Page 12 of Cowboy's Last Stand
Jason slept laterthan usual because of the long night.
He woke with a start at eight, four hours after he’d drifted off.He hadn’t been able to stretch out on the glider, and it was squeaky, so he’d slept on the wooden porch.Not the most comfortable place, but it was dry and open to the air.The sound of the rain had been pleasant.He’d ached in multiple places and wallowed in a range of emotions.
Excitement.Dread.Guilt.Desire.
He didn’t know why he’d gone into the bar and pretended to be a guy on the make.Well, he hadn’t really pretended.Hedidwant her.She was sexy and intriguing.Devoted to her son, and down on her luck.He’d crossed the line within an hour of meeting her.The choices he’d made last night had set him on a course that couldn’t easily be corrected.
After rolling up his sleeping bag, he walked to the fast-food restaurant he’d spotted the night before.In the restroom, he studied his appearance.Billy’s brass knuckles had left him with an impressive shiner.A black spot marred about a quarter of his eye socket.His temple was swollen and tender to the touch.He had a sore jaw from another hit but no visible bruising and no loose teeth.Billy’s first punch had surprised him.The others hadn’t.
Jason imagined Billy’s face looked worse than his today, and he probably had a bitch of a hangover.
He ordered some sausage-and-egg sandwiches to go.Whistling, he carried the bag and two coffees back to Natalie’s house.She’d told him he had to move on today.Before he left, he would tell her the truth.He sat down on the glider and sipped his coffee, reluctant to wake her.Not everyone was an early bird like him.
A tap on the window behind the glider captured his attention.He glanced over his shoulder at Natalie’s son.
“Who are you?”the boy asked, his words muffled by glass.
“I’m Jason.I’m a friend of your mom’s.”
The little boy weighed this information briefly before sliding the window open.There was no screen.“I’m Marcus.”
Jason gave him a fist bump.“Pleased to meet you.”
“You’ve got a black eye.”
“I know.”
“Did you get in a fight?”
“Yes.”
“With who?”
“Somebody mean.”
The boy seemed more interested in the fast-food bag, which bore an unmistakable logo.“Whatchu got?”
Jason removed two breakfast sandwiches from the bag before handing it over.There were two more sandwiches inside.“Help yourself.”
Marcus accepted food from a stranger with an ease that would give his mother nightmares.He had curly hair, like Natalie, and an adorable little face.He munched a sausage-and-egg sandwich with relish.Jason wasn’t used to kids, especially kids without parents around.He didn’t know what to say to Marcus, so he turned around and ate his breakfast in silence.
“My mom’s asleep,” Marcus offered.
“Hmm.”
“She sleeps late on the weekends.But I don’t.”
Jason pictured Natalie putting a pillow over her head to muffle the racket of an active five-year-old.He chuckled, feeling sorry for her.
“My grandma went to the old folks’ home.Now I have a new babysitter.”
“I’ve met her,” Jason said.
“She’s nice.Except when she looks at her phone and ignores me.She does that a lot, and she reads manga.Do you know what that is?”
Jason crushed his fast-food wrappers.“No.”
Marcus explained it in a way that didn’t make sense, which was fine because Jason didn’t care.
