Ten

by Tia Fielding

  “You have beardburn on your chin,” Makai pointed out as he got up, and they went to the kitchen. “Just so you know.”

  Emil blushed and shook his head but said nothing. After a moment he grinned. “I bet Lotte has some too.”

  “Oh?” Makai looked at him and took the creamer out of the fridge.

  “Jason’s been spending time there lately.”

  Makai chuckled. “Well, he does seem like a good guy and likes Joie a lot.”

  “I think he is a good guy. A great cop, Dad says. And he’d stand up for Joie and Lotte if someone came at them, you know?” Emil fixed the lids of their travel mugs and shook a kitten off the leg of his jeans. “Not now, kiddos. Daddy and I are going for a walk. You might get to go out later. Be good.”

  Makai followed him out the door and then took his mug. “Let’s say Lotte’s choice of deputy was pretty damn great,” he grumbled, still remembering all the shit Mark had put them all through just by existing in town. He wouldn’t dare to be horrible to anyone anymore, not after what had happened at the shed teardown, but he glared at all of them more than before.

  Emil snorted. “Oh yeah. Apparently, Mark has been going out of town every time he has time off. Jason thinks he’s going to get away from us weirdos and to get laid.”

  “I don’t like the guy, but I can see the reasoning in that.”

  “Yeah, but see, I think that he’s going out of town specifically to hook up with guys.”

  Makai almost dropped his mug. He stopped, looked at Emil and uttered, “What?”

  “I think he’s being such a jackass because he has some issues about his own sexuality,” Emil said as if it made complete sense, and sipped at his caffeine as they slowly ambled along the driveway.

  Makai thought for a while. “I guess it’s possible. Self-hatred is a powerful thing.”

  “I think it’s been studied that a lot of homophobic men actually have repressed homosexual feelings themselves.” Emil shrugged and then waited for Makai to cough and spit into the bushes before they continued to walk again.

  They had this down. Walking to a certain point to the driveway and then turning back to make the same trek back. It was okay. At least it was easy terrain to walk with a mug and an arm cast. Here, Makai didn’t have to worry about tripping and hurting himself more.

  “Oh hey, I was going to order some stuff off Amazon today. Do you need anything?” Makai asked after they’d turned back home.

  Emil didn’t say anything at first, and when he did, his tone was hesitant and quiet. “Maybe new strings for the guitar and some picks?”

  Because Emil wasn’t looking at him, the most obvious choice was to not make a deal of it. By now, Makai knew when something was too much for Emil to talk about further.

  “Sure. Pick what you think you need, and we’ll use the gift cards. You can get groceries or something if you insist on paying back.”

  THE MORNING changed into warm and sunny gradually, and Lotte dropped off the play yard around ten.

  “Here you go!” She helped Emil lift the thing onto the front lawn.

  “Thank you so much. This might not keep them safe for long, but at least it might slow them down a bit.” Makai grinned at her.

  “Where’s Joie?” Emil asked, closing the back door of the SUV for her.

  “They’re with their dad this week. He wanted to take them to Disney and stuff, the usual vacation bonding thing he wants to do in as flashy way as possible,” she said, frowning a bit. “I mean he’s not a bad guy. He just feels guilty and goes overboard.”

  “I think that’s a lot of parents who only see their kids occasionally,” Emil mused.

  “Oh yeah, definitely. He’ll let them do whatever they want, and once he drops them off, it’s like… where did my nice kid go and where’d this monster come from, you know?” Her tone wasn’t serious, and she smiled slightly.

  “Have you thought about the kitten thing?” Makai asked her. “I mean that would make them behave for sure if you need leverage.”

  “I think I’m going to give in, to be honest. It would be nice to have a pet, and they’ll be old enough to take care of it, especially when there’s no walking involved.”

  “I can build you a run if you want. I’ve seen some nice ones online, and I thought of making one for Mouse. It goes against the house, and the cat can go in and out through the window.”

  “Ooh, that’s actually a great idea. I’m sure Joie would love to help you plan it.”

  “We can totally make it a project. They could help with the building and stuff, too, where they can.”

  “This is a great idea. Thank you, Makai!” Lotte came closer to give him a very soft hug. “I can figure out things to incorporate around it, like math and stuff. For the whole homeschooling bit, you sometimes have to take inspiration where you can.”

  Emil laughed. “I’m sure you can come up with a great plan for the project. Plus, now you have all the leverage you need if they misbehave. They’d never risk getting the kitten.”

  “It’s still weeks away. I won’t be giving them away before they’re twelve weeks old, so you got time,” Makai reminded her so she wouldn’t get stressed. “And the cat won’t need the run immediately. Plus I have my own healing to do anyway before I can get back to building.” He lifted the cast a bit.

  She checked the time on her phone. “Right. Well, thank you in any case, and I’m gonna be late for work if I don’t go now.”

  They said bye, and Emil and Makai started to figure out how to assemble the play yard for maximum use.

  They were putting the two separate fences together, and Makai went to find zip ties from the shed. A car rolled into the yard just as he got back out with the ties.

  “Hey, Dad,” Emil was saying, and Makai couldn’t help but feel suspicious, guilty, and glad at the same time. He’d probably always have problems with Emil’s father, being that he was the law, quite literally. He could also admit that he liked the man now, a lot.

  Makai saw them hug and smiled at the sight. “Morning, Sheriff,” he called out as he crossed the distance to the others.

  “No uniform, so would it be too hard for you to call me Kalle on an off day?” Emil’s dad smirked and held out a hand for a fist bump.

  Makai chuckled and bumped his fist, then nodded. “Sure, but only if there’s no uniform.”

  “Good.” Kalle looked at the fence parts. “What do you have here?”

  “Lotte dropped them over. We’re thinking about putting them together for a bigger one so we can fit inside. The kittens will love being outside,” Emil explained.

  Kalle looked thoughtful as he took in the fences and the yard. “Why don’t you put it against the house? It’d double the space, and depending on where you attach one end, it could have the front door on the inside so they can run back and forth?”

  Makai went closer to the wall and nodded slowly. “Yeah, we could make a sort of a latch here, so we can open it easily when we need to get to the car and such, same with the other side for going to the shed. I mean, for now, I won’t be working there anyway, so I don’t need to have it out of the way. And to be honest, I can just step over it if needed.”

  Emil grinned. “You two make plans, I’ll go make lunch. Dad, for you too?”

  “Sure, sure,” Kalle said absently. “And coffee if you have any?”

  “I could take some too.” Makai stopped and coughed for a moment.

  The Newman men frowned at the sound, but Emil went inside anyway. Kalle, on the other hand, looked worried. “How’s the healing going?” he asked and went to examine the ends of the pen parts.

  “It’s going. Luckily I don’t have much to do, so it’s manageable, all in all. Emil’s been a great help. He thinks about things I don’t and makes sure I have it easy.” He smiled at the thought, and Kalle gave him a fond look when he noticed.

  “So, I think the plastic is thick enough that if we’re really careful, we could put hinges here. What do you think?” he sai
d without commenting on Makai’s expression.

  Makai went to examine the situation, happy for the change of subject.

  THEY MANAGED to get the pen assembled in a way that was perfect for their needs. The door was left inside like Kalle had suggested, so as soon as they were done, they just left it open.

  Kalle sat on the stairs with one of the chicken wraps Emil had made, and eventually the kittens managed to get past him, despite being shy for a moment at first.

  Makai sat in the grass, and Emil came to join him with their food and drinks.

  “You know you gotta help me up, right?” Makai asked, and Emil shrugged.

  “Yep. Might have to utilize Dad’s help, though, getting all that vertical again,” he said casually, making both Makai and Kalle laugh.

  Makai’s lungs decided laughing wasn’t a great thing after the moving around he’d done, and he coughed for a while before he could start eating.

  The kittens and Mouse were all ecstatic. Mouse seemed to be content inside the pen, overseeing her babies play, and if Kalle fed her some sneaky bits of chicken, she certainly didn’t complain.

  “Your mom is so into these critters it’s ridiculous. I think I can see the point, though.” Kalle watched the kittens play and wrestle on the grass. “Do you have homes for them yet?”

  “One. Joie gets to pick the first one, but other than that, no.” Makai took a sip of his coffee while Emil held his wrap for him.

  “I was thinking you could take photos of them, Emil. Maybe put them up at the diner or Doc Donovan’s?” Kalle reached out to scoop Spike into his hands and placed the kitten on his shoulder, then proceeded to laugh when it sniffed at his ear.

  “That’s actually a really good idea. You think Leah would let me?”

  Makai could tell Emil was already thinking about the photos he was going to take, and smiled into his wrap.

  “Oh yeah, make them big and put in an info text, and she’ll put them on the counter, even. Right now, most of the town would do anything for Makai, so might as well use it to get these ones good homes.”

  Makai felt awkward about the attention and the gratefulness of the town, but he’d started to accept that it was what it was.

  “Okay, I’ll ask her when we go there next.” Emil winced when one of the kittens tried to climb up his back.

  Kalle coughed in a way that signaled he had something on his mind. Makai looked at him, and saw the uncomfortable expression on his face.

  “So, there’s another reason than just hanging out with you two bringing me here,” Kalle started and scratched Spike under his little orange chin. Makai realized whatever it was, the man was a bit nervous to talk about it. “The investigation is going fine, there shouldn’t be any repercussions for you at all,” he said at first in a tone that implied that he’d known that would be the first thing Makai’s mind would go to.

  “Okay,” Makai said and swallowed hard.

  “Your phone number is unlisted, so I’ve been handling some calls that were meant for you because I was the obvious person to call, being the sheriff and all.” Kalle looked at him and Emil and frowned. “There are some journalists that want to write about what happened.”

  “What?” Emil sounded disbelieving. “How does that—wait.” He held out a hand. “Is this because what happened to me and Makai’s own past stuff? And now they’re interested in talking about him again?”

  “Yeah, pretty much. It’s not common for a town this size to have incidents like these connected to it.”

  “None of this has anything to do with Emil,” Makai stated firmly. “I would never put him into the public eye like that.” He’d had experience with some pretty fucking persistent members of the press and… yeah. Not good.

  “Of course not.” Kalle seemed to understand. “But the easiest way to get out of this is to give one interview and say it’s exclusive. There’s one of these people who writes for an online thing that seems to be more interested in you than the town.”

  “Is that a good thing?” Emil asked, obviously skeptical.

  “Yes, because if you agree to do it exclusively, it means they’ll do pretty much anything to make you talk, including letting you tell them what the parameters are.”

  “How many calls have you had?” Makai picked up a kitten to calm himself.

  “Dozen or so. Some are pure trash. Tabloid stuff. Clearly not going to write about you fairly. I’ve also told each and every one that if they come to town and try to harass you or anyone else here, I will drive them out so fast they won’t know what hit them.” The tone was so small-town cop that it made both Makai and Emil grin. “What?”

  “A tad bit sheriffy on your day off, aren’t you?” Emil teased.

  “Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I can email you the info for the one journalist I like out of them all. She seems caring and not into the sensational side, you know?”

  “Okay. Send me the info, and I’ll email her or something. I want all of this over and done with, to be honest.” Makai sighed and then promptly coughed enough to make the kitten on his lap—Xander—look at him with affront.

  “I think you need a nap.” Emil looked at him worriedly.

  “I think my son is right.” Kalle got up and placed Spike on the ground, where he went on to terrorize his mother. “If you take those photos, have some blown up for your mother for her birthday. She’d love it.”

  “I could always make her a calendar for next year or something.”

  “That’s a nice idea. She’d really like one. Hell, I’m sure Erin would love one for the station too.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Emil said, grinning. He hugged his dad, and then Kalle took hold of Emil’s shoulder for support and stepped out of the pen. He turned back to the kittens. “You four, no doing the same thing grandpa just did. You stay in there where it’s safe.” Then he seemed to catch what he’d said and flushed.

  “Aww…,” Emil teased, and Makai tried to suppress his own smile.

  “Well, talk to you later, and I’ll email you, Makai.”

  “Yeah, sounds good. Tell Nora we said hi and that she should come play with the kittens one day now that she can sit outside with them.”

  “That’s an excellent idea, I’ll be sure to tell her that. Bye!”

  Kalle went to his car and drove off. Emil and Makai turned to look at each other and burst into laughter.

  “Grandpa?” Makai wheezed and clutched his chest where it hurt like hell.

  “Jesus, they really are both gone on these kittens. Even Dad!” Emil wiped tears off his cheeks, helped Makai up, and then started to collect kittens. “Let’s get you inside. Mouse, too. Inside, girl.”

  Mouse, being the smart cat she was, waited until all the kittens were in Emil and Makai’s arms before walking inside.

  Everyone including the cats were tired, and the nap they took turned out to be epic. Then again, they all probably needed it.

  KALLE SENT him the information for the journalist, and Emil looked her up online. She seemed compassionate, a good kind of person who didn’t sensationalize stories but tried to find the human aspect in them instead. Makai still took a few days to think about it.

  When Makai finally sat down at the kitchen table one afternoon to compose the email, Emil took the cats out, and after a while, the telltale sound of hesitant guitar playing came through the open door.

  Emil had restringed the guitar the previous night with an old unopened package of strings he’d found in his things, and then he’d slept restlessly and woken up once. Makai had been so in tune with him that he’d woken up as well. It wasn’t just his own coughing that woke him.

  He admired the hell out of Emil for still going for it, still making the effort even though it clearly unsettled him on some level.

  Finally, Makai managed to send a few lines to the journalist, Alice Kane, and then sent a quick text to Evy about Emil playing the guitar. She sent him a thumbs-up emoji in response, making him grin.

  Makai didn’t want to
go out to disturb Emil, so he went to the couch and made himself comfortable. He listened to the hesitancy fade gradually. It still wasn’t perfect, but Makai was pretty sure Emil himself wasn’t expecting that.

  Learning to play with his fingers as they were would be hard, but Makai had sneaked some hand dexterity–related equipment into his Amazon order. He was pretty sure Emil would love especially the exercise putty that seemed silly but apparently worked. He’d also gotten one of the grips for strength exercises and a couple of other ones just for change.

  Would Emil have bought them for himself, had he thought of it? Probably. But Makai had learned that Emil had been pointedly not thinking about his fingers and how to exercise them in relation to the guitar playing.

  The steadier Emil’s playing became outside, the more Makai started to just enjoy listening to him. After a few minutes, Emil started to hum along with his playing, then moved on to singing.

  Makai listened, a little bit awed. It hadn’t occurred to him that Emil would have such a lovely voice too. There was a surprising rasp to it that complemented his tone perfectly, and Makai felt like in different circumstances, Emil could’ve been a recording artist with a voice like that.

  He wondered what Emil would like to do with his life now that he was feeling a little better. He knew Emil was basically college ready on paper. He couldn’t see Emil going to college, other than maybe taking online classes, but there was probably something he could do that didn’t mean leaving Acker.

  Then again, if Emil did say he wanted to move away, Makai would just leave the cottage there and follow Emil wherever he went. The realization came as a surprise of sorts: he hadn’t thought about it yet on those terms.

  The more he made up scenarios where Emil wanted to leave town, the more he understood that he would do anything to be with Emil, as long as Emil wanted him.

  For someone who hadn’t been playing music for years, it seemed like Emil had a knack for absorbing what he listened to and playing it by ear. He played something by Ed Sheeran, and then an older P!nk song Makai guessed was something Emil had played before back in the day, because it sounded much more effortless.