Chapter Sixty-Four
Isabella had mulled over Austin's words for days, not sure what she was supposed to do with that information. Sure, Aaron had been nice to her against all odds, nice to her when he was still acting like a jerk around her sister. That didn't necessarily mean he was in love with her, did it? So he'd brought her flowers a couple of times. He was just being friendly. She'd eventually decided that the eldest of the Miller sons couldn't possibly be in love with her. But even if he was, she didn't care. She didn't want Aaron, she wanted the stupid, stubborn Sheriff with his bright blue eyes and that soft hair she loved playing with. It pissed her off that Austin had made a choice for her, as if stepping away would automatically mean she'd start falling for his friend. She wasn't a trophy to be won.
There had been times when she wanted to tell her sister about Austin, especially when Tatum and Sean seemed to be so happy together. She knew the redhead could see she wasn't entirely happy, even though she was a lot happier than she'd been when she was still with David. Maybe it was for the best that she wasn't with anyone for the moment. Maybe she needed to be on her own for a while. It was just that being with Austin had felt so natural. She didn't have to pretend to be someone she wasn't. He'd been so supportive whenever she felt low, ready to cheer her up or just hold her if she needed him to. She had no one to turn to now. No one who would understand, not unless she told them everything. But she didn't want to talk about how he'd let her go so easily, twice. She just wanted someone to understand without her having to say anything. Shame the only person who could do that was the man that was slowly crushing her heart.
Over the next few weeks, Sean only went home a couple of times, mostly to see his mother. Martha tried to convince him to stay longer when he did, assuring him his father would come around. Every time he did go back to the Tennant's house, his mother made sure to lay into her husband, scolding him for driving their son away. Malcolm stopped listening after the third or fourth time; though he would never tell his wife, it hurt him that he was losing his son with seemingly no way to fix it that wouldn't compromise his entire world view.
Sean obviously continued to see his brother and father at work, and Aaron at least had stopped giving him grief about his choice in partner, finally conceding he was in no position to judge him for it considering his feelings for Isabella. He even surprised both Sean and Tatum by coming around the Tennant house to help them do some work in the bedroom to prepare for the baby's arrival. There weren't enough rooms in the house to give the baby his or her own room, so they converted the smaller separated wardrobe space to house all of the necessaries, including a collapsible changing table to save space.
Tatum would've preferred Austin to help her boyfriend with this, as she was still ill at ease around the older Miller, but she was grateful for any help at the moment. And Sean had tried to get the Sheriff involved, but Austin had refused to help with things around the house; he couldn't risk being there and bumping into Isabella. He was more than happy to help buy supplies, which he did when they needed to get the buggy, crib and Moses basket.
"Wait here, I'll be right back," Sean told Tatum, giving her a kiss through the open window and ran back to the store.
She gave a confused shake of the head before she turned her attention to the driver beside her. The Sheriff seemed to be looking everywhere but at her, knowing there was a good chance she would try talking to him on her sister's behalf; he had no idea how much, or in actual fact how little, Isabella had shared with the redhead. Tatum figured there was a good chance he would get defensive, so tried to play it innocent. "I miss you comin' round the house," she started softly.
Austin gave a brief smile, his blue eyes still on the view outside the car. "Sorry, me too," he said casually, hoping she'd be content to leave it there.
"I feel like you're missin' out on a lot," she continued as she fought to keep the accusing tone from her voice, giving her much bigger bump an exaggerated rub. He fought back a sigh, not sure what to say to that. "We can still count on you bein' honorary uncle, right?" Tatum asked now. They hadn't really discussed it, but she knew Sean would want his friend to be involved, even if it might make it a little awkward given whatever was or wasn't going on between him and her sister.
"Really?" Austin asked surprised as he turned to face her now, a little overcome at the generosity and familial love in that question. He swallowed hard when she nodded in earnest. "Yeah, of course you can. I'd love to be," he promised her, needing to have something to hold onto beside the hope that one day Isabella and he could go back to courteous with each other.
"Great," she beamed at him, reaching over awkwardly to give him a hug.
"Should I be worried?" Sean's amused voice interrupted them. His friend held his hands up innocently, both of them turning towards him.
"Don't be…" his girlfriend started to say until she saw the giant teddy bear that he was holding. "What…?" she asked almost shocked at how big it was. That would take up the whole crib with no space left for the baby.
"Every baby should have a giant teddy bear to look after them," he answered with a shrug, hoping she did like it. It was the softest bear he could find and immensely cute.
At this she gave a smile as she got out of the car to give him a hug. "I love it, thank you," Tatum told him softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in as close as she could to give him a kiss. Her boyfriend chuckled as he leaned in to meet her halfway. Austin looked away from his friends; he was so happy for them, but he couldn't help being reminded of the future he wanted with Isabella but had walked away from.
"Good. Get back in, we still need to get back to take over from Izzy," he told her, smiling besotted as he watched her hop up a little to sit down on the passenger seat first, before leaning back and bringing her legs in. She rolled her eyes when she saw his smile and pulled her door shut. Sean composed himself and put the bear in the back seat first before he got in as well.