Crushing (9 page)

I was nervous getting to golf practice. It was our first real practice, and I wanted it to go smoothly. Preferably with no drama. I felt like someone had put my life in hyperdrive.

Dominic attempted to carry my clubs for me but gave up when I threatened to beat him with one of my drivers. He just laughed at me. He was used to my bouts of temper and didn’t take them personally.

We made our way to the driving range since it was safer than waiting for the coach and his caddy in the parking lot. When Coach got there, he broke us up into groups and told us to play at least nine holes. He would be tooling around on his cart, checking our progress. We got on the harder course today. I wasn’t with any of the other seniors, and I couldn’t have been happier. I could just relax and play my game. I felt pretty good, until I realized the foursome ahead of us included Dom, Holden, Liam, and Gage.

We caught up to them a couple of times, and it seemed to be going fine on the first few holes. I heard Dom and Holden giving each other a hard time, but not much else. I relaxed a little and played pretty well, until it started. Holden was making little digs about Gage’s game, his past, and anything else he could think of.

“Not bad for a drug addict. Been making any money since you’ve been back?” Holden asked.

“Where did you learn to play? A lot of your druggie friends play? Instead of for skins, you play for meth?” Holden was getting bolder as the afternoon wore on.

Gage ignored him, from what I could tell. I only heard a few of the comments because they would move ahead to the next hole. I could see Gage’s back was stiff as he walked away. Holden must have been making these comments on and off from the beginning. When we were coming up behind them on the last hole, I heard Holden continue on.

“Wh-wh-what do you charge for m-m-meth these days?” He was making fun of Gage’s stutter and trying to provoke him into some kind of action.

I had been about to speak up. Holden made me so mad, but I knew Gage wouldn’t thank me for it. Surprisingly, I didn’t have to intervene because Dominic did.

“Holden, shut up and take your shot. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Gage turned on Dom.

“I don’t need
you
speaking for me.” Gage’s eyes were narrowed, and he was furious.

“Dude, I’m not. Trust me. Why would I speak for you? You’re the one with the problem. If you want to do something about it, I’m right here.” Dominic took a step forward and threw down his club.

That was it. I couldn’t stand here and watch them brawl again. I was starting to move forward, when I felt air whiz by my face, and I almost got run down by a golf cart. Coach Cliff screeched to a halt between Gage and Dom.

“Gentleman, how are we doing here? Mr. Rossi, are you working on that slice I saw a few holes back?” Dominic stepped back and picked up his club.

“Sure, Coach. Think I have it down.”

“Good, good. Mr. Cosgrove, let me see the score sheet, please.” Holden stepped up and handed it to him. “I do believe you’ve made a mistake on Mr. Maddox’s score. He only had a four on hole two, and on seven I believe he had a five.” He leveled a stare at Holden. “If you are going to keep score, I suggest you do so accurately, or you and I will be having a discussion with Principal Harris about your personal ethics. Do we understand each other, Mr. Cosgrove?”

“Yes, Coach.”

“Excellent! You are all excused for the day!” He punched the gas on the cart and took off to the next group. I let the breath I was holding out. The boys seemed calmer, although I could tell that Holden was irritated about being caught cheating. I was glad Coach wasn’t letting him get away with it. Too many people in Holden’s life had let him get away with too much for too long.

Everyone else seemed to be heading back. I decided to try to finish the last hole. It was starting to get dark, but I knew this place like the back of my hand, so it didn’t bother me that it would be pretty dark walking back. Golfing took out a lot of my aggression, and I really needed it today.

I took a couple of practice swings. Then, just as I was about to hit the ball, I heard, “If you hit it like that, you’re going to shank it.”

I squeaked and turned around fast. I thought Gage had gone back to the clubhouse with everyone else. I glared at him.

“Is that right? Well, I’m pretty sure I would have, with you sneaking up on me like that.” I growled.

“Want me to show you?”

“Uh.”

“Here.” He came up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. He turned my body to line up the shot. I could feel the heat from his body behind me. Was I supposed to hit the ball better like this? I think not. I was going to come out of my skin. He put his arms over mine, and we swung the club together.

He said right in my ear, “Your angle was wrong. You needed to turn a little and relax. You were trying to kill it. Who were you picturing just then?” Before I could say anything, he put his hands on my hips. “Go,” he said in my ear.

I swung, and I hit the ball in a perfect arc onto the fairway.

“See? You just needed to relax.”

I stepped away from him. A girl could only take so much of that. I couldn’t think when he was that close. And how did someone who had been walking around carrying a golf bag half the afternoon smell that good?

“Uh, yeah, thanks. I should get back,” I said.

We started walking back. I was so confused. He was gorgeous and made my heart go funny and my skin tingle, but I knew my friends would make his life miserable here. They already were. If I gave in, it would be ten times worse.

Gage deserved to have a happy life here. Not get harassed endlessly like when he was a kid. And I couldn’t ignore how I would hurt Dominic, who was trying so hard not to put pressure on me. And the biggest problem? He had broken my heart once already. What if he left again?

“Rory, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” When I stopped to look at him, he looked very serious.

“Are you in love with Rossi?”

What? “Uh, no,” I said, shaking my head. “He’s my friend. I told you.”

“I saw you with him today at lunch.”

“Ah, that. He was asking about the Sadie Hawkins Dance on Friday.”

“Did you ask him to go with you?” He was frowning.

“No. I’m going alone. He wants to bring me flowers.”

“That sounds like you’re more than friends.”

I huffed. Why did he keep making me explain it? “Well, I told you I think Dom would like it to be more sometimes, but mostly because it would be easy. He is one of my best friends. I can’t hurt him. It would never be the same, and I’m not sure I am ready for that.”

“You’re saying I’m not a good risk.”

“Who said anything about you?” I asked.

He took a step toward me. I was standing on ground that was a bit higher, so I didn’t have to crane my neck quite so much.

“I did. You’re afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” I scowled at him. I was not afraid. At least not in the traditional sense. He made me nervous, that was all. He made the squirrels dance. It’s not like I could help it.

He leaned down and whispered in my ear, “That you’re going to like me. What will happen then?”

I stood there with what had to be a stupid look on my face.

His lips brushed my ear, and I’m pretty sure my brain melted.

He stepped back.

Interestingly enough, he looked confused too. Huh.

He shook his head. “Come on—they’re going to send out the troops if we don’t get moving.”

I must have gotten my feet going somehow. What was he doing to me? I had never felt this out of control. I don’t even remember getting back to the clubhouse or getting in the truck with Dom. What in the world was happening?

When Friday night came around, I got to the restaurant before everyone else and got seated at our regular table. Enrique brought over my green tea and smiled. I loved him. He didn’t give me a hard time, he brought me what I wanted, and he didn’t ask a bunch of questions. A saint of a man. I wished all my relationships with the men in my life could be this easy.

My parents arrived just moments after I started sipping my tea. Right behind them were Gage and his Uncle Nathan. Peaceful moment officially over.

My parents sat down, and Gage and his uncle stopped at our table.

“Rory, lovely to see you again.” Gage’s uncle smiled. “Mrs. Atherton, nice to see you.” My dad was scowling, and I wanted to pinch him.

“Please, call me Phoebe. So good to see you.” My mom smiled her polite smile. Ugh.

“Mr. Elliott, Gage—this is my dad, Dr. James Atherton. Dad, this is Gage and Nathan Elliott, his uncle. You remember Mr. Elliott, don’t you? They’re our neighbors now.” I smiled sweetly at my dad. My mom would kill him if he was rude.

My dad shook both their hands. I decided it was time to force my dad to get to know Gage all over again.

“Why don’t you join us for dinner? Mom, Dad—don’t you think we should catch up with our neighbors?”

My mom jumped in. Her ingrained Southern hospitality was in high gear. Some things I knew I could count on.

“Of course we do. That would be lovely. We’ll just have Enrique add two chairs. Our sons are joining us also. They go to Charleston Southern University now. They should be here shortly. I’m sure they would love to see you both.”

“If you’re sure it’s no trouble?” Mr. Elliott asked.

“Not at all. We were just saying we needed to have you both over. Weren’t we, James?”

I almost spit green tea all over the table, but managed to choke it down. I caught Gage covering up a laugh with a cough.

My dad had a long-suffering look on his face. He knew he had no way out. If he was rude to Nathan for no reason, my mother would have his head. My mom didn’t draw too many lines, but those who knew her crossed them at their peril.

“Well, thank you, Phoebe. We really haven’t had time to socialize since we moved in. I have been traveling for work quite a bit, and of course Gage has been getting settled in at school.” Gage’s uncle proceeded to sit down next to my mother and was keeping her occupied with talk of their house and the upgrades he was planning on making to it.

How did he know my mom loved talking about home design? Her friends always asked her to help with their remodeling projects and interior design. She had studied architecture and design in college and was thinking about going back to it after I graduated.

That left Gage to my dad and me. Since Enrique hadn’t brought the extra two chairs yet, the only seat open was next to my dad. This should be interesting.

“So, Gage, I hear you are quite the golfer. How long have you been playing?” my dad asked.

“My grandfather started taking me when I was pretty young. We lived on a golf course in Florida too. We played every day after I got out of school,” Gage told him.

“I remember your grandpa. He was a great golfer. What courses have you played in Florida?”

“He took me to courses all over the state. He really loved golf. We played Medalist quite a few times.”

“I hear that’s an amazing course.”

“Yes, sir, it was really great, but tough. It can be frustrating.”

“I haven’t gotten down there to play that one yet, but I bet it would be.”

“I’m told the Ocean Course on Kiawah is tougher though,” Gage said.

“Well, I pretty much want to throw out my golf clubs every time I play that course.” My dad actually chuckled. He was always happy to talk about golf. “What are your plans after high school? Are you going to play in college?”

“I would love to, but with my recent situation I guess I’ll have to wait and see. I had been accepted to play at CSU on a full golf scholarship, but they’re reviewing it now,” Gage revealed.

Wow, I hadn’t even thought about how getting expelled from his last school would affect his college plans.

“What happened there, if you don’t mind me asking? Rory says I rushed to judgment when I heard you had been expelled, and I’m interested to see if she’s right about me.” My dad smiled at him.

Whoa. My dad admitting to possibly being wrong? Was he having an aneurysm?

“Well, sir, I was involved in a fight at school. Another student was pushing his girlfriend around and punched her in the face. I couldn’t do nothing.” Gage was looking my dad right in the eye.

“Well, that sounds like you did the right thing. Why would you get expelled for that?” My dad looked confused.

“I put the other student in the hospital with some broken ribs, a broken arm, and a concussion. They felt I had not just stopped him but that it was an assault, sir. The other student’s father was a school board member.”

“Did the other boy get expelled?”

“No, sir.”

“Ahh, one of those situations, was it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, Coach Cliff must be thrilled to have you. Their loss is our gain, huh?” My dad laughed.

Okay, now I knew there was something wrong with him. This was not my dad. This was my dad in a parallel universe.

“I hope so, sir.” Gage smiled.

“You know I’m good friends with the golf coach at CSU. I can give him a call and put in a good word for you.”

What in the world had just happened? Had my dad and Gage just bonded over beating people up?

“I’d appreciate that, Dr. Atherton. That would be great.”

“No problem. Anybody who beats the crap out of someone who abuses a woman is all right in my book.”

“Dad!”

“What? We don’t tolerate that around here. You know your brothers would have done the same thing, Rory, and I would have cheered them on. Or held him down—whichever.”

“What would we have done?” Jeremiah wanted to know.

I turned my head and there they were. Of course, people were staring. Most people did. People always stared at twins anyway, and, in addition, my brothers were fairly huge and were pretty gorgeous in their own right. We all had the same coloring. Brown hair, brown eyes, and white skin. The girls loved them.

I shoved my chair back and rushed around to hug them. I hadn’t seen Jackson in three weeks and Jeremiah in one, but it didn’t matter. I missed them all the time.

“Okay, Sassy, you are squeezin’ the life out of me.” Jackson hugged me back. My sweet, peacemaking brother ruffled my hair and rubbed my back.

“What about me over here?” Jeremiah was holding his arms open. I moved over to give him his scrunch.

“Better, Shrimpy. You doin’ okay?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m good now. Please be nice to our company, okay? No caveman behavior. He’s a friend.” I glared up at him.

He rolled his eyes.

“We’ll see. I may have to hit him with a club if he starts drooling on you.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

“Behave,” I whispered, and gave him a glare.

He chuckled.

“Jeremiah, Jackson—you remember Gage and his Uncle Nathan. They’re living across the street now.” My mom’s Southern was definitely showing.

Jeremiah shook hands with Gage as if this was the first time they’d seen each other in years.

“Good to see you again, man,” Jackson said as he clapped Gage on the shoulder.

My brothers shook hands with Nathan while Enrique hurried over with two more chairs. We all squeezed back in.

The conversation got loud, as it always does when my brothers arrive. Jeremiah never mentioned the fight he had broken up on the beach between Gage and Dom. Everyone was talking golf and college and small-town happenings.

Gage, my dad, and Jeremiah were fully engaged in a discussion about the state of the CSU golf team. Jackson, Nathan, my mom, and I were talking about Lindsay and what had been found out so far. From what we understood, there wasn’t much to go on. They were conducting searches, but there wasn’t even a clue as to where she had gone. I couldn’t believe she was missing. The whole thing felt so unreal. I felt guilty going on with my own life while she was out there somewhere waiting to be found.

The whole discussion of golf and Lindsay for some reason made me think about my nightmare. Had I seen the person who was responsible for those girls who disappeared that summer? What if he had come back? What if it was the same person? I needed to talk to Gage about what he remembered. Maybe now was the time to tell someone about it. I would have to bring it up to him.

Gage and Nathan had impressed my family, and that wasn’t an easy thing to accomplish. While I observed the different conversations going on around me, I saw Gage’s uncle wink at him across the table, and I knew part of this had been orchestrated by the two of them to win my family over.

I remembered his comment about Dom having the upper hand and bringing out the big guns. Is this what he meant? That was an awful lot of effort for a friendship. I was going to have to think about that.

During dinner I looked across the restaurant and saw Nathan’s friend I’d met at the clubhouse eating alone. I pointed him out to Nathan.

“Isn’t that your friend eating by himself over there, Mr. Elliott?”

“Nathan, please, Rory. Oh yeah, that’s him.” Nathan looked a little uncomfortable.

“Should we ask him to join us?” my mother asked.

“Oh no, he’s kind of the solitary sort. Not always up for company,” Nathan said, and changed the subject.

After dinner, we all walked out to the cars together. I had gotten a ride into town from Laken, who was going out to dinner with one of her aunts. At this point my parents should probably sell my poor little Jetta, since it didn’t look like I would ever be able to drive it again.

“Thank you so much, Nathan, for buying dinner. That was too much.” My mom touched his arm.

“Not at all. It was my pleasure.” Gage’s uncle smiled.

“Why don’t you come over on Sunday? We’re having a BBQ, and we’d love it if you’d be there,” my mother insisted.

“We are? Why does no one tell me anything?” I complained.

“We are having the Rossis and the Cosgroves over, remember?”

I wanted to slam my head against something. The Cosgroves? I didn’t understand why my parents hung out with them. Yuck. The Rossis were great, but with Gage there? This was not going to be good.

“We’d love to. What time?” Nathan asked.

Gage was looking down and smirking. I was glad somebody thought this was amusing.

In the car on the way home from the restaurant, I brought up my dad’s change of heart with Gage.

“So he’s a bad kid, huh? I noticed how much you didn’t like him when you were both going on and on about your golf games.” I was smirking in the backseat.

“Yes, Aurora. You were right. He’s a nice kid. It also doesn’t make me wrong.”

“What?” I practically screeched.

“Honey, just because he got in trouble for the right reasons does not mean he’s a good choice for you for a friend. Or anything else.”

“What in the world are you saying right now?”

“I’m saying that trouble has followed that kid all his life. And while a lot of it isn’t his fault, it doesn’t mean I don’t worry you’ll get caught up in it.”

“So you are saying I’m still not allowed to hang out with him?”

He sighed, and I saw my mom shoot him a look that I couldn’t interpret.

“Sweetheart, I’m starting to realize that you’re growing up and I can’t make choices for you anymore.” He glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “I need to trust you are going to make wise choices.”

I was a bit stunned. He had admitted he was wrong more than once this evening and told me he knew I was growing up. Wow. I wasn’t sure if I should be worried about him or be ecstatic.