Candy Crush

by Tami Lund

  “Good morning,” she said.

  “Is it still morning? What’s so good about it? I feel like my head is going to explode. I gotta go get some fast food.” He stood up and walked into the house. Five minutes later, he walked out again, keys in hand.

  “Hey,” Gabriella said, “Are you okay? Besides the hangover I mean.”

  Emmett shrugged. “Yeah. Probably shouldn’t have brought her home. Tell Brandon I’m sorry. I’ll try not to do it again.”

  “She’s bad news.”

  “She’s fucking psycho.” He turned and walked down the driveway to the rental car parked behind Brandon’s truck.

  Brandon called it quits on the yard cleanup after a couple of hours and went inside to watch the football game with Emmett, who hadn’t moved off the couch since he returned with a bag full of McDonald’s food and a large fountain Coke.

  Gabriella was bored, so she decided to take Butter for a walk. They ended up standing in the alley behind the candy store. Gabriella pulled out the key had absentmindedly pocketed as she left the house. She used the key to unlock the back door. The yellow caution tape had been pulled off, so she reasoned that maybe they released the storeroom as a crime scene and hadn’t bothered to tell her.

  She stepped inside and flipped on the light switch. She sucked in her breath at the sight of the graffiti. She had been half hoping someone would have painted over it, which of course was silly.

  She wandered around, inspecting everything, not really sure what she was looking for, but feeling the need to look nonetheless. She poked her foot at the pile of boxes in the corner and told herself she would throw them all in the dumpster at the first opportunity, even if she had to do it herself. She wandered around for a few more minutes, and opened the door, flipping off the light as she walked out. Butter started growling and Gabriella looked up to see a police cruiser slowly driving down the alley. “Uh oh,” Gabriella said out loud, suspecting she was about to get in trouble for disturbing a crime scene. The car came to a rolling stop in front of her and Gabriella saw Daniel Franks sitting behind the wheel. He rolled down the passenger side window and leaned over the seat to look at her.

  “Hi Daniel.”

  “Gabriella, what are you doing here?”

  “I was taking my dog for a walk and I ended up here. Just looking around, making sure nothing else has been disturbed.”

  “You can have your storeroom back. We’ve come up empty handed again. Are you still planning to open the candy store?”

  “I’m thinking about sitting on it for a while, until you guys catch whoever is doing this.”

  “You sure you don’t want to just sell it, get it off your hands? I understand you’re working at the Chamber now.”

  It annoyed Gabriella how fast news traveled in this damn town. “While that sounds like a tempting idea, I would have to at least break even, and I doubt I could convince anyone to buy it from me for what I paid. Plus, it’s not really fair to pawn off the problem onto someone else. Someone doesn’t want a candy store open on Main Street, so I figure if I just don’t open it, that person will have no reason to continue to bother me or the store.”

  “I’m not sure that criminals operate in a logical manner, Gabriella. You should just cut your losses. Put it up on Craig’s List for a couple thousand bucks and walk away, lesson learned.”

  Gabriella looked appalled. “Couple thousand dollars? That’s ridiculous. If it could ever be opened, it’s worth ten times that. Besides, I told you, I don’t want to pawn my problem off on someone else.”

  “You’re making a big mistake, Gabriella. Someone’s trying real hard to scare you, and I think you should listen.” Daniel scowled when his radio started crackling. “Watch yourself,” he said just before he rolled up the window and cruised through the alley, turning left at the end of the block.

  Because she felt slightly unnerved after that encounter, Gabriella and Butter speed-walked back to Brandon’s house, and her heart rate didn’t slow to a normal pace until she reached the back door.

  After the football game was over, Emmett dragged himself upstairs to take a shower and then the three of them piled into Brandon’s truck and headed to his parents’ house for dinner. As soon as he walked inside, Emmett took a deep breath and said, “I feel better already. Whatever is cooking smells awesome.”

  Brandon sniffed the air and said, “Damn, mom’s making lamb shanks for you guys.” He held the door open and Gabriella walked inside after pausing so that Butter could rush in first. Butter scurried straight to Laney, at least Gabriella assumed so, based on Laney’s squeal.

  Courtney walked into the foyer and said, “Why did you bring him?”

  Brandon walked by and gave her a one-armed hug. “Just to annoy you. Glad to see it worked.” He jumped out of her reach as she took a swing.

  Courtney gave Gabriella a hug. Emmett stepped up behind her and smiled hopefully. “Not on your life,” Courtney said waspishly, and she turned and walked into the kitchen, where everyone was gathered, chatting and eating appetizers.

  ***

  Dinner was, as usual in the Sarantos household, a noisy, raucous affair. Eleven adults squeezed around the dining room table, plus Laney in a booster seat, tucked in between Courtney and Emmett, and Anthony Junior in his highchair.

  Courtney was annoyed by the seating arrangement, but it made perfect sense, since Gabriella sat on Emmett’s other side. Besides, Emmett could convince Laney to eat like no one else could. He had even convinced her to eat an olive, besides lamb and green beans and feta cheese. And Laney seemed content to hang out in her booster chair, so long as Emmett was sitting next to her, talking to her as if she were every bit a part of the conversation that ebbed and flowed around the table.

  Stephanie sulked next to Patrick. Emmett wasn’t even someone’s date, he was just Gabriella’s brother, and he received a warmer welcome than she’d ever gotten from Patrick’s parents. And Grandma Sarantos was falling all over herself fawning over him. Although, Stephanie admitted to herself as she watched him chat with Laney and ignore Courtney, he was certainly easy on the eyes. And he obviously liked kids. Patrick was still half-afraid of his niece and never volunteered to baby-sit. Not proving to be good dad material at the moment.

  Stephanie sighed, because she was twenty-seven years old and she desperately wanted to get married. To marry into the Sarantos family was practically like marrying into royalty in this town. She thought she had her ticket with Patrick – Brandon had been a stone wall last year when she had tried flirting with him, and Anthony and Nicole have been happily married for four years – but Patrick was thus far showing no inclination to move their relationship any further along. It didn’t help that his mother practically hated her.

  Now this Natalie Reager woman was back in town. When Stephanie grilled Patrick about her earlier today, he had flat out refused to discuss her or any relationship they may have had. Not open for negotiation. But Stephanie was sure she meant something to him, and she didn’t like the idea that the woman had moved back to Holly.

  Stephanie did a mental tally in her head of all the unmarried Sarantos men and she didn’t come up with much: Patrick, Brandon, their cousin Jared, and a few other cousins who were at least several years younger than her. The rest were married or still teenagers. Jared scared her a little with his womanizing ways, and Brandon was apparently well on his way to being shackled to someone else, so that left Patrick. With a sigh, Stephanie turned and tried to flirt with him, ignoring his mother’s beady-eyed stare.

  ***

  After dinner, Courtney and Nicole disappeared upstairs to give the kids baths and put them to bed, while everyone else helped clear the table and clean up the kitchen. Rosalie pulled out a deck of cards and a notepad and suggested they play cards. Brandon explained the house rules to Gabriella and Emmett, while they waited for Nicole and Courtney to return.

  Everyone turned towards the staircase when Courtney bellowed, “Laney!” and then Laney came rushing down the
stairs and all but leapt into Emmett’s lap.

  “I just wanted to say good night to everyone,” she mumbled into his shirt, as she hid her face from her mother, who was stomping down the steps, looking angrier and angrier with each step she took.

  Emmett whispered in her ear, “Give everyone a hug and say good night and I’ll help put you to bed.” Laney smiled impishly and raced around the table, giving each adult a hug and kiss and saying good night. Then she leapt into Emmett’s lap again and he stood up and carried her to the stairs.

  Courtney stood at the foot of the stairs, arms crossed, blocking his way. “She’s my daughter,” she said waspishly.

  “Do you want to spend all evening fighting with her or do you want me to help, so this is quick and we can get back downstairs to play cards?” Emmett asked, low enough that the rest of the family couldn’t hear him.

  Courtney held her stance for several heartbeats, and then she huffed out a breath and stomped back up the stairs. They passed Nicole as she made her way back downstairs.

  Emmett followed Courtney down the hall and through a door into a pink and purple little girl’s room. The walls were pink and purple. The curtains were pink and purple. The floor was wood with pink and purple throw rugs everywhere. The comforter on the bed was purple with large pink polka dots. “This is awful,” Emmett said as he walked over and deposited Laney on the twin bed that jutted out into the middle of the room.

  Courtney laughed. “Yeah, it is, isn’t it? Laney talked my mother into it while I was at school. I came home one Friday night to this.” She waved her arm in an arch.

  Emmett tucked Laney under the covers, gave her a kiss on the forehead and whispered, “Good night.” He stepped back and watched as Courtney did the same, and then they stepped out of the room and closed the door.

  “Wow,” Courtney said, pausing in the hallway. “That is never this easy when the whole family is here. She always wants to stay up and visit, and the later she stays up, the more excitable she becomes, which makes it nearly impossible to actually get her to sleep.”

  “You’re welcome,” Emmett said. A smile teased at his lips.

  Courtney couldn’t help it. She smiled back.

  “Finally,” he said with a chuckle. “Something other than a smirk or a scowl from you.” Then he kissed her, softly, on the lips. He pulled back and made no move to deepen the kiss.

  “What was that for?” Courtney asked in a bemused voice.

  “Curiosity. I have a feeling I’d really enjoy kissing you, Courtney.”

  “I’m seeing someone,” she blurted out.

  Emmett’s smile widened. “I’ve heard. Several times. Your brother is a bit protective.”

  “I’ve made some really stupid mistakes in my life, and most of them are centered around men.”

  Emmett nodded, as if he understood.

  “I guess you can kind of relate, having a sister and all.”

  “I can. She tended to rebel in the form of the men she dated.”

  “How do you feel about my brother?”

  “I think I’ll kick his ass if he breaks my sister’s heart. But I don’t think he will.”

  “It’s not really that serious,” Courtney said suddenly.

  “Brandon and Gabriella?”

  “No, the guy I’m seeing, back at school. It’s not really serious. He’s kind of a loser anyway. I’ve been thinking about breaking it off, but I just haven’t gotten around to it.”

  “Oh yeah?” There was amusement in Emmett’s voice.

  “I’d like you to kiss me again.”

  Emmett stared at her for half a heartbeat and then he pulled her close and dipped his head for a kiss that quickly escalated into a near full-body experience.

  ***

  Nicole stopped at the top of the stairs, caught sight of them, smiled to herself and tiptoed back downstairs.

  She sat down at the table and said, “We should probably start without them. They’re getting to know each other better.”

  Anthony, Patrick and Brandon all surged to their feet. “Sit,” she commanded in a voice that almost rivaled Rosalie’s. All three men slowly sat back down.

  “He’s Gabriella’s brother. He’s a perfectly respectable man.”

  “I agree,” Rosalie said with a firm nod, and she began shuffling cards.

  “He’s hot,” Grandma Sarantos said and Brandon’s father choked on his beer.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  It was mid-morning on Sunday. Brandon and Gabriella sat on the built-in bench in the kitchen, drinking coffee, reading the newspaper and eating breakfast. They were both startled when Emmett walked into the room, fully dressed, with his car keys in his hand.

  “Where are you off to?” Gabriella asked, watching as he poured coffee into a travel mug.

  “Courtney’s going back to school tonight and I have to drive down to Detroit, so we’re going to spend the day together. I’ll be back probably late evening. See ya.”

  As the back door banged shut, Gabriella glanced at Brandon. He scowled.

  “Stop it,” she admonished. “Look at how he is with Laney. It could work.”

  “Do I really need to point out the obvious? That he lives in New Orleans? That she’s still in school? Besides the fact that she’s only twenty-two years old.”

  Gabriella put her hand on his arm. “Brandon, you are really getting ahead of yourself here. They aren’t going to move at warp speed. They don’t have a choice. Brandon is here for a month. Let’s just sit back and see how the relationship develops. They could do the long-distance thing until she graduates, and then decide where they want to go at that point.”

  “Doesn’t he travel all over the country with his job? How’s that going to work with Laney?”

  “You’re getting ahead of yourself again. Relax. If it’s meant to be, it will work itself out.”

  “If that’s your philosophy, why do you keep resisting what’s happening between us?”

  Gabriella was so startled by the sudden shift from talking about Emmett and Courtney to talking about their own relationship that she was rendered speechless.

  “Huh,” Brandon said when she didn’t respond. Because this subject more often than not led to potential arguments, he changed the subject again. “Anything special you want to do today?”

  “The candy store has been cleared for me to get in again. I wouldn’t mind going over there and throwing all that old candy in the dumpster. Then I can call to have the dumpster emptied tomorrow. And then I guess I just sit and wait it out, till the police find whoever has issue with opening the store.”

  They both dressed in sweats and tennis shoes and walked to the candy store. It took several hours and they were both exhausted when it was done, but finally, every box had been pulled out of the storeroom and thrown into the now overflowing dumpster. All that was left was a pile of dirt and dust.

  Gabriella leaned against the wall next to Brandon and mopped her brow with the sleeve of her shirt. “I don’t think I have the energy to even sweep and mop this up right now.”

  Brandon shrugged. “Then leave it. It’s not going anywhere. We’ll come back up here one day after work and do it. Come on, let’s go home and take a shower.”

  Brandon pushed off from the wall and pulled Gabriella into his arms. He kissed her on the forehead and they walked outside together, with Butter on their heels.

  ***

  The next few days were uneventful. Brandon and Gabriella woke up together, went to work together and ate lunch together unless one of them had a lunch appointment. On the days Brandon went to the gym after work, Gabriella went home and made dinner. It was domestic and peaceful.

  Gabriella enjoyed the routine and the peace and quiet. Mostly, she enjoyed spending time with Brandon. She knew their relationship was budding into much more than either of them ever expected, and, she realized with a start, she was inclined to just let it happen.

  Late Thursday night, the serenity was shattered. Gabriella surfaced from s
leep to a constant, low rumbling sound. She wrinkled her brow and tried to figure out the source of the noise. She lifted her head and saw Butter, standing on her hind legs, front legs propped on the windowsill, looking out the window, and growling, deep and low in her throat. Gabriella glanced at Brandon. He was sound asleep, lying on his side with his arm draped across her stomach. She gently lifted his arm, slid out of bed and tiptoed to the window. She patted Butter’s head and looked outside.

  Someone was standing next to her car, which was parked in the driveway. It was a man, and he was dressed all in black with a black knit cap on his head. Gabriella watched as he stood behind her car, writing something on a piece of paper he held in his hand. Her license plate number, maybe? He walked around and bent over to peek into the driver’s side door. He walked all the way around the car and then turned his head up, towards the house. Gabriella instantly shrank back from the window and dropped to the floor.

  “Oh my God.”

  ***

  When she spoke, Brandon woke up with a start. He reached across the bed, and when he realized she wasn’t in bed with him, he lifted his head and looked around, wondering where Gabriella went. He spotted her sitting on the floor and sat up in bed. “Gabriella? What are you doing?”

  She glanced up at him. The stark terror on her face caused him to scramble out of the bed to the floor, where he pulled her into his lap and hugged her tightly to him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Miguel.”

  Brandon was instantly alert. “What happened?”

  “Hector – his brother. He’s outside. He found me.”

  She waved at the window. Brandon shifted her out of his lap and crawled to the window. Butter was still standing there, growling low in her throat.

  “I don’t see anyone.” He sucked in a breath. “He just came around the corner of the house.”

  Brandon stood up, walked to the bedside table and picked up his cell phone. He punched 9-1-1 and reported a strange man lurking around his house. Then he dropped to the floor and pulled Gabriella back into his lap.