who screwed up here, not you."
She began to cry and, as a reflex, he took her hand and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, and hugged her tight. Her hands gripped the shirt on his back as she sobbed into his shoulder.
Her sobs broke his heart and she cried for a minute before her voice came out muffled. "Why do I like him? He's no good, he's just like--just like the last one. He was no good, either. Why can't I fall for the good ones?"
Taylor was dying. This was wrong. This was oh, so wrong. He didn't need this. He didn't need to put himself through this. His mother was right in advising him to tell her how he felt but in the state she was in, that would only make things worse. And, furthermore, he couldn't bear to ruin his friendship with her. He just couldn't do it. He was coming to accept that no matter how he felt about her, at least having her as his friend was
SOMETHING. He wouldn't dare ruin it by taking a chance that she wouldn't return any feelings for him. It was much better to be safe than sorry.
As she pulled away from him, he reached up and wiped her cheeks, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Let me take you home. Mom is sending a couple of things with me and, if you want, we can pig out on sweets for the rest of the night. And didn't you say something about putting up a tree?"
She sniffed and she nodded. "I know it sounds stupid, but it's something I do every year."
He shook his head and smiled. "It's not stupid. And if you want, I'd love to help. I mean, if you want help."
"I love you," she said all of a sudden.
His eyes widened and he blinked at her. "Do what?"
"I mean, as my friend. You're my best friend and I love you. You know?"
He swallowed his heart that had jumped into his throat, and it sunk back down into his chest in disappointment. "Oh. Yeah. Okay."
Taylor was crushed. She loved him and then he was friend-zoned yet again.
Thanksgiving. It was never a boring holiday in the Hanson family. No holiday was, for that matter, but Zac especially loved Thanksgiving. It was a day he looked forward to, when he got to eat some of his favorite foods that he only got once a year and when family got together that wouldn't otherwise gather at the same time like this throughout the year.
But most importantly, Thanksgiving bred chaos. And there was never a shortage of that. And with Taylor and Isaac both chasing the same woman this year, with Isaac seemingly having the upper hand, he knew Isaac was about to lose that hand as soon as Taylor walked through the front door and saw the stunt that their older brother had since pulled.
Zac stood in the kitchen with his wife, along with Isaac and a couple of his other siblings, when a chorus of small voices that belonged to his children began to excitedly call for Uncle Tay.
"And the golden child has arrived," Isaac muttered as he turned up his drink.
Backhanding him in the arm, Zac walked out of the kitchen to round up his kids when he stepped out of the doorway and saw the flash of red hair from behind Taylor as Taylor flipped his niece into the air. He didn't need to see any more.
He retreated back into the kitchen, his heart pounding at the situation that had now been created, and he struggled to find the words. "So, uh, Tay brought a guest this year."
Kate's eyes lit up. "Seriously? He never brings anyone!"
Isaac cut dangerously sharp eyes at Zac. "WHAT guest?"
Zac swallowed hard. "Um, an attractive one..."
Setting his glass down on the counter, Isaac headed for the doorway and Zac made a beeline in order to get out of it before he did. At this moment, Taylor and Winn were both smiling as he introduced her to the family present in the room.
Isaac was on Zac's heels and he stopped short in the doorway, the blood draining from his face as he stared at the scene in front of him. Zac was nervous but slightly amused at the same time. He couldn't wait to see how this was going to turn out.
Not to be rude, Zac took a moment to introduce himself, finding it sort of funny how she was involved with both of his brothers and yet he had never spoken a word to her. After she shook his hand and exchanged greetings with him, she looked up and saw Isaac in the doorway, her face lighting up at the sight of him. "Hey, Ike," she smiled. "Happy Thanksgiving."
"Yeah," he replied slowly, still a deer in headlights. "I, uh, wasn't aware you were coming today..."
As Winn made small talk with Isaac, Zac leaned into Taylor's ear. "You shouldn't have brought her here."
Taylor looked over at him, annoyed and offended. "That is completely uncalled for," he whispered.
"No," Zac pressed. "You REALLY shouldn't have brought--"
And then it happened. When the blonde with the perfect curls and the beauty pageant smile appeared beside Isaac in the doorway and wrapped her hand around his arm, the small group fell silent. "Hey, what am I missing?" She asked cheerfully.
Zac couldn't describe the look of devastation and betrayal that washed over Winn's face. The truth was, Zac had never actually met her before today and he already felt bad for her. He had no idea what happened between Winn and Isaac over the past weekend, but this was obviously extremely unexpected on both ends of the spectrum. Even Zac was surprised when he'd walked in with his blonde date earlier.
And then there was Taylor. Taylor's face had reddened and Zac had never seen such hatred in his eyes as he did in that moment when he locked eyes with their older brother. Zac had to admit, it scared him a little.
The torture apparently wasn't over yet. Stacey, Isaac's arm candy, then took it upon herself to push past a still-stunned Isaac and gleefully introduce herself to Taylor and Winn, innocently oblivious to the heavy tension in the room.
Finally Winn spoke, her voice quiet and nervous, as she turned to Taylor. "Um, where's the restroom?"
After Taylor pointed her in the right direction, and Stacey struck again, expressing her concern, he pushed past Isaac in the doorway of the kitchen, purposely knocking him in the shoulder with his own. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?" Zac heard Taylor mutter quietly as he made his way into the kitchen.
Isaac locked eyes with Zac for a second and Zac could only shake his head in disappointment. They all knew who was in the wrong here. And, as usual, it wasn't Taylor.
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Their mother adored Winn. Of course she did. Winn was a likable person. Everyone wanted to be where she was or involved in what she was doing. Zac's kids couldn't stay away from her, Taylor stayed glued to her side with that gooney grin pasted to his face, and the family patriarch was overly interested in talking about her line of work.
As she dove right in, rolling up her sleeves and helping his mother and sisters put dinner together, Isaac couldn't take his eyes off of her, either. He couldn't even get her to look at him. She avoided him at absolutely all costs and he couldn't say he could blame her.
Isaac was angry. So incredibly, overly angry and frustrated because he wasn't entirely sure just where he was supposed to direct the anger. Every time Taylor cut those knowing eyes at him, he wanted to fly off into a maniacal rage and then he had to remind himself that he was the one who brought Stacey to dinner instead of Winn. What the hell had he been thinking? The whole situation was bullshit. Every last part of it.
He tried to get into the ballgame on TV with his father and his brothers, but the constant blonde reminder of his lapse in judgment wouldn't make herself scarce for five minutes. Why couldn't she be like Winn and be social and involved with everyone? Hell, why couldn't she just BE Winn?
Besides that, the women were loud when they talked and Isaac couldn't help but eavesdrop as best as he could.
"So, Winn," his mother was saying. "How come you're not spending Thanksgiving with your family?"
"I'm not from here. I moved here a couple months ago, relocated for work to straighten out a struggling office. My family is six hours away in Abilene, Texas, and my company is open for business tomorrow so going home wasn't really in the cards." Winn paused for a second before she continued. "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to impose today, I actually had my own plans and--"
A chorus of objections to her apology flew from the mouths of his sisters and sister-in-law.
"Alone?" His mother asked incredulously.
"I would have been okay..."
"Absolutely not," his mother said firmly. "My boy did right by inviting you here, there's no reason for you to be alone on Thanksgiving, especially not when you have somewhere to go. Now, here, mix these together while I pull this stuff out of the oven. Jess, take this to the table and Kate, hand me one of those spoons."
As his mother took the reins on dinner once again, Isaac felt like an asshole. It could have been him. He could have asked Winn to dinner. However, he'd just assumed Winn was going home and Stacey had flashed that smile at him at the bar last night. It was easier to just bring her to dinner today than it was to send her on the walk of shame back to wherever it was she had come from. Her hotel, he guessed. She wasn't local.
He glanced over at her and she smiled at him. The same smile that had weakened him in the midst of a good buzz the previous night. The same smile that had splayed her out on his black satin sheets the previous night, the same sheets he was willing to throw away for Winn's sake. Now that same smile made his stomach churn and filled him full of regret. He didn't like this. He didn't like all these foreign emotions that were starting to surface lately.
The day just got worse with dinner. It amazed Isaac every year how they still managed to fit their entire family around one table, even though the one table was multiple tables pushed together and extended from the dining room and into the living room.
He couldn't have had a better line of vision of Taylor and Winn if he tried and it certainly wasn't by choice. As Isaac and Stacey sat closer to the head of the table near his parents, Taylor and Winn sat at the other end, Winn directly diagonal across from him, Taylor to the left, and Zac's kids on the other side of Taylor. Kate sat on the other side of the kids, Zac beside her, a few chairs down where Isaac couldn't see him, and their father sat directly across from Isaac. Stacey sat on Isaac's right and unfortunately he was obligated to entertain her. It was his own doing and he knew it.
He could barely swallow his food as he watched the scene at the other end of the table. It sickened him. The way Taylor and Winn smiled and talked and were lost in their own little world, picking from each other's plates, laughing at each other's jokes, exchanging recipe ideas. When Winn traded their drinks because she liked Taylor's better than hers, and Taylor accepted it like it was nothing and went back to his plate, Isaac had had enough. This was bullshit. Winn was his. Taylor could play knight in shining armor all he damn well wanted to, but he wasn't seeing the sides of Winn that Isaac was seeing. He knew he wasn't. He knew it, because Taylor was still his same, weasely, neurotic, workaholic self and he knew that it would only take one time for Winn to get into his pants and then he wouldn't be near as productive as he was now. Isaac wasn't worried about what he knew wasn't going on sexually between the two of them. He was pissed off at the comfort level between them. Their closeness and their sickeningly obvious bond. Isaac wanted to throw up.
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Dinner was interesting. Interesting because the tension in the air was unmatchable. Even more interesting was the fact that the only ones who were keen to any of it were Isaac, Taylor, Zac, Winn, and Kate. And the only reason Kate knew anything was because Zac told her everything. Kate had worked exceptionally hard to take Winn under her wing and Zac appreciated her for it.
Taylor and Winn were adorable. Kate had already whispered it to Zac several times throughout the day. So why didn't he just go for it? Why wouldn't he just tell her how he felt, asked her on a date, something? Anything? Taylor needed her. Zac wasn't one to delve too much into someone else's personal life, and he wasn't even close to being a match-maker like his wife liked to be, but he knew his brother enough to know what was good for him. And Winn was practically put on this planet especially for him. So how the hell was he SO damn blind to it?
Zac couldn't take his eyes off of Winn, however. He was a worrier. He worried about how bothered she might be, sitting at the table. He knew where she was sitting in relation to Isaac and Stacey. She kind of got stuck there by default and it wasn't really anybody's fault where she ended up sitting. Nobody knew what was going on and Winn apparently wasn't one to draw attention to it. At least he thought she wasn't. Until she opened her mouth.
"So, Stacey," Winn said across the table. Zac nearly died right there. He hated the seating arrangement, so he craned his neck across the table and to the right so he could see his eldest brother and his dirty little secret. He couldn't miss a second of this.
"What do you do?" Winn asked.
"I'm a stylist," Stacey smiled proudly.
Winn nodded as she swallowed her food and took another bite. "Oh. Okay. So you have your own shop, that's cool."
"Oh, I don't have my own shop," she answered, shaking her head.
Winn blinked for a moment and Zac swore he could see amusement in her eyes for a split second. "So...you rent a chair?"
Stacey shook her head again and she smiled, her eyes darting to Isaac and then back at Winn. "Um, not quite. But almost. I'll be finished with cosmetology school in the spring."
Winn's eyes blinked rapidly and a smile crept across her face. She was trying to keep it together as she looked across the table at Stacey. Zac didn't know whether to be amused or afraid. He glanced over at Taylor, who was also witnessing the exchange,and judging by the look on his face, he was thoroughly enjoying it. Then Zac glanced down the table at Isaac, who looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole.
"Cosmetology school, huh?" Winn said as she casually snuck her fork over to Taylor's plate and speared a chunk of turkey off of it and popped it into her mouth.
"Hey," he said quietly to her in objection. "Watch that fork, will you?"
"Sorry," she said, momentarily distracted from her assault on Stacey. "I ran out."
"I'll get you more. You can have anything you want, but I'll fight you for that."
Winn giggled. "It's okay, that's all I wanted." Then she seemed to remember where she was and she turned her attention back to Stacey. "So, you're not quite licensed yet, Stacey?"
Stacey smiled, ever so oblivious. "Not yet, but I will be."
"And your goal is to have your own shop?"
"Well...sort of. I want to be an entertainment stylist." She smiled over at Isaac. "Isaac said he knew some people he could introduce me to."
Zac had never seen Isaac look so uncomfortable in his entire life.
Winn dropped her fork and it clanged loudly and the sound startled her so she snatched it right back up. "So, you think you're going to be around that long?"
Taylor and Zac exchanged looks and now Zac was ready to lose his own mind.
"Pardon?"
"Um, I mean, well isn't that so nice of him?" Winn smiled sweetly. Then she turned to Taylor. "Tay, isn't that nice of your brother to help an innocent fledgling out like that?"
Stacey looked up, confused. "Fledgling?"
Taylor and Winn's eyes darted at each other's and Zac knew exactly what they were thinking because he was thinking it, too. Zac then craned his neck to look at Isaac, who was attempting to hide his face in his hand, and then he looked across at his father, whom he locked eyes with and they both desperately attempted to hide their snickers. Winn's eyes darted around the table before she said, "Yes. Fledgling. As in 'beginning stylist.' "
"Oh. I haven't learned that one..." Then she smiled and straightened up in her seat. "But yes, then. Fledgling. But not for long, though. Like I said, I graduate in the spring. I'm so excited. What do you do, Winn?"
Zac wanted to die. This was great. He couldn't have paid for a better seat.
"I'm the branch manager of a finance company," she answered simply.
Surprisingly, Stacey seemed interested. "Really? Hey, maybe I should come see you when I finish school."
"You're adorable, you know that?" Winn suddenly blurted at her.
Taylor nudged her with his elbow. "You can have all the turkey on my plate right now if you just don't say anything else," he whispered.
On their end of the table, Zac's siblings and in-laws were visibly starting to sense something was up. He glanced up at the table at his parents, his mother choosing to keep her head in her plate, and his father looking thoroughly amused. This was why they were close to their parents. Because they could smell bullshit a mile away and opted to stay out of it. Zac almost felt sorry for Isaac. But only almost. He got himself into this
mess and now he had to face the music.
Winn furrowed his brow at Taylor. "But I don't want any more," she whispered. "I'm just making conversation."
Taylor went back to his plate, defeated. Zac knew that secretly, he wanted to let Winn have a free-for-all all over this girl. What Taylor had yet to observe, was that Zac believed at least half the family was looking forward to it, too. Not that the poor girl was at fault. She couldn't help the situation she'd found herself in. But everyone had warned Isaac that one of these days his actions would come back and bite him and now here
that day was, and he was in no way prepared for it. So while, unfortunately, it fell at the expense of the innocent fledgling, watching Isaac learn a lesson was the real entertainment here.
Stacey just kept digging Isaac's hole for him. "I'm serious. When I graduate, I'm going to need to get my business started and build up my clientele--"
"Your famous clientele," Winn corrected.
"Yes. And maybe you could help me finance it."
This was amazing. Absolutely amazing. Zac just couldn't keep his mouth closed any longer. "Why, of course, Winn. You could absolutely help finance this fledgling, couldn't you? I mean, between your financing and Isaac building up her clientele for her, the two of you could be solely responsible for creating the most successful celebrity stylist in America. Together."
Taylor cut daggers at Zac but Zac couldn't be bothered to care. This was too much fun.
Winn's nostrils flared. "I don't do those types of loans. I do small, personal loans. That's it."
"Oh, it's okay," Stacey said. "I wouldn't need much to start, so that might be perfect for me."
A smile spread across Zac's face as he looked down the table at Isaac, who was trying desperately to hide his face in his plate. He looked at their father once more, who was way too interested in what was going on now. Zac knew they were on the same wavelength and they smirked at each other often.
"How's your credit?" Winn said bluntly across the table as she turned up her drink.
"Um, well, I haven't really looked at it..."
Winn looked at her as if she had three heads. "How do you not know what your credit looks like?"
"Well, I mean, I live at home and my dad is paying for school..."
This was classic. Unbelievable. Zac had to look at Isaac, who was currently sweating bullets. Apparently some of this was news to him, as well. Nearly giving himself whiplash, he turned back to look at Taylor, who was now completely unable to keep it together, and was chuckling as he shook his head, speared more food onto his fork, and shoved it into his mouth.
Finally, Winn looked Stacey square in the eye. "Stacey, how old are you?"
Suddenly, Winn jumped and she looked over at Taylor, offended. "Tay," she hissed. "What was that?"
And then Zac's own daughter's voice rang out, who was seated on the other side of Taylor, "It's not nice to kick, Uncle Tay."
The entire table laughed. Zac couldn't help himself. He laughed right along with them. Kate glared at her husband then turned her attention to her daughter. "Junie-bug," she said quietly. "Do you remember what we talked about, about minding our own business?"
"But, Mama, Uncle Tay kicked and that's not nice!" Then she turned her little head back to her uncle. "You should say you're sorry."
Taylor's face was a thousand shades of red as every pair of eyes at the entire table was on Taylor and Junia. They tried to hide their snickers, but the attempt was futile. Finally, Taylor leaned over and murmured something inaudible to Winn and the situation seemed rectified until Zac's daughter's voice rang out once more, in a tone that flipped his switch in a split second. "Where we can HEAR you."
"Junia that is ENOUGH!" Zac blurted, startling his daughter. She looked at him, wide-eyed and Zac knew he had her attention then. "Your mother just told you to mind your own business and now I'm telling you to mind your mother before you get asked to leave this table and sit in the corner. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"
His daughter nodded quietly.
"Good," he said more calmly. "Now make sure you clean your plate. I don't want to hear another word out of you until you're excused from the table."
Her little eyes fell onto her plate and Zac's heart broke into a million pieces. He hated being a parent sometimes. But he had to suck it up and put his foot down no matter how pitiful their little faces looked. He knew she'd get over it, but it didn't keep him from wanting to scoop her up in his arms anyway.
Except that Stacey couldn't keep from answering Winn's question. Just couldn't leave it alone. "It's okay," she said. "I don't mind answering. I turn twenty-three in two months."
Winn started to choke. And not in the joking sense, either. To the point where she grabbed for her drink and Taylor had to blurt, "Winn, don't chug that so fast, there's alcohol in it. A lot of it."
"Well, dammit, Tay, get the girl some water or something," their mother said, frustrated.
Winn cleared her throat and was able to choke out. "I'm okay. It's okay, thank you." She wiped her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I'm so embarrassed, I'm so sorry."
"Do you need me to get you something?" Taylor asked her, concern in his voice.
"No, thank you," she said. "I'll, um, I'll just--I just need some water, I can get it on my own. Anyone else need anything?"
"You stay right there," Diana said as she stood from the table. "I'm closest to the kitchen, I'll bring you some water, no worries."
As Diana stood from the table, Zac craned his neck to look down the table one more time. Isaac's head hung as he massaged the bridge of his nose. Finally, he stood up and muttered, "Excuse me, I need to step out for some air." And then he went through the kitchen and walked out the back door.
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After awhile, after the dishes had been cleared, the tables separated, and the area cleaned, Taylor found his mother at the kitchen counter, busily cutting dessert bars out of a pan and assembling them on various plates. He walked up and leaned his elbow on the counter next to her. This was how he always talked to her and it made him feel fifteen again. "Mom? Is it okay if Winn and I cut out of here early?"
His mother looked at him in alarm. "Why would you want to do that? You haven't even had dessert yet."
"I know," he said, regretfully. "I think bringing her here may have been a bad idea. I mean, for her sake."
"Well--why not? Is she not having a good time? Is she uncomfortable? Everyone likes her..."
"It's not--I mean, I think she's having some issues with Ike. Like, personal issues..."
Diana dropped the knife and the dessert that she had in her hands and she looked at Taylor in frustrated realization. "Taylor. Did you bring one of your brother's girlfriends here?"
"She's not his girlfriend," he spat quickly. "I mean, they're not--they're not together or anything..."
"But she's seeing him? Sweetie, you don't need to go around messing with Ike's...random women. You need to go meet some of your own."
"She was mine first!" He hissed at her. Then he sighed and he glanced at the floor before looking back at her. "That--that came out wrong, that's not how I meant it. I mean, I've known her longer than he has. She's my best friend."
"Tay, she hasn't been in the area long. That's an awful short amount of time to call someone your best friend."
"But she is. I've never met anyone like her. She likes all the same weird stuff I do. It's like she's tapped in to the me that's, like, deep, deep down, traits that I don't show, interests that I don't talk about. She's open about it, she brings it out in me. I feel like the old me again when I'm around her and I miss it. I miss me, Mom."
"Are you in love with this girl?"
The question was so random and blunt that Taylor could only blink at his mother. After a moment, he said, "Well, isn't it too short an amount of time for that? You just said--"
"What I just said is hogwash, if you love someone, you love them. And if she doesn't know you love her, then I'm ashamed of you. Here." She turned around and hastily wrapped a plate in foil and then opened the refrigerator and took out another foiled dish. She stacked them and handed them both to her son. "Take these with you. Take her home, have dessert, have coffee, and talk to her. Don't you dare come back to this house today. And don't you dare let her go. She's a good girl. A keeper. You got it?"
"Mom--"
"I won't hear another word about it." Then she leaned in close to him and said in a low whisper, "I love Ike. He's my first born, he's my son. But I know his reputation and I know what he does to those women out there. It's not a secret. You GET his claws out of her and you do it now."
At that moment, Winn walked into the kitchen with her cell phone in her hand. Taylor turned his head and then turned his body around to see her head for the back door. "Hey. Everything okay?"
She flashed a slight smile. "My parents are calling, I'm just gonna step outside for a minute. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, of course," he said. "Take all the time you need."
She smiled again and stepped out onto the back porch. Taylor looked at his mother and his mother raised an eyebrow at him. He crossed behind her to the refrigerator and put the dishes she'd handed him back inside it. "Um, I'm gonna just, uh, set these in here until she gets finished with her conversation," he said to her.
His mother simply nodded her head and went back to her work.
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Being the matriarch of a family as large as Diana Hanson's could be exhausting, especially on the holidays. So the rare moment that she found herself a little peace and quiet on such occasions was a blessing for her.
As she stood at the counter, working on dessert preparations, she couldn't help that the kitchen window was cracked to let some air circulate in the room. She also couldn't help that she could hear Winn talking on the phone.
"Hi, Mama," she started. "Happy Thanksgiving. Tell everyone I said so...I know, it's weird...Well, I wanted to come home but I'm so far away now and I have to work...I know, I wish you could have come here, too. Maybe we can plan for Christmas?...Yeah, I have to work the day after Christmas, too. And I won't know if I'm working Christmas Eve till closer to time...People need money, Mama, and it's my job to loan it to them...I know...I know, I miss all of you, too...Uh, no, I'm actually not. You remember me telling you about my friend Taylor? He invited me to dinner with his family...Yeah, it was nice of him...Oh, yeah, everyone is extremely nice...Well, I mean, I was. I would have been okay, I had a couple of your recipes I was going to throw together...How am I the only one who doesn't think that's pathetic?...I know...I know, I AM grateful, I just feel bad, I feel like I'm intruding...I know, Mama, I've always kinda been that way, I can't help it..."
Diana felt for the girl as she continued with her conversation. She was apparently put on the phone with several more of her family members before she finally hung up a few minutes later. Diana watched her shove her phone back in her pocket and she swore she heard a sniff as she raised her hand to her face. Winn's back was turned as she leaned on the wooden rail of the deck and she peered out into the backyard, so she couldn't see her face. But it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that she'd been crying.
Suddenly, Diana heard Isaac's voice from below Winn, but she couldn't see him. "Can I come up?" He asked her. Diana didn't even know Isaac was outside again and where he had come from, she had no idea.
"I don't live here," Winn replied dryly. "You can do whatever you want."
Diana should have shut the window right then, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Maybe she was thinking of Taylor, she didn't know, but she just had to see for herself how this exchange was going to go down. Diana had no clue what was going on, she was pretty sure she didn't want to, but she wanted to protect her sons, as well. She couldn't help it, it was the Mama Bear in her.
She spied Isaac as he climbed the steps and onto the deck, leaning his arm on the wooden railing to face Winn. Winn kept her position and didn't look at him. "I know you're avoiding me," he said to her.
"What was your first clue?" Winn snapped.
He immediately got on the defensive. "You know that little show you put on in there at dinner was uncalled for."
"Please, you deserved it."
"She didn't."
"You're right. She didn't. That girl in there, practically jailbait and completely naeive to real life, didn't deserve it. Good job with that one, Ike."
Isaac sighed and hung his head and then looked back up at her. "I didn't even know you were going to be here. I thought you were going home."
"You never asked me."
"The subject never came up."
"So it's really not my fault you assumed anything. But it's apparently mine that I did."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You lied to me. Every single word that came out of your mouth was a lie." Her tone was flat and she still never once glanced at him. "And I was stupid enough to believe you. And that makes me more mad than the fact that you even lied at all."
"Winn, I never lied to you--"
Finally, she turned to him. "How can you stand there and say that? How can you stand there, with HER in the house, and tell me you didn't lie? You--you brought PROOF."
"I told you, I didn't know you were going to be here--"
"So that makes this okay? How am I ever supposed to trust you or believe anything you ever say ever again? I can't, Ike. I can't. And I won't."
"Hey. I thought we had an understanding? I don't remember saying anything about being exclusive--"
"We didn't. But YOU are the one who quoted the words 'one-woman man.' Not me."
"We agreed that we were just having a good time..."
"Yeah. Except that I'm not out having a good time with anyone else."
"Really, Winn?" Isaac's voice was rising in anger. "Because you showed up at MY family's dinner with Taylor."
"Yeah, except I'm not sleeping with him! He and I are just friends and YOU know it! You're the one who brought your booty call to YOUR family's dinner. That's real classy, Ike. Real classy."
"Come on. You think I don't find it convenient that Taylor spends an entire day at your place the day after our first date and then you don't call? Or how about your little breakfast date with him last week and then you turn around and spend the weekend in bed with me? You're bouncing off of both of us. Why don't we just get Zac involved and we can make it full circle for you?"
Suddenly, Winn slapped him across the face. The act startled Diana and that was when she realized that she'd stopped everything she was doing and was completely involved in this conversation. She was hearing way more than she wanted to hear and she was growing more and more ashamed of her son. She didn't raise him that way, she didn't raise any of her children that way.
"You burn in hell," Winn said to him through her teeth as he looked on at her in shock. "Taylor and I are just friends. Nothing more, nothing less, and I've known him a lot longer than I've known you. And if you were even HALF the man your brother is, I'd be here with you today instead of him. I wanted to give you a chance. I shouldn't have after the first week you disappeared on me. But I thought I saw something in you, I believed every word that came out of your mouth because I WANTED to. I TRY to see the good in people. But not anymore. I'd be just fine if you never even spoke to me again. It's not even worth the headache."
She turned away from him and looked back out into the yard as the sun started to make its descent, casting its golden glow out over the atmosphere. Isaac was speechless. He attempted to reach for her hand but she jerked it away. "Winn, please," he said quietly. "Please don't give up on me."
"I'm not the one that gave up," she said. "You did." She paused and then she took a deep breath before she spoke again. "The roses you sent yesterday were beautiful, by the way. They'll look better in my garbage can later. Because now that's really all they're worth."
Isaac stood there and looked at her for a moment before he finally turned in defeat and made his way though the kitchen door. He stopped short when he saw his mother standing at the sink and she looked him square in the eye as she reached up with one hand and shut the window.
"Great," he breathed as he ran a hand through his hair.
"I just want you to know," Diana began. "That before you came up, that girl had just gotten off the phone with her family. She is homesick, she misses her family, and she's spending the holiday in a house full of strangers. She is upset. And all you just did was kick her while she was down."
He looked toward and door and his eyes widened in objection. "Mom, I didn't know--"
"Well, now you do. I sincerely hope you've learned a lesson today, son. It's high time you straightened up your act. I've had about enough of this, I raised you better than that."
Isaac looked at his mother for a moment, at a loss for words, and then turned to leave. He was stopped by Taylor, who was leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. Taylor raised an eyebrow at Isaac. "Strike out again, Romeo?"
"Tay!" Diana hissed. "Don't you start." Then she nodded toward the window. "Go ahead and take her home now, I think she's had enough of this day."
Diana witnessed the exchanging of looks between her sons as Taylor passed by Isaac to get to the door. Apparently, whatever was going on here was a bigger issue than she thought it was.
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Taylor stepped out onto the back porch and swallowed hard. Winn's back was turned and she leaned against the deck railing and looked out into the yard. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked across the deck, leaning his back against the railing beside her. "Hey," he said gently. "You okay?"
She sighed and she looked at him. "Why are you always such a sight for sore eyes?"
He shrugged nervously. "Uh, I don't know. Because I'm your best friend?"
She nodded as she looked back out into the yard. "Yeah. That's it." She sighed and she tucked her hair behind her ear. "Your parents have a nice yard."
Taylor nodded in agreement. "Yeah, they do. This is where most of our family functions take place."
"Family," she scoffed. Then she turned and looked at him. "How are you so different from him? You grew up together. Why--why is he like that and you're just--not?"
"I don't know, Winn, I don't--I just don't know."
"Did you know? Did you know she was going to be here?"
Taylor shook his head. "No, I had no clue. I met her the same time you did, it was a complete shock."
"We just--we had such a good weekend. He said all these things and--I don't know WHY I thought I could believe him. What was I thinking?"
He looked at her and ran a hand through his hair. He hated being friend-zoned. Because then that meant that it was his job to do whatever he could do to make her feel better. And be on her side. "Look, I--I understand that you like him. And I know you're disappointed. And I don't--I don't KNOW Ike like that. You know? I know him as a brother and as a band mate. And I know he's done some sleazy stuff in his day and I'm sorry this happened, but--I mean I guess I'm saying that I can understand how you could want to--to see the best in him. You know? I mean, he's--he's in there, I just--"
"Are you taking up for him?"
Taylor sighed. "Winn, I don't really know what I'm doing. I want to stand here and sing his praises because he's my brother but I'm just--I'm having a hard time doing that and that bothers me. Because he's my brother and I love him. You know?"
Winn looked at him and tears filled her eyes. She shook her head and her voice cracked. "I didn't mean to start any trouble."
Taylor shook his head rapidly. "Winn, no. Absolutely not, you haven't done anything. Ike's the one who screwed up here, not you."
She began to cry and, as a reflex, he took her hand and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, and hugged her tight. Her hands gripped the shirt on his back as she sobbed into his shoulder.
Her sobs broke his heart and she cried for a minute before her voice came out muffled. "Why do I like him? He's no good, he's just like--just like the last one. He was no good, either. Why can't I fall for the good ones?"
Taylor was dying. This was wrong. This was oh, so wrong. He didn't need this. He didn't need to put himself through this. His mother was right in advising him to tell her how he felt but in the state she was in, that would only make things worse. And, furthermore, he couldn't bear to ruin his friendship with her. He just couldn't do it. He was coming to accept that no matter how he felt about her, at least having her as his friend was
SOMETHING. He wouldn't dare ruin it by taking a chance that she wouldn't return any feelings for him. It was much better to be safe than sorry.
As she pulled away from him, he reached up and wiped her cheeks, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Let me take you home. Mom is sending a couple of things with me and, if you want, we can pig out on sweets for the rest of the night. And didn't you say something about putting up a tree?"
She sniffed and she nodded. "I know it sounds stupid, but it's something I do every year."
He shook his head and smiled. "It's not stupid. And if you want, I'd love to help. I mean, if you want help."
"I love you," she said all of a sudden.
His eyes widened and he blinked at her. "Do what?"
"I mean, as my friend. You're my best friend and I love you. You know?"
He swallowed his heart that had jumped into his throat, and it sunk back down into his chest in disappointment. "Oh. Yeah. Okay."
Taylor was crushed. She loved him and then he was friend-zoned yet again.