Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
The phone rang and rang and rang.
Then it went to voicemail.
You've reached Luke. I can't come to the phone right now. Leave a message.
BEEEEEEEEP.
Son of a bitch.
"Answer your fucking phone."
I hung up and looked around the store. Wasn't no one here. Why the hell did I need to be?
The answer was because Luke deserved a break.
One weekend a month, I covered the store on Saturday and Sunday while Luke did… whatever it was he did. Still had no fuckin' clue. It was like for one weekend a month, he just disappeared. Went off the grid. For all I knew, he had a secret family in Wyoming.
I tapped my knuckles against the countertop, impatient as hell and tryin' to work out my next move.
Calvin needed me. She'd called because she needed me.
I wasn't takin' that lightly.
"Fuck it," I said, slammin' my palm to the counter. I locked the register and the back door, then bolted for the front. Just as I closed it behind me, twisting the key in the lock, Mr. Nelson hopped outta his truck. "Sorry, sir. We're closed."
His mustache made a dramatic curve downward. "Since when? It's only one o'clock on a Saturday. You best not be duckin' out early, young man."
"Apologies. It's an emergency."
That was a stretch, but… whatever.
"Your mama okay?" Mr. Nelson asked, suddenly less surly and more sincere.
"She's fine," I said, makin' for my truck, but he was hot on my heels.
"Luke?"
"Also fine." As far as I knew, anyway.
"Well, what the hell am I supposed to do about dog food?"
"Supermarket has some!" I called over my shoulder as I slid into the driver's seat and closed the door.
Because I wasn't the world's worst son and brother, I shot off a text to my mom and Luke.
brODY
Somethin came up
Had to close the store for a bit
Sorry
My mama, bless her soul, replied without missin' a beat.
MOM
It's ok sweetheart
I'll head on over
brODY
Thanks mom
And, for good measure…
brODY
Luke you alive?
I waited twenty seconds max for a reply that never came before I was backin' out of the store's parkin' lot and takin' 89 south.
Because Calvin had called.
So I went runnin'.
I pulled up next to Calvin's truck thirty-four minutes later without a speeding ticket, which was a stroke of luck or fate or some shit like that.
I opened my door, closed it, opened hers, and slid into the passenger seat.
She had her head leaned back against the headrest, eyes on the ceiling. Didn't look at me when I got in. Just stayed exactly as she was, like she'd been holding that position for the better part of an hour and had made her peace with it.
I looked at the facility through the windshield. Flower beds. Nice enough place.
Looked back at her.
"You ready?"
She nodded.
And kept nodding.
Small, slow bobs of her head, like she was tryin' to talk herself into somethin' one nod at a time.
"Alright." I slapped my hands on my thighs and opened the door. "I gotta piss, so I'm'a head in."
I hopped out and had made it exactly three steps toward the entrance when I heard her door open behind me.
"Are you serious right now?" Her boots hit the pavement. "You were just gonna leave me?"
"Nah." I held the front door open and waited. "Knew you'd follow."
She stopped in front of me, squintin' up with an expression that was equal parts annoyed and relieved, which on Calvin was basically a love letter. "Excuse me?"
"You're like a little puppy dog." I grinned down at her. "Just followin' me around everywhere I go."
She walked through the door. "I'm sorry—are you referring to me, or do you need someone to hold a mirror up so you can repeat that into it?"
The door swung shut behind us.
And just like that, we were inside.