Rain Gods (Hackberry Holland 2)

?Put your coat and hat on. Take my gloves.?

?I?ve never seen it this cold this time of year.?

?I?ll get your coffee. Where are your boots??

?What?s going on, Jack??

Preacher lowered his voice. ?I want to give you your money now. Don?t wake up Molo and Angel. Nor the woman.?

?You?re really taking her with us??

?What did you think I was going to do??

?Shoot your wad and get it out of your system??

Preacher was squatting, balancing on his

haunches. He looked at the fire curling and then flattening under the tin coffeepot he had set on the refrigerator grille propped across a ring of blackened rocks. His eyes were as empty as glass in the firelight, his shoulders poking through his suit coat. ?Coarseness toward women doesn?t behoove a man, son.?

?You slept in the tent with her?? Bobby Lee said, pulling on his boots.

?No, I wouldn?t do that, not unless I was invited.?

?She invited us to kidnap her? You?re one for the books, Jack.? Bobby Lee climbed out of the tent, pulling on a black sheep-lined leather coat that was spiderwebbed with cracks. ?Where?s the spendolies??

Preacher placed a finger to his lips and began walking up the compacted footpath to the cave opening in the side of the mountain, his body bent slightly forward into the incline, his right hand hooked through the bail of a battery-powered lantern. He glanced back at the large tent where the two Mexican killers slept, then smiled enigmatically at Bobby Lee. ?The freshness of the predawn hour has no equivalent,? he said. When he stepped inside the cave, the darkness enveloped him like a cloak.

?Jack?? Bobby Lee said.

?In here,? Preacher said, turning on the lantern, which gave off a glow that was gray and dim and created wispy shadows on the cave walls.

Bobby Lee sat down on a rock and watched Preacher pull a suitcase from behind a wood pallet that he sometimes dried his clothes on.

?I promised you ten percent. That?s twenty thousand dollars,? Preacher said, squatting to unlatch the suitcase. ?Looks nice bundled in rubber bands, doesn?t it? What are you going to do with all that money, Bobby Lee??

?I?m thinking about leasing a building in Key West and starting up an interior decorating business there. The place is full of rich fudge-packers building condos.?

?I?ve got a question to ask you,? Preacher said. ?Remember when you told me you and Liam had been talking about my health, about what I ate and didn?t eat, that sort of thing? I just cain?t quite get that image out of my head. Why would you two be so concerned about my food intake? It seems a peculiar subject for young fellows to have any investment in. Wouldn?t you say so??

?I don?t even remember what we were talking about.? Bobby Lee yawned, his eyes going out of focus with fatigue. He turned his face to the cold air puffing through the cave entrance. ?The stars are beautiful over those bluffs.?

?I don?t talk about what you eat and drink, Bobby Lee. It?s of no consequence to me. So why would you and Liam be having these discussions about my diet??

Bobby Lee shook his head. ?It?s too early in the morning for this stuff.?

?You?ve always been loyal to me, Bobby Lee. You have, haven?t you? No temptations, so to speak??

?I?ve modeled my life on you.?

?Can you see the little crack of light in the east? It?s behind those thunderheads. A little rip in all that blackness. Our pilot is going to fly us right through that hole into the sunlight. Then we?ll make a wide turn to the south and cross into Mexico and fly all the way to the ocean. This afternoon we?ll be eating pineapple and mangoes on a beach and watch people race horses in the surf. But first you have to tell me the truth, or our relationship will remain permanently damaged. We cain?t allow that to happen, boy.?

?Truth about what? How?d I damage our relationship??

?You were plotting with Liam to hurt me, Bobby Lee. People are frail. They get scared and betray their friends. I forgive you for it. You thought you?d go where the smart bet was. But you?ve got to own up to it. Otherwise I can only conclude you think I?m a stupid man. You think I?ll abide someone letting on like I?m a stupid man??

?You?re not stupid, Jack.?

?Then what am I??