Page 62 of Left Behind

“Then why do you still have the title? Do you not have any honor at all?” He slapped Junior with the flat of his hand and sent him reeling. “A man always pays his debts. It’s not like you don’t have the money to just buy another truck. Why the hell didn’t you just sign it over? We wouldn’t be in this mess if you had. There’s no way to explain this away.”

Junior’s cheek was burning. “Gunny’s prints will be all over the truck, and we can claim he stole the gun. Surely there will be security footage somewhere of him driving the truck. We can figure something out.”

“No. All of this still links us to Eggers’s murder. You know, you nearly drowned in the bathtub when you were two. I did CPR and saved your life, and at this moment, I deeply regret that. Get out of my sight.”

Junior pivoted on his heel and stormed out of the house.

Carl was on the phone when he heard the roar of Junior’s Porsche speeding away from the property. He thought about the possible consequences of Junior Henley having one of his meltdowns, then reminded himself it was nearly sunset, and his son was thirty-two years old. If he was lucky, Junior would wreck the Porsche, break his damn neck, and Carl could blame this whole mess on him.

***

At the same time Carl Henley’s world was coming undone, Gunny was at the bus station in Miami, waiting for his cousin Roly. He’d called Roly before he left Kentucky, making sure his cousin would give him a place to stay, and then called him again about an hour outside of Miami to come pick him up. If he wasn’t here already, he soon would be. It had been years since he’d seen his cousin, but all of the Pryors looked alike, and Gunny was counting on recognizing him, which he did.

Roly Pryor had already spotted Lonny the moment he walked into the station, and lifted a hand in greeting before heading toward him. They met with a quick hug, thumping each other on the back.

“Man, Lonny, it is good to see you,” Roly said.

“You too, cuz,” Gunny said. “I hope I’m not putting you out.”

Roly shook his head. “Naw. My ol’ lady left me over a year ago. I’m just rattling around in that house on my own. I’ll be glad for the company. You got your own bedroom, and I can always use a hand at work. I take people out on swamp tours. Got me an airboat and everything. Are you ready to go?”

Gunny nodded and followed Roly to an old black Jeep 4x4, threw his bags in the back seat and got in the front seat.

“Buckle up!” Roly said. “Driving in this traffic is like playing dodgeball with cars.”

Lonny sighed and did as he was told. He was about to leave Gunny behind, and it felt good. No one here had ever known him by that name. He was headed to the Everglades. Back to his roots. And if his daddy hadn’t moved them to Tennessee when he was a kid, he would have grown up in the swamps and been a whole different man. It was too late to change the past, but he was aiming for a new future.

***

Ava opened her eyes and, for a moment, didn’t know where she was until the pink room registered. Bubba! Then she heard music and smelled something cooking. She threw back the blanket, grabbed her dolly, and ran.

Wiley had spaghetti sauce simmering on the back burner and some refrigerated cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. They weren’t on the Granny Annie’s Bakery level, but they were good enough. He’d washed and dried all of Ava’s new clothes and had them folded on the kitchen table, just waiting for her to wake up before putting them away, and was online ordering storybooks, crayons, and coloring books, some colorful wooden puzzles, and a small flat-screen TV for her room. He’d just finished the order when he heard her running up the hall, and then she appeared in the doorway, wide-eyed and verging on panic. Before he could ask what was wrong, she slid to a stop.

“You’re still here,” she whispered.

Wiley opened his arms as she crawled up into his lap. “Yes, baby, I’m still here. Popes don’t lie. Popes keep promises. You’re my girl, okay?” He felt her trembling, but she was beginning to relax.

“Did you ever figure out what dolly’s name was?” he asked.

She pulled the doll up beneath her chin as she leaned against him. “She said her name was Pinky.”

Wiley smiled. Of course, it was. “Ah…what a great name. We should have known, right? I mean…look at that pretty pink dress she’s wearing.”

Ava nodded.

“Did you have a good nap?” Wiley asked.

“Yes. What do I smell?”

He grinned. “Spaghetti sauce and cinnamon rolls are in the oven. Smells good in here, doesn’t it?”

“Do I like cinnamon rolls?” Ava asked.

“I’m pretty sure you do. They’re sweet and have icing on the top and cinnamon and sugar swirled in the middle.”

“Yum,” Ava said.

Wiley laughed. “Definitely yum. And now that you’re awake, want to help me put away your new clothes? I have them all washed and ready to wear.”

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