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Turbocharged

Page 14

by Jessie Gussman


  “If you finish your peas, I’ll sit on the floor and play trucks with you.”

  “Can Nate play, too?”

  “Sure. If he comes.”

  “Tell him to come.”

  Kaitlyn put her elbow on the table and dropped her head into her hand. Despite the hectic day, she’d called him while warming up supper to see if he wanted to eat with them. But he didn’t answer and so far hadn’t called back. Should she be worried?

  “Tell you what. Eat your peas, and we’ll take a drive and get some ice cream.” That worked for Nate yesterday.

  “I don’t want ice cream. I want Nate.”

  “Fine. Eat your peas, and we’ll drive to Tank and Eve’s and see if he’s there.”

  Bobby’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

  “Yes.” Kaitlyn wanted to be there more than anything. Surely, he was OK. But why hadn’t he called?

  Bobby dug into his peas, shoveling them into his mouth as if they were coated with honey. Less than thirty seconds later, he had cleaned up his plate. “I should have bribed you with Nate thirty minutes ago.” Kaitlyn stood and took their plates to the sink. “Grab your shoes.” After cleaning up the kitchen, she buckled Gary into his car seat.

  It wasn’t far to Tank and Eve’s. When they pulled in the drive, Nate’s car was parked in front of the house. Kaitlyn pulled beside it, and Bobby jumped out, running up to the front door and knocking loudly. Until Kaitlyn had Gary’s car seat unbuckled and out of the car, Bobby was coming back down the steps. “There’s no answer.”

  “I see.” Kaitlyn stopped, wondering what to do. She should text him, but what would she say? I’m standing in front of your house, let me in? Would that make her seem like a stalker? She should have called him again. But she’d been so thrilled that Bobby was eating his peas, and so eager to see him herself, that she hadn’t stopped to think of a call. About ready to set Gary down, and dig her phone out anyway, she paused, listening. Was that music? Coming from the back of the house.

  “Stay behind me, Bobby.” Just in case Nate was on the back porch making out with a girl. Although whether she didn’t want Bobby to see that or didn’t want him to get in the way while Kaitlyn attacked…the girl, or Nate? Both? Kaitlyn snorted. She could control herself. Most of the time.

  Bobby continued to bounce and jump.

  The music grew louder. A guitar and a fine male voice singing softly. Nate? She turned the corner cautiously. Steps led up to a small covered porch. A swing hung on one side. Nate sat on the steps, alone, his back to them, leaning against a post, strumming a guitar and singing. Having never been to church, Kaitlyn wasn’t an expert, but it sounded like a hymn.

  “Nate!” Bobby shouted as he ran from behind her.

  Nate startled, turning. He smiled at Bobby and was pulled into a hug over his guitar. With Bobby’s arms locked around his neck, he lifted his green eyes and met Kaitlyn’s gaze.

  Heat flared in her stomach. Too bad she couldn’t fling herself into his arms like Bobby.

  He searched her face, as though he was wondering what had brought her out. He wore a long-sleeved t-shirt. Her eyes were drawn to the corded muscles in his neck, which had always been hidden by collars, then down, across the wide expanse of his chest before she noticed that he was wearing jeans. A completely different look than she was used to, and her stomach took a dive. Water glistened on his short hair, and she itched to touch the strands.

  “What?” he asked softly.

  “You bring out the weirdest impulses in me.”

  His brows lifted in question. “What?”

  She shrugged. Enough of that craziness. “I couldn’t get Bobby to eat his peas, so I…”

  He interrupted her. “You bring out weird impulses in me, too.”

  “Huh?” Kaitlyn hunkered down in front of Gary’s car seat and adjusted his blankets. “Like what?”

  He shifted Bobby, and his knees brushed her shoulder. “Like I almost stopped at your place on my way home even though I had no reason to. I want to know every detail about your life. I want to take some of the burden of your dad and his company off your shoulders. I want to spend every waking hour beside you. I can’t stop thinking about you…” His voice trailed off.

  Kaitlyn turned without standing and placed her hand on his knee.

  Even with the twilight deepening, this was Nate as she’d never seen him. The t-shirt clung to his hard body, his long legs looked strong and tough in his jeans. His scent, spicy and unique, floated in the air, and she breathed deeply. He dominated her world as no one ever had. How absolutely insane was this? Was she?

  16

  Nate’s breath hitched, and his tongue seemed stuck to the roof of his mouth. Despite Isaac’s phone call, or maybe because of it, she was all he had thought about all day, and now she was here, in front of him, touching him. The scent of wild flowers drifted in the air, and he looked down on her shiny, dark hair. He lifted his free hand and slid it carefully over the chestnut tresses.

  Don’t do it, mister.

  He ignored that voice of reason. Did it really matter that they were all wrong for each other? He’d never had these feelings for any other woman. Never had the inability to stop thinking about her. Never spent the entire night, entire days, conniving and trying to figure out how they could be together.

  Bobby snuggled closer in his arms, pulling him back to reality.

  “Why are you wet?” Bobby mumbled.

  “I took a swim.” Grabbing his guitar, he lifted it off his lap and set it carefully behind him. Then he wrapped his arm around Kaitlyn and pulled her up to sit, tucked into his side. “That’s better. I wanted this all day.”

  “Why didn’t you come over?” she asked.

  He flinched at the quiet note of hurt in her voice. “After I missed your call, I texted you and you never texted back.”

  She looked up at him, apparently searching his face for the truth. “I never got anything.”

  Nate narrowed his eyes. He’d been on his way home this afternoon and figured he’d just go to Kaitlyn’s, despite knowing that he shouldn’t. He had no trucks there to be worked on. But she never answered. And he hadn’t tried again because Isaac’s warning screamed loudly in his consciousness. But he had texted once, and he wanted her to believe him.

  “Bobby, can you grab my phone on my belt? I seem to have my hands occupied.” He didn’t want to lift his arm from the warm woman who fit so perfectly into his side.

  “Sure!” He dugged into Nate’s belt. “Kaitlyn said we could drive over if I ate my peas, and I ate every single one, even though peas are the most grossest thing ever. I like worms better!”

  “Bobby! You’ve never eaten worms!” Kaitlyn said in astonishment.

  “Yes, I have. And they ain’t as bad as everyone says.”

  “Raw?” Nate asked.

  “What?” Bobby asked.

  “Were they still wiggling?”

  “Yep.” He held up Nate’s phone.

  “Eh, they’re better cooked.”

  Kaitlyn shivered and swallowed audibly.

  “Can you hand that to your sister, please?” Bobby still pressed against Nate.

  She took the phone. He gave her his password and she punched it in. The screen lit up with the picture that she’d sent that morning of Bobby and her in bed. Her cheeks were rosy, her hair mussed, and her blue eyes twinkled as she laughed in the picture. He smiled at the little shock that passed through her as she realized what she was looking at. Then she burrowed a little closer and he ran his hand lightly up and down her bare arm.

  She scrolled through all the driver texts until she came to the last one he’d sent her. “Ah. Here it is. Oh, it says it wasn’t delivered.”

  “Are you serious?” He read the little red words under the text bubble. “All my worry all day about you not wanting to see me was for nothing?”

  She pushed into his side. “You weren’t worried.”

  He leaned his head down so his mouth moved against her hair. “Yes,
I was. I thought I’d scared you off last night with my confession.”

  “Your confession?” she asked, incredulous.

  “Face it, Kaitlyn. A hundred years ago my situation might have been normal, but today? You’re the normal one.”

  “This has to bother you,” Kaitlyn whispered against his side.

  It did. He hated every man who had ever touched her, and he wanted every single detail. He wanted assurance that he was different. That there was something about him that made him better, that she liked him more, respected him more, admired him more. Yeah, he really wanted her admiration. Maybe as much as her love. Was that just him, or was it a general thing with all men? He wanted his woman to look at him as though he was her world. He wanted her to think the sun rose and set on him. That she could depend on him and feel safe, never worried that he might hurt her. Never seeing him covered in someone else’s blood for sport, his knuckles swollen, his nose broken, his body bruised and bleeding…

  His stomach twisted, and he swallowed. Just one more fight. He just needed to get away with this last fight without Kaitlyn finding out, and he would be done for good.

  “Nate?” Kaitlyn stiffened beside him. Her body moved away from his, and he felt the cold immediately.

  Shoot. He’d gone around the world twice since her last comment, but she would think…

  “It does, doesn’t it? That’s why you didn’t try harder to see me today.”

  “No,” he denied. “I really did think you might have changed your mind, and I didn’t want to push you. As for it bothering me…” His breath was unsteady. “Can’t lie about it.” He tugged a little on her arm, but she had slumped beside him and didn’t curl back into his side. He lowered his voice and whispered into her hair. “It’s probably not all you think. I have these extremely violent visions of mutilating any man who’s ever touched you. Breaking their fingers, making them bleed. Brutal, painful murder. It’s not pretty, and it’s not something I’m proud of.” Isaac, and everyone else who knew his dad, would say that was exactly why he couldn’t be with someone like her. Because eventually those thoughts would lead him to violence—against her.

  Kaitlyn’s head turned up. Her mouth hung open and, even in the dim twilight, he could see her eyes were huge.

  “I had no idea,” she finally stammered.

  Nate couldn’t hold her gaze. She really didn’t have any idea. None. And he’d like to keep it that way.

  Slowly, as though her brain was still processing, she turned away, and to his relief, she snuggled back into him.

  He drew her tight.

  “You’re right. That wasn’t what I was thinking.”

  They were quiet for a while, the night sounds, crickets and katydids, a symphony around them. A snore broke the spell that had fallen.

  Kaitlyn started. “Bobby?” she whispered up to Nate.

  Nate shifted Bobby on his lap, and the snoring stopped. “Yeah. That trip to Pittsburgh must have worn him out.”

  “He missed the bus this morning. My fault. And when he came home tonight, he just said he’d had a horrible day but wouldn’t tell me what.” Her body deflated. “He wanted you. I think you feel more accessible right now than his mom.”

  “Poor kid.”

  “He sure has taken to you.”

  Kind of the way I’ve taken to you. Nate wanted to say it, but he’d already said way more than he should have. He kept his mouth closed.

  “Is there any hope for us, Nate?”

  “Man, I hope so.” Either way, he was in big trouble.

  17

  The next day, Kaitlyn backed her pulling truck slowly out of the garage. She and Nate had just finished inserting the newly programed ECM, and with Gary sleeping in the corner of the shop, she was hoping she could take it out in the field and try it out. Of course, she wouldn’t have a sled hooked up, so they’d not know how it did under load, but she’d be able to tell a lot by the sound of the motor and the reading of the gages in the cab.

  Nate stood at the side of the garage with a big grin on his face.

  She smiled back and wiggled her fingers as she passed him.

  They hadn’t talked anymore about their relationship but had fallen back into the companionable working relationship they’d had from the beginning.

  Her phone buzzed against her side. She kept backing as she unhooked it and looked at the ID.

  The school. Again.

  “Hello?” Fully out of the garage, she brought the truck to a stop and put it in neutral, pulling on the air brakes with a shaking hand. Whatever the school wanted, it couldn’t be good.

  “Mrs. Driver?”

  “No. This is Kaitlyn Driver.”

  “Bobby’s mother?”

  “His sister. His mother is in the Pittsburgh hospital.”

  Nate walked over and hopped up on the step, his head in the open window. The smile slowly faded from his face as he listened.

  “Oh. Can’t I speak to his father?”

  “No. He’s with his wife.” She rolled her eyes at Nate. It was like the woman had forgotten all about their conversation from two weeks ago.

  “I see. Who is responsible for Bobby?”

  “I am. Is he OK?”

  “Oh, yes. He’s fine. But he punched a little boy at lunch today. When we investigated the situation, we’re pretty sure we found that his sandwich was bitten off to resemble a gun. We’ve taken pictures and sent them to the school’s legal team. In the meantime, he’s expelled indefinitely, pending the results of the pictures. If the lawyer agrees with our assessment, it’s a permeant expulsion for the rest of the school year. Just the fighting alone, however, carries a one-month suspension.”

  “One month!”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “But he’s seven! I’m sure he didn’t mean to hurt anyone!”

  “We have a zero-tolerance policy. I believe we’ve had this discussion before.”

  Kaitlyn graduated a good eight years earlier, but the woman’s condescending attitude made her feel like a pimply teen who’d just been dressed down for smoking in the bathroom.

  “And it’s just as ridiculous now as it was then! Could you please give him a little slack? His mother is in the hospital, dying of cancer, and he’s only seen his parents once in the last three weeks. Honestly. He’s seven. He’s not going to hurt anyone.”

  “The little boy he punched has a split lip. I’d almost say someone’s been giving your little innocent Bobby lessons in boxing or some kind of fighting techniques. I highly recommend you remove the violent video games and any other unsavory influences from his life, up to and including posters and videos of those popular fighting animal-men. He’s well on his way on the road that leads to prison, where all the violent criminals who started as seven-year-olds punching their classmates end up.”

  Kaitlyn looked at Nate and started to roll her eyes, but there was something about the set of his jaw and the angle of his eyes that stopped her.

  “I’ll be right in.” What would she do now? Was there a private school in the area where she could send him? Could she drive him to the next district over? She closed her eyes, overwhelmed.

  Nate’s hand, warm and rough, covered hers and her eyes pricked. She would not cry.

  “Good. He’s sitting in the office with all of his stuff. Don’t keep him waiting.” The phone clicked off.

  Kaitlyn dropped her hand from her ear and leaned her head back on her seat. The rumbled of her truck’s motor, the slight vibration signaling unleashed power, comforted her, but not as much as Nate’s hand holding hers. She opened her eyes and lifted her hand. “Thank you.” She indicated their linked hands. “This makes me feel as if I’m not in this by myself.” She closed her eyes and blew out as though that could expel all the troubles in her life.

  “Do you want me to go?”

  She opened her eyes and looked into Nate’s. “Did you hear?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s all baloney.” She smacked her hand on th
e steering wheel. “We’re a trucking family, not fighters. Bobby doesn’t even own video games. He has no idea how to punch anyone. He certainly doesn’t watch anyone fight or have any fighting heroes or posters, and I’m not sure he even knows what a gun looks like.”

  Nate’s hand tightened a little on hers. “It’s hard when people jump to conclusions about you or your motivations without a shred of evidence.”

  “Yeah.” She met his eyes. “I’d better go. They probably won’t let him leave with you, and Gary’s sleeping.” She squinted back into the corner of the garage where Gary’s playpen was. “I know of a couple private schools in the area, but I’m pretty sure there’s an application and enrollment process. I could probably send him to a Bedford County school, but I bet I’d have to drive him myself…” Kaitlyn checked the temperature gage, making sure the motor was cool, and then shut her truck off. She did not get out right away, but sat there, dejected.

  “We had gotten this out,” Nate indicated her truck, “because there wasn’t much going on. How about I call around while you go get him? I’ll get a list together of our options and requirements and costs.” Nate continued to hold her hand.

  She didn’t lift her other hand to clasp them like she wanted to. “That sounds perfect.” Some of Kaitlyn’s anxiety eased as she thought about what he’d said. “This could end up being a good thing for Bobby. He’s never done well in school. Karen didn’t want him medicated, although the school tried to get her to do it periodically.” She straightened, the hard knot of fear loosened. This problem was surmountable. They had options, choices, and they would do what was best for Bobby. “OK. I’d better get going. Bobby’s probably going crazy in that office.”

  ~*~

  When Kaitlyn got back, Nate had a list of private schools and their costs with their enrollment criteria and procedures. He also had websites and phone numbers along with contact names listed. Plus, there were two public school within a thirty minute driving distance.

  “Their policy is that if a student is suspended from another public school, they can’t be enrolled until the suspension is up.”

  “Oh.” Kaitlyn dipped her grilled cheese sandwich into the tomato soup that Nate had heated up.

 

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