Fool of Main Beach

by Tara Lain

  “Lily’s sixteen. She’s far too young to be married.”

  Carl smiled tightly. “She can marry with parental permission, and she’s pretty much got that. Just a few more details to work out.”

  Lily leaned forward, her whole body vibrating. “I’ll marry that asshole over my dead body.”

  Carl glared back. “That can be arranged.”

  “You’ll have to kill me first.” The deep, deadly voice came from the entry.

  Merle’s chest must have exploded at the sight of that huge, muscled body and beautiful face, because he felt like his heart lay on the floor in front of Tom.

  Lily leaped up and ran like a rabbit straight to her brother. Yeah, she knew who could really protect her. Tom wrapped a big arm around Lily. He met Merle’s eyes, but his expression was unreadable.

  Ellen and Hector had both leaped to their feet, but Carl leaned forward, slowing. “What the hell are you doing here? You know we don’t allow your kind in this house.”

  Cold ice froze Merle’s spine, and he rose. “Right. But his kind is good enough to support your lazy ass.”

  “He owes us.” Carl sneered.

  “Right. He owes you all the hatred and disdain a human can muster for the way you’ve treated him, but he’s too kind to ever express it.”

  Tom curved that sweet smile, but it didn’t get to his wide eyes, which made it a very scary expression. “Not true, Merle. They could do anything to me, but nobody hurts Lily. I’m taking her back home with me now, and anybody who wants to try and stop me will be sorry.”

  Hector said, “We’ll see about that.”

  Merle walked across the room. “Actually, there’s nothing to discuss. My lawyer’s already filing charges against the Henrys for child endangerment, and I’ll be glad to include you for statutory rape and human trafficking.”

  Hector’s eyes widened, and he sat back on the couch.

  “You just want her for yourself.” Carl spit out the words.

  Merle stared at him. “The only Henry I want is your son.”

  Ellen shrieked, “The law’s never going to give Lily to a couple of homo perverts.”

  Tom took a breath. “Mama, Daddy, the law knows real well who the perverts are in this family.” He looked at Lily. “You have anything here you need to take, go get it, because you’re never coming back.”

  She looked at her parents and Hector warily.

  Tom said, “Don’t worry. Nobody’s going to stop you.”

  Merle stepped to her side. “You need help?”

  She nodded, and he followed her down a dark hall to a tiny room. Nothing in the space suggested a young girl lived there—including the cleanliness, which far exceeded the rest of the house.

  She pulled out a cheap suitcase and a cardboard box and started loading some clothes and books into it.

  “Don’t worry about taking much, Lily. We’ll see you get anything you need when you get home.”

  She looked up at him with tears shining in her eyes. “Can you really do this?”

  “Watch me.” He flashed the grin that launched his series renewal.

  “I can’t believe you came here.” She sniffed. “You must love him an awful lot.”

  “Just get packed so we can get out of here.” He slowly inhaled.

  She gave him that smile way beyond its years and opened the bottom drawer.

  Five minutes later, Merle and Lily reentered the siege of the living room. Nobody had moved, and it was clear why. Tom stood with his arms folded, legs apart, and an expression so resolved no sane human would challenge it.

  Merle walked straight to the door, opened it, and let Lily out. Carl moved forward as if to follow and Tom’s arms snapped to his sides, fists clenched.

  “You’d never hurt me, boy.”

  Tom didn’t move a clenched muscle. “I don’t want to hurt you, Daddy, but I’ve learned that giving you stuff makes you just want more, and you don’t care who you hurt to get it. You come after Lily or me or anyone I love and I promise you I will hurt you a whole lot. Lily told me what you are. Both of you.” He pulled those arched brows down low over his nose. “You’re despicable.” He looked toward Merle. “Go on out now. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Merle gazed at Tom’s face for just a second. Funny how that sounded like a life plan.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  TOM WALKED down the steps of his parents’ house. His despicable parents. Vaguely he saw Lily in the shotgun seat in his truck, but he couldn’t get his eyes to look at anything but Merle. How did he get here? When Tom had walked into that house and seen Merle, he’d felt like he could pass out, but he’d had to pretend he was a badass dude so his parents would be scared and let him take Lily.

  Merle stood in front of him on the dead lawn. “Hi. We should get out of here, but I just wanted you to know—” He swallowed.

  “Is that your car?”

  Merle nodded. “It’s a rental I got from the airport.”

  “You came here on a plane?” Wow.

  “Yes, from New York.” He glanced toward the house, and Tom looked back. That mean-looking guy was standing on the porch.

  Tom tightened his jaw. “We better go somewhere else.”

  “Yes.”

  “Follow me.” Tom jogged to the truck and climbed in. Lily threw her arms around his neck, which was really nice.

  “I knew you’d come. Thank you.”

  He smiled at her. “I told you I’d always take care of you.” He started the truck and looked in the rearview mirror. The shiny silver car pulled up behind him. “How did Merle get here?”

  “I don’t know. Man, I about dropped my teeth when I walked into the living room and saw him sitting there, just like giant movie stars come to shithole houses in Fresno every day. Seriously, Bro, I was so fucking scared before I saw him.” She snuffled. Lily never cried, so Tom patted her on the shoulder.

  “I’m going to the diner over by the highway, and we’ll get some food and find out what’s happening, okay?”

  “Yeah. I couldn’t eat since I got here. I’m really hungry.”

  He pulled into the parking lot of the place he used to go to when he was in middle school. It made him kind of smile and kind of feel sick. Merle pulled that fancy car in behind him, and Tom watched in the mirror as he got out and walked toward the truck. How could any person be so beautiful? Tom felt kind of—funny. He didn’t know how Merle had gotten here, but it sure seemed like he had done something amazing for—Lily. Yeah. And me too.

  Lily punched his arm. “Come on. I’m starving.” She hopped out of the truck and threw her arms around Merle. Whoa. Wish I could do that.

  Tom crawled out and walked slowly to them. Merle was laughing, and it made Tom’s chest feel warm.

  Lily grabbed both of them by a hand. “Feed me. I’m perishing!”

  Merle laughed again, and they went inside the place. It had changed a bunch since Tom was there last. Now it looked like one of those old places with booths and jukeboxes, but it was fake. Like a pretend diner. It used to be a real one, but much rattier.

  Lily told the guy at the desk three, and he took them to a booth. Merle slid in one side and Lily the other. Tom wanted to sit with Merle, but he didn’t.

  Lily practically bounced in her seat. “Want to get breakfast? I mean, it’s still kind of breakfast time.”

  Merle said, “Get anything you want.” He glanced at Tom, then looked at the salt like it was interesting.

  They all ordered breakfast, with Lily getting eggs and french toast and fruit and potatoes and coffee cake. Tom was hungry, but his stomach kept flipping over, and it made it hard to think about eating. Merle ordered scrambled eggs and coffee. He must not be too hungry either.

  The waiter brought Lily’s coffee cake right away because she said she’d eat his booth if he didn’t. She took a bite, closed her eyes like she was really happy, then said, “So, Merle, how in the hell did you get here?”

  He looked up, then down again. “I was
finishing the movie, and Ru called me to tell me he had Mist so I shouldn’t worry. He said Tom was going to Fresno after you, and I knew some kind of bad shit was going down, so I took off for Fresno. Ru must have gotten the address from Billy somehow, and he texted me.”

  Tom nodded. “I gave it to him.”

  “I was afraid that Tom had gotten there before I did and maybe they’d buried you both in the root cellar.”

  Tom looked up and saw Merle smiling. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Sure.” Those cute dimples showed in his cheeks. “California doesn’t have root cellars.”

  Lily laughed really hard.

  Merle got more serious. “As it turned out, I’m really glad it took you so long to get there. It worked out.”

  Tom swallowed, and it kind of hurt. “I was so scared. It was supposed to take about four hours to drive to Fresno, but the traffic looked like it would never move, and I didn’t get to LA for almost two hours by itself and then another hour to get out of there. I was driving for almost eight hours. It was awful.”

  “I called you a few times.”

  Tom clenched his hands. “I forgot my phone. I was in such a hurry, I ran out.” He shrugged. “Sorry.”

  The waiter brought food, and Lily dug in. “I’m sure glad you both arrived when you did. Seriously, they had that asshole over to work out the last of whatever he was paying to get me, and then I think they were just going to hand me over.” She shoveled in more food.

  Merle said, “You must have been scared.”

  She nodded but never stopped chewing. “Yeah. I sneaked a kitchen knife and a pair of scissors into my underwear. I was going to take the bastard out.” She glanced up, and her eyes looked shiny. “Sure am glad I didn’t have to.”

  Tom hugged her. She felt small to be so brave. His eyes drifted up to Merle’s face, and he was staring at them with a really sweet expression. Wish I knew why he came. “Did you really talk to a lawyer, Merle?”

  “Nah. I got the name of one, but it was late last night when I heard about this, so I just looked up a bunch of child custody stuff on my phone and faked it.”

  “You sure are a good actor. I believed you.”

  Merle grinned, but kind of like it was hard to do. “I think they did too. That’s what counts.”

  Lily said it. “I can’t believe you’d come all this way for me, Merle. If you want me to clean all the floors in your new house with a toothbrush, just holler.”

  Merle chuckled, then looked up real sudden to stare at Tom, and Tom felt a jolt all the way from his heart to his cock. Tom said, “So you want to ride back home with us?”

  “Can three of us fit in the truck?”

  “Sure. It’s got a back seat.”

  Lily grinned. “You can sit back there.”

  “Okay, thanks. But I have to take the car back to the airport.”

  “We’ll follow you.” Tom smiled. “If that’s okay.”

  Merle paid the check even though Tom tried to do it, and Tom and Lily climbed into the truck while Merle started up the fancy-schmancy car behind them. They pulled out onto the highway and turned toward the airport.

  They were quiet for a while, and it would have been good to have that nice music like Merle’s. It always made him feel better.

  “Tom?”

  He kept driving.

  “Tom!”

  “Yes, Lily.”

  “Do you realize what he did for you?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “Tom?”

  “I heard you, Lily.”

  “So do you? I mean, he flew his ass the whole fucking night from New York fucking City, where I’m sure he had a nice cushy situation, to put his fucking ass on the line with our despicable parents, not even knowing if they were gonna pull a gun and shoot him or something. And all this in order to save my miserable ass when I treated him pretty much like crap when I met him. Do you get the monumental enormity of this commitment, son?” She paused. “Well, do you?”

  “Yes.”

  “So what are you going to do about it?”

  He shook his head.

  “Tom, dammit, answer me!”

  “I can’t answer you!” He sounded mad but he wasn’t. “Sorry. I don’t know how to answer.” He wiped his hair out of his eyes.

  “Why, Tom?” Her voice was soft.

  “It’s not up to me. I don’t know why he did what he did.”

  “He cares about you, dummy.”

  Lily didn’t really mean “dummy,” so he didn’t worry. “I think you’re right, but it doesn’t matter.”

  “How do you figure that? Come on.”

  “Lily, I really like Merle. I mean, a lot. And I think he likes me too. I kind of talked him into having sex with me.”

  She snorted. “I’ll bet that didn’t take much talking.”

  “No, you’re right, and it was really great. But what happened is I found out I like him too much for just sex.”

  She leaned against the door and huffed at him. “Tom, people don’t fly across the country and put their life on the line for their fuck buddy. I don’t know anything about love, but I know that.”

  “It’s not a good idea.”

  “What?”

  “Me and Merle.” Ahead of him, Merle pulled into the parking garage by the airport where the rental cars were kept. Tom maneuvered behind him and then slid into a loading zone nearby.

  “Why do you say that, Tom? Why do you say you and Merle aren’t a good idea?”

  “Just think about it.”

  Merle looked both ways and ran across the street to the truck in that cool, sexy way he had, carrying a big suitcase. Lily started to slide out of the passenger seat, but he waved at her and got in back, tossing the bag on the other side of the seat. “No worries. I might fall asleep back here since I didn’t get much rest last night, but then I’d guess none of us did. Let me know when you want me to drive.”

  Merle didn’t sleep and he didn’t drive. Instead, the three of them played games, sang songs, and laughed more than Tom had in weeks. They made words from license plates. Tom was crappy at that. They spied colors—he was great at that. Who knew there could be so many bottles of beer on a wall?

  Traffic never stopped—it barely slowed—and they made it back to Laguna in under four hours, even with a stop for bathroom and Starbucks. Faster than Tom really wanted.

  As they drove down the Laguna Canyon Road, they got quieter until they just quit talking by the PCH. Tom stopped and started down the highway and turned right toward Victoria Beach. When he pulled up in front of Merle’s beautiful house, nobody felt very happy anymore.

  Lily turned around in her seat and stared at Merle. “I was joking about the toothbrush, but I’m totally serious about doing anything I can to repay you. Please just tell me, okay?”

  Merle nodded. “I was happy to do it.” He gathered his bag, but it started to look heavier.

  Tom opened his door. “I’ll get it.” He left the door open and hurried around to the back passenger door, then hauled out the bag. He turned up his lips. “You must be carrying vampires in here.”

  Merle made a laughy sound and followed Tom to the front door. He opened it with a key and went to take the bag, but that put his hand on top of Tom’s, which felt way too nice. Tom said, “I’ll take it upstairs for you.” He hurried up the stairs so Merle couldn’t say no.

  He dropped the bag in Merle’s bedroom and tried not to look at the bed. Merle came up behind him. Tom said, “You going to go get Mist?”

  “Yes, right away.”

  Everything got too quiet and nobody moved.

  Merle said softly, “Would you come back later? I really need some advice on, uh, taking care of Mist.”

  “Uh, I better stay with Lily and the boys. Mrs. A. will be pissed if I leave them anymore.”

  “You could bring them.”

  Oh come on, God. This isn’t fair. Tom didn’t exactly believe in God, but he always talked to him or her just in cas
e. He took a deep breath. “It’s better if I don’t. I can send you an email all about Mist if you want.”

  Merle didn’t look up. “You don’t want to come over anymore?”

  “It’s not like not wanting to. It’s just better.”

  “For who?”

  Merle’s too smart and too tricky. “I’ll never understand why you did what you did. No one ever did anything like that for me before. In my whole life, that will be the best thing.” He walked straight out of the bedroom, down the stairs, and out the door.

  As he walked across the yard, Lily slid into the driver’s seat. Tom frowned. “What are you doing?”

  “Driving.”

  “You don’t have a license.”

  “No, but I can see. Get in.”

  He did what she told him.

  Chapter Thirty

  MERLE PUSHED the doorbell and heard a woof inside.

  The door flew open and before Ru could say a word, Mist barked and hurled herself at him. No shyness this time. He knelt and wrapped his arms around her slender neck. “I’m so glad to see you, girl. So glad.”

  He just kept petting and crooning until he felt arms wrap around his back. “Hey, dear, come on in, okay?”

  He clutched at Mist’s neck. She didn’t even object.

  “Come on.” Ru pulled him to standing, wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and walked Merle into the house. Mist never left his side. They made it across the great room to the couch in three-legged-race style, and Merle collapsed on the sofa. Mist propped her head on his knee and stared at him with big, sad puppy-dog eyes.

  Ru sat next to him. “What happened? Is Lily okay? Tom?”

  Merle just nodded.

  “Did you go to Fresno?”

  He nodded again.

  “Where are Lily and Tom?”

  “At home.”

  “In Fresno or Laguna? Come on, Merle, quit playing Jeopardy and tell me what happened.”

  So tired. “I flew to Fresno, went to the parents’ house, and discovered they planned to essentially sell Lily just as she thought. Tom arrived, scared them shitless, we all drove home, and I’m here.”