Page 8 of Fortress
The kiss set off immediate, white-hot explosions through Tobias’s brain, silencing in one brush of lips and tongue all the worries buzzing in his brain just a moment ago, almost to the point where he forgot where hewas, Roger and the kitchen and the rest of the world fading away. When Jake finally let him go, Tobias was breathless, bracing now for balance, lightheaded but still in control.
Jake had his hands on Tobias’s face, and he whispered—more like mouthed—”I am so fucking proud of you, baby,” and then Tobias’s breath left him in an unsteady whoosh that was a half laugh.
“You are so high,” Tobias said, leaning his forehead against the pillow above Jake, and Jake grinned a little more like himself.
“Nah, I’m not. Well, okay, maybe a little. But I don’t need any of it, not as long as I got you.”
“Okay, Jake.” Tobias squeezed Jake’s hands. “Dinner’ll be ready in half an hour.”
Dinner was an unhurried meal (Jake eating slowly because of his injuries, Tobias careful of his manners, and Roger matching their pace). Jake raved over the chili, Roger quirked one side of his mouth, and Tobias smiled quietly into his bowl.
Afterward, Jake moved back to the couch in the living room—Tobias nudging him in that direction, Jake acting like he was shoving him along and laughing all the while—and Roger and Tobias washed up the bowls. Tobias told him how he’d helped the ladies at Alex’s church cook and about some of the best food he and Jake had had on the road.
Chapter Two
They left Roger’s a few days later. Jake had been itching to get behind the wheel again, but before they’d gotten fifty miles from Truth or Consequences, he had to admit that white-knuckling was not going to get him through the kinda-sorta agony of trying to drive with his bad leg.
“I think it’s my turn,” Toby said unexpectedly, and Jake threw him a look both disgruntled and admiring. Since he’d started teaching Toby to drive, they’d been trading seats halfway through each day so Toby could get more practice. They weren’t even close to lunch, and normally Jake would’ve argued for the sake of pride, but he couldn’t resist whenever Toby got assertive. It was pretty hot.
He grumbled a little to keep up appearances but took the next rest stop exit so they could switch places. As he handed over the keys, his hands fumbled just a little. “Head wherever you want. I could use a few more winks.”
He didn’t really think that he’d sleep, but he was out not ten minutes after they left the motel lot.
He jerked awake when Toby neatly braked the Eldorado outside a mom-and-pop diner called, creatively, Mam ’n’ Pops. Jake blinked blearily at the sign, pretty sure he shouldn’t have to think about it as hard as he was.
“Why’re we stopping?” he asked, fumbling with the seat belt Toby must have wrapped over him while he was out.
Toby shrugged. “I was hungry.”
And that, probably more than anything, made Jake give a tired grin and push open the door. “Good enough for me.”
The place was the sort of greasy spoon where Jake felt comfortable. The waitress wore over her jeans and T-shirt a stained apron emblazoned with the restaurant’s logo, and she chewed gum while she took their order of a double-decker burger and fries for Jake and a tuna salad on rye with a fruit cup for Toby.
After she walked away for Jake’s coffee and Toby’s Coke, Toby began unpicking the paper wrapper around his napkin and silverware. “I was thinking, maybe we should wait to look for a hunt until you’re u-up to it.”
Jake eyed him. “You think my leg’s gonna fall off?”
Toby shook his head. “It’s just a flesh wound, so—why are you laughing?”
“Nothing.” Jake wiped at his face. There was nothing there, but it felt like something had broken through anyway, like he’d walked through a cobweb and could brush away the strands. “Just remind me sometime to show youMonty Python and the Holy Grail.”
Toby’s mouth quirked. “So you think we can take it easy? Maybe go visit that park we heard about?”
“Sure. Unless we come across something slow and toothless. Maybe Roger can rustle us up a nice ghost, some kind of haunting, nothing that the... you know, not something no one’s ever laid eyes on before. You notice anything online that would fit the bill?”
“I’ve been kind of distracted,” Toby said. “And R-Roger’s internet wasn’t that fast.”
“I’ve been after him to get it revved, but he always says it’s just fine.”
The waitress returned in a few minutes, sliding the plates down in front of them, asking them if they wanted anything else even as she walked away before they could answer. Jake snorted toward her retreating back (the place was crowded, but notthatcrowded). He was about to take a bite of his more-grease-than-beef burger when his eyes skimmed over Toby’s plate, and he frowned and put the burger down.
“Didn’t you order tuna?”
Toby looked at the ham and cheese on white bread in his hands and chewed thoughtfully. “Yeah,” he said at last. “I guess I did.”
Jake sighed. “They screwed up your order.” He leaned back, raised his hand, and looked pointedly at their waitress, who was taking an order three tables down.
“Jake—”
