Brothers

by Tess Oliver

  "Jesse, that bowie knife isn't going to make itself." Zach stood with his plate.

  I pointed at him. "See, there you go channeling Dad again. I'm going to do the dishes and then I'll get started."

  Zach scraped his plate into the trash and put it in the sink. "You sure you even know how to wash dishes?"

  I waved at him to get out.

  Joelle lifted the skillet from the stove. "Would it be all right to watch you guys work once I'm done here? It was amazing to watch Zach this morning."

  I cast a questioning glance at Zach. "This morning, eh? Didn't know Joelle was in the shop this morning."

  "I held the knife in the forge and everything. I was a total wimp about it, but with Zach's help, I think my first bladesmithing lesson went pretty well."

  I looked at Zach again. He shrugged casually, as if it was no big deal.

  "I'll bet he was a big helper. Zach is good at that."

  "You can come watch anytime, Joelle," Zach said just before walking out the back door.

  I filled the sink with hot water and tried to wash away the visions in my head of Zach helping Joelle in front of the forge. My brother was pretty damn smooth, so to an outsider, or even to Joelle herself, it probably seemed innocent enough.

  Joelle's arm brushed mine as she reached for the dish cloth. The light touch of her skin against mine broke me from my thoughts. "Did you sleep all right in that old bed? I know the mattress is thin, but it hasn't been used much."

  Joelle picked up a plate and washed it. "I slept great." She lowered the plate into the water and looked at me.

  I swallowed trying to regain my composure from the impact of her brown gaze. Up close, she was beyond stunning. She was fucking breathtaking.

  "I woke this morning and realized that it was the first night I could sleep and get lost in my dreams without any fear."

  I swallowed again, but this time it was to absorb the pain I felt when I thought about her having to be afraid every night, every day, hell, probably every minute. That was when I knew I had to get the stupid, jealous thoughts about Zach helping her at the forge out of my craw. Fate had brought Joelle here to Tanglewood, and if she was feeling safe for the first time in years, then I was going to make damn sure Zach and I weren't going to do anything to screw that up. I was sure Zach felt the same.

  Now the only problem was how to do that, how to listen to her singing and laughter, or see her tuck her hair behind her ear, or be greeted with her smile, how to spend all this time with Joelle and not fall crazy in love with her.

  11

  Joelle

  When I was little, Lolly and I used to take the bus for a day at the beach. One of my favorite things to do, other than play in the waves, collect shells and toss potato chips for the seagulls, was to walk along the pier. We had a tradition where we nibbled a double-dipped ice cream cone with rainbow sprinkles while watching the local artist paint portraits of tourists. I, being a kid, never had the patience to sit for one of the portraits, and Lolly certainly never had the extra money to pay for one. But we both marveled at how the man was able to draw someone's face out of a blank canvas. And he did it with speed and confidence. Watching an artist at their craft was always magical, but watching the Coltrane brothers, work side by side, mostly in silence other than a few gestures or nods of the head, while they coaxed flinty smooth knives from crude pieces of metal was something altogether mesmerizing. It might have been their extreme confidence, as if they hadn't just learned the skills but been born with them. Which, in their case, was somewhat true. It might have been the ease with which they pounded away on a glowing piece of metal with their powerful arms and hands, forming a curve and a point as if it had always been there and just needed to be set free. Or it might just have been that the two brothers, with their perfectly sculpted arms and symmetrical, handsome faces, were, in themselves, works of art, but they were incredibly fun to watch. They were both wearing short sleeved t-shirts beneath their leather aprons, giving me a full unobstructed view of their arms as they worked. The muscles tightened and lengthened as they sanded and hammered. Even their tattoos seemed to flow with the movements of their arms, like they'd been drawn to coincide harmoniously with the swing of the hammer. And their shop, a somewhat shadowy brick building where modern equipment stood side by side with primitive tools from a time long past, was also captivating. The maze of anvils and tables and tools provided so many focal points, it drew your gaze in every direction.

  Zach was sanding his blade, dragging a folded piece of sandpaper back and forth over it as it remained wedged in a clamp on the work table. He finished and dropped the used sandpaper in the trash before walking over to me. I tried to stay out of their way by sitting on a stool near the doorway. Bear and I had formed an instant connection, and he sat by my feet.

  Zach grinned as he shook his head at the dog. "You sure found yourself a furry groupie. Even Jes and I don't get that kind of devotion, and we saved that animal from certain death."

  "I think it's the eggs I gave him this morning."

  "Nah, he's smitten, and it wasn't just the eggs. Is the noise in here getting to you yet?"

  "Not at all. It's fascinating to watch. Both of you are so focused. You make it look so easy. I mean, I know it's not, but you make it look that way."

  Zach glanced back at Jesse, who was standing at the forge. "Years of practice. Both of us stood in here with our dad when we were just little tots, at first with our plastic toy hammers and then, when Dad thought we could handle it, with the real thing. Both of us managed to catch our thumbs and fingers more than once. But after a few blackened nails, you learn pretty fast that keeping your fingers out of the way saves you a lot of pain."

  I winced at the thought of it. "I'll bet. I'm feeling lazy just sitting here while you two work. Is there something you need me to do? Something around the house or yard?"

  Zach looked toward the open door. The last clouds had been pushed away, and the sun poured out of a blue sky. "I think it's going to be cold for a few more nights, and we're out of kindling for the fire. There's still plenty of wood, but if you want to collect up some thin branches and pine cones for kindling, I'm sure Bear will be happy to go with you. Just don't wander into the trees. It gets pretty dark in there, and it's easy to start walking in circles. There's a basket sitting on the hearth you can use to collect it."

  Coal rattled in the container as Jesse filled the scoop, grabbing our attention for a second.

  "Or you can stick around here because I've got to tell you, I haven't seen Jesse work this hard in ages."

  "Glad I could motivate him." I slid off the stool. "But I'd feel better about my time here if I helped out. So I'll go gather some kindling. It's a nice day for a walk." I slipped past him, but before I was clear, Zach took a gentle hold of my hand. It was a gentlemanly grasp, but it was more than just a casual touch. His eyes were deep blue in the dimly lit building. "Hey, Joelle, we are happy to have you here. Both Jes and I are glad to help out, so don't ever feel like you're in the way or freeloading." He released my hand. "Besides, it's nice to see a fresh face around this place. I was getting damn tired of looking at Jesse's ugly mug every day with nothing to break it up."

  I pushed my hair back behind my ears and nodded. "I promise not to feel like I'm in the way, unless I am in the way. Then please just tell me. I won't be offended." A small laugh followed. "I've had to grow a pretty hard shell in these past few years."

  "I'm sorry to hear that. You aren't the kind of person who should ever have to endure anything that requires a hard shell. The guy was a dick."

  My throat was too tight to respond. I nodded and waved to Jesse as I walked out.

  I headed across the yard. Bear sat on the back stoop as I hurried inside to get the basket. I picked it up and headed back out. There were no fences around the property, only a lush forest that ran along the entire back end of the yard. The basket swung from my hand as Bear and I hiked toward the trees.

  As we drew closer, B
ear stood with his ears pricked toward the trees. A low growl followed. Something large was moving through the branches, crunching the forest floor litter as it moved. Bear's sharp bark startled me, and I back up several steps as tree branches moved.

  The front tire of a bicycle popped through, and the rest of the bike quickly followed, along with a tall man with short brown hair and heavy beard stubble running along his jaw. We stared at each other for a moment. Then he flashed a nice smile.

  "You must be Joelle."

  "Sundance?"

  "In the flesh. And I just want to say that anything Zach and Jesse have told you about me is only partially true." He rolled his bike closer, It took a moment before Bear decided it was all right for the man to approach me.

  Sundance nodded politely at the dog. "Bear. Always a pleasure to see you and those gnarly fangs. I see he has taken to you quickly."

  I patted Bear's head. "Yes, we seem to have some inner dialogue going on between us. I think we've both had some of the same experiences. Did you ride through the forest?"

  He patted his bike seat. "Yeah, there's a patchy trail that leads from the back of my dad's property to the Coltrane property. It wasn't put there by nature but by years of Zach, Jes and me riding back and forth to each other's houses." He looked down toward the shop. "I can hear they're hard at work. I came by to lure them away from their anvils to go mountain biking."

  "Ah, I see. By the way, your sister is the closest thing to an angel on earth."

  Sundance followed that statement with a sibling laugh. "As a younger brother, who has been on the receiving end of her painful pinches and kicks under the dinner table, I don't quite share that opinion. But Sherry's always generous, and she gives me free tattoos. So I guess I can see how the angel comparison works."

  "Well, it's been nice talking to you. Bear and I are on a hunt for kindling."

  He leaned his bike against a tree. "I can help you with that. If you don't mind."

  "Not at all." We traveled along the border of trees, and I stooped down to gather some thin, slightly sticky branches. I placed them in the basket just as Sundance walked over holding up the hem of his shirt. The fabric was stretched heavy with pine cones. He rolled them into the basket.

  I pushed up to standing. Sundance was nearly as tall and broad as Zach and Jesse. Something in his mannerisms made it clear that he spent a lot of time with them. I could almost imagine the three of them, hanging out as teens and getting into every type of trouble. Just like Sherry had said. It was easy to understand how the three of them had managed to break their share of hearts in town. Sundance had a crooked smile that went perfectly with the glint of mischief in his green eyes.

  That sparkling green gaze seemed to be giving me a long once over now. "Boy, Jesse wasn't over-exaggerating." He said the words in a manner that made it seem he was talking to himself, and that he hadn't really meant to say them out loud.

  "How's that?" I continued on into the trees and he followed. Bear stayed by my side, and I was beginning to wish I'd had a dog just like him during the last few years.

  "Oh, nothing. Jesse just mentioned that you were—" He stopped. "I'll just seal my mouth shut, so I don't get myself in trouble. Just know, it was all good stuff. Hey, I hear you might work for my sister." He'd jumped on a new topic.

  "Yes, she offered me a position. Like I said, she's an angel." I scooped up some thin reedy twigs and dropped them in the basket.

  "Then you'll stick around? Tanglewood moves kind of slow, but it's not too bad once you get used to it." He tossed some more kindling into the basket and took hold of the handle.

  "I never expected to find a place like this. I was so desperate to leave behind my old life, I jumped on the boxcar without a plan. I had no idea where I'd end up, but this place feels right. Maybe it was fate."

  "Or maybe it's because this is the place the freight train stops before cutting through the mountain pass," he added.

  "That did help persuade me to get off the train. That, along with the engineer inspecting the train and my extreme need for a bathroom. I'm afraid my short lived career as a rail rider ended almost as soon as it began."

  "Well, I'm glad you found this town. And you're right. It might just have been fate that brought you here." He lifted the basket. "Don't think this will hold much more."

  We walked back to his bike, and I took hold of the basket. Bear and I walked with Sundance back to the shop.

  Zach had his back turned to the door, his hearing drowned out by the buzz of what he'd told me was a belt sander. Jesse looked up from the table where he was hand sanding his knife.

  "Hey, Sundance, I see you met our guest." Jesse put down the sandpaper and wiped his hands on his jeans as he approached us. "Thought you were working all day."

  "Nope, I'm waiting for the stain to dry on the saddle, so I thought I'd see if I could talk you guys or one of you into a bike ride."

  Jesse reached back and pulled out the piece of leather holding his long hair back. "You know it doesn't take much to talk me out of work." He looked back over his shoulder and let out a loud whistle.

  Zach glanced back from the machine and turned it off when he saw the three of us standing in the doorway.

  "Want to go race bikes?" Jesse called. He didn't wait for Zach's answer and turned to me. "You should come too. The trail has a great view of the valley."

  "Sounds great. Did you want me to make some sandwiches to take along?"

  Zach joined us at the door.

  "Come on, boss," Jesse said. "We both got a lot done today, and Joelle is going to make sandwiches."

  Zach raked his hair back with his fingers. "Yeah, guess I could use a break too."

  "I'll head over to the house then. Nice meeting you, Sundance." I walked out of the shop. Halfway across, I got the feeling that there were three pairs of eyes watching me. I swung back around, and the three guys, nonchalantly, turned this way and that, pretending that they hadn't been watching. It was so damn cute and comical, I couldn't stop a smile.

  As I spun back around Sundance called to me. "Oh, hey, Joelle, if you've got enough, I'll take a sandwich too. But no mustard."

  "Caveman," I heard Zach mutter behind me.

  I stopped at the front steps and looked back at the three of them. "Like I said, I must have been born at the wrong damn time in history."

  12

  Zach

  The short rainstorm from the night before had carved up a deep gulley in my usual line on the trail. It was always risky taking a different line. If I stuck to the same tire path all the way down, there were less surprises. The changes in the trail had slowed me down, but Jesse seemed determined to throw dirt in my face. His tire drifted sideways and spit a thin rooster tail of mud my direction.

  We were always competitive, but today was meant to be a casual ride, a workout ride. Only somewhere on the way down, it had become a race, a tense race. Sundance had gotten a flat tire early on and he'd pushed his bike down to the truck to fix it, leaving Jesse and I alone on the trail.

  I lifted off and got enough air to catch up to Jesse's back tire. My jaw was clenched in determination. I wanted to pass him. We reached Deadman's Gulch. Jesse cleared it, and I came down right behind him. The trail widened just below the gulch. It was my chance to pass him.

  I pedaled fast and my front wheel came up even with his back tire. He glanced back over his shoulder and poured it on. I stayed on him, even as the trail narrowed and curved into a copse of trees. I could see the angry tension in Jesse's shoulders as he leaned down over the handlebars. I pushed my feet down hard on the pedals and tried to skim past him. He turned his front tire sharply. I pulled my tire out to miss him, a move that pushed my body directly into the path of sharp tree branches. One managed to rip my shirt and gouge a nice slice in my side. It stung instantly from the tree sap. I gritted my teeth against the pain, now more determined than ever to ride past Jesse.

  A bad rut caused Jesse to hesitate and I flew past. The last section of tra
il was clear of trees. From that point it was a fast downhill race to the bottom. With nothing to slow us, we both flew down the incline as if we were being chased by a fast moving avalanche.

  Warm blood trickled down my side as I gripped my handlebars and headed toward the truck. Sundance was standing alone, leaned against the side of his truck with his arms crossed and a puzzled look on his face. I slowed down my pace. I was done with this. Apparently, my brother and I had flipped back to our teenage show off years, where we went out of our way to impress girls.

  I stopped my bike and pulled off my helmet. Jesse did the same.

  Sundance pushed off the truck. "Didn't know you two were going to push this into a race."

  I glanced back at Jesse, who was just pulling off his helmet. "Me neither." I was pissed at myself for acting like an idiot, but I was more pissed at Jesse. I pointed to the ripped shirt and the spreading blood stain. "Look what you did, asshole."

  "Hey, you did that to yourself. You know that part of the trail isn't wide enough for two bikes."

  "Yeah, well fuck you anyway. This was supposed to be a workout not a full out brawl."

  "Far as I could tell, you were the one who turned it into a brawl." Jesse walked to the back of the truck and dropped his gear in the duffle bag.

  "Where's Joelle? Did she take a walk?" The fact that the pretty girl we were trying to impress wasn't even around to impress made the whole thing pretty comical. What a couple of idiots.

  I was so busy chiding myself, I hadn't noticed the grin on Sundance's face as he stared up the hill. A laugh rolled down toward us. Joelle was heading down the smooth part of the hillside on Sundance's bike. Her face was nearly split in two with a smile as her long hair flowed behind her.

  "Why the fuck didn't you give her a helmet?" I asked.

  "She said she didn't want one."

  The three of us watched as she rode down the hill on the bike at a fairly impressive speed. Jesse and I both stepped forward with worry when the front tire wobbled, and it looked like she might fall. But she righted herself.