by K B Cinder
Huh.
Maybe he ran out of gas. He had been making a lot of trips to their cabin, leaving Josie to watch Olivia now that she was old enough.
I hadn’t talked to him since I asked him for her hand a few weeks earlier when he told me to pound sand, but maybe giving him a lift home or letting him siphon some gas from my car could win me points.
I hurried over, a splash of wetness flying up my pant leg as I stepped into a goopy puddle. Fat drops fell from the sky, a mix of slushy flakes and frozen rain taking turns pelting me.
As I got closer, I saw Ed in the front seat and a blonde in the passenger seat.
Trish?
Weird.
Josie said she was staying in Portland overnight for a speaking event. That’s why Olivia was coming to dinner with us.
He was leaning back, so they must’ve been there a while. He’d probably appreciate the help.
Hopefully, he would, anyway.
He didn’t seem like the kind of guy to say please and thank you.
A foot from the car, I saw something no one should ever see: my soon-to-be father-in-law’s dick and balls jutting out the front of his pants with a pink ring of lipstick around them.
I went to run, as horrified as I’d be walking in on my own parents, but not before I saw Lynette Stephens in the passenger seat, her pink lipstick smeared.
In that awful moment, Ed Roberts saw me too.
Josie
“Josie, what do you think about this top?” Mom asked, holding up the green polka dot blouse.
I shook my head, the shoulder bow too gaudy to pair with the pearls she wore daily. “It’s a little busy, Mom.” I delivered the news gently, still tiptoeing in conversation.
It’d been three weeks since I’d walked out of Liv’s wedding with Luke, and it was the first time I’d seen her since. Dad was still raging, barring me from the house when I picked her up, not that I cared.
“What the heck do you wear to a book signing anyway?” she sighed, setting it back on the rack.
“Something cute in case someone takes pictures with you?” I offered with a laugh, grabbing a pale pink tunic. “How about this?”
Mom was always subtle in her glamor, Briar’s own Jackie-O of sorts. Seeing her get so worked up over a semi-casual event was amusing.
“That could work!” Her eyes widened as she rushed over, heels clicking on the wooden floor of the third boutique we’d visited downtown. “If I wore it with white capris, do you think I’d look too frumpy?”
“No one would ever call you frumpy.”
Mom woke up looking like a dang movie star. I’d never seen her have an off day in my life, even in the hospital. She was meticulous.
“How are the boys?” she asked, flipping through the rack with a scowl at the options.
I cocked my head.
Boys?
“Linc and…?” I trailed.
Was she really asking about Luke?
Was I dreaming?
“Luke, you egg!” She rolled her eyes, heading over to another rack with dresses, face scrunching once she realized it was a clearance rack where caftan went to die.
“We’re great.”
We were more than that, but I was treading lightly in the new territory. It was a huge step for her to at least ask about Luke. I didn’t want to come barreling in with guns blazing to tell her I was moving in with him when my lease was up in August.
“How is Linc with him?” she asked, turning from the rack to face me for the first time all day.
“He loves him.”
Luke was probably Linc’s favorite person, shoving me aside as his number one with his boat and backflipping skills off the dock. I couldn’t even land a cartwheel.
She pulled me close with a smile. “That’s great. I’m so excited for you. All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy, honey.”
The room turned into a blurry mess as the waterworks came, no amount of hand fanning saving me.
I still had so many questions for her.
If she knew.
What she knew.
But I wouldn’t ruin the day with questions. Somehow I knew all the answers without asking. My mother would never hurt me.
* * *
With armloads of shopping bags, caffeine was necessary if we were ever going to make it to my car.
We stopped into the Daily Grind for a helping before setting out on the hike. Mom camped out at a table with our bags while I waited in line to grab the goods, an iced coffee for me and an iced chai for her.
I hadn’t been in the shop since the day I went bridesmaid shopping with Liv, and of course, the menu changed. The handwritten chalkboard was now practically illegible with angry chicken scratch.
Lynette stood in front of me, oblivious to my presence luckily. Her hair hung in thick waves, new extensions giving her platinum do serious volume, while her hairspray was heavy in the air from a few feet back.
Her nails tapped on the back of her cell as she chattered into it loudly, making an appointment from what I’d unwillingly gathered. Her handbag dangled from her elbow and swung in the face of a brown-haired little boy just behind her.
I wasn’t even his mother, and I wanted to smack her for him as she swung back and forth, the bag getting closer and closer to his face. He was dodging it stiffly, taking a few steps to the side for precious inches of personal space.
I scanned the cafe for traces of his mom, surprised to see no one other than Mom.
After she almost nailed him in the eye with its corner, I’d had enough. “Lynette!”
She spun, the boy ducking to avoid the collision.
“Oh, I need to go; it’s her,” she muttered, quickly disconnecting and tossing her phone into her bag. “Hi, Josie. What’s going on? Where’s Luke?”
“Fishing,” I replied. “Can you be more careful? You almost hit that boy in the face with your bag.”
She glanced at the boy, rolling her eyes at me. “That boy is my son, Josie. He’s fine!”
She had a kid?
Like she took care of someone other than herself?
“Your bag still almost hit him in the eye. Just giving you a heads up.”
“An unnecessary one. I don’t tell you how to raise your kid.”
“Alright,” I sighed, putting my hands up, not about to get into a mommy smackdown. “Have a nice day.”
“Yeah, I’m a single mom, Josie. I can’t just spread my legs for the next bad boy like some people.”
So that’s what it was about.
I had the one thing her money couldn’t get her: Luke.
Still, I couldn’t believe she said something so vulgar in front of her kid.
“Lynette, that’s enough.”
I wasn’t going to get in the mud with her. She could have all the money in the world, but she’d never have class or character.
“Evan, want to meet one of mommy’s old friends? I used to babysit her little sister.”
More like talked on our phone all night and watched television, but if she wanted to call that babysitting, I’d let her.
The little boy turned, his auburn hair a shade I hadn’t seen in years. His eyes were the same ones that stared back at me in the mirror, while his sharp jawline was the same as the man who I’d inherited them from.
I didn’t know how I knew, but Lynette’s son was my brother.
Luke
“What do you do if you catch a shark?”
It had to have been the hundredth question Lincoln asked me in the half-hour since he’d started his little game, the dreaded five-thousand questions spurt that Josie warned me about.
I’d had yet to experience it, but it was as exhausting as she’d warned as he pinged from subject to subject.
Why do lobsters have so many legs?
Why are they called fir trees if they don’t have fur?
Why does mommy laugh so loud?
It was a never-ending loop, and every time he opened his mouth, I dreaded him tossing out some
thing I couldn’t answer like where do babies come from.
“You reel them in and take extra care getting the hook out,” I replied, throwing out another cast. “If they’re too big, you have to cut the line.”
His face scrunched as he looked back out at the water. “Why? I thought you want to catch big fish!”
“You want to catch big fish but not big sharks, bud. They’ll eat you.”
“Like a bear?” he asked, smirking, the infamous half-smirk he’d gotten from his mother.
“Yup.”
“Mommy said we have bears here. That’s why I’m not allowed to play outside alone.”
I nodded, slowly reeling in, hoping to catch something weird so he’d stop his game. “Yeah, we have lots of bears here. You have to be careful.”
“Have you seen one, Luke?”
“Yup. I’ve seen lots out here.”
I hadn’t seen any since they moved into the cottage. Maybe the bears were afraid of the question game.
“Do you like it here?” He mimicked me, reeling his line in too.
“I love it here.”
“Oh, I don’t love my house. Mommy said I’ll love your house.”
“I hope you will. We’ll have fun.”
I was more than ready to have us all under one roof and be free of Dan. I hoped he’d list the place again, so I could buy it and rid us of the trouble once and for all.
“Are you happy to live with us?” he asked, eyeing me nervously.
“Of course, I am.”
Happy didn’t even begin to describe how I felt about it.
“Oh.”
I flipped his little game on him. “Are you excited to live with me?”
“Yeah!” he boomed, rocketing in the air in true Lincoln fashion. “And Tally!”
Her tail thumped against the dock at her name.
The crunch of gravel caught my attention, Josie’s SUV pulling in the driveway. She’d been out shopping with Trish, a trip that hopefully went well. I wasn’t going anywhere, so at least one of her parents had to get used to the idea of us together, or we were in for some awkward holidays.
Her car door open and out popped a red-faced Josie, face streaked with tears.
Oh shit.
“Hey, Lincoln, can you take Tally in the house and give her a scoop of food and some treats? She needs to practice sitting if you can help.”
It was an offer too good to pass up, even more than fishing.
“YES!” He stared at the fishing rod in his hand before looking back at me.
“I’ll take care of it,” I assured, reeling in mine quickly before taking his and doing the same.
“Tally, in!” I ordered, and she took off towards the house, Lincoln bounding after.
Hopefully, whatever happened was just frustrating and nothing more. If Ed had said or done anything, I’d rip his arm off and beat him with it myself.
I met Josie halfway as Lincoln disappeared into the house.
“What’s wrong?” I pulled her into my arms, where she practically collapsed, her legs almost giving out on her entirely.
She didn’t answer, her arms trembling as she clutched at my shirt. She was trying to say something, but nothing I could understand, a mix of gasps and cries the only things escaping.
Holy fuck.
I touched her face, tilting it towards me. “What happened? Is everyone okay?”
Her head shook violently, hands still pulling at my shirt. “No!” she wailed.
“Who’s hurt? Liv? Trish?” I asked, studying her face. “Where do we need to go, baby?”
If we hit the road right away, I could make it to Portland in twenty-five minutes. Maybe twenty if I hit one-twenty.
“That fucking bastard!” she screamed, making me jump. “He’s such a fucking pig!”
“Who? What happened?”
Ed.
I was going to kill him.
“Your dad? Did he hurt you?”
If he touched a hair on her head, he was finished.
“HE FUCKED LYNETTE STEPHENS!” she screeched.
And just like that, the truth I’d done my damndest to shield her from came flying from her lips.
I cradled her head against my chest, stroking her hair as she sobbed, the one thing I knew would hurt the most coursing through her blood like poison.
And there was nothing I could do to fix it.
* * *
My world crumbled in my arms while I desperately tried to keep it standing. I offered assurances between sobs, rubbing her hair and letting her cry as much as she needed.
Lincoln came running after he was done with Tally and took one look at his mother and started crying himself, both of my hands suddenly cradling someone in tears.
I told Lincoln she got stung by a bee, Josie too inconsolable to make sense of. He helped me coax her in the house to get ice for her booboo, though ice wasn’t going to help.
Nothing would.
She was borderline catatonic on the couch while I made dinner for Lincoln, knowing I couldn’t start trying to fix anything with him listening.
Once he was settled in the spare room with a movie blasting on his tablet, I headed back out to the couch, Josie nestled amongst the throw pillows staring blankly at the wall.
“I’m sorry, babe.”
“It’s not your fault.” Her voice was hoarse from crying, the spasm of sobs still jerking her shoulders.
The truth churned in my gut, wanting to confess everything since she somehow found out, but I couldn’t, the words like acid in my mouth.
“He cheated on our family! What if he was screwing her while Mom was in the hospital?”
There was no way Ed had confessed. Lynette must have told her. But why?
“How do you know…” I trailed, her eyes flicking to my face and stopping me in my tracks.
“The bitch has a son with him! I have a brother!” she choked out. “How do I explain that to Lincoln? How?”
Her face fell into her hands, hysterical again.
“Babe, breathe.” I reached out, stroking her shoulder at a total loss.
“He kept me from you to protect his precious reputation while he was screwing some girl!” she cried.
“He did it because he was afraid I’d tell you,” I admitted, finally growing the balls I needed. I couldn’t let her keep thinking she was to blame. That we were to blame. It sat squarely on my shoulders.
If I hadn’t approached his car, he would never have arranged the traffic stop. He never would have sent her away.
She stiffened beneath my hand. “Tell me what?”
“That I saw them together.”
“When?” she asked, her voice low.
“A few weeks before I got pulled over on the way to Briley.”
And that was all the time he needed to pay off the right people to ruin our lives. To make sure enough people thought I was a sleaze. To make sure a Barrett wouldn’t be the one who brought him down.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she gasped, looking at me like I was a monster.
“I couldn’t hurt you.”
“But if I’d known that…” she started choking on her words, gripping the pillows around her for strength. “If I’d known, I never would have left willingly. I would’ve known he was a liar.”
“Trish had just gotten the all-clear. I couldn’t do that to you guys.”
Years of cancer’s torment had finally come to an end. I couldn’t blow their family up again.
“So you let him dog my mother for the past eleven years?” she sneered.
“I don’t think it’s lasted that long…”
The disgusting duo seemed to fade out fast after I saw them, actually. It was only a few weeks later when she moved north with some billionaire, likely when she found out she was knocked up with Ed’s kid.
Ed was a thrill. He wasn’t worth billions.
“And you KNEW I had a brother and didn’t tell me?”
And the other foot dropped.
B
ut I wouldn’t lie. It was all out there.
I had nothing left to protect her from.
“Not at the time.”
She flinched as if I’d slapped her, sinking away from my touch. “When did you know, Luke?”
“I saw the boy on the Fourth of July. I ran into them in line for Lincoln’s whale.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” she cried, hands flying up to cover her face.
“I couldn’t tell you.”
“No, you didn’t want to tell me.” She pulled herself to her feet. “You kept it from me.”
“Josie…” I trailed, reaching for her.
She spun out of range, glaring down at me. “You don’t keep things from people you love.”
“Josie, it isn’t that simple.”
“But it is, Luke. You don’t keep secrets, no matter how ugly they are. That’s not love. That’s manipulating the truth.”
“Baby…” I tried to grab her hand again, but she slapped mine out of the air.
“Don’t!” she snapped. “Don’t you dare! I need to go!
“You’re upset! Just sit down and talk to me!”
“It’s too late! You’ve had eleven years to talk to me, and you haven’t! You let my family look like fools!”
She rushed to the side table, snatching her purse. “Linc!” she called, grabbing the door handle. “Lincoln, it’s time to go!”
I heard his room’s door open, his little feet tapping across the wood with Tally’s nails behind his. “What’s going on, Mommy?”
“We’re leaving.”
He looked my way, sadness haunting his eyes, seeming to know she wasn’t crying over a bee sting.
“Lincoln, now!”
He walked towards me first, giving me a handshake. “I’ll see ya later, Luke.”
And she left me again.
Perhaps, for the last time.
A final truth proving too much to bear.
Josie
There isn’t a how-to guide on confronting your lying, cheating, rotten son-of-a-bitch father.
I know because I searched into the wee hours of the morning to prepare myself for detonating a truth bomb in my parents’ living room.