On the Rocks (Last Call #1)(78)

Shaking his head with a smirk on his face, Hunter follows Gabby back to the bedroom. I smile internally, truly happy for them. I know I wanted him to leave her behind so he could have another shot at getting back on the ASP World Tour, but I have to trust that my brother knows what’s best for himself. I’d never give up something that important for a woman, but to each his own.

I turn toward the DVD player to swap it out. Sitting down on the floor, I pick up Gabby’s unit and examine it. Blu-rays had come out a few years before I started my incarceration, but I never had one. It wasn’t something I could afford as a struggling med student at Duke. Still, it looks simple enough. There’s an HDMI cable hooked up to the back of it already, and after getting to my knees so I can peer around the back of Hunter’s TV, I see there’s a corresponding plug for the other end.

Within two minutes, I have Gabby’s Blu-ray hooked up, and I start to head back out to her truck for another load. As I walk by the mantel, a photograph catches my eye. Reaching out, I take the frame down so I can see it more clearly.

It’s of Hunter and me… taken the summer before I got arrested. It’s out at Cape Hatteras, I believe, and Hunter had been in for a quick visit. We decided to head out and catch some waves, even though that was what Hunter did for a living. He was always happiest in the water, so that’s where we hung. I sort of remember this day and, if I’m not mistaken, Casey had been out there with us and took the photo.

Hunter and I are happy and relaxed, our arms slung around each other’s shoulders and our free hands giving the “Hang Ten” sign. His hair is still the same today as it was then… medium length and with choppy layers… light brown with streaks of gold from the sun. Mine back then was much shorter than his was, but the coloring was the same. After a few weeks in the hot Carolina sun for my summer break, my hair had lightened up pretty quickly.

We were the best of friends, but I think that’s natural for identical twins. Our bond boiled down genetically to matching strands of DNA, but it was fortified by the fact that Hunter and I had a pretty deep mental connection.

Always had growing up, sometimes even knowing if the other was sick or in pain.

Not kidding.

As I look at this photo, I start to feel a twinge of something inside my chest. Like an ache or a hollowness. Maybe I’d even call it a yearning. It’s the same feeling I had when I first went to prison… when I was aching for my family… for my life. But that ache eventually went away, and I didn’t think on it too much. Over time, I started slowly shutting those things I missed away in a little compartment… and then I buried it deep. I found it made the pain go away and let me focus on my new life as a felon.

I’m the first to admit… my family never let me try to lock them away for good. Mom and Dad came to visit me often, as did Casey. Hunter came when he could while on tour and, in between visits, they all wrote to me frequently. I tried to write back, but honestly… what would I tell them?



Dear Mom and Dad,

Life here is good. I managed to survive another day without getting shanked, beaten or raped. I met a new friend. He’s in for armed robbery but he seems really nice. I even ate an entire meal without a single bug in it, and I managed to actually get three whole hours of sleep last night. Miss you both.

Love,

Brody



Yeah, I wasn’t about to share the painful details of my life with them, but since that was the only thing I knew, there just wasn’t anything to write home about.

Putting the frame back on the mantle, I give it one last look and yeah, it’s a bit wistful. Then I make myself push that ache aside, and I head out the door.

Back out to help my brother move on with his life with the woman he loves, while I have no choice… not really… but to stay behind.





If you loved reading On The Rocks, the first book in the Last Call Series, I’d love for you to give me a review.



Next up. . .





Make It A Double


Book #2 in The Last Call Series



Brody Markham has endured a nightmare, spending the last five years in prison and losing everything that was dear to him. Now he’s back home, trying to survive in a world he doesn’t recognize anymore. While his family and friends desperately try to reach through to him, he shelters himself further and further away from their love.

Alyssa Myers has worked her entire life to distance herself from the luxurious and privileged lifestyle in which she was raised. Running her non-profit agency, The Haven, she is content to spend her days helping abused animals find sanctuary, which fulfills her in a way that money just can’t buy.

Maybe it’s that she recognizes in Brody some of the same characteristics she sees in her homeless wards, or maybe it’s the way he looks at her sometimes with a look warring between desire and disgust, but Alyssa is powerless to stop her personal quest to make Brody whole again.

While Brody struggles to surface from the darkness, Alyssa tries to protect her heart in case he’s not willing to accept the light that she has offered him.