Who: Aaron, Caden, and Shan When: late morning, Monday, June 18th Where: the Back Porch Status: Complete
It was a gross morning already. Aaron parked in the back of the Porch and hurried through the rain to the back door to unlock it. He was opening today, since Gavin had closed the night before and they weren’t really sure when Caden was coming back. Aaron understood that his brother had needed space and time to process what had happened with Roxy, but it still sucked to cover for him. It made him feel vaguely guilty about when he’d been laid up in the hospital and then recovering and stuff. Miles was a big help and they had more waitresses now, but still.
Aaron hung his jacket up and ran fingers through his short damp hair, then started to get to work on the opening duties. He expected Miles to arrive within the next hour or so to man the bar when they opened up at eleven, but he still had quite a bit to do until then. As Aaron flicked the lights on in the main room and started to take the chairs down off the tables, someone banged on the front door, causing him to jump. His head whipped around and he frowned at the man peering in through the glass. Once the guy saw that he’d been spotted, he started banging again with urgency.
“We’re closed!” Aaron yelled as he approached the door. The guy was babbling something about needing a drink right then, but Aaron just made sure the deadbolts were locked before he pulled the blinds over the windows down. Shaking his head, he went back to work. Some drunks were just too much, Jesus.
Caden was not terribly thrilled that Shan was tagging along as he made his way to the bar. He knew his brothers weren't expecting him back yet, and he could have just stayed home but he was feeling antsy and working always helped clear his head some. He had flat out told Shan he didn't want her to be hanging around the Porch but she had insisted on coming with him to at least take a look. After she had assured him that she was going to check out the town afterward, Caden had reluctantly agreed. Not that he felt like his approval mattered. Shan probably would have walked to the damn place even if he'd left without her, just to prove a point.
Caden parked beside Aaron's truck, finding himself mildly grateful that it was Aaron who was opening and not Gavin, though Gav probably would have been less trouble. At least no one else seemed to be there and they wouldn't open until eleven. Shan would be long gone by then, doing whatever it was she wanted to do.
Without a word, Caden got out of the truck and headed for the back door, opening it for Shan before he followed her inside. "Already told you there's not much to see," he muttered while tugging off his jacket to hang up.
Shan could have driven herself, sure, but where would be the fun in that? Caden was obviously uncomfortable with her going to see this bar of his, but why wouldn’t she want to? They hadn’t signed any legal papers or anything yet, so technically the bar was partially hers now too, and she wanted to see it. She also wanted to see these brothers he’d mentioned. Shan was willing to bet they were just as hot as he was, and that idea was a lot of fun to her. Clad in a pair of tight leggings and a low cut shirt -- perfect exploring attire -- Shan walked into the bar with Caden. She flashed him a smile as she took off her oversized sunglasses. “Then it shouldn’t take long, right?” she said cheerfully. “So come on, suck it up and give your lil wifey the tour.”
Working with Roxy over the years had had its ups and downs, but he was honestly relieved to not have to deal with it anymore. Shan needed a job but she sure as shit wouldn't be working at the Porch. Not if they wanted this to last more than a week. Since they were heading into the front anyway, Caden stopped by the dishwashing area to grab one of the crates of clean glasses. Aaron usually did most of the grunt work, but Caden felt like he needed to be doing something. This wasn't just a pop in visit, after all. "Back room," Caden began, nodding to where they were currently. He turned and pushed open the door to the front with his back, moving aside so Shan could come through herself. "Bar," he added before moving to place the crate on the bar top, deliberately ignoring Aaron for the moment. "Tour finished."
Aaron’s surprised greeting died in his throat as Caden held the door for ... well, for a straight knockout of a woman, if he was being honest. He hadn’t expected Caden today -- or for a couple more days, really -- and he definitely hadn’t expected him to bring company. Gavin usually did all of the hiring, and they were stocked up on waitresses now, so he didn’t think she was looking to work there ... but who else would Caden bring to the bar, especially this early? Aaron still had a wooden chair in both hands, and he stared at them with his mouth open.
Shan rolled her eyes at the highly thorough “tour” and gazed around the bar. It was pretty much what she’d expected -- dingy and run down, obviously just a local watering hole and not much more. She already thought it needed a woman’s touch ... and that she would be grossed out by the ladies room. Her eyes landed on Aaron, gaping at them like she was some kind of alien, and she could definitely see the family resemblance. Brother Number One, she assumed. “Hi there,” Shan greeted him, smiling. Her gaze ticked back to Caden and she quirked an eyebrow, wondering if he would make introductions or if she would have to do it herself.
Caden began to put the glasses away, looking up when Shan greeted Aaron. Aaron, who was staring at them like he was a goddamn trout. Sighing, Caden went back to the glasses. Now he was definitely wishing Gav was here instead. His older brother would have grunted and disappeared into his office until he found the nuts to ask Caden about her. "This is Shan, Aaron. Shan, this is my brother, Aaron. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed but he knows how to speak. Don't you, Aaron," Caden said, shooting his brother a pointed look. "Stop staring and say hello."
Aaron blinked himself out of his freeze and set the chair down, a bit of flush coming into his cheeks. Caden talked shit about how dumb he was on a regular basis, but it always hit different in front of someone new. “Uh, hello Shan,” Aaron said, offering up a faint smile. “Nice to meet you.” She wasn’t a local, Aaron was pretty sure he would recognize her if she was, so ... maybe a new girlfriend from Atlantic City? Or somewhere in between? He was just confused as to why she was there.
“Aw, how polite, that’s cute,” Shan said with a grin. She helped herself to a stool and set her purse down on the bartop, peering over at Caden working for a second before she looked at his brother again. “You guys look alike. There’s a third one, right? Another brother?”
She seemed to be asking Aaron, and he floundered for another beat or two before he answered her. “Yeah, uh, Gavin. He’s the oldest,” Aaron explained, unsure as to why this woman was asking about their family. “It goes Gavin, Caden, me, then our sister Kat. She’s not ... the bar’s not hers though, it’s ours. So she’s not here.” He finished setting up the table he was working on, then walked in closer, glancing between Caden and Shan.
Caden let Aaron talk, somewhat grateful that his brother was chatty where Caden wasn't. But he felt a bit tense as Shan sat down because he really wanted her cute little ass to be heading out the door. Talking about his family always made him feel off, especially since there was a lot of shit Shan didn't know about him, or his family. "Shan's going to look around town for a bit," Caden told Aaron, not wanting to jump in about his siblings. "She's never been here before, so..." He shot Shan a look. He had given her the tour, now it was time to go, at least for a while. He could always give her the keys to his truck when she got bored and wanted to go home.
The discomfort radiating off of Caden was palpable, and there was a part of Shan that thrived on it like some energy vampire. She’d always enjoyed making people feel awkward, it was a weird sense of power, and the way he kept telling her to go just made her want to stay longer. She leaned her elbows on the bar and twisted her hips back and forth on the rotating stool, her gaze on Aaron. “Never been here before, but I need to learn my way around, because I’ll be here for a while,” she said, sing-songing the last few words as she smiled. Shan drummed her fingers on the bartop, letting her wedding ring click. The way Aaron’s eyes widened when he noticed was delightful. Shan decided that was a good note to end on for a first meeting and she hopped up and grabbed her purse. “Off I go then. See you later, babe.” She blew Caden a kiss and headed for the door.
While he was a bit uncomfortable with her being there, Caden couldn't help but chuckle a bit when Shan spoke, but then she was off and he felt a bit of relief mixed in with the amusement. Grunting a response, he watched her go, still putting away the glasses. Even if she ended up irritating the hell out of him by the weekend, he was at least going to enjoy her body until then. Once Shan had disappeared through the door, Caden avoided Aaron's gaze until it got to be too much. "What," he asked, looking up at his brother. "Why're you staring at me like that?"
Aaron was trying to process what this was all about. Caden had been with Roxy for a long time, but before that he hadn’t been one to just bring a girl around to the bar when they weren’t open. He definitely hadn’t introduced any of the girls he was fucking to Aaron. Aaron had known most of them anyway, but that was beside the point. Then there was the fucking wedding ring that kept flashing on his brother’s finger. The fucked up nature of that hand just made it all the more obvious. “Because ... wait,” Aaron muttered in answer, his brow furrowed. “Are you fucking with me? Because that --” he pointed at the gold band on Caden’s hand, “-- looks like a wedding ring and she had one too ... Is this a joke? Who is this chick, Caden?”
Slipping the last glass beneath the bar, Caden picked up the empty crate from the counter. "That chick is my wife," he said with a shrug. "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, but apparently what happens in Atlantic City follows you home." Aaron would know that Caden was telling the truth because Caden was not the type to prank anyone. "It's not a big deal, Aaron. We got wasted and had a crazy night. Getting an annulment is expensive and a pain in the ass. We're just going to ride it out until it gets stale, then it'll be over." He paused before grinning. "She's fucking sexy as fuck, isn't she?"
It wasn’t a big deal? Aaron couldn’t help but look incredulous at that insane statement. The question surprised a little laugh out of him and he glanced toward the door where Shan had let herself out. “I mean ... yeah, but Jesus Christ, Caden,” he said, looking at his brother again. “You just married some random girl in AC? Are you nuts? What if she’s like, scamming you or some shit? Did you meet her at a casino or something? Get hitched by Elvis? This is crazy, dude.” Aaron didn’t often speak up when he thought his brothers were doing stupid shit -- not that it happened often -- but this seemed way outside the boundaries of normal idiocy. Had Roxy leaving him really cracked Caden’s brain that much?
"Scamming me out of what?" Caden asked incredulously. "I live in a trailer home in a shit neighborhood. If she's looking to marry some asshole for his money, then she's pretty fucking stupid to have chosen me." Aaron was right though. This was crazy and Caden knew it. But maybe crazy was what he needed after having been with Roxy for as long as he had. "You know, none of this is any of your business. I didn't meet her at a casino and I don't know who the fuck married us. I told you we were both wasted. Would you rather I be home drinking myself to death?" he asked, cocking a brow. "I like her, so... you're gonna have to just get used to her being around."
Aaron felt like his eyebrows were trying to escape his forehead. Caden was telling him this was none of his business? His brother was perfectly free to fuck up his own life, of course, but the hypocrisy rubbed Aaron the wrong way pretty hard in the moment. “Dude ... you’re standing in a business you fucking own,” he pointed out, gesturing around to the bar. “This is your money. Plus the shit that happens in the back. If you were drunk enough to marry her without even remembering who did it, what the fuck did you tell her? Did you sign a prenup? And fuck off with that ‘none of my business’ shit -- it was none of your goddamn business that Mila was pregnant the first time, but that didn’t stop you from telling me what a fuck up that was and what a shitty father I’d be.” His tone had gotten a little heated, talking about that first pregnancy was always emotional for him in one way or another.
"I'm getting it taken care of," Caden said tightly, his annoyance burning hot in his gut. He didn't want to get in a fight this morning, but Aaron was pushing him pretty hard. "It's my money. She's got her own. She doesn't know anything about the back and if I told her anything, she sure as shit doesn't remember. And for the record, brother, I never told you that you'd be a shitty father. Look at all the shit that happened because of that pregnancy. Mila almost fucking killed you and don't come at me with that bullshit that it wasn't her, because it was, even if it was masked by something else." Caden breathed in deep and exhaled, struggling to hold his temper in. "You want to talk about that shit, we can, but you're never going to know what the fuck it did to me to see you on your fucking floor bleeding out. I thought you were dead. But I haven't said half the shit to you that'd I'd like about that. But now you're getting married and you're having a kid and that's great. I've left it alone, Aaron. Just leave this alone. I've got it handled."
Aaron was pretty sure he remembered Caden telling him he was too stupid to be a good dad. Maybe not in so many words, but the intent had been clear enough from both of his brothers. But it was always hard for him to argue specific memories with them, like things shifted in his mind. He grit his teeth when Caden brought up Mila stabbing him again, his jaw flexing. It hadn’t been her, and it had nothing to do with the pregnancy, it had been the tunnel. And that fucking tunnel had taken their baby away too, Aaron knew it deep in his gut. But re-hashing history with Caden on the defensive was never productive, and he didn’t want to punch his brother this morning. It was too early for that kind of nonsense, and Caden was obviously Going Through Some Shit that was making him irrational. Besides, something in the words ‘you’re never going to know what the fuck it did to me’ tugged at Aaron’s chest, and reminded him that Caden had seen their father die too. Fuck. He looked away as he got his tongue under control, then just shook his head. “You better handle it fast and protect the bar, you know Gavin won’t give up so easy,” he muttered sourly. “I’m gonna do inventory.” Aaron stalked toward the door to the back.
Caden sighed but followed Aaron to the back, carrying the empty crate to put back near the sink. His brother could be dramatic sometimes, though Caden was hoping to get Shan to sign some papers before Gavin found out. This bar was mostly his and Caden knew Gavin wouldn't want another woman laying claim to it. Ollie had held that over Gavin's head for years. "So I guess this is the wrong time to tell you where we're registered?" he told Aaron lightly, figuring it would be easier to make a joke and ease some of the tension than to go back to work angry with each other. Maybe it was personal growth or whatever the fuck it was called.
Aaron didn’t want to stew, but he couldn’t help it. There were probably a lot of things they needed to yell at each other about, just to let off the steam that always seemed to be there, but arguing with Caden always made him feel like such an idiot. Aaron was just concerned for his brother and what they’d built together as a family, but it was hard to express that properly. On his way into the office to grab the inventory book, Aaron shot Caden a wary glance. It wasn’t like him to make jokes after an argument, but maybe he was trying to reclaim a good mood. Maybe this kind of dumbass chaos did make him happy. “You can have whatever me and Mila get doubles of,” Aaron retorted.
Caden grinned and set the crate down. "That's fair." If Aaron needed to stew for a while, Caden would let him. But he wasn't going to feel bad about his decisions, even if he hadn't been completely on board with them when they'd actually happened. Shit was what it was. He would make sure Shan didn't do anything to fuck over his family, that much he could promise Aaron, even if it wouldn't be believed. People weren't going to understand this but that was okay with Caden. No one needed to understand it but for Caden and Shan.