Break Away

by Diane Benefiel

“Thank you all for joining our gathering of family and friends.” Landon spoke in his deliberate, quiet way. “You are the people who are most important to us.” He leaned into his mom. “Four years ago, after my wife passed away, I moved to Hangman’s Loss. I guess I was looking for a new beginning, and I wanted to live in a place I have loved visiting since my parents brought me to stay at Walt Kincaid’s cabins back when I was a boy.”

  Levi caught Emma tilting her head to Brad’s shoulder at the mention of her grandfather and the resort she had inherited from him.

  “I never expected to meet the second love of my life.” He brought her hand up and pressed a kiss her knuckles. “It took some convincing, but I got Trish to go out with me.” He glanced at her and the adoration was hard to miss. “I guess we’ve been inseparable ever since. This afternoon, I have the pleasure of announcing that I have asked Trish to marry me, and she has accepted. She’s agreed to become my wife and I’m the luckiest man in the world.” He dipped his head and kissed his fiancée.

  Whoops and calls of congratulations filled the air. Levi rose to his feet and crossed the lawn, Brad directly behind him. Levi shook Landon’s hand. “Mom can take care of herself, but she’s happier with you. Welcome to the family.”

  “Thank you, Levi.”

  He turned and kissed her cheek. “Congratulations, Mom. I’m happy for you.”

  She placed her hands on either side of his face, her brows lowered in a slight frown. “I hope so, Levi. I always thought you took you father’s death the hardest. I never want you to feel that marrying Landon means I didn’t love your father with everything that was in me. I did, and the memories of him are always in my heart.”

  He pushed the twist of sadness aside. “I know. I want you to be happy. You deserve a good man, and Landon strikes me as a good man.”

  “He is. I love him in a different way than I loved your dad, but it’s strong just the same. I never expected to find another love, and I feel blessed.” She patted Levi’s cheek, and her voice turned husky. “Sometimes I see you and catch my breath. You look so much like your father.”

  Levi swallowed the lump in his throat. He dipped his head and kissed her again, and she let him go.

  He returned to his seat next to Zoey, whose dark eyes were full of emotion. She didn’t say anything, but she leaned a little so her shoulder was nestled against his. The simple gesture helped ease the tightness in his chest.

  Maddy climbed to the top step of the deck. “In celebration, we have champagne on the buffet table for the adults and ginger ale for the kids. Be sure to pick up a peach tart with a scoop of Landon’s homemade ice cream for dessert. Come and get it.”

  Levi rose with Zoey and they crossed the deck to get in line. Landon was dishing out ice cream in bowls for the little kids, while Maddy cut the tarts into smaller pieces they could manage. A flash caught his attention once again, and Levi scanned the arroyo.

  With an uneasy feeling, he returned to the table with Zoey at his side. The tart was amazing, as was anything Maddy made, and the ice cream was the best he’d ever had. He glanced to where his mother sat with Landon and caught the shared look between them. He didn’t like things to change, but he really wanted his mother to be happy.

  Justin Trainer, also in his fire department uniform, joined their table with a huge scoop of ice cream on top of his peach tart. He sat beside Eva and, with Diego, entertained the group with the story from that morning. A call had come into 9-1-1, and the crew had been sent out when the dispatcher heard heavy breathing, but the caller seemed unable to speak. When pressed, the caller had emitted a high-pitched keening cry and seemed to be hyperventilating. They’d arrived on scene and quickly realized a woman was frightened speechless by the rattlesnake she’d found curled behind the toilet in her bathroom.

  “She was sixty-three years old and dressed in short shorts and a tank top, so more power to her. All she could do was point to the bathroom,” Justin said. “Then this guy,” he clapped Diego on the back, “walks in with the snake grabber and gets the rattler in one try.”

  Diego smiled. “I bagged the snake. That woman about passed out when I brought it out. She kept pointing at the bag and wheezing.”

  “We did a health check and once the snake was out she recovered pretty quickly.”

  “She probably won’t sleep in that house until she figures out how a snake got in,” Eva commented.

  “You relocated the snake, right?” Zoey asked.

  “Yes, Ms. Wildlife Biologist,” Diego assured her. “We released him well away from town so he can live out his snake life in the wilderness.”

  Brad came up behind Levi and clapped a hand on his shoulder. He bent his head and spoke in a low voice. “Come into the house with me.”

  Levi nodded and rose, figuring he had a good idea what Brad wanted. After a quick word to Zoey, he followed his brother into the house. In the kitchen, Jack leaned back against the counter, while Logan slouched on a bar stool chewing the kernels off an ear of corn.

  “I’ll be back in a second,” Brad said, continuing through the house and out the front door.

  “This about whoever’s watching us from across the arroyo?” Levi asked.

  “You caught that, too?” Jack muttered as he peered through the window.

  “There’s someone over there with binoculars,” Logan said, tossing the corncob into the trash.

  Brad returned with department-issue binoculars he must have had in his car. He put the lenses to his eyes and focused across the arroyo.

  “There’s a dirt road that dead-ends about where I saw the reflection off glass,” Logan stated. “This is your mom’s deal.” He pointed to Brad and Levi. “You two should stay. Jack and I will go check it out.”

  Brad lowered the binoculars. “I don’t see anyone. I think whoever it was is gone, but I still want you to go see what you can see.”

  Jack gave a nod and Logan raised his hand in a half salute as they left. Levi turned to his brother. “What the hell’s going on around here? First Zoey gets hit by a car, then her place is trashed. And now someone is watching us having a party at Mom’s house.”

  “That’s what we’re going to figure out. Who the hell knows why someone would be across the arroyo with binoculars? Could be a bird-watcher, or a hiker, or nothing. Makes the hair stand up on my neck, though.”

  “Yeah, mine too.”

  Brad eyed him. “Since I have you for a minute, you know Mom’s selling this place when she and Landon get married?”

  Another twist to his gut. Levi looked around at the house where he’d grown up. “No, I didn’t. Guess it’s too big for two people.”

  “Yeah, two people who are getting older. Landon’s place is single story and smaller.”

  The considering expression on Brad’s face annoyed him and Levi scowled. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “You were always attached to this place, more than Jenny, Maddy, or me.” Brad shrugged. “I don’t want you upset when Mom puts it on the market.”

  “You make me sound like a wuss.”

  “Not a wuss, but you feel more deeply about some things than the rest of us, and I worry that you hold on too tight.”

  “What the hell are you talking about? First Mom tells me she thinks Dad’s death hit me the hardest, when I damn well know him dropping dead from a heart attack took every one of us out at the knees. And now you’re telling me I’m more attached to this house than anyone else. I’m not some emotionally fragile douche.”

  Ignoring the comment, Brad asked, “Do you remember the summer after Dad died?”

  Levi shrugged. “Everything was a blur, so not so much.”

  “You wouldn’t get out of bed unless I dragged you out. You must have read fifty books that summer, and that was pure escape. If you weren’t reading, you were playing video games. And you were so pissed at me we bloodied each other’s noses more than once. Remember any of that?”

  Levi thought back. He felt like he was pushing throug
h clouds of grief to remember. “You rode my ass. That’s why you ended up with a bloody nose.”

  “I wasn’t the only one with a bloody nose, pal. But yeah, I rode your ass. Got you to help with the rentals. Dad hadn’t been feeling well for a while before the heart attack, and he’d let things go. I was worried Mom was going to lose the rental properties to the banks.”

  Levi shook his head. “I didn’t know. Must have been tough on you, though. You were in college and took a semester off.”

  “I took a year and a half off.”

  “A year and a half, really?” It hadn’t seemed that long at the time, but when he thought back, he realized Brad had been there for him in more ways than Levi had ever realized. “I never really thought about how bad it must have been for you. Or why you rode my ass.”

  “You were a teenager, and you needed someone to ride you. You resented me for taking over Dad’s job, but someone had to do it. Mom was pulling herself together, but then Maddy got pregnant with Lily, and Lily was born sick. Maddy needed Mom. Jenny had Derek, so she was okay. You seemed to get lost in all that.”

  The memories tumbled back, but now with a different perspective. Maybe coming home meant he was done running from the emotions that for so long had felt like they would rip him apart. “I guess maybe I did need you.” Levi rolled his shoulders. “I’m okay now, and I’m glad Mom is with Landon. She deserves to be happy, even if that means selling this house.”

  “Right. She deserves our support. Landon’s a good guy.”

  Levi gave a short laugh when he caught something in Brad’s expression. “You ran a background check on him.”

  Brad didn’t look even a little sorry. “Damn straight I did. I never got any bad vibes about him, but no way was I going to let some loser take advantage of my mother.”

  “Then you probably got the same result I did. I ran my check after hearing they were dating. He’s never been in legal trouble and is financially secure.”

  “And we better keep this between us or we’ll both get our asses chewed.” Brad clapped his brother on the back. “On another topic, we’ve got an important ballgame coming up. You in?”

  “I heard about that. Yeah, I’m in. Who do you have playing first?”

  “You. I want the Guns to win this one, and we need your bat and your glove. Be at the sports park for practice six o’clock tomorrow evening. We’re getting pizza after.”

  Brad’s phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “That’s Jack.” He put the phone to his ear. A minute later he was slipping it into his pocket. “Fresh tire tracks on the forest service road. There’s a trailhead there with scuffed footprints in amongst a lot of other footprints, so nothing clear. They found a plastic disc that looks like it could be a binocular lens cover. Logan bagged it and we’ll try to recover prints from that.”

  “Well, shit.”

  “Exactly.”

  ***

  Charissa peered through the binoculars, focusing on one face, then moving onto the next. She took pride in knowing about every person at the gathering in the backyard. She turned the lenses to where a long table stood piled with food. She was hungry, and the feast made her mouth water. She could have brought a sandwich, but making it would have delayed her leaving her home and she hadn’t wanted to risk missing anything.

  She wondered what she would bring once she was part of the family. Maybe her strawberry Jell-O and Cool Whip dessert. It was one of her favorites. That’s what people did at such events. Everyone brought something special to share with others. She dropped the binoculars from the strap around her neck to take out her phone and zoom in to take photos.

  When she’d been growing up, getting together with her own family had meant she and her mom going to her Aunt Judy’s place on the other side of the lake, which also meant being careful never to be alone with Uncle Gary and his wandering hands. In a house that reeked of stale cigarette smoke and dirty cat litter box, Maryanne, Judy, and Gary would play cards, smoke, and drink until late into the night. For a while, when she was little, Charissa would have fun. Granddad had been alive then. He’d sit in his recliner with the tube in his nose that connected to the oxygen cylinder, and he’d talk to her and her cousin Trina about growing up in the Sierras. As a boy, he’d ditched school to ride his horse into the hills and hunt deer and elk with his pappy.

  After Granddad’s death, Charissa would hang out with Trina. They’d play Barbies and talk about school. They’d go out back behind the garage and smoke the cigarettes Trina had pilfered from her parents. Trina, who was four years older, had become more interested in texting to friends than spending time with her cousin. The minute Trina had turned eighteen she’d taken off, leaving behind the young adolescent girl with nothing to do and no one to talk to.

  The Gallaghers weren’t like that. The family supported each other.

  Charissa had been so thrilled to run into Levi at Maddy’s café. She’d literally run into him. She hadn’t meant to make him spill his coffee, but he’d been ready to walk out and hadn’t noticed her and she’d had to do something. Accidentally on purpose bumping against him had worked out perfectly except that he’d sloshed coffee onto his uniform pants. She’d felt bad, and the coffee had to burn, but still he’d been protective of her. He’d touched her, actually reached out a hand to her shoulder and steadied her. She had relived that moment hundreds of times since, and held the gesture close to her heart. A little something she and Levi would reminisce about when they were together.

  She continued watching through the binoculars, pausing every now and then to raise her phone and snap another picture. The distance was too far to get good shots, but she liked taking photos of the Gallaghers. She’d taken several of Levi without him noticing before she’d bumped into him that day at the café, and now his face was the wallpaper on her phone.

  Watching the party, she liked how the kids played together, and that the parents sometimes joined in. “Ooh, someone’s not happy,” she crooned when she saw a little girl in a blue romper take a tumble.

  Trish helped the toddler to her feet and wiped the tears. She was a caring grandmother. When the game at the net switched from volleyball to badminton, Logan Ross held up his little boy, a racket in his tiny hand, and helped him hit the birdie. She could imagine the sound of the boy’s laughter. Levi arrived and even through the lenses Charissa could appreciate all that deliciously thick hair. She thought she could make out the deep blue of his eyes even with the distance. Her heart swelled when he swept his niece up in his arms. He was a good uncle, and he’d be a good father.

  Charissa gave a start when she spied that hippie woman who lived in the little house the Gallaghers owned. Digging through city records, she’d discovered her name was Zoey Hardesty. Charissa had been careful not to get caught, of course, as she didn’t want to risk her job. Zoey Hardesty wasn’t related to the Gallaghers. Why had she been invited?

  Charissa had to stifle the urge to scream when Levi, her Levi, stood by the grill talking with that woman with all those beads. They moved to the food table, and Zoey turned her head to laugh up at Levi. It was so obvious the slut was making a play for him. Charissa felt like a knife was turning in her chest when Levi led Zoey to sit beside him at a table where they were joined by others.

  Trish and Landon Halloway stood together and Landon said something that had everyone’s attention turning to them. Charissa wished she could hear what he said. Whatever it was sent Levi to his mother for hugs. Such a good son.

  Charissa continued to watch, moving into the shadow of a tree when she found Brad looking in her direction. Diego arrived with another fireman, one with red hair. It bothered her that she didn’t recognize him. Probably someone Diego had invited from the fire station. She’d have to use her city job again to access information and find out who he was. It was always best to know all the players.

  The two firemen talked like they were telling a story and had the others laughing. Anger over being excluded from the group at th
at table, the envy of wanting to be one of the beautiful people, talking, laughing, having fun, boiled over into rage so fast and so strong it nearly choked her.

  She sat down on that dusty spot, pulling at her hair to redirect her emotions. When she got so mad, that’s when the anger won. She couldn’t let the anger win this time. Control was crucial, because if she lost control, she risked failure. Working toward her goal meant staying focused, not getting sidetracked. She wasn’t about to let a slut like Zoey Hardesty get in her way.

  Dusting off the seat of her pants, Charissa focused next on the children who would be her nieces and nephews, some of them only babies. They were so adorable. She couldn’t wait until her own babies were there playing with their cousins.

  She scanned across the entire group, then back over them again, her breath catching in her throat. Where were they? The men who were in law enforcement were no longer on the deck or at the tables under the tree. Oh god, had they seen her?

  Fear had her scrambling up the trail to her car, panic biting at the back of her neck with razor-sharp teeth. She threw the binoculars into the backseat as sweat beaded on her forehead and acid churned in her stomach.

  How would she explain herself if she were caught? People didn’t understand her kind of devotion. The starter in her car made a grinding noise as it had been doing recently. Please start. She turned the key again, sweat slicking her hand. This time the engine turned over and she gunned the engine to make sure it caught.

  She executed a hurried three-point turn, tires slipping and spinning on the soft shoulder. Then the front tire gained purchase and the car shot forward on the dirt road and she was racing away, a cloud of dust billowing behind her.

  ***

  Levi turned his motorcycle into the driveway. He didn’t want to go back to the cabin where he’d stew over his conversation with Brad. He didn’t like to think that he’d been so self-absorbed after their dad had died that he’d totally missed what his brother had sacrificed. He’d never thought through the ramifications of Maddy needing their mom when her daughter had been so sick, or that Brad had taken time from college specifically to be there for Levi. That he’d resented his brother and acted like a shit didn’t sit well all these years later.