“Do you remember the last place you saw him?” I asked, hoping that maybe the kid could retrace his steps. He shook his head as he kicked at the linoleum under his feet. It was going to be harder to reunite them without anything to go on.
Think, Collins. How in the hell are you going to be responsible for twenty little kids if you can’t even help one?The voice of doubt wasn’t as loud as it’d once been, but it occasionally still crept into the back of my mind, whispering that I’d never make anything of my life.
You can do this. It’s a small town. Take him up to the counter. I’m sure someone here knows him.This voice was much more welcome. Well, unless you considered the fact that I was completely at peace with having distinct voices to go along with my thoughts. That wasn’t creepy. Nope, not at all.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find him,” I assured the little boy. Okay, so maybe some introductions were in order. I crouched down in front of him again since he’d seemed more comfortable when I was on his level. “My name is Dax. What’s yours?”
“Jagger,” he responded before sucking his lower lip into his mouth.
“That’s a cool name.” Definitely unusual, but I wouldn’t expect any less from a man who didn’t even realize he’d lost his son.
“No, it’s stupid. I hate it.” He crossed his arms tightly over his little chest. The way he glared at me as if daring me to disagree with him almost had me changing my opinion. I still thought it was a pretty kick-ass name, but didn’t figure it was the time to get into that particular debate. We needed to find Jagger’s dad so I could give him a piece of my mind.
We walked hand in hand to the front of the store. The bells jangled again as the front door whipped open. Jagger disappeared behind my legs, holding on for dear life.
“Jagger Thomas Underwood, get over here.” The man, who I assumed was Jagger’s father, practically vibrated with emotion. But he didn’t sound as much panicked as he did angry. He reached for Jagger and I saw a tremor in his hands. The boy buried his face against my side and let out a soft whimper.
I balled my left hand into a fist as I held the boy with my right. My blood pressure rose to the point I could hear it thrumming in my head. This wasn’t the way I wanted to make an impression in town, but I’d rather be run out and fired than let a child live in fear. I knew what that felt like and vowed to do everything in my power to keep another child from having that kind of upbringing.
“You’ve got some nerve,” I scolded him, taking a step closer and squaring my shoulders, ready for a fight if it came to that. “You’re the adult here, but you’re going to yell at him? He’s your son and he’s terrified. It’s not his fault you couldn’t pay attention to him. Where in the hell were you, anyway?”
“I’m sorry, do I know you?” The man gave me a once-over, paying extra attention to my face before shaking his head. “No, I’m pretty sure I’d remember that cocky, holier-than-thou attitude. So why don’t you let go of my son before Ike calls the police for a disturbance and possible attempted kidnapping.”
I gaped at him and then to the white-haired man behind the counter. He grunted and shook his head dismissively. “Michael Douglas Underwood, you’d do well to think before you speak,” he warned. I wondered if the two were related, because Ike obviously had no problem telling Michael what he thought. Michael stilled immediately, sucking his lower lip into his mouth as his head dropped between his shoulders. “This gentleman is right. You’re scaring Jagger. Now, I’m not going to say your son wasn’t in the wrong because we both know he has a listening problem that’d be easily corrected by a swat on the backside from time to time. But you’re equally to blame. That boy sneaks away from you every chance he gets.”
I saw the moment every bit of fight left Michael’s body. The angry fire in his whiskey eyes evaporated to…nothing. He peered through the front window with unfocused eyes as he shuffled from one foot to the other. I knew that look all too well. It’d stared back at me in the mirror every day for years. That made me hate him even more because I actually started feeling sorry for the prick.
“You’re right, Ike.” Michael sounded properly put in his place. He fell to his knees, holding out his hand for Jagger. I felt the boy shake his head against my thigh again. I couldn’t imagine the boy was in any real danger, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d rather cling to a stranger than go to his dad. This Ike guy seemed to know the two of them fairly well, and he didn’t give me the impression he’d let Jagger go with Michael if he doubted his ability to keep the boy safe.
I turned around and pulled Jagger’s arms away from my legs. “Hey, it’s okay. I bet your daddy was scared when he couldn’t find you.”
When I looked up to Michael, I saw him staring at me, his head cocked to the side. “Something wrong?” I asked. If he wanted to get riled up again, I wouldn’t back down this time. I figured he was lucky I hadn’t jumped his ass for letting his son slip away. Again, if Ike’s criticism could be believed.
“No, not at all.” He shook his head. “Thank you for helping him. I promise, I’m not the unfit parent you’re assuming I am.”
“Never said you were,” I pointed out. Even if I had thought it, there was something more at play here that I couldn’t understand. “I’m just glad I was here to help.”
I wanted to ask why Jagger was crying if this was a common occurrence and he was never in danger, but it wasn’t my place. Even if everyone in town knew their story, I was still the newcomer, the outsider. With a simple nod, I excused myself from their reunion.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Jagger enveloped in his father’s arms, both of them apologizing to the other. “Hey buddy, it’s going to be okay. I promise.”
I nearly tripped over my feet. Something in Michael’s string of reassurances sent a shiver through my entire body. There was something about his voice. It was soothing. Comforting. And oddly familiar.
* * *
I was still thinkingabout Michael an hour after I got home when Matt pulled up at the curb. I slipped on my shoes and wandered out the front door feeling a bit out of sorts. Somehow, I didn’t even hear Matt slamming the door of the truck and nearly ran into him.
“Damn, Dax. You been drinking already?” he teased as he pulled me into a quick one-armed hug.
“No, just a strange day,” I admitted to him. “I’m beginning to think it was stupid for me to take this job. Just being here is really fucking with my head.”
Matt shook his head as he pulled me into the house. He frowned as he took in the rust-stained kitchen sink and stained cabinets coated in a sheen of old grease. With the unexpected drama at the hardware store, I’d completely forgotten to pick up cleaning supplies.
“Yeah, I know it’s not great,” I said, cutting him off before he could tell me what a shithole I’d wound up in. “But I don’t think it’ll be that bad once I get it cleaned up and maybe throw some fresh paint on the walls.”
“Well, then we’d better get to it, because this place sucks.” Matt grabbed my keys off the kitchen counter and walked out the back door. I followed, knowing that once a plan started forming in Matt’s mind it was better to just roll with it.
There were two roads leading to Abelman. I took the one that didn’t hold more memories than I was ready to face. Between driving past the scene of the accident on my way into Marshall and the situation at the hardware store, I felt emotionally drained. I didn’t say anything to Matt, but he knew me well enough to know something was upsetting me and he called me out on it.
