STRAYS, page 6
Lana has dumped a couple of inflatable rafts into the pool. I climb on one and close my eyes. I’ve inherited my mother’s excessive paleness along with her thick curtain of bright red hair so I should be wearing sunscreen. Hopefully it’s late enough in the day that it won’t matter.
There’s a splash and then Lana’s voice. “Hey, baby. Did you just get home?”
When my eyes open I see her climbing out of the pool and into the embrace of the guy who must be Shane. He’s got the kind of baby-faced looks that girls go crazy for and he wraps her in a hug even though she’s dripping and must be getting his blue shirt soaking wet.
I don’t dwell on Shane for more than a few seconds because he’s not the only one here. A man stands in the shade of the patio overhang and holds the hand of a solemn little boy. This guy looks nothing like Shane. He’s built like a Mack Truck. And, astonishingly, I recognize him. He and the little boy were the ones eating at Greasy June’s this afternoon. What a coincidence that he turns out to be a friend of Shane’s. At least that’s my guess. There’s no other reason for him to be standing around in the backyard with his kid. Hutton must be a smaller town than it seems.
His eyes lock on me and the corner of his mouth tilts up. He remembers me for sure and while I’m not naked as I lie here on this pool raft, when his eyes skim over my body I feel as if I am.
My attention shifts because something is going on between Lana and Shane. She has her hands on her hips and she’s arguing with him. Shane gestures to the man and boy and then listens to his girlfriend as she points at me. He throws me a rather sheepish look.
In the middle of all this, new people are arriving, a guy and a girl. The girl is a cute blonde with glasses and I’m sure I haven’t seen her before. But the man whose hand she’s holding bears a strong resemblance to the tattooed demigod who remains in the shadows. Lana approaches them and exchanges a few words with the girl, who looks at me and then puts her hand over her mouth. Voices clash as different people begin talking at once and I still have no clue what’s going on but the time has come to leave the pool and find out because Lana is gesturing in my direction a whole lot.
It’s not until I’m standing on the cement that I realize I failed to bring a towel outside. I stand there dripping for a few seconds and no one notices, not even the tattoo king, who is now speaking to the newly arrived couple.
I square my shoulders and resolve to be dignified in my wet polka dots even though I suffer from a slight wedgie.
“Hi.” I wave, not at anyone in particular.
I don’t have a loud voice. No one hears me.
However, in all the confusion the little boy has escaped the grasp of the tattoo king. He stands at the edge of the pool and peers into the water.
“Hello.” I crouch down beside him because instinct tells me not to leave a child unattended beside the water. “I’m Izzy.”
He looks at me. He really is adorable, with thick black hair and big blue eyes. He’s wearing a different shirt than he was wearing earlier today.
“Do you live here?” he asks.
“I do live here. I just moved in today.”
He bobs his head and inches closer to the water. “I live here too.”
That seems unlikely. Lana told me she lives here alone with Shane. He must be confused. Perhaps this house looks like his house. He’s leaning over now, in danger of pitching headfirst into the pool. He’s making me nervous.
I put my hand out in case he falls. “Do you know how to swim?”
He doesn’t answer the question. He smiles at me. “I’m Oliver.”
I would have to be cold blooded not to smile back. “Hi, Oliver. Is that your dad over there?”
Oliver glances at the tattoo king, who has yet to notice that his child is no longer beside him. Oliver makes a face. “Yeah, I guess.”
That’s kind of a strange answer. He’s examining me now and chewing on his lower lip. He seems to be troubled about something.
“You have hair like my mom,” he says softly.
“Will your mother be coming over today too?”
“No.” He plops down on his rear end in a miserable heap. “She died.”
Judging from the sudden tears in his eyes, the grief must be relatively fresh.
“Oh Oliver, I’m so sorry. I’m sure you miss her very much.”
He sighs. It’s a man-sized sigh from a little boy and it breaks my heart.
“Oliver!”
The boy’s father has finally noticed that he’s hovering by the edge of the pool and talking to a stranger.
“Hey.” He crouches down and drops a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “Don’t run off like that.”
Oliver shoves the man’s hand away. “I didn’t run.”
The guy looks at his son. He looks at the pool. Then he finally gets around to looking at me.
“I was just keeping Oliver company,” I say because he seems annoyed. There’s something unsettling about being within four feet of him. He’s big and he’s hot and he could likely crush metal objects in his meaty hands. But more than that, he radiates unpredictability. Maybe it’s the hard glint in his blue eyes or the way the muscles in his forearms flex, like he’s silently coiling his strength in preparation for a fight. He makes me think of a bear that’s just been let out of a cage.
“I’m Izzy,” I add because he’s obviously the kind of person who needs to be prodded on matters of courtesy.
“Rafe,” he replies.
Oliver kicks off his right shoe. “I wanna go swimming now.”
“No, not right now.” Rafe stands and takes the boy’s hand. “Come on.”
Oliver wrenches away. “I WANNA GO SWIMMING!” He backs up and tilts his head back to deliver an accusing glare at his father. “Did you even pack my floatie arms?”
Rafe is confused. “Your what arms?”
“My FLOATIE arms!”
“I don’t know what that is but I’ll get you some.”
I decide to help him out. “Rafe, I think he means flotation arms. It’s a device that helps children stay afloat before they know how to swim.”
The guy gives me a flat stare. I’m not sure he understands what I just said. Perhaps he’s not all that bright.
“When I was in high school I taught swim classes at the local community center,” I explain. “And the kids would-“
He cuts me off. “So you’re the girl who was planning on living here.”
I don’t like the sound of that. “Uh, yeah.”
He makes a noise that sounds like a mixture of a grunt and a laugh. “Better get over there then.”
I get to my feet. I really wish I had a towel. Even though Rafe isn’t openly leering at me, I feel as if I’m somehow at a disadvantage. But this feeling might have nothing to do with what I’m wearing.
Oliver has dashed back to the patio. He climbs into a cushioned chair, crosses his arms and frowns at the pool from a distance.
Whatever Lana is in the process of explaining she’s very animated about it. The other girl, the one with the glasses, throws a sympathetic look my way.
Rafe bends over to retrieve his son’s abandoned shoe.
I’d like to know what I’m dealing with before I go wading into the fray.
“Do you know what’s going on?” I ask him.
“Yeah.”
“Would you kindly share your information?”
He’s starting to walk away but I hear him plainly. “Apparently we’ve rented the same apartment.”
And that’s exactly what I was afraid of.
I’ve signed no lease. I have no legal claim on the apartment.
I just can’t freaking believe this.
When did I begin having such shitty luck? Have I cracked a mirror or accidentally walked under a ladder?
Maybe it’s Texas. Texas must hate me.
I can’t think of another explanation for the fact that I seem to have lost two apartments in one day.
Supposedly there’s not a single available apartment in Hutton. Either I can beg to rent someone’s sofa or I can set the ‘asserting my adulthood’ goals aside and ask my dad to place another phone call to Lou.
I’m already feeling defeated before I make the short trek from the pool to the patio to hear what I already know.
7
Izzy
Only a few sentences are required to sort out who’s who and what we’re all doing here. Jay is Shane’s best friend and Rafe’s brother. Caris is Lana’s best friend and Jay’s fiancé. I already knew that Oliver is Rafe’s son but I’m stunned to hear that he has only met the boy a few days earlier, following the sudden death of Oliver’s mother.
And yes, Shane has already offered the apartment to Rafe when Rafe showed up in Hutton with Oliver and no place to live.
Once everyone has been introduced and the situation has become awfully, depressingly clear, Jay suggests moving the discussion inside. Caris takes the initiative to volunteer to keep Oliver occupied on the patio so he doesn’t have to hear the rest of us argue.
Lana offers me a towel and a quick hug. “I’m so sorry, Izzy. We’ll figure this out.”
I hope she’s right.
At least now I have a towel to wrap around my body but I don’t want to sit on the furniture and possibly get it wet so I stand against the wall in Lana’s living room. Everyone else takes a seat except Rafe, who leans against the opposite wall. The arrangement makes it seem as if Rafe and I are about to enter hand to hand combat while a team of spectators watch.
“I’m sure there’s a way we can solve this,” Shane announces. He does look quite miserable. He was just trying to be a nice guy and do a favor for his buddy’s brother. It’s an unfortunate quirk of chance that Lana offered the empty apartment to me the same hour Shane offered it to Rafe. Apparently it’s out of the question for Rafe to stay at Jay’s place because Jay and Caris have two cats. And the guy who looks like he bench presses tractors in his spare time is allergic to cats.
“There aren’t really a lot of housing options in Hutton right now,” Jay reminds everyone in the room.
Lana sits beside her boyfriend. “Does Rafe really need to stay right here in town? He’s not a student, is he? I bet he could find a place in Gaitor and it’s only about twenty miles from here.”
“Not a great area,” Shane tells her gently and takes her hand. “Wouldn’t be a good place for Oliver.”
“Oh.” Lana slumps into the sofa. “Maybe Izzy could stay over here on this side with us.”
This is my cue to speak up. “Lana, you’re a doll but I can’t do that. You guys are used to having your own space. Plus didn’t you tell me that the second bedroom is now filled with equipment for Shane’s bakery?”
She sighs. “It is.”
“The apartment has two bedrooms,” says Shane. “Maybe until something else comes along, Izzy could take one bedroom and Rafe and Oliver could have the other one.”
Lana objects before I do. “That’s a terrible idea for Izzy. From the little I’ve heard about Rafe he sounds like a violent disaster.”
I look to Jay to see if he’s going to jump in and defend his brother. He doesn’t.
Rafe defends himself. “Nobody needs to be afraid of me, least of all some helpless college girl.”
Helpless??
Lana sniffs. “I’m not so sure.”
He glowers. “Look, the only time I touch a woman is when she’s begging for a fuck.”
Gasps all around. One of them comes from me.
Jay is furious. “Rafe,” he growls.
“What?” Rafe fires back. “The kid’s not even in the room and I don’t have a lot of patience for being accused of shit I’d never do.”
“No one accused you,” I point out. “You are making a fool out of yourself for nothing.”
He yawns. “Fine, I’ll swear on my left nut that I won’t touch a hair on your virginal little head.”
“I am NOT a virgin!” I shout this far louder than I should have.
Everyone stares.
I bite my lip.
Rafe laughs out loud.
Jay glares at his brother so hard I wouldn’t be shocked to see Rafe get smacked.
Yeah, Rafe’s an asshole all right. I’ve met plenty of assholes. A lot of girls find them inexplicably fascinating but I’m not one to be tempted by some grouchy prick, no matter how hot he looks. Ordinarily I would have no trouble cutting him down and turning my back. Rafe can go sleep in a dumpster for all I care and I’m sure Lana is on my side.
Yet the image of sad eyed little Oliver haunts me.
“You have hair like my mom. She’s dead.”
The poor child has been through hell and he’s now stuck with this clueless tyrant. Oliver needs a home. He needs stability. He needs to be surrounded by people who will care about him when his nightmare of a father drops the ball. If ever there was a time in my life when I had the opportunity to step up and make a difference this is it.
“All right,” I say. “I’ll take one bedroom and you can have the other. I can be an adult and stay out of your way if you can do the same and stay out of mine.”
If Rafe is surprised he doesn’t show it. “Works for me.”
Lana is less enthusiastic. “Izzy, are you sure?”
No. But I am my father’s daughter. I should be capable of meeting any challenge. And I am not helpless.
Rafe is watching me. He actually does look exhausted. He’s unshaven and there are circles under his eyes. He’s not having a great day either. And despite the fact that he has some likeability issues, I feel a little bit sorry for him.
“I’m sure,” I say.
Rafe dips his head in a nod, perhaps a gesture of respect or just because he doesn’t feel like talking about this anymore. He starts heading for the door. “Gonna go unload my truck.”
Lana pokes her boyfriend in the side. “Izzy still has some boxes in her car that need to be moved.”
Shane rises from the couch. “I’m on it.” He’s cheerful now, relieved that the situation has resolved itself.
Jay appears less cheerful. He has a hand on his face, running his thumb across his chin. “He’ll behave himself,” he says to me.
I would feel better if there was more confidence in his tone. I hand my keys over to Shane so he and Jay can go outside to do some heavy lifting.
“Oh my god.” Lana is on her feet and remains quite distressed. “I’m so sorry about all this. I had no idea. And Izzy, if you don’t feel comfortable-“
“It’s all right.” I hook my arm through hers and squeeze. “I’ll have my own room so I can close the door when Rafe gets on my nerves. Besides, the kid is awesome. This will be fun.”
I’m trying to sound as upbeat as possible so she doesn’t feel bad. Maybe it really will be fun. Despite his eye catching looks, Rafe is certainly not my romantic ideal so no worries about that kind of tension.
She pulls me toward the back patio. “Let’s go see what Caris and Oliver are up to.”
Before I leave the living room my eye is caught by something through the open front door. Rafe is carrying a trio of boxes stacked on top of one another. They are not big boxes but they are heavy. I know they are heavy because they are mine. They are filled with hand weights and hardcover books. Why is he carrying my boxes?
“Where do you want these?” he asks when he reaches the living room. He sounds bored, as if he’s simply ferrying mounds of cotton. I try real hard not to be impressed by the sight of him balancing all three boxes with no effort when I’m aware that I would hardly be able to drag one of them across the floor.
I open up the connecting door between the two units. “I already started setting up in the first bedroom on the left. If that’s a problem I’m sure we can negotiate.”
He grumbles something. I think it’s “I don’t care” but there might have been a “fuck” thrown into the mix. I watch him stroll away with my boxes. I wish he didn’t have such a nice ass. It’s shapely and muscular and looks fantastic in his worn jeans. I make a private vow to myself never to notice this again.
Out in the backyard, Caris is showing Oliver pictures of her cats on her phone. She smiles and urges me to sit beside her on the patio sofa. Within a minute I get the impression that she’s very sweet and very friendly. I’m pleased to think that she’ll be another friend.
“Let’s order pizza,” Lana suggests as she skims the surface of the pool with a bug net. “I’m starving.”
“Pizza sounds marvelous,” I agree. “My treat for everyone. What do you think, Oliver? You like pizza?”
He nods. “With peppers.”
“You mean pepperoni?”
“No. Peppers.”
Caris objects, saying that I shouldn’t be paying when it’s my first day in town, but I’m determined and I win this fight.
Jay and Shane join us before the pizza shows up but Rafe doesn’t. He pokes his head into the backyard a few times to see if Oliver is all right and he says nothing. Oliver takes no notice of his father’s absence. He enjoys being the center of attention and he’s a really bright little boy. As twilight settles he begins yawning a lot and chooses my shoulder as a place to rest his head when he dozes off.
Jay rises and goes inside, presumably to speak to Rafe, but he isn’t gone long. Upon his return he collects Caris and the two of them say quiet goodbyes. Before he goes, Jay murmurs something in Shane’s ear, prompting Shane to glance at Oliver and nod. I’ve already concluded that Jay and Rafe do not have a close relationship and I assume he’s telling Shane to look out for the boy.
Lana moves to Shane’s lap and looks at the sleeping Oliver. “He’s precious.”
“He is,” I agree in a whisper. “But my arm is asleep and I’m afraid to move.”
This isn’t a problem for long because Rafe returns to the backyard. He stares at his son for a few seconds before lifting Oliver’s small body in his arms. His hand brushes my arm in the process and the tingling thrill that results is both involuntary and unwanted.
“Have some pizza,” I tell him, extending the proverbial olive branch. “There’s plenty.”
He shakes his head and looks to Shane and Lana. “Hey, thanks again for everything.”
