by Kimball Lee
“Whoa, glad I’m not the one you’re giving the ‘rot in hell’ look. Ah, the newly sober and now in love Auntie Amanda. I’ll take a leap of faith here and guess that you’re not deciding whether she should be nominated for Mother of the Year.” Holden said, nudging his brother and handing him a glass of champagne. “Let’s drink to our parents’ marriage, they are embarrassingly happy aren’t they? I know how Dad feels when he looks at your mother, I feel the same way about Hadley. And you, bro, you’d better find yourself a girl who can fuck all the memories of Skyler out of you. I gotta tell you Atti, when you look at Skyler you have that same tortured look that our father had all those years when he waited for Charlotte. Trust me, it’s not a good look for you. Ava brought a couple of decent looking girls with her tonight, why not go talk to one or two of them, maybe it would help, you know, the kindness of strangers.”
“I’m good where I am and besides nobody is stranger than you,” Atticus said and they both laughed and he looked like his old self again.
“You’ve fucking got that right and it’s my family that’s made me strange. There are too many of us with mothers and fathers and sisters and assorted relatives in common. I will be your brother and your brother-in-law eventually, you know. You can deny what you feel for Sky but I am not staging a repeat of the Charlotte, Alex and Finn saga. I love Hadley, there’s no getting around that and I don’t want to, guess I’m like Dad in that way, loving only one woman for my whole life. I look at other women and I find them attractive but sex without love, man, I am so over that.” Holden said, and then he wished he hadn’t when the sour look returned to his brother’s face.
“What do you think about this monstrous big house since it’s time to change the subject anyway? Alex’s place in San Diego seems kinda small compared to this one and now he’s into growing grapes and winemaking, what’s that all about?” Atticus said, exchanging the empty champagne flute for a full one as a server with a silver tray passed by.
“Fuck if I know, it’s not like our dad is exactly right in the head and who would be with the ‘Wicked Witch of Paris’ for a mother? At least my mom stayed away and had no interest in me, Evangeline has definitely made Dad miserable for his entire life. You probably don’t see it that way since she thinks you’re the greatest thing to happen to her since the first Holden Bly made her a very, very rich woman. Yeah, I don’t think she loved our legendary grandfather but I do think she loves his money and you,” Holden said as he and Atticus walked through the crowd to a linen-draped round table where Hadley sat talking with Mia and her friends.
“Okay, what’s going on you two? Secret missions, assassinations, the over-throw of facist dictators, drug lords and other assorted megalomaniacs?” Hadley asked, standing and pressing her body against Holden as his hands slipped around her narrow waist drawing her nearer. “Hey lover, are we doing anything for New Year’s or should I find myself a hot date?” She asked, tangling her fingers in Holden’s wild tosseled hair, their eyes full of love and lust as they gazed at each other.
“You two need to cool down, there are way too many starry-eyed couples in this room tonight,” Atticus said, glancing around for any sign of Skyler before checking the incoming call on his phone and sighing deeply as he answered. “I need to take this call, Holden, catch up with you later…. He walked outside and far away from the crowd before he spoke again, “Lucy Archer why are you calling me on Christmas Eve, let me rephrase that— why are you calling me at all?”
“I need you Atticus and don’t start in with the “I’m all about the SEAL teams and the CIA is for pussys” and all that testosterone fueled bullshit. You’re going to get a call from your commanding officer any minute now, it’s all set up. I’m borrowing you and a few other SEALs for a mission. Like it or not, you are part of my Black Ops team, so get to Washington fast and I’ll brief you. This is important to me, Atticus, and it’s what you’ve been waiting for all your life— it’s dangerous and it’s real and there will be blood.”
*
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash, we need to talk. Where is your sister? I want to talk to Skyler before I leave.” Atticus said clamping his huge hand on Jack’s shoulder and dragging him away from the pretty young lady he was cozying up to.
“Sky left already, she got a ride into town with some friend of Hadley’s— ‘Reef whatshisname’. What do you want to talk to her about? I hope it’s that you intend to let Skyler get on with her life, you gotta stay away from her Atticus. She deserves the chance to be happy, don’t you think? You aren’t in love with her so let her go… for good.”
“You don’t know shit about me and Skyler so shut the fuck up….” Atticus ran his hands through his hair and ripped off his bowtie and unbuttoned the top buttons of the tuxedo shirt in irritation. “I’m sorry, sorry Jack, you’re right, I should stay away from her. Consider it done. That’s not what I want to talk to you about. I just got a call, it’s all classified but there’s a briefing tonight in DC as soon as I can get there. This is it, the real thing, blood and bullets and death at the door. A helo is picking me up right out on the lawn in fifteen minutes, I want you and Holden to come with me, are you up for it? It’s my choice, two men to add to the team, Holden’s the best sniper and you’re the best combat paramedic, what’s your answer?”
“Hell yeah! Where’s Holden? Hello yellow brick road, this is what we’ve been waiting for. I’m sick of those chicken-shit raids on small time arms dealers and dope smugglers, bring it on, the dirtier and the bloodier the better.” He said and his eyes were on fire with enthusiasm as adrenaline coursed through his veins— Jack Thomas was JP’s son without a doubt.
Atticus moved in close to Holden and whispered the news in his ear so that Hadley wouldn’t hear but she turned her face up to glare at them both.
“Don’t you dare ruin Mom’s wedding, Atticus. I know that look, Dad used to get the same glint in his eyes when he told his ‘swimming with sharks’ stories. I’m getting a ‘Best New Actor’ award from the Women in Film Association next week and Holden’s going with me. Isn’t that right, Bly? ” Hadley said, clinging to Holden’s hand and looking up warily into the sea-glass eyes she loved so well. She knew the answer— he loved her more than life itself, but at twenty-one he thought he was invincible. The double edged sword of youth strengthened his body for sex and battle and weakened his decision making in love and war.
“It’s up to him,” Atticus said but the three of them knew that even his love for Hadley wouldn’t stop Holden from going.
“I’ll go with you to the awards thing, Hadley,” Beau said, he and Keller had joined the group and he jumped at the opportunity. His relationship with Mia had been over for more than a year and a half and he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off Hadley all night. “I live in L.A. it wouldn’t be that much of an inconvenience.” He smiled and it was a smile full of unspoken intent that made Hadley grin and made Holden uneasy.
“That’s so sweet, Beau. Here, put your number in my phone and I’ll call you for lunch in a couple of days,” Hadley said tossing her mane of dark hair dramatically as she handed Beau her cell phone. “I promised my friend Reef that if Holden stood me up on awards night he and I would go together but I’d love to meet you in L.A. for lunch or a drink.”
“Hads,” Holden pulled her to him and when she smiled up at him he brushed the tips of his fingers along her maddeningly succulent mouth. It was a constant struggle— his love for Hadley and his loyalty to Atticus. But they were young and life stretched out before them, he had just had his twenty-first birthday and Hadley was months away from twenty. There was time to be in love but for now he chose adventure and often he woke in the night with a stab of fear that Hadley would discover some other adventure on her own. “We need to be alone to say goodbye…. You don’t have to try and make me jealous, Hadley, I am jealous of every man who looks at you or dares to think you might be his. I have to go with Atticus, tell me you understand even if you can’t tell me it’s alright. I love you
and we have time, I promise, we have the rest of our lives. I will come back to you, Hads, it’s you and me forever— say you believe it.”
“I do believe it, so go do what you think is best, Holden. I know you love me and I know you love being part of the teams. I won’t call your war-games idiotic because I understand that career comes first right now for both of us. But I worry about you when you’re not near me.” She leaned in close and let her hands slide under his tuxedo jacket, his body had become even more provocative thanks to the rigorous SEAL training he endured daily. His body was so perfectly sculpted it made her want to drag him into one of the empty rooms, push him down on the cold marble floor and slide her body slowly on top of his. He was hers, that’s all there was to it. Atticus could borrow him for a while, but this incredible man with his wide sea-glass eyes who wore his love for her like a badge of honor, was undeniably the love of her life. “I’ll miss you so much when you’re off doing whatever crazy shit you do that involves all your bulging muscles and high-tech weapons. Come back to me, always come back to me Holden.”
“Always,” he said and he claimed her beautiful mouth in a searing kiss that rivalled the wedding kiss between their parents.
“Take it upstairs or out on the lawn, please,” Atticus grumbled, as he scanned the room hoping for a glimpse of Skyler.
“Okay you guys,” Hadley said, breaking free of Holden and his mind-boggling kiss. She looked into his eyes to let him know that they were good, they were meant to be together, and then she quickly gathered her wits before she spoke again. “We really should pay attention to the happily married couple and did you hear that they’re spending their honeymoon studying wine making and shopping for furniture in Italy and France? There’s this two-story library upstairs that Alex filled with a zillion first editions so Mom could have her pick of reading material, but there’s still not one single sofa in this palace to sit on! They hired some decorator to the stars from L.A. to go ahead and furnish Charlie’s room— actually, he has an entire suite with two bedrooms, a huge study and a media room! And the same decorator did all the Christmas trees throughout the house, so even though there’s basically no furniture yet there are like twenty or thirty eighteen foot tall perfectly decorated freshly cut Noble Firs. Mom says she’s been busy putting her affairs in order so she and Charlie could move up here to this big-time wonderland. She also said she and Alex personally purchased the one piece of furniture that is absolutely essential for an enduring marriage. They bought a ginormous carved canopy bed that probably belonged to Henry the eighth or Marie Antoinette.”
“Oh joy! Henry the eighth and Marie ‘let-them-eat-cake’ Antoinette— not very good marriage references if you know what I mean. Someone is bound to lose their head,” Mia said as she joined the little group, her eyes narrowing as she noticed the way Beau was practically drooling over Hadley. Hadley just rubbed Mia the wrong way, maybe it was because she had that inadvertent way of capturing the attention of every man in the room— just like Charlotte. The apple didn’t fall too far from the tree where those two were concerned, that was for sure. Hadley had won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her very first film role and in her acceptance speech she had cried like a baby and dedicated it to her father who had died only months before. Best actress indeed, what a little show off. Like mother like daughter, Charlotte had kept two men at her beck and call for more than twenty years and it wouldn’t surprise her if Hadley didn’t do the same fucking thing to Holden. She would definitely have to talk to her twin brother about that, not that he or Atticus would want to hear a word spoken against ‘Little miss perfect celebrity who can do no wrong’, ugh, it made her want to throw up.
“For the record, Marie Antoinette never said to let starving peasants eat cake, that’s a distorted urban legend. Besides she was probably too busy stuffing her pretty little mouth with petite fours to give a damn what was going on outside her country palace right before the guillotine dropped and separated her head from her body,” Hadley said and she nudged Keller toward Mia, they would be a good match she was thinking. Mia with her bitchy ways and probable insanity inherited from Maddie would be lucky to hook up with Keller. It turned out that Keller must have about a zillion extra brain cells because he was finishing college in the spring after only three years and then going on to medical school to become a psychiatrist. Keller was totally hot but he was beyond shy and he never had time for girls with his constant studying. Hadley wasn’t Mia’s biggest fan but she figured it would do wonders for Keller to have Mia drag him to her bed and loosen him up a bit. And hopefully while she was fucking his brains out he would use his genius IQ to unfuck whatever was wrong inside Mia Bly’s pretty head.
“Keller, you remember Mia, don’t you, Holden’s twin sister? When we were sorting out the sleeping arrangements for the guest cottages Evangeline somehow put you and Mia together. Are you okay with that, how about you, Mia? It definitely has two bedrooms but the nights get cold up here so stay warm anyway you can, you know?” Hadley said and Mia got that witchy gleam in her eye and Keller turned beet red and smiled nervously.
“Sure, no problem,” Mia said licking a few drops of champagne from her lips and smiling like a cat as she glanced out of the corner of her eye to be sure Atticus was listening. “It’s Christmas Eve after all, the night when Santa Claus comes, so why shouldn’t everyone?”
“Be quiet, all of you, Mom and Alex are going to dance the first dance of the evening,” Atticus said, stopping to watch his parents dance before he and Holden and Jack slipped out to meet the helicopter.
“This song is so romantic! I’m totally impressed that Alex and Evangeline planned this entire wedding. Mom had sort of lost the ability to enjoy herself, but I’ll bet she gets with the program when she and Alex go upstairs and retire to that wicked big bed!” Hadley said and she nestled back against Holden with her firm little ass planted squarely against his crotch. Let him think about what he’s missing when he’s off playing war games and Reef and Beau are escorting me around Los Angeles, she thought. And although she knew it was necessary for him to feed his passion for risk just as she felt the pull of stardom, it broke her heart that he was intent on following Atticus to the ends of the earth no matter how high the cost.
Chapter Two
“Dance with me Mrs. Bly, I chose this song especially for us and I think it says it all,” Bly said and then he swept Charlotte into his arms and stopped her words with a long deep kiss as the band played, then they danced so closely that they might as well have been one person.
The band played and the singer crooned the words beautifully as if Etta James herself was serenading the newlyweds. Guests watched as Bly and Charlotte danced, and many of them, Evangeline included, wiped away a happy tear as the words of the song filled the room.
“At last my love has come along, my lonely days are over and life is like a song. At last the skies above are blue, my heart was wrapped up in clover the night I looked at you. I found a dream that I could speak to, a dream that I can call my own. I found a thrill to press my cheek to, a thrill that I have never known. You smiled, oh and then the spell was cast and here we are in heaven, for you are mine at last.”
“Take me to bed, Bly. Take me to our magnificent marriage bed right now,” Charlotte said when the song ended and they clung to each other with his raging erection pressed hard against her. “It was your idea to keep me waiting until our wedding night and I did hear the minister refer to us as Mr. and Mrs. Bly. I’d say it’s time for you to make love to your wife.”
“Ah, Charlotte. Making love to you is my reason for living. But we should at least say goodnight to our children and our friends. Come on, we’ll say ‘thank you for coming to our wedding’ to a few people and then I’m only letting you out of bed tomorrow long enough to watch Charlie open his Christmas presents.”
“Mom, Alex, congratulations,” Atticus said, he and Holden and Jack were heading for the door but he couldn’t leave without kissing his mother goodbye.
“Atti?” Charlotte said and a sudden chill gripped her heart as he bent to kiss her cheek.
“I love you Mom, and I’m happy for you, this is the way Dad wanted it to be for all of us. He’s still watching over us so stop worrying so much and let yourself love Alex. It’s really okay, you both deserve everything good that life has to offer. I have to follow my own path, wherever it takes me.”
“Son,” Bly said grasping Atti’s hand and pulling him into a fatherly hug. “Your mother and I are tired from all the excitement but we’ll see you in the morning. You and Holden don’t have to leave tonight do you? Surely you have a few days to spend…”
“We have to get back, it’s just part of the job, training missions twenty-four/seven for the first couple of years at least. Has anyone seen Skyler lately?” Atticus said and he and Alex both pushed the pesky locks of hair from their foreheads at the same time.
“She went into town with Reef,” Hadley said, giving her big brother a hard look. “She felt the overwhelming need to get away for some reason.”
“Congratulations to you and Dad, Charlotte,” Holden said, hugging her tight so that she laughed at how alike he and Atticus and Bly were physically. They were so similar in height and size, Atticus was an inch or so taller but it was easy to see they were related.
“Hey there’s a helicopter outside and it’s military, I can tell! Whoa, it’s here for you isn’t it Atti? I wish I could go too.” Charlie said and he looked at Atticus with a longing in his eyes that caused Charlotte’s heart to clench even harder than before.
“Take care of Mom, buddy.” Atticus said, drawing Charlie to him for a quick hug. He was taken aback suddenly realizing how tall his little brother had gotten and how much he looked like Finn now that he was a teenager. “Watch over each other and take care of our family, okay? And Hads, tell Skyler that I… will definitely be back.” Atticus looked from Hadley to his mother and Bly and then to Charlie and Mia. They all nodded silently and watched as he quickly walked away followed by Holden and Jack.