Bear knew a golden opportunity when he heard it, but he couldn’t make a commitment to them until he made one to himself. And that meant preparing for another battle he might be waging alone.
WHISKEY BRO’S WAS busy for a Thursday night. Bear filled a pitcher with beer and set it on the counter for his mother, who was serving alongside Dixie tonight. She only worked a few hours a month, and Bear enjoyed when their schedules coincided.
“You’re up, Red,” he called out to her.
She hustled over in her black jeans and Whiskey Bro’s shirt and leaned across the bar, lowering her voice. “How long do you think it will take Dix to give that blond guy a piece of her mind?” She glanced in the direction of the tall, blond guy playing darts with two other guys. Bear had been keeping his eye on them, too.
“She likes the tips. When he crosses a line, she’ll shut him down.”
His mother patted his hand. “You’re right. You doing okay, babe?”
Babe. His mother never used their road names and rarely used their real names. Bear was pretty sure it was because, when they were growing up and she had four hellions to care for, she’d had to run through all the names before she hit the right one. His name usually sounded something like, Brandon, Wayne, Whateverthehellyournameis.
“Yeah, I’m good,” he said.
She pushed a hand into her short red hair and smirked. With her affinity for wearing black—shirt, pants, boots, jewelry—she looked an awful lot like a young Sharon Osbourne. “You can’t fool your mother.” She set the pitcher on the tray and said, “Next time you’re down at Mr. B’s, tell Maisy I said hello,” and strutted away.
Damn. Maisy and Ace Braden owned the microbrewery. He’d been so worried about staying out of his father’s sight that he hadn’t thought about how closely knit the community was.
Bear was filling another drink order when Dixie sidled up to the bar, popping bubble gum and watching Bear like he was a halftime show.
“What’s up, Dix?”
“I need two Jack and Cokes and a bottle of Bud.” She glanced at their mother, who was standing with her hand on her hip, giving the blond dart-playing flirt a piece of her mind.
“She’s going to ruin my tips,” Dixie complained as Bear poured the drinks. “Did Dad reach you about the expansion plan?”
“He called, but I was busy.” And by busy, he meant he’d let the call go to voicemail because he wasn’t sure how he wanted to handle that situation yet.
“He asked if you’d spoken to me about it. I told him you had, and I gave him the financials and projected earnings with the expansion. I broke it all down, just as I did with the two-year projections a few months ago. He has all the numbers he could possibly need, whether he decides to move forward or not. But he’s raring to go, so if you really don’t want to do it, you should tell him. Let it fall on Bullet.”
Bear scoffed, “He’s got less time than me and no experience with this kind of thing. Plus, B’s not exactly the most patient guy. Can you imagine him trying to negotiate prices for renovations?” He lowered his voice and narrowed his eyes, mocking Bullet. “What the fuck do you mean you can’t finish it by tomorrow? You’ll finish the job or I’ll use your head as a hammer and finish it myself.”
She laughed. “Maybe it’s time he learned since he’s so gung-ho about following in Dad’s footsteps. Thanks for the drinks. I need to go save my tips.” She spun on her high heels and sauntered over to the guys playing darts.
A few hours later, when his mother was getting ready to leave, she pulled him aside. “Want to tell me about Jace and Maddox?”
“Not really,” he said honestly.
She crossed her arms, her sharp green eyes telling him he wasn’t going to get away with that answer. “Your uncle Axel used to say that you were going to be the next Harley designer. You were the kid everyone came to with their broken bicycles, skateboards, and toys. You’ve designed and built more motorcycles than you’ve purchased. Now, Robert, do you want to talk to me about Jace and Maddox?”
“Seriously? You’re pulling Robert on me?”
“I’m pulling a mother talk on you. We don’t do these often enough.” She touched his cheek. “You’re as stubborn as your father.”
“Hardly,” he said.
“I didn’t say as ‘rigid.’ I said as ‘stubborn.’ There’s a difference, sweetheart. I know better than to come between you and your father, so I’m going to say only this. You’ve done more for this family than a parent could ever hope for. You’re a loyal, strong, intelligent young man, and I will forever be grateful for that enormous heart of yours. You saved this family, and you know how we Whiskeys work. When you’re in trouble, we’re in trouble and we have your back. You may not be in trouble right now, honey, but you need saving. Only this time you have to save yourself.” She hugged him and whispered, “Bring that beautiful love of your life over sometime. It’s time we do more than smile across the room.”
Stunned by her support, Bear could do little more than watch her walk away.
By the time he rolled out of the parking lot at two thirty in the morning, he was beat. He’d received a call from Tru that had his gut tied in knots. Apparently Crystal had finally come clean to Gemma. As he drove up the dark mountain road, he cursed himself for taking the shift and not being there for her. It had been a long night. A group of rowdy guys had come in around eleven and stayed until after one, playing pool and hitting on every woman in the place. That shit got old quick, and tonight, when he wanted to be with Crystal and not babysitting horny guys, his patience had been hanging on by a thread.
He pulled up the long driveway, activating the solar lights he’d installed last weekend and bringing Crystal’s car into focus. He slammed it into park and jumped out.
“Crystal?” he called into the dark, peering into her car.
With his heart in his throat, he ran to the front porch and found her fast asleep, curled up on a chair with Harley in her lap, holding her car keys and clutching the little worry doll between her fingers. She wore a pair of plaid pajama pants and the shirt that read Dip me in honey and feed me to Bear. His heart squeezed. He dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around her waist, a wave of relief washing over him.
She opened her eyes, a smile curving her lips.
“Hey, sugar. Are you okay?”
“Our bed felt empty,” she said sleepily.
Our bed. Christ, she was every bit as in as he was. He picked up Harley and hugged Crystal. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“I told Gemma,” she whispered against his cheek.
“I know. Tru called to check up on you. Are you okay?” Tru had also wanted to check up on Bear and make sure he wasn’t losing his mind, which he was, but he was keeping it under control.
“Yeah. She didn’t hate me.” Her eyes dampened, and another wave of guilt for not being there tonight hit him. “Tru called? Does that mean everyone knows?”
He helped her to her feet. “No. He just wanted to make sure you were okay. I’ll make you a key tomorrow. I don’t want you waiting outside for me. Why didn’t you call? I would have come to you.”
“I don’t know. I missed you, so I packed up and came over.” She glanced down at her backpack beside the chair, and he picked it up.
They went inside and headed upstairs. He was glad she was there, but Crystal sitting outside alone at night didn’t sit well with him. He took a quick shower and found Harley sleeping on his pillow. Leaving Harley where she was, he climbed into bed and cuddled up to Crystal.
She turned toward him. “Is it too presumptive that I came over?”
“I want you to be presumptive.” He pulled her closer and pressed his lips to hers. “I hated the idea that you were alone tonight. I hate every night that we spend apart. I always want you with me.”
“Me too.” Her eyes turned serious. “I’m dreading seeing my mother this weekend. I know I didn’t want you to meet her, but now that I’m not hiding anything from you, would you
consider coming? Jed will be there, and we don’t have to stay long.”
“Of course. Whatever you want.” He touched his lips to hers.
“I keep thinking about Gemma. She doesn’t see her mother regularly because her mother is so awful. In a different way from mine, of course, but still. And seeing my mom…Well, you saw me that day we were supposed to paint Tru and Gemma’s house. Every time I see my mother, I feel like I fall into a tar pit and I have to claw my way back out again afterward.”
“Then why do you do it? I’m a loyal guy, but if it’s that bad, why go? Are you helping her in some way by visiting?”
She shook her head. “She doesn’t even seem like she wants me there. She’s hateful and says horrible things about me and my father. She’s even bitchy to Jed, who has always been there for her.”
All his protective urges surged forward. “Then why put yourself through that?”
“Because I think my dad would have wanted someone to take care of her.”
The sadness in her voice slayed him. “I think your dad would have been more concerned about taking care of you.”
“Maybe. How did your meeting with the guys from Silver-Stone go?”
He didn’t want to talk about Silver-Stone. He wanted to convince her not to visit her mother. But if there was one thing he’d learned, it was that Crystal did not like to be told what to do.
“They need a commitment, but it will mean hiring more staff at the bar and the auto shop, and the timing sucks, with my father’s plans to expand the bar.”
She snuggled in closer and pressed her lips to his. “Or maybe it’s perfect timing. If you think my father would be concerned about me taking care of myself, don’t you think the same goes for your father? That he’d be concerned about you taking care of yourself for once?”
I’m not even sure I know how to do that anymore. He rolled onto his back and draped his arm over his head, pulling her against his side. “I don’t know, babe.”
“I wonder if there’s such thing as being too loyal.”
“If there is, then we’re both guilty of it.”
Chapter Nineteen
“BABE, YOU LOOK a little green.” Bear pulled Crystal closer as they drove toward her mother’s house Sunday evening.
“It’s a special look I get just for my mother. You don’t find it attractive?” She hadn’t even been able to muster a smile when they’d picked up Jed. Nothing good ever came from visiting her mother.
“Our mother has that effect on people,” Jed explained.
Bear squeezed her hand. “You seriously hate this.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” She fiddled with the radio. “It was a mistake to ask you to come. You don’t need to see what a mess our mother is.”
“That’s even more of a reason for me to be here with you. I don’t want you going through that at all, much less going through it without me.”
She pointed to the stoplight, her stomach knotting up tighter. “Turn right there. Then it’s the second street on the right.”
“I feel like I’ve been here before.” Bear stopped at the light and glanced at her. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“No,” Crystal said. “But I have to. We’ll stay just a few minutes, so I can feel like I’ve done my daughterly duty.”
He turned the corner and followed her directions into a trailer park. “Now I know I’ve been here before.”
“Really?” Jed pointed to their mother’s trailer. “It’s the yellow piece of shit.”
“I know this trailer. You moved here when you were eight?” he asked as he parked.
“Yeah,” she said.
“How do you know it?” Jed asked as he climbed from the truck.
Bear helped Crystal out. “I think I drove your father home. He was at the bar, too drunk to drive. I was a kid. Sixteen, maybe? I don’t remember. But there was a little girl peeking out that window.” He pointed to the window on the side of the trailer.
“That was my bedroom.” Her pulse quickened. “But I don’t remember that.”
“Funny.” Bear slung his arm over her shoulder. “I’ll never forget it. Seeing you made me realize how much my dad cared about other people. He could have thrown customers into a cab and sent them on their way, but he never did. He said he didn’t know how a cabbie would treat a guy who wasn’t in his right mind, but he knew how the children he’d raised would.”
It made her happy to think that Bear had met her father, even if it was under those circumstances. But if her father had been too drunk to drive then, had he also been drunk the night he died? Had he caused the accident that had killed him?
She looked at Jed, and he must have read the fear in her face, because he shook his head and said, “He was no longer drinking when he was killed. He wasn’t at fault. He’d been sober for a while by then.”
Tears of relief filled her eyes. “I’m so glad to hear that. I know your father has weird ideas about women and work, but I love him even more knowing that he took care of my father like that. Do you remember anything else about our father? What he was like?”
“Yeah, I remember. He looked like Jed, tall with dirty-blond hair, but older of course. He talked about you guys the whole trip. His beautiful, smart little girl and the son who tried his patience at every turn.”
It didn’t matter that her father had been drunk. Bear had a memory of him that was new to her. “I love hearing that. Wait. Is this true, or are you trying to make me feel better because my mom is such a mess?”
“It’s true, babe. I told you I don’t lie.”
“Thanks for driving him home,” Jed said. “He was never a big drinker, but when he lost his job, it took a toll on both of them.”
“You remember that?” she asked. “I only have vague memories, and I’m never sure if they’re real or not.”
“You were only eight, but I was eleven. He wasn’t as bad as Mom. There were a few months when things were pretty fucked up, but then he sobered up. One night Crys looked at him and said she didn’t like the way his breath smelled. That he didn’t smell like her daddy anymore. And that was it. He stopped drinking that night. He was killed ten months later by a drunk driver.”
Bear must have felt her knees weaken, because he held her tighter.
“I don’t remember saying that to him, either,” she said.
“It was you, Crys,” Jed said. “You saved him from ending up like her. He loved you so damn much. He would have given his life for you.”
“For you, too,” Bear said to Jed. “I’m sure of it.”
She looked back at the trailer, hating her mother even more. “I can’t do this. I can’t go in there. If he could sober up, why couldn’t she?” She pushed from Bear’s arms. “Do you have any idea, Jed? Do you remember anything?”
Sadness filled Jed’s eyes, and he reached for her hand. “Listen, shrimp. There are some things you don’t want to know.”
She wrenched her hand free. “Bullshit. I can handle anything. Just tell me.”
Jed hesitated, glancing at Bear.
“Don’t look at him wondering if I can handle it,” she snapped. “I have been to hell and back. There’s nothing I can’t handle.”
Jed clenched his jaw. “Dad found out she’d had an affair, and he gave her an ultimatum. Stop drinking and clean up her act, or he was going to leave and take us with him. She didn’t stop.”
“Obviously. And…?”
“He’d gone to Peaceful Harbor to see about renting a place there.” Jed glanced at Bear, dropped his eyes, and finally met her gaze. “He was killed on the way home.”
“He was leaving her?” She stumbled backward, unable to hear past the rush of blood in her ears. “He was leaving her? I have put myself through this every month because I thought he would want me to take care of her, and he was leaving her?”
“Babe.” Bear reached for her, but she stepped away.
“No. This is…He died trying to save us. Because of her.”
“She turned me into a thief.” Jed’s hands fisted. “I’m not trying to dodge taking responsibility, but you should know the truth. I stole to make sure we had food on the table.”
Crystal’s jaw dropped. “You stole for her? That’s why you did it? All this time, you told me it was who you were!”
“It was,” he seethed. “What did you expect me to do? You had to eat. You needed clothes. Fuck, Chrissy. I did what I had to do. But I’m done. I’ve cleaned up my act, and I want to move away from here and find an apartment. Find a solid job. Forty hours a week instead of the part-time shit I’m doing now. I’m meeting with the attorney about my license this week, and hopefully I won’t have issues getting it reinstated.”
Crystal grabbed him by the shirt, still stuck on him throwing his life away for her, and hollered through angry tears, “You stole for us? For me? I did that to you?”
Jed wrapped his arms around her even as she struggled against him. “No, you didn’t. She did. I did. But not you, Chrissy. Never you. You always did the right thing.”
She crumpled against her brother, her arms falling limply by her sides as she cried. “He died saving us.”
IT TOOK ALL of Bear’s willpower not to storm into that trailer and give their mother a piece of his mind.
“I can’t go in there,” Crystal said.
“Never again, baby.” Bear reached for her, and she came willingly into his arms. “Never again. And, Jed, you need an apartment? We can help you out. Quincy needs a roommate.” This was what they did. They took care of family. Maybe Crystal was right. Maybe there was such a thing as being too loyal. Maybe it was time he made a change, too.
She pushed from his arms, her sad eyes turning fierce, her spine straightening with all the confidence and determination she’d always possessed.
“I have spent enough of my life being sad, or angry, or not understanding why she is the way she is.” She swiped at her eyes and stormed toward the trailer with Bear and Jed on her heels. “I’m done with this once and for all.”
“Babe.” Bear touched her arm to slow her down. “You sure you want to do this and not calm down first?”
Truly, Madly, Whiskey Page 23
