Last Exit

by Catie Rhodes

  “You probably remember Dave was the one who gave us directions to Black Silas’s auction in China Grove.” His dusty cowboy boots, ones I’d bought him, kicked at the ground.

  I hadn’t, but I nodded for him to continue.

  “Dave and I used to do business together.” Finding and selling magical items made up the majority of Tanner’s business. “I suspect he wants to talk about that.”

  I still didn’t understand the problem. Tanner’s business was different than mine, but I helped him sometimes and shared in the profits. I shook my head and shrugged. “So? Do you not trust me?”

  He rolled his eyes. “You know that’s not it.”

  “Then what is? I’m trying to understand why you’re doing everything you can to keep me from meeting your friends.” My voice rose with each word. “But all I’m coming up with is that you’re embarrassed of me or don’t trust me.”

  I glared at him, cheeks blazing with the admission of my worst fears, and waited for him to tell me how wrong I was. The seconds stretched out.

  Tanner nibbled at the corner of his lip. “It’s neither of those things. Dave and Neecie are from a different world than all this.”

  He swept a hand at the noisy carnival behind us. I turned to look at it, trying to see whatever Tanner saw. Garish lights. Smells of artery-clogging fried food. Throngs of people out for a night of low-brow fun. I faced Tanner.

  “You’re right. I don’t belong with Dave and Neecie.” I spun on my heel and started walking back toward the carnival again.

  Tanner didn’t come get me this time. I tightened my body against frustrated tears. The rumble of my truck’s engine came from behind me. Tanner would drive past me in a few seconds. I could give him the finger. That might ensure he’d stay away for the night.

  With some men, the fights only made the sex hotter. Fighting with Tanner hurt. It made me sad. Then I’d want to apologize. And Tanner didn’t deserve an apology right now. He’d shown his ass for no good reason. The truck pulled up next to me. The window whirred down.

  “Please get in.” Tanner leaned across the seat, face tight with impatience.

  I considered running off like a pissy teenager, making Tanner chase after me. It seemed stupid even in my imagination. A good hint it was a dumb idea. I stopped in my tracks and crossed my arms under my boobs.

  “You don’t want to show up fighting with your girlfriend. Especially not a girlfriend who’s beneath your friends.” I took off walking again, hunched over my crossed arms.

  He gunned the truck and caught up with me again. “Look at me.” He swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, okay? Please just get in. I promise I’ll do my best to explain.”

  I blew out a hard breath. Tanner meant the world to me. Easily the most stable guy I’d ever been with, he was usually the one comforting me and making sure everything was the way I needed. Maybe he needed a turn acting crazy and unreasonable. This was, after all, a glimpse at a life that got violently ripped away from him—not one he chose to leave. He deserved a chance to explain himself. I got inside the truck.

  “Don’t drive too fast.” I buckled my seat belt.

  Tanner raced the truck through the sand parking lot. People walking to their cars hopped out of the way, some of them yelling, others giving us the naughty finger. Tanner turned to me and grinned.

  “Slow down,” I yelled and gripped the oh-shit bar a little harder.

  Tanner got us out to the road without running anybody down and sped toward downtown Austin, about a half hour’s drive away. We rode in silence for half the drive, and then Tanner reached out and took my hand.

  “In no way do I think Dave and Neecie are better than you.” He gave me a quick squeeze and let go to grip the wheel with both hands as he made a dangerous pass.

  “Then why do you want me to stay away?” I huddled into my seat. How was it I’d come so far, accomplished so much, and something like this could turn me into an insecure mess in a matter of seconds?

  Tanner stared at the traffic for so long, I nudged him. He turned and gave me a smile, a real one. “I’m thinking of the right way to say it.”

  I contemplated the darkness. Those three Tarot cards came back, their images floating against the night sky. Upheaval. Betrayal. Death. Thunder shook the sky.

  Tanner angled his head to stare at the sky through the windshield, almost rear-ending a car in front of us. “I didn’t think the forecast called for storms.”

  “The weather is changing. Lots of times that means thunderstorms.” The thunder cracked again, and a bolt of lightning lit the sky. The Tower Tarot card flashed behind my eyes. Whatever changes will be forever, the voice sounded like me, only older and more sure of herself. I turned my head to face Tanner. “You’ve stalled long enough. Say your piece.”

  He wouldn’t look at me. “Appearances are very important to Dave and Neecie. They go to a great deal of effort to be trendy and hip. It’s a lifestyle for them.”

  I nodded and waited for the rest.

  Tanner took his hand off the wheel and gripped my hand again. “But you’re just you. Profane. Wickedly funny. Sexy as hell. And you make no bones about it. That’s what I love about you.”

  “And you know Dave and Neecie won’t like me.” This was something I understood. Nobody in the world likes being told something, or someone, they love is less than wonderful.

  “It’s not that they won’t like you. It’s that you’ll be so different from anybody they know that they’ll be analyzing you, trying to figure out what makes you tick.” The dashboard lights shone green on his face. “I didn’t want to subject you to it.”

  Some emotion flashed across his face, and he turned away as though watching the traffic. I nodded slowly. Not every word of that was true. But I’d have to let things ride for now. Whatever the truth was, we couldn’t show up to Dave and Neecie’s hotel arguing. They’d pick up on any tension between us. I didn’t want them knowing our business.

  “I’m sorry for pushing my way in to the visit.” I wasn’t really, but an apology would smooth things.

  Tanner took his attention off traffic to smile at me. We flew toward the car in front of us. Silently, I pointed. He snapped his gaze back on the road and swerved around them. They rewarded his ace driving skills with a shrill horn honk.

  Once we were speeding down the fast lane again, Tanner spoke. “There’s something else I need to tell you about Dave. Bea was his first cousin.”

  I cringed. Not only had Dave known Tanner’s first wife, he’d been family. There was no way he wouldn’t be offended to see Tanner moving on.

  Tanner continued, oblivious to my growing unease. “Bea and Neecie grew up next door to each other, but Neecie went to private school instead of to public schools with the rest of us. Bea introduced Neecie to Dave. They’ve been together ever since.”

  I leaned my head back against the headrest and forced myself not to groan. Neecie would hate me just on principal. She’d see me as an intruder moving in on her best friend’s husband.

  “Don’t worry. Dave and Neecie will love you,” Tanner said. “When they called tonight to make sure we were still on, they specifically asked if I was dating again.” He smiled.

  Dave and Neecie weren’t going to love me. Not a chance. They’d size up and catalogue every way I fell short. Maybe tell Tanner what they’d figured out. I kept my lips zipped.

  “We’re five minutes early,” Tanner crowed.

  Great. Five extra minutes to hang out with Dave and Neecie. I could barely contain my excitement.

  2

  The made-to-look retro neon sign read Starlight Hotel. It didn’t quite match the wall of shrubs grown to hide the property from the street. Tanner parked my big truck curbside between a restored Volkswagen Karman Gia and a shiny new Toyota Prius.

  Tanner shut off the truck and got out, but I hung back. Staring into the vanity mirror, I smeared on some lipstick Hannah had given me. My eyeliner had migrated over the course of the evening. I used a tissue to
wipe it away and redid it.

  Tanner opened my door. “Stop. You look great.”

  I did stop, but not because I looked great. I stopped because I didn’t think it mattered. Tanner’s friends were going to think whatever they thought of me.

  Tanner led me to an entrance almost hidden in the shrubs. An iron gate barred our way. Tanner punched a few numbers into the keypad next to it. A lock clicked, and we passed onto Starlight Hotel property.

  The well-lit grounds looked like a movie set. We walked along bright white sidewalks, past several buildings.

  “Dave was right.” Tanner led me toward one of the buildings. “It’s hard to believe you’re in the middle of Austin.”

  I agreed. The sounds of the bustling city seemed distant. This place felt private, almost isolated. None of this looked like any hotel I’d ever seen.

  “Are you sure this is a hotel? Nobody’s going to call the cops on us for trespassing?” I asked as we passed under the outstretched limbs of a huge oak.

  “It’s a hotel, all right. The kind Dave and Neecie enjoy. It’s called a boutique hotel.” Tanner pulled me close to him and brushed his lips against my cheek. “There’s probably fewer than fifteen rooms to rent, and the nightly rate likely runs around one thousand per night. Maybe five hundred for the cheap rooms.”

  The numbers rocked me. I had a little nest egg from finding the Mace Treasure a year earlier, but I never touched it. It was earmarked for a home someday. A home I hoped to share with Tanner. Tonight made me wonder if we wanted the same things.

  Thunder clapped behind us, and lightning briefly lit the sky. We both jumped and then laughed. Tanner took my hand, and I gave him an affectionate squeeze. But the lightning bolt in the Tower Tarot card loomed large in my mind. Nervous acid ate away at my stomach. I wished for a cigarette but didn’t quite dare fire one up at such a fancy place.

  We passed a long, narrow swimming pool. A neon sign had been placed behind it. One word reflected in the water. Vibe. What did that mean? I glanced at Tanner and wrinkled my nose.

  “It’s a lap pool. For exercise.” Then he realized I meant the sign. “It doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t have to. It’s hip and unique.”

  I didn’t get it but said nothing. What kind of people had enough money to pay a thousand dollars for one night in a hotel? Tanner had once treated me to a weekend trip at a nice hotel here in Austin, but this place made it look like a rooms-by-the-hour establishment.

  Tanner steered me up the steps of an old, whitewashed bungalow. We crossed the porch.

  Tanner tapped on the door. “Dave? It’s Tanner.”

  The door swung open. A man with a big, bushy beard and short hair dashed out, holding open his arms. “Tanner!”

  The two men embraced, laughing, clapping each other on the back.

  I took a few steps back, chest tight and tense, a tangle of negativity crowding my thoughts. The man I guessed to be Dave had tattoos running down both arms. He even had one visible on his neck. The rolled up cuffs of his jeans brushed lace up work boots so worn out they looked ready for the garbage.

  Maybe feeling me studying him, he turned to me, smiling, one hand held out. “I’m Dave Stewart. And you are?”

  Tanner took a quick step forward. “This is my friend, Peri Jean Mace. The one I was telling you about.”

  Dave looked confused for a second but covered it well. He grabbed my hand, and pumped it. “Of course, of course.”

  A squeal came from inside the room, followed by the slap of bare feet on a hard floor. “Oh my god, it’s Tanner.”

  The door slammed open, and a thin woman, also wearing rolled up blue jeans, these with rips in them, jumped at Tanner. He caught her and swung her around. She smacked a kiss on his cheek. Tanner, laughing, set her on the porch. She’d left a smear of her very red lipstick on his cheek.

  The squealer turned to me and raised her carefully shaped eyebrows. “I’m Neecie. Did I hear Dave call you Peri Jean?”

  I nodded, wishing I could be anywhere else on the planet. Neecie pulled me into a soft hug. I tried not to stiffen and pull away. Strangers don’t need to hug me.

  She let go of me and headed back inside, motioning over her shoulder. “You have to see our fabulous room.”

  I followed them all inside, praying I got through this without doing the wrong thing. My chances were about as good as a pig’s in a slaughterhouse.

  Dave and Neecie’s one thousand dollar room looked like somebody’s grandmother’s house that had been redecorated by painting all the antiques garish colors and putting some faux fur rugs on the hardwood floors. I smiled and nodded as Neecie showed us all the retro touches, ending with the bed.

  “It’s the softest bed I’ve ever slept in.” She sat down on it and curled her fingers in the bedspread. Neecie wasn’t just thin. She had that delicate, fine bone structure that looked like she’d break if handled roughly. “The guy at the front desk said these beds come from Japan.” She said the last few words in a whisper and raising those perfect eyebrows again.

  I worked to keep the shock off my face, to act as though I saw beds from Japan every day. Neecie puzzled me. Like Dave’s boots, her clothes looked like cast offs. Worn out, frayed blue jeans with holes in the knees. A tunic-style blouse made out of an old flannel shirt and a what looked like a cast off bed sheet. But the ring on the third finger hinted at the kind of affluence I couldn’t imagine. So did this room, even with the brash colors.

  “So Peri Jean, are you from Austin?” Neecie leaned back on the bed, eyes bright with interest.

  “I’m from East Texas. Little town out in the middle of nowhere.” I stared at Neecie’s fair skinned arms and graceful wrists and glanced at my own hands. Scars across the knuckles from fights. Veins prominent on the backs.

  Dave and Tanner joined us at the bed. Dave sat down next to Neecie, tattooed arm brushing her unadorned one. The two of them stared at me so intently I began to squirm.

  He asked, “Where is this little town in relation to where we are now?”

  “About five hours north and east of here.” I began to sweat under the heat of their assessment.

  “It’s about three hundred fifty miles,” Tanner sat on the bed next to Dave. “It’s the kind of place you expect to hear banjos and worry that the locals might eat you for lunch.”

  They all laughed. This was a different Tanner than the one who’d gone to Gaslight City with me one month earlier to watch my uncle Jesse marry Rainey Bruce, one of my oldest and dearest friends. That Tanner had made quick friends with my uncle and remarked on how quaint my hometown was. Which Tanner was the real one?

  Tanner, Dave, and Neecie exchanged knowing glances. For one wild second, I thought they were going to invite me to have some kinky sex with them.

  Instead Dave said, “Does anybody want coffee? Or I’ve got beer. Local craft brew.”

  I had been up since dawn, and the coffee sounded good. I opened my mouth to accept, but Tanner shook his head.

  I followed his lead. “No thanks.”

  Dave ran a hand through his hair, which I noticed looked unwashed. So did Neecie’s for that matter. But when Neecie had hugged me, I hadn’t smelled dirty hair. She’d smelled soapy and sweet. Did Dave and Neecie use a styling product to make their hair look greasy? I bit my lip to keep from smiling.

  “But we bought a Chemex, just to use during our visit,” Dave said. “There’s this new brewing method that allows you to get all the floral notes. It produces a super fragrant cup.”

  “It really is good,” Neecie said, still kneading the bedspread like a cat.

  Tanner shook his head again. “Last time you made me a cup of coffee, it took you an hour. I’d rather hear about this offer you have for me.”

  I stared at Tanner. He knew all along Dave wanted to talk business. No maybe or might about it. How many more half-truths would I catch him in? He caught me watching him and flushed but didn’t drop his eyes.

  “Fair enough.” Dave pointed at the ci
garette pack visible in the breast pocket of Tanner’s button down shirt. “How about going outside for one?”

  Though we’d just gotten inside, we all trooped back outside. Dave began the process of rolling a cigarette. He caught me watching, winked, and offered the cigarette to me. I shook my head, pulled out my store-boughts, and lit one.

  Dave popped his cigarette in his mouth and lit it. I sniffed for the skunky odor of marijuana but only detected tobacco. Dave rolled his own plain tobacco cigarettes?

  Dave spoke without taking the cigarette out of the corner of his mouth, making it bounce up and down with each word. “So I told you about the little bungalow we bought in Silver Lake, right?”

  Neecie turned to me before Tanner could answer. “That’s the Silver Lake area, in L.A.”

  “You mean Los Angeles?” I said it like a hick on purpose. “In California?”

  Neecie nodded, her sharp features creased into an ecstatic smile.

  Tanner’s mouth twitched at my show. “That the one you sent pictures of?”

  “The same.” Dave got out his phone, tapped a few buttons, and passed it to me before continuing to talk to Tanner. “I told you it’s only a thousand square feet. We decided to turn one of the closets into extra space. When I knocked out the wall, I found this tiny, hidden room.”

  I’d been flipping through the pictures while Dave talked, but now I stopped. Secret rooms almost always had unsavory things attached to them. Were Dave and Neecie here to recruit Tanner and me to run a ghost out of their cute little house? I halfway wanted to see California. But I wasn’t so sure about taking Tanner back there. He might have a full-on regression into mourning his wife and children.

  Thunder shook the world. Just beneath its rumbling, I picked up other sounds. Men shouting. Dogs barking. Hoofbeats pounding. And underneath that, blatting engines. A memory flitted at the edge of my mind but passed before I could latch on.