by A. L Long
Putting everything back in the box except the picture of us, I knew it was a long shot, but it was better than sitting around waiting for something to surface. Going to my room, I packed a small bag and headed back to the living area to let Charlie and Nick know that I would be gone for a couple of days and that I would have one of the guys stop in to check them.
Before I could get out the door, Charlie said, “Wait,” as she walked towards me. “I’m going with you.”
“I can’t let you do that, baby. It would be better if you stayed here with your brother,” I advised.
“No way, Ryan Hyatt. You are not going to do this to me again,” she stated as she crossed her arms at her waist. “I am going with you or you can just say good-bye right here.”
I had never seen this side of her. There was no way I was going to lose her again. I was such an ass the last time, and I wasn’t going there again. Pulling my cell from my pocket, I dialed Chavez to let him know of my plans in case something bad happened. I also didn’t trust Nick staying at my place by himself, so I asked him to take Nick somewhere safe. Chavez was the only one I could trust with this, and he was the only one who knew the truth about my brother being in that alley. Chavez would keep it to himself until I was ready to tell the guys, and right now, I needed some answers before sharing my brother’s situation with them. Peter would more than likely be the most pissed about my decision, but he would also be the most understanding.
We all hung tight at my place until Chavez called back. It was a long hour later when he called back to let me know he had found a place for Nick to stay, a place where he would be safe. After we picked up a few things for Charlie and Nick at his place, I didn’t mind taking a little detour to get him to his new digs. It was better than the alternative of having him stay at my place. As soon as we pulled up to Nick’s new home, I noticed Chavez on the porch rocking back and forth in an old rocker like he owned the place. Once Nick got out of the car, I put the car in reverse and we were on our way. I only hoped that this wasn’t going to be a wasted trip. Something in my gut told me that Josh would be there.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Charlie
When Ryan told me that we were heading to Willow Crossing, I had no idea where that was. All I knew was that it was about an hour drive, and it was where he and his brother used to go when they were kids. It seemed really odd that with everything that was going on, he wanted to take a road trip to reunite with his childhood. Something must have triggered his need to go there. It was sudden and not like him, unless it had to do with his brother.
Keeping my eyes forward, I was hoping that he would give some indication as to why we headed to Willow Crossing as I asked, “Ryan, you said that Willow Crossing was where you and your brother went as kids. Are you thinking he might have gone there?”
For a moment the air between us was silent, but then I heard a big intake of air from him, and just like me, he kept his eyes glued to the road. I was just about to ask again when he answered, “Yeah. I found an old picture of us in his room and I thought it was worth a drive to see if he might have gone there. I’m at a loss as to where he could be. This is my last hope.”
“If he is there, what are you going to do?” I asked hesitantly.
“I’m going to find out what is going on with him once and for all.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, and for now, I thought it best to quiz him about it later. He had enough on his mind and didn’t need to be grilled about it. Even though I didn’t push the issue, thoughts were rolling around in my head wondering what the real reason was for this trip. I knew that his brother was very sick, but that didn’t explain him needing to know what was going on with him. He already knew that part. Leaning my head back in frustration, I kept silent until we finally reached our destination, based on the sign welcoming us.
As Ryan pulled up to the main office where I assumed the reservations were made to rent either one of the cabins or guest homes, I took in the enormous house, thinking how beautiful it was. When we got out of the car, I took a few more moments to take in the scenery. It was beautiful. I could see why Ryan’s parents loved this place so much. It had a peaceful feel about it, being hidden away from the rest of the world. Isolated. Just my kind of place. In the distance, I could see a lake that was surrounded by tall green trees lining the water with complete privacy. The water was crystal clear with not a single ripple in it. As I looked further, I spotted two young boys who couldn’t have been older than their early teens fishing on the bank supported by a wall that was made with stone, which I was sure had to have been meticulously laid one stone at a time. The air was what won me over. It was so crisp and clean and when I took in a deep breath, I could feel my lungs jump for joy.
Ryan opened the door to the main office and allowed me to enter first. Even the office was spectacular with its stone fireplace and the plush leather seating all around it. In the center of the seating area was a low wooden table that had to have been made from a large redwood. It was polished to perfection with a mixture of sunflowers and smaller mum-like flowers sitting on top in a beautifully crafted centerpiece. When we walked toward the reservation desk, an older lady peeped up behind the counter with her glasses hung low on her nose. The minute she saw Ryan, a big small softened her features. The way she was looking at him, I knew that she recognized him.
Without warning, she hurried around the counter and gave Ryan the biggest hug ever as she said with excitement. “Never in my years working here have I received two surprises in a week.”
“Eloise, you haven’t changed a bit. Still the most gorgeous woman in Willow Crossing,” Ryan smiled sincerely.
“You are just saying that only because I am the only woman here,” the older woman commented as she looked my way. “That is, until now. Who is this pretty little thing?”
“Eloise, this is my good friend Charlie Winters,” Ryan replied.
“Nice to meet you, Eloise. This place is beautiful.” I had no other words to describe this paradise as I looked over my shoulder through the window, which was covered with a partly-open embroidered curtain.
“Enough of that. What brings you here, Ryan? Are you here with your brother? He only arrived a few days ago,” Eloise inquired.
“Yeah. Can you tell me which cabin he has decided to stay in so I can meet up with him?” Ryan spoke confidently, like he and Josh were vacationing together.
“He must be doing really well for himself. He rented the Hickory Gate House,” Eloise revealed.
“Leave it to Josh to rent the very best.” Ryan played along even though I knew his blood was boiling.
Eloise handed Ryan another set of keys to the guest house upon Ryan’s request. Even though it wasn’t very late, Ryan made the excuse that he didn’t want to disturb Josh in the event he was sleeping. I got the feeling that Eloise knew that Ryan was feeding her a bunch of baloney. After accepting the keys, Ryan and I headed out the door and back to the car. The guest house Josh had rented was further up the road and too far to walk.
Closing the car door, I waited for Ryan to get in the car before asking, “Do you think he is going to be there?”
“I can only hope. As hurt as he was when he left the hospital, my guess is he’s there resting. I have to give him credit for at least picking a prime place to do just that. My concern now is how he was able to afford it?” Ryan questioned.
When we got to the cobblestone house, there was no sign that Josh was even there. It made sense since his car was still back at Ryan’s apartment building. Ryan pulled the car around the circular driveway, and the cobblestone home was even more beautiful close up with its cherry blossom trees lining the greenway just to the left of the house. As I took in the beautiful surroundings, Ryan opened the back door and grabbed our bags off of the seat. Removing the key from his pocket that Eloise had given him, he climbed the sandstone steps and placed it in the lock.
The inside of the home was nothing at all like what I had imagined. It w
as actually pretty modern considering how old the house was. I believe I may have read something about it being built sometime during the 1920’s. Knowing that the bedrooms were upstairs, I followed Nick up the steep steps, taking careful steps so I wouldn’t trip. The house was very quiet and nothing from the outside could be heard. When we came upon the first room, we both looked at each other, knowing this was the room that Josh had chosen to sleep it. His things were scattered everywhere. Like he was searching for something, but couldn’t find it.
The other two rooms in the house had twin beds in them. Nick thought it would be better if we shared a room. I went along with him only because there were twin beds in it. Looking at him, I took my bag from and placed it on the bed to the right while he placed his bag on the other one. Taking a seat on the bed, I watched Ryan pull back the sheer white curtain just enough to see outside. Cursing between gritted teeth, he hissed, “Shit, Josh.”
Standing to my feet, I stood at the window next to Ryan and lowered my eyes. Walking in the distance I saw Josh carrying an armload of wood, heading for the back entrance to the house. Ryan was out of the room and down the stairs in a flash. Running after him to make sure he wouldn’t do anything stupid, I yelled his name. “Ryan, wait.”
Either he didn’t hear me or he was ignoring my plea for him to stop. Just as I hit the bottom of the steps, he was already out the door. I was thankful that he had left the door open so that I didn’t have to waste time of opening it. Ryan was well out of view by the time I rounded the side of the house. Stopping dead in my tracks, I looked onward and watched as Ryan tackled his brother to the ground. Heading in their direction, I ran around the pile of wood that Josh dropped in order to get away from his brother. In order to stop the two of them from killing each other, I tried my best to separate them. Although I was using all the strength I had, I noticed that Josh put forth little effort like he had been run over by a bus. It was definitely an uneven fight based on the way he acted. Knowing that there was no way I was ever going to be able to separate them, I put my fingers between my lips and blew as hard as I could and made the loudest high-pitched sound I could. When the two of them stopped and looked at me with confusion, I fisted my hands to my sides and shouted at the top of my lungs. “STOP!”
Ryan held out his hand to assist Josh up from the ground, but Josh refused to take it. Instead he rolled over to his side and propped his body into a doggie style position before pushing to his feet. Ryan must have thought that he was going to try and run again, so he grabbed the collar of his button-down shirt and pulled him back toward him. As he walked Josh back in the direction of the house, he said in a commanding tone, “You are going to tell me everything, even if I have to beat it out of you.”
I knew that look. Ryan was serious and he meant every word he said. Completely clueless, I had no idea what was going on between these two, but whatever it was, there was no way I was going to be left in the dark. Ryan made it clear that he wanted me back in his life and there was no way I was going to let him keep things from me. If he wanted me, that was a non-negotiable condition.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Ryan
When I heard Charlie tell me that there were going to be no more secrets between us, it wasn’t the time or the place to be laying ultimatums on me. The less she knew about the situation with Josh the better. As far as she knew he was really sick and I was angry with him for not staying at the hospital where he could get the care that he needed.
When we got inside the house, I looked to Charlie and asked as tactfully as possible without sounding bossy, “Charlie, can you make us a cup of coffee while I have a few words with my brother? When you come back, I will tell you everything.”
Charlie gave me one of her pissed-off looks, but finally agreed to do what I requested. God, she was gorgeous even when she was pissed off. The minute she was out of the room, I turned my attention to Josh, who was sitting on the couch looking as though he was about to throw up. Taking a seat across from where he was sitting, I looked at him with determination and told him point blank, “This starts now. I know you were there the night Jason Carlson got his throat cut. I still don’t understand why, so you are going to tell me everything. I want the truth, Josh.”
Josh’s eyes said it all as he slumped further in his seat, marking his surrender to defeat. With his head hung low he said, “Morris Gallo.”
I didn’t quite understand what he was saying. “Who the fuck is Morris Gallo?” I hissed, keeping my voice low so Charlie wouldn’t hear.
“He’s the man behind that Jason’s death. He’s the man who made sure I understood where I stood with him,” Josh muttered.
“And the other guy, who is he?” I inquired.
“Another guinea pig. Only he wasn’t as lucky as me. Morris had him killed. He shot him right in front of me. When I left the hospital, I went straight to Gallo to try and reason with him. I found out that he had him killed. I guess he was setting an example. I had to get away from Manhattan before he made an example out of me. He’s looking for me, Ryan,” Josh confessed before breaking down. “I don’t know what to do, Ryan. Not only is Gallo after me for his money on a deal that went south, but the guy I sold the fake painting to wants his money back too.”
Before I could get any more out of Josh, Charlie showed up with our coffee. Taking a seat beside me, her arms crossed and her eyes shifted between me and Josh. Her tone was serious and I knew she meant business. “Okay, I want the truth, so one of you better start explaining what the hell is going on.”
The wrath of Charlie was on board and I dared not explain myself. Once I was able to get her calmed down, she finally allowed me to explain. Even though it wasn’t the whole truth, it was enough to satisfy her curiosity. I knew that sooner or later, Nick would meet Josh formally and know that he was the other guy in the alley. For now, I would keep that small bit of information to myself until I knew what to do about Josh’s predicament.
~****~
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Josh offered to let us have the master bedroom, while he took the larger of the two remaining bedrooms that housed the twin beds. Gathering his things, I helped him carry them to the other room. Picking up the black bag that he stowed away in his closet at the apartment, I couldn’t help but look inside before tugging it over my shoulder. There it was, the money he got in exchange for the fake painting that he was supposed to give to Morris Gallo. I just stared at the money like it was going to give me the answers that I needed to get him out of this mess.
When I handed him the bag, Josh said he felt drained and he’d decided to rest. Closing the door to his room to give him some quiet, I headed back down the stairs to find that Charlie was sitting on the couch with her eyes focused towards the window. Taking a seat beside her, I swiped away a strand of hair that was hiding her face. When her eyes looked into mine, I lowered my mouth to hers and gently kissed her on the lips. Her lips parted, letting me absorb the warmth of her cavity. As our kiss began taking over, I knew that this was not the time or the place to get intimate. Pulling away, I rubbed my thumb across her cheekbone and whispered, “Let’s get out of here.”
With a smile on her face, she rose from the couch and held out her hand to assist me up. Wanting to take advantage of this gorgeous day, I thought it would be perfect to explore the grounds. Charlie had never been here, and even though we had initially come for a different reason, I wanted to share with her what I loved about this place as a child. Taking her by the hand, I led her out the front door, down the dirt road, to the lake that was about half a mile away. As we walked, I began telling her stories about how Josh and I used to race down this very road just to see who could get wet first. It had been so long time since I had been here, so I wanted to see if the beach where we used to swim still remained. Thinking back to the contents in the box he had hidden under his bed, I finally figured out why he kept the picture of us all these years. It was his only happy memory. That, and meeting Trish.
Arriv
ing at the lake, Charlie and I stood by the water for a moment just watching the fish jump to rid themselves of parasites. This was a fact I learned from my father as a child. I was always fascinated about why they did that. I always figured it was because they didn’t want to get caught. Taking Charlie by the hand once again, we headed north around the lake to where the beach was. Everything was still pretty much the same, only now a small bathhouse had been built to allow swimmers to rinse off and possibly change out of their wet swimsuits into dry clothes.
