Just as Stubborn

by Jeanne Arnold

  I lifted my questioning gaze to Mr. Halden’s hazel eyes. He looked worn out. “Do you know what happened with Leon and…and everything that happened to Gabe? Do you know how he got hurt? Do you know he called the police? Do you know who the girl is?”

  There was no movie star smile on his face. No polished businessman. The weary man let his lashes fall to his cheeks. I couldn’t get past the fact that he had on pajamas.

  “I’ve handled the cabin. I’m aware that you were all put in an unfortunate situation. My sons have proven they work well under pressure. Yes, I had a brief meeting with Deliah. Everything is happening to her at once. I’m going to give her some time, and when she’s ready, I’ll sit down with her and the boys and explain properly.”

  “You have a lot to explain,” I told him boldly. There was so much I could have said on Gabe’s behalf, but I had a feeling Gabe wanted the pleasure himself.

  “Avery Norah Ross,” my mother scolded. “You are out of line.”

  I shot a gun to save Gabe’s life. Why did she feel the need to reprimand me like she would a toddler?

  “No. She’s quite right,” he said. The baby stirred, and he set a hand on her and sighed.

  “How is Aunt Meggie?”

  “Margareta is resting right now. She’s stable and doing well under the circumstances. She’s pleased to have her sister join us.” He folded over the edge of the baby blanket to reveal more of the tiny face.

  “Your house,” I said. “It’s gone.”

  He nodded and returned his attention to the baby girl. “It’s of no importance now.” I thought I heard him choke up. “What’s important are my children. I cannot rebuild my children.”

  He didn’t look up. My mother set her hand on his shoulder and glared at me. “Your children are safe, Joel. You can rebuild everything else.”

  Was Mr. Halden crying? Was my mother concerned about his emotions? Why was she touching him? I thought she couldn’t stand him.

  It seemed like everyone had explaining to do.

  “You can see Meggie if you want,” my mother told me. “And then you’re going straight home to your father. Joel has a jet waiting so don’t you dare leave this building. You’re grounded until graduation and I don’t care to hear your ‘I’m an adult speech’ because you have proven yourself wrong, time and time again. Wait until your father sees you. I don’t know how you got that cast off.”

  “There’s not going to be a graduation,” I said. The words slipped out spitefully.

  “Excuse me?” she replied to my back as I stormed out. I didn’t feel like explaining my plans, though I hadn’t exactly been honest about what they were with anyone.

  Lane was standing in the elevator and glanced up when the door opened. He rubbed the spot between his eyes.

  “Where’s Gabe?” I pressed the down button. He didn’t speak. “Please take me away from here. Anywhere. Quickly, before they make me get on a plane and fly home. I’ll visit Aunt Meggie later.”

  “What’s all this about two guys from New Orleans and a blackmail scheme and the girl being involved? How did she find y’all? She looks just like my dad. Damn, he’s so crooked he could swallow a nail and spit out a corkscrew.”

  I pushed the elevator button again. I hadn’t heard that one before, but he was right.

  “Lane…your mother,” I whispered. I didn’t know what to say. “What happened? We just saw her.”

  He tightened his eyes on me in a glowering way. “I didn’t get to see her. It’s lunacy. I don’t have a mom because of that man, Avery. I don’t got a girlfriend either because of his damn meddling.” He jammed the down arrow, and then I reached over and tapped it once more. It lit red and the doors closed. “This is turning out to be a never-ending nightmare inside a never-ending nightmare.”

  Twelve

  Lane drove like a maniac from the hospital to the cabin. I wasn’t sure what he was running to or from. All I wanted was to reach Gabe as soon as possible. I needed to hold him and comfort him. I couldn’t imagine what he was feeling.

  The bad guys were removed and arrested. I spotted Gabe’s truck parked in front of the cabin. Some of my fears dissolved.

  “I’m going out for air,” Lane hollered up the stairs when I turned the corner of the second floor hallway. He had been quiet during the long drive. I didn’t hold it against him. He lost his mother and his childhood home. His future with his pregnant girlfriend was in question.

  Muddy footprints marred the floor. The door to the first bedroom was wide open. I spotted Gabe lying across the bed, his boots hanging off one end, his arms hanging off the other. I stepped up to him when he didn’t move. I took hold of his boot and pulled it off. He kicked off the second one.

  “Hi,” I said as I settled on the corner and pulled off my filthy sneakers. I cursed the nervous flutter in my chest. I wanted to touch him. How would he act? Was the real Gabe gone for good?

  “I saw her, Gabe. She’s so tiny. I was so crazed from seeing my mother I didn’t ask what they named her. They tried to send me home. Did you see my mother?” I set a hand on his leg. “Do you want to talk?”

  I stretched out beside his long torso and rested my head on his shoulder. He twisted beneath my arm and grabbed me into a hug so tight I had to wriggle my face out of his armpit to breathe.

  “Gabe, I’m so sorry,” I began as he flipped over and pushed me onto my back. “I’m sorry about your mother. It’s so horrible.”

  His lips drove into mine without a hello. I exhaled through my nose and let my body sink into the mattress, all of his weight pushing me down. I was overjoyed that he thought kissing me would make him feel better. He stirred up emotions in me that I didn’t know how to describe.

  “Finally, Av’ry,” he said as he kissed my neck with staccato kisses. I let my eyelids fall. The skin on my face tightened when his lips captured my earlobe and his fingers ran a trail down my arm to weave into my fingers.

  Holding hands and kissing were seriously underrated.

  I panted when he sat up and shrugged his tangled shirt down his arms and then yanked his T-shirt over his head and tossed it. He seized the hem of my shirt and pulled it up to my neck.

  I grabbed his wrists to stop him before we were both naked.

  “No, Gabe.”

  He lifted his hands out of my grip and opened the button on my jeans. “Now, Av’ry,” he said through his teeth. His hazel eyes were half-shaded and sleepy.

  His mother was gone. His home was gone. When he thought about us being together, seriously being together, I didn’t want him to think back on the terrible day.

  “You’ve been through so much. Just rest.” I pulled on his shoulders, and surprisingly he collapsed on me without objection. He pressed the good side of his face into my neck, and I held his tense body against mine. He relaxed after some time.

  It seemed like a new day when I awoke with my legs tangled with Gabe’s. His scruffy chin rested against my head and rubbed like the finest sandpaper. I inhaled at his chest, ran my fingers over his ribs, and set my hand on his heart, reveling in the peaceful moment, the soft warmth of his body. The room was dark. I expected to hear rain. It was all I’d known for days.

  I lifted my head and unknotted my body carefully. I stretched until every ounce of tiredness left me. Nothing was more necessary than a shower.

  “Where are my jeans?” I asked when I returned. I found Gabe on his stomach on the bed. He had something glowing in his hand.

  “Huh?” he mumbled.

  “How did Lane know you were here? Did he come back yet? Did we sleep all day?”

  “I called him.” He rolled onto his back and revealed his glasses. “Phone’s working.”

  Four eyes, shirtless, barefoot and jeans—my heart did a cartwheel across the room.

  “The phones work? Wait…how did you call him?” I asked.

  He held up a screen with a picture of me from the summertime when my forehead was freshly inked. I lunged at the bed to grab my phone out of
his clutch, but he bounced off the mattress and raised it high above my reach.

  “I gotta get me one of these. I’ve been missing out on everything,” he said humorously.

  “Gimme that.”

  “Your friend Janie just asked if I’m your Texas Hottie.”

  “Oh my god, Gabe. You did not talk to her. Give it here.”

  He backed up and grinned.

  He grinned.

  “Where’s the camera. I’m gonna be ready when you flash me,” he said. “I could have so much fun with this.”

  “Where are my clothes?” I stomped my foot and grabbed at my towel as it loosened.

  He tossed the phone across the bed, and I snatched it.

  “I don’t know where your filthy clothes are. Honestly, I don’t care,” he drawled. “You don’t need clothes.”

  Then he laughed.

  He laughed.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, why?” he replied.

  I glared at his gorgeousness. He pulled the glasses down his nose to be funny. I was overrun with a compulsion to tackle him and kiss him.

  “Why? Because your mother…you just found out,” I said softly. “Are you really okay?”

  “I found out she lived and then she died. I lost my freaking house on the same day I found her. And my dad’s been covering up shit since the start of mankind.” He stepped up to the bed and ran his hand up the bedpost. “I’ll be okay once I’m gone. I gotta stop and see Eli and I want to search for my guitar. Then head north and pack up all my stuff at Meggie’s. I don’t want anything to do with my dad or Williston. He’s a despicable liar. I got no parents now, as far as I’m concerned.”

  I drew my eyes around the room and searched for my dirty clothes in an attempt to hold in evidence of my crushing disappointment. Gabe was going to disappear again. I would be forced to go home.

  “Somebody took my clothes out of the bathroom.” I tried to keep my voice still.

  “Yup,” he said.

  “Where are they?”

  “In the lake.”

  I tipped my gaze when he reached for my hand and only touched my fingers. The towel was slack, but I managed to keep my arms tight to my side. He took my other hand and pulled me closer. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and cringed as I glanced at his contusions.

  Gabe tugged the towel to my waist, letting his eyes dance all over me. I gasped loudly and pulled it right back up. I swung around at a noise behind me.

  “Boy, could I sit still for this,” Caleb sung from the doorway and whistled through his fingers. “Get decent. Little sister’s downstairs. Y’all need to come down and hug her.”

  Gabe slammed the door in his brother’s face and fetched the basket of pink clothing from the dresser.

  “I’m not wearing those clothes,” I told him firmly. Did he really think I was going to wear Jordan’s discarded wardrobe?

  “That’s what I was hoping.” He opened the door and turned around to run his gaze up and down me in the same way I studied him. “Something wrong?”

  “No.” I shook my head.

  “Just pick something pink,” he told me. “I’ll get your bag later.”

  As I finished getting dressed, I heard Deliah ask, “Is Avery here?”

  “I’m here.” I took two steps at a time. I managed to pull myself together in the few moments I was alone. Everyone’s problems were bigger than my future logistical misfortune. Maybe I would run away and get a job. Maybe Meggie would let me live with her.

  When I found Gabe’s siblings in the living room, Caleb was the first to catch my eye. He smirked at my tight-fitting outfit.

  I reached for Deliah’s hand, and we walked into the kitchen. She set her head on her arm as tears collected in her eyes. I slid my chair around. “Do you know what happened?” I asked her.

  Tears soaked her sleeve. “Caleb said she was getting off a bus at the station when the tornado touched down. She was looking for me. He said his dad talked to her the other day, and they decided to tell me and all of the other kids, but she didn’t know his wife was having a baby, so she bought a ticket when I disappeared with you guys. She doesn’t drive.”

  “Oh, Meggie’s not his wife,” I told her as she wiped her nose. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I can’t believe she’s gone. I wasn’t good to her. I was always running away and getting in trouble. I didn’t even live with her anymore. I haven’t been around. I’m never going to see her again.”

  “Howdy,” Gabe said as he stood behind his sister. “You okay?”

  “No,” I answered for her as he pulled out a chair and sat backward. “She’s not okay.”

  He set his chin on the chair. I stared at his shoulders, his purple neck. One side of his face stuck out farther than the other. But all I could focus on was his bareness.

  “I’m sorry you didn’t know her. She loved music. She loved to play guitar,” Deliah told him. “Avery says you play.”

  “Eli played too. Sucks you didn’t know him either.” Gabe set his hat on the floor and ran his hands through his hair. “None of this makes any sense.”

  “Eli knew about her,” Caleb said as he strolled into the kitchen. “Tessa told me he brought us out there a few times and tried to get mom to see us and she never would show.”

  “This is so messed up,” Gabe said.

  Caleb stood next to Deliah. “Lieutenant’s been taking care of her schooling, supporting her,” he said. Then under his breath he muttered, “Bastard.”

  “Leon made me pretend to be my mom on the phone with the bank, and they said she had nine hundred thousand dollars in one account with my name on it, but I couldn’t get it out. He also said there was an insurance policy in my name and a bunch of boys’ names and some stock that was worth a ton.”

  She laid her head on the table, and Caleb ran a hand over her wavy hair in a soothing manner.

  We all looked over when the front door opened. Lane followed Josh inside.

  “Josh?” Gabe said in a surprised voice. “How’d he get here?” His expression revealed his exhaustion.

  “Lieutenant’s outside on his phone,” Lane answered and jerked his chin at the door.

  “Aw, jeezus freaking hell. I’m leaving.” Gabe jumped off his chair and held out his hand for me to get up. “Come on, Av’ry. I don’t want to see him.”

  “Hold up there, son,” Mr. Halden ordered from the doorway. He was dressed. Hair combed. Belt buckle shined. He was a new man. His standard regulation self. “Let me see your bruises.”

  “I’m outta here,” Gabe exclaimed. The blood vessels throbbed at his temples.

  “Ladies first. I’m right behind ya,” Caleb said smartly as Gabe spun around.

  “Boys,” Mr. Halden barked and grabbed Gabe’s shoulder as he brushed past him, startling his son. Gabe stopped and slammed his back against the wall. “Y’all, we have some things to address.”

  “Deliah isn’t a thing,” Caleb corrected.

  “Well, I’d like a word with Miss Remington. Move into the kitchen,” he directed Gabe and blocked his exit.

  “Her name’s Deliah,” Caleb repeated. “Give her some time. After what she’s been through, she doesn’t need this right now.”

  “It’s Mona,” she grumbled into her sleeve.

  “You heard my little sister,” Caleb said. He and Gabe stood shoulder to shoulder. Sometimes when they did that, they stole my breath. My chest hurt looking at Gabe and thinking about him taking off.

  “I think we should hear him out,” suggested Lane. “For Deliah. I for one need to know what happened all these years. She deserves to know about us. When he’s done, he’ll hear us out.”

  “How are you doing, kid?” Caleb stepped up to the table and bent to Deliah’s shoulder, but he set a hand on the back of my chair and poked his fingers through the rungs to graze my collar. “What do ya say?”

  “I’ll stay if Avery stays.” She tipped her chin and looked up at me with bloodshot eyes.

&nbs
p; I nodded. Gabe grunted.

  “You haven’t even met Little Joshie Paulsen properly, have you?” Caleb said as he waved Josh over.

  “Why don’t y’all excuse me so I might have a word with Miss Deliah…Mona,” Mr. Halden said as he cleared his throat.

  “No way,” Gabe said. “What you say to her, you say it to all of us together. From now on, we’re one.” He made a lasso motion over the kitchen table. I watched his bare arm and held my breath.

  Caleb clapped his hands slowly and rudely, reminding me of the moment his mother played on stage at Red’s. The moment he realized she was his mother.

  “Have a seat, sir,” Lane said in a hostile tone.

  Caleb kicked out a chair and stepped back. The three of them stood in a semi-circle. I got another good look at the hazel-eyed band of brothers and their pissed off expressions.

  “As you all wish,” Mr. Halden said. “How are you holding up, sweetheart? I’m sorry I didn’t get to speak with you longer. We’ll find some time. I know this is difficult for you. You’re showing incredible courage.”

  “Tell her why you hid her,” Gabe snapped. “Tell us why Eli knew about her and we didn’t. Tell her why all this happened.”

  Mr. Halden set his elbows on the table and his chin on his fists. His hazel eyes darkened. “Your mother and I had an arrangement, a binding arrangement. Some time ago, there was an accident, as you were all made aware of. Your brother Eli was found guilty, and well he—”

  Caleb cut him off. “He what?”

  Mr. Halden lifted his head and glanced at his phone. “He wasn’t driving after all. Your mother wasn’t well.”

  I witnessed Gabe exchange a look over my head and crumple his brows at Caleb.

  “Excuse me?” Lane said.

  “Eli took the rap for the car accident, son. Your mother was driving when they struck the bystander who later died from his injuries. She was heavily medicated at the time, and your brother had just received his learner’s permit.”