Bright Lights, Big Christmas(51)
“Gonna go across the street and have a friendly conversation with the brothers, especially the clueless one who’s now wearing the green hoodie Austin described to us.”
“But you wouldn’t actually … hurt anybody. Right?” Kerry asked uneasily.
“I wouldn’t. But the Brody brothers don’t know that.”
chapter 36
Thirty minutes later, Murphy was back. He had a darkening bruise beneath his left eye and a wad of blood-soaked paper towels wrapped around his right hand, which was clutching part of a six-pack of beer.
Kerry stared at her brother in horror. “Are you all right? What happened? I thought you said there wouldn’t be any violence.”
“Wasn’t no violence,” he said, his tone of voice matter-of-fact. “I told those boys I knew they stole my bike rig, they tried to deny it. But Duane, the dumbass, was wearing that green hoodie. We had words. He made the mistake of taking a swing at me, so I laid the bolt cutters upside his head. Just a little tap, to get his attention. Then Donny, he’s the lardass, jumped me, and I had to explain things, mountain style.”
Kerry pointed to his hand. “You’re bleeding.”
Murphy chuckled. “Just a scratch. Anyway, it’s all worked out now.”
“Worked out how?”
“I told ’em I wouldn’t call the cops about the bike, wouldn’t show ’em the cell phone photos our witness took of Duane hiding my bike. And first thing tomorrow, they’re gonna pack up the rest of their pitiful-looking trees and be out of our hair once and for all.”
“That’s great,” Kerry said. “But couldn’t you have done that without a beatdown?”
“That wasn’t a beatdown,” Murphy protested. “I just softened those boys up a little, and then they were ready to listen to reason.”
He gave her a broad wink. “Really, I think that loud-ass Christmas music of yours is what drove ’em off. I mean, nobody can listen to Mariah Carey scream about all she wants for Christmas that many times.”
She rolled her eyes and pointed to the six-pack. “What’s with the beer?”
He wiped his hand on the seat of his jeans, leaving a bloody streak, then popped the top of one of the three remaining cans. “This here is diplomacy. After we got things settled, I bought us a round. Now it’s all good.”
Murphy pulled his lawn chair closer to the fire. “You wanna order some takeout from Red Dragon? I’m getting kind of hungry.”
They sat by the fire for another couple hours, eating steamed pork buns and wonton soup. They sold four trees, and eventually, Murphy made a show of turning down the volume on the Christmas music.
Kerry made an effort not to look at her phone, but in between customers, and once, when her brother went to Lombardi’s for a bathroom break, she sneaked a peek. But there was nothing from Patrick.
At ten, barely able to keep her eyes open, she got to her feet. “That’s it for me. See you in the morning.”
Murphy looked up from his notebook. “Hey, uh, Kere, you had a hell of a day today. The numbers are really good.”
“I know.”
“We’ve only got about thirty trees left. We should easily sell out by the weekend.”
“You think?” Selling out would mean leaving the city. And Patrick. And Austin.
“Definitely. Thing is, I kind of promised Claudia I’d take her out Friday night.”
“Oh?”
“Like out. On an actual date. Where we go to a restaurant besides Lombardi’s.”
“Sounds reasonable to me. Claudia’s great. Really special.”
“Yeah. But it would mean you working my shift that night,” Murphy said.
“That’s not a problem. I can work a double that day.” Kerry looked her brother up and down. “What were you planning to wear on this big date night and where are you going?”
He tugged at his unkempt beard, then looked down at his current attire, which, besides the jeans, included his barn coat, muddy boots, and faded flannel shirt.
“Well, not this, obviously. I’m still figuring out the restaurant part.”
“Did you pack any nice clothes at all? Do you even own a pair of shoes that aren’t boots?” She shook her head. “Never mind, I already know the answer.”
“Claudia knows how I dress. And she must like how I look.” He smirked.
“Don’t you want to take her out someplace really special? Get dressed up to show her that you care? I really think we’re gonna have to buy you some decent new clothes.”
“Dammit. I hate new clothes,” he muttered.
chapter 37
When she woke up Wednesday, Kerry reached for her phone. A text message from Patrick had come in around midnight, long after she’d fallen asleep.
Meet up for coffee in the morning?
She jumped out of bed and dressed hurriedly, pulling her hair into a ponytail, and it wasn’t until she was about to step outside that she noticed Queenie asleep on Murphy’s bunk.
“Be right back,” she promised, giving the dog a pat on the head. She rushed over to Anna’s to use the bathroom, passing Murphy, who was snoring away on the lawn chair near the oil barrel, wrapped in his sleeping bag and a quilt.