Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 105815 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105815 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
I wrap her up in my arms and pat her back. “I’m sorry, so much. We won’t do anything you don’t want. You can stay in a motel. I’ll stay in a room next to you for a couple of days if you want.” I can get her a room on my credit card, pay it up for a week or so, then figure out the future when Mom and Dad get here.
She winces. “You’re too nice to me. I can’t do that.”
“You can’t come back to the complex,” I tell her gently. “They’ll know. I can get your things for you, your blankets and whatever you had in the tent, but the landlord is not happy.”
River steps closer, his movements slow and easy. “June, you don’t know me, but I have an idea of where you can stay. It’s quiet and sort of out of the way from people.”
She rubs her arms and gives him a wary look.
“Let’s get you in the truck and talk about it there,” he continues.
She bites her lip. “Alright, but I’m only listening to you because you wished Ana happy birthday. And you gave me twenty bucks at Big Star.”
I start as I look over at River, who’s smiling.
“Didn’t think you recognized me,” he says softly.
“You aren’t Bruce, but you’ll do.”
He smiles, a gentle one. “May I carry you?”
She nods, another tear escaping as her chest hitches. “Yeah.”
“What do you think about aliens?” Carl asks June. “Real or fake?”
She ponders it as she sips on her coffee, her eyes darting around the den, landing on me as I stand next to the counter then coming back to Carl. She’s trying to figure him out as they sit at his kitchen table. “Never met one, but who am I to say what’s true. Half the town believes it. There’s even some kind of museum downtown.”
“The truth is out there,” Carl says in a serious voice.
“Brings in tourists, I guess,” she says, and the conversation is so mundane that I can’t stop staring. “I’m from Atlanta but ended up here to get away.”
Oh, June. Her son…
My throat tightens. It’s not a topic for now, but I make a note to talk to her about her son later. I’ll have to ease into it; I know she has boundaries. Talking doesn’t make the pain go away, but it gives the person who died a name in the universe and makes them important. I want her whole story someday. I want her to let me love her.
She nibbles on a piece of toast Benji made earlier. He slathered strawberry jelly all over it and gave it to her like it was a filet. She looks at Carl from underneath her lashes. “I think you might be crazy though.”
He grins. “All the best people are.”
She cocks her head.
He gives her another smile.
She blinks rapidly and pets Oscar, who’s curled up in her lap.
River drove us to Carl’s house about an hour ago, a small brick place on the outside of town. He knocked on Carl’s door while we sat in the truck, waiting as River talked to him. I’m not sure what he said, but Carl listened, then opened his door and called out, Come on in, friends.
Her knees have been bandaged, and there’s a new hat on her head, one Carl offered, an old Braxton beanie. Since her clothes were soaked, she changed into some gray joggers, fuzzy socks, and one of Carl’s flannel shirts.
River and I linger in the kitchen, drinking coffee. It’s two in the morning, but neither of us seem in a hurry. Benji is slumped in the recliner in the den, snoring, Spike attached to him like a tick.
River has a hand behind my neck, his fingers playing with the hair on the back of my head. I sigh and lean against him as I listen to them. Carl and June seemed to see something in each other from the moment she walked in, a kinship, two people who aren’t like everyone else. Once you’ve experienced loneliness, you see it in others.
Carl tells June about the RV camper he has in his back yard, how it has electric and water and would she like to stay there.
“I don’t know,” she says slowly.
“There’s a skylight,” he adds. “I mean it’s probably dusty and stuff, but we can clean it up. Might help you feel like you’re outside and such. And I don’t mind if Oscar stays with you.” His voice is gruff, and I think he’s feeling her sense of helplessness. Maybe he’s been there.
River massages my scalp, his fingers digging in as if sensing my tension.
June swallows thickly, then a long sigh leaves her chest. “I’d like to look at it. And if Oscar likes it…”
Carl grins. “Excellent.”
“She’s okay,” River promises me softly, his voice low in my ear. “Carl wouldn’t hurt a flea, and she’ll have her space. You can come see your family whenever you want.”