“She’s got some baggage,” Chase replied, staring over at her and just watching her expression, her body language. She had gone from trying to totally shutting down. “I think her coping skills have about hit a wall.”
Chapter 32
“He’s amazing,” Fiona said.
Rose turned to her, the dark-haired woman who was married to Vic. She’d been quiet all through the awkward family dinner and was now sitting beside a potted fern, holding the glass of white wine Chase had brought her. They were in the hotel lounge, just off the dining room, an intimate casual place set in soft blues and browns, with a fireplace and a few sofas and chairs. Chase was standing with Vic, talking.
“May I?” Fiona asked and gestured to the empty seat beside her on the sofa.
“Of course. Sorry.”
Fiona slid her hand to her leg, tucking her silky cream skirt under her bottom as she sat. She wore a chiffon gold camisole and had dark eyes and a great figure. There was something about Vic and Fiona that made them such a match. “I don’t know Chase well, and our first meeting was rather awkward, but seeing him with that girl, with your Billy Jo… It’s quite a story, how you met, with him helping her. I saw how uncomfortable she was, but he didn’t let her slip away. Whatever he said to her seemed to help. That’s why I think he’s amazing, a man who helps a child, who can reach a child like that.” Fiona had a nice smile.
Rose was watching across the room, where the kids were playing cards, sharing sodas on a table and chatting. This was the first time Billy Jo seemed to connect with others, and maybe she was having fun. “Chase was the one who saw something,” Rose said. “If it wasn’t for him, she’d be lost. He inspires me.”
“I figure you’re in the same boat as me,” Fiona said. “You don’t know the brothers, the family. What do you make of the parents, mom and dad married again? I was surprised when Vic said we were coming, but I realized it was more because of Chase and what happened with you and the girl. He was worried. He doesn’t say or admit as much, but I can see.”
“So there’s Aaron and Luc, and now a sister, Claudia. I’m not really sure I understand the story,” Rose said as she took in Chase, now talking with his dad, who wore light dress pants and a short-sleeved shirt. Their mom was beside him in a tan dress. Shelley was slender, attractive, and she kept herself looking young. Rose could see the tension that existed between all of them. “It’s almost painful, watching their politeness with their mom even though we can all see the tension, the hurt that has created a distance.”
“Families are complicated,” Fiona said.
“Hey, you two. Sitting over here away from all the fun?” Luc squeezed in between Rose and Fiona, holding a tumbler of vodka. She knew he’d been drinking it straight up all through dinner. Chase had frowned at hearing him order his third, commenting once that maybe he should slow it down, but he hadn’t listened.
Luc was a looker like his brothers, though none of them resembled one another. He had blue eyes, but not like Chase’s. Luc’s had a distance, and Rose knew he was holding on to a lot of things. He was a handsome man with a chest and shoulders that a girl could lean into.
“Look at them, this awkwardness,” Luc said. “In a million years I never would have expected this.”
What was he talking about? Fiona was on the other side of him, and she said nothing either.
“I’m sure they’re trying, Luc,” Rose said. “Everyone makes mistakes, but they look happy, sort of, in an uncomfortable way. Have you talked to your sister?” She hadn’t said a word to Claudia. The girl was quiet as a mouse, and Rose hadn’t missed the fact that she’d watched Chase, Vic, Luc, and Aaron all through dinner as if trying to figure out them and where she stood. “I’m sure for her it has to be really hard.”
“I’m talking about Vic and my dad,” Luc said. “Mom and Dad are fine. Yeah, I’m pissed at her, or was, but it was so long ago. Dad’s happy, or seems to be, and she’s happy or seems to be, and our sis…well, who the hell knows?” He lifted his tumbler and swallowed the last of the vodka, then waved to a waiter moving through the room. “Another one,” he said. “Make it a double shot this time.” He rested the empty glass on the waiter’s tray.
Of course now Rose was looking at Vic with his dad. There was a distance, of course. She’d thought it was between all of them, but Vic seemed so unapproachable. Maybe that was why she’d moved way over here.
“Fiona, you’ve barely said anything,” Luc said. “I can’t believe you snagged my brother, who I would’ve sworn would never be snatched up by any woman. What’s the story with you two? He won’t share, but then, Vic never shares anything. So spill. How did you meet? And you have a teenage son together, so there’s definitely a juicy story there.”
He was getting loud, and she noticed Chase and Vic glance over to them. Aaron was talking to Claudia, John, and Billy Jo. Maybe that was where she should be, too.
“We knew each other,” Fiona said. “He found me. Stuff happened, but it was…”
“Luc, you’ve probably had enough, there,” Vic said as he strode over and stood in front of Fiona, and he looked down at his brother. Maybe he knew she was struggling. Rose didn’t need to look to see Fiona was uncomfortable. It had been in her voice.
“No, I haven’t,” Luc said. “Was just asking your wife here about the details on you two, since it was kind of a shock to find out you got married—you, of all people, and then you have a son who’s how old, fifteen? I had to think back and count, because that was definitely a time when you were screwed up, into things I knew were going to land you in jail. You think I didn’t know? I knew, I watched. I thought it was so cool, the danger you stepped into.” He leaned forward. “Stealing cars,” he whispered so loudly and dramatically that she heard Fiona gasp.
Rose didn’t know what expression was on her face. Vic was cool and quiet, though, and she was sure his demeanor could have fooled people into thinking he would just roll over and take it. She would have done anything not to be there at that moment, and she took in Vic and the power he exuded. She could sense his cold and calculating gaze, one she never wanted focused on her.
“Oops, sorry, forgot I’m not supposed to talk about it.” Luc actually laughed, and even she could now tell he’d had two or three more than he should have.
“Well, I think you’re done. You should head up to bed,” Vic said.
Luc laughed again, and she could see Chase frowning, talking to Jerry. He walked their way, maybe because of the plea to do something that she knew had to be written on her face as she searched him out.
“Everything okay over here?” he said.
Of course it wasn’t, but she wasn’t about to say anything. Fiona was quiet too, and she started to get up to leave, which was something Rose very much wanted to do. However, Luc was still sitting close to her and had actually put his arms over the back of the sofa. Fiona was looking up to Vic. Chase was looking to everyone to clue him in, and the waiter was walking their way with the double vodka Luc had ordered. Could this get any worse?
“Here you go, sir. Can I get anyone else anything?” The waiter lifted the glass, but Vic reached for it and set it back on the tray.
“No, he’s done, cut off. Don’t bring him any more.”
“Okay…” The waiter sounded confused, but Chase gestured with a slight motion, and he left.
“Our little brother is intent on stirring things up,” Vic said to Chase, but his eyes never left Luc, who was smiling as if he believed Vic was all bark. Even Rose had to wonder. He seemed on the edge, but of what she wasn’t sure. She understood well the depth of irrational behavior people could fall into when their lives were falling apart. There were two types of people, those who handled and fixed the shit that was broken, and those who reacted badly. Chase was the former to a T, but it seemed Luc fell into the latter category.
“So how’s work?” Chase asked Luc.
Fiona was now standing beside Vic, and she whispered something. Rose didn’t mis
s how his hand touched her waist. It was so intimate, and her hand went to his chest. Whatever passed between them was unspoken. He kissed her intimately, and then she walked away over to the kids. Rose didn’t move.
“It’s fine. Fly here, fly there, same shit, same city, Chicago, Dallas, LA and back. Listen to drunks whine and complain, old women talk about their kids, their single daughters and how I’d make a great match. Then as soon as I tell them, oops, sorry, gay guy here…”
She wondered whether her breath caught. He was gay?
“Okay, so you’re bored, not liking your job. How’s the dating going?” Chase asked. Vic too was giving all his attention to Luc as if that was the only way to shut him down.
“I didn’t know you were gay,” Rose said, and she instantly wanted to take it back.
“Totally gay, so fricking—”
“Okay, stop it, already. What the hell is wrong with you, acting like this, being an asshole?” Vic said, and Rose had to really look at him, wondering whether he was upset that Luc was gay or that he was making a scene. No one was talking, but everyone was watching him—and her, because she was beside him.
“Surprise, everyone who didn’t know I’m gay! Mom, surprise!” He lifted his hands, his face bright, and Vic shut his eyes a moment as if trying to figure out what to say. Chase was staring him down as if he were a naughty child, the same look he gave to Billy Jo when she was becoming unreasonable.
“I knew you were, Luc. Is that what this is about?” Shelley spoke softly as she walked over, standing on the other side of Vic. Rose could see that there was distance there, but there was concern for her son, too.
“No, sorry, it’s just…” Luc leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. His mood changed instantly. “I was given notice. The airline is laying off half their staff, and I’m one of them. Thought I was safe, but they went with everyone who was last hired and kept all the senior people. And I met someone,” he said.
“Isn’t that something to be happy about?” Rose said, and Chase shot her a look. “Did I miss something?”
“My track record is what you missed,” Luc replied. “I suck at relationships, and my longest one was, what, five years?” When Chase tilted his head, Luc added with a dramatic gesture, “Bruce, remember?”
“Ah, that’s right. Nice guy,” Chase said.
Vic said nothing, and Shelley was still standing there.
“Yeah, nice guy, just didn’t want the same things as me. Corporate focused, a bigshot ad exec into hiding who he was. It was his family,” he added to Rose. She was about to ask something, but Chase gave her a pointed look, one that said No, don’t encourage him.
“So who’s the guy, and what’s the problem?” Chase asked.
“It’s something he said. I swore before I got in too deep I’d lay all the cards on the table this time, but stupid me didn’t, and here I am, wondering if maybe I’m being the foolish one.”
This was so damn cryptic. Vic was looking to Chase, confused, but the expression on Chase’s face said he knew what Luc was talking about. Of course he did. The man knew everything about everyone. “He doesn’t want kids?”
Luc was shaking his head. “Nope,” he said, sounding so sad. He stood up and wobbled a bit, and Vic grabbed his arm. “Well, kids, this has been fun, but I’m going to turn in.” He lifted his arm from Vic, steadying himself, and then walked out of the lounge.
“What was that?” Rose said as Aaron wandered over, taking in the four of them and looking to the lobby, where Luc had just strode away.
“That was Luc,” Chase said. “He doesn’t get down often, but I think there’s something more going on than we know about. Aaron, you’ve been pretty quiet, but if anyone knows more, it would be you.”
Aaron was shaking his head. “Leave him be. He’s just working through a few things. He’ll get there. I’ll go and make sure he gets to the room.”
As Aaron walked away, Shelley took in both Chase and Vic. “You know what? My greatest regret was leaving you boys, and I’m truly sorry for that. I haven’t told you that, because ‘sorry’ seems so inadequate, just a word. So much has happened with each one of you that I should have been there for…”
Shelley lifted her shoulders in a shrug, and Rose really did want to leave this awkward moment. This was something private. She slid to the edge of the sofa quietly, but before she could stand up, Shelley touched her trembling lips and hurried away. Even Rose could see how torn up she was.
“Chase, you should go talk to her,” Rose said as she touched his arm, feeling the fine cloth of his dark blue suit jacket. She expected him to go after her, to say something, do something, but instead he shook his head and wandered over to where the kids were.
“Let it go,” Vic said. “Chase and our mom were really close. He’ll never admit it, but her leaving us the way she did…he took it personally, as if it was the one thing he couldn’t fix. Guess that’s why he is the way he is.”
Then Vic walked away, and Rose just stood there, taking in the family, a flawed group of mismatched personalities. She wondered whether she’d ever fit in.
Chapter 33
“There you are,” Chase said as he found Aaron at the bar. Someone was playing a piano on the other side, and a few patrons sat at the other end of the bar and a few here and there at tables, but otherwise the place was empty.
Aaron didn’t answer as he lifted his beer and took a swallow from the bottle. He set it back down, pulling at the edge of the label.
“Did you find Luc?” Chase said.
Aaron lifted his beer again, staring at it. “Yup, all tucked in, snoring, which should keep me up for the night.”
Chase pulled out the stool, sat beside him, and motioned to the bartender. “I’ll have what he’s having.”
“Where’s your woman and the kid?” Aaron took another swallow of beer. If it were anyone else, Chase would have taken exception at the question, but Aaron just had a way about him.
“Up in the room. Claudia is staying the night. She and Billy Jo seem to have bonded in an odd way.”
The fact was that the sleepover had been his idea. He’d been over the moon at the way John, Billy Jo, and the sister he couldn’t quite figure out had talked about teen stuff, laughing. For the first time, he’d see Billy Jo being just a kid. He hadn’t been able to stand the thought of that ending for her.
Aaron was watching him shrewdly. Whether he understood the reason or not, he wasn’t letting on. “She’s a good kid,” he said, still pulling at the label and stacking bits of it on his napkin. “She deserves you.”
“What do you make of Claudia?” Chase asked. None of them had taken any time to talk to her, to get to know her.
“She seems great. What can I say? She looks like Mom. She’s…I don’t know, probably seeing us the same way we see her, as a stranger.”
He was probably right about that. Chase would take some time in the morning to talk with her, get a sense of her, see if she needed anything. “So I told Rose I want to adopt Billy Jo,” Chase said. He could feel Aaron staring at him just as the bartender slid a napkin on the counter with a bottle of lager, then reached for a glass. Chase waved it off.
Aaron said nothing at first. With him, Chase had to carry the conversation. All of it. Aaron just didn’t give a shit about filling in awkward silences; he’d simply walk away. “Are you looking for my approval or wanting a pat on the back? You want me to say, ‘Way to go, Chase. Good job, you’ve done your good deed for a lifetime’?” He sounded like such an asshole, and Chase had to really look at his brother. “Sorry,” Aaron said. “That wasn’t fair. I’ve seen you with her.”
“Yeah, so what’s eating you?” Chase said.
Aaron had peeled off all his label and was now studying that dark glass bottle as if it held all the answers. He shook his head.
“Bullshit. Seriously, Aaron, what’s going on? You have a fight coming up, right?”
Of course he did. Chase followed all his fights and went to
every one when he was in the area, often taking a seat in back and just watching as his brother beat the shit out of his opponent, both of them bloody by the time they were done. At times he wondered whether his brother would kill himself before he finally found peace from everything that haunted him.
“Anaheim next. It’s great.”
“Good, that’s close. So if the fighting is great, is it finances or a girl?”
Aaron tipped back the rest of his beer, set it on the counter, and slid off his stool. “Don’t go trying to fix me, Chase. I told you that already. I’m the last person who needs a handout.” Then he gestured to the exit with his chin and lifted his hand.
Chase looked over and saw their mom standing there, no smile. She strode their way, still wearing heels. She was fashionable, pretty, clutching her purse.
Aaron slapped his back. “You go adopt that girl, but make sure first you’ve got no hitches in the way. Then you tell her. And, because you didn’t ask, Rose is a nice woman. She has a way with that girl. Marry her, hold on to her, and don’t fuck it up like every other asshole out there.” He stepped back as their mom approached. “Hi, Mom. Have my seat. Chase, buy Mom a drink. I’m done.”
Then Aaron walked out of the lounge, leaving Chase with a woman he’d loved so much, who had been there for him, had loved him, and had walked out of his life.
Chapter 34
“Mom, what can I get for you?” Chase asked, gesturing to the bartender as his mother scooted onto the barstool next to him, the one Aaron had been sitting on.
“White wine,” she said.
Chase watched her out of the corner of his eye as the bartender cleaned up the mess Aaron had made, wiped the counter down, and then rested a chilled glass of wine in front of his mom.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Anytime,” Chase replied. This was icy and awkward. For all the tense backroom backstabbing deals he’d been involved in, considering the shark-infested political waters he’d just left, he still didn’t have a clue what to say now.
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