“Hey, Baileys.” Jack’s voice boomed across the lobby.
We all stopped and looked at him. He and several deputies grinned at us, all with pies in their hands.
Oh shit.
I grabbed Grace and threw my arms around her, turning my back on Jack and the others to shield her from the onslaught. Cream pie—smelled like banana—splattered across my shoulders. I couldn’t stop laughing. Levi and Logan immediately started scooping up more pie and hurling it back toward our new attackers. In seconds, we were all embroiled in a pie fight in the lobby of the sheriff’s department.
Just a typical day in Tilikum.
The deputies finally ran out of pie and the battle died down. Everyone put their hands up in mutual surrender. The whole place was a disaster—splatters of pie and whipped cream everywhere.
Gavin was covered from head to toe. He’d foregone any sort of cover in favor of going on the offensive. Levi and Logan had taken their share, and Grace and I were both a mess.
So were Jack and the other deputies.
We cleaned up, and with this many hands, it didn’t take long. I gave Jack props for the extra pies. We’d gotten my brothers and he’d gotten us all. Pranks with layers were the best kind.
Still sticky, but no longer dripping pie filling, my brothers followed me and Grace outside.
“I can’t believe you did that,” Logan said. “I seriously thought Jack fucking arrested you.”
“I can’t believe Jack attacked us with more pie,” Grace said. “I never want to smell banana cream again.”
Gavin was still smiling. “Well done, bro. That was epic.”
I smiled and hugged it out with him, then Logan.
Levi shook his head at me, then held his arms out. I bear-hugged him tight.
“Sorry about what I said that day.” Levi’s voice was quiet. “I’m glad you’re home.”
“Thanks, brother. Me too.”
“Okay, broca colas,” Logan said. “I need to go shower.”
“Shower?” Gavin asked, scoffing. “Let’s just go jump in the river.”
“Why would I do that? The river’s cold.”
“Baby,” Gavin said.
“You’re a baby.”
Levi shoved Gavin’s shoulder. “I’ll dunk both your asses in the river.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
Grace grabbed my hand and tugged me away. “Quick, let’s get out of here before they try to rope us into jumping in the river with them.”
We paused outside her car and I hooked my arm around her waist, hauling her roughly against me. “I’m thinking shower. But maybe I’ll lick you off first.”
“It’s so weird how I got pie everywhere,” she said, emphasizing the word.
I covertly brushed my fingers between her legs. “Everywhere, huh. Yeah, I’m definitely licking you clean.”
48
Asher
I found a spot about a block from the bar and parked. The street was quiet. Most of the college students were still gone for the summer, and it was ten o’clock in the morning. Too early for the bar crowds. But that was the point.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” I asked.
Grace reached over and squeezed my hand. I wasn’t sure if she was seeking reassurance from me, or offering it. Maybe both.
“I’m sure. I need to do this.”
“We both do.”
Neither of us had been back here since the night our lives had gone sideways. Grace had admitted she’d avoided this entire street for years. Both of our therapists had suggested we consider revisiting the bar when we felt ready. We’d talked about it and decided we wanted to try.
I’d called ahead and talked to the owner. He’d been surprisingly cool about it, offering to meet us here before it opened so we could do what we needed to do without the pressure of a crowd of customers.
We got out of the truck and I let Grace take the lead. She took slow steps toward the front, but it wasn’t as if she were forcing herself to move forward. Her body was alert, but not tense. She was simply taking the time she needed.
She’d already made incredible progress. After a few sessions with her therapist, she’d started asking me to take her places so she could try going inside alone. Her first attempt had been a little rocky. She’d spent about five minutes in the Sugar Shack, the little corner store we’d frequented as kids, before she’d needed to come out. But she hadn’t run out in a panic. And she’d said knowing I was outside waiting for her had helped a lot.
I’d sit outside every store in town for as long as she needed if it helped her feel better. I’d do anything for her.
Since then she’d worked her way up to actually buying groceries by herself. I was so damn proud of her.
She reached the door to the bar and glanced over her shoulder. I was right behind her.
“Ready to go in?” she asked.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
My heart rate kicked up, so I took a few deep breaths. I braced myself for the assault of memories I was sure would hit me, but as we walked inside, images of that awful night didn’t take over. The bar hadn’t changed very much from what I remembered, but I wasn’t overwhelmed. I felt the edge of unease, but no loss of control.
The owner, a fit middle-aged guy with a lot of gray in his beard, came out from the back. “You must be Asher and Grace.”
Grace and I shook his hand.
“Thanks for this,” I said. “We appreciate it.”
“No problem. Miss, I never had the chance to apologize for what happened to you here. We’ve tightened up our security and have cameras out there now. That never should have happened.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“Feel free to have a look around. I hope it helps.”
He retreated to a stool behind the bar, giving us space.
Grace moved slowly, her steps deliberate. She made her way to the pool table where it had all started and trailed her fingers along the edge.
I remembered every moment of that night, even clearer now than I had in the immediate aftermath. Then, I’d been mired in shock and the aftereffects of adrenaline and rage. Now, I could recall that night without the same overwhelming level of emotion.
It still hurt. My life had taken a terrible turn that night, and it had started right there at that pool table. But I wasn’t swept away in violent recollections. For the first time, I faced what had happened to us, and the choices I’d made, with calm acceptance.
I’d protected Grace, and I’d paid a price for it.
Wordlessly, I walked through the bar, taking it in. Grace lingered near the pool tables, then went straight for the back. I hadn’t been sure if she’d want to go out there, but if she did, I was going with her.
Next to the door that led outside was a sign warning that recording was in progress. Without hesitation, she opened the door and walked out.
This was harder.
The alley had been dark that night, but even in the midmorning sun, the sight of it hit me square in the chest. For a second, it was hard to breathe.
But Grace wasn’t pinned to the ground, seconds from being brutalized. She was standing in the daylight, her hair moving in the breeze. Beautiful and perfect.
And, despite everything, mine.
Which was something of a miracle.
I took a few steps, looking around. Letting this place do whatever it was going to do to me. I would probably never come back here, but I’d needed to face it. Needed to face what had happened and what I’d done.
I’d never been proud of the outcome. It wouldn’t have been right to glory in someone’s death, no matter what he’d done. But it would have been a lie to say I regretted it. I’d have done anything, even sacrificed my own life, to save hers. And I’d do it again without question.
If that made me a monster, so be it.
Grace threaded her arms around my waist and rested her head against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her securely in my e
mbrace. Felt the soothing reassurance of her heart beating with mine, and breathed.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
“For this? Of course. We both needed it.”
“Yes, but…” She paused and lifted her face to meet my eyes. “Thank you for what you did here. For saving me.”
I brushed her hair back from her face. “Thank you for saving me.”
She smiled up at me. And the fact that she could do that here—with her blue eyes shining with true happiness—lifted some of the weight off my shoulders. Some of the power this place, and that night, had held over me was gone, dissolving into the air and blowing away on the gentle wind.
“Do you need more time?” I asked.
She took a deep breath. “No. I’m finished.”
I was too. Finished and ready to move on.
Parked cars already crowded Evergreen Street when we got to the house.
“I guess they’re not wasting time,” Grace said, nodding to the wide-open front door.
“How did they get in?”
She sighed. “Your brothers all have keys.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize you’d done that.”
“I didn’t.”
“Then why do my brothers have keys to our house?” I asked as we walked in.
“Because they’re your brothers?”
I shrugged. That was probably as good an explanation as any.
Voices greeted us when we got inside. Today was a big day. The house had been inspected for safety, the insurance company had done their thing, and we’d been given the all clear to begin repairing and rebuilding.
It was going to be a hell of a lot of work. But we had a lot of help.
My brothers were here, of course, as were Jack and Elijah. And most of Grace’s family on the Miles side were already here as well. Naomi and their mom Shannon had offered to babysit all the little ones while the adults came to help get us started clearing out debris. Someone had already gotten people organized and work was well underway.
Grace and I had rented an apartment to tide us over until we got the house in livable condition again. Cara had tried to talk us into living with her, and although her house was pretty amazing, we’d agreed we wanted our own space. Even if it didn’t have a spectacular view of the river.
Our place was nice, and coming home to Grace every night was amazing. But I was anxious to get this house back together so we could move in. Make it ours.
Our new favorite dates were trips to the hardware store and browsing through home and garden magazines looking for ideas. We were currently in the middle of a debate about kitchen countertops. She wanted granite. I wanted composite quartz.
I was pretty sure I was wearing her down.
Cara emerged from the back of the house dressed in an old Tilikum College t-shirt, knotted at the waist, with shorts and what looked like a brand-new pair of work boots. She had leather work gloves sticking out of a pocket.
“There’s my darling little cuddly bear.” She hugged Grace.
“Look at you,” Grace said. “Nice boots.”
She shrugged. “I have no idea what I’m doing, but fake it till you make it, right?”
“I love it. Thanks for coming.”
“Of course, boo.”
“This is unrelated, but have you talked to Libby Stewart lately?” Grace asked.
“From the library? No, not in a while. Why?”
“She stopped by the coffee shop yesterday to tell me she couldn’t help us with the Eliza Bailey search anymore. Which is fine if she’s busy or whatever. But she told me I should stop looking because she’s positive there’s nothing else.”
Cara’s eyebrows knitted together. “Really?”
“Yeah, it was strange. She almost seemed upset. Who knows, maybe she was just having a bad day. But she was really adamant about it, like she was sure it was a waste of time.”
“That is odd.”
“Isn’t it? Anyway, I was just wondering if you’d seen her.”
She tapped a finger to her lips. “No, but now I’m curious. Maybe I’ll go to the library and do some digging myself.”
“You’re like a cat, you know that? Dangle a bit of string and you ignore it. Move the string around a corner, and suddenly you have to investigate to find out where it went.”
“That’s probably accurate.” She glanced around the construction zone that would eventually be our house. “Anyway, like I said, I don’t know what I’m doing, so I’m just letting your brothers boss me around. Speaking of, next time, could you please try to gather a crew that isn’t made up entirely of Baileys and hot but very married men? I’m absolutely basking in the insane amount of masculinity on display out there, but it’s torture. Your brothers are brutally hot and the fact that they’re all happily married is making them exponentially hotter, which is messing with my head in ways I don’t know how to deal with.”
Grace laughed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about right now.”
“Do you see them out there? Smiling at their wives with those looks that say, woman, you’re the only one I’ll ever love and even though I watched you push a baby out of your vagina, I’m still as hot for you as I’ve ever been, and when we get home, I’m going to show you. Why is that so hot, Grace? Tell me, because I’m so confused right now.”
“You’re really surprised that being openly in love with their wives and committed to their families makes men attractive? Everyone knows that’s a thing. Its why women love to ogle pictures of male celebrities being cute with their spouses or holding their babies.”
“Do women really do that? I’ve never done that.”
Grace patted her on the shoulder. “It’s okay, sweetie. I know this is new, but it’s perfectly normal.”
I went out back while Grace continued reassuring Cara. I didn’t really understand what they were talking about, but that was typical. Those two had their own language, a lot like Levi and Logan’s twin language when they were little.
I checked in with everyone, wandering through to see how things were going. They’d gotten off to a good start. Our lumber delivery arrived, and with so many people, we got it all unloaded and moved around to the back in no time.
It didn’t take long before things started to look a hell of a lot more manageable. We braced the back wall and shored up the roof supports to make sure it was stable. Cleared away most of the burned debris. Sorted through things to figure out what was salvageable, and cleared out space so we could rebuild the outer wall.
“This is like one of those home improvement shows where they build a whole house in like two days,” Logan said. “You guys will be living here by next week.”
“I can’t believe how much progress we’ve already made,” Grace said.
“Couple more weeks and we’ll be neighbros.” Logan lifted his hand to fist bump mine.
I just looked at him. “What?”
“Didn’t I tell you? We’re moving in next door.”
“What?” Grace squealed. Her what sounded a lot more enthusiastic than mine. “Next door to us? Here?”
Logan looked entirely too proud of himself. “Yeah. Since Gavin obviously isn’t going anywhere, we figured we should get a house with a third bedroom. The one next door was available, so we snapped it up.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said.
“This is going to be so fun,” Grace said.
“I know,” Logan said. “It’s gonna be lit. The backyard is huge. I’m already working on a design for the fire pit.”
Grace smiled.
I shook my head. “If you’re living next door, you need to give me all the keys you have to our house.”
“Why would I do that? What if I need to borrow something?”
“That’s why I want your keys.”
Logan laughed and patted me on the shoulder, then walked away.
“Aren’t you excited?” Grace asked. “It’ll be fun having them right next door.”
I glanced aroun
d at my brothers. Levi was working in the kitchen alongside two of Grace’s brothers. He wouldn’t be a bad neighbor. But then I caught sight of Logan snapping his shirt at Evan, earning an angry growl. Gavin was on the roof and I had no idea if he was up there for a reason, or just using the work party as an excuse to do something dangerous.
But Grace was probably right. It would be fun.
About an hour later, Grace took a few people with her to get food and drinks for everyone. The work party was winding down as the sun sank lower in the sky. We’d gotten so much done, it looked like a completely different house already.
Dinner arrived, along with Gram, who brought pie and cookies. We stuffed our helpers with food, which was the least we could do for everything they’d done.
The work party gradually turned into a regular party. There was food everywhere. My brothers produced a case of beer, and Grace’s siblings had brought wine from their winery. Her brother Cooper and brother-in-law Chase joined Logan and Gavin in crafting a makeshift firepit out of rocks. Soon there was a nice blaze going—a safe distance from the house—and someone turned on music.
It had been a damn good day.
I stood with Grace near the fire, my arm around her shoulders, a beer in my hand. Her arm was locked around my waist and she had a plastic cup of red wine. We were tired and dirty. Her cheek was smudged with soot and there was dust in her hair.
She was perfect.
Gram picked her way across the rocky yard. After handing out slices of pie to everyone, she’d spent the last hour chatting with Grace’s sisters-in-law. I drew her in next to me with my other arm and gently squeezed.
“Thanks again for bringing dessert.”
“Oh, sure. I like feeding people. It makes them happy.”
“Especially when it’s pie.”
“Isn’t that the truth.” She tugged on my arm. “Come out front a moment. I have something for you both.”
We followed her around the house to where she’d parked. She fished a box out of her backseat and handed it to me.
Fighting for Us: A Small Town Family Romance (The Bailey Brothers Book 2) Page 36