Bowen:No. Stay and support W. I’ll be at V&V.
When I walk into the bar, it’s bustling. Auden is working and sees me from across the room. He smiles and calls out. “Here to bust up the place on your days off too?”
“Ignore him,” Molly says as she wanders by with a tray full of drinks and stops. “You look like you need a quiet place and a drink. Booth is open at the back over there.”
She tips her head toward the last booth, and I give her a tight but appreciative smile. “Thanks.”
Auden’s face falls as he watches me go. I know he’s just joking around, but I’m not in the right head space for it. I shrug out of my suit jacket and throw it and myself into the booth, with my back to the rest of the bar. I put my elbows on the table, rubbing my face with my hands. Suddenly there’s a beer in front of me, but the hand putting it there is much wider and has hairier knuckles than Molly’s hand. I look up and it’s Auden. He gives me a sheepish smile. “This one’s on me. For being a jackass.”
“You’re not,” I reply. “I’m just having a shit night.”
“Well, then it’s definitely on me,” Auden replies, his hands on his hips just above his kilt. “And seriously, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.” My smile is less tight this time. “Also, thanks for the rush job on the posters.”
“I had a brief chat with Woody when he came in to pick them up,” Auden tells me. “I like his ideas for this city. He’s got my vote.”
I smile and it’s less tight this time. “Thanks.”
Auden nods and heads back to the bar. My phone buzzes in my pocket and I hope against hope it’s my sister saying the party ended. But it’s not.
Chase:I still have things to say to you.
I put my beer down and type.
Bowen:Tell me at the next band practice, buddy.
And then I turn off my phone.
11
CHASE
I know this is borderline insane behavior but that still doesn’t stop me from pulling into the long driveway that leads up to the Whitlock farm. I glance at the clock on the dash of my car. It’s a quarter to midnight. Yep, definitely not an appropriate hour for an unexpected visit. But that’s not going to stop me.
I get out of the car and march toward the house. It’s a modest white farmhouse with a peaked metal roof and an inviting wrap-around porch. There’s a bench swing on one side of the front door and two wooden rocking chairs on the other. The matte black door is also flanked on either side by two big red pots with flowers and ferns in them.
The fact that I can see lights on inside helps me find the nerve to lift the brass knocker on the door. A few seconds later I hear footsteps and a small thud and then Autumn’s eyes appear in the tiny glass window at the top of the door. She blinks, and then her pale strawberry blonde eyebrows pinch together and I know she’s scowling. His sister doesn’t like me much. I deserve that, a little… or maybe a lot depending on how much she knows. Either way, it still sucks.
The door opens. Autumn is standing there, next to a chair she must have brought over to reach the little window at the top of the door, in sweats and a T-shirt that says ‘Book Boyfriends Do it Better’. “If this is some late night canvassing for Ms. Baldwin, we’ve already decided who we are voting for, thanks.”
She starts to close the door, but I put my hand on it to stop her. “I am so sorry to bother you so late, but I have to speak with your brother.”
“Which one?” she asks tersely, raising an eyebrow.
“Bowen.”
Now both her eyebrows are up, like angry cats that see something they hate. I keep my hand on the smooth wood of the door, because I’m pretty sure she’ll shut it in my face if I don’t. After a few seconds caught in a stare down I don’t think I’m winning, she takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. “Go around the back. He’s out there fussing with Bert and Ernie.”
“Okay…” I don’t know who or what Bert and Ernie are, but I finally let her slam the door in my face. I’m picturing Bowen playing with puppets from the kids show as I make my way around the house and I almost smile.
There’s a light glowing from a small shed situated to the left of the house. I assume that’s where he is and make my way there. The ground is soggy and muddy in spots and probably ruining my pricey dress shoes, but I honestly don’t care. I knock on the slightly open door, which is one of those sliding wooden ones. The shed looks like a newer addition to the farm, and handmade. The light inside is incredibly bright. I blink as Bowen yells. “Come in.”
He looks over his shoulder and when he sees me, his shoulders tighten and his jaw flexes and his expression grows cool. “What are you doing here?”
“I told you I needed to tell you something.”
“I told you to talk to me at band practice.”
