Liam's Invented I-Do

by Liz Isaacson

  “Was that a question?” he asked. “You appreciated it?”

  “He was just helping me—us, Liam.” She glared at him and stepped past him. “There’s leftover burgers if you want one. I’m not making dinner.”

  “Right,” Liam said. Callie never made dinner, because Jeremiah did that next door. He swung around and followed her into the kitchen. “What was he helping with?”

  “Ranch assignments,” she said. “I made Cayden the foreman, and we interviewed everyone today and assigned managers.”

  Liam didn’t know what to do with the terrible emotions streaming through him. “And what?”

  “And what?” she repeated. “We made some decisions, and Cayden is going to talk to everyone tonight and give out their assignments. And then I was just saying good-bye to Miah.”

  “Yeah, that’s what it looked like.”

  “Liam.”

  “What?” he asked.

  “You don’t trust us?”

  “You broke the rules,” he said.

  “I didn’t know we still had those rules.”

  “Are you kidding?” He glared at her and folded his arms. “And I trust you guys.”

  “Do you?”

  “I trust my brother.”

  Callie fell back at step, and Liam realized what he’d said. “I mean—”

  “You don’t trust me.”

  “You said you loved him,” Liam said, aware his voice had gone up in volume. He worked to calm himself. “I have work to do.”

  “Yeah, you always have work to do.”

  He spun back at her sarcastic tone, his temper rising. “Yes, Callie, because I have a full-time job. I’ve told you all about the Marvel contract, and I’ve taken a ton of time off during the holidays. You can’t blame—”

  “I can,” Callie said. “You said you’d help with the ranch, and I don’t know what I’m doing.”

  “Obviously,” he said, and Callie shut down completely, right in front of him. “Cal,” he tried, but she shook her head and stalked out of the kitchen and down the hall. “Wait.”

  Only the slamming door answered him, and the fight left Liam’s whole body. “Idiot,” he muttered. “Why did you say you trusted Jeremiah and not Callie?”

  He stomped back toward his office, but he didn’t go inside. He yanked open the front door and found Jeremiah standing there, his fist about to knock. “Oh,” he said, stepping back. “You’re angry.”

  “Dang right I’m angry,” Liam said. “You’re over here, hugging my wife and, and, and….” He wasn’t sure what else to say. He hadn’t heard what Jeremiah had said.

  “Liam,” Jeremiah said. “It was nothing.”

  “It didn’t look like nothing,” Liam said. “And she said she loves you, and we had rules.”

  Confusion crossed Jeremiah’s face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about with the rules, but yeah, she said she loved me. We’re good friends.”

  “Too good of friends.” Liam lifted his chin. “I don’t want you two to see each other anymore.”

  “That’s insane,” Jeremiah said, a panicked look crossing his face. “You can’t take her from me too. She’s all I have left.”

  “She’s all you have left?” Liam laughed, but it wasn’t happy. “What does that mean? Why didn’t you just marry her?”

  Jeremiah swallowed, obviously working through something in his head. “I would never do anything to hurt you,” he said, his voice calm. Freakishly calm. “Ever. And I can’t lose either of you right now. Please, don’t make me choose you or her.” He lifted his chin too, and Liam saw the Walker stubbornness mirrored right in front of him.

  “Wyatt’s gone all the time,” Jeremiah said. “Rhett, you, and Tripp are happily married.”

  Liam scoffed. What was going on at his house was not happy.

  “Skyler lives in Amarillo full time now. Micah’s not here,” Jeremiah said as if he hadn’t heard Liam. “It’s just me and that huge ranch and that massive house, and I cannot keep living like this. So yes, when Callie called, I came over. I’d die if you two didn’t come for dinner. I can’t get Whitney to talk to me anymore, and I have no idea what I did, and I just—please. You can’t be mad at me too.” He held Liam’s eye for another moment, and then he turned away with a huge sigh.

  “I’m sorry,” Liam said, knowing this apology would be a hundred times easier than the one he needed to say to Callie. “I guess calling and texting didn’t work.”

  “No.” Jeremiah paced to the end of the porch and stayed there, leaning against the railing.

  Liam took slow, tentative steps toward him, stopping a few feet away and facing the front driveway. “Where’s Wyatt been?”

  “I don’t know,” Jeremiah said. “I haven’t asked him, because I literally see him for five minutes in the mornings, and then he’s gone.”

  “Micah will be here soon.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And me and Callie are right here.”

  Jeremiah let several seconds of silence go by, before he said, “I do love her like a sister, and she loves me like a brother. Not like she loves you.”

  Liam nodded, though Jeremiah wasn’t looking at him. He wanted to believe his brother. When he made love with Callie, he believed it. Why couldn’t he believe it now?

  “You should go make sure things are okay with her,” Jeremiah said. “Tell her we’ll have to do the beehives another day.”

  “It’s fine,” Liam said, turning as Jeremiah started to leave. “You guys go do the beehives. I’ll go to town and get us something to eat and meet you guys at the homestead afterward.”

  Their eyes met, and a heavy dose of foolishness hit Liam smack dab in the chest. Of course Jeremiah and Callie weren’t doing anything wrong.

  “Liam,” Jeremiah said.

  “No, seriously. Go.” He needed another few hours in the hotseat in front of his screens, but he could stay up late tonight. He knew he wouldn’t be crawling into bed with Callie, chuckling with her while he kissed her, while she ran her fingers through his hair, because he knew it would take more than a single apology to convince her that he did trust her.

  “I’m heading out for food,” Liam said. He opened the front door and darted into his office, grabbing his truck keys and hurrying right back outside. “What are you feeling like? Chinese? Pizza?”

  “Whatever I don’t have to make,” Jeremiah said, and Liam knew then that his brother was in a very bad way. He grabbed onto him and hugged him. Neither of them said anything, but Liam could feel the negativity pouring off of his brother.

  He wanted to fix things for Jeremiah too. But all he could do was step back and look at him. “I’ll be back soon.” Liam tipped his hat and hurried down the front steps, hoping he could find a way to make things right with Callie.

  He took a very long time in town, buying out the last of the doughnuts at Heidi Ackerman’s bakery, and allowing himself to get drawn into a conversation about horses and ranches with Frank.

  The man had been there, serving coffee and wiping tables, and Liam liked the older man. Plus, the news was out about Liam and Callie’s marriage, and Frank wanted to know how things were going at the Shining Star Ranch.

  “Y’all get the right help,” Frank said. “You’ll be fine. And stick together. That’s important too.” He knocked on the table and glanced around, but no one else had come into the bakery. “My wife sacrificed for a long time before her dream of this bakery came true,” he said. “And now here I am, supporting her.” He smiled like there was nowhere he’d rather be than wiping tables in a bakery.

  He sighed and shook his head. “Plus, I get out to the ranch every few days to ride. That makes my cowboy spirit happy.”

  “Yeah.” Liam chuckled with Frank. “I like to ride with my brothers too.”

  “Anyway, Heidi will be wondering why I’m not home yet.” He stood up and groaned. “We closed twenty minutes ago.”

  “I’m sorry,” Liam said, jumping to his feet too. He hadn’t
even gone anywhere for real food yet, and he wondered how long it took to learn about how to keep bees. Neither Callie nor Jeremiah had called or texted yet, and Liam wondered where they were and what they were doing.

  Can’t think like that, he told himself as he shook Frank’s hand and headed out the front door. Frank locked it behind him, already whistling as he got back to his closing tasks. Liam faced Main Street, wondering if there was anything else he could do to waste an hour.

  The town hosted summer dances, but it was January. Cars steadily moved up and down the street, as it was dinnertime and a lot of restaurants in Three Rivers offered free meals to kids on Monday night.

  Liam stood on the sidewalk, wishing he had the happy wife and smiling toddler to take for dinner. He’d been so busy with his projects that he hadn’t said anything to Callie about having children.

  Now, he wondered if he’d be saying anything to Callie about anything serious ever again. He wanted to, and he had to do something about their situation.

  A truck pulled up to the curb, and Liam looked over at the same time Tripp called his name. Liam stepped over to the truck, where Ivory sat, her son between her and Tripp.

  “What are you doin’ here?” Tripp asked.

  “Getting dinner,” he said.

  “Where?”

  “I don’t know.” He glanced down the street. “Pizza maybe? I’m taking it back to the ranch for us and Jeremiah.”

  “It’s an hour wait for pizza tonight,” Tripp said. “We just left there.”

  Liam groaned. “What should I do instead?”

  “Jeremiah likes those Philly cheesesteaks,” Tripp said. “And salsa from that salsa bar.”

  “Salsa is not a meal,” Ivory said.

  “Can’t argue there,” Liam said. “Well, I’ll try somewhere fast. There’s that Mexican place Callie likes.”

  “Good luck,” Tripp said. “It’s a bad time if you want something fast.”

  “Liam,” Oliver said, leaning forward. “Tripp says I can come out and try riding again soon.”

  “Yeah, real soon,” Liam said, smiling at the boy. Oliver waved, and Liam waved back as Tripp pulled out onto the street. He did end up going to Callie’s favorite place, and he ordered her favorite pulled pork enchiladas and plenty of the beans and rice he knew she loved.

  His phone chimed just as he was accepting his to-go bag of food, and he saw a text from Jeremiah. Not sure what you ended up getting or where you are. Callie says we can just eat. She’s going to Simone’s to try something, I guess.

  “Of course,” Liam said. She wouldn’t want to be stuck with Jeremiah and Liam, trying to eat while the three of them stared at one another in awkward silence. And it would be silent, as Jeremiah was hurting, and Callie retreated without words when things got hard.

  Liam pulled up to Seven Sons a while later, calling, “Jeremiah, food,” when he walked in. The empty office to his right started back at him, and he suddenly knew why Jeremiah was having a hard time. Not long ago, this homestead was full of brothers, and laughter, and family meals.

  Tonight, it was quiet except for Jeremiah saying, “Come on into the kitchen,” as if Liam would take the food anywhere else. Jeremiah stood at the counter, stirring a huge pitcher of sweet tea.

  “Mexican,” Liam said, putting the bag of food on the counter.

  “Great,” Jeremiah said, leaving the tea to get plates.

  “How did things go with Callie?”

  “Fine.”

  Liam sighed and started unpacking the bag. “I got you the steak burrito.”

  “I’m starving,” he said.

  “Are we not going to talk about Callie?”

  “Nope,” Jeremiah said. “If you want to do anything about her, you need to talk to her. Not me.”

  “I just….” Liam shook his head and pulled his steak and cheese nachos closer. “I said some awful things to her.”

  “I know.”

  “So she said something? You two can talk about me, but we can’t talk about her?”

  “She wouldn’t say anything,” Jeremiah said. “And I didn’t ask anyway. She took a bunch of notes on her phone about bees and honey, and she made a list of all the equipment she needs to buy. She seemed excited about it.”

  “She is,” Liam said, because Callie had been talking about an apiary and being a beekeeper all week. No, he hadn’t seen her a ton since they’d returned from Hawaii, but they saw each other a few times a day for a few minutes, and they slept together every night.

  Liam had been happy with his marriage until that stupid declaration of love. Better to know now, though, right? he asked himself.

  And a more rational part of himself asked, Know what, exactly?

  He didn’t know the answer to either question, and he stayed at the homestead until long past dark. He and Jeremiah had always had a good relationship, and they talked about easy things. Nothing to do with the women in their lives. Liam made scones and honey butter, and he’d been yawning for an hour before Jeremiah said, “You better get on home, cowboy.”

  “I’m going to stay here,” he said without meeting his brother’s eye. “Or did you turn my bedroom into a yoga studio?”

  Jeremiah burst out laughing, and Liam felt a temporary slip of happiness move through him too.

  “I’m not into that cowboy yoga,” Jeremiah said.

  “Yeah, well, I heard Soren and Anita are, and since they’re livin’ over here, they might rope you in.”

  “Doubtful,” Jeremiah said. “Stay if you want, but I think it’s a mistake.”

  “Do you think Callie will be at the house? Hundred bucks says she sleeps at Simone’s.”

  “Oh, I’m not a betting man.” He grinned and got up just as the front door opened. Wyatt entered, and Liam stood up too.

  “There you are,” he said. “Where have you been? Do you know what time it is?”

  Wyatt paused and looked at him, then shook his head as he walked down the hall. “Thanks for getting my heartrate going the way it did when Daddy would catch me sneaking in the house.”

  Liam chuckled, noticed that Jeremiah threw Wyatt a quick look and then went down the hall, and indicated the couch. “Seriously, bro. Where have you been?”

  “Oh, you know,” Wyatt said, taking off his cowboy hat and stroking his hand down his face. He looked exhausted, and Jeremiah’s report of him getting up super early, leaving the homestead, and coming home late seemed spot on.

  “No, I don’t know,” Liam said. “And Jeremiah doesn’t know. And we’re worried.”

  “Nothin’ to worry about,” Wyatt said. “I’m going to work and all of that.”

  “So you’re seeing someone.”

  “Yes,” Wyatt said.

  “Who?”

  “Not telling yet,” he said with a smile.

  “Okay, fair enough,” Liam said. “But could you come home a bit earlier? Jeremiah is going nuts here by himself, and he feels abandoned.”

  Wyatt leaned forward, the playfulness slipping from his face. “Yeah, I can do that. Sorry, I forget how he is sometimes.”

  “How is he?”

  “Broken,” Wyatt said, turning to look toward the mouth of the hallway.

  “He’s not broken,” Liam said. “He’s so much better than before. Just…come home a few times a week. Bring your lady friend. He just doesn’t like being alone.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Wyatt leveled his gaze at Liam. “And I know you’re married and all that now, but never say ‘lady friend’ again.”

  They both laughed, and Liam decided that tonight was exactly what he’d needed, even if he had been avoiding Callie for hours.

  Tomorrow, he thought. Tomorrow, he’d fix everything.

  Help me to know how, he prayed, but he fell asleep before any good ideas occurred to him.

  Chapter Thirty

  Jeremiah couldn’t sleep, Wyatt’s words bouncing through his brain. Not even more than one word. Just one.

  Broken.

  He was n
ot broken.

  Sure, maybe he had been when he’d first come to Seven Sons, but Wyatt hadn’t been here then. He hadn’t seen anything if he thought the man Jeremiah was now was the broken one.

  He’d done everything he could think of short of becoming a stalker. He’d called Whitney—she never picked up. He’d texted her, and she’d responded once. Looks good.

  He’d ended up throwing the chicken bake in the trashcan without eating a single bite. He’d felt guilty for a couple of days after that, and he’d called the local food bank and donated a bunch of money to make himself feel better for throwing away perfectly good food.

  He’d ordered another print of Seven Sons, this one the glorious sunset over the land, without any horses. He tapped on his phone, looking through the pictures Whitney had put into an online gallery for him. He could feel her hand in his as he did, almost smell her perfume, hear that voice….

  “What did I do wrong?” he asked for probably the fiftieth time. God, of course, had never been one to give Jeremiah really loud answers, and all he felt was frustration. “Am I broken?”

  He didn’t feel broken, and he was embarrassed Liam had told Wyatt to come home earlier. Humiliated he’d eavesdropped on their conversation. So many negative things swirled through his mind, along with that word—broken—that he’d only been able to sleep for a few hours.

  He hoped that by getting on his phone for a few minutes, he’d be reminded of how exhausted he was and be able to fall back asleep. Nothing he’d done to help him sleep had worked. Not melatonin. Not lavender oil. Not medication or massage therapy. He’d thought about calling a doctor and getting some sleeping pills, but he hadn’t done it yet. He supposed he didn’t want to admit, on any level, that he wasn’t functioning the way he should.

  Broken.

  Maybe he was broken. He knew his relationship with Whitney was, and he hated that he wanted to fix it. No, he hated that there was a relationship in the first place.

  He closed the online gallery and set his phone on the nightstand. He just needed to sleep. Everything would be fine if he could just sleep. In the morning, Liam would go talk to Callie, and they’d make up. Whitney would call him, and Jeremiah would ask her to dinner. They’d go, and it would be romantic and perfect and he’d kiss her afterward….