A Matter of Trust (13 page)

Trish looked around and shrugged her
shoulders. “I never really thought about it. I woke early and
started in. It had to be done, so I did it. My back’s a little
sore, but I’ll be okay.”

“
Trish, I know you’re used
to doing everything all by yourself, but I like helping you. I’m
used to helping people I care about, and I definitely care about
you, okay?”

“
Okay, Jake. It’s not that
I don’t appreciate it, and as far as helping me move goes, I don’t
mind the help. This morning you didn’t happen to be here, so I got
busy on what needed to be done, that’s all.”

“
Oh, listen, I’m having a
security system installed next week in the house. I’ll arrange for
someone to be here, so you won’t have to take any time off,
okay?”

“
Jake, this seems like a
pretty good neighborhood. Do you really think that’s
necessary?”

“
I had already planned on
doing it. It adds value to the property, and there will be things
here of great value that I want to protect.”

Trish snorted. “Like what? All my
diamond jewelry? I don’t have it anymore. I don’t have anything of
significant value anymore. Save your money.”

Jake walked over to her and put his
hands on her shoulders. “I wasn’t talking about property,
sweetheart. I was talking about you and the kids.”

“
Oh. That’s really sweet,
Jake.” She placed her hands on his chest. “Really sweet.” She
wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a wet
kiss. We’ll have to christen all the rooms you know. We should
start sometime today, don’t you think?”

“
Great idea, Trish. I like
the way you think. Sometimes.” He smiled into another
kiss.

“
Yoohoo! Anybody
home?”

“
Back here, in the living
room, Callie. To be continued,” Trish said with one more quick
kiss.

Not only had Callie arrived, but she’d
brought the troops. Eva, Cade, and Josh came with her.

“
Thought y’all could use
some help.” Callie stepped into sight and put her hands on her hips
and looked around.

Trish smiled. “Thanks, you guys. Jake
just brought in the last of the boxes, so you men can help him
unload the heavy stuff, if you don’t mind. Ladies, if you can help
me unpack, I’ll put one of you in Lexie’s room and one in Trev’s
room. I’ll take my room, and then we can move on to the kitchen and
baths. Thanks so much for coming.”

Jake stood stupefied. Why could
everyone else pitch in and not get any grief, but when he tried to
help, he ran into a brick wall?

Everyone started in, and things moved
very quickly. They unpacked all the boxes, and put everything away
in a couple of hours. Trish ordered pizza delivered for lunch, but
she didn’t know when it arrived. Jake paid the bill and brought it
inside, calling everyone in to eat a bite.

“
I didn’t even hear the
door bell. Who do I owe?”

“
I got it, Trish, don’t
worry about it.”

“
No, Jake. You guys are
all helping me, so I’ll pay for the pizza. How much do I owe
you?”

Jake did a mental count to ten,
recounted twice, and handed Trish the receipt.

“
Thanks.” She reached into
her pocket and handed him some bills. “I picked up some beer and
sodas, and they’re in the fridge. I’ve got to go grocery shopping
some time. Ugh – it’ll be a long list.”

Everyone but Trish knew that Jake was
ready to blow. The two other couples put their heads together and
decided to try to head off the steadily building explosion. The
guys steered Jake out to the garage, while the girls grabbed Trish
and took her into the master bedroom.

“
How’s it going, Jake?”
Josh handed him a cold beer.

“
Just fine,” Jake
grumbled. “Why are you two looking at me like that?”

“
We’re concerned about
your blood pressure, brother. You look like those cartoon
characters with steam coming out of their ears.” Josh popped the
top on his own beer and looked at his obviously frustrated brother
over the top of the can.

“
I do, huh? Is it that
obvious?”

“
Oh yeah. Josh and I
thought we’d detour you, so you can let off some of that steam
before you blow. Wanna wrestle? Box? Run a race?” Cade smiled and
took a swig of his own beer.

“
Very funny, Cade. You
know, I just don’t get it. Why can you guys help whenever you want
to, but I can’t? You heard her last night when I offered to buy her
some bedroom furniture. She packed up nearly all the boxes and
loaded and unloaded them herself. I barely got there in time to
help with the last trip over. She wouldn’t even let me pay for the
damn pizza, for God sake. What the hell?”

Josh put his hand on his shoulder.
“Did you know Eva insisted on paying for my legal services when I
handled her divorce? Even after we started seeing each
other.”

“
No shit? You let her?”
Jake looked shocked as he asked Josh the question.

Josh shook his head. “Jake, there’s no
‘letting’ these women do anything. They don’t answer to anyone,
much less their men.”

Cade added, “I tried to
tell Callie – note that I said ‘tell’ instead of ‘ask’ – that we
were getting married, and she stormed off and called me an ass.
Furthermore, she told me off good saying that even her
granddad
asked
her to do stuff, and that nobody told her what to do. That’s
how they are, man. The more you try to take control of the
situation – any situation – the less control you gain. I’ve learned
to ask, rather than tell. If I try to read Callie the riot act,
she’ll do the opposite just to spite me. I think all three of them
are like that. It sucks sometimes, but I figure that’s one of the
reasons we love them.”

Josh jumped in again. “Eva has always
insisted she keep her own bank accounts. I don’t think she has any
intention of changing things after we get hitched. She makes her
own decisions. She lets me know now what she’s going to do, but
it’s not like she asks for permission or anything. I can’t imagine
her ever doing that. Eva told me some things about how Trish’s
marriage went, and it wasn’t easy on her. Those things will shape
her from now on. Unfortunately, you’ll end up paying for mistakes
that her first husband made. Not fair, but true.” Josh shook his
head in sympathy.

Jake looked at the men who were trying
to console him. Actually, he did feel better. “Trish told me about
what all Pete had done, and you’re right, it does shape her. But
how long am I going to have to pay for what Pete did? I’m not
anything like him.”

Josh looked at his brother again.
“That’s just it. It’s not about you. It’s about her. She has to do
what she has to do. The sooner you get that, the better things will
be. The fact that Eva needs to have her own bank accounts bothered
me at first, just because it seemed like she was prepping for the
day she’d leave, but then I realized she needed to do that for her
own peace of mind. Her happiness means everything to me, as I’m
sure Trish’s means everything to you, so if it makes her feel
better and more at peace knowing she has her own accounts, no
biggie. Maybe someday she won’t need them anymore. When I first
started seeing her, she swore she’d never remarry, and now we’re
working on a date. Things get better with time, bro.”

“
I hope so. Thanks, man. I
guess what they say is true. Knowing you went through some similar
shit makes me feel better. You guys look pretty happy now.” Jake
took another long pull on his Coors light.

Josh toasted him and took another sip
of beer. “Bottom line, and I know Cade will back me on this, it’s
worth the pain in the ass in the long run. I’m thinking you’re
wanting long term here, not just killing time. If you care about
her enough, you’ll give her the time she needs to work through
it.”

****

“
So how’s it going with
you and Jake?” Callie took a small bite of pizza after she launched
the question.

Trish looked at Callie and thought a
minute. “It’s going okay. He just seems a little tense
lately.”

Callie rolled her eyes. “No shit,
Sherlock. I think we all noticed. Do you have any idea
why?”

“
Not a clue. Maybe he’s
starting to think about all the strings I come with. A lot of men
aren’t interested in getting involved with single mothers, although
he didn’t give me that impression in the beginning.”

“
That’s not it, Trish.”
Callie continued to watch Trish over her can of Coke.

“
Well then, what is it?
You’re his sister, so I figure you know him pretty well.” Trish
grumbled something about this being a prime example of why she’d
sworn off relationships.

“
You know how my Granddad
had Eva move into the bunk house and had it redone for her?
Remember how she took over the cooking, and he didn’t charge her
rent? You know how Granddad took Cade in and made him part of the
family?” Callie began listing examples of similar things in their
family’s past.

Trish looked at Callie quizzically.
“Yeah. What does that have to do with Jake and me?”

“
Jake’s like Granddad.
It’s in his nature to help people. He doesn’t think about it, he
just does it. Josh takes after him that way. I guess we all do.
Every time he tries to help you, you shoot him down. It’s killing
him.” Callie watched for her reaction.

“
I let him help me load
and unpack! I’m renting his house. He drove me to work the other
day when my car broke down.. I don’t shoot him down.” Trish
huffed.

“
You wouldn’t let him help
you with the furniture, I’m guessing you moved most of the boxes
yourself this morning, you paid him back for the pizza. There’s
nothing wrong with any of that, it’s just that you need to
understand it’s hard for him to stand by and watch anyone struggle,
more so when it’s you. He cares about you, and it kills him when
you won’t let him show it.”

“
Be that as it may,
Callie, I pay my own way. I’m not about to let him take control of
my life.”

“
I don’t blame you a bit.
I wouldn’t either. Did you know the first time Cade asked me to
marry him he actually made it a statement of fact? ‘We’ll get
married right away,’ Callie said in a deep voice. Can you imagine?”
Callie did yet another eye roll.

“
What did you say? God,
I’m surprised he survived the encounter. Trish smiled as she said
it, but the statement definitely included a grain of truth
there.

“
I called him an ass and
told him to go to hell.” Both Trish and Eva laughed out
loud.

“
My point is these guys
are used to taking charge of things. It takes them a little time to
get used to the idea that they’re not in charge of us, regardless
of their best intentions. Jake’s probably the worst of the three,
because he’s the oldest, he owns his own company, and our parents
and grandparents drilled into him from the time he was little that
he had the responsibility to look out for the rest of us. Of
course, you’re not going to let him control your life, but be aware
that, being a man, he’s a little dense about stuff like that. He
doesn’t mean to piss you off, he’s just driven to keep you safe and
to help you. Be patient with him. Plus, you’re touchier about him
helping you than anyone else.”

“
What do you mean,
Callie?” Trish asked.

Eva tagged in. “The other day when you
didn’t have a car, if Jake hadn’t picked you up from work, what
would you have done?”

“
I was headed back inside
to call you or Callie when he showed up.”

“
Why would you not have
called Jake?” Eva asked.

Trish looked from one woman to the
other. “I … I don’t know.”

“
If you couldn’t have
reached me or Callie, might you have called Josh or Cade?” Eva
sounded completely reasonable as she prepared to pounce.

“
Probably.” Trish braced
herself.

Eva continued. “You don’t
want Jake to think you need him. You want to make sure he knows you
don’t need anyone to take care of you, that you can take care of
yourself. Because if he ever thought you needed him, you’d feel
like you gave over some control to him. It’s not that you don’t
trust
him
in
particular, you just don’t trust any man to take care of you. You
only trust yourself. I totally get it. I felt the same way in the
beginning. You’re touchier about Jake helping you, because he’s
more important, and you don’t really want him to be at this point.
Bottom line, you’re not really fighting him, you’re fighting
yourself and your feelings for him.”

Trish thought about what her friends
had said. “You’re right. Before Jake and I started seeing each
other, if he offered to help me, I usually didn’t think twice about
it, unless he wanted to pay for something or the like. Now, I am
touchy about it. I hadn’t even realized it. Poor guy. No wonder
he’s been stressed out. I’m really glad you girls pointed this out.
I’ll have to give it some more thought. Thanks.”

Eva smiled. “That’s what friends are
for. When you’ve had a crappy marriage like we have, it’s hard to
trust someone else. And it’s hard to have the courage to take a
chance on someone else, when the last someone made your life a
living hell. I went through all of that. Josh made it all worth it,
though, even though it took some time to get past my
defenses.