by M.A. Stacie
He gave a quick shake of his head, though the paleness of his skin told her he was lying.
“You don’t look well.”
“Thanks for the observation,” he snapped. “I don’t really need another person telling me what’s wrong with me.”
“I wasn’t trying to do that. You just went pale and . . .” This time when she turned away, he didn’t try to stop her. “You know what? Take your frustration out on someone else. I’m not here to take shit from you.”
Tired of getting nowhere with their conversation, Libby stalked around the house to head for the stables. She was thankful when he left her alone, though it didn’t take the edge off her temper.
Checking her watch as she walked across the yard, she realized Levi would be home from school soon. She’d have to make the discussion with Josh quick. The last thing she wanted was a tense atmosphere when her son came home. The school bus would be arriving at the bottom of the lane in about fifteen minutes, and either she or Josh always waited at the gate.
She rounded the barn and peeked inside. “Josh?”
“Sorting out the feed, Libby.”
She took a deep breath and entered the stall with her hands on her hips. “I don’t want to complain. I sure as hell don’t want to make demands, but you should have a word with that nephew of yours.”
Josh turned to face her, feed scoop in hand. He nodded.
“He said he should apologize to me but never quite did, then started making some weird comments.”
“Such as?” He dropped the scoop back into the feed sack and led her out of the stables.
She stuttered, unsure how to explain the intention she’d seen glinting in Taylor’s eyes. Or her body’s reaction to it. “Arrogant.” She’d settle for that. “He was terribly arrogant.”
“The boy always is. Jacob is hoping his exile here will tone him down. It looks like it’s going to take more time.”
Libby swallowed, clambering for a way to tell him how much Taylor had gotten under her skin, without giving away her rather strange attraction. “He said you guys were keeping him here.”
Shaking his head, Josh locked the stable door. “Does it look like he’s a prisoner?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Taylor is messed up. Years of getting what he wants without recrimination have caught up with him. His lifestyle was too much, and he’s now paying the price.”
Libby halted her steps. “Alcohol?”
“Drugs.”
Libby’s eyes grew wide.
“But he’s been clean since he’s been here. You don’t need to go worrying.”
Libby’s mind started to race, scenarios where her child could have been in danger flashed front and center. “Did you search his bags when he arrived? I mean, he could be hiding the stuff.” It hurt her that Josh hadn’t thought to mention it before now. It was damn important. She might not live in the big house with Josh and his visitor, but she and Levi were in and out of it all the time.
“As I said, there’s no need to worry. Taylor is a little wayward, but the boy ain’t that stupid. He knows this is his last chance. I have faith in him, even though he doesn’t have it in himself.”
She wouldn’t have believed anyone else, but Josh didn’t put himself out for just anyone. And he’d always been proven right when he’d backed someone in the past. After all, he’d backed her.
She calmed a little. “What kind of drugs?”
Josh’s wiry brows drew together. “His dad says cocaine. Taylor refuses to talk about it.”
Libby nodded and made a mental note to talk to Levi about not ingesting things if he didn’t know what they were.
“Why haven’t they sent him to rehab? I mean, it has to be better than sending him here. They know what they’re doing in those kinds of places, whereas I’m not sure what we have to offer. Other than solitude.”
“Exactly. We’re in the middle of nowhere. He won’t be able to buy any of that powder out here. Besides, he checked himself out of rehab.”
“Wow. So this really is his last chance.”
Josh nodded. “So do you still need me to have a word with him?”
Shrugging, Libby asked, “Would there be any point? He never did say he was sorry.”
Josh chuckled, placing his hand at the base of her spine as he escorted her through the main gates of the house and down toward the lane.
The more she thought about her altercation with Taylor, the more her temperature rose, and she fought to keep her anger at bay.
“Taylor suffers from second-child syndrome,” Josh said. “He likes to get a reaction out of people—likes to cause a fuss and makes sure all eyes are on him. All of his . . . issues . . . come from that, whether he accepts it or not.”
“So being an idiot isn’t his only problem.”
Staring out toward the road, Libby watched the school bus roll with caution along the lane. She hastened her pace and was about to tell Josh to hurry, but instead she slowed down.
The bus didn’t stop at their gate.
Josh looked from the bus to Libby, his forehead wrinkling.
“Can you see him?” Libby asked, looking up the lane, then down.
The lines at the sides of Josh’s mouth deepened. “The bus didn’t stop. He’s not there.”
Libby struggled to ignore the twinge in her gut as a multitude of thoughts raced through her head. It was Wednesday, so Levi didn’t have any after school activities. He’d always been home on time in the past. Without realizing it, she increased her pace until she was jogging, then running to the gate. Josh pulled his cell phone from his back pocket, and she became aware of him speaking to someone, but the ringing in her ears had begun to get louder.
“Levi? Levi, baby!”
She opened the large gate and rushed out onto the lane, watching the bus disappear into the distance. “Levi!” she yelled.
“I’d appreciate that. Thank you.” Josh ended the call and began dialing another number.
“Josh?” She held a hand to her forehead and peered across the fields that surrounded them.
He cleared his throat, bringing the cell to his ear. “School said he was on the bus. At least we know he got on it, Lib.”
Her legs buckled and she slumped to the ground. “Dammit. Then where is he?”
Chapter 5
Josh saddled up a horse and galloped down the lane. Libby, at first weak from worry, then began calling anyone she knew as she paced by the gate. Something had kicked in, maternal preservation or some shit, and now she was on autopilot.
Taylor had lingered, uncertain as to whether Libby would want him involved in the search. Eventually, he hadn’t bothered asking and decided to try hunting the kid out on foot. After all, Levi’s little feet couldn’t eat up that many miles. The brat was tiny.
Confusion as to why he’d joined the search hovered on the edges of his thoughts. He’d met the kid once, had done nothing but argue with his mother, and yet he felt the need to help.
Libby’s cry of desperation had gripped him tight. Her cry oozed worry and fear, along with a good dose of pain. Taylor wasn’t that much of an asshole. He couldn’t ignore what was happening around him and continue to wallow in his own crap.
His uncle hadn’t bothered to hide his shocked expression when Taylor told him he wanted to help. Libby hadn’t even heard him, her tunnel vision set on calling the next parent, then the next.
He decided the woods that surrounded the ranch would be the best place to start. Any kid who wanted to hide had the perfect place right on his doorstep.
With each step he tried to think why a boy of six would get off the school bus early. What had happened to scare him? From the way Uncle Josh and Libby spoke about him, he could tell this was out of character. But then, what did he know about six-year-old boys?
Taylor stumbled over a fallen tree, yelling Levi’s name until his voice cracked. The evening would be setting in soon. Already he’d come to learn it grew dark quickly around Hunter
’s Hollow. That thought left him with a sense of foreboding.
“Levi!” he yelled, pushing branches out of the way as he walked deeper into the forest. He checked his watched, ignoring the slight tremor of his hand. Focusing on finding the boy gave him something to think about other than the stomach cramps and the bone-deep need for the powder he was forced to rid himself of. The pain wasn’t excruciating; the whole detox was just uncomfortable, and the longing was always there. It felt like he had a flu he couldn’t shake. It lingered, causing his muscles to ache, his nose to run, and his brain to fog. The upside to the lack of drugs, though, was that his appetite was back.
And he wasn’t only referring to his stomach.
For the last few months, his sexual appetite had diminished. Taylor chalked it up to the problems back in Sea Pointe with Tori. She’d scared him enough to stay away from women for the rest of his lifetime.
Well, maybe not quite that long.
He stilled and squinted through the shrubbery. All he could see was green. Fucking miles of green. That’s all he’d seen since the day he arrived. The place sucked.
“Dude, come on. It’s getting late.”
He didn’t know if Levi could hear him. This whole search could be futile. Maybe they had found him already. Still, Taylor still carried on searching. Whether it was due to his having something to fixate on, or that he finally felt useful, he didn’t know. He just knew he should keep going.
“Your mom is worried,” he said. “She wants you home.”
Taylor paused, a twig braking underneath his boot. A sniffle. He was sure he’d heard a sniffle. “Levi? Is that you?”
Remaining still, he searched the trees around him and listened to every sound. When nothing but the tweets of a few birds filled the silence, he decided the noise had been in his head. Taylor stepped forward, continuing through the thick rows of trees, wishing he had a cell phone. His father had taken it from him when he’d dumped him at the ranch, which left him at a disadvantage. He didn’t know the area, still didn’t even know why he was searching, and could be putting himself at risk by going it alone.
“I’m getting annoyed, little man. Searching for you in the damn jungle is hard work, and I’m freezing my ass off.”
“It’s a forest, not a jungle.”
Whipping his head right and left, Taylor squinted as he looked through the tree branches. “You gonna give me a clue and tell me where you’re hiding?”
He heard another sniffle, followed by the rustling of leaves. Some low-lying branches shifted up ahead to reveal a rather sad-looking Levi. His blue coat had been torn at the sleeve, and a small cut marred his bottom lip. His cheeks were stained with dirty tears, but a smile pricked at the edge of his mouth. “A jungle.” He giggled. “You’re funny.”
Taylor pointed at him. “And you’re not.”
Levi hung his head, and his blond curls flopped forward. Taylor beat down the urge to comfort him, because the kid needed to toughen up. Life was more than riding lessons from Mom and sweets from an old guy. Life sucked most of the time, and he should learn that.
The boy stood and stared defiantly.
“Why did you get off the bus?”
“Not telling you. Doesn’t matter anyway.”
Taylor kept his finger pointed at the boy. “Oh, it fucking matters. I’ve been searching through these goddamn woods, looking for your whiny little ass.”
Levi’s eyes grew wide and his mouth hung open before he stammered, “Y-you cursed. Momma said nothing is so bad that you can’t speak without being rude.”
“Your momma has obviously never met the rest of the Reese family. Or lived in the real world, for that matter.”
Levi shrugged and began to walk past him. His shoulder nudged at Taylor’s hip, and his backpack slapped his thigh.
“Hey!” Taylor grabbed hold of the bag’s shoulder strap to keep the kid in place. “Where do you think you’re going now?”
“Away.”
“Not a chance.” Taylor pulled on the backpack and maneuvered the kid around until they were facing one another. He crouched down, waiting until Levi looked at him. “Your mom and Josh are worried. They saw the bus go by, and you weren’t on it. Everyone is out looking for you.”
Levi sniffed.
“They called the school, so they know you got on the bus. Why did you get off early?”
Levi pouted, his big brown eyes filling with tears.
“Don’t you dare cry on me, kid. I’ll kick your ass.”
“You say ass a lot.”
“I’m allowed, I’m a grown-up. Now answer my question. Without the girlie tears.”
“Aster.”
Taylor waited, expecting some sort of elaboration. Nothing came. “You are really starting to annoy me. What is an aster?”
“A boy! Aster is a boy. He’s in my class, and he’s real mean. Started calling me names. Mom said I should ignore him.”
“Wait.” Taylor held up his hand. “My first question is, what kind of name is Aster? I mean, who names their kid that?”
Levi shrugged.
“Give the kid some kind of complex. Is it even a name?”
“Dunno.”
Taylor shook his head, grumbling when his hair fell into his eyes. He’d always preferred it a little longer, but it was growing out of control. He’d have to get used to it, as it didn’t appear he’d be getting it cut anytime soon. Not that any of it mattered right then. “Come on. Spill it. I’m not willing to wait around here all night and freeze my ass off just because you drag it out.”
“Why are you angry all the time?”
Taylor blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You’re always cussing and shouting. Do you hate everyone?”
“I haven’t been hunting in these woods for the last hour so you can state the obvious.” He stood up and began to walk in the direction he’d come from. “Move it, kid.”
Levi shuffled along, hanging his head. “Is Mom gonna be mad at me?”
“Jesus, you’re like a game of twenty questions.” He glanced back to make sure Levi was following him through the thick grove of trees. “And yet you still haven’t answered mine.”
Levi stuck out his trembling bottom lip. “You can’t do anything. Momma went to school and talked to Mrs. Banks. Aster doesn’t care, and his mom doesn’t tell him off.”
“Brat, I’m not getting any younger. What happened?”
Levi’s footsteps stopped, and the wobble of his lip increased. “He kicked me. Aster kicked me. The other kids laughed and pointed. No one wants to be my friend now, because Aster doesn’t think I’m cool.”
Taylor was about to speak when Levi carried on, his secrets now rolling freely from his tongue. “Everyone runs away when I come near them, and they laugh when I answer Mrs. Banks in class. They wouldn’t let me sit next to them on the bus, so I stood up. But the bus driver shouted at me. He wouldn’t go unless I sat down.” Tears rolled down his cheeks, but he didn’t stop. “I s-started to cry and the whole bus laughed. Even Amy. She’s my friend.”
Placing a hand on Levi’s shoulder, Taylor squatted down. Levi’s brown eyes, usually wide and inquisitive, were now filled with sadness. Taylor would need to have a heart of stone not to feel something for the kid.
He tried to work out what he should say. He’d never been bullied, never had to deal with a bus full of kids laughing at him. “We need to get back to the ranch. Your mom will fix it.”
Levi whimpered. “But Pops said I shouldn’t get upset by nasty people. He’s gonna be angry because I’m crying. Mom’s gonna yell because I got off the bus. That’s why I decided to run away.”
Biting back the urge to laugh, Taylor swiped away a few of Levi’s tears with his thumbs. “Running away isn’t the answer, kid. You need to face your problems head-on.” He ignored the irony of that statement. “You said your mom’s gone to school and talked to your teacher?”
Levi nodded.
“Then I’ll make sure your mom goes to the sch
ool again. If she doesn’t, I’ll go and speak to this Aster-demon myself. Little shit.”
Levi giggled.
“See? It can’t be all that bad if I make you laugh.”
“Mom would yell if she heard you. She doesn’t like bad language.”
Taylor tapped Levi’s nose and righted himself. “We’ve been over that. I guess it’s our secret. Your mom doesn’t need another excuse to yell at me, does she?”
“Nope.”
They walked to the edge of the woods in silence, Levi’s little snuffles punctuating the tweeting of the birds.
“You got anything to eat? I’m starving!” Levi rubbed his stomach over his coat.
“I didn’t exactly have a chance to stock up when Josh raised the amber alert. You’ll have to wait.”
Levi huffed out an annoyed breath, stepped around Taylor, and stomped ahead. They walked across the field, and Levi stalled when the ranch came into view. “Do you think Mom’s gonna be really mad?”
“Lame question, kid. You’ll be lucky if you see the outdoors for a month. But then I could be wrong. You seem spoiled, so maybe she’ll give you candy and a kiss.”
Levi grinned. “You think?”
“Not a chance. She’s going to be mighty pissed at you.” He ruffled Levi’s blond curls. “Race you!”
He took off running, smiling as the little boy giggled and raced after him.
“Wait!”
Slowing his pace and trying not to look too exhausted, he turned. Levi had stopped his chase and begun to wring his hands and chew on his lip.
“What’s up now?”
“Th-they talked about my dad.”
“So?”
“Mom won’t be happy if I tell her.”
Shaking his head in exasperation, Taylor said, “Then don’t. Just tell her what you told me.”
“But they always say things about my dad. They won’t stop.”
“Then maybe you should tell her. Now, kid, I’m cold and hungry. I’m going back to the house. My services are retired for the day.”
Ignoring the boy’s protests, Taylor stalked toward the ranch and made out two people on the deck. “Hey!” he shouted. “I found him. He’s here. Levi’s here.”