Hidden Barriers (10 page)

My hands are full to the brim, but the main item I’m keeping hidden at the moment. You could say I have a little somethin’ in my back pocket. The bell over the door jingles as I make my way into Vines. Cara appears to be working the bar with another guy today, but it’s slow right now, so neither is busy. When she sees me approach, she slides over from the other end of the bar.

“Hey, is Sam around?” I ask her, keeping one of Sam’s gifts hidden below the bar top so she can’t see it.

“Yeah, she’s out in the back office. Let me get her for you,” Cara says coldly. She’s usually full of laughs and smiles. I wonder what’s up her ass today. Watching her grab the bar phone, I can only assume she’s calling Sam out back. Cara places the receiver down before turning back to me. “She’ll be out in a second. Do you want a drink?”

“Nah, I’m good. Is everything okay today, Cara?” I ask, trying to find out what’s irking her.

“Just peachy,” she says as she walks away without giving any further insight.

As Sam walks through the back door, Cara pushes past her. They exchange a quick word before Sam turns back to me, smiling as she saunters over in front of me. Keeping my hands hidden from her, I ask, “What’s up Cara’s ass today?”

She laughs as she points her thumb over her shoulder toward the door. “Oh, that moody bitch? No need to worry. It’s keg delivery day, and her ex-boyfriend is our delivery guy. She normally has the day off, but because Brian is training today on the bar, I had to schedule her. Pleasant, isn’t she?”

“I guess,” I say, returning my attention to her. “So, someone once told me the way to a woman’s heart is through flowers.” I smile as I place the yellow tulips from behind my back in front of her.

“For me? Josh, these are gorgeous! You didn’t have to, you know.”

“Oh, I know. Because if I were to properly ask you out on a date, I know flowers aren’t the way to your heart.”

“What is the proper way to my heart?” she asks with a taunting smile.

Pulling my other arm from inside my coat pocket, I produce a big bag of various kinds of candy. “Somehow I had a feeling you were a candy kind of girl,” I say as her eyes flash from the bag of cavity-causing concoctions to mine. She remains speechless as I continue, “So, Sam, what do you say? You maybe want to go out on a date with me?”

Her hand reaches out for the bag of candy as I hear the front door bell jingle behind me. Her eyes shoot over my shoulder at the person walking inside the bar.

“Drew!” she shouts as she scurries by me. Turning around, I get a glimpse of her brother. He’s every bit the Marine she described him to be, except he’s dressed in a suit and not cammies. She rushes into his arms, giving him an enormous hug as he eyes me cautiously.

Sam and Drew withdraw from their embrace and step back. I grab a seat at the bar, knowing I’ve just taken a backseat to my grand plan now that her brother has arrived. It’s fine, but I know how much her brother means to her, and I’m not about to be a selfish prick and try to hog their time together. I notice Cara passing me behind the bar and decide to hang out for a drink. “Hey, Cara, when you have a chance, can I grab a Smutty Winter Ale?”

Gripping the pint glass from the counter, she starts pouring the pint. “What’s the matter? Did you get pushed aside for someone else?” Cara asks with an attitude as she nods toward Sam and Drew sitting on one of the sofas. “Sucks, doesn’t it?” She deadpans as she places the pint glass in front of me.

Okay, maybe grabbing that beer wasn’t a good idea.

When I see my brother stroll through the doors of my bar, I think I’m seeing things. Drew hardly makes unexpected visits to see me because he’s usually too busy with helping my dad at his law firm in Connecticut and continuing his duties as a Marine. If he’s in my neck of the woods, it means he drove at least two hours out of his way to see me. This can’t be a good sign.

Once I sit down on the sofa with him, he explains that Dad has him doing some work at the Boston office for a few days, and had I actually responded to his text messages, I probably would have known he’d be in the area today.

“Why is Dad having you work at the Boston office this week?” I ask.

Drew leans forward to rest his head in his hands, letting out a long breath before looking back at me. “Sam, do you have to ask that, knowing what you already found out last month?” Chills course up my spine, and fear settles in as it dawns on me he’s here because of Stone’s parole hearing. “Drew? He’s not—”

“Sam, listen to me. I can only do so much on the case, since I was a key witness, but they are working their asses off in the office to ensure he stays behind bars. Plus, we are the only ones from back then that know where you are now. Promise me you won’t start panicking.”

I stop picking at my fingernails and realize he’s right. Nobody outside of my family, lawyers, and derby girls know about my past. Stone has no way of finding me, even if he does get released from prison.

I don’t know how long we’ve been talking about the C-Naughties and other random things going on back home with Mom and Dad, whom I haven’t seen in ages, but it makes me realize how much I miss seeing my family.

“Are you going to tell me about this guy?” Drew asks, leaning back on the sofa as he props his foot up over his knee.

Glancing over at the yellow tulips lying on the coffee table, I realize I forgot about Josh being here. “Shit!” I mutter as I scan the bar looking for him.

“What’s the matter, Sam?” Drew asks as I reach for the tulips and push myself up from the sofa.

“He was here, but I must have lost track of time talking to you. I guess he left.”

Walking over to the bar where Cara is still showing Brian the ropes, I wait for her to finish talking to him before getting her attention. “Hey, Cara, have you seen Josh around?” I question as I still look for him in the bar, but all I see are more people strolling in for happy hour and an older woman with a fiddle setting up for open mic.

“He took off about a half hour ago. He said to give you this because he didn’t want to interrupt you and your brother.” She shakes her head as she pulls the bag of candy from her apron pocket. “He’s a good guy, Sam, but you totally gave him the cold shoulder the minute your brother showed up. If I were you, I’d go over to his house and make things right.”

Eyeing her suspiciously, I reply, “How do you know where he lives?”

“Let’s just say I’ve become closer to his roommate.”

“Nick? Really, Cara? You know that means I win the tally bet.”

“Yeah, I know. I owe you, but not until you take care of this thing with Josh.”

My brother grabs the seat next to me at the bar and looks between Cara and me. “What’s going on?” he asks with furrowed eyebrows.

Thinking there really isn’t any way to avoid this conversation I’m about to have, I decide to just spill the beans. “The guy I was talking to when you walked in, well, that was the guy who asked me on a date.”

“Let me get this straight. He’s the first guy you decide to open up to and actually go out on a date with in three years, and you’ve completely ignored him the last hour?” he questions, and I just stand biting my nails and nodding in agreement.

“And to top it off, he left and I never even had the chance to introduce you to each other,” I say, knowing very well that Josh would need to have Drew’s approval anyway if I were to actually date him. Now, I really kind of wish he were still around, since having Drew here would make this a lot easier.

An idea suddenly comes to my mind, and I look at Cara who is pouring a few glasses of wine for an order. “Cara? You wouldn’t happen to know the guys’ home address, would you?”

Not looking up from her pours, she answers, “Yeah, well, maybe not the house number, but I can certainly tell you exactly where it is. Why?”

“I need to go make things right. When you’re done pouring, can you write it down for me?” I say as I go around behind the bar and grab two empty six-pack carriers and load them with various craft beers from the cooler. Just as I’m about to put the last bottle into the carrier, I eye Drew who is watching me intently.

Scratching the back of his neck, he asks, “We going somewhere, Sam? Not that I have a busy night, but just curious what you’re up to.”

“Grab your things. We’re going to do something I should have done an hour ago. We’ll take your car; the address is right around the corner,” I say while placing the beers onto the counter and grabbing the directions from Cara.

Snatching my coat and purse from the back office coat rack, I slide my arms quickly through the sleeves, pocketing the bag of candy from Josh in the process. I look over at Drew, who is ready to go, with the beers in his hands. Before we exit through the front door, I turn back to Cara behind the bar. Throwing up her arms, she begins making a shooing motion before saying, “Go! I’ve got this under control.” Nodding my head in appreciation, I make my way onto the street where Drew is now waiting for me.

“So, what’s the grand plan here?” he asks as I approach him.

“Well, with any luck, he’s still home. If he accepts my apology and then passes your interrogation process, maybe the night can still be saved, and we can put those beers to good use,” I say as we walk to his car. Grabbing a gummy worm from the candy bag in my coat pocket, I chew off a bit at a time. Drew gives me a disgusted look. “Hey!” I spout out with my mouth full of candy. “Don’t criticize. You know I’m a sucker for sugary sweetness, and it’s the way to my heart these days. Otherwise, I would
not
be doing this at all.”

I suck back on another gummy snack as Drew pulls the car down the next street, driving slowly until we reach the townhouse Cara described in her directions. Drew pulls over and stops the car as I point to a house that matches the description. The lights are on, but I can’t see any movement inside.

Drew catches the hesitation in my eyes as I stare at the house. “It’s now or never, Sam. I love you, Sis, and you know without a doubt how I’d go through hell to protect you again if I had to. But, the only way to fight all the nagging thoughts in your head is to walk up those stairs and see if that guy is worth a shot. He may not be perfect, but none of us are. Something tells me from just the look in his eyes today when I saw him, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Thank you for being here tonight. Let’s get this over with, and please, don’t go all Marine Corps on him. The last thing he needs is Drill Instructor Daley barking in his face for an hour.”

My brother has grown into a man with a heart of gold and more words of encouragement than I would know what to do with. Leaning over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, I tell him, “I love you, little brother.”

“I’ll do my best to keep my alter ego contained. I can’t make any promises, though.”

“Fair enough,” I say with a mouthful of watermelon-flavored jelly beans. Drew looks over and gives me the evil eye. “What? I’m nervous. Leave my candy and me alone, or there will be hell to pay.”