Walk (Gentry Boys) (27 page)

“Fuck you, Con.”   

He looked around.  “If you got a piece of paper handy here I could probably make some crude illustrations.  I bet Evie would thank me for it.” 

I rolled my eyes.  “Dick.” 

“No, Stone,
you
have a dick,” he lectured seriously.  “The girl more than likely doesn’t have a dick.” 

We went around and around like that.  It was good and it was easy.  Here and there I found myself forgetting that the last four years had ever happened.  I felt like I had my brother back.  But then the first threads of light appeared in the east, reminding me the night was almost over. 

Conway saw me looking.  “Almost dawn.” 

“Almost.”  I opened up the door and hopped out.   “Come on.” 

Con exited more slowly.  “Are we taking a hike?” 

I started walking.  “Just a short one.” 

He sighed but then he fell into step beside me.  We cut across the park and passed the school district’s administrative building.  There was no one else around except a man who was riding a golf cart loaded with landscaping tools.  He paused and jumped out to pull a few weeds that had sprouted by the brick columns propping up the Emblem Memorial Cemetery sign. 

Meanwhile Conway had come to a dead stop.  Even in the half light of daybreak I could see the stricken look on his face. 

“No.”  He crossed his arms.  “No, I’m not going in there.”

I faced him.  “Please, Con.  Come and see her.”

He gave me a devastated look.  “She’s the girl you said we were going to see.” 

“She is.”

I looked back to the cemetery gate.  The groundskeeper was watching us.  He offered a small wave and then returned to his cart, which he steered around the perimeter. 

“I haven’t been here,” Con whispered.  “I haven’t been here even once.” 

“Then it’s time.”  I squeezed his shoulder for comfort.  “We owe her this.  I think she’s been waiting for us.” 

Con stayed close to me as we made our way through the columns of Emblem’s dead.  The newer graves were toward the back.  The last time I was here, the day I’d been released from prison, I’d memorized where Erin’s was. 

“Hey, pretty girl.”  I knelt at her headstone. 

The flowers I’d impulsively left here last time had long since withered and been removed.  The small cross with the hanging prism was also gone. But I was glad to see she hadn’t been alone since then.  Someone else had been here, leaving a fresh bouquet of daisies.  

Conway was hanging back.  He breathed in painful gasps, like he was trying to choke off thick sobs before they escaped. 

I waited in silence.  This moment was a long time coming.  I was merely an observer. 

Eventually he pulled himself together and came to her.  I’d known all along he would.   

My brother fell into the grass at my side and wept at the grave of the girl he’d once loved, the girl he still loved, the girl he’d always love.  Death couldn’t put an end to that. Nothing could. 

I did my best to hold him together while he cried.  When he was finally able to raise his head and breathe again he looked up and screamed a single word at the sky. 

“ERIN!” 

The sound of her name echoed across the town and fanned out over the outer desert.  The sun was now peering over the lip of the earth and gently stretching to touch everything it saw.  It touched Main Street and the palo verde trees that guarded the cemetery entrance.  It touched the silent testaments to the dead and the tender relics left at their feet.  Finally it touched Erin and it touched us. A piece of it got caught inside of an object I hadn’t seen before in the vase of daisies. 

I took a closer look and realized it was a piece of crystal, much like the other one that had been left here the last time I visited.  I didn’t know who’d left it there. Deck had confirmed that Erin’s family had moved a thousand miles away. Maybe it had been left by a teacher, or a friend.  There must be some significance to it, some private slice of life that we all carried around with us.  Someone remembered.  Someone mourned. 

Conway kissed two fingers and pressed them to her headstone while I stood beside him and waited.  I would always be beside him, even if he didn’t want me there. 

“I love you,” he whispered.  “I’m sorry it took me so long to come back.” 

When he stood up I waited until he wiped his tears on his palm.  Then I grabbed him in a ferocious hug that told the kind of story words couldn’t; about love and loyalty and brotherhood and allegiance. 

After a brief pause, Conway hugged me back. 

Side by side we stared down at the grave of a girl who was taken from all of us too soon.  We would do right by her.  We would remember. 

Con walked away first.  I figured that was his right.  But he waited as I caught up and we walked the rest of the way together. 

I looked to the horizon, squinting into the sunlight. 

“Strength in brothers,” I said.  Then I said it again. 

The sharp look he gave me was unclear.  But then, slowly, he nodded. 

“Strength in brothers,” he answered. 

Five minutes later we left Emblem behind, to greet the day on its own terms. 

We still needed to sort through ours. 

Evie

When the light came on I bolted right out of bed but it was just Bash, standing there in the doorway looking awkward. 

“Stone’s not with me,” he said, answering my question before I even got a chance to ask it.  “He figured you’d stick around and he just wanted me to tell you that he’s fine.  He took off with his brother. Said he’ll be home by morning.”

I rubbed my eyes.  “He’s with Conway?”

“Yup.  Guy seems like a regular wedge of happiness but that’s not my fucking business.” 

Bash must have seen some flash of alarm in my face because he rushed to explain.  “It didn’t seem like there was gonna be any trouble.  No fists flying, no one yelling.  Conway climbed into Stone’s truck under his own power although he did look pretty grumpy about being there.” 

I snatched my phone.  There were no messages.  It was two thirty a.m. I set the phone down. 

“Thanks, Bash.” 

“Sure thing.  Hey, Evie, don’t worry.  If anything bad was in the works it would have happened out there on that raceway.”

I nodded and he flicked the light off before shuffling off to his own bedroom. 

Bash might have been putting on a positive spin just to make me feel better, but I knew he was enough of a loyal friend that he wouldn’t have left Stone’s side if he figured trouble was about to break.  Stone was with his brother, which was exactly where he wanted to be.  I had to hope that Conway’s ominous words weren’t what they seemed and that somehow the Gentry brothers would use tonight to resolve four years of agony and heal each other in the process. 

Since I was completely awake now I turned the light back on.  There was a small desk in the corner of Stone’s room that contained only a spiral notebook and a pen.  Since all traces of sleep had been temporarily lost, I sat down and opened the notebook.  It looked like a number of pages had been used and ripped out.  I knew that Stone still wrote letters to Conway out of habit.  One night I’d found him sitting in the living room with pen and paper.  He said he didn’t send them, the letters.  He didn’t even know at this point where to address them.  But he’d gotten so used to writing letters in prison and now that he was out yet still estranged from his brother he found solace in continuing to write them. 

The page facing me was blank.  I ran my hand over it and picked up the pen.  I wrote ‘Dear Macon’ at the top and stared at it.  Then I put the pen to the paper and continued writing until I’d filled four pages of notebook paper.  When I was done I carefully removed the pages and folded them in half before putting them in my purse. 

I would send this letter, just like I’d sent the others.  I would write the address of the prison on the envelope and say a silent, generic prayer as I placed it in the mailbox.  I had no reason to believe he’d answer this one either, or if he’d even read it.  But, like Stone, I wasn’t quite ready to give up on my brother, even if he’d already broken my heart and would probably break it again.  

After switching off the light I curled up in Stone’s bed once more.  I thought about Stone and Conway, somewhere out there together, finally confronting all the things that had been unanswered for four bleak years.  If they could find their way back to one another then maybe there was hope for the rest of us.  I had to believe that. 

The sunlight woke me.  I’d left the blinds partially open and the soft light of a perfect morning filtered into Stone’s bedroom.  The light was blinking on my phone and I read the message from Stone with relief so thick I ended up hugging the phone to my chest. 

“Coming home, baby.”

 
The text was only about twenty minutes old but I had no idea where he was actually coming
from
so I couldn’t guess when he’d be walking through the door.  I almost texted back but then figured I’d be seeing him soon enough.  I slipped my shoes back on, visited the bathroom to freshen up and went to the kitchen.

Bash was snoring down the hall so I tried to be quiet as I put on a pot of coffee.  The only mug I could find was cracked white ceramic, boldly emblazoned with the words ‘EAT GOOD PUSSY’.  It had to be Bash’s.  I chuckled, filled the cup and decided to enjoy a few minutes of cool morning air on the patio after grabbing a sweatshirt from Stone’s room. 

The day was going to be beautiful.  The sky was already a shade of blue that was so rich it looked like it had been drawn by a child’s crayon. I cupped the mug in my hands and tipped my face toward the sun.  There was no one else around except a handful of twittering birds and a young couple who walked past, arm in arm.  I would have said a polite hello but they were so lost in each other they didn’t notice me. 

An errant ray of young sunshine blinded me for a moment and I shielded my eyes.  When I blinked again a sense of peace overcame me, as if someone wise had whispered in my ear, “Everything is all right now.” 

I believed it.  Life was by nature uncertain, often tumultuous, but right now, standing in the sunshine and waiting for the man I loved to return to me, I felt sure that this day was destined to be wonderful. 

Stone’s beat up truck slowly rounded a corner and pulled into an empty spot.  Conway jumped out first.  He stood at the curb and waited for his brother, who stepped out seconds later. 

They walked closely together, talking quietly.  Then Stone shook his head and chuckled over something.  That’s when he noticed me and his face lit up with the smile that had already stolen my heart many times over. 

Conway hung back as Stone jogged over.  He vaulted over the short stucco wall with ease and landed at my side. 

“Hi,” he whispered, taking my face in his hands and gazing into my eyes with a touch of doubt as he tried to figure out whether I was angry about being left behind last night.  I wasn’t. 

“Hi,” I answered and stood on tiptoe to meet his kiss. 

Stone didn’t hold back when it came kissing me long and deep right there on the patio as his brother stood nearby.  He slipped an arm possessively around my waist and we turned to face Conway. 

“Nice cup,” Conway Gentry said to me. 

I looked down at the coffee mug in my hands.  ‘EAT GOOD PUSSY’ looked back at me. 

“Thanks,” I said seriously. “It’s terrific advice.” 

Conway grinned at me.   

Stone cleared his throat.  “Evie, this is my brother, Conway.” 

“We’ve met,” I said wryly. 

Con’s smile grew sheepish.  “Can we pretend we haven’t?”

I smiled back and extended my hand.  “I’m Evie.  Hello, Conway.  It’s nice to meet you.”   

He shook my hand somewhat carefully, like he was afraid I was made of something breakable.  “Hi, Evie.  It’s nice to meet you too.  You probably know this already but my brother is totally blitzed out in love with you.” 

“Of course she knows,” Stone declared indignantly. 

“Of course I know,” I agreed and cuddled closer to Stone’s broad chest. 

Conway seemed bemused by the sight of us together but I figured that was a good thing.  For the first time he resembled the brother that Stone remembered, not the cold-hearted man who’d been so wrecked by tragedy.  I didn’t know what had happened between them last night but it wasn’t the time to ask such questions. It was enough to know that Stone was happy. 

When Conway mentioned going out to breakfast I figured it would be a better idea to let the brothers go alone.  Conway, however, wouldn’t consider it. 

“You’re coming,” he ordered me good-naturedly.  “Now go get your purse or your backpack or whatever freaking support system you girls need to carry around everywhere in order to function.” 

“You’re bossy, Conway,” I complained as I pushed the sliding glass door open. I winked at Stone. “I’ll be right back.” 

Bash was still snoring loud as a buzz saw.  I quickly located my purse and left through the front door since I didn’t feel like hopping over the patio wall.  I was still wearing Stone’s sweatshirt, which came down to my knees and didn’t exactly match my skirt and my heels, but a fashion statement probably wasn’t required right now. 

Stone’s truck was a tight squeeze in the cab for three so we took mine. I didn’t know where Conway’s car was but it didn’t seem important.  

“Oh, shit,” Stone said as we pulled out of the parking lot.  “Don’t you have to go to work today?”

“It’s Saturday,” I reminded him.  “No work.  Even if I tried to go into the office Stephanie would confiscate my adding machine if she finds out I once again went in on the weekend.  She makes good on her threats.  She knows how I love my adding machine.” 

The diner was full of hung-over college students who sipped coffee and glared at us darkly when we made too much noise.  Conway and Stone were still a little hesitant in each other’s company but they were funny together.  I could imagine how they’d been growing up; two raucous, carefree boys who ran wild all over the desert. 

Conway raised an eyebrow when my giant stack of pancakes was delivered.

I wagged a finger.  “No judging.  I have a formidable appetite and besides, you promised to pay so I’m taking advantage.” 

“I like her,” Conway laughed to Stone. 

Heavy topics were tacitly avoided.  I entertained the brothers with stories from the corporate world in all its Daft Davis glory.  Stone kept his hand on my knee as much as possible and occasionally gave my leg a gentle squeeze, his way of letting me know he appreciated the fact that I was cool with his brother. 

When Stone excused himself to use the restroom, Conway and I were left rather awkwardly on our own for a few minutes. 

I fussed with a sugar packet even though I’d already dumped far too much in my coffee. 

“Can I have one?” Conway asked and I tossed the little white packet his way. 

He didn’t do anything with it though; he just held it between his fingers and shifted his weight so I realized he’d just been trying to fill the silence.  If that was the case he should have just said so.  I’ve never had trouble filling silence.  

“So what do you do, Conway?”

His eyes were so blue, just like Stone’s.  He seemed to find the question funny. He had his brother’s smile.  It was genuine.  It seemed bizarre that it had ever occurred to me to be frightened of him.  Was this the real Conway Gentry, as opposed to the tough hood who’d leered at me in the dark on a frightening night? 

He dropped the sugar packet. “What do I
do
?” he repeated. 

“Yes,” I nodded.  “When you’re not overdosing on caffeine or rescuing oblivious women in the swank alleys of Scottsdale.  Stone has bragged about how mechanically inclined you were, how smart you used to be.” 

He mulled that over.  “I wasn’t aware my IQ had dropped since then.” 

I set my elbows on the table, such bad manners, and linked my hands together, propping my chin up.  I gave him what I hoped was a shrewd look. 

“So tell me about it.  Do you go to school, do you work as a supermarket cashier or are you a secret superhero?”

“Are those my only options?”

“It’s an open ended question.  I just figured you needed some prompting.” 

His gaze shifted and his expression became troubled.  I swiveled to see what he was looking at but there was nothing there but an empty table.  Whatever was bothering him came from the inside. 

“The things I do,” he said quietly, “are not appropriate subjects for breakfast conversation with my brother’s girlfriend.” 

I’d already gotten a few hints that Conway wasn’t on the straight and narrow.  This, I guessed, was his roundabout way of confirming it. 

I took a deep breath and said something I shouldn’t have.  “I’d hate to think of Stone getting mixed up in something that will get him into trouble.” 

“Why the hell do you think I stayed away?” he shot back. 

He seemed to regret his words immediately.  He grimaced and reached into his back pocket.  I was afraid he was just going to throw some money on the table and run out before Stone even came back from the bathroom.  Then I’d have to explain that I chased his brother off with my nosy questions. 

Conway didn’t pull money out of his wallet though.  He pulled out a perfectly folded square of paper.  As he unfolded it I could see it was actually several pages and they were all covered in neatly printed ink.  Conway flattened the pages and then folded one deliberately before handing it across the table. 

As he did so he said, “I would never hurt him, Evie.” 

I recognized the block handwriting as Stone’s.  Conway had folded the paper in such a way that only the last paragraphs were visible.  That was what he wanted me to read.  So I read it. 

I’m still your brother.  I’ll be your brother forever.  It’s the only thing that matters to me at this point.  I’d do anything to make things right with us.  I hope in the distant day when we see each other again it will be possible. 

Please look after yourself out there in the meantime. 

Strength in brothers, 

Stone 

“I see,” I said quietly.  I carefully pushed the letter back across the table. 

Conway nodded and refolded it into the rest of the pages before replacing it in his wallet.  Not two seconds later Stone appeared and we both smiled at his arrival, although for a brief instant Conway and I locked eyes. I nodded to let him know I understood.