Page 82 of Call It Home

“Hmm. Keep going. And how did you get on construction crews? You were too young. You’d need an address for taxes and paychecks.”

“There are a lot of companies who don’t ask many questions and pay cash under the table, at least for the non-licensed jobs. We scraped by. Eventually, we saved and made enough that we could afford a small apartment. It wasn’t anything great, but it was an improvement. I finished school and started working full time.”

I could feel her staring at me and was glad for the darkness. I didn’t want to see her pity. But when she spoke, all I heard was pride. “That’s amazing, Mac.

“It was all going well for us. We no longer had to worry about affording food or a place to live. We’d learn anything we could from anyone who was willing to share their trade. Trey can do just about any job on a construction site,” I said with pride. “He’d make an excellent supervisor, as he’s able to catch small things before they become a problem or get flagged by an inspector. He’s also a talented carpenter, but he was even thinking about going to school to get licensed as an electrician or a plumber.”

“But something happened,” she interrupted.

I closed my eyes, still seeing the scene as if it were a movie playing on the back of my eyelids.

“We were setting money aside to start our own business. We didn’t know exactly what it would be, but something like custom wood furniture or custom cabinets. In the meantime, we bided our time until we found the right opportunity. Life was finally looking up for the Caldwell boys. I even started dating a woman who seemed so far out of my league. But she was beautiful and into me, and I was young, and it felt good, so…”

I paused, hating the next part. But she needed to know about my stupidity that put me—us—in this current situation.

“Trey and I were at a bar one night. We’d finally reached a comfortable enough place where we could treat ourselves once in a while and go out with the guys. We were having a good time, nothing out of the ordinary, until our boss walked in, looking for me. He accused me of sleeping with his wife, and before I could ask what the hell he was talking about, he punched me. I didn’t have a clue what the fuck was going on. Then in walks the woman I was seeing. It didn’t take a rock scientist to know she wasn’t there by accident. She didn’t even look sorry. In fact, I think she liked the idea of two men fighting over her.”

“Bitch,” she muttered.

“The boss—Duane was his name—kept coming at me. I didn’t want to fight, but you take enough shit in life, and you learn to either lie down in it or come up fighting. I got in a couple of punches before Trey pulled me back. He told me to walk away and tried to pull me outside. But Duane followed, and when he tried to take another swing at me, Trey stepped in. He pushed me behind him and took one swing. Our boss went down like a sack of bricks. At first, when he didn’t get up, we just thought Trey had knocked him out cold.”

“Oh, my god.”

“Then we saw blood pool under his head. Turned out, he’d struck his head as he went down and ended up with a skull fracture and brain damage. He was in a coma. Trey was arrested for assault, but when Duane died a few days later, they elevated the charges to involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to seven years, which was better than the ten they could have sentenced him with.”

“Shit. Mac, that’s awful. But wasn’t it self-defense?”

I snorted. “Apparently not when the guy wasn’t swinging directly at him. All they did was take one look at Trey’s size, and he was doomed. He was easily eight inches taller and had a good fifty or more pounds on our boss.” I looked across the car at her. “Trey is a good guy,” I said defensively. “If he hadn’t been trying to defend me, he wouldn’t be there now. After everything he did to look out for me when we were growing up, that happened. All thanks to me. I swear, I didn’t know she was married. But I should have guessed there was something up about her. It was always too good to be true.”

“He sounds like an incredible brother.” Her words were soft, full of sympathy and sadness. “I’m sorry for how it turned out, but Mac, it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know about that bitch. And both of you tried to do the right thing and diffuse the situation.”

“Maybe, but the result is still the same.”

“He’s why you don’t spend much for yourself. You’ve been saving up for the land to start over.”

“When he gets out, he’ll be on parole. He still won’t be free to move around. And even if he was, who’s going to hire an ex-convict?”

“So you think it’s your turn to sacrifice for him.” It wasn’t a question. She understood.

“Well. Thank you for explaining and helping me to understand.”

That was it? After all I told her, just a thank-you, as if I’d been telling her a bedtime story?

“I think you should go back inside now,” she finally said, after staring out the front window.

“I don’t want to,” I answered, knowing if I did, it was over.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have lied to me all this time. And nothing you’ve said changes that or the fact that you’re going to leave anyway.”

“I didn’t lie,” I said, my voice weak and pitiful, even to my own ears.

She looked at me sadly. “Oh, but you have. If not directly to me, then at least to yourself. Please. Please, don’t make me beg.”

I stared at her, my beautiful girl, normally so full of life and confidence. Now she looked damaged. Broken. And I was responsible.

First Trey, now her.

The least I could do was honor her wishes. I opened the door and swung it open, but before I got out, I had to say the words at least once, even if it wasn’t fair, but I had to at least say them out loud. “I love you, Cam.”

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