Page 10 of Broken Skulls

Lily digs through the pile of gears I’ve set out for her. She stops to wipe her brow. “Everything okay?” she asks.

“Yep.” I take the box she’s filled and set it in the back of the truck.

“You haven’t been in to the shop much,” she continues.

I glance around the yard. “There’s a lot to do around here.”

Her gaze follows mine. “Yeah, I guess. Do you need help? ‘Cause you know I can have Kelsie watch the store so I can spend some time out here. Or maybe Jackson could …”

I cut her off. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

She picks up the last gear, looking it over. She’s making a bunch of our popular gear lamps for the charity run that’s coming up soon. “I guess I’ve just missed you. Now that things have settled down a bit, I thought we’d get to hang out more.”

“We’re hanging out now, aren’t we?”

She gives me a shy smile. “You’re right.”

“I’m going to go in and grab a beer. You want something?”

“Do you have lemonade?”

“Always. Just for you.”

This makes her smile. There. Much better. Lily is one of my favorite people, and I hate it when there’s no smile on her face. She’s the sweetest woman I’ve ever met. I don’t know that I’d still be here if it wasn’t for her. She was the first person since my mother who seemed to understand me.

After grabbing our drinks, I take a quick peek downstairs. Lizzie’s been quiet today, which is good, I guess. Lily will more than likely come in to wash her hands before she leaves.

When I get outside, she’s sitting on the back of the truck, waiting for me. “Thanks.” She takes the glass of lemonade from my hand.

I jump up and sit beside her.

Besides digging through junk and creating, this is how we like to spend our time together. We can sit for hours and not say a word to each other. She’s a safe person to share space with.

“Jesse said you were making jokes the other night.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

I shrug, bringing my bottle to my lips.

We sit for several long minutes, and I sense her wheels still turning. “She said it wasn’t like you.”

“To make jokes?”

Her brows pull together, wrinkling her forehead. “You all make jokes. I guess it was just what you were joking about that confused her. Are you lonely? Because there’s this new woman in town …”

I shake my head. “I’m not lonely, Lil. Stop.”

“I just want to see you happy.”

Tapping the cap on the tailgate, I look for something to aim for. When I find an empty whiskey bottle sitting across from me on the hood of an old El Camino, I place the cap between mythumb and middle finger, snapping it. It flies from my hand, hitting my target with a loud shatter.

Lily jumps.

“I am happy.” I stretch my arms wide. “This is the life of my dreams.”

“Well, I already invited her to the fundraiser at the warehouse.”

---