by Tess Oliver
I climbed up onto the back of the truck and sat on the bench next to Dawson and Kellan. The tailgate was slammed shut, and the truck made its long, slow waddle down the hill. With parking on the mine site limited, workers were required to park down the hill in a parking lot set aside especially for the Bluefield miners. Big shots, owners and safety inspectors all had their reserved spots up top, but the rest of us, the people who actually kept the mine running, had to ride the open trucks down to the parking lot.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I smiled at a text from Andi. “Damn, Huck, you left a small red mark next to my mouth. Looks like a hickey. You’re an animal. I was thinking about putting a little sticky note on my shirt pointing to it with the words ‘I got this from Tommy Sawyer’. I’ll be the envy of all the girls in town. Too much?”
My fingers flew over the keys. “Yeah. Too much. My teeth mark on a pair of lips isn’t all that uncommon. Now, if you had my teeth marks on your perfectly round ass, then that would be something to brag about.” I pressed send.
The late afternoon sun was low in the sky. Dawson lifted his hand to shade his eyes from the light. “Guess the days are finally getting longer. About fucking time.” He elbowed me. “What are you grinning at? Another chick send you a naked picture like that girl, Linda, from over at the pool hall?”
I shook my head and stuck my phone in my pocket. Dawson looked at me, waiting for an answer.
“Fuck, can’t a guy have some privacy? You don’t need to know everything about me.” I knew damn well that even a little harmless sexting between Andi and me would send Dawson into a fit. Somehow, he’d solidified in his mind years ago that best friends and twin sisters didn’t mix. And I couldn’t blame him. If Andi had been my sister, I wouldn’t have wanted her to be with me either.
Kellan laughed. “You’re like a nosy old neighbor, Dawz.”
“The hell I am. I don’t really give a fuck about Huck’s pathetic social life.”
“So mine is pathetic, but you’re asking me if yet another girl has sent me a naked picture. I know the only things you get are videos of cats playing piano and goats on trampolines.”
“And what the hell do you have against musical cats and athletic goats?”
Kellan and I had a good laugh. That was what I loved the most about Dawson. He always knew just how to end a conversation on a high note.
“What are you going to be up to tonight?” Dawson asked Kellan.
“Not sure. I think Rylan and I are just going to stay in and watch a movie.”
Dawson turned to me with a mocking lift of his brow. Then he cupped his hand to his ear. “What’s that I hear? The clanking of chains? Yep, that’s what it is.”
“Dawz, if you think I’m chained up because I’m with Rylan, then I’m happy to be a prisoner.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Happy. Happy. Happy.”
The truck picked up speed after we crossed the tracks, the rails that cut the town of Bluefield in two. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I was tempted as hell to pull it out, but sexting with Andi was somehow less fun with her nosy-ass brother sitting next to me. The truck stopped at the end of the road. We climbed out. I hung back as Dawson and Kellan walked ahead. I dragged the phone from my pocket.
“And just how would I show off a bite mark on my ass? Transparent undies?”
I laughed and texted her back. “No, but I think you just gave me an idea on how to become a millionaire. As for the ass bite, it would show in the hot red blush you’d be wearing all day as you thought about my teeth on your ass. It’s a natural reaction.”
A text came right back. “The blush. Of course. Natural. BTW I can see you walking toward the parking lot.”
I lifted my face and squinted ahead. Just below the railroad tracks was a place where both sides of town converged for the best ice cream in the world, or at least east of the Mississippi. Abbie’s Ice Cream was a place where people congregated on a late afternoon. Many of the miners had family waiting for them on the long painted benches in front of the shop.
As my eyes swept through the group of people milling about the sidewalk in front of Abbie’s shop, I caught a glimpse of Andi. She was leaning against the newspaper stand looking a little lonely and nibbling an ice cream. She waved. Dawson hadn’t noticed her standing there, and I decided not to point her out.
Dawson and Kellan headed behind the others to the parking lot. Dawson looked back when he noticed I wasn’t following. “You drove with me, remember?” he called.
“Yep, but I’m thinking of rocky road right now. I’ll just walk home. Catch you later.”
Dawson and Kellan turned the corner out of sight of the ice cream shop. I walked toward Andi. She didn’t see me until I was right next to her. Her gaze absently coasted my direction. She startled, nearly losing the scoop on her cone. “Shit, Tommy, how the hell do you walk so quietly in those steel toed boots, like a friggin’ ballerina?”
“I’ve been compared to a lot of things, but never to a ballerina.” I leaned on the adjacent side of the newspaper stand and crossed my arms. “What I’m wondering is—why is a hot chick like you standing alone in front of the ice cream shop doing all kinds of great things to that scoop of ice cream with your tongue?”
“Pretty pathetic, isn’t it?” She pointed to the little red mark just below her bottom lip. “Did I mention I got this from the notorious Tommy Sawyer? You’d think that alone would make me a little more popular. But alas, I’m standing here alone, listening to the silly chatter of the high school kids and wondering when everything went so south.” Her voice grew quiet. “It was another stressful day at work, and now I’ve got to avoid eye contact with the head doctor because, stupidly, I slept with the man. Whoever theorized that work and romance don’t mix was genius. Only wish I’d heeded the advice.” She lifted her cone. “Want a lick? I thought butter pecan would make me feel better, but it’s not working. Think it’s missing a shot of whiskey or something.”
“I’m more a rocky road man. Want to tell me about your horrible day?”
A flurry of giggles from a group of high school girls pulled our attention toward the store front. They were looking my direction. I nodded hello to them and more giggles followed.
“Ah, the good ole’ days,” Andi sighed. “Hanging out in front of Abbie’s waiting for the hunky coal miners to come down from the hill.” She leaned over and looked at me. “I don’t remember any that looked like you though. But still, something about a man covered head to steel toed boots in sweat and the grit of the workday makes a teenage girl’s heart whir.”
“Whir?”
She shrugged and took another bite of ice cream. “Buzz, flutter, gyrate? I don’t know. The point is, I miss that time when the biggest fret was whether or not it would be a bad hair day.” She leaned back against the stand and some of the earlier sadness reappeared.
“You’ve got a tough job, Andi. But I’ve never doubted for a second that you were right for it.” I pushed off the newspaper stand. “Let’s take a walk. There’s a perfect place near the river where if you time it just right you can see the sun set behind the mountains.”
“Aren’t you tired? You just came off a long day at work.”
“If you don’t want to that’s all right too. But I’m not tired. Quitting time always gives me a magical burst of energy.”
“Let’s go then. I could do with a long walk, a nice sunset and a magical strolling partner.”
Chapter 21
Andi
Winter’s snow melt had filled the river to capacity. White rapids cut across the dark blue surface as the current flowed over the submerged rocks. The railroad bridge seemed somehow shorter standing over the plump river.
The temperature dropped sharply as we neared the riverbank. I pulled my sweatshirt tight around me. “Still can’t believe Kellan jumped from that bridge and lived to tell about it. I’ll never forget that night, grad night. I heard Dawson talking to someone, and I snuck down the hall to his room. Kellan was balled up on the floor b
loodied and beaten and shivering violently from the cold. All he cared about was that he would have to give up Rylan to keep his job. Thank goodness things worked out for them. I don’t think Kellan would ever have been happy if he hadn’t ended up with Rylan.”
“He wouldn’t be the same without her that’s for damn sure. He’s always been lucky. Guess that’s why he’s the only person to ever survive a jump from the bridge.”
“Is it true that ass, Jason Meade, is in jail?” I asked.
He smiled enthusiastically. “Classic case of bad karma. That idiot got himself in so deep with a couple of bookies that he resorted to stealing from the family safe. His dad caught him and decided to let him take the punishment. Guess he thought a little cold turkey in jail would help Jason kick his gambling addiction. He’s out of a job and a family and, from what I’ve heard, a trust fund. Of course, he’s probably safer in jail than out on the streets where the bookies can make him pay his debt . . . in one way or another.”
“Sounds like a perfect ending for the guy. Always hated him in high school.”
A green mossy scent wafted up from the rushing water. Tommy sat down on the grass that ran along the top edge of the riverbank. I sat next to him. He always felt especially giant and I always felt exceptionally small when I was near him. And, as always, being close to him felt comfortable and safe.
The quiet walk had definitely helped wash away some of the blues of the day. At nightfall, Bluefield became a different place. The noise and bustle of the town, the trains, even the constant grinding of the machinery up at the mine came to a peaceful halt, and the crickets and night creatures took over with their soothing lullaby.
“I really need some vacation time. I think that’s all I need to regroup and get past the stress I’m feeling. I’ve got some time saved up, but it takes forever to get on the schedule. And I’m not sure what I’ll do once I get the time off. Originally, I was supposed to go to Hawaii for a week with . . . with the doctor. It was something we’d talked about for awhile.”
Tommy glanced over obviously trying to gauge how I was feeling about the breakup. “Sorry about that, Sulli. That guy’s an even bigger idiot than I realized. Anyone who can’t see how—” He shook his head and stopped.
“How what?” I asked. “Don’t just leave me hanging. Tell me more about the big idiot who dumped me. It’s helping to lighten my dark mood.”
“Anyone who can’t see that you are perfection wrapped up in an amazingly hot packaging is a fool.”
I blinked up at him. “You are good, Thomas Sawyer.”
“It’s a gift.”
“I’ll say. “
“Seriously, Andi. You’re special. You have to know that.”
“Thanks, Tommy, but as you know, feeling ‘special’ didn’t come easy in my house. I think we were all just trying to outpace Dad’s tyrannical control. We didn’t have time to try and shine. He seems to be mellowing with age though. Thank goodness. But I still need to find a place of my own.”
“Yep, independence definitely has its perks. But I have to admit, and it’s not easy for me to do, I was kind of lost when my mom left to live with her sister. I’m completely alone here in Bluefield. With the exception of my friends, of course.”
“I felt sort of sad for you when you were in the hospital and there was no one to call.”
“Nah, you were there, Nurse Sullivan. That was all I needed.”
We stared out at the mountain landscape. A subtle sun was taking its last breath over the mountaintops before sinking down to light up another hemisphere.
“You’re right. The sunset was worth the walk. Never pictured you as the romantic type. You know, the type who appreciates a good sunset.”
“I’m a complicated man, Sulli.”
I peered up at his perfectly chiseled profile. A grin tilted his mouth. His beard covered most of it, but it seemed the cut on his chin was healing nicely.
“Maybe your chin won’t be scarred, after all. Not sure if the beard will grow there, but it shouldn’t be too bad.” I peered from the side of my eye up at him. “You might even still turn the heads of all the high school girls eating ice cream in front of Abbie’s.”
He reached up and rubbed his chin. “Yeah? That’s good to know.”
I leaned my head against his strong shoulder. “This has been nice, Huck. Are you ever going to tell me what I did to make you so angry? Was it something I said?”
“You? Sulli, there’s nothing you could say or do to make me angry.” He paused. “I just thought it might be easier on me to not talk to you. Turns out not having you in my life at all is even harder than knowing that—”
I lifted my face and stared at his profile. His dark lashes dropped as he stared down the river.
“Than knowing what?”
It took him a long moment to answer. I was sure he wouldn’t bother. Then he lifted his face and looked at me. “Than knowing that you would never be mine.”
It took me more than a few seconds to comprehend what he’d said. “Tommy,” I started, but didn’t know where to go with it.
“It’s all right, Sulli. It’s on my plate. Not yours. I’ve never expected anything, and I’ve moved on. Sort of. If you can call sleeping with a lot of women and never really getting to know any of them moving on. Just like you moved on to a career and an eventual path out of Bluefield. And I’m happy for you, Andi. Really.” He shot to his feet and lowered his hand for me to take.
I sat stunned for a moment, absorbing everything he’d just said.
“Let’s head back,” he said quietly enough that the river nearly drowned the sound of it.
My hand looked small in his as he lifted me to my feet. There was some element of shock in what I was feeling, but then there was some part of me that had known deep down how he felt. I just never knew how strongly. Tommy had always been a guy who I admired, a guy who had gone through a lot of crap in his life and who’d come out stronger and better because of it. But being Dawson’s friend and, frankly, a major player when it came to women, I’d never let my mind wander over to the scenario of being his girlfriend. I never would have believed that he would be the slightest bit interested in me.
The faintly starred cloak of early evening was covering Bluefield, and with it came a substantial drop in temperature. I wrapped my arms around myself, but it seemed it wasn’t so much from the cold as from trying to keep my emotions from falling out all over the place. The stress of the day, the breakup with Gary and now the unexpected confession from Tommy had shaken me. As I thought back to the months when it’d seemed Tommy hated me, seemingly going out of his way to avoid me, I realized that I hadn’t just been bothered by him ignoring me. I’d been hurt. It wasn’t just a niggling little annoyance type of hurt either. I’d felt it at my very core. I had missed talking to him. Then seeing him come into the hospital on a gurney and dealing with the fear that I might have lost him for good had opened my eyes to just how badly I’d missed having him in my life.
We walked in silence for a few minutes. He knew darn well that I was processing what he’d told me, but he didn’t bring it up again. One thing was for sure, it couldn’t have been easy for him to say. Tommy wasn’t exactly expert at expressing his feelings. For now, I’d keep what he told me deep in my heart, just like I’d kept so many other things about our friendship.
Tommy dropped his solid arm around my shoulders. I thought about those harrowing moments in the hospital when he’d saved me from the gunman. A shiver went through me as I thought about what might have happened if he hadn’t been there.
“Suppose I should get you back home. Your cute little chin is starting to tremble.”
I tucked myself closer to him. “I’m a wimp in the cold. My sisters sent an email with a picture of them standing on a Southern California beach. Brats, the two of them. It’s not even summer, and the people over there are already wearing bikinis and hanging out on the sand.”
“Yeah, Dawz mentioned they moved out west. Good for t
hem. I’d like to move to a nice place with a cool old house and a stretch of land to grow stuff and have some animals.”
“Never pictured you as the farming type.”
“Probably a lot harder than it looks, but I think I could do it. Just a dream of mine. But most of my dreams are just bursts of steam, easy to blow through and forget. I’ve got five days off next week, and I’m heading out with my backpack. You can still use the truck. I’m trying the boxcar adventure again. Worked for me the first time. No plans or maps. I’m just going to look for a place to throw down my sleeping bag. Dawson thinks I’m fucking nuts. I probably am.”
“I don’t think you’re nuts at all. And Dawson thinks any vacation that doesn’t involve skimpy swimsuits and sunny beaches is no vacation at all. I envy you. I think it would be a blast to just head out on a train and see where it takes you.”
He lowered his arm, stopped and turned toward me. “Come with me, Sulli. You said you needed some time away from the job. I can’t promise great accommodations or food, but I’ll keep you safe. I think you’ll have fun.”
My mind was swirling with the notion of a getaway and traveling the countryside. Away from the hospital. Away from my parents. Away from Gary. “I’d just get in the way of your freedom, and it’s not that easy for me to get time off. I have to ask for it at least a month in advance. And, of course, there’s the matter of my brother and my dad having simultaneous heart attacks.”
“What happened to the ‘I’m a big girl’ declaration and something about you not wanting to be under Dawson’s control?”
“I guess I did say that, didn’t I?”
“That’s all right, Sulli. I get it. If you change your mind, there’s no one I’d rather spend my freedom with than you.”
I hadn’t realized that my throat had tightened until I swallowed. “Tommy, I know I already mentioned this, but I’m really glad you’re talking to me again. I missed you.”
“I missed you too, Andi.”
