"My Heart Will Always Come Home to You" Copyright 2001 by the author.
(Chapter 35. February 4. Various places in Pennsylvania.)
"I don't know. Let me ask him."
Steve was soaking in the hot tub, just relaxing, when Liv came walking in naked except for a towel, and freckled and so sexy Steve just couldn't stand it. Dropping the towel, she instantly got his undivided attention.
"Ask me what?" He was ready to say yes to anything.
She stepped into the hot tub and said to the phone, "Hold on a sec." Covering the mouthpiece, she told him, "Keith, Kenney, and Beechie are going to the practice range this evening after work, then the whole gang's going to meet at a club in DuBois. They wanted to know if we'd come along."
Make that *almost* anything.
"Mmm," Steve made an uneasy noise, "are you sure I'd be welcome?"
Olivia thought for a moment and said, "It might be a bit prickly at first, but they wouldn't have made the invitation if they didn't want to try to get along. They're good guys, Steve. They'll make the best of it, and at the club, you'll be able to meet all the people you've heard so many stories about the past couple of days. This is kind of a tradition, and I'm sure they'll behave themselves."
Steve was troubled at the thought of spending the evening surrounded by Liv's ex-fiancé and his friends. True, they were Olivia's friends, too, but she hadn't seen them in years. Still, he wouldn't admit his nervousness to Liv. It was important to her that he and her friends liked one another. If she wanted to hang out with the gang, he'd go along and try to enjoy himself. As long as she was comfortable with the idea…
"Are you sure you and Keith will be ok?"
"Look, you and I will come up with a secret code word we can use if either of us wants to bail out, ok? And we'll have an excuse already prepared just in case."
"I guess that sounds good. Let's do it."
"Hey, Kenney? Yeah, we'll be there. What time? Four o'clock? See you there. Of course, I'll bring my guitar. See ya."
She turned the phone off, put it down on the floor, and slid it away from the hot tub.
Steve looked at her through half-shut eyes as she settled in the water beside him and asked, "Guitar?"
"Yeah, didn't you notice? I brought it with me from LA. I play some. Once a month we used to get together and go to the open mike night. A few of us sang or did comedy, and the rest came just to cheer. We'd pretty much fill the club. It was great. I used to write songs, too, and I'd try out at least one new one every time."
"Oh, I see. I knew you could sing, but I didn't know you were a musician and a songwriter, too."
"No reason you should. I considered bringing my guitar to the Christmas party, but being the 'new kid,' I decided against it."
"Well, now I'm looking forward to tonight," Steve said as he pulled her onto his lap. "I want to hear you play. By the way, sweetie, what time is it?"
"Almost noon, why?"
He ran a finger down the inside of her arm from elbow to wrist, and said, "I think we might be a little late."
Olivia giggled as she caught his meaning, and he couldn't help but grin.
They arrived at the practice range at about quarter after four, and Olivia had to explain to the attendant that she and Steve were guests of some members. Kenney and Keith finally spotted them and came over to straighten things out. Keith was walking with crutches this evening. With his prosthetic legs, he stood about five and a half feet tall. He didn't look properly proportioned, and Steve supposed that for some reason, the prosthetics were shorter than his real legs had been. He felt an involuntary shiver race up his spine as he realized again how close he had come to sharing the other man's fate.
"Where have you two been? We were beginning to think you'd stood us up."
When Steve offered no explanation, Liv said, "We were…occupied and lost track of time."
Keith snorted and walked away. Kenney gave them an odd look and said, "Well, you're here now. Have you been keeping in practice, O?"
"I guess we'll find out, won't we," she said saucily.
As they approached the firing line, Beechie stepped back and greeted them with a nod. When he removed his ear protectors and safety glasses, Liv asked him, "How are the kids feeling today, Beechie?"
"A *lot* better, O, but Lou kept them out of school today just to be safe. I'm sorry we had to cancel dinner on you yesterday."
"Not a problem, pal. Family first. Steve and I went to Indiana and visited the Jimmy Stewart museum. We had a good time."
Steve and Liv put on some protective gear that Kenney had borrowed from other club members, and stepped up to the firing line. After a good many rounds, Steve was impressed with Olivia's accuracy with her .38. They took a break from shooting and went into the observation lounge to compare their scores. Hers was by far the best. The short, 2-inch barrel on her gun required a keen eye and a steady hand, yet with any target and at any reasonable distance, she managed to keep her shots in a grouping the size of a silver dollar. All three men presumably had more practice, and all were using weapons with longer barrels which improved their aim, and while their groupings were tight and orderly, none of them could aim as precisely as Liv. Steve's one consolation was that he did better than Beechie and Kenney.
"Ok, Liv, how do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about."
"She doesn't have any idea," Kenney told him. "The first time she picked up that .38, she was a crack shot."
"Well, now, Kenney, I wouldn't go that far," Olivia said. "I did need some practice."
"Why am I not surprised?" Steve wondered aloud as if Olivia hadn't even spoken, and she made a face at him.
Beechie winked, "Because that's the way she is with everything she does. If she's interested enough to try it, she's good at it."
"She's a genuine genius, you know," Keith said sarcastically. "She skipped two grades."
"Hello, guys, I'm right here," Olivia said. "You're being rude."
"Yeah, she told me about that," Steve recalled with a grin, ignoring Olivia.
"But I'll bet she didn't tell you everything," Beechie said.
"Oh, well what do you think she left out?"
"Well," Kenney began, "she played softball and volleyball. She was in choir, drama, and the church youth ministry."
"I know," Steve confirmed, "and she waited tables at the diner, volunteered at the nursing home, and sang the national anthem at the games."
"Guys, will you knock it off?" Liv pleaded.
"She cleaned up around the sheriff's office for years, took all honors courses, and tutored me," Beechie added.
"Hell, Beechie, she tutored half the football team," Kenney reminded him.
"Kenney! Watch your language!"
"So she did," Beechie recalled, talking over her reprimand.
"She did a lot of other things for half the football team, too," Keith added with a wink.
"Keith!" Olivia sounded mortified. "That's *not* true."
"And she was a cheerleader, wasn't she?" Steve asked, ignoring Liv's protests, but giving Keith a look that said he was pushing too far in the wrong direction.
"Oh, she was one hell of a cheerleader, all right," Keith agreed with a wicked grin.
"Keith, I will kill you."
"Jud told me about that," Steve said in a flat tone as he put his hands on his hips and faced Keith squarely. Keith met his angry stare, and Steve hoped Keith saw the threat there as plainly as he saw the challenge in Keith's eyes. If the man made one more crude comment about Liv, handicapped or not, Steve was going to deck him.
Kenney, clueless as to what was passing between the two men, gave a derisive snort. "Dad actually thinks he knows what really happened. He doesn't have any idea."
"And he better not ever find out, little brother," Keith warned, dropping his gaze.
"That's enough! It's not like I don't have stories to tell on you guys."
"You know, fellas, she's right," Beechie said seriously.
"Yeah," Kenney agreed, "But they're not nearly as good. Besides, Keith, who's gonna tell Dad? Not you, not me, and I know O's afraid to."
"You know, you've got a point, little brother."
"So," Steve asked again, "what did Jud leave out?"
"The reason they never caught O was that she didn't pull any of those pranks."
"I know," Steve said, "but your dad said she had kids who were willing to do things for her. So, who did it?"
Kenney looked from Beechie to Keith and when both men nodded, he told Steve, "See, that was the beauty of it. No one ever suspected that the victims of the pranks were also the chief perpetrators. Some of us football players did it all. It was the three of us, and Russ Hargrove, Jimmy Strawcutter, Harris and Cliff Redmond, Ted and Tom Baer, and Billy Daniels, but only because O bribed us with sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll."
Steve burst into laughter.
"Kenney!" Olivia gasped in shock. She reached out to swat him, and Beechie grabbed her hands.
"Now, O," he said as if talking to an unruly child, "that would be assault on a police officer."
"But--"
"But he's only talking, you have no cause to hit him."
She looked daggers at all of them and said, "I will get even."
Keith took up the tale. "To be honest, it was more like cheerleaders, beer, and a few LP's, but to us, they were illicit pleasures made all the better because they were forbidden."
"Now wait a minute," Liv interrupted, "Beechie bought the beer because he was the only one old enough. He'd been grandfathered in when the drinking age jumped from eighteen to twenty-one."
"And who bankrolled me, O?"
"Oh, well…uhh…"
"Let me tell you about the party she threw when Jack 'The Ass' White finally conceded defeat," Kenney said.
"That was one heck of a party," Beechie agreed.
"It was a three-day weekend," Keith said.
"Billy and Big Red were still hung over when we went back to school," Beechie recalled.
"But the best part was seeing O get loaded. She'd never touched liquor before and we discovered she had a fondness for tequila," Kenney said.
"Don't even go there, guys."
Steve laughed, "Oh, no. Y'know, the night we met, she got sick from an alcohol-drug interaction. I never would have guessed there was so much in that little body for her to throw up. As I recall, it was a supposed to be a virgin margarita she was drinking, but the waiter messed up the order."
"I don't have to stay here for this," Liv said as she put on her safety goggles and ear protection and went back out to the range. Steve stayed behind with the guys. It was the first time he had heard anything about her being a wild child. He was also hoping to get on better terms with these three men who seemed so important to Liv.
"So, what happened?"
Beechie and Kenney ceded the story to Keith.
"The party was at that big old house where you're staying now. She'd told Mom and Dad it was going to be a sleepover for the cheerleaders, and they trusted her. She had three simple but effective rules and a huge fish tank full of piranhas. Rule number one: If you're drinking, you put your keys in the fish tank. Rule number two: The bar's downstairs and the party is upstairs; if you're too drunk to walk up and down the stairs for your booze and beer nuts, you quit drinking. Rule number three: If you can't get your keys out of the fish tank without getting bit, you can't drive home; wait an hour and try again. She also set up what she called a sobriety schedule among those of us who had our licenses so we always had someone able to drive to the emergency room if necessary."
Steve was already laughing, and he knew they hadn't even gotten to the good part. "That's the weirdest thing I've ever heard, and yet, it's Liv all over."
Kenney chuckled, "Yep, O's in a class by herself, all right."
Keith cleared his throat to signal for quiet and he began again. "Well, she had budgeted a *lot* of money for this party and had *no* had idea what the cost of booze was, so she just told Beechie to spend it all, and he did. He came back with more alcohol than I have ever seen in one place outside of a liquor store. He had beer, wine, Bailey's Irish Creme, Jack Daniels, Wild Turkey, gin, vodka, rum, a bunch of different mixers, scotch, several bottles José Cuervo tequila, a canister of salt, and a couple dozen limes. He had the usual party food, too, chips, dip, pretzels, peanuts, and ten pounds of the best Buffalo wings I have ever tasted, but the alcohol, man, that had us all bug-eyed.
"Well, the party's going pretty good, and we're all having a helluva time, when Big Red and Straw decide it's about time to teach O to do tequila shots. At first, she refused, saying she couldn't even stand the beer and she couldn't imaging swallowing something even stronger, but they convinced her it was a completely different drink. Well, she downed that first shot, did the salt, and sucked on the lime just like they showed her. Then she let out a wail that made the prisms in the chandelier tinkle. 'Yeeeee- hahhhhh! I LIKE that stuff.'"
The other three men burst into laughter at his impersonation. Through the window of the observation lounge, Steve saw Liv glance at the over her shoulder, then go back to shooting. After a few minutes, Keith continued.
"Straw and Red were disappointed because they expected her to sputter and cough and pitch a natural-born fit, but the show we all got later more than made up for it. We watched her do four shots in fifteen minutes. It was too funny. She had this little cork-lined tray with a shot glass, a bowl of lime wedges, and a saltshaker on it. She'd run down to the bar, run back up, toss back the shot, salt, lime, 'Yeeeee-hahhhhh!' Then she'd do it all over again. On her fifth trip, she suddenly sat on the top step and stopped."
"It all hit her at once," Steve guessed.
"It hit her like a baseball bat between the eyes," Kenney said.
Kenney, Keith, and Beechie dramatized the next scene. Kenney played Liv.
"Uh, O? You all right?"
"Noooooo," Kenney/O whined.
"What's the matter?"
"The stairs came up to meet me?" Kenney/O sounded confused and pathetic.
"Can you stand up?"
Kenney/O slumped against the door, "Uh-uh. You're spinning, stop it."
"It's not me. Your head is spinning from the booze."
Kenney/O reached up and felt his head for a moment. "It is not. It's you. Stop it." This time the whine was more insistent.
"Trust me, O, it really is you. You just can't tell because you're drunk."
Kenney/O felt his head again, each touch becoming clumsier and more heavy- handed. Pat-pat-pat-whack-thump-thump-whack-thump-"Ow!"
After a small eruption of laughter, Keith continued the tale.
"I picked her up and carried her over to the couch. She couldn't have weighed but ninety pounds, and that's when I realized that she was still just a little girl. It was easy to forget she was only thirteen. She was so smart and so sociable, but most of all she had this charisma that just swept people up and carried them along like a strong current. She wasn't just one of the gang, she was the gang. Her personality was the net that originally pulled the rest of us together…"
Keith interrupted himself, not sure what to say next.
Steve encouraged him. "I know what you mean," he said, thinking of the Christmas party at CG. "She has this way of getting people to do anything she wants, and somehow, they end up liking it, even when it's totally out of character for them."
Keith nodded. "That's exactly what I mean. You just can't say no to her."
Having made his point, Keith was now able to continue his story. "Any way, it occurred to me that she could very easily get dangerously ill, so rather than sack out on the couch like I had planned, I made her stay up and walk around the living room. We were all going to take turns making her walk it off, but no one else ever got a turn. On the third circuit of the room, she started to get dizzy, and on the fourth lap, she broke away and started running for the bathroom.
"There was this *big* potted plant in the corner of the room, and when she realized she wasn't going to make it down the hall to the toilet, she detoured. She grabbed the plant at the base and *ripped* it out of the pot." Keith dramatized this part of the story. "Then she puked in the flowerpot. She looked from the roots of the plant to the flowerpot and then looked around in confusion for a minute. She kept turning in circles, holding this poor plant with dirt dropping from the roots, looking for a place to put it down. We all watched her, not sure what she was going to do, and not knowing what to tell her. Finally, she shrugged and STUCK THE PLANT BACK IN THE POT!"
There was another explosion of laughter. Keith waited patiently for it to end.
Steve wiped laughing tears from his eyes and said, "I barely managed to stop her from doing the same thing. She was so sick the night we met. The next morning, when I told her about it, she said, 'Not again,' and when I asked her what she meant, she only told me that she had killed a potted plant years ago when she was drunk."
Steve hadn't noticed the silence when he said, "…the night we met," and followed it with, "the next morning." He noticed it now. Kenney and Beechie looked uneasily from Steve to Keith several times in the dead silence.
Keith shrugged.
"Problem solved," he continued as if nothing had happened. "She went back to the couch and passed out. We kept a close eye on her and woke her up every so often, but judging but the quantity of liquid she had deposited in the flowerpot, we figured she would be ok. After a couple of hours, she woke up and begged me to take her to the hospital. She was convinced she was going to die. 'Ohhhhhh, Keith, I'm sooooo sick. Pleeease take me to the emergency room.' I told her she was in better shape now than she was before, and I reminded her that Mom or Dad would have to give consent to have her treated and that meant they would find out what we were all up to, but she kept insisting. Finally I gave in and told her I would drive her to the hospital if she could get my keys."
Seeing where the story was headed, Steve started to laugh. "Your keys were in the fish tank, weren't they?"
"Yep. I thought she'd have more sense than to try for them, but I was wrong. Now, this fish tank was enormous. You and I both could have climbed in it with room to spare. She got her stepstool out of the kitchen and pushed it up to the tank. She climbed up and tried to snatch the keys off the bottom of the tank, but her reach wasn't long enough. The piranhas were too small to do any serious damage, and there weren't that many of them, but they had needle sharp teeth. O lost her balance and dunked herself a time or two, and she took a few good nips before she got frustrated."
"Oh-Oh," Steve chuckled.
"That's a word for it," Keith agreed. "We went back to the poker game we'd been playing and unfortunately we forgot about O for a while. The next thing we knew, we heard this CRACK! Then there was the sound of rushing water and O screaming like a banshee. It sounded like the Apocalypse was upon us."
"What did she do?"
"She'd gone out to the garden shed, got a pickaxe, and busted the glass to get to my keys."
Steve found himself laughing so hard his ribs hurt. It was several minutes before Keith could continue the story.
"Between the tank, the fish and all the little doodads she had in there, she was out several thousand dollars. Then there was water damage to the floor and some of the furniture. The dirt from the potted plant turned to mud and ruined the rug. And the hell of it is, she NEVER FOUND MY KEYS. The car sat there for months until I sold it and she bought me a new one. Mom and Dad never did find out the truth. We told them it all happened while O was sleepwalking."
Steve chuckled a bit. "I suppose it's a believable excuse. My uncle Stacey is a sleepwalker, and a few years ago, he became the prime suspect in a murder investigation because he kept showing up in the wrong place at the wrong time. I had no idea, though, that Liv was so wild."
"There's a lot you don't know, babe," Olivia said as she walked in.
Kenney gave his brother a swat on the shoulder and said, "Hey, tell him about her senior road trip."
"No!" Liv barked.
"But O, it's a great story."
"I know, Kenney, and it's my story. None of you were even there. I'll tell it when I'm darned good and ready, and it won't be any time soon." As she spoke, she tacked the silhouette target she had been shooting at to the bulletin board. The four men grew distinctly uncomfortable as they became aware that her tidy little grouping of shots was low between the target's legs.
"Uh, Liv," Steve said nervously, "That's not scoreable."
"It's not even close to a kill shot, O," Kenney told her.
"You're supposed to go for the torso, O. The vital organs," Beechie elaborated.
She turned and looked at her friends and asked seriously, "Are you saying it wouldn't stop any of you?"
"Oh, it would stop us, all right," Keith confessed. Then he asked, "Is this your way of telling us to quit telling tales out of school?"
She gave them all a sunny smile and said simply, "Yep."
They spent another hour on the practice range, and while Steve's aim improved some with the strange weapon he was using, he was still embarrassed to compare his scores with Liv's. At least none of the other guys had bested her either. Finally, Kenney suggested that it was time they all head to the club to meet the gang.
As she started the jeep, Olivia said, "You and Keith seem to be getting along all right."
"Yeah, I guess we are," Steve agreed. "At least we haven't come to blows yet."
"He really is a good guy, Steve."
"Whatever. I didn't like the way he suggested that you did certain kinds of …favors… for the football team. That was nasty."
"I don't know why he said that," Olivia said in a troubled tone. "The *only* thing I ever did for the football team was tutor them. Keith should know that better than anyone. I think he was just jerking your chain to see what you would do, sweetie. I think he wanted to know that you'd take up for me."
Steve grunted, not really convinced, but not wanting to argue.
In the other car, Beechie was starting the same sort of conversation.
"I guess the beach bum's not so bad after all, huh?"
"Well," Kenney said, "he's ok, for a beach bum."
After a moment or two, Keith spoke up.
"He'll take good care of her. He didn't let me get away with that football team comment."
"Hey," Beechie said, "come to think of it, O's about the only girl we knew who *wouldn't* do anything for the football team. Why did you say that any way?"
"I wanted to see what he'd do about it," Keith said flatly.
"He didn't *do* much of anything, as far as I could tell," Kenney observed.
"You didn't see the look in his eyes, did you? He'd have busted my face if I had made another crack. It's one thing to tease her, but he'll *never* let anybody hurt her."
"So, are you saying you think he's all right?" Beechie asked.
"I'll never *like* the SOB if that's what you're getting at, Beechie. I don't intend to try," Keith insisted with conviction. "But as long as he treats O right, I can act decent and keep the peace."
"Just to make her happy?" Kenney asked.
"Just to make her happy," Keith admitted. "That's all I've ever wanted, and if he can do what I couldn't, good for him, and better for O."
Back in the jeep, the conversation had taken a different turn.
"It sounds like you used to let your so-called friends take advantage of you a lot when you were a kid."
"What do you mean, Steve?"
"Well, like the party they were telling me about. They were content to let you buy the booze and the food and provide the location for the party, but when you got drunk, they just dumped you on the couch and went back to their card game."
"Be fair, Steve," Olivia said seriously as she pulled up to a stop sign. "Don't judge a bunch of teenagers by the standards of a responsible adult. They pulled all those stunts that got me just what I needed to make Mr. White cave on the program issue. I owed them. And they didn't just 'dump' me on the couch. They couldn't keep me from getting sick, but they made sure I wasn't going to die." She chuckled, then and added, "And they made sure Jud didn't kill me."
"You paid for that party, and you bought Keith a new car. You tutored the football team, and Keith would have me believe you did more. You *gave* Beechie a classic car for graduation. You set up Cloud Nine and the designated driver program. I know how much money you've sunk into this community. What did any of these people ever do for you?"
"They let me be who I am, Steve, and they kept me alive when it would have been so much easier for everyone to let me die."
When Steve didn't say anything, she continued.
"Everyone you talk to will tell you about things I did as a kid." She slowed down as they entered a patch of woods. The road hadn't gotten much sun and it was still snowy. "They'll tell you what I accomplished and what a good person I am and how much good I've done for the community. None of them will tell you I never did any of it alone. Take the National Anthem thing, for example. No one will ever tell you that Mr. White wasn't going to let me sing at the basketball games. He said my wild behavior and apparent involvement in the football shenanigans set a bad example for the rest of the student body. It was ok for me to be a cheerleader, but he was not going to put me at the center of attention any longer."
"What did you do about it, Liv?"
"Not a thing." There was a smile in her voice as she explained. "As far as anyone knows, I still don't know what happened, but gossip spreads and the walls have ears. Both basketball teams, boys and girls, refused to play unless I sang the National Anthem. Ten minutes before the game, they still hadn't dressed out. He finally conceded."
"That's proves you were popular, Liv, but what'd you mean when you said they kept you alive?"
"They let me…they helped me…do…everything. Church and choir and volleyball and softball and drama and tutoring and Cloud Nine and…everything I did."
Steve could hear her sniffling.
"And?"
"And I didn't do it for recognition or for concern for my fellow man. I didn't even do it because it was fun. My whole family died, Steve, and I was alive. I felt like I had to earn it, I had to do something to deserve it. Three times while I was in school, I tried to kill myself because I didn't feel I deserved to be alive. They visited me in the hospital and welcomed me back when I was better. They included me when it would have been so easy to get…weirded out by a suicidal friend."
"You let them use you so you could stay with the in-crowd."
"No more than I was using them. Keeping busy kept me from missing my family. It kept me from getting depressed and becoming suicidal. It made me feel like I was earning my keep. If they had freaked out and turned away from me, well…don't you think three suicide attempts in four years of high school is enough?"
They had just pulled in to the club parking lot, and when the car stopped, Steve turned to face her. Putting a hand on her arm, he said, "Liv, I'm sorry. I didn't realize…" He trailed off, at a loss for words, but desperately wanting to say more.
She put her hand over his and said, "It's all right, sweetie. They never did either. I wish I could explain it better, but when I was in that dark place, I couldn't talk about it, and now, I can't remember it well enough to describe what it was like. My life is good now, Steve, and I'm happy. After so many years, that's enough."
Steve brought her hand to his lips for a kiss and said, "I'm sorry I didn't know you. I'd like to think I would have been there for you. But I'm so happy to be a part of your life now."
"And I'm glad you're here," she said with a smile.
Olivia leaned into the space between their seats for a kiss, and Steve was more than happy to oblige. The first meeting of their lips was sweet and chaste, but Olivia demanded more. Steve parted his lips to let her explore, and he caught his breath as her tongue probed his mouth. In a moment, they were both breathing heavily and their hands began searching for something to do.
An ear splitting hammering startled them apart as Kenney suddenly drummed on the hood of the jeep.
Olivia jumped and squealed, Steve cursed quietly.
Kenney said, "Let's go, you two! Everyone else is here already. Don't forget your guitar, O. "
Olivia grinned and shrugged and said, "We'll pick up where we left off when we get back to the house. I promise."
Steve grinned back, "Good. I know you keep your promises."
The club was really a honky-tonk called Boots. It was dimly lit, with a concrete floor, a small plywood platform that passed for a stage, and a corner with no tables that a few couples were using as a dance floor. Liv's friends made room for her and Steve, and she was pleased to see Keith offer Steve an empty seat beside him. She was even more delighted to see Steve accept with a smile. She knew the two hadn't really become fast friends, but if they would go through the motions for her, they might eventually hit it off.
Steve could see why the club was popular. The drinks were cheap, most of the performers were good, and besides beer nuts and pretzels, you could actually order appetizers and a real meal. The table was already loaded with potato skins, cheese sticks, onion rings, and nachos; but Steve and Liv hadn't eaten since breakfast, and since both of them were starving, he ordered a steak and she got a roast beef sandwich.
As they waited for their meals, Liv introduced him to her friends. In many of them, he could see the resemblance to the men he had met at the diner just a couple of days ago. Lou Crandoll, now Beech, sat in her husband's lap to make room at the table. She was a pretty, cheerful brunette and she could have passed for the triplet of her twin cousins Sophie and Sylvie Hargrove.
"Your father," Steve said to the twins, "has one wicked sense of humor. He scared the crap out of me the other day."
Everyone laughed. The story had apparently made the rounds already.
Sylvie said, "He did the same thing to Billy…"
"…and Harris," Sophie continued, "when we started…"
"…dating." Sylvie finished the thought she had originated.
Liv pointed to Sylvie and asked, "Billy Daniels?"
Sylvie shook her head no and pointed to Sophie.
Turning to Sophie, Liv asked, "As in Sheriff Rick Daniels' little brother?"
Sophie nodded and said, "Our daughter Janie just turned six."
Liv told Steve, "You met Rick the other day, remember?"
"How could I forget? You really did a number on the poor guy."
Sophie laughed, "Billy told me all about that. Liv, you amaze me."
Liv asked Steve, "Do you remember the deputy behind the counter?"
Steve closed his eyes to picture the man. "About five feet ten, auburn hair getting thin on top?"
Liv nodded, "That's Billy."
Turning to Sylvie, Liv said, "And you married Little Red, huh?"
"Yup."
"I thought you always said he was too young for you."
Sylvie laughed and said, "Well, he's not Little Red any more, Harris grew up." Winking at Liv and shooting a mischievous glance at her sister, she added, "And he still has all his hair."
"Hey!" Sophie yelled, "If you're gonna pick on Billy, at least wait until he's here to defend himself."
The whole crowd laughed, and Steve suddenly remembered the sheriff running a hand over his bald head in frustration.
"Better, yet," Keith said with a grin that belied the hurt in his voice, "just quit picking. Some of us are a little sensitive."
Kenney raked a hand through his dirty blonde hair and added, "And some of us are waiting for the other shoe to drop."
"Aww," Sophie cooed, "don't worry, Ken. I can tell you from experience that some women find a bald head very sexy."
"Not me," Sylvie disagreed, "I want something to hold on to during sex."
"Sylvie!!!!" Her sister gasped in shock as several others at the table burst into laughter.
"Sophie."
Steve and Olivia's meals came, and they ate silently for a little while and let the rest of the group carry the conversation. Steve noticed the way they interacted. These people genuinely loved each other, and they were familiar with intimate details of one another's lives. The conversation centered on mostly mundane topics: work, school, church, children, and a shared history. Steve considered what Keith had told him about Liv pulling them all together, and he wondered how many marriages would not have happened and how many kids would not have been born if she hadn't been a part of their lives.
As she finished her sandwich, Liv turned to another woman and said, "Alice, your dad and Mr. Redmond tell me you and Big Red have been a couple for a while now. In fact, they're expecting him to pop the question any time."
A mousy-looking woman smiled shyly and said softly, "We've talked about that. He's going to ask for Daddy's blessing in about a year. He went through a nasty divorce a while ago and he wants to save enough for a down payment on a house before we get married."
Liv introduced her to Steve. "Steve, Alice Strawcutter. Alice, Steve Sloan."
The woman's smile was warm and friendly, but her handshake was like a wet dishrag.
"Well, I think you two suit each other, Alice. You'll make a good couple. I'm happy for you."
Alice blushed and said, "Thanks, O. You tried to tell us that twenty years ago. We should have listened."
Liv shook her head, "Don't regret the past, you had to take that path to get where you are now. I hear you're starting your own design business, and you might not have had that opportunity if you two had gotten married right out of high school."
Alice nodded, "You're right, but I just wish things hadn't been so hard on him."
With sincere concern on her face, she asked the quiet woman, "Why? What happened, Alice?"
Before the mouse could answer, a buxom blonde in a cowboy hat and a flannel shirt said, "His wife was the biggest ho' in Pittsburgh. About six years ago, Pops got sick with a brain tumor and Cliffie had to come home and help me run the hardware store. He was gone less than two weeks before the tramp moved her boyfriend into their house and filed for divorce. Cliffie was too busy here running the store and sitting with Pops to fight it properly, so he let her take him to the cleaners. At least he doesn't have to pay alimony. She's married and screwed over two more guys since Cliffie."
Liv laughed and rolled her eyes and said, "Steve, this is Sue Redmond, Cliff's sister. Don't hold back, Sue, tell us what you really think."
Sue waved Olivia off and said, "I've had my say. I'm done now." Looking at Steve, she apologized. "I'm sorry if I came on a little strong, but she messed my brother up bad, and I have nothing good to say about her."
Shaking her hand, Steve said, "Don't worry about it. My sister had a difficult marriage and I know how you feel."
"So," Liv asked looking around, "where are Chris and Beck?"
The whole group tried to answer at once, but Lou Beech whistled through her teeth for silence and then answered Olivia.
"Beck married Alice's brother Jimmy, O. They have a B&B and a small farm in Gettysburg, and she's a tour guide at the battlefield. Chris's a hospital pharmacist in Pittsburgh, and she's dating a doctor." Lou lowered her voice and said, "Would you believe it's another woman?"
The silence around the table became suddenly uneasy and even Steve was anxious to see what would come next.
Liv smiled and said, "Yeah, I would. Chris told me she was gay our junior year."
"And you never…"
"…told us?" the twins asked in shock.
Liv shrugged. "It wasn't my place."
"O," Alice said, "we had sleepovers at your place."
"And we all changed in the locker room together," Sue added.
"So?"
"We had a right to know, O." Lou insisted. "How could you keep a secret like that from us?"
"My God, O…" Sophie gasped.
"…she saw us all naked," Sylvie finished.
Sarcastically, Liv said, "Anybody who had Chris Breth jump your bones, please raise your hand." When no one did, she threw her hands in the air and said, "Gee, I guess it wasn't a problem."
"But, O," Lou said, "don't you think it's a bit…unnatural?"
Liv pursed her lips in thought for a minute, then asked her friend, "Lou, did you fall in love with Arnold Beech, or did you fall in love with Arnold Beech's gonads?"
Lou gasped, Beechie laughed, Steve beamed, the rest murmured nervously. Finally, blushing, Lou said, "I beg you pardon?"
Liv spoke in a gentle voice, trying to soften the shock she had caused. "Look, Lou, guys, all of you. Love is something that happens between two people, not two sets of genitalia. If what you find in someone's soul makes your heart go pit-a-pat, who cares what kind of equipment they're operating? Chris is still Chris, you just know more about her than you did twenty years ago. If you're really her friends, you'll be happy that she's happy."
There was a long silence at the table. Steve had never been prouder of anyone.
Slowly, heads began to nod and expressions changed. Lou spoke first, "Chris waited a long time for the right person. I hear her…girlfriend…really treats her well."
Sue said, "I think her name is Jennifer. I know she's a neurosurgeon."
Beechie slapped his hands together and said, "Well, we'll all get to meet her this weekend. O, Lou and I are inviting you and Steve and everyone to our place for a little welcome home party. The other day, she called Chris, and Beck and told them you were in town, and before we knew it, we were planning a reunion. We were thinking maybe Saturday afternoon?"
"You have got to be kidding me!"
Beechie shook his head. "Nope. At last count we had about twenty-five, maybe thirty people coming."
"Beechie, Lou, that's so sweet. Thank you! Are Tom and Meg going to be there?"
The table fell silent again, and Liv looked from one person to another before closing her eyes as if in pain. Steve couldn't figure out what had happened, but he guessed that Tom and Meg would not be welcome.
"We did invite them, O, but they weren't sure they should come, so they declined."
Kenney gave a snort, "Good decision on their part."
"Ken," Keith warned.
"I'm with Kenney," Sue Redmond said.
"Yeah," Sophie, or maybe Sylvie said, Steve had forgotten who was who. "Really, there's just…"
"…too much bad blood," the other twin finished.
Liv looked to Keith and asked, "What do you think?"
Keith chewed his lower lip a moment before answering. Then he said, "They're not Ted. They didn't do anything. I haven't spoken much to either of them in years, but…I guess they're still my friends."
Liv nodded and said, "Thanks. Beechie, Lou, if you don't mind, I'm going to call and invite them myself. I want to see them."
Beechie and Lou nodded.
"Then you should go visit them," Alice said with more feeling than Steve thought the woman possessed.
"Look," Liv said with conviction, "Meg was one of us. She was Cloud Nine, and Tom went through everything with us. If we're going to have a reunion, they should be there, too. If any of you can't deal with that, if you can't make them feel welcome, then stay home. No friend of mine would shut them out because of what their brother did."
Steve's pride grew tenfold. His Olivia was a remarkable woman.
"O, after what Ted did…"
"Sue, you just said it. It's what *Ted* did, not Tom, and not Meg; and while we're on the subject, you would do well to remember that Ted is ill, not evil."
"You still want to believe that, don't you?"
"Soph…"
"Stop!" Beechie cut in. "Keith, are you ok with them being there?"
Keith thought a moment, looked at Liv, and said, "If O wants them there, that's ok with me."
"You want them to come, right, O?"
She nodded, "Yes. Definitely."
"It's my house," Beechie said, "and I don't mind. Lou, it's your home, too, what do you say?"
Now it was Lou's turn to think things over. She looked from Liv to Keith, and Steve saw Keith nod slightly.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's up to O. This party is for her."
"Then it's settled," Beechie said. "No one else gets to vote. Come or stay home, the discussion is over. Olivia, call them and let them know you want to see them there."
Olivia wiped a tear from her cheek and said, "Thanks, Beechie, Lou. Thank you, Keith."
After a strained silence, Kenney piped up with, "Hey, O. The mike's open and you have your guitar. Give us a song!"
"Oh, I don't know, Kenney. It's getting late…"
Her protests were drowned out as her friends called, "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The one syllable nickname filled the club and got the attention of all the other patrons. Olivia couldn't be heard above the chant, so she had to get her guitar and go to the mike.
She stared into the spotlight. "All right, you can hush now. I'm up here."
There was a smattering of applause.
She looked around and said, "There are some familiar faces out there. I'm sorry I don't recall all your names, but twelve years is a long time." She pitched her voice low, and as she spoke softly into the mike, the crowd quieted, creating a feeling of intimacy in the room. Liv knew how to handle an audience.
"I've brought a friend with me," she continued, nodding to Steve as she tuned her guitar, "the big guy with the great California tan. Stand up, Steve."
Blushing, Steve stood halfway and waved to the crowd as they applauded him.
"Is there anybody here with a trumpet tonight?"
A young man waved and Olivia invited him up on stage. She spoke to him a moment away from the mike, and when he nodded, she turned back to the crowd. "Before I begin this set, and it will be a short one, I would ask all of you to remember that Steve is from LA. This is an opportunity for us rednecks to make a good impression on some city slicker, so please, don't throw your peanut shells on the floor, order something other than pickled pigs' feet, and quit making out with your cousins." She played a few bars of Dueling Banjos, and while the rest of the audience chuckled, Steve nearly collapsed with laughter. He got a few odd looks, but decided there would be plenty of time to explain later.
After a few seconds, she pointed at some guy down front and said, "You, get that key out of your ear. Don't you know it's not polite to scratch like that in public?"
More laughter.
"Earlier this evening, some of my so-called friends told Steve about the first time I met Al."
When the audience muttered in confusion, she finished the thought with a smile. "Cohol."
The people at Steve's table laughed, and Keith, Kenney, and Beechie grinned.
"It's kind of ironic that they would choose that story of all things, because coincidentally, the night I met Steve, I got sick from a combination of pain medication for a sprained ankle and a fouled up drink order that had alcohol in it when there should have been none."
There were some sympathetic moans from the crowd.
"I must have blacked out, because the next morning I woke up in his bed, wearing his pajamas, with no recollection of who he was or how I'd gotten there. Those of you who really know me know nothing happened, and as for those of you who don't know me, I could not care less if you believe me. Steve, sweetie, maybe this is 'our' song."
She cued her trumpet player, and he blasted a few notes, then she started singing a song about some woman who had too drunk too much tequila and woke up in a stranger's bed, wearing his clothes. She couldn't recall what she had done the previous night, and she kept calling Jose Cuervo "mi amigo." It was an amusing song, and while everyone in the club enjoyed it, Steve and Liv's friends could not stop laughing. It too closely paralleled actual experiences they'd had with her.
She wound up with, "I had too much tequila last night."
She and the guy with the trumpet played a few more bars, and as the music ended, Liv stepped back from the mike and squalled, "Yeeeee-hahhhhh! I LIKE that stuff!!!"
Her friends stood up, each of them held his or her arms in a circle overhead, and the all yelled, "OOOOOOOOOOO," until they ran out of air. When Steve looked at them in confusion, Sue Redmond told him, "It's a standing 'O'-vation."
Steve laughed. It was becoming clear where Olivia had gotten her peculiar sense of humor. She gave her trumpet player a chance to take a bow, then she went back to the mike.
Doing a passable imitation of Elvis, she said, "Thank you. Thankyouvery, muuuch."
She allowed a chuckle from the crowd before she continued, saying, "My brother Andy was a huge Elvis fan. This was always one of his favorite songs."
She did an energetic rendition of "You Ain't Nothin' but a Hound Dog" that had several couples out of their seats and dancing.
This time there was much applause and cheering. After a few moments, she spoke again, using that low, intimate voice. "You're too kind. Andy played and sang Elvis much better than I ever could, but most of you know that. It's been a long time since I've been up here doing this. I've forgotten how much fun it is."
"Welcome home, O," cried one of the patrons Steve hadn't met.
"You know, I just realized something," she said as she pulled over a stool to sit on.
Another voice from the crowd called out, "What's that?"
"If you stop interrupting, I'll tell you." The audience chuckled. "Well, I was sitting at the table with my friends catching up on who has or is soon going to marry whom."
"And?" the voice from the crowd prompted.
Liv shot a look of good-natured exasperation into the darkness in the general direction of her heckler.
"And, it has occurred to me that they have all hooked up with each other's brothers and sisters."
"So?"
A balled up napkin and a roll soared through the air in the direction of the voice.
"So, who are their children going to date? They're all going to be related."
When her remark met with silence, Liv played a few more bars of 'Dueling Banjos,' and the crowd laughed at the implication.
"Anyway," she fiddled with her guitar and played a few chords and said in that low sexy voice she used on stage, "I usually don't play current hits. It's a lot harder to tell how bad I sound if it's been a few years since you've heard the song…"
The crowd interrupted her with a laugh. They enjoyed her self-deprecating humor. She was, in fact, quite a talented singer and musician with a great deal of stage presence.
"…but this is my new favorite song. I'm sure you've heard it. I just love it so much because…well, it's my life's story. It celebrates the challenges God gives us, and rejoices in the strength to overcome them. It's called 'Bring on the Rain' by Jo Dee Messina."
She closed her eyes and strummed some simple chords as she sang. It might not have had the polish of a professional album, but Steve thought it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever heard.
"Tomorrow's another day, and I am not afraid. Bring on the rain…"
There was a moment of silence as she finished, then the audience exploded into enthusiastic cheers. She smiled shyly, and Steve saw her swipe at a tear. Then she brightened.
"Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed that. You know, tradition demands that I try out some new material on this crowd."
Somebody yelled, "Woo-Hoo!"
"Wait a minute now, you haven't heard any of my original stuff in a while. Memories tend to soften around the edges of an unpleasant reality."
The audience laughed.
"Well, a few weeks ago, I went camping in the Cascade Mountains in Northern Washington State. I didn't see or speak to another soul for the whole week I was there. That was part of the plan; I needed to think. Most of you know what I'm like when I have something on my mind."
Steve heard a number of knowing murmurs.
"I spent a lot of time out there…wayyyyyyy out there," she paused for a laugh.
"I spent a lot of time considering where I came from, where I was going, and just how the heck I got where I was. Eventually, a whole lot of things fell into place all at once, and this song is what came out of it. It's called 'My Heart Will Always Come Home to You.' It's kind of long, but then, if you know me, you know how I can milk a story."
The crowd laughed.
"Songs aren't much different. Here we go."
She hung her head and her copper curls fell over her face. She started playing a rapid succession of chords, and Steve could see her quickly losing herself in the music. The crowd didn't exist, her friends disappeared, he faded away. It was just Olivia and her song. In the silence of a rest, she started singing in a high-pitched wail:
Every now and then, I go just a little bit crazy.
Once in a while, I have to run away.
So, I hit the open road to see what's out there for me,
Hoping maybe I can find a better way to live.
But don't you go thinking that I have up and left you, no.
'Cause it don't matter where this rutted road might lead,
Before I reach the end of my troubled journey,
My heart will tell me where I ought to be.
And where ever I go,
And whatever I do,
My heart will always come home to you.
My heart will always come home to you.
The crowd was getting into the driving beat, and Olivia was nodding her head to the rhythm. Steve watched her curls bounce, and wanted nothing more than to comb them out with his fingers. He'd heard her sing before, and he loved her voice, but somehow, now that the song was her own, it acquired a special kind of energy.
I've found I like to travel in the rain,
'Cause the sunshine, you know, can leave you blind.
And when the stars come out at night it's like a dream.
You never know just what you might find.
But don't you go thinking that I have up and left you, no.
'Cause it don't matter where I rest my worried head,
Before I reach the end of my weary journey,
My heart will show me where I should be instead.
And where ever I go,
And whatever I do,
My heart will always come home to you.
My heart will always come home to you.
Keith closed his eyes and sighed and let the rhythm swallow him whole. It felt so good. O was home, and everything was the way it always should have been. He could close his eyes and imagine she was singing to him. In his mind, the years slipped away, and they were kids again, just out of school and facing the real world with the exuberance of the young. Nothing bad had happened yet. He knew it wasn't real, but it was enough for now.
When the night is cold and the road gets old
And I know I've been on the run too long,
You light my darkness until dawn.
When I've lost my place and I've had my space,
And my body aches for your embrace,
You are my shelter from the storm.
With a flash of anger, Kenney realized she had probably written the song for Steve. It should have been Keith's song. As he looked at the 'beach bum,' though, his anger softened. Steve was watching O like she was the only living thing in the world. He had to admit, the man loved her, and he would make her happy. If Keith was ok with it, hell, who was he to complain?
Yeah,
Every now and then, I go just a little bit crazy.
Once in a while, I have to run and hide.
So, I catch the freeway or ride a lazy river,
Still knowing just where my true heart abides.
So, don't you go thinking that I have up and left you, no.
'Cause it don't matter where I cease this futile flight,
Before I reach the end of my frantic journey,
My heart will bring me right back to your side.
And where ever I go,
And whatever I do,
My heart will always come home to you.
My heart will always come home to you.
Beechie smiled. Once upon a time, he thought wanted O more than anything in the world. He'd hoped he could impress her by staying in school, but she just kept pushing him toward her friend Lou. Now, he had a better life than he could ever have dreamed, and he owed it all to this wild creature. He was glad she had rejected him. He would have tried to tame her, and that would have ruined everything. This way, he still had his beautiful, madcap friend, and he also had a loving, supportive wife and two wonderful kids. He had to thank God for leaving his adolescent prayers unanswered.
Every now and then, I go just a little bit crazy.
Once in a while, I slip around the bend, but
Before I reach the end of my twisted journey,
My heart'll have me back in your loving arms again.
And where ever I go,
And whatever I do,
My heart will always come home to you.
My heart will always come home to you.
She looked up as she started the final chorus, caught Steve's eye and smiled. Steve suddenly realized that she had written this song for him. He smiled back, knowing now what she hadn't been able to tell him before. Her place was with him; he was her home.
Never doubt it,
You know it's true.
Keith was shocked when she looked at him and smiled. Who the hell was this song for anyway? He looked at the big beach bum beside him and saw he was smiling back at O. The guy didn't even realize that she wasn't really looking at him.
My heart will always come home to you.
My heart will always come home to you.
Kenney and Beechie saw O look at the space between Keith and Steve and smile. They could tell from the reactions they saw that each man thought she was looking at him. Beechie and Kenney exchanged a look, and silently agreed to straighten out the mess she had created before things got ugly. They would not let O be hurt by the other two competing for her affections.
A tall bearded man slouched in shadows at the back of the club. He'd been nursing the same drink all night, waiting for her to sing, and when she finally went to the mike, he was not disappointed.
My heart will always come home to you.
When she looked up and smiled at him, Ted knew this was his song. She had written it for him. She loved him, and her heart had brought her home to him.
As the song ended and the applause began, Olivia did the strangest thing. She slipped off the stool she was seated on, stumbled back against it, rolled her eyes back into her head, and collapsed. For a moment the audience laughed, thinking it was a gag, pretending to be overwhelmed by their enthusiastic response to her work. When she didn't move, a dozen people surged forward to help her. No one saw Ted slouch out the door and slip off into the night.
"Liv, sweetie, you in there?" Steve was kneeling on the stage, supporting her head and shoulders in his lap. Keith was seated at her feet, massaging them gently. The rest of her friends had formed a concerned circle around her, giving her privacy from curious strangers.
"Ohhhh."
"Take it easy, love. You're all right. You just fainted."
She sat up and clutched his arm in a viselike grip.
"TED. He was in here…watching me."
"Son of a BITCH," Keith exploded. "I will KILL him."
He struggled to get up, but Liv leaned forward and grabbed his arm.
"No, Keith, stay here. As he sees it, you and Steve are the only people between him and me. Let Beechie and Kenney check it out. He doesn't see them as competition, so they'll be safe, and I won't have to worry."
Keith looked desperately at his brother and friend and said, "If you find him, take…him…out."
Both men nodded and headed off to look for Ted. The circle closed ranks around Liv. Someone brought a glass of water, and Steve insisted she drink half of it before her let her stand up.
Kenney came back and told the group, "We tracked him for about half a block. Those big footprints are unmistakable in the snow. Then he crossed to the other side of the street, and since the sidewalk there gets the morning sun, there's no snow left to leave prints." Looking at Lou, he said, "Beechie's calling it in from your jeep."
Lou nodded.
"Liv," Steve said. "The holiday's over, and, after this, I think we should get a room in town now."
Her eyes sparked angrily and she said, "No way. For the last time, I am not running from him any more…but maybe…" her voice softened, "…you should go back to LA, Steve."
He grabbed her upper arms and turned her to face him directly. "I meant it when I said I want to be with you forever. Wherever you go, I'll be there, too. I love you. You are my life. If you stay, I stay. End of discussion."
Liv nodded. Keith turned and walked away. Kenney followed Keith and put a hand on his shoulder, but Keith waved his brother off. As Kenney returned to the group, Liv took a step toward Keith, but Kenney stopped her with a hand on her arm.
"He wants to be alone. He'll be ok."
She nodded, turned to Steve, and said, "Take me home."
That night, as he cradled Liv protectively against his chest and counted her nightmares, Steve made up his mind. He had seen enough to know what he wanted. Olivia was truly everything he had ever dreamed of and more. More than anything on earth, he wanted her. He would figure out a way to find out if she was ready, then, if she was, he would propose. Soon.
(Chapter 35. February 4. Various places in Pennsylvania.)
"I don't know. Let me ask him."
Steve was soaking in the hot tub, just relaxing, when Liv came walking in naked except for a towel, and freckled and so sexy Steve just couldn't stand it. Dropping the towel, she instantly got his undivided attention.
"Ask me what?" He was ready to say yes to anything.
She stepped into the hot tub and said to the phone, "Hold on a sec." Covering the mouthpiece, she told him, "Keith, Kenney, and Beechie are going to the practice range this evening after work, then the whole gang's going to meet at a club in DuBois. They wanted to know if we'd come along."
Make that *almost* anything.
"Mmm," Steve made an uneasy noise, "are you sure I'd be welcome?"
Olivia thought for a moment and said, "It might be a bit prickly at first, but they wouldn't have made the invitation if they didn't want to try to get along. They're good guys, Steve. They'll make the best of it, and at the club, you'll be able to meet all the people you've heard so many stories about the past couple of days. This is kind of a tradition, and I'm sure they'll behave themselves."
Steve was troubled at the thought of spending the evening surrounded by Liv's ex-fiancé and his friends. True, they were Olivia's friends, too, but she hadn't seen them in years. Still, he wouldn't admit his nervousness to Liv. It was important to her that he and her friends liked one another. If she wanted to hang out with the gang, he'd go along and try to enjoy himself. As long as she was comfortable with the idea…
"Are you sure you and Keith will be ok?"
"Look, you and I will come up with a secret code word we can use if either of us wants to bail out, ok? And we'll have an excuse already prepared just in case."
"I guess that sounds good. Let's do it."
"Hey, Kenney? Yeah, we'll be there. What time? Four o'clock? See you there. Of course, I'll bring my guitar. See ya."
She turned the phone off, put it down on the floor, and slid it away from the hot tub.
Steve looked at her through half-shut eyes as she settled in the water beside him and asked, "Guitar?"
"Yeah, didn't you notice? I brought it with me from LA. I play some. Once a month we used to get together and go to the open mike night. A few of us sang or did comedy, and the rest came just to cheer. We'd pretty much fill the club. It was great. I used to write songs, too, and I'd try out at least one new one every time."
"Oh, I see. I knew you could sing, but I didn't know you were a musician and a songwriter, too."
"No reason you should. I considered bringing my guitar to the Christmas party, but being the 'new kid,' I decided against it."
"Well, now I'm looking forward to tonight," Steve said as he pulled her onto his lap. "I want to hear you play. By the way, sweetie, what time is it?"
"Almost noon, why?"
He ran a finger down the inside of her arm from elbow to wrist, and said, "I think we might be a little late."
Olivia giggled as she caught his meaning, and he couldn't help but grin.
They arrived at the practice range at about quarter after four, and Olivia had to explain to the attendant that she and Steve were guests of some members. Kenney and Keith finally spotted them and came over to straighten things out. Keith was walking with crutches this evening. With his prosthetic legs, he stood about five and a half feet tall. He didn't look properly proportioned, and Steve supposed that for some reason, the prosthetics were shorter than his real legs had been. He felt an involuntary shiver race up his spine as he realized again how close he had come to sharing the other man's fate.
"Where have you two been? We were beginning to think you'd stood us up."
When Steve offered no explanation, Liv said, "We were…occupied and lost track of time."
Keith snorted and walked away. Kenney gave them an odd look and said, "Well, you're here now. Have you been keeping in practice, O?"
"I guess we'll find out, won't we," she said saucily.
As they approached the firing line, Beechie stepped back and greeted them with a nod. When he removed his ear protectors and safety glasses, Liv asked him, "How are the kids feeling today, Beechie?"
"A *lot* better, O, but Lou kept them out of school today just to be safe. I'm sorry we had to cancel dinner on you yesterday."
"Not a problem, pal. Family first. Steve and I went to Indiana and visited the Jimmy Stewart museum. We had a good time."
Steve and Liv put on some protective gear that Kenney had borrowed from other club members, and stepped up to the firing line. After a good many rounds, Steve was impressed with Olivia's accuracy with her .38. They took a break from shooting and went into the observation lounge to compare their scores. Hers was by far the best. The short, 2-inch barrel on her gun required a keen eye and a steady hand, yet with any target and at any reasonable distance, she managed to keep her shots in a grouping the size of a silver dollar. All three men presumably had more practice, and all were using weapons with longer barrels which improved their aim, and while their groupings were tight and orderly, none of them could aim as precisely as Liv. Steve's one consolation was that he did better than Beechie and Kenney.
"Ok, Liv, how do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about."
"She doesn't have any idea," Kenney told him. "The first time she picked up that .38, she was a crack shot."
"Well, now, Kenney, I wouldn't go that far," Olivia said. "I did need some practice."
"Why am I not surprised?" Steve wondered aloud as if Olivia hadn't even spoken, and she made a face at him.
Beechie winked, "Because that's the way she is with everything she does. If she's interested enough to try it, she's good at it."
"She's a genuine genius, you know," Keith said sarcastically. "She skipped two grades."
"Hello, guys, I'm right here," Olivia said. "You're being rude."
"Yeah, she told me about that," Steve recalled with a grin, ignoring Olivia.
"But I'll bet she didn't tell you everything," Beechie said.
"Oh, well what do you think she left out?"
"Well," Kenney began, "she played softball and volleyball. She was in choir, drama, and the church youth ministry."
"I know," Steve confirmed, "and she waited tables at the diner, volunteered at the nursing home, and sang the national anthem at the games."
"Guys, will you knock it off?" Liv pleaded.
"She cleaned up around the sheriff's office for years, took all honors courses, and tutored me," Beechie added.
"Hell, Beechie, she tutored half the football team," Kenney reminded him.
"Kenney! Watch your language!"
"So she did," Beechie recalled, talking over her reprimand.
"She did a lot of other things for half the football team, too," Keith added with a wink.
"Keith!" Olivia sounded mortified. "That's *not* true."
"And she was a cheerleader, wasn't she?" Steve asked, ignoring Liv's protests, but giving Keith a look that said he was pushing too far in the wrong direction.
"Oh, she was one hell of a cheerleader, all right," Keith agreed with a wicked grin.
"Keith, I will kill you."
"Jud told me about that," Steve said in a flat tone as he put his hands on his hips and faced Keith squarely. Keith met his angry stare, and Steve hoped Keith saw the threat there as plainly as he saw the challenge in Keith's eyes. If the man made one more crude comment about Liv, handicapped or not, Steve was going to deck him.
Kenney, clueless as to what was passing between the two men, gave a derisive snort. "Dad actually thinks he knows what really happened. He doesn't have any idea."
"And he better not ever find out, little brother," Keith warned, dropping his gaze.
"That's enough! It's not like I don't have stories to tell on you guys."
"You know, fellas, she's right," Beechie said seriously.
"Yeah," Kenney agreed, "But they're not nearly as good. Besides, Keith, who's gonna tell Dad? Not you, not me, and I know O's afraid to."
"You know, you've got a point, little brother."
"So," Steve asked again, "what did Jud leave out?"
"The reason they never caught O was that she didn't pull any of those pranks."
"I know," Steve said, "but your dad said she had kids who were willing to do things for her. So, who did it?"
Kenney looked from Beechie to Keith and when both men nodded, he told Steve, "See, that was the beauty of it. No one ever suspected that the victims of the pranks were also the chief perpetrators. Some of us football players did it all. It was the three of us, and Russ Hargrove, Jimmy Strawcutter, Harris and Cliff Redmond, Ted and Tom Baer, and Billy Daniels, but only because O bribed us with sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll."
Steve burst into laughter.
"Kenney!" Olivia gasped in shock. She reached out to swat him, and Beechie grabbed her hands.
"Now, O," he said as if talking to an unruly child, "that would be assault on a police officer."
"But--"
"But he's only talking, you have no cause to hit him."
She looked daggers at all of them and said, "I will get even."
Keith took up the tale. "To be honest, it was more like cheerleaders, beer, and a few LP's, but to us, they were illicit pleasures made all the better because they were forbidden."
"Now wait a minute," Liv interrupted, "Beechie bought the beer because he was the only one old enough. He'd been grandfathered in when the drinking age jumped from eighteen to twenty-one."
"And who bankrolled me, O?"
"Oh, well…uhh…"
"Let me tell you about the party she threw when Jack 'The Ass' White finally conceded defeat," Kenney said.
"That was one heck of a party," Beechie agreed.
"It was a three-day weekend," Keith said.
"Billy and Big Red were still hung over when we went back to school," Beechie recalled.
"But the best part was seeing O get loaded. She'd never touched liquor before and we discovered she had a fondness for tequila," Kenney said.
"Don't even go there, guys."
Steve laughed, "Oh, no. Y'know, the night we met, she got sick from an alcohol-drug interaction. I never would have guessed there was so much in that little body for her to throw up. As I recall, it was a supposed to be a virgin margarita she was drinking, but the waiter messed up the order."
"I don't have to stay here for this," Liv said as she put on her safety goggles and ear protection and went back out to the range. Steve stayed behind with the guys. It was the first time he had heard anything about her being a wild child. He was also hoping to get on better terms with these three men who seemed so important to Liv.
"So, what happened?"
Beechie and Kenney ceded the story to Keith.
"The party was at that big old house where you're staying now. She'd told Mom and Dad it was going to be a sleepover for the cheerleaders, and they trusted her. She had three simple but effective rules and a huge fish tank full of piranhas. Rule number one: If you're drinking, you put your keys in the fish tank. Rule number two: The bar's downstairs and the party is upstairs; if you're too drunk to walk up and down the stairs for your booze and beer nuts, you quit drinking. Rule number three: If you can't get your keys out of the fish tank without getting bit, you can't drive home; wait an hour and try again. She also set up what she called a sobriety schedule among those of us who had our licenses so we always had someone able to drive to the emergency room if necessary."
Steve was already laughing, and he knew they hadn't even gotten to the good part. "That's the weirdest thing I've ever heard, and yet, it's Liv all over."
Kenney chuckled, "Yep, O's in a class by herself, all right."
Keith cleared his throat to signal for quiet and he began again. "Well, she had budgeted a *lot* of money for this party and had *no* had idea what the cost of booze was, so she just told Beechie to spend it all, and he did. He came back with more alcohol than I have ever seen in one place outside of a liquor store. He had beer, wine, Bailey's Irish Creme, Jack Daniels, Wild Turkey, gin, vodka, rum, a bunch of different mixers, scotch, several bottles José Cuervo tequila, a canister of salt, and a couple dozen limes. He had the usual party food, too, chips, dip, pretzels, peanuts, and ten pounds of the best Buffalo wings I have ever tasted, but the alcohol, man, that had us all bug-eyed.
"Well, the party's going pretty good, and we're all having a helluva time, when Big Red and Straw decide it's about time to teach O to do tequila shots. At first, she refused, saying she couldn't even stand the beer and she couldn't imaging swallowing something even stronger, but they convinced her it was a completely different drink. Well, she downed that first shot, did the salt, and sucked on the lime just like they showed her. Then she let out a wail that made the prisms in the chandelier tinkle. 'Yeeeee- hahhhhh! I LIKE that stuff.'"
The other three men burst into laughter at his impersonation. Through the window of the observation lounge, Steve saw Liv glance at the over her shoulder, then go back to shooting. After a few minutes, Keith continued.
"Straw and Red were disappointed because they expected her to sputter and cough and pitch a natural-born fit, but the show we all got later more than made up for it. We watched her do four shots in fifteen minutes. It was too funny. She had this little cork-lined tray with a shot glass, a bowl of lime wedges, and a saltshaker on it. She'd run down to the bar, run back up, toss back the shot, salt, lime, 'Yeeeee-hahhhhh!' Then she'd do it all over again. On her fifth trip, she suddenly sat on the top step and stopped."
"It all hit her at once," Steve guessed.
"It hit her like a baseball bat between the eyes," Kenney said.
Kenney, Keith, and Beechie dramatized the next scene. Kenney played Liv.
"Uh, O? You all right?"
"Noooooo," Kenney/O whined.
"What's the matter?"
"The stairs came up to meet me?" Kenney/O sounded confused and pathetic.
"Can you stand up?"
Kenney/O slumped against the door, "Uh-uh. You're spinning, stop it."
"It's not me. Your head is spinning from the booze."
Kenney/O reached up and felt his head for a moment. "It is not. It's you. Stop it." This time the whine was more insistent.
"Trust me, O, it really is you. You just can't tell because you're drunk."
Kenney/O felt his head again, each touch becoming clumsier and more heavy- handed. Pat-pat-pat-whack-thump-thump-whack-thump-"Ow!"
After a small eruption of laughter, Keith continued the tale.
"I picked her up and carried her over to the couch. She couldn't have weighed but ninety pounds, and that's when I realized that she was still just a little girl. It was easy to forget she was only thirteen. She was so smart and so sociable, but most of all she had this charisma that just swept people up and carried them along like a strong current. She wasn't just one of the gang, she was the gang. Her personality was the net that originally pulled the rest of us together…"
Keith interrupted himself, not sure what to say next.
Steve encouraged him. "I know what you mean," he said, thinking of the Christmas party at CG. "She has this way of getting people to do anything she wants, and somehow, they end up liking it, even when it's totally out of character for them."
Keith nodded. "That's exactly what I mean. You just can't say no to her."
Having made his point, Keith was now able to continue his story. "Any way, it occurred to me that she could very easily get dangerously ill, so rather than sack out on the couch like I had planned, I made her stay up and walk around the living room. We were all going to take turns making her walk it off, but no one else ever got a turn. On the third circuit of the room, she started to get dizzy, and on the fourth lap, she broke away and started running for the bathroom.
"There was this *big* potted plant in the corner of the room, and when she realized she wasn't going to make it down the hall to the toilet, she detoured. She grabbed the plant at the base and *ripped* it out of the pot." Keith dramatized this part of the story. "Then she puked in the flowerpot. She looked from the roots of the plant to the flowerpot and then looked around in confusion for a minute. She kept turning in circles, holding this poor plant with dirt dropping from the roots, looking for a place to put it down. We all watched her, not sure what she was going to do, and not knowing what to tell her. Finally, she shrugged and STUCK THE PLANT BACK IN THE POT!"
There was another explosion of laughter. Keith waited patiently for it to end.
Steve wiped laughing tears from his eyes and said, "I barely managed to stop her from doing the same thing. She was so sick the night we met. The next morning, when I told her about it, she said, 'Not again,' and when I asked her what she meant, she only told me that she had killed a potted plant years ago when she was drunk."
Steve hadn't noticed the silence when he said, "…the night we met," and followed it with, "the next morning." He noticed it now. Kenney and Beechie looked uneasily from Steve to Keith several times in the dead silence.
Keith shrugged.
"Problem solved," he continued as if nothing had happened. "She went back to the couch and passed out. We kept a close eye on her and woke her up every so often, but judging but the quantity of liquid she had deposited in the flowerpot, we figured she would be ok. After a couple of hours, she woke up and begged me to take her to the hospital. She was convinced she was going to die. 'Ohhhhhh, Keith, I'm sooooo sick. Pleeease take me to the emergency room.' I told her she was in better shape now than she was before, and I reminded her that Mom or Dad would have to give consent to have her treated and that meant they would find out what we were all up to, but she kept insisting. Finally I gave in and told her I would drive her to the hospital if she could get my keys."
Seeing where the story was headed, Steve started to laugh. "Your keys were in the fish tank, weren't they?"
"Yep. I thought she'd have more sense than to try for them, but I was wrong. Now, this fish tank was enormous. You and I both could have climbed in it with room to spare. She got her stepstool out of the kitchen and pushed it up to the tank. She climbed up and tried to snatch the keys off the bottom of the tank, but her reach wasn't long enough. The piranhas were too small to do any serious damage, and there weren't that many of them, but they had needle sharp teeth. O lost her balance and dunked herself a time or two, and she took a few good nips before she got frustrated."
"Oh-Oh," Steve chuckled.
"That's a word for it," Keith agreed. "We went back to the poker game we'd been playing and unfortunately we forgot about O for a while. The next thing we knew, we heard this CRACK! Then there was the sound of rushing water and O screaming like a banshee. It sounded like the Apocalypse was upon us."
"What did she do?"
"She'd gone out to the garden shed, got a pickaxe, and busted the glass to get to my keys."
Steve found himself laughing so hard his ribs hurt. It was several minutes before Keith could continue the story.
"Between the tank, the fish and all the little doodads she had in there, she was out several thousand dollars. Then there was water damage to the floor and some of the furniture. The dirt from the potted plant turned to mud and ruined the rug. And the hell of it is, she NEVER FOUND MY KEYS. The car sat there for months until I sold it and she bought me a new one. Mom and Dad never did find out the truth. We told them it all happened while O was sleepwalking."
Steve chuckled a bit. "I suppose it's a believable excuse. My uncle Stacey is a sleepwalker, and a few years ago, he became the prime suspect in a murder investigation because he kept showing up in the wrong place at the wrong time. I had no idea, though, that Liv was so wild."
"There's a lot you don't know, babe," Olivia said as she walked in.
Kenney gave his brother a swat on the shoulder and said, "Hey, tell him about her senior road trip."
"No!" Liv barked.
"But O, it's a great story."
"I know, Kenney, and it's my story. None of you were even there. I'll tell it when I'm darned good and ready, and it won't be any time soon." As she spoke, she tacked the silhouette target she had been shooting at to the bulletin board. The four men grew distinctly uncomfortable as they became aware that her tidy little grouping of shots was low between the target's legs.
"Uh, Liv," Steve said nervously, "That's not scoreable."
"It's not even close to a kill shot, O," Kenney told her.
"You're supposed to go for the torso, O. The vital organs," Beechie elaborated.
She turned and looked at her friends and asked seriously, "Are you saying it wouldn't stop any of you?"
"Oh, it would stop us, all right," Keith confessed. Then he asked, "Is this your way of telling us to quit telling tales out of school?"
She gave them all a sunny smile and said simply, "Yep."
They spent another hour on the practice range, and while Steve's aim improved some with the strange weapon he was using, he was still embarrassed to compare his scores with Liv's. At least none of the other guys had bested her either. Finally, Kenney suggested that it was time they all head to the club to meet the gang.
As she started the jeep, Olivia said, "You and Keith seem to be getting along all right."
"Yeah, I guess we are," Steve agreed. "At least we haven't come to blows yet."
"He really is a good guy, Steve."
"Whatever. I didn't like the way he suggested that you did certain kinds of …favors… for the football team. That was nasty."
"I don't know why he said that," Olivia said in a troubled tone. "The *only* thing I ever did for the football team was tutor them. Keith should know that better than anyone. I think he was just jerking your chain to see what you would do, sweetie. I think he wanted to know that you'd take up for me."
Steve grunted, not really convinced, but not wanting to argue.
In the other car, Beechie was starting the same sort of conversation.
"I guess the beach bum's not so bad after all, huh?"
"Well," Kenney said, "he's ok, for a beach bum."
After a moment or two, Keith spoke up.
"He'll take good care of her. He didn't let me get away with that football team comment."
"Hey," Beechie said, "come to think of it, O's about the only girl we knew who *wouldn't* do anything for the football team. Why did you say that any way?"
"I wanted to see what he'd do about it," Keith said flatly.
"He didn't *do* much of anything, as far as I could tell," Kenney observed.
"You didn't see the look in his eyes, did you? He'd have busted my face if I had made another crack. It's one thing to tease her, but he'll *never* let anybody hurt her."
"So, are you saying you think he's all right?" Beechie asked.
"I'll never *like* the SOB if that's what you're getting at, Beechie. I don't intend to try," Keith insisted with conviction. "But as long as he treats O right, I can act decent and keep the peace."
"Just to make her happy?" Kenney asked.
"Just to make her happy," Keith admitted. "That's all I've ever wanted, and if he can do what I couldn't, good for him, and better for O."
Back in the jeep, the conversation had taken a different turn.
"It sounds like you used to let your so-called friends take advantage of you a lot when you were a kid."
"What do you mean, Steve?"
"Well, like the party they were telling me about. They were content to let you buy the booze and the food and provide the location for the party, but when you got drunk, they just dumped you on the couch and went back to their card game."
"Be fair, Steve," Olivia said seriously as she pulled up to a stop sign. "Don't judge a bunch of teenagers by the standards of a responsible adult. They pulled all those stunts that got me just what I needed to make Mr. White cave on the program issue. I owed them. And they didn't just 'dump' me on the couch. They couldn't keep me from getting sick, but they made sure I wasn't going to die." She chuckled, then and added, "And they made sure Jud didn't kill me."
"You paid for that party, and you bought Keith a new car. You tutored the football team, and Keith would have me believe you did more. You *gave* Beechie a classic car for graduation. You set up Cloud Nine and the designated driver program. I know how much money you've sunk into this community. What did any of these people ever do for you?"
"They let me be who I am, Steve, and they kept me alive when it would have been so much easier for everyone to let me die."
When Steve didn't say anything, she continued.
"Everyone you talk to will tell you about things I did as a kid." She slowed down as they entered a patch of woods. The road hadn't gotten much sun and it was still snowy. "They'll tell you what I accomplished and what a good person I am and how much good I've done for the community. None of them will tell you I never did any of it alone. Take the National Anthem thing, for example. No one will ever tell you that Mr. White wasn't going to let me sing at the basketball games. He said my wild behavior and apparent involvement in the football shenanigans set a bad example for the rest of the student body. It was ok for me to be a cheerleader, but he was not going to put me at the center of attention any longer."
"What did you do about it, Liv?"
"Not a thing." There was a smile in her voice as she explained. "As far as anyone knows, I still don't know what happened, but gossip spreads and the walls have ears. Both basketball teams, boys and girls, refused to play unless I sang the National Anthem. Ten minutes before the game, they still hadn't dressed out. He finally conceded."
"That's proves you were popular, Liv, but what'd you mean when you said they kept you alive?"
"They let me…they helped me…do…everything. Church and choir and volleyball and softball and drama and tutoring and Cloud Nine and…everything I did."
Steve could hear her sniffling.
"And?"
"And I didn't do it for recognition or for concern for my fellow man. I didn't even do it because it was fun. My whole family died, Steve, and I was alive. I felt like I had to earn it, I had to do something to deserve it. Three times while I was in school, I tried to kill myself because I didn't feel I deserved to be alive. They visited me in the hospital and welcomed me back when I was better. They included me when it would have been so easy to get…weirded out by a suicidal friend."
"You let them use you so you could stay with the in-crowd."
"No more than I was using them. Keeping busy kept me from missing my family. It kept me from getting depressed and becoming suicidal. It made me feel like I was earning my keep. If they had freaked out and turned away from me, well…don't you think three suicide attempts in four years of high school is enough?"
They had just pulled in to the club parking lot, and when the car stopped, Steve turned to face her. Putting a hand on her arm, he said, "Liv, I'm sorry. I didn't realize…" He trailed off, at a loss for words, but desperately wanting to say more.
She put her hand over his and said, "It's all right, sweetie. They never did either. I wish I could explain it better, but when I was in that dark place, I couldn't talk about it, and now, I can't remember it well enough to describe what it was like. My life is good now, Steve, and I'm happy. After so many years, that's enough."
Steve brought her hand to his lips for a kiss and said, "I'm sorry I didn't know you. I'd like to think I would have been there for you. But I'm so happy to be a part of your life now."
"And I'm glad you're here," she said with a smile.
Olivia leaned into the space between their seats for a kiss, and Steve was more than happy to oblige. The first meeting of their lips was sweet and chaste, but Olivia demanded more. Steve parted his lips to let her explore, and he caught his breath as her tongue probed his mouth. In a moment, they were both breathing heavily and their hands began searching for something to do.
An ear splitting hammering startled them apart as Kenney suddenly drummed on the hood of the jeep.
Olivia jumped and squealed, Steve cursed quietly.
Kenney said, "Let's go, you two! Everyone else is here already. Don't forget your guitar, O. "
Olivia grinned and shrugged and said, "We'll pick up where we left off when we get back to the house. I promise."
Steve grinned back, "Good. I know you keep your promises."
The club was really a honky-tonk called Boots. It was dimly lit, with a concrete floor, a small plywood platform that passed for a stage, and a corner with no tables that a few couples were using as a dance floor. Liv's friends made room for her and Steve, and she was pleased to see Keith offer Steve an empty seat beside him. She was even more delighted to see Steve accept with a smile. She knew the two hadn't really become fast friends, but if they would go through the motions for her, they might eventually hit it off.
Steve could see why the club was popular. The drinks were cheap, most of the performers were good, and besides beer nuts and pretzels, you could actually order appetizers and a real meal. The table was already loaded with potato skins, cheese sticks, onion rings, and nachos; but Steve and Liv hadn't eaten since breakfast, and since both of them were starving, he ordered a steak and she got a roast beef sandwich.
As they waited for their meals, Liv introduced him to her friends. In many of them, he could see the resemblance to the men he had met at the diner just a couple of days ago. Lou Crandoll, now Beech, sat in her husband's lap to make room at the table. She was a pretty, cheerful brunette and she could have passed for the triplet of her twin cousins Sophie and Sylvie Hargrove.
"Your father," Steve said to the twins, "has one wicked sense of humor. He scared the crap out of me the other day."
Everyone laughed. The story had apparently made the rounds already.
Sylvie said, "He did the same thing to Billy…"
"…and Harris," Sophie continued, "when we started…"
"…dating." Sylvie finished the thought she had originated.
Liv pointed to Sylvie and asked, "Billy Daniels?"
Sylvie shook her head no and pointed to Sophie.
Turning to Sophie, Liv asked, "As in Sheriff Rick Daniels' little brother?"
Sophie nodded and said, "Our daughter Janie just turned six."
Liv told Steve, "You met Rick the other day, remember?"
"How could I forget? You really did a number on the poor guy."
Sophie laughed, "Billy told me all about that. Liv, you amaze me."
Liv asked Steve, "Do you remember the deputy behind the counter?"
Steve closed his eyes to picture the man. "About five feet ten, auburn hair getting thin on top?"
Liv nodded, "That's Billy."
Turning to Sylvie, Liv said, "And you married Little Red, huh?"
"Yup."
"I thought you always said he was too young for you."
Sylvie laughed and said, "Well, he's not Little Red any more, Harris grew up." Winking at Liv and shooting a mischievous glance at her sister, she added, "And he still has all his hair."
"Hey!" Sophie yelled, "If you're gonna pick on Billy, at least wait until he's here to defend himself."
The whole crowd laughed, and Steve suddenly remembered the sheriff running a hand over his bald head in frustration.
"Better, yet," Keith said with a grin that belied the hurt in his voice, "just quit picking. Some of us are a little sensitive."
Kenney raked a hand through his dirty blonde hair and added, "And some of us are waiting for the other shoe to drop."
"Aww," Sophie cooed, "don't worry, Ken. I can tell you from experience that some women find a bald head very sexy."
"Not me," Sylvie disagreed, "I want something to hold on to during sex."
"Sylvie!!!!" Her sister gasped in shock as several others at the table burst into laughter.
"Sophie."
Steve and Olivia's meals came, and they ate silently for a little while and let the rest of the group carry the conversation. Steve noticed the way they interacted. These people genuinely loved each other, and they were familiar with intimate details of one another's lives. The conversation centered on mostly mundane topics: work, school, church, children, and a shared history. Steve considered what Keith had told him about Liv pulling them all together, and he wondered how many marriages would not have happened and how many kids would not have been born if she hadn't been a part of their lives.
As she finished her sandwich, Liv turned to another woman and said, "Alice, your dad and Mr. Redmond tell me you and Big Red have been a couple for a while now. In fact, they're expecting him to pop the question any time."
A mousy-looking woman smiled shyly and said softly, "We've talked about that. He's going to ask for Daddy's blessing in about a year. He went through a nasty divorce a while ago and he wants to save enough for a down payment on a house before we get married."
Liv introduced her to Steve. "Steve, Alice Strawcutter. Alice, Steve Sloan."
The woman's smile was warm and friendly, but her handshake was like a wet dishrag.
"Well, I think you two suit each other, Alice. You'll make a good couple. I'm happy for you."
Alice blushed and said, "Thanks, O. You tried to tell us that twenty years ago. We should have listened."
Liv shook her head, "Don't regret the past, you had to take that path to get where you are now. I hear you're starting your own design business, and you might not have had that opportunity if you two had gotten married right out of high school."
Alice nodded, "You're right, but I just wish things hadn't been so hard on him."
With sincere concern on her face, she asked the quiet woman, "Why? What happened, Alice?"
Before the mouse could answer, a buxom blonde in a cowboy hat and a flannel shirt said, "His wife was the biggest ho' in Pittsburgh. About six years ago, Pops got sick with a brain tumor and Cliffie had to come home and help me run the hardware store. He was gone less than two weeks before the tramp moved her boyfriend into their house and filed for divorce. Cliffie was too busy here running the store and sitting with Pops to fight it properly, so he let her take him to the cleaners. At least he doesn't have to pay alimony. She's married and screwed over two more guys since Cliffie."
Liv laughed and rolled her eyes and said, "Steve, this is Sue Redmond, Cliff's sister. Don't hold back, Sue, tell us what you really think."
Sue waved Olivia off and said, "I've had my say. I'm done now." Looking at Steve, she apologized. "I'm sorry if I came on a little strong, but she messed my brother up bad, and I have nothing good to say about her."
Shaking her hand, Steve said, "Don't worry about it. My sister had a difficult marriage and I know how you feel."
"So," Liv asked looking around, "where are Chris and Beck?"
The whole group tried to answer at once, but Lou Beech whistled through her teeth for silence and then answered Olivia.
"Beck married Alice's brother Jimmy, O. They have a B&B and a small farm in Gettysburg, and she's a tour guide at the battlefield. Chris's a hospital pharmacist in Pittsburgh, and she's dating a doctor." Lou lowered her voice and said, "Would you believe it's another woman?"
The silence around the table became suddenly uneasy and even Steve was anxious to see what would come next.
Liv smiled and said, "Yeah, I would. Chris told me she was gay our junior year."
"And you never…"
"…told us?" the twins asked in shock.
Liv shrugged. "It wasn't my place."
"O," Alice said, "we had sleepovers at your place."
"And we all changed in the locker room together," Sue added.
"So?"
"We had a right to know, O." Lou insisted. "How could you keep a secret like that from us?"
"My God, O…" Sophie gasped.
"…she saw us all naked," Sylvie finished.
Sarcastically, Liv said, "Anybody who had Chris Breth jump your bones, please raise your hand." When no one did, she threw her hands in the air and said, "Gee, I guess it wasn't a problem."
"But, O," Lou said, "don't you think it's a bit…unnatural?"
Liv pursed her lips in thought for a minute, then asked her friend, "Lou, did you fall in love with Arnold Beech, or did you fall in love with Arnold Beech's gonads?"
Lou gasped, Beechie laughed, Steve beamed, the rest murmured nervously. Finally, blushing, Lou said, "I beg you pardon?"
Liv spoke in a gentle voice, trying to soften the shock she had caused. "Look, Lou, guys, all of you. Love is something that happens between two people, not two sets of genitalia. If what you find in someone's soul makes your heart go pit-a-pat, who cares what kind of equipment they're operating? Chris is still Chris, you just know more about her than you did twenty years ago. If you're really her friends, you'll be happy that she's happy."
There was a long silence at the table. Steve had never been prouder of anyone.
Slowly, heads began to nod and expressions changed. Lou spoke first, "Chris waited a long time for the right person. I hear her…girlfriend…really treats her well."
Sue said, "I think her name is Jennifer. I know she's a neurosurgeon."
Beechie slapped his hands together and said, "Well, we'll all get to meet her this weekend. O, Lou and I are inviting you and Steve and everyone to our place for a little welcome home party. The other day, she called Chris, and Beck and told them you were in town, and before we knew it, we were planning a reunion. We were thinking maybe Saturday afternoon?"
"You have got to be kidding me!"
Beechie shook his head. "Nope. At last count we had about twenty-five, maybe thirty people coming."
"Beechie, Lou, that's so sweet. Thank you! Are Tom and Meg going to be there?"
The table fell silent again, and Liv looked from one person to another before closing her eyes as if in pain. Steve couldn't figure out what had happened, but he guessed that Tom and Meg would not be welcome.
"We did invite them, O, but they weren't sure they should come, so they declined."
Kenney gave a snort, "Good decision on their part."
"Ken," Keith warned.
"I'm with Kenney," Sue Redmond said.
"Yeah," Sophie, or maybe Sylvie said, Steve had forgotten who was who. "Really, there's just…"
"…too much bad blood," the other twin finished.
Liv looked to Keith and asked, "What do you think?"
Keith chewed his lower lip a moment before answering. Then he said, "They're not Ted. They didn't do anything. I haven't spoken much to either of them in years, but…I guess they're still my friends."
Liv nodded and said, "Thanks. Beechie, Lou, if you don't mind, I'm going to call and invite them myself. I want to see them."
Beechie and Lou nodded.
"Then you should go visit them," Alice said with more feeling than Steve thought the woman possessed.
"Look," Liv said with conviction, "Meg was one of us. She was Cloud Nine, and Tom went through everything with us. If we're going to have a reunion, they should be there, too. If any of you can't deal with that, if you can't make them feel welcome, then stay home. No friend of mine would shut them out because of what their brother did."
Steve's pride grew tenfold. His Olivia was a remarkable woman.
"O, after what Ted did…"
"Sue, you just said it. It's what *Ted* did, not Tom, and not Meg; and while we're on the subject, you would do well to remember that Ted is ill, not evil."
"You still want to believe that, don't you?"
"Soph…"
"Stop!" Beechie cut in. "Keith, are you ok with them being there?"
Keith thought a moment, looked at Liv, and said, "If O wants them there, that's ok with me."
"You want them to come, right, O?"
She nodded, "Yes. Definitely."
"It's my house," Beechie said, "and I don't mind. Lou, it's your home, too, what do you say?"
Now it was Lou's turn to think things over. She looked from Liv to Keith, and Steve saw Keith nod slightly.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's up to O. This party is for her."
"Then it's settled," Beechie said. "No one else gets to vote. Come or stay home, the discussion is over. Olivia, call them and let them know you want to see them there."
Olivia wiped a tear from her cheek and said, "Thanks, Beechie, Lou. Thank you, Keith."
After a strained silence, Kenney piped up with, "Hey, O. The mike's open and you have your guitar. Give us a song!"
"Oh, I don't know, Kenney. It's getting late…"
Her protests were drowned out as her friends called, "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The one syllable nickname filled the club and got the attention of all the other patrons. Olivia couldn't be heard above the chant, so she had to get her guitar and go to the mike.
She stared into the spotlight. "All right, you can hush now. I'm up here."
There was a smattering of applause.
She looked around and said, "There are some familiar faces out there. I'm sorry I don't recall all your names, but twelve years is a long time." She pitched her voice low, and as she spoke softly into the mike, the crowd quieted, creating a feeling of intimacy in the room. Liv knew how to handle an audience.
"I've brought a friend with me," she continued, nodding to Steve as she tuned her guitar, "the big guy with the great California tan. Stand up, Steve."
Blushing, Steve stood halfway and waved to the crowd as they applauded him.
"Is there anybody here with a trumpet tonight?"
A young man waved and Olivia invited him up on stage. She spoke to him a moment away from the mike, and when he nodded, she turned back to the crowd. "Before I begin this set, and it will be a short one, I would ask all of you to remember that Steve is from LA. This is an opportunity for us rednecks to make a good impression on some city slicker, so please, don't throw your peanut shells on the floor, order something other than pickled pigs' feet, and quit making out with your cousins." She played a few bars of Dueling Banjos, and while the rest of the audience chuckled, Steve nearly collapsed with laughter. He got a few odd looks, but decided there would be plenty of time to explain later.
After a few seconds, she pointed at some guy down front and said, "You, get that key out of your ear. Don't you know it's not polite to scratch like that in public?"
More laughter.
"Earlier this evening, some of my so-called friends told Steve about the first time I met Al."
When the audience muttered in confusion, she finished the thought with a smile. "Cohol."
The people at Steve's table laughed, and Keith, Kenney, and Beechie grinned.
"It's kind of ironic that they would choose that story of all things, because coincidentally, the night I met Steve, I got sick from a combination of pain medication for a sprained ankle and a fouled up drink order that had alcohol in it when there should have been none."
There were some sympathetic moans from the crowd.
"I must have blacked out, because the next morning I woke up in his bed, wearing his pajamas, with no recollection of who he was or how I'd gotten there. Those of you who really know me know nothing happened, and as for those of you who don't know me, I could not care less if you believe me. Steve, sweetie, maybe this is 'our' song."
She cued her trumpet player, and he blasted a few notes, then she started singing a song about some woman who had too drunk too much tequila and woke up in a stranger's bed, wearing his clothes. She couldn't recall what she had done the previous night, and she kept calling Jose Cuervo "mi amigo." It was an amusing song, and while everyone in the club enjoyed it, Steve and Liv's friends could not stop laughing. It too closely paralleled actual experiences they'd had with her.
She wound up with, "I had too much tequila last night."
She and the guy with the trumpet played a few more bars, and as the music ended, Liv stepped back from the mike and squalled, "Yeeeee-hahhhhh! I LIKE that stuff!!!"
Her friends stood up, each of them held his or her arms in a circle overhead, and the all yelled, "OOOOOOOOOOO," until they ran out of air. When Steve looked at them in confusion, Sue Redmond told him, "It's a standing 'O'-vation."
Steve laughed. It was becoming clear where Olivia had gotten her peculiar sense of humor. She gave her trumpet player a chance to take a bow, then she went back to the mike.
Doing a passable imitation of Elvis, she said, "Thank you. Thankyouvery, muuuch."
She allowed a chuckle from the crowd before she continued, saying, "My brother Andy was a huge Elvis fan. This was always one of his favorite songs."
She did an energetic rendition of "You Ain't Nothin' but a Hound Dog" that had several couples out of their seats and dancing.
This time there was much applause and cheering. After a few moments, she spoke again, using that low, intimate voice. "You're too kind. Andy played and sang Elvis much better than I ever could, but most of you know that. It's been a long time since I've been up here doing this. I've forgotten how much fun it is."
"Welcome home, O," cried one of the patrons Steve hadn't met.
"You know, I just realized something," she said as she pulled over a stool to sit on.
Another voice from the crowd called out, "What's that?"
"If you stop interrupting, I'll tell you." The audience chuckled. "Well, I was sitting at the table with my friends catching up on who has or is soon going to marry whom."
"And?" the voice from the crowd prompted.
Liv shot a look of good-natured exasperation into the darkness in the general direction of her heckler.
"And, it has occurred to me that they have all hooked up with each other's brothers and sisters."
"So?"
A balled up napkin and a roll soared through the air in the direction of the voice.
"So, who are their children going to date? They're all going to be related."
When her remark met with silence, Liv played a few more bars of 'Dueling Banjos,' and the crowd laughed at the implication.
"Anyway," she fiddled with her guitar and played a few chords and said in that low sexy voice she used on stage, "I usually don't play current hits. It's a lot harder to tell how bad I sound if it's been a few years since you've heard the song…"
The crowd interrupted her with a laugh. They enjoyed her self-deprecating humor. She was, in fact, quite a talented singer and musician with a great deal of stage presence.
"…but this is my new favorite song. I'm sure you've heard it. I just love it so much because…well, it's my life's story. It celebrates the challenges God gives us, and rejoices in the strength to overcome them. It's called 'Bring on the Rain' by Jo Dee Messina."
She closed her eyes and strummed some simple chords as she sang. It might not have had the polish of a professional album, but Steve thought it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever heard.
"Tomorrow's another day, and I am not afraid. Bring on the rain…"
There was a moment of silence as she finished, then the audience exploded into enthusiastic cheers. She smiled shyly, and Steve saw her swipe at a tear. Then she brightened.
"Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed that. You know, tradition demands that I try out some new material on this crowd."
Somebody yelled, "Woo-Hoo!"
"Wait a minute now, you haven't heard any of my original stuff in a while. Memories tend to soften around the edges of an unpleasant reality."
The audience laughed.
"Well, a few weeks ago, I went camping in the Cascade Mountains in Northern Washington State. I didn't see or speak to another soul for the whole week I was there. That was part of the plan; I needed to think. Most of you know what I'm like when I have something on my mind."
Steve heard a number of knowing murmurs.
"I spent a lot of time out there…wayyyyyyy out there," she paused for a laugh.
"I spent a lot of time considering where I came from, where I was going, and just how the heck I got where I was. Eventually, a whole lot of things fell into place all at once, and this song is what came out of it. It's called 'My Heart Will Always Come Home to You.' It's kind of long, but then, if you know me, you know how I can milk a story."
The crowd laughed.
"Songs aren't much different. Here we go."
She hung her head and her copper curls fell over her face. She started playing a rapid succession of chords, and Steve could see her quickly losing herself in the music. The crowd didn't exist, her friends disappeared, he faded away. It was just Olivia and her song. In the silence of a rest, she started singing in a high-pitched wail:
Every now and then, I go just a little bit crazy.
Once in a while, I have to run away.
So, I hit the open road to see what's out there for me,
Hoping maybe I can find a better way to live.
But don't you go thinking that I have up and left you, no.
'Cause it don't matter where this rutted road might lead,
Before I reach the end of my troubled journey,
My heart will tell me where I ought to be.
And where ever I go,
And whatever I do,
My heart will always come home to you.
My heart will always come home to you.
The crowd was getting into the driving beat, and Olivia was nodding her head to the rhythm. Steve watched her curls bounce, and wanted nothing more than to comb them out with his fingers. He'd heard her sing before, and he loved her voice, but somehow, now that the song was her own, it acquired a special kind of energy.
I've found I like to travel in the rain,
'Cause the sunshine, you know, can leave you blind.
And when the stars come out at night it's like a dream.
You never know just what you might find.
But don't you go thinking that I have up and left you, no.
'Cause it don't matter where I rest my worried head,
Before I reach the end of my weary journey,
My heart will show me where I should be instead.
And where ever I go,
And whatever I do,
My heart will always come home to you.
My heart will always come home to you.
Keith closed his eyes and sighed and let the rhythm swallow him whole. It felt so good. O was home, and everything was the way it always should have been. He could close his eyes and imagine she was singing to him. In his mind, the years slipped away, and they were kids again, just out of school and facing the real world with the exuberance of the young. Nothing bad had happened yet. He knew it wasn't real, but it was enough for now.
When the night is cold and the road gets old
And I know I've been on the run too long,
You light my darkness until dawn.
When I've lost my place and I've had my space,
And my body aches for your embrace,
You are my shelter from the storm.
With a flash of anger, Kenney realized she had probably written the song for Steve. It should have been Keith's song. As he looked at the 'beach bum,' though, his anger softened. Steve was watching O like she was the only living thing in the world. He had to admit, the man loved her, and he would make her happy. If Keith was ok with it, hell, who was he to complain?
Yeah,
Every now and then, I go just a little bit crazy.
Once in a while, I have to run and hide.
So, I catch the freeway or ride a lazy river,
Still knowing just where my true heart abides.
So, don't you go thinking that I have up and left you, no.
'Cause it don't matter where I cease this futile flight,
Before I reach the end of my frantic journey,
My heart will bring me right back to your side.
And where ever I go,
And whatever I do,
My heart will always come home to you.
My heart will always come home to you.
Beechie smiled. Once upon a time, he thought wanted O more than anything in the world. He'd hoped he could impress her by staying in school, but she just kept pushing him toward her friend Lou. Now, he had a better life than he could ever have dreamed, and he owed it all to this wild creature. He was glad she had rejected him. He would have tried to tame her, and that would have ruined everything. This way, he still had his beautiful, madcap friend, and he also had a loving, supportive wife and two wonderful kids. He had to thank God for leaving his adolescent prayers unanswered.
Every now and then, I go just a little bit crazy.
Once in a while, I slip around the bend, but
Before I reach the end of my twisted journey,
My heart'll have me back in your loving arms again.
And where ever I go,
And whatever I do,
My heart will always come home to you.
My heart will always come home to you.
She looked up as she started the final chorus, caught Steve's eye and smiled. Steve suddenly realized that she had written this song for him. He smiled back, knowing now what she hadn't been able to tell him before. Her place was with him; he was her home.
Never doubt it,
You know it's true.
Keith was shocked when she looked at him and smiled. Who the hell was this song for anyway? He looked at the big beach bum beside him and saw he was smiling back at O. The guy didn't even realize that she wasn't really looking at him.
My heart will always come home to you.
My heart will always come home to you.
Kenney and Beechie saw O look at the space between Keith and Steve and smile. They could tell from the reactions they saw that each man thought she was looking at him. Beechie and Kenney exchanged a look, and silently agreed to straighten out the mess she had created before things got ugly. They would not let O be hurt by the other two competing for her affections.
A tall bearded man slouched in shadows at the back of the club. He'd been nursing the same drink all night, waiting for her to sing, and when she finally went to the mike, he was not disappointed.
My heart will always come home to you.
When she looked up and smiled at him, Ted knew this was his song. She had written it for him. She loved him, and her heart had brought her home to him.
As the song ended and the applause began, Olivia did the strangest thing. She slipped off the stool she was seated on, stumbled back against it, rolled her eyes back into her head, and collapsed. For a moment the audience laughed, thinking it was a gag, pretending to be overwhelmed by their enthusiastic response to her work. When she didn't move, a dozen people surged forward to help her. No one saw Ted slouch out the door and slip off into the night.
"Liv, sweetie, you in there?" Steve was kneeling on the stage, supporting her head and shoulders in his lap. Keith was seated at her feet, massaging them gently. The rest of her friends had formed a concerned circle around her, giving her privacy from curious strangers.
"Ohhhh."
"Take it easy, love. You're all right. You just fainted."
She sat up and clutched his arm in a viselike grip.
"TED. He was in here…watching me."
"Son of a BITCH," Keith exploded. "I will KILL him."
He struggled to get up, but Liv leaned forward and grabbed his arm.
"No, Keith, stay here. As he sees it, you and Steve are the only people between him and me. Let Beechie and Kenney check it out. He doesn't see them as competition, so they'll be safe, and I won't have to worry."
Keith looked desperately at his brother and friend and said, "If you find him, take…him…out."
Both men nodded and headed off to look for Ted. The circle closed ranks around Liv. Someone brought a glass of water, and Steve insisted she drink half of it before her let her stand up.
Kenney came back and told the group, "We tracked him for about half a block. Those big footprints are unmistakable in the snow. Then he crossed to the other side of the street, and since the sidewalk there gets the morning sun, there's no snow left to leave prints." Looking at Lou, he said, "Beechie's calling it in from your jeep."
Lou nodded.
"Liv," Steve said. "The holiday's over, and, after this, I think we should get a room in town now."
Her eyes sparked angrily and she said, "No way. For the last time, I am not running from him any more…but maybe…" her voice softened, "…you should go back to LA, Steve."
He grabbed her upper arms and turned her to face him directly. "I meant it when I said I want to be with you forever. Wherever you go, I'll be there, too. I love you. You are my life. If you stay, I stay. End of discussion."
Liv nodded. Keith turned and walked away. Kenney followed Keith and put a hand on his shoulder, but Keith waved his brother off. As Kenney returned to the group, Liv took a step toward Keith, but Kenney stopped her with a hand on her arm.
"He wants to be alone. He'll be ok."
She nodded, turned to Steve, and said, "Take me home."
That night, as he cradled Liv protectively against his chest and counted her nightmares, Steve made up his mind. He had seen enough to know what he wanted. Olivia was truly everything he had ever dreamed of and more. More than anything on earth, he wanted her. He would figure out a way to find out if she was ready, then, if she was, he would propose. Soon.