Page 87 of Second Start: Family
He rested back, the dried vegetation blocking everything but the sky overhead.
He remembered his mother writing in her journals. That smile she got…
What was his father up to letting him read them now?
Didn’t matter.
He didn’t need to read them to know his mother, or his father. That’s why he had to get away.
*
Hall heard the schoolhouse door behind him open and close.
Had he been waiting for that? Slowed his going to the truck to give her time?
If so, for what? What did he expect her to say? What could she say? What could he say?
Nothing.
The punch to his upper arm told him it wasn’t Kenzie.
“Vicky, what the hell?” He rubbed at the spot.
“I could say the same thing to you — what the hell?”
“You know what the hell — I’ve got to think of my kids.”
“She’s in there telling her brother the same thing to stop him from coming after you with a sledgehammer, which might be the only thing that gets through to your hard head.”
“How do you know when you’re out here?”
“Don’t be an ass, Quick. I heard her starting in on him. Plus, I know her. So do you.You. Know. Her.Don’t get all squirrelly in your head. You have a history of persuading yourself that what you know about a person — a woman — isn’t really who they are. You were wrong with Annie. Don’t let yourself be wrong about Kenzie.”
“What do you mean?”
“You want me to spell it out? Fine, I will. Annie was selfish, through and through. She had babies because of how it made her feel, because it filled a hole in her — temporarily, anyway. She didn’t have them for their sakes and she didn’t see the individuals they are, only how they filled her need. You knew something was going on with Dan — she was getting bored with him, tired of him, because he was growing up, becoming an individual, and wasn’t an accessory to make Annie shine anymore.”
“He loves her. He loves her more than anything.”
“I know. That’s why it was so hard on him when he started to see it, too. It might be the worst thing about Annie dying. It froze Dan when he was about to see the reality of his mother. Oh, hell, or maybe it was the best thing so he didn’t go through that disillusionment. Only now it’s screwed up his head. Especially with Naomi whispering in his ear.”
“I can’t let her get him. If she does…”
“I know, Hall. But it’s not some bargain with the universe that if you shut out Kenzie, you’ll get Dan. That’s not how this works. Fight like hell to keep Dan, but do itwithKenzie.”
He looked away from the little building, up to the ridge behind it.
“I gotta go.”
“Think, Hall Quick. Think hard.”
*
From the schoolhouse door, Kenzie watched Hall’s truck go up the last visible rise. She spotted a rectangle of blue sky for an instant — truck above it, tires beside it, road beneath it — then all of the truck disappeared as it dipped down the far side.
She turned back inside to try to restitch connections to her brother.
*
