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“But wait.” Marshall spoke in an entirely different tone. “We’re all grown men now. It’s all in the past. Why don’t we start over? You all come in and we can catch up. I’ll crack open some beers. You can ask any question you want.”
Galen glanced at each brother in turn. He himself was itching to get out of here, and the thought of stepping inside that prison of an apartment gave him the willies. But if they wanted answers, what better time to get them?
“I don’t have any questions,” Thomas said softly. “Not right now. Maybe later.”
Billy’s hands were clenched deep in his pockets. “Yeah, we should probably quit while things are peaceful.”
Marshall’s mouth twisted. Maybe he’d been able to forget he had kids for a lot of years, but now that they were all standing in front of him, it must hit different.
“Thanks for the offer, Dad.” Galen saw his use of the word “dad” registered with Marshall. “Maybe some other time. I…uh…I do forgive you. I’m not angry. I don’t know if I ever was. I was hurt. I looked up to you. I loved you, and you didn’t care about that.”
He felt Thomas’ hand settle on his shoulder. His brothers right behind him, supporting him.
“At least you gave us each other. That’s everything, right there.” Billy squeezed his other shoulder in silent agreement. Galen paused, working out his thoughts. Part of him actually longed to feel his father’s embrace again, something he hadn’t experienced in so many years. But there was no going back to those innocent days. All he wanted now was to shake hands with the past and throw himself fully into his future.
“Maybe we can try to start fresh after we’ve all healed up.” He gestured to his dad’s broken nose, and stuck out his hand. “But we should be real about it. There’s hurt feelings, there’s betrayal. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t love.”
Slowly, Marshall accepted his offered hand, and they shook. The physical connection with his father felt good, much better than the sensation of punching him in the nose. Although at the time, that had been pretty satisfactory.
“You’re a good man, Galen,” Marshall said. “Maybe I did you a favor letting you grow up without me.”
“Stop talking,” Galen told him sternly. “You always make it worse when you talk.”
Marshall shut up after that. Neither Thomas nor Billy showed any interest in shaking their father’s hand, but they nodded politely enough. As they all trooped down the stairs, Galen wondered if any of them would ever see Marshall again. For himself, he’d always leave the door open. Once he loved someone, he didn’t stop.
That had been his problem all along, he realized in a blinding flash of understanding. He’d loved his father at such a deep level that his disappearance and ultimate betrayal had left him so gutted, he’d lost all faith in humanity, including himself. That was why he’d escaped into the wilderness. That was why he’d crushed on Brenda for so long before attempting a relationship.
Not because people sucked, although sometimes they did. But because when he loved, he loved deeply and irrevocably.
He needed to get to Brenda. Right away. He needed to tell her everything that was in his heart, bare it all to her, throw himself at her mercy.
When they got stuck in traffic on the way back to the Safari Inn, he thought he’d lose his mind. He considered jumping out of the car and rappelling off the freeway to the surface streets below. It might not be faster, but at least he’d be propelling himself forward.
As they drove, his brothers discussed things like Billy’s future in baseball and Thomas and Carly’s debates about having another baby. Thanksgiving plans came up. Big feast at Thomas’ house. Bliss and Granger and their babies were coming. So were Conor and Emmaline, but only for dessert, since they had a Curtis family dinner earlier in the afternoon.
Finally the excruciating drive was over and Galen was racing up the stairs to the second level of the Safari Inn and jamming his key in the door. His brothers lagged behind to give him time. He wouldn’t need much. “I love you” didn’t take but a microsecond to say. And yet it had taken him so long.
His mouth was already open on the words when he burst through the door. The room was empty. No Brenda. He rushed through the entire suite. She was gone, her suitcases were gone, her cosmetics bag was gone from the bathroom. A stray red hair on the sink was the only proof she’d ever been there.
And a note on the nightstand next to the bed.
“I got an emergency call from Granny, had to get back home. She says it’s not medical but won’t say any more. I’ll see you in Lake Bittersweet. When you get back, we need to talk.”
She’d signed it with a heart and her name. But that last line…ouch. We need to talk. He didn’t need to read Cosmo to know what that implied. Something was up, something more than her granny’s call. Something that already felt like a punch in the gut.
twenty-six
“What the bejeezus did you do?” Granny demanded the second Brenda walked through the front door. She was holding a trembling Olaf in her arms.
Brenda knew what that meant. Her mother was here. No one terrified Olaf quite as much as Laney Abercrombie did.
“Sorry, little guy,” she whispered to her dog as Granny thrust him into her arms. “I did what I had to. I wasn’t going to let Galen rot in jail. Why did you call me back from LA?”
Her grandmother ignored that question. “Don’t you know anything about the prison system? It was only going to be a night at most. Now your mother is here saying you promised all kinds of impossible things to her in exchange for a loan.”
“It’s not a loan. They’re paying. Is that why you called, because Mom’s here?”
Again, Granny didn’t answer that question. “Well, I’m sure it’s even worse then. They don’t give out free money without asking for the moon in exchange.”
