by Brenda Novak
“This is so cool,” Brandon said, still admiring the bike. “Will you take me for a ride sometime?”
Harley looked at Lauren, knowing instinctively that she wouldn’t like this idea. For one, it required a great deal of trust, and she was still too wary to watch him take off with Brandon on the back of his bike. Harley was even a little worried about what he might do with such an opportunity. If he did what he wanted to do, he’d keep driving and take his son to California without a backward glance. “Maybe another time,” he said. “Motorcycles are dangerous, and I’m afraid we’d worry your aunt Lauren.”
“I’d rather you didn’t,” Lauren concurred.
“Aw, she worries too much,” Brandon complained, but he didn’t put much conviction in it. Harley got the impression he was distracted by something he deemed more important. And he found out what it was a few seconds later.
“Are you gonna go back to California soon?” he asked. Judging by the way he had his head down and was playing with the gauges, Brandon had meant to sound casual. But something in his voice revealed his fear that Harley would leave before he was ready to let him go. With their history, Harley could certainly understand why he’d be worried.
“Not for a while,” he said, careful not to state anything too strongly for fear of spooking Lauren. He didn’t want to lose her cooperation now.
His son found the switch to turn the headlight, which came on automatically with the key, to bright. Click, click. On, off. “So I’ll see you again?”
“I hope so,” he said. “But that’s up to your aunt.”
Brandon turned his attention to Lauren, who was silhouetted in the moonlight and looking prettier than Harley had ever seen her. Or was his exaggerated appreciation just more of the euphoria he was feeling?
“Pleeeease, Aunt Lauren?” Brandon pleaded. “Can he come back? Can he come back tomorrow?”
Lauren smiled. “Okay, Bran.” She tousled his hair lovingly, then turned to gaze at Harley. “Tomorrow’s Friday. Why don’t you come over and go swimming with us after Brandon gets out of school? It’s certainly hot enough.”
“What time will that be?”
“Three o’clock.”
He nodded, feeling so warm and good inside that he hardly knew how to react. He’d met his son. Brandon liked him and wanted him to come back. And Lauren was going to allow it. “I’ll be here. Any chance you’ll let me take you both out to dinner afterward?”
“Aunt Lauren?” Brandon asked with the same hopeful expression.
She laughed. “How can I say no?”
“Great.” Harley reached out to help his son off the bike and nearly pulled him into his arms. But he knew it was too much too soon. He needed to wait until Brandon was more familiar with him, until they’d built a relationship.
“Good night, squirt,” he said, giving him an affectionate squeeze on the shoulder instead. Then he looked at Lauren and had the crazy impulse to hug her, too.
He was just high on happiness, he decided, and tossed her his most carefree grin. “Thanks.”
WHEN HARLEY RETURNED to the apartment, Tank’s brother Damien was sitting on the couch with Tank, having a beer. Even though Damien was already living away from home, starting his law practice, when Tank and Harley were in high school, Harley recognized him from the family functions he’d attended with Tank ten years ago and the photographs that had hung around the Thompson household.
“Tank told me you were in town,” Damien said as soon as Harley had let himself in and shut the door.
Harley smiled. Smiling seemed to be all he could do since meeting Brandon. “Good to see you again, Damien. What’s up, man?”
“Just thought I’d stop by and say hello. Want a beer?”
Harley had stopped drinking years ago, in his darkest moment, when he knew that if he continued on the path he was treading, he’d end up a drunken failure. Barring the night Lauren had stood him up, the most he ever drank now was an occasional glass of wine, which he’d already had with dinner. “No, thanks.”
“Sit down. I’m anxious to hear what’s going on with you. Tank says you’re doing pretty well for yourself in California.”
“Well enough,” Harley said, but he didn’t want to talk about the dealership or how he’d gotten his start by buying used cars and bikes out of the newspaper or at auctions, fixing them up and reselling them for a profit. His mind was still one hundred percent focused on Brandon.
“How’d it go with Lauren?” Tank asked, following him across the room with his eyes.
“Good,” he said, even though Lauren had been much better than good. She’d made a fabulous meal he’d eaten even though he wasn’t hungry and she’d been accommodating, sweet, even friendly. Harley had enjoyed her intelligent comments and her laughter when she couldn’t figure out how to play the Nintendo game and kept causing her little guy to jump off a cliff. Brandon and Harley had both beaten her again and again, but she’d sure been fun to play with. And the memory of her cool fingers when she’d touched him right before Brandon got home was—
Harley jerked himself out of his thoughts long enough to realize where they were leading and made a quick and decisive correction. It was nothing. Lauren’s touch was nothing.
“Well? You gonna tell us what happened?” Tank asked.
Taking the easy chair across from the couch, Harley put his feet up and linked his fingers across his abdomen. “I met Brandon,” he said simply.
Tank smiled, but Damien nearly choked on his beer. “You did?” he managed to say after a sputtering cough. “When?”
“Tonight. I had dinner with Lauren and Brandon.”
“I told you,” Tank said, grinning. “She invited him over this morning.”
“But what about her father?” Damien asked.
“He wasn’t there,” Harley said.
“I know he wasn’t there. He’s not even in the States. But he’s not going to stay away forever.”
“When’s he due back?” Harley asked.
Damien didn’t answer immediately. He stared at his beer as though deep in thought.
“When’s he comin’ back?” Tank repeated.
Finally Damien glanced up. “I don’t know. I tried to reach Lauren yesterday, but she hasn’t returned my call.” He paused. “I can’t believe she’d cross him.”
“How do you know she crossed him?” Tank asked. “He’s getting on in years. Maybe he doesn’t have the energy to hate Harley anymore. Maybe he’s ready to put the past behind him. Audra’s gone, after all.”
“Quentin Worthington isn’t the type to give up a grudge that easily,” Damien said. “Besides, he holds Harley responsible for Audra’s death.”
“Her death?” Harley cried.
“If not her death, then her ruin. She was never the same after you left,” Damien said. “At least, that’s the way Quentin tells the story. I used to date Lauren, so I heard a lot of it. The whole family blames you for starting Audra on drugs.”
“I had nothing to do with the drugs,” Harley said. “That was all Audra. I hated it when she got high. I didn’t like how it made her act.”
Damien shrugged. “You might know that, but Quentin believes otherwise. And I thought Lauren did, too.” He took a pull of his beer. “Even if she doesn’t blame you, I’m surprised she’d let you see Brandon and risk losing her father’s goodwill. She’s always thought Quentin could walk on water.”
Harley had known all along that he probably wouldn’t be seeing Brandon if Quentin was home. But he’d been so caught up in finally meeting his son that he hadn’t really considered the price Lauren might pay for letting him come over tonight. Somehow that cast her in a different light entirely.
“You don’t think he’ll cut her off or anything, do you?” he asked.
“Who can say? He’s got more pride than most men. But I wish he would cut her off. Then maybe she’d need someone.”
Tank chuckled. “Someone like you?”
Damien finished his beer and se
t the empty can on the coffee table. “Yeah. Someone like me.”
“SO? HOW’D IT GO?” Kimberly asked.
Lauren stretched and shoved the pillows against the headboard so she could sit up. She’d gone to bed shortly after Harley left, but she hadn’t been able to sleep. She’d been too busy thinking about Brandon’s almost instant adoration of his father, the way Harley smiled every time he looked at his son and how it made her feel to see the two of them. Regardless of what Harley was or wasn’t, something about him fit Brandon perfectly. She could feel it when they were together and she enjoyed watching her nephew bask in his father’s attention, which was, she had to admit, a pretty nice thing to have.
“It was fantastic,” she admitted. “It was the first time I’ve ever found Harley easy to read. Whenever he looked at Brandon, it just melted my heart, you know?”
“Really? What about Brandon? How did he respond?”
Lauren laid one arm across her forehead and stared up at the ceiling. “He took one look at Harley and fell in love. It was that simple.”
“Did Harley treat you okay?”
“He was a little cool at first. But we decided to bury the hatchet for Brandon’s sake. After that he seemed to forget we were ever enemies. He teased me every time I lost a game of Nintendo, had seconds of everything at supper even though he’d already eaten, and was really the perfect date.”
“Date?”
“I mean guest,” she said quickly.
“Right.”
Lauren chose to ignore the disbelief in Kimberly’s voice. She was still too excited about the events of this evening. “He even deferred to me when Brandon wanted a ride on his motorcycle,” she went on. “He knew I wouldn’t like it.”
“Sounds like we’ve misjudged him.”
Lauren sighed wistfully. “Yeah, I think maybe we have.”
“Lauren?”
“Hmm?” She was picturing Harley lounging back on the leather couch in the game room, easily beating her at Nintendo, then nudging her and winking as he pointed out the huge difference in their scores. He had such a disarming grin—
“Lauren!”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong with me. It’s you I’m worried about. You’re not…you know, interested in Harley, are you?”
Lauren laughed incredulously. “Of course not. I’m just happy for Brandon that things went so well, that’s all.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Stop it. Why are you being so skeptical?”
“Because you’re acting a little giddy.”
“What are you talking about? I never act giddy. I skipped the giddy stage altogether.”
“You’re acting giddy now. You’re absolutely gushing about Harley.”
“That’s not true! You asked me how things went, so I told you.”
No response.
“Kimberly!”
“Okay, but just keep this in mind: it’s in Harley’s best interests to win you over, and he has some pretty powerful tools at his disposal.”
“I know that. Don’t you think I know that?”
“I don’t think you realize how vulnerable you are. You’re twenty-seven, single and you have no love life. And he’s one of the sexiest men I’ve ever met. He knows how to appeal to women. Don’t let him use you to get what he wants.”
“What is it you think he wants?”
“Brandon.”
Of course. What had she been thinking? He wouldn’t want anything more than that. Not from her. “I won’t let him or anyone else take Brandon away from me. Jeez, wasn’t it you who said ‘what a guy’ when Harley refused my bribe?”
“I can admire him, Lauren. I don’t have anything to lose. You, on the other hand, have to be careful.”
Lauren’s call-waiting beeped, and she glanced at the digital alarm clock by her bed. It was after eleven. Who would be calling this late?
Her parents. Oh, no…not yet.
“I mean, he could really cause some problems if he wormed his way into your heart, you know?” Kimberly was saying. “Think what it would do to your father. And think where it would leave you if Harley was only interested in exacting a little revenge.”
“I’ve never fallen head over heels in love. I’m not sure I can. So don’t worry about it. But now that the afterglow of the evening has been completely destroyed, I have to go,” Lauren said. “I have a call coming through.”
“This late?”
“It’s probably my dad,” Lauren said with a growing sense of dread.
Kimberly told Lauren to call her in the morning, then hung up so Lauren could switch over, and Lauren hesitated for only a second before doing so. She had to tell her father what she’d done sometime. She’d known that before she’d ever let Harley come to the house. Now she had to stand by her opinion and her actions. And it was better to do it sooner rather than later, right?
Get it over with. You can do it. You’re a woman full-grown….
“Hello?” she said, her heart pounding.
“Lauren?”
Harley. Lauren could tell by the immediate thrill the sound of his voice sent down her spine. Or was that merely the relief she felt that the caller wasn’t her father?
“Did I wake you?”
“No, I was just—” praying it wasn’t my father “—thinking.”
“About what?”
You. “Tonight.”
“Tonight was great.”
Lauren could picture the expression on his face when he made that statement and felt her heart soften even more. “It was great. Brandon really enjoyed you.” I enjoyed you.
“He’s such a good kid. He’s everything I ever hoped he would be.”
She paused, waiting to hear what he was calling about. But he seemed to have difficulty coming out with it.
“Listen, I’m sorry to trouble you so late,” he said at last. “I just couldn’t sleep and wanted to…you know, thank you. For tonight.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Well, I’ll let you get some sleep.”
“Good night, Harley.”
“Good night, Lauren,” he said and hung up, but the sound of her name on his lips stayed with her until she fell asleep several hours later and it was the first thing on her mind when she woke up the next morning.
HARLEY WAS DEAD ASLEEP when Tank came in and woke him.
“Harley, man, wake up. I think your kid’s on the line.”
His kid? For a moment, Harley thought he had to be dreaming. But then he remembered last night and everything that had happened, and jumped out of bed to grab the phone.
“Hello?”
“It’s me.” Tank was right. It was Brandon.
“Hi, buddy. How are you today?”
“Good. Did I wake you up?”
“Yeah. I got to bed late. But that’s okay. I like hearing from you. What are you doing?”
“Getting ready for school.”
“Is it that time already?”
“Uh-huh. We’re leaving in a minute. I just wanted to make sure you’re still coming over today.”
“Of course I’m coming over.”
“Good.” He paused. “Sure wish I didn’t have to go to school…”
Harley was pretty groggy, but there was no way he could miss a hint of that size. “Sorry, bud,” he said, laughing, “I can’t get you off the hook there. But all that studying’s going to come in handy later. I promise.”
“And I’ll get to tell my friends about you,” Brandon added, as though doing so would make a nice consolation prize.
“There you go.”
“They’ll all be pretty excited. You don’t have any tattoos, do you?”
“Any what?”
“Tattoos.”
What made Brandon think of tattoos at eight o’clock in the morning? “Just one.”
“That’s awesome! Where?”
“On my shoulder blade.”
“Is it a heart or an animal or something?”
&nbs
p; Harley was wearing only a pair of boxers. Rolling his shoulder forward, so he could see the tattoo that had always carried such significance for him, he said, “No, it’s a name.”
“Really? Whose? Whose name is it? My mother’s?”
He smiled. “No. It’s yours.”
“HE IS TOO my dad!” Brandon whispered harshly, growing angry when Travis Peltier and Theo Price, the two boys sitting on either side of him in English class, wouldn’t believe him.
“You didn’t even know him,” Travis said. “When Mr. Haggerty pointed him out, you said you’d never seen him before.”
“Mr. Haggerty thought he looked like a bad guy,” Theo added. “You’re telling us that’s your dad?”
“He’s not a bad guy,” Brandon said. “He just drives a motorcycle. There’s nothing wrong with that. And I didn’t know him ’cause he’s lived in California for ten years.”
“My mom says motorcycles are dangerous,” Theo said.
“So?” Brandon replied.
“She also says your mom was a whore and you’re a bastard who had to be taken in by family. She said you’re lucky you have grandparents who are so good to you.”
Theo’s words caused Brandon’s ears to burn with embarrassment. Most of the kids at Mt. Marley treated him well and didn’t seem to care that he didn’t have the same type of family they did. But every once in a while, someone said something—though it was usually a teacher—that reminded him he was different, that he had more reason to be grateful than everyone else. Which was why he’d been so eager to tell his schoolmates that his father had appeared at last. He wasn’t going to be different anymore. He wasn’t going to be the kid who needed others to feel sorry for him.
“You just want that guy to be your father because Sean said he was cool,” Travis persisted.
“That’s not true!” Brandon cried.
Scott was sitting a few desks away. Mr. Haggerty had moved him and Brandon apart a few weeks ago for talking, but he was still close enough to hear. He kept twisting around in his seat, frowning. “Why don’t you guys leave him alone?” he whispered at Travis and Theo while Mr. Haggerty was busy writing on the blackboard.
All the students in that part of the room looked up from their work and started to stare, and Brandon felt his blush deepen.
