by Ivy Sinclair
Parking Mike’s truck near the back, Ben sidled out of the cab and surveyed the lot. It didn’t look any fuller than any other Thursday night. He sighed in relief when he didn’t see any sign of Sarah’s dark blue BMW. He hoped to avoid another run-in with her that day, but she inevitably turned up wherever he was. With Julia back in town, he was certain that Sarah would try to stick to his side as much as possible.
He slowed as he approached the door. He savored the memory of having Julia in his arms. For just a moment, her walls were down, and he felt a rush of warmth through him as he mulled over her words.
I don’t regret that it happened.
Her words threw him off. He wondered if she wanted him to kiss her then, and he had been on the verge of doing just that. But something held him back. Seeing Julia brought up old emotions for him that he thought were gone. Was he supposed to forgive and forget that she blew out of town and left him hanging? She had apologized, but that didn’t make it all right. That’s what kept his lips on her forehead instead of moving down to her mouth. Ben wasn’t interested in being made a fool again, and Julia was a dangerous temptation to his fragile heart. He wondered what the weekend would bring between them.
Ben entered the bar, and it only took a minute for him to see the reason for his sister’s panic. Everett Malone slung over the far end of the bar obviously trying to get Maggie’s attention. Maggie, for her part, was at the other end pouring drinks and doing her best not to look in his direction. The customers sitting on the stools in between no doubt were waiting with bated breath for the inevitable showdown.
“Maggie!” Everett called out. “Get your gorgeous ass down here and talk to me.”
Ben wondered if there was some crazy force up above that thought it would be amusing to bring both Julia and Everett back into town on the same day to torture him.
Maggie’s mouth set in a frown, and she didn’t reply to Everett’s call.
“I’m talking to you, woman!” Everett’s words were slightly slurred, and his movements were jerky as he attempted to slam his fist down on the bar.
Ben moved to intercept Everett’s hand before it hit the bar again. “We don’t serve people who are obviously already intoxicated,” he said, trying to keep his tone even.
Everett jerked his hand away from Ben’s grasp and stared at him with bloodshot eyes. Then his face lit up. “Ben! How the hell you been?”
Ben stepped away as Everett moved to hit him on the arm. Without the presence of a solid form to catch him, Everett’s balance tilted, and he fell off the stool to the floor at Ben’s feet. Several guffaws and loud claps saluted Everett’s unceremonious display of drunkenness. Maggie appeared on the other side of the bar.
“Ben, I don’t want any trouble,” she warned. “I just needed a little help to keep him under control. That’s why I called you.”
“Call Sheriff Quinn,” Ben said.
Everett slowly rolled to his knees and then used the stool to pull up to his feet.
“Time to go, Everett,” Ben said. He would enjoy throwing Everett out on his ass.
“Who’s gonna make me?” Everett sneered. “I’m just here to see my wife.”
“Ex-wife,” Ben corrected. “She doesn’t want to see you. I don’t want to see you. Nobody here wants to see you. You should go back to whatever rock you’ve been hiding under and stay there.”
“I’ve got a right to see my kids,” Everett said. “Nobody, especially you, is going to stop me from seeing them.”
Ben felt his fists tighten at his sides. He wanted to wipe the snide grin off of Everett’s face, but he knew he had to take the high road. Everett was a big-mouth coward, and when push came to shove, he was all bluster. He would slink away back into the shadows.
“It’s time to go, Everett. Just walk out now and there won’t be any trouble,” Ben said.
Everett’s face reddened. “You always thought you were so much better than everyone else, walking around like your shit don’t stink. You don’t scare me, pretty boy. I’m going to have a few words with my wife about my kids and you can kiss my ass.”
It sickened Ben to think of what Everett’s reappearance was going to do to Paul and Ella. They had already been through so much, and they were far too young to understand the adult politics of the world around them. They didn’t understand that their dad was a good for nothing drunk and that they were better off without him. They only knew that they missed their daddy.
Before he even registered in his mind what he was doing, Ben had Everett’s collar scrunched up in his fists and had backed the man up against the bar. Everett was taller than Ben, but the years of drinking turned him flabby. “You are going to leave my sister and those kids alone if you know what’s good for you.”
Even though he could tell that it was starting to dawn on Everett that he was in over his head, the corners of Everett’s mouth twitched upwards. He smelled like he took a bath in a tub of booze, and Ben felt drunk just standing within inches of him.
“Make me,” Everett said. Then his left arm, which had been resting on the bar, swung up overhead. Ben didn’t have time to react. He felt the impact of something small and hard against his skull just before a shower of glass rained down in front of his eyes.
The force of the strike caused him to loosen his grip on Everett’s shirt and Everett shoved him hard. When Ben felt a trickle down the side of his head, he reached up and his hand came away sticky.
“Ben!” Maggie cried out from behind the bar. He could see that she was ready to come to his aid. Everett hadn’t moved, and the entire room was silent. Everyone waited to see the show.
He would be damned if he let some drunken idiot come in and stir up trouble in his bar. It was a feeling completely out of character for him. Ben wasn’t a fighter, but his senses were on high alert for the danger that Everett represented for his family. All of his frustration about Julia and about his life came to a head, and he couldn’t stand it anymore.
After that, time seemed to rush forward. Ben charged Everett and with blunt force knocked Everett to the floor. He knelt down with his knees on either side of Everett’s body on top of his forearms and let the fact that he weighed at least fifty pounds more than the other man work in his favor. He wanted badly to punch his face until Everett was unconscious, but the sound of the police siren cut through his murderous thoughts.
“Get off of me!” Everett said, struggling beneath him.
“Not a chance,” Ben said, breathing deeply trying to regain his composure.
When he felt the initial tap on his shoulder, he brushed it off. Then he heard Sheriff Quinn’s deep voice behind him. “Ben, get up. I’ll take it from here.”
Glaring at the man beneath him, Ben slowly allowed the Sheriff to help him to his feet. He wanted nothing more than to land a hard kick into Everett’s side, but he knew that he couldn’t do that without repercussions. The sooner that Everett was out of his bar the better.
Everett rolled over and pushed himself up onto his elbows and then back onto his knees. There was no wobble in his movements. Ben knew it had to be requiring a feat of great mental dexterity not to show just how drunk he was at that moment. Everett had lots of practice.
“What seems to be the problem here, Ben?” the Sheriff asked.
Ben tried to think how many times the older man had asked him that question over the years. It felt like hundreds. Thanks to Julia, Sheriff Quinn’s presence in his younger years was almost as prevalent as his father’s.
“We have a drunk customer who was unwilling to leave when asked,” Ben said. Maggie joined him, refusing to look in Everett’s direction.
“This is my fault, Sheriff. He was in here causing a ruckus because I wouldn’t return his phone calls. This wasn’t Ben’s fault.”
Ben cut Maggie off. “You knew that he was back in town?”
Maggie sighed. “I’ve known for about a week. I thought for sure he’d disappear again though. He’s done that before.”
“Doe
s anyone care what I think?” Everett asked sullenly.
The Sheriff looked at both Ben and Maggie. “Seems you have some family reunion details to work out. I’ll take Mr. Malone down to the station and let him sleep it off.”
Sheriff Quinn pointed at Everett and then at the door. Everett started to move, but so did his mouth protesting his innocence the whole way. That was one thing that Ben always appreciated about the sheriff. Everyone in town respected him whether they liked him or not. He wondered if Mike would have the same ability to keep everyone in line.
“Ben, we should have a doctor take a look at that cut on your head,” Maggie said worriedly, reaching up to touch him.
With the adrenalin started to wearing off, Ben felt the ache of where the glass shattered on his head. He stepped away from Maggie’s upturned hand. “I’m fine.” He turned to the gathered crowd who watched expectantly. “Show’s over! Everyone get back to what you were doing.”
Conversations reengaged, and the familiar din of pool, music, and laughter filled the large room moments later.
Ben took Maggie by the elbow and propelled her over into the corner of the room. “You okay?”
Maggie nodded, but he could see the strain of emotion on her face as she tried not to cry. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, Ben. This is just a big mess.”
Ben gave her a long hug. “We’ll figure it out. Why don’t you head home? I’ve got it covered here.”
“You sure?” Maggie asked.
Ben smiled. “Nothing to worry about.”
He started to walk toward the bar intending to motor through the backlog of drink orders. It would keep him from thinking about Julia. The lightheadedness hit him in the blink of an eye. Ben didn’t have time to react. His knees felt weak, and his vision blurred. Then there was nothing.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Julia forgot how much she loved watching Benton Hill high school baseball. It didn’t take long for the crowd’s energy and the close running game to catch her up in the thrill of the moment. The Benton Hill Hawks were her team, and she yelled and screamed with the rest of the crowd as they all waited to see what was going to happen next.
When Cole strode up to the plate at the bottom of the ninth, score tied with two outs, Julia felt her heart leap into her chest. He didn’t seem concerned that the fate of the game rested on his shoulders. Julia remembered Mike behaving the same way whenever he was on the playing field. It was as if the Brewer boys expected that it was their destiny to save the day, and they were more than willing to take on the challenge. The crowd chanted his name, but it didn’t appear to faze him at all.
The first pitch flew across the plate, and the umpire yelled, “Strike!”
The crowd moaned in unison. Other than a small shake of his head Cole wasn’t rattled. When the next pitch came, Julia heard the smack of the bat and before her eyes even registered the swing the ball went soaring into the sky over left field.
“RUN!” the crowd roared to the player on third base. Everyone leapt to their feet tracking the ball’s progress through the air. Just when Julia was sure that it was going to be caught by the player making the desperate leap upwards at the edge of the field, the ball floated over the back wall. Home run.
She clapped and jumped up and down joining the rest of the crowd in their celebration. When she turned and saw the equal delight on Mike’s face, a strange sensation ran down her middle. She was having fun, and she was with Mike. The smile slipped off her face, and Mike seemed to sense the immediate change in mood. For a moment, it had been a bit too much like old times.
“Let’s go say hello to the hero, assuming he’ll give us the time of day,” Mike said, clearly trying to smooth over the awkward moment.
“Okay,” Julia said. “Then I should probably get back.”
Mike was already heading down the bleachers and waving at a few people who called out to him. Julia trailed behind him, not wanting to attract any attention. Now that the game was over, there was an even greater chance that someone would recognize her.
Cole emerged from the dugout just as they approached, and Mike greeted him with a playful punch and then a bear hug. Julia always loved watching the interplay between Mike and his younger brother. It was obvious to her that they adored each other, and she was glad that hadn’t changed. Then Cole’s eyes slid over his brother’s shoulder and widened when they landed on her.
“Jules!”
She found herself swept up into Cole’s arms and twirled around several time. She couldn’t help but laugh at his enthusiastic greeting. He squeezed her tightly, and she struggled to catch her breath. “Put me down, you big oaf! I can’t breathe! It’s good to see you too.”
Cole immediately dropped her to her feet. “Sorry, I forget my own strength. I can’t believe you’re here! Man, did you see that last hit?”
Julia appreciated the fact that there were no immediate questions about where she had been or why she left. The younger boy was caught up in the moment of his own heroics. “I did! You were terrific,” she said with a wide smile.
A few of Cole’s teammates started yelling for him then, and she could see that he wanted to go. “You’re going to be around this weekend for the wedding, right?”
Julia nodded reluctantly.
“Great! I want to catch up, but I gotta get back,” he said, thumbing toward the dugout.
“I’ll be around,” Julia promised.
“Cool, see you later,” Cole said.
He and Mike mock punched at each other as Cole passed his brother. Then a throng of teenage girls absorbed him clamoring for his attention. Julia couldn’t help but shake her head. The Brewer boys definitely had a way with the ladies.
“Julia Bell!” The female voice was immediately behind her.
Julia winced. She wasn’t going to be making a clean getaway after all. She turned and saw Megan Roberts standing there with her hands on her hips. In high school, as Mike became more involved in sports and Ben’s academic pursuits kept him home more often, Julia hung out with Megan. They got close her senior year as Julia tried to navigate the circles of beautiful, popular people in her assigned role as ‘Star Quarterback’s Girlfriend’.
She pushed her hair back behind her ears and plastered a fake smile on her face. “Hey, Meg.”
Meg pushed forward and gave her a hug. Uncomfortable, but unwilling to show it, Julia awkwardly returned it. “I didn’t know you were back in town.” Meg’s eyes shifted over Julia’s shoulder, and her eyebrows shot up as she recognized Mike. “Just in time for the big weekend, huh? Where’s Clary?”
“At home resting,” Julia said. “Yes, I’m here for the wedding.” It was the first time she said the words out loud, and she expected it to hurt just a bit but it didn’t. She wasn’t quite sure how to explain how she ended up at the baseball game with Mike. “That was some game!”
“Cole takes after his brother, that’s for sure,” Meg said with a knowing smirk.
Julia recognized that her social skills had suddenly deserted her. She had no idea what to say next. Mike came to the rescue.
“Good to see you, Meg. You’ll have to tell Matt I said hello,” he said. “Jules, we got to go.”
The seriousness of his voice made Julia realize that he wasn’t just making polite excuses on her behalf. He had his phone out and anxiously tapped the screen responding to a message.
“Something wrong?” she asked.
Mike’s head whipped around tracking his younger brother. “Let me go get Cole. I’ll have him drop us off at your place.” Mike trotted away leaving Julia to wonder what was going on.
“I married Matt Rollins. Can you believe it? He finally wore me down. It’s so odd, seeing you and Mike together again,” Meg said. “I swear my entire high school career I remember the two you joined at the hip. Along with Ben, of course.”
Ben became the third wheel in the relationship when Julia and Mike started to date, but she wondered if he felt that way long before then. If she believed
even half of what he told her that night by the lake, he had, but he suffered it in silence. That was Ben’s way.
“Congrats on your marriage,” Julia said lamely. “Mike’s just giving me a ride home by the way.”
“It stunned everyone when Mike took up with Clary so soon after graduation. That must have driven you crazy,” Meg said. “Losing your boyfriend to your little sister.”
By everyone Julia knew that Meg meant every gossipmonger in town. She didn’t know what her father and Clary told people about her abrupt departure after graduation, but she could understand if they were tight-lipped about it. “Mike and I dated in high school. That’s it. It’s not like we were going to get married anyway.” She tried her best to sound flippant and as if the idea of her and Mike making the relationship permanent was a ridiculous thought.
“I heard that he was going to propose graduation night,” Meg said.
“He didn’t,” Julia lied. He actually asked her to marry him three nights before graduation. “Doesn’t matter now though, does it? He and Clary are happy and having a baby.”
“I know!” Meg said. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Nobody thought that relationship was going to last.”
“Why not?” Julia asked. She felt a bubbling anger rise in her chest. She could deal with people gossiping about her, but she didn’t like hearing other people talk trash about her little sister.
Meg looked around to see if anyone else was paying attention. “You know. Rebound, and a sister rebound at that. That’s the worst kind.”
A sharp retort died on her lips when Julia saw Mike and Cole moving toward the parking lot. He gestured for her to join them. Mike wasn’t even responding now to the people calling out for his attention. Something was definitely wrong.
“Nice to see you again, Meg,” Julia said. Then she hurried after Mike and Cole, knowing that everyone in town was going to know that she was back and had been with Mike before the evening was out.
She felt out of breath when she finally caught up to the brothers. “Some of us don’t have long legs like you guys. Geez, wait up.”