9. Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
Cole
My brother paces back and forth. “Do you think she ran away?”
I wave my hand over the van still parked behind our cabin.
He looks at his phone. “Why didn’t I get her number?”
A rude snort escapes me, surprising us both.
He stops dead in his tracks. “What was that?”
“Nothing.” I sit forward. “She obviously hasn’t left. Why would she set all this up and then run? She didn’t even have her camp set up like this back in Cheyenne. She’s obviously planning to stay a while.”
He forgets all about the sound I made. I’d like to say it didn’t mean anything, but it did. For some reason, I want to hurt his feelings. I wanted to say that he never gets the girl’s number because he’s too chicken to ask for it.
I guess he’s never had to, because I’ve always rushed to do it for him.
Anyway, I’m just being stupid. I should be helping him, not making fun of him when he fails. This is the first time I haven’t jumped in to save him.
Suddenly Luna bursts from the trees, hurrying toward us.
“Oh, Carson, I’m so sorry. I completely lost track of time,” she says, setting the bucket she was carrying on the ground beside her.
She takes his hand in hers and gives him the biggest set of puppy dog eyes I’ve ever seen.
I turn away from them. “This is my first time having guests, and my gosh …” She presses a hand to her chest, clearly distressed. “That was just so rude of me.”
“I wasn’t worried,” he lies.
That’s new.
His eyes meet mine. “Cole and I were just relaxing.” He takes her hand and walks over to start a fire. “I like what you’ve done with the place.”
They both squat by the pit, each glancing over their shoulder to look at the twinkling lights strung around the tent I’m sitting under.
“I thought it would give me a little more light out here at night,” she tells him, turning back to watch him stack the wood.
She claps as soon as it starts and then immediately holds her hands out. “The water is chilly down there.”
My brother looks down at her wet tennis shoes. “You need to get those off. You won’t get warm until you do.”
She hugs herself around the waist. “You’re right.
I just couldn’t resist getting in. I’ll be right back.
” Before she heads inside, she pulls the bag she had slung across her chest over her head, tossing it to the ground beside him.
“You guys have an entire treasure chest in your backyard,” she tells us, pointedly looking at Carson and then me.
“Follow me,” she says, stopping at my side. “You can help me with the food.”
I look at my brother, unsure of what to do. He isn’t paying us any attention. I decide I’m making it a bigger deal than it is. She just needs my help.
She’s sitting on her bed taking off her shoes when I step into her van. “It’s a good thing I cut the top of this thing out and extended it upward. How tall are you?”
“I’m six three, but Carson is …”
“Six two,” she interrupts.
“How did you know that I was going to say that?” I ask, sitting down at her little table.
She looks me dead in the eye. “Um, because he’s obviously a full inch shorter than you.”
We stare at each other for a moment before both of us burst out laughing.
“Okay. Okay. Jeez, you can’t be finishing my jokes for me.”
“Joke? You don’t say?”
She smiles as she laces up her dry shoes. “The hot dogs are in the fridge.”
I lean over, flipping the door on the little fridge open. “So did you get any sleep?”
“No, but I can sleep when I’m dead.”
“That’s my motto,” I agree, grabbing the hot dogs.
“Oh, grab the ketchup too, will you?” She stands, bouncing on her toes like she’s trying out the shoes for the first time.
I force myself to focus on my task. “What was I looking for?”
“Ketchup.” She stops by my side, leaning over to look inside with me. “Right there.” She points to the red bottle in the back corner.
She bumps her shoulder into mine before pushing in front of me. “I’ll get it.”
I stand abruptly, bumping into her and sending her stumbling forward. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry.” Instinctively I reach out and wrap my hands around her waist, keeping her upright. We both laugh.
Carson steps up into the van, catching us in our amusement. “The fire’s ready,” he says, smiling.
Fuck. I’m having fun with her.
That’s a problem.
I’m supposed to be annoyed she’s here. I’m supposed to want things back the way they were.
I let go of Luna like she’s on fire.
She’s still chuckling when she bends over to get the ketchup bottle that fell to the floor. “This van is definitely not big enough for the three of us.”
Carson takes the hot dogs from my hands. “I can get these started. Don’t forget the buns,” he says, heading back out to the fire.
I swallow hard, realizing I’m the only one acting weird. Why am I being so weird?
“Did you guys bring marshmallows?” she asks, interrupting my racing thoughts. “If not, I do have some.”
“Yeah, yeah, we brought some.”
“A bonfire wouldn’t be complete without them.” Her hand lands softly against my back and she urges me forward.
I stay where I’m at. “I really am sorry.”
Her fingers tighten in the back of my t-shirt. “It’s okay, Cole. I know it was an accident.”
I’d let her exit ahead of me, but it’s too much of a risk. She’s right. There’s no room for the three of us. I hurry in front of her, jumping out.
“Hey, Dad texted me. He needs me to go over and check on Tuffy,” I holler to my brother while looking down at my phone.
“Tuffy?” Luna asks, stepping out behind me.
I quickly move away from her. “Um, yeah, their dog.”
Carson gives me a funny look, watching me practically run down the driveway.
When I get around the bend, I take a minute to catch my breath. Jesus, I’m losing my mind. I stop in the middle of the path, not knowing which way to turn.
My brother’s rich laugh filters through the trees. He sounds just like Dad when he laughs. I peek through the foliage. The two of them are sitting beside each other, looking through her bag.
She bumps her shoulder against his and he chuckles again. My shoulders relax. I’ve never seen him so completely at ease with someone. He’s being himself.
She holds a rock up over their heads, positioning it into a ray of sun that’s breaking from between the trees. When the light cuts through it, the stone glows a rich amber color. My brother reaches up and touches it.
Believe it or not, I can read his thoughts from here. He’s being flooded with them. I’m watching my brother fall in love without me.
We’ve always done everything together, but this … this is one thing we can’t share.
He’s leaving me behind.
Carson leans close to her and I hold my breath. He’s going to kiss her. He does, and it’s worse than I thought. It doesn’t land on her lips. It lands on her temple, and it stays there.
The way her eyes close makes me take a step back and quickly look away.
This is their moment, not mine.
I take a deep breath before making my way to my parents’. Little nails tap against the wood floors as soon as I step inside. My mom’s white fluffy ball of a dog stops dead in her tracks in front of me. Her head tips to the side and she whimpers.
“I’m sorry, Tuffy, you were expecting your mama, weren’t you?”
She pretends to sneeze, letting me know I’m spot on.
The door hits me on the backside as someone comes in behind me. Tuffy darts around me, wagging her tail off.
“Cole,” my mom says. “What are you doing here?”
I move out of her and my dad’s way as they bring their suitcases in.
“Why are you guys home so soon?” I ask.
My dad laughs, shaking his head. “As soon as Mom realized Carver was hauling you and your brother’s bikes back to Nevada, she was packing.”
“What is going on? What’s wrong?” she asks, laying one hand on my chest and the other on my cheek.
“Nothing is wrong with the boy. He’s standing strong and tall in front of you.”
She studies my face, and her bottom lip slips between her teeth. My mother can read me like an open book, so I need to tread carefully here.
“I just stopped by to check on Tuffy, but I need to get over to the warehouse. Carver should be coming in with the bikes soon.”
Her hands remain where they are.
Dad sighs and picks up the suitcase she set down. “I’ll take these up while you interrogate our son.”
He pauses a few steps away from us, tipping his head to the side. He spins on his heel. “Where’s your brother?”
I can hear the worry in his tone.
“He’s down at the cabin …” I pause, steadying my voice, “with Rage’s sister.”
My parents’ brows pull together at the same time. “Rage’s sister?” my mother asks, letting her hands fall away from me.
I release the breath I’ve been holding, relieved that my mother has taken her focus off me.
“Yeah, Mila isn’t his only sibling. He has a stepsister. She’s our age. Her name is Luna.”
My dad sets the suitcases on the floor and waves me over to the couch. “Let’s hear it.”
“Don’t you guys have to go pick up Khloe?”
“She’s staying at Kelsie’s another night. We didn’t know when we’d get back,” he says, lowering himself to the sofa.
Mom takes my hand and leads me to sit down beside her. “I knew something had happened. It’s not like you boys to run out on your friend on his special day.” She gives my dad a “see I told you so” sort of look.
“She’s different, okay? I don’t know how to explain this, but she was hiding from Rage.” My mother’s eyes widen. “No, not hiding from him. That’s not really the right word. She was more like incognito. She was in town to make sure he and Mila were doing okay.”
“Why didn’t she want him to know she was there?”
I rub a hand over my head, not really wanting to think or talk about all of this right now. “They had a rough childhood, Mom.”
The lines around her face soften. “I’m sorry, finish your story.”
“Anyway, she broke down, so Carson and I got her van running again.”
“And you brought her here?” my dad concludes.
“Yep. All Carson’s idea by the way. Just so we’re clear when Rage shows up wanting to see her.”
My dad falls back in his chair. “Jesus Christ, what was Carson thinking?”
“What do you mean, what was he thinking? Obviously, he’s helping her,” my mother defends on Carson’s behalf.
“And you don’t think they should have taken her straight to Rage’s?” he shoots back, turning his eyes on me. “How did you get involved with this young lady?”
“She delivered the pizza we had ordered.”
“You ordered a pizza right before Rage’s wedding?” Her mouth falls open and she looks at my dad.
“I told you, you spoiled them too much.”
“Okay, well then, that’s the story. Her van is parked out where Grandpa used to have the camper.” I smack my hands down on my knees. “I’m going to head over and wait for Carver.”
“I didn’t see your truck outside?”
Fuck. I’m going to have to go back and get my truck.
“Can I borrow yours? I’ve got a bad tire,” I lie.
It’s worth the twenty-minute ass chewing I get from him about not taking care of it when I noticed there was a problem. It takes care of two things. I don’t have to answer twenty questions, and I don’t have to walk back to get my truck.
“What if you had an emergency?” he asks, holding the keys out to me.
“Then I would have taken Carson’s.”
He snatches the keys back. “Why didn’t you?”
“I didn’t want to leave him without a vehicle.”
Dad tosses them to me, liking that answer.
“Why isn’t Carson going with you?” my mom asks before I get out the door.
I spin around. “Oh my god! I don’t need Carson with me everywhere I go.”
My father stands, and I know I have exactly three seconds to apologize to his wife before I’m in deep shit.
“I’m sorry,” I say, going over to her and kissing her on the cheek. “I haven’t had much sleep. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
“That’s okay.”
“Carson’s not going because we wanted to make sure Luna has someone close by if she needs anything.”
“That makes sense.” She pats my cheek, and I pull away from her, giving my dad a quick glance to see if we’re okay.
He nods at me.
One thing about my father is he doesn’t let anyone disrespect his wife, including his children.
“I’m sorry you guys came home early. We should have called and let you know what was going on. It was just a spur-of-the-moment decision. We didn’t mean to worry you.”
“You’ll bring her over for supper tomorrow?” my mom asks. It may as well be a statement because there is only one answer.
“Sure, I’ll see you guys then.” This time I get to the door without either of them stopping me.
That was just great. I sounded like a stuttering idiot in there. I wouldn’t blame them if they thought I was using drugs.
I tap my forehead as I jog over to my dad’s truck. Why the fuck is all of this bothering me so much? I should have just told them the truth. Carson is in love with Luna. That’s the real reason he brought her here.
It was going to happen sometime.
It’s not a big deal.
Someday it will happen for me too.