“Even if you ‘don’t like guns,’” his traitorous sister cut in, “there’s fishing and cooking contests and scavenger hunts. And if you’re really that afraid of the big scary woods, Baby Cal will keep an eye on you. He’s good at that. Aren’t you, Cal?”
“She doesn’t like hunting,” he said tightly.
“She can learn,” Odessa said, with aggressive cheer.
“No,” he growled, harsh and grating.
Nadine looked between the two of them as if she were watching a tennis match, though from the worry on her face it was clear she thought she was the cause of their fight.
And it was, but not in the way that she thought. She had no fucking idea that they were arguing about her life right in front of her. That Odessa, who she felt safest with, was arguing for her violent initiation into the family fold.
His sister noticed Nadine’s crestfallen expression and her own face shifted, softening. This time, he thought it looked almost genuine. “I feel like I’ve barely gotten to know you at all. Ever since you came here, you’ve been hiding. You’ve spent more time with people in town than you have with us, Nadine, and we’re practically family. Sisters, even. At least, we could be.”
The light in Nadine’s eyes went out at the word ‘sisters.’ Her withdrawal was nearly a physical act of remove and Odessa saw it—he saw her see it, and he could tell from the spiteful cast of her features that she took it as a personal rejection.
“You were at The Blue Bar last night, weren’t you? I haven’t been there in a while myself.”Liar, Cal thought. “Not since I saw Carol spit in my drink because she’s friends with that wretched Helena. But Cal was there, too, last night. Did you see him there?” Her smile was like a fox’s.
Nadine flushed darker. “I—”
His sister nodded sagely, taking discomfort as assent. “He did some pro bono work for a few people around town when he was just starting out, so now they hate him just a little bit less than they do us. I’m sure they think they’re being quite generous, not spitting in his drinks. And all he had to do,” she scoffed, “was work for free.”
Nadine turned towards him. “I didn’t know you did, uh, pro bono.”
“Well, you wouldn’t, would you?” his sister purred. “It goes against their agenda that we’re all evil.” Drink forgotten, she leaned both elbows on the varnished table in a way that would have had their mother wincing. “And speaking of agendas, what were you talking about with our city manager? Rael said you were hanging out with Deena.”
“I met her at the civic center while getting some books,” Nadine stammered. “We were just having a drink.”
Odessa picked at her nails with the same studied focus that a blacksmith might use to sharpen a blade. “It’s just a little odd that you would call one of my brothers a murderer and then have a secret meeting with one of our so-called government officialsandthe son of the sheriff.”
That’s enough, Cal mouthed forbiddingly. Throwing the suspicion on the dead woman’s sister was cruel, especially when her back was already up against the wall.
“It wasn’t a secret meeting,” she said, with heartbreaking desperation. “We were literally in public—and isn’t Raelyourfriend?”
Cal, behind her now, picked up a strand of her hair and tugged at it, making her stiffen to attention. “You seemed pretty cozy with him the other night.”
None of the tension left her shoulders, but when she spoke, her agitation had a slightly different flavor. “Why does it matter, anyway? Are you having me watched?”
Odessa watched the two of them with interest, the lights of the kitchen dancing in her restless, eager eyes. “Well, well.” Her eyes dropped to his hand, where it lay possessively on Nadine’s shoulder. “What’s this? Are you planning on taking her with you, after all?”
“No.” It was a cold lie and he felt a small flinch pass through her shoulders as he drew his thumb along the rise of her collarbone. “It’s just a little harmless fun.”
“You’ve hurt her feelings,” Odessa said, looking at her. “Shewantsto be your little deer.”
“She looks more like a sparrow than a deer.” Cal gave Nadine’s shoulder a squeeze, hoping she’d recognize it as the combination of warning and reassurance that it was meant to be. “I have to go meet another client. I’ll be back later for the candles. Stayoutof my office. I’ll know if you’ve been in there.”
“His office.” Odessa’s voice curled after him like smoke. “You know JD stands for Jackass Duty?” she called out, but he didn’t bother to respond or linger to hear the rest.
Nothing his sister said had been anything less than correct, but he had come terrifyingly close to losing control in front of the two of them.
???????
He hoped the drive would cool him down but the commute wasn’t exactly ideal even in optimal conditions and the storm slashed visibility down to a miserable fifty feet. Cal got as far as Rural Route 106 before encountering a rockslide. Then he swore involuntarily. The southbound pass—the only way down the mountain—was completely blocked off, rangers and sheriffs crawling over the debris like orange-vested ants as they took in the damage.
A man in a Carhartt rain jacket motioned for him to roll down his window. As soon as he did, water gusted into the car. “Road’s closed,” the ranger said, holding his walkie-talkie at his hip like a gun. “Afraid you’ll have to turn back. Nobody’s getting out of here for a while.”
He made a gesture at one of the other men. Other cars were beginning to build up behind Cal’s. “What caused it?” he demanded.
The other man shrugged. “Trees are charred. Could have been dry lightning. It happens sometimes. Especially in weather like this.” He slapped the roof of Cal’s car for emphasis, hurrying him along like he was some greenhorn city boy fresh off the cross-county bus.
