Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Eight
As I hold Oscar back from throwing himself at Henri, I wonder if it would be worth it to pay to send her to private boarding school. That way Oscar could go back to school and neither of us would have to deal with these two females ever again.
“Get in,” I say to Selkie in a dead voice as I yank open my door.
She obeys, though I know she wants to tell me to go fuck myself. I think she’s holding back because her kid just punched mine. There wasn’t much force behind it and Oscar isn’t unduly hurt, but I can see that he’s thinking seriously about how to get rid of her body. To be fair, so am I.
I motion for Oscar to get in the front seat. He complies then slams the door behind him. As I climb in the driver’s side, Oscar shouts, “Freak!” at Henri.
“You’re the freak,” Henri shouts back.
I lose my temper, which doesn’t happen. “Enough!” I roar. “I don’t want to hear another fuckin’ word out of either of you.”
“Watch the language,” Selkie says like she’s a paragon of virtue.
I twist in my seat and give her my best death glare. “You too, Fleming.”
She narrows her eyes. “We’re not going to do that, Brody. We’re the grown-ups. So Henri and Oscar, yeah. No talkin’, but you and me, you don’t tell me to shut up.”
She’s right, but I’m not gonna apologize to her in front of my kid. What kind of example would I be setting? “If you say so,” I grumble.
The quiet is unnerving as I drive toward the camping spot suggested by Evanee and that says a lot given that silence is my power. The road is a rutted path that pitches us around, but as we approach a rare stand of trees, I get hopeful.
That disappears as I pull up and stop the truck. We look around at the rocks, the cacti, and a narrow stream so shallow, you couldn’t drown a mouse in it.
“Did you pick this spot?” Selkie asks.
“It was recommended to me by a vet.”
As if he approves, Brambles jumps out of the back and hops like a bucking horse towards a boulder where he squats and shits.
Henri says, “At least we won’t have to pick it up.”
“Unless he poops in your shoe,” Oscar replies.
I glare at him and he pinches his lips together.
“Get out so I can get out,” Henri says as she thumps the back of Oscar’s seat.
Selkie leans over and talks softly in Henri’s ear. Her face falls, her lips twist, and then she nods.
“I’m very sorry for kicking the back of your seat, Oscar. Could you please let me out, Oscar, so I may run around this amazing campsite, Oscar.” Sarcasm drips from every word.
I stare at Oscar, daring him to reply. He stares back, then undoes his seat belt, opens the door and stalks away.
Henri follows him out, then walks in the other direction. Brambles looks longingly after Oscar but dutifully follows Henri.
I try to hold the seat forward so Selkie can get out, but she slaps my hand away. “I don’t need help.”
It’s the second time she’s said that and I wonder what baggage she’s carrying. Then I wonder why I wonder. At the end of this camping trip, Henri and Oscar will be tuned up enough to get along at school and Fleming and I can go our separate ways.
“What’s next?” she says as she hops down beside me. Her eyes are focused on the horizon, her body tense.
It’s a good question because despite Haley’s general run-down on what we needed and what to do, I still feel hopelessly out of my depth. “We set up.” At least I sound like I know what the fuck I’m talking about.
There’s a picnic table and the two of us start lugging the equipment out of the back of the truck and placing it on the top, then Selkie stops and drops a cooler almost on my foot.
“Why the hell are we doing this? This is bootcamp for Henri and Oscar, not us. We make them do everything, they’ll see us as the enemy and join forces. ”
I like the way she thinks but fuck me if I’m going to admit it to her. “Probably won’t work.”
“Yeah, ‘cause everything has so far.” When all else fails use sarcasm.
I ignore her. “Get back here, you two!”
They walk towards us like two turtles in quicksand.
“See,” Selkie says. “They’re already working together.”
I cough out a laugh. “It’s a miracle.”
Brambles lopes ahead of them and when he reaches us, he throws himself at me, his paws planted squarely on my chest as he tries to lick my face.
“Fuckin’ hell!” I snarl as I try to fend him off.
Selkie is frowning. “Traitor,” she says to the dog. She makes no move to control him.
“I’ll fuckin’ shoot him if you don’t get him off me.”
Selkie looks like she’s okay with my threat, but after a couple of seconds, says, “Brambles, down. He’s not a payday.”
Brambles hesitates, then drops to his feet, giving Selkie a single sharp bark.
She grins maliciously. “Brambles said, not yet.”
I scratch my head as I stare at the dog. “Is that what you do to bring down your marks? Have Brambles lick them into submission?”
“Worked on you, didn’t it?” she retorts.
“I’d of shot him.”
“He’d bite your hand off. He’s a pacifist. Doesn’t believe in guns.”
“You carry one,” I note.
“He makes an exception for me because I’m his breadbasket.”
I have no reply so I stoop and pick up the cooler, carrying it to the picnic table and setting it down.
Henri and Oscar finally get back, standing in front of us defiantly, their bodies slouched, their arms crossed. I feel guilty because Henri’s the handful, not Oscar and it’s not fair he gets punished. Still, I’m willing to try anything to get things back to normal.
“What?” Oscar says belligerently.
Henri looks at Selkie. “I’m hungry. What’re you making for lunch?”
“Nothing,” mother-of-the-year replies. “Not until the tents are set up and everything’s sorted.”
Oscar and Henri exchange hostile glances. Oscar says, “Then why call us back? I was perfectly fine takin’ a walk.”
His disrespect towards Selkie makes me realize I’m setting a bad example. No matter how Henri and Selkie act towards us, I should be a role model, not get drawn into their bullshit.
Selkie narrows her eyes at Oscar. “Because you’re gonna set up the tents and the rest of the campsite.”
Oscar glances at me. “Why should I?”
“Not just you,” Selkie says for me. “Henri and you. Both of you. You’re the reason we’re out here, so you’re responsible for everything else that happens.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Henri says to her mom in disbelief.
“Yeah, ‘cause that’s what I do.”
“You’re a traitor!” Henri shouts. “I used to like you!”
“Geez, when was that? Before or after you made my life a living hell by getting tossed from school.”
“It wasn’t my fault!” Henri points a dramatic finger at Oscar, who’s standing a few feet away, arms crossed, smirk on his lips. “It was his.”
“In what way?” Selkie yells back. “You just punched him!”
“He was gonna punch me back.”
Oscar jumps into the fray. “I was not. I was gonna yank your hair.”
“You’re such a little girl,” Henri sneers.
“What is wrong with you?” Selkie says to Henri.
“Yeah,” Oscar says. “What’s wrong with you, loser?”
“That’s enough!” I shout. “All of you. Oscar. Henri. Get the tents set up. Selkie, take a walk.”
All three look at me like they’re about to roast-spit me.
Selkie says, “Get at it, both of you.” Then she stomps up to me, stopping a foot away. “I said we were not going to do that. You may not talk to me like a child.”
“Then stop acting like a fucking child.”
She brings her fist up and tries to punch me, but I grab her wrist and slam her against my chest. “No wonder your daughter thinks violence is the solution to her problems.”
My head spins. She smells clean and airy and her heat against my body reminds me how long it’s been since I was with a woman. But this woman. What the fuck?
“Let go of me, you prick,” she says as she struggles.
I look down at her as something sparks. Sure lust, but more than that. Want like I haven’t felt since Chloe. I almost kiss her, then fortunately, Henri interrupts my stupidity. “What are you doing to my mom?”
Selkie jerks out of my grip. “Nothing. He was doing nothing. Get back to work.” Her face is flushed and her eyes are wild, like a trapped animal.
Guilt hammers at me. “I’m sorry,” I say. “I was out of line. But you can’t take a shot at me like that. Not with my lifestyle. I react without thinking. It’s why I’m still alive.”
She takes a few steps back. “You won’t live long if you touch me again.” Then she twists away and heads towards the cooler.
I follow her because for some fucking reason I want to understand her. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
She slaps a beer into my hand. “The problem is you have a dick, which makes you think you’re in control of every woman you come across.”
“I’m not that guy,” I say, wondering why I feel the need to defend myself and at the same time acknowledging that she’s probably right. I’ve created an unapproachable persona that no one can bridge unless I let them. That makes me controlling.
“Every guy’s that guy.” She pops the top on her can and takes a guzzle, then wipes her lips with the back of her hand. “Let me count the ways.”
“Don’t,” I reply, which proves her point. “I’m not interested in you listing all your insecurities.”
“And I’m not interested in a peeing contest.”
“You’d lose,” I state bluntly.
“See, right there. You and your dick think you’re fucking masters of the universe.”
I’m starting to realize that she has to have the last word. I can’t win at that game, so I turn my back and walk away. Evanee says it’s a good way for training dogs who snap and bite.
“Sure, walk away, you fuck.”
I turn back and scrutinize her. Her tone is less hostile and more hurt. Her eyes are bright as she spins around and grabs a folding beach chair, then stomps to the truck where she sets it up in the shade.