by K B Cinder
I rolled my eyes, turning attention back to the cozy sectional that stood where Nan’s plaid sofa once had. I wasn’t sure when she passed, but Liv mentioned it once, breaking my heart in two.
“That couch was on its last legs when Nan died,” he explained, seeming to read my mind. “Broke in two when I took it to the curb.”
“When?” I asked, scanning the room for a photo.
He knew what I meant, not forcing me to say the words. “It’ll be ten years on Halloween.”
“I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say. He’d lost Pops and Nan so close together, and I left in the midst of it.
“Ma died the year after.”
Jesus Christ.
It felt like a truck hit me.
“I’m so sorry, Luke.”
He stayed rooted at the door, his body swallowing up the wood.
“How are the boys?” I asked, genuinely interested in how his brothers were doing. I knew basics from online chatter, but nothing recent.
“Great.” His lips stayed pressed in a firm line, and I knew he wouldn't reveal anything more.
“And you?”
“I’m fine.” While his eyes burned, he shot nothing but ice with his words.
“That’s great. Well, thanks for letting me peek inside. It looks nice.” I knew when I overstayed my welcome.
“You don’t want to check out the deck?” he asked, pushing off the door, strolling towards me. “Or the bedroom? I know it used to be your favorite.” It was meant as playful, but with his slow, heavy steps it came across as anything but.
“It’s okay…” I trailed, looking everywhere but at him.
Good God. Was his air conditioning on?
It was hot as hell. Stifling, even.
“You seem jumpy, Joey,” he murmured, coming to a stop a foot or so away, so close I could smell his breath, nothing but mint drifting my way. “Do I make you nervous?”
“I’m fine,” I lied, desperate to get a grip, not an easy task with him wearing next to nothing. “You’re half-naked, so I’m trying to be polite.”
He chuckled, a low rumble rolling between us. “You knew how I was dressed when you came in.”
“Who answers the door in their underwear?” I blurted, stamping wildly at the fire burning through my mind, wanting nothing more than to reach out and touch him, to see if those muscles felt as good as they looked.
He grinned, running a hand through his beard. “Who comes inside when a man answers the door in his underwear?”
“An idiot,” I muttered.
Another slow roll of laughter echoed from him, each wave making my heart skip a beat. “What was that, Joey?”
I kept my hands and eyes to myself, ready to escape before I combusted. “Nothing.”
“Go ahead. Look around.” He stepped back, cutting off the pull between us, not that he could keep my eyes away. “I’ll hang out on the couch.”
He sauntered to the sofa, back as tattooed and muscled as his front, ass hugged tight by thin cotton.
“I don’t want to invade your home, Luke,” I admitted, suddenly feeling awkward. What if he had a woman in his bed? I would die of embarrassment.
“It used to be just as much yours as mine,” he pointed out, flopping down, his dog hopping up beside him.
“Do you have any pictures…?” I trailed, taking in every inch of the space, wanting nothing more than to see Nan and Pops’ faces again. I spied the kitchen table I’d sat at with Nan, a sudden knot forming in my throat.
He nodded, popping up and strolling across the room, passing just inches from me, his scent heavy as he grabbed an album off a shelf, a worn brown leather book that had seen better days. He thrust it toward me, his eyes locking with mine again, this time the fire behind them blazing out of control.
While he returned to the couch next to his dog, I sat on the plush ottoman, flipping open the cover to reveal a photo of the Barrett boys and their grandparents.
“This used to be on the wall behind you,” I murmured, smiling at the photo.
Nan looked peaceful as ever, her gray-streaked locks secured in her signature long braid, while Pops rocked suspenders, his impossibly bushy mustache wild. Luke was tiny, his two front teeth missing, and Jason stood tall with his hands resting on a mischievous Ethan’s shoulders.
“Yup,” he replied, reaching out to pat his dog. “It’s stored in the attic. It got depressing seeing it every day.”
I turned to the next page, giggling at Luke and Ethan in their teenage years down on the dock, a moody Jason glowering in the background wearing the awful tattered jacket he loved. The photo was from around when we started hanging out, Luke impossibly young and innocent compared to the hairy ogre on the sofa.
The next page revealed a photo from Pops’ birthday, his last before he passed. It was a group shot of the boys and their grandparents with Pops’ cake, one I’d taken out on the deck.
The difference in Luke was night and day between the photos, so much so I had to flip back and forth, a genuine smile on his face in the birthday photo.
I could still remember lighting the candles on Pops’ cake, seventy-two taking forever and a day. Luke helped, but Nan and I chased him out when he kept swiping icing.
“He loved that cake,” he murmured softly.
We made his favorite, strawberry, with real berry filling, disguising the pink cake with a manly blue buttercream that stained Luke’s lips, outing him as the icing stealer. At a closer look, I spied the faint blue hue to his smile in the photo.
The next page brought with it a stab to the heart, a picture of Nan, Pops, and I around the table paused for a photo mid-card game, likely engaged in a spirited round of Bullshit. “You kept this?”
“Of course I kept it,” he grumbled, his face contorted in disgust. “You’re family.”
You don’t turn on family.
You don’t offer them up as a sacrifice.
“Can I make a copy someday?” I asked, biting my cheek to keep tears at bay.
“Copy any photo you want.”
“Thanks.” I closed the book, knowing I’d sob like a baby if I wandered any further down memory lane. “I have to go. Liv and Linc are waiting for me.”
“Yeah,” he sighed, climbing to his feet. “Wouldn’t want your precious little sister to think I’m corrupting you.”
“You’re hardly corrupting me in your panties, Barrett.” I stood and handed him the album, keeping plenty of space between us.
He climbed to his feet, muscles flexing all the while, standing inches away. “Is that so, Joey?”
“Yup.” I fled towards the door, thoughts of him bending me over the couch flooding my mind, those massive hands pawing at my hips as he brought me to the edge.
What was wrong with me?
It wasn’t some random sexy guy for the taking; it was Luke. A taken Luke. I’m sure Tally wouldn’t appreciate me fantasizing about her man. And what kind of creep invited a woman inside dressed like that when he had a girlfriend? And why did I go inside?
Despite it all, nothing dulled the attraction as he came toward me, a slow-motion collision in the making, each of my back steps met by one of his long strides forward. Before I knew it, I was against the front door, my body pinned as he came to a stop, one hand on either side of me high on the wood.
He leaned close, his breath fanning across my cheek before his mouth hovered above my ear. “See you tonight, Joey,” he murmured, each word prickling flesh.
If he kissed me, I was done for. There’d be no stopping the colossal mistake ready to break free like a boulder down a hill.
He pulled back, heartbeats away for the first time in eleven years, a scraggly beard hiding a face I knew was too handsome for his own good. Waves of hot mint teased me as he studied my face, lips parted ever so slightly.
“Look pretty for me, baby.”
“I have to go,” I muttered, closing my eyes, refusing to fall into that trap again. I couldn’t. I had so much more to lose
than I had at nineteen. A son. A business. My sanity.
He pulled away, the room suddenly cooler than before, my skin peppered with thousands of goosebumps. “We open at five.”
I turned and pulled the door open, desperately needing air.
As soon as the sunlight poured in, I felt eyes on me, and sure enough, Liv stood on my porch across the way, staring with her mouth agape, no doubt thanks to the mostly-naked man behind me.
Luke
Eleven Years Earlier
“Luke, slow down!”
Josie fumed in the passenger seat with her knees against her chest. She was griping up a storm about my driving, as usual, her eyes glued to the speedometer and widening at each mile per hour over.
“Alright, Nosy Josie,” I teased, slowing. I was going five over, but I’d drag along at fifty if it made her happy.
“Sorry, I want to get there in one piece!” she huffed, linking her arms over her knees, her blonde hair blowing in the breeze.
Usually, spring in Maine offered nothing but overcast skies and rain. But a rare sunny day made a trip to Briley Canyon a must.
“We’ll get there,” I promised.
We’d get there even if we had to walk. It was the most important day of our lives yet.
There was no better place to unwind on a day off than Briley Canyon, soaring Balsam fir trees shielding visitors from life’s stresses. It was home to breathtaking waterfalls, one of which I had scoped out for the final stop of the day.
“There’s a cop,” she noted, eyes glued to the side mirror.
I glanced at the rearview, spying the Briar patrol car behind us. “I’m going the speed limit.”
She remained rigid, eyes not leaving the mirror. “He’s speeding up.”
I sighed, wishing she’d relax for once. It was a day for celebration, not worry. “It’s fine.”
Despite my words, the lights overhead whirled to life when the sedan was a few feet from my bumper, a hundred yards shy of us being free of the Briar town limits.
“Oh, what the fuck?” I flipped on my turn signal, slowing to pull to the side of the road, the patrol car on my ass the whole way.
I reached under my seat, pulling my registration and insurance card from the pouch I stored beneath. My glove box was destroyed a few months earlier when some asshole broke into my car. I’d tried to find another in salvage yards, but so far I was having shit luck finding anything.
“I told you!” Josie’s eyes welled with frustrated tears.
It wasn’t how the day was supposed to go. Not at all.
I expected happy tears, but no others.
We sat in silence, waiting for the officer to approach, but he didn’t leave his car until another cruiser pulled behind his a few minutes later.
Okay, seriously? What the hell? What was with all the fuss for going five miles over the limit?
“License and registration, please,” the officer asked as he appeared at my window, his thin mustache revealing him as Jared Reed, everyone’s least favorite deputy. He’d pulled me over in the past for dumb shit, always throwing his weight around to feel high and mighty.
I handed him the documents out the window without hesitation, ready to hit the road again. “Is there a problem, Officer Reed?”
He scoffed, flipping through the cards. “Yeah, there’s a problem.”
“What kind, sir?” I’d never been pulled over for doing anything less than ten over the limit, and that was in town, not on the outskirts. There were rarely patrol cars on the long stretches north of town.
“You were driving like a crazy man back there. You on anything, son?”
“What? No!”
I might have been going a little fast, but that was it.
He tsked, shaking his head. “You were doing all sorts of swerving. Are you on drugs?”
“No, sir,” I replied, bewildered.
What the hell?
“I’ll need you to step out of the car, boy.” He looked in at Josie. “You too, miss.”
He placed me at the front of the vehicle and Josie at the rear, demanding we both keep our hands on the car while he searched it. The black metal was hot to the touch from the midday sun, but we did as we were told.
Josie had more tears streaming down her face, ripping my heart out at every glance, powerless to make things better. I wanted to comfort her, to calm things down, but I couldn’t.
Steady thuds sounded from the car, Reed likely whacking that stupid baton he had around to scare us, anything for a power trip.
Crack.
Whack.
Thud
Thump.
The sounds fell into a steady rhythm, a dead giveaway he was playing hardass. He was the only guy on the force that ever gave me shit, the rest firm but friendly when we came face to face.
Josie sniffled the whole time, red-faced and tear-streaked, her blonde locks sticking to her cheeks as the wind blew. When all was said and done, I’d kiss those tears away, making it up to her however I could.
After a few minutes, another officer came from the rear patrol car, taking Josie by the arm while Reed continued his search.
“Hey! Where are you taking her?” I called, alarmed. We’d done nothing wrong, especially nothing worthy of being separated.
“Keep your hands on the car and mind your business, son!” Reed barked.
“I’m sorry, it’s..”
“Shut your mouth, kid.” He stepped out of the Camaro, coming over to pat me down, plucking my wallet out and slapping it on the hood, his other hand running over the box in my front pocket.
“What’s this, son? Drugs?”
“A jewelry box, sir,” I answered, keeping my voice low. “We’re on our way to Briley Canyon, where I’m going to propose.”
He ripped the box from my pocket, opened it, and smirked at its contents. “You would give Ed Roberts’ daughter that?” he scoffed. “Oh, kid, come on.”
I swallowed my pride and nodded. It wasn’t the biggest stone, but it’s what I could afford. Someday I’d get her something stunning, something she deserved. But I knew Josie, and she’d love it.
“You need to come with me.”
“Where? For what?” I asked, keeping my hands planted on the hot metal.
I was getting sick of being talked down to, and they were wasting precious daylight. Walking to the special spot would take at least an hour.
He gripped my upper arm. “Come with me and don’t argue.”
“But I didn’t do anything! Tell me what I did!” I demanded. I wasn’t going anywhere until I knew what was going on. Everything about the situation was wrong.
The answer I received was a vicious shove to the shoulder that sent me flying forward, my face bouncing off the hot metal.
“Stop resisting!” he shouted, twisting my limp arms to slap cuffs on my wrist before I knew what was happening. Still reeling from the blow, he pulled me upright by my shirt’s collar, the fabric choking me as Josie’s cries echoed in the distance. He tightened his hold on my shirt, scruffing me like a dog as he hauled me towards his patrol car.
Hot liquid flooded my mouth, the metallic punch of blood rushing everywhere. An excruciating pain roared across my jaw all the while, a sharp sting standing out on my lip.
Josie was nowhere to be found as he shoved me forward, my feet not moving as I wanted, off-balance from the blow to the head.
When he ripped open the rear door of the cruiser, relief flooded through me as I found a cuffed Josie seated inside.
Rather than being happy to see me, she screamed, eyes wide in horror just as I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the window. My lower lip was split clean to my chin, blood pouring to pool on my shirt.
Reed shoved me into the backseat, landing a violent blow on my shoulder with his baton on the way down. “Hands to yourself!” he warned, not that we could touch, both our hands shackled.
“We didn’t do anything!” Josie cried. “Please! I want to talk to my dad!”
Reed poi
nted the wooden wand at her, just inches from my face. “Hush yourself, or you’re next!”
“I want to speak to a lawyer!” I shouted, each word excruciating, my lip torn worse than I thought.
“You’ll speak when you’re allowed, Barrett!”
He said my name with such hatred I knew the day wouldn’t end well. I knew for certain we wouldn’t make it to Briley Canyon.
Our hell was only beginning.
He slammed the door, sealing us in, Josie all-out sobbing.
“Are you okay?” I asked, checking her over the best I could for where I sat, not wanting another baton to the body. “What did they do to you?”
Other than the tears, she seemed unharmed. “Me? What did they do to you?”
“I’m fine,” I lied. “What happened to you? Talk to me, Josie.”
“He cuffed me and put me in here. I didn’t get to ask questions.” Her shoulders shook with sobs. “What’d they do to you? You’re so bloody!”
I shook it off, trying to block out the pain, the taste of blood disgusting, each swallow worse than the last. “This doesn’t make sense.”
“Baby, I don’t know what to do!” she cried, trying to wipe her tears on her shoulder, the torrential stream showing no signs of slowing.
“We wait, Babe. It’s all we can do.”
I tried to soothe her as we awaited our fate, the two officers leaning against the patrol car. Their laughs roared the whole time, every round more infuriating than the last.
Minutes ticked by, the car growing hotter with each passing second, sweat dripping and stinging the gaping wound more. Josie whimpered, cries growing ragged, her beautiful golden waves a mix of tears and perspiration.
Her door popped open just when I thought I couldn’t take anymore, and she was pulled away by her arm, a burst of fresh forest air rushing in. She screamed as the officer hauled her to her feet, crying out he was hurting her as his fingers bit into her flesh.
I lurched forward, only to receive another blow as Reed flew in my door behind me, striking me again in the shoulder with his baton. He kept hitting until I was flat against the seat, my face pressed into the leather as pain radiated across my body.
