Something True (Joel Bishop Book 2)

by Sabrina Stark

  I was still waffling when the call went to voicemail.

  Probably, this was a good thing. Aside from any issues of self-respect, I couldn’t exactly talk to him in front of two strangers.

  Still, I was dying of curiosity. When the beep announced a new message, it took all my willpower to not bolt upstairs to listen in private.

  In front of me, Anthony said, "Man, that's cold."

  I gave a distracted shake of my head. "What?"

  "Just ignoring the call like that. What if he's worried about you?"

  "Who?" I asked.

  "Joel. That was who called, right?"

  "Yeah. How'd you know?"

  "I looked. I can read upside-down, you know."

  I so didn't need this. "Has it ever occurred to you that some things are private?"

  At this, both guys burst out laughing.

  "What's so funny now?" I demanded.

  Steve said, "You sounded just like Luna."

  I rubbed at my forehead. The mention of their sister reminded me of something. Whether Luna had good intentions or not, it wasn't that long ago that I'd left her a scathing voicemail. Maybe she hadn't gotten it yet, but odds were pretty good that she would eventually.

  And then, what would happen?

  I looked from one brother to the other and said the thing that needed saying. "It's not that I'm not appreciative, but honestly, I can't accept this."

  "Why not?" Steve asked.

  Deciding I might as well be honest, I confessed, "Well, for one thing, because your sister and I aren't exactly getting along." I bit my lip. "In fact, she's probably pretty mad at me. Or, if she isn't yet, she will be."

  The two guys exchanged a look. Anthony asked, "Why?"

  I didn't want to get into it. But, given the fact they drove all this way, I felt like I owed them at least some sort of explanation. "Well, you see, I, um, left a mean voicemail, actually."

  Steve frowned. "Oh yeah? How mean?"

  Inside my pocket, my cell phone rang again. I pulled it out and looked at the display, only to cringe. The caller was Jake – or more likely, Luna.

  Well, this was awkward. Having no idea what to expect, I answered with a tentative, "Hello?"

  But this time, it wasn't Luna. It was Jake.

  Chapter 30

  With barely a hello, Jake said, "Are they there?"

  It was pretty obvious who he meant. I eyed Luna's brothers, standing just a few feet away. "Uh, yeah."

  "Good," he said. "Keep it that way."

  I spoke up. "But they won't be for long."

  "Yeah? That's what you think."

  Well, that wasn't bossy or anything. I felt my eyebrows furrow. "What are you saying?"

  "I'm saying if you send them back, you're gonna regret it."

  I stiffened. Okay, as much as I appreciated what he was trying to do, this was a bit much. "You're not seriously threatening me, are you?"

  "No," he said. "I'm threatening them. And you seem like the type who'd care."

  "About what?"

  "I dunno." Jake paused, as if thinking. "Like if I launched them off the balcony."

  "What?"

  "Yeah," he said. "I'm betting you'd feel bad."

  I was still looking at Luna's brothers. Actually, I would feel kind of bad. As weird as it sounded, they were kind of growing on me. Somewhere in the background, I heard Luna say, "Here, lemme talk to her."

  My stomach sank. I didn’t want to talk to Luna, and not only because I was still angry about the whole pregnancy thing. Sooner or later, she'd hear my message, which would put a distinct damper on our friendship.

  And yet, a moment later, I heard her voice, coming through the phone. "You got my message, right?"

  "Yeah." I sighed. "And I’m betting you didn't get mine."

  "You left me a message? When?"

  "A couple of hours ago."

  "Oh. Sorry, my phone's like in a million pieces." She perked up. "So what'd you call me about?"

  I bit my lip. I so didn't want to do this now. But I saw no way to avoid it. With another sigh, I turned away from her brothers and said in a low whisper, "Why'd you tell Joel I was pregnant?"

  Behind me, one of her brothers murmured, "Holy shit."

  The other one said, "Did you know?"

  "Hell no. Did you?"

  I whirled to face them. Through gritted teeth, I said, "I'm not pregnant."

  They were both staring at my stomach. Without looking up, Steve said, "Are you sure?"

  I glared at him, not that he appeared to notice. "What's that supposed to mean?" My voice rose. "Are you implying something?"

  "Yeah," he said, still looking down. "You seem kind of moody." Finally, he looked up and asked Anthony, "Isn't that a sign or something?"

  Anthony gave a slow nod. "Oh yeah. For sure."

  Oh, for God's sake. Maybe they weren't growing on me. Giving up all pretense of politeness, I turned and stomped into the nearby den, slamming the door behind me.

  Through the closed door, I heard one of the brothers say, "See? Moody."

  I looked to the door and hollered out, "I'm not moody! I just want some privacy, that's all."

  Sounding even closer now, one of them said, "Sounds moody to me."

  "Yeah, totally."

  With a sound of frustration, I stomped deeper into the room and said into the phone, "Well? You did, didn't you?"

  Her response was a long time in coming. "Not exactly." She hesitated. "I might've given a little hint, but I didn't outright tell him or anything."

  It sounded like a cop-out to me. "Well, it must've been a pretty big hint, because he showed up and proposed."

  Luna gave a happy squeal. "Really? Congratulations! Oh, my God, that's so wonderful!"

  Talk about ironic. Her response was everything that I hadn't gotten from Cassie, which only made it more irritating.

  "No," I said. "It isn't."

  "Sure, it is," she said. "You guys make a great couple. You're gonna be so happy together."

  No. We weren't. I blinked long and hard. "How would you know? You haven't even seen us together."

  "Well, yeah," she said. "But he's a great guy, and you seem pretty nice—"

  "Yeah? Well, you won't think so when you get my message."

  "Oh." She hesitated. "So you were pretty mad, huh?"

  "Of course I was mad."

  "But why?"

  "Well for one thing, because I'm not pregnant."

  "Are you sure?"

  Oh, for crying out loud. "Yes. I'm sure. A hundred percent."

  "Oh." Funny, she actually sounded disappointed.

  Did I need to point out the obvious? "That's good news, by the way."

  "Are you sure?" she said. "Because Joel would make a great dad. He was really super excited."

  Now, that made me pause. "What?"

  "Yeah," she said. "After I gave him that little hint, you should've heard him. He was really happy." She hesitated. "Well, he didn't come out and say it or anything, but he was. I'm sure of it."

  Maybe she was sure. But I wasn't. "Well, he wasn't happy last night," I said. "And just so you know, we're not getting married."

  "But why not? You said he proposed…"

  "Yeah, but he pretty much took it back when he found out I wasn't expecting." At the memory, I wanted to cry. "He was only doing it, because he felt he had to."

  "No. I don't think so."

  I wanted to scream in frustration. "You weren't here. I was."

  "So, tell me. What'd he say?"

  For the life of me, I couldn’t even remember. But I did know that he wasn't overflowing with plans for the future. Mostly, it was what he didn't say that counted.

  Into my silence, Luna said, "Is he there? Can I talk to him?"

  I gave a bark of laughter. "No. He's gone."

  "Oh. When will he be back?"

  My heart gave that familiar ache. "For all I know, never."

  Again, she said, "No. I don't think so."

  I shoved a han
d through my hair. This conversation was feeling less satisfying with every passing second. Obviously, she didn't get it. Probably, she never would. After all, she and Jake seemed perfect together. For all I knew, they never even argued.

  Switching gears, I said, "And just for the record, I wasn't serious about the sewer contractor."

  "You're kidding. You don't need the work done?"

  "No, that's not it. It's just that—"

  "What? You're worried they won't do a good job?"

  "No. That's not it either. But–"

  "Because like I said, they're really good at what they do. They're licensed and everything."

  "I know," I said. "You told me in the message, but—"

  "But what?" She hesitated. "Oh no. Was it the towel thing?"

  "No."

  "The beer thing?"

  "No." I was so tired of dancing around the issue. In a fit of frustration, I finally just told her the truth. "I can't afford to pay them."

  "So?" she said. "They're already paid."

  "But I can't accept that."

  "Why not?" she asked.

  "Because it's too much."

  "Then consider it a wedding gift."

  I felt my jaw clench. "But I'm not getting married."

  She made a scoffing sound. "Not for you. For me."

  I gave a confused shake of my head. "What?"

  She lowered her voice. "Yeah. I mean, they're my brothers, and I love them and all. But they've got like another week until their next big job starts. They can either spend that week with you, working. Or with me, making Jake crazy. And besides, they've already been paid. If you don't accept, you'll hurt their feelings. And they're um, really sensitive."

  Sure they were.

  Somewhere in the background, I heard Jake say, "And don't forget the balcony thing."

  "Oh, stop it," she told him. "You wouldn’t really."

  "You wanna bet?"

  She returned to the phone and chirped, "Alright, it's settled. Talk to you later. Bye."

  And then, with a click, she was gone.

  I felt my gaze narrow. I had the distinct impression that I'd just been massively manipulated. But for whose benefit? Mine? Or hers?

  I decided to think about that later.

  For now, while I had some semblance of privacy, I was dying to hear Joel's message.

  Chapter 31

  Standing in the den, I pulled up Joel's message and braced myself for whatever he was going to say.

  But it wasn't quite what I expected.

  His voice, quiet but intense, made my heart ache. "Listen, Melody. About last night, it wasn't what you think." He paused. "Fuck. I hate that I'm not there. Sorry. Anyway, just call me back, okay?"

  And that was it.

  I wasn't quite sure what any of it meant, but it sent an irritating surge of hope flooding through me.

  And I hated myself for it.

  In my mind, I could practically see myself on a roller coaster, heading slowly up the hill, accompanied by that annoying clickity sound. I knew exactly what that sound meant. It meant that eventually, I'd be heading for a steep fall.

  I rubbed at my sore eyes and tried to think. If I were smart, I wouldn't even call him back.

  But who was I kidding? I knew I would. It was just a matter of when.

  With my phone in-hand, I sank into a nearby armchair and closed my eyes, hoping to clear my head. It was no use. My head was too filled with images of Joel.

  I sighed. What else was new?

  I was still sitting there, clutching my cell phone, when a different phone rang. It was the land-line, which I almost never used. A moment later, the ringing stopped, and I heard one of the brothers call out, "Hey, Melody!"

  Damn it. I'd been so focused on Joel, I'd almost forgotten that anyone was here. I hollered back, "What?"

  "It's for you!"

  What the hell? They weren't seriously answering my phone?

  A few seconds later, I heard pounding on the door, followed by one of the brothers calling through it. "It's some guy, won't give his name!"

  I pushed myself up and marched to the door. When I yanked it open, there they were, both of them, standing within arm's reach.

  Steve held out my cordless telephone. "Whoever the guy is, he sounds pissed off." With a sudden snicker, he turned to Anthony and said, "Maybe he's pregnant, too."

  Oh, for God's sake. I yanked the phone out of Steve's hand and told him, "For the last time, I'm not pregnant."

  "If you say so." He flicked his head in the general direction of the driveway and said, "So, you want us to get plugged in or what?"

  I still had no idea what that meant. But if it got them out of the house, then yes, that's exactly what I wanted. "Fine," I said. "Go. Do whatever." Without waiting for their response, I ducked back into the den and shut the door firmly behind me. Into the phone, I said, "Hello?"

  It was Joel, who wasted no time in demanding, "Who the hell was that?"

  Well, this was just great. He sounded nothing like the guy who'd left that earlier message. But I couldn’t tell if he was angry in general, or just unhappy that another guy had answered my phone.

  Looking to move past this, I said, "That was Steve."

  "Steve who?"

  Funny, I had no idea. "You know. Luna's brother?"

  "What the hell is he doing there?"

  "It's not just him," I said. "There's two of them."

  "Anthony too?"

  "So, you've met them?" Even though I was pretty sure that the brothers were outside, I lowered my voice, just in case. "Are they okay? Like, should I trust them?"

  "With what?"

  "I just mean, if I leave, are they gonna rob the place or anything?"

  "No," he said, "but I'd keep an eye on your beer."

  I hesitated. Was that a joke? I couldn’t be sure either way, especially because Joel definitely hadn't been smiling.

  Already, this whole conversation was incredibly frustrating. I still didn't know why Joel had called. I wanted to ask, but with the way he was acting, I felt compelled to first explain how Luna had sent her brothers to help with my sewer situation.

  When I finished, Joel said, "And how about Jake?"

  "What about him?"

  "Is he there?"

  "No."

  "Good. Do me a favor, alright?"

  "What?"

  "If he stops by, don't let him in."

  "Why not?"

  "Because I don't trust him."

  "So you trust Luna's brothers, but not your own?"

  "Steve and Anthony? They're harmless. But Jake? Different story."

  "Oh come on," I said. "I talked to Jake. He's not that bad."

  "I mean it. You steer clear of him." And then, in a quieter tone, he added, "Alright?"

  "But I don't get it," I said. "What do you think he's gonna do?"

  "I don't know. And I don't wanna find out."

  "Joel, seriously. You do realize how paranoid that sounds?"

  "Yeah? Well, lemme ask you something."

  "What?"

  "If he screwed his dad's girlfriend, what's to stop him from putting the moves on you?" His voice hardened. "Especially with me out of town."

  My breath caught. Out of town? Did that mean he was planning to come back? Damn it. There it was again, that annoying flicker of hope.

  I was still trying to squash it down when Joel abruptly said, "Lemme talk to them."

  Startled, I asked, "Who?"

  "Steve and Anthony."

  "Why?"

  "Because I wanna warn them."

  "About what?"

  "Are you gonna put them on the phone or not?"

  I really didn't like his attitude. "No."

  "Alright," he said. "Then, I'll call you back in five minutes."

  "What? Why five minutes?"

  "When I call, are you gonna answer?"

  "Not if you're asking like that."

  "Should I call your cell or the land line?"

  "Did you even
hear what I just said?"

  "Your cell," he said. "You got it on you?"

  "Maybe."

  "Five minutes," he repeated. "And if you don't answer? I'll keep calling 'til you do." And with that, he hung up.

  I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared down at the thing, wondering why Joel had bothered to call at all. As far as warm and fuzzy, the conversation had been seriously lacking.

  On top of that, I had a pretty good guess on what he planned to do during the next five minutes. Looking to confirm my theory, I hustled out of the den and made my way to the front room, where I parted the front curtains and peered outside.

  In my driveway, I saw a big, mud-splattered pickup, emblazoned with the words Moon Construction along the side. Behind the truck was a small bubble-shaped camper.

  From the camper's far side, a long extension cord snaked its way over my front lawn and ended somewhere on the side of my house.

  As far as the brothers themselves, I didn't see either one of them until Anthony emerged from the other side of the camper, holding a cell phone to his ear.

  I pressed my face closer to the glass and studied his face in profile. Was he talking to Joel? I couldn’t be sure. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't cringing in terror either. I was still looking when Anthony turned abruptly in my direction and caught me with my face smashed up against the glass.

  On instinct, I drew back and yanked the curtains shut again.

  And then, realizing how unhinged I probably looked, I reopened the curtains and gave Anthony a little wave.

  Yeah, that's me. Just adjusting the curtains.

  When he waved back, I breathed a sigh of relief.

  Maybe I wasn't acting nearly as crazy as I felt. I paused. Or more likely, he was chalking it up to my so-called pregnancy. On that disturbing note, I left the window and returned to the den to wait for Joel's call.

  Regardless of whatever else was going on, he and I were due for a serious discussion, and I didn't want to do it in front of an audience. But to my infinite frustration, five minutes went by, and then ten more – all without a phone call.

  After thirty full minutes, I was seriously miffed. Determined to get some answers, I left the house in search of the brothers. But now, neither one of them was in sight.

  I looked around. From what I could tell, they weren't in their truck or in the yard. I eyed the camper. They wouldn't be in there, would they?