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Her mouth curved up in a smile and she nodded once, turning toward her cruiser. She flashed his business card at him. “Maybe next time I want to talk…” Brian grinned and nodded, feeling exhilarated as he watched her settle into her car. There was an excitement flowing through his blood that he hadn’t felt for a long time. Like, a really long time. Then reality hit him between the eyes. He was on the way to the airport for his flight back to his new life in Columbus. Fuck…
* * *
Adam gavehis mother a week before he asked her about contacting Brian. She had told him about the conversation they’d had, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Glad, mostly. And excited. Flattered that Brian didn’t seem to mind being around him. Adam had noticed the looks from adults when he asked questions. They either didn’t think he needed to know whatever answer he was after, or they didn’t know the answer. Those people, well, it would be easier if they just said they didn’t know the answer rather than rolling their eyes and either trying to distract him or fobbing him off onto something else. Mom always answered his questions, no matter what he asked about. Sometimes she tried to soften the answer to protect him, which was to be expected, but for the most part she always gave him the truth. Brian had done the same thing. Going into a conversation with an adult, Adam was always a little guarded. He tried not to be offended or hurt when they gave him that look, or outright lied to him, but it was hard sometimes.
Brian… well, Brian was neat. They’d talked less than an hour, but his mind was still thinking about the things they’d talked about. As soon as he’d had a chance, he’d started researching forensic accounting on his laptop, and he’d fallen down the rabbit hole, as Mom liked to tell him when she made him shut down for dinner. Once he started, though, he couldn’t stop. He started researching cases and he had a mountain of questions. He’d constructed an email with links and notations, as well as the questions he wanted to ask, but he hesitated to hit send. Would Brian even respond? He left it in drafts for now.
Brian had mentioned that he’d been in the Marines for a while, and that had sent Adam off on another tangent, researching and learning. When they’d been sitting on the bank watching the horses Adam had noticed the shine of a metal leg beneath his pant leg and he’d been about to bust with questions, but he didn’t want to hurt Brian or be insensitive. He’d never met an amputee. The injury had to have been from his military career.
The curiosity was going to eat him alive.
5
Late October 2023
Brian tried notto laugh as he caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. The smoke rolled from the grill, and he wondered if it was the smell of the cooking meat that had drawn his watchers. He’d noticed them a couple of weeks ago, when they’d first moved in. Actually, he’d noticed the dog. She barked at him occasionally when they let her out. There was a six-foot fence around each back yard, but the boards were staggered, giving flashes of visibility between the planks.
This was a new housing development on the near west side of Columbus, several stories tall and trendy. Brian had taken a bottom apartment, just for the sake of his legs. As much as it grated on his nerves, the handicapped-accessible apartment was the smart choice. He could do stairs fine, but the issue came in when he had to carry items up the stairs, obstructing his view and shifting his balance. And sometimes, if he’d been pulling long shifts and didn’t take care of his stumps correctly, they developed irritations and sometimes actual infections in the skin. That didn’t happen very often, but when it did, it made his life hell. His left stump gave him more grief that the right, which he didn’t understand. His left leg was the below-the-knee amputation. The right was above the knee. He always thought the right would be more of a pain, but that hadn’t been the case. Whatever.
There were a series of buildings circling to the right, same design and everything. Each of the lower apartments had a small, fenced yard, giving the illusion of privacy, and there was a paved walkway from the middle of each building to a large park in the middle of the complex. There was a children’s playground as well as a shaded, fenced dog park.
The realtors had pushed that the complex was in a safe area, and that they all had their own security system and cameras. The cameras were monitored by an app on his phone. He doubted he needed it, there wasn’t much in his apartment to steal, but it was nice to have.
Brian also had his own concrete patio and yard, but if he went through the back fence gate, he could go to the central park. There were several groupings of picnic tables and grills. It was all positioned to give the buildings a feeling of community. At least, that’s what the realtor had told him. But the fence between his building and the next had an access door as well. He could see a boy playing with a dog, an occasional tennis ball flying higher than the fence. The dog’s name was Diamond, he thought. At least, that’s what it sounded like the kid was saying. Brian had noticed that anytime he was on the patio, the kid came out with the dog, like he was trying to get Brian’s attention. Or maybe he was reading too much into it.
Glancing at his watch, he pushed up to his feet. Time to flip the steak. As he lifted the lid on the grill and the hickory smoke rolled out, he felt a sense of peace settle over him. He’d settled into the Columbus job like he’d thought he would, and he was enjoying the city. It was vibrant and active, although the humid summer was a lot to get used to. It made him sweat in uncomfortable places. Years ago, he’d been sent on a mission to Thailand, and it reminded him of the humid jungles over there.
It was fading into fall now, though, and he was really enjoying the area. There was a nature trail just to the east of the apartment complex and he’d walked it a few times.
A tennis ball landed inside his fence and bounced a couple of times before coming to a rest.
Brian snorted. He’d known it would only be a matter of time. Bumping the temp down on the grill, he headed out into the yard, careful of the terrain. It wasn’t the flattest ground, so he had to be careful where he put his feet. Leaning down he retrieved the ball and tossed it over the fence. “There you go, buddy.”
“Thanks, Brian.”
Brian had started to walk away, but he slammed his head around. Wait, had that kid said his name? The voice had sounded familiar. “Adam?”
He peered through the stagger-planked fence, trying to catch a glimpse of the kid. Was it really him?
Adam’s head popped up above the top of the fence. He grinned crookedly and pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Thanks for returning the ball.”
“No problem. Um, not to be rude, what the hell are you doing here?”
Once he’d left Wyoming, Brian had thought his chances of seeing the kid, and his beautiful mother, at slim to none. Adam had emailed him several times, though, asking random questions and sometimes very pointed, specific questions about accounting. Or military life. Or the wars he’d fought in. Brian looked forward to his emails because it made him think about how far he’d come. Adam had also asked him about Columbus. A lot. How he liked the area, amenities, etcetera.
Never, not once, had Adam intimated or stated they werecomingto Ohio. “Is your mom here?”
Adam glanced behind him. “Well, not physically right this moment, but yes, she lives here with me. We’re kind of a package deal.”
Brian snorted. “I didn’t expect you to move out here on your own. But why are you here?”
Adam’s eyes shifted to the side. “Well, Columbus has a well-respected accelerated learning school. They offered me a scholarship.”
Brian waited for more, but on this subject Adam seemed a little reluctant to divulge the details. “So, you moved out here?”
Adam nodded, shifting his feet. His head suddenly dropped below the fence and there was a woof of clattering sound. “Adam!”
Brian went to the gate in the back corner of the fence. He’d never used it before, but he had tested that it would open, and it did. He hurried into Adam’s yard.
