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He rolled his eyes. “You’ve got it wrong. I’m just headin’ to the can. This gonna be an ongoin’ problem with us?”
“Not if you don’t give me a reason to make it a problem. And that goes for your missus. She’s on a campaign, apparently, wants to run my girl outta town.”
“I’ll deal with that,” he said.
“Glad to hear it,” I replied, then opened my door.
I found her dressed in jeans, spiked boots, and pulling a jacket on.
“Um… hi,” she said.
“Anybody knock on this door?” I asked.
“No, why?” she replied, poking a hoop earring into her earlobe.
“Nothin’. What’s up?” I asked.
“I need to get up to the falls. My aunt needs me. Do you have the keys to my car?”
I frowned.
“She’s super-duper sick. She needs someone to look after her. Treatments are kicking her butt.” She poked an earring into the other ear.
“You bein’ straight with me? This isn’t about that bullshit with Skip’s bitch?”
“I mean, yeah and no. Aunt Francie needs me. She really does. But it wouldn’t hurt to get a bit of distance from that situation, too.”
I sighed.
“Honest, she needs me. But not gonna fib and say I’m not lookin’ for an out anyway. I really do need to go for a few days at least. Give her a hand.”
“You can’t drive that wreck up there. It needs tires, woman. And brakes. At the very least. Even with that, it could die on you any minute.”
She bit her lip.
“And we’re still under curfew.”
“She hasn’t been able to keep anything down, Jesse. Not even water.”
“I’ll drive you,” I said.
“You’ll… you will?”
“Yeah. You can’t drive that wreck. And I can’t lend you my truck right now and have you traveling alone.”
“I probably need to stay for at least a couple days.”
“Then we’ll stay a few days. I’m gonna go talk to Deke and then we’ll head down there.”
She looked surprised.
“You think I’m gonna let you drive that wreck three hours? You think I’m leaving you unprotected when the few men left could try and strike back at us for what just happened? After what they did to your sister and how that chick in the store was asking you questions?”
She stared at me with moisture welling up in her eyes.
“I’ll go talk to Prez. How long you think you’ll need?”
“I’m not sure…”
“Pack a bag for us for a couple days. We’ll get there and figure it out from there.”
“I…” She bit her lip.
“What?”
She winced.
“Spit it out, Gigi.”
She jolted in surprise, but said nothing.
“C’mon. What?”
“You don’t need to be salty, Jesse.”
“Spit it out, woman, and I won’t have to be.”
“I think you should just drop me off. Aunt Francie isn’t exactly friendly at the best of times.”
“Noticed that.”
“So she might not take kindly to having both of us there.”
“Too bad. She needs help, she’ll have to deal.”
“Um…”
“I gotta talk to Prez. Be back. Pack me some jeans, tees, socks ‘n underwear. And toss my weed in the bag, too.”
“And you’ve already missed a bunch of time at your job because of me.”
“Let me worry about that.”
“You’re kinda steamrolling me here, Jesse.”
“Yeah. To keep you safe, G. So deal with it.” I slipped out of the room before she could muster more words to attempt to talk me out of coming.
***
“No key?” I asked.
“I didn’t even get to have a key when I lived here,” she replied.
“She know you’re coming?” I asked, standing behind her with a backpack over one shoulder, Gigi’s third-full big bag at my feet. Her guitar was still in my truck.
“Yeah. She needs me. She hinted like crazy until I offered. I told her I’d get here today, as soon as I could.”
We’d been at the door for at least five minutes.
Finally it opened, and Gigi’s aunt muttered, “Took you long enough,” as she opened it.
And then her eyes landed on me. And her expression went ugly as we both filed in.
“What’s he doin’?” Francie demanded, eyes on me. She was disheveled, in a housecoat. She looked like death warmed over.
“I told you I’d come help out,” Gigi replied, “but I was over three hours away.”
“Yeah, you said you’d come. You didn’t say you were bringin’ anyone.”
“Where she goes, I go,” I said. “Make sure no trouble follows her.”
“So you brought trouble to my fuckin’ door when I’m goin’ through this shit?” she fumed.
“No, we didn’t, Aunt Francie,” Gigi advised, “There won’t be trouble, but Jesse’s protective. It’s a precaution because of what happened to Kailey. Let’s get you back resting.”
She tried to guide her toward the short hall behind the kitchen.
“Cops showed up to ask questions about Kailey, you know? They’re investigating her murder.”
“I know. I told them what I thought when I identified her. Did they say if they had any leads?”
“Said not much to go on so far. You have a funeral for her?”
“Not yet. She’s been cremated though.”
