by Mia Carson
“And that was three years ago, wasn’t it?” Alec finished.
August sipped his beer before answering. “That was five years ago. When the letter arrived and I confronted her, Mom paid me off to leave town and not look back. Said I wasn’t part of the real family, that I wasn’t your real brother. Look, I know she’s our mom, and I’m not about to make things worse by trying to turn you against her, I just—”
Alec set his beer down and without even bothering to read the letter, dragged August off the counter into another tight hug. “You’re my brother, and you’ll always be my brother. I don’t care what anyone else tells you, got it? We grew up together, we gave each other shit for years, and now, when I need someone to talk to who’s not going to call me an idiot, you show up on my doorstep.” He set August back and leaned down, staring into his face. “You’re my brother, and don’t you ever forget it.”
August sniffed hard and nodded, wiping the sheen from his eyes. “Yeah, man, course I am.”
“Good, then I don’t need to read this,” he said and moved to the garbage disposal. “And neither do you. Not again.”
He shoved it into the drain, flipped on the water, and turned on the disposal. It whirred and gurgled as it tore up the letter that drove August to leave. Once he was sure it was destroyed, Alec flipped the switch again and turned the water off. If only he had a letter from Nikki to obliterate so damn easily, but that wasn’t the case.
“Do I get to hear about this woman now?” August asked as he stared into the sink drain.
“There's not much to say,” Alec explained roughly, and taking his beer, stalked back into the living room to sort through his meager belongings. “I really would like to have some damn furniture in here soon.” He pulled out his cell to call the moving truck again, but August’s hand reached out and took it. “Really?”
“Tell me what happened,” his little brother insisted.
Alec’s jaw shifted as he ground his teeth, his hands busying themselves with the first box he came to. “Me and Nikki, we were… uh, we’d been together for two years,” he said quietly. “I thought I loved her and swore she loved me back. Mom loved her, of course—the perfect woman, the one she always wanted to find, just like her.” Thinking over everything his brother had told him, Alec burst out laughing bitterly as August raised his brow in confusion. “Sorry, it’s only now I see they were exactly alike, down to their tendency for cheating.”
It figured that his mom would pick the one woman in the world who would take Alec’s heart and crush it in her fist like a bug, just as she had done to their dad. Nikki had destroyed him, and since he’d walked away from her, all she’d done was call him at least six times a day, begging him to come back, but he wasn’t an idiot. He couldn’t trust her, not after she slept with his best friend on the night he was going to propose to her. He tugged open the flaps on the box in front of him, waiting for August to start in with the onslaught of questions when he glanced down and saw the black box.
“Shit,” he muttered and snatched it up.
“Wait,” August said and walked over. “Is that a ring?”
Alec’s chest ached as he slowly flipped the lid open and stared at the sparkling diamond ring inside. It had cost him a pretty penny, and he’d been so excited to give it to the woman he thought he loved. “Yeah, it is,” he confirmed.
“And you kept it?”
“I didn’t really think about it,” he admitted, still holding the box. “I caught them together, packed my things, and searched for a house. The second I closed on it, I piled everything into the truck and drove here. That was this morning.”
“And you still have the ring,” August repeated. “Why the hell would you keep it?”
Alec shrugged his broad shoulders. “I don’t even remember tossing it in here. Never checked my things.”
“Were you living with Nikki?”
“No, thank God,” he mumbled and snapped the box shut on that part of his life, hoping it would be forever, but he knew better. He’d caught Nikki and his best friend Mark together a little over a month ago, and every day since, she’d begged him to forgive her. Margaret was no different. She wanted Alec to move on and let it go, stay with Nikki… “I can’t believe it,” he whispered and tossed the ring box to August. “That spiteful, horrible woman! And she calls herself our mom!” He paced angrily around the room before circling back to August and demanding his cell.
“What are you going to do?”
“Call Mom and demand she give me my damn furniture. She’s going to hold it hostage until I talk to Nikki because Nikki is just like her in every way,” he growled and hit his screen angrily with his thumb.
“So she did cheat on you? I’m sorry, Alec, that’s hard.”
“It’s fine, I’m over it,” he grumbled, but he caught his brother’s look at the ring in his palm. “Or trying to be over it. Mom? Yeah, where the hell is the rest of my shit?”
“Alec Wolf, is that anyway to speak to your mother?” Margaret replied with a gasp of shock and rage.
“Don’t you dare,” he snarled, anger building as all his mom’s words of getting back together with Nikki, saying it was a one-time thing, repeated themselves in his mind. “Where’s the truck?”
“They’re having problems.”
“You know what… fine, keep it. I’ll buy new shit.”
“Now hold on a moment. There’s someone here who would like to speak to you, and you haven’t even told me where you moved,” she argued hotly.
“Why would I do that? The only one who found me is the only one I wanted to find me—my brother,” he said then held up a hand and barked a harsh laugh. “Oh, wait… no, I’m sorry, my half-brother.”
Silence met his words, and August’s eyes widened as he watched his brother.
“August is there?” Margaret finally asked quietly, her voice shaking. “What did he say? Why is he back?”
“He came back because he missed me and I needed someone to talk to, someone who would not defend another damn cheater. Keep the furniture, Mom. I’ll talk to you later.” He hung up and shoved his cell in his back pocket.
“You know that won’t be the end of it,” August warned.
Alec’s hands balled on his hips, and he breathed out through his nose, trying to tamp down his temper before he took it out on his poor boxes stuffed with what remained of his life. “I know, but what can she do? She has no control over anything of mine—not my business, not my house, and not my damn money. Let her try.”
August held up the ring box. “And this? What about Nikki?”
He held out his hand, and August dropped the box in it. “I’m going to sell this right now, and Nikki will never find me.”
Chapter 2
The slight chill in the afternoon breeze told Iris winter was coming early this year, and she looked up at the sky darkening along the horizon as a storm brewed. It was barely October, and they called for snow in a few weeks. Usually, she loved the snow, loved being out in it and watching it fall silently over the open land around their tiny town. But since the accident that stole their parents, the idea of snow made her cringe and curse the sky. Iris crossed one of the four main intersections in downtown Lundy and hit the sidewalk outside a strip of a few old stores.
Her steps slowed when she reached the one in the center with cardboard behind the glass to block the view inside and a 'for sale' sign still hanging in the window. Usually, she rushed passed it, not wanting the reminder of the tough decision she’d had to make a year ago. But today, her feet came to a dead stop outside the door. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and a sudden gust blew her hair.
Her hand shaking, she reached for the door, closing her eyes and imagining herself pushing it open and striding inside to find her dad busy behind the counter or organizing the latest items he’d found at estate sales across the state. She heard her mom’s voice call out from the backroom, and for a second, Iris was in the past, back to a day before Sam was sick and
her parents were alive and well. Back when the antique store did brisk business and was the most popular one in the state. Her fingers brushed the metal door handle, and the sharp cold made her flinch and stagger backwards… right into a very firm, very large body.
“I’m so sorry,” she mumbled as the hands gripped her upper arms and set her easily back on her feet. Her face warmed with embarrassment until her eyes reached up… and up, to find the face of a bearded man staring down at her.
“You alright?” he asked, studying her face with brown eyes that reminded her of rum. “Miss?”
She nodded and tugged her purse back up her shoulder, catching the way his eyes slid to it and narrowed slightly. The embarrassment increased, and she stepped back quickly. “I’m fine, thanks.”
“Were you trying to get in there?” he asked, nodding to the closed store behind her.
“No, I was just lost in thought,” she said and cleared her throat, fully aware of how attractive this wolf of a man was and how crappy she looked today. “Sorry I bumped you, but I have to go.”
His hand reached towards her again, but he pulled it back. “Right… Well, have a good day.”
Iris nodded and moved past him quickly, ducking her head as her feet rushed her towards the pawn shop door. When she reached it, she glanced back to find the man still standing there, watching her closely. She knew everyone in town, or she thought she did. Don’t worry about the new guy. You have other business to take care of, she told herself and pushed open the door.
The bell tinkled—too happily for her liking—as it always did when she entered, and she looked around for the shop’s owner. “Joe? You in today?”
“I’m in every day,” a deep voice called out from the rear of the shop.
She couldn’t help but smile at his friendly voice and weaved her way through the overstuffed pawn shop until she reached the counter in the back. Joe Canowicakte stood behind it, his graying, long black hair hanging straight over his shoulders and his brown eyes alight with mischief, as always.
“Why do you look so happy today?” she asked, setting her purse on the counter.
“I could ask you the same,” he said. “There is something different about you, yet sadness still lingers in your eyes.”
“Well, I got some good news today on top of some shitty news,” she admitted. “Sam’s in remission.”
Joe smiled brightly and hurried around the counter to hug her tightly. “That’s wonderful! It’s about time he gets a break. Is he coming home soon?”
“Sunday,” she said as he let her go. “He’s excited to be out of the hospital again—as long as I can keep a roof over our heads, which is why I’m here.” She dug around in her purse and carefully pulled out the family heirloom wrapped in newspaper. She set it on the counter and, with a shaky breath, unwrapped it.
“That is a beautiful piece,” he said and leaned closer to look at the stones. “Very intricate detailing here between the sapphires. Iris, are you certain you wish to sell this piece?”
“I don’t have a choice,” she told him as he wandered off into his shop and disappeared. “Joe?”
“One moment,” he called back, and she peered through the shelves and stacked furniture, searching for him, but he came back from a completely different place and made her jump when he started talking from behind her.
“Damn you and your silence,” she muttered.
He smirked. “You can blame that on my ancestors,” he said, holding a framed picture in his hand. “And that necklace is part of your history.”
“What are you talking about?”
He pointed to a woman in the old, stained, tinted photograph. “You see this woman here? She was the wife of the founder of Lundy, and that,” he told her, glancing at the necklace on the counter, “is around her neck.”
“What?” Iris gasped and leaned closer, her eyes straining to see better. “But these two are the founders of Lundy! How the hell did I wind up with her necklace?”
“I do not know,” Joe said, “but there must be a reason for it.”
“Please don’t give me ‘there’s a reason for everything the spirits do’ speech,” she mumbled and handed the photo back. “I don’t believe in any of that, not anymore. All I care about is keeping a roof over our heads now that Sam’s coming home.”
Joe looked like he wanted to say more, but he nodded stiffly and moved back behind the counter. He left the photo in sight, and Iris’s eyes drifted back to the woman. She wasn’t smiling, but there was something in her eyes that even the test of time had not been able to strip away from the photograph. Joe picked up the necklace, looking over every inch of it as he muttered under his breath, but Iris tuned him out. She swore she’d seen this woman before, and not just in the large photo in their tiny city hall.
“What was her name?” she asked.
“Who?” Joe asked and glanced up. “Ah, that is Gyda Lundy, the wife of Boden Lundy. They came together, but you know this.”
“I do, but I couldn’t remember her name,” she said quietly, running her fingers over the photo.
“You can keep that photograph, if you like,” he told her. “It has been in this shop since I opened it many years ago. Tried to convince your father to take it, but he said if I found it in my shop, then it should remain.”
Iris frowned and looked around. “I thought you built this shop?”
“No, this building was constructed fifty years before my shop,” he said with a chuckle. “I am old but not that old.” He reached out an old, weathered, tanned hand, resting it on hers. “I miss them, too. Miss having my business partners.”
Iris smiled then laughed when she remembered what her dad always told them Joe said. “He said you only did business with him because he was the only white-skinned man you could trust to watch his shop.”
Joe burst out laughing, the booming sound echoing around his shop. “That is very true. Not many are good to the Sioux in this town, but your father and mother, they were good people.”
“I know,” she murmured, and her smile fell, the small moment of happiness gone. “And now, they’re gone, leaving me with a mess I don’t think I’ll ever get out of. The medical bills are piling up, and I won’t be able to keep the house for another three months, let alone keep the electricity on. I can’t find a damn job in this tiny-ass town, and I’ve sold every last bit of anything our family ever had. I can’t do this, Joe, I just… I can’t.”
She rested her head on the counter, hating that she dumped everything on a man who’d been nothing but helpful since the accident. He’d tried to help her keep the antique shop open, but her heart was too broken by the loss to care as much as she should. Everything fell apart so quickly, and the pieces were too scattered for her to scoop them together again.
“Iris, why did you not tell me you were unemployed?” Joe asked sternly. “I assumed you found a job with that man of yours, Jenson.”
Iris stiffened and glanced away so Joe wouldn’t see the fury on her face. “We haven’t been together for a few months, and I don’t think I could work with him, not anymore.”
“What happened that you’re clearly trying to avoid telling me?” he asked, using that stern, grandfatherly tone she was always compelled to answer. But this was something she knew would send Joe over the edge. “Iris?”
“Nothing. It just ended badly, and the last thing I want to do is talk about Jenson.”
His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t push her. “How much did you want for the necklace?” he asked quietly, holding it up so the sapphires sparkled in the light.
“What’s it worth?”
“Let me put this another way,” Joe said as he laid the necklace down and folded his hands on the counter. “How much money do you need to get through this month? And don’t you dare try to lie to me. I’ll find out, I have my ways.”
Iris clamped her mouth shut on that protest and hung her head. She was months behind on the electric and gas. She’d received several notices already ab
out cutting both off, but thankfully, she knew the people who ran those offices and they were trying to give her extra time. Everyone knew about her parents and Sam, but she knew their kindness couldn’t last forever and she didn’t want it to. It was bad enough how much charity she’d already accepted, and she knew most of the items she brought to Joe were worth way less than what he gave her, but after the first argument they’d had over the prices, she gave up fighting the man.
“Three thousand would get the utilities caught up and pay for the house,” she answered finally.
“Then I shall give you four for good measure, and if you are ever behind on your utilities again, you are to call me straight away. I will not have Jim Newton’s daughter losing electricity or gas and freezing through the winter. Do you understand me?”
“Joe, really, I just need a little time—”
He held up his hand, and Iris immediately fell silent. “That was a yes or no question, and all I’m going to hear is a yes.”
“You know I can’t pay you back… for any of this,” she said as angry tears filled her eyes before she wiped them quickly away. Joe handed her a handkerchief from his pocket and smiled softly. “Thanks.”
“Jim was a very good friend of mine,” he told her quietly. “He and Astrid. It wasn’t just business either, and you know that as well as I do. People in this town loved them. They still do, and they will not let you or your brother want for anything.” He opened the register behind him, counted out the bills, and tucked them safely in an envelope. “Pay your bills and expect a phone call from me soon.”
Iris put the money in the zipper pocket on the inside of her purse. “A phone call?”
“Yes, now go. It’s Friday night, and you should take some time for yourself to relax,” he insisted.
“After I pay some bills,” she said and clung tightly to her purse, watching as Joe wrapped the necklace up gently and tucked it away behind the counter, out of sight. Her brow furrowed as she glanced around the shop. “Joe, why don’t I ever see any of the items I’ve sold you up for sale?”
