Why are you living with my son? he seemed to want to say.
“You like to fish?” I asked him.
Jim nodded. I couldn't help but wonder if Mark had so much to say because he felt that he had to fill the silences his dad may leave behind.
Mark tossed the phone back to his dad. “Thanks, Dad. Good to see you. Need anything?”
“Nope.”
And just like that, we were back in the truck, rumbling back toward the highway. Jim disappeared inside with a brief wave, and I blinked.
Wow. That was . . .
“What?”
Mark asking the question made me realize I'd spoken out loud. “Oh.” I shook my head. “Sorry, I . . . I'm just . . . that was so quick.”
He shrugged as he flipped on the blinker and turned toward the highway. Cars whizzed past. The Zombie Mobile needed a lot of land to get its slow engine up to speed, so he had to wait for several minutes. On our way here, he'd driven on the side of the road to get going fast enough.
“I see him pretty often,” Mark said as we chugged along in a break of traffic. “He actually wanted to live at Adventura because of the river running through the canyon, but the fish aren't great there.”
“Really?”
He laughed. “Really. Fishing is his life right now.”
“You could have just called him.”
“Yeah, but I like to see him. He doesn't get a lot of human interaction since the divorce. Doesn't really want it, to be honest, but he loves to see us.”
Divorce. I filed that away in my head for later. Something I hadn't known.
He glanced back at me. “You don't visit your parents for short periods of time through the week?”
“No. They're dead.”
“What?”
His shocked cry gave me a sense of relief. Most people were awkward at moments like that, and I always ended up attempting to soothe them for what happened in my life. At least Mark owned his surprise.
“When I was five.” My breath whooshed out of me. “They were in a car accident. I don't remember much. Grandma raised me. We had already been living with her for a while, which made it a lot easier at first.”
“Bet she's amazing to turn out someone like you.”
I grinned with my whole face. “Yeah. She totally is.”
Mark's gaze darted to mine and back to the road several times before finally focusing again. I cleared my throat to soften a sudden tension in the air.
“So, Camilo?” I asked and turned slightly to face him.
Mark laughed. “Yeah, probably a dead end, but I'll pursue it out. There are a few other options that we're going to chase in town, but they're in neighborhoods. You'll be out of the way of town so no one has to see you.”
“It's not that extreme, Mark.”
“Not yet,” he said easily as if running from your boss and his twisted attraction was so normal. Still, I appreciated his attention to these sordid details of my life. It made it seem more real because some days I still couldn't wrap my head around this being a thing.
I couldn't help but feel a bit intrigued with what I had already seen of his plan. I'd always seen the results of Mark's attempt to salvage his life back together, never the actual grasping for straws. Seeing him in his element—which appeared to be uncertainty—was a whole new game. Although I still felt uncomfortable with all the murky details, I couldn't help but wonder if maybe he knew exactly what he was doing.
In the end, I didn't ask, because I wasn't sure I wanted to know.
12 Mark
The next morning, I stood just outside my cabin home and frowned. Nestled amongst broken pine cones, pebbles, and a few slivers of pine needles lay a subtle set of tracks. They marched past the cabin, about three feet away from the door.
“Kitty cat,” I murmured. “What are you doing here?”
At one point, the cougar seemed to have stopped, started toward the porch, then decided against it and veered away. A bit too bold for my liking. I grabbed my phone, thinking of Stella. I'd have to remind her not to leave her little closet alone at dusk or in the early morning.
Maybe we should schedule runs together. The thought of her in the mountains alone didn't sit well with me.
Mark: Seriously, Justin. Where are you? This cat is now at my place and I need your dog.
The message to Justin was sent but didn't deliver right away. My gaze narrowed. Where was he anyway? Justin spent way too much time with my sister as it was. They'd been “officially” dating for almost a year now. Plus, he rarely took Atticus with him. The dog belonged in the mountains.
Before I could text him again, a new Hearts of Fire notification popped onto the screen. Shanti. She wanted to meet up for dinner. I hesitated, thoughts settling on Stella.
Did I want to go with Shanti?
Yes. But . . . I'd rather watch another 007 movie with Stell.
As a rule, I rarely turned a woman down that seemed non-crazy and who also put effort into meeting. The women that expected me to do all the work had never been good news. Shanti was going two hours out of her way to meet me for dinner in Jackson City on her way across the country to see a friend in Seattle. We'd been writing back and forth for a few weeks now, and she always made me laugh.
Shanti: I'm still up for Mexican if you are. I'll be at the junction that takes me your way and need to know if you're still willing.
Mark: You bet. I'll send you a pin on where to meet on Maps.
Shanti: Yes! I'm excited to officially meet you tonight, Mark Bailey!
Her text was accompanied by practically 5,000 heart emojis, then the Mexican flag and what appeared to be a burrito. I sent
