by Liz Crowe
Dom shoved past Kieran who’d taken a step toward him and ducked into his temporary room, which Diana had let him use knowing full well it had been her old room. The very space he’d taken advantage of her obsession with him again and again…and again. He groaned and flopped onto the bed, ready to tell Kieran to leave without him when a round object hit him right in the crotch.
“Ow! Son of a bitch.” He grabbed the well-worn leather ball and heaved it in his brother’s general direction. “Don’t gotta damage my goods.” He found a mostly clean T-shirt, his high tops and a pair of sweatpants. “Come on already.”
The kitchen lights flamed bright. Diana stood at the sink peeling a huge mound of potatoes. He smacked her ass hard enough to make her screech and brandish the paring knife at him.
“Got any coffee, Di?” Kieran flopped into a chair and let the ball drop to the floor.
“Of course. You know where the cups are.” She pointed with the business end of the utensil. “Already on pot number two.”
“Oh?” Dom poured a healthy portion into a couple of large mugs, emblazoned with the new, super-cool, Brantley’s Farm logo. “Insomniac after all that moaning and screaming last night, dear heart?”
She shot him a killer glare. He grinned at her over the lip of the steaming cup, but his heart skipped a beat at the vision of her—color high, hair tugged back in a messy ponytail, and clearly braless. He shook his head to keep from staring at her nipples poking out of the thin shirt fabric.
“No, smartass. Lee had to leave out early. Problem at the horse park.” She trained her focus on the stack of tubers. “Beat it. I’ve got work to do.”
He sat across from his brother, keeping his gaze on Diana’s oh-so-appealing backside, clad in a pair of flannel shorts. The fireplace crackled pleasantly behind them and the smell of some kind of pie filled the air. She had been busy early. He slumped down in the chair.
“When’re you and Cara gonna tie the knot?” he asked, hoping to deflect his attention from Diana.
“Who knows? I ask her every other day. She won’t commit to it. Says it’s too soon and we gotta figure out if we really still like each other. Damn woman’s as stubborn as a billy goat. Don’t even get me started on the fact that she wants a baby—before the wedding. Dear Lord but our mama will have kittens over that.”
Dom absorbed the too soon comment without it hurting like would have a few months before. He’d come a long way since that horror of a near-miss wedding between Cara and Kent. And he intended to go even further away from the concept of him and Kent together.
He pushed up from the table and grabbed a glass of water, forcing the three morning pills that kept him from spinning off into the crazy-person stratosphere down his throat. He gripped the counter’s edge, focused out into the rapidly increasing snowfall and muscling past the metallic, medicinal taste that coated his mouth, same as every morning when he ingested that particular cocktail.
“Let’s go, goddamn it.” He winked at Diana. “Have fun with the ‘taters, sweet cheeks. I have to go school my brothers in the fine art of the roundball.”
Without thinking, he leaned over and put a quick kiss on her lips. She stepped away, palm over her mouth, her eyes snapping. He blinked.
“Oh, um, sorry.” But he wasn’t really sorry and he smiled all the way out into the snow, trudging to the car in his work boots and the heavy coat he’d snagged out of Diana’s late father’s collection.
***
They had to wait thirty minutes for a half court to free up inside their old high school gym, which gave Antony plenty of time to fill them in on his teenage daughter’s latest transgression. Dominic blocked it, unwilling to suffer his eldest brother’s judgmental BS that morning. The last time he’d pointed out the hard truth of the matter—that Antony had been the second worst among them at meeting curfews, making grades, and had been caught underage drinking more than a half-dozen times as a teenager—he’d gotten shoved to the floor for his trouble.
Finally, the game commenced. He and Antony paired up against Kieran and Aiden. Dom dropped into the game, which devolved into the usual mix of unnecessarily thrown elbows, fists and feet. After thirty minutes, the score tied, they took a water break, ignoring each other in their typical half time fashion. He loved every sweaty, physical minute, because it allowed him to forget everything—his newfound obsession with Diana, his attempt to deny what he’d felt for Kent, his new status as the outcast brother.
“Oh, uh…hey, Daddy,” Aiden said somewhere to his left. Dom’s heart raced as he pulled the towel off his head. His two older brothers shifted, placing themselves between Dom and their father. The men stood for a few beats, not moving. Something in Dom’s chest loosened in his father’s presence.
Anton Love broke the eyeball lock first, shifting his gaze to the shiny wood floor. “Your Mama told me to come here.” His deep, gravelly voice was almost too soft for Dom to hear. “I’m too old for this crap. I can’t stand seeing her unhappy. Plus I’m sick to death of sleepin’ in the pole barn. Even with the heat on and the dog in my cot, it’s too cold for an old man.” He shook his head. “It’s not where a man should be at night.” He took a long breath, trained his gaze up into the rafters, then met Dominic’s. “Your brothers tell me you’re out at Brantley’s. That you’re helping ‘em with their new project or…something.”
Dom had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from being a smartass and ruining this moment. Antony had moved closer to him. They now stood shoulder to shoulder, facing their father.
“So, uh, here’s the thing.” Anton’s jaw was clenched so tight it was hard to understand him. “I’m not ready for you to come back to the brewery or anything but, uh, I guess since you’re getting into things with that Diana, you’re not…um…oh hell.”
Words forced their way up and out before Dom could catch them. “Don’t worry, I don’t intend to come to your brewery and corrupt it with my fag germs.” Fury blinded him as he processed that his father had been about to say if you’re not going to be gay, I’ll acknowledge you as my son and you can run the brewery like you’re supposed to.
A wave of remorse washed over him then, sickeningly familiar. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to run away from all of this. He should never have gone into that stupid chat room in the first place, but he’d been curious about that side of him—and bored, seeking what, he couldn’t even remember now. One little foray into it, he’d thought, and he’d have it out of his system. And the whole thing with Kent had just…happened, with the force of a rampaging herd of elephants, bowling him over and carrying him along with it in a cloud of incredible discovery. He tensed when his father advanced close enough to Dom that Aiden stepped between them.
“Don’t put words in my mouth, boy. I’m only here because your mama is miserable over this…whatever the hell it is between you and me. I can’t fix what’s broken inside you, but I can fix how we are when we’re with her. She’s still…not well, you know.”
“I’m not bro—”
Kieran touched his shoulder, his expression wordlessly pleading, Let it be. This is a big step for him.
Dom blew out a breath. “No, Daddy, I’m pretty well unfixable, as we all know. Dom and his depression. Dom and his anger. Dom and his boyfriend.”
Anton held up both his hands, palms open. “I’m here to make some kind of amends with you. As long as you’re working on…the other stuff, with Diana, that works for me.”
“Diana isn’t with me. She’s got a new boyfriend. I’m just camping out there, making a few bucks hanging drywall and helping them get their Kombucha thing going.” The words depressed him. He wanted Diana so badly he could taste it, could feel her skin under his fingertips, hear her soft moans of pleasure in his bed…his bed, not goddamn Doctor Lee’s. He set his shoulders and met his father’s gaze. “But you know, that never stopped me before with her.”
“That’s my boy.” Anton slapped him a little too hard on the shoulder, making Dom tense, rea
dy to pounce.
Aiden glared at him. Dom flipped his goodie-two-shoes little brother off and offered his father the most sincere smile he could muster, figuring he probably resembled someone who’d eaten a dozen lemons, or a pile of dog turds. But hey, the old man wanted to make the effort and one thing Dominic had always craved was his father’s love and approval.
“Fine. Mission accomplished, Daddy. Let’s play.” He grabbed the ball and threw it straight at Aiden’s face. Anton exhaled and gave the other boys friendly whacks on the shoulders before grabbing a water bottle and taking a seat in the bleachers.
After only ten minutes of resumed play, Anton started waving at them. They all ground to a halt, and a tickle of irritation hit Dominic’s brain.
“All your phones are blowin’ up over here. Better check in.”
Antony snagged his phone and listened to something that made his face blanch white. He gave it to Dom, who took it, panic rising in his throat. When he touched redial from the message, the sound of Diana’s voice soothed him for a half-second.
“Hey, Dom, I got Antony’s number from your mama. You all have to get over to the hospital. Angelique must have snuck out of here last night and had some kind of reunion with her boyfriend. She’s…she’s in the hospital up in Louisville.”
“What the fuck?” He put a hand over his eyes, wondering how and who he’d tell first. “How did you find out?”
“Dale, Jen’s husband told me. His brother’s an EMT up there and…found her, or something. He thought he recognized her, but she didn’t have a purse or wallet or….” Diana started crying, and his pulse raced so fast he had to sit down. “He called Dale and Jen once they got her to the hospital. They called me so I could find you all.”
“You didn’t tell Mama though, right?” He tried to swallow the lump of dread in his throat. “Angelique…she’s…all right?”
“No, Dom. She’s not. Get your asses up to the U of L hospital, now.”
“It still snowing?” He stood and motioned Antony over.
“Yeah, it’s pretty bad. Take a four-heel drive. Want me to….”
He started to say, yes, please God, Diana help me through this mess, then got a crystal clear memory of the night before, of her moans of pleasure floating through the farmhouse walls straight to his ears. She did it on purpose. He knew it and he’d hated her guts then while knowing he deserved every minute of the auditory torture.
“No, this isn’t your problem. I’ll…I’ll keep you posted.”
“Dom, I never thought she’d sneak out. She acted so mature and positive she’d not be seeing that boy anymore, remember when we talked about it last night?”
“Yeah. Well, we Love siblings aren’t known to act rationally when it comes to relationships. You’d know that better than anybody. Gotta go, babe. Thanks…for….” He had no idea how to finish that.
“Just go.” Her voice had strengthened, taking on the familiar all-business edge he’d known and loved for so long. “Check in with me later.”
He ended the call before he uttered something stupid. “Daddy, we gotta get up to Louisville. There’s been an accident.”
Chapter Twelve
Of all the things Dominic had prepared for, his baby sister, hooked up to a machine, her face wrapped in gauze, had not been it. He deflated once they were let into her ICU room, dropping boneless into the single, stiff, vinyl-covered chair next to the bed while his gut executed queasy flips.
Their father had roared with fury, demanded to speak to every single doctor, nurse, and orderly in the place. Lindsay had to practically sit on top of him to get him to be quiet so they could listen when her doctor finally did show up to give them the horrific details. Her gaze and voice remained steady, asking questions, writing down a few things before the docs scurried off to the next human disaster.
They’d been allowed to see Angelique one at a time, but had been assured once she stabilized she’d get moved to a room where everyone could be together. But now, looking at her closed, bruised eyes, her swollen lower lip still crusty with dried blood, utterly helpless to go back in time and change anything about it, Dom honestly thought he might be having a heart attack. But he took long breaths, stroking her arm and trying very hard not to notice that three of her fingernails had been peeled off during her struggle. His fingers shook, touching what little of her arm and face he could.
“Baby sister,” he whispered. “Why didn’t you tell us?” Rage made his vision wonky. But he kept talking to her. “Damn girl, you have four grown, overprotective brothers, but you don’t once say to any of us that the boy you dumped was a psychotic freak?” He touched her arm, willing her to answer him. The bastard had hurt…he gulped…had raped her, beaten her, and left her in the snow by the side of the road.
He clenched his fists, thinking hard about just what he’d be doing for the next little while, until he found the asswipe who’d hurt his sister. Every inch of his skin burned and a strange noise deafened him as he focused on Angelique, their angel, they used to call her when she’d been a picture-perfect baby.
Lindsay had been so thrilled to finally have a girl, but the fifth pregnancy and difficult labor had weakened her. She’d spent a lot of time in bed while newborn Angelique cried her way through the nights. Anton had taken over, obsessing over the infant girl, walking the floors, giving bottles, driving her all over hell’s half acre so she’d finally, please God, quit crying and go to sleep. Dom and his brothers helped out with her too, even Aiden who’d been too young to do more than heat up the bottles and empty the smelly diaper trash.
Dom glanced up when some kind of alarm went off near her head. A bunch of medical types shooed him out, leaving him outside the window alongside his family. After a while the nurse poked her head out the door and motioned for Lindsay.
“She’s waking up, but she should stay under a while longer. They had to take out her spleen and repair her kidney, so her body still has to rest in order to heal. It’s okay though. Her wanting to wake up is a real good sign.”
The woman patted Lindsay’s shoulder and headed down the hallway. When his mother turned back to the men, Dom felt a split-second of anger run down his spine at her stoicism. The two Love women had never gotten along well, almost from the moment Lindsay had emerged after being bed-bound for a few weeks. Nothing she did would calm or please Angelique as an infant, a toddler, or a little girl. The girl had firmly bonded with her father. She would do anything for Anton, and adored her brothers, assisting in their misbehavior, never ratting anyone out.
Her dance hobby had become something more by the time she was eleven or so and Dom remembered thinking that maybe that would help her get along better with Lindsay. Their mother had been the one to drive her to all the practices and competitions since the boys were occupied with either college or sports by that time. While things had cooled somewhat, it remained cool in a way that baffled him since he figured the two women would be thick as thieves in the midst of all the testosterone suffusing their house.
But it had never quite worked out that way. And now, the helplessness he felt as Lindsay watched her beautiful, battered daughter lying on the other side of the thick ICU glass settled over him like a thick, smothering blanket. His mother bit her lip and put her palm against the window. A tear slid down her cheek.
“I can’t believe she let this happen. Why in the hell didn’t she come to one of you?”
“I don’t know, Mama.” He patted her awkwardly.
“Girl always was a silly, stupid romantic. Thinking boys were the be-all and end-all.” Lindsay took a tissue from her purse. “Can’t believe I raised such a naïve little….”
“Don’t bad-mouth her,” Anton insisted, pulling Lindsay away from the window.
“Well, at least now the spotlight’s off you.” Kieran gave Dom another cup of weak coffee. They sat and sipped as their parents calmed each other down.
“Let me use your phone. I have to call Di.” He got up and headed around the corner for s
ome privacy. When she answered, he slumped into the doorway of an empty room. “I hate hospitals.”
“I know. What happened?”
He told her, leaving nothing out. When he glanced up, fury choking him all over again, he saw a man in an EMT uniform, hovering and looking lost.
“Okay, well, she’s there for a while, I suppose.” Diana’s voice jarred him out of his perusal of the somehow familiar guy.
“Yeah, but I’m gonna head out with Antony. He has to open the garage and I have to get out of here or I may kill somebody. What does Dale’s brother look like anyway?”
“Not sure, but I think sorta like a taller version of Dale only with darker hair. Why?”
“Because I think he’s standing here right now. I’ll be home in a couple of hours.” He ended the call, before acknowledging he’d called her house home.
“Hi.” The EMT guy approached, holding out a hand.
Dom shook it. “Let me guess, you’re Dale’s younger brother.”
“Well, you’re half-right. I’m older. You’re Dominic?”
“Yeah,” Dom said, liking him already. “She’s over there. Thanks for…you know….” He had to look down at the floor when his throat closed up again.
“Well, it’s sure lucky I chose that moment and that spot to take a leak, I guess.” Cal rubbed his jaw. “Damn, she’d still be laying there if….” He shook his head.
“You can go see her.” Dom pointed to the half open door.
“No, no, that’s all right.” The man backed away, panic and longing taking up equal space in his eyes. Dominic decided that, close up, the guy did look older—probably his own age, even.
“Seriously, dude, it’s fine. What’s your name anyway?”
“Cal. Calvin, but nobody calls me that but my mama.”
“All right, Cal, go on in and see for yourself she’s all right, thanks to you. But if you have any idea where that sorry son of a bitch who did this to her might be, you’d better tell me now or we ain’t gonna be buddies anymore.”