We buckle our seatbelts and Joshua automatically reaches over to turn on the radio. Soon music floods the cab, and I don’t worry about carrying on a conversation. When my son is zoned out with his music, it would be useless anyway.
As I drive down the road to home, I think back on seeing Gavin again after all of these years. I knew when Ben reached out to the FBI that Gavin coming back to Stone Lake was a possibility. I still found myself hoping they would send someone else. I didn’t want to see him again. I didn’t want to remember.
Not that I ever really forgot, but I at least manage to keep those memories locked away most of the time. That’s definitely going to be harder to do with him staying in town for the immediate future. I need him gone—like yesterday. It’s funny how life changes things. Once upon a time, I prayed Gavin would never leave Stone Lake. Damn irony… it can definitely bite you in the ass.
Gavin
“Have you almost finished?” Dern asks.
I don’t respond, mostly because I can’t. My lungs are burning. I’ve been punching this damn bag for hours and that’s after running on the treadmill. I’ve got so much anger inside of me that I can’t seem to get rid of it. I figure at this point I may keel over from a heart attack, but that doesn’t stop me. Maybe then, I can shut off the rage.
Dern throws a hotel towel at me, and I’m forced to stop my punches to catch it.
“Don’t you have a bottle to climb into?” I mumble into the thick white fabric as I wipe the sweat from my face. That was a shitty thing to say, and Dern doesn’t deserve it. Just because I’m pissed, I shouldn’t be an asshole. I know it, but just the same, I don’t take the words back.
“Stone Lake doesn’t sell alcohol on Sundays. Not even a damn beer. I didn’t know places like this still existed,” Dern mutters disgustedly.
If I wasn’t still pissed, I’d laugh.
“How’d you find me?” I ask, frowning as he hands me a bottle of water. I take it, twisting the cap and taking a large gulp without thought.
“When you weren’t in your room or the bar, I figured I’d find you in the hotel gym. You’re a creature of habit, and I’m an agent for a reason,” he says, and I shrug because he’s right. “I take it you’ve seen Luna Marshall.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because you’re beating the shit out of the punching bag, and you’re looking at it like you wish it was someone’s face.”
“Not Luna’s. You know me better than that.” I’d never hit Luna, and I don’t like even the insinuation that I would.
“Wasn’t thinking that, boy. Figured maybe her husband,” he assures me, sitting down on a bench across from me. I study him for a minute. There isn’t an asshole alive that I’d let call me boy except for Dern. I owe him more than I could ever repay.
“She’s not married, or at least I don’t think she is. I didn’t really ask.”
“Then what’s going on in your head?”
“She’s got a kid…”
“Hate to break it to you, but that’s to be expected it’s been fifteen years.”
“It’s been thirteen, but yeah, you’re right. It’s just… Fuck, Dern, she lived with Atticus.”
He lets out a long whistle in response and for some reason I’d like to ram my fist in his mouth to stop it. Instead I take another drink of water.
“Would have figured the girl had better taste than that shit show.”
“I never really told her how bad Atticus was. I never really told anyone but you.”
“Why? Don’t you think it would have been good for her to know how fucking twisted that kid could be?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t want her to think I was threatened by her friendship with him and hell, maybe I was trying to protect her. Luna was sheltered. I didn’t want my world to touch her or hurt her and that included Atticus.”
“Not sure that worked out for you, son.”
“I know. I was stupid. You think you know everything when you’re young,” I mutter, sitting down on the bench beside him.
“Young, dumb, and full of cum,” Dern agrees.
“Yeah,” I mutter, rubbing the back of my neck with the towel.
“Are you going to see her again?”
“I doubt I can keep from it. Seems Luna is the mayor here.”
“Well, damn.”
“Pretty much.”
“Are you going to tell her about Atticus now?”
“What would be the point? He’s dead and besides I doubt Luna would believe me anyway. I left her remember?”
“She had a choice. She chose to let you go. And for the record, I still say it was a good decision.”
“There was nothing good about that day, Dern.”
“You were young, boy. Life got harder and you had to work your ass off. If you had Luna to worry about during that time it would have been a lot harder. Her decision made it easier for you to become the man you are today.”