The Maddox Brothers: Beautiful Burn Part 34

"Me either," Tyler said. He leaned over and whispered in my ear. "He gets a little crazy when it comes to her."

"I know someone like that," I said.

Tyler mulled over my words, and then smiled, clearly taking it as a compliment.

We pulled into the drive of a small house with a detached garage and a hideous red Dodge Intrepid in the drive. A round, older gentleman stepped outside with another muscled brother, the same buzz cut and inked arms as Travis and the twins.

"Trent?" I asked.

Tyler nodded.

When Travis parked the car, Tyler hopped out and knocked on the trunk until Travis popped it open. He dug out our backpacks and slung them over his shoulder.

"You pack lighter than me," Abby said. "I'm impressed."

I smiled, still unsure if she planned to be friend or foe.

"Come in, come in," Mr. Maddox called to us.

Tyler bear-hugged his father and punched Trent in the arm before hugging him, too.

"Trent," he said, shaking my hand.

"Ellie," I replied. "It's nice to meet you."

"We're so glad you decided to come," Mr. Maddox said.

"I appreciate you having me, Mr. Maddox."

He chuckled, flattening his palm over his belly like a pregnant woman fawning over her ripe baby b.u.mp. "It's just Jim, kiddo. Come in out of the cold! We've had a mean cold snap this week."

Trent held open the creaking screen door as we pa.s.sed, and I stepped into their tiny home, the worn carpet and furniture an ode to the house from A Christmas Story. I half expected Ralphie to be standing at the top of the stairs in a pink bunny suit, and then smiled as I remembered watching that movie on numerous Thanksgiving evenings from my father's lap, swaying as he belly laughed for over an hour.

I inhaled stale smoke and the smell of old carpet, feeling strangely at ease. We paused in the kitchen, watching a girl was.h.i.+ng dishes at the sink dry her hands and reach her ink-covered arms for Tyler. He hugged her, and then she shook my hand. Her fingers were pruny from the sudsy water, but I could still make out the word baby doll across her knuckles. A diamond stud sparkled in her nose, and beneath the thick eyeliner, she was stunningly beautiful. Everything from her razored bob to her timid smile reminded me of Paige.

"This is Cami," Trent said.

"Or Camille," she said. "Whichever you prefer. Nice to meet you."

"Cami belongs to Trent," Abby said, pointing to the correct brother.

"Actually ... I belong to her," Trent said.

Camille lifted her shoulder, standing on the side of her foot. "I think I'll keep him."

"You better," Trent said, winking at her.

Tyler cleared his throat. "Where are we sleeping?"

"I'll take you," Abby said.

She kissed her husband on the cheek, and then led us upstairs to a bedroom with a bunk bed and a dresser. Dusty frames with dirty boys and school pictures of Taylor and Tyler with oversized teeth and s.h.a.ggy hair hung on the paneled walls. Baseball and football trophies crowded a bookshelf.

"Here you are," Abby said, tucking her hair behind her ear. She perched her hands on her hips, taking one last glance around the room to make sure it was suitable before we settled in. "Clean sheets on the beds. Bathroom is down the hall, Ellie."

"Thank you."

"See you downstairs," Abby said. "Cami and I are starting some of the food if you want to come down. Poker later."

"Don't play with her," Tyler said, pointing at Abby.

"What? Does she cheat?" I asked.

"No, she's a f.u.c.king hustler. She'll take all your money."

"Not all of it," Abby said, glaring at him. "I give some of it back."

Tyler grumbled something under his breath, and Abby left us alone, closing the door behind her. The room suddenly felt tiny, and I peeled off my coat.

"Ellie."

"Yeah?"

"You look wound pretty tight."

"I need a beer and a cigarette."

He held out his soft pack and his lighter, walking a few steps to crack the window. I flicked the lighter and breathed in deep, holding in lungs full of smoke until I kneeled beside the window and exhaled.

Tyler lit his own, reaching behind the dresser and pulling out a small red bowl with cutouts on the rim.

"Secret ashtray?" I teased.

"Yeah. He never found it. We were pretty proud of that."

"Rebels."

Tyler took a drag and blew it out the window, looking down at his old neighborhood. "I beat the s.h.i.+t out of Paul Fitzgerald on that corner. And Levi ... d.a.m.n ... I can't remember his last name. Weird. I thought I'd remember those kids forever. Do you remember all of your childhood friends?"

"They're mostly all still around. Some of them OD'd. Some of them committed suicide. The rest are around. I see them at charity galas now and then. Well ... I used to ... when I went to charity galas."

"What is a charity gala, exactly?" Tyler asked.

We both laughed, and I shook my head, taking one last drag before mas.h.i.+ng the end of my cigarette into Tyler's secret ashtray. "An a.s.shole magnet."

"Well, it's for a good cause, right?"

I snorted, and then stood, putting my pack on the lower bunk and opening the zipper. "Dibs," I said, setting my things on the bed. When Tyler didn't answer, I turned to catch him staring at me. "What?"

He shrugged. "It's just cool ... you being here."

"Thanks for inviting me. I'm sorry for being a cranky b.i.t.c.h." I swallowed, and my throat felt dry and tight. Jim seemed like a beer guy, and I hoped he would have a six-pack or two in the fridge downstairs. It was all I could do not to run down and yank open the door to find out.

I ran my fingers across the spines of the few books that stood next to his trophies.

"James and the Giant Peach?" I asked.

"Hey. That's a d.a.m.n good book."

"Calling you a peach seems fitting now."

"Shut it," Tyler said, holding the ashtray out the window and turning it upside down to empty its contents. He pushed the windowsill down, latching it closed.

"So ... what's with Abby the cop?"

I sat on the bed, and Tyler sat next to me, taking my hand and sliding his fingers between mine. "We never bring anyone home, so she's hypersensitive about it. She's our sister ... overprotective."

"It's fine. I like her."

He stared at the carpet, breathing out a laugh. "Me, too. She really saved this family ... saved Travis ... in more ways than one."

"They really love each other. It's kind of gross."

He chuckled. "Yeah. They used to fight all the time. Broke each other's hearts. When they broke up, I thought Trav was gonna lose it. Now look at them. They are crazy happy."

"They make it look easy-like anyone could make it work."

"It is easy, Ellie."

"I'm not Abby."

"She's had a lot happen, too. If you heard her story, you might feel a little differently about things."

"I doubt that. I thought we weren't going to talk about this."

"Talk about what?"

I glared at him, and he smiled at me, his dimple appearing and making it impossible for me to stay mad.

"I wanna be gross with you," he said.

"Well ... when you put it that way..."

He leaned in, grazing his lips across mine. My body instantly reacted, craving nothing else but him. I reached under his s.h.i.+rt, running my fingertips up his back.

"No," he whispered. "I don't mean that." He pulled away, fis.h.i.+ng my hands from his s.h.i.+rt. He sighed. "It'll be a year ago tomorrow night that I saw my baby brother in more pain than I'd ever seen him in before."

"Looks like it all worked out, though."

"That's what I keep telling myself. I look at them and remember what it took to get there, how confused and stubborn Abby was and how Trav never gave up."

"Tyler..."

"Don't say it. We've got a whole weekend left."

He kissed the corner of my mouth and then stood, pulling me up with him. We walked downstairs, hand in hand. Abby eyed us until Tyler let me go to join his brothers in the next room.

"Still just friends?" Abby asked.

"You get right to the point, don't you?"

She shrugged. "No sense in beating around the bush. These boys have been through a lot. For some reason they're also gluttons for punishment."

"I guess you'd know," I said, pus.h.i.+ng up on the counter to sit and grabbing an apple out of the fruit bowl. I rubbed it on my jeans and took a bite. "Who interrogated you for Travis?"

Abby arched an eyebrow. "Touche."

"Easy, girls. We're all on the same side, here," Camille said while I crunched.

Abby smirked. "Are we?"

"Tyler is a friend," I said.

Camille and Abby traded knowing glances, and then Abby leaned on the counter next to me. "That's what we all say. So ... are you going to bring that camera to my wedding?"

I looked at the two of them gazing back at me expectantly. Finally, I nodded twice, slow and emphatic. "I'd be honored."

"America is going to s.h.i.+t," Camille warned.

"Who's America?" I asked.

Abby seemed amused. "My best friend. She's planning the whole thing. She doesn't like it when I interfere."

"With your wedding?" I asked.

"Travis and I eloped, so I sort of owe her one. I don't want to plan it, anyway, but if we have a photographer in the family now..."

"They're just friends," Camille teased.

"Oh yeah," Abby said with a wink. "I forgot."

"Baby!" Travis called.

Abby excused herself to the next room where the Maddox boys were sitting around a table staring at the cards in their hands. Abby leaned over her husband's shoulder to check his hand of cards and whispered in his ear.

"f.u.c.king cheating a.s.sholes!" Trent yelled.

"G.o.dd.a.m.n it!" Jim snapped. "Watch your mouth!"