by Liz Talley
She shook her head and bit her lip before continuing. “I’m sorry for what happened between us, Lucas. I wish in one way I could undo how it went down. If I had only told you how I felt instead of hiding what was happening, things would have been easier.”
Lucas nodded. “You’re right.”
“What more can we do to make things right with you, Luke?” his brother asked.
“You can’t make things right.” Lucas paused for a moment, eyeing each of the people who’d once been such a part of his life. He didn’t know them any longer. But he wanted to. “But we can start over.”
Courtney’s eyes widened. “How? There’s too much hurt. Too many years gone by.”
“So we don’t try to be a family?” Lucas asked, looking at both of them. “The years have given me wisdom. Time has revealed you and I weren’t right for each other, Courtney. I understand what happened between us… and what grew between you and Ben. Yeah, it hurt, but now I see with different eyes.”
Ben jerked his head away, aiming his gaze at the recently trimmed azaleas. He remained silent.
“Why now?” Courtney asked, her eyes searching his.
“Why not?”
“Doesn’t make sense,” Ben said.
“Maybe not, but life doesn’t make sense, does it? Does that war you fought make sense? Does the fact you and Courtney ended up together make sense? Christ, does that Creampie movie even remotely make sense?”
A snort escaped Courtney.
He continued, “No, because life is not something to be figured out. It’s not fair. It’s not easy. And sometimes it sucks. But it’s still what we have, and if we can find something good, if we can grab onto a piece of happiness along the way, we should. And if we can forgive each other for the wrongs in the past, it’s a no brainer.”
“What’s changed you?” Courtney asked. “The kids?”
Lucas nodded. “Yeah, how can they not change someone? But this need to fix what was wrong between us started long before. I couldn’t seem to find a reason to reach out to either of you. Courtney asking me to come home was the catalyst.”
Ben looked up, his eyes glittering. “Don’t do this because you feel sorry for me. Don’t come in here painting my house, playing the hero, making me feel guilty all over again for what happened between us years ago.”
“Is that what you think? I feel sorry for you?”
Ben held his gaze. “Yeah, I think you love to be the good guy.”
“And you’re the bad guy?”
Ben jerked away. “I’ve been the bad guy since I fell in love with your girl.”
Lucas snorted. “You’re going to play the martyr now? Your leg gets blown off, you survived knocking at death’s door, and now you’re done with fighting? Now you want to continue sticking your head in the sand?”
“Bullshit,” his brother said, looking up, squaring his shoulders.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Nothing worth doing is easy, Ben. It’s going to be hell to learn to walk on that prosthetic, to be the man you’ve always been, but you’ll do it. That’s who you are. And it’s not easy for me to stand here, remembering all that passed between us, but I’ll do it. Because that’s who’ve I’ve grown to be.”
The seconds ticked by again, and Lucas struggled for his thoughts. “I don’t want to be the man I’ve spent the past decade being. I don’t want to miss out on this family. I’m tired of being angry. I’m tired of weathering life alone, shrouded in my lonely house on my lonely prairie. I want more.”
“So you and I forget about everything and go out for beers like nothing happened?” Ben asked.
“No, we’ll need time, but I’d rather have you in my life in a somewhat uncomfortable way than to not have you at all.”
Courtney looked down at her hands. “And me?”
“The same. We’ve been friends ever since you fell from that tree. I hated you for a long time, but those bonds didn’t break. When you called, I came. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to. Under my anger was the love I have always had for you both.”
Tears shimmered in Courtney’s eyes and she reached for Ben’s hand, twining her fingers with his.
At one time that image would have hurt him.
But no longer.
He was over her and he was over being angry at his brother.
“It won’t be easy, but I think it’s time for all our sakes we bury the hatchet and get on with living.” Lucas extended his hand to his brother.
For a moment, Ben studied his hand, dark eyes just matching Lucas’s, zoned in on the trimmed nails and callused palm. Then he lifted his gaze to Lucas’s, holding it, allowing Lucas to see the relief, to see the longing.
Ben lifted his hand and placed it in Lucas’s. Theirs was a firm handshake, full of resolve, full of regret, but most of all full of a new intention.
Courtney placed her hand atop theirs, the tears shimmering in her eyes now falling on her cheeks.
And when Lucas looked up, Addy stood in the doorway.
He smiled at her, and the look in her eyes told him he was truly home.
Courtney’s eyes widened as Addy, clad in her striped sundress, stepped out and accepted his outstretched arm. She snuggled against him, looking pretty as she had last Sunday when she’d first worn the dress. Of course this time she’d worn it with underwear—he’d watched her put the lacy panties on. It had been a sweet sight.
Courtney wiped her cheeks and arched an eyebrow. “Addy?”
Lucas looked down at the small woman who’d seeped into his heart and shown him what real love was. “Yeah. Addy.”
Courtney laughed, a delighted tinkle. “Well, isn’t that something? You have a really good reason for sticking around, huh?”
As the kids trooped out on the porch, complaining about their grandmother refusing to cut the cake, Lucas smiled even bigger. “She’s the best reason, but not the only one.”
“I’m hungry,” Chris complained, kicking his father’s chair wheel.
“Stop,” Ben said, rolling himself toward the door. “If anyone needs cake, it’s me. Let’s cut the damn thing.”
The kids cheered and the small family left, leaving Lucas and Addy on the porch alone.
The sun slanted in, falling in golden slants across the white boards. Addy looked up at Lucas.
“A kiss before we eat cake?”
He kissed her nose. “How about a kiss to celebrate spending my tomorrow with you?”
She lifted onto her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his. “Best kiss ever.”
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A finalist in both RWA’s prestigious Golden Heart and RITA contests, Liz Talley loves staying home in her jammies writing emotional contemporary romance. Her first book starred a spinster librarian – Vegas Two Step – and debuted in June 2010. Since that time, Liz has published thirty more books with Harlequin, Hallmark, and Montlake, reaching number one in kindle romance and hitting the USA Today Bestsellers list. Her stories are set in the South where the tea is sweet, the summers are hot, and the porches are wide. Liz lives in Louisiana with her childhood sweetheart, two handsome children, three dogs and a mean kitty. You can visit Liz at www.liztalleybooks.com or follow her on twitter or facebook to learn more about her upcoming books.
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