Vegas Sunrise

by Fern Michaels

  “I didn’t know Myrtle was still in the garage. I forget, who painted the name on the side?”

  “I did,” Billie said.

  “Where are your uncle Josh and his family?”

  “They walked down to Chue’s earlier. Uncle Josh is going to have a horse sent here for the kids. Jake can’t wait. He’s in the cowboy stage right now. I think it will be good for the kids, and we certainly have the room. They were absolutely mesmerized with the greenhouses.”

  Fanny sat down across from Celia. “What do you think of Sunrise?”

  “It’s very beautiful. It must be heavenly in the spring and summer. I love mountains. Alabama is so flat.”

  Today Celia was dressed in a plum-colored wool dress that was so plain it shrieked money. A single strand of pearls hung from her neck. She fiddled with them.

  “Do you like the penthouse?” Fanny probed.

  “It’s lovely. Birch said I could toss . . . remove the furnishings and do it over. He said his father’s things were in storage. I think I’ll look at them tomorrow or the next day.”

  “Oh.” Everyone in the kitchen suddenly looked somewhere else.

  “Did I say something wrong?”

  “No, of course not. Is Ruby here, Iris?”

  “She went out to the cemetery. She brought some flowers for her father’s grave.”

  “I think I’ll go out and talk to her. You young people can chat. Is there anything you want me to do?”

  “It’s under control, Fanny.”

  “I love it when you say things like that.” Fanny laughed. She pecked Iris on the cheek.

  Outside in the crisp October air, Fanny drew a deep breath. Ruby was walking toward her. They embraced.

  “I love autumn.”

  “Me too. Want to go for a walk?” Fanny asked.

  “I’d love to go for a walk. You don’t like her much, do you?” Ruby said.

  “I’m sure she has some wonderful qualities.”

  “Don’t count on it,” the outspoken Ruby replied.

  “I have to count on it for Birch’s sake.”

  Ruby jammed her hands into the pockets of her hunter green coat. “Birch came to see me the other night. I want you to hear me out, Fanny, okay?”

  “Sure.” Fanny listened, her heart fluttering in her chest. “Will you hear me out, Ruby?”

  “Shoot.”

  Fanny recounted the conversation she’d had with Marcus on the ride up the mountain. “Can you hang on for six months, Ruby? If Birch really wants to work the ranch, I’ll go along with him. Your offer was more than generous.”

  “I’m taking this family thing real seriously. I’m so grateful to you, Fanny, for allowing me to become part of your family. I love all of you.”

  “Ash talked about you a lot at the end. He knew I wouldn’t let it lie and he was okay with it. You belong. That’s the fact.”

  “Jeff?”

  “I have mixed feelings where he’s concerned. I had to try. I’d like him to be part of the family. The kids don’t seem to have a problem with him. Birch might, but he’s always been fair. When he acts on impulse, Sage reels him in. All we can do now is take a wait-and-see attitude. About that six months?”

  “I can hold on. God, I hate chickens. My father used to name them.”

  “I know. At the time I thought it was cute.”

  “There is nothing cute about a chicken, Fanny.”

  Both women burst out laughing.

  “Let’s go inside and see what’s happening,” Fanny said.

  “You are such a brave soul,” Ruby grinned.

  “Marcus says I’m the quintessential optimist when I’m not being a quintessential pessimist. Go figure.”

  “Here come the guys,” Ruby said, her hand on the kitchen doorknob.

  It happened so fast, Fanny found it impossible to describe later. Ruby held the door, Sage brushed past her just as Celia got up from the table to take her glass to the sink when Fred, Sunny’s dog, rose, his eyes and ears alert to the sudden noise and commotion. Harry took that moment to wheel his chair out of the way, his dog Gus colliding with Birch, who then fell over Sunny’s chair which then fell backward, knocking Celia to the floor. Everyone rushed to help everyone else as the kids barreled through the door, Marcus bringing up the rear. He took in the situation at a glance and bellowed at the top of his lungs, “FREEZE!”

  All movement ceased but the babble of voices continued. “Jesus, Sunny, are you okay?” Birch said as he scooped his sister into his arms, Fred pawing his pant leg and Jake yanking at his other leg.

  “I’m okay. It’s okay, Fred. Down, boy. Jake, it was just a little spill. It’s okay. See if Harry is okay.”

  “I’m okay, Sunny,” Harry called from the other side of the kitchen. His dog let out one shrill bark. “Gus is okay, too.”

  “I don’t suppose anyone cares if I have a concussion,” Celia snapped as she struggled to her feet.

  Sage, his hand outstretched to help Celia to her feet, froze when he heard his brother say, “You fell on your ass, how could you have a concussion?”

  As before, everyone started talking at once. Fanny made her way to Marcus’s side, where she reached for his hand. Her eyes tear-filled, she watched her son Birch cuddle his sister, smoothing back her hair and crooning soft words that were indistinguishable.

  “Dammit, the heel broke on my shoe!” Celia seethed. “They cost $400. I suppose you’re going to blame me for wasting your money when I throw them out.”

  “I can fix it for you, Celia,” Harry offered. “I know how to do that. My hands are still good.”

  “I don’t want you touching my shoes,” Celia screeched, as all eyes swiveled toward her.

  Birch settled Sunny in her wheelchair. Iris and Billie rushed to her.

  “That does it!” Birch strode across the room and grabbed his wife’s arm and dragged her to the door. He turned, and shouted over his shoulder. “I’m taking her home. I’ll be back. Wait for me.”

  “Holy hell!” Sage said when Sunny’s Volvo streaked out of the courtyard.

  “Is he driving faster than forty miles an hour?” Sunny grumbled.

  “Heck, Mom, he was crawling,” Jake said. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Honey, I’m fine. Birch caught me. Take the kids upstairs and play a game or something. The grown-ups need to talk.”

  Fanny sat down next to Ruby. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “We could ignore it and pretend it never happened,” Billie said.

  “We can talk it to death,” Iris said.

  “It won’t change anything,” Sunny said.

  “Why don’t we just get on with the day? How about a beer, Harry?” Sage asked.

  “That sounds good.” He motioned for Sunny to wheel her chair next to him. “You can swig from mine. I’ll hold the bottle.”

  “Mom, do you think I should go after Birch?” Sage asked.

  “No, honey. He said he’d be back.”

  “Why don’t you guys adjourn to the living room and us girls will get on with our food preparations? The Colemans and Chue and his family will be back soon. We’re running a little behind.”

  “You sit right here with you husband, Fanny. You did your share for years. I’ll step in for you,” Ruby said. “I’m no cook, though,” she confessed.

  The women hooted when Ruby donned an apron. Marcus left to join the others in the living room.

  “This is not good,” Fanny said. “We have some business to discuss today. Celia and Birch need to be here.”

  “Why?” Sunny demanded. “I can see Birch being here, but why does Celia have to be here? I promised Birch I’d try to like her. I don’t even want to be in the same room with her. What does he see in her?”

  “Love’s blind. I’m an authority on the subject,” Fanny said.

  “I don’t think I like her much myself. What she said to Harry was unforgivable. Where does she come off acting like that?” Iris demanded.

  “Harr
y’s okay with it,” Sunny said. “We’re used to stuff like that.”

  “Oh, honey, don’t speak for Harry. I saw his face. Her words hurt him unbearably. No one ever gets used to things like that. We all love Harry, and he knows it. I wish there was a way to shelter you two, but there isn’t.”

  “Mom, trust me, it’s okay. Harry and I will talk about it tonight. Tomorrow we’ll talk to a counselor, and this will just be an unpleasant memory. Maybe we shouldn’t go out as much as we do. Maybe we should stay where we belong. It was such a freak thing,” Sunny dithered.

  They jumped on her as one. “No more talk like that. This is your home, too. It will always be your home. You have a right to be wherever you want to be, and you belong wherever you want to be. That’s the end of it,” Ruby said, summing things up.

  Fanny smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “You wanted to belong to a family, Ruby. This is what it’s like. We go from one crisis to the next with hardly a break between. I do hope Birch can mend things.”

  “Some things aren’t worth mending, Mom,” Billie said.

  “It sounds to me like you’ve all made up your mind not to like Birch’s wife. That doesn’t seem fair. Maybe we need to try harder.”

  “There’s nothing to like. Look into her eyes sometime. Nothing comes back. They’re empty. I had her number from the git-go,” Sunny muttered.

  “Where’s Sage going?” Billie asked, as her brother whizzed past the kitchen window.

  “He’s going to run down the mountain and wait at the base for his brother.” Iris’s voice was so low the others had to strain to hear the words. “He’s hurting for Birch, and he knows Birch needs him right now. Twins are like that, you know, tuned to one another.”

  “While we’re waiting for those two hunks to come back why don’t I show you my table decoration. I want you all to know I have one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas too. On the drawing board that is. I left them in the trunk. I’ll just be a minute.”

  The bad moments were set aside as they waited for Billie to return.

  Sage ran in place at the base of the mountain, marking time as he waited for the first sign of the red Volvo. His heart flip-flopped inside his chest when his brother brought the Volvo to a stop at the side of the road. Sage climbed in. “I cleaned out my ears this morning when I took a shower. Talk, Birch.”

  “It’s all wrong, Sage. I feel like somebody put a hex on me, and the worst is yet to come. I think it started when Dad died, and I couldn’t make it back. Then I had to deal with the fact that he killed Uncle Simon. On top of that I feel like I let Sunny down. Mom’s got me on probation whether she admits it or not. I’m definitely not the favored son. I’m not sure I ever got over the mountain crash. I still have nightmares about it. Someone I thought I loved died in that crash. Dad bamboozled me, and I fell for it. Do I have some kind of invisible mark on my forehead? Now Celia. How do you go from all-out love to revulsion in a matter of days? How, Sage? Where did I fuck up? Christ Almighty, you’d think I’d have my shit in one sock at my age. Everything is wrong. I haven’t even touched on Jeff Lassiter yet.”

  “You want to cut and run, don’t you?”

  “Hell yes. I don’t want to deal with this shit.”

  “If you don’t deal with it, who will, Birch? You can’t keep running away. You need to stare it in the face, get a handle on it, and go from there. We aren’t kids anymore. You don’t pick up your marbles and go home because something doesn’t go your way. I’m not an advocate of divorce, but if it’s your only option, do it. Talking solves a lot of things, Birch. Iris and I fight. We say what we have to say. We never go to bed angry with one another. You can’t always be right, Birch.”

  “It’s the money, Sage. She believes she should have carte blanche. I’m beginning to wonder if I talked in my sleep, and she married me for my money.”

  “What did Celia say on the way home?”

  “Nothing. We didn’t say one word to each other. I dropped her off in the garage, turned around, and headed back. Getting together today was my idea and we screwed up. I’m sorry, Sage.”

  “It’s no big deal. Iris is up for anything that gets the family together. It’s good for Sunny and Harry to get out and be among family. The guy is a real sweetheart. The kids love him. He can tell stories better than Mom used to. More important, Sunny loves him. Birch, I gotta tell you, it kills me that Sunny is . . . you know. Sometimes I goddamn cry when I think about it. She’s so damn good about it.”

  Birch clapped his brother on the back. “Yeah, I know.”

  “What are you going to do, Birch?”

  Birch reminded him of his visit to Ruby’s. “I’m considering it. It kind of depends on Mom today. I have this fear of disappointing her.”

  “What are you going to say about Celia?”

  “Nothing. It is what it is. Everyone saw it. What’s to talk about? We’ve moved on now. I’ll deal with Celia and my marriage in my own way.”

  “I’m here for you, Birch.”

  “I know that, Sage. I knew you’d be here at the base of the mountain. How long were you waiting?”

  “Fifteen minutes or so.”

  “Ha. I would have made it right on schedule but I promised Sunny not to drive this heirloom over forty miles an hour. Want to drive it halfway up the mountain?”

  “Do birds want to fly? Get out so I can move over! Jeez, finally I get to drive the gray ghost. Do you know how often I dreamed about this? It’s a secret, right?”

  “Damn right it’s a secret.”

  Sage smacked his hands gleefully as he shifted gears. “Jesus, this is great. I’d kill for this car.”

  “Going forty miles an hour has its drawbacks.”

  “Who cares,” Sage chortled as he downshifted.

  Halfway up the mountain Sage said, “Birch, why do you think Sunny had this car done over? She knows she can never drive it. Dad took care of it for her. She picked out the leather and the paint, though.”

  “A dream. Hope. Maybe someday by some miracle she might be able to drive it. If not, maybe Jake will want his mother’s car someday.”

  “You realize both of us could go out tomorrow and buy a Porsche, a Corvette, or a Lamborghini and not even blink. Instead, we’re both lusting after a fifteen-year-old car that will never belong to us.”

  “That’s why. It can never be ours. It’s all tied up with Sunny. Pull over. We’re almost to Chue’s house.”

  Birch climbed into the driver’s seat and continued up the mountain. He pocketed the keys. “Not a word to Sunny. Swear, Sage.”

  “My lips are zipped. I won’t even tell Iris.”

  “It’s about time. We’ve been waiting. Dinner’s almost ready,” Iris chastised.

  “You drove my car, didn’t you, Sage?” Sunny accused.

  “Where’d you get an idea like that?”

  “Because you look like you drove it. Tell the truth.”

  “I never lied to you, Sunny,” Sage said.

  “I know you drove it. I forgive you this once.”

  “You do. That’s great, Sunny. I’ll never touch it again, I swear.”

  “Ha! Gotcha. I knew it. I knew it!”

  “You didn’t know?”

  “Sure I knew, but how could I prove it?” Her voice turned wistful when she said, “So how did it drive?”

  “Better than ever.”

  Sunny turned to hide the tears puddling in her eyes. “I hear a car. Quick, Sage, see if it’s Libby? Iris said it was okay to invite her. Don’t tell her what happened. She gets like a tiger when someone beats on us. Billie, warn Harry.”

  Birch felt his heart thud inside his chest. Someone should have told him the therapist was coming to Sunrise. He backed up a step and asked himself why. He moved then, quicker than he’d ever moved in his life, to lope up the steps to the second floor, where the children were squabbling good-naturedly. He wasn’t ready to deal with what Sunny perceived as his destiny. He should call Celia to be sure she was okay
. He wouldn’t apologize, though.

  He stood in the doorway for a moment observing the children. They were all best friends, Chue’s grandchildren and his nieces and nephews. It was blond, blue-eyed Jake and dark-haired, dark-eyed Sami who were in charge. Both were the same age. He had to wonder if Sami was Jake’s destiny. His heart was thudding again. He walked to the room at the end of the hall. He closed the door. It was quiet and peaceful here though he could hear the muted voices of the children. A deep sigh escaped his lips as he picked up the phone to call the penthouse. He let the phone ring twenty times before he hung up. Why didn’t the answering machine come on? He picked up the receiver and dialed again, paying careful attention to the numbers he dialed. The phone rang twenty more times. His gut started to churn.

  Birch dropped his head into his hands. He wanted to bawl his head off and put his fist through the wall all at the same time. He was so engrossed in his own misery he didn’t hear the door open or close. He did hear the heavy footsteps cross the oak floor, though.

  “What’s wrong, son?” Josh Coleman asked gently.

  “Everything. My life seems to be spiraling out of control. I should be trying to get a handle on it, but I just keep making things worse.”

  “Let’s talk about it. I’m an old man, and I’ve lived through more misery than you can ever begin to imagine. I’m just going to sit here, and you let it rip, boy. Ain’t nothing I haven’t seen or heard, so don’t be shy.”

  Birch looked at the old man’s eyes that were the color of worn denim. He thought he saw a twinkle. The hand on his shoulder felt so warm and comforting he leaned into the pressure his great-uncle’s hand created. “Just let it rip, boy.”

  He did.

  “Life wouldn’t be worth a tinker’s damn if there weren’t some upsets along the way. Hell, boy, you got the world by the tail. In my day we called it a tiger’s tail. You swing that bastard and move right with it. You got Coleman blood in you, boy. That makes you one of a kind. We ain’t never been misfits, cowards, or followers. We’re leaders. You got a mouth, a brain, and you got fists. Fists don’t work nowadays. That leaves your mouth and your brain. Your ma saw to it that you got a fine education. Don’t you be disappointing her now. Women don’t always make the right decision where their young’uns are concerned. You git in your half brother’s face and tell him the way it is. You’re full blood. He came in through the back door. That counts for a poke. That little filly you married—Well, hell, boy, you tell her like it is, too. You’re the boss. It sounds to me like you let her get out of line. Reel her in. A few pretty words ain’t going to hurt. Maybe a few posies from time to time. Marriage needs to be worked at. You gotta give her some pocket money that’s all hers. You don’t ask any questions when she spends it either. If she pisses it away, it ain’t no never mind to you. You following me, boy?”