Coming Home- Rock Bay 1 (7 page)

After dinner, things got a bit hairy—in only the way they can when one is living with an opinionated and nosey grandmother.
“Tallis, have you spoken with your mother lately?”
He sighed and stood, preferring to wash the dinner dishes rather than be grilled about the woman who deserted him.
“No, Grandma. You know she’d rather pretend that I don’t exist.”
“Because you’re gay?”
Tally shrugged. He’d been avoiding this conversation for nearly fifteen years. “Yes. I guess it was just one too many scandals for her… not that my sexuality was one, but the potential was there. Plus, I think she sees too much of dad in me. She calls him the ‘nineteen year long mistake’ that she wants to forget.”
His grandmother looked annoyed. “If I hadn’t pushed her out myself, I’d wonder if that woman was really my child. To turn on her own son—”
“I wasn’t the greatest kid back then, Grandma. And Troy didn’t want a sullen, gay eighteen-year-old around to interfere with his new relationship.”
Troy was his mother’s second husband. He was money with a capital “M” and had joined Tally’s mother in the ardent wish that Tally wouldn’t stay and ruin their perfect Pottery-Barn-catalog life. Grandma rolled her eyes at the mention of his name. Tally had the feeling that she didn’t have anything positive to say about him. He couldn’t agree more. Probably best not to say anything at all.
“And your father? Are we going to talk about him?”
Tally groaned. “Do we have to?”
“I think so. He hurt you.”
“Grandma, he’s dead. The man made some huge mistakes, but he’s gone. Can’t we leave it alone?”
Tally’s grandma took a long drink from her tea, then nodded. “Yes, for now. But I think you need to talk about it. Have you ever?”
Tally shook his head. “I never knew anyone well enough to lay the whole sordid tale on them.”
His grandmother gave him a rare gentle look and reached over to cup his chin in her palm. “I’m sorry for that, boy.”
“It’s okay, Grandma. I’m fine. Do you want to watch a movie? I rented a few at the store.”
“Action?”
Tally chuckled. After all the missing years, it turned out he still knew his grandmother pretty well. “Yeah. I got a spy thriller and one of those big bloody historical epics.”
“Either one of them would be excellent. I’ll make popcorn.”
It was somehow both funny and a bit scary to watch his lovely grandmother get all bloodthirsty over the hundreds of longsword eviscerations that littered the screen for the next few hours. Those kinds of movies had honestly always turned his stomach a bit. He didn’t mind watching the hero, though. Tight, skimpy leather and sweat? Mmmm.
T
ALLY
wasn’t sure what he’d expected to meet with Sunday morning, but a Lex only slightly less surly and taciturn than the one he’d met on his first day for sure wasn’t it. Tally watched in a bit of shock while Lex organized his pastries and sandwich supplies into neat little displays. He’d barely even looked up when Tally walked in.
“Um, morning, Lex,” Tally mumbled. He couldn’t believe how unsure of himself he felt. Even on his worst day back in Seattle, no one had been able to turn him inside out like Lex could.
“Morning, Tally.” His tone wasn’t exactly unfriendly, but it wasn’t Friday night, either. “I want to start teaching you how to make the coffee drinks today. We’ll have some work to do before you’ll be able to be left on your own.”
Tally knew that was the eventual point of his employment, but the idea of being in the shop, not to mention dealing with the natives, without Lex, made his stomach twist.
“Okay,” he answered. His voice came out hoarse and halfsqueaky.
Great. Nothing like showing such a lack of confidence in front of your employer… and the guy you want like it’s nobody’s business. Even better that they’re one and the same.
“You’ll be fine. Once you get the basics down, building the drinks is no problem.”
I only wish it was the coffee I was worried about.
After that Lex warmed up a bit. There wasn’t any flirting or nervous-looking glances, but he was professional and a good teacher. At least they weren’t back to piling a million directions on at once, like the first day. By the time the shop opened for the before-church crowd, Tally felt that he’d be able to confidently make a few of the drinks… during the slump after church started. He didn’t think he was quite ready to do any concocting under pressure. As it was he was kept very busy running the register, passing out cinnamon rolls and blueberry muffins, and grilling the odd breakfast sandwich when someone ordered one. By the time the church crowd was out of the shop, he was sweaty and ready for a break.
Lex handed him a huge steaming latte. “Here, take your fifteen and drink this, then we’ll start round two of espresso 101.”
“Thanks, Lex.”
“Sure,” Lex answered, but his attention was drawn to the front door, where the overhead bell had just rung. His face broke into a huge grin, and he dodged around Tally, running toward the open door.
Tally turned to see… a familiar face. Emily Barry. She’d been in his class, and he’d always had a secret respect for her—smart, had her shit together, knew that good grades were her ticket out of their little temperate swamp of a town.
“Hey, fancy lawyer lady, when did you get into town?” Lex was hugging her tight, and they were spinning around in circles together.
“Last night. Mom said you needed some help at the shop and were having a hard time finding an employee. I’m between cases and had some vacation time, so I figured I’d lend a hand.”
Emily Barry was Lex’s sister? Aw, Jesus, he
is
a local.
Tally felt a little niggling feeling in the back of his neck, like there was something he should know about the two forcefully whispering siblings, but for the life of him he couldn’t come up with anything. He didn’t remember Emily having a brother; other than his respect for her work ethic, he hadn’t really noticed her much at all. She’d been far below his social level but not the kind of girl any guy who had a good relationship with his nuts would dare mess with.
“Emmy, it’s fine. I swear. Jesus. This is why I haven’t told mom yet.”
“And what happens when she stops by?”
“You know, I’m not deaf,” Tally interjected with a wry smile. “You didn’t tell your family you hired me, huh?”
Lex reddened. “I’m an adult with my own business. I don’t have to tell them certain details that I don’t find necessary to share.”
“Which means you were afraid you’d get in trouble. Am I really that bad?”
He shrugged. “Not now. Before….” Lex trailed off.
“Great.” Tally couldn’t help but sound defeated. “I’m done with my coffee if you want to get back into training, or I could clean if you want to talk to your sister.”
“No, it’s fine.” He turned to Emily. “I’ll see ya at dinner, Sis. I’m assuming mom wants me to come over.”
“Assumed correctly. Six o’clock—and don’t worry. I won’t tell. I’ll let you do that.”
“
Bitch
,” Lex muttered.
Tally chuckled under his breath. He’d always wanted a sister, or any sibling, for that matter.
“So, espresso 101 part two? And then you can spend the rest of the afternoon thinking about how you’re going to tell your mom you hired the biggest asshole in town.” He grinned at Lex to offset the bitter words.
Lex looked like he might want to say something, but instead, he handed Tally an empty cup. “Part two—mochas.”

L
EX
was trying not to sweat. He pulled his car in front of his parents’ house and turned off the radio. It was probably too much to hope that his sister had managed to keep her mouth shut. The gossip really was just too good—but then again so was the prospect of watching Lex stammer and stumble over the news that he’d kept from them for over a week.

His parents’ house was loud and cheerful as usual, filled with the smells of dinner cooking on the stove and burning cedar from the fireplace, where a crackling fire was warding off the early spring’s evening chill.

“Lex, sweetheart, we’re in the kitchen. Emmy tells me you have some news.”
Shit.
Lex walked in on a typical scene; his mother was chopping tomatoes for a salad while his sister transferred sugar cookies to a paper towel. They had the radio on and were shaking their hips in time with the music while they talked a mile a minute. It was no wonder where Lex’s sometimes unfortunately vocal nature had come from. Only his father was the quiet type.
“Hi, guys. Need any help?”
“You mind getting out the salad dressing?” his mom asked after she kissed him on the cheek. “And tell me about your new employee.”
Lex glared at Emily. She tossed him a saucy grin and started sprinkling cinnamon and sugar on top of the cookies.
“He’s working out really well. Learning fast. Pretty soon I’ll be able to take an hour or two off here and there.”
“That’s good. What’s his name? Is it one of the high school kids?”
Here we go.
“His name is Tally, and no, he’s actually a little older than me.”
“Tally? That’s an odd name.”
“So is Alexis,” Lex said in a wry voice. “At least for a guy.”
“It’s your middle name and it’s traditional. You know that.”
He did. He was the fourth James Alexis Barry in the family. At least they hadn’t done that whole number thing at the end of his name. He liked it much better without. Anyway, after a James, a Jamie, and his father, Jimmy, they’d decided to call him Lex. It would have been too confusing. The few times he’d been called James felt really strange.
“I know, Ma. Hey, you have ranch and honey mustard. Which one do you want?”
His mother said “ranch” at the same time as his sister said “honey mustard.” Then they both poked each other and broke out into giggles.
Lex rolled his eyes and smiled. “Why don’t I put both of them on the table?”
“Wanna cookie?” Emmy asked when he’d come in from the dining room.
“No, thanks.” He’d lost all of his chubbiness junior year when he shot up six inches in a semester, but he still had the memory of how it felt to be teased for it.
“You look skinny,” his sister told him encouragingly and pinched his side.
“All work, no time for eating,” he joked.
“Lex, you know that’s not good for you,” his mother called from the kitchen.
“Mom, I’m kidding. I eat all the time. I just run around the shop constantly and burn it off.”
“Speaking of the shop, tell me about this Tally.”
“You mean Tallis Carrington,” Emmy singsonged.
“I’m going to get you,” Lex whispered and waited for his mother’s guaranteed tirade. He wasn’t disappointed.
“You hired Tallis Carrington?” she screeched. “Lex, don’t you remember what that awful boy did to you? I’d heard he was back in town and, oh, the nerve! To ask
you
for a job, of all people. I can’t believe he even considered it; I can’t believe you did, either, for that matter!”
“He doesn’t know who I am, Mom, and really, you should see him.” Lex paused, then spoke almost to himself. “He’s so different.”
Emmy whipped her head around. “Oh, Lexie,” she whispered. “Not again.”
Shit.
Sometimes it sucked having a sister who knew him so well.
“What do you mean he doesn’t know who you are? He spent months terrorizing you, and he doesn’t have the decency to remember it?” His mother’s face had turned an odd shade of hot pink.
“No. I mean, well, I don’t know if he remembers that, but he seriously doesn’t know who I am. The first day he asked what I’d heard about him, like I was a newcomer. Besides, he called me James in high school, because that’s what it said on my ID card, or sometimes Jamie because he could tell it pissed me off. He’d have never known that I went by Lex—never bothered to ask. And you have to admit, I couldn’t be recognized by looks. I look nothing like I did back then.”
“You don’t. Your face is so thin now.”
Lex rolled his eyes. His mother was always on her own personal crusade to feed the world.
“Emmy, can you go get dad? I better eat before I waste away to nothing.”
Lex’s mom swatted him with a towel. “Bring the lasagna in, and I’ll grab the garlic bread. Then we can eat.”
They thankfully dropped the subject of Tallis Carrington for the rest of the meal. Lex could tell it was on his mother’s mind, though. Her face showed it. He was grateful that she’d let it rest but knew that a shop visit wasn’t far off. If there was one thing his mother was, it was protective, and she had a very clear memory of Lex’s year as Tally’s number one victim. He shook his head a bit at that thought. No, he was never
Tally’s
victim.
Tally was a different person than the dick who’d ruled the school with his gang of apes in lettermen’s jackets. Tally was…
real
and hardworking and interested in learning new things. Lex couldn’t believe how much the new Tally had superimposed itself in his mind over the old snarling image that had been imprinted there. Now all Lex could see was the way he smiled or how he went out of his way to help as much as he could…
oh Jesus. It’s too late.
Lex excused himself soon after dinner was over, claiming early mornings and breakfast rushes as he backed hastily toward the door before another well-meaning intervention could start. In the peace and quiet of his car he admitted what he’d been avoiding all week, especially during the tenseness of Friday night.
“I want him,” he muttered, testing out the words to see how they felt in his mouth. “I want my straight employee who also happens to be the same guy everyone in town hates. Except me.”
Oh, God.