Turn (Gentry Generations)

by Cora Brent

  “He couldn’t do that,” I repeated. “Why couldn’t he?”

  She shrugged. “He didn’t say.”

  “And Grady?” I asked. “Where can I find him?”

  “The nearest gutter,” Sam’s friend said and then cackled at her own wit.

  “I haven’t seen Grady around either,” Sam told me. “I don’t know where he went.”

  “I see.” I turned all the information over in my mind.

  Tristan had been staying with this Grady piece of garbage. Grady sounded like nothing more than a shitty dealer who prowled around high school kids but he likely had something to do with the trouble that drove Tristan out of town.

  There was no telling why Tristan hadn’t reached out if he was in some kind of danger. Sure, we’d left the Empire Motel but he knew my cell phone number and he knew where I worked. He might have still been pissed off at me for a variety of reasons but Sam had said that he couldn’t come to me. Not that he didn’t want to. That was a world of difference. He might have been afraid. Afraid that Brecken and I would get caught up in whatever he’d gotten himself into.

  “I’m sorry,” Sam said and she did look really sorry, nearly tearful. “I really hope you find him.”

  Her friend whispered something in her ear and pulled her away.

  The ride back to the house was far more subdued than it had been earlier. Brecken slumped in the passenger seat and stared out at the passing landscape with a grim expression.

  “Breck.” I touched his arm. “We’ll find him.”

  “You’ve been saying that for weeks now, Curtis.”

  “I still think it’s true.”

  My little brother shot me an accusatory glare. “Do you really? Or are you just saying that?”

  I didn’t want to answer the question. I didn’t even know how.

  Saylor and Cord were watching a movie together when we got home. Cord gave Brecken a high five and Saylor worriedly asked him if he was feeling okay. Brecken just nodded and went to his room.

  “Teenagers,” Saylor said, smiling at me. “So it begins.”

  Brecken obviously wanted to be alone and I didn’t want to encroach on Saylor and Cord’s time together but Saylor insisted that I sit down and watch the end of The Matrix. It might have been weird, hanging out with a middle aged married couple in their living room, but Saylor and Cord were such incredible people I couldn’t feel weird around them.

  After the movie was over they retreated to their bedroom and I went outside to call Deck and brief him on what I’d learned from Sam and her friend. He agreed that it was helpful to have the name Grady to work with and said he’d start pressing his local contacts right away.

  Then I called someone else.

  Dietz wasn’t happy to hear from me.

  “The fuck you want again?” he grumbled, slurring his words. He was from the old days, the Emblem Rioter days. We used to get up to all kinds of shit together. He served time, eighteen months for mugging a woman at an ATM, and by the time he got out everyone had scattered. He stuck around Emblem anyway and was never going to turn around and choose an honest life but right now I didn’t care because I needed him for something.

  “I already told you, nobody around here has seen that fucking kid,” muttered Dietz. I heard a bottle open and the sound of greedy swallowing.

  “I need you to ask around again,” I said. “I’ll make it worth your time.”

  Dietz snorted. “You ain’t got shit these days, you dumb fucker. I know that.”

  I clenched my fists. He was lucky things were different now. Otherwise I would have rolled down there to Emblem, ripped him right out of whatever cave he was hibernating in, and beat the warm piss right out of him.

  Dietz must have had a change of heart because a moment later he sighed. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll keep listening. But nothing’s gonna come of it. You understand what I’m saying?”

  “Not really.”

  “Eh, you were always a dumb bastard, Mulligan. Don’t know how you always got all the good pussy.”

  Dietz must have considered that a farewell because the call abruptly ended.

  My feelings weren’t hurt. If I really cared what a douchebag like Dietz thought then I’d be exploring a whole new level of pathetic.

  The street was quiet. I sat down on a wooden bench and listened to the sounds. There were crickets and desert toads but no coyotes yelping like I remember hearing in Emblem at night when I was a kid. All the homes here were neatly kept and all the families I’d seen looked happy and prosperous. At the end of the street was the entrance to a neighborhood park and playground. This must have been a nice place for Cassie and her sisters to grow up, safe and loved. I’d had that too I guess, at least until my dad was murdered. I couldn’t blame my mother for the way I went wild in my teen years. But I blamed her very much for being so reckless and selfish that she hurt the boys’ chances. If she’d made different choices then things wouldn’t be so rough for them. Tristan wouldn’t be on the run somewhere with no resources and no one to protect him. Brecken wouldn’t be shooting nervous glances my way every so often as if he was afraid I’d disappear on him too.

  I sighed and scrolled through the call history on my phone. The numbers she called from were always international and never the same one twice, like she was moving around all the time or else trying to mask her location so I wouldn’t run to the authorities with whatever I knew. She must have chosen to say nothing for the same reason. Or else she was too afraid to hear the truth. The last three times the calls had come in I didn’t even answer them. I could have screamed in her ear, called her a shitty mother and let her know her middle child, her little boy, was gone and I didn’t know how to find him. Maybe that would have prompted her choke out some actual words.

  Then again, maybe not.

  I was still staring at my phone when I heard a car come to a rolling stop in front of the house, right behind where my own car was parked. I figured it had to be Cassie because that’s where she always parked but I looked up and saw a silver Acura. Someone was pressed against the passenger side window, someone with blonde hair, a girl.

  She suddenly slumped down, almost sliding down out of sight. All I could see of her companion was that he was male. The car pulled away from the curb and drove quietly down the street, pausing at the end of the block and turning into the park down there.

  I stood up and stared at the red brake lights. A second later the brake lights cut out. A chill crept up my spine as I squinted at the parked vehicle.

  Every dormant instinct for danger told me something bad, very bad, was going on in that car.

  And Cassie’s in there.

  I didn’t take the time to think.

  I jumped off the porch and broke into a full sprint.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  By the time I reached the restaurant where I was meeting Parker I’d changed my mind and wished I’d turned down his invitation.

  “Hey, Cassie. It’s Parker. I was just feeling kind of down and wondered if you wanted to meet up this evening. No pressure, just to hang out, maybe eat some nachos.”

  He sounded kind of low and maybe a little desperate so I agreed to meet him at this restaurant called Baca’s. Parker said it was a new place two blocks away from Mill Avenue. I figured it would be crawling with college students so close to the university but I didn’t realize until I walked in that it was no restaurant, just a dimly lit bar.

  It was fairly early and not completely dark yet so the crowd wasn’t too heavy. The theme was somewhat tropical with fake palm trees and reggae music but even at first glance I could tell the place was nothing special. Just another small, gimmicky bar that had popped up to cater to the rowdy college crowd. I wasn’t a huge fan of bars and usually limited myself to one drink, if that.

  “Cassie.” A hand circled my waist and Parker was right there smiling down at me. “You made it. Damn, you look great.”

  I was still wearing the same clothes I’d worn to work, ju
st a plain skirt and t-shirt. Nothing sexy about it. I had plenty of cute dresses in my closet at home and I’d had more than enough time to stop there and change. But instead I had chosen to dawdle at a used bookstore and get some iced coffee from their cafe. There was no reason to impress Parker. This meant nothing, just a casual get together with a semi-friend, a way to pass a few hours out in the world rather than sitting at home and trying not to stare at Curtis.

  Parker’s hand was still on my waist. I shrugged right out of his grip so there wouldn’t be any confusion about what was happening tonight.

  “Do they have food here?” I asked because I’d been expecting to binge on happy hour appetizers and my stomach was growling.

  “Food?” Parker said, as if he was confused about why I was asking. “Doesn’t look like it unless you count the pretzel bowls. Let’s go find a table. I see an empty one in the corner.”

  I resisted. “Why don’t we just go sit at the bar?”

  Parker made a face. “It’s loud over there and I don’t see many seats.” He took my hand and pulled me over to the empty table.

  “Much better,” Parker said when he sat down and flashed a charming smile.

  I didn’t agree but I figured since I was already here I’d just hang out for a little while and then make my escape. Perhaps on the way home I could stop by Pancake Buffet and grab a takeout plate.

  Parker was still smiling at me. “You don’t know how glad I am that you came out tonight.”

  “Thanks for the invite,” I said politely. “Have you been here before?”

  “A few times,” he said and snapped his fingers at a passing waitress. “Give me a beer, whatever the house brew is. What’ll you have, Cassie?”

  “Just a soda.”

  Parker raised an eyebrow. “A soda?”

  “Yeah, I tend to be kind of a lightweight and I’ll need to drive home. Plus I haven’t eaten since lunch.”

  Most guys would have gotten the hint and offered to go somewhere else but the inference went right over Parker’s head.

  “I’m fine with driving you home,” he said. “I’ll even arrange to get your car home.”

  “That’s okay,” I said in a firm voice.

  Parker’s smile faltered but he didn’t argue further.

  “So, Cassie.” His fingers brushed across the back of my hand. “What’ new?”

  “Since you saw me in statistics class the other day? Nothing.” I was reminded of something Debra had said though. “Hey Parker, did you go to college while you were in Nebraska?”

  He seemed to find the question strange. “I was working on my uncle’s cattle ranch. Didn’t I mention that?”

  “You did. Never mind. I was just curious. So what do you want to study at school? I don’t imagine you’re going to major in statistics.”

  Parker didn’t want to answer the question. He wanted to touch my hand again. “When I was staying at the ranch I got to know my Aunt Becky. She considers herself a spiritualist, or whatever you want to call it. Believes in astrology and palm readings. She taught me a few things.” Parker turned my hand over and ran a fingertip lightly across the lines on my palm. My initial impulse was to yank my hand away but the light touch of his fingers actually felt good, slightly ticklish, not at all threatening.

  Parker studied my palm. He ran his thumb over the flesh at the base of my thumb. “This is your passion mound.”

  I laughed. “Beg your pardon?”

  “It represents the depth of your passionate instincts.” He massaged the area and looked up, meeting my eye. I saw the heat in his gaze and slowly withdrew my hand.

  “Parker, um-“

  “You’re so damn gorgeous,” he said. “There’s not a girl in this room who can compete with you, Cassie. And I know there’s not a guy in here who doesn’t wish he was sitting where I’m sitting. I keep thinking about you. I’ve thought about you for so long, you have no idea. All I want is a chance. Will you give me one?”

  Luckily our drinks were delivered at that moment so I had a few seconds to breathe and compose the news that nothing romantic would ever happen between us. I didn’t hate Parker anymore and maybe he really had turned a complete one eighty since high school. Maybe he had really even become a new man worth knowing.

  I just didn’t want him. I didn’t want him at all.

  Parker saw it in my face before I said the words. “The answer’s no,” he said flatly.

  “The answer’s no,” I confirmed. “Sorry. I like you, Parker. You seem like you’ve changed a lot and that’s something to be proud of. But I really don’t see anything happening between us.”

  He listened and then nodded. “My loss,” he said with a sad smile. “One hundred percent my loss.”

  The conversation shifted to other less awkward topics. Parker wanted to hear about my job at Scratch but he was vague when I asked him what he was doing aside from taking evening classes.

  “Working for a contractor,” he said and shrugged. “It’s not very interesting.”

  “What are you planning to get a degree in?” I asked, sipping my second soda. Parker was still nursing his first beer.

  “Haven’t decided yet,” he said and shifted his eyes in the direction of the bar as if he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

  “So I guess you and Alex are still close friends,” I said. “Oh, and I heard that his sister works at the college but you probably knew that.”

  His eyes snapped back to my face. “Why do you bring that up?” There was inexplicable tension in his voice.

  “No reason.” And there wasn’t a reason. I was just making conversation. “Just something I heard.”

  Parker relaxed. “Yeah, I guess Amanda’s there. I haven’t seen her though.”

  I checked my watch. When I got here I told myself I’d hang in there and stay for an hour. Forty-five minutes had already passed. My bladder was demanding some relief from the two sodas so I stood up.

  “Bathrooms back that way?” I guessed, gesturing to a hallway to the left of the bar.

  Parker looked. “Yeah, I think so. You want another soda? Or a real drink? My treat.”

  “No thanks. I’ve got to get going soon.”

  Parker’s eyes dimmed and for a second there was an alarming flash of anger there. But then it was gone and he was smiling once more so I had to wonder if the lighting was playing tricks on me.

  “I’ll just hang out here and order another beer,” he said, which was weird because he hadn’t even finished his first beer.

  Baca’s was growing more crowded and there was a little bit of a wait for the bathroom. By the time I was washing my hands at the sink I wondered if Parker would even still be sitting at the table. I wasn’t sorry I’d turned him down. He’d find someone else.

  Parker was indeed still sitting in the same place where I’d left him. He greeted me with the happiest smile and I felt slightly sorry for him.

  “Now I know you said you didn’t want a drink, but I ordered you something I know you’ll like. Hardly has any alcohol in it, I swear.” He nudged a glass of brown liquid in my direction. “Trust me.”

  I hesitated. I’d already made up my mind not to drink tonight. But I figured a couple of sips wouldn’t have much of an effect and Parker looked so eager to have me try it.

  “It’s really sweet,” he said. “Called a rum cobbler. You’ll like it. And it only has trace amounts of rum. I swear I can drink ten of these and still pass a sobriety check.”

  I took a sip. The drink was indeed sweet. “It’s good,” I said.

  He winked. “I figured you’d like it. Hey, I forgot to ask you how your sister was doing. Cami was always so smart, I’m sure she’s taking the world by storm.”

  Since Cami was one of my favorite subjects I didn’t need much prodding to start bragging about her. Parker was very interested in everything I had to say and asked a lot of questions. He even wanted to hear more about Dalton after I mentioned him.

  “He used to be in the major l
eagues? Seriously?”

  “Yes. He coaches now, is very involved in community youth sports.” I yawned.

  “No kidding. That’s great. And Cami’s on her way to becoming a big time reporter?”

  “It’s what she’s always wanted.” I yawned again.

  Parker chuckled. “I guess my company is pretty stimulating.”

  “It’s not you. I’m just tired. It’s been a long day I guess.”

  He pointed. “I see you like your drink after all.”

  I looked down. While I was talking I’d paused to drink more than a few sips but I’d still finished only a third of the glass. I didn’t intend to finish anymore or else I wouldn’t be able to drive home even if it did hardly have any alcohol.

  “Actually,” I said, stifling another yawn, “I think I’m going to head home now.” I hadn’t really meant to stay this long.

  “Already?” Parker was disappointed. “It’s been great, just hanging out and talking.”

  “It has been nice,” I said, searching through my handbag for my wallet.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Parker said, smoothly withdrawing some cash and setting it on the table. “I got this one.”

  I didn’t argue. “Thanks again, Parker.”

  “Let me walk you to your car. There are too many drunk idiots wandering around out there.”

  “I’m good. I just parked around the block so I’ll be fine.” I stood up. I was a little tired but definitely sober. “I’ll see you in class, okay?”

  He nodded. “You bet, Cassie.”

  The bar was far more crowded now than it had been when I walked in so it was a little bit of a chore to squeeze out of there. Outside there was a touch of mugginess in the air, a hint of the brief summer storm season. But when I looked up I saw no clouds, only planets and stars and the moon. The same sky I’d been watching the night Curtis found me in the backyard. I inhaled sharply as a powerful thunderbolt of desire laced through me. Curtis had been right to put the brakes on that night. We would have just been using each other.