Unlikely Lovers

Chapter10

Cait and Jeremy had accumulated many treasures over the last few years. As much as it hurt, Cait would also go through Jeremy's belongings. Doing it now would reduce how much stuff she'd need to store until she figured out where she would live. Tyler's sister, Victoria would probably let her stay with her until she got her place. They were like sisters most of the time. Before she could put her key in the door, Brandon put a hand on her arm and pointed at the door. It had been busted open and then pulled closed. They backed away and call the police. The police clear the house and then allow them to come in and take account of what was broken or taken. The destruction of her glass figurines broke her in a way she didn't know she could be. Seeing her hurt like this, made him even angrier at his brother. After the police left, they began the process of cleaning up the broken or damaged items. They worked until close to bedtime, only stopping to eat at dinner time.

Brandon loaded them back into her car and took her to a local hotel. Cait wasn't happy about how much money he was spending trying to take care of her. She was beginning to feel like a failure because she hadn't planned as well as she should have. She also didn't want to admit that it is kind of nice to not have to worry. Brandon had made it clear he didn't expect to be paid back. Cait knew Brandon and Jeremy hadn't grown up in a rich home, but he'd managed to create his wealth. Before his brother's death, he lived a modest life, barely touching his earnings. Since Cait wasn't due back to work for a few more days, Brandon asked her for help finding them a house.

"Why are you moving all the way here?"

"How else am I going to keep an eye on you?"

"Are you trying for sainthood?"

"No, I just take my obligations seriously."

"Whatever," Cait said as she took her room key. She planned to take a soak in the tub and forget this day ever happened.

"Brat!" Brandon yelled at her with a laugh. They didn't see each other the rest of the night, and Brandon felt lonely for the first time in a few days. When his head hit the pillow, he was fully asleep. Brandon rarely had detailed dreams but his brother was front and center in this one. It felt different, but he wasn't going to knock a chance at telling him how he felt about this whole situation.

"What do you think of Cait? She's awesome isn't she?" ghost Jeremy asked him.

"Yes, how could you do this to her? She doesn't deserve this kind of pain and drama. Especially being pregnant with your baby."

"Easy for you to say, you were always the perfect one."

"Yeah right, I just saw how dad's addiction spun our mother into her own addiction."

"You give our mother too much credit, she had an alcohol problem in her teens. Aunt Telulah told me about their growing up. She was how I survived after you left."

"I always thought I could be like you or better. Instead, the addiction controlled me and I wasn't able to to get free. Please protect Cait better than I did. She deserves it."

"I promise. I love you bro."

His brother faded away,

***

Cait in the other room wasn't so lucky. She'd taken a hot shower, braided her hair, and put on a show that usually made her fall asleep. She grabbed a pillow to cuddle since she craved something in her arms. Being truly alone for the first time in days, she let the tears come. She cried for her baby never knowing her father, her broken figurines, and the loss of stability she had taken for granted. After she exhausted herself crying, she felt Jeremy surround her.

"I'm sorry my love. I promised you things I had no right to. Can you forgive me?" The ghost Jeremy said to her.

"How can you ask me to forgive you?"

"I know you can't see it now, but everything will work out the way it needs to."

"How do you know that?" She asked the ghost.

"Because time is different on this side. We made such a beautiful angel. I may not be there physically, but I'll do everything I can from here to help guide you. Trust Brandon and Tyler. They will keep you safe. Know that I truly did love you." She felt a cold sensation on her cheek. Then she didn't feel him anymore.

***

Waking up the next morning, Brandon checked in with Tony to see about any issues with the builds they were finalizing. He then set about doing his daily exercise routine. Over the years, he'd learned that keeping a strict exercise routine kept him level-headed and ready to start the day better than any cup of coffee ever had. After his shower, he decided to see if Cait was up and ready to start the day.

"How can you be so cheerful at this time of day?"

"It's almost 10 am. How can you not be?"

"Let's see, I'm pregnant, nauseated, and can't have coffee."

"But you can have pancakes and fruit."

"I'll meet you downstairs in 15 minutes." Cait wasn't turning down free food right now.

"When we finish breakfast, we'll need to go drop off the tow dolly before we meet with Victoria."

"Ugh fine, I'll hurry." Cait didn't want him to know that she was looking forward to seeing her friend. By the time she reached the downstairs breakfast bar, Brandon had organized a healthy breakfast for her. The rental place wasn't very busy so they were right on time to meet Victoria.

Victoria had requested that they meet her in a neighborhood that was 10 minutes from where the condo had been. The neighborhood was a new build and all of the houses looked a little cookie-cutter to Cait. The previous evening Brandon had filled out a questionnaire for Victoria about what they were looking for. Knowing Victoria, she knew the options she'd found would be hard to pick one. Cait was shocked at the prices of houses that Brandon had requested they view. If his "temporary" home budget was this high, she wondered what his "forever" home budget must be.

By mid-afternoon, Victoria had taken them through at least 4 houses all over the upper side of Oklahoma City to the outskirts. Each of the houses had something that had made Brandon veto them. He'd made comments about the design of the kitchen, the number of stairs, lack of light, too much light, and the list went on and on. At the 5th house, Cait almost wanted to just relax in the car, using the baby as an excuse to give her feet a rest. Once she saw the house at the end of the driveway, she decided she had the energy to look at one more house.

The house was a work of art. The walkway was lined with lavender and bluebonnets. There was a massive tree in the front yard with a swing hanging from it. The front steps even had a ramp off to the side. The front porch was painted a rich chocolate brown color with white pillars. On either side of the porch were holly bushes. The wide front porch had another swing hanging to the left of the door. The rest of the porch was empty of decorations. In her mind, Cait could see different decorations for the holidays covering the porch. The front door was an olive green with a gold door knob.