He was standing on a beach in a wetsuit, his hair and suit slick with water, his board planted in the sand behind him.
Caitlin, tiny and young, maybe ten years old, was pressed into his side, hugging him around his waist, smiling brightly, her head tilted back to look up at him as his was tilted down to look at her. His arm was around her shoulders, his long, strong fingers curled in, holding her tight. You could see she didn’t care, not even a little bit, that she was dry and Mace was soaking wet.
Mace was smiling at Caitlin too. He was a lot younger in the picture. I had no idea how old, maybe in his early twenties. He smiled at her in a way I’d never seen him before. His face relaxed, open, unguarded and it hurt my heart to look at it.
I didn’t know how much of himself he’d lost after that situation, not until I saw that photo.
When I saw it, I knew he lost everything.
And it was my job to get it back.
And I was damned if I knew how.
I’d learned about Preston Mason too. A lot about him.
Mostly I learned that I wasn’t wrong. He was the Supreme Asshole of Al Time.
And I’d read about it al . About her hand. The commandos. And how Mace had watched his sister get her head blown off right before his beautiful body had nearly been riddled with bul ets.
This meant Mace had a dickhead father, a dead sister and now a girlfriend under fire.
That was worth being pissed off about.
That was earth-shattering.
That could fuck you up for the rest of your life.
I found I no longer had patience with Leo and Pong fighting over a tie-dyed t-shirt of al effing things.
And seriously, could you blame me?
When Pong got to his feet, I moved forward, my cowboy-booted feet treading on tshirts and I put my hands in his chest and shoved. This surprised him, I’d never done this before and he went back on a foot.
“What’s the matter with you?” I snapped.
Pong’s eyes got wide as they stared at me and my uncharacteristic loss of control and he muttered, “Stel a Bel a.”
“No, real y. What’s the matter with you?” I repeated. “I wanna know.”
Pong blinked then he explained, “That t-shirt is the shit.” I leaned to the side, my fingers curled into the t-shirt Leo was stil holding and I viciously tugged it free. I shook it out in front of Pong and shouted, “This? This is worth causing a scene over? This is worth getting in the face of your friend over? You’d never wear this shirt!” I shouted and I was right, Pong would never wear a tie-dyed t-shirt. Ever. Then I turned to Leo. “And you!” Leo took a step back when he saw my face but I just kept going. “You’ve got, what? Fifteen saw my face but I just kept going. “You’ve got, what? Fifteen shirts just like this!” And I was right about that too. He had to have fifteen. Hel , he could even have twenty. Hel , he was wearing one at that very moment!
Leo shrugged and I threw the t-shirt at him. It hit him in the face and he lifted up his hands to catch it as it fel down.
“I’m up to here with you two!” I yel ed, raising my hand, fingers straight, palm down, up to my chin. “Linnie’s dead!
Dead! Floyd and Buzz are on their way to Oklahoma for her funeral right now and you two are fighting over a t-shirt.” Both looked uncomfortable but I kept shouting. “Damn it, bul ets are flying! We’re in the papers, like, every day.
We’re close to something big with a record label which could change al our lives and Mace…” I trailed off when I saw al the Rock Chicks (and the Hot Bunch and, incidental y, most of the partygoers) were standing around, staring at me. I clamped my mouth shut, shook my head and forged on, hoping to cover. “Forget Mace. You two, work this out like the men you are, not six year olds. I’m done with your shit. Done. No more.” I swung my eyes to Hugo. “You either.”
Hugo’s eyebrows went up as did his hands, palms out.
“Shit, mama, what’d I do?” Hugo asked.
“Nothing,” I returned. “Nothing to help. You’re smarter than that. I know it. You know it. But it’s always me that’s gotta keep the peace in the band.” I threw my hand out.
“You’re al smarter than this. If we don’t keep our shit together, we’re gonna fal apart and I’m gonna let it happen because I’m done. Done! Got me?”
They didn’t answer, they just stared.
I decided to take that as a “yes” and I pointed to the floor.
“Now clean this up and if you’ve caused any damage, you’re paying Annette even if you have to work it off. Do you hear me?”
They again didn’t answer so I leaned forward threateningly and repeated, “I said, do you hear me? ”
“Shit, Stel a Bel a, chil ,” Pong mumbled.
“I’l chil when this is al cleaned up,” I snapped back.
“We got it, Stel a. No problem,” Leo said softly, bending over to pick up tshirts.
Hugo was stil staring at me and he was doing it closely.