The Home-wrecker (The Goode Brothers)

When we turn into our neighborhood and see the police car parked in front of our house, I let out a scream. “Caleb!”

He gasses it to our front yard, and it’s nearly impossible to make sense of what I’m seeing. My eyes only look for one person—Abby.

I bolt out of the car before it’s even in park, and when I spot Dean on the front porch with Abby wrapped around his neck, I take off in a frantic sprint.

“Oh my god. What happened? Is she okay?” I shriek as I brush my daughter’s hair from her face, looking for any signs of harm or pain.

There’s a police officer standing nearby with a clipboard in her hands. Dean looks at me, and I notice the fear in his eyes.

“He just showed up. Scared the shit out of us, but we’re okay.”

“Ma’am, is this your house?” the officer asks.

“Yes,” I stammer. “I live here.”

“Me too,” Caleb replies, placing a hand on my back and checking Abby. She won’t leave Dean’s arms. “Someone, please explain what happened.”

The officer steps up. “We received a call from one of your neighbors that there was an altercation on your property. When we showed up, Mr. Sheridan assured us that he was a resident here and that Mr. Truett Goode was trespassing and making violent threats against him and your daughter.”

“Oh my god,” I gasp, putting my hand over my mouth.

Dean holds Abby tight against his chest while he looks like he’s seen a ghost. In the short time since we left, he’s been through so much. It breaks my heart to see it.

Beside me, Caleb tenses, turning toward the police car parked on the street in front of our house.

“He’s in there?” he asks.

“Yes, sir,” the officer replies.

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” he mutters under his breath.

“Caleb, don’t,” I say, reaching for him, but he’s already gone.

Marching toward the car, the police officers step in his way to keep him from opening the door. A despondent Truett sits behind the glass, staring straight ahead instead of turning toward his son.

“Leave him,” I say, grabbing Caleb’s arm and holding him back. “Stay with us.”

It takes Caleb a moment to relax, turning back toward Dean, Abby and me.

“I think I have everything for the report. We’ll have his car towed off your property, but for now, we’ll be taking your father into custody. If you have any more questions or need anything, I’ll leave my card here with you,” the police officer says, handing her card to me.

“Thank you,” I reply.

Once she’s gone, Dean stands from the porch and takes Abby inside. Seeing how tightly she’s clinging to Dean is both touching and terrifying. She must have been so scared. I’ve never seen her like this.

“What about my bike?” she says, lifting her face from his shoulder.

“We’ll get your bike, peanut,” I reply. When her eyes meet mine, she finally releases Dean and reaches for me. I pull her into my arms, holding her tight as I kiss her head.

Leaving Dean and Caleb to talk downstairs, I carry Abby up to the second-floor bathroom. Running her a bath, I carefully help her undress and step into the bubbles. She seems a lot calmer now as I pour warm water over her head.

“Would you like to talk about what happened?” I ask.

She shakes her head. But then, after a moment, she says, “Grandpa was scary.”

“I know he was, and I’m very sorry he scared you.”

“He doesn’t like Dean. He was so mean to him.”

I swallow the lump building in my throat as I settle onto the floor next to the bathtub. “Grandpa was wrong to be so mean to Dean.”

“Why doesn’t he like him?”

“He doesn’t know Dean like we do,” I reply. Stroking her head, I think about how innocent she is. I love that, and I wish I could preserve that forever. I want my daughter to make her own judgments on what is right and wrong in life without me or anyone else forming those opinions for her. I want her to hold on to this childhood innocence forever, but I know eventually she’ll have to cut her own teeth on dealing with ignorance in the world.

“You know how we love Dean, and he’s like a part of our family now?” I say.

She nods. “Yeah.”

“Well, some people won’t like that. Some people think families shouldn’t have Deans. But it’s only because they don’t understand. Our family will look a little different than everyone else’s, and that’s okay. We just have to be patient, but no matter what, Daddy, Dean, and I will always protect you.”

She nods again.

After her bath, I carry Abby to her room and lie with her for a while. We take turns reading books to each other. There is a sense of peace inside me now, knowing that Abby might be the only child I have. It makes me want to slow down time and savor every moment with her.

And maybe, down the line, I’ll have a change of heart or be open to other avenues of parenthood, but for this moment right now, I want to be present with her.

Before she falls asleep, Caleb comes in and kisses her on the head while Dean watches from the doorway.

“Daddy, will you lie with me?” she asks, and he smiles down at her.

“Of course.”

I climb out of her bed, and he lies in my place. Abby makes herself comfortable on his arm, and I know that Daddy sleep magic will only take a few minutes to kick in.

Dean and I slip out of the room, and he pauses in the hallway outside our bedroom. “Come on,” I whisper, taking his hand and tugging him into our room.

“Are you okay?” I ask, feeling the tension in his body. He won’t meet my gaze as he stares at the floor, deep in thought. Worry builds in my gut.

“This was all my fault,” he mutters, and I quickly grip his arms, forcing him to look at me.

“Dean, stop it. It’s not your fault at all.”

“Yes, it is,” he argues. “Briar, I don’t want Abby’s life to be like this, constantly having to hear people’s bullshit and be the victim of their ignorance.”

“Her life won’t be like that⁠—”

“Yes,” he snaps, glaring at me. “It will, and you know it. We don’t live in a perfect world, and loving each other isn’t going to make everything better. At the end of the day, we have to protect her.”

I’m staring at him, my eyes wide and beginning to moisten. “I can’t believe you’re saying this right now,” I mumble as he walks away. “Dean, you protected her.”

“I shouldn’t have had to,” he replies.

“You’re just upset,” I say, coming up behind him. Placing my hands on his arms, I rest my forehead against his back.

Just when I feel like everything is coming together, he’s slipping away. If I could hold him tighter, hug this fear out of him, and force him to stay, I would. But deep down, I know that’s not right. This has to be his choice. I refuse to let him resent us for what happens once we’re together.

Every harsh glare from someone. Every judgmental comment. Every laugh behind our backs. Dean is right that nothing we do will shield us from those people, but if that’s truly something he doesn’t want to endure, then Caleb and I cannot force him to.

My dreams are shattering right in front of my eyes.

“Let’s sleep on it,” I say. “We don’t need to make drastic choices.”

“Okay,” he murmurs.

A moment later, Caleb joins us, but judging by his sour mood, he and Dean already had this same conversation while I was bathing Abby.

“Stay with us tonight,” I plead. “Just sleep here.”

Dean turns toward me, running his thumb over my cheek. “Just tonight.”

The mood is somber as we each take off our clothes, climbing into bed together. Dean lies between us, and there is no need for sex tonight. We just absorb this feeling of togetherness that exists only when the three of us are here.

I kiss Dean without urgency or desire. But I feel the sadness in his touch. The way he holds my face as if he’s memorizing the feel of my lips against his.

As I run my hands up Dean’s rib cage, I find my husband’s fingers there too. Intertwining them, we embrace him together. Dean’s mouth casually moves from mine to Caleb’s and back again.

Before it can grow too heated, the three of us stop and just hold each other. My eyes find Caleb’s, and we stare at each other for a moment. There’s a sense of failure in our gazes. As if we both know we started celebrating too soon. We had everything for a brief moment, but now it’s gone.

Tomorrow, we will be in this bed again, but Dean won’t be between us. Things will go back to the way they were. And we’ll have to figure out how to survive without him—the way we did for years before.