Chapter 7
“I’m so confused.” Gavin stared at the small boy at an ungodly hour Saturday morning. Colin McCauley, his cousin Mike’s son, had to be seven or eight now. The kid—his first cousin once removed, and yeah, he knew that because he’d gone through a genealogy phase as a teen—was cute and a handful. He’d even brought his monster of a dog, Jekyll, who turned out to be the same dog Gavin had met at the wedding. But why Colin stood at the base of Gavin’s bed, Gavin had no idea.
“This is our cousin,” Theo said slowly, having entered the room they shared. “His name is Colin. Colin McCauley. Remember him?”
The boy nodded. “Yep. I’m Colin. Dad said you were the smart one, Cousin Gavin. I’m not seeing it.”
Gavin glared, especially when he saw the seven thirty on the clock. “Theo, what the hell?”
Theo shrugged. “I told Flynn we’d watch him because the guys and their wives are out on some bonding camping trip or something.”
“Yeah, but Mike is his dad.” Gavin couldn’t quite wake up. A glance next to him showed the lavender cutting Zoe had given him last night, protected and cared for in a clay pot. Seeing the small plant made him happy.
A gift from Zoe. An amazing date. No sex but great root beer and a killer sci-fi movie next to a woman who fascinated him. His night had been magical.
And now…this.
Turning to Colin, he asked, “Isn’t Mike your dad? Why is that idiot Flynn involved?”
“I love Uncle Flynn.” Colin glared, and it was like looking at a pint-size version of Mike. “Jekyll and I need to be watched. It’s a grown-ups-only trip.”
“Oh. Sorry, buddy.” And the McCauleys had no one better to watch the kid than Theo…wearing work clothes? “Theo, why are you dressed like that?”
Theo had been working at the coffee shop, or so Gavin thought. But his brother now wore a moving company’s collared shirt. “Not my fault, Gavin. I start today.” Theo sounded nervous. Gavin didn’t trust him. “I was supposed to start tomorrow, but well, schedules change. So you have Colin.”
“Iwhat?” Gavin sat up, shocked awake, and the sheets bunched at his waist.
“Wow. You’re big, Cousin Gavin. A lot of big muscles, like Dad.”
“Dude, no one’s that big.” Except Del’s prison employees at the garage. “But thanks. I work out a lot at the gym. It’s my job.”
Colin nodded. “I know. Dad told me you train people to not brain themselves with weights.”
“That’s one way of describing it. But it’s not a permanent gig.”
Theo perked up. “You work temporary jobs. Like me.”
“No, not like you. I don’t get how you can go from job to job the way you do. Make a decision and stick with it, boy. You’d do fine in the Corps.”
“You didn’t” came out of Theo’s mouth with more rancor that he’d expected. His expression of surprise said as much.
Colin nodded. “Yeah. You got all squirrelly, which is funny because Jekyll loves squirrels.” The dog came to sit by Colin, appearing obedient and passive while vibrating with energy. “You probably don’t know what you want in life because the Marine Corps messed with your head. That’s what Dad said. Jacked you up. Cracked you up. So now all you can do is lift heavy weights while you get better. Del thinks you’re cute. Dad didn’t like that. Hey, are those bullet holes?” Colin pointed to Gavin’s chest.
Theo stared, not moving, no doubt waiting for Gavin to lose it over the mention of his time in the service. Granted, Gavin had been a little squirrelly when he’d first come back. But he was getting better. As long as he didn’t think too hard about the past.
Gavin sighed. “Your dad talks a lot.”
“I know,” Colin grumbled as he neared Gavin and traced the wound on Gavin’s chest, where an enemy round had torn into his left lung. “That’s so cool.”
“Yeah, cool.” And while he’d been healing up from it, his friends had gotten blown to bits without him. John, Mick, Luke. His friends, and half of his fucking squad. They’d all left loved ones behind. Fucking Mickey had left a pregnant wife all alone. She’d given birth months ago and had even invited Gavin to a get-together with some of the other family members left behind. Gavin felt that tug of despair and swallowed it down, burying it deep, where it ate at him in the silence of his nightmares.
“Dad’s getting worse, Cousin Gavin.”
Focus on the kid and pretend Theo isn’t studying you, looking for signs of weakness.“Just call me Gavin, Colin.”
Colin talked over him. “Because Dad is always talking or saying stuff about babies or kissing Mom. Not my dead one. She’s buried in the cemetery. But I still talk to her in my head. I mean Del. She’s my new mom.”
“I know that.”
