by Shannyn Leah
“Bowie, these really speak. Where do you sell them?”
She walked up beside him. “I don’t.”
He glanced at her. “Why not?”
“I don’t paint them for people. I’ve given a couple away to Reed and Susan as gifts, but not to sell.”
He folded his arms and swayed back on his feet while he examined the painting of her falling into the water. “Why do you paint them?”
“Why do you fight?”
“I don’t fight anymore.”
“What do you do?”
He sent her an interrogative look. “Didn’t you hire a PI to look into me?”
“I want you to tell me.”
He looked back at the painting. “I restore vehicles.”
“That’s your day job.”
“That’s my passion.”
“From fighting to working in oil. Tell me about this transition.”
He looked at her and his stare intensified. “I needed something to keep my hands busy, my brain occupied, anything to keep from thinking about you.”
“Oh.” Taken aback, her eyes moved away from him. When she looked back at him, his attention had turned back on her art.
“It worked. I can work on a car all night long and be content.” He described her passion for painting. “I’ve been mad at you. At the beginning, it was bad. I couldn’t understand why you wouldn’t talk to me after everything we’d gone through together, after all the plans we’d made. I played our fight that morning through my head over and over looking for a sign as to why you’d have me arrested and then throw a restraining order at me. But nothing made sense. I was angry until I couldn’t be angry anymore.”
She sucked in her bottom lip and clamped down, causing a pain nothing like what he’d endured.
“And, finally, I gave up. On you, on life, on me. I’ve just been living each day, going through the motions, and not facing the trials of my life. Like ignoring the shit between me and my dad. I was terrified a confrontation with him would follow with his disappearance. Like my mom leaving and you. He was the only person I had and if my mom left, why wouldn’t my dad leave too?”
“Because he loves you. I can see how much he loves you.”
He shifted to face at her with that intensified look again that made her knees weak and her heart skip a beat. “We can’t do whatever this is we are doing to each other right now. I can’t take that to a fight with me when my heart’s not in the fight to begin with.”
“I wasn’t looking for anything last night. I just thought that maybe it would relax you.”
He shook his head and made a noise that sounded a lot like a groan. “Doll, you do all but relax me.”
She guessed her small smile was highlighted again by a blush. “I’m sorry.”
“We have to keep our relationship strictly about business—I have to keep it business.” She’d never expected anything different ... had she? “I’m here to fight Walker. That’s all.”
Fight Walker and then fight her brother? The question had briefly popped into her head this morning. If he planned the latter, it terrified her.
“Okay.”
“I don’t need any more of your trainers. I don’t need a trainer at all, but with my dad’s persistence, I guess I’ll be taking some pointers from him. I suppose it’s only fair after the scare I gave him last night.”
She smiled. “I’m glad you hashed it out with your dad. I’d give anything to have my dad back.”
His sympathetic nod contradicted his following words. “Strictly business.”
“Strictly business.”
She didn’t turn with him as he walked by her. Her eyelids fell shut, a part of her breaking—the last bit of hope she’d had all these years.
“Thank you for keeping me alive last night.”
She opened her eyes, but couldn’t turn around. Taking a deep breath, she said, “You’re welcome.”
“That won’t be necessary again. Stone Cold is walking in the next ring and you don’t have to come.”
But she would. She had to see the fight with her own eyes. She had to know that he was preparing to defeat Walker and save Reed. She couldn’t help but wonder what would happen to Reed after his body healed. Would Stone come back for him? Beat him back into a chair?
She turned to face him. “What are you plans for my brother?”
He said nothing, but his back muscles tensed.
“I can’t let you heal him just to beat him up again.”
“I won’t touch him.”
“Stone?”
He’d never intimidated her—most people didn’t. But walking into a room with Stone had intimidated every last man and left every women drooling. Even in his condition now, his vast stance didn’t decrease. Only this time, when he stalked across the room stopping too close for comfort, she felt a bit daunted.
“You know what would really hurt him? Not physically, but the thing that would really get him?”
Bowie shook her head at his menacing voice, almost afraid of the answer.
He lowered his tone and a satisfied expression settled on his face. “If I got the girl.”
That wasn’t what she’d been expecting. Torture, slow, horrible torture, but the girl? The girl? Did he mean her? If he did, did that mean he was going to try and get the girl? Going to try and get her?
“Your brother’s an ass, always has been, but in some warped way, I understand why he hired Walker. First your dad died, then the threat of you leaving him—” He shook his head. “It’s twisted, but I get it. I don’t agree with it, but I get it. Just like I don’t agree with your decision to cut me out of your life when you should’ve been straight up with me, but I get it.” He took a step closer to her and ran his finger along her shoulder. “He will heal, walk and live again and maybe then, when he thinks all is good, settled, and he’s happy ... maybe six-months or a year...I’ll take away the one thing that scares him—” His fingers trailed up her bare arm and his hand cupped her face as he leaned in close.
She felt his breath sweep across her lips, and could almost taste him. “I will take you.”
Chapter Twenty
TWO DAYS LATER Stone hit the grocery store and grabbed supplies for an afternoon barbecue. He’d had more than enough practice time in the gym. His fight was this evening and he felt good, without an ounce of regret or anger—but with a little pity for the poor kid that would step in the ring across from him.
Physically, he had bounced back as good as he needed for tonight. Sure his bruises had transformed from reddish colors to blues and purple but, by the time of Walker’s fight at the end of the week, they’d be a fading yellow color. He planned on taking the next half a week easy, to completely repair his body before the fight with Walker.
But inside, he felt a content peace like he’d adapted to during his days in Willow Valley, only better. Burying the hatchet with his father had lifted a weight heavier than he’d ever imagined and although the truth about why Bowie drove him away was now out in the open, he still wasn’t sure how he felt about it. But at least he felt something.
Stone had fired up the barbeque in the outdoor kitchen, complete with a “U” shaped counter, two mini fridges, sink, and a wood beam roof, but his dad had quickly taken over in the top-of-the-line grilling center. Susan had supplied a variety of sauces for grilling the meat and, with her inability to not be involved, she supervised Slate’s grilling techniques making Stone grateful he’d walked away.
Standing under the gazebo, leaning against the wood frame, he sipped his beer.
“Maybe you don’t get too bloodied up tonight and we can stay for the after party.” Hands in his pants pockets, Hawk stopped in front of Stone.
“How do you know about the after parties?”
He nodded at Reed, sitting by the pool alone and looking as cranky as he did in each physiotherapy session. But his cursing, pouting, and threatening didn’t frighten away the nurses as it once had. With Stone supervising, the sessions had bee
n going by smoothly.
“He has an active mouth when he gets a little booze in him,” Hawk said. “Which seems to be all the time.”
“He has an active mouth regardless.”
“I’m more concerned about you not smashing that pretty face of yours.”
Stone scratched his jaw, angling his head. “Are you saying you’re more concerned about my well-being than getting a piece of ass? Is that what I’m hearing?”
“You are my ticket to a piece of ass.”
Stone chuckled. “I’ll keep my pretty face away from fists.”
“That’s all I ask.”
“Listen, I wanted to talk to you about the other night—”
Hawk held his hand up. “Stop right there. Go cuddle with your dad and Bowie, but leave me the hell out. You dealt with your shit, good enough for me.”
“Alright, I guess the least I can do is get you a beer.”
“You could put in a good word with Marnie about me. You’re with her all day and I see you two chatting.”
Stone pushed his back off the beam and walked away. “No.”
“Come on, man, she shuts me down.”
“Because you’re an ass,” Stone shouted over his shoulder.
“Just tell her I saved your ass.”
“Begging isn’t becoming of you.”
“You damn well owe me, Patino!”
Stone chuckled all the way to the covered outdoor kitchen. Susan’s loud shout stopped him on the other side of the counter.
“It says stir frequently.” She ripped a wooden spoon out of Slate’s hand and began stirring a pan on the stove.
He grabbed it right back, sauce flying in the air between them. “If you don’t let it simmer you won’t taste the flavor.”
With their backs to Stone, he took a large step in reverse, his head moving from Slate to Susan as they bickered and hoping neither saw him. He didn’t want to get involved.
“You let it simmer, but you also stir.” Susan dug through a drawer and pulled out another wooden spoon, holding it in the air like a trophy. “If you can’t share the utensils, get out of my kitchen.”
“You won’t be ruining this delicious meal, woman.”
Susan swiftly turned and pointed the spoon at Slate. “Call me woman like that again. I dare you to.”
“I’ve had worse beatings than with a wooden spoon.”
“Why don’t you decide that after you touch my sauce again. Get over to your meat before you burn it black.”
Slate glanced at the grill, cursing at the billowing smoke.
“It sounds like your dad is hitting on my Susan.”
Stone smirked as he turned to find Bowie sitting, bare legs crossed on a wrought iron bench concealed by the tree beside him. Every corner of this property was a maze waiting to be discovered, like this little nook where the bench was hidden by tall shrubs behind it and two large trees on either side.
Stone folded his arms and leaned the side of his arm on the tree. “Your Susan?”
“Yes.” She folded the book she’d been reading on her lap and he peeked at the thin-strapped dress hanging low in her front. “What else would I call her? My chef? Estate manager? Those titles don’t suit how I see her. I like ‘my Susan.’”
He chuckled. “I always thought your Susan would end up with your dad.”
“My dad?” She laughed. “Oh gosh no. My dad was a man of little interest in dating or marrying. I don’t ever remember him talking about a woman. It was always the restaurant chain and fighting.” She let out a little laugh. “Besides, I don’t think Susan likes the smart-ass types. AKA, your father.”
“My dad doesn’t like women for more than one night, so it’s probably safe to say we don’t have to worry about those two getting together.”
“I wasn’t worried.”
“Really?”
“He’s not a bad guy, Stone. Maybe he’s made bad choices, but that doesn’t make him a bad guy.”
“Bad choices don’t just stop one day.”
She bit her lower lip and drew her eyebrows together. “Don’t they?”
“You sound like Susan.”
“Do I?”
He laughed and sat down in the empty spot beside her. He stretched his legs out and his body released an approving groan at the almost relaxed position. “Yes. She does that whole ‘question your reply’ thing.”
Bowie’s eyes lit up. “Yes, I know exactly what you’re talking about. You end up questioning everything you think you knew and never really getting a solid answer out of her.”
“Precisely.”
“I guess I could call her my shrink too.”
He crossed his ankles and lifted his arms to cup the back of his head. Silence crept up on them, and for a long while they said nothing, which Stone didn’t mind. Talking was overrated. They used to talk, like the young, fearless—stupid—young adults they’d been. Lord, they’d shared everything with each other and look where that had gotten them. Silently sitting on a bench, afraid to speak.
Bowie broke the silence first. “Thank you for supervising my brother’s sessions. He’s making amazing progress. I just hope he continues when you leave.”
“If he doesn’t, I’m only a phone call away.”
“Really? You’d drop everything in Willow Valley to drive to Oakston to make sure my brother, the guy who had you almost beat to death, continues with his physio?”
Stone shook his head. “No, but I will make one call to Duke and he’ll get back on track.”
“Oh.”
What had she wanted from him? To drop everything and come back? To claim her for his own like he’d suggested days ago? These were thoughts he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to address or answer.
“From my observation, I assume that you deposit Duke’s money, which makes it impossible for Reed to fire him, which makes him a valuable asset.”
“Yes, I suppose.” He caught her squeezing her hands together out of the corner of his eye. “Can I tell you something? Now that you’re not drunk and demanding answers.”
He knew her explanation was about to unfold. Answers he wasn’t sure he wanted right now while in fight mode.
He nodded.
“I wasn’t just trying to keep you safe from Reed, although he had way too many connections for comfort. You had these dreams of getting married and having kids, living in a house in the country with dogs—” She smiled at him. “Bridge, I loved that name.” He remembered. “Bridge, running free on the property, a garden growing fresh fruit we’d eat randomly in the middle of the day while sitting on a porch swing. You talked about walks on the beach and eating at small fry trucks and, although it all sounded wonderful—and fattening—I saw myself gaining thirty pounds on your diet—”
He didn’t mention that he’d noticed the changes of her body from her early twenties, or how the extra weight she’d put on filled in her curves and gave her the look of a woman instead of a girl.
“When my dad died, things changed inside me. I couldn’t see any of that anymore. I saw my dad’s house, a house that you had planned to take me away from to a life I didn’t know. I was scared, Stone.”
He pressed his lips together, refusing to tell her she should’ve talked to him first to express her qualms. He damn well wouldn’t have dragged her to Willow Valley if she hadn’t felt ready and he knew somewhere she’d known that.
When she touched his hand, he looked into her soft eyes. “I know you would’ve done whatever I needed, but when you showed up on my doorstep, bruised and battered, almost to the point of not recognizing you, and my brother had that done to you—I couldn’t.”
“That was my decision to make.” His bark came out gruffer than he’d intended, but he was tired of concealing his emotions. They’d wasted years, like the years lost between him and his father.
“You’re right. But I wasn’t taking away your dreams and plans when there was only emptiness inside me. I knew I wouldn’t be happy with you and all I wanted was
for you to be happy.”
“Why are you telling me this now?”
She didn’t answer right away and pulled her hand away from his to slouch back against the panels of the bench. “Reed’s not the only one who gave up on life and, honestly, I don’t even know what life is anymore beyond my paintings. If you found that happiness in Willow Valley, if there’s a woman that you like, or a dog you want to buy, you know the truth now, so don’t wait any longer. Take the plunge, live your life.”
Frustration bubbled through him and he couldn’t sit for another second. He shot to his feet, wondering if she had heard her double-standard. It sounded like Reed was currently in the same frame of mind as she’d been ten years ago. Only Bowie hadn’t been slapped with a restraining order to stay away from her brother.
He took a few steps then turned and pointed at her. “The woman is you, the dog is ours, and depression happens, but you don’t shut out the people you love and hide in a room full of painted memories of them.”
She shot to her feet. “That’s not fair.”
“Really? Because you hunted me down and paid one-hundred thousand dollars to have me save your brother. From a situation he purposely put himself into. How are you allowed to be that person and in the same sentence disregard my rights to help you?”
She opened her mouth. Shut it. Opened it again and shut it again. Then she wrinkled her nose.
“I know you lost your dad. I was there with you, remember? I saw you fall into a pit of sadness. Hell, I saw the same symptoms behind your brother’s shield, but the reality is, you two don’t know how to deal with real life. You can’t buy your way out of things, pay Walker to get rid of me, pay me to get rid of Walker. That’s only half the solution. At the end of the day, it’s the people who are with you that count, but only if you don’t push them away.”