Page 19 of Penance
“What are you doing?” I asked, baffled.
I can hear footsteps drawing nearer from inside the house, but Hayes still doesn’t drop his hand.
“You’ll see,” He says just as the door opens. I turn my attention from Hayes to the person standing in the doorway, and my mouth drops open.
A mountain of an older man with tattoos covering most of his body stands there, filling up the frame. He’s wearing a white T-shirt and boxers. That’s all. No pants, and from the way Hayes still has his hands covering his eyes, I suspect he knew this is how we would be greeted.
Iwantto cover my eyes the same way, but I’m frozen in horror.
“Silas,” Hayes says, shoving out the hand that isn’t covering his eyes. “Take the milkshake and go put some pants on.”
I’ve seen the man around town with Hayes but never knew his name. Never bothered to get to know him. I’m not in Benton Falls to forge friendships. I’m here for my son, but maybe I need to start paying closer attention to the people in town. It could have prevented me from experiencing this.
Silas takes the cup from Hayes’s hand and shoves the straw betweenhis lips, taking a long drag before he says, “You’re still not the boss, kid, but since you brought a milkshake, I guess I can put on pants.”
He spins and disappears into the house, leaving the door open, and only when the sound of his footsteps disappears does Hayes drop his hand.
By the time he looks at me, I’ve finally thawed out, and I’m glaring at him with murder in my eyes.
“You knew that was going to happen, didn’t you?”
Hayes shrugs, but there’s a spark of trouble in his eyes. “I had my suspicions.”
I have to fight the urge not to punch him in the jaw. He must realize it because his smirk drops, and he takes off inside the house.
“Are you coming or what?” He yells from down the hall.
Casting my eyes skyward, I take a deep breath to ward off my irritation and then follow him in.
The inside is nice—in a nothing-matches kind of way. I guess the right word for it would be homey. The place is inviting—even if the owner greets you in his underwear.
I follow Hayes to a living room just off the entryway, but I don’t sit down.
Awkward apprehension thrums through my veins as I look around
“What are we doing here, Hayes? A straight answer this time.”
He sits down on the couch and shrugs. “We’re here to talk to Silas.”
“Yeah, Hayes, that’s real helpful.” I deadpan.
A noise from the hallway draws my attention, and I move out of the doorway, leaning my back against a nearby wall as Silas enters the room.
“Theo, right?” He asks, sucking on his milkshake with no shame that I’d just seen him in his underwear. “I’ve met your son. He’s a good kid.”
“Yes, sir. He is.”
Regret claws at my chest. I hate not knowing all the pieces of Tanner’s life, including how he knows the man in front of me. Sure, the obvious assumption is that he met him through Hayes, but I want to know because I’ve been around for him to tell me, not because I guessed.
Silas waves his hand and scrunches his nose. “I’ll have none of that sir stuff around here. You’ll make me feel old.”
“You are old, Silas,” Hayes says from his spot on the couch.
The older man smacks Hayes on the back of the head, and I take satisfaction in the thump.
“So,” Silas says, sitting down and stretching out his long legs, “I hear you’re going to be the new baseball coach.”
My gaze darts to Hayes as I shove off the wall and stand up right. “That’s what this is about? After the paperyoudelivered today, this is what you think is important.”
