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Kristen raised her glass toward Jenny. “No use ignoring the cloud. We’re all here to support big brother.”
“Right,” Alex said. “But Emery will talk when he’s ready.” The man who was larger than a horse mucker machine, made his way around the room with the whiskey tray. I watched his hands and imagined them lifting a human heart from a bowl and placing it inside a chest. He wasn’t known as Vermont’s top cardiothoracic surgeon for no reason. My brown-headed brother held his glass high. “Cheers to Emery.”
We all said cheers and swigged. But was it a good idea to cheer for a foolish man?
Dad drained his and held it out for another. Was he needing liquid courage to hear his oldest son’s story or were his knees bothering him again? Dad was tall, as in six-feet five-inches tall. Some would say a man that size had no business riding horses. But his easy manner and gentle spirit not only made him a wonderful Dad, he also worked a horse like no other.
He could break a horse to ride without breaking its spirit.
“Hannah doesn’t deserve you,” Corey called out from across the large living room.
“And you don’t deserve her lies,” Bryan said before he punched Corey’s shoulder. Hard. Corey dropped his empty glass on a side table and snatched Bryan into an arm lock. All we could see were blond heads bobbing about. As they grappled, I poured another drink and tried to come up with a joke about a movie producer wrestling with a romance writer. Surely there had to be comedic relief in there somewhere.
Irony, for sure. Bryan had made it big in Hollywood with his movies. But his latest project was producing the film version of Corey’s immensely popular romantic comedy novel, Love No More. They were certain to work together on more projects since Corey’s agent had sold all six romance novels to Bryan’s production studio.
And there was the joke. The two brothers who always dogged each other, worked together.
“You, boys. Enough.” Mom didn’t have to raise her voice to make them stop. We always obeyed her. Dad we could scoot around, but not her. “Emery, have a seat and tell us about Hannah.”
For once I ignored Mom’s directive and remained standing. There was no way I could sit while disclosing. Hannah had visited the ranch with me many times, so this tale would not sit well with them. They had given her their love, the same as me. And when a person hurts one Swazay, that person hurts them all.
I quickly filled them in on her fake identity and the felony charge of fraud and money laundering while bilking millions from people and businesses.
By the time I was done, Mom stood next to me. “We heard it on the news and saw the headlines. What we,” she waved her hand around the room, “want to hear is how you’re coping.”
I snorted and stopped short of throwing my glass in the fireplace. “I came home. That’s how I’m coping. My name is more popular with the newshounds than Meghan and Harry’s. At least here I don’t have to dodge cameras.”
Mom’s eyes darted to Dad. He shook his head.
My hands fisted as my gut told me something had happened. “What? Tell me.”
“We’ve received calls on the house phone, asking if we’d like to sell our story about you.” Dad placed his empty glass on the coffee table. Now I knew why he asked for two drinks.
I scrubbed my fingers through my hair as I paced the room. Why couldn’t the reporters leave my family alone? The juicy news was with Hannah, not us. But since she sat in a jail cell, I guess they wanted to fill the pages of the tabloids.
“I’m sorry to bring you all into my mess.”
“Nonsense. You did nothing wrong.” Mom steered me toward the dining room. “Let’s continue this talk while we eat.”
“What does Mom always say?” We all chimed at the same time. “Food can cure anything!”
Kristen pulled out my chair at the massive table. Butcher paper and newspapers covered the top, which meant we were doing a seafood boil. “Tonight we’ll make you forget your worries by grab a drink at Stipples Bar.”
Bryan patted my back. “I love you, bro.”
“I love you more.” Corey ducked under Bryan’s swing. “Remember. I fashioned a hero based on you in one of my romance books.”
I glanced around the room at my family. It felt good to be back and not having to look over my shoulder.
Near my place setting, a newspaper advertisement showed the Pleasant Valley Airport was for sale. My unruly mind went straight to the pretty lady wearing the tightest jeans in the world.
I growled under my breath. Going to Stipples Bar was exactly what I needed to wash my memory of any woman—especially Hannah and that obstinate aircraft marshaller.
As we climbed from the trucks outside Stipples, my phone rang. I wanted to forget my troubles with my siblings and didn’t care to talk to anyone else. But I recognized the number. Either Hannah had truly bonded out or someone had unlocked her phone and was calling my private number.
“Get us a table.” White frost puffed from my mouth as I motioned for the group to head in. “I’ll just be a minute.”
“I hope so. It’s cold enough to freeze a heart.” Doctor Alex rubbed his gloved hands on his upper arms.
