CHAPTER TEN

Payton

“You okay?” he said against my ear.

“Hmm-mm.”

“You gonna share what’s pissed you off?”

I frowned up at him. “I’m not pissed off.”

He studied me for a few seconds. “Somethin’s off, babe.”

I sighed, pulling away from the warmth of his body and facing him. Settling my chin on my drawn up knees again, I forced a smile. “I’m working out my feelings, Alex. You’ve just gotta give me a little time.”

“I’m givin’ you an out for Thanksgiving, babe.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re playin’ it by ear so you can un-invite me if you want to.”

I sat up. “Why would I un-invite you?”

He chuckled. “Because you’re workin’ out your feelings. You might decide you’re not ready for your very stable family to meet my equally unstable one.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Well, thanks for putting words in my mouth.”

“I’m not lookin’ to put words in your mouth or start a fight, babe. Just want to give you an out.”

“Well, I don’t want an out,” I said. “You are officially invited to Thanksgiving.”

“Okay.” He grinned. “I’ll check with my sister, but that sounds good. Thank you.”

Our awkward moment was broken when my phone pealed in the silence. I dug in my purse and pulled it out. “Hello.”

“Hey, honey, just checking to see when you’ll be home,” my mom said.

“Probably in a couple of hours. Everything okay?”

“Of course. Just like to know when my chickens are back in the coop.”

I giggled. “I’m the only chicken, Mom. Everyone else was smart enough to fly away.”

“I’m waiting for everyone to come back.”

“Good luck with that.”

“Dad and I are going to watch a movie, so just text me when you’re inside and have locked up.”

“Will do. Hey, I’ve invited a couple of friends for Thanksgiving, is that a problem?”

“The more the merrier, honey. We’ll discuss details the week of.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okey doke. Love you.”

I smiled. “Love you too, Mom. ’Bye.” I hung up and dropped my phone back into my purse.

“What was it like livin’ in a Cleaver house?”

I shrugged. “I wish I could say something profound and deep that would sum everything up, but honestly, it was awesome. We’re all still really close. I’m guessing your home life wasn’t so good?”

“Dad’s in jail for sex crimes against the foster kids my parents took in and my mom didn’t do a fuckin’ thing to stop it, so yeah, mine wasn’t so good. But it’s done, so I don’t dwell.”

“I’m sorry, Alex. That sucks.” I squeezed his arm. “It sounds like you’re making things really happy for Lily, though. You’re breaking a cycle of sorts.”

“Yeah.” He stood. “You done?”

“Um, yeah.”

“Okay, I’ll take you home.”

“O-okay,” I stuttered. Apparently, he was working out his feelings too, and the subject of his life was not a good one, so I didn’t press.

I folded the blanket he’d wrapped around me and handed it back to him before gathering my stuff up while he locked up the boat. Alex helped me back onto the pier and then released my hand and I was forced to jog to catch up to him. “Alex, wait.”

He stopped, but didn’t turn around.

“What just happened?” I asked.

He faced me, his face impassive. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t play that game, Hawk. You know exactly what I mean. If you don’t want to talk about it right now or want to revisit it later, I’m fine with that, but don’t act dumb, and if you say ‘nothing,’ in answer to any of my questions that start with ‘what’s wrong?’ I will maim you.”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“Is it something I said?”

“Fuck, Payton, you just said you’d be fine with that answer.”

“I am…” sort of, “… so long as I didn’t do something to offend you.”

He shook his head. “You didn’t do anything to offend me. Can we go now?”

I nodded and followed him again, this time able to stay in sync with him, however, he still didn’t touch me. He held the door of the truck open, waited for me to climb up, and then made his way to the driver’s side.

The drive home was excruciating. He said nothing. Nada, zip, nuttin’ honey. Just focused on the road. I originally thought I might have hit a nerve on the boat, but now I was spiraling into all manner of offenses… only stopping with the possibly I’d killed his pet in a past life.

See? Crazy.