Rattlesnake (11 page)

Shane crossed his arms and bent closer to her. “Tomorrow is Wednesday and you have to work.” As an aside to Jimmy, he said, “She teaches fifth grade.” Then he faced his sister again. “Why are you here?”

“I’m thirsty. I’d like a Diet Coke, please.”

With a scowl, Shane filled a glass. He set it down hard enough to slosh a little over the edge, and he didn’t clean it up right away. He threw a paper-wrapped straw in her direction. “Aunt Belinda called you, didn’t she?”

Charlie sighed loudly. “We only want to—”

“I am a grown man,” he said in a low growl. “And I don’t need a fucking babysitter!” An angry flush had bloomed on his cheeks, but Charlie didn’t look the least bit cowed.

“I’m not
babysitting
, Shane. You know it’s only ’cause we care about you.”

Shane looked so furious that Jimmy expected steam to come out his ears. And although Jimmy didn’t really understand what the fight was about, he knew for sure it had something to do with him. He stood. “Look. I think I’d better—”

“Stay here!” Shane snapped at him. And then added, much more softly, “Sorry. I like having you here. Don’t let my interfering relatives chase you away. Please.”

Jimmy nodded slightly and sat back down.

With the acid back in his tone, Shane pointed at Charlie. “You want to give the poor guy the third degree? Go ahead. But he doesn’t have to tell you anything,
Charlotte
. It’s none of your business. And if you scare him away….” He clamped his mouth shut, and for a second Jimmy thought Shane was going to cry.

“Shane…,” Charlie said, sounding sad and slightly resigned.

But Shane just gave a savage headshake before looking at Jimmy. “She’s going to tell you I’m all fucked up. I guess I should have told you myself before now. Maybe you guessed some of it already, the way I drag myself around like a goddamn walking corpse.”

Jimmy reached over to cover Shane’s hand and give a quick squeeze. “I don’t think you’re fucked up at all.”

“I am, though,” Shane whispered. “She’ll tell you.” He gently pulled his hand away and then limped to the far end of the room.

Jimmy tried not to fidget under Charlie’s scrutiny. But when she didn’t say anything, he let out a long breath. “About a year ago, I was in Wyoming. Some town about the same size as Rattlesnake, I bet. I had about ten dollars in my pocket and that was it. A late storm hit. One of those bastards that starts out as a thunderstorm before changing its mind and turning into a blizzard. A man could die in conditions like that, easily. And I didn’t have a place to stay.”

She still hadn’t said a word to him, but she was listening. He could tell. He chewed on a couple of pieces of popcorn and chased them with the coffee that had replaced his empty sarsaparilla bottle. She twitched a little, like she was dying to ask what happened next, and he had to suppress a grin.

“I tried everywhere, but most of the businesses close early in a place like that, and pretty soon even the bars shut on account of the weather. Sometimes there’s a bus station for shelter, but not there. They had a single crappy old motel out by the highway, but they wouldn’t give me a room, not even when I promised to work real hard for them the next day. And I would’ve too. I tried to hitch a ride, but nobody was fool enough to drive in that snow, and the town didn’t even have a police station where I could beg a few hours of warmth. I got so desperate that I even knocked on a few doors, but not a single person would let me in. Not one. And I got so cold I got a little confused and I couldn’t walk right. When I fell, I couldn’t stand back up again.”

Another sip of his cooling coffee. He glanced across the room, where Shane was pointedly ignoring them, repeatedly wiping a table that was perfectly clean.

“When I woke up, I was in the hospital. I ended up spending a couple of days there, and the docs said I was lucky I didn’t get frostbite. I was also lucky some idiot went out in the storm and found me before I died of hypothermia.”

After a long silence, she cracked. “What’s your point?”

“My point is that I’m a lucky man. This morning my car quit on me. And even though I wasn’t in nearly such a bad situation as I was back in Wyoming, Shane stepped in and gave me a hand. Found me a job and a place to stay. Your brother is a good man.”

“I know that,” she said. She played with her straw for a moment before looking at him again. “Why are you here?”

“I was passing through. My car broke down. Shane offered to find me this gig.”

“And how did you meet Shane?”

He considered telling her it had been an online hookup, but thought better of it. She didn’t look in any mood to appreciate a joke. “I had some coffee here last night. This morning I was having breakfast at Mae’s and he shared my table. We got to talking.”

“Where did you sleep last night?”

Jimmy imagined that she was a tough teacher and that her students never got away with passing notes or cheating on tests. “In my car.”

Her expression might have softened a tiny bit, but she didn’t relent. “And what do you want?”

“That’s a pretty deep philosophical question, isn’t it? Right now, nothing much. A warm bed, a place to shower, a job to keep me busy.”
And to fuck your brother
, he didn’t add. “But if you don’t mind me asking, what business is it of yours? As Shane pointed out, he’s an adult. Why’s the whole family getting up in his business?”

At first she didn’t answer. She fiddled with the straw wrapper for a bit, glancing every now and then at Shane, who was now chatting with a couple of customers. Then she sighed again, very deeply. “He was in a car accident. It was… almost ten years ago now, I guess. But it was really bad. They thought he was going to die.”

Ridiculously, her statements made Jimmy’s stomach clench. “But he didn’t,” he pointed out.

“No. But he was all messed up. Rehab took a long time, a lot of surgeries, and the doctors said he’d never heal completely. He’s always going to limp, and… he doesn’t complain, but I know he’s in pain. That’s never going to go away. He had to give up working on the ranch, and he loved that place so much.”

Gently, Jimmy said, “I’m not going to break him.”

Charlie shook her head. “No, that’s not…. He had a head injury too. A
brain
injury. He was in a coma, and when he woke up….” Her voice almost broke, but she got control of it. She was a tough woman. Strong. “He could hardly do anything when he woke up. He had to relearn so much. And he’s come a long way. But he still has seizures every once in a while. Bad ones. And he has… the doctors call them cognitive deficits.”

“He’s not stupid.”

“No, he’s not. And he used to love to read. But he can’t process written information very well. Learning new things is tough for him too. And sometimes his judgment isn’t so great. I worry that maybe he’s a little too trusting.” She swiveled on her stool to look Jimmy straight in the face. “We love him, and we want him to be happy and well. But there are a lot of us, mister, and every one of us will fight like hell to make sure he doesn’t get hurt. You understand?”

“Yeah.” And knowing that Shane had a fierce army on his side made Jimmy’s heart ache with relief and longing. “And I can promise you now, I have no intention of hurting him. I’m a drifter, a man of no account. You’ve figured that out already. But I’m not dangerous. I’m truly not.”

She had no reason to believe him and she still didn’t smile, but the angle of her shoulders softened just a little. She wiped her mouth with her hand.

“I’m gonna tell you something else,” Jimmy said. “I’m not educated. But I’ve seen a lot of things. And if you don’t mind my saying so, I know men. Your brother’s strong and prideful. I suspect it runs in the family. You have to give him room to make some mistakes. If you smother him with concern, you’re gonna end up driving him away or just plain breaking him. He sure as hell doesn’t deserve that.”

Shane had given up all pretense of disinterest. He leaned against the far wall, between the big front windows, and watched them. He was twisting the life out of his towel.

Something thawed in Charlie, just a little bit. She blinked rapidly a few times and exhaled loudly. “I have to go. If there’s one thing you don’t want to do, it’s face a room of ten-year-olds when you’re exhausted.” She dug in her purse for a wallet, extricated a five-dollar bill, and set it on the counter. Then she hefted the purse over her shoulder and stood. “Thank you for talking to me tonight, Jimmy. I’m sorry I wasn’t nicer.”

“You love your brother. I understand. He’s lucky to have you.”

Charlie detoured by Shane as she left. They spent a moment or two in quiet conversation, but Shane’s eyes never left Jimmy, and the anxious expression never lifted from his face. As soon as she was gone, he hurried over.

“You have quite a family,” Jimmy said. He was more than a little envious. “I have the feeling you all have a little of Rattlesnake Murray in you.”

“She didn’t have to come here.”

“No, she didn’t. But I guess she felt otherwise. I’ve heard that love can make people see the world real funny.”

Shane looked away, his jaw working, and then turned his head back. “You haven’t taken off running.”

“I’m feeling pretty comfortable where I am.”

“But she told you—”

“She told me you got banged up some, a while back. I could’ve figured that much out myself.”

Shane traced the scars on his face. “Yeah. They think I’m stupid, Jimmy.”

“No.” Jimmy caught his wrist. “They came really close to losing you and they’re scared it’s going to happen again. It’s like… I knew this man once. A bum like me. But he had a dog. Just a mutt, I guess, but he loved that mutt like anything. She was his whole life. She didn’t have a leash or anything, but she always followed him real close. No matter how hungry he was, he’d always feed his dog first, even if it meant the man went without. He probably hadn’t seen a doctor in years, but if that dog so much as coughed, he’d find a vet clinic and spend his last dime getting her seen to. And then one day he got busted for vagrancy or some shit like that, and when the cops took him in, they just left his dog there. He got out of jail the next day, but she was gone. He was about ready to throw himself in front of a train. He spent days combing the streets for her, asking every person he passed.”

“Did he find her?” Shane asked.

“Yeah, he did. She was in the animal shelter. He had a hard time getting them to release her to him, but I guess they finally saw how desperate he was and they let her go. And the first thing he did was buy a leash, a real strong one. He wrapped the end of the leash around his fist and never let it go, not for one second.”

Shane looked a little bemused. “I’m that dog?”

“When someone comes
that
close to losing something they love so much, that’s not something they’re going to forget. They’re going to stick close. They’re going to hold it tight.” He held up a clenched fist in demonstration.

Shane took that fist and gently unfolded it to reveal an empty hand. “What do you hold tight to?” he asked.

Jimmy grinned. “Nothing.”

After that Shane refilled Jimmy’s coffee and returned to his bartending duties. He still smiled at the customers, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Jimmy’s stories were the only things that brightened him a bit—tales about a fishing boat in Alaska that nearly capsized, a state fair where Jimmy had sold fried Twinkies, and an old lady in New York who’d banged on a taxi’s hood with her purse when the cab had tried to turn the corner.

But Jimmy hadn’t slept well the night before, and it had been an eventful day. Even the coffee didn’t keep his eyelids from growing heavy. He took some money from his wallet and set it on the counter, then stood. “I’m gonna turn in.”

Shane picked up the bills and stuffed them into Jimmy’s pocket, making Jimmy laugh and squirm. “Nonbooze drinks are on the house,” Shane said. “It’s a perk of the job.”

“Says you or Aunt Belinda?”

The sparkle finally returned to Shane’s eyes. “Says the bartender. Aunt Belinda never needs to know.”

“Your own sister had to pay for her Coke.”

“She’s not an employee.” He leaned in close enough to whisper in Jimmy’s ear. “Are you
sure
you need to go to sleep now?”

Jimmy’s dick woke up and took notice. “Why? What did you have in mind? More teasing?”

“Maybe just a little. But you didn’t hightail it out of here after Charlie dug her claws into you, and I think your persistence needs rewarding.” His whisper was almost a purr.

“I think… I could stay up for a while. If the reward was right.” Actually, staying up was not a problem. Uncomfortably tight jeans were.

“I don’t close until one, and then it takes me a little while to shut down. I’ll come to your room. I have a master key and I can let myself in. If that’s all right.”

“That’s definitely all right.”

Shane grinned and snuffled at Jimmy’s hair. “Good.”

But Jimmy had a sudden thought. “Um, do you have rubbers? Because—”

“Yes.” He chuckled. “Sometimes guests leave them behind. Unused ones, still in their packages and all. And Grisel and Candy—they’re the maids—when they find them, they give them to me. It’s sort of a running joke. I have quite a collection.” He winked. “I’ll bring a few.”

Fuck.

W
ALKING
A
little stiffly, Jimmy left the bar. Belinda was gone from the lobby, replaced by a doughy young man with wisps of blond hair, who was reading a paperback. He looked up at Jimmy.

“You’re James Dorsett,” the kid announced, not sounding particularly interested.

“Jimmy, yeah. Belinda told you about me?”

“She said you’re working and living here. For now.”

“Yep.”

The kid nodded. “She said if something breaks at night and it’s important, I should wake you up to fix it.”

Fair enough. “Okay. And you are?”

“Frank. I’m the night desk clerk,” he added unnecessarily.

“Are you a relative of Shane’s too?”