Souls in Peril (33 page)

She pulled up to his house and he got out. When Em
opened her door, he turned back.
“You can stay here. I
’
ll only be a minute.”

“
Is m
y outfit so embarrassing you don
’
t want me to meet your family?” She playfully crossed her arms.

“No. My mom
’
s not here. She works till nine.”

The front
screen
swung open and out stepped Tim. “Where you been, fat boy?”

“I told my mom. I don
’
t need to tell you.”

Tim stepped toward him, stopping when he saw Em coming up the front walk. “Hi. I
’
m Emma McKay. You must be JD
’
s father.”

Tim busted out laughing. “If this fat lump were my kid, I
’
d put a bullet to my head.”
Em stepped back, her face tight.
“So what
’
s a pretty young thing like you doing with fat boy here?” Tim
’
s eyes ran up and down Em several times.
Max stepped closer to her.

“
JD
and I are going running at the park.”

Tim laughed out loud. “I
’
d pay money to see that. To be honest, I
’
m surprised he
’
s got any friends after killing that entire family last month.” Max knew
what
the
jerk was up to. He
hoped to push away any friends JD might have. Max
didn
’
t know
if it was because
Tim
feared they
’
d find out the beatings he liked to give
JD
, or if
it was because he
was just plain mean and wanted to make JD
’
s life miserable. Probably both.

“JD did not kill that family. They hit a deer.” Em planted her hands on her hips. Max
smiled, he
knew the look.
Tim was going down. Before Em could say anything, Tim
’
s blond friend rounded the corner spoiling the moment. Max
ran in
side
and
change
d
quickly.
Tim drove away as he stepped
back
out the door.

“Who is that guy anyway?”
Em asked.

“Sorry, I should have introduced you.”

“Ah, so not a problem. The guy
’
s a . . .” She grimaced.

“Scumbag?” Max shook his head. “No. He has to work his way up to scumbag. And it will take a lot of work for him to reach it from where he is.”

“Does he live here?” she asked as they got back in the car.

“Yes. He
’
s my mom
’
s boyfriend.”

“
Then
who
’
s the blond woman he left with
?”

“I
’
m not a hundred percent sure, but I think that
’
s his
other
girlfriend.”

Em
’
s pretty eyes popped open wide. “Why does your mother stay with him then?”

“Not sure.
The guy
’
s downright mean, too. He
’
s got a nasty temper. He likes to use the extension cord to get his point across.” JD tried to stop him from telling Em, but Max refused. Tim
’
s little fetish needed to be brought into the light, and JD needed to have someone to trust, especially if he hoped to detour him and Izzy from taking their lives.

“As in he hits you with it?” Em looked at him. Worry held her face. He recognized the look. He felt the same thing when he learned about JD
’
s life.

“Yup.”

“You have to tell you mother. That
’
s not right,” she said, pulling into the parking lot at Applegate Park. She positioned the car under a tall poplar for shade.

“I
’
m afraid that if she confronts him, he
’
ll hurt her too. It doesn
’
t matter, they
’
ll break up soon. She
’
s going to find out for sure about the blond. She
’
ll dump him and move on.” At least, he hoped she would. Max couldn
’
t understand why JD
’
s mom would put up with a loser like Tim. But she did, and that meant JD had to endure his punishments.

They climbed out of the Acura and
hiked
over to the running trails. Em, uncharacteristically quiet, sat on a large rock and retied her shoelaces.

“I won
’
t let it happen again, Em. My days as a punching bag are done. I swear,” Max vowed, before changing the subject. “Now, how fast do you plan on running? Because I
’
m pretty slow.”

“So am I.” Max knew that wasn
’
t true. She didn
’
t run as fast as he did, but she ran faster than JD. They decided to run two laps, and took the first one at a pretty good clip. By the second lap, Max dripped with sweat. Em slowed down, claiming a side ache, no doubt
to save JD from embarrassment.
When they reached the oak tree, Max collapsed underneath it, sprawling out in the shade.

Em sat next to him, barely winded. “I love this tree,” she said,
glanc
ing up through the branches. She scooped up some of the discarded acorns and pulled at the cracked shells. “Squirrels do too.” She laughed and tossed the empty shells aside. “Max and I spent hours under this tree. We planned out our whole lives sitting in its shade.” She
sighed
. “This spring we were going to go down to South Carolina and see the Angel Oak tree together. Are you familiar with the Angel Oak?”

“I am.” Max repeated the facts about the tree he
’
d heard her state a dozen times before. “I
’
ve seen pictures on the internet too. It
’
s pretty impressive.”

She
stood
,
rubb
ing
her hands along the rough bark. A squirrel bounded across the grass nearby and scra
m
bled up the poplar next to them. Fifteen feet up, it jumped across the short distance to the oak and climbed up to a nest held high in the branches.

“
Hey
,” Max said pointing to the nest. “Baby squirrels.” Em glanced up the tree as three smaller squirrels leapt from the nest and began playfully jumping back and forth in the branches.

“Let me guess, you have a thing for squirrels.” He nodded
.
S
he laughed. “Max loved watching the squirrels. Sometimes he
’
d
be so busy watching one run across the trail, he
’
d trip over his own two feet.” Max watched her laugh at the memory.

“I
’
ll bet he could run faster than me.”

“Yes, because Max was obsessed with running. I
’
ve never met anyone who enjoyed it as much as he did. It
’
d blow his mind if someone didn
’
t like it.” She dipped her head and under her breath and added, “Gosh, I miss him so much.” She glanced up at him and smiled. “Come on. Let
’
s go get some ice cream. My treat, except don
’
t tell my mom we got some this close to dinner. She
’
ll have a cow.”

Max jumped up and they loped to her car. “I figured you for a frozen yogurt kind of girl.”

“It
’
s alright, but not nearly as good as ice cream. Max
’
s mom always ate frozen yogurt. She was a real health nut. I felt stupid asking for ice cream around his family
,
so I
’
d eat it when I was
n
’
t
with them.”

Max wanted to smack himself in the head. He
’
d always gotten frozen yogurt too when they were on a date, because he didn
’
t want Em to think him a slacker. He
hated
frozen yogurt. He dropped his head back against the headrest, daydreaming about what kind of ice cream he would order. JD hoped for Rocky Road.
Hmm, that does sound good. Maybe we
’
ll get a double scoop.

Chapter 1
9

The next day, Max drove with Emma to the hospital to visit Izzy again. Her father left as soon as they got there for a business meeting. It didn
’
t break Max
’
s heart one bit to see him leave.

“Any pain today?” Em asked.

“Not too bad. They have me pretty doped up. I see two of you,” she giggled.

“Really?”

“No. I
’
m kidding. I only see one and a half.” This time both girls giggled.

“
So, um,
I
’
m having surgery tomorrow,” Izzy confessed to Em. It took Max by surprised. It also made him happy. It meant she
tried
reach
ing
out to Em.

“Yeah
,
I have Crohns
,
and it
’s
been unmanageable lately. They
’
re going to do an ileostomy tomorrow
to
give my bowels a rest.
” Izzy let out a hard breath
.
C
learly the risk unnerved her.

“Max
’
s aunt had that. He told me she felt a lot better afterwards.”

“Really? I
’
ve never known anyone who
’
s had it. The doctors always tell you that
everything will be better,
but I
’
m not big on doctors. I think it
’
s a shot in the dark with them sometimes.”

Em agreed. “I remember this one . . . Maybe the day before you have surgery isn
’
t a good time to share hospital horror
stories
.”

“Good point.” Max flopped into the chair, relieved he didn
’
t have to hear about blood and guts, two of his least favorite topics.

“I have to go. We are having a cheer practice in half an hour.” She turned to Max. “Do you want a ride home?”

Max glanced o
v
er at Izzy
’
s tight
features. “No. I
’
m going to stay a little longer. Thanks for bringing me here.”

“No prob.
Good luck tomorrow.” She squeeze
d
Izzy
’
s hand
.

“Thanks. Oh, Emma, please don
’
t tell anyone about the surgery. It
’
s kind of embarrassing.” Izzy dropped her head
down
.

“You have nothing to be embarrassed about, Izzy. But I promise, I won
’
t tell anyone.” She waved and left.

“Okay, say it.” Izzy looked Max square in the eyes.

“Say what?”

“
I told you so
. You were right. She
’
s really nice.”

“Izzy, I
’
d never say I told you so.” Max shook his head. “I
’
d say
you should
’
ve have trust
ed
me
, never
I told you so
.”

She rolled her eyes. “Very funny.”

“How are you doing with all
of
this? I get the feeling you
’
re a little nervous about tomorrow.”

“
You
’
re
dead wrong,” she assured him.
“
I
’
m
extremely
nervous.” She rubbed her hands over
her face then pushed them
through her hair.