“I ain’t hungry.” Jason stayed at the doorway and Bax could hear Mini’s stomach trying to eat itself.
“Bullshit. It’s chips and burgers. There ain’t nobody here but us. Andy knows how you like ‘em.”
“Yep. And I promise I won’t cut it up like Momma did.” He’d seen how Brenda fixed Jason’s plate. Lord. “Come on, Mini.”
“Okay.” Jason stepped forward, slow and careful, making it to the edge of the counter before stopping. “Help me out?”
“You know it.” Before Coke could move, Bax was up and there, hand on Jason’s arm. “Come around to the left, now reach out and feel the seat.”
“Thanks.” Jason relaxed, nodded. They needed to get him out of here, into a place where he felt like he could figure thisshit out.
Jason got settled and Coke put a plate in front of him. “The burger’s in the front close to you, then the chips are behind it, ‘kay?”
Bax vaguely remembered some after school movie where a blind guy did his food on the plate by the clock or something. Maybe they’d try that. Later. “Lessee, you want lettuce, tomato, mustard and a tiny bit of onion, right?’
“Yeah. Yeah, thanks.” Jason’s fingers slid around the edge of the plate, exploring, and Bax and Coke shared a long, sad look.
Then Coke’s lips went tight and those dark gray eyes just flashed. “You want a Coke, Jase?”
“I’ll take a beer, man.”
Well, a beer was better than a whiskey. They’d go from there, since Jason was willing to eat. “One. Then you switch to Coke.”
“Bossy.” Jason’s eyes landed on him, just staring, and shit that was weird. “I’m a grown man, Bax. Don’t.”
“Stop it. We’ll all have a round and then switch. There’s not but a six-pack left.” Coke to the rescue.
Bax sighed, rolling his shoulders. “I’m not trying to be the boss of you, Jase. We need to talk, though. We’ll all need a clear head for this, okay?”
“Okay. Okay, man.” Jason frowned, grabbing a chip. “What’s up? I mean, beyond the obvious, gee, you’re fucked part.”
“Well…” He took a deep breath, appealing to Coke with his eyes. “We got this plan…”
“Yep.” Coke nodded, sat. “You ain’t gonna get better with your eyes, are you, Jase?”
“Damn it, Bax. Do you have to tell everything?”
“I didn’t tell Momma!” He wasn’t no tattler. “Goddamn it, this is Coke!”
Jason snorted and Coke chuckled. “Y’all know I’ll nag ‘til Iknow. Besides, it doesn’t matter. The fact is you can’t see, right?”
Jason clenched his fists around the edge of the plate. “Yeah.”
“Okay, then. We got to figure out how to get you back up on the bulls.”
“That’s not funny, Coke.” That plate jittered on the table, trying to crack.
Now it was out, Bax knew he had to throw in for Jase to believe it. “It ain’t meant to be, Mini. You could do it with your eyes closed, you always said. Didn’t you prove it on a dare? The only thing you need us to do is get you in the chute and get you out of the arena.”
“They ain’t gonna let me ride like this. Nobody’s gonna let me ride like this.”
“Nobody’s going to know, Jase. Nobody but a couple of us.” Coke slid the plate out of Jason’s hands.
“He’s right. We’ll get a couple folks, get AJ to let us use his place.” Nibbling at a chip, Bax stared at Jason, reading that body language.
“I… Y’all are out of your minds.” Jason looked a little panicky, a little shocky.
“I told Coke the same thing. He convinced me.” Shit on it. He reached out and grabbed Jason’s hand, rubbing his thumb in circles. “You can do it, Jase. You’re the best rider there’s ever been.”
