You Shouldn't Have Come Here(59)

“Well, I’ve gotta go and run an errand, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.” I turned and headed toward the door, picking up my toolbox on the way out. I glanced back, hoping she’d say something or even look at me the way she looked at me out in the pasture before everything went to shit. Instead, she laid down and rolled away from me.

I closed the door and let out a heavy sigh. This wasn’t how any of this was supposed to go. Somehow it all got screwed up. It always did. Standing on the other side, I pressed my ear against it. I just wanted to be near her. It was silent. I waited a few minutes but heard nothing. Albert’s door was still closed, so I assumed he wouldn’t be awake until midday, and I’d deal with him when I got back from the grocery store.

In two days, Grace was set to leave, and if she did, I knew I would never see her again. This town had a way of keeping insiders in and outsiders out. But I couldn’t let that happen. Grace belonged to me.





37.

Grace


I carried a glass of lemonade and the last book I intended on reading out to the porch. The sun was set high in the sky, its rays scorching the dry grass. Taking a seat in the rocking chair, I placed the lemonade on the table beside me and flipped the book open to page one. After Calvin left, I laid in bed for a while thinking about how I could get through the next two days. I still had a soft spot for him but I was trying to harden that area because I knew something wasn’t right with Calvin, and maybe that’s why I was captivated by him. Broken people were drawn to broken people.

“Whatcha reading?”

Albert stood just outside the front door, carrying a beer and a crooked smile. I rolled my eyes and refocused my attention on the page.

His heavy steps grew louder as he ambled toward me. Although he was large, he was old and mostly drunk, so I figured I could, at the very least, outrun him if need be. Albert took a seat in the rocking chair beside me, slowly rocking back and forth.

“My memory ain’t the best, but I think I owe you an apology,” he said.

I simply nodded.

“I’m sorry. I’m not much of a man but my word is pretty solid. It won’t happen again, and honestly, it was an accident.” He gulped his beer. “I may have a lot of demons, but hurting women isn’t one of them.” Albert raised his eyebrow over his glass.

“Demons?” I asked.

“We all have them. Even you, I’m sure.”

“Yeah,” I said, flipping a page.

“Some people are just better at hiding them,” he said. The chair creaked with each rock.

I looked at him, my eyes skimming over his weathered skin. A silver medical bracelet hung loosely on his wrist—just a sick, drunk old man, that’s what Albert was.

“What’s that for?” I motioned to his piece of jewelry.

He glanced down, holding his hand out. “Oh, that.” The sunlight reflected off of the metal. “List of things I can’t have. Like I said, I got a lot of demons. Things I can’t have and things I have too much of.” He chuckled while he held up his beer. “I’m what Darwin would call ‘not nature’s winner.’”

I let on a small smile. “What can’t you have?”

“Shellfish, nuts, bees, eggs, strawberries. You name it. I can’t have it. That’s why my diet is a steady stream of red meat and booze. And that’s just fine by me.” Albert chuckled again. He set his empty bottle on the table beside him.

“What brought you here?” I closed up my book and gave him my full attention.

“A lot of bad decisions over a lifetime, I suppose. But sometimes after trying to always take the road less traveled, ya just go where it’s easiest, ya know?” He glanced over at me.

“I think I know what you’re saying.”

“What about you? Why you here?” he asked, bringing the beer bottle back to his lips. He clearly forgot it was empty.

“Still taking the road less traveled, I guess.”

He sucked on air and then pulled the bottle from his mouth. “Stay on it because it eventually runs out.”

“You’re not so bad, Albert.”

He and I weren’t so different after all. He too traveled alone, had his own vices to deal with, and was forever searching for the things that kept life interesting.

“I’m not so good either.” He smirked, holding up his beer. “I’ma get me another one of these.” Several of his bones creaked and cracked as he got to his feet. “You want one?”

“Yeah.” I nodded.

He shuffled down the porch, disappearing inside the house. No more than a moment later, Calvin’s truck rolled up with a police vehicle following closely behind. I knew this place was trouble. I felt it as soon as I stepped foot here.





38.

Calvin


Grace rocked back and forth on the porch. I wished every day I came home I could see her. The big blue skies surrounded us like it was our own perfect mini-universe, just for her and me. She was a vision. Her blond hair was tied up in a messy bun. I imagined unraveling it and watching her locks fall around her face. I was happy she’d left her room. A car engine shut off behind me. I didn’t even notice anyone following. Wyatt climbed out of his cruiser.

“Hey, man,” I said.

His face was beet red, and his fists were clenched by his side. A thick, angry vein in the center of his forehead throbbed, and it looked as though it could burst at any moment. In three large steps, he was right in front of me. Rather than his usual friendly salutation, his fist did the talking. The force pushed me backward, and for me, the sun wasn’t the only star in the sky now. My cheek throbbed, but I stood tall.