“We could go,” he said as he glanced at me, though he didn’t sound sure.
I didn’t have any money, and I knew he couldn’t afford it. My family could have sent all of us in a heartbeat, put us up in a nice hotel overlooking the beach, and never even checked their bank balance. There was no way I could call and ask, but in that moment, I wanted to. I’d be willing to, if it meant we could find Star all the sooner.
Star was far more experienced at riding the rails than either Jack or I, but we’d grown used to being with each other at all times, and now he was alone. The thought of it pulled at my heart, stretching it uncomfortably, leaving me with more feelings than I knew what to do with. I hadn’t thought about it up until that point because when Wolfe held me in his arms, the rest of the world melted away.
“You boys need a plan,” Mabel said. “Don’t act before you have a plan.”
“Yes, ma’am,” we all said, the response echoing four times.
“And you all need to skedaddle, so my bridge ladies have somewhere to sit.”
“Yes, ma’am,” we said again.
As I waited behind Morgan, letting him go down the two steps to the walkway, Jack at his side, Mabel came up to me. Tugged at the lapels of my coat, pulling them toward each other to wrap me up as though I was about to embark on a trek through the Arctic.
“Young man,” she said to me. “Is there anyone at home for you? That you should call? Or are you like Jack?”
“I’m like Jack, ma’am,” I said. I knew she wanted my real name, wanted to know where I came from, who my people were. But instead of asking, she patted my cheek and with a kind smile said, “Well, consider this your home now. In Hysham, we take care of our own.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I scrubbed at my eyes as I turned and went down the stairs, Wolfe at my heels. The sun was bright, almost hard, and the air seemed very still and warm in front of Mabel’s house.
“Jack,” Mabel said.
I turned. She was standing at the top of the steps in her house dress and apron, grey socks, and low slippers. She held Mister Rocket in her arms, and he looked at us all with intense brown eyes, studying us. “I’ll give you a call when I’ve got another batch of rhubarb compote ready. You can put it on toast or ice cream.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a smile.
And with everything else about Jack that I had been jealous of—and yes, that was what I’d been feeling all this while—I was jealous that he had nana. Only this time, maybe, he would be willing to share her with me.
CHAPTER 29
wolfe
The four of us stood on the sidewalk in front of Mabel’s house, next to the two trucks parked nose to front, engaged in a silent debate as to who should drive whom and in which truck. Two older ladies dressed in tracksuits and down coats walked past us and went up the steps, barely giving us a glance, though the glance spoke volumes since we were parked, as it were, illegally.
A taxi pulled up and had to park in the middle of the street to let another lady off, this one in a thick cotton dress made of purple velveteen. She wore striped stockings and clogs. She even had a hat, a wool felt thing with a jaunty red-petaled flower pinned to it. This one nodded at us and hopped up those steps, where Mabel welcomed her, then waved at us as if to get a move on.
“You fellows want to get lunch?” Morgan asked, which surprised me, at least a little, as he had never seemed the most welcoming of men. But perhaps this had shifted, like everything else in Hysham. Everything in my life. “There’s a great Italian place in town. Has really good garlic bread.”
I was a sucker for anything with garlic on it, and the invitation was tempting. A plateful of hot food that I didn’t haveto prepare or clean up after, count me in. The budget could afford it if Blue and I didn’t go crazy with our choices.
But then there was Blue to think of. He stood on that sidewalk, looking a bit wan, as though he too was tired of all the changes in his life. If I had rather headed home, I knew Blue felt it as well. Home was home.
“I think we’re headed back to the cabin,” I said, speaking for both of us.
Jack straightened up as though I had challenged him. He had the key fob to his bright red truck in his hand, and his fingers curled around it.
My fingers curled into a fist around the keys in the pocket of my parka. He’d startled me before when, watching from the window of the feed and grain, he’d taken Blue’s face in both hands. The echoes of the feeling I’d had, that I knew how to kill a man by crushing his windpipe, however, were vanishing.
Jack was Blue’s friend, first and foremost. Mabel adored Jack and, if I let myself, it was easy to see why. Besides, Mabel didn’t suffer fools gladly. Also, Mister Rocket favored Jack above all other humans, which said only good things about the kind of person he was.
“What is it, Jack?” I asked.
“We could get food to go,” he said. “And bring it to your place to eat for dinner. I’d love to see where Blue’s been all this while.”
I looked at Morgan and he at me. I had the same sense that I’d had before, at Oralee’s funeral, and the few times I’d been into the feed and grain. That he was like me. Preferred to be alone, to not have to bother with all the people in the world. Someone had let him down; that much was clear.
He probably would have sold the feed and grain eventually if it wasn’t for Jack. Might not even be up and walking around if it wasn’t for Jack.
