by Laura Drake
“The Duke said that courage is being afraid and saddling up anyhow. Besides, just because that happened in one plane, doesn’t mean all planes are bad.”
The echo of what he’d told Priss about “nice guys” all those weeks ago made him look up into the eyes that were so like hers. “You know, if you keep taking after your sister, there may be hope for you yet.”
“Call for all rows to board Flight 255 to Tampa out of Gate 22.”
Adam flinched. How am I going to do this? His fingers shook even though they had a death grip on the seat of his chair.
“Hey.” Nacho stood, hand extended. “Come on. We gotta go save Priss, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember.” His words came out jittery but he managed to stand.
Nacho’s hand slipped into his. “If you tell my homies I held hands with a guy, I’ll make your life hell. You know that, right?”
“You’re assuming we’re going to live through this.”
They boarded the plane together.
Nacho had asked for a window seat. Adam took the middle, figuring if he was sandwiched in it would make it harder to run.
At the stewardess’s suggestion, he pulled his belt tight. Then pulled it tighter.
“Wow, is this amazing or what? I never thought I’d get to go anywhere on a plane.”
“How could you expect so little of life?” Adam slid his hands under his legs to hide the shake.
Mouth tight, Nacho stared out the window.
Way to go, ace. Where this kid came from, a plane ride was as likely as you becoming an astronaut.
Shame loosened his terror.
“That’s another good reason to choose your career wisely. You want to have the funds for the good stuff.” When the engine drone rose, Adam grimaced. “Not that any part of this is the good stuff.”
“How much do you think I’d make as a custom painter?”
Revenue expectations and retirement plan explanations carried Adam through takeoff with only one minor panic attack when the captain powered back at cruising altitude.
“See? That wasn’t so bad.” Nacho stared out the window. “Oh, cool, I’ve never seen the tops of clouds before.”
Adam had to look. And he found he could, just, because the ride was so smooth.
Nacho pointed. “It looks like you could bounce on them. But—” his smile dissolved “—I knew that was bull.”
“What?”
“Ah, nothin’.”
“Tell me, Nacho.”
He scanned the clouds. “Once, in the kid warehouse, a minister came to talk to me. He said that my mom was an angel living in the clouds with Jesus.” He wiped a finger down the window. “I knew that was just a story to make me feel better.”
Adam’s heart squeezed but not from fear. “You believe this plane is going to stay up in the air, right?”
“Course I do.”
“Why?”
“I learned that in school. It’s ’cause of the way they shape the wings.” He cupped his hand to demonstrate. “The air goes over it, and makes lift.”
“How do you know? Look out there. I can’t see it.”
“Because you can’t see air. But that’s what—oh.” One corner of Nacho’s mouth lifted and he glanced over. “You’re different than I thought.”
“Ditto, dude.”
Nacho smirked and rolled his eyes. “Don’t say ‘dude.’ It is so not you.”
“All right, deal.” Adam reached out his hand and they shook on it. “You know, I have kind of a plan for when we see Priss. But it won’t work without you. You want to hear it?”
“Does a bear shi—um. Yeah.”
Just then Adam did something he never thought he’d do on a plane again.
He smiled.
CHAPTER TWENTY
WHAT THE HECK is taking so long?
Even the prostitute had made bail hours ago. Priss paced her three steps to the bars. Now she knew how a stray mutt at the pound felt. Except people came to see them. No one had come back here in a long time. Her gut twisted, only partly due to hunger.
What if Adam had to borrow the money?
You’ve asked too much. You should have worked this out on your own.
Yeah, but how? Stage a breakout? The forty dollars she had on her was a fart in the wind to that bail. And Nacho had to go to school tomorrow. If the county found out she was in jail, they’d take him from her.
She wrapped her arms around her burning stomach. “God, how did I honk this up so bad?”
You didn’t think, that’s how.
She was used to reacting, dancing and juking her way out of trouble when it found her. But that only worked solo. Besides, she’d vowed to leave all that shit behind.
But she hadn’t left her temper behind and look where that had led.
Okay, so you’re going to have to change. Again. She’d try to blend in, to toe the middle-class line from now on. It wasn’t her. She’d hate it. But if it would give Nacho a safe, even-keeled home life, it would be worth it.
Her main focus had to be Nacho.
She straightened her shoulders and finger-combed her hair. She’d let it grow out. She’d wear ironed cotton clothes and proper loafers. She’d trade Mona in for a mommy-mobile.
No more temper. No more mutt.
She stopped, hands on the bars, peering down the hallway.
How long does it take to wire money? Maybe after he hung up, he got fed up and decided to let you cool your heels.
How would she know?
The money wouldn’t show up, that’s how.
Her stomach continued its attempt to consume itself.
She remembered Adam, standing behind the drug counter in that sexy white coat, smiling while an octogenarian told him about her great-grandbaby. She remembered him out in front of the drugstore, apologizing to Nacho.
Adam was a true-blue nice guy. If he said he’d bail her out, he would—even if he wanted nothing to do with her after this.
Two hours later, despair had set in.
Set in, hell, it had camped out, lit a fire and commenced a drunken party.
She sat on the cold cement bench, knees pulled up, resting her aching forehead on them.
Clang!
The metal door at the end of the hall slid open, and she bolted upright. Footsteps, then a cop stepped to her cell. “You made bail.”
Thank you, God...and Adam Preston.
There was an open-ended ticket home in her backpack at the hotel and the forty bucks she still had would buy her a cab ride to the airport. Luckily, the police station was only two miles from the hotel. Shouldn’t take long to walk.
She bounced on her toes, waiting for the cop to quit fumbling and get the door open. Her stomach rumbled but it was just going to have to wait until she got home.
Home. Warmth spread through her. You’re going home soon.
No matter what awaited her in Widow’s Grove, it couldn’t ruin the perfect feeling of having a home to go to. She followed the cop down the hall to a window where another police officer handed over her fanny pack and her baseball cap.
“Thanks.” She flipped it and put it on backwards, then remembering her vow, took it off and put it on right.
No more mutt.
When the cop unlocked the last door, she walked into the lobby of the police station, eyes on the door to the outside. If she jogged—
“Hey, where you going?”
Nacho?
He ran over, threw his arms around her and hugged her hard. “You saved me from the kid warehouse. So we came to save you back.”
Closing her eyes, she put her nose to his hair and pulled in the scent of kid. Her kid.
She glanced up, and when Nacho let her go, guts j
umping, she took the few steps to where Adam stood, hands in the back pockets of his jeans, his expression unreadable.
Nacho followed her, not touching, but close.
“You flew?”
“What else could I do? You hung up on me.”
“Wow. That’s amazing.”
“Couldn’t have done it without Nacho’s help.”
Nacho beamed.
“Priss—”
“Please, just let me get this out first.” If she waited she wouldn’t have the guts to say it. “It goes without saying—I’m going to pay you back as soon as humanly possible.”
When he opened his mouth to speak, she held up a hand and addressed Nacho.
“I did a lot of thinking today. I put some things into perspective. First, we’re staying in Widow’s Grove.”
Nacho pumped a fist. “Yes.”
“It’s past time I grew up. My focus from now on is you and making the best home that I’m capable of. If it means becoming a soccer mom, I’m going to—”
“Hang on. I’m not signing up for that crap.”
“Dude, it’s just a euphemism, relax.” She turned to Adam. “And I want you to know that things are going to change. No more stray mutt. I’m going to—”
“But I like mutts.” He spread his hands. “They’re loving, fiercely loyal, and they’re brave.” One side of his mouth tipped up. “My life was way too boring before you two burst into it. You both helped me discover my own courage by witnessing yours.” Adam’s eyes bored into her. “You don’t have to give up your priorities in order for us to have a relationship.
“Okay. But I think we all have things we can learn from each other. What do you say we call a truce in keeping score and just see where this leads?”
Watching them both, Adam waited.
“I’m in,” Nacho said.
She’d have never believed there was a place for her to call home. And yet, in Widow’s Grove, she’d found it. She’d never imagined having her own family, but then her brother dropped into her life. She’d never believed in wanting such a thing because it didn’t result in having. But could it be that having was possible?
She wasn’t sure. But one thing was certain; if she didn’t reach out and grab the chance, she’d never find out. And with this man, it felt safe to reach.
A calm happiness welled in her as she took Adam’s hand. “Oh, yeah, sign me up, too.”
A smile transformed his face, softening the tight lines. His eyes promised things. Good things. He squeezed her hand. “Okay, then. Let’s go home.”
They walked to the door. Adam held it open, slipped an arm around her waist and whispered in her ear. “By the way, you hung up before I could tell you. I love you, Priss Hart.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
A month later
NACHO PEDALED THROUGH the neighborhood, cool and slow, scoping it out. The trees hanging over the road rustled in the wind making sliding shadows on his bike look like ghost flames.
Hey, maybe Bear will let me practice by painting my bike.
He’d probably have to ask Adam first, though.
He rolled past a house. A basketball hoop on the garage roof, a Big Wheel overturned in the driveway. No dog in sight. Maybe he’d come back one day after school....
But the bouncy tickle he usually got in his chest thinking about it, didn’t come.
He pulled a U-ie and cruised by again.
Crazier than that. The thought of going in one of those windows felt...weird now. Wrong. Not “gee, I shouldn’t do that” wrong, but wrong inside.
Why, all of a sudden?
Pulling another U-turn, he looked close at the little home. It was perfect. Hell, he could even see a window at the side they’d left cracked.
So why not?
Because that tickle was gone. And that wasn’t all. Somehow, over the past weeks, that hollow roar like a big wind inside him had calmed and he’d been so busy he hadn’t even noticed.
Things had changed since they flew back from Tampa. Priss seemed more settled. Happier, maybe. Probably because Adam was hanging around more. A lot more.
Well, Nacho could get behind that. Having another guy around was pretty cool, actually. It took two guys to balance out Priss’s bossiness.
The door to the house opened and a man came out. A lady followed him, carrying a little girl, her legs wrapped around her mom’s waist.
Nacho rode on.
He felt around inside his head.
Quiet. Calm.
No wind, no vacuum, pulling him in all different directions at once.
So what is this?
Maybe it was him. Maybe under all that wanting was him. Not the Nacho he was supposed to be, but who he really was. Maybe he didn’t need those houses anymore because he’d found one of his own.
Maybe—
Beep!
Mona pulled alongside him, top down. Adam drove leaning back with just his fingers on the wheel, his other arm stretched over the back of the seat.
“Hey, Nacho, where’ve you been? I’ve been looking for you.” He pulled over and threw the car in Park. “Come on, we’re going to be late.”
Nacho hopped off his bike. “Late for what?”
Adam got out of the car, walked around it and picked up the bike. “Barney’s getting out of the hospital today. Sandy Otto called. He needs help moving his grandpa into his new apartment.” He lifted the bike into the backseat.
“Can we get our old TV back now?”
Adam opened the passenger-side door, and Nacho got in. “You got my vote, but you’ll have to ask your sister.” He slammed the door and jogged around Mona’s hood. “Anyway, we’re going to swing by there before we go to dinner.”
“So where’s Priss?”
“She’s talking to your mom. At the cemetery.” He checked the mirror, then pulled out.
Nacho snorted. He thought a minute. “Do you think Mom can hear her?” he said softly, because he wasn’t sure he wanted Adam to hear his question.
“Absolutely.”
I’m going to do that. I want to tell Mom about Bear. He shot a look at Adam. And stuff.
They drove through town, the sidewalks crowded with tourists. “Hey, Adam. Would it be okay if I paint your bike? Maybe purple. With ghost flames. It won’t look ugly, I promise. Bear said—”
“It’s your bike, guy. Do what you want with it.”
That tickle in his chest was back. But this time it was happy excited, not scary excited. He smiled. He liked this tickle better. Leaning back, he draped his arm outside the car so people could get a good look at his natural coolness.
They rolled out of town.
“Hey, dude,” Nacho said over the wind.
“Yeah?”
“When you gonna man up and ask my sister to marry you already?”
The car shimmied when Adam whipped his head around, his eyebrows raised above his sunglasses. Then he looked back at the road, his mouth in a straight line. “How’d you get so smart all of a sudden?”
* * *
THE NEW GRASS had grown over the grave, greener than the rest. They’d put a little marker at the head with her mom’s name, and the dates that bracketed her life like parenthesis. Forty-seven was really young to die.
Priss glanced around to be sure she was alone, not sure how to begin. The sun was warm on her shoulders and a breeze played with her hair. The only sound was the far-off noise of traffic from the highway and the sparrows chirping in the shrubs a few rows over.
“Hi, Mom.” She cleared her throat. “I’m back. Late, I know.” She shifted her weight to the other leg. “Nacho’s safe. I’ve got him now, and he’s doing good. I think he may end up painting cars for a living. Can you believe that?” She slipped her hands into
her back pockets. “I just wanted to tell you that I get it now. It’s not easy raising a kid. I’ve already screwed up so many times. First I was too lenient, then I was too tough. I still don’t know if I have it right, but I’m going to make the best home for him that I know how. So he won’t have to...”
This didn’t feel right.
She lowered herself to sit beside the grave and wrapped her arms around her knees. “See, I figured it out. You and me, we were birds of a feather.” She smiled. “How could we not be?” Her mother’s pretty face appeared in her mind. “You flew from man to man, looking for someone to love you. I flew from place to place, looking for somewhere to belong.” She rested her head on her knees. “But you didn’t need to go looking, Mom. I loved you. I always loved you.” The wind sighed around her. “I know. It’s not like having a man hold your heart safe in his hands. But it’s something, you know? Nacho taught me that it’s something pretty special.
“So maybe it’s enough. Enough for you to rest easy.” She tucked her nose in the crook of her elbow. “I’m sorry, Mom. So sorry that I didn’t get it sooner. I should have been here. Should have...”
She waited until she could go on. It didn’t matter; her mom had all the time in the world. “Thank you for telling Gaby that you didn’t blame me. I’m going to pay you back, anyway, though. I’m going to put all my love into Nacho. He’s not going to be weighted down by the shit you and I were held back by. He’s going to fly free.”
She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her shirt.
“And, Mom? Thanks for bringing me here, to Widow’s Grove. Because it turns out, here is the home I was flying around looking for.”
She stood. “I gotta go now. But I’ll come see you sometimes. Bring you updates, okay?”
She kissed her fingers, then turned to see her guys walking up the hill to her.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from THIS JUST IN... by Jennifer McKenzie.
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