You Say It First
Page 24
There was so much more he wanted to say. Like the fact that the five of them had years’ worth of memories and those had to matter. That they’d lived and fought and blown glass the way other brothers had played baseball or basketball. That even now they were each defined by their relationship with their father. Especially the three youngest—the artists. He would guess Mathias and Ronan shared his love-hate relationship with the old man, not to mention confusion about their mother—the woman who had loved her husband unconditionally—no matter what he did.
“Those alien flowers I sculpted? They’re for a wedding. Nova and Joel. They were planning to get married anyway, but then her dad got diagnosed with cancer and now they’re determined to have a wedding while he can still walk his daughter down the aisle.”
Ronan started to speak, but Nick held up his hand.
“Don’t,” he said quickly. “You’re going to say something we’ll both regret. My point is you shouldn’t wait. Mom’s already had breast cancer. She beat it, but what if it comes back? What happens when they get old? Are you still going to ignore her then? Dad deserves what he gets, but she doesn’t.”
“She’s not my mother. Everything about my life was a lie.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “Dramatic much? Talk about an excuse. She loves you. That’s all she’s ever done. She took you in when she didn’t have to and she loved you. Now you won’t even call her? There aren’t any words to describe how crappy that makes you.”
“Get off me.”
“Or what? You’ll give me a long, cold stare?” Nick pointed at the drawing. “You know what’s missing? Heart. Because you sure as hell don’t have one.”
With that, he turned and walked out of the studio. He stood next to his truck as he tried to figure out where he was going to go. Being his father’s son, he knew the best place to totally get lost was in work. Because when you were in a project, the demons couldn’t find you.
* * *
PALLAS HEARD BANGING from the main level of the building. As she was supposed to be the only one working that morning, she started down the stairs to investigate. At the halfway point, she wondered if she should have brought something heavy along, as a defense weapon, then quickly dismissed the idea. This was Happily Inc. Nothing bad ever happened here.
She passed through the ballroom and into the big storage area and found Nick dragging support blocks across the concrete floor.
“Hi,” she said when he paused to take a breath. “I wasn’t expecting you today.”
“I’m not here,” he told her. “Or working.”
“All evidence to the contrary?”
He shook his head. “Good point. I couldn’t get anything done at the studio and I needed to work off my temper so I came here.”
“To move impossibly heavy blocks?”
“I’ll need them in place for the next panel.”
In about three weeks, she thought, studying him.
He looked as he always did—good. Casually dressed in jeans and a worn T-shirt. But there were also signs of tension. Some tightness around his mouth and in the set of his shoulders.
“Want to talk about it?” she asked.
“No. Yes. Hell.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Family stuff.”
“Ah, so it’s serious.”
That earned her a slight smile. “My brother is a jackass.”
“Which one?”
“Ronan. We had a fight.” He dropped his arm to his side. “No, I had a fight. He wouldn’t engage. He won’t call our mother, which is pretty mean-spirited of him since she’s always been on his side.” One shoulder rose and lowered. “The downside of sharing workspace.”
“Want to talk about it?” she asked again.
“Not really.”
“Want to go for a walk? I can distract you with useless knowledge about the town.”
He smiled at her. “That would be great.”
They walked outside. She pointed toward the river. “Let’s go that way.”
The afternoon was warm and sunny, the temperatures flirting with eighty. She loved this time of year, when the heat wasn’t insane and days were getting longer.
“You know our basic history,” she began. “Lies told to an unsuspecting public.”
“That’s a little harsh.”
“And yet completely accurate. Happily Inc also benefits from a weird spiritual convergence of energy, or so I’ve been told.”
“Like Sedona?”
“That’s the rumor. Mystical things are said to happen here. Oh, and people sleep really, really well. That’s why we have a sleep center.”
“I saw the signs when I drove into town.”
“It’s a big deal. We have world-famous doctors doing whatever it is sleep experts do.”
“Nap?”
She grinned. “Maybe. Anyway, both of those quirks bring in tourists, although nothing compared with the wedding trade. We are the big employers.”
“Do you get a special seat at the local business association?”
“Better. We get donuts.”
They crossed the street. Nick took her hand and she laced her fingers with his.
“My dad’s a nightmare,” he said.
She carefully pressed her lips together, wanting him to talk as much as he needed, without her interrupting.
“Genius comes at a price,” he added.
“But you’re normal,” she blurted before she could stop herself.
He smiled at her. “Thanks, but I’m more screwed up than you realize.”
“You hide it well.”
“Ronan’s only our half brother. Dad had an affair and Ronan’s the result. Mom raised him from the time he was a week old.”
Pallas came to a stop. “I thought they were fraternal twins.”
“So did we.”
“But how...” She didn’t even know what to ask. She and Cade were fraternal twins. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to find out they weren’t. That all her memories of their childhood, her feelings of connection weren’t real. Except if they’d happened, then they would be real, but different.
“That isn’t something you get over easily,” she murmured.
“Apparently not.”
They crossed the street.
“Ronan won’t talk about it. Come to think about it, Mathias doesn’t have much to say, either, although he puts on a better front.”
They passed by The Boardroom Pub and reached the river boardwalk. Once there, they sat on a bench, Nick angled toward her.
“The thing is, we all thought Ronan was our mom’s favorite.”
He told her how Elaine had taken in Ceallach’s bastard child and raised him as her own. Pallas listened, grateful he didn’t seem to want any advice, because she didn’t have any. She couldn’t imagine finding out her husband had a mistress and that his mistress had had a baby within weeks of her youngest being born. Or offering to raise the other baby as her own. And for Ronan and his brothers not to know was inconceivable.
“So when Mathias and Ronan found out the truth, they moved here?” she asked.
“Yeah. The rest of us didn’t figure out why until last summer. My mom had breast cancer. She kept it to herself. Not even my dad knew. When everyone found out, it all hit the fan and everything came out. Pretty screwed up, huh?”
“Those alien flowers I sculpted? They’re for a wedding. Nova and Joel. They were planning to get married anyway, but then her dad got diagnosed with cancer and now they’re determined to have a wedding while he can still walk his daughter down the aisle.”
Ronan started to speak, but Nick held up his hand.
“Don’t,” he said quickly. “You’re going to say something we’ll both regret. My point is you shouldn’t wait. Mom’s already had breast cancer. She beat it, but what if it comes back? What happens when they get old? Are you still going to ignore her then? Dad deserves what he gets, but she doesn’t.”
“She’s not my mother. Everything about my life was a lie.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “Dramatic much? Talk about an excuse. She loves you. That’s all she’s ever done. She took you in when she didn’t have to and she loved you. Now you won’t even call her? There aren’t any words to describe how crappy that makes you.”
“Get off me.”
“Or what? You’ll give me a long, cold stare?” Nick pointed at the drawing. “You know what’s missing? Heart. Because you sure as hell don’t have one.”
With that, he turned and walked out of the studio. He stood next to his truck as he tried to figure out where he was going to go. Being his father’s son, he knew the best place to totally get lost was in work. Because when you were in a project, the demons couldn’t find you.
* * *
PALLAS HEARD BANGING from the main level of the building. As she was supposed to be the only one working that morning, she started down the stairs to investigate. At the halfway point, she wondered if she should have brought something heavy along, as a defense weapon, then quickly dismissed the idea. This was Happily Inc. Nothing bad ever happened here.
She passed through the ballroom and into the big storage area and found Nick dragging support blocks across the concrete floor.
“Hi,” she said when he paused to take a breath. “I wasn’t expecting you today.”
“I’m not here,” he told her. “Or working.”
“All evidence to the contrary?”
He shook his head. “Good point. I couldn’t get anything done at the studio and I needed to work off my temper so I came here.”
“To move impossibly heavy blocks?”
“I’ll need them in place for the next panel.”
In about three weeks, she thought, studying him.
He looked as he always did—good. Casually dressed in jeans and a worn T-shirt. But there were also signs of tension. Some tightness around his mouth and in the set of his shoulders.
“Want to talk about it?” she asked.
“No. Yes. Hell.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Family stuff.”
“Ah, so it’s serious.”
That earned her a slight smile. “My brother is a jackass.”
“Which one?”
“Ronan. We had a fight.” He dropped his arm to his side. “No, I had a fight. He wouldn’t engage. He won’t call our mother, which is pretty mean-spirited of him since she’s always been on his side.” One shoulder rose and lowered. “The downside of sharing workspace.”
“Want to talk about it?” she asked again.
“Not really.”
“Want to go for a walk? I can distract you with useless knowledge about the town.”
He smiled at her. “That would be great.”
They walked outside. She pointed toward the river. “Let’s go that way.”
The afternoon was warm and sunny, the temperatures flirting with eighty. She loved this time of year, when the heat wasn’t insane and days were getting longer.
“You know our basic history,” she began. “Lies told to an unsuspecting public.”
“That’s a little harsh.”
“And yet completely accurate. Happily Inc also benefits from a weird spiritual convergence of energy, or so I’ve been told.”
“Like Sedona?”
“That’s the rumor. Mystical things are said to happen here. Oh, and people sleep really, really well. That’s why we have a sleep center.”
“I saw the signs when I drove into town.”
“It’s a big deal. We have world-famous doctors doing whatever it is sleep experts do.”
“Nap?”
She grinned. “Maybe. Anyway, both of those quirks bring in tourists, although nothing compared with the wedding trade. We are the big employers.”
“Do you get a special seat at the local business association?”
“Better. We get donuts.”
They crossed the street. Nick took her hand and she laced her fingers with his.
“My dad’s a nightmare,” he said.
She carefully pressed her lips together, wanting him to talk as much as he needed, without her interrupting.
“Genius comes at a price,” he added.
“But you’re normal,” she blurted before she could stop herself.
He smiled at her. “Thanks, but I’m more screwed up than you realize.”
“You hide it well.”
“Ronan’s only our half brother. Dad had an affair and Ronan’s the result. Mom raised him from the time he was a week old.”
Pallas came to a stop. “I thought they were fraternal twins.”
“So did we.”
“But how...” She didn’t even know what to ask. She and Cade were fraternal twins. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to find out they weren’t. That all her memories of their childhood, her feelings of connection weren’t real. Except if they’d happened, then they would be real, but different.
“That isn’t something you get over easily,” she murmured.
“Apparently not.”
They crossed the street.
“Ronan won’t talk about it. Come to think about it, Mathias doesn’t have much to say, either, although he puts on a better front.”
They passed by The Boardroom Pub and reached the river boardwalk. Once there, they sat on a bench, Nick angled toward her.
“The thing is, we all thought Ronan was our mom’s favorite.”
He told her how Elaine had taken in Ceallach’s bastard child and raised him as her own. Pallas listened, grateful he didn’t seem to want any advice, because she didn’t have any. She couldn’t imagine finding out her husband had a mistress and that his mistress had had a baby within weeks of her youngest being born. Or offering to raise the other baby as her own. And for Ronan and his brothers not to know was inconceivable.
“So when Mathias and Ronan found out the truth, they moved here?” she asked.
“Yeah. The rest of us didn’t figure out why until last summer. My mom had breast cancer. She kept it to herself. Not even my dad knew. When everyone found out, it all hit the fan and everything came out. Pretty screwed up, huh?”
