“It's nothing.”
“That's a sling, Dustin. Did you drive all the way herewith a sling on?” She sounded as if she wanted to ask if he was insane but didn't because she already knew the answer to that question.
“I dislocated my shoulder. It's already been fixed.”
“How did you manage that?”
“It was no big deal, really.”
Cathy studied him for a moment longer, then she stepped aside. “Well, come in.”
CHAPTER 28
Cathy led them into the kitchen.
Dustin and Greg sat at the table while Cathy poured coffee without asking if they wanted any. Black for herself, a splash of milk for Dustin. She shot a questioning glance at Greg.
“Cream or sugar?” she asked.
“A lot of sugar,” Greg said. He sat in Tyler's chair, but Dustin didn't mention this. Neither did Cathy, as she dropped the sugar in Greg's coffee.
“Thank you.” Greg accepted the coffee with a smile. “Sugar's the only way to make the coffee at work taste like anything.”
“Oh?” Cathy asked. “Where do you work?”
Dustin intervened before Greg could say anything involving the wordsreaper,HQ, orliminal office space. “He's a reporter. For a sports magazine. He's doing a profile on me and wanted to talk to my family.”
It was the first lie that came to mind, and it was a terrible choice, because it required Greg to act like areporter, which required Greg to act normal, which required Greg to be an entirely different person.
“Which magazine?” Cathy asked, sitting with them.
“Outside Edge,” Dustin said, pulling a name from thin air.
Cathy looked at Greg. “You work for Outside Edge.”
“Yes.” Greg's voice went up half an octave. “I do. I work there. At the magazine.”
“What do you do there?”
“I'm um…” Greg turned his mug between his hands. “ I'm a writer… of articles. About sports. Outdoor sports, I mean. The kind that happen outside.”
Cathy sipped her coffee. “How long have you been a journalist?” she asked.
“A long time. Several...” Greg seemed to be calculating how long was plausible. “...years.”
Cathy set her mug down. She looked at Dustin with the expression he knew too well — the one that saidI raised you and your brother and I've heard every lie two teenage boys are capable of producing and you really thought this would work?
“Try again,” she said.
“Mom—”
“That man is not a reporter. He's holding a clipboard, not a notebook and he's looking at my kitchen like he's never been inside a house before.” She turned back to Greg. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Greg said miserably.
“So.” Cathy folded her arms on the table. “You drove all the way here with a dislocated shoulder to bring me a man who isn't a reporter, and you won't tell me who he actually is. And all of that after the talk we had last night. What is going on?”
The kitchen was very quiet.
