You're Always in the Last Place You Look (20 page)

“Um, ok-ay?” Gary said, sounding confused, and maybe a little hurt. But she was right. Gary did nothing for me.

“No, ma’am.” I set my hand on Zane’s shoulder. “This is my boyfriend. Zane. And this is Mrs. Kell, Lily’s mom.” I barely saw his tats and piercings anymore, so when I caught sight of Zane’s self-satisfied smirk I found myself worrying my lower lip. Of course it was for naught. Mrs. Kell was a flower child after all, and beamed at him.

He held out his hand, and she took it, holding it hostage against her chest. “Yes, this—oh he’s adorable, Gabriel! Lily, why didn’t you tell me he was so cute?”

Zane blushed, and it
was
ad-
or
-a-ble. I’d have to remember to give him a bad time about that later.

I heard a huff behind me, obviously from Gary, while Lily rolled her eyes. “I did, Mom.”

We all jumped as the door to Mr. Tuttle’s office slammed against the stopper with a resounding
bang
.

“Gabriel, Zane, let’s go.”

We both looked wide-eyed at my dad then at each other.

“Veronica,” he nodded to Lily’s mom, “Luck and patience, you’re going to need both.
Gabe
,
Zane
!”

Waving a meek goodbye, we scurried after him, having to jog to catch up. Jesus, he was pissed. This wasn’t going to be pleasant. I found Zane’s hand and cranked down on it, ignoring his slight wince.

“Dad, I’m sorry. We didn’t think what we were doing was wrong.”

“It wasn’t.”
What
? “But they’re suspending you on the grounds of sexual misconduct.”

“What!? We were only holding hands!” It wasn’t as if he had been groping me or—well, I doubted I could ever grope anyone in public, but still.

“I know, I heard,” he said shortly, his face still scary mad.

“It wasn’t as if we were kissing or anything. Well, Gary kissed Zane, but...”

Dad frowned at Zane, then shook his head as if he preferred not to know why.

“Sir, I want you to know I didn’t have anything to do with that. It was all Gary’s—” Zane stopped suddenly, his Converse squeaking on the floor. “Wait, I don’t think it’s legal to leave with you, is it?”

Dad sighed, a flash of pity softening his harsh expression. “You’re aunt was in the middle of a pedicure, and couldn’t be bothered—”

“No surprise there,” I broke in, earning a stern look from my dad.

“And they couldn’t get a hold of Merrill, but they left a message. I didn’t think it right for you to sit there for however long it took for someone to come get you.”

“Motherfuckers.” Zane dropped his backpack, and paced a circle, then lunged, and punched a locker, grabbing his hand an instant after making contact with the metal door. His face crumbled as tears welled in his eyes. I took his hand, and saw the blood already pooling beneath the cracked skin atop his knuckles.
Damn
. Zane could really throw a punch.

“Zane?” my father began, “What’s going on?”

“I have to go back to the house,” he said, then tore away from me, and began striding for the double doors. I grabbed his backpack, but I didn’t manage to catch him until I reached the parking lot where he had stopped, unsure of which vehicle was my dad’s.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I took hold of his arm, and steered him towards Dad’s red Dodge truck. He was trembling.

“I’m so stupid. How could I be so stupid?” He leaned against the door, running a hand repeatedly through his hair. He then tossed them in the air, narrowly missing clocking me in the jaw.

“Calm down, son.” Zane stared at my dad as if he was speaking a foreign language. I rubbed his arms, seeing the stress beginning to overtake him. He finally met my eyes, and with a quick blink, his mind reengaged.

“Since...,” his body clenched from head to toe, “I’m the only one left, I inherited everything. It’s not a lot, but the house...” His hands balled up, and his shoulders hunched. “There are conditions. I have to maintain residence with my guardians until I graduate high school. I think...I think Merrill and Sandy are trying to fuck with me.”

“What was outlined as residency in the will?” Dad asked, graciously ignoring Zane’s swearing.

“I don’t remember exactly, but I know I’m supposed to let them know where I am, like I can’t leave school without them knowing, and, um, I’m supposed to be at the house most nights. They’ve kinda been leaving me alone, but, um, after yesterday—they haven’t even called to see if I’m okay.” The hurt over that last part was evident in Zane’s voice, and I wasn’t sure the inheritance was what was truly bothering him. I guess, despite everything, even crazy family had the power to wound one of their own.

Chapter Twenty-Three

We waited with Zane at the house, and it wasn’t long before Dad’s phone rang, then fifteen minutes later Merrill came through the door. His face told the story, but I believe Zane needed the hug Merrill gave him in order to know he really wasn’t alone in the world.

“Back when you were born I made a promise to Celia. I promised her that if anything should ever happen to them I’d take care of her kids as if they were my own. Celia would be so disappointed...” Merrill’s hand cradled the back of Zane’s head, while his other arm held him tight as Zane tried to push his uncle away upon hearing that. Merrill was stronger or more stubborn than I thought though, and finally Zane conceded, his body going limp as a few broken sobs slipped out. I went and joined my father so they could have some privacy.

“I’m so sorry, Zane, for everything. I’ll try to do better, and I hope someday you can find it in you to forgive me.” Merrill’s sorrowful words overtook me as I stepped into the bright kitchen. I caught my father’s hazel eyes, and a moment of grace passed between us. It was a start anyway, one Zane needed. And hopefully, knowing his uncle really cared might help Zane not to feel so alone in the world.

*

Merrill took my father’s side on the charge of sexual misconduct, calling Vice Principal Tuttle an antiquated asshole. A call to the school district main office told us that Mrs. Kell had already performed her magic, and the suspensions had been wiped from our record. What would happen to Mr. Tuttle wasn’t disclosed.

Even though the State of Idaho didn’t have Safe Schools Laws in effect, our district did, and what the Vice Principal had done violated anti-discrimination policies in our district. It was a small consolation, but even minor wins can lift spirits to the heavens.

I was still riding the high, and totally not paying attention, when we pulled up to a yellow forest service gate and Zane jumped out of the truck. He withdrew a set of keys, unlocked the gate, and waved me through. I inched forward taking in the overgrown track. It was mostly weedy grasses so I wasn’t worried about the truck getting scratched up, but where the heck was he taking me? No one lived on the state forest land. Or, at least, none that I had ever found, and I had explored almost every inch of these woods with AJ.

I looked at him when he got back in the truck. “So, my original assumption was correct?”

His brow tipped down in confusion, and I ran my finger across my neck, indicating a knife. Trying hard not to grin, he shot me a grave look. “Yeah, you know you’re nothing like I thought you’d be. I just can’t deal with how clingy, and needy, and sexy you are. It’s the only way...”

“Am I really clingy and needy?”

He gave me a dry look.
Oh
. He meant him. Not going to argue with the sexy part.

“Well, just remember your promise to let my folks know where you left my body.”

“Sure thing.” He gestured down the track.

I started driving. “Where
are
we going?” Potholes had turned into small canyons from years of little to no maintenance, and the truck bounced around even at seven miles an hour.

He shifted, a small nervous smile playing with his lips. “You’ll see in a minute.”

I ignored it. “So, how do you plan to do me?” I asked.

“Uhmm.” His voice quavered, and I glanced over to find him ricking his tongue stud between his teeth.

I shoved his shoulder. “Do me
in
. Talk about a dirty mind.”

“How so when I didn’t say anything?” He chuckled. “Besides, I’m not the one blushing.”

I broke out laughing. He was a little. We rounded a bend, and I slammed on the brakes. All humor fled at the sight of the black and tan monster slavering in our path.

“No way. I am
not
getting out of the truck.”

“Quit being a baby. He’s just a dog.” And with that Zane climbed from the truck, and opened the tail gate. The beast leapt in, slathering its big tongue over Zane’s face before setting massive paws on the wheel-well as if expecting a joyous ride. Gary’s tongue, and now Ruger’s had been in my boyfriend’s mouth all in one day. If he thought I was ever going to kiss him again—yeah, I would, but not until he brushed his teeth.

“You tricked me!” I exclaimed as he closed the door.

“No, I didn’t.” He looked at me all innocent, then scrunched up his face. “Okay, yes I did. But you wouldn’t have come otherwise, and I wanted you to get to know Smitty, and, well, Ruger too. They’re cool like you, they—”

“You think I’m cool?” I was grabbing at straws, trying to keep my heart from exploding in my chest due to the big dog wrapped around the cab, drooling on my window.

“Did I say that? Anyway, Smitty’s been really nice to me, and he doesn’t really have anyone because his daughter won’t talk to him, and I think he’s pretty lonely.” Zane gestured behind him. “He has Ruger, I guess. But Ruger’s not the best conversationalist.”

“I don’t care how nice he is. I’m still not getting out of the truck.”

“Then I’ll let Ruger into the cab, so you two can get to know each other. He’s not vicious.”

“Says you.” Any animal could be vicious given the right circumstances. AJ was a perfect example. Considered dangerous and slated for slaughter when Dad picked him up, it had taken a lot of time to gain his trust, and a few trips to the hospital when I had gotten too cocky and he had lashed out in fear. First Noose, our heeler that had attacked me, then AJ had taught me how unpredictable animals could be.

I parked the truck between Mr. Smitt’s house and the small barn. I glanced up at the big old farm house. There was no way Zane could clean this by himself in a few hours. Didn’t matter, I refused to get out of the truck with that monster roaming around, so he was on his own.

I turned to Zane. “On the back of my head is a scar where I was bitten by our own dog when I was a kid. My dad had to shoot him in order to get him to let go. I don’t trust dogs. Any dog.” I glanced into the back of the truck. Ruger was watching, his head cocked, and butt wiggling. He barked, and I almost ended up on the dashboard.

Zane laughed for a moment before his amusement died, and he canted his head just like Ruger. “You really are afraid of them aren’t you?” I nodded, my chest plastered to the steering wheel. “Okay, I’ll put him in his kennel.”

With Ruger locked away, Zane was able to coax me into the house, yet I wouldn’t relax until he locked the dog door. While Zane cleaned, I played cards with Smitty using a Braille deck that was so well worn I wasn’t sure how he could read the impressions anymore. This contributed to my only wins; two games of rummy where he read his cards wrong. He chattered constantly; asking about my folks, how my dad was, that he was sorry he couldn’t make it to church anymore, not sure he should go anyway since, according to his daughter, forgiveness was beyond him it seemed.

He talked about his daughter, Breanne, the glory of owning his junk yard, the good and bad that had befallen him during those glory days. And in the end I felt I knew him better than I knew Tye or Lily. He seemed to have enjoyed his life despite the hardships of losing his wife early on, and then losing sight of his daughter over what he said was his own stubbornness. He didn’t go into that though, and I didn’t pry. Never once did he ask how Zane and I knew each other, and I didn’t offer that one up, not wanting to be the reason Zane lost this strange job.

Zane proved to be a remarkably efficient housekeeper. Three hours later he was done, and the house smelled like bleach and furniture polish.

He squeezed both of Smitty’s rounded shoulders as he came up behind him. “All right, old man, I’ve got your list, and I’ll be back Thursday with your groceries.”

Smitty smiled wanly, the visit seeming to have taken its toll. He gestured towards me. “Bring young Mr. Simmons with you, if you like. He’s a wretched card player, but a good listener.”

“I had to trick him today, so I’m not sure I can get him back. He’s afraid of Ruger.”

“Blah, Ruger wouldn’t hurt a—oh, actually he eats those, but anything bigger than a fly is safe.” He gave me a hopeful look, one I couldn’t ignore.

“If Zane promises to lock him up, I’ll come back.”

Smitty slumped in his chair and scratched through his choppy grey hair. “I was wonderin’ where he was. Figured he was scared of young master Simmons, didn’t figure it was the other way around.” The old man patted Zane’s hand still perched on his shoulder. “Let him out for me, will ya?”

“Planned too. If you need anything call me.”

Smitty nodded, and pushed the cards to the center of the green and chrome table.