Sweet Talk Me (20 page)

Yep, peach pie was the answer to his woes. At least for right now.

He grabbed his guitar by the neck, stepped over the dogs, and followed True into the house. Maybe he could watch
her
eat some peach pie.

But she wasn’t even in the kitchen. Gage was, and he was eating pie—not nearly as gratifying a picture. Thank God there were a few pieces left.

Harrison took one and joined him at the table. “Good, huh?”

“The best,” Gage said, slicing off a flaky bite with his fork.

“True says Carmela made it for us.”

“For
you
, maybe. You’re the star.”

“So are you. You’ve got geniuses from Harvard and Stanford sending you fan mail—and big-time celebrities like Jon Stewart and Ben Affleck. Carmela barely spoke to me when she came inside. She was all about you and tomatoes. She didn’t say a word about country music.”

Gage said nothing. But there was something pained on his face, and Harrison couldn’t figure it out. He didn’t think his big brother was jealous of him. “Are you all right, man? Is it the house? I really do think you’re gonna love it. It’ll be worth all this inconvenience you’re going through having to move out of the trailer.”

Gage put his fork down. “It isn’t inconvenient coming here. We’re lucky.”

Harrison looked around him, at the homey kitchen. “You’re right.” They’d had a lot of fun eating meals with their two hostesses right here at this table. “’Fess up, then. It’s the house.”

“You already know how I feel about it. As if I’m stupid. Needing assistance. I don’t like things being done for me. I’m a grown man—I’m your big brother. But—”

“But what?”

“But I also know that sometimes I get these blind spots. And I—” He hesitated. “—I appreciate having you call me on them.”

Whoa. Harrison’s heart just kinda turned over or exploded or melted or whatever it was that happened to chicks all the time. But in a guy way. Most definitely a guy way.

“Hey,” he said. “I get those blind spots, too.” He grabbed Gage’s neck and squeezed for a split second before dropping his hand. “I’m glad you’re my brother.”

It was true. But the moment felt a little awkward, naturally. Gage did the right thing, picking up his plate and heading to the sink.

“I’m sorry about stepping on your toes.” Too late Harrison regretted that he’d come barreling in and set off a bunch of fireworks—totally oblivious to Gage’s dislike of change. It was because he’d panicked at the sight of that trailer. And maybe he’d been disconcerted already, seeing True. Being back in Biscuit Creek.

Gage opened the fridge and poured himself a huge glass of milk. “Want one?”

“Sure.”

Gage brought two glasses over to the table.

Each picked his up and drained it. Gage set his glass on the table half a second before Harrison.

“I forgot we used to do that,” Harrison said. They’d race. Mom would yell at them to stop it. But she really liked it because they were drinking milk.

“I always won,” Gage said matter-of-factly.

“That’s because you have a mouth like a bass,” Harrison said back.

Gage’s eyes gleamed with amusement.

Harrison shook his head. “Look. I really don’t want to stop building this house. Can you give it a chance?” He paused for half a beat. “If you don’t like it, we can sell it—”

“We’re not going to sell it.” Gage was emphatic.

“Sure we could.”

“
No.
”

There was another awkward silence. Harrison wondered what the girls were up to. Were they listening in? He kinda hoped not. It was embarrassing for anyone else to see friction within a family. You felt like a failure, in a way. Or maybe it was more that you felt it never happened to anyone else. All his life, Harrison knew that other people were aware his family had issues. It had been like walking around naked. It hurt. It was tough.

And where was the good in it? Had it made him a better person? He didn’t see where it had. It had simply been part of who he was, this uneasiness between him and Gage. His father’s incarceration and futile death. His poor mama’s getting let go from her housekeeping jobs by people who didn’t trust her anymore because of his dad—and then dying of cancer. There was pain. And it made him tired in a very deep place that he wanted to forget even existed.

“I wouldn’t have any other place to go,” Gage said. “I don’t want to keep doing this, moving out, starting over. It’s … hard.”

“Okay.” Harrison felt for the guy. He could hear it in his voice, the discomfort. He hated being uncomfortable himself, and here he’d gone and made his brother unhappy.
Way to go, big ol’
dumb
country music star
! “I understand. I hope it’s making it a little easier to navigate the transition with me here, even though I’m the one”—
who was the dumbass who screwed you
—“who initiated it.”

“It’s fine. You’re spending a lot of money. At least let me pay what I can. I’ve got enough saved to cover a house. Maybe not the fees of the Hollywood guy who came in, or the expedited construction, but I can make a substantial contribution.”

“If you want to.”

“Of course I do.”

“Well, all right.” Harrison grinned at his brother. Thank God, it was settled. Or was it? Gage was never relaxed, really—at least not the way Harrison relaxed. So he couldn’t tell if things were actually cool between them or not. “Anything else on your mind? I won’t be here much longer. And who knows when we’ll see each other next.”

Gage looked down at the table. “Yeah, there’s one thing.”

Harrison leaned forward, excited that Gage was confiding in him. Nervous, too. In a big way. “What is it?”

Gage looked up at him. “Carmela.”

Carmela!
“Um, do you like her?”

“Yes. A lot.”

Inside, Harrison wanted to hoot and holler. Yes.
Yes!
Gage was into Carmela, and she obviously had the hots for him. And no wonder. Once you got past his reticence, the guy was chill. Brilliant. Witty in his own weird way. Good looking and healthy. Strong as an ox. Cut like a marine. Made a good living. What more could a girl want?

“You like her?” He kept his runaway thoughts in check by using a calm voice.

“Of course.”

“Shoot.” He slapped his brother’s shoulder. “You’d never know it by the way you treated her tonight.”

“What do you mean?”

“You ignored her. She was flirting with you.”

“She was?”

“Yes.”

“I had no idea.”

Harrison pointed to his eye. “Right here. Look and see if a girl’s eyes are twinklin’ or sparkin’ when she talks to you. If they are, she’s flirting. Same with if she says your name a lot. ‘Gage, this. Gage, that.’”

“Huh.” Gage cocked his head. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.” Harrison leaned back in his chair. “She looked real pretty in that pink dress the other day. Tonight, too, in her party dress.”

Gage gave a short laugh. “You should have seen her in the tomato fight. She was hot, even covered in pulp.”

“She has a great personality, too,” Harrison threw in to class up the conversation.

As Gage’s wingman, he should have mentioned that first, but guys tended to go straight to the looks category. It didn’t mean the rest was small beans. Hell, he’d dated plenty of gorgeous women who turned out to have no heart, no humor, and nothing substantial going on upstairs. The great face and perfect bod could only take one so far.

“She’s the nicest person I know,” Gage said.

“How long you liked her?”

“Ever since I first saw her. Over a year ago. I’ve been going in every week to, uh, shop in her store.”

“You mean straighten the shelves.”

“Yeah, whatever. I buy things, too.”

“Is that why you had a whole row of southern dip mixes and salsas in your kitchen? And how many Rainbow Row coasters can a man have?”

“I’ve got crab and shrimp ones, too. And palmettos. But I’m there to see
her
.”

“So what happens?”

“I hardly speak to her. I just can’t figure out what to say. But she’ll talk. And I listen.”

“We can work on that. You talk about how pretty she looks. What the weather’s like. What’s on the news that day. Has she done anything fun lately. If you have to, memorize those things.”

“I already have. I have to pretend, in a way, that I’m in a movie, and this is my script. So it doesn’t come off naturally, the way it does with you. I’m a bad actor.”

“Who cares if it’s natural or not? As long as you do it. That gets the ball rolling, and you’ll get better the more you practice. You haven’t asked her out yet?”

“No. I’m always about to, and then—I cop out.”

Harrison shook his head. “You just gotta do it, man. She’s gonna say yes. But on the off chance she doesn’t, at least you know you’ve tried.”

Gage sighed. “I know.”

“Hey, she made you a pie.”

Gage raised a brow. “We don’t know that. You’re here. Come on.”

“All right, maybe,
maybe
she made it for both of us. We’re nice brothers. We look like we need pie. But you were in this tomato fight with her yesterday, and it’s so freaking obvious she noticed you. I saw her looking at you with
interest
.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Dude, she saw your abs. She even mentioned them tonight. You’re hot and you don’t even know it.”

“Yeah, right.”

“For real. You know how hard that is for a brother to say that? I’m gagging as I speak.”

Gage gave a short laugh. “I guess so.”

“Hey, if you don’t believe me, how about this: Did you act any different yesterday?”

“I talked a little more. And I laughed.”

“Well, shoot. That’s it, too. She saw your abs, and then she also something
inside
you that you hadn’t shown her before.”

“Maybe.” Gage paused. “I wish I could get into another tomato fight with her, if that’s what it takes.”

“That’s
not
what it takes,” Harrison said. “You can win her over at her store, too. And then you’ll take her out. To the movies, to dinner.”

“I hope so.”

A good twenty seconds went by, while overhead, footsteps made the ceiling groan. That was True’s room. Harrison had to resist imagining her getting naked and ready to slide into bed.

“What about you?” Gage eventually said. “How’s your love life?”

“Hah.” Harrison slid lower in his seat. “It ain’t happenin.’ I’m on the road too much. I think I’m gonna have to be the crazy uncle. So settle down and get married, okay? I wouldn’t mind having some nieces and nephews.”

Gage stared at him a second too long.

“What?” Harrison felt nervous all of a sudden.

“I wasn’t here when you left town the day after prom,” Gage said, “but when I came back, I heard plenty. I know how you showed up at Dubose’s house and tried to whisk True away to Nashville.”

Harrison waved a hand. “That was a long time ago. I was a dumb kid.”

“Sure you don’t still have feelings for her?”

Harrison spoke low. “If I did, there’s nothing I can do. She’s getting married. And I’m in no position to take on a serious relationship.”

What could anyone say to that? Especially someone as quiet as Gage? Harrison stood, picked up his glass and plate. He was going back out on the porch. He didn’t dare go upstairs and bump into True. He’d taken to waiting downstairs until he was sure she was in bed.

But Gage wasn’t done with him. “Why are you writing all these songs about love?”

Harrison didn’t know what to say. “It’s actually a good question. I can’t write for shit these days.”

“Maybe because you’re a fake.” Gage stood, too, his expression neutral.

He never got when he was insulting. Or if he did, it didn’t register that the other person might be miffed.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Harrison was irritated despite himself. “You’ve got to realize that sometimes you say some pretty harsh stuff. Pay attention to how you phrase things.”

“I
am
paying attention,” said Gage. “Country music’s supposed to be about real life. But you live in a bubble. Maybe
you
should pay attention to how you’re phrasing things. Could be that’s what’s holding you up with your songwriting.”

Well, shit. Harrison felt the old steam come roaring out of his ears. “Let’s not talk anymore about me and my issues, okay? By the way, you live in a bubble, too. You’re supposed to be so worldly wise—you know geography. Pop culture. You’ve got passing knowledge on just about every subject in the world. But you were hiding in that trailer. Hiding behind your OCD, too, letting it run your life.”

Gage stood silent for a minute. “Mom and Dad wouldn’t be happy with either of us, I guess. Let’s face it. We’re going to be old bachelors. And maybe it’s best that way.”

“That’s nuts.”

“Dad going to jail and getting killed there made us both scared of life.”

“What?”

“I’ve had a long time to think about it,” Gage said. “And that’s what I believe. We never learned what it was like to be a man from him. You’re hiding. I’m hiding. The Gamble brothers don’t gamble at all.”

Harrison cocked his head. “For a major geek, you’re pretty astute sometimes.”

“Thanks.”

“Though not in this case.” Harrison glared at him. “You’re watching too much Dr. Phil with Weezie. From now on, speak for yourself. Not me. I’ve gambled plenty in my life. And on the big things, I’ve lost.”

He stalked out of the kitchen and headed to the porch.

“Good night,” Gage called to his back. “By your logic if it’s not too late for me to be an average guy, then it’s also not too late for you.”

Didn’t he get it? Harrison was mad at him!
Shut the hell up
was what he wanted to say. “G’night,” he said instead. He didn’t turn around, either. Guilt and frustration made him mutter the word like a coward.

Damned brother.

But on the porch, he wrote his first song in months. It came quickly. Cleanly. And it was good.

CHAPTER TWENTY

True had had no sleep. No sleep at all. She was going to look like a zombie at her own wedding. It was ridiculous how little time she had left to find a caterer and a venue. She actually had
no
time. No sane business would take her with mere days to go before the ceremony. It was too late to pretend that a disaster hadn’t happened.