Caleb shut the door on his vehicle and took a deep breath. This should prove interesting. Noah must be stressing out about being in the wedding, but even he couldn't say no to their only sister. Even worse, the groom was their best friend from high school. Eli Mercer had been nearly as inseparable as Caleb and Noah.
"On my way up, bro. Starting in a little early on happy hour, aren't you?"
"It's five o'clock somewhere. You should understand that since you're opening your own bar."
"Last Call won't be my first rodeo."
"Right. Forgot about Pipe Dream."
Caleb didn't hold the door for his twin. He'd been down that road. Unless Noah asked for the help, trying to offer any unsolicited usually sparked an argument.
"So, is it just the tie, or do you need my help getting dressed Saturday?"
Noah knocked back the rest of his whiskey and gestured toward the tux hanging in a bag on the back of the bedroom door.
"Much as I hate to admit it," he said, and this time without the attitude he'd adopted while standing on the landing outside his door, "I need help."
For just a split second, Caleb swore tears welled in his brother's eyes, but with a blink they were gone. Noah's mouth tightened, and the furrow between his brows deepened.
"I hate this, Caleb. Hate how helpless I feel."
"It hasn't been that long." Not true. Caleb had been reading up on things, and Noah could be dealing with the whole artificial hand thing, but so far, his brother refused. He'd been refusing pretty much everything except refills in his bourbon glass.
"Let's adjust everything today," Caleb suggested. "That will cut down on the time it takes Saturday. Good with you?"
Noah nodded. "I don't want everyone thinking I'm totally helpless. I can't take that, Caleb."
Not sure how long it would last, Caleb knew he was getting an isolated glimpse into what his brother was truly feeling, without either the anger or the trying-too-hard joviality Noah forced into his voice most of the time. Caleb crossed the room and framed his brother's face in his hands.
"We will get through this, Noah. We always have. We're twins."
Noah's gaze shifted back and forth between Caleb's palms. "Not anymore."
Caleb dropped his arms to his side. Hurt and pain limned his twin's face. Noah was a well of despair. He couldn't see his way out of the total chaos his life and future had become.
Caleb wrapped Noah as tightly as possible in a hug. His brother was stiff, resistant. "If all you see is your one hand to my two, then you're right that we're not the same anymore. But inside? You are the heart that beat with mine before we were born. You are the sun to my moon. Nothing, Noah. Nothing can ever alter that."
"Words, Caleb. You have eyes. Things have changed."
Caleb stepped back again. "And if it were me? If I were the one who survived the accident, the amputation...would you turn your back on me?"
Noah's chin trembled before he pressed his lips together and hardened his expression. "I don't want your pity!"
"You don't fucking have it!" Caleb snapped right back at him. "I want my brother, my twin, the guy I turned to from the time we were babies until you took off for the jungles. Nothing you can do or say will make me go away until I have you back again. Now, let me help you with this damn tux. I don't want to hear any more of your crap. Once Becca's wedding is over, if you want to drown yourself in bourbon, go ahead. Right now? You need to suck it up."
"Fine."
"Fine."
For the next quarter hour, the only words they exchanged were what was needed to adjust the tie, cummerbund, and slacks. Once it was done, Caleb returned everything to hangers and bags. Behind him, ice clinked in a glass followed by the glug of the bourbon bottle.
Dammit. Caleb hated what was happening to Noah. There must be some way, someone who could reach him.
"I'm going to talk to a psychologist," Noah said, as if he'd read his mind. Not out of the ordinary for the two of them.
Caleb turned to study his brother's shuttered expression. "When?"
"Next week." Noah sipped his bourbon. "My doctor's pushing me. So is Phin, and he's footing the bill. I think it's a waste of time."
Caleb wasn't so sure about that. "Promise me you'll give it a chance."
Noah tossed back the rest of the bourbon and slammed the glass down on the kitchen counter. "What the hell. I don't have anything better to do. I've mastered taking a piss and wiping my ass."
Caleb bit back the sharp words that sprang to his lips. "Call me if you need me. Otherwise, I'll see you at the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night."
Caleb wanted nothing more than to head back to his rental house, but he knew his mother would kill him if he didn't stop in to say hello to her and his dad. They were sitting in the shade of the side porch, slowly rocking in rough-hewn chairs they'd purchased from a local craftsman. Caleb smiled when he saw them.
"Don't you two look like the picture of peace and quiet Mountain Meadow style."
His father laughed. "From everything your brothers have been telling me, those are about the last two words to describe this area now. If we'd wanted peace and quiet, we could have stayed in Florida."
Caleb's mom nodded. "That's right. Eighty percent of the people in our neighborhood were over sixty-five. If they weren't on the golf course, they were fishing or playing bridge at the community center. I've never been so relieved as when John said he was bored and wanted to move back. Noah was the push we needed."
Caleb propped a foot on the bottom step. "Sounds like Noah's getting a push too."
Mary Allred sighed in exasperation. "About time. He's as hard-headed as you."
"Wonder why?" Caleb drawled.
"The head of the aid organization put his foot down."
"And how did he know there was a problem?" Caleb probed.
His dad cleared his throat. "Someone might have called him to let him know. I know the man is dealing with his own grief. After all, his girlfriend was killed in the accident, but once he heard about Noah's refusal to go through therapy or even talk to anyone about getting fitted for a prosthesis, he stepped in."
"Did Phin come here?" Caleb asked. He hadn't been aware of that.
"Just a quick trip," His father said. "He brought the rest of Noah's belongings from their location in Guatemala. I think it was an excuse to deliver his real message that he'd already lost one person he cared about and wasn't about to lose another."
Mary huffed. "Not sure why that message has to come from a friend to be heard. We've been trying to tell him the same thing." She waved her hand. "However it sank in, I'm just glad he seems to be thinking about the future."
Caleb talked with them for a few more minutes before heading back into town. He had some work he wanted to do at Last Call before he drove home for the evening. Pulling in behind the bar and entering the still emptiness of the building was a relief. As Caleb looked around the sports bar, he experienced a surge of pride. This was his baby. Unlike his partnership in Pipe Dream, this was all Caleb's to make a go. He would never regret his time at the coast, but he was so glad to be home.
Ever since he'd come back for Jake and Holly's wedding going on four years ago, the low and pleasant hum of home urged him to return to Castle County. The roar of the ocean and the ever-present sand and sun began to pall after a while.
He stepped behind the bar, grabbed a towel and polished the smooth wood surface. Next week, his liquor and food shipments would arrive. It was going to be another busy week. Last week they finished the décor and the rewiring to support the number of electronics he would run inside the place.
He'd first dreamed up this idea when he'd been sitting in the bar at the hotel out by the interstate following Jake and Holly's wedding. Everyone else had crashed for the evening, but Caleb hung around to talk shop with the bartender. Then he hung around a little longer when the leggy brunette slipped onto the stool next to him.
Lee Jones. He remembered her name, remembered the magic in thos
e deep gray eyes of hers. The rest of his memories of that night were somewhat fogged by the alcohol he had consumed, but he did remember her moving so sweetly with him as they'd made love in his room.
It was sex, he reminded himself. They'd had sex, a one night stand with a virtual stranger, and if he ever let anyone know how it stuck in his mind, they'd all think he was crazy. Hell, it was almost as crazy as attempting to find her after it happened. No matter how many places his friends checked, though, including his police chief brother, Jake, no one could locate a Lee Jones. He'd felt as hopeless as the prince in Cinderella, except there was no glass slipper to help him out.
Lee Jones disappeared as though she had been nothing but an alcohol-induced hallucination. Maybe she had been. Caleb finally let it go when Jake started asking too many questions about why he was trying to find this girl. After all, what was Caleb supposed to reply? He spent one night screwing her brains out and now can't seem to forget her? Right. So not admitting that to anyone.
Chapter 3
"You need to watch your boy yourself," Leah's father snapped. "Just cuz you got some fancy weddin' to tote flowers to don't mean it's my job to keep 'im."
Leah tried to hold on to her patience and her sanity as she faced off with her father early Saturday morning. She had talked to her mother nearly three weeks ago about watching Jonah for her today, but either her mother had forgotten or her father had helped her forget. In the end it didn't really matter. It was another example of her father's contempt.
"His name is Jonah, Daddy. Can you just say it for once?"
"He's the punishment for you bein' a slut is what he is. Now I am driving over to the next county to look at a tractor and your mama is coming with me. The boy has to go with you."
Leah glanced into the kitchen where Jonah spooned the last of his cereal. He was a little pale and wheezy this morning. Maybe it would be better to have him with her, but how on earth would she manage that and keep him away from a whole gaggle of Allreds all bunched together for Becca's big day? Someone was bound to notice his resemblance to them
"All right, Daddy." Like everything else the last four years, she would figure it out.
"When are you going to be home?"
"Probably late. They're having a full dinner reception after the ceremony."
Her father snorted his disgust and slammed out the door. Leah pasted a smile on her face and walked into the kitchen. After slipping into the chair next to Jonah and his car seat, she said, "You get to come with me today. Won't that be fun?"
He nodded. "I bring cars, please?"
"Sure, baby. I'll find a place for you to play. Will that be all right?"
The truth was, after she checked on things at the church and the reception, Leah would spend most of her time standing around waiting, so she should be able to figure out how to do that and keep an eye on Jonah. The last thing she wanted was for him to be shut in a car with her chain-smoking father. The last time that had happened, it had triggered Jonah's most severe asthma attack.
Leah had brought Mack's company van home the previous evening. While Jonah continued methodically eating his cereal, she hurried out to transfer his car seat from her parents' car to the passenger seat in the van. Then it was back in the house to pack up everything she thought he might need.
Her mother ducked her head inside the door of the bedroom Leah shared with her son.
"We're going. I'm sorry, Leah, but your daddy insisted I go with him. Jonah will be better off with you for the day."
Leah glanced over her shoulder at her mother. When had she gotten so old and worn down? Her mama wasn't even fifty yet, but she appeared to be far older. Her hair was scraped back into a severe bun and she wore clothes that could be Joad family castoffs.
"It's all right, Mama. Jonah is always well-behaved. I'm sure it won't be a problem." That was partially true. She was sure that her son's behavior wouldn't be an issue. Her main concern was keeping him out of the eye of any and all Allreds. The last few years, Leah had seen a lot of Jake and Luke, so she knew how strong the family resemblance was. "I told Daddy, but I'll tell you too. It will probably be late before we get home. Becca and Eli are having a full dinner at their reception."
"All right. I'll leave a key for you under the flower pot."
Leah nodded. A couple times when she'd had to work a late event like this one, Leah had returned home to find herself locked out of the house. Just one of the many small ways her father liked to humiliate her.
But not much longer. Leah was pretty sure she had enough money to pay a deposit plus the first month's rent on an apartment, if she was thrifty and the rent wasn't too high. She would have had more set by, but between medical bills for Jonah and the room and board her father made her pay, it hadn't been easy.
Her mother wandered away, and a minute later, Jonah stepped inside the room, his thumb stuck in his mouth, and his green eyes wide with worry. Leah stopped what she was doing to squat at his side.
"Everything okay, Jonah?"
He nodded, then glanced back over his shoulder as if he was trying to make sure no one was watching them before he gave her a tight hug. Leah's heart constricted. This was another reason she had to leave this house. As sick as she'd been during her pregnancy, she'd had little choice but to stay with her parents when her letters to Caleb had gotten no reply. Now she had to use any other option she found. No way did she want Jonah growing up as browbeaten as she had felt as a child.
And no way did she want to end up like her mother.
"Sit on the bed for a minute, honey, while I finish getting ready."
Since she would be at both the wedding and the reception, even if she wasn't a guest, Leah had taken a bit more time with her appearance. She certainly didn't have any of what her mama would call fancy clothes, but she did have a serviceable black skirt and a plain white blouse. If she looked a bit too much like the wait staff might at the reception, well that was too bad. Most of the time her clothes for work consisted of jeans and a T-shirt, with a smock apron thrown on top while she worked in the floral shop or at the counter.
Leah combed her fingers through her short hair, trying to give it a little lift, but it fell back into the boyish style she'd adopted as the easiest way out for keeping up with her job and caring for Jonah. For a split second, another image superimposed itself over the one she saw in the mirror. Dark eye shadow and lash-darkening mascara made her gray eyes pop, and the brunette wig she'd worn for her rebellious fling had made her pale skin appear creamy rather than washed out.
Those days were gone. Trying to kick up her heels had backfired. Leah glanced at Jonah's reflection in the mirror. He hadn't been in her plans, but she would never, ever regret having him or the night that had led to his creation.
"Come on, honey," she said and held out her hand to her son. "We need to get going. We have a lot to do before the wedding."
Getting to both locations ahead of time would also give her a chance to scout out some places where she could watch Jonah without him getting underfoot or under scrutiny. After getting Jonah buckled into his seat, she climbed into the driver's side and drove to Richardson Homestead first. She would make sure the arrangements were on the tables and the potted plants had been placed around the pool before she headed over to the church. That would minimize some of the traveling back and forth.
As she pulled up to the back door, Leah saw wait staff setting tables. She stopped one of the young women as she headed toward the catering van.
"Where is the best place for me to park the florist's van once I come back from checking things at the church?" she asked.
The girl pointed to a continuation of the drive that disappeared behind another brick building Leah assumed must be a workshop of some kind. "We'll be moving all our vehicles back there. They'll still be accessible without being in the way. There will be valet parking for the guests, and most of them will be coming through the house out to the pool, so you wouldn't be in the way right where you are."
Leah opened the back doors to the van and laid out a blanket for Jonah. "I need you to sit right here and play with your cars while I check to make sure all the tables have the correct arrangements on them. Can you do that for me?"
Jonah removed his thumb from his mouth. "I can, Mama."
She set him on the blanket and plunked the bag of cars next to him. "There you go, little man."
He was making quiet vroom-vroom noises as she headed toward the pool deck where the tables were covered in white cloths. The centerpieces for the guests' tables were no problem. They were small enough that people seated at the tables would be able to talk over and around them without any difficulty.
The head table had been a bit more challenging. Becca had wanted more ornate decoration here without sacrificing the ability of people to be able to see and talk to one another. Leah had opted for a long, ornate garland of flowers and greenery that had taken her quite a while to weave together, but the effect was stunning. She stood back from the table and admired her creation. With a few tweaks and tucks, she had it balanced from one end to the other. Mack might get most of the credit, but she knew the truth.
Mountain Plants would be lost without her.
"Mama? Where are you? Mama?"
Leah heard Jonah's worried voice in the distance. As she checked over her shoulder, she realized he was out of the van and headed her way, but someone else was closer to him than she was.
Catherine Richardson, the former senator's wife, was coming out the French doors that led to the deck and she was right squarely between Leah and Jonah. Leah spun and began hurrying as fast as she could without actually running, her mind going a mile a minute as she wondered exactly how well Catherine knew the Allreds. Like the answer to that wasn't obvious. The wedding reception was at her home. Duh.
As she got closer, Catherine bent down next to Jonah. "Well, hello there, young man. Is your mama helping with the food today?"
Last Call (A Place to Call Home Book 3) Page 2