Edge (Gentry Boys #7) (5 page)

  The banana bread was still baking so I wandered into my bedroom.  Every piece of furniture was a rehabbed item from a downtown consignment store, a far cry from the designer décor of my father’s house. I ran my hand over an antique oak dresser that I’d stripped and varnished.  The top drawer tended to stick but fell out completely if pulled too far so I handled it carefully.  The object I was looking for was right in front anyway. 

I lifted the beautiful wooden keepsake box out and thought about the girl who’d owned it.  Her father had given it to me, right before he’d moved out of state with his remaining daughters. I’d tried to talk him out of giving it to me, insisting that such a personal treasure should be kept for Erin’s younger sisters but the man shook his head and pressed it into my hands anyway. 

“
You
were a sister to her too, Roe,” he’d said and then he kissed me on the forehead like he had probably done for his lost child many times in her young life before she was taken from him. 

The box itself was a beauty; hand carved and passed down from Erin’s grandmother if I recalled correctly.  An elaborate cross was etched into the center of the lid and even though the Rielo family had never been religious to my knowledge, the box seemed like such a cherished relic that I felt almost reverent whenever I touched it. 

Long ago I’d filled the box with all the physical memories I had of Erin.  Pictures, childhood notes, wrinkled movie theater stubs, other small bits and pieces that would once have been discarded as trash but now were rare, cherished links to a beloved friend.  In the corner was a carefully folded piece of paper.  I held the compact square in my hand and closed my fingers around it.  I didn’t need to read it because I remembered everything it said.  I didn’t even know why I’d kept it so carefully preserved, other than the fact that it was the most honest letter I’d ever received.  No one had to confirm its truth for me.  The writer had known things he couldn’t possibly have known unless Erin had told him.  And if some of it was true, then I trusted that all of it was.  He had no reason to lie, not to me anyway.  I suppose I kept the letter because Erin would have wanted me to know that he’d been her friend, that for all the terrible things that were said about the Gentrys then and now, things weren’t what they seemed. 

Maybe few things in this world were ever what they seemed.   

Erin’s two little sisters had kept in touch via email and social media.  Penny was going to college in Texas and Katie, sweet little Katie, would be in high school next year.  Whenever I looked at her Facebook profile I was always struck by her resemblance to her older sister.  Same cloud of dark hair, same innocent smile. 

Whenever I came home from college I would find the time to make the sad drive down to Emblem to visit the grave of my best friend, never empty handed, always carrying some trinket or treasure that I’d come across in a store and bought because I knew she would have loved it.  Yet it was only today that I realized since I’d moved back I’d only visited once.  I wasn’t sure what I believed about death, if some part of the soul lingered in this physical realm, but whenever I knelt in the grass at Erin’s stone monument and listened to the wind I felt comforted. 

The last time I’d driven down to Emblem, right after Thanksgiving, I’d left a piece of rose quartz, tying it up in a velvet pouch before setting it gently on her stone.   There was never anyone around who could tell me what happened to all the things I’d placed over the years.  Crosses, crystals, an angel figurine.  They were always gone the next time I returned.  I didn’t believe they’d been spirited away to some kind of ethereal, otherworldly place where Erin was but I hoped they hadn’t just been thrown away.  I hoped they somehow found their way into the life of someone who might smile over them. 

Last autumn as I’d walked out of the cemetery gates I was struck anew by the unfairness of it all.  I used to think that we’d been left behind, all of us who loved her.  But she was still there in a way, still in Emblem.  She’d never had the opportunity to leave.  Meanwhile those of us she’d loved had moved on. 

Erin’s family.

Me.

Conway Gentry and his brother, Stone. 

We’d fled, we’d scattered, one way or another and for our own reasons.  We’d left that dusty town to its ghosts and run when we could. 

As I closed the wooden box I again remembered the look in Conway’s eyes, the haunted defiance that flashed and disappeared. 

And I wondered. 

In a way, maybe some of us were still running. 

CONWAY

This last name of mine comes with a history. 

It’s possible every small town American enclave has its own myths and legends to choke on but ‘Gentry’ always had its own definition. 

I forget the specifics of the story but some time in the grim Depression era a gaggle of my forefathers staggered out of the prairie dustbowl and plopped down in Emblem, a little Arizona desert town with a small Main Street, a large prison, and not much else. 

Small towns have long memories and even if you’ve never been guilty of a crime, sharing a name with those who have can be enough of a condemnation. 

For example, if your great grandfather once shot a local shopkeeper during a drunken rage spree, people remember. 

If you have a distant uncle who bludgeoned a young farm worker to death over a poker game, people remember. 

If there’s some fifty-year-old rumor about incest between first cousins, people remember that too, even if it was never true.   

My brother and I were born in better circumstances than most of our family, thanks to our father, Elijah Gentry.  Years would pass before I would discover that there was some truth behind the gossip that we were not his sons.  My mother had blurted out the whole sordid story one drunken night.  It just so happened that I was the only one there at the time to hear it.

Through all her gasping tears and foul curses, she told me that Stone and I were the sons of Elijah’s cousins; two dangerous, troubled brothers.  They’d lived in The Dirt, which is what town kids called the sporadic, often ramshackle dwellings scattered beyond outer Emblem.  Stone was the son of Chrome Gentry, a ladies man and consummate con artist, while I was the son of Benton, the most brutal son of a bitch ever to walk the desert.  By now they were both dead so at least there were no Daddy Dearest reunions to worry about. 

That didn’t change anything though.  Nothing could change history; nothing could change who you were. 

Stone had been told the truth after his release from prison almost two years ago.  His older half brother, Declan, or Deck, as he was always known, was the unofficial Gentry patriarch now.  Honestly, if I had to pick a man I’d like to live up to, it would be Deck Gentry.  

As for me, I had some half brothers of my own but they were still in the dark about who I really was.  Stone had tried to argue with me but I wanted it that way. Stone was faithful. I knew he wouldn’t say a word.

Cord, Creed and Chase were triplets who had suffered through a rough childhood and eventually worked their way up to the happy lives of family men.  They were good guys, all three of them.  If they’d known I was their brother they would have made it their collective mission to turn me into a good guy too.  I couldn’t let them gamble their necks and waste their time like that. 

“Hey!” called Cordero Gentry with a genuine smile as I stepped into the festive backyard.  He greeted me with a fist bump and I felt myself smiling back as I responded in kind.  Cord was a tattoo artist and even his knuckles were decorated with ink. 

“You’re early,” he said. 

I checked my watch and noticed that yes, I was nearly half an hour early.  I couldn’t blame Cord for his surprise.  I didn’t have a habit of showing up early for family gatherings.  But since Stone got out of prison I’d at least been making an effort to put in an appearance. 

“Thought maybe you could use some help setting up,” I said even though the idea had just occurred to me. 

Cord glanced around his backyard, which had been festooned with a cornucopia of pink and black decorations.  Originally Stone and Evie hadn’t been planning on having an engagement party.  The rest of the family had other ideas. 

“Well, Saylor and the girls had it all pretty well taken care of before I even woke up this morning,” he admitted. 

A burst of childish laughter came from inside the house and a second later Cord’s three daughters came running outside.  Yipping and jumping all over their heels was a chubby black and tan puppy.

The youngest girl, Cadence, collided with her father’s legs and smiled up at him. 

“Can we fill the kiddie pool for Angus The Dog?” she asked in a sweetly wheedling voice. 

The dog’s tail whipped back and forth and his long pink tongue hung halfway out of his mouth.  He jumped back with a squealing growl when he noticed me but then started wagging his tail again when I bent down and offered my palm. 

Cord picked the little girl up.  “What did your mom say?” 

“She said to ask you,” piped up one of the twins.  Cami had long brown hair and clear green eyes, a mini-me of her mother, Saylor.  She put her hands on her hips and stared her father down like she was daring him to say no. 

“I don’t know, girls,” Cord said, looking around the impeccably decorated yard.  “That’ll make quite a mess and I’ve got to help your mother get the food out here for the party.” 

“Please, Daddy,” begged the blonde twin, Cassie.  She was usually quieter, more gentle than her forthright sister.  Cord took one look at her dimpled smile and I could see the heart of a devoted father melting right then and there. Cord would give his girls the entire goddamn galaxy if he could. 

“I could help them,” I offered.  “We’ll stay over there in the corner underneath the mesquite tree.”  I winked at the girls to show them I was on their side.  “I promise to do everything in my power to keep the mess to a minimum.” 

“Yes!” shouted Cami.  “See?  You don’t need to worry about messes.  Conway will take care of everything.” 

The girl grabbed my hand and started dragging me over to the side of the house where a blue plastic pool was propped up against the fence. 

“All right!” shouted Cord.  “But you need to make sure the dog gets dried off and don’t let him in the house with wet paws or your mother will freak.” 

“Adults can be so dramatic,” Cami confided as she fell into step beside me while I carried the pool to a corner. 

“Sometimes,” I agreed, choosing not to point out to her that I was actually an adult myself.

Even though I wasn’t the most sentimental bastard I had to admit that there was nothing cuter than kids playing with a puppy.  As I rinsed off the inside of the pool with the garden hose and started filling it with water the kids rallied around, splashing and squealing with excitement.  It kind of made me feel like a summer Santa Claus.  The pool was only about eight inches tall so it didn’t take long to fill and the minute there was enough water in there Cami picked up the squirming puppy and deposited him inside his backyard bathtub. 

Angus The Dog stood there for a second with a look of canine bafflement.  Then with a hop of glee he started bouncing around like a giant, wet, furry jellybean.  The girls crouched around the sides of the pool and competed for the dog’s attention. 

“Having fun?” teased a female voice and an elbow poked playfully into my side. 

I found myself peering down at Evie Dupont, my future sister-in-law.  She laughed at the wild scene and clapped her hands together before giving me a warm hug.

“How are you, Con?  I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“Been keeping myself busy,” I said, loosely wrapping an arm around her for a chaste, brotherly squeeze.  “So let’s see the ring.” 

Evie looked down lovingly and then held out her delicate left hand.  I didn’t know jack shit about rings but it looked appropriately sparkly.  I offered my congratulations again, even though I’d already said them to her over the phone. 

Evie squinted up at me and I felt myself fidgeting under her appraisal so I looked away, scanning the yard. 

“Where’s our boy?” I asked. 

“Oh, Stone will be back here any second.  Deck and Jenny were pulling up so he hung back to greet them but when I caught a glimpse of what was going on here I just couldn’t wait to get a better look.” 

The girls simultaneously noticed Evie and tackled her with hugs and dripping arms.  Evie took it in stride while I watched her with admiration.  The thing about my brother’s girl is that she was sweetly pretty but not the kind of gorgeous that would stand out in a sea of faces.  That always changed the second she opened her mouth and started talking.  When that happened she was freaking luminous.  Stone was a hell of a lucky guy.  At least he knew it. 

By the time the girls were finished showering Evie with greetings her pale blue dress was covered in splotches of water and even a few spots of dirt.  She didn’t seem to mind.  She looked me over thoughtfully. 

“Don’t even tell me you came to the hottest party of the year without a date,” she said.

“No date. Looks like I’ll be in the bachelor’s corner with Angus The Dog.” 

“Hmm.  So what’s the deal, Con?  No women in your life?”

“I have plenty of women in my life.” 

“I meant the kind you’re willing to keep company with for more than two hours.” 

I tried to glare.  “You can be painfully nosy, Evie.” 

She snorted.  “Get used to it.  I plan to play the part of nagging sister-in-law to perfection.”

Just then Saylor, Cord’s wife, came out of the house, her arms loaded with a giant fruit tray.  She took in the sight of the kids and the dog and the spreading puddles of water that were quickly turning to mud and her mouth fell right open. I couldn’t really blame her.  In spite of my best efforts we’d managed to turn this corner of the yard into a soggy disaster.  Saylor set the tray down on a nearby table and put her hands on her hips.  Automatically I felt myself cringing like I was in grade school and about to be sent to detention. 

Saylor just shook her head and laughed though. 

Evie bounded right over to her, squealing, “Thank you my precious angel, THANK YOU for the party!” 

About two seconds later there were people everywhere, as if the gates of Disneyland had just opened.  Well, that was probably an exaggeration.  Crowds didn’t usually bug me, but then again I wasn’t usually making an effort to be on my best behavior so I didn’t often worry about who was around. I saw a few people I didn’t know and assumed they were friends of either Evie or Stone.  Then I saw Creed and Chase accompanied by their wives and boisterous children, most of whom spotted the dog in the pool and made a beeline for us.  

“Conway!” called Saylor as she arranged food trays on a long table.  “Do me a huge favor and make sure none of the kids manage to climb into the pool, okay?”

“Sure,” I shouted back even though I understood a promise like that was probably as feasible as holding a cup of sand in my palm for an hour.

Around me kids of all sizes jockeyed for positions around the little plastic pool while the puppy leapt to and fro in ecstatic glory over so much attention.  Cord’s twins were the oldest and tried to maintain some order but gave up when two of their cousins stuck their heads in the water and then popped up to spit sprinkler-style at the other kids. 

“Knock it off,” I said in my best imitation of a parental voice.  I was cracking up on the inside though.  I remembered doing the same thing with Stone when we were that age. 

One of the boys who had been spitting, Chase’s son, peered up at me with defiant blue eyes. 

“Who are you?” he demanded. 

“You
know
who he is, Derek,” said Cami in a withering voice.

Derek gave me a grin that seemed rather devilish for a six year old.  “Are you him?” he asked.

“Who?”

“The
bad
Gentry.” 

I hunkered down to his level and looked him in the eye. 

“Maybe,” I whispered in an ominous voice.

This kid was awesome though.  He just laughed. 

Somehow there was a pink baby doll floating around in the pool.  Angus The Dog decided it must be his new toy and started chewing away on its arm.  A tiny red-haired girl didn’t agree.  She started wailing. 

“My baby!” she sobbed. 

“Kellan!” shouted one of the older girls.  “Why’d you throw her doll in?”

Kellan, one of Chase’s other boys, stood up and blinked at me with four year old boldness.  “I didn’t do nothin’!” 

“Angus The Dog, don’t eat it!” 

“My baby!” howled the red-haired girl again, futilely reaching out with her dimpled little hands. 

“Hold on, kid.”  I gently pulled the girl away from the edge because she was reaching so far over I was afraid she would fall in. 

Angus The Dog had released the doll.  The thing floated on the far side of the pool and I thought I could scoop it out easily.  I was wrong.  The instant I had my hand around a rubbery arm the dog let out a playful growl and chomped down on a plastic leg, yanking it away with a surprisingly strong shake of his head.  It was enough to cost me my balance and send me toppling over. I didn’t get completely immersed but my shirt suffered a pretty good soaking.   At least I managed to pull the doll away from the dog in the process. 

“Here you go,” I said, handing it over to the little girl.  The kid looked like her mom, Deck’s wife.  I tried to remember her name. 

“Thank you,” she said, only it kind of sounded like ‘Dank you’.  She gazed at me with grateful eyes as she clutched her baby doll and then scampered away.  Isabella.  That was her name.