Page 24 of Navy

“Still, thank you, Hetty,” Tristan insisted. “Now how about you fill me in so that I know what’s been happening and we’ll go from there? Although it seems G’s husband has everything in hand,” Tristan winks at me with a grin.

“Gia certainly lucked out catching his eye,” Gram agrees. “Navy and his family have been very helpful. It pains me that it’s my blood that’s causing all this trouble.”

“Not just your blood, Gram,” Tristan assures her, “it’s mine too, and he’s a bloody idiot. I’m not sure what he’s playing at but he’s not going to win. I only have a few more months until I’m finished at university. In that time, Gia can run the business for me. From what I understand from Derek, Navy is more than qualified to help her. I’ll be able to take over next May once I’m done with my degree and I’ll be twenty-one by then.”

We spent the next few hours hashing out a plan. Tristan got in touch with the lawyers and the board members to update them on what was happening. We had a meeting booked for the next morning with the lawyer.

By the time we were done with everything, it was lunchtime. Hetty had left us to it and had said she would help Aggie in the kitchen. Between the two of them, they set a feast on the table. Navy, Bas, Derek, and the children came back from the barn absolutely filthy.

Hope sent them to wash hands and faces but that was it. I loved that she didn’t make them go and change and told her that. She’d just shrugged and said it was pointless; they were just going to get dirty again when they went back to cleaning the barn loft out after lunch.

Lunch was much the same as breakfast, loud and filled with laughter. So different to how Tristan and I’d grown up.

“This, G, is how family is supposed to be,” he whispered in my ear.

Turing to my little brother, I rested my forehead against his. “It can still be, Tris; we’re not going to be like them. This is how our families are going to be,” I reassured him.

Navy wrapped a heavy hand around the nape of my neck, squeezing gently. Patting Tris’s hand, I sit back in my chair, smiling at Navy when he gave me a concerned look. Whatever he saw in my eyes had him relaxing and going back to teasing his niece and nephew.

Not long after that, they all left to go back to get things sorted for when Navy’s MC family would arrive. Tristan went with them. Hope and I said we’d clean up and shooed Hetty and Aggie away. Hetty went with Gram to help back to her room, where she said she was going to take a little nap. I was concerned about her health, and we’d managed to get an appointment for her with a doctor later that week. Realistically, I knew a lot of it was her age. She was nearly eighty years old, and she hadn’t had her medication for the last two months. I was hoping once we got her back on them that she’d perk up a little bit. Until then, all we could do was keep an eye on her.

CHAPTER 15

TRISTAN

Being in the midst of this family was an eye-opener. I knew that families like this existed, but until you’d been in the midst of one, you didn’t realise how cold and clinical your own family had been.

I still couldn’t believe that they’d just stepped in and helped with no personal gain. And the fact that Navy really seemed to care for my sister after only just meeting her boggled my mind. Although why it did, I wasn’t sure as I’d felt like I’d been hit by a two by four when I’d opened the door and seen Derek. The man was sex on a stick. I wasn’t sure if he was interested or not. Time would tell, but I’d certainly not say no if he made a move.

Not only was he delicious looking, but he was also protective, he’d not wasted any time in filling me in on what had been happening and what he was going to do to keep me safe in the meantime. I guess Gia and I had more in common than just being siblings, we also seemed to have the same taste in men.

We’d never discussed it in my family and while I didn’t hide that I was gay, I didn’t flaunt it either, being very aware that even in this day and age appearances mattered. I knew there were older members of the board that would balk at the idea of me running the company and I didn’t want to rock the boat until I had everything secure in my name so that I could ensure that my grandmother and sister were cared for.

I was still having trouble believing that Julian had gone off the deep end like he had. He’d always hated Gia, but to go to the lengths that he’d gone to split us up was ridiculous. My twenty-first birthday couldn’t come quick enough but as there wasn’t much I could do and until then, I’d concentrate on helping Gia and Navy where I could to get the paperwork in order.

Gia was more than capable of running the company, and if my father hadn’t been such a wanker where she was concerned, he’d have had her working for him when she left college. Ah, well, his loss was my gain. There’d always be a place for her in the company should she want it.

Lunch was over and I decided that I’d join the men and children in cleaning out a loft in a barn. From the conversation over lunch, it seemed that Navy’s MC brothers and their families would be coming over next weekend. I’d been concerned when I’d found out that Navy belonged to an MC, but Derek had put me straight and assured me that they weren’t a one percent club. But then he also said they weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty if need be. Honestly, with the way Julian was behaving, I didn’t care what they did as long as my sister and Gram were safe by the end of it.

It had been a while since I’d got my hands dirty, I hadn’t been able to keep up with my hobby of restoring old cars while I was at university but as soon as I was finished, and I had time again, I’d find another one to work on. It was something I’d been doing ever since I found our driver working on a car in the garage when I was about twelve. I’d needed to get out of the house and the screaming and shouting that seemed to be a daily occurrence. At first, he’d been surprised at my wanting to learn, but when he realised that I was genuinely interested, he started to teach me right up until he retired when I went to university.

Following along behind Navy and Bas with Violet and George charging ahead, a smile touched my lips as Derek fell back to walk beside me. His arm casually brushing up against mine.

Up ahead Navy turned and looked at us over his shoulder, his eyes slightly narrowed on our closeness, his eyes bored into mine only turning back to Bas when he said something.

I heaved a silent sigh; it would seem that I had my work cut out for me to prove to him I was nothing like Julian. I’d do it because the fact that he was so protective not just over my sister but also his family just made me want to earn it more. It also made me miss something that I didn’t even know I needed because I’d never had it.

Derek nudged me gently, “Don’t worry about Navy, he’ll come round. He doesn’t do well with people he’s not sure he can trust. But once you prove he can trust you, he’ll do anything for you.”

“I’ll do what I can,” I agree. “Not sure how I’m going to show I’m nothing like Julian.”

Derek clasps my shoulder, “Just be you. I promise it’s more than enough.”

Turning to look at him, I was once again struck at the blueness of his eyes. “Yeah, how do you know it’s enough?”

Turning to walk backwards, he grinned at me, “Because it’s enough for me.” With those words and one last smirk, he loped off past Bas and Navy towards the barn.

‘Holy fuck, why was that so hot,’ I thought. Realising I’d come to a stop at his words, I snapped my mouth closed and jogged to catch up. I guess my worry about whether or not he’d felt the same instant connection as me had been answered.