AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“They gave us a discount,” explained Thomas. “They said since it was our first time in LA, we had to go for the convertible. It’s like a rite of passage.”
“I’ve been to LA before,” Billy corrected. “We’re not all small town hicks.”
“I noticed you didn’t speak up while he upgraded us to the convertible.”
“Hell no. Nothing like getting stuck in traffic with the top down, breathing in fumes. Talk about a rite of passage.”
Which was exactly where they found themselves in short order. Galen realized they were driving on the freeway he’d walked under yesterday—was it only yesterday? “It might be faster to walk. It only took me an hour and a half yesterday.”
From the driver’s seat, Thomas shot him a look, then both he and Billy burst out laughing. “Never change, Galen. Never change.”
“Well, too late for that. I have changed. I’m…I’m in love.” That wasn’t the only change, but it would do for now.
“Yeah, we noticed. Happy for you.” Thomas delivered one of his rare, brilliant grins. He was generally on the stern, thoughtful side, which made his smiles all the more meaningful.
“How does she feel?” Billy asked. “Any dates we should save?”
“I haven’t told her how I feel yet. I wanted to come find Dad first. Banish some ghosts.”
Neither of his brothers responded to that, which made him a little nervous. “Is that a mistake?”
Thomas shrugged. “Who’s to say what’s a mistake? If you two want it to work out, it will work out. Eventually. One way or another. At least that’s my experience. But it took me and Carly seventeen years to figure out our shit.”
“I have no advice,” said Billy. “Except maybe do the opposite of anything I’ve ever done.”
But Galen could tell they both thought he’d possibly made a mistake by not telling Brenda how he felt. “I bet she knows how I feel.” She must, right? She knew about his crush, knew that he was always eager to be with her, that he supported her one hundred percent in whatever she did. He loved her through and through, all the way to her tiniest mitochondria—something he’d learned about from her. She had to know how much he loved her. There was no other woman for him and never would be.
After they confronted his father, the next thing he did would be to tell Brenda how he felt.
He directed Thomas to the Studio City apartment complex. A girl who couldn’t keep her eyes off Billy let them past the gate. He thanked her with a grin and a wink. She flashed him numbers on her fingers, probably her apartment number.
“Does that happen everywhere you go?” Galen grumbled.
“Everywhere except Lake Bittersweet. There I’m just a little brother.” He slung an arm over Galen’s shoulder. “Just kidding, it happens there too. Perks of being a ballplayer. Or a curse, depending on how you look at it.”
All things considered, Galen thought it was probably a curse for Billy, broken marriage and all. Since he and Jenna had split up, Billy had never again attempted a serious relationship.
The three of them stood in formation outside Marshall Cooper’s apartment, then Thomas gave Billy a nod. He pounded on the door, over and over, until they heard loud grumbling from inside. “Here we go,” Billy murmured.
The door swung open. His father, wearing a splint bandage on his nose, glared at them. Behind him, Galen got a vague impression of a sparsely furnished studio apartment with a gray carpet and neutral walls. A place designed for a transient.
As soon as he recognized them, Marshall dropped the frown and stared at the three brothers, mouth agape.
“Yup, it’s all of us. Your three sons. You never thought you’d see us again, did you?” Thomas, half a head taller than Marshall, frowned down at him.
“Not really, no,” Marshall managed. “Damn. You all look…good.”
“You know, when you left, we had to manage shit on our own. Want to know how we did that?”
Marshall didn’t answer, so Thomas went on.
“We survived by sticking together. Which means that if you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us.”
Marshall scanned them one by one. The family resemblance among them all was clear. Galen and Thomas had more of their mother’s dark coloring, while Billy was very close to the spitting image of their father, although it was hard to tell with that bandage on his nose.
“You have to understand, I wasn’t trying to hurt you boys.” His voice sounded more nasally than it had yesterday, no doubt thanks to his broken nose. Now that he was facing his father with his brothers at his side, Galen couldn’t believe he’d lost his cool to the extent of punching him. “I had to save myself. It’s called self-care.”
On the other hand, if he kept talking bullshit, Galen couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t do it again.
