Warning Track

  Not touching Luke and keeping a decent distance, Connor said, “Luke, you okay, man?”

  Luke’s body tensed and his breathing slowed down as he picked his head up slowly. When they finally made eye contact, Connor saw all the years that had been added to Luke’s eyes from his struggles over the past two years. He’d aged dramatically and it gutted Connor to know that his own brother had to go through such a terrible experience that Connor couldn’t even come close to relating to.

  Luke took a deep breath and said, “Yeah, I just needed a second. Is Molly still out there or did she leave?” The concern in Luke’s voice about Molly leaving was sad to hear. The two had gone through so much and it looked like they were starting to patch things up, but considering Luke’s concern, maybe Connor was wrong.

  “She’s still out there. She was going to come after you, but I told her to let me.”

  “She was going to come get me?” Luke looked like a little lost boy, which was odd for Connor to see. His brother was always the strong, confident mother fucker who strutted the streets like he had the biggest dong in the world. To see Luke so helpless, so lost, was hard for Connor to take in. At that moment, Connor wished that he’d made more of an attempt at helping Luke when he came back. But it had been hard because Connor was living in his own personal hell of a love triangle gone wrong with a girlfriend who absolutely despised his brother’s…fiancé? Connor wasn’t sure what Luke and Molly’s status was, but what he did know was that, apparently, Molly wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

  “Yes, do you want me to go get her?”

  “No!” Luke practically shouted. “She’s needs a break from my craziness. Let me just pull my shit together and I’ll be right out.”

  Luke wiped his palms off on his pants and got up with help from the wall. The man looked like he’d just ran a half marathon up a rocky mountain.

  “You need help?” Connor asked, trying to help steady Luke, who was swaying back and forth.

  “I’m good,” Luke swatted Connor’s hands away and braced himself at the sink. “I’m fucking fine, okay? Just give me a goddamn second.”

  “Okay,” Connor said, while holding his hands up in defense and giving Luke some space, but not too much because the man looked like he was going to pass out any second. “Maybe splash some water on your face. That might help.”

  “I’m not a fucking invalid, Connor. I know how to take care of myself.”

  Anger started to boil in Connor. He was only trying to help. If their roles were reversed, there was no way in hell Luke would leave Connor alone.

  “Do you really? It doesn’t seem like it. What I see is a man who is just barely making it through life because he’s hiding his demons rather than talking about them. You want Molly back, you’re going to have to work…”

  “I am working on my fucking demons. You don’t know what I’m doing to better myself. You haven’t been around to even notice the struggle I go through day in and day out. Instead, you sit back and watch, while making phone calls when necessary. I don’t need your fucking help, so just leave me alone,” Luke spat out.

  That was it; Connor’s twig snapped. He felt like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders from dealing with Lucy, Austin’s incompetency, and Molly begging him for help. It was all too much for one man to handle.

  “You think I wanted nothing to do with you? Well, you’re fucking wrong! What you fail to realize is that, a couple of months ago, I was still mourning the loss of my brother, my fucking best friend and then all of a sudden you come back?”

  The door to the bathroom opened and Parker Hill, the Braves’ shortstop popped in. His face was priceless as both Luke and Connor roared at him to get the hell out. The poor guy quickly turned around and headed out the door as fast as human feet allowed.

  Despite the brief interruption, Connor continued, “When I heard that you were back, that you were actually alive, I wanted nothing more than to throw my arms around you and never fucking let go. I had my brother back, but you took that away from me again. You ran away and closed yourself off. Not letting me know where you were, how I could help, how I could be there for you? Instead, I got a fucking five minute phone call once a month just to let me know that you were still alive. So don’t fucking tell me I didn’t try, because I did! You just didn’t let me in.”

  Connor’s fists were at his side, flexing and trying to avoid punching his brother straight in the face. That was how they used to settle all their fights, with their fists, but after Luke went through basic training with the Army, Connor got smart after Luke once planted a jaw-cracking punch. Their fighting days were over.

  Silence fell between them as Connor’s words sank in. They could hear voices from the other side of the door, but they didn’t move, they stood at a standstill waiting for the other one to make a move first.

  Finally, Luke bent over the sink, turned on the water and splashed his face. Being the nice brother that he was, Connor grabbed some paper towels and handed them to Luke when he lifted his face back up. Luke wiped off his face and threw the towel in the trash. When he finally looked up, he smiled, fucking smiled, and then grabbed Connor in a tight embrace. They were the same height, but Luke was, by far, stronger, thanks to all his training. Connor was no wuss in the muscles department, but compared to his beefed-up brother, he was a string bean.

  Connor gripped Luke and held on to him tightly. No words had to be spoken, Luke was giving Connor the moment he had wanted when he first heard that Luke was back. Luke was giving back a moment to Connor that had been so harshly taken away from him.

  They held on to each other for more than an appropriate amount of time, bordering losing their man cards, but Connor didn’t give a fuck, his brother was back.

  Luke finally pulled away and looked at Connor. “I’m sorry, dude. I’m so fuckin sorry for being a clueless ass. It’s going to take me some time to get back to my normal self, but I’m trying everything possible, given my minor setbacks. I appreciate you coming to see if I’m okay and I’m sorry for snapping. Lately, I’ve been a moody motherfucker and I can’t control it. It’s like I’m a hormonal pregnant lady on a damn rampage because she was denied ice cream.”

  Connor laughed. “Why is that so easy for me to picture?”

  “Because you’re more fucked-up than me.”

  They both smiled and then walked toward the door.

  “I’m going to go get Molly and take her home; she’s had an emotional day. You should probably go see if that Parker kid needs a change of pants, because I’m almost positive he pissed himself a couple of minutes ago.”

  Laughing, Connor said, “We can only hope. I’d love some blackmail on that guy to hand over to Brady when life clears up for him.”

  Luke nodded in agreement, then thoughtfully asked, “How’s Lucy doing? It can’t be easy to be pregnant and see your friend go through such a tragic thing.”

  “Not sure, actually. We kind of got in an argument. This is the first time I’ve seen her since then.”

  “What the hell are you guys fighting about? Whatever it is, you know you’re wrong, right? That’s how it always ends up with women. The sooner you realize that, the better.”

  A fake laugh came out of Connor’s mouth as he thought about what he and Lucy were fighting about. There was no way Lucy was right when it came to ogling another man.

  “You know the baby isn’t mine, right?”

  If Connor had a camera, he probably could have just won America’s Funniest Home Videos with Luke’s reaction. What Connor wouldn’t give to meet Bob Saget and make a couple thousand dollars.

  “What the fuck, man? Are you serious?” All Connor did was nod. Luke ran his hand over his face and then said, “Man, you are way more fucked-up than me.” He laughed and then patted Connor on the shoulder. “Good luck with that, man…sounds like a damn nightmare.”

  “It is.”

  It was huge a nightmare that Connor contemplated giving up every damn day of his
life, but the moment he took in Lucy’s smell, or heard her laugh, or saw her smile, he knew he couldn’t walk away, not from her. She owned him, no matter how much she pissed him off. She owned him and he would always go back to her.

  **Margo**

  “When are you going to come back to San Diego?” Margo asked in a whinier voice than she intended.

  “Next week, I’ll be leaving on Tuesday, so really we’ll only be four days without each other, not bad at all.” Parker grabbed her hands and pulled her into his embrace. He smelled delicious, like soap and something completely male that only men knew about so they could drive their ladies crazy.

  “Four days is too long.” When did she become so needy? She’d lived a good amount of time without the boy, but now that she had him, all she could think about was being plastered to his side.

  “You know, you can always reschedule your doctor’s appointment and stay here with me.” Parker wiggled his eyebrows.

  “Both you and I know that’s impossible. I’ve taken too much time off of work and I can’t miss this appointment.”

  Parker sighed and said, “You don’t have to work, you know.” It wasn’t the first time Parker had mentioned not working to her. Ever since their first real date on the boat, where they made love for the first time, Parker kept suggesting that she didn’t need a job, and Margo wasn’t sure if he was only saying that because he jokingly wanted her as his sex slave, or if he actually wanted to take care of her. Either way, she was keeping her job, because she loved what she did and the future was always a question mark.

  She did start looking for jobs in Atlanta because the possibility of finding a job that she liked near the man that she loved would be ideal. She had yet to tell Parker that she loved him because she didn’t want to come across too clingy, present day excluded, but she loved the man. She loved the man in college when he was merely a boy on the baseball team who happened to be best friends with Margo’s best friend.

  “I do have to work. Who’s going to buy all the new panties I need, since you keep insisting upon ripping mine apart?”

  “No need for underwear when you can go commando. Your ass is a fucking wonder of the world, why confine it?”

  Margo rolled her eyes and pushed away from Parker. “Pathetic,” she teased. “I guess I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

  “You don’t have to be to the airport right away. Why don’t we have a quickie in my car?”

  “Keep dreaming, Kirbs. I’m not about to fuck you in your car when there are paparazzi waiting around the corner to get a picture of my girly bits flying around.”

  They were standing outside of Parker’s car in his garage, denying the inevitable of him driving her to the airport. Her bags were packed and in his trunk, but they just stood outside the car, holding each other.

  “I don’t see any cameramen in here. Come on, give me a piece of that juicy ass.”

  Margo shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, while giving him the look of, “You’re not getting anything, buddy.”

  “The only thing that stance is doing for you is pushing your tits practically out of that low cut tank top of yours, making me hornier than fuck.”

  Exasperated, Margo threw her hands up in the air and tried to get around the infuriating man.

  “Don’t think I won’t take you out to get to the airport.”

  “Fine,” Parker dragged out and opened the door for her. When he got in on his side, he said, “It concerns me that you want to be rid of me so fast.”

  “You know that’s not the truth,” Margo said in all sincerity, while grabbing Parker’s hand.

  He brought their joined hands to his mouth and kissed hers.

  “I applied to a job out here and got an interview,” Margo all but blurted out of the blue.

  Parker was in the middle of starting his car, when he turned in his seat and looked at her with the biggest smile on his face. “Are you serious?”

  Margo nodded and said, “Yeah, the interview is tomorrow actually. A phone interview. If all goes well, I might be moving to Atlanta and you would have to help me find a place to live.”

  Parker pulled Margo onto his lap as he scooted his chair back so the steering wheel didn’t impale her back.

  “Fucking Christ. How come you didn’t tell me earlier?” he was stroking her face as if she was going to break right in front of him.

  “I didn’t want to jinx it.”

  “Fuck that. Jesus, I think my heart is about to pound out of my chest. You would move here?”

  “Of course,” Margo said shyly. “If it meant being near you, then yes.”

  Parker pulled Margo into his chest and wrapped his strong arms around her, not allowing her any wiggle room.

  “You don’t know how much you just made my day, Mo. Fuck, I’m so damn happy.”

  “Let’s not get too excited. I don’t have the job yet.”

  “Who gives a fuck? You can move in with me and find one if you don’t get this one.”

  Margo pulled away and looked Parker in the eyes, was he serious? She wasn’t much of a mooch and hated the thought of taking advantage of Parker, but she despised being apart from him. If he was willing, then she was ready to accept. She just hoped that she could provide for herself as well, because there were too many mooching mamas out there, as Margo and Lexi liked to call them. They’d seen some of their guy friends be taken down one by one by mooching mamas. She didn’t want to fall into that category.

  “One thing at a time,” Margo said, as she placed a kiss on his lips.

  Margo got back in her seat as Parker rolled down his window and shouted, “My girl is going to move in with me!”

  Margo laughed and swatted Parker’s arm. “Stop that, you’re acting like a moron.”

  He just grinned at her and pulled out of the parking lot. They spent the rest of the trip holding hands and arguing about who would get the master bedroom in Parker’s two-bedroom apartment. Parker didn’t think it was too funny that Margo kept calling them roommates, but Margo thought it was hilarious to see Parker’s feathers get ruffled. When it came to Parker, he could get anything he wanted from Margo because she was so head over heels in love with him that she would do anything to make him happy.

  **Lucy**

  “Are you coming in?” Lucy asked, as she stood at her front door, waiting for Connor to enter. The look on his face was less than comforting to Lucy; it almost looked like he was being tormented.

  “I don’t think so.” He shook his head and looked down at the ground, not being able to look Lucy in the eyes.

  A lump formed in Lucy’s throat at Connor’s rejection. She thought that maybe the horrible tragedy that happened to Jane would bring her and Connor back together, or at least to the point that they would be able to talk and not be awkward around each other, but that wasn’t happening. They were going on close to two weeks of not talking much, just exchanging pleasantries.

  “I came over to make sure you were doing alright and to see if you needed anything. I was going to head to the grocery store, so I thought I’d pick up some things for you if you needed them.” Connor stood in the hallway outside of Lucy’s apartment, not really looking at her.

  “Connor, look at me,” Lucy pleaded.

  Slowly, Connor lifted his gaze so he was looking Lucy directly in the eyes. Normally when he looked at her, his eyes sparkled just at the mere sight of her, but now all that came through was sadness. It burned her heart to think that she made him so sad.

  “Please come inside and talk to me. I can’t take this any longer. I need you, I need for us to be okay. Please, just come in.” Tears started to form in her eyes as she spoke to Connor. She held out her hand, praying that he would take it and follow her into her apartment.

  Connor nodded his head, took her hand and walked into her apartment, closing the door behind him. They both walked over to the couch and sat down. The last time they were this close was at the funeral and he was mostly just there to make sure w
as okay, given the fact that both Jane and Lucy were supposed to be due around the same time. After the funeral though, their lives went back to their normal awkwardness.

  “Are you going to talk to me or are you just going to sit there and be quiet?” Lucy asked, surprised at the tone of her own voice. She didn’t mean to be nasty, but she was a little fed up with the silent treatment. Yes, she was looking at Austin at the Christmas party, but she didn’t think that warranted a complete shut out from Connor. His actions weren’t fair, at least as far as she was concerned.

  Connor turned and looked her directly in the eyes. “If you expect me to sit here and listen to you yell at me, I have better things to do.”

  “I’m not yelling at you,” Lucy said in the most even tone she could muster. “When did I yell at you?”

  “Fuck it.” Connor threw his arms up in the air and got off the couch.

  What the hell?

  “Where are you going? We haven’t even talked yet.”

  Connor spun around and looked her in the eyes. “Usually, when someone wants to talk, they begin the conversation, they don’t wait for the other person to start. I’m tired of always being the one who has to fix things. I’m so fucking sick of it. You’re the one who fucked up, Lucy; you should be doing the talking.”

  “How did I fuck up exactly? Last thing I can remember is you running off like a child at a Christmas party.”

  Yikes! Wrong thing to say, Lucy thought, as she watched rage start to pour off of Connor.

  Running his hand over his face, Connor said, “I have been more than fucking accommodating with this whole fucked-up situation between you, me and Austin. I have dealt with his smart ass comments and low blows and haven’t torn his head off yet. I’ve been there for you every second that you’ve needed because I love you. I fucking love you!” Connor shouted as he started to pace the room. “I just don’t know how you feel about me. You say you love me, that you care for me, but then I see you staring at your baby’s father all night and getting insanely jealous when another girl starts to talk to him. What am I supposed to do with that? Just act like everything is normal? I can’t do that, Lucy. A relationship is not a one way street. I want you to love me just as much as I love you. I don’t want to have to worry about anyone else.”