Page 70 of Heart and Soul
“Like a cigarette?”
“No. Something else.”
He walks me to the passenger side of the truck. As he searches my pockets for the keys, I keep my hand on his gun while scanning the street. The sidewalks are empty.
Jay finds the key, slides it into the keyhole. But he suddenly stops and lets go of the key, backing away. “Smoke. Like a bomb?”
“No, it’s more like…” A fresh wave of the scent washes over me, and I know for certain it’s coming from directly behind us. Drawing Jay’s gun, I whirl around and point it at a figure standing in the shadows under a tree. “More like a campfire.” Recognizing his red flannel shirt and lumberjack beard, I lower the gun. “What do you want?”
Nolan Cody steps out of the shadows. “We won’t need that, I hope,” he says about the gun.
“That depends. Is Ben with you?”
“He’s not.”
I jam the pistol back into its holster. My emotions are doing loop-de-loops. As much as I might try to deny it, I’m desperate to see my family again, or even just to hear from them. But not like this. Not from him.
There was a time when I used to count the seconds until I’d get to see Nolan, back when he would make fun of my feet for outgrowing the rest of my body. By the time my legs caught up with my shoe size, I had also outgrown my feelings for him. They say you never forget your first crush. I probably could, if he would stop following me around.
I plunge my fists into my jacket pockets. “If you followed me here, you’ve been waiting a while.”
“Long enough to know you’re into something deep here. What’s this about a bomb?”
“I’m sorry, Nolan. See, sometimes I use too much subtext. What I meant by that is, what the hell do you want? Oh wait, I already asked you that, didn’t I?”
“Shayne, if I followed you, anybody could. You need to be more careful.”
I slap Jay on the back. “Feel free to jump in any time here,honey.”
“We can go somewhere to talk,” he offers politely to Nolan. Anticipating my attempt to stomp his toes, he deftly moves his foot away. “We can sit in the truck.”
Nolan quirks an eyebrow. “Is it going to blow up?”
Jay thinks about that. He pulls the keys out of the door, just to be safe.
Nolan frowns at Jay. “What happened to you?”
“Where?” Jay points to a deep cut on his hand. “Here?”
“No, more like…all of you.”
“It’s work stuff,” I say impatiently. “Did Mom send you here? Because you can tell her yes, I’m taking my pills.”
“Again with the subtext,” Jay says.
“That’s plain English, Jay.”
He shakes his head. “What she means is, ‘How’s everybody doing?’ And she misses them.”
“Okay,youcan sit in the truck.” My anger vanishes when I catch sight of Nolan’s face. He looks crestfallen. “What? Everybody’s fine. Right? Nolan?”
“I shouldn’t be here. If Ray knew I was talking to you…”
“If it’s serious, Ray would understand, and you know it.”
“You’re probably right. But rules are rules. Even if it’s for Little Bunica.”
My heart stops. It takes my mouth three tries to form the word. “Bunica? Did she…”
