Joel's gaze shifted to his brother. "He wasn't being nice," Joel said. "He likes dicking with people."
I looked to Jake. He gave a loose shrug, and didn't deny it. And yet, under the surface, there was something there that I couldn’t quite place. Somehow, I had the distinct impression that he cared more than he wanted to admit.
I looked to Joel and said, "Whether he likes it or not, it doesn't matter."
Joel's mouth tightened. "Is that so?"
"Definitely," I said. "He did me a huge favor, and not just tonight." I looked back to Jake and said, "I know I already thanked Luna, but seriously, thanks for the help with the sewer."
"I wasn't helping you," Jake said. "I was helping me. I had to send them somewhere." Under his breath, he added, "Better your place than mine."
I shook my head. "Sorry, but I don't believe that."
"Yeah? Why not?"
"Because," I said, "you could've sent them anywhere, like cripes, even on a vacation or something. And just so you know, they were really great." I felt a wistful smile cross my lips. "Luna's really lucky." I looked from Jake to Joel. "And you guys are, too."
Joel and Jake exchanged a look. I couldn’t exactly read it, but it wasn't a look of brotherly love.
Switching gears, I turned back to Jake and said, "And about the sewer, I'll definitely pay you back." My face grew warm as I had to admit, "But it might take a while."
Joel spoke up. "No, it won't." He turned to me and said, "Tomorrow, we'll go to the bank and get that money."
I wasn't following. "What money?"
"From the safe deposit box."
Now, I knew which money he meant. He meant his money, in the form of all that cash that he'd been saving since who knows when.
I said, "But that's your money."
He shook his head. "It's our money. And I say we pay him back now, so we don't owe him anything."
"But we can't," I said.
"Why not?"
I smiled. "Because tomorrow's Sunday."
He didn’t smile back. "So we'll write a check."
Jake's voice cut across the foyer. "Listen, dickweed. You don't need to write a check. I don't want your fucking money."
"Too bad," Joel told him, "because you're gonna get it. I'm not owing you anything." His jaw tightened. "And neither is she."
I made a sound of annoyance. "Oh, just stop it!"
Both guys turned to look. Joel said, "You mean him, right?"
"I mean both of you." Again, I heard myself sigh. This wasn't how I planned to do it, but if I didn't say something now, they'd probably be brawling in the entryway.
I looked to Joel and just blurted it out. "He didn't sleep with Sally."
Joel's eyebrows furrowed. "Who?"
"Sally," I repeated. "That whole thing was just a big lie to protect you." My voice softened. "To protect all of you."
Jake said, "Who's Sally?"
I turned to him and said, "Oh come on. You know who."
But the way it looked, he didn't. With something like a laugh, he said, "If I screwed someone named Sally, I think I'd remember."
I looked back to Joel. But from the look on his face, he didn't know who I meant either.
Feeling suddenly uncertain, I looked from brother to brother. They both shared a look, as if to say, "Who the hell is she talking about?"
I made a sound of frustration. "Oh, come on. You know. Your dad's girlfriend?"
For a long moment, neither one of them spoke. And then, Jake started to laugh.
I whirled to face him. "What's so funny?"
He was still laughing. "Oh, man. You're kidding, right?"
I felt my gaze narrow. Was he making fun of me? It sure felt like it. I looked back to Joel. To my extreme annoyance, he looked ready to laugh, too.
Well, this was just great. I was glaring now. "Whatever the joke is, could one of you please fill me in?"
Joel shoved a hand through his hair. "Well, the thing is, her name wasn't Sally."
I stared at him. That was the name he'd told me, right? I tried to think. Had Luna told me a different name? I couldn’t be sure either way.
And then, it slowly dawned on me. "Oh." Already, my face was in flames. "So the Sally thing, that was just a word to go with—"
"Uh, yeah." Joel cleared his throat. "Sandpaper."
I lowered my voice. "So, what was her real name?"
Joel's mouth twitched at the corners. "Debbie."
"Oh." I tried to think. Sandpaper Debbie? Nope. Definitely not as catchy.
I looked back to Jake. He'd stopped laughing, but he still looked annoyingly amused.
I swallowed my embarrassment and gave him a stern look. "Go on, tell him."
Jake said, "Tell him what?"
"Tell him what really happened." I crossed my arms. "And why."
Jake's eyebrows lifted. "Shouldn't you wait 'til after you're married to give me grief?"
"I’m not giving you grief," I said. "I'm trying to clear up a misunderstanding."
Next to me, Joel said, "Sorry, but Jake admitted it. I did tell you that, right?"
"Yes," I said, using my overly patient voice, "but like I said, he was lying."
Joel shook his head. "He was not." He looked to Jake and said, "Go ahead. Tell her."
But Jake didn't. And the longer the silence stretched out, the less certainty I saw in Joel's eyes.
Finally, I broke the silence by saying, "He only said that to make your dad angry – and to get rid of Sally. I mean, Debbie."
Joel was still looking at Jake. In a careful voice, he said, "Why would he do that?"
"Because," I explained, "Debbie was always giving you grief, pushing you around and stuff. And Jake didn't like it."
Joel was staring now. As if thinking out loud, he said, "But dad was so pissed."
Jake shrugged. "Eh, big deal. He was always pissed."
Joel said, "At you."
I spoke up. "Right, because Jake, being the oldest, decided he'd rather have his dad, well I guess I mean your dad, too, beating on him rather than the rest of you."
Jake made a scoffing sound. "Beat on me? Get real. I could hold my own."
I gave Jake a look. He looked tough as nails now, but I couldn’t help but wonder how he looked years ago. No doubt, he had to be tough.
I turned back to Joel. He was still looking at Jake. With a slow shake of his head, Joel asked, "And what about the other stuff?"
When Jake only shrugged, I said, "You mean the thing with that sports agent? It was like everything else. He was just looking out for you." Again, my voice softened. "Like a brother should."
After a long, intense moment, Joel asked Jake, "Is that true?"
Jake gave something like a shrug. "Hey, someone had to do it." He grinned. "Pussy."
I rolled my eyes. Neither one of them were pussies. And from the look on Joel's face, he took the remark the way it was intended – as a twisted sign of brotherly love.
Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part.
Behind Jake, the front door opened, and Bishop walked in. He looked to Jake. "You ready to go?"
Joel spoke up. "Hey, it's late. You guys wanna stay over?"
Chapter 53
Jake leaned back in his armchair. "Hey, I could make Gandhi hit me."
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. I was sitting on the sofa in the front room, with Joel's arm draped over my shoulder. The arm felt nice, and I snuggled closer.
I felt nice, all warm and happy, in spite of all the previous drama.
A half-hour earlier, I'd retrieved another bottle of wine, along with two more glasses – one for Jake and one for Bishop, who was sitting in a neighboring armchair.
While filling their glasses, I'd also refilled mine and Joel's. My own wine had disappeared surprisingly quickly. But I couldn't blame that for the warm, happy sensation that had settled over me.
I was content for other reasons. It was the feel of Joel, pressed tight against me on the sofa. It was the soun
d of Jake, laughing at how insane he'd driven my aunt. It was the news from Bishop, that he'd already secured the pump house door, so no one would be breaking in – at least not in the near future.
He'd also mentioned that we'd need to rig up something more permanent, just to be safe.
It was the "we" that did me in. It made me feel misty all over again, especially when Joel told him, "I'll do it tomorrow." And then, he'd given my shoulders a comforting squeeze. "So don't worry, okay?"
It was funny. I wasn't worried. I felt like I had a family again.
I laughed with the three of them as Jake relayed a story about getting some sports star so angry that he beat up his own car. It was so insane that I had to wonder what, exactly, I was getting into.
Whatever it was, I couldn’t help but love it. Did that make me crazy? Probably. But it was the best kind of crazy, because whatever came up, I wouldn't be facing it alone.
Across from us, Jake reached for his glass and took a long drink. He set it down on the side table and looked to Joel. "So, did you tell her yet?"
I looked to Joel. "Tell me what?"
Jake said, "He brought you a present."
I extended my hand and gazed at my ring, sparkling with the promise of an amazing future. It was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. I gave a happy sigh. "I know. Isn't it wonderful?"
Jake made a scoffing sound. "Not that. Something else."
Confused, I looked back to Joel.
He gave me a crooked grin. "I was gonna tell you later, but—"
Jake said, "Screw later. I wanna see her reaction."
Now, I was dying to know. "My reaction to what?"
When neither one of them answered, I looked to Bishop and asked, "Do you know?"
He grinned. "I might."
I gave him a pleading look. "Well?"
It was Joel who finally answered. "We got a copy of the paperwork."
"What paperwork?" I asked.
"Everything," Joel said. "The will, the financials. You name it, we got it."
Was he saying what I thought he was saying? "You mean for the estate?"
Joel nodded. "Oh, yeah."
"Seriously? How'd you get that stuff? I don't even have it. Well, not most of it, anyway."
"I know," Joel said. "But you should have it."
No doubt, this was true. For months, I'd been asking for all of this. The only thing I ever received was the runaround. "But you didn't say, how'd you get it?"
"Trust me," Joel said, "you don't wanna know."
"Sure I do," I insisted.
He shook his head. "Better if you don't."
"Why?" I asked.
This time, it was Bishop who answered, "Because he didn't go through the normal channels to get it." Bishop glanced toward Joel and added, "He didn't want you involved. And he's right."
When I looked to Joel, he didn't dispute any of this. "If someone asks," he said, "you don't know a thing."
I felt my brow wrinkle. "But who would ask?"
His voice hardened. "Guess."
Oh. Of course. "Derek."
"And his dad," Joel said. "You know he's got a place in Bermuda, right?"
I shook my head. "Actually, I didn't know."
"Well, he does," Joel said, "And let's just say he had all kinds of interesting stuff there."
"Wait," I said. "So that's where you were? Bermuda?"
He shrugged. "That and other places."
"Like where?"
"Remember that lawyer I mentioned?"
I nodded. "The one from Troy? Did you see him?"
"Oh, yeah."
I leaned forward. "Did he look at the paperwork?"
Joel shook his head. "That's for you to decide. It is your stuff, right?" He grinned. "But the guy's chomping at the bit if you're interested."
I was interested, but I wasn't sure how we were going to manage it. I lowered my voice. "Can we afford him?"
"Probably not," Joel said. "But he's already been paid for the first look."
I felt my brow wrinkle. "What do you mean 'the first look'?"
"To go through the paperwork, see what's there."
"But how was he paid?" I asked. "I didn't pay him."
"Like I told you before," Joel said, "he owes me a favor."
I frowned. "It must've been some big favor."
Joel shrugged. "Nah, it was nothing."
Somehow, I wasn't so sure. But whatever the favor was, I didn't want it to be for nothing. I said, "And he's ready to get started?"
Joel nodded. "Don't you know it. And as far as the legal fees, if he sees a good case, we'll work something out."
I tensed. "Like another favor?"
"Sure, why not?"
"No." I tried to laugh. "No more favors, okay?"
"Alright, so we'll pay him," Joel said. "Not a big deal. We've got that money, right?"
"In the safe deposit box? But that's your money."
"No. It's our money, like I keep telling you."
In the end, we agreed that we'd give the lawyer the paperwork and take it from there.
Across from us, Jake said, "Hey Joel."
Joel turned to look. "Yeah?"
"Maybe you should marry her now. You know, like tonight."
I had to laugh. "Why tonight?"
"Because," Jake told me, "if you end up loaded, you won't want to slum it with a guy like him."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, shut up."
Next me, Joel said, "You know. He does have a point."
When I turned to look, his eyes were filled with mischief. Still, I gave him a playful shove. "Oh, stop it," I told him. "Maybe you're the one who's slumming it."
At this, his brothers laughed. I turned and tried, unsuccessfully, to glare at them. "Hey, you never know."
When I turned back to Joel, something in his expression had softened. He leaned his head close to mine and said, "Hey, I know what I have. And if I could, I'd marry you tonight."
I felt a giant smile spread across my face. "Well, it's kind of late tonight, but I'm free next Saturday."
Now, Joel was grinning, too. "You serious?"
I gave it some thought. Was I? Yes, definitely. But I didn't want to push him into anything, especially if he was just kidding around. I said, "That depends. Are you?"
"Hell yeah." But then, his expression turned serious. "But if you want to do the big wedding thing, I'm up for that, too. Whatever you want."
I gave it some thought. Crazy or not, I didn't want a big wedding. All my life, I'd been the center of attention. A lot of that attention has been unwanted, especially where the media was concerned.
If I had my way, I'd get married in a private ceremony, right here on the estate, with Aunt Gina and only a few of my closest friends – and of course, anyone Joel wanted to invite.
In my own jumbled way, I tried to tell him this without sounding like a total babbling idiot.
When I finished, Joel was smiling again. He turned to his brothers and said, "Got any plans for next Saturday?"
Chapter 54
The room was dark and quiet, with tiny slivers of moonlight filtering in through the open blinds. "You know," Joel teased, "if I get you pregnant, you'll have to marry me."
Laughing, I rolled my eyes. "Not this again."
In the four days since his return, it had become a recurring a joke. But in spite of my feigned protest, I never grew tired of hearing it – or, of trying to make the joke a reality.
Who knows? Maybe it was already reality, given the fact that we'd been in and out of bed, along with other places, pretty much non-stop since his return.
Now, we'd just gotten out of a bath for two and were lying naked across my fresh sheets, with the ceiling fan, turned on low, wafting a nice, cool breeze across our warm, glistening skin.
The last few days had been a whirlwind of secret planning and getting the house ready for guests. In just three short days, we were going to be married out on the back patio, overlooking Lake Michigan.
&nb
sp; Oh sure, it was December, and snow wasn't completely out of the question. But we'd splurged on a few patio heaters and were definitely planning to use them. And if we got a little chilly? So what? The way I saw it, it would make everything that much sweeter when we returned to the house and gathered around the main fireplace for cake and warm cider.
Unconventional? Probably. But it was what I wanted, and I couldn't regret a thing – especially the guy I'd be marrying.
Aunt Gina was flying in from France, and a few of my closest friends, Cassie in particular, had been sworn to secrecy, even as I frantically worked to finalize all the arrangements.
Two of the guests had already arrived – Steve and Anthony, who had shown up early to help repair the lawn – and to snag any pizza or beer that happened to cross their path.
This time, they weren't staying in the guest house, but rather in one of the guest rooms downstairs – a big one, where they'd have plenty of space to fling dirty laundry, hide beer, and argue over Kung fu.
I'd also been talking to the lawyer from Troy. From what he'd told me on the phone, he was still sifting through all of the details, but already, I knew a lot more than I'd ever known before.
Happily, the news was better than I dared to hope. All of my parents' money was still there, tied up in a trust that was practically unbreakable.
Oh sure, I wouldn't have access to the actual funds until I turned twenty-five, but in the meantime, there were plenty of things I could do to protect myself – starting with moving the estate-management away from Derek's dad.
Already, the new lawyer was working on the necessary paperwork. If things went smoothly – which he assured me they would – I'd soon have Derek and his dad out of my hair forever.
Still, I couldn't help but be at least a little nervous.
Even here, in my quiet bedroom, lying next to the guy I loved, I wasn't blind to the possibility of a long, nasty court battle. I turned to Joel and said, "About the estate thing, what do you think will happen if Derek's dad fights it?"
Joel reached out and pulled me close. "Don't worry. He won't."
"But how can you be so sure?"
"Just trust me, okay?"
It was the same thing he always said when I brought it up. "It's not that I don't trust you," I said. "It's just that I don't see him giving up without a fight."
Something True (Joel Bishop Book 2) Page 21