Page 39 of Clouded by Envy

“Hesayshe doesn’t like McDonald’s,” Luca piped in, “but between you and me, Bray, I know he loves it.”

“You got me, Lu. I wanted to keep the truth away, but I’ll admit the sauce in the Big Mac gets me every time,” Wes confessed with a mouthful of hamburger.

Bray finished her chicken nuggets and set the box aside. With the plastic utensils in the McDonald’s bag, she used the knife to cut them each a slice of pie.

After she had her first taste of it yesterday, she decided blueberry pie was her new favorite. And today, she realized as she swallowed the last bite, it was still going to stay that way.

Luca reached for the paper bag and stuffed his trash inside. “Wes, I’m going to go swing for a while. Is that okay?”

“Sure, Lu. We’ll be walking around if you need us.” Wes pointed at the surrounding track.

Bray watched Luca walk off to sit beside a blonde girl, and he immediately started chatting with her. So,that’swhy he wanted to go swing. Bray smiled at the cute scene, watching as he kept brushing his bangs away from one of his eyebrows.

When they had finished eating, Bray and Wes threw away their trash except for the drinks, before they walked the dirt track. She looked up and the two kites from earlier weren’t flying anymore, but a new one was in their place—a red Chinese dragon.

Turning to Wes, Bray studied him for a second. “Were you like Luca when you were younger?”

Wes stretched his neck out to glance at Luca on the swings. “With the ladies?”

She giggled and swatted his arm.

Wes chuckled softly. “Luca’s a lot more outgoing than I was. In fact, I was sort of nerdy throughout elementary and junior high.”

“What changed?” She couldn’t imagine Wes ever being nerdy.

“I grew taller, better hair—that’s about it.” He dramatically brushed a lock of hair behind his ear and smiled.

The top of Bray’s head reached his shoulder, so she supposed he was tall. She wondered why he didn’t have a woman in his life now. At first when she met him, she could understand why—he had been grumpy that first night. But now he wasn’t so bad.

“So, why don’t you have a girlfriend?”

“Hmm?” he asked as he took a sip of his soda, smiling as he drank.

“Shut up, you heard me.”

Still smiling, he pulled the drink away from his mouth. “You don’t want to hear about my non-existent romantic life.”

“I do.” She really did.

“Well … in high school I dated around, but my first year of college I had a serious girlfriend. Once my grandpa passed away, though, I didn’t have time for it—or for her—from trying to get everything settled with Luca. She didn’t quite understand that.” He shrugged.

“What a jerk.” Bray didn’t understand who wouldn’t want to be around Luca.

“In her defense, when we started dating I didn’t have a kid, but then suddenly I did, and we were both only nineteen.” Bray still didn’t understand. She was twenty now, which wasn’t much older, and didn’t find it a big deal.

“You haven’t been with anyone since then?”

Wes’s face flushed, and he looked down when he answered. “So, there have been times when Luca has stayed the night somewhere … when I’ve seen some women, but nothing over the past six months.” That didn’t seem too long ago to Bray.

“Mine was a year ago after Ruth passed away,” she rushed out. “Only I’ve never had a boyfriend, just that one time.”

Wes’s eyes widened in complete surprise. “You mean you—”

Something shoved Bray from behind before he could finish his sentence, her drink dropping from her hand as she hit the ground. Tight fists pounded at her back, and she screamed from the pain. As she tried to flip to her back, the weight was lifted off of her.

Breathing unevenly, Bray rolled over and stood to see Wes restrain a man, securing his arms behind his back. The man had a gray beard and wore dirty ragged clothing. His lips were pulled back into a sneer, and he was growling.

“Bray, go get the security guard at the front,” Wes grunted out, barely able to contain the man. He was straining against Wes, shaking and eyeing her with rage. The fingers behind his back flexed and twitched, inhumanly.

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