Page 61 of Caleb's Salvation
Oh shit.
I lifted my hand and waved. “Hi, guys,” I said awkwardly.
Most of them started to smile. There were a lot ofhey, Vivienne’s, enough that I started to relax when I saw Jackson approaching me.
“What are you doing here, Vivienne?”
I might have taken Jackson’s very serious expression as a bad omen, except that, unless he was looking at Kate, this was the way he usually looked.
I pulled off my gloves and rubbed my hands against my jeans. “I…uh…”
Jackson sighed. “He’s been in his office for over a day. Hasn’t come out.” He ran his hand over his beard as if he was deciding something, which he must have done because then he said, “Come with me.”
I didn’t question it. Just followed Jackson through a maze of hallways and doors that connected to other buildings until we were walking down a narrow hallway that felt different than the first building. It was clear to see men busy at their jobs, monitoring what was happening with the various wells.
Jackson stopped at a door and knocked.
“Go the fuck away!”
I winced. That was Caleb? I don’t know that I’d heard him that angry since that time when he’d convinced me my two weeks were up and he had no interest in a girl who wasn’t even a woman.
I reminded myself that had been a lie. He’d been interested. He just didn’t want to be interested and that was a completely different thing.
“Jackson, you can go,” I said softly. “I got this.”
“Vivienne, Cal’s a… I mean, he’s a good guy, even tempered. I’ve never, well, none of us have ever seen him like this. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to try and…confront him.”
Smiling at Jackson, I summoned some false courage. “I am from Texas. We don’t scare easy. Trust me. I can do this.”
Obviously reluctant, he still nodded and left me to fend for myself.
I just hoped I was right. That I could, in fact, do this.
16
Vivienne
This time I knocked on his office a little more gently, but I did it while I was opening the door, which wasn’t locked. As if by virtue of his authority in this camp, he knew no one would dare enter unless he gave explicit permission.
I stepped inside and shut the door behind me quietly. His back was to me. He was staring at the shelves behind his desk. Slowly, he spun in his chair and when he did, I could see a glass of something brown in his hand. His face was scruffy, his eyes were red.
I wasn’t sure if he was drunk or if he just hadn’t slept in over a day. Either way, he was a wreck.
But he was my wreck.
“Vivienne?”
It was a question. Like maybe I was some kind of illusion.
“Hey, baby,” I said gently. “I was…missing you a little so I thought I would come visit. I’ve never been to camp. It’s not as big as I thought.”
“We run a small, tight operation,” he said as if explaining his business to a stranger.
Cautiously I approached him. He set the glass on the desk and turned his wheeled chair in the direction I was moving. I stepped between his booted feet and stopped.
“Where’s Sam?” he asked.
“With Zeke. Who’s teaching him defense maneuvers. Don’t ask.”
