Vonnie: Book Two of Broken Girls Series

by J. A. Hornbuckle

  Rio gave Zee a small salute before moving off to do his girl’s bidding.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  I broke my own rule about eating in the living room after the pizza arrived, letting the testosterone-happy guys tussle on who was going to pay. Ignoring them both, I got out plates, snagged a couple of paper towels off the kitchen counter and set them on the coffee table.

  I couldn’t have told you why I was so calm after my morning from hell, but I was. Which could’ve been because of my hot shower that washed all the yuck away, or the fact that I was safe and secure (with two alpha males) in my own home. As for the care and concern Rio showed me?

  I didn’t want to think about it. Didn’t want to go down that road for fear of what I might have to think about and acknowledge if only to myself.

  “Had your brother order one without veggies, princess,” Rio announced, accepting the boxes from the delivery boy as Zee paid.

  “Still turning up your nose at anything green, Ro—I mean, Vonnie?” Zee sat in my overstuffed and wide-seated chair, leaving me and Rio the couch. “I’m sorry. In my head I’ve called you Ronnie all these years. It might take me a while to get used to calling you the other.”

  I waved a hand dismissively. Who gave a rat’s ass about names when there was food available? Grabbing one of the triple-meat slices, I took a large bite and closed my eyes to better savor it. “No worries. Rio says you prefer to be called Zee.”

  “Uh-huh,” he replied with a nod and around a mouthful of his own slice. “Dad’s name was Zion too and rather than call me Junior or some other silly-assed name, they called me Zee.”

  Sitting back and tucking a leg underneath me, I tried to study him unobtrusively from beneath my lashes in between bites. But just like usual, I got caught and to cover my gaff, I asked, “What were they like? Our parents, I mean.”

  Zee shook his head and looked down at his half-eaten slice. “It’s hard to believe you don’t remember them. But then again, you were just a toddler.”

  He looked away and I wondered if he was composing his thoughts or his words. Taking a page from Rio’s book I gave Zee the space, although it chaffed me to do so. Patience wasn’t exactly my thing, so to speak.

  “You really look a lot like Mom. She was short and as Dad used to say ‘round in all the right places’. Was a redhead too, which is where we get it I guess, although her hair was more in the orange range. Really pretty skin, but like me, she got sunburned fast.”

  I did too, to the point applying sunscreen over my moisturizer became routine at a very early age. “What was she like, personality-wise?”

  “Oh man,” he breathed, reaching for another piece of pizza. “She was something else, always singing some song whether she was making dinner, cleaning the bathroom or trying to get one of us to sleep. Loved to dance too especially if she was vacuuming, which I seem to remember her doing a lot. If Dad caught her at it, he’d join in, swinging her around in some complicated country/western steps that left ‘em both laughing ‘til they were breathless.”

  “They loved each other then.” It wasn’t a question. No, I’d offered it as a statement of fact because of the picture he’d created.

  He nodded and looked me square in the eye. “That they were, darlin’. No doubt about it.”

  Zee paused and finished off his beer. I saw Rio out of the corner of my eye as he put his plate on the table and stood before moving to the fridge to grab another round of cold ones.

  “I have memories of a bunch of photos of them before you and I were born, ones of them looking so young. I’m guessing they were high school sweethearts and I know they got married soon after they graduated.” After thanking Rio for the fresh bottle, Zee went on. “But they were always pretty affectionate with both each other and us. Kissing and hugging, sometimes in ‘hello’ or ‘goodbye’ and other times for no reason at all.”

  His words hung in the air and I took a moment to enjoy them, trying to see the family he described in my mind’s eye. But I couldn’t and looked to him to ask another question but Zee’s face held a far away expression, one filled with such yearning it was almost hard to watch.

  “I missed that the most, I guess,” he said in a voice choked with emotion. “The physical affection they showered us with, taking for granted they’d always be around to give it. Seemed like no one laid a hand on me, good or bad, for a long time afterward.”

  Of all the things he said, the part about wanting to be hugged or cuddled got to me the most. So without my mind interfering, my mouth opened and I heard myself speak. “I don’t like to be touched.”

  Both Zee and Rio stopped moving when I spoke, each poised in bringing whatever their hand held up to their mouth. And each was wearing identical ‘WTF’ expressions.

  “I really don’t.” My confession obviously needed elaboration. “I’m not sure when it started but by the time I got to Diane’s house, I had a hard time with anyone wanting to come in contact with me—especially in the case of hugs or cuddles. All my sisters knew and would occasionally use it against me to get me riled.”

  “But you hug me, princess,” Rio baldly stated and I could clearly hear the confusion in his voice.

  Turning to look at him, I tried to smile but it went wobbly around the edges. “It’s a new program I’m trying. One just for returning vets, so don’t go thinking you’re special or anything, soldier boy.”

  The look that stole into Rio’s eyes was nothing short of beautiful. A gaze of such splendor I wanted to capture it in a bottle so I could save it forever and take it out whenever I needed.

  He parted his lips as if he was going to say something, but I twisted back to Zee.

  “Do you have any pictures of them, of us?”

  He shook his head. “No darlin’, sorry. I never went back to the house. Couldn’t, if you want to know the truth. Searched the internet later on, but I don’t remember us having a computer back then. We left with nothing but the clothes on our backs.”

  “As well as Mr. Buttons and the locket,” I corrected, throwing the crust into the nearest box and standing. “I’ll be right back.”

  The guys weren’t talking when I came back in the room, triumphantly carrying the only two mementos remaining of the James family. Plopping on the arm of the chair, I handed Mr. Buttons to my brother and got a lump in my throat at the tender way he handled my old, worn bunny. He blinked a couple of times and looked up at me.

  “You kept him? All this time and you kept him?”

  I nodded and swallowed, feeling wetness hit my eyes. “Yeah. For a long time, he was my bestest and only-est friend.”

  As if to cover my use of childish words, I dangled the locket from one finger by its chain. He stared at it for a long minute before reverently reaching for it, wrapping it carefully in the palm of his hand. “She wore it. Every day for as long as I could remember she had this around her neck.”

  Swiping at the errant tear that’d escaped, I glanced to Rio to see he had a thumb and a forefinger pressed to his eyes too.

  “I used to think it opened, but I think the latch is jammed or something,” I offered as something to say to take an edge off the myriad of feelings swirling around the room.

  Zee lifted his hips and reached into his pocket, pulling out a red pocket knife emblazoned with a white cross. Flicking one of the blades out, he pressed it to the seam of necklace and looked up at me. “Can I give it a try?”

  “Be my guest,” shot up and out of my mouth without hesitation. And both of us bent over the tablespoon-sized locket as he cautiously worked the tip of his blade in and twisted it until the two halves opened.

  “Oh hell,” Zee breathed and dropped both the necklace and his pocket knife in order to cover his face.

  Each piece bounced and then landed on the floor only to be scooped up by Rio’s quick fingers. Pushing the jewelry into my hands, he slowly closed the blade before looking at my brother who was, by that time, sobbing quietly. While I understood what my brother was feel
ing, I didn’t understand why.

  That was until I looked at what I was cradling in my hand. Each half of the locket held a tiny picture.

  On the left side, the photo was of a woman holding a baby boy.

  The right half was of a man holding a baby girl.

  I stared at the treasure in my hand unblinking until I couldn’t see it at all through my tears. And I don’t remember the mechanics of it, but the next time I opened my eyes I was on the floor sitting in Rio’s lap, my face planted in his shirt as Pookie set up a mournful little howl.

  “Shh, babe,” Rio whispered, but I couldn’t tell if he was talking to me or the dog. “It’s okay. Everything’s okay.”

  Between his rocking and quiet crooning, I was able to get a grip and reached for the sleeve of his t-shirt in order to wipe my face and eyes. He didn’t protest my move except when I brought the fabric to my nose. “You wipe and there’ll be hell to pay, princess.”

  “I do the laundry, so your damn shirt is part mine to mess up,” I grumped back. Sure, the comeback was weak as hell and given in a trembling voice, but that I’d managed to talk at all was a feat unto itself.

  “Christ,” he chuffed. “Go ahead then. But do it around the edge and then fold it up so I don’t have to see it.”

  I made as if to perform the deed, but got to my feet instead and ran to grab the box of tissues from the bathroom. It was a move designated to give Zee time to regain control in relative privacy. And as I heard Rio rummaging around in the kitchen, I knew my guy was offering my brother the same.

  With the men doing aimless shit to regain their center, I took time to wash my face. Pookie, on the other hand, was the only one still in the throes of whatever emotions she’d picked up on. And the fact she’d chosen me as the designated human to give her comfort, following me into the bathroom to dance around my feet, I took as a compliment. Holding her close, crooning in the voice I knew she liked while scratching in all the good spots, I looked at her cute face. “You are one empathetic pooch, baby girl.”

  Her butt as well as her tail wagged and I got an under-the-chin kiss as a reward for my appreciative words. “Ready to go see if those bad-ass teddy-bears have their shit together yet? Are you? Yes, you are. I know you are.”

  A firm but loud voice erupted from the area of the kitchen. “Vonnie!”

  “Sorry, Rio,” I called back, but looked to his dog. “Not really, baby. But he doesn’t have to know that.”

  Tucking her against me with one hand, I reached for the tissues with the other and sashayed down the hall to find Zee wiping his face with a wet paper towel and Rio pouring shots of tequila from a bottle I’d forgotten, shoved in one of the higher cabinets.

  Handing PK off to her daddy, I put the box of tissues on the breakfast bar and looked at the glasses. “What are we drinking to?”

  “For, spitfire. We’re drinking for, not to.”

  I frowned trying to understand the difference. “You mean it’s not a toast or something?”

  “No,” Rio replied, passing out the glasses one by one. “Let’s call it a remembrance.”

  I looked to Zee and he looked as confused as I felt.

  “A remembrance for the people who left us too soon.” Oh. Well. When he put it like that and all…

  Then Rio began to speak. “Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there - I do not sleep. I am the thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond glints in snow, I am the sunlight on ripened grain, I am the gentle autumn rain. As you awake with morning's hush, I am the swift-up-flinging rush, of quiet birds in circling flight. Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there - I did not die.”

  “That was beautiful,” I managed to stammer, once again choked with emotion. “Did you write that?”

  “No, princess. It was what was said at my family’s funeral and is known as one of the Native American prayers. Written a long time ago as near as I could find.” A coppery hue hit his cheeks as he looked away. “Don’t think you and Zee got a chance to attend your parent’s graves. Thought it fit.”

  I looked to Zee who seemed to be staring at his boots. “Maybe sometime we should find out where they’re buried.”

  He nodded but didn’t look up.

  I stood there awkwardly, holding my shot glass while wondering what to do or say to lighten things up. But luckily Zee was the one who did it. “Y’all always invite people over to make ‘em cry? Or am I just one lucky bastard?”

  Rio shrugged and I giggled.

  “Okay then, guess it’s up to me,” Zee said with a grin. “To our beloved parents, Zion and Beatrice James.”

  Rio and I echoed his words and upended our glasses. Setting mine on the countertop, I was proud I didn’t cough but, damn, that shit was strong!

  Reaching for the bottle a second time, Rio was interrupted by Zee holding up a hand. “Gotta jet in a few. Been on the road a while trying to get here. Need to snag a room and catch a few winks.”

  “But we gotta toast Rio’s folks,” I protested, only slurring the tiniest bit. “You can use water, can’t cha?” I twirled to look at Rio and the room kinda spun the other way. “It’ll still count if Zee uses water, won’t it?”

  Rio chuckled and set the bottle down. “Two beers and a shot? That’s all it takes to get you squiffed?”

  I wasn’t entirely sure what ‘squiffed’ meant exactly, but I had a pretty good idea.

  Zee pulled his phone from his back pocket and looked at mine on the charger next to the stove. “Let’s exchange numbers and I’ll come over tomorrow if that’s okay.”

  “Yeah, about that,” Rio started, leaning on the counter next to me. “Because the detail I had on Vonnie kinda fucked up, was wondering if you’d be interested in keeping an eye on her while I’m at work. Since you used to be some kind of hard-ass Seal or some such.”

  “Can do,” Zee replied before I could even mount my assault against having another babysitter. But if it meant I got to spend time getting to know my brother, what did I have to complain about? “About seven?”

  “Better make it eight since your sister seems to think the crack of dawn occurs around nine.”

  Zee laughed and I found I really liked the sound, especially when I heard it in my kitchen on the day when we were finally reunited and over something my guy said about me. “Yuck it up, shithead. Just remember, revenge is a bitch and so am I.”

  “Roger that,” he mumbled, pushing away from his place at the sink.

  And then the strangest thing happened. Strange to me, anyhow.

  Without hesitation or even considering it beforehand, I reached for him as he made to move passed me. Looping my arms around his waist, I gave Zee a quick squeeze and pulled away just as fast.

  When I finally found the nerve to look up at him, I saw he was kind of wearing a confused grin.

  “Hey, you’re a returning vet too and family to boot,” I explained, feeling the heat hit my neck and move upward. “And I have that program going, remember?”

  Yeah, I really liked the sound of my brother’s laughter.

  Especially when it was joined by the echo of Rio’s and my own.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Zee’s leaving left a void in the condo, finding Rio at odds as to what he should do next. As always, his attention remained on her only this time it was to gauge her mood after all the day had brought. But she appeared to be handling everything pretty frickin’ good for all that’d happened. Was even taking the time to wash and put away the shot glasses, rinse the plates and load the dishwasher.

  Mundane things.

  Routine.

  Movements that could settle a person and whatever their head chewed through in order to process stuff. And Rio considered it good. Moving up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and propped his chin on top of her head. “Big day for you, spitfire.”

  Pressing back against him she replied with a simple, “yeah,” as she rinsed out the sponge before turning off the faucet. Giving it a two-handed squeeze to wri
ng all the water out, she placed it on the edge of the sink. But her actions were done slow and deliberate unlike the way she normally worked.

  Turning slightly, she broke his hold and stepped away. “Think I’m gonna take a nap.”

  Okay. This was new since in the brief time he’d known her, his girl was the poster-child for unbound energy. And her admitting the need for sleep had alarm bells going off in his head.

  Had she been hurt worse than just the bruises he’d seen earlier? Or had the emotions of the day sapped her to the point she needed to recharge?

  She paused by the breakfast bar and gave him a look over her shoulder. One he read as both sultry and promising—and when combined with the view of her rounded ass and one side of her chest, found the snake in his pants sitting up and taking notice. “So are you coming or what?”

  Following her pert, heart-shaped butt was no hardship in the least, but Rio did have trouble keeping his hope in check at what might happen during the so-called naptime. He considered just asking her outright, but didn’t want to upset the mellow mood she was working.

  So if all we do is cuddle and sleep, you’re just gonna have to deal, buddy, Rio mentally told his dick that was currently tenting his jeans. The fact it flexed in reply didn’t give him an iota of confidence about keeping his thoughts or body on the straight and narrow.

  But when she turned at the doorway of her room, grabbing his t-shirt and pulling him the rest of the way in, he got his first clue about Vonnie’s idea of a ‘nap’.

  And liked it.

  A lot.

  Pushing at his shoulders, she had him sit on the edge of the bed, much in the same position they’d adopted earlier. Rio just watched, focusing on her fleeting expressions as he did what she nonverbally instructed.

  Reaching for the bottom of his t-shirt, he lifted his arms as she took it up and over his head, tossing it on the floor carelessly. It was then she decided to talk.

  “I didn’t want to want you, soldier,” she whispered, her small, hot hands exploring his face in a sweeping caress before it moved to his neck. “You’re too big, too strong for a broken girl like me.”