Chapter 9
LEAH
I pulled my coat tighter around myself and stepped into the pub.
I was supposed to be meeting Fiona here for lunch, I hadn't expected to see Connor or Riley, much less them sitting with Brooks.
Whatever they were talking about, it didn't seem friendly.
I knew that look in Riley's eyes. He was sweet, but he could turn on a dime.
Connor was, well, Connor. And Brooks didn't look too happy to be in the middle of what I guessed was a confrontation.
"What are all of you doing here?" I slipped into the chair between Riley and Brooks and rested my elbows on the table. "You're not planning each other's demise, are you?"
"We hadn't quite gotten to that point." Riley draped an arm over my shoulder and leaned in to kiss my cheek.
"Give us a couple more minutes," Connor said, keeping his eyes on Brooks.
"Your boyfriends are…interesting," Brooks said, returning the look. "They were just welcoming me to town."
"I'm sure they were," I said sarcastically. "No one is tossing anyone over the falls." That seemed to be the go-to, empty threat around here. At least, I thought it was an empty threat.
"I was thinking off the lookout," Connor said with a smirk.
"What do you see in these dickheads?" Brooks slid me a glance. "This one seems okay." He gestured vaguely at Riley.
"You hear that, Connor? He thinks I'm okay." It was Riley's turn to smirk. "I think that means he likes me."
"Of course he likes you," I said. "He'd like both of you if he got to know you."
All three of them looked sceptical at that.
"Depends if we want to or not," Connor said.
"Of course we do." Riley squeezed me tighter. "Because that's what Leah wants, right? For all of us to be friends. Or…more than friends." He gave Brooks an appreciative look. One that immediately set my blood on fire.
I hadn't imagined them together before, but I was now. I liked what my imagination had to tell me. All that bare, muscular flesh heaving, sweating and groaning. Mouths mashed together, fingers wrapped around each other's cocks.
"Whatever you're thinking, I like it," Riley whispered in my ear. "It's making your cheeks flush and your eyes darken."
My face heated. I hadn't realised it was so obvious. I cleared my throat and forced myself to focus.
"So, now you've all met," I started. I stopped, uncertain where I was going with that line of conversation.
"You told them I watched you," Brooks interrupted.
"I don't want to have any secrets between me and them," I said easily. "Unless you're ashamed of doing it?"
"I'm not ashamed," he snapped. "What else have you told them?"
I frowned. "What else is there to say? You and I never got along. We've never been close. I'm surprised you noticed I left." Apart from being alerted by the tracking device in my car.
Brooks rolled his eyes. "Leah seems to be under the belief her mother and my father cared about me, not her."
"Is that true?" Connor asked him.
"No," Brooks scoffed. "They didn't care about anyone but themselves and each other. Their only interest in me was trying to mould me into what they wanted me to be. They didn't give a shit about me as a person."
"They always—" I started to protest.
He cut me a look, bordering on a glare. "They always fucking what?
Let me be whatever I wanted? We both know that's not true.
You got indifference. I got nothing but disappointed looks and clicking tongues.
Unless somehow I managed to live up to whatever the fuck their expectations were.
Do you have any idea how difficult that was? "
I sighed softly and leaned against Riley. "I guess not. But I would have taken that disappointment over them not giving a shit."
"Really?" he asked, disbelieving. "You would have gone to law school because they forced you to?
No you wouldn't. You liked being able to screw around with your sculptures.
Boo fucking hoo when you couldn't stand up for hours and make them any more.
You could still paint, draw or whatever art you want to do.
I don't see them up here, dragging you home to make them into whatever puppet they want. "
"I don't see them dragging you back either," I said quietly.
Did he really need to throw my arthritis in my face every chance he got?
It shattered my dreams and turned my life upside down.
Yes, I could still paint and draw, but they weren't my first loves.
My sculptures were everything to me until I couldn't make them any more.
Now, that part of me felt hollow. Ironic, given where we were.
"I'm not going back," Brooks said. He leaned back in his chair and slumped as though defeated. He sat that way for a moment or two before rallying and sitting up straight again. Typical of him; he never let anything get him down for long. Even if taking a moment to wallow was healthy.
"I know you hated university," I said. "You always seemed miserable, but I didn't think you wanted my…"
"Pity? No I didn't. I don't now. I fucking hated every minute of it. It felt like a prison sentence." His mouth twisted.
"What do you want to do with the rest of your life?" Riley asked. He seemed sympathetic, but not pitying. Ready to be a sounding board if Brooks wanted one.
"I don't fucking know," Brooks said, ending the sentence on a sigh. He glanced over at me before pushing his chair back and hurrying away, the door shutting behind him.
"He seems nice," Riley said with a touch of sarcasm. "No offence, but your parents seem like assholes."
I laughed softly. "They have their moments.
" I was starting to see that more and more.
I always thought Brooks was the golden child, but now I thought about it, he was the one who was held up as a model to me.
He was right, he was expected to do everything perfectly, and conform to whatever they wanted him to be.
He grew up under the weight of their expectations.
I supposed I was lucky I didn't. The disinterest sucked, but the pressure would have been heavy as hell.
"I wish we talked about this sooner," I said, looking back at the closed door. "We could have helped each other." Instead, we'd gone through it more or less alone. Resenting each other while we could have cried on each other's shoulders. Or more.
"Just guessing, but he doesn't seem like the chatty type," Riley said. "I don't think opening up to you, or anyone, was something he planned on doing. He must have had enough for it to come out now."
I swore under my breath. "You're right. I didn't even think to ask if anything had happened."
"He didn't give you a chance," Connor said. "If he wants to open up, he will."
"What Connor said," Riley agreed. "In my lifetime of experience with temperamental assholes, give him time to cool down."
Connor cut him a look. "Lifetime of being one too."
"Also that," Riley agreed. "I'm not as temperamental as you or him. Or Josiah, for that matter. He puts the mood in moody."
"Can you blame him?" I asked. "I'd be moody too if everyone treated me the way they treated him."
Riley took my hand. "It sounds to me like that's exactly what happened. You were both treated like outsiders. Like you weren't wanted. Josiah's was, I don't know, on a bigger scale, but it amounts to the same thing. People were shitty to you and to him. You didn't deserve that."
"Neither did he," I said, giving Riley a watery smile. "Neither did Brooks. I'm starting to think I should set up a support group instead of a gallery. Basket Cases Anonymous."
"That doesn't sound very anonymous," Riley said. "But if you do that, can I come? I have plenty of issues myself."
"Like what?" Connor looked at him doubtfully.
"I'm painfully shy," Riley said, pretending to look innocent.
"You're full of shit," Connor told him.
Riley pointed a finger at him. "That, right there. I'm scarred for life."
Connor rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Anyway, Riley and I were talking."
"Okay," I said slowly. "Should I be worried? All of the administration for work is up to date." I didn't think this was about me working for them.
"Shame, I would have liked to punish you with my hand on your ass," Connor said. "No, we were talking about you doing a DNA test."
I blinked a couple of times. It took a few moments for my brain to catch up with what he was saying and the implications.
"I thought you said it wasn't possible for me to be…" I lowered my voice. "Coral Clarke."
"I'm not sure it is." He creased his brow. "But we could rule it out."
"I suppose it couldn't hurt," I said after a couple of moments. "But don't we need to get DNA from Gavin?"
"That'll be the hard bit," Connor said. "Maybe you can talk to my sister or Fiona? See if one of them will talk to him."
"You think it's a good idea to involve more people in this?" I looked from him to Riley and back again.
"Those two won't tell anyone," Connor said. "It shouldn't go any further than that. We don't need to feed the town's fucking grapevine. They'll figure out something weird is up soon enough." He didn't seem happy about that, but there wasn't much we could do when it came to small town gossip.
"I'll talk to Fiona over lunch," I said. "She seems to have a way of getting him to open up." This whole thing is going to be a delicate operation. If it was for nothing, it could be even more damaging to him than the past was. Digging up old skeletons never ended well.
"Speaking of lunch, we should grab some and get back to work," Connor said. "We have to get the skis and snowboards ready for when the snow is heavier."
Riley rubbed his hands together. "I can't fucking wait. The best time of year ever." His smile faded. "I guess you can't… Ski?" He looked like he was worried he'd stuck his foot in his mouth, complete with a huge snow boot. Maybe even a ski.
"I can sit in a sled," I said. "And I can make a mean snowman. Don't even get me started on my snowball throwing arm." I raised it and pretended to warm up for a big swing.
Okay, I wasn't that good at throwing snowballs, but I wasn't going to dampen his enthusiasm for the height of winter.
That was when their business brought the most customers up to Aurora Hollow.
For seven days a week, they'd be busy teaching people to ski and snowboard, and getting them around the slopes.
From what I gathered, there was a ski lift belonging to Aurora Lodge.
I hadn't seen it when I was up there, but I had other things on my mind at the time.
I was looking forward to riding on it, and enjoying the view as well as the activities.
And any moment I got to spend with them in their busiest season.
He brightened up again. "Now I really can't wait. If you see me moving funny, I'm doing a snow dance." He swayed in his chair.
"Stop that." Connor grimaced at him. "People are going to think you're weird."
"They don't already?" I teased.
"Weirder," Connor conceded.
"Sorry, I'm all out of fucks," Riley said, his eyes half closed.
"I'm starting to think he's the one we should throw off the lookout," Connor grumbled. "Come on, dickhead, we have work to do." He stood and brushed his lips over mine before heading to the pub’s small kitchen to get something to eat.