Just as Stubborn

by Jeanne Arnold

  “I’d like my bag,” I said calmly.

  Gabe held me back, stretching his arms out to study me as I squirmed to get free. I could hardly keep my bottom lip still.

  “I don’t know what my dad’s gonna do if he finds out she’s here,” he drawled.

  He slid his arms around me and held tight, almost crushing my chest. Every muscle in his body tensed against mine as I reluctantly gave up my fight and ran my fingers over his spine. I pressed my ear to his chest and reveled in his scent, his heartbeat.

  For a minute, we stood wordlessly. I knew it wouldn’t last.

  “I don’t wanna see her, Av’ry. I hate her,” he said. “We’ll go back and get your bag. Then we’ll leave. I’ll be okay. Okay?”

  * * *

  I spotted Caleb’s truck on the edge of the lot when we drove by Tessa’s bar. People gathered outside smoking, loitering. Gabe didn’t say what he was doing, but I knew he was scoping out the place before he pulled in.

  “I’ll see if his truck’s open,” I told him.

  I slid out of the Mustang and headed for the silver pickup. I left Gabe with the engine running, ready to tear out if he had to.

  Music rumbled through the outdoor speakers. Caleb’s truck was locked, so I continued to the door.

  “Howdy, legs.” The cowboy hat waved in the air above the vehicles. I released a slow breath and stayed where I was so he’d come closer to Gabe, maybe work his charm and get his brother to wake up. “You came back to me,” he drawled. “So where’s the boy?”

  I jerked my head to the road. “Waiting back there. Can I get my bag from your truck? We’re leaving.”

  “You gotta come in. I want you to meet her.”

  His grin spread to his ears, eyes twinkling like jewels under the streetlight.

  “You’re serious? You’re okay? I mean…you’re okay seeing her?” I asked.

  He tipped his hat and his hand floated to my cheek. I knew what he was doing. He must have seen Gabe watching. His hand stayed on my face.

  I let him put on a show.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said leaning into me with his hazels fixed on my eyes. “Today is full of surprises.”

  A car door slammed behind us as Caleb walked me past the bouncer and into the building.

  “Av’ry!” Gabe called into the music. “Come on.”

  Caleb let his hand slide from the back of my shoulder to my middle back. When Gabe stepped behind me just inside the doorway, Caleb let go.

  “Y’all staying for a show?” Caleb asked.

  “No. Hand over the bags,” Gabe told him.

  “Wait a damn minute, little brother. You came back here. You must wanna see her. Heck, she’s way different than I remember. Her hair’s redder.”

  “No,” Gabe repeated. “Gimme your keys.”

  “They’re back there,” Caleb said and turned to the stage. “I’ll buy you a drink. Settle down, bro.”

  Gabe reached out and lashed his hand at Caleb’s arm.

  “Just give me the bags so I can split.”

  “Get your damn hand away from me,” Caleb hissed.

  He spun around and tapped the center of Gabe’s shirt with the tips of his fingers.

  My arms flung up. I stepped between them. They were definitely getting on each other’s nerves more than I remembered.

  The microphone tapped and the bar music quieted.

  “Pull up a seat. Fun times are about to be had,” said Caleb.

  I glared at Gabe. His eyes were closed. His jaw set. I imagined I could hear his teeth grinding back and forth.

  “That’s your mother up there,” I said. “What are you going to do?”

  He shook his head and looked up.

  “Hello, Gabriel.” His mother pushed her voice out loudly while holding a hand over the microphone. Then she crouched down at the edge of the stage. “You don’t know how happy it makes me to see you standing here all grown up.”

  The tension oozed from Gabe’s body and made the smoky air more difficult to breathe.

  When he didn’t respond, his mother addressed me. “Hello, I’m Sara. You must be Avery. Caleb told me you’re visiting from New York. It’s nice to meet you, darling.”

  “Same here,” I muttered. I wasn’t sure if I should speak to her. I didn’t even know her name was Sara. Had I betrayed Gabe by talking to her?

  I wondered what else Caleb told her. I wondered what piece of furniture Gabe would toss first. He didn’t say anything. He stared like a deer caught in headlights.

  “Y’all wish to come backstage?” she asked.

  Gabe let out a snort.

  Caleb bumped Gabe’s shoulder. “Sure we would. Mighty fine idea.”

  I drew my gaze back to their mother on the stage, and we exchanged the same concerned look. I read the alarm all over her face. She was pretty, but the deep wrinkles around her eyes were worrisome. She seemed nice when she called me darling. I wanted to ask why she abandoned her little boys. Gabe was her baby. How could she leave him?

  “Gabriel, I understand your hesitance. I can imagine you’re confused,” she said.

  “What makes you think I’m confused?” He turned away to thumb through a pile of concert pamphlets.

  I wrapped my hand around his forearm and let it slide to his wrist. I loved holding his hand, his long fingers that could conceal my entire fist.

  His mom looked at me and then appraised Gabe with curious eyes. She raised her voice above the sound system. “Sweetie, you look so much like your father it tickles me.”

  “Screw this,” he said, shaking my hand out of his. He stepped back. “Do you even know that your first born died last year? My brother is dead!”

  On cue the music ended. The crowd hushed. I held my breath and tossed a fearful look at Caleb. I had a dreadful ringing in my ears when I glanced back to catch his mother’s surprised eyes.

  “He’s upset. He’s looking for a girl. He didn’t expect to find you,” I said. I tried to sound calm and apologetic in spite of the bitter feeling I felt toward her. “Do you know a girl named Deliah?”

  “She’s my daughter,” she told me quietly.

  My features froze. I wondered if Gabe heard her.

  Without warning, her expression changed and she yelled, “My gosh, Deliah Remington. You’re supposed to be at school.”

  Gabe heard her alright.

  Tessa and Deliah emerged behind us.

  “Doesn’t anybody ever listen? My name is Mona!” the girl exclaimed.

  “Remington?” My lips moved slowly.

  “Is this some kind of sick prank?” Caleb asked with a twang. “Where’s the hidden camera? Did I hear you right? Her name is Remington?”

  We all looked at Deliah except for Gabe. He leered at his mother. Disdain and contempt seeped out of his pores and polluted the air.

  Deliah’s face flushed and she stuck her tongue out at Caleb’s wide hazel eyes. “See, I told you it was them,” she informed Tessa. “I found them all by myself.”

  The music started again, staying in sync with the unfolding spectacle like a well-planned soundtrack.

  I tugged on Gabe’s hand. Surprisingly, he squeezed me back, giving me an ounce of comfort that he wasn’t going to do anything rash. I couldn’t put myself in their shoes. The whole trip had turned into a bizarre fantasy.

  Caleb looked just as stunned as I felt; however, he rubbed his hands together as though he was about to do something impulsive. “You’re my sister? That’s why you’ve been following us? Hot damn. You get a hi-five for wrecking the kid brother’s truck. It’s even funnier now,” he said.

  “You wrecked a truck? Oh lordy, Deliah. Come backstage right now,” Gabe’s mother ordered.

  “Is she his kid?” Gabe shouted as his mother turned her back to exit the stage. “Does the lieutenant know about her?”

  She turned around in slow motion. Her eyes fixed on Gabe and she considered him for a long stretch.

  “Yes,” she said, though she didn’t make clear
what question she answered.

  Gabe took a half step backward and bumped into a table. He turned and rammed his boot against the underside of a chair and launched it into another table. Tessa waved the bouncer over. He came to stand at her side.

  “I don’t believe you,” Gabe sneered at full volume. “He knows nothing about a kid or you.”

  “Why don’t you come backstage?” Tessa interrupted and placed her hand on Gabe’s shoulder. She was brave to touch him.

  He jerked her hand off. “I want some answers right here,” he roared. “She ruined our family. I was a kid. We were all little.”

  The bouncer stood with his eyes locked on the scene and watched Gabe detonate.

  Caleb’s phone rang. My eyes jumped to his face while he stood there absorbed in Gabe’s rant.

  “Answer it. It could be Meggie,” I told him.

  Caleb plugged his ear with one hand. “Josh? I can’t hear you. Hey, hey, slow down. I can’t…what?”

  “Ask about Meggie. Did she have the baby?” I said.

  “Josh. What…Josh?” he repeated.

  “What did he say?” I asked impatiently.

  “Couldn’t hear a lick. Something about Meggie having a potato or a tornado. I don’t know.”

  “Gimme the damn phone. I got a call to make,” Gabe said while he held his hand out like a child.

  Caleb slapped it in his palm. “You won’t get anything out of him. Lieutenant ain’t gonna admit to this one.”

  “Good grief,” Deliah exclaimed. “There’s another kid being born. How many of us are there? Who’s Josh?”

  Gabe tossed the phone across the floor in anger.

  “My father’s getting married. He’s having a baby with her aunt,” Caleb told her as he tipped his hat at me and made evil eyes at his brother.

  “Gross. Is that legal?” Deliah asked. “You people sure get busy in Texas. What’s he like? The lieutenant. She won’t tell me anything.”

  Gabe scowled at Deliah. “He’s a lieutenant. He’s a god-rotten blessing,” he said snidely and kicked a table leg so hard the table collapsed.

  I flinched as the bouncer reached out and set his hand over Gabe’s shoulder and pointed him in the direction of the exit. “I’m gonna have to ask you to leave,” the man’s voice rumbled.

  Gabe sidled past the group of us, cursing up a storm under his breath. The man kept his hand firmly on Gabe’s shoulder until he was outside. I followed, hoping Gabe wouldn’t make any more trouble as a musician began to play harmonica on stage.

  * * *

  “I figured it out on the ride over,” Gabe huffed as he hightailed to the Mustang through the busy lot. “I knew there was more to this effed up story.”

  “You knew she was your sister?” I called after him.

  I was limping again. My brain hadn’t processed that my leg had made a full recovery.

  “She acts just like Caleb, doesn’t she?”

  “Who?” I asked. “You mean Deliah?”

  “Wait!” Deliah caught up to me. Gabe kept moving. “Please wait! I need to talk to you.”

  “Gabe, hold up. Don’t you want to talk to her?” I said.

  “Get in. I gotta get out of here now,” he called across the roof, his voice annoyed. He slammed the door and revved the engine, sparking a course of dread to shoot through my limbs.

  “Can I come with you, oh, please?” Deliah begged. “I just want to see where y’all live.”

  “Gabe?” I opened the passenger side door and bent down. The car was low to the ground. “She wants to come with us. Let her explain. It might help.”

  He didn’t respond.

  Caleb set his hand on my shoulder and startled me. I spun around to face him.

  “He’s losing it,” I started to say when he tapped my lips with his finger.

  “He already lost it, legs. But he’ll get to have some fun pissing my dad off with the new girl.”

  Gabe hit the horn. It was a long honk with a lot of meaning.

  “Take me, Caleb. I want to meet everyone. My mom never cares where I go,” Deliah said.

  He made a quick laugh. “Funny, she doesn’t seem to care where I am either.”

  Deliah slipped past us and crawled into the backseat.

  “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Gabe said sharply and honked again.

  Caleb leaned into the car and peered at Deliah with a satisfied grin before he spoke to me.

  “Take forty west and I’ll catch up. I gotta say goodbye. Talk him into getting a room near Little Rock.” He shook his head, closed his eyes, and then opened them again. “I got me a sister, legs. Can you believe it?”

  “I wish your brother was as happy as you are. I don’t think I can help him with this one.”

  “He’s just in a horn tossing mood,” he told me.

  “You mean a phone tossing mood,” I replied.

  Gabe laid on the horn again.

  Caleb slapped the roof of the Mustang. “Rather a horn honkin’ mood, legs. I’m sure you won’t have a lick of trouble finding a way to make him smile.”

  He winked and I stepped up to the car. He dared to pinch my butt and inhale at the back of my head. I went to slap his cheek, and he grabbed my wrist and twisted it. He released me when I kicked his ankle as hard as I could, but he had a boot on. I could have told Gabe, but I needed to keep Caleb as an ally until I was sure Gabe would be okay.

  Irritated with Caleb’s clowning, I climbed inside the car and buckled my seatbelt. I knew exactly how Gabe would drive, and I did what I could to prepare myself. The Mustang shot into oncoming traffic, and I was slammed against my seat. I glanced back and caught Deliah sliding into the center of the seat to perch on the bump that covered the driveshaft. The grin on her face was remarkable. She looked like Gabe. I could see a little bit of Lane and Caleb mixed in.

  They all had the same eyes as their father.

  I appreciated the resemblance. I was fascinated with the similarities and studied her as I had studied the brothers when I first discovered Gabe wasn’t Lane or Caleb.

  “I know my brother died last year in North Dakota. What was he like?” She inclined the console and stuck her head between the seats.

  Gabe remained tightlipped. It wasn’t my place to say anything, so I stared at his profile and hoped to annoy him into conversation.

  “Don’t be mad at me. I was afraid you’d call the police, and Leon knows some of the cops in town and he’d give me hell if they put me in jail, and I already sort of got in trouble before.”

  “What were you doing in Texas? Who’s Leon?” Gabe spoke after we crossed the Mississippi.

  The headlights cut through the dark. I kept making routine checks to see if Caleb was on our tail. There were a few cars tracking us, but I didn’t recognize his Raptor. I was surprised that the driver behind us kept in line with Gabe’s lead foot.

  “If you don’t tell me, I’ll pull over and ditch you.”

  “Oh my god,” I said. “Calm down, Gabe.”

  He gunned the engine and sped up.

  “I’m dead serious.”

  “I’ll tell you. I know everything,” Deliah bragged.

  “How do you know everything and I know squat?” Gabe asked. “Why didn’t you tell us who you were?”

  “It’s a long story,” she said.

  “I got the rest of my life. Start now,” he replied.

  “My mom got really sick. Like in bed all the time sick. She wouldn’t get up for days and weeks, and Leon kept coming around bugging her to get up.”

  “Who the hell is Leon?” Gabe asked.

  “Leon LeRoulx. He’s her unemployed, loser, mooch ex-boyfriend.”

  Gabe pinched the space between his eyes and pulled his glasses out of his pocket.

  “So he’s the genius who drove a car through Tessa’s bar?” he asked.

  The headlights on a passing car hit the frames on his face. Even in the dark, he looked incredible wearing glasses.

  “Yeah. He’ll ki
ll me if he knows I’m on your side.”

  “My side?” Gabe asked rhetorically.

  “He’s an idiot, not a genius. And he’s a thief. He stole a car. He has a gun.”

  “Guess he taught you well,” Gabe sneered.

  I turned around in my seat. “Why was your mother sick?”

  “I was getting to that. It started when I found the printout,” said Deliah.

  Gabe glanced at me. I shrugged. He drew his eyes back on the road just as it started to rain.

  “I found an obituary at the library.”

  “She knew about Eli?” Gabe’s voice almost squeaked. “She read it?”

  “We don’t know anybody outside of the city or anybody named Halden or anything about North Dakota. I heard Leon ask about a company called HalRem. I went and looked it up. He said he heard about some accident on the news, and then my mom got really upset and she didn’t talk for a long, long time. Tessa kept coming by and telling Leon to get lost. I started staying at Tessa’s place when I came home on weekends.”

  “Makes no sense,” Gabe said. “Why would she care now? She left us.”

  I twisted in my seat and set my hand on Gabe’s arm. “Was the accident on the national news?”

  Gabe nodded. I remembered how far the HalRem business stretched.

  “Tessa wouldn’t tell me anything helpful. She made me swear not to talk to Leon or my mom about the company or the accident. She said my mom was fragile and she’d get better if I left her be. She also said that the family mentioned in the obituary was dangerous and I was never to speak of them or have anything to do with them ever. But Leon kept finding me and pestering me.”

  “You’re kidding. Dangerous? Gimme a break,” Gabe hissed. “Tessa must’ve had a change of heart to welcome us dangerous outlaws into her place.”

  “She was probably trying to protect you,” I stated.

  “Leon always talked when mom wasn’t around. He was looking up HalRem one time, and I found a pile of stuff he printed out about Williston. He had a bunch of maps and coordinates and papers with names and addresses. He’s been gone for weeks. I was hoping he got lost somewhere. He knew I had a dad. He figured out who he was.”

  “Your mother seemed okay,” I commented. “She seemed healthy.”