HOLD (11 page)

“Gross.” 

“Don’t be such a prude, Cord.”

“A prude,” I scoffed, “You watching now?”

“Of course.” 

I dropped my pants and mooned the camera. 

“Shit,” Deck exclaimed.  “You should have warned me you were gonna do that.  Jenny saw.  You upset her.” 

I zipped up my fly, keeping the phone balanced between my shoulder and my cheek.  “I’m sure she’s seen far worse behavior from you.” 

“Nope.  I’m an adult now.  Aw, jeez.  She’s crying. She ran into the bathroom, howling that she’s never seen such an ugly, hairy ass since the last time she visited the zoo.” 

“Deck!” Jenny laughed in the background. 

“Whatever,” I grumbled.  “You calling from Macedonia for any specific reason?”

Deck dropped the laughter.  “Just wanted to make sure all was well with the shop and that there’s no more trouble from any junior Gentrys.” 

The morning after our Emblem odyssey, I got in touch with Deck and summarized the basics.  As I suspected he’d asked Gaps to keep an eye on those two boys and let him know about any trouble they managed to find.  He didn’t mind parting with the bail money at all and was very appreciative that the three of us had dropped everything and driven down there to liberate the boys from Emblem’s finest facilities.  Once again I wondered whether he had more of a connection with them than just distant cousins but I didn’t ask. Maybe no one knew for sure one way or another.  There were a lot of unsolved mysteries in the world, particularly when it came to Gentry biology. 

“All is well,” I told him.  “Gaps said he’d call if anything else came up.” 

“Good, good,” said Deck.  There was a heavy pause.  “No trouble from anyone else, right?”

“No.”  I frowned.  “Like who?”

Deck had a large number of dubious associates but from what I could tell they universally feared him more than they wanted to fuck with him so I’d never witnessed any fallout.  Despite the fact that we were business partners there were things outside the scope of Scratch that he didn’t share with me.    

“Just checking,” he answered lightly but I knew that was bullshit because Deck never asked a question for no reason.  But I also knew he never offered an answer that he didn’t feel like sharing so I let it go. 

We chatted for a little while longer, just about Say and the girls and exotic travel destinations.  Then he abruptly declared that Jenny was in need of some attention and a hot naked woman trumped transcontinental cousin talk. 

“Hey Cord,” he said before he hung up.  “Beware, okay?”

I was puzzled.  “Beware of what?”

“Huh?  I said take care.” 

“Oh.”  I put a hand behind my neck and squeezed some stiff muscles.  I must have heard him wrong.  “You do the same.” 

The rest of the morning wasn’t too busy.  I inked a rose vine around a delicate wrist and a lone pansy flower on the upper bicep of a cranky fraternity type. 

“I lost a bet,” he explained, as if I cared.

Brick was in by late morning and traffic in the shop was very light.  I was especially glad because it meant I could take a lunch once Creed showed up.  Maybe we could head closer to campus and dine at our old hangout, Cluck This, a greasy chicken joint where once upon a time Saylor and Truly and even Stephanie had worked before they moved onto better things. 

I was in the office and heard Aspen’s chirpy voice call out, “Hey there Creed, he’s in the back.” 

When I heard the heavy footfalls in the corridor I sat back and waited for my brother to fling the door wide but after a few short knocks he merely eased it open soft as a whisper. 

“What the hell?” I said because I wasn’t prepared for the sight of Creed looking as if he’d spent the night beneath a freeway overpass. 

“Not hell exactly,” he said, sinking into a chair. 

A sour smell had entered the room with him.  I pointed.  “What’s on your shirt?”

He looked down absently.  “Spit up, I guess.” 

“Yours?”

“No.”

“Is Truly sick?”

“Truly is fine.” 

I handed him a box of tissues and a water bottle, figuring he’d want to clean himself up a little and wondering what on earth was going on to make Creedence Gentry oblivious to the fact that he was wandering around with a stained shirt and smelling of expired milk.  “Are you going to elaborate or do I have to keep guessing?”

He started wetting down his shirt and patting it with tissues before giving up with a scowl.  “Fuck, it’s worse than I thought.”  He pulled his shirt over his head with one fluid motion.   “Cord, you got something I could change into?”

“Of course.  I always haul around a complete wardrobe change in my back pocket.” 

Creed tossed the damp shirt at my head.  “Glad I have two wiseass brothers instead of one.” 

“I can’t compete with Chase.  He’s in a class by himself.”  I pushed back from the desk.  “Hold on, I actually do have a spare shirt folded up in that corner filing cabinet.  You’ll owe me one though since you’re bound to stretch it all out of shape.” 

Creed flexed.  “Can’t blame me for being physically fit.” 

“
I’m
physically fit.  You’re a fucking monster.” 

I dug around in the two-drawer file cabinet which served as an informal depository for things that didn’t easily belong anywhere else.  The black t-shirt I knew I’d find in there was clean, if a little faded.  Creed seemed glad enough to have it though. 

“Thanks, man.”

I stared at him as he rolled the shirt over his muscles. If I’d just met him on the street I’d assume he was juicing but I knew better than that.   Creed put in gym time of course, but he’d always been huge. 

“You ready to start talking now?” I asked. 

Creed stood up and ran a hand through his short hair.  He looked like the dictionary entry for ‘hung over’.  But he just shook his head with a wry smirk before reaching for the door. 

“How about I buy you lunch?” he offered.  “I’ll tell you all about it.”   

CREED

My dreams were full of crying kittens but that was only because Truly had brought the baby into the bedroom.  I knew it even before I was fully awake, as the dream image of mewling animals faded and my mind caught up to the fact that the cries were human. 

The gentle light filtering in through the blinds meant the hour was early.  Truly was on the far side of the room, facing a window and soothing the baby with a soft lullaby in her dreamy southern accent.  Her thick black hair spilled halfway down her back and her hand cupped the baby’s head as he closed his eyes with a soft sigh. 

“I’m sorry,” she said when her song ended.  She didn’t turn around.  “I didn’t mean to wake you.” 

“I didn’t say nothing,” I yawned, swinging my legs over the side of the mattress and stretching.  “So how’d you know I was awake?”

“Because I always know, Creedence,” she answered, finally turning around with a brilliant smile and an infant cradled to her breast.  It was such a devastating sight that all I could do was hunker there, gaping, as the baby stirred.  Truly whispered “Hush, angel,” before kissing his downy cap of dark hair.   Then my wife looked right into my eyes and my heart felt like it was being squeezed by invisible fingers.

“Mia’s still asleep,” she explained, glancing at the closed bedroom door with a frown.   The second bedroom where Mia and the baby had been sleeping was across the hall. 

“Hmph,” I grunted and stood, hearing a small crack in my back.  Truly’s screwed up sister had arrived on our doorstep three days ago.  There’d been that odd phone call where she’d hinted she was heading in our direction via bus, refusing Truly’s offer to pay for a plane ticket.  What she forgot to mention was that she was bringing her four-month-old baby with her.  Because then she would have had to first mention that she actually
had
a baby.

Mia Lee’s impending arrival wasn’t even on my mind the night I arrived home after playing to a raucous crowd at The Hole to find my sister-in-law sitting cross-legged on the floor and twisting her pale hands together.  Meanwhile, my wife was perched on the couch, watching her sister with a helpless expression and a dark-eyed baby in her lap who was hiccupping and ogling me with curiosity as he waved his arms around, capturing a fistful of Truly’s black hair. 

Mia didn’t say much, merely watching me through watery blue eyes as Truly explained what her sister had told her.   First, the kid was hers.  Second, his father was killed in a tractor accident two months before he was born.  Also, the farming commune she was living on had been raided by ATF because apparently a few of the things they were cultivating there were illegal.  Mia took off with the kid before she could get swept up in the trouble.  And finally, there was a vague possibility that members of law enforcement might yet be interested in finding her. 

I absorbed all this information standing in the middle of my living room with the sleazy smell of the club still clinging to me in a bitter haze.  After setting my guitar against the end table I moved over to the couch and sat beside Truly. 

My wife watched me like she was worried about what I would say. 

Her sister watched me like she was afraid about what I would do. 

The kid watched me like he was hopeful I would produce something for him to eat.  

I held out a finger and the baby grabbed at it eagerly. 

“What’s his name?” I asked, expecting some wacky answer like Moonbat or Hazelnut.

“Jacob,” answered Mia, still sitting on the floor, drawing her knees up and resting her chin atop the wrinkled paisley material that covered them. 

“Jacob,” I repeated and the baby flashed a toothless grin just before he tried to chew my finger off. 

I did not object when Truly assured her sister that she and Jacob were welcome to stay with us as long as they wanted to. 

Or until federal agents knocked on the door.

Whichever came first. 

Our guests had arrived woefully ill-equipped for a long term stay so Truly had taken a few days off to go on a shopping spree and get acquainted with her nephew.  Even though we’d babysat for Cord and Say’s girls often enough when they were tiny, I’d forgotten how much freaking stuff was involved in baby care.  Bottles and diapers and onesies and car seats.  Apparently the smaller the person the more stuff they needed in order to exist. 

But still, Jacob was a cheerful baby and Truly doted on him.  I didn’t mind him being around either. 

His mother was a different story.  I didn’t know what the hell to make of her.  Meridian Lee spoke little, ate less and skulked around like a ghost.  She’d gladly allowed Truly to take over caring for Jacob.  At first I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, figuring she’d had a rough time and might be set right after a few days of rest.  But now I was growing uneasy.  Last night I’d wandered into the kitchen to get a drink of water and the bedroom across the hall where Mia and Jacob had been sleeping was brightly lit, the door flung wide open.  I poked my head in there and saw the baby was alone, sound asleep in the portable crib that had been set up in the corner of the room.  He’d rolled over on his belly so I set him on his back since Truly was adamant that was what you were supposed to do with babies.  I covered him gently with the blue receiving blanket he’d kicked off.   Then I shut the bedside lamp off and backed out of there. 

The living room was dark, empty.  I heard the creak of bedsprings from the master bedroom and recognized the sound of Truly rolling over.  She was always a fitful sleeper. 

“Shit,” I muttered because the condo wasn’t a huge place and there weren’t a ton of places Mia could be hanging out.  What the hell was I supposed to do if she’d taken off?  Should I run out after her?  I wouldn’t even know where to look.   

Then a flicker of movement from beyond the glass patio door caught my eye.  A hot wind was blowing, an early prequel of summer storms to come.  Mia was out there alone, standing rigidly in the dark as the fabric of her long white shirt billowed and her wispy blonde hair whipped around from the whims of the wind.  She faced away, arms crossed, unmoving, and it didn’t seem like she was looking at anything in particular. Just then a wind gust knocked into her thin frame and she swayed slightly, reaching out a hand to grab a stucco patio pillar.  For a second my eyes did a funny thing and saw right through her, like she was fading away into nothing.

I made a lot of noise as I opened the patio door, trying not to startle her.  But either because of the wind or because she was lost in her own head, she didn’t so much as flinch until I cleared my throat. 

“Mia?”

The face she turned to me was worse than horrible.  It was a face of misery, despair.  It pulled at her skin and left ugly hollows in her cheeks and under her eyes.  Then she shook herself, shivered and looked normal again. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude,” she said in an accent so similar to Truly’s but lacking all of Truly’s vitality. 

“Why don’t you come inside?” I said, opening the door wide and hoping she’d listen because something about the whole scene was creeping me the fuck out. 

But Mia just shook her head and turned away again.  “Like to hang out here a bit if you don’t mind.” 

“No, not at all.”  I hesitated, feeling slightly uneasy. “Good night then.”  I started to close the door and then thought of something.  I wasn’t good at this shit.  I really wasn’t.  But there was something I hadn’t said yet and if there was one thing my wife had taught me it was that sometimes words mattered.

“Hey Mia?”

She turned around and cocked her head, waiting for me to continue. 

“Uh, you’re not intruding.  You and Jacob.  You guys are family and you’re both welcome here as long as you need to stay, as long as you want to stay.” 

She stared at me for a few seconds and then a genuine smile touched her mouth.  For a moment I could see the resemblance she bore her sister and it made me glad I’d said what I’d said.

“Thanks, Creed,” she said softly. “Not just for this, but for being a good man for my sister. I was damn sorry I missed your wedding.” 

I shrugged.  “No worries.  You know, Tru loves you and your boy like crazy and anything we can do for you guys we will.”   

She nodded and her gaze shifted away as her thin eyebrows drew together.  “You will,” she said in a vague voice as if she was talking to herself.  “And she will.” 

“Well, yeah,” I said, feeling at a loss because the girl had apparently switched directions and gone weird again.  “Good night.” 

I’d returned to bed feeling a little strange about the whole thing, but since I wasn’t the least bit psychic it wouldn’t do any good to sit up fretting over it.  The next thing I knew it was dawn and my wife was huddled in the corner with a baby in her arms, trying to sing softly enough not to disturb me. 

“So what’s on your agenda for today?”  I asked, snatching a shirt off the floor and pulling it over my head.

“An exam.  I’ve got to be up there by nine.  I swear I’ll be back by eleven.” 

“Okay,” I shrugged, a little puzzled why she was giving me her soft-eyed sheepish look. 

“You were planning on being around, right?” 

“Yeah, I guess. Was going to work on some songs and maybe hit the gym.”

“But you’ll watch Jacob until I get back?”

“Watch Jacob?  You mean babysit?  You taking Mia with you?”

“No,” she said softly and kissed the baby’s head.  “She’s so tired, Creed.  Please.” 

I almost told her about my run-in with Mia in the middle of the night.  I also almost blurted out my theory that her sister wasn’t the most stable or sane person ever.  But as I saw the sad look on Truly’s face I figured she was already well aware of Mia’s precarious mental state.  She’d always described Mia as soft-hearted and rather fragile, the one Lee sister who had the most trouble bearing up against life’s battering rams.  It suddenly struck me that I’d seen that type before.  Maybe that’s why last night’s short conversation left me so unsettled.   Meridian Lee in all her wounded instability reminded me of Maggie Gentry. 

Truly was right.  There were occasions where honest words should be spoken.   

And there were others where they were better left unuttered. 

“I’ll watch him,” I promised, crossing the room to wrap my arms around her briefly.  “Just let me shower and get my eyes open a little wider.” 

Truly rested her head against my shoulder and my hands traveled up and down her back while my dick decided to perk up and say good morning.  But since there was also a baby wedged between us, now was not a good time for fun and games.  Truly knew my moods too well.  She rolled her eyes and blushed.

“Behave,” she warned, backing toward the door. 

“Been behaving for days,” I grumbled  “I think my parole hearing is coming up.” 

“It is, I promise.”  She got up on her tiptoes and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.  “You really are a prince.” 

I tucked a lock of black hair behind her ear and let my fingertips linger on her cheek.  “Only because you made me one.”

She gave me long, loving look and shook her head.  “No, Creedence.  You always were.” 

Goddamn, I married the right girl.  

The time to be sentimental ended abruptly when Jacob decided he was hungry and started thrashing around.

“Please don’t take long in the shower,” Truly said as she opened the door.  “I’ve still got to get ready.” 

“I’m quick.  I’ll be in and out before you know it.” 

She smirked.  “You’re never quick.” 

“I can be anything, including quick, so stop teasing me before I make you go put that baby down so I can prove it to you.” 

She giggled and patted Jacob as he settled down.  As she headed down the hall with the kid over her shoulder, Jacob made gurgling noises and I could swear he was laughing at me.   Truly paused at Mia’s bedroom, opened the door, peeked inside, and then withdrew with a sigh. 

I really could be quick when I wanted to be.  I jumped in the shower, jerked off to get rid of my stubborn boner and got cleaned up all within five minutes.   As I was getting into a fresh set of clothes I remembered that I had yet to fill my brothers in on this latest turn of events.  I wasn’t a phone talker and this wasn’t really the time for lengthy explanations so I shot Cord a text asking if he wanted to meet for lunch.  I was about to text Chase but then remembered he’d be working all the way downtown.  Anyway Chase wouldn’t have let it go if he thought there was news.  He would have called me every three minutes until I spilled my guts. 

Truly was curled up on the couch feeding Jacob a bottle.  The pair of them looked so serene and perfect together I was sorry I’d hustled through getting ready because I knew she would now reluctantly get up and leave.

Once she handed the baby off she went straight into a whirlwind of showering and dressing.  There was hardly a woman on earth who could look as good after three hours as Truly could look after twenty minutes.  She looked in on the sleeping Mia one more time, fired off a rapid fire list of instructions involved in the care of Jacob, then blew me a perfumed kiss on her way out the door. 

“All right, kid,” I said to Jacob, “be good until she gets back and I’ll set up a college fund for you.”