Page 11 of A Much Younger Man
“Tug?” I asked. “Like tug-of-war?”
“Exactly.”
I tried not to let my reaction show. “How old is he?”
“Twenty-five.” Beck’s eyes dared me to question this.
“How long have you guys been living rough?” Cooper asked.
“A while.”
“How long is a while? A few months? A year?”
“A while,” Beck said evasively. “What is this? Why do you want to know?”
“Just trying to get to know you, Beck.” I gestured toward the ground beside Callie. “Can I sit?”
Beck lifted a shoulder. “Suit yourself. But if this is the part where the town fathers ask us to move on, just get to the point.”
“It’s not.” Cooper sat on the wall behind us. “No one wants you gone.”
I gestured to myself and Cooper. “We only want to know if there’s anything we can do to help you.”
“You already helped with Callie. Tug and I are fine.”
“I’m sure.” There was a bedroll on Beck’s backpack. If he and Tug had a tent, I hadn’t seen it. “But maybe you need a roof over your head.”
“Is that so?” He took a breath to say more, but right then Tug came back with pizza on a paper plate and another bottle.
“Got you a couple slices, babe.”
“Thanks.” Tug took the pizza and folded it like a New Yorker before stuffing the tip into Beck’s mouth.What the hell?That was the second time Tug had hand-fed Beck like a goddamn baby deer. I got why Beck maybe didn’t want to get his hands dirty while he was playing, but he’d put his instrument away now, and he could eat on his own.
I found it weird and distasteful, but fucking hell…Iwanted to be the guy feeding Beck, which made me queasy and got me hot at the same time. This was so wrong.
Beck chewed thoughtfully and then took the plate and the pizza from Tug. “S’good. Thanks. But go get some chicken for Callie, please.”
“I will,” Tug murmured. “You eat up, and I’ll go back for chicken and maybe find us some dessert.”
My heart raced so guiltily I made myself turn away until Callie stood and sniffed at Beck’s pizza eagerly.
He held her back. “Not for Callie.”
Unhappily, she collapsed on his lap. He absently stroked her ears while he ate the rest of his pizza. Eventually Tug turned his focus on me and Cooper.
“You guys need something? This isn’t a zoo.”
“Don’t.” Beck shifted away from him. “This is the vet I told you about. He checked Callie over this morning. They just stopped by to say hello.”
Tug’s gaze traveled over me and then Cooper. He turned back to me. “Sure.”
“What?” I snapped at him.
“Nothing.” Tug leaned against the wall and pulled the cap off whatever was in tonight’s brown-bag bottle. “You shouldn’t trust do-gooders, Beck. It never ends well.”
“It’s my job to look after animals here,” I said.
“Sure it is. You just give everyone free exams all the time.” Tug had some kind of grudge; that much was obvious.And nothing to do with me.
