Botched Proposal (Pierson Family Values #0.5) Read online

  Botched Proposal

  Pierson Family Values

  A Holiday Novella

  Rose Silverstone

  ~ A Christmas gathering not one Pierson will want to remember. ~

  Botched Proposal

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons-living or dead-or places, events, or locales is purely accidental. The characters are reproductions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. This book contains content that is not suitable for readers 17 and under.

  Cover design by Silverstone’s Gems

  Please be aware that this book cannot be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without written permission from the author, Rose Silverstone, at [email protected], or within the sharing guidelines at a legitimate library or bookseller. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Copyright © 2016 Rose Silverstone

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN 1540522652

  Designed by E. Jones

  Printed in the United States of America

  To my biggest supporter

  Christmas is supposed to be about love, support, giving, gifting, and—most of all—family.

  The Piersons have decided to come together to celebrate. The goal is to ignore the lives that each of the children has and the heavy loss they have recently suffered. A few things present themselves that promise to destroy any chance of pulling of Eric Pierson’s surprise for his girlfriend, Loretta Horner. The major catastrophe waiting to destroy everything he's been working for comes in the form of an ex. Serenity McAdams has something to share that is sure to make proposing to Lorna an impossibility.

  What else can go wrong this holiday season?

  1

  Gathering

  Eric

  Eric stood in front of the six-bedroom, three-story building that was and had always been his childhood home. The cobblestone walkway leading up to it still had their fingerprints from the day he and his siblings played in the cement. Every other block was white cement and bled into cobblestone. He and his siblings had been curious and their father hadn’t been able to bring himself to ask the crew to correct it. Instead, Poppa Pierson had the men leave all of his children’s prints just where they’d left them.

  Each of the Pierson children had their mark now permanently etched in “stone,” so to speak. Their mother had added each of her children’s initials to the place where their print was after they took turns pointing them out.

  Eric smirked at the memory of his twin sisters’ excitement at being able to get dirty and not having their mother fuss at them for once.

  Standing at the forefront of their property, he looked over the home he’d always loved and felt most comfortable. Knowing his father wasn’t inside was difficult. There seemed to be a sense of foreboding that washed over him the longer he stood outside. His hand moved through his overlong dark hair that was in need of an immediate trim as soon as he was able to tear himself away from the family. He shook out his hands then allowed his head to fall back while blowing out a breath.

  Perfect. Just perfect.

  Eric was frustrated with himself because he understood the motions he’d just made were a result of his nervousness.

  Poppa Pierson had been killed last year and it still hurt like crazy to know that the old man wasn’t going to be inside to welcome his family home. Not once had the entirety of his crew been together under the same roof since their father had been taken away from them.

  It was odd to believe the loss of their father would cause such discord within their usually close-knit family unit.

  Eric stood staring … no, glaring at the sign that read For Sale as if it were the cause of all of the turmoil in his mind. The sign simply signified a big change for their family, especially his mother. She’d only lived one other place in her life. That place had been her parents’ home.

  It was as much of an adjustment for all of the siblings as well. This had been the place that held all of their memories. This house was where they became the Perfect Pierson Crew. They’d all had their milestones within those walls. Some—Jamie—just outside of the back door, up against the wall on the enclosed porch while a storm raged outside.

  Thinking of his eldest brother’s younger antics had Eric releasing a slight laugh.

  “There’s something I’m sure he’d like to share with his son one day,” Eric said to himself as he looked over the artistry of his family’s home.

  There is a post right off the main entrance of the kitchen where all of their heights had been recorded. Jamie and Clare had already begun to measure their kids’ heights on the opposite wall of the first generation of Walter and Evelyn Pierson recordings.

  Knowing his children’s heights would never be recorded on that post made Eric wish he’d gone ahead and knocked someone up. Being in his thirties, he still had plenty of opportunity and an underlying desire for one or two. His major obstacle had everything to do with the girl he was choosing to spend the rest of his life with through marriage.

  Lorna Horner is the most amazingly beautiful woman a man could meet. She is stunning. The way she carries herself speaks volumes about her confidence level. The fact that she works out and eats better than his nutritionist does made him feel vindicated for all the time he spent in the gym and researching healthier foods. She was perfection walking.

  Thinking of her shouldn’t cause him to need to breathe deeply and not in the good way.

  Eric had just released his ninth or tenth breath when a shadow joined his on the front walk. He didn’t need to turn to know who stood next to him. Judging by the spiked way the hair on top of his hair stood, Eric knew his youngest brother was standing to the right of him.

  “I see you’re pretty much having the same reaction that we’ve all had before going into the house, all of us except for Clarissa. Lyss and I were discussing possibilities and she pierced us with the look. It’s either a look that I swear all women learn to do as soon as they’re born or the instant they become mothers. She’d been wrangling the boys in while Nate brought in the groceries. When he told her he’d seen it too, I had to laugh. I’ve never seen that man retreat faster. She stormed out of the kitchen and he practically merged with the nearest wall.”

  Eric chuckled at the visual. He and Nate were about the same height. Clare’s husband and best friend had him by an inch. There’s no way he could picture either of them having the ability to become one with any of the walls in the house. Yet, he’d agree with Nate’s reaction. Having one of the Pierson women ticked off at anyone would tempt even the largest male to attempt that feat.

  The fact that all of the Pierson boys were going to be under one roof was one thing. Add to that the six feet plus each of the brothers Trent—Alyssa’s, the other twin, on-again, off-again boyfriend—and Nate’s own six feet plus and the space of certain rooms was quickly diminished. Not one of them was uber slim. They each still had addictions to keeping active. All of them played sports in high school and still either participated in weekend activities or coached a sport.

  Nate was on the swim team and still did a few hundred laps over the course of a week at his and Clarissa’s North Carolina home. Trent, Jamie, and Alex all played football and either ran track or played basketball in high school along with Eric. They tended to get together at least twice a week for a game. Trent and Jamie are the two that also coach little league teams. Jamie started when J.J. turned two.

  “Hey man, I want to be a pro at this when my son is set to join.”

&n
bsp; Those were Jamie’s exact words when he was asked why he was caching. That’s just who he is. If he’s going to do something then he’s going to be the best at it. Hell, that’s how all of them are. It’s the ingrained part of their nature that Clare coined the “Pierson Competitive Nature.” It’s something that she tries to avoid acknowledging she has in spades.

  Each of Eric’s sisters was gifted with their mom’s lean figure. The twins say they were blessed with just enough endowments to make it clear they are female. Ella is the one that has the “Pierson assets” they say. Their father’s side of the family is definitely the bustier side of gene pool. All of them have their father’s golden blonde hair. Alex is the only male whose hair has that coloring as well. He and Jamie have more of their mother’s hair color.

  The dark, wavy tones of her hair were passed along to her two oldest boys. Eric’s hair held more of the wave that took on the style of his mother’s natural, before-hairdryer-usage look. He tended to use a ton of product to shape his curls into something every morning. Eric had the waviness and Jamie had more of her dark brown coloring. Their father always said he got some of himself in there because of the gold tones in both of their hair and the blue of their eyes.

  Evelyn always laughed because Eric’s eyes weren’t blue. His were hazel with green tones like his grandfather’s. Jamie’s were more of what she always called aquamarine, which leant themselves more to the green than the blue.

  “Your babies can’t all only have all of who you are in them Walt, my love. I grew them within me. They are bound to have some part of me in there.”

  “Pissshh, woman. Those are Pierson genes living and breathing. I have shaped their outward appearances. You shape their personalities and mold them into creatures in the likeness of their beautiful mother.”

  His parents would then chuckle and share a secret smile as they sometimes would. It was something Eric always hoped to find with a certain woman. He had. At least, he hoped he had, but a part of him was sad to know that no little combinations of him and his wife would walk the earth.

  Eric turned to the side to glance at his brother. He didn’t know how long he’d been standing side-by-side with his brother but they’d both seemed to be lost in thought.

  At his glance, his brother released a long sigh.

  “You know.”

  It wasn’t a question, which meant Eric didn’t need to probe to see if they were on the same page or reveal his source.

  “Yep.”

  When he didn’t say any more, Alex seemed to relax his shoulders a bit.

  “Either Lyss or Jamie told you because Ella has been out of town and must not know or else she would’ve called to ream me a new asshole. Lyss hasn’t stopped giving me shit about it. Jamie … I think he’s waiting me out.” He tilted his head to the side and gave Eric a quizzical look. “Jamie hasn’t gone full ‘big brother’ on me which means he wouldn’t have shared anything with anyone. When did Lyss call you?”

  Eric chuckled at how easily his informant had been deduced.

  “Lyss has never been one to know how to keep anything to herself. I’m surprised you confided anything to her in the first place. Clare has always been the one that was the vault.”

  “Mom was ranting about the wretched whore that was attacking her ‘baby boy’ when Alyssa walked in with her suitcase. I guess she heard Mom’s voice before she opened the front door so she didn’t call out to let us know she was in the house. All of it spilled out of Mom as soon as she saw one of her girls walking through the door. That was all she wrote on that. I couldn’t have stopped her from sharing all of the details if I’d wanted to.”

  A full belly laugh bubbled out of Eric at the crestfallen look on Alex’s face. When it morphed into a look of disgust, Eric tried and failed to school his features.

  “Sorry bro. I’m sorry. I can’t even begin to know what it is that you’re feeling right now.”

  Alex sucked his teeth then groaned.

  “Man, I can’t believe I was out of it enough for someone to take photographs of me. This chick is hot and all but she’s not my usual type. You know how steadfast I am with that standard line-up. The blonde bombshell that looks like she spends as much time as I do at the gym and on the water. This … woman is a redhead with slight curves and all, but not my type. Not in the least bit.”

  Eric’s face had to hold the contempt he felt for his brother right then. His baby brother was one of the most intelligent and highly successful lawyers in the area. Sometimes, every-so-often, he said and did some of the stupidest things Eric had ever heard.

  “You mean to tell me that you’ve never dated a woman that wasn’t blonde with a supermodel body? You’ve limited yourself to only sampling those goods.” When Alex nodded as if that wasn’t something outlandishly insane, Eric shook his head. “Brother, brother, brother. I don’t know how in the hell your scope zeroed in that finite section of the pool, but that has got to be changed.”

  Alex’s features said he wasn’t the least bit interested. Eric didn’t care. He had another mission and something else to focus on so he was going to run with it.

  “The bigger issue is this Arlene woman is suing me for defamation of character. I’m the one being threatened with photos of myself practically naked on some hotel room bed. A sheet is barely covering my goods in one of the photos. Did Lyss tell you that? I don’t even want to know if Arlene has photos of me in any other compromising position. The worst of it is, I don’t remember the night we were supposedly together.”

  Eric nodded and bit back a laugh. This was a serious matter because Alex’s firm was reviewing the case and taking a hard look at the man that had been their top lawyer.

  “Look Lex, I know this is major in your world. This is majorly important, but can I play devil’s advocate for a moment here.”

  Alex gave him an incredulous look as Jamie opened the front door of the house. His brother was wearing his heavy jacket, which meant either he was getting ready to run an errand or he saw the two of them outside and came to join them.

  “Alex, grab Eric’s bag and take it inside. Mom needs you to get some stuff down for her so she can make dinner.”

  Alex bent down and scooped up Eric’s bag with no questions asked or grumbles letting Eric know that his little brother welcomed the diversion. Their little brother always argued when he was commanded to do something he believed another person was capable of doing. Jamie was injured because he popped a guy for groping his wife when they were at a tattoo shop together. He got an ear full from their mother on that one. Afterwards, she patted him on the back for defending Madi.

  “Your father would’ve been proud of you. Madison beams every time she looks at that arm even though she is horrified knowing that you are in any pain because of her.”

  “You think so? I think she’s pissed at me.”

  Their mother had smirked and waited until Madison was out of earshot before she bent down to ask him her next question.

  “Are you sexually deprived, Jamison?”

  His stunned green gaze flicked to Eric before turning back to their mother. She smirked as his cheeks actually turned red with his embarrassment.

  “I’m guessing that’s a no. If she was pissed off then she wouldn’t dote on you the way she does. The secret glances at her big, strong man wouldn’t happen. Sex would most definitely be off the table even if it were just for one day. Seeing as she hasn’t stopped brushing up against you, you aren’t begging for it. Quite the opposite.”

  Eric had howled for ten full minutes after that keen observation from Evelyn Pierson. Jamie couldn’t deny it if he wanted to. They shared a wall and Eric had heard the furniture rocking the night before. How they could still go at it surrounded by family Eric didn’t understand, but they did.

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if Madison wasn’t pregnant if the sounds of things were any indication.”

  Jamie had flipped him off as their mother had admonished Eric for giving his brother shit when he w
as injured and already embarrassed enough having his mother bring up his sex life. Kissing their mother’s cheek, Jamie left the room. It was nice to have the joking Jamie back. The time of the trial had been hard and the fallout from it was still being handled. Jamie was at the forefront and would forever remain there now that their father had passed away.

  Looking at Jamie’s demeanor told Eric that his big brother had something serious he wanted to discuss. This was Jamison not Jamie. They stood facing each other for a moment mirroring each other’s posture. Hands in the pockets of their slacks, relaxed shoulders, and intense eyes as they silently read one another, which was a perfect depiction of who they were.

  The two of them ran the Pierson family companies from Clarissa’s fledgling business to the family’s well-established one; the two had a hand in them all. They were a perfect pair. They knew the other well enough to know what lane to cross and which to halt to wait for a signal to continue to drive along. They fed off each other and pissed off many a business associate with their silent cues to one another.

  They were beloved by some and hated by others because of how easily things seemed to come to the two of them. What most didn’t know is how many hours the each put in or how much research they personally did before making a move for their businesses.

  If Nate entered the room, then most of the associates just tossed in the towel and gave them whatever it was that they wanted. The three of them were the perfect triquetra when it came to business and the art of silent communication. The nods and tells that clued the others in to what they were feeling were oftentimes missed.

  Nate’s assistant, Gale, his assistant, Lucy, and Jamie’s assistants, Lois and Robert, knew exactly when to call a meeting. The assistants were so attuned to their bosses that they have said they can feel the atmosphere chill when the guys didn’t like what they were hearing. Jamie’s tell is a glazing over of his eyes. Nate’s is a knock on the table. Eric’s is a running of his thumbs over one another. All of those mean, they’re done and don’t need to hear anymore.