Sean pulled the Tennant front door closed behind him as he left. He had to go into town to find his brother or go home and talk to his parents; he had to tell them about their relationship, otherwise last night would've been the last time he'd spend with Tatum. He hadn't even made it off the porch when he heard, "Sean? What are you doin' here?"
He looked up to see his brother looking at him suspiciously. Yeah, why not? Might as well tell him here, Sean couldn't help thinking as he stuffed his hands in his pockets nervously. "Well… I… I spent the night here," he started as he stepped away from the house slightly. Aaron's blue eyes followed his movements and, as he said that, flickered between his brother and the house.
"Now why would a Miller want to do that?" he asked, playing dumb, or perhaps he didn't want to believe that it was possible for them both to like the same girl. Aaron also conveniently didn't think about the fact that, in fact, he wanted to spend the night in that house someday.
"What man wouldn't want to stay the night with his girlfriend?" Sean asked back, outwardly looking a lot calmer in front of his brother than he had done in a long time.
"Girlfriend?" the older Miller repeated, thinking now it was probably unlikely that they were talking about the same sister; Isabella was unlikely to be in a new relationship this quickly after being freed of David. "You and Tatum?" he asked incredulously, his surprise turning to anger when his brother nodded.
"That's right, Tatum's my girlfriend," he confirmed, trying not to feel scared as he waited for his response.
"Yeah, right. Good one Sean," Aaron laughed sarcastically, of course it had to be a joke.
"It's not a joke, Aaron," Sean corrected him now.
"You're seriously tellin' me that Tatum, a Tennant, is your girlfriend? She's pregnant," he used the same tone to say pregnant as he might have used to ask if she was a leper; someone to be avoided at all costs.
"That's what I'm sayin'," the younger Miller confirmed. "And so what if she's pregnant? How is that any of your business?" he asked now, finally voicing an opinion that was in contradiction to his. The way Malcolm and Aaron kept going on about her pregnancy, you'd think she'd murdered someone and gotten away with it.
"Right, you're comin' with me," Aaron said impulsively, grabbing his brother by the arm to drag him back to his truck.
"Aaron, what the fuck?" he was no longer going to let himself be bullied by his brother, pulling his arm free.
"We're tellin' pa," was all he said, trying to pull him along again.
"Fine, just stop grabbin' me," Sean said moodily, getting in his brother's truck. He couldn't believe what a jackass he could be; well, of course, he knew Aaron could be, as he'd witnessed it often enough. But usually it wasn't aimed at him, not like this in any case.
"I can't believe this," Aaron muttered a couple of times as he tore through town to get to the Miller estate. He knew Austin wouldn't stop him for speeding, and no one else was dumb enough to get in his way. Sean didn't say anything as they drove but was trying to psyche himself up for his father's response, which was likely to be twice as bad. "Seriously Sean," the driver said a little louder now as they got closer to their home.
"Give it a rest," his younger brother said. "Besides, what were you doin' there?" he suddenly realised that he should never have been there either. "You weren't goin' there to bully Tatum, were you? Coz goin' to her house to do that would've been low even for you," he started lecturing him.
"Don't be silly, she's not worth that kind'a hassle," Aaron scoffed, glancing across to see his brother's face set to thunder.
"You need to start leavin' her alone, this stupid feud is gettin' ridiculous. And especially now she's my girlfriend…"
"Yeah, we'll see about that," the older brother said as he parked up, slamming his truck into park. If their father had anything to say about this, Tatum wouldn't be dating him for much longer. He got out and started making his way across the drive.
"Aaron, nothin' you say will change my mind," Sean said as he got out of the truck as well and followed him into the house. "So, tell me, if you weren't there to bother Tatum, what were you doin' there?" he asked, wanting an answer now.
"That's none of your business Sean," Aaron almost growled as he first checked the living room to see if their parents were there.
"Well, why not? If, somehow, you've made Tatum's pregnancy your business, why can't I make this mine?" the younger Miller goaded him, blocking the way out of the living room. "Come on, Aaron, tell me, why were you headed towards the Tennant house?" He waited for a few seconds to give his brother time to start responding. "Shall I start guessin'?" Sean asked now, taking small delight in the uncomfortable look on Aaron's face. "If this were high school, I'd say you liked Tatum, because you pick on her an awful lot. But that can't be it, coz you would've decked me when I told you she's my girlfriend," he started going through possible explanations. "Or perhaps, you've been tryin' to shake 'em down, in exchange for leavin' them alone. But then you could've done that at the bar," he continued. "Am I gettin' closer?" he asked his brother, bemused to see how angry this was making him. "Hmm, what else could it be?" he pretended to think. "Maybe you're spyin' on Isabella for David? He was your buddy, right? Lettin' him know when Izzy's doin' better, so he can come ruin her life again?"
"That will never happen to her again!" Aaron lost his temper now. He knew he was no angel, but to be accused of colluding with that worthless abuser made his blood boil. "I threatened to take care of him if he tried touchin' her again," he added without thinking.
"Why would you…? Oh of course, bullyin' women and makin' their lives miserable is fine, but actually beatin' them crosses some imaginary line in your head. Surely protectin' a Tennant from your little buddy is beneath you though? What are they to you?" Sean goaded his brother again.
"It's nothin' to do with that! I want Isabella, alright?!"
"Wait, what?" the younger Miller stopped surprised. "You've got a crush on Isabella, and you had the nerve to lecture me about bein' with Tatum, and the stupid feud?"
"Lemme get this straight," their father's voice icily interrupted them, making both of them cower slightly as they turned towards the doorway. "Our family has been feudin' with them for over 20 years and, while I half-expect it from you Sean, I find out that both my sons are lustin' after those Tennant girls?" Malcolm summarised crudely, his blue eyes shooting between the two heirs to his sizeable share of the family business. Malcolm was a handsome, tall man, with greying hair and an imposing stature. He didn't have the muscles his oldest son did, but he'd never really needed them. There was something about his steel grey eyes that made a lot of people uncomfortable, knowing they were sizing up whoever thought they could be competition to his family's business and coming up with an intelligent and often ruthless way of dealing with them. So even though both Miller sons were tall, they slouched a little as they bowed under his gaze now.
"I am not lustin' after Tatum," Sean finally reacted, a little insulted that his father was reducing her and their relationship to so little. He straightened up as he took a deep breath. "I'm in love with her… and I'm gonna raise her baby as my own," he said it out loud for the first time in front of any of his relations.
"Oh Sean, that's so great," their mother cut her husband off as she rushed towards her youngest son to give him a hug. She was pleased to finally find out who her son was so serious about, for possibly the first time in his life. She was also so proud of him for being willing to raise another man's child as his own; not every man would.
"Martha, that is not great," Malcolm said angrily, straightening himself up to his full demeanour. "Sean, what the hell are you thinkin'? That girl is only after one thing…" he started, trying to put his son off, "and it ain't your bleedin' heart."
"Malcolm!" his wife said disapprovingly.
"Oh, come on, she's either after his money or to get revenge on us," he turned towards her, surprised to see her give him an icy stare, not unlike his own.
"Pa, she doesn't care about the stupid feud," Sean protested.
"Your money then! And lemme tell ya, after what her father did, she ain't…" he said as he wagged his finger towards him, gearing up to go into full lecture mode.
"Malcolm Miller bite your tongue," his wife interrupted him now, surprising all three men. "You are bein' an idiot. You are holdin' on to a fight from almost two decades ago, against a girl who hasn't done anythin' wrong, who has probably suffered enough at her father's hands as well," she started her lecture.
"But Martha, what he did to Brenda and…" her husband tried to defend his stance. If it had been up to him, his family would've bought out Grayson a long time ago and those girls wouldn't have had a bar or even a house to come back to. And that meant his youngest son wasn't about to ruin his life by being in a relationship with Tatum.
"Yes, I know. And it was horrible. But if you keep holdin' onto this war with a ghost, you're gonna lose your son," she said, putting her hand comfortingly on her youngest son's shoulders. "This is an excitin' time in his life, would you rather hold onto a feud than experience this with him?" Martha asked, staying quiet to force him to think and answer now.
Malcolm looked from his wife to his son as he thought. Of course, he wanted his son to be happy, but did it have to be with her, and with a bastard child? For all he knew, the child's real father was even worse than Grayson; did he want those kinds of genes in his family?
"If you have to think that long pa, I think I know the answer," Sean said sadly after a few more minutes and, giving his mother an apologetic look, left the living room.
"Malcolm Miller, you bull-headed man," Martha told her husband disappointedly and followed her son.
"Aaron, you know…" Malcolm started to try to explain but saw even his oldest son wasn't entirely convinced he was right this time.
"I dunno pa…" Aaron said hesitantly, rocking on his heels as he mulled it over before he too left the room.