“You don’t look happy.”
“I am.”She produced a smile, but it lacked brilliance.
“If you’d rather be back at the house with your father—”
“He’s with John,” she interrupted, the smile abruptly replaced by a frown.“When I left, they were arguing.They’re always doing that, Cutter.”She told him about it in a rush, then when she ran out of breath she grew quiet again.
He sensed that she felt disloyal talking about John, so he didn’t push.But she was back the next day, telling him a little more.She seemed to need the outlet, and though he didn’t have any answers for her, he got the feeling that she was pleased that he listened.
The proof of that came over the course of the next few months, when talking became a vital part of their relationship.At first it was just Pam, opening up about the situation at home.Cutter wasn’t one to open up; he’d been keeping his thoughts to himself for as long as he could remember.But she began to ask about his life, pointed questions that were like a step-by-step guide to the art of confession.Coming from anyone else, those questions would have made him suspicious.Coming from Pam, they weren’t offensive.Just as she trusted him, he’d come to trust her.
“I heard Leroy telling Rufus about something that happened at the mine yesterday.You were there, Cutter.They said that you were talking right up.Was it bad?”
Cutter shrugged.“It turned out okay.”
“What happened?”
“Jethro fell.He’s okay.”
“But he wasn’t at first.Rufus said he couldn’t get up.Poor Jethro.He doesn’t walk so well.Was it his legs again?”
“He has arthritis pretty bad.Once he’s up and standing, he’s okay.It’s getting there that’s the problem.”
“So what happened yesterday?”
Cutter recalled the incident only too well.Tightly, he said, “Simon and John were walking by.Jethro was sitting down, taking a rest.Simon doesn’t usually say anything when he does that, because he still does his work.But John was there, so Simon complained.Jethro hurried to stand up.He lost his footing and fell.”
“You helped him up.”
“Rufus said that?”
“And that you said something to Simon.”
“Well, hell, it wasn’t right,” Cutter argued.“Old Jethro tries.He does the best he can.He’s there at work every morning and stays till the end of the day, and he’s good.I’ve never seen him crack a stone.Eugene knows he isn’t feeling good.So does Simon.And they’re usually pretty easy on him.So now, all of a sudden, Simon yells.And John picks up on it and says that he shouldn’t be working there.Right in front of him.So I told Simon that Jethro knew more about mining tourmaline than anyone but Eugene, and that he was the one who told us all what to do when Simon was out on another coffee break.”He snickered.“Simon didn’t much like my saying that.”
“But he’d never fire you.”
“He might, but not for that.Because I was right.And he knew Eugene would agree with me.Jethro’s been working for Eugene even longer than Simon has.So now his legs’re bothering him.What’s he supposed to do?He’s not trained for anything else, and anyway, no one would hire him.He’s too old.But he still has to eat.”
Pam’s eyes were large.“Did you say all that to Simon?”
“No way.He was looking annoyed enough from my comment about the coffee.And John was standing right there,” having already made a comment about Cutter’s minding his own business.“I wasn’t pushing my luck.”
“You don’t like John?”
Of all the questions she’d asked, that was the hardest to answer.He wanted to say a resounding no, but he still had to keep in mind that John was Pam’s brother.She didn’t like him, herself; she’d made that clear, but he shouldn’t be the one doing the bad-mouthing.If she were his age or older, it might have been different.But she was just a kid.
So he shrugged and said, “John’s okay.”
“You like him?”she asked in disbelief, and the issue suddenly became one of Cutter’s credibility.
“I didn’t say that.I said he’s okay.He’s not around too much.And besides, it’s not my job to like him or not like him.He’s your brother.He’s my boss’s son.He is my boss in a way.”
“But how can you like him?”
“I don’t like him,” he shot back defensively, which went to prove, he realized later, that he was putty in Pam’s hands.
She breathed a sigh of relief and said, sounding far older than her years, “I’m glad to hear that.I was beginning to think I was the only one who hated him so much.”
