His hand smoothed circles against her back, his fingers gently tracing the curves of her spine. It sent shivers across her skin, but she had the sense that the motion was more to soothe himself than her.
He always had an easier time speaking when his hands were occupied.
“Okay,” Theo finally said with a sigh. “I’ll tell you about the night of the accident.”
Seventeen
Well,fuck.
Here he was again.
Theo slung his bag over his shoulder and slammed the door of the Thunderbird shut before facing the enormous white colonial manor looming in front of him.
Great.
It was time for the quarterly family dinner—only one obligation among many. Another inviolable Redmond tradition, and part of their legacy.
Legacy. There was that damn concept again, clinging to him like an itching second skin he wanted nothing more than to tear away.
Once every few months, and generally for the holidays, he was required to come up to Albany to spend time with his mother and his uncle. And lately, every visit had begun weighing more and more on him, grating and insufferable and stifling. He scratched absently at his neck.
But there was nothing for it: he was here now, so he might as well get it over with. Rip the Band-Aid off. He was about to take a step forward with a resigned slump to his shoulders when there was a rap on the car window behind him.
Theo closed his eyes and sighed.
The goddamn door must not have latched properly. Again.
What a piece of junk.
He turned to find his father leaning across the front seat, tapping at the glass with a single gnarled knuckle, his white hair gleaming in the setting sunlight. Theo reopened the door with an exasperated look. “What, Dad? Sorry, I’ll make sure to shut it properly this time.” He narrowed his eyes. “Why haven’t you fixed that latch yet? It’s been like that for years.” Either it caught too hard and wouldn’t open, or it wouldn’t latch at all, and nothing in between.
“The charms of old cars, kid.” Henry flashed him a crooked smile and patted the dashboard lovingly. “She’s got as many quirks as I do. This old girl and I have been through a lot together, so go easy on her. She’ll be yours one day.”
“ ‘Quirks’ is one way to put it. I might call it ‘well past its prime.’ ”
“Hey—watch it, you.” Dark blue eyes glared back at him. “We’ve both still got it.”
Theo surveyed the old bucket of bolts warily. His dad loved that damn car, and he was constantly tinkering with it, forever searching for just the right vintage parts to replace, just the proper fix for this or that, but he’d never quite managed to make it all the way perfect. The Thunderbird ran fine for something from the sixties, sure, but he could’ve just gotten something more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly—like a hybrid. Would definitely guzzle a whole helluva lot less gas, and might save the old man a pretty penny.
Henry already had little else but debt to his name. The hot-rod shop wasn’t doing so well these days; turned out people in the city didn’t have a ton of money to blow on restoring vintage cars, especially when they didn’t drive, and especially not in Brooklyn anymore.
But it was blasphemy to even suggest trading such a classic piece of Americana for a Prius. He’d learned that a long time ago.
So Theo kept his mouth shut.
His father pointed at him. “And be nice to your mother when you get inside. You haven’t seen her for a few months and I know she’s excited to have you here. She misses you.”
“Mom misses me? What, have the two of you actually been communicating again?” Theo scoffed. “Was I asleep in the car when hell froze over?” Normally, he might have simply taken his motorcycle on the three-hour trip up to Albany for the weekend, but it had been pouring down rain in the city this morning—and his dad was already headed up here to see his best friend, Jack, anyway. It made sense to ride together.
It also let Theo take a nap. He’d been up late last night working on a new Lightm4st3r piece, and riding a motorcycle on three hours of shitty, tumultuous sleepdefinitelywasn’t advisable, particularly in the rain, and particularly on the slick, winding back roads he usually favored. If he was actually going to leave the city, why would he want to stare at the freeway and bumper-to-bumper traffic for all that time?
If he had to come out here, at least he should see trees.
Henry shot him another dark look, but Theo only adjusted his bag over his shoulder again and straightened his leather jacket with a sigh. Why did it feel so tight across his back and shoulders? Was it just him, or was the collar suddenly wrong around his neck? It had always fit like a glove before. He didn’t think he’d bulked outthatmuch lately.
When his father still didn’t say anything, Theo shifted uncomfortably on his feet.
“When have I not been nice to Mom? It’s Uncle Lloyd I’m worried about.”
