Looking for Trouble

by Victoria Dahl

  He sneered at her, as if her tears disgusted him. “It’s not all about you, Sophie. You’re not the center of the universe, even though you always try to be.”

  “I am the center of this,” she insisted. “You’re her son, it’s not the same. I’m her daughter. I look just like her. Everyone looks at me and sees her. They always have and they always will.”

  “Yeah, well, everyone looks at me and sees him.” The words rang through the room before dying into silence. They made so little sense that Sophie’s rage tripped over itself and stilled.

  She frowned. “What do you mean?” she asked in confusion. “They see who?”

  “Him.” When she only stared blankly, he rolled his eyes. “Wyatt Bishop.”

  “Why would they see him?”

  “Jesus, Sophie.” He blew air through his teeth and looked at her like she was a fool. “They see him because he’s probably my dad.”

  “What?” she whispered. Then she yelled it. “What?”

  He nodded as if he’d just dropped a deep truth on her.

  She crossed her arms. “Are you completely insane?”

  “That’s what I’ve had to live with, Sophie. Never knowing. People reminding me that I’ll never know. And the Bishops never once acknowledging that I might be their brother.”

  This was what had been bothering him his whole life? This was what it was all about? Sophie moved slowly toward him. She uncrossed her arms. And then she pushed him. Hard.

  David stumbled back and almost caught himself, but then his calves hit the ottoman and he went down. “Goddamn it, Sophie!”

  “You’re an idiot, David. Do you hear me? An idiot. You have a father. You have his eyes and his long legs and weird thumbs and his ears. He’s your dad.”

  He clambered up, his cheeks mottled with red. “I’m not sure and neither is anyone else.”

  She wanted to feel bad for his doubts, she wanted to comfort him, but so much anger boiled up inside her that she felt faint from it. He had no idea. None at all.

  “You have a father, David. You have a dad right here! Do you know who doesn’t have a father? Alex Bishop. And Shane Harcourt. And me.”

  He rolled his eyes again, and despite the fact that she knew violence was wrong and knew she shouldn’t have pushed him, she wanted to shove him back down again and slap him. Slap him over and over.

  “He’s your dad,” she repeated. “He’s not my dad. Do you get that? I’d do anything for him to be my real dad, and you’re listening to idiot gossip when anyone can look at you two together and see the truth.”

  He shrugged. “You’ve always been closer to him than I was.”

  They glared at each other, but before she could explain what an idiot he was being again, someone cleared his throat from the kitchen. Sophie turned and gasped at the sight of their dad standing there. Her stomach dropped.

  He ran a handkerchief over the back of his neck and looked at David. “If you want a DNA test, we’ll get one.”

  “Dad!” Sophie gasped. “No. You don’t have to do that.”

  “That’s up to David,” her dad said. “Not you. If it’ll make him feel better, then we’ll do it.” He sounded so matter-of-fact. As if he hadn’t just heard his two children disclaim him as their father.

  “Oh, God, Daddy. He doesn’t really think that. He’s just letting gossip get under his skin, that’s all. David, tell him you don’t mean that.”

  David didn’t say anything. He just raised his chin like a stubborn child.

  Their dad nodded. “If we take this test, are you going to stop all this nonsense?”

  “It’s not nonsense,” David insisted.

  Sophie had rarely seen her dad angry. He was more given to silence when something upset him, but this time his eyes narrowed and his jaw went hard as steel. “It is nonsense,” he barked. “It’s disrespectful and sneaky and nasty, and I didn’t raise you to act this way. You don’t disrespect the dead. Not with lawsuits or nasty lies or childish tantrums.”

  “They have no right to—”

  “You’ve humiliated your sister and embarrassed yourself. And if you think I enjoy listening to people talk about what my wife was doing with another man twenty-five years ago, then you apparently don’t know me too well, either.”

  Sophie pressed a hand to her mouth and even David seemed to suddenly realize how much he was hurting his father. His chin dipped down, dropping the arrogant outrage.

  “Now...” Her dad took a breath and let it slowly out. “We’ll take the test, and then I never want to hear another word about Wyatt Bishop.”

  “Fine.”

  “And you’ll drop the lawsuit.”

  They stared at each other for a long moment. Her father’s gaze was cool and hard, and David had no moral ground to stand on. He finally shrugged one shoulder and looked away. “I’ll consider dropping the lawsuit.”

  “You’ll do it or you’ll get the hell out of my house.”

  “Dad!” he yelped, like a little dog who’d been kicked. “Where would I go?”

  “No idea. But the lawsuit is wrong and I won’t be any part of it. If you want to be your own man, then I suggest you get to it.” He turned and left before David could argue further.

  Sophie heard the back door close and then the sound of his truck starting. She should stop him. Say something. But she didn’t know what to say.

  The door to David’s room closed, too, quietly for once. She was alone and she couldn’t do anything to make this better for either of them. So she took off her heels, tied on an apron, and grabbed the vacuum. After she’d cleaned the living room, she headed for the kitchen. When her phone rang again, she saw Lauren’s name but didn’t answer.

  In all the chaos, Sophie had forgotten to go back to work. Sick and ashamed, she called the front desk and left a message that she wouldn’t be back. She didn’t give a reason. They probably all knew why by now. She was in danger of being fired, but probably not because she’d left work. She’d embarrassed the library in front of the trust, one of their biggest new supporters in the community. It was bad.

  She couldn’t face anyone today, not even Lauren. But the guilt of ignoring her would eat her alive, so Sophie quickly texted that she was okay and would be in touch later. Then she turned off her phone, washed her hands and opened a jar of stewed tomatoes to start spaghetti. She’d make dinner and show her family that everything was okay. Everything would be fine.

  But she’d been pulling this same trick since she was five years old, and she was beginning to suspect it had never worked at all.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  “THAT WAS THE most singularly fucked-up thing I’ve ever seen,” Alex growled, trying his best to keep from shouting. He paced through his mother’s living room, or tried to, but her stacks of insanity blocked his way at every turn. This house was a goddamn diorama of his ruined childhood.

  His mother wept in the corner, but she wasn’t grieving or ashamed, she was outraged.

  “That redheaded little bitch!” she yelled.

  Alex closed his eyes and breathed.

  “Mom,” Shane said calmly, though Alex could hear the frustration that edged the word. “When was the last time you saw your doctor? I just talked to Manny and he says you haven’t called for a cab ride in at least three weeks.”

  “I don’t need therapy!” she wailed. “I need that woman out of my life!”

  “You know how important therapy is right now. You were finally starting to get past this. You—” A loud ring cut him off. Shane pulled his cell phone from his pocket and stepped outside.

  Alex wished Merry hadn’t needed to stay behind to help clean up that mess. He didn’t want to be alone with his mom. He was afraid of what he’d say to her.

  “Alex,” she said, her voice suddenly a whispe
r. “Alex, you were going to say something about your father. I’m so proud of you, baby. So proud. And then that woman had to go and ruin it.”

  “You ruined it,” he countered. “She was just standing there.”

  “Well, why do you think she was there? To help?”

  He didn’t know why she’d been there, actually. Or why she’d been with her brother, who had just filed a lawsuit against Alex’s family, after all.

  All he knew was that he’d been up there, trying not to see the crowd, trying to stop his hands from shaking, and he’d meant to tell that story. Of his dad and the lawn mower. Alex had no idea why he’d decided to share it, but he had. And then he’d looked up and seen her.

  The worst part was that she’d looked so beautiful and frail and he’d wanted to go to her, even as the horror she’d brought had swelled around him.

  “You men are all the same,” his mom muttered. “Blind to everything if there’s an easy piece of tail around.”

  He shook his head in disgust.

  “Did you think she was in love with you? Because she looked at you with those pretty eyes and fluttered her lashes? You hardly knew her! She was trying to hurt me.”

  His mom had always loved to paint herself as the victim. The ultimate victim of everything. A cheating husband, callous in-laws, vicious neighbors, money-hungry banks and power companies and landlords. Rose Bishop had always been a victim of the whole cruel world. It came as no surprise that Sophie Heyer was out to get her, as well.

  Alex followed his brother out the back door, not to listen in, but just to get out.

  Sophie hadn’t slept with him to hurt his mom. That was completely absurd. He knew why she’d slept with him: because there was an insane chemistry between them. It’d been there since the moment he’d laid eyes on her. Hell, maybe it ran in the family. Thank God his dad and her mom had never decided to get married and set up house. That would’ve made for some damn awkward teenage years.

  No, there was no way in hell Sophie had slept with him to enact some scheme of revenge. But why had she come to the dedication?

  She hadn’t said she was coming. In fact, she’d made it pretty clear that she wasn’t. Why would she?

  “Yeah,” he muttered. “Why would she?”

  He checked his phone to see if there were messages. In the rush to calm his mother down and get her out of there, Alex hadn’t had time to check his phone, and when he saw there’d been no calls, he realized he was shocked. He’d been expecting her to call, to apologize, to explain. She hadn’t.

  What the fuck did that mean? He didn’t blame her for his mom’s outburst, but she must have known that she’d cause problems if she showed up. Even without his mom’s difficult behavior, her brother’s lawsuit was the kind of thing that would cause bad blood between any two families.

  Had it been a publicity stunt? Some sort of perverted effort to keep the Heyer family in the public eye leading up to a court fight?

  But she’d said I’m sorry. He’d watched her say it.

  He was trying to decide whether to call Sophie when his brother got off the phone and shook his head. “I don’t know how long it’s been since Mom’s gone in, but her doctor has been concerned. She’s out of town this weekend, but she wants us to bring Mom in first thing Monday morning.”

  “You,” Alex corrected.

  “What?”

  “You bring her in. I’m leaving tomorrow.”

  “Alex, come on.”

  “If you think I’m sticking around for more of this shit show, you’re as crazy as she is. I’m done.”

  Shane blew out a long breath and looked up at the sky. It was still clear blue and cloudless. The perfect day to mock their ridiculous drama. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should’ve just left you alone. Let you disappear forever. Is that what you want?”

  “Yes,” Alex said automatically, ignoring the pain that twinged like a phantom stitch in his side.

  Shane shoved his hands into his pockets. He rocked back on his heels.

  Alex felt his brother turn to stare at him, but he kept his gaze straight ahead. He didn’t want to look at him as they said goodbye. This time, he knew what it meant, to leave behind everyone you’ve ever loved. Every place you’ve ever known.

  He’d done it before. It should be easier this time. It would be easier. And if it felt like a death looming just beyond the horizon, that was just his old age showing. He needed to get off his ass and move on.

  Shane finally spoke. “I’m pissed that you left me with this, you know. I need help.”

  “With her?”

  “Yes, with her. And hell, if you wanted to hang out and help me build my fucking house, I wouldn’t say no.”

  Alex rolled his shoulders. “Put her in a home. She’s not right in the head.”

  “She’s only sixty-five. She can’t—”

  “And I don’t know shit about building houses. There’s nothing I can do to help you.” He stared at the trees behind his mother’s house. He didn’t look at Shane.

  “Alex,” Shane said, as if he meant to say something more, but the silence dragged on and he just cursed under his breath.

  “Yeah. I know how you feel,” Alex said.

  “Please. Just a few more days. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing either.”

  “You seem to have it under control.”

  Shane’s laugh sounded more like a bark. “Was that a joke?”

  “Kind of.” Alex ran a hand over his head, half startled to feel how smooth it was. “There’s nothing I can do for the woman.”

  “She’s your mother.”

  “Ha.” It was Alex’s turn to sound unamused. “Was that a joke?”

  “No, it wasn’t a fucking joke.”

  But it was. That was what his brother could never see. It was all a joke. “She was supposed to take care of us after Dad disappeared. She wasn’t supposed to disappear, too.”

  “So you’re just going to go ahead and be like both of them?”

  Alex sneered. “I never said it was the higher ground. It’s just ground that’s nowhere near this fucking place.”

  Shane grunted. “Well, if that’s the way you want to live, there’s nothing I can do about it. And nothing I can do to make you stay. But I still love you. You’re my brother. That won’t ever change.”

  Jesus. Alex rolled his shoulders, trying to shake off the tightness in his chest. “It doesn’t have to be the way it was. We can talk. I’ll check in. I just can’t be here.”

  “All right.”

  Alex finally looked at his brother, but now Shane wasn’t looking at him. “I’m staying the night. You wanna grab a drink later?”

  “I’ll see how Mom’s doing. Right now I need to help Merry. She put a lot of work into this, and now...”

  Yeah. Now.

  He suspected that Shane hoped Alex would volunteer to stay with their mom for an hour or two, but if the woman couldn’t be left alone, she was too far gone for him to help. Anyway, she’d been out of control for decades. This was nothing new.

  “Maybe I’ll see you later, then. Tell Merry I’m sorry about all this shit. Pretty amazing she’s willing to put up with it just for you.”

  “I know. She’s the best.”

  Maybe. Or maybe Shane was a lot easier to put up with than someone like Alex. Women liked security. Stability. A man who knew how to stay put. Alex wasn’t ever going to have that. He didn’t know how to stop moving.

  He headed through the house toward the front door. “Bye, Mom.”

  “Alex, where are you going? I thought you’d stay for dinner.”

  She always did this, acted like nothing had happened. She’d once dragged Alex and Shane all the way to Arizona to chase down a lead. She’d banged on a stranger’s front door, accused
the man of hiding her husband, then proceeded to take her kids out for ice cream before getting back in the car for the return trip to Wyoming. No big deal. Just a normal day in Rose Bishop’s world.

  She’d cast herself as the hero in her story, and there was no changing that narrative.

  “Goodbye,” he said as he pushed out the door. He wasn’t going to make a speech or a grand gesture and give her an opportunity to bleed her hurt all over him. She’d indulge her loud mourning whether he said a real goodbye or not. He didn’t have to stay and participate.

  He breathed a sigh of relief once he was on his bike. He was doing the right thing. He’d get an early start tomorrow and get back to his real life. He still had a few weeks before he needed to be in Alaska, so he’d work his way northwest and spend some time in the Cascades before it got too cold. Then he’d store his bike in Seattle and head up to Alaska. After that, it was down to Texas for his next contract.

  “Fuck yeah,” he muttered. Freedom.

  Yet he was still sitting there on his bike, kickstand up, thumb hovering above the start. His hesitation wasn’t exactly a mystery. After all, his eyes were locked on Sophie’s front walk.

  He checked his phone again. Nothing.

  Shit.

  He should at least tell her he was leaving. See if she had an explanation. He supposed whatever she said wouldn’t matter, since he was saying goodbye regardless. But damn...he couldn’t deny that it felt strange that he’d never see her again. Never taste her or touch her.

  If he said goodbye, if she explained...maybe they could hook up when she finally came to California. He could show her around, take her for a ride. It didn’t have to be serious. It could just be a day.

  He tossed a glance at his mom’s house to be sure she wasn’t standing in the window, then he eased the kickstand back down and headed up the sidewalk. But he needn’t have bothered. Her car wasn’t in the carport and there was no answer when he knocked. Shit.

  He was just stepping off the porch when a car pulled up and the woman he’d seen in Sophie’s doorway the day before stepped out.