Still, he liked the raw emotion pouring through him, the need to destroy that blocked out every other thought. He got in a one-two punch before Reid nailed him with a shot that reminded him his brother had a thunderbolt for a right arm.
Lazily, Walker strolled over and stepped between them.
“That’s enough,” he said calmly. “You’re both going to be regretting this in the morning.”
Cal touched his mouth and winced as he felt blood and rapidly swelling flesh.
The anger had drained out of him until he was left only with pain and a sense of loss so strong, it nearly drove him to his knees.
Penny. He’d screwed things up so badly with her, he didn’t know how to recover.
“I’ve lost her,” he said as he sank onto the damp lawn. “Haven’t I?”
Reid sprawled next to him. “You screwed up on a massive scale,” he said. “Naomi wants your balls.”
The part of him in question tightened into his body.
“What does Penny want?” he asked hoarsely.
“To not love you anymore.”
Reid couldn’t have hurt him more if he’d shot him. “She has to love me,” Cal whispered. She was all he had.
Walker crouched in front of him and touched a sore spot just above his eyebrow. “You’re going to need stitches for that.” He looked at Reid. “Your knuckles are pretty bad, too. Let’s go inside and I’ll patch up the two of you.”
Cal looked at Reid. “I’m sorry.”
His brother grimaced. “I’m not the one you should apologize to.”
“I know. But I’m still sorry.”
Reid shrugged, then stood. But instead of turning to the house, he held out his hand to Cal.
“You might be an ass**le,” he said as he pulled Cal to his feet. “But you’re still my brother.”
They looked at each other and Cal knew that things were right between them. If only the situation with Penny were so easily resolved.
He took a step and had to hold in a groan. Blood dripped down from the cut beside his eyes and from his lip. His body ached and he felt about a hundred and fifty years old.
But before he could make it to the porch, a car pulled up. Cal glanced over to see if by some miracle, Penny had come to see him. Right now he would be happy if she were simply willing to yell at him some more.
But she wasn’t the one who stepped out of the vehicle. Instead Lindsey opened the passenger’s door and got out.
She was too thin and wearing a scarf over her head, but he’d never seen anything so beautiful in his life.
“Lindsey,” he called. “What are you doing here?”
She glanced from him to Reid and Walker. “Um, is this a bad time?”
“No.”
“But you’re…” She squinted. “Have you been fighting?”
He groaned. Talk about perfect timing. “Yeah, well, my brother and I had something we had to work out.”
Lindsey’s eyes lit up. “Brothers. Both of them?”
He nodded. “This is Reid and this is Walker.”
“Wow,” she breathed. “Uncles.”
His heart stood still. “What did you say?”
She looked at him and her smile quivered a little at the corners. “Um, I said uncles. That’s why I’m here. I just found out you’re my dad.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
LINDSEY WATCHED as Walker set out first aid supplies on the dining room table. Cal wanted to reassure her, but he was busy trying to stop the blood from dripping down the side of his face.
“We’re, ah, not usually like this,” he said, wishing he sounded less lame and slightly more smooth. “Reid and I haven’t had a fight in ten or fifteen years.”
Lindsey’s blue eyes widened slightly. “So why were you fighting now?”
Reid glanced at Cal, then at Cal’s daughter. “Long story.”
She sighed. “That’s what adults always say when they don’t want to tell you the truth.”
“Bummer, huh?” Reid said.
Lindsey smiled, then turned her attention to Walker. “Are you a doctor or something?”
“I used to be a marine and I know basic first aid.”
She looked him up and down. “That’s cool. Were you overseas?”
He nodded without looking up.
There was an awkward silence which Cal broke by saying, “You have an aunt, too. Our youngest sister. Dani—short for Danielle.”
“Big family,” Lindsey said. “It’s just my mom and dad and me. We’re—” She paused and pressed her lips together. “Can I still call them that? Are you going to get mad?”
“What? Of course not. Lindsey, Tracy and Tom are your parents.”
“Yeah,” Reid said. “He’s just some guy who donated—What?” he asked as Walker cuffed him on the arm. “What’d I say?”
“We have a young lady present,” Walker reminded him. “Not one of your women.”
Lindsey looked instantly intrigued. “You have women? A lot of them? Like more than one girlfriend at a time? Are you—” Her mouth dropped open. “Ohmygod! You’re Reid Buchanan. You’re a baseball pitcher.”
“Used to be,” Reid said curtly. “Now I run a bar.”
“Okay, but you’re famous.” She turned to Cal. “He’s your brother?”
“Uh-huh. And your uncle.”