I’ve got to get used to this dog if I’m going to stay here with him while Rage is at the hospital with his sister. Again, Peanut takes the lead, pushing his nose against my palm.
“We’re going to get along just fine,” I tell him, sounding more confident than I feel.
I have nothing against dogs, and I’ve never been bitten, but I have been chased. Lucky for me, a neighbor was outside, and he slowed the beast down long enough for me to get inside my mom’s car.
I’m not sure why I even agreed to this. I guess I can’t handle the thought of anyone being left alone unexpectedly. I always hated it when my mom suddenly left my brother and me. Most of the time it happened when the cupboards were bare.
Cole must hear me because he yells from somewhere in the house that he’s in the kitchen.
“Hope you like steak and potatoes,” he says as soon as I walk into the room.
Carson waves to me from his perch on the counter as he watches his brother cook. I glance up at the clock. I can’t believe it’s already noon. I’ve been so tired, I can’t even keep track of the time.
“I think I might just lie down,” I tell them, yawning into the back of my hand.
“After you eat,” Carson says, jumping to the floor. “You refused to eat anything at the hospital.”
“I’ll heat something up later.”
They shake their heads simultaneously. “We have business to take care of after this, and we won’t be back till tomorrow. We need to make sure you get some food in you before we leave.”
He takes my hand and guides me through the sliding glass door that leads to a deck behind the house.
I hurry to the edge of the patio and shield my eyes. “Is that a lake?” I ask.
“Yep.” Carson stops beside me, resting his arms on the banister. “One of the many reasons I love coming out here. It reminds me of home. Rage has a path that leads out there.”
I follow his finger as he shows me how it cuts across the field toward the water.
“It’s beautiful,” I say, my eyes blinking from the sting of the sun. My hand smooths over my pocket, making sure the little duck is still safely by my side.
Cole leans out to tell us the food is done, cutting our conversation short.
Carson stands straight. “Why don’t you have a phone?” he asks out of the blue.
It takes me by surprise and I stutter, “I … I don’t need one.”
“Of course you do,” he says in a very television-dad sort of way. It makes me chuckle, and his brows pull together. He continues, “You drove a car all the way up here with no phone. That’s just asking for trouble. What if you break down?”
“I don’t know.” I turn to walk away from him, but he stops me.
“Take this.” He shoves a phone in my hand.
I push it back. “I don’t like them.”
I had a landline in Colorado, but it was solely for Mr. Johnson to reach me. His number was the only one I ever answered.
“Why?”
“They make me nervous, okay?”
He sighs. “There’s a landline inside. I’ll leave our numbers and Rage’s too. You call if you need anything.”
“Of course,” I say, relieved he’s not forcing the issue. Having a landline is one thing, but to carry something on your person that allows a constant connection to the chaos … well, that’s just plain crazy.
After we eat, and I’m in my room trying to organize some of my things, I hear a commotion on the other side of the door. I open it and am faced with Cub juggling one end of a dresser. Cole is on the other.
“Hey, you made it,” he says, completely stopping in the middle of the hallway.