“I haven’t!” Liam turned to the people behind him and started to point as he whispered through gritted teeth. “I have never seen him before or them before. Naked stranger’s isn’t a subject I have a long history in.”
Felicity threw her hands up in frustration. “Well, pretend they all have clothes on, let’s go.” She started to walk away before saying, “He was always good to me. He’s a good guy, and he might be able to help.”
“Felicity!” Liam called her back with a shouted whisper. “Have you lost your mind?” He grabbed her arm to keep her from going anywhere without him then waved a finger between them, “We are not going in there. I’m not taking off my clothes, and you certainly aren’t parading around in front of all these men in…in…well, you know.”
A certain awareness fell over her at his last statement, and she was prepared to exploit it. “Well, well, well… Are you jealous, O’Reilly?”
“Jealous? Of course not!” He was offended and still whispering loudly. “I mean, we just don’t know these people. I don’t want you…taken advantage of. Because that would be…”
If Liam’s head could explode, Felicity was certain it would, given how wound up he was. “Would be what, Liam?” Her voice dropped to a sultry hum. “Why can’t I take every bit of clothing off and stand right here, completely bare. It’s not like you haven’t seen it before.” Felicity slowly started to unbutton her shirt.
“I…uh…” Liam looked around for prying eyes before landing his back on hers. It took everything to keep his view locked and not drift downward to appreciate the ample cleavage and perfectly sun kissed tone stomach she was revealing.
She paused when she reached the final button and let her shirt fly open. “Your turn, O’Reilly. Start with your shirt.”
When he didn’t immediately comply, she took a step closer, narrowing the gap between them. With a tilt to her head, she dragged the back of her finger down her own cheek to her collar bone and let it rest just above her breast. Liam remembered where he was and took a big step backward while aggressively clearing his throat in a semi-cough as if it would also clear the dirty thoughts she was provoking.
“This isn’t right,” he preached. “We can’t go in there naked. That’s like a private thing.”
“Really? When did you become such a prude? I’m guessing your brothers would run right in and show off the goods.” She laughed.
“Well I’m not my brothers,” he defended. “Wait. Have you been here with them?” Liam rested his hands on his halfcocked hips while a troubled expression led to a disappointed shake of his head. “It really wouldn’t surprise me if Dace has a membership. He’s always trying to flash his damn pecker.”
“Oh my God.” Felicity laughed, buttoning up her shirt. “You really need to loosen up, Liam. You don’t have to take your clothes off.”
She pointed to the sign right behind him that touring visitors didn’t have to remove clothing.
“Were you just trying to get me naked?” Liam was shocked by her behavior, or so he wanted her to believe. He was really more embarrassed than anything. “There is something wrong with you. And it was one time, Felicity. We should have never let that happen.”
“So you remind me…every single day.” His words stung. It was clear by the hurt in her tone.
“That’s not what I meant, Felicity, and you know it.”
“Oh, I know what you meant.” She turned and slowly started up the path.
“Felicity…”
Liam didn’t get to finish whatever he was about to say, nor did Felicity get very far because at that very moment, Dick the dog reminded them of his presence by chasing a taunting squirrel. Up the path he went, across the family picnic on the grassy lawn, through the putting green and he just kept going, his playful bark, albeit loud, indicating this was his new favorite game.
Liam and Felicity chased after him, Liam screaming Dick while Felicity laughed her ass off. It was that moment in the park all over again, only this time, Liam was running like a maniac, screaming Dick through crowds of naked strangers.
“Why does this keep happening to me?” he shouted over his shoulder. “Dick, come…”
“Karma – and because it’s funny.” Felicity laughed herself breathless.
“Will you call him? He listens to women better.”
“No. It’s better when you do it. A little louder Liam. Maybe he can’t hear you,” she said.
“Dick,” he yelled louder like she suggested. “Bad boy, come!”
Families skirted their children out of Liam’s path, covering their children’s ears while shocking sharp gasps fell all around them. They continued to run through the field, past the community pool, around the ninth hole on the golf course, to the top of the grassy knoll.
Liam looked to Felicity, realizing what he had fallen for. “You’re a pain in the ass, and kind of a jerk. I hope that dog pisses in your car on the way back.”
Felicity tossed her head back in laughter, her run stalling to a jog, then a brisk walk while she caught her breath. Dick had been caught just up ahead, and the chase was over. A large man was knelt on one knee, on the other side of Dick, petting him while he talked to him.
“He’s not even holding his collar,” Liam whispered to Felicity. “Dog whisperer or what?”
“Oh my God!” Felicity squealed. “Johnson?”
“Felicity Nichols, I’ll be damned,” the man said. “What brings you out here? Say, this your Dick?”
Liam’s head swung between them. Felicity was beautiful, charismatic, and radiated confidence and joy. This guy, the dog whisperer, he was…not. This was her good friend?
“Sure is,” she replied. “Well, it’s his Dick.” She laughed.
“Sure, is nice lookin’,” the man said, referring to Dick.
Liam wasn’t sure if the guy’s glasses were prescription because there was nothing good lookin’ about that ugly as sin, beast of a dog.
“It’s my brother’s Dick – I mean dog.” Liam was ready to leave.
Just when he thought his bad day hit an all-time low and couldn’t get any worse – it did. The man stood to full height, the dog no longer blocking the majority of him. Liam would normally be struck by the sheer size of him, height that is, but was immediately put off by the fact he was wearing a bright colored knit hat, matching scarf, what appeared to be steel-toed boots with thick wool socks slouched around the top – and nothing else. The dark rimmed, coke bottle glasses were the last thing he noticed.
The man extended his large hand to Liam. “Name’s Big Johnson. Pleasure to meet ya.”
Liam begrudgingly accepted the shake, not wanting to be rude but convinced that guy’s personal germs were now all over Liam’s hand. He was naked. There was nothing between an itch and a scratch with this guy. What was worse was Dick took immediate interest in the dangling parts that were swinging around, right at eye level.
Trying to keep an eye on Dick meant keeping an eye on the guy’s goods, and Liam couldn’t go there. This guy used a lot of body language and wasn’t even saying anything. He was taunting the dog.
“Liam,” he said. “Nice hat.”
Trying to maintain eye to eye contact was harder than one would think. Liam was afraid of keeping an eye on the dog might appear as if he’s appraising Johnson’s goods which could be considered sexual harassment or perhaps flirting. Liam didn’t know. He wasn’t well versed in nudist etiquette. He blamed Felicity for this one. He just didn’t want the dog to take a shot at the dangling chew toy dancing around at eye level.
“Hey, thanks,” Johnson said, tapping the hat on his head. “Mrs. Jessepe made it for me, matching scarf too. Real nice lady. Does great work. Keeps me warm when I’m out cutting wood for the clubhouse. Gets a little chilly in the morning.”
“Cutting wood? Without…clothes?” Liam asked.
“Oh sure, sure. Cool breeze feels real good on a sweaty body. Oh, I wear gloves. Don’t want to get any splinters.” Johnson socked Liam in the shoulder with a laugh.
“Right.” Liam shrugged in agreement. “Don’t want any…splinters…anywhere.”
They were there to see Felicity’s friend, yet she had been quiet the past several moments. When Liam looked over to her, she was biting her bottom lip again, and her face was flushed, eyes blinking wildly. She was trying not to laugh. Son of a bitch, Liam thought, she fucking owes me. He gave her a stern, get it together look then went on to save her ass so she didn’t offend her old friend.
“So, your name really Big Johnson?” Liam asked, not really caring. He could only imagine where the conversation was going to go.
“Oh, no. It’s actually Vern, but I’m not particularly fond of that name so they call me Big Johnson because…I’m tall.” Johnson snorted in laughter, the epitome of every bad nerd joke and movie that ever was.
“Right!” Liam said with faux surprise. “Tall…gotcha.”
“Besides, Big V was a little inappropriate and misunderstood around here, given the…lifestyle.”
“Yeah, I get that. Big Johnson is a lot more…appropriate. Makes…total sense, man.” All Liam could do was agree with the guy – and look around for hidden cameras because no way was this really happening.
“So, Felicity it’s really good to see you, but I gotta ask. What’cha doin’ all the way out here?” Big Johnson asked. “What can I do you for?”
Liam nearly lost it and had to turn away under the guise he was taking in the scenery, which was quite spectacular from where they stood.
Felicity took a seat on the grass, Big Johnson joining her while she explained everything that had transpired over the past several weeks. She narrowed down the specifics that stood out as Wells, the few facts they were able to gather thus far, and of course, the attacks they’d already endured. Felicity said something that she hadn’t before, that Wells was just getting started, playing, and she anticipated him upping the ante sooner rather than later. That was the first he’d heard her say that. She was truly afraid of what that man was capable of. Especially when she mentioned Dunham and Lainey.
“Lainey? Alive?” Johnson looked to the ground, twiddling his fingers through the grass. “That had to be a blow.”
“It was – is,” Felicity admitted. “I don’t know what to think of it all. I mean, is she helping them? Was she all along? And where’s my mom?”
“That’s right. I remember hearing about your mom too. Man, I’m sorry,” Johnson sympathized. “I thought Dunham had been one of those John Doe’s in the warehouse. I was sure of it. How did they hide for so long?”
“I don’t know,” She offered. “That’s a long time to be on the run. I mean, how did they survive? Did he take some of Wells’ money? Steal what he needed? He’s a hacker. He can get whatever he needs and be whoever he needs to be so long as he has a computer.”
“Wow. I wish I could help you, but I can’t. When stuff got real weird, I bailed.” Johnson looked as though he was going to cry. This really affected him. “After I saw the stuff about the warehouse in Frisco…I took off. Been here ever since, hiding. I wasn’t going to go down for what he did, and I didn’t want him to find me neither. It’s great here. Technology stuff is in the past. Simple life is my choice now.”
“I understand, and I’m happy for you.” Felicity was sincerely happy for him, even if she thought it odd to live in a nudist colony. To each his own.
“How’d you find me anyway?” Johnson laughed, giving her a nudge as he tried to lighten the mood.
“It was easy, actually. I remember you always teased about retiring in a nudist camp. You also love this area, always talked about it.” Reminiscing left something that sounded like sadness in Felicity’s voice. “I just started searching area resorts and colonies and there you were, on the website.”
“Oh yeah. I did sign a consent form for that.” He nodded in surprise. “I had no idea I was actually on there.” He tossed up his jazz hands and said in a sing song voice, “Famous,” before he fell into a fit of snorting laughter.
“That you are, my friend.” She giggled.
Johnson walked them to the edge of the grounds just before the parking lot. “Hey, yoga is underway. I’m late! Want to join in? You’ll feel amazing.”
Liam briefly looked to the grassy area where two or three dozen people practiced yoga, naked. “Nooo. Sounds…great, but we gotta hit the road. It was really nice meeting you, Big…guy.”
“Liiiam,” Johnson said, making both Felicity and Liam a little more uncomfortable than they wanted to be. “You know, it’s just a body. We don’t see nudity out here as anything but natural. You now, you in all your spiffy clothes…odd ball,” he finished, returning to that awkward sing song voice.
So, Liam reciprocated, with his own sing song voice. “That’s me…oddball.”
“Well, you know where to find us if you have a change of heart, you two.” Johnson waved before he turned and ran like the awkward goliath that he was, right to the front of the yoga group, and went straight to a downward dog pose.
11
Liam drove back to Portland, allowing Felicity time to reflect on what she had just learned – or what she hadn’t rather. “That was…interesting.”
Without turning his direction, she kept her sights anywhere but in that vehicle. Felicity wasn’t interested in anything Liam had to say. “Mmmmhmmm.”
“What? Are you mad or something?” he asked, tossing her a quick glance.
“Just drive, Liam.”
Why he even asked was beyond him because he knew exactly why she was mad. He offended her, hurt her when he said their brief encounter, so many years ago, was a mistake. He hadn’t intended to hurt her. He was just stating facts, and that’s how they came out. And he meant it when he said it could never happen again.
Loving, or even liking, her wasn’t an option. He had to love his family. They’d been there his entire life, and he couldn’t just stop loving them. Felicity had come later though. That one he could turn off – needed to turn off because it would be too easy to fall…hard. Sure, Felicity had made life better for all of them. Everything was easier with her around. She even helped him grieve the loss of his wife. That was the one thing she couldn’t make easier. That just came with guilt.
As much as he told himself he didn’t care if she was mad at him, he really did care. He cared what she thought, cared what she did, cared who she talked to and that made him as mad as his earlier comment pissed her off.
He didn’t want to care so much about her, and it took more energy and thought not to than it should. It was a constant reminder to himself of all the reasons he couldn’t give two shits about Felicity Nichols – why she needed to stay at arm’s-length. Reason one, he already had loved, had that once in a lifetime, earth shattering, happily ever after, fairy tale love, and it hurt when it died.
It hurt bad enough to last a lifetime. He wouldn’t betray Cassidy’s memory again. He did something he shouldn’t have, out of grief, and it would forever tarnish what he once had with his wife. It didn’t matter how long she had been gone at the time. It still wasn’t right. ‘Til death do us part wasn’t a loophole. It was a life sentence, and just because one had left the relationship, it didn’t excuse the other. He vowed to love his wife forever. It didn’t matter that she died before forever came. He wouldn’t falter, not again, not for anyone – even Felicity.
Though his commitment to his dead wife was solid, and his vow not to let Felicity in concrete, he couldn’t help the heaviness it all created. Love wasn’t easy. It was damn hard, and it ached in the deepest parts of you and devoured your soul. It was all-consuming and earth shattering. It could hurt you and heal you. Define you and break you. It was a burden that brought joy, contentment and unease. Love was complicated. It was life. Love made you whole but left you empty.
Liam knew all of those things, lived them every day. He also lived in temptation. It was Felicity. She was his daily battle which was why he knew he was doing the right thing, said the right thing earlier in the aft
ernoon, and cared so deeply that he had hurt her feelings. Again.
“City…” he said, using her nickname, something he never did.
“What?” she snapped, whipping her head in his direction. “What do you want, Liam?”
Her question was a loaded one, and he wasn’t sure where to start – with what he wanted or what he could have. Those were two different things, and the answer to what he wanted was simple. It just wasn’t his to have. Before he could answer her, his view shifted to the rearview mirror and had his attention. He watched for a moment, then two, as the black sedan that he noticed earlier still trailed them.
“I think we’re being followed.” Not the answer he had been constructing in his mind but one he had to address now that they weren’t alone on the road.
“What?” Felicity quickly turned in her seat, looking out the rear window. “How long? How long have they been following us?”
“A while,” he replied, keeping his eye on the road, only taking occasional glances in the mirror. “Turn around and face forward. Don’t turn back again. Okay?”
“Liam. Why. What are you going to do?”
“Luke,” he said, putting his brother on speaker, “we have a problem.”
“I know. We’re already headed your way,” Luke said. “Your program got a hit. We’re fifteen minutes out, bro.”
“A hit?” Liam asked. “A black sedan maybe?”
“Yeah,” Luke said with surprise. “That car Dunham and Lainey bought in City’s name? Bought it in Hillsboro, just outside Portland. They’re here, Liam.”
“You have no idea.” Liam chuckled. “Got a black sedan on our ass. Let me guess – they bought a black sedan.”
“Son of a bitch,” Luke yelled. His fist could be heard hitting something on the other end of the phone. “We’re coming in fast but may not be fast enough. I don’t like this, Liam. What do you want me to do?”
“Hang on. Let’s see how much trouble we’re dealing with,” Liam said as he pulled the car slightly to the right and slowed down, allowing the car to pass. “He’s not passing me. He’s here for fun.”
Brother's Keeper V: Wylie (the complete series BOX SET): NEW RELEASE + Series Box SET included! Page 41