The MacBrides

by J. L. Petersen

  She heard the door slam behind him as he growled at her. “Dammit, woman!”

  She stood, proudly, in the middle of the room. “Oh, did you forget something?” she asked coyly.

  Logan, threw his hat on the coach and started undoing his belt. “Apparently.”

  * * *

  “Dude, what kept you?” Jacob tossed out at Logan when they’d settled into a booth and got their first beers in front of them and food ordered. They’d stopped to load up Hank and Merle to keep them happy for the night and then spent the drive into town arguing about which bar they wanted to go to.

  “Something came up.”

  Clay laughed. “Yeah, and I bet RJ had something to do with that.”

  “Shut up, Clay,” Logan said good naturedly.

  “You serious?” Brand queried.

  Logan looked at his brothers one at a time but stopped on Clay. “Think Sandy would like to have her sister around full time?”

  “Guess you’re serious,” Brand said.

  “Sandy would be in heaven. So, what’s your plan?”

  “Hey, what gives? I leave home and y’all are falling for women in one summer.” Jacob joked.

  “Leave me out of this, kid. No woman’s getting her hooks into me,” Brand promised.

  “No one would have you, Brand. You’re too serious,” Clay quipped.

  “Jacob, I guess you’ll have to be the next MacBride to fall,” Logan chimed in.

  “I’m with Brand on this one. Besides, I got me some living to do.”

  Clay turned the conversation back to his original question. “So what’s the plan with RJ?”

  Logan remained pensive while the waitress set their orders in front of them and went back for another round. “I want to marry her. But she very independent, so I’m worried about her leaving the business she built in Denver.”

  “I’m about to make your day,” Clay said.

  Logan raised his eyebrows. “How so?”

  “Seems a little birdie, me, suggested she think about relocating her business up here. Apparently, she’s been doing some research on the opportunities in the valley. That’s how she met Doug Farley. He gave her some thoughts about what she could expect from a demand perspective.”

  Logan was surprised, both pleasantly and with a bit of hurt underneath that she hadn’t told him. He wanted her to include him in her life. All parts of it. Apparently, something in his face gave him away because Brand drew his attention.

  “Remember, skittishness causes cautiousness. Can’t blame her for holding a possible decision like that close to the chest.”

  Logan nodded but he was still hurt. Would she always hold something back from him?

  Jacob frowned as if trying to decipher Brand’s cryptic comment. “What am I missing?”

  Since his other brothers knew RJ and Sandy’s story, Logan didn’t want Jacob to feel left out. He briefly shared what he knew about their parents and the childhood. “RJ, being the oldest, was the most affected as she shielded Sandy as best she could. But she doesn’t trust easily or quickly. Brand keeps reminding me to be patient and understanding as I can’t just expect her to unlearn lessons of a lifetime.”

  “Well, patience was never your particular strength. Brand, yeah. He can outwait the stubbornest of horses. You. You’re quick to assess and quick to want results,” Jacob said after hearing the story.

  “Okay, so now that we know Logan wants to marry RJ and will most likely screw it up. Let’s get down to some drinking,” Clay interjected.

  Logan smiled devilishly. Clay was right. He wanted to marry RJ and he was probably going to screw it up. But he wasn’t the only one to suffer a frustrated courting. “Well, considering it took you multiple proposals to get Sandy to agree to take on your sorry ass I guess you would know.

  “Shit!” Clay said under his breath.

  “What?” Jacob said whipping his attention to his other brother.

  “No shit. Do tell.” Brand said.

  Logan grinned, grabbed a couple of wings and watched as his brother started to squirm.

  * * *

  RJ never had girlfriends. Never did sleepovers. But here she was, at Sandy and Clay’s house, wrapped in a thick, white robe with Sandy, Sarah and Hannah getting mani/pedis from a spa on the go service. Growing up she’d convinced herself events like this were silly. But deep down she had been envious of these types of friendship.

  The night started with appetizers, wine and good-natured ribbing of the bride to be. Now, basking in the moment, she lifted her camera and took a few casual photos of the ladies. Smiling behind the lens she snapped individual faces as well as combined shots. Studying their faces, she saw acceptance, support and love in the expressions of these women. Lowering the camera, she smiled at her sister. Sandy struck gold with this family.

  “Man, this feels so good and they’re just working on our feet. Wait until we get our massages,” Sandy sighed. Sarah had arranged for four technicians so they wouldn’t all be sitting around waiting their turns.

  Hannah hummed with delight. “I’m currently at the al dente stage but ready to get on the table and hit that final phase, limp noodle.”

  Putting her camera aside, RJ agreed. “I’m just sorry your mother isn’t here enjoying this with us. We appreciate her entertaining our family.”

  “She’s definitely taking one for the team,” Sarah remarked. “But she was happy to do it and let us have this time together.”

  “You know, it’s not like we can’t do this again. Clay and I discussed it, and when we get back from our honeymoon I want to host another night for us, but this time include your mom.”

  Hannah beamed in delight. “She’d love that. And, of course, suffering through another night like tonight would be such a hardship but I’d step up and do it.”

  They all laughed as they got up from their respective chairs and were escorted by their technicians towards massage tables set up next to each other in the large living area. Tossing aside both modesty and their robes, each of the ladies settled themselves onto their respective tables.

  “So, RJ. What’s up with you and Logan?” Sarah queried slyly.

  RJ tensed slightly. Not sure what to share with his sisters. “Umm, what do you mean?”

  Hannah laughed. “Oh, come on. Give.”

  “Logan and RJ sitting in a tree, k..i..s..s..i..n..g,” Sarah chirped in with a sing-songy voice.

  Laughing and relaxing a bit, RJ turned her head toward Sandy who was on the table next to her. “Well, I know he’s special.”

  “Duh!” Hannah teased.

  “I know I want to spend more time with him.”

  “Okay. Now we’re getting somewhere.”

  “I’ve decided to relocate up here to both be closer to Sandy, but to also see what Logan and I have.”

  “Holy cow.” Sarah squeaked with excitement. “Really?”

  “Yeah, really.” RJ smiled at her.

  Hannah and Sarah shared their approval.

  “I bet Logan is ecstatic about that. I’ve never seen him act the way he does around you with any other woman,” Hannah said.

  RJ shook her head. “I haven’t told him yet.”

  “Why not?”

  “I just committed to the decision this afternoon. I needed time to let it settle in first. Now that it’s decided, I’ve got lists of things to do running through my head. I’m hoping for a little help in locating a place to live and a small studio.”

  Sarah’s laugh boomed through the room. “You think Logan’s gonna let you live anywhere but where he has you right now? In his house.”

  “Ummm, I don’t know.” RJ’s insecurities flared again. Causing her to question Logan’s attraction. “I don’t want to assume he’ll want me to continue living with him if I locate permanently up here.”

  “Oh, RJ,” Hannah said softly. “My brother is so over the moon about you. I’d prepare yourself for a fight if you even think about living anywhere else.”

  Sandy reached
over, holding out her hand until RJ took it. “Honey, just tell him about your plans. He’ll take it from there.”

  RJ nodded. Closing her eyes, she allowed the masseuse to loosen up the muscles that had become tense again. As her body started to relax, RJ focused on regaining the trust she felt this afternoon in Logan’s love. He’d repeatedly told her that he loved her. Didn’t that imply some sort of future? Well, he’d pushed her into trusting that love. Now he’d just have to live with the consequences of that. And if that meant he’d have a permanent roommate in her, well he’d just better accept and appreciate it. Giving herself a mental nod of the head, RJ relaxed into the massage.

  The room went quiet, as each woman relaxed, drifting into their own floating thoughts. One in quiet excitement of taking her true love as her own, another with the possibility of where her fledgling love would take her, a third excited at the prospect of finding that someone special and the last wondering if her secret would destroy the only love she ever found.

  * * *

  “This is a nice place, Bea,” Opal said as she raised her hand and signaled the bartender for another beer.

  Bea had taken Opal and Chrissy to a nice sports bar and grill in Grand Junction. Having decided to eat in the bar area they got a high-top table and were finishing up their first round of drinks while waiting for some food. Bea was hard pressed to keep the conversation going with the other two women, but she kept plugging away at it.

  She’d made sure she knew where the boys were going, to avoid running into them on their night out. She wanted Clay to enjoy this time with his brothers. Being melancholy didn’t suit her personality, but there were times, like now, when it crept up on her. She missed her husband, but had been able to forge a new life without him. The marriage of one of their children reminded her of the dreams they’d whispered to each other late into the night. And, it brought a newly discovered sense of loneliness. Her kids were grown.

  “Yeah, it’s okay.” Chrissy shrugged. “Not much action though.”

  “What are you looking for, Chrissy?” Bea asked.

  “Oh, you know. Music, dancing, hot guys.”

  Laughing lightly, Bea shook her head. Was this girl ever just happy in her own skin? “Sorry, tomorrow being Friday there will be a band and dancing but they don’t have anything going on tonight.”

  “Hello, ladies,” said a voice from behind Bea.

  She recognized the voice and turned to see Doug Farley and another man. She was surprised by the little butterflies in her stomach at the sight of him. She’d gotten them the other day when they’d first met but she had put that down to his being somewhat famous. At least in her eyes.

  “Doug, how nice to see you again,” Bea greeted with a warm smile while noticing how Opal and Chrissy perked up.

  He smiled at her, causing those weird butterflies to take flight again. “This is my friend, Ash Harper. Ash, this is Bea MacBride. And, I’ll apologize now for not remembering you lovely ladies’ names.”

  Bea finished the introductions for Doug. “Are you from the area, Mr. Harper?”

  “Ash, please. No, just visiting.”

  Doug slapped him on the back. “My friend here has been in a bit of a funk lately so I suggested he come out here for a while.”

  Ash was a younger man, probably around Logan and Clay’s age. Some would call him handsome but it was the sharp edges that caught one’s attention. Well, unless that person was Opal or Chrissy. Bea tried to keep a straight face when she saw that Chrissy grabbed her breasts to heft them up an inch or two.

  “Oh, please join us. I’d love to hear all about what you do,” Chrissy cooed.

  Blinking, Bea saw Doug trying to not laugh and Ash looked pale. Wait a minute. “Ash Harper. Not the Ash Harper who’s written all those murder mysteries.”

  Doug slapped Ash on the back again. “Yup. That’s him.”

  “Thanks, Doug. Now can you stop beating me on the back.” Ash told him good naturedly. “Yes, I’m that author. It’s nice to meet all of you but ….”

  “Oh, no excuses. You just have to join us and tell us all about yourself. I’ve never met an author before.” Chrissy was patting the stool next to her.

  “We really do need to be going. We wanted to stop on our way out to say hello,” Doug lied.

  Bea knew they had just arrived. She shared a look with him trying not to laugh.

  “Oh, before we go, Bea I’m going to be very forward and rude to ask you this, but I was wondering if it would be okay for Ash to attend the wedding with me. Hate to leave him behind by himself.”

  “You are more than welcome, Ash. The wedding is buffet style and informal so you aren’t upsetting any seating.”

  “Please come,” Chrissy pleaded.

  “Thank you for the invitation. I’d be honored to join you and your family,” Ash said before they took their leave.

  Opal started to fan herself with her napkin. “Oh, my, those two sure get the blood flowing.”

  “Can you believe it? A famous author,” Chrissy exclaimed with a calculated tone. “I bet he’s loaded.”

  Bea tried hard to not roll her eyes. But secretly she had to agree with Opal on Doug. He stirred something in her. It was a feeling she’d almost forgotten and it was hard to identify. Thankfully, the food arrived disrupting her thoughts. Refocusing on her guests, she tried to re-engage the ladies in wedding discussions.

  22

  It was almost midnight when RJ said goodnight to the other ladies. Sandy stood on the porch waving as Hannah and Sarah got into a UV together to head back to the main house. RJ got into hers and gave a final wave before flipping on the headlights and heading down the trail to Logan’s.

  The night had been liberating and just plain fun. They had giggled, relaxed and shared stories. Something she only knew with Sandy. Discovering that this is what family and friendship was really about, she was excited to do it again. Maybe next time she could host them.

  Driving slowly because of the darkness, RJ thought about the others who went out tonight. She was pretty sure Bea was home as she couldn’t see her entertaining their mom and Chrissy for this long. But she didn’t know if Logan was home yet. Clay hadn’t come home, so she supposed they were still out. With a devilish smile, RJ started planning how she would welcome him home when something jumped into the middle of the trail. Heart pounding, she slammed on the breaks as her headlights caught a man in their glow.

  Putting the vehicle in park she hopped out and started towards the man she now recognized standing in the beam on her lights. “Merle! You scared the hell out of me. Are you alright? What are you doing out here so late?”

  “I wanted to talk to you.”

  Now that her heart settled down a bit, irritation kicked in causing her to snap. “What the hell could be so important that you waited out here so late? And, you scared the bejeezus out of me jumping in front of the vehicle like that.”

  “That smart ass mouth of yours is just what I wanted to talk to you about,” he started prowling towards her.

  RJ could see his face fully now and what she saw scared her. She’d seen this look many times during her childhood, and the best thing to do when he got mean was to be far, far away from him. Easing back, she moved backwards slowly towards the vehicle.

  His laughed chilled her. “Don’t think you’re going to get away from me. You’ve apparently forgotten how things are. You’ve been hurting and humiliating Chrissy ever since we got here. She’s in tears because of you.”

  RJ was torn between the rising anger of letting him scare her again and fear, because she knew he had no problem hitting women.

  “Listen, Merle. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She took another step backwards towards the opening of the UV.

  “Listen up, you stupid bitch. Chrissy wants Logan but you’ve poisoned him against her. She’s ten times the woman you’ll ever be. You need to wise up and step aside or I’ll make sure he doesn’t want to look at you again,” Merle hissed as he app
roached closer. His hands were at his sides but clenched into tight fists.

  Okay, so anger and indignation had to wait. Right now, fear was alive and running through every fiber of her being. Trying to think about how far she was from Sandy’s or Logan’s she calculated she wasn’t too far from Logan’s. Maybe he was home and would hear the horn or, god forbid, her screams. Taking another step back she was almost able to reach the steering wheel and horn.

  Merle must’ve sensed what she planned to do because he rushed her and tackled her. RJ was able to get one long blast of the horn off before she fell to the ground. She gave a scream but was cut off by a punch to the face that had her seeing stars. Merle’s hand wrapped around her throat and squeezed.

  RJ struggled to punch him and drive her hands up between his arms to break his hold. It worked for a quick moment before he slapped her and grabbed her hands. She screamed as loud as she could, her whole body thrashing up to try and dislodge him so she could get up.

  * * *

  Logan and his brothers sat on his back porch enjoying the late night quiet and more beer. They’d arrived at his house about an hour ago and were keeping Clay company until he got Sandy’s all clear text. It had been too long since they had all been able to hang out together and it was nice. Logan was anxious to talk to RJ. They had some plans to discuss.

  “I’m outta here,” Clay said as soon as his phone pinged with the text he’d been waiting for. Standing he grabbed his empties. “This was great guys.”

  They all stood and took a few minutes to finish off their beers and clean up. They had already decided Brand would take Logan’s truck to drive Clay and Jacob home.

  “I think I’ll walk the trail to catch up with RJ and ride the rest of the way back with her. She should be pretty close by now,” Logan told his brothers as they walked out to the truck.

  A horn blast broke the quiet of the night causing the men to become alert and look around. The scream that followed had them all running towards the trail. Logan’s heart was in his throat. It had to be RJ. No one else was out this time of night. Another scream pierced the night and heightened Logan’s fear. His brothers were right with him as they saw the UV headlights up ahead.