by Ivy Jordan
“Liam!” a familiar voice called my name.
I turned, carefully studying Aiden’s face, a face I hadn’t seen in years, one I’d missed terribly.
“Holy shit,” I said, opening my arms to embrace my best friend.
“What are you doing back in town?” he questioned, his eyes wide and curious.
I sighed. I hated to admit I was homesick, but that was the true reason I stood in front of the Super Dollar Store on the same street where I once punched Aiden in the face for calling me a coward. I loved my position with the NFL, and I was finally making serious bank. But the offer for this job came along, and even though it was less pay, longer hours, and far less glamorous, it was in Del Rio, Texas, my hometown.
“I’m working for Senator Kline,” I explained quickly, leaving out any mention of being homesick.
“You’re a politician now?” he gushed, his cheeks turning red with excitement.
I shrugged him off, gave a quick laugh, and shook my head. “Not quite. I was hired as a personal bodyguard,” I smirked.
“Wow, Mr. Big,” he teased, his smile fading as quickly as it appeared.
“I figured I could keep your ass in line too while here,” I said as I patted my friend on the back.
“So, you’re stickin’ around for a while?” he asked, his tone somewhat shaken and odd.
I nodded but was unable to make direct eye contact with Aiden. He was acting strange, but I hadn’t seen him much since he’d been injured.
“Have you been to the old house, yet?” he asked.
“Not yet,” I admitted.
My truck was parked a few feet from where we stood, and everything I owned was shoved inside. It was sad, really, how little I’d accumulated since leaving the SEALs. I’d drifted for a while, not sure where I wanted to settle down or if I was ready. Now, I was here, home, but I still didn’t feel settled—or ready.
“Fuck, you’re one tall son of a bitch,” I teased, looking up at Aiden.
He had to be every bit of six-five. His skin was dark from his Hispanic heritage and the scalding Texas sun, and his eyes as blue as the Texas sky. We’d talked here and there over the years, but this was the first time I’d laid eyes on him since he was carried off on a stretcher. I was glad to hear he was home, safe, and that his injuries would eventually heal. I assumed they had; I’d never asked, and staring at him now, he looked healthy, just somewhat standoffish and awkward.
“You’re just short,” he snorted.
“I make up for height with muscle,” I smiled, slapping my thick bicep.
Aiden shook his head, his grin growing as he smacked his hand against my back. “You hungry?” he asked.
“Starving,” I growled.
Food was the reason I came into town before visiting my old house. I knew it was empty, probably filled with dust, and I wasn’t ready to be alone—not that alone.
Aiden guided me towards the old diner where we used to sit as kids and drink milkshakes with our bottle money.
“This place hasn’t changed at all,” I mentioned as he opened the glass door, sounding the small bell above it.
He laughed, his eyes passing quickly past mine and towards the counter. I followed his eyes as they fixated on what was in front of him. Shit, Ms. Martinez.
The woman with long dark hair tied so tight in a braid that her face looked stretched got up from her stool, turning towards Aiden and myself. My chest ached from the tension as her eyes rested on mine, dark and cold. “Aiden,” she smiled without breaking her glare on me.
“How are you, Maria?” he greeted.
Maria? Were they that close? Even when I dated her daughter, Alyssa, I never called her Maria.
“I’m great,” she replied, still glaring in my direction.
“Good to see you,” I stammered.
Heat swelled around my neck as the tension between us grew. I watched her dark eyes flinch slightly, and then her lips twitch as they pursed together to form her response.
“I assume you’re just passing through?” she hissed.
“No, ma’am. I’m here for-uh-for a while,” I stuttered.
Her eyes were disapproving, but I couldn’t blame her. I’d broken her daughter’s heart twelve years ago when I left for the SEALs. She shook her head and then moved past us towards the door. Aiden didn’t seem shocked by her behavior, simply taking an empty stool at the counter.
My heart was racing from the encounter, but I managed to shrug it off and take the empty green metal barstool next to Aiden’s without my knees buckling beneath me.
“She’s still intense as ever,” I sighed.
Aiden laughed. “Maria, she’s not so bad.”
“Yeah, Maria, what’s with that?” I questioned.
He turned towards me, quickly pulling eye contact away before he could answer. A plump redheaded woman stood in front of us, a pad and pencil in her hand, and stains of something brown smeared across her uniform collar. “What can I get you, boys?” she chomped.
I’d dreamed of the greasy burgers served in this shit hole for days. “Three burgers, extra cheese, extra grease, large fries, and a Coke,” I grinned.
Aiden ordered the same and then spun the metal display in front of him, pretending to read the daily specials. I knew he was avoiding the question asked earlier, but I decided not to push. Maybe he had a thing with Ms. Martinez; who was I to judge? She was smoking hot, even for an older lady.
“I always liked Ms. Martinez, but you’d think after twelve years, she’d let it go,” I shrugged.
“Some situations just aren’t that easy,” he offered.
Situations? This was a situation?
I’d forgotten what it was like to live in a small town. People stuck together, and I was an outsider, at least for now. I’d change that in time.
An older man sat at the end of the counter, his face so thick with wrinkles it was hard to see his eyes. There was something familiar about him: maybe the old man who ran the hardware store, possibly the clerk at the bank. He stared down the counter at me, his glare similar to that of Ms. Martinez. I looked around, realizing that others in the diner were all staring in my direction, quickly pushing their heads down when I’d turn to catch them. What the fuck?
The waitress dropped off our drinks and then our plates of food without so much as a smile.
“What is wrong with everyone in this town?” I whispered to Aiden.
He picked up a couple fries, shoving them in his mouth before they cooled. It was obvious they were hot, too hot to chew, but he did anyway instead of admitting his pain.
“What do you mean?” he lowered his eyebrows.
“Look around; everyone’s staring like I have two fuckin’ heads or something,” I said quietly.
Aiden took a quick inventory of the room and then turned his attention back to me. “Maybe they’ve never seen a muscle-bound midget before,” he laughed.
“Funny,” I smirked.
I was six-feet, taller than the average male, so his jokes didn’t bother me much. What did bother me was the fact this town—and everyone in it—seemed to be judging me, and I had no idea why.
Chapter 2
Alyssa
The chatter in the church was growing louder as more and more people arrived. The sermon was over, and it was now time to discuss the fundraiser: something I’d looked forward to all month. Some of the older ladies had encouraged another bake sale, but this year, I wanted to do something different: a fall carnival, complete with hay rides, pumpkin carving contests, and even a dunking booth, if possible. I was desperate for change, change from the same old mundane routine found in this small town.
“I’ve got news,” my mother squeezed into the pew next to me. Instead of taking the empty spot on the far side of me, she pushed into me with her hips, sliding me over to give her space.
I rolled my eyes. News? In this town? More like gossip, and I’d heard enough already from the three old ladies sitting in front of me.
Mom lean
ed in close, her breath so warm against my ear that I cringed. “Liam is in town, to stay,” she whispered.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention, and my gut growled with anxiety at the news. Could it be true? It couldn’t be.
My eyes locked on to my mother’s. Her disapproval was obvious on her tightened lips and squinted, dark eyes. I’d thought about this day, even dreamt about it before, but it had been twelve years. So much had changed.
“Who told you that?” I whispered, not willing to believe what she said. She must’ve been mistaken. She had to be.
“I saw him at the diner with Aiden,” she said softly, but not softly enough.
My heart raced as I stared across the room. Holly rolled a wooden car around the church floor with one of the smaller kids, her smile so sweet, so familiar. Her bright blue eyes didn’t match my dark ones, and her blondish hair, smooth and straight, certainly wasn’t from my Hispanic background.
“We can’t talk about this now,” I warned my mother, catching a glimpse of Bruce as he stepped up behind us.
He leaned in, his breath thick with beer, and kissed me on the cheek. My mother shrugged, pulling away from his presence, and grunted with displeasure as he chuckled at her discomfort. As much as she hated Liam, she hated Bruce even more.
“What are you two ladies gossiping about?” he intruded.
My mother waved her hand towards him, shaking her head in disgust. “You stink of the bar,” she hissed.
“I had one beer,” Bruce argued.
“We’re in the house of the Lord,” Maria growled, giving him one of her famous hateful stares. I wondered if she’d given the same one to Liam and how he’d reacted.
“Give it a rest, Maria,” he teased. “We all know how much you love your wine,” he pushed.
One of the older ladies in front of us turned her head over her shoulder, sneering in our direction. I hated the stares and the judgment, and more than anything, I hated the tension between my mother and Bruce.
“Why don’t you wait in the truck,” Maria growled.
Bruce smirked and then pushed his lips back against my cheek for another kiss. “Is that what you want, baby?” he asked me.
I did. I wanted him out of that church, away from my mother, and out of earshot, so I could find more out about Liam.
“Do you mind?” I asked sweetly, batting my eyes in his direction.
His stern grimace softened, and he offered a faint smile. I watched him glance in Holly’s direction, but only for a moment. She didn’t make any point to come over when she noticed him. I knew she liked him about as much he liked her, which was very little.
“I’ll be outside. Don’t be long,” he ordered, and with that, he disappeared out the front doors of the church.
“Alyssa, what do you see in that meathead?” Maria snickered, her eyes still peering towards the direction of Bruce’s exit path.
I shrugged off her snide question, knowing it was more of a comment, one not requiring a response. No matter what I told her, it wouldn’t be good enough. No one was ever good enough for Maria Martinez’s daughter: not Bruce, not Liam, no one.
“Do you think Aiden will keep the secret since Liam is here to stay now?” she asked, her eyes glazed with a black hue.
I shuddered at her question, unsure about the answer. My eyes looked past my mother and rested on my daughter. She still played with the smaller child, making engine sounds that echoed through the large church. Her long arms stretched out past her body as she rolled the car along the carpet of the church floor. She was tall, like her father, not petite like me. At eleven, it was already clear that she would tower over me one day, probably sooner than I realized. Her pale skin, cute freckles, and bright blue eyes were all her father’s as well, making it easy to see the resemblance with just a quick glance.
“It doesn’t matter. One look, and he’ll know,” I sighed, leaning back against the pew.
Maria lifted her coffee cup, one purchased from the diner up the street, where she must’ve run into Liam and Aiden.
“Put that away,” I hissed, glaring at the cup.
“What? I’m not drinking that dirt water they call coffee,” Maria retorted, louder than she should have.
“Mom, seriously,” I cringed as one of the older ladies sitting in front of us turned to sneer in our direction.
I hated people staring, but it didn’t seem to bother Maria, at least not to the point where she showed it. Holly always brought stares from people, especially those in the church. She wasn’t Hispanic, at least not visibly, and that irritated some of the older women. Maybe that’s what I saw in Bruce. He was tall, white, had a clean-shaven head, and had a set of blue eyes, nearly as blue as Holly’s. He cut down on the amount of stares I received. When it was just me and Holly, I felt as though the entire town looked our way, trying to see some resemblance, trying to match her to someone in the town. When Bruce was with us, it made her pale skin and light hair make sense mixed with her full lips and curvy hips, curvy hips that appeared far too soon.
Two ladies stopped at our pew, gabbing about the cake sale and pulling my mom right into their mundane ideas. Ugh. Maria Martinez could cook, and she loved to show that skill off. A bake sale was perfect for her, but not for me.
“I think it would be nice to have a carnival theme,” I interjected, but it fell onto deaf ears.
The women continued to stroke my mother’s ego, telling her that no one could bake an avocado-lime cheesecake like she could. That was true, and it was just enough praise to make her forget all about Liam, about the situation that was about to erupt, and take off with them towards the pastor to strong-arm him into another boring bake sale.
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SEAL’S FAKE MARRIAGE
By Ivy Jordan
Click Here To Read The Entire Book
Chapter 1
Aiden
“Mom, I’m on my way to work,” I spoke loudly into the phone.
It was useless. She wasn’t going to hear me, not until I told her what she wanted to hear.
“I deserve to be an abuela,” my mother sighed in her guilt-ridden fashion.
“I know you do, but I’m just not ready for marriage,” I argued the familiar argument.
This was becoming a chore to not get married and have kids. My mother and my grandmother—my abuela—were on my case constantly.
“Ready? You think I was ready to be a mother and wife at seventeen?” she roared into the phone, the tone of her voice growing high-pitched, and her story readying itself for another outing.
I’d heard it all before, so many times I could recite it word for word.
“I figured it out. Your father figured it out. That’s what makes a man a man, not some war. It’s being a parent; that’s when you find your true strength. Alejandro, God rest his soul, what would he think of you denying your mother her God-given right to be an abuela?” she ranted.
I always hated when she brought my father into the argument. I looked up towards the sky, towards the heavens where my father rested, and looked for mercy, a sign, a blast from above that would render all cell phone towers useless.
“You know how I feel about this conversation,” I growled into the phone.
People were passing by me on their way to work, to breakfast, or just for their morning stroll. They didn’t have phones glued to their ears with their mothers pumping them full of guilt as they started their days.
“I just want you happy, Aiden,” my mother poured one last ounce of guilt through the phone.
“I am happy,” I sighed.
“Just promise me you’ll think about it,” she pleaded.
“Okay. I’ll think about it,” I caved.
A loud gasp of excitement exploded through the phone and into my ear. A woman walking by turned and smiled in my direction. Oh God, she could hear my mother’s cry of joy.
“I love you,” I said quickly and hung up the phone.
I shoved th
e device into my pocket, hopeful that it would stay silent long enough for me to grab a cup of coffee and get back to work.
A woman walked by with a small girl attached to her hand. I smiled at the little one, who quickly tucked her face into her mother’s dress as they continued walking. Kids… Why did I need kids?
I turned, watching the little girl peeking back at me, her smile appearing as the space between us widened. She was cute. There was a small part of me that could see me with a kid, maybe two, but not right now, not yet.
“Hey, man,” I looked up to see Liam.
I nearly ran right into him.
“Hey,” I greeted my old friend.
He chuckled, looking past me towards the woman on the street with the child.
“You dirty dog,” he teased, his eyes narrowing as he spoke.
“No, I-uh, the little girl, she smiled at me, that’s all,” I stammered.
“Sure,” Liam grinned.
“Look at you, all suited up,” I scanned my friend from head to toe.
He was wearing a black suit, similar to the one in the Men in Black movies. I avoided the chuckle that was growing in my throat, having to swallow it hard once I noticed the dark sunglasses on his head.
“Oh, yeah. I have to be at work after…” he trailed off, leaving me standing there, curious, wondering what was before.
“You okay, man?” I asked Liam, who seemed to be drifting somewhere far from where we stood.
“Yeah. I’m just a little anxious, I guess,” he admitted.
“I can see that, but why?” I questioned.
Liam shifted his feet, shoved his hands into his pockets, and his eyes squinted towards the sun. Something was bothering him, but I couldn’t imagine what. He had it all. Life had worked out for him with Holly, Alyssa, and this great job.
“Blake. She’s meeting me for coffee,” Liam finally explained.