Cleats in Clay

by Jackson Cordd

  Bobby noticed where Tuck was looking. “Maybe Odis could stay here with you?”

  “I wouldn’t be around much, though,” Odis admitted. “Got the window people and other stuff with the house I gotta take care of.”

  “Oh,” Tuck said again.

  Bobby brightened when he had a sudden thought. “Why don’t you come with me, Tuck? I could use the help getting packed up and all.”

  “Really? I don’t know if I’d be much help, though,” he said as he waved the cast around.

  “I need to drive my car down too—you could help with that. We could get farther in a day if we take shifts.”

  “That I could help with,” Tuck agreed. “But won’t that be expensive? Gettin’ a last-minute plane ticket?”

  “I got money,” Bobby said. “Might as well spend some.”

  “Speaking of which,” Tuck suddenly realized, “where’s yer duffel? Haven’t seen ya draggin’ it around.”

  “Opened an account this morning while Odie was at the doctor’s. The bank has it now. Well, the check, anyway. I kept the duffel.”

  Odis and Tuck chuckled at the joke.

  “So how about it? Come with me?”

  “Okay,” Tuck slowly agreed. “I suppose. I’ll go with ya.” He smiled.

  “Good.” Odis nodded. “Then I won’t hafta worry about your bonehead butt wastin’ away over here,” he said as he got up from the couch and went into the bathroom.

  “This’ll be fun,” Bobby said with a grin. “I can show you around. Have ya ever been to the East Coast?”

  “No, sure haven’t.”

  “Then there’ll be lots for ya to see.”

  Tuck chuckled. “I think ya’ve been here too long already.”

  “Why ya say that?”

  “Yer startin’ ta sound like a Texan,” Tuck teased as he lightly punched Bobby’s arm. “It’s cute.”

  “Oh, hush. I’m not ‘cute’. I agree with Odie on that one.”

  Tuck looked at him questioningly.

  “He told me ‘cute’ is for puppies and kittens—shouldn’t apply to a grown man.”

  Tuck laughed and hit his arm again. “Ya have been hangin’ around us too long.”

  Bobby scooted closer and swatted Tuck’s arm. “I said hush.” He gazed up at Tuck, their eyes locking together. Tuck grabbed a handful of Bobby’s shirt and pulled him to his face. Their lips touched, and sparks nearly made Bobby’s hair stand on end as jolts coursed through him. He leaned forward and wrapped his hands around Tuck’s shoulders before nearly collapsing against him.

  Tuck pulled back and grinned. “Fuck a duck.”

  Bobby gazed. “Where’d you learn to kiss like that?”

  Chuckling, Tuck wrapped his casted arm around Bobby’s neck. “Don’t think that’s the kinda thing ya learn. It’s chemistry, as they say.”

  “I’ll say. It’s somethin’,” Bobby said with a grin as he looked down at Tuck’s erection peeking its way out from under the towel in Tuck’s lap.

  The sound of a clearing throat came from above them. They both looked up to see Odis standing behind the couch, smirking at them. “I leave for two minutes…,” he teased as he shook his head and came around the couch.

  “Then get over here,” Tuck said as he scooted closer to Bobby and made room on the other side. Odis sat next to him. “Ya won’t miss us while we’re gone?”

  “Prob’ly get a whole lotta work done with you guys outta the way. Get the house totally back in shape.” Odis looked over at Bobby. “Ya takin’ yer dog with ya?”

  “My dog?” Bobby blanched.

  Tuck laughed. “What’s this? Bobby got a dog?”

  “Heimdalla adopted him,” Odis told Tuck. “She’s gonna be a miserable bitch while yer gone.”

  “Adopted?” Tuck asked.

  “Since Saturday, she’s been Bobby’s shadow when we’re at the B and B.”

  Bobby shook his head. “I’m sure she’ll be okay once you get moved back into the house. It might just be trauma from the fire and all.”

  “No,” Odis said. “Don’t think so. She was gettin’ chummy with ya Friday night, before the fire even happened.”

  “I don’t think I can take her on a plane last-minute. That’s the sort of thing they need advance warning on.” Bobby stood up and fished his cell phone out of his pocket. “Speaking of which,” he said while scrolling the screen and punching buttons before bringing the phone to his ear. “Hey, Gertie,” Bobby said. He paused and nodded. “Oh, settled in now. He’s fine. You busy right now?”

  Odis looked over at Tuck and lowered his voice. “You sure about this? Did you tell him?”

  Tuck shook his head. “That was a long time ago. I’m not a kid anymore. Nothin’ to tell,” he said flatly.

  “Okay, then,” Odis drawled, not sounding the least convinced. “Better call Hawk, though. He’ll get mad if ya leave town and he don’t have time to dote over you first.”

  Tuck smirked. “My brother doesn’t dote.”

  “Bullshit.” Odis chuckled. “He’s as bad as Gertie.”

  “Dammit.” Tuck fastened the towel and stood up. “I was hopin’ for some playtime,” he said as he headed to the hall table and his cell phone.

  “We got all night, don’t we?” Odis said while waggling his eyebrows.

  Bobby hung up his phone. “All night for what?”

  “Playtime,” Odis said with a grin.

  Tuck grabbed his phone and made his way with a slight limp to the bedroom.

  “You need help?” Bobby asked.

  “Nah,” Tuck replied as he paused in the doorway. “I’m just gonna throw on some sweats.”

  Bobby looked over at Odis. “Why’s he gettin’ dressed?”

  “Gonna call Hawk and tell him about the trip. He’ll surely run over here.”

  “Oh. Gertie’s gonna check on gettin’ a ticket for Tuck.”

  Odis laughed at Bobby’s language. “We’ll have ya turned into a Texan in no time.”

  “Shut up,” Bobby said with a smirk. “Tuck’s already made fun of me. Don’t need you in on it too.”

  “I’m not teasin’,” Odis said with a grin. “I think it’s sexy, you gettin’ all Texa-fied.”

  “Hush.” Bobby smirked again. “I’m gonna go check on Tuck,” he said as he went to the bedroom. He walked in to see Tuck already dressed in sweatpants and a T-shirt, getting a pair of socks from his dresser drawer. “Odie said ya called Hawk.”

  Tuck nodded. “The Hurricane will be here shortly.”

  “Hurricane?”

  “That was his nickname in high school. Hurricane Hawk,” Tuck said as he sat on the bed and struggled with trying to pull on a sock with just one hand.

  Bobby laughed. “I can definitely see that,” he said as he moved to the bed to help.

  Tuck smiled down as Bobby took over the socking operation. “Nathan musta really loved you.”

  Bobby scowled. “Yer bringing him up? Shit, I can’t even go a day without hearing his name.”

  “Sorry,” Tuck said with quiet sincerity. “I didn’t mean anythin’ bad.”

  Bobby softened. “I know. It’s just kinda frustrating, being reminded all the time.”

  Tuck just nodded quietly.

  “There,” Bobby said as he stood up. “All dressed now.”

  “Unfortunately.” He stood up and followed Bobby to the living room.

  Chapter 26

  IT WASN’T long before a hard knock sounded at the front, right before the door burst open. “Ya just got out of the hospital,” Hawk yelled as he came down the hallway. “Ya can’t leave town.”

  “Yes, I can,” Tuck said as he stood up from the couch. “Take it down a notch.”

  Hawk stepped closer and appraised him. “You sure? What if ya have a relapse?”

  Tuck nearly laughed. “A relapse from what? It’s a broken hand, not fuckin’ pneumonia or somethin’.”

  “Still,” Hawk tried to argue.

  “I won’t be doin’ anyth
ing but sittin’ around here for six weeks anyway. I might as well be productive and help Bobby move.”

  Hawk looked over at Odis and Bobby sitting on the couch, as if he just realized they were there. “Oh. Bobby’s movin’?”

  “Yeah. I told ya about things yesterday.”

  “I know, just didn’t think… I guess he would hafta move, huh?” Hawk walked around and sat in the reclining chair, looking a bit calmer. “So this? All three of ya guys are really…? It’s for real?” He glanced over at Odis.

  “Yes,” Odis said with a nod. “It really is real.”

  Hawk turned his gaze to Bobby. “And yer gonna take care of him? Out there?”

  Bobby chuckled. “I don’t think Tuck needs taken care of. He’s a big strong man. But I’ll keep an eye on him.”

  Hawk studied Bobby a moment and then nodded. “Ya better.” He glanced over at Tuck. “I still don’t understand all this, but I ain’t gonna get in front of yer happiness.” Hawk turned a harder gaze to Odis and Bobby. “But I’m watchin’. I won’t hesitate ta stomp either one of yer asses if ya do him wrong.”

  “Fuck you, Hawk,” Tuck barked. “I ain’t yer fuckin’ sister. I can take care of myself. Don’t you go meddlin’ with this like ya did Vic.”

  Hawk bristled and stood up. “I only had ta get after Vic ’cause you didn’t tell me about it. I had ta get some answers some way.”

  “Right,” Tuck said strongly. “I didn’t tell ya. But ya could have fuckin’ asked me instead of goin’ all Wild West over it.”

  The two glared over the coffee table, staring each other down. After a minute, Hawk finally dropped his shoulders and let out his breath. “I just worry about ya,” he said softly.

  “Don’t need ya to, but I’m glad you do. I know it’s because you love me.”

  Hawk smirked. “Don’t start throwin’ that word around, or I’m outta here.”

  “Why not?” Tuck stepped forward and grabbed Hawk in a tight hug. “I’m not afraid to say I love my brother.”

  Hawk rolled his eyes and patted Tuck on the back as if he was placating a toddler. “All right, enough.”

  Tuck winced from the pressure on his bruise when he tightened his grip. “Say it.”

  Hawk squirmed and tried to break Tuck’s hold.

  “Say it,” Tuck demanded.

  “Okay, I love my brother. Now let me go.”

  Odis glanced over at Bobby, ready to make a joke, until he saw the tear forming in the corner of Bobby’s eye. Odis turned and threw Tuck a look.

  Tuck caught the look and glanced back at Bobby. Remembering that comment Bobby made about brothers in the hospital, Tuck released Hawk. “Now get on outta here. I got some packing and shit. And I promise to call every day.”

  Hawk smirked as he headed for the door. “Ya don’t hafta go that far. Just one or two calls will do. Have a nice trip, then.”

  “I will,” Tuck yelled as Hawk closed the door behind him. He quickly turned his attention to Bobby, who was trying his best to look normal, but his moist eyes betrayed him. “You okay, stud?” Tuck asked gently.

  Bobby nodded. “Mostly,” he tried to say without a sniffle.

  Odis patted his shoulder. “This has to do with your brother, don’t it.”

  Bobby nodded as Tuck sat on the couch next to him. “The one who won’t look at you,” Tuck said.

  Bobby grabbed his mug from the coffee table and drank.

  Odis frowned. “That must be cold by now. Let me get ya a refill.”

  “I don’t care,” Bobby said.

  “We’re all here now,” Odis told him with another shoulder pat. “Just go ahead and tell us. Then ya won’t ever hafta say it again.”

  Tuck reached out and grasped Bobby’s thigh gently. “We’re here. Right here for ya.”

  Bobby stared down into his empty mug, watching the reflections of light in the dark-glazed interior as he turned it in his hands. “My childhood wasn’t the best. It wasn’t the worst—I’m sure it could have been much, much worse. But it wasn’t the best.”

  Odis reached out and took the mug from Bobby’s hands, then quietly went to the kitchen. He returned and handed a full mug back to Bobby.

  “Dad’s kind of a hothead. He never beat on us or anything, but he could be very vocal, and I guess—” Bobby took a gingerly sip. “He mouthed off a lot, so he spent a lot of time ‘looking for better jobs’. We moved around a lot because of that.”

  Tuck kept watching Bobby. “He got fired a lot?”

  Bobby nodded. “Never his fault, of course.”

  Odis had to bite his tongue. He didn’t like seeing Bobby struggle with this. It made him wish he had thought to grab some weed when they were at the house the other day. That might have helped Bobby relax. Couldn’t worry about that now, though. He’d just have to be patient and look supportive.

  “Anyway, his name’s Ricky. My brother.”

  Tuck nodded as if all of this made perfect sense. It was a technique he’d learned to help keep witnesses at ease when they had to discuss painful events. Sympathy and obliquely probing questions were his best strengths. “What about other siblings?”

  “It was just the four of us until junior high. Then, I never did really know if Mom kicked him out or if he just left, but Dad was gone after that, mostly.”

  Bobby paused and sipped from his mug. “Ricky’s the smart one. Skinny but smart. I knew I’d never be as smart as him, but I had the body and coordination he didn’t have, so I kinda concentrated on that. And started baseball.”

  Tuck nodded. “He’s older?”

  “By about two and a half years.”

  “And ya started baseball ta get your dad’s approval?” Tuck asked in a leading way.

  Bobby scowled. “Not Dad. I—I guess instinctually, I knew he was never gonna be happy with anything, so I didn’t try. It was for Ricky. With so much moving around, he was my only friend, and I looked up to him.”

  “What about your ma?” Tuck asked.

  “Oh, she rode on me a bit, but I’m sure she was proud of anything I did, as long as I didn’t grow up to be a loudmouth drunk.”

  “So, it was just you, your mom, and Ricky,” Tuck prodded.

  “Right. He graduated and got some kind of brainy scholarship and went to college. By then, I was in high school and getting a lot of attention with baseball. So I focused more on that. I knew baseball would have to be my ticket.”

  Tuck nodded. “Where’d Ricky go to college?”

  “MIT. That’s how we ended up in Boston. Mom wanted to move closer, and since she just had a waitress job at the time, she figured she could do that anywhere.”

  With another nod, Tuck asked, “So she just moved ya? In the middle of high school?”

  “Yeah. I shoulda realized then….” Bobby trailed off before finishing his coffee.

  Tuck watched Bobby carefully. As his story got closer and closer to that moment of pain, Bobby’s face tightened with more tension, looking more like a cringe.

  Odis reached out for the empty mug and asked, “Realized what?”

  Bobby clutched the mug and wouldn’t let Odis take it. “That he was her favorite.”

  Tuck raised his hand from Bobby’s thigh and took hold of the mug. Bobby finally released it. Tuck left and returned a moment later with a full mug, which he handed over.

  When Bobby brought the drink up close to his lips, he could smell the alcohol. “What the hell is this?” he asked, staring at Tuck.

  “Hot Jack,” Tuck said, but Bobby just looked confused. “Coffee with Jack Daniel’s.”

  Bobby looked down at the drink, then sipped it.

  Tuck nudged his arm. “Yer in a new high school…,” he encouraged.

  “Right. New high school. I dated girls, just enough to avoid any rumors, and put all my energy into baseball. And it paid off. Scouts started noticing me.”

  “That must have been exciting,” Tuck said when he saw the brief look of joy on Bobby’s face.

  “It was. And
Mom was so excited when Notre Dame people came to visit. Most of her family’s Irish Catholic.”

  Odis looked surprised. “That’s where ya went?”

  “No.” Bobby shook his head. “Got a scholarship at Boston University, but she was just as happy about that.”

  Tuck chuckled. “I’ll bet,” he said with a grin.

  “Things got… kinda weird after that.”

  “Weird?” Odis asked.

  “Mom started gushing all over me, which she’d never, ever done before. It made Ricky a bit jealous, I think. Anyway, then she married this guy she’s been seeing awhile, Gerry. A real creepy guy. So I tried to avoid them.”

  Tuck nodded. “What do ya mean by ‘creepy’?”

  “Still don’t really know. Wasn’t anything I could ever put my finger on, but the first time we were alone, I got so weirded out by him that I thought my skin was gonna crawl off.”

  Odis nodded. “So that Gerry guy’s why ya didn’t wanna go home that first summer?”

  “Yeah.” Bobby took another sip. “I steered clear of him as much as possible.”

  Tuck looked over Bobby, feeling perplexed. Usually he had no trouble at all putting together various little pieces of a story and figuring out where it was going, but deducing the ending of Bobby’s story eluded him. Who was the principal player? This Gerry guy? The mom? Tuck knew the brother factored into it somehow, but he couldn’t see how Ricky fit into this mosaic.

  Feeling dumb, Odis looked over at Tuck. He could see the guy’s cop gears turning and churning, but they didn’t seem to be getting any traction. Tuck was just as confused as he was, which made him feel a little bit better.

  Bobby sat quietly, sipping without saying more.

  Tuck patted Bobby’s leg. “So ya graduated Boston University? What was your degree?”

  “Business. Generic business. I didn’t have it in me to be a lawyer or anything. I only had a 3.6 grade average.”

  “Then?” Odis asked, thinking that kind of school record was nothing to sneeze at. “What happened at Boston U.?”

  “Well.” Bobby drained the mug. “You know I met Nathan that summer. He suggested we go see my mom that weekend, and I could come out and show him off. But I didn’t listen.” Bobby shook his head. “Looking back, I bet he was trying to change the course of things, but I was too stubborn.”