Chapter 2
The Ties That Bind
Thunder
Any man worth his salt could tell when his woman was upset.
Leaning back in the driver’s seat, my gaze never left Liz as she walked out of the facility.
She held her head high, shoulders pushed back for perfect posture, but I knew it hadn’t gone well.
Despair was dripping down her face, even though she held it together.
Sliding into the passenger’s seat, she dropped her purse to the floor, her face towards the glass.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked, starting the club car, but I didn’t put it into gear.
We didn’t have any plans for today, and I doubted she wanted to have fun right now.
Instead, I thought about heading straight to the clubhouse, but that didn’t sit right with me either.
She’d hide in her room for the rest of the day, when none of this should have fallen on her shoulders.
“No,” she sniffed, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to stream down her cheeks. I’d caused some of the hurt, and I wouldn’t let the rest of the day go by without trying to fix it. I shifted into gear and pulled out of the parking lot, racking my brain for an alternative.
It wasn’t until I saw the sign for the beach that an idea popped into my mind. Taking the exit, I couldn’t help but smile. It caught Liz’s attention, and she shifted in her chair to face me. My woman wasn’t afraid to unleash some snark on my ass.
“Figured you might not want to head back to the clubhouse. This is the next best thing.” When I crested the hill leading to the sand, I heard her gasp at the sight. This had been a good plan.
“Pret…ty,” she sighed, staring out at the water. From this vantage point, the blue waves extended as far as the eye could see, until they faded into the horizon.
“It’s not bad, but I’ve seen better.” Parking the car, I stared at her profile until the heat forced her to shift in her chair, matching my gaze. Exiting, I walked around the front to open her door. Crouching to her eye level, I waited a beat. “Is this all right?”
“Yes.” Her voice quivered.
“This isn’t you.” I ran my fingers through her hair until I reached the bun at the back of her neck.
A few strands fell forward, framing her face.
It wasn’t enough. I searched for the pins holding the chignon in place.
Pulling one out, I dropped it into the cupholder.
One after another, they each made a pinging sound until her hair sprang loose.
Running the pads of my fingers through the strands, I made a satisfied noise.
It wasn’t enough as the light hit the string of pearls around her neck.
“These have to go, but they’re expensive. I’m not leaving them in the car.” I might have been a simple man, but I knew enough to know how valuable they were. There were knots in the chain, holding each pearl in place. I ran my finger underneath the strand, grazing her skin.
She cracked a smile, kicking off the heels in the car. “Shoes,” she said, holding out her arms towards me.
“I already know your games. This is just a ploy to get me to pick you up.” I pointed towards the brace she wore around her hip.
It extended down her leg, sitting right above her knee.
“It’s a good thing you’re cute.” I helped her shift her bare feet out of the car before sliding my hands underneath her.
She fell into my arms as if she belonged with me.
I didn’t take that shit lightly, but if I pushed her, she’d clam up.
Friends was going to have to be it for now.
I adjusted my grip on her before taking a few steps back and slamming the car door closed with my elbow.
The parking lot wasn’t that far from the open sand, and I walked with her until I found an empty bench.
She might have been able to sit in the sand, but this was a spur-of-the-moment trip, and I hadn’t brought any supplies.
“Tell me about Madalyn.”
She turned on the bench to look at me. “She…Ger…ry…”
“No,” I snapped, a little harder than I intended.
“I want to know about Madalyn, not that piece of shit she married.” I wasn’t sure why I was asking, but I thought there might have been some hidden gem that would make Liz’s behavior make sense.
Asking her wasn’t an option when she constantly dodged the questions.
“Big…sis…” She pointed at herself. “Always…in tro…ble.”
“She bailed you out a few times?” I laughed, not bothering to hide my amusement. “Was she like Flo, and you were the Buster in this duo?”
Liz laughed for the first time since we’d left the clubhouse much earlier in the day. “No,” she coughed, bringing her hand up to her lips. “Mer…own person…Not…sure…where…”
“I’d normally agree with you, but she’s as stubborn as Gerry,” I said. Now that Meredith’s outer shell had cracked wide open, it was obvious why she was perfect for VP. She gave as good as she got, keeping the room laughing.
Liz nodded. “Mads…never let…per…fec” she said, her voice cracking on a sob.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, holding her against me. “You know that’s a bunch of fucking bullshit. Perfection doesn’t exist when it drives you crazy, trying to keep impossible standards.”
“Not…cra…zy.” Her head snapped up from my chest. If she was going for perfection, she was doing a piss-poor job of it. There was a frown burrowed so deeply into her forehead, I wanted to rub my thumb against the lines.
“You’re not.” I couldn’t help it, laying a small kiss on her forehead. “Tell me more.”
She settled back against me, watching the waves crash against the shore. “Love…wat..er…The…w…w…waves…new.”
Her speech was getting better, but there were still certain words or letters she got hung up on. Most of the time, I could understand her, but it was always a slow process. “No two waves are the same?” I guessed.
She nodded. “Loved…to sit…and watch.” She shifted closer to me. “Saved me…w…w…ith…w…water.”
I made a noise, letting her know she wasn’t alone, but I didn’t say a thing.
I didn’t think she had finished speaking, and I didn’t want her to feel rushed, which would only increase the confusion, but when I looked at her, she was staring out into the void.
Wherever she was, I couldn’t follow. All I did was tighten my arm around her, making sure she knew she was safe.
***
Elizabeth
I tilted my head up to the sky, but a family caught my attention.
Two little girls were building a sandcastle as their mother sat in a beach chair a few feet away.
A wave came rushing in, ruining the castle.
One girl bent, trying to fix it, but I watched as another wave came crashing in, racing up her back.
Blackness fell over my vision.
“I know you’re trying to help, but leave me alone,” I said, rolling over in my bed, my back to my sister as she stood by my side, trying to get me up. “Please, Mads.”
“No. I refuse to watch you die in this bed.” Her shoes squeaked on the floor as she moved around the room. I closed my eyes, hoping she’d take the hint.
“What difference does it make? I’m already dead,” I mumbled.
Madalyn pushed me over, climbed into my bed and wrapped her arms around me from behind. “I know, Lizzie, but you’re stronger than I am, and if anyone can survive this, it’s you.”
I reached for her arm around me, spooning closer to her body. “I have to trust a mobster is going to do what’s best for my baby.” She tightened her arm around me, and I felt her forehead dig into the middle of my back.
“Every time you give up, he wins. When you don’t eat, he wins some more. He’s constantly smiling at his good fortune,” she sighed, brushing a few strands of hair off my neck. “I refuse to let him win again.”
I heard myself snort. “Are you going to get Gerry to talk to him?”
“No, I’m going to make sure you live. Starting today.”
Everything was bright. I squinted, trying to adjust to my surroundings. The family I’d been watching was now eating a snack. The sandcastle was long destroyed, but the rhythm of the waves soothed my soul.
I tilted my head up, and Thunder was looking down at me.
“I…never left…my bed.” I watched as the waves crashed along the shore, over and over. “Told Mads…to leave…me alone. She dumped…w…w…water on…my…head.” The tears that I’d been holding in finally fell. “Made me…get up.” I waved my arm in front of me.
“She brought you to the beach?” Thunder prompted, tightening his hold on me.
I nodded. “Plopped book…in my…lap.” Madalyn had pretended it was a normal day, feeding me snacks and drinks, while she actually read her book.
She kept coming back until one day I met her at the door, ready to go.
When Madalyn passed away, I’d made a promise to protect her children. It didn’t matter that they were adults. I wasn’t about to break my word.