You Say It First
Page 43

“You’re not worth the time or the trouble.”
Nick had meant to make Ronan throw the first punch, but the complete dismissal had him swinging hard and fast. Ronan was caught off guard and took a fist to the jaw. He reacted with a quick uppercut that Nick sidestepped. As they circled each other, Nick had the thought that not only were they too old for this crap, they both really needed to work on their communication skills.
Mathias burst through the back door of the studio and stepped between them.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he demanded.
Nick and Ronan glared at each other.
“I see. You’ll fight about it but you won’t talk about it. That’s intelligent.” Mathias pushed them farther apart. “You two done out here or do I have to hose you off like a couple of dogs?”
“I’m done,” Ronan growled.
“That’s right...walk away,” Nick taunted.
Mathias glared at them both. “Stop it. We’re family, no matter what.”
“We’re less than we were,” Ronan told him, then walked into the studio.
Nick wanted to throw something. Or hit something, although he’d tried the latter and it hadn’t helped as much as he’d hoped.
“Your brother is a jackass,” Nick said.
“He’s your brother, too.”
“I know and he pisses me off.”
“Ronan’s good at that.” Mathias shook his head. “Is that what started it?”
“Mostly.” Nick was too embarrassed to admit he’d been looking for a fight. “How long is he going to hang on to what Dad told him? Nothing is different for us. He’s still who he always was.”
Mathias stared at him. “Nick, it’s a big deal. To you, Ronan is exactly the same. That’s probably true for Aidan and Del, too, but not to us. We thought we were twins. We thought we had a bond. Now it’s gone.”
“Bullshit. You have what you always had. Whatever connection you share is one you created. The only thing that changed is information.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“It should be. We’re all brothers and family. You can pretend it’s different, but if that becomes true, then Dad wins. And none of us want that.”
* * *
PALLAS FIGURED SHE would never be able to afford a trip to Africa, so this was the next best thing—lunch on the savanna. Well, really it was lunch on the animal preserve by the Happily Inc dump, but no one had to know that.
She and Carol sat on a blanket in the shade of a tree. Several gazelles grazed nearby. In the distance stood the small herd of zebras and Millie was in sight.
“This setting adds a level of glamor to my turkey sandwich,” Pallas said.
Carol passed her a small bag of chips. “I know, right? It’s hard to believe this all exists. Whatever I have going on in my life, I can always come here, sit and just be in the moment.”
“I’m glad the zebras have recovered,” Pallas said.
“They were totally fine the next day. To be honest, I think they enjoyed their adventure.” Carol’s smile faded. “How are you doing? Everyone seems to be sad about the alien wedding being canceled. Even though I wasn’t a part of things, I have the sense that I’ve missed something big.”
“I’m okay. Of course I feel awful for Nova—she’s dealing with losing her father—but I do feel bad for the rest of us. I guess we had something to prove and now we can’t.”
“Are you stuck with a lot of bills?”
“No. Because of the tight time frame, Nova paid for everything in advance. There are some things that can be returned, but everything custom is basically already bought. I’m going to wait awhile and see if she wants any of it.”
The irony was whether the wedding went on or not, Pallas was covered, financially. She couldn’t wish away the increase in her bank account, but she would much rather have put on the wedding.
“It was fun to stretch and try something different. To figure out a way to make the impossible happen.” She took a bite of her sandwich. “Now it’s all very sucky.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thanks. Now enough about all that. How are you?”
Carol raised a shoulder. “I’m good. Still worried about Millie.”
Pallas glanced at the giraffe. She nibbled leaves off a tree. Her gait was both elegant and awkward.
“She’s eating. Isn’t that good?”
“It is, but it’s not enough. I’m concerned with how she’s adjusting. I think she’s lonely. She was by herself before she came here and now she’s still by herself.”
“Is there a Mr. Giraffe in Millie’s future?”
“I don’t think so. Male giraffes are solitary. The females generally live in a loose herd. I want to see if I can find a couple of female giraffes so Millie can have some friends.” Her mouth twisted. “Money is going to be a challenge. Giraffes aren’t cheap. Plus there’s the care and feeding. Not to mention transport.”
Pallas put down her sandwich. “Oh, wow. I never thought of that. Of course, you have to get them here, and how on earth do you do that?”
“It’s complicated. They have to be able to travel a route without low bridges or overpasses.”
“Let me guess. There’s an app for that.”
Carol laughed. “I sure hope so. Otherwise, I’m going to be doing a lot of really unusual research. And there’s no getting it wrong. Giraffes do not bend their heads on command.”
“That puts my problems in perspective.” She would guess there would be a lot of back roads taken. She doubted the giraffes would be comfortable at freeway speeds. “You’re going to need a giraffe wrangler or something.”
“First I have to find out if I can buy any. After that, I’ll figure out how to raise the money. Then I’ll worry about the wrangling aspect.”
“Speaking of wrangling,” Pallas said, her voice teasing, “how was it hanging out with Cade?”
“Stop trying to fix me up.”
“I’m not. I’m asking. For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve never been on a date. There has to be some guy who catches your eye. I might be biased, but I think my brother is very handsome and—”
Pallas stopped in midsentence as a perfectly reasonable explanation for Carol’s lack of dating occurred to her.
“I’m not a lesbian,” her friend said drily.
“It’s okay if you are.”
“Gee, thanks. But no. And while I appreciate the offer of your brother, I’ll get my own guy.”
“Should I ask when?”
Carol hesitated just long enough for Pallas to lean forward and ask, “Who is he? I can tell there’s someone.”
“There’s a guy I like but it will never work and I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Is he married?”
“No. And gross. He’s not married.” She grabbed a chip. “What part of ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ was unclear?”
“So there is someone?”
“Yes.”
“And he lives in town?”
Carol sighed. “Maybe.”
“That means yes.”
“Don’t make me sorry I like you.”
“Now I’m going to speculate. But only with you,” she added quickly. “I won’t say a word to anyone else.” She made an X over her heart. “I swear.”