A Somers Dream (11 page)

As Penny walked into her apartment, she excused herself and went to call work to let them know she would not be in today. She had a feeling she was going to need the day off by the looks of
Gabe’s demeanour. Once that was done, she invited Gabriel to have a seat at the table in the kitchen and prepared a pot of coffee.

Gab
e wasn’t quite sure where to begin so he decided to start at the beginning five years ago. Penny sat and listened to him, paying close attention at the part of the woman who started it all. “So Shane
was
engaged?” Why he never told her she couldn’t understand. It was no crime to be committed to someone at one point, she had told Shane all of her relationships before him. “He was, yes. You met her, I believe, at the house a few weeks ago. I believe he never told you because it was a part of his life he just wanted to forget” Gabe was gauging her reaction to this piece of news. He didn’t expect her to over react, she didn’t seem the sort of person, but he did expect some sort of comment. He didn’t have to wait long. “That was her? But, what I don’t understand is, if he was engaged to her in the past why would she say they were now? And why would he not say anything? Trying to forget it or not, it’s not something to keep to himself” Penny got up to get a cup of coffee, she needed the stimulant more than she thought. She offered Gabe a cup and he accepted graciously. As she put his cup in front of him, she took her own and sat back down. Taking a sip, she still didn’t know why Shane’s brother was sitting across from her. “Penny, Lynesse left him while he was away on business and married someone else. It was hard for him, back then, to cope with it. It’s not a homecoming for anyone who has a fiancé supposedly waiting for them, if you know what I mean” Gabe took a sip of his coffee, waiting for her to let it sink in. He wasn’t sure if he should mention that the man Lynesse left Shane for was their father or not. He guessed he would go down that road if he needed too. “Wow, that’s harsh. To think what he must’ve felt? I can’t understand how someone who made a promise of commitment of that magnitude can just go off and marry another instead?” Penny was beginning to feel sorry for Shane, for what he had gone through. To lose someone he loved enough to marry that way was heartbreaking to her. Gabe could see the pain she had for his brother and let off a slight grin, this may just be easier than he thought it would be. “What he felt then is no comparison to what he’s feeling now. Penny, his health is failing fast. He is so lost without you, he’s refusing to eat or drink. He loves you. Although he won’t admit it to himself, he does. What Lynesse did was wrong and selfish and believe me she is being taken care of for the trouble she had caused between the both of you. Look, I know my brother and let me begin by saying that he has never been this way about a woman. All he talks about is you, all he looks forward to is spending time with you. Since I came back, it was ‘Penny this’ and ‘Penny that’ and ‘what a great woman Penny is’. The man has it bad and right now, it’s killing him. I’m not asking you to drop everything and run to him. All I’m asking is that you take the time and ask yourself if you really do love him in return and if so, go to him” Penny couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Shane loved her? Was that possible? “How do you know he loves me and is not in anguish over this Lynesse person?” She had to be careful, the last thing she wanted to do was jump to an assumption. Protection was key here and she was going to defend her heart no matter what. Gabe started to laugh and Penny looked at him like he just grew another head. “I don’t think it’s funny” she said, not finding anything amusing whatsoever and giving him a look that complimented her tone. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I wasn’t expecting something like that and I found it amusing. Let me tell you something about the anguish Shane feels for Lynesse. He is so tormented by the loss that he actually threatened, yes threatened, to bury her in the driveway so that he could have the pleasure of running her over every day. He has been fighting with her ever since she showed up at his door. It’s Lynesse that didn’t want to give up. She had somehow put it in her head that he really did want her. So, she ran with it. Penny, Shane’s crazy about you. That night when you were supposed to meet up with him at his place and you weren’t there, he became undone. At first he couldn’t understand why you never showed and he really couldn’t understand why Lynesse was there. But, he tossed her out and did his best to try and find you. Did you know he called every hotel and motel in town?” Gabe could see he was starting to make a dent in this woman’s mind. “I took the next flight out. I didn’t want to stay, it was still to close” she whispered. Penny was trying to comprehend and assimilate all the information Gabe had given her. Could she really have been wrong? Did she misjudge all the signs just because of what one person, evil person by the sounds of it, said? Gabriel looked at the clock and noticed that it was fast approaching noon. He needed to wrap this up and get back to Shane. “That would explain why he couldn’t find you. He had called and left messages and when you never called, that’s when he started spiraling downwards” Penny stared at Gabe, she could feel the tears beginning to well up and this time she wasn’t gonna try to hold them back. “When I got to the house, that Lynesse person was there. She practically threw me out after telling me that she and Shane were engaged. I never thought to argue it seeing as how he never told me about her or that part of his past. When he called, I was so hurt I didn’t want to talk to him. Didn’t want to hear what ever excuse he had prepared. I just wanted to be left alone to heal” The tears were uncontrollable by the time she finished. Gabe got up and handed her a paper towel, it was all he could find that was handy. Penny was a royal mess and Gabe couldn’t be any happier, now was the time. “Come back with me” he told her, hoping he wasn’t pushing her too early. Penny lifted her head and wiped her eyes “What?” was all she could muster. “Come back with me. Today. There’s a flight leaving in a couple of hours. I think you both need to talk to each other and the sooner the better. I can have a cab here to take us to the airport in a half hour” Gabe didn’t realize he was holding his breath until he felt himself feeling faint. He needed her to go, for Shane’s sake. He had promised his brother he was going to fix it and dammit, that’s what he was going to do. Penny looked down at the table and saw that her hands were shaking. She didn’t know what to do. Her head kept telling her no but her heart was screaming yes. She needed time to think, but there wasn’t time to do that either. She felt like she was in a tug-and-pull contest with her being the rope. She looked at Gabe and was about to say something when she heard her name being yelled from the front hall. Looking towards the front, Penny saw Cathy storm down the hallway. “Are you okay? I called your work to see how you were and they told me you called…” That was as much as Cathy got out once she realized Penny wasn’t alone. Cathy looked at her friend’s tear stained face and looked at the stranger standing beside her. From a quick description Penny gave her about Shane awhile back ago, Cathy assumed it was him standing in her friend’s kitchen making her cry. “I hope you are a religious man” Cathy said, giving him the meanest look she could summon. “Why is that?” Gabe had no idea who this woman was but he had a feeling he didn’t want to find out, taking a step back he found himself trying to use Penny as a shield. This woman was small but she was looking extremely fierce and that was enough to give Gabe a warning. “Because you are about to meet your maker” was all she said before she made a dash towards him. Penny stood up and held her friend back, trying to control Cathy was like trying to control a bull. “Cathy! It’s not him! It’s not Shane!” Cathy stopped struggling with her friend and looked at her “What kind of dimwit do you take me for? He’s exactly as you described him. Tall, blonde and good looking but not for long” Cathy looked at Gabe “You dirty, rotten bastard. How could you do a thing like that? How could you play with someone’s emotions like as if they were nothing of importance? Penny is an
amazing woman who deserves way better than you. How dare you show up here” and with a voice that could’ve melted steel she added “Come a bit closer so that I can show you exactly how we handle scum like you” and she made another lunge towards Gabe. Gabe was certainly impressed. There was no way he would ever raise his hand to a woman but he would defend himself if necessary. Penny held onto her friend and looked over at Gabe who was beginning to grin. “You’re no help” she said to him and looked at Cathy “Cat! Listen to me! It’s not him! It’s his brother, Gabriel” Cathy held up once she heard that “His brother?” was all she could say. She looked at Gabe and saw the grin on his face. So, he too was a smug one, well the way Cathy saw it, if she couldn’t have the real thing, a duplicate was good enough. She made another lunge towards Gabe again and Penny was almost knocked over by the force of it. ”Cathy! Enough!” cried Penny “For crying out loud, enough already” Cathy heard the strain in Penny’s voice and halted all attacks on Gabe, giving him a dirty look before putting her attention to her friend who was sitting down, looking exhausted. “I’m sorry, Pen. I guess I just got carried away” Penny grabbed the chair and sat down. Cathy knelt down beside her and rubbed her leg “When I saw him standing there and you had tears on your face, I jumped to the conclusion that he was Shane” Cathy stood up and looked at the man who she almost massacred. “Why are you here?” Cathy wasn’t one for subtleties. “Cat? I gotta leave for a few days. I need to take care of a few things so I don’t want you to worry, okay?” Penny interrupted Gabe before he could answer Cathy’s question, which was fine with him. He accomplished what he came here to do. “I’ll call a cab. Can you be ready in a half hour?” Gabe began to take out his phone and dial when Cathy spoke “Going? Where are you going?” Cathy took a hold of her friend’s face in her hands and looked into her eyes, the pain and anguish she saw there answered her question “You’re going to him, aren’t you. You’re going to see Shane. Honey? Do you think that’s a good idea? He is getting married, remember?” At that last remark, Penny began to laugh. She couldn’t help herself. She looked at Gabe and saw him smiling and that made her laugh even harder. “Someone wanna let me in on the joke, here?” Cathy looked from her to Gabe with a perplexed look on her face. “I can’t explain now. I will call you when I get a chance. Gabe?” he looked at her when she said his name “I can be ready in fifteen” and with that, she got up and went to her room to gather a few things. She couldn’t believe she was doing this but, this time, she was listening to her heart. And it told her to go. “Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?!” Cathy said exasperated, “where is she going?” Looking at Gabe, she demanded a response and, as far as she was concerned, no one was going to leave until she got one. “Have a seat there, slugger. You’re gonna need it” Gabe pulled out a chair and Cathy sat at the table and listened while Gabe gave her the condensed version.

CHAPTER 18

“Go away” Shane mumbled into his pillow as someone had been banging on the door. He didn’t want to see or talk to anyone but it seemed that no one had gotten that memo. Putting the pillow over his head, he hoped it would drown out the noise to some degree. It didn’t work, whoever it was wasn’t giving up. Pulling himself out of bed, Shane made his way down the stairs and to the front door, holding onto the walls for leverage. He had lost strength and it took all his energy just to put one foot in front of the other. The pounding was getting louder and he couldn’t figure out if it was because of the door or the blood rushing from his head. When he got to his destination, he put his forehead against the door, “Who is it”. The voice he heard on the other side was one he certainly never expected. “Open the door son”, Shane unlocked the door and opened it just a crack. Seeing his father on the other side was not something he had ever imagined, but there he was.  “Great, now I’m having delusions” Shane said more to himself than to anyone and began to close the door. Holten had put his hand on the door to stop it from shutting “I don’t know if you’re delusional yet but I’m really here” and pushed it open further. Shane let out a groan and moved from the door, he didn’t have the strength to battle with anyone, especially his father. Stumbling backwards as the door opened wider, Shane grabbed a hold of the wall. Holten, noticing his son’s weakness, grabbed his arm and put it around his shoulder as he helped Shane over to the couch and sat him down. Shane mumbled a word of thanks and sank down into the cushions. He was, now more than ever, happy he bought the oversized piece furniture. As he put his feet up on the couch, Holten looked down at his son. “Well, aren’t you a mess” he said. He made some room on the coffee table and sat, “When was the last time you ate and showered?” Shane closed his eyes and breathed a shallow breath, his whole body ached with each intake. Holten was genuinely concerned about his son’s welfare and decided to do what he came over to do. Making his way to the kitchen, he looked around for some soup, any kind, to heat up and a pot. After some time of finding his way around, the soup was ready. Depositing the bowl on a tray and pouring a glass of juice, he brought it over to Shane. “Here, eat something. It’s just some soup. By the looks of you, I don’t think your body will be able to handle anything solid” and he settled the tray down on the table. Shane looked over at the fare and rolled over the other way. He didn’t want to eat anything, he just wanted to be left alone. Holten gave a harrumph and sat on the couch, giving Shane no choice but to move. Shane glared at his father “What are you doing here?” he snarled “You should be at home checking to see whose life your wife decides to destroy next. I don’t want or need your help”, Shane curled up into a ball and closed his eyes. “I know you’re angry. You have every right to be but starving yourself is not going to make anything better. What’s done is done and the only thing you can do is move on and try to make it better” Holten patted his son’s leg in a form of affection. It was awkward for him, never really doing such a thing before but he felt like it needed to be done. “Now, sit up and have some soup and afterwards we’ll run the shower” He reached over and grabbed the tray and began to spoon the soup. Shane looked over at his father, surprise and confusion were visible on his face. Holten held the spoon up to Shane’s mouth, waiting for him to open it. Shane, still in shock, did. “There, feels good going down doesn’t it” and he spooned up another and another until it was completely gone. Holten handed him the glass of juice and Shane drank that down as well. Putting the dishes back onto the tray, Holten stood up and took a hold of his son’s arm. “Ok, time for a shower” and helped Shane to stand up. Shane put his arm around his father’s shoulder for support. Not knowing where to go, Holten gave his son a look of confusion and Shane motioned him towards the stairs. And together they made their way up, through his bedroom and into the bathroom. Before getting undressed, Shane looked over at Holten “Why are you doing this?” Holten let out a long sigh “I know I haven’t been around for you much, as a kid and as an adult. When you’re mother died, I died as well. Seeing you boys just brought back the memories I didn’t want to remember. Son, there are a lot of things I want to tell you but right now isn’t the time. First, take that shower. Then, you and I will have a nice talk about everything” Holten helped his son into the shower and when he was happy Shane could stand up on his own, he went down to the living room to clean up. It was about time Shane knew the truth and Holten hoped he would understand.