Chapter three

Amiriam

"Amiriam," James grumbled, stretching out her name. His eyes were screwed shut as she slathered sunscreen all over his dashing little face. He'd be quite the stud when he grew up. She was careful to cover his cheekbones and the tops of his ears so they could shield themselves from the brutal sun.

"No ifs, ands, or buts, mister," she answered, working the lotion in and inspecting her handiwork before smiling in contentment.

"Perfect. Do you remember the four-wheeler rules?"

Rolling his eyes, he started quoting them. "If I can't see you, you can't see me. Wear a helmet always. Don't go faster than you're comfortable. Don't break any bones. Don't tell Mom or Dad."

Laughing, Amiriam draped her arm across his neck and playfully noogied him before nudging him toward the equipment on her parents' property.

"And have fun!" she added before turning to her sister, Rita. "Where's Frank?"

"He's getting the oil changed on Taffy in the garage. He'll be out soon," Rita had said. Taffy was Rita's sport utility vehicle. She, and the rest of the Swenson girls, for that matter, had a peculiarity for naming inanimate things. There were three of them. The oldest sister Christiana, followed by Rita, the middle daughter, and then Amiriam, the family joke.

"Aww, look at him. I want one," Amiriam cooed.

Rita grinned. "He's nice."

"Does he have a brother? I mean, yeah, I asked earlier, but."

"Only child. Tough break, Amiriam. You'll have to go find yourself your own stud to change your oil, provide the cream de la crème of orgasms, and look after your kitties."

Rolling her eyes, Amiriam stated, "I mean, you could technically view the latter two the same, right?"

"You have multiple kitties?"

Rita responded with a wink on her face.

"Rita!" Amiriam shoved her sister's shoulder before plopping down on the red and black plaid blanket Rita had laid out a few minutes before.

Squatting low, Rita plopped down on her bottom next to Amiriam.

Amiriam rested her elbows on her folded knees and took in the small valley around her. Her parents had bought the property when she was a baby. It was home, and she loved all the memories that went with it. Going over to James, she watched as he swung his little six-year-old leg over the four-wheeler seat of a canary yellow baby 60cc motorcycle named Hercules. Her parents had bought it after James insisted he was too big to ride in as a passenger. The little butthead. He wished he could be as big, and it had only been worse since his stupid older brother came.

"You've been coming here a lot lately," Rita stated while watching James get the four-wheeler going.

Shrugging, Amiriam watched James in hopes of not being read like a book by her older sister.

"It wouldn't have anything to do with a certain older brother, would it?" Rita teased, her bright pink hair streaming back in the soft, warm breeze.

"We've been wanting to leave the house. That's all."

"Sure, it is."

With a scowling huff, Amiriam turned to her. "I caught him with some other stupid girl in the hot tub. This time she was topless, and you could tell that they were getting close to reaching the good stuff. Can you imagine that? What if James had found them? I mean, how can the moron be so irresponsible?"

Jaw to the floor and eyes wide with bulging, Rita craned forward like they were sharing secrets in grade school. "Seriously? Topless? Wooow," she drew out the word before uttering, "At least only one girl this time, though, right?"

Amiriam flinched. "Don't remind me. Although I suppose to be fair, I wasn't a hundred percent sure I'd spotted a threesome. They were all dressed so…".

"So, you're not really that innocent," Rita concluded for her.

"Okay. Even though I don't have any proof, it wouldn't shock me if he's that…seasoned. Ugh! He's so frustrating!"

Ruffled, Amiriam ran her fingers through the ends of her hair before securing it into a high ponytail as she monitored James. His identical yellow helmet gave him the appearance of a cute bobblehead as he tinkered up a little dirt mound.

"Discussing men…guess what I overheard?"

Rita diverted the topic when she saw how close Amiriam was to going out of her mind at hearing the name Luke and his various sexcapades.

"What'd you hear?" Amiriam asked with curiosity.

"Saylor's boy is in town."

It was Amiriam's turn now for her eyes to pop. "Saylor's boy, as in––"

"Yup. Talk about a blast from the past, huh?"

"What the devil is he doing here? He left, remember?" Amiriam's protective younger sister trait started to emerge as memories of her older sister in high school forced their way to the front. Tears. Heartbreak. Doors slamming shut. And ice cream. So much ice cream.

"Oh, I remember. Anthony and I met him at the hardware store when we were picking up some trash for the cattery."

Rita and Frank owned a cat haven for stray animals who had worn out their welcome at the neighborhood shelter. She was a saint, and he was her accomplice in her saintly mission.

In short, they were perfect for each other, and Amiriam went utterly bonkers with jealousy whenever she probed their relationship too deeply. Brushing it aside, she turned her attention to the matter at hand.

"Did you say anything to him? Perhaps pick up the closest hammer and whack him on the head with it?" Amiriam asked. Her voice was teasing, but she was only half-joking. That asshole had really messed Saylor up. She'd never really been the same. She hadn't even attempted dating after all this time since he'd left.

Smiling up at her, her lips curled in a smile, Rita said softly, "I thought about it. Until I saw the little boy holding his hand."

"No way!" Amiriam edged forward. This story was just getting richer and richer. "He has a kid?"

"Yeah."

"Does Say know?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. I have no idea how to tell her."

The footsteps made both of their heads turn back towards the house behind them, silencing their conversation. Amiriam's heart was pounding like she'd been caught red-handed with her hand in the cookie jar until she saw Rita's other half approaching them in a pair of worn-out jeans and a tight black T-shirt that hugged his chest.

Amiriam had had a look at those muscles in the past and could atttest to their majesty. The guy was breathtaking.

"Don't know how to tell her what? And who's her?" Frank asked, squatting low behind Rita. Once his butt made contact with the ground, he wrapped his legs around her and pulled her into him so that her back was against his chest. That delicious, muscular chest.

Sigh.

"I was talking about the man we saw in the hardware store," Rita said.

He placed a kiss on the top of her head and said, "Oh. The blond guy with the kid who looks uncannily like a college football player who was destined for big things before his kneecap pretty much exploded on national TV?"

"That's him."

"What was his name again?"

Amiriam defended Rita. "Ossian Pete. AKA The Big O, as we liked to refer to him before he broke Saylor's heart."

Focusing on Amiriam with his arms still wrapped tightly around Rita's chest, he confirmed, "So it is really him? The infamous Ossian Pete who was being wooed by a number of NFL teams before his leg was damaged so severely that he had to say goodbye to his football days?"

"That's the one."

"I didn't know Saylor dated him…. Was it an awful break up?"

Amiriam gritted her teeth then spat, "The worst."

"Maybe he was just a passing fancy," Rita suggested hopefully.

Frank shook his head from side to side. "He was buying duplicate sets of a house key and some tomato plants. Those aren't the purchases of a man who is not remaining."

The photograph was enough to satisfy any hope they'd had that Mr. Ossian Pete would disappear before Saylor ever even knew he'd gone into hiding.

"Well, shit," Amiriam spat.

"Dear," Rita agreed.