Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
TIMOTHY
I finished clearing dishes from dinner into the kitchen. I’d get to washing them later. I sat at the dining table inside the big Hurst farmhouse to enjoy the last of my iced tea.
“It’s a cute little orange kitten,” Erika said. “How can you say no to an orange kitten?”
“I love kittens. Nothing against kittens in general.” Josh already sounded drained to the core.
“We’ve got five of the furry freeloaders.
One pisses on my shirts—only mine. One refuses to shit in the box.
And one hacks up hairballs on our bathmat.
Not tile. Not wood. The bathmat. I have nightmares now of that squishy feeling between my toes before I step in the shower.
” He dragged a hand down his face. “I love you more than life itself, but please, dear God, no more cats. Please. I’m begging you to be reasonable. ”
My gaze slid to Vinny, Erika’s younger brother and her ward since their parents died a few years ago. Twelve years old and already mastering the art of silent survival, Vinny had his lips pressed so tight they’d gone white, his whole body vibrating with the effort not to laugh.
I ducked my head, biting the inside of my cheek.
Erika slowly turned.
Uh oh.
She pointed at both of us like we’d personally betrayed her. “Is this funny to you two?”
Neither of us made a sound. That was the wrong answer.
Her shoulders went rigid. Her expression sharpened into something dramatic enough to deserve background music. “Since no one in this house respects me, and clearly I’m the only one with a heart—”
Josh closed his eyes. “Erika…please…”
“I’m leaving.” She spun, marched to the front door, put a hand on her large belly, and yanked open the door like she expected applause.
The door slammed hard enough behind her to rattle the frame.
“Damn it,” Josh muttered, already moving. “Erika—Erika!”
A second later, her SUV engine roared to life, tires screeching against dirt like she was fleeing a crime scene instead of a domestic dispute about cats.
Josh stopped in the doorway. “Stay here a while, Vinny. I’ll come back for you later. No, better if you sleep here tonight. I’ll bring your school stuff in the morning before I head out to practice in Durham. Timothy can run you to school.”
Vinny lost it the second Josh stepped outside, a choked laugh bursting free.
“Was it worth it to have found that kitten yesterday?” I murmured, still laughing.
He nodded immediately. “Absolutely worth it.”
Sofia barreled in, my mom right behind her. The three-year-old climbed straight into my lap, all warm limbs and trust. I wrapped my arms around her automatically, pressing a kiss to her forehead, breathing in the faint scent of sunscreen and applesauce.
“Why Auntie Eerie mad, Daddy?” she asked, serious in that way only kids could be. “Were you mean to her?”
A laugh threatened, soft and wrong for the knot sitting in my chest. “No, sweetie. Nobody was mean.” I smoothed her hair back. “Josh needs to take her to get ice cream.”
Sofia nodded like that made perfect sense. In her world, chocolate ice cream cured all bad feelings.
“Choc-choc,” she said wisely. “That’s the happy one.”
“Yep,” I murmured. “That’s the happy one.”
“You ready, Sof?” My mom called. “Let’s get your shoes on.
” Mom had her blonde hair styled. She wore one of her “nice” dresses, which meant she was meeting friends.
I wondered if it was the Baptist Ladies league, her knitting group, or her reading club.
Lisa Hurst was always meeting with another group of gossipy women.
Sofia slid off me without hesitation. She knew I’d be here when she came back.
“Where are you two going?” I asked.
“She wants to come to Bible study with me. Shirley’s granddaughter will be there. They can play while we’re in group.” Mom grabbed Sofia’s shoes, already moving. “Can you pick her up between seven and seven-thirty?”
I nodded.
She leaned into the den. “Mason, hon, I’m taking off for the church.”
I heard Dad grunt something.
“Text me when you arrive to get her, Timothy.” She scooped Sofia up like she weighed nothing.
Sofia beamed over her shoulder at me, arms wrapped tight around Mom’s neck.
Mom paused at the door long enough to point at me. “You and I are talking later. That whole business with…” Her eyes flicked to Sofia. “It can wait.”
The door shut behind them. The house exhaled.
I stepped into the den. Dad was half-asleep in his chair, some game show flashing across the screen, all bright lights and fake laughter. Buck lay sprawled at his feet. The bandage around his tail seemed too small and insignificant for the amount of blood there’d been two days ago.
“I’ll be on the porch, Dad.”
He waved but didn’t open his eyes.
Outside, the night wrapped around me, thick and humming. Cicadas filled the silence. I checked my phone—calendar, obligations, the next thing I had to handle—and realized I’d need to run into town to grab the keys from Deck for tomorrow morning’s HVAC job two towns over.
Always something. The screen dimmed in my hand.
I sat on the top step. My blue heeler, Bagel, plopped down next to me and demanded a head pat. I whispered, “She’s back. You wouldn’t be here if she hadn’t saved your father.”
“Can I ask you something, Timothy?” Vinny dropped down beside me on the top step, close but not quite touching. He reached over and scratched Bagel’s head.
“Sure.” I leaned back, bracing myself for some sort of uncomfortable teenager topic.
“Do you think Erika resents me?” The question hit without warning. “If it wasn’t for me, she never would’ve had to come back here. She wouldn’t be stuck in Vision having arguments like that.”
“No.” I let out a short breath, more reflex than humor. “Hell, no.”
He didn’t look convinced.
I turned toward him, really looking this time. His shoulders curved in like he was trying to take up less space.
“Your sister loves you,” I said, quieter now. “You brought her back to the place she was supposed to be.” I nudged his shoulder lightly. “She adores Josh. Always has. He was falling apart without her.”
Vinny’s gaze stayed on the dark yard.
“If it hadn’t been for you?” I went on. “They’d still be out there somewhere, missing each other. Being too miserable and too stubborn to fix it.”
I slipped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him into a half hug. He leaned in after a second, which was enough to let me know he needed it.
“We’re all a mess, Vinny. All of us. Loud and stubborn and even a little broken. You’re the least broken of us.”
The cicadas swelled, filling the pause.
“The more noise there is?” I squeezed his shoulder and let go. “The more it means we’re still here. Still fighting for each other.” I glanced toward the driveway, where Erika had torn out like she meant it. “Josh needs tonight to remind her of that.”
“Eww. No…please erase the image of them…at night.” Vinny made a grossed-out face.
“Fact of life, kid. Where there’s passion, there’s fireworks.”