Page 22 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
Hadley droppedSpencer and Damien off at the end of their long driveway, so they trudged through the darkness. After being woken in the middle of the night to pull a goat heist, the adrenaline wore off leaving only exhaustion.
“Crap.” Damien cursed, lifting his eyes to the main house where a single light told them someone was awake.
Spencer felt for his brother. Their parents had strict rules, rules he’d bent more times than he could count. Despite what Hadley said, Damien wasn’t a rule breaker, he wasn’t built for punishments.
A wooden rocking chair creaked on the front porch, and as they got close enough, they found their father moving back and forth, his eyes never leaving his sons.
“Hey, Dad.” Damien walked up the steps to the porch.
But their dad didn’t take his eyes from Spencer. “Where have you two been?”
Spencer glanced behind him at the empty goat pen. At this time of night, most of them slept inside the little barn that was just for them. But one or two should have been outside.
Had his dad noticed?
He met his dad’s gaze, taking in the disappointment he knew so well. No anger, so he must not have realized it.
“We went to the beach.” Spencer shrugged as if it was no big deal. When he was in high school, he’d spent a lot of nights on the beach with his friends having bonfires. “The stars are out in force tonight.” He turned to walk to the bunkhouse, but his dad’s voice called him back.
“We are not finished, son.”
Spencer pivoted on his heel.
“Dad,” Damien started. “It wasn’t his fault.”
Their dad’s face softened. “You were always trying to protect your brother, even as a child.”
They never believed Damien could do wrong.
“Please, go inside, Damien.” Their dad gestured to the door.
“No, Dad, I—”
“Damien.” Spencer sighed, knowing a lecture was coming. “It’s okay. Just go.”
Damien looked torn between his dad and his brother. His shoulders dropped as he entered the house. No one spoke until the door swung shut.
“Tell me exactly where you were, Spencer.”
Spencer kicked at a rock on the ground, thinking of all the times he’d been in this exact position. But not for three years. While he was gone, there’d been no one to answer to, no one to judge him.
And no one to confide in either.
“I told you… we went to the beach. Turtle Cove. You know how I liked to hit it up at night. I don’t see why it’s such a big deal.”
“You don’t see why it’s a big deal that you’re sneaking out at night just like you used to?”
“I’m not sneaking out.” Spencer was too tired for this conversation. “I don’t live here. You’ve made it very clear I’m not part of this family.” Other than the first night when they’d brought him to the hockey game, they’d tried to pretend he wasn’t even there.
“Don’t be dramatic, Spencer.”
“Dramatic? So, it’s dramatic to want my own mother to look me in the eye? Or to have this stupid hope that you’ll tell me just once I’ve done a good job working the past few days—for no pay and without being asked. You needed help, and I stepped in.”
“Now.” His dad rose from his chair. “You’ve stepped in now. But what about the last three years as we cut our employees to stay afloat? Or as your mother worried herself sick that you were dead in some far-off ditch.”
“Stop,” his mom’s voice came from the doorway. “Stop arguing.”
Spencer froze, unable to meet her eyes. He kept his gaze trained on his dad, wanting to say so many things. He was sorry. He did the wrong thing.
But then the memories rushed through his mind, the reasons he left, and he realized he didn’t regret leaving. It was what he’d had to do.
Life would be so much easier if he could just jump on a plane and go somewhere new. Wasn’t that what he did every time things got tough? He bolted.
When his mom didn’t say another word, the hope he’d had for their relationship deflated, and he turned his back to them. “I’ll be out of the bunkhouse by morning.”
He just had to figure out where to go. For the first time in three years, something was making him stay. Damien needed him, so he wouldn’t leave town.
But he refused to live where he wasn’t wanted.
