Terms of Surrender

by Sheila Seabrook

  No way was he letting them go until he could confirm Mike wouldn’t hurt them. “Okay, spill. What’s going on with you?”

  Mike ground the heel of his hands against his eyes and slumped deeper into the couch cushions, then sent Gage a belligerent look that reminded him of one of the twins—he’d never in a million years figure out which was which—about to throw a tantrum.

  “A year ago, everything was goddamn perfect in my life. I want to know what the hell I did that was so bad I deserved to lose my wife? My best friend?”

  “Life isn’t always fair.” He thought of how much he’d once wanted Harley, how hard it had been to let her go. “It isn’t fair to any of us. We have to carry on the best we can with what we’ve got.”

  His brother’s eyes, glazed with moisture, shone bright in his pale face. “How the hell am I supposed to raise those girls alone? I don’t know anything about being a father. Hell, you know what it was like at home. Dad ruled our world with the back of his hand. Everything I learned about fatherhood, I learned from Hannah.”

  “Which is why you need Harley’s help.”

  Mike pushed to his feet to pace the room. “I can barely look at her.”

  “Maybe it’s time you learned.” Gage caught his brother by the arm and Mike stopped pacing. “Those girls need you and they need their aunt. Their mother is gone and you two are all they have left.”

  Mike fixed him with a look. “What about you?”

  Gage stepped back. “You know Hannah kept the girls away from me for the same reason she kept them away from Dad.”

  At his brother’s silence, Gage put one hand on his shoulder. “When did you start slapping the girls around?”

  Mike jerked away, back ramrod straight, indignation rolling off him in waves. “Never, and you damn well know I wouldn’t.”

  “I used to believe you wouldn’t. Not anymore.” He tried to close the distance between them again. Mike sidestepped toward the front door. “Harley will make your life miserable if you hurt either of those girls. And I will make your life hell if you hurt them or their aunt.”

  “Jesus.” Mike hunched his shoulders and nodded his head. “I’m going out for a smoke. I’ll be waiting in the truck.”

  As Mike headed out of the house, Gage wondered if he was doing the right thing. He’d never ever in his life doubted his brother’s ability to be a father, but now? Now he had doubts that threatened to crater his tiny world.

  A giggle from the far end of the hallway drew his attention. He turned and saw one of the twins, a hand covering her mouth, giggling and pointing at him.

  Had he grown horns on his head?

  He frowned. Worse yet, had his brother?

  Clearing the frown from his forehead, he crouched down on one knee and beckoned the girl forward. As she raced toward him, he braced himself for the impact.

  She threw her arms around his neck and hung on. “I wanna stay with you, Unca Gage.”

  “Are you afraid to go home, sugarpie? You’ll have Aunt Harley there with you.”

  “I wanna stay here with you,” she repeated, a stubborn twist to her mouth that reminded him of Harley.

  “Your daddy needs you right now.”

  She sighed and snuggled closer, tucking her head under his chin, placing her hand over the thud of his heart. “I miss Mommy.”

  At the wistful sound of her voice, Gage nearly caved and told her she could stay till her daddy straightened out. It would be like a holiday for her and her sister. Sleeping late. Eating junk food. Complete freedom from parental rules and regulations.

  Gage knew he couldn’t make any such offer. Having Harley around was worrisome enough. Having the girls underfoot might release the monster inside of him.

  He glanced up to see Harley standing at the edge of the hallway, a look in her eyes that he couldn’t quite fathom. Was it pity or something else?

  Standing up with the twin in his arms, the full impact of what he was about to do hit him square in the gut.

  He was sending Harley to another man, trying to fool himself into believing he didn’t want her for himself. He opened his mouth to say something, then snapped it closed again because he didn’t trust himself to say what was best for her.

  “We’re ready, right Laura?” she said as she gave the twin standing at her side a little push on the back. The girl took a step forward and stopped. Harley smiled down at the top of her head and gave her another nudge. “Well, almost ready.”

  “Mike’s waiting outside.” His voice sounded rough. He cleared his throat and glanced down at the small bag in Harley’s hand. “You’re all packed.”

  Nudging the twin another step, she nodded and smiled up at him, a glint of moisture in her eyes. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest.

  “It didn’t take long. Maybe Mike will let me borrow a few more of Hannah’s things while I’m there.”

  He didn’t remember moving.

  Didn’t remember her moving either.

  Somehow the distance between them closed so only the girls were between them. Gage stared into the beautiful soft depths of her eyes and saw the hurt.

  Hurt that he’d caused even though it was the last thing he’d intended.

  “Girls? I want to talk to your Uncle Gage alone. Go outside and join your daddy.”

  Two voices screeched in unison. “We don’t wanna leave.”

  Lisa tightened her arms around Gage’s neck, squeezing off his air supply, waking him from the spell Harley’s presence always wound around him. At the same time, Laura wrapped her arms and legs around the trunk of his thigh and hung on.

  Harley sighed and turned efficient. “Yes, well, here’s the thing.” She pried Laura from his leg and set her to the side. “Uncle Gage is a bachelor.”

  Lisa loosened her stranglehold. “What’s a bach’lor?”

  “A bachelor is a man who prefers to live alone.” She held out her arms and Lisa tumbled into them, nearly knocking her over. Gage caught the girl under her arms and set her down on the floor. “Some men think they’re better off without a wife or family.”

  Lisa craned her neck back to look up at Gage’s face. “You mean, he doesn’t like us?”

  A hint of annoyance flashed through Gage. “Of course I like you.”

  Harley smoothed a hand over the top of Lisa’s head, a frown crinkling her brow. “Liking a person doesn’t mean you want to see them every day for the rest of your life.”

  “Like Daddy,” Laura said, inching back toward the door, grabbing her sister by the shirtsleeve and tugging her along.

  Gage knelt down to their level. “Come here.”

  He held out his arms, and the girls hesitated only a moment before they rushed in and mashed their tiny bodies against his front. Gage buried his head between theirs and wished he’d been a different kind of man, one they could trust, one they could be safe with.

  “Remember,” he whispered softly. “If you ever need me, call and I’ll come running.”

  “Like a superhero?” Laura whispered.

  “Uh huh.”

  “P’omise?” Lisa asked as she gave him a wet smack on the cheek.

  “Promise,” he replied as Laura followed suit on the other cheek.

  The girls pushed free of his hold and raced out of the house, leaving him alone with Harley. Gage unfolded his frame and straightened, forced himself to face her, forced himself to keep his hands to himself.

  “Well, I guess this is it.” Smiling brightly, she held out a hand and when he took it, he found himself struggling against the need to keep her there for himself. “I want to thank you for letting me spend the night and for helping out with the girls this morning.”

  “Hell, they’re my family, too. You know I’d do anything for them. For you, too.” He gave her hand a gentle tug and she toppled toward him. He caught her to his chest, wrapped his arms around her, felt the comfort of her touch as she pressed up against him and returned the hug.

  Don’t go. The words were a cry in his head
and he bit them back. The soft strands of her hair tickled his chin. She fit perfectly against him, her soft curves molding into his harder frame. Had there ever been another woman that caused him this kind of pain when they parted? If he cared for Harley half as much as Mike had cared for Hannah, no wonder Mike was falling apart now.

  He pulled back slightly so he could study her face. “You heard what I said to the girls? If you need me, pick up the phone. Don’t be stubborn. Don’t be stupid. They’re my nieces, too.”

  Her fingers rasped against the stubble of his morning beard. “It’ll be okay. We’ll be okay. We’re not your responsibility, so don’t worry about us anymore.”

  He intended to give her a chaste kiss on the forehead, but somehow his mouth got tangled up with hers. And he forgot everything—the grieving man waiting impatiently outside, the two little girls who needed their aunt.

  Time and place.

  His scope of vision narrowed to the feel of Harley’s warm mouth under his. How her body instantly responded to his touch. How he’d wanted her forever. How she loved another man.

  The front screen door creaked open and banged shut. As Harley pushed out of his arms, his dad’s voice reverted through the house.

  “Mike says to hurry up or he’s leaving without you.” The old man stepped into the living room, a spade in one hand, work gloves in the other. “And your mom is sick today, so don’t be bothering her. I’ll be out in the backyard if you need me.”

  His dad headed to the kitchen. A moment later, the back door clicked shut behind him.

  Gage turned to Harley, and as she gave him a crooked grin, she said, “I guess this is goodbye.”

  Pain unfurled in his chest. “Remember. Call me if you need me.”

  “You know I won’t.”

  And then she was gone and he was alone.

  Through the open kitchen window, he heard her usher the girls into her Volkswagen, then the sound of the engine as she backed the vehicle down the driveway and disappeared down the street.

  He’d never realized how quiet his house could be.

  Or that the sound of a breaking heart could be so loud.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Harley pushed a damp lock of hair away from her forehead, drew in a tired sigh, and wondered how her sister had managed to keep up with the two whirlwinds now ruling the house. After only two days, stacks of dirty dishes covered one end of the kitchen counter to the other. Piles of laundry overflowed onto the floor. Over the noise of the washing machine, she could hear the girls arguing.

  “I said it first.”

  “No. I said it first.”

  “I said it first.”

  “No. I said it—”

  Mike’s roar ripped through the house. “Enough.”

  Harley jumped and smacked her elbow on the corner of the counter. Pain sizzled down her arm, numbing her hand, delaying her momentarily. By the time she reached the hallway, he had each girl by an ear and the twins were screaming in protest at the pain.

  “Mike,” she shouted above the racket.

  His head jerked up, his cheeks molten with rage, and even from the distance separating them, she could smell the reek of alcohol on his breath.

  “What?”

  “Let go of the girls or else.”

  He lifted his arms another inch, forcing the twins to stand on their tiptoes. “Or else what?”

  Ever since she’d arrived, the tension in the house had been escalating. Harley held her ground, determined not to show him or the girls how truly afraid she was. But she’d run out of options. She was desperate, afraid, and ready to swallow her pride. It was either call Gage or risk one of the girls getting seriously injured. “Let them go, Mike.”

  “Make me.” He softly sneered the challenge, and Harley realized that he’d irrevocably, unquestionably, gone unhinged.

  She’d seen it coming and hadn’t been able to do anything to stop it from happening. “If you’re angry at the world, Mike, don’t take it out on your daughters.”

  “Are you willing to take their place?”

  A lump of fear grew in her throat. “Yes.”

  Her rely was no more than a whisper, but at least Mike released the girls. They dashed forward, catching her around the waist. Harley slipped an arm around their shoulders, the she-wolf protecting her cubs from the hungry predator. Now that she had them safe, it was time to escape.

  She backed up a step. “Stay away from us or I’m calling your brother.”

  Hands clenched at his sides, anger in every jerky movement of his body, Mike shifted forward. “Do you really think he’ll come for you?”

  Harley blinked, doubt creeping along the edges of her mind. With more confidence than she felt, she replied, “He’ll come.”

  Mike took another step forward. “Why do you think he sent you here?”

  She stepped back, dragging the girls with her. “You know why. To help you. To help with the girls.”

  “Woman, you’re dumber than a cow,” he spat out. She pushed the girls toward the entrance so they could escape, then allowed him to back her into a corner. “He won’t come. Gage doesn’t give a damn what happens to you or the girls.”

  “Yes, he does.”

  Mike put one hand on the wall beside her head, his gaze never leaving her face. “Girls, go outside and play.”

  “It’s too hot,” Laura and Lisa whined in unison.

  “Now.” The growl in his voice sent the twins scurrying from the room and gave Harley a wave of fresh fear.

  “Mike, let me go.”

  “I know you’ve been in love with Gage since seventh grade. Your sister told me. When’re you going to grow up and realize he’ll never love you back?” His free hand caressed her arm while the sourness of his breath turned her stomach. “I’m all you’ve got, babe. All you’ve ever had.” His head dipped toward her and she wrenched away, attempting to escape. The grip on her arm halted her mid-stride. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  She balled her hands into fists at her sides. “As far from you as possible.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Mike was right about one thing. Gage didn’t want her around or he wouldn’t have allowed her or the girls to return home with Mike.

  Well, she didn’t need help, not anymore. She’d learned a thing or two about survival.

  And she’d be damned if she would allow Mike and his stinky breath and sweaty hands near her or the girls ever again.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  For the last two nights, Gage had barely slept. Worried about Harley and the twins and Mike, he found himself checking his phone every few minutes in case he’d accidentally turned off the ringer and missed their call.

  Within hours of them leaving, he’d started to pace the house, restless and lonely and slowly driving himself nuts with worry, till he’d finally headed down to the station for something to do. And within hours, his superiors gave him a choice.

  Go home until he got his head together, or they’d ground his ass and force him on leave.

  He dragged his cell out of his shirt pocket and checked the screen again.

  Call me if you need anything…anything at all.

  Even as he’d uttered those words, he’d known they wouldn’t need him. Mike was strong, resilient. He’d been a rock while Hannah was sick, held it all together while she was going through treatments. Now he needed more time and maybe some space to get his head together.

  Harley would help his brother deal.

  Hell, the least she could do was call, let him know they were all okay.

  To get his mind off Harley and the twins, he rang his parents’ house. On the second ring, his mom picked up. “Hey Mom, how are you feeling? Dad said you were sick.”

  “Oh, you know me. With a little rest, I’ll be right as rain.”

  He stared out the window at his empty back yard. “I thought I’d come over for a visit today, check up on you—”

  “Don’t you dare. It’s that silly flu they’
ve been warning us about and if I pass it on to you, I’ll feel terrible. I hope I didn’t give it to the girls the other day.”

  “I’m sure they’re okay, Mom. I can check on them if you want.” Any old excuse to call. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come for a visit?”

  “Listen to your mother and stay away.”

  His phone beeped in his ear and his heart picked up pace. “Mom, I have another call coming in, so I have to go. I’ll check on you again tomorrow.”

  “I love you.”

  “Love you, too, Mom.”

  As he clicked over the phone, he hoped it was Harley…and then he didn’t.

  Because deep down, he knew she wouldn’t call unless it was urgent.

  Mike’s number came up on the screen, and he thumbed the answer button and put the unit to his ear. “Hey bro.”

  “Unca Gage? We’re ’cared.”

  One of the twins.

  Gage responded without thought, grabbed the truck keys off the counter, and headed for the garage. “Laura? Is that you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m here, too,” another voice whimpered into the phone.

  “Hey there, Lisa.” All casual and normal, pushing the freaked out part of him deep inside. “Where’s your Aunt Harley?”

  “You p’omised, Unca Gage. You p’omised to re’cue us if we got ’cared and we’re very ’cared right now.”

  He slowed his steps.

  Maybe they were scared.

  Or maybe they were playing him for the biggest sucker in the world.

  Harley probably wasn’t keeping them busy enough. They were bored. Had too much time on their hands. Mischief should have been their middle names.

  Buck up or shut up, Toryn. No more Mr. Nice Guy. He deliberately deepened his voice with hopes he could convince them he meant business. “Put your aunt on the phone right now.”

  “Can’t.”

  Panic hit him square in the gut again.

  Maybe it was time he paid them a visit anyway to see how they were making out. Make sure they didn’t have their grandma’s flu. Check on his brother. See how Harley was holding up under the pressure of her new family.