Page 34 of Heart of Stone
“They’re doing fine, Mom. You don’t have to worry.” I pulled my eyes from the window as Hunter turned the corner out of view. My mom even looked more mom-like today with pink cheeks and her hair neatly brushed into aponytail. “Hunter had some spare time, so he’s fixing the engine on theRanger.”
Her eyes rounded. “TheRanger? Your dad’s boat? Why on earth is he doing that?”
“The boat is just sitting there decaying from salt and sun. I’m sure we could still get some good money for it.”
She shook her head and reached for a cup. “What would your father say?”
I looked at her. “Nothing. He’s dead, Mom. Remember?”
Confusion crossed her face for a second, and I thought the moment of clarity was gone. But then she smiled. “Of course, I know that.” Her tone wasn’t completely convincing. “I just meant that boat was his pride and joy. He would be distraught to know that it was being sold.”
“Uh, excuse me for pointing this out, but shouldn’t we have been his pride and joy instead of that rust-eaten trawler? We need the money, Mom.”
She poured some coffee and took three big spoons of sugar, a recent habit she’d started of turning her coffee into something that resembled syrup. “That’s fine, sweetheart. Whatever you think is best.”
“It’s only in the fixing stage right now anyhow, so you don’t need to worry about it.” I sipped some coffee and watched as she pulled out the kitchen chair and sat with her sugary drink. “Mom, those new pills really seem to be helping you.”
She lifted her eyes to me. They were my eyes only more glazed and slightly less focused. “What pills, Amy?”
“The new ones that Dr. Peterson prescribed.”
She waved her hand. “Oh those. I stopped taking those two days ago. They were making me terribly sleepy.”
I put down my coffee and crouched down next to her. “Do you mean you haven’t been taking the pills from the weekly pillbox that I set up for you?”
“Nope, and I feel just fine.”
“Mom, you can’t just stop like that.”
“I’m fine. I was thinking about making some spaghetti tonight. What do you think?”
I straightened and stared down at her. “We’ll have to go see the doctor then, Mom. He’ll find you something else to take.”
“For what? I don’t understand, dear, why you’re so upset. I’m perfectly fine.” She smiled and sipped her sweet coffee.
“Oh, Mom, if only it was fine. If only we could just capture these last few minutes and keep repeating them over and over again. But we can’t.” I kissed her forehead and headed out to work on the yard and wait for that damn storm.
TWENTY-ONE
HUNTER
“Ferncreek Road? You’re taking me to the old Kingston place. Why the hell are we going to visit that ancient ruin?” I asked.
Colt grinned. “You’ll see. While you've been moping around the house, crying about all your bad luck, your little brother has been planning and hustling and thinking.”
“I know that’s supposed to sound promising but it’s doesn’t. Hey, Rincon left me a message to call him today. I hear he wants us to come back. He couldn’t find anyone else to work his water route.”
“Not interested,” Colt said sharply.
“Really, cuz I was sort of thinking that I’d like to be able to at least eat this next month. Especially because I don’t have too much else going on in my life. At least I can shovel burritos and pizza in my face and give myself a fucking heart attack.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit. You’ve got a chunk of change saved up just like me, and it’s time to start putting that money to work. What did the insurance company sayabout the bike?”
A disgusted laugh spurted from my mouth. “Can’t get enough to replace the damn tires let alone the bike. But I already figured that. I wasn’t paying enough premium to get it replaced. I figured if I totaled the thing, I’d be dead too so it wouldn’t matter. Never expected some jackasses to run it down with their car.”
“What about those guys?”
“It’s done. I broke the guy’s face and took plenty of their money. I told Fletch I’d be avoiding his poker games from now on.”
