He paused, his arms folded over his knees, as though he was trying to make himself look smaller. Even curled up like he was, shoulders ducked down, he was still bigger than Kell.
“This is an eclectic selection, for sure. Oh, look.Chariot of the Gods, that’s one I’ve not read.” He paused, standing up, pullingThe Firmwith him. “Royce mentioned that he’s got a bunch of nature books he’s willing to lend, if you like those.”
“I don’t want to bother him,” said Kell, standing up in tandem with Marston. Balancing on his toes, he felt as though he might fall forward, but he pulled himself back, wiping his palms on his thighs.
“Take this one, then.”
Looking down at the copy ofThe Firmthat Marston held out, Kell wanted the moment to last forever. Marston, his attention all on Kell. And Kell, standing in the shine of a bright light, the energy teetering between them, back and forth in a dizzying dash.
If Marston was unaware, as he seemed to be, Kell was not, for his heart sped up as he took the book, his thumb brushing against Marston’s thumb, his heart jumping as Marston seemed to lean toward him. There was a brief second of contact, an arc, a spark. Then Marston straightened up, and it was gone.
“Well, I’ll see you,” Marston said, that same thumb brushing against his lower lip. “If you don’t like that one, there are others. Can you get the light when you’re done?”
“Sure,” said Kell, sensing the rebuff, the drawing away, the way Marston seemed to be saying no to himself, to Kell, and to the energy between them.
Marston turned away, a spin of boot heel, a shimmy of heat, he was that close, then he was striding away into the darkness, pierced by the auto-light on the mess tent.
“Sure,” Kell said to the sudden silence and stillness that echoed all around him. “Sure,” he said again as he did his best to take deep breaths, clasping the book to his belly. He’d not had a chance to finish the book while in prison, but he’d have that chance now.
After a moment, the auto-light went off, so Kell flicked the switch to turn off the overhead light, blinking as he stepped down off the wooden platform as the auto-light came on again. Then he made his way to his tent, and knew he might not be able to read, but he was going to get ready for bed, and then simply hold the book in his hands as he lay in his cot.
He would look atThe Firmand think about how Marston had given it to him. That slow, careful thoughtfulness as he’d handed it over.
Kell supposed Marston would have treated anybody else exactly the same way. With a kind of diffidence, that intense gaze giving exactly nothing away. Suggesting a book he might have wanted for himself. Walking off into the night without a backward glance.
At the tent, Wayne was kicking his stuff under his cot, grousing to himself about something, totally ignoring Kell when he came in. Which was fine. The ignoring was low level and not really mean, and it meant that Kell could pretend he was alone as he got ready for bed.
Crawling into his cot, he heldThe Firmin both hands, the bottom edge resting lightly on his belly.
“What’s that?” asked Wayne with a gusty sigh. It was obvious he didn’t care, he was just asking to ask, just being companionable, which still surprised Kell even after a week.
“It’s a book Marston suggested,” he said.
“You going to read that now?” asked Wayne, and Kell shook his head, because Wayne’s voice had risen, as if he was on the verge of being incensed at not getting his beauty sleep.
“No,” said Kell. He slipped the book on top of his little white shelf and sighed as Wayne reached up to flick off the light. In the darkness, the silence began to soak down, as if the woods were bending close, scattering pine needles as the breeze tossed their branches.
Sighing, Kell turned to face the tent wall, eyes half closed as though his mind couldn’t settle, was searching for something. And then he let the quiet take him into sleep.
Chapter15
Marston
On Saturday afternoon, after the meeting for team leads was over, Marston grabbed the keys to the F150 and took off driving. Sometimes a long drive helped and sometimes it didn’t, but he had to light out to settle his mind. A long drive intensified the loneliness, worked it through and through until it settled into familiar patterns, lounging into the background of his awareness. Pretty much going away, if he didn’t think about it much.
He’d been confused but pleased to be included in the team lead meeting held in Royce’s tent, and while they waited for Gabe to show up, and while Royce brewed some coffee in his fancy French press, they’d chatted about the weather, about Royce’s book collection, about nothing in particular.
It had been pleasant to sit in the cool, green-tinted shade of Royce’s tent, which was a damn site fancier and more comfortable than Marston’s tent. Unlike Royce, who had obviously made an effort to make his surroundings nice, Marston only had the things he needed, and certainly not a small electric fan, a microwave, and three different kinds of sugar for the coffee.
It was when Gabe had shown up, stomping his boots on the wooden platform to kick off the dirt, that Marston learned the reason why he’d been included, even though he didn’t really have a team.
“Here’s the thing,” said Gabe as he took a mug of coffee from Royce and sat down on one of the metal folding chairs. “I got Kell. He’s new. He’s young. He works hard, but he’s got no muscle tone, and whether that’s from not eating very much on the road or what, I don’t know. But if I keep working him the way I am, he’ll be tearing down muscle, not building it up.” Gabe took a slow sip of his coffee and nodded appreciatively at Royce. “Here’s where you come in, Marston.”
“Me?” asked Marston, wincing as he jabbed his thumb into the middle of his own chest. But he already knew the answer, even before Gabe spoke.
“I need you to take him,” said Gabe. “He’ll be your team. There’s plenty to do, right? Making signs, painting them. Pretty soon you’ll have to dig post holes for those signs, and he’ll be ready for that level of activity. He just needs to rest and get his strength up. Hot meals and plenty of sleep are what he needs at his age. Coming through what he’s come through.”
When Marston didn’t say anything, Gabe added, “You’d be doing me a favor.”
