Henry (The Beck Brothers) (20 page)

Anne seemed to snap
out of her frozen state and whirled around, placing her hands over her face.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know, you sounded...never mind,
”
she said, obviously mortified.

Henry put Claire on
her feet, trying desperately not to smile. Claire didn't really give a shit because
she was drunk. She smiled wide. Henry pulled Claire's dress down before pulling
his own pants back into place. Luckily they were only around his thighs, and
not dropped down to his ankles. Claire's legs around his waist probably
obscured his bare ass from his mother's view. Claire grabbed Henry's face and
kissed him slowly.

"That was hot.
I'm gonna go to the bathroom,
”
she whispered before heading out of the kitchen.

                                                 
~~~~~

Henry watched Claire
stumble past his mother and down the hall to the bathroom. He shook his head.
Damn, he loved her, she was fucking incredible. The past three months have been
the best of his life. They worked great together, both in and out of the
office. He was practically living in her apartment with her and Ethan, but he
had plans to change that, he wanted them to move in with him. He wanted to ask
Claire to marry him. He just needed to get a ring.

"What are you
doing here?
”
Henry asked
evenly.

"Are you decent?
”
she asked warily.

"Yes."

Anne turned around,
unable to meet his eyes. He understood; she just walked in on her son having
sex against a door.
 
That was
definitely awkward.

"I knocked and
even rang the doorbell. I knew you were home because I looked in the garage
window and saw your car, so I just used my key, I'm sorry,
”
Anne said, wringing her hands
together.

Henry frowned, who was
this person? Definitely not his mother. His mother would have had a fit about
what she just walked in on. He hadn't seen or spoken to her since that day when
Sebastian ripped her a new one in the hospital. Maybe she had changed. He hoped
she had changed. He didn't want to get married without his mother there. No matter
how much shit she put him through, she was still his mother, and he loved her.

"Why are you here
so late?
”
he asked, going
to the fridge for a bottle of water. "Do you want something to
drink?"

Anne shook her head.
“
No thank you. I figured you
would be home, and I had hoped to speak with you,
”
she said softly.

Henry took a big gulp
of water, set the bottle on the counter behind him, and leaned against it. He
crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a nod. "Okay."

Just then Claire
walked back into kitchen. Anne eyed Claire warily as she walked over to Henry.
She had taken off her heels, so the top of her head only came up to his
shoulder. "Hi,
”
she
murmured with a sexy smile on her face as she looked up at him.

Henry smiled.
"Hey,
”
he said warmly,
tucking her hair behind her ear. He then looked at his mother. "Go
ahead."

Anne opened her mouth
then closed it before a pained look crossed her face. "I wanted to speak
with you alone,
”
she said.

Henry took a moment to
consider it. He then grabbed the water bottle and handed it to Claire.
"Here babe, you need to drink some water. Why don't you go upstairs, get
changed, and get into bed. I'll be up in a little bit."

Claire took the
bottle, gave him a kiss, and then left the room without a word. Henry listened
for his bedroom door to shut before turning back to his mother. She gave him a
tentative smile and moved a bit closer to him.

"I've missed you,
”
she said, her voice trembling
as she gave him a watery smile.

Damn it, his mother
never cried. How was he supposed to handle this? He didn't want to say things
that he didn't mean, so he just kept quiet. He hadn't exactly missed her. She
had been nasty to him, and he had been pissed off beyond belief with what she
had said about Claire.

"I want to
apologize,
”
she started,
watching Henry as if to gage his reaction.

Henry nodded and
waited.

His mother paused,
looking as if she was choosing her words carefully. "I have been selfish.
I wanted to keep you boys close. Sebastian brought forth all my worst
nightmares by moving across the country for a woman; a woman who I knew in my
heart would hurt him someday. I wanted to protect you boys from being hurt. You
all have grown into such amazing men, and I just couldn't bear the thought of
anyone hurting any of you. I know now how wrong I was, and I hope that you can
all forgive me,
”
she said,
tears running down her face.

Henry searched her
teary gaze. He knew his mother could be manipulative so he was a bit hesitant
to believe her completely. He thought she was being sincere. The tears
definitely looked real, as did the anguish on her face.

"I need more than
just words from you, mom. You need to prove to me that you've changed,
”
Henry said quietly.

His mother nodded
furiously, taking another step forward. She was only a foot away from him now.
"I will, I'll do whatever it takes to have my sons back in my life."

Henry nodded slowly as
he watched the hope light her eyes.

"One other thing,
”
Henry said.

"Okay,
”
replied his mother.

"Did you really
mean what you said about Claire? And I want the truth,
”
Henry asked, watching her warily.

Anne closed her eyes
for a moment. When she opened them, he knew she was going to be completely
sincere and open. "At the time, yes, I meant it. But now, after looking
back, I believe she loves you deeply and would rather die than hurt you. That
heart-wrenching sob she let out after the crash was enough to tell me that, but
I was so blinded, and so closed-minded, that I hadn't seen it at the time. I
just wanted you all for myself; I couldn't stand the thought of another woman
taking care of you after such a horrendous event. You're my baby, and I know
you don't understand it yet, but when you have your own kids, you will."

Henry shook his head.
"I do understand. Claire's son Ethan has been in my life now for about
seven months, and I've been with them almost every day of the past three
months. I love that little boy so much. I don't know what I'd do if something
happened to him. So I do understand now how you were feeling, and I'm sorry for
pushing you away that day. But you had always been so overbearing, and I didn't
want to be smothered. I was beyond vulnerable and I needed Claire in my bed.
There was nothing sexual about it. She just held me, didn't ask questions, and
didn
’
t want a recap of what
happened. She was just there to comfort me. And I know you; you would have been
all over me trying to find out what exactly happened."

Anne nodded.
"Probably,
”
she
admitted.

Henry smiled slightly.
"I love you mom, and I do want you in my life. You don't need to be nasty
to get your point across. We can talk and have civilized conversations about
things. But you have to realize that we're not going to agree with you all the
time. We also need to make our own mistakes and find out things for ourselves.
I think your opinion would matter more to us if you would just talk to us,
instead of dictating and berating us."

Anne took a deep
breath and blew it out. "That's what your father said, and I promise, I am
working on being a better mother to you boys. I've started going to therapy to
work on my issues."
 
Henry's
eyebrows shot up and Anne scoffed. "Oh don't look so surprised. I knew I
was a bitch, but I didn't care. Sebastian was right for doing what he did. He
opened my eyes."

Henry smiled warmly,
glad his mother admitted that. "Have you talked to him yet?
”
Henry asked.

"He won't return
my calls, so I decided to come to you first, knowing you would listen. I was
hoping you could talk to him.
”
Anne sighed, pleading with her eyes.
 

"I'll try, he can
be belligerent sometimes.
”
Henry snorted.

"I'm sure he gets
that from me.
”
Anne
smirked.

Henry laughed.
"No comment."

Anne chuckled, but her
smile faded quickly.
 
“
I love you Henry, I hope you
know that."

Henry nodded and
closed the distance between them, pulling her into a hug. "I do,
mom."

They hugged for a
moment before Henry eased back, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"I want one more
thing from you."

"Name it,
”
Anne said, looking up at him.

"I want you to
apologize to Claire."

"Already on my
list,
”
Anne said with a
sharp nod.

"Not tonight
though, she's drunk,
”
Henry
said with a lopsided grin.

Anne bit her bottom
lip. "I was wondering. She kinda staggered out of here."

Henry laughed quietly.
"Yeah, so you can do that another day."

"Okay,
”
Anne agreed.

Chapter 13

Sebastian rolled his
eyes as he threw back his beer. He was listening to Henry tell him, Quinn, and
Christian about what their mother said when she showed up at his house a few
nights ago. Henry called a brother meeting at a pub in Center City, so the four
of them were sitting around a table, drinking beer, and discussing their
mother.

"She seems
sincere, she even apologized to Claire yesterday in person,
”
Henry said with a shrug.

"Really?
”
asked Christian, whose eyebrows
had shot up in surprise.

Henry nodded and
sipped his beer. "It was a very heartfelt apology, Claire got
teary-eyed."

Christian's eyes
widened and his mouth dropped open. "No way!"

Henry smirked at
Christian's reaction. "It's true"

Quinn, the ever stoic
one of four of them, asked in his deep raspy voice, "Is she really going
to therapy?
”
He sounded
doubtful.

"I called dad and
he insisted that she's been going for two months now. He's even gone with her a
few times, their working on their marriage also."

Sebastian snorted.
"I think she's full of shit. There is no way she can change a lifetime of
habits in a few months."

Henry frowned.
"She's trying, Sebastian. I never said she was going to change overnight,
but she is working on it."

"Believe that if
you want, but I don't trust her.
”
Sebastian grunted, finishing off his beer and motioning to the waitress for
another one.

"Can't you at
least talk to her?
”
Henry
asked.

“
Nope, not happening,
”
Sebastian dismissed him
immediately.

"Sebastian,
”
Christian admonished.

Sebastian raised an
eyebrow at him. "What?"

"Come on, she's
our mother, you have to talk to her eventually,
”
Christian said sadly.

Sebastian snorted.
"No I don't.
”
 
He looked up at the blonde waitress with
the huge titties and gave her a rakish grin. "Thanks, doll face."

She gave him a flirty
smile before turning to go back to the bar. She really wasn't all that good
looking but she had a bangin' body. Sebastian's divorce had been finalized
about a month ago. He'd slept with about five women since then, all one night
stands. He was not doing relationships anymore. He was done with that shit.
Love apparently wasn't for him, so he was gonna fuck whoever he wanted, whenever
he wanted. No more being tied down. He was only thirty-two, and he was going to
live it up while he still could.

"You assholes can
do whatever you want, but I'm not interested. My life is great without her in
it,
”
Sebastian said,
sipping his new beer.

"That's cold
Sebastian,
”
Quinn murmured,
eyes narrowed at him.

"Hey! You were
not there and didn't hear the shit she said. Honestly Henry, I'm surprised at
you, I thought you were on my side,
”
Sebastian said, shaking his head in disgust.

"Don't even go
there, you know I was just as pissed as you were, but sometimes you have to
forgive and forget. And I'm not saying I totally forgive her or trust her, but
I'm trying to give her a chance to prove herself; that's fair,
”
Henry argued.