Read Fairytale Love - Becca & Brian for Free Online Page A

herself as Mary, asked.
    Brian knew that this question was, most likely, going to come up and he hadn’t been looking forward to it. He hated that people felt sorry for him after he explained the situation, and he didn’t want to seem like he was playing the sympathy card. But it was what it was, and Brian (except for the situation with Becca) was a ‘what you see is what you get’ guy.
    “Last summer, my dad had triple bypass surgery, so I came home to help my mom, my little sister, and my dad.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that. How is he doing now?”
    “Better.” Brian felt relief wash over him—just like it did every time he thought about how much better his dad was doing. “He’s had a few setbacks, but he is getting stronger every day. He’s back on his feet now. He just has to take it easy.”
    “That’s great. So do you just have the one sister?”
    “Yep.” He wasn’t trying to be intentionally vague, but he couldn’t help it. He was very protective of his family. He was prepared to answer questions about himself, but he just didn’t feel comfortable bringing his family into this.
    “Do you have any brothers?” Mary asked as she scribbled notes on his paperwork.
    Brian knew they were just going to keep asking questions until they were satisfied, so he figured he might as well just get it over with. He leaned back in his chair.
    “One brother, Brenden. He just finished his freshman year at the University of North Carolina. He’s there on a baseball scholarship. Brittney, my sister, just graduated from high school and will be going to Harvard this fall.”
    “Wow. Impressive.” The girl who had called him in and was holding a clipboard nodded as she lifted the top page he’d filled out and flipped it over. “It says here that your parents own an automotive repair shop. Do they both still work there?”
    “They haven’t for the last year. My cousin Josh and I have been holding things down there.”
    “What are your parents like?” Mary asked.
    Brian hadn’t been expecting that question. He wasn’t sure why the subject seemed to be focused solely on his family.
    When he didn’t answer right away Mary prompted, “What is the first word that pops into your head when you think of your dad?”
    “Hard-working.” The words (plural) came out of Brian’s mouth before he realized. “Wait. That’s two words.”
    Mary smiled. “No, that’s fine. What about your mom?”
    “Brave.”
    It was obvious by Mary’s reaction that that had not been the word she had expected him to use. But it was true. His mom was the bravest person he knew. When she’d been diagnosed with a life-threatening tumor that doctors had found on her spine ten years ago, she’d undergone surgery that could have left her permanently paralyzed from the neck down. Thankfully, that hadn’t happened.
    She had ended up wheelchair-bound due to nerve damage, but she could still move and feel her legs. It was just difficult for her to put weight on them. Brian would never forget sitting beside her bed before they wheeled her into surgery. He’d been so scared. He had just started high school and was fourteen years old at the time, and he’d been terrified that his mom would end up paralyzed. Or worse—that she’d die.
    His mom had reached out and held his hand. Then she smiled at him—a real smile that reached all the way to her eyes—and said, “Don’t you worry about me, Bri. I’m not leaving you, your brother, or your sister. I’m not saying things won’t be tough, but I promise you, I’m tougher and I’m not going anywhere.”
    As an adult, of course he knew that his mom had had no way of knowing that things would go her way during the high-risk surgery. But when he was a scared-shitless teenager, her words had definitely had the desired effect. He’d gone out to the waiting room feeling less terrified. Becca had been waiting there, with his brother and sister, and they’d all played Gin Rummy for the entire