by B. A. Morton
Parker joined him, taking in the night air, his weapon safely stowed. “I wasn’t always this old, you know,” he growled. “I was known as a bit of a lady’s man in my day.”
“Oh yeah, which day was that, Parker? The day they invented the wheel?”
“Hey, I could teach you a thing or two, Sonny.”
“Have you been making eyes at my girl, Parker?” asked Connell, amusement pushing aside his exhaustion. Parker was a stubborn old buzzard who generally made his life hell and grumbled endlessly about every little irritation he could think of. Usually it was about some mischief of Joe’s, and to be fair, Joe did get up to plenty. Connell knew, though, that Parker adored Lizzie and Joe, and he’d never have agreed to sell the farm if it hadn’t been for them. Although the old guy was crazy as a sack of raccoons, it gave Connell a good feeling inside knowing Parker was keeping an eye out when he couldn’t.
“Only got eyes for one girl now,” said Parker sadly, “and she’s been gone for over twenty years.”
“ ‘Bout time you joined her, then,” joked Connell wryly. “I know a great spot in the woods. Any more of your bitching and we could take a walk out there together ...”
Parker gave a dry laugh, which descended into a painful cough. “Huh! We go out there together, Sonny, it won’t be you coming back, I can tell you that.”
“You think you’ve still got what it takes, Parker?” said Connell, his eyes now on the stars above his head, his attention already wandering away from the old man.
“You ever killed a man, Sonny?” asked Parker, and Connell’s attention was drawn reluctantly back.
Connell believed he’d been ultimately responsible for a number of deaths and had carried that knowledge around with him for some time now. He’d also been in close proximity when a number of people had taken their last breath. But as for actually pulling the trigger and killing someone ... “No, I haven’t,” he replied slowly, not sure where the conversation was going, and certainly not liking the direction.
“Is that why you don’t like to carry your gun no more?” continued Parker “ ‘Cause you want to make sure you keep it that way?”
“What do you know about that?”
“I know about a lot of things. That’s what comes of being old, you soak stuff up and piss it out when you’re done with it. I’ve been doing a lot of pissing lately. Some folk might call it incontinence, I call it letting go of all the stuff I don’t need on the other side.”
Connell shrugged wearily. Well, Parker was certainly in the mood to go on tonight, and he was too damn tired to listen to it.
“So, is that it?” prompted Parker. “Why you don’t like playing with guns no more?”
Connell didn’t answer immediately, couldn’t really explain why he felt the way he did. He knew it had a lot to do with his inability to take a shot when his son’s life had depended on it, but he wasn’t ready to discuss it with anyone, least of all crazy old Parker.
“I killed a guy once,” said the old man, filling the awkward silence with his creaking voice.
“You did?” Connell wasn’t interested in Parker’s war time reminiscence, not at this time of night, but was well used to the way the old man’s erratic thoughts caused his conversations to jump around from one loony idea to another. He glanced back at the house; saw a dim light burning in the bedroom window. He was tired, and he wanted Lizzie. Wanted to fold his arms around her, bathe in her sweet scent.
“Buried him in the woods,” added Parker.
“Oh yeah, what’d he do, die from boredom listening to you?” The guy was nuts, always coming out with strange stories and tall tales, which was fine during daylight hours, but not when Connell had other things in mind. He rubbed a hand across his eyes, in an effort to stay focused.
“He insulted my wife. I came home one night and found her crying, seen what he’d done to her. So’s I marched him out to the woods - and left him there. August, Nineteen Fifty-Nine, it was. That’s why you shouldn’t be leaving your family alone. Some folk have bad manners.”
Connell shot him a glance. “Are you messing with me, Parker?”
“I left him for three days, tied to a tree and then I went back and put him out of his misery. A man behaves like an animal, treat him like an animal, that’s what I say.”
“You’re not joking, are you?”
“I can show you the spot.” He smiled slyly at Connell, showing perfect white dentures which seemed over-large for his mouth. Clacking them back into place with his tongue, he added. “Probably the same place where you were planning on leaving me.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Over fifty years after the event, if it had even happened at all ...
“What you going to do about it? I figured, you’re not a cop anymore, so’s you can’t arrest me. I just figured you needed to know that I got it in me, that I’d do what was necessary to protect what was mine.”
Connell bristled suddenly with hackles he thought had deserted him, “You saying I wouldn’t?”
“Did I say that? No, I didn’t say that. Calm down, Sonny. You want to open your ears and listen instead of puffing yourself up like some junkyard dog.” He gave a hacking cough, spat noisily into the darkness and Connell took an avoiding step back. “I’m saying you definitely would, I see it in your eyes. And you don’t need to beat yourself up about whether you should or shouldn’t have taken a shot. Things have a way of working themselves out. When you do need to take that shot, believe me, you’ll take it.”
Connell looked at him, wondering what Parker could see that he couldn’t and why he was even bothered by the ranting of a crazy old man.
“Go to bed, Parker,” he said finally. He’d had enough, and yet he watched in uneasy silence as the old man shuffled off into the night.
* * *
He checked in on Joe as he made his way up the stairs, trying to be quiet and avoiding the creaking boards with the ease of a man who’d done this before. Joe’s room was a mess, as he knew it would be. The toys scattered across the carpet threatened to be his undoing as he stepped on a car and stifled a curse. Joe slept on, his tousled head pillowed on his arms. Connell leaned over, pressed a kiss gently on his cheek and heard the steady thump of a dog’s tail as it beat against the duvet. He reached out a hand and petted the dog.
“Shush ... Spidey, go back to sleep. Don’t you go waking Joey - not tonight,” The dog smiled its doggy smile and settled down. Yeah, thought Connell, never mind cats, dogs were definitely this man’s best friend. He backed out of the room and closed the door gently.
Standing under the shower, he braced his hands against the wall, letting the water beat down on his back. He washed away the filth of the city and felt his mood lift as he watched the soapy water disappear down the drain. Okay, he said to himself as he stepped from the stall and wrapped a towel round his waist, for one night at least he was going to forget about all the weird shit he’d endured.
Lizzie was lying with her back to him as he closed the bedroom door. Either, she’d just stretched out that way in her sleep or he had some ground to make up. He’d said eight o’clock and it was after eleven. No sweat, he was an expert at making up ground. He slid between the sheets and reached across her, breathing in her scent and letting out a sigh of relief. He could put up with anything that life cared to throw at him as long as he could come back to this, to her.
“Honey, I’m home ...” he whispered in his best Jack Nicholson voice, and he felt her twitch with badly contained laughter wrapped up in a thin veneer of indignation. He pressed his advantage and moved his hand. Her skin was soft and warm. “I was going to tell you all about my adventures in the big bad city ...” he ran his hand down the length of her thigh, “and how much I’d missed you ...” He dipped his head and found the soft skin at the base of her neck. “But if you’re too tired ...” She didn’t resist as he pulled her gently toward him. “If you’re still sleeping ...” he found her lips and loitered there awhile, “then I guess it’ll wait til
l morning.”
“Hmm,” she responded as she turned in his arms and ran her hands across his chest. “You’ve been having adventures while I’ve been lying here waiting for you?” She moved closer and held him tightly, needing him as much as he needed her. He winced, and she drew back and peered at him through the darkness. “What happened?” she asked, her hand poised on the site of his taser altercation which by unhappy coincidence was also where he had previously taken a bullet.
He took her hand and moved it onto his belly, which was also a little tender, though altogether more responsive and appreciative of a little light caressing. “Okay,” he began when her hand stayed motionless and he realized that maybe he had a little more ground to make up, “here’s the deal. You can do whatever you like to me tonight and tomorrow I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
“That’s big of you, such self-sacrifice.” She lowered her hand and squeezed gently. “You actually think that I’m going to be satisfied with that?”
Connell grinned in the dark. “Keep doing what you’re doing and I can guarantee that you’ll be satisfied.”
She released her hand and wriggled against him. “I meant with your explanation.”
He replaced her hand. “What can I say? I’m a pushover for torture. A couple of hours of that and there won’t be a thing left that you don’t know about me.”
“You think you can stand a couple of hours?”
He was winning and he did like to win. “No, but I sure could take it lying down.”
She kissed him slowly and then drew back. “Okay, but you may regret this in the morning. Remember, I’m a nurse. There’s nothing you can hide from me.”
Cool, he thought. She could examine him anytime.
The sun was streaming in through the window when he woke. He groggily raised his head from the pillow and discovered that although Lizzie was nowhere to be seen, he wasn’t alone.
“Hi, Daddy,” said Joe. He sat on the edge of the bed eating toast and scattering crumbs. Spidey was doing what every good dog should do and vacuuming them up.
“Hi, kiddo,” yawned Connell and he leaned across and ruffled his son’s hair. “What time is it?”
Joe paused in the process of shoving in the next piece of toast and Spidey waited expectantly. “I dunno,” he shrugged in a perfect copy of his father. “I’m only six. I haven’t learned to tell time yet. It’s breakfast time, I guess.”
Connell smiled and reached past him for his watch. Six-thirty. He’d planned to be up and away before Lizzie had a chance to hold him to his end of the bargain but it appeared he’d overslept.
“You’re in big trouble, Daddy,” said Joe as he clambored off the bed and headed for the door.
“I am?” Connell pushed back the covers and swung his feet to the floor.
“Yup,” Joe grinned, revealing a gap where his two front teeth should be.
“Says who?”
“Lizzie.”
Connell glanced quickly at his bare skin. Apart from some singe marks where he’d been zapped, he couldn’t see any obvious bruises or battle scars, and wondered what he’d done that hadn’t been wiped off the slate last night.
He pulled on his shorts and headed for the bathroom. One look in the mirror revealed the after-effects of Gibbons’ headshot. Okay, so he could explain his way out of that one. He pulled a face and ran his fingers through his hair. He really needed to pretty himself up and get a haircut.
“Scat ...” he said to Joe as he closed the bathroom door and took a leak. When he opened the door, Joe was waiting. He was still munching and Spidey was still at his side, ever hopeful. Connell picked Joe up under one arm amid shrieks and giggles and the toast dropped into Spidey’s open jaws. Score one for Spidey.
“So, what am I in trouble for? Come on, you’ve got to help me out, Joe. Us guys have got to stick together.”
Joe giggled hanging upside down. “Spidey’s been messing around. Mrs. Hanley’s on the warpath.”
“Spidey’s been what?” He spun Joe up the right way and set him on his feet. Where did he hear these things? Crazy old Parker and his warped sense of humor, no doubt. Joe was a country boy and he sure knew where foals and calves came from, but Connell wasn’t sure whether Joe knew how they got there in the first place. “Oh yeah, messing around with what, Joe?”
“I don’t know. He’s been leaving his toys lying around. I get in trouble for that, ‘cause Spidey is so messy.”
“Mmm,” replied Connell with a grin. “So how come I’m in trouble for Spidey’s mess?”
“ ‘Cause Lizzie said you were meant to have him done and you chickened out.” He pulled away from his dad’s arms and headed for the kitchen and more toast. “What’s ‘done’ mean, Daddy?”
“It’s what’s going to happen to your daddy, Joe,” said Lizzie with a smile as she handed Connell a steaming mug of coffee, “if he doesn’t sort out Mrs. Hanley’s little problem’s, all six of them.”
“Oh yeah, Daddy, guess what …” Joe jumped up and down excitedly. “Mrs. Hanley’s dog had puppies. How cool is that?”
Spidey smiled his doggy smile and Connell shook his head at him. “You can wipe that smile off your face, buster.” He turned to Lizzie and shrugged “What can I say ... it’s a male thing ... no self-control.”
He swiped a slice of toast from Lizzie’s plate with a grin. “You working today, babe?” he asked as he noted the uniform folded over the back of the chair freshly pressed, recalled how cute she looked in it and wondered if she could be persuaded to put it on, just for him.
“Just one shift,” she replied. “I thought I’d get them in while I can.” He shot her a glance and she pinked and shrugged delicately. “No way am I driving those roads in the winter.”
Connell smiled and remembered the previous snows that held them prisoner for weeks on end. “You mean your perfect little car’s no good in the snow?”
“Not in four feet of the white stuff, no.”
He glanced at Joe. “So if you’re going into work, who’s ...?”
“Your turn. You were meant to be home yesterday morning, remember? I already had someone cover for me once.” She smiled at him, stretched out a hand and gently trailed it across his temple which was discoloring rather spectacularly. “And that’s really not very fair, is it?”
He threw the remains of his toast to Spidey and took hold of her around the waist, lifting her effortlessly onto the counter in front of him. “Absolutely not,” he replied, stepping in close. “The thing is, sweetheart, I’m not quite done. I need to go back and finish off this morning.”
She wrapped her legs around him and planted a kiss in the place where her hand had just been. “What am I going to tell Sandra?”
“Tell her I owe her big time and I always pay my debts.”
Lizzie grinned at him. “Sandra’s not a pushover like me. She won’t be won over by your charm.”
He angled in for a kiss. “ ‘Course she will. She loves me.”
“Not everyone loves you.”
Well, wasn’t that the truth. He could think of at least a couple of guys who wouldn’t lose sleep if he disappeared. “Yeah, but I know Sandra does. I’ve seen the way she looks at me. Don’t want to worry you, babe, but I reckon she’s got the hots for yours truly.”
“That’s sympathy, Connell, not adoration or animal attraction. She’s probably thinking, those two are made for each other, they both need their heads examined.”
“She’s right.”
“That we’re made for each other?”
Connell grinned. “Well, yeah, but that we’re both a little crazy too.”
Lizzie narrowed her eyes as if she knew she was being played. “I could always leave him with Parker. The two of them are best buddies at the moment. I think they’re up to something, planning some mischief. They won’t allow me anywhere near the barn.”
Connell shook his head slowly, last night’s strange encounter still fresh in his mind. “No, honey, I don’t t
hink that’s such a good idea.”
“Why not? Parker is such a sweet old man.”
Connell turned his head. Joe was under the table sending toy cars at great speed into the base board. The board was a disgrace with chipped, yellowing paint. He flicked his gaze around the room. The whole house was pretty shabby. Old man Parker hadn’t been one for maintenance.
“Hey, kiddo, you want to go find my jacket? I got some candy for you in the pocket.” Joe was off like a shot, Spidey hot on his heels.
“Parker’s acting a little strange and Joe’s a handful, I just think he’d be better off with someone who doesn’t patrol the grounds at sunset with a loaded shotgun.”
“Parker’s okay,” replied Lizzie, confused at his reticence. “And I’ve got to work.”
“No, you don’t, honey. We can manage without it. I’ve got money coming in from the young stock and Gesting’s got me on his payroll.” He gestured with a sweeping hand. “We’ll have this place kicked into shape in no time.”
She smiled at him, brushed his hair back from his brow and planted a kiss. “That’s not what I meant. I trained for my qualification, I like my job. Maybe I don’t want to do it forever but just now, while I can, I’d like to.”
When she looked at him like that he could think of a few things he’d like to do too, and none of them involved work.
“But I could drop Joe at your mum’s on the way, if you’d rather,” she continued.
“I’d rather ...” He dipped his head and kissed her. He wondered just how late he could safely leave his departure without getting snarled in traffic. If it wasn’t for little Molly Brown, he would have stayed home all day.
“Is everything okay?” asked Lizzie when he let her up for air. “You seem a little over-cautious. This business you’re looking into, it is confined to the city, isn’t it?”