You Shouldn't Have Come Here(33)

“You here to look at my car?” Grace asked.

Joe clasped his hands in front of him and his biceps flexed. His little-dog complex was at work.

“Of course. Calvin here couldn’t handle it without me,” he teased.

I rolled my eyes. “Let’s take a look at that car.”

Joe redirected his attention to Grace. “Tell me what happened to it.”

She sighed. “It was fine all the way here, and I drove a long way. But when I left Betty’s Boutique, the check engine light came on. It started vibrating and shaking, even more so when I accelerated,” Grace said. I could see the worry on her face.

Joe nodded. “All right, I’ll take a look at it.”

“Thanks,” Grace said. “Keys are on the kitchen table.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you’re not stranded here with my big bro.” He laughed.

Grace’s eyes bounced from me to Joe and back again like a pendulum swinging. My jaw tightened but I smiled anyway and steered my brother toward the house. The less he said to her the better.





21.

Grace I watched the two of them walk away. Joe was nearly six inches shorter than Calvin, but they were different in more ways than just height. A lump sat in the pit of my stomach. It had begun to form a few days prior, and grew with each passing moment. It was like a tumor; maybe benign, maybe cancerous. Regardless, I’d find out soon enough. Joe’s presence was like Miracle Grow for the lump. There was something off about him. He seemed like a man with a guilty conscience. It gave me that sinking feeling like when you sense something bad is going to happen—a primal instinct for impending doom. Like a cold sweat. Hairs that stand upright. Goose bumps on hot skin.


It wasn’t just Joe though. It was this ranch. It was Calvin too. He seemed apprehensive about his brother’s very presence—like a zookeeper with a wild animal, careful to keep their guard up while also anticipating the ferocity of the creature. The two walked side by side, playfully pushing each other and laughing like a pair of brothers would.

Then again, looks could be deceiving. I’m sure Abel loved Cain right up until the very end.





22.

Calvin


Joe fiddled under the hood while I sat in the driver’s seat, waiting for him to tell me to start the car, press on the gas pedal, or shut it off. Now, I was wishing I had taken the time to learn more about cars growing up. It seemed the only thing I knew how to do was wreck them.

“Turn it on,” he called out.

I turned the key in the ignition. It sputtered a few times before it started.

“Give it a little gas.”

I slowly pressed down on the pedal, causing the engine to roar and the vehicle to shake.

“All right, kill it,” he yelled, poking his head around the hood. Joe pulled his shirt off, wiped his sweaty face, and tossed the shirt in the driveway.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“One more time. Turn it on.”

This time when I turned the key, the engine didn’t flick on. The car sputtered. The starter clicked over and over. “Shit,” I yelled, slamming my hand against the steering wheel.

I joined my brother at the front of the car. He was still elbow-deep under the hood, fiddling with wires and caps. I wasn’t sure what I was looking at.

“The alternator housing’s got a crack in it and the battery’s dead.” He pointed to different parts of the engine. “I could get it fixed in a few days. Gotta order some parts.” Joe scratched his chin. “Probably be around six hundred dollars.” He dropped the hood back into place.

“All right, go ahead and do that. I’ll take care of the cost.” I wiped my sweaty forehead with the back of my arm. Grace probably wasn’t going to feel comfortable with me paying for it, but I needed her to know I cared and that I’d do anything for her.

Joe raised his thick brow. “You’re paying to get her car fixed? You must really like her.”

I kicked at some loose gravel. “Just want her to feel at ease.”

“If you say so,” he said, picking up his toolbox. He walked to the back of his truck, hoisted the toolbox up, and closed the tailgate. “You down for grabbing a beer?”

He and I hadn’t had a beer together in a long time. I think Grace being here made him think we could do brotherly things again, that we could move forward, put the past in the past, as they say. But past was just a word. The memories we carried kept it alive, and memories were just stories we told ourselves. Joe and I had two very different stories. He had forgotten his, but I hadn’t forgotten mine.

“Yeah. That sounds good right about now. I’ll let Grace know we’re taking off.”

Joe shook his head and let out a chuckle. “She’s already got you whipped.”

“No, just being courteous.”

“All right.” Joe made a whip noise as I headed out to find Grace.

She wasn’t lying by the river anymore. I scanned the surrounding area but Grace was nowhere to be seen. I checked the back deck. Not there either. Joe met me on the side of the house.

“Where’d your girl go?”

“She’s not my girl,” I said. It was a lie because it felt like she was my girl.

He patted my shoulder. “I’m just messing with ya.”