Love and Romance, etc.
A Free Newsletter for romance novel lovers
By Bonnie Williams
Episode 13
Lost Loves and New Headaches
“Does she ever ask about me?”
“No.” Blake ran a hand through his hair, while the other gripped the stirring wheel. Damn glad to have his brother back, he’d felt an undeniable weight lift from his shoulders the moment Conroy’s flight from Dulles landed in LAX. Conroy had no idea Blake laid awake night after night ever since Conroy left home for the Middle East.
Conroy grunted a reply, then turned to stare out the truck’s passenger-side window.
Poor bastard, Blake thought. He had it bad. After all this time, his brother still refused to admit to himself that he was in love with her. “I did see her in town this morning.”
After a long moment he asked, “How is she?” His tone was low and sullen.
“Beautiful as always,” Blake said, and grinned when Conroy gave him a sideways glance. “Filled out a little—in all the right places.” A clear expression of male possessiveness emerged on his brother’s face. Just as Blake knew it would.
“Is she seeing anyone?”
“Not that I know of. Doc Rivers retired six months ago. She took over his office after that. You should stop by and she her.”
“I doubt she’d let me through the door.”
Blake shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He could relate somewhat to how Conroy felt. After Blake saw Emma this morning, she’d been avoiding him. He’d tried her cell several times, but she hadn’t picked up. He would have gone to see her at work had he not been in a hurry to get the airport. He missed her. He missed just talking to her. He wanted to make love with her… But common sense told him that would have to wait.
Screw common sense. He was going mad from wanting her in his bed. He just hoped he hadn’t scared her off.
A siren roared by and Blake pulled over to the side of the road.
“How is everybody?” Conroy asked. “Jerry get anyone pregnant lately?” His tone lightened.
“Oh yeah. I have to thank him for his latest female.”
“Did he bring home some babe too?”
Blake smiled.
Conroy hooted. “Way to go, Jer.”
“Vinn’s still driving everyone nuts. But you know Vinn. He’s not happy unless he’s making the girls cry. Dillion’s doing some research for the house facade.” Blake pulled his Chevy truck back onto the road. “You look tan,” Blake said trying to lighten the mood. “I thought you were over there to report on the war, not sitting on the beach with a bunch of army babes.”
“Hey, I was all business.” He grinned. “But, a man’s got to do whatever it takes to survive.”
“Uh huh. It’s great to have you back, Con-man.”
“The food sucks over there too. It was so bad I think I even missed Dillion’s cooking.”
“Man, you gotta be pretty damn desperate to eat Dillion’s cooking. But, you’re no Julia Childs either, Connie.”
“My cooking is an acquired taste.”
“Bullshit.”
Conroy’s face fell somber. “I should have come home sooner. I’m sorry.”
“I understand why you didn’t.”
“Christ, I’m so tired. I think I could sleep for an entire month,” Conroy said.
“Good luck. Now that I’m working nights, I haven’t had a decent nights sleep. With the guys working on the house, I’ve realized what a racket these guys can cause. I think Vinn’s gone through three sets of speakers. And John… the guy can’t sing worth crap. I’m starting to think Vinn hangs out with him just to get inside info on his sister.”
Conroy chuckled. “Vinn’s still holding out for Page? Geez, he’s had a hard-on for her since seventh grade.”
Blake laughed.
They both fell silent as they drove up the hills, before descending to the other side for home.
Blake’s voice turned serious. “We’re in a real mess, Connie. The Historical Society is harassing us to fix it up or move ‘em out. I think they or someone associated with them is turning to scare tactics to force us out.”
“Bad?”
“Well, we’ve had tires slashed. Dillion found a dead rat in the mail box and some small minded ass took a shit on our porch.”
“Christ almighty,” Conroy muttered as he rubbed and his temples. “Well I’ve got some money. Not much to spend it on where I…” Conroy stopped speaking when they drove through uptown. She was walking to her office—and Conroy spotted her. He had radar instincts when it came to her. It was like a hawk to a field mouse. Both proud and stubborn. Conroy pressed his forehead against the passenger-side window and closed his eyes.
“Connie, we need to find Dad.”
“Is it that serious? I mean, other than the harassment?”
“We could lose the house.”
Conroy sighed. “So what? It’s just a house.” His voice sounded rough. Blake knew that the memories of their mom were still too raw for him.
“You may not have an attachment to the place, but I’d like to raise kids in the house some day. It’s money we need. And a lot of it. Dad has the means to get it. Vinn’s made several calls to hire a personal investigator. We can’t afford a damn one of them.”
“Blake, look, if you need financial help or an extra set of hands, I’m here for you. But if Pop hasn’t come back on his own, maybe he doesn’t want to be found.”
“Hey, you were closer to him than the rest of us. Did he ever write to you? Leave you a letter? Anything that might give us a hint to where he might have gone?”
Conroy shook his head, staring straight ahead in thought, then closed his eyes again as he spoke. “Well, there was this one thing. But I can’t say if it relates directly to his disappearance…”
When Blake turned down their street, a crowd had gathered in the middle of the road near a fire truck and a police vehicle.
Conroy stirred, groaning as he opened his eyes. “What the hell is up there?” He rubbed his eyes. “Is that—what is that?”
“What the hell?” Blake said. “That’s our yard!”
“What’s that stink?”
Blake parked the truck at the curb, set the gears to park and they both bolted from the truck. “Dillion?” Blake shouted.
They found Dillion shouting over the noise of the crowd to Officer Hicks, waving his arms to get their attention when he spotted them. Shit, just what Blake needed. Asshole Hicks at his front door.
“Good God, what’s he done now?” Blake muttered.
Another fire truck pulled up beside them. Suddenly, Dillion, his face streaked with dirt, the rest of his face ashen gray, ran toward them. “God, I’m glad to see you guys.”
“What happened?” Blake asked.
There in the center of their front lawn was Dillion’s Black Mustang, and spilling nearly six feet up was a geyser of water and brown sludge spewing from under ground.
“Something happened to the pipe that leads to the sewer…and well—“
“You mean that’s shit spewing out from our lawn?” Conroy sneered as he held his palm to his nose and mouth.
Blake laughed—knowing there wasn’t much else he could do. He slapped a hand on Conroy’s shoulder. “Welcome home, Connie.”
THE LONELY GUYS
Copyright© 2004 By Bonnie Williams
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