Unknowingly His

Chapter 1

"I know dad, but I still think you need to wait a few more days before opening." My voice was strong and resolute but there was no convincing him to change his mind. The man was stubborn!

"I get it Dot, I really do honey, but if we don't open today I'm worried we might lose the place before we even get a chance to start." With those final words my Dad turns on his heal and walks with his head down into the kitchens. I knew he felt bad and deep down I knew he was right.

Welcoming the smell of pancakes from the kitchen as the door swung behind him, I tried hard to focus on the fact that I needed to kick myself into waitressing mode along with my babysitting/supportive sibling modes. I scanned the area and saw my baby brother still asleep in his pushchair behind the counter and my 14 year old brother toying with the cup of tea in his hands. He was struggling and it was written all over his face.

I walked over and sat opposite him before putting my hand gently over his. He stilled but didn't look at me. I loved him so much and it was hurting me to see him so conflicted about our life now.

We'd only moved here two weeks ago and since then it's been...the same as it was in England. Moving to Idaho was meant to be our fresh start but it was just the same. Dad had an uncle who lived here and owned a diner that was on its way into the ground. After my mother decided to ditch her three kids and husband for much younger and richer version with no kids, Dad had been looking for a way to escape any reminders of her. Apparently the other side of the world in a shit hole of a diner was the place to start!

Unfortunately for my Dad, I was a constant reminder that she was once a part of his life with the same brown eyes and long, curly, deep brown hair. My tanned skin was my Dads but other than that, I was my mothers child. My brother was a younger version of my Dad (in every way, moods included) and the baby was already following in the same foot steps with his green eyes and calm demeanour than had the potential to explode at any moment. He might only be 13 months old but it was already clear he was another mini Dad.

My mother left about two days after Rex turned 9 months. I'll never forget that day for as long as I live. She arranged a family meeting and told us all she was sorry but couldn't live this life anymore. She was happy with someone else and wanted a chance at a better life. With that she up and walked out with nothing but her handbag. No reminders of us whatsoever. A clean slate.

After three months Dad had enough and told us it was time for a change. I couldn't have agreed more. Dad had thrown himself into his work and worked every piece of overtime he was allowed in the restaurant he worked in back in Devon. It was something he thought would help him but didn't really think about helping me and the boys.

I left university and stopped my nursing degree to take care of them. Not because I had to, we could have had help, but because I wanted to. They needed a family member to be there and I was going to be that person. I could always go back to education when the boys were ready. I wasn't going to turn my back on them.

Dads idea of a new start sounded good at the time but it was just more of the same. We went from being just the three of us with a Dad who worked himself into the ground to it just being the three of us and a Dad who took over an entire business to build it back up from the ground. Just that now we were thousands of miles from anyone we knew.

"You look like you could do with more pancakes. Want me to put a cheeky scoop of ice cream on there?" I smiled at Grayson and saw the corner of his mouth twitch. A small nod was all it took to send me on my feet and into the kitchen. Rushing through and grabbing some pancakes and secretly scooping some ice cream onto it while Dad went over the drill with the kitchen team. I placed a strawberry on top just to give myself a little high five for trying to get some fruit on his plate!

I dropped the plate on the table and noticed briefly that the door sign facing me said closed which meant that we were open before Dad had even talked to me about it. I pushed my anger down for now and gave Gray a kiss on the head before wandering over to check that Rex was still sleeping soundly.

I stopped to grab another coffee for myself and then went to sit back down to make sure Gray ate every single bite on that plate. He was slim but he ate like a pig! I just couldn't seem to put any weight on him. We had twenty minutes before we left for school. It was his first day of high school and I knew he was nervous. He would be a freshmen and I have no idea what it would be like for him. I had no experience with the American education system but I know it scared the crap out of me just thinking about the kind of day he might have in front of him.

I'd promised to take him and pick him up in the second hand Honda Civic Dad had bought as the family run around. He had a van for work that I was never going to even attempt to drive. The thing was huge! It had taken some getting used to with driving on the other side of the road as it is. There may have been a near death experience once or twice but luckily no one was hurt and the baby wasn't in the car!

"How're you feeling for today?" I asked while I held the coffee mug to my lips to hide my worried expression.

A shrug was his reply.

"I'm sure you'll be very interesting for the first day. Plus the girls love a British accent." I giggled and he looked at me like I had three heads. It was worth a try. All I wanted was a smile. "What? I'm sure I read that somewhere!" I didn't want to admit that the millions of romance novels I have read associate a man and a British accent to be the thing to make you weak in the knees. Not sure it works so much on British women though.

"You honestly think I'm thinking about impressing the girls in my school? It's my first day! I just want to find a sane person to talk to that isn't just looking for the latest scoop on why a whole family up and moved to the other side of the world." He rushed out and I breathed out a sigh of relief that he'd actually chosen to speak today. I think it's been two days since he last spoke and it was really worrying.

"Gray, you're an amazing kid. You're going to do just fine. I wish I could come through it all with you and stand by your side but this is one for you to do alone. I know you'll find someone, you were always the more sociable one in Devon. I was the outcast remember? You always had plenty of friends and I'm sure you'll be the exact same here." I put my hand on his but he pulled it away. I know he didn't want my sympathy but he misinterpreted my intention. I wanted to give him my strength not my sympathy.

On that note, I stood and grabbed my keys from behind the counter, called dad to watch Rex and then walked to the car as a grumpy Gray trudged behind. What fun today was turning out to be!