My attention wandered off, and Axel left me to my thoughts until he pulled off the side of the road to pick up our tow.
I got out and went through the motions of lowering the ramp and then hooking up safety chains. Axel talked to the driver. He had a ride on the way, so we hopped back into the truck and continued on to Zacos.
“I’m craving some sausage and peppers,” he said. “I bet Bailey misses this place.”
It occurred to me that Axel had brought up Bailey a lot in this short ride.
“You miss him, huh?” I said tentatively.
His hands tightened briefly on the steering wheel. “He’s my baby brother. Of course I miss him.”
“Have you…talked lately?” I asked, thinking of my conversation with Bailey at the coffee shop in Maple Grove. He’d seemed so lost.
I hadn’t stopped thinking of the way he looked at me when he said he didn’t want me to see him as a brother. But that was a Pandora’s box I couldn’t open.
That still didn’t stop me from worrying about him. He was far from home, and he was unhappy. That was a bad mix, in my experience.
“We text every week,” Axel said with a tight smile. “Bailey knows I need to hear from him. To just…know he’s there.”
I nodded. “That’s good. What do you text about?”
“I don’t know, man. He asks about the dogs. I ask about the cute guys he’s meeting on campus. We shoot the shit. Nothing too heavy.”
“Cute guys…right. Makes sense.”
“Not really. I swear that kid is a monk. He says he hasn’t hooked up with anyone. Who goes to college anddoesn’thook up?”
“Well, maybe he just doesn’t want to tell you about it.”
Among other things.
“You think?”
I preferred not to think about that possibility. Baileyshouldhook up with guys on campus. That’s how the world was supposed to work.
My stomach churned uncomfortably.
I didn’t like it, but that was too damn bad. Felons didn’t end up with guys like Bailey.
He was too gorgeous, too smart, too young.
“I thought I was the cool brother,” Axel complained. “Am I not cool enough to talk about sex with?”
“Uh…I’m the wrong one to ask.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Areyougetting any?”
I smiled ruefully. “Not these days.”
He shook his head. “A couple of monks, you and Bailey. Iamthe cool brother. He’d tell me if he was getting any.”
I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or not.
“Bailey, uh, hasn’t said anything about how he’s doing at school?”
“Not really.” He glanced my way. “I leave the hovering to Holden.” His gaze sharpened at my expression. “Why? Is there something to know?”
“I don’t know,” I hedged. “I saw him last weekend when I visited my brother.”
