Stoneface

by Tymber Dalton

  Her mom growing a spine? Her father had always discouraged their mom from using a computer because he didn’t like them and didn’t see a valuable use for e-mail when they had a phone. “Of course! I’ve got some I can e-mail you right now.”

  “It’s not a big computer, it’s just a little laptop Ruthie had. I think she said this one was Liam’s old one. She made Bob buy her a brand-new one and gave met this one. I’ve got it set up in Liam’s old room.”

  Gwen shot off several photos to her mom. A moment later, her mom laughed. “He’s got a tan! He looks so good! I mean, so do you.”

  “Yeah. He’s becoming a beach bum.”

  A long pause. Gwen began to wonder if the call dropped. “You both look very happy.”

  “We are happy. Like I said, just give us some time.” She’d never told her mom about Tim and Jack, never even hinted she’d had her heart broken. Her mom wouldn’t have understood anyway, and Gwen suspected she would have deserved any admonishments for putting herself into such a stupid and scandalous situation to begin with.

  “It wasn’t just the family stuff and Amy,” Gwen said. “Liam and I needed to get some away time, to reset our priorities. To spend time together. We both needed it.”

  Another long pause before her mom responded. Tonight was pause night. “Is he out on a date?” her mom whispered. “With a man?”

  “Do you want the truth?”

  “Yes.”

  “You promise not to freak out?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’s on a date with a very nice man. I got to meet him. We all had dinner together. Liam doesn’t think it’ll develop into anything, but he’s making friends.”

  “He’s happy though, right?”

  Gwen shoved back her wave of irritation. This was true progress. “He’s really happy. He loves you, and he misses you, but he’s making up for lost time and the things in his life that he lost when he got sick. He needs to do this. He’s not dying.”

  She heard her mom sniffle. “I’m glad he’s happy. Maybe if he feels like it, tomorrow he can call me. I’d like to say hi. I promise I won’t nag. I miss you both.”

  If Gwen didn’t get off the phone soon, she’d start crying. “I’m sure he’d like that. I’m going to go, I need to charge my cell,” she lied. “It’s almost dead. E-mail me, too. I’ll start e-mailing you now that you’ve got it.”

  “I’d really like that. Love you, sweetheart. Please tell Liam I love him, too.”

  “Love you, too, Mom.” She got off the phone and stared at it. Then she wrapped her arms around her body and cried herself to sleep on the sofa.

  * * * *

  Tim sat on the back porch with a beer and stared out at the valley. Normally, this time of year, he was already busy decorating the house and outside with lights and decorations, but not this year.

  His heart wasn’t in it.

  He heard Jack walk onto the deck but didn’t acknowledge him. Jack pulled up a chair next to him and sat down. They’d had a quiet Thanksgiving with Jack’s parents. His mom had been in a good condition, nearly normal, able to have conversations with everyone. If he hadn’t known she had Alzheimer’s, he wouldn’t have suspected.

  Jack let out a sigh. “Can we talk?”

  “Sure.” He took another pull of his beer.

  “What do you want to do for Christmas?”

  Tim shrugged. “I don’t really give a shit.” He shot Jack a pointed look.

  “How long are you going to mope around like this?”

  “Depends.” He took another drink. This was his third beer. He knew he shouldn’t be drinking, because he was in a foul mood to begin with.

  “Depends on what?”

  “On how long it takes you to quit being a jackass and call Gwen.”

  “She won’t talk to me even if I do, you know that.”

  “No, I don’t know that.” He finished the beer and stood. “You broke this. You need to be the one to fix it. She didn’t deserve what you did to her. We could all be having Christmas together right now if it wasn’t for what you did.”

  Jack stared at his hands. “I told you, this is for the best.”

  “No, that’s the bullshit lie you keep telling yourself because you can’t figure out why the fuck you fell in love with her. I know why I fell in love with her. Isn’t it enough that you do love her?”

  “Is it?”

  “Christ.” He rubbed his face with his hands. “Man, I love you, but sometimes you are a really dumb fuck, you know that?” He stormed into the house, slamming the door behind him.

  Jack stared out at the valley. He didn’t tell Tim that he had tried calling her a few days before Thanksgiving.

  The number wasn’t good anymore.

  * * * *

  Gwen awoke with a start to find Liam standing over her in the dark RV with a concerned look on his face. “Hey, why aren’t you in bed, sweetie?”

  Disoriented, she sat up and looked around. “Um, I fell asleep.” She yawned. “Why are you here? What time is it?”

  “Four in the morning.” He sat next to her and shrugged. “It was fun, but I think he and I both knew it would just be a fun night. He brought me home.”

  Liam didn’t look upset. “I’m…sorry?”

  He laughed. “No, it’s really okay. We agreed friends with bennies was the way to go. Too many differences to make it as more than friends, but attracted enough to each other to…you know, overlook those differences for a night.” He smiled. “Might see him again before we move on, and we agreed to get together whenever we were in town. Plus we’ll keep in touch by e-mail.”

  His hair was damp. “You took a shower. Lucky bastard.”

  He smiled. “I have to admit, not worrying about hot water and having a shower bigger than a breadbox is a nice luxury. Come on, you can curl up with me and go back to sleep.”

  They settled in the back bunk, Gwen nestled in his arms like when they were kids. They’d spent a lot of nights together like that, especially when she was younger and mercilessly teased at school about her braces and glasses. Liam always comforted her even when their father told her she should just suck it up and be tough.

  She shoved away her thoughts of Tim and Jack. “Ruthie called,” she said.

  “Yeah? How’s she doing?”

  “Good. I called Mom, too. Ruthie said I probably should.”

  She felt the sudden tension in Liam’s body. “Oh.”

  She rolled in his arms to face him. “I told her you were out on a date. She was pretty mellow about it. She said she was sorry about what happened and to tell you she loves you.”

  “Go to sleep, kiddo.” She didn’t miss his tight tone. “We’ll talk later in the morning.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Tim stared at the webpage. He didn’t hear Celia when she walked up behind him. “Still moping, I see?” she said.

  He closed the lid of the laptop without turning. “Still spying on me, I see.”

  She poked him in the shoulder. “Dude, do I have to smack you with a clue-by-four? You need to either take a leap of faith, or move on. This is just pathetic. Both of you are.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. Tim had let her drag the whole story out of him a few days after he returned from Laguna Beach after Gwen had left.

  “Dumbass,” she’d said then. “Write her.”

  “She said not to.”

  “Yeah, because she’s hurting and in a lot of pain. What the fuck is wrong with that boyfriend of yours? I thought you said he loves her, too? Why’d he run her off?”

  “Because he was scared.”

  “Dumbass.”

  Now, Celia stared at him. Glared at him was more like it. “Write her.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t.”

  “Dumbass. Then let her go.”

  He shook his head again. “I can’t, Celia. I love her and I miss her.” It’d been seven months, and he still missed Gwen. Thought about her every day. Star
ed at her picture on his phone every day.

  Jack missed her, too. He caught his lover looking at the pictures of them at dinner on more than one occasion.

  “You’re a fucking dumbass. Both of you.” She shouldered him aside and opened the laptop, pulling up the webpage. Gwen’s website. She scrolled down to the bottom, clicked the “designed by” link that led to another website, then whipped out her cell phone and dialed.

  “Who are you calling?” Tim asked.

  “The person I should have called months ago when I first found out about all this stupid-ass bullshit, you damn dumbass.” She waited, then when someone answered, she said, “Hi, this is Celia. We met last year at Tim’s store…Right. Look, Tweedledipshit and Tweedledumbass here are pining away for Gwen…” She listened, then laughed brightly. “Cool. Here he is.” She shoved the phone at his face. “Talk to him.”

  She gave Tim no choice. He fumbled the phone and stared at her as she stormed across the store to take care of a customer who’d walked in. “Hello?” he tentatively asked.

  “Tim?” The man’s voice sounded familiar, but cautious.

  “Liam?”

  “Yeah. What’s up?”

  Tim swallowed hard. “Um…” He took a deep breath. Nothing ventured, and all that crap. “Can we talk?”

  * * * *

  Liam remembered Celia. She was funky and friendly and by the way he witnessed her interacting with people, feisty. He tried not to laugh when Tim told him about how she’d finally stepped in.

  At least he could talk freely. Gwen was at the grocery store, and he had the RV all to himself. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. I’d love to give your other half a piece of my mind. Gwen’s been miserable.”

  “I’m so sorry, Liam. I didn’t know Jack was going to go off like that…” he said, and then he explained a few things Liam didn’t know. Gwen didn’t even know, either, or she might have chosen to stay and fight for the men. She had a hair-trigger temper, but she also fought tenaciously for those she loved. Ruthie was a prime example of that.

  And Gwen sure as hell loved those two men.

  Liam pondered the possibilities. Because of a whole lot of irrational fear, three people who should be happily living together were miserable.

  He felt a smile crease his face. At least, in this case, he could make everything all better for his little sister. “I have a plan.” He saw the Element pull into their designated parking space next to their RV. “Shit. Gwen just got back. Let me e-mail you, okay?”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  He hung up and was working on his laptop when she stepped into the RV. “Want help unloading?” he asked.

  “Nope. I’ve got it.”

  He leaned back. “You feel like packing up at the end of the week, or you want to stay for another week?”

  She shrugged. “Whatever you feel like doing. Why?”

  They’d spent the winter circling the Southeastern US and staying away from nasty weather, most of it inside Florida, ambling between the Keys, east coast, west coast, and Panhandle. They were currently parked in a small RV park east of Jacksonville, beautiful and surrounded by old oak trees, only minutes from the beaches.

  With March in full swing, it was safe to start heading toward California. The weather in the Midwest was currently mild.

  And now he had a definite destination in mind. Gwen had a bunch of edits due in the next few weeks, so it would take them the better part of a month to reach their destination.

  “I want to head west.”

  * * * *

  “This would be a lot easier if you’d tell me where we’re going,” Gwen snarked.

  Liam laughed. “Nope.” He stopped for a red light and looked at her. “I told you, it’s a surprise.” He enjoyed driving the Element. The past several months had been nothing but really good days, his health better than it’d been in years. Neither of them felt comfortable with him driving the RV, but for short drives, he did well with the smaller SUV.

  Gwen had an idea the reduced stress of not being around their parents had a positive benefit on his health. She knew it had benefitted hers.

  She also had an idea what his surprise was, but didn’t want to hope at the same time she dreaded it.

  They wound from Ocean Beach down to Laguna Beach. When they pulled into a small shopping center she spotted the sign and felt her heart doing backflips all the while it dropped through the basement. “Please tell me this isn’t what I think it is.” Please tell me it is.

  He grinned. “For the past eight months, all I’ve heard from you is how I should take chances and put myself out there. Well, time for you to nut up or shut up, sis.” He leaned across the seat and hugged her, his forehead resting against hers. “Maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

  Throat dry, she emerged from the car on shaky legs and stared at the storefront. Liam pulled his cane out from behind the seat and walked around to her. “You gonna stand there and gawk, or you gonna take a chance?”

  “I’m going to kill you,” she whispered.

  “No you won’t. You wubs me.” He grinned. “Besides, the RV’s in my name. You still need me.” He grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”

  She’d been so proud of herself for not dwelling over them. For not obsessively looking at the pictures Liam took of the three of them at dinner that night. Especially not of the one where Tim and Jack were looking at her with blatant longing in their expressions.

  In her mind she’d let them go, even though her heart tenaciously hung on to them.

  He led her to the door. A sign announcing her book signing hung prominently by the entry, in the front windows, where it couldn’t be missed. The store reminded her of the one in Rapid City, the same feel. Relaxed, calm.

  A woman behind the counter smiled as she greeted them. “Can I help you find anything?”

  Liam held up Gwen’s hand. “This is your star attraction today, Gwen Oxford, AKA Gwenna Olmsford.”

  The clerk’s eyes widened. “Oh, wow! Nice to meet you in person. Mr. Ellis has raved about you for years.”

  Gwen beat back the emotional pang. “That’s very kind of you.” Liam squeezed her hand. When she glanced at him, he winked.

  “He hasn’t arrived yet,” the clerk said. “I don’t think he was expecting you quite this early, but I can call him—”

  “No,” Gwen said. “That’s okay. Don’t rush him. We’ll wait.”

  She realized ten minutes later she had a death grip on poor Liam. When she released his hand, he smiled as he flexed his fingers. “Damn, girl, you got a grip on you.”

  “Sorry.”

  She left Liam sitting on one of the comfortable lounges and was browsing the stacks, a large section of shelves blocking her view of the front door, when she heard the door bell jingle. Immediately, Tim’s voice came to her, apparently talking on the phone with someone.

  She froze, her eyes squeezed shut. Could she do this? Really? Seriously?

  He ended his call. “Kelly, have you heard—Liam!”

  “Hiya.”

  “How are you, where’s…” Her body tensed as their voices dropped and she heard male whispers.

  She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t see him and not be able to be with him. It hurt too much.

  A moment later she felt more than heard a presence round the end of the shelf and stand in the alcove where she hid. Then she jumped at the gentle touch on her shoulder.

  With a deep breath to steady herself, she turned and looked.

  Tim stood there, nervously smiling, his blue eyes full of concern.

  They silently stared at each other for a long moment. She was about to say something when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She didn’t try to break away. One of his hands slid down to her ass, the other tightly fisted her hair, holding her in place in case she tried to run, apparently.

  He tasted so good, his body felt good, and she suppressed her moan as he took total control of her.

  After a moment he didn’t re
lease her, but his lips traveled down her neck. “I’m sorry I didn’t e-mail or call you, even though you told me not to. I should have. I should have pushed you to talk to me. I was so stupid to not stand up to him and make him see reason sooner. I love you so much. Jesus, I’ve missed you. He’s missed you, too, believe it or not.”

  Gwen clung to him. “I missed you, too. Both of you.”

  He kissed her again, slowly, thoroughly making up for lost time. “He loves you, babe. We need to talk. There’s things he has to tell you face-to-face, but he’s sorry for the fight. He really is. He’s not good at talking about himself or things in his past, but when you hear the full story, you’ll understand. I know you will.”

  Her gut tightened. “Is he here?” She didn’t know if she could deal with facing him just yet.

  “No, he’s home. He wanted to be here, planned on coming with me, but his mom’s in the hospital. Pneumonia.”

  Her fear took over again, blasting hope out of her brain. “Why didn’t he call or e-mail me if he wanted to talk?”

  “Because it took him a while to quit being mad at himself. He’s a stubborn man. You know that.”

  “Stoneface.”

  “Yeah. Believe me when I say it’s complicated, but it’s his story to tell you, not mine.” He held her tightly, not letting go. She didn’t want him to, either. She felt perfectly happy standing there with his arms encircling her. “Come with me.” He wouldn’t let go of her hand as he led her into a back office. There, he locked the door behind them and pulled her into his arms again as he backed her toward the desk. “We’ve got two hours until the book signing, and I don’t know about you, but I’m making up for lost time.”

  The thought she should stop him crossed her mind, briefly, before she punted the idea out of her brain. By the time he got her to the desk, their shirts lay on the floor in a tangled heap. “Wait, what about Liam?” she asked.

  He snorted. “Babe, I love your brother, but not like that, and I’m not doing him. I’m in love with you. That would just be creepy.”