Tyler’s lips clamped shut and he breathed in deep. “I’m gonna get Caleb so we can go home. Okay?”
She nodded, wiping at her eyes.
No one spoke on the ride home. By the time Tyler pulled into her complex, Lia was even more distressed over how to handle the situation. The smart thing to do would be to quit her job at the club. But there was no guarantee she’d land a great-paying job out of college. This was not a large town full of large companies. She’d lined up a few interviews at the job fair, but none of those was a guarantee. How in the hell would she continue to meet all their needs?
As soon as the vehicle was parked, Caleb jumped out and headed for the door. Lia stared ahead but saw Tyler turn to her from the corner of her eye.
“Do you want me to go?” he asked quietly.
She looked down at her hands, unsure of what to say. “I don’t know.”
“I’m sorry this happened, Lia.”
She looked over at him. “We should have known this could happen. He was learning to defend himself from another fight because we knew it was a possibility.”
“But we hoped it wasn’t. I stand firm on my belief that every man should know how to accurately throw a punch. Whether you must defend a woman, your family, or yourself, there’s nothing wrong with being able to knock some asshole out.”
Lia shook her head. “What you’re saying sort of makes sense. But my brother was targeted because his sister works at a strip club. What does that say about me? About us? My family. All I’ve ever wanted was to be normal. Give Caleb a normal life.”
He looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.
“I know what you’re thinking. That if I wanted normal I shouldn’t have worked there in the first place.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth, Lia. I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. I know you hate me working there.”
“Your damn right I hate it. I can’t think of any normal man who would be okay with his girlfriend, or wife, working in a place like that. If there are, they have a serious problem.”
“So, what are you saying?”
He sighed and looked away. “I don’t know what I’m saying.”
“Not even a month,” she said with a bitter laugh.
“What’s that mean?”
“You know what it means. We’ve tried this dating thing a month. But you and I both know that my job there has been the cloud hanging over us.”
Tyler shifted in his seat, facing her. “Move in with me, Lia.”
She jerked her head back. “What?”
“You and Caleb. Move in with me.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Why am I crazy? You and I . . . we work. You know that. And I want to help you.”
“You’ll ask us to move in with you just so I’ll quit that job?”
“What? No!”
“So, you’d let me move in and keep working there?”
He stared at her in silence and then finally looked away.
“That’s what I thought. We won’t ever be able to move forward with this job between us.”
“Then don’t let it come between us!”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Have you considered that’s what you’re doing? You know, part of me loves that about you. I honestly don’t want a guy who’s happy with me working at strip club. But I also don’t want a man who just wants to save me. I don’t want to be your charity case.”
“Why the hell do you have to see it that way?” He punched the steering wheel with a muttered curse. Lia flinched and leaned away from him. He looked at her. “And don’t you dare try to tell me I just got violent.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But I can see it on your face. I’m not that guy, Lia, and you know it. Did you even hear the words I said? I want to take care of you as my partner. Not because you’re helpless without me? But because I fucking love you.”
She stared back at him, her eyes wide, and her heart pounding.
“Yes. That’s what I said. I’m in love with you.”
He shook his head in exasperation and looked out his window. “But are you in love with me unconditionally?” she asked quietly.
“Damn it, I want to be! But to be honest, Lia, I feel like if you loved me back, you wouldn’t be able to continue working there.”
Lia’s mouth snapped shut. She stared at his profile, backlit by the parking-lot light. His lips were pursed tight, his long eyelashes brushing his cheeks when he closed his eyes. He’d been waiting for her to respond. She wasn’t.
“I guess that’s all there is to say. I love you, Lia. But no, I can’t handle the woman I love working at that place. I’ve tried. But . . . I just can’t.”
Tears began to roll down her cheeks. She wanted to crawl into his arms and trust the safety he promised. But life had taught her so many hard and painful lessons. Trusting was the one thing she didn’t know how to do.
After a silent moment, she opened her door, got out of the car, and went inside.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Despite the events of the early morning, Lia was up by nine. She brewed some coffee and then waited for Caleb to get up. It took all her strength not to go drag him out of bed so they could talk. Her brother was almost a legal adult. He’d lived through a messed-up childhood and even now spent a lot of time caring for himself. Making his own meals, seeing to his own schedule.
It was time they talked like adults.
When his bedroom door creaked open it was nearly eleven. He walked into the living area with no shirt on, something he rarely did. Lia could see his shoulder sported a large bruise on it and so did his lower back, which made her wince.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Hey.”
“There’s coffee.”
“Thanks.” He disappeared into the small kitchen and she heard him tinkering around. Finally, he sat down in the chair diagonal from her with his mug.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she began with.
“You didn’t want me to know,” he said. She was grateful he didn’t even bother pretending not to know what she referred to.
“That’s true, but is also irrelevant if you do.”
“I just thought you’d prefer it that way.”
“I don’t know what I would have preferred, Caleb. But I know this. If anything I’m doing is causing you to be mistreated, I sure as hell want to know. Those aren’t the kind of secrets a family keeps. It’s not healthy, and you and I should know what that’s like.”
He nodded without meeting her eyes.
“How did they put it together?”
“One of their brothers. He recognized you last year at after school pickup. Word got out. Once they started saying it . . . I put the pieces together. I knew it had to be true.”
Lia sighed. “Was that fight planned?”
“No. I mean . . .” He looked at the ceiling. “He knew I’d been training with Tyler. Other guys go to the gym, you know? They see it. He was always talking all tough and a few times I’d made comments about being able to take him. But there was never a real plan. I guess it was sort of . . . inevitable.”
Lia sighed. “You know it’s not your job to stick up for me. Or protect me. Don’t you?”
His eyes narrowed at her and he leaned forward in his chair. “Why not? I’m younger, yes. But I’m not blind. And I’m not stupid. You’ve had it shitty for a while, and I’m sick of it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“My dad, Lia.”
She stared him, stunned. “What?”
“I saw my dad go in your room that one night. I heard you screaming.”
Her mouth dropped open, tears instantly pooling in her eyes. She tried to wipe them away. “You were so young,” she whispered. “That was so long ago.”
“Old enough to know it wasn’t right. And old enough to remember. My dad was an asshole, and our lives are all fucked up because of it. And I don’t understand
how you can work there.”
He was so angry, and that only made her feel ashamed.
“The women who work there . . . there’s nothing wrong with them,” Lia said, feeling defensive. The last thing she wanted to do was encourage her brother to look down on these women. “They don’t do anything illegal. It’s not that kind of place.”
“Maybe not, but there’s something wrong with a lot of the men.”
“Some of them, yes. But many of them are just normal guys.” She hoped he never found out that Tyler and his friends had shown up.
“You should know that . . . Tyler wants us to move in with him,” she said, still unsure how she felt about the idea. She’d been up half the night thinking about it.
“He does?”
She couldn’t help noticing the excitement she heard in Caleb’s voice. She nodded.
“Does he want to marry you?” Caleb asked.
“Well, we haven’t discussed that.”
“Do you love him?” Caleb asked.
She considered the question, and the fact that in twenty-four hours she and her little brother had gone from secrets to talking about her love life. “Possibly.”
Caleb leaned forward. “I know he loves you. I can tell.”
She gave a small smile. “He told me he did.”
“So, what’s the problem? If he loves you, why aren’t you moving in with him? You could quit working at that place.”
“It’s not that easy, Caleb.”
“Why not? You’d rather be alone and letting piece-of-shit men look at you, then let a man who loves you help? That makes no sense at all.”
“I don’t expect you to understand.”
“Yeah, well, good. Because I don’t.” He got up and went to his room, slamming the door behind him.
Laying her head on the kitchen table, Lia wondered if she was beginning to agree with him.
* * *
Tuesday morning, Lia walked up the sidewalk to the front door of Halcyon Manor. It was a crisp fall day, the leaves were changing, and she felt light. Yesterday she and Caleb had gone together to the Juvenile Detention Facility and were informed by the District Attorney, and Beth Roseman, that there would be no case brought against Caleb or Brooks. They had also contacted the high school and informed them there was a problem. Lia intended to follow up and make sure they had no classes together.
Last night she’d once again lain in bed all night thinking. While stressful, the past few months had been the best of her life, and she realized she was exhausted and fed up with making life decisions based on guilt and shame. It had been her operating procedure for so long, she didn’t know any other way.
The thing she kept coming back to was trust. She’d made such an issue of it with Tyler, and it wasn’t that she didn’t need trust from a man. But she knew more than anything that she needed to learn to trust herself. If things got bad, she would deal with them, just like she always had. But running from love out of fear only left her alone and unhappy.
Coming to terms with that had brought her to tears, but it also brought a lightness that she’d never felt before. This morning it had also led her to the nursing home, and as she walked in the front door, she felt a sense of peace about what she needed to do.
She hurried through the doors, down the hall, and into her mother’s private room.
“Thank God,” Debbie called out as soon as she heard the door creak. “I need a drink.”
“Good morning, Mom.”
“I need some water in my blue cup.” Her mumbled voice gave no indication she heard Lia’s greeting, or even cared. She pointed with her shaky usable hand.
“I see it. I’ll go get you some. Be right back.” Lia picked up the cup and headed for the little kitchen near the nurse’s station. After filling it with ice and water, and then grabbing a banana for her mother, she headed back to the room.
“Lia, I’m so glad I caught you.”
She turned. “Hi, Kelly. How are you?”
“Actually, I’m great. Do you have a minute?”
“Sure. Why?”
“Well, I have some news for you.” The smile on her face had Lia’s pulse speeding.
“Okay. You look happy.”
“I think—I hope—I have some very good news for you.”
Kelly stepped to the side of the hall and spoke quietly. “Your mother has developed a strong friendship with Ruby Butler.”
“Yes, she has. Ruby is a sweet woman to put up with my mom.”
Kelly laughed, then her lips turned downward. “Well, sadly, her husband passed a few days ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. How is she doing?”
“It’s been rough. They’d been married for over fifty years.”
“Wow.” The thought was beautiful and heartbreaking. But Lia couldn’t figure out what that had to do with her mother.
“I received a phone call from Ruby’s daughter today. Apparently, Ruby has been very lonely. She’s been asking if Debbie could move into her room.”
Lia gasped. “Oh . . . she did?”
Kelly grinned. “I told her I would need to speak with you. And of course, Debbie. But I have a feeling she would love it. I think it could be good for both of them.”
A huffed laugh escaped Lia’s lips. “Wow. I just . . . don’t know what to say. I’m so grateful.”
Kelly nodded. “I understand. So, you’ll consider this?”
“Absolutely. This is wonderful news.”
“Perfect. Would you like to tell Debbie?”
“I would. Thank you.”
Lia walked back into her mother’s room feeling like a brand-new person. Suddenly her entire life felt like it had changed trajectory.
“Here’s your water, Mom. I got you a banana also.”
“I don’t really care for bananas. You’ll have to peel it for me.”
Normally that kind of ridiculous comment would have annoyed Lia, but at this moment, she just smiled. “I’d be happy to peel it for you.”
She sat down in the chair next to her mother’s bed and handed her a broken-off chunk of banana. They had her bed situated so that she could access things, and eat, with her right hand. Although her facial muscles had suffered, so it wasn’t always pleasant watching her eat, today Lia focused on the miracle that her mother pushed through her disabilities every day and did what she could. Maybe she inherited some sort of stubborn gene from the woman.
“Mom, I have some news I think will make you very happy.”
Debbie’s eyes darted to her, but she continued to chew.
“Actually, first there’s a bit of sad news. Did you hear that Ruby’s husband passed away?”
The look of panic on her mother’s face alerted her that she had not heard the news. She began to look around, her good hand searching for her call button.
“I’m right here, Mom. What do you need?”
“Wheelchair.”
Lia realized she wanted to go to her friend. “We’ll go see her in a minute. But listen. Ruby is very sad. I bet she’s lonely now. How would you like to be her roommate?”
Debbie swallowed her banana, her eyes on Lia. “Yes. That’s a good idea. She needs me.”
Lia nodded. “I think so too.”
Debbie’s head relaxed back onto her pillow and Lia handed her another piece of banana.
“Where’s Caleb?” Debbie asked, surprising Lia. She rarely brought him up on her own.
“He’s at school today. But he’s doing very well.”
Debbie didn’t respond but Lia could tell she was listening.
“Looks like he’s going to get all A’s and B’s this semester. Aren’t you proud of him?”
Her mother grunted. Lia grabbed a napkin and wiped the banana mush from Debbie’s lips.
“He’s much better than his father,” Debbie said. Lia just watched her, completely shocked.
“What, Mom?”
“Caleb. He’s more like me.”
Lia smiled. “He is.”
“His father was a piece of shit.”
Lia’s mouth fell open, then slowly slid into a smile. “He was a piece of shit. You’re right.”
A sense of peace fell over her soul at those words. All her life, Lia had only heard her mother speak of how wonderful Cash had been. Never had she said anything to the effect of what had just been uttered from her lips.
Whatever she’d hoped to hear from her mother all her life . . . Lia decided hearing her mother call him a piece of shit was going to be enough. It might be all she ever got.
“I’ll help you pack up your room today. How does that sound, Mom?” Lia handed her the final piece of banana. “Tomorrow I’ll bring Caleb up. Would you like that? We can bring you some mashed potatoes from Kentucky Fried Chicken. We haven’t done that in a while.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Yeah. I thought so.” Lia passed Debbie the blue cup so she could get a drink.
Her mother’s eyes met hers and Lia stood up, rested her hand on the bed, and leaned down to kiss her mother’s forehead. “I love you, Mom.”
There was no response, but she felt her mom’s hand push against hers. And that was also enough.
CHAPTER TWENTY
That Friday, Tyler circled around the punching bag analyzing his student’s combination. “Okay that’s a lot better but next time try it like this. Watch my shoulder.”
He gave the bag a punch to the body, before stepping back. “Did you see the difference? Don’t tense your muscles when you pull back. You want it loose.” He punched the bag one more time. “And then snap. See that? Like letting go of a rubber band.”
As soon as he stepped off the mat, he saw Lia standing in the doorway to the training room. His chest constricted at the sight of her. She smiled, and his muscles relaxed. He turned to Ray, his student. “Hey, let’s call it good for today.”
Ray snickered. “I feel you, man. I’d do the same thing.”
Tyler glared and playfully smacked him on the back before walking over to Lia.
“I’ve never seen you teaching before,” she said, eyes wide.
Along Came Us (Man Enough) Page 21
