Lorelie Brown - Riding the Wave

It had been years. An hour wouldn’t matter. In fact, it felt almost like a relief. He nodded, probably bobbing his head as fast as an eager puppy. But it faded so fast. This was a reprieve, not a release.

He’d still be facing the music at the end of the night.

The next hour passed in a strange haze for Avalon. She was so damn curious. At one point, she wanted to stand on the birchwood coffee table, wave her hands over her head, and tell everyone else to get the hell out.

But she’d been right to make Tanner wait. Eileen was on top of the world, floating through the crowds of people like a brightly colored butterfly in her multicolored silk blouse. The dark green skirt had once been her favorite, hauled out for multiple dates with Hank. She’d put it away for more than six months.

Until now.

Even her expression looked lighter. She’d always been serene, but that wasn’t the same thing as being happy. Nothing Avalon did had been able to put that glow back in her smile but having Tanner home did it. Having this party to welcome him had apparently given her a sense of purpose and joy. Because she was sucking it up.

Avalon stood at the far side of the room, fiddling with her primary Canon, switching out the lens. Mostly for fun at this point. She’d gotten all the industry-at-work shots she’d likely need.

Even Tanner was worn out, though she wasn’t sure how she knew that. The way his eyelids tensed, probably. Maybe a faint whitening of the scar over his mouth. No one else would likely think so. Three feet away, he was still talking and joking with the towheaded teenager who’d dominated the junior surf circuit this year. The kid hadn’t come out and asked Tanner if he should go pro—the kid probably already had a manager, not to mention his parents—but it was obvious he was interested in Tanner’s opinion.

Weirder than that was the fact that Tanner was avidly and competently talking to the kid, weighing the pros and cons. Tanner even mentioned college once or twice, though he’d walked away from the opportunity himself.

Avalon lifted her camera and snapped off a shot, in case. The exhaustion riding Tanner seemed clearer to her through her viewfinder. But it was the way he kept sneaking looks at his mom that was most obvious.

That most tugged at her heart, if Avalon were to be honest.

Though she was pretty sure it was the general attachment she had to the Wright family. Nothing special to Tanner.

She wanted to be able to walk up behind him and dig fingertips into that deep slab of muscle across his shoulders. The stiffness there said he had to be tense as hell.

But she resisted the impulse.

It turned out to be easy to do when a pale-skinned redhead inveigled her way into the conversation. Avalon turned away in disgust. If that girl was actually a surfer, Avalon would eat the bikini covering her fake tits. Strings and all.

But as she packed up her camera, she might have smirked. Tanner had pinned Avalon against the upstairs wall. Not some implanted bimbo.

Eventually the crowds thinned. Eileen walked the last couple to the door, then waved from the front step. Tanner sat in an overstuffed chair, his legs sprawled wide in his usual manner. Sage perched on the half-wall between the living room and the den.

Eileen shut the door and leaned against it. She tucked her shawl more closely around her shoulders. “I do love a good party.”

Avalon smiled, but it was a bit difficult. Her heart had taken up residence in her throat as soon as the door snapped closed. The worry on Tanner’s face when he’d insisted that his mom would be hurt by the truth of his split from his father . . . He’d believed it completely. No matter her doubts about him, he wasn’t a stupid man.

He both knew his mother and loved her wholly. That had never been in doubt.

Tanner smiled at Eileen, but it was obviously forced. “You’ve always thrown good ones.”

A happy smile fluttering around her mouth, she started gathering up wineglasses, most of them still stained red. “A party is an excuse for people to get together and be happy. It’s pretty difficult to throw a bad one.”

“Mom, put those down,” Sage said through a yawn. “We’ve got the cleaners coming tomorrow for the express purpose of picking up.”

“Remind me to make sure they get under the curio cabinet in the den. I think I saw Phillip drop a whole handful of munchies.” She sighed, flipping a hank of blond hair from her eyes. “That man’s been such a mess since his wife died. He needs a keeper.”

Sage leaned her head against the wall at her side. “No more strays, Mom. You’re not playing matchmaker again. How many times did Christine call you in the middle of the night last time? When it didn’t work?”

“Pish.” Eileen waved a hand at her daughter, no matter the wineglasses dangling from her fingers. “I’m doing no such thing. It’s a human being’s duty to sow joy in the world, that’s all.”

A pang struck Avalon in the chest, underneath her sternum. She loved these two like they were her own. More, probably. Sometimes she wondered if it was possible to love someone she didn’t admire.

And she didn’t admire the tangled mess her mother had made of her life.

Eileen set her first load of glasses on the sideboard, then started gathering a second. “Though, Tanner, I heard you were fighting. In my kitchen too.” She shook her head in a chiding waggle. “I thought I raised you better than that. No matter the provocation, fighting is not the answer. I know Jack is bad about that, but—”

“It wasn’t Jack’s fault,” Sage insisted, cutting off her mother. “Tanner, what was your problem with Mako? He seemed perfectly normal to me. Maybe a little full of himself. He said something about wanting to come by the store.” She flashed her patented smile, the one that never failed to make Avalon smile back.

But apparently her brother was immune to it.

Tanner’s gaze caught Avalon’s. Dark worry lodged behind his eyes. She nodded at him, though he’d never exactly asked for permission.

Coming out of the chair, he caught his mom by the hands. Blunt-tipped fingers took the wineglasses away from her and set them down side by side on the low coffee table. “I need to talk to you.”

“So talk,” she answered, still smiling. “No reason I can’t keep picking up. I don’t sleep well if I know there’s clutter. My surroundings are out of alignment.”

“No.” His voice was low, as if he were trying to speak only to her. Avalon slung her camera bag across her chest in preparation to go upstairs. “It’s about why I stayed away. About my fight with Dad.”

Eileen’s arms relaxed, no longer reaching for the glasses, but the smile stayed in place. “Then talk. It’s fine.”

“Alone.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. At the other side of the room, Sage sat up straighter. She shot a look at Avalon, obviously asking what the hell was going on, but Avalon could only shrug. She didn’t have any more idea than anyone else.

Though she was mostly all earth mother, Eileen had a stubborn side. Her mouth set into a flat line. “No. There’s nothing you can’t say in front of them. They deserve to know where you’ve been too. Your sister’s missed you as much as I have.”

“That’s probably not a good idea.” The back of Tanner’s neck reddened. His shoulders lifted.

“It is if I say it is.”

Eileen’s hair was still the gold-touched blond it had been when Avalon had first met her. Sage had brought Avalon home from the beach for lunch and Eileen had whipped up a salmon and green bean salad. Avalon hadn’t wanted to eat it, but Eileen had presented the same implacable calm she cloaked herself in now. So Avalon had chowed down on salmon and veggies, which she’d been sure she’d hate.

If she wanted Tanner to speak in front of Sage and Avalon, then that’s what would happen. There was no defeating Eileen when she got that look. His chest lifted on a deep sigh.

“At least sit down then.” He still had her by the wrists, until he let them go to hold her shoulders.

“That I can do,” she said with her nose lifting toward the air. She tucked her flowing skirt under her as she sat.

Tanner sighed again as he sank down to sit on the coffee table directly in front of his mother. “This isn’t very easy for me to say.”

“Spit it out, then.” Eileen reached out to smooth Tanner’s tousled hair. “Get it over with. Your father loved you, I hope you know. Always did. If anything, I’ve wondered if you two fought over being too much alike.”

Tanner’s big shoulders shuddered. Actually shuddered. Avalon would do anything to be able to see his face, but his head was bowed and turned away from her. His voice rumbled, but she couldn’t hear him. Neither had Sage from the confused hold of her expression. She mouthed a “What?” at Avalon, but she had to shrug her shoulders.

But apparently Eileen hadn’t heard, either. Or hadn’t liked what she heard. “What did you say?” Her voice shook.

“Dad cheated on you.”

Eileen shook her head slowly. “No, you’re wrong.”

“I’m not.” He tried to take his mother’s hands again, but she snatched them away. She pulled back into herself, shoulders curling in. “I only know because of Mako.”

“Mako? I met that boy tonight.” Her face blanched white but for two hectic dots of color high on her cheeks. “What’s he got to do with anything?”

“He’s Dad’s son.” His voice was wrecked. Shaky and grumbling at the same time. The difference between his shoulders and narrow waist became even more pronounced as his tension ratcheted up.