Page 8 of I Found You
It had been busier than usual this last week. I had taken the rest of the week off during the Fourth of July week. Thursday, my birthday, was spent talking to the police and reenacting my steps from the night before. Then Friday, I just felt off all day, like I was forgetting something. I took the weekend to recuperate and get back on track. By the time Monday morning rolled around, I was days behind and struggling to keep up. The only other mechanic that I had quit last month to travel the country with his girlfriend. Good for him, honestly.They were young and in love.
It had been over a week since I drunkenly stumbled upon an abandoned baby and brought her home. I couldn’t stop wondering about her. Where did she end up? Was she safe? Did the police find her family yet? Luke wouldn’t tell me any information. He was still pissed that I was involved in it at all. Or he might just be pissed because I didn’t call him immediately. Every time I asked for an update on the case, he would brush me off.
It was Friday, which meant Luke should be home from his shift by five o’clock. I closed my garage right at five o’clock, then ran by my house to shower and change before heading over to Luke and Juliet’s. I knew Juliet would be a little irritated by me stopping by unannounced, especially on a Friday night, but she wasn’t my problem. I needed to talk to my brother, and I wasn’t going to let his ice queen wife dictate when that was allowed.
I pulled up in front of their perfectly traditional house. Vibrant green grass, due to the time-operated underground sprinkler system, manicured within an inch of its life, blanketed the ground. The walkway was a decorative brick design with absolutely no weeds in sight. Truthfully, it was a beautiful landscape, just a bit too neat and tidy for my liking.
Making my way to the front door, I happened to glance toward the vehicles in the driveway. Juliet’s year-old Land Rover Discovery was parked in the driveway, closest to the garage but not in the garage like it usually would be. Luke’s eight-year-old Ford Explorer was parked behind it. Luke was still in his car, eyes closed, leaning back into the seat.
“Hey, what are you doing?” I asked as I tapped on his window. He nearly jumped out of his skin as his gaze shot tomine. He clearly didn’t hear me pull up or notice me walking over. That was very unlike him; he was always so observant.
“Jesus fuck, Wy. You scared the shit out of me.”
“Why are you hanging out in your car, brother?”
“Just decompressing before I go inside. I can’t be unloading on Jules just because I had a rough day.”
I glanced toward his house and then back to him. “You want to talk about it?” I asked.
“Nope.”
We both knew it wasn’t just a bad day at work that had him stalling to go in. I had enough on my mind as it was. I wasn’t going to pry, but I would be here if he needed to vent it out. He knew that.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, getting out of the car and making his way to the house. Pausing at the front door, he turned to me. “Jules is going to be pissed if she had made plans for tonight.”
I huffed a deep chuckle. “Probably. But it’s a Friday night, and I wanted to grab a beer with my brother.” I slapped him on the shoulder. In a more serious tone, I added, “If it’s going to cause an issue though, I’ll leave.”
Luke didn’t respond, just opened the door. I followed him inside. The inside of their house was nothing like the exterior. There were shoes piled up near the front door. So many shoes, it looked like a family of five lived here instead of just the two of them. The dining table to the left was completely covered in a mess of paperwork, mail, dish towels, travel cups, empty can cartons, and a dead plant. Straight ahead was the open-concept living room slash kitchen, clothes and blankets strewn everywhere like a bomb went off. Dishes in the sink were piled high.
“Hey, babe,” Luke called to Juliet. She had her back to us while she stood at the stove in the kitchen.
“Hey.” Her eyes darted between Luke and me, her face not masking her irritation. “I didn’t realize we were having company,” she said through gritted teeth. “Hi, Wyatt.”
“Hey, Jules.”
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Juliet’s eyes bored into Luke. His shoulders slumped, and he stretched his neck from side to side. I only felt a little bad knowing I was contributing to his stress, but also, what was her problem all the time?
Luke and Juliet walked down the hall and into their bedroom. I pulled out one of the island chairs, taking a seat in one of the only cleared-off places I could find to sit.
“You can’t just bring people home, at dinner time no less, without talking me to, Luke.”
“I didn’t. He showed up at the same time I did. You want me to tell my brother he needs to leave? That he isn’t welcome at our house?” Their raised voices carried out to the kitchen.
“That’s not what I said. Don’t put words in my mouth. But I only made two pieces of chicken. I don’t have anything to offer him.”
“Don’t worry about it, babe. We’ll just go to Harpoon’s, have a drink over there.”
“And what about dinner?”
“What do you want me to do, Jules? Just tell me what I am supposed to do, and I’ll do it.”
“Whatever you want, Luke. It doesn’t matter.” Jules stormed out of the bedroom. A few minutes later, Luke came back out, changed into his street clothes.
* **
Harpoon’s was quiet for a Friday, but it was still early. It would get pretty wild here in a few hours. Ronnie came over to take our orders—Jameson neat for Luke and whiskey sour for me. There was nothing special about Harpoon’s. It was a pretty standard small-town bar. The lighting cast from the ship’s wheel chandeliers was low. Old seafarer and whaler memorabilia were scattered on the walls. It was quieter than the sports bar in town, until the locals came out—then it was a rowdy fucking disaster.
I winked at Ronnie and gave her my best smile when she set down our glasses, and she just laughed at me and shook her head.
