Mackenzie Legacy, The (16 page)

His first impulse was to follow them right away, but Millie had kept him there longer, regaling him with stories about how the Mackenzie family was cursed, and the Grandmother was rumored to be a witch. She reminded him of his Abuelita, with all of her superstitious talk of Brujas and Mexican witchcraft. He humored Millie as long as he could, finally making an excuse to slip away.

Cali and Layla were easily the two best looking girls he’d seen in months, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something unusual about them besides their eyes. The more he thought about the blacked out windows of that van the more it just didn’t sit right with him, and it had nothing to do with the old lady’s superstitious gossip.

Sherriff Brown had warned him to be on the lookout for evidence of dope growing cartels moving into the backwoods of the county, but he couldn’t see those girls being involved with anything like that. Then again, Cali’s boyfriend looked like he could be a troublemaker. He thought about how shy Layla seemed, smiling when he remembered how easily he’d made her blush. He’d made it a point to check her finger for a ring when he shook her hand.

He’d always had a thing for redheads, and he had to admit, he sure wouldn’t mind playing connect the dots with that one. It wouldn’t hurt to check it out, he told himself, driving down the back roads towards their property. He could swing by casually and run a check on that van… Maybe find out more about Layla’s plans to come back to town.

Suddenly, Cal’s new truck was speeding around a corner coming straight at him, and it nearly sideswiped him. He caught a glimpse of blonde hair, realizing that Cali was at the wheel. He stopped short, whipping around to chase after them. When he closed in on them the truck started weaving a little, and he switched his lights on.

Calvin looked behind them with a groan. “We got company.”

Caledonia checked the rear view mirror nervously. “Should I just keep going?” she asked.

“No,” he tried to straighten up. He’d had cracked ribs before, and the pain was excruciating. “You have to pull over,” he gasped, his voice tight.

“But I don’t have a driver’s license to show him…” she said.

He tried to smile. “You’ll think of something.”

She pulled over and waited while Ramon got out of his truck and approached them cautiously, “You in a hurry? Everything okay here?”

“Yes,” she said unconvincingly.

Ramon looked in the cab, alarmed to see Calvin looking like something the cat dragged in. His left eye was swollen shut, and he slumped in the seat like it hurt him to sit upright.

“What happened?”

“Fell,” Calvin grunted, “Hiking...”

“Where’s your cousin?” he asked Caledonia, alarmed.

“She left,” she said, without going into further detail. She looked like she wanted to cry, and he watched her gather herself, taking a deep breath.

“Officer Ruiz?” she asked.

“Ramon,” he said, looking directly into her unusual eyes. He was reminded of Layla’s eyes, thinking how beautiful and strange the two girls were. Before he knew it, she’d pulled away, leaving him standing befuddled in a cloud of dust. He lingered by the side of the road for a long time, his mind a tumult of confusion.

A blue jay landed in a tree above him, scolding him with its screeching cry. He looked up, asking it, “What the hell just happened?”

~

Calvin tried to hide his suffering from her, but he winced with every bump in the road. Finally she couldn’t take it anymore, pulling over to look at him with anguished eyes.

“Let me help you.”

He drew a shaky breath, “Okay.”

Caledonia had him lie down across the bench seat with his head in her lap, stroking the hair back from his forehead, touching his face gently. She bent down to kiss his brow.

“I wish we were back in our stinky little tent right now,” she said, taking his mind back to their sweet summer nights. “Listening to waves crashing on the beach, squeezing into one sleeping bag–” her voice broke and she pulled back to gaze intensely into his pain filled eyes.

Calvin was immediately awash with relief, overcome by a peaceful, satisfied drowsiness. All of his anxiety was swept away, and he felt safe and contented. The throbbing pain in his side was still there, but he was so relaxed it faded off into the distance.

“I love you,” she told him.

“I know,” he mumbled, unable to resist closing his eyes.

He was fast asleep before the first teardrop splashed down onto his face.

~

Chapter Nineteen

PAROLE

~

By the time they pulled up to Calvin’s house, the sun was setting, painting the sky a brilliant October orange. Caledonia saw only the brother’s two bikes in the driveway, heaving a sigh of relief that they wouldn’t have a whole gang of bikers to contend with. She jumped out to come around and help Calvin climb down, dismayed to see the bruises on his face had darkened despite fact she’d had him apply ice to it for most of the drive.

She was starting to lose her faith in the miraculous properties of ice.

“Let me explain to Jarod, okay?” Calvin asked, stepping out gingerly.

They’d hadn’t taken two steps when the front door burst open and Jarod came barreling out, foaming over with excitement, “Cal! I thought that was you guys! I was hoping you’d–” He stopped when he got closer, his excitement turning to anger when he saw Calvin’s swollen face.

“What the hell? Who did that?!”

Calvin held up his hands, “I got in a fight… okay? We’ll talk about it later. I just want a hot shower right now.”

“Okay, sure…” Jarod looked over his shoulder. “But there’s something I gotta tell you…”

A second man emerged from the house. He was tall and thin, with sad worried eyes, and he approached the three of them tentatively.

Calvin’s good eye narrowed. “Dad?”

A rush of shock colored the air between them, and Calvin stood frozen, bristling with alarm.

His father stepped forward with open arms, checking himself when his son flinched backwards.

“Calvin… What happened to you? Are you alright?”

He slipped his arm around Caledonia to steady himself. “It’s Cal. What are you doing here?”

“Dad got an early parole,” explained Jarod, “He’s back home for good.”

Calvin responded by gripping Cali even tighter. His father seemed smaller than he remembered, shriveled and weakened, almost like all the life had been sucked right out of him.

“Uhm, Dad, this is Cali,” Jarod introduced them.

“You can call me Jim,” he said, offering his hand anxiously.

She leaned forward to shake it, thinking he was not quite the ogre she imagined. He seemed so nervous and fearful when he looked at Calvin that she couldn’t help but feel a rush of pity for both father and son.

Calvin cleared his throat. “Yeah… well. C’mon Cali.” He walked stiffly past his father and into the house, only slumping with relief when his bedroom door was closed behind them. He sat down on the edge of the bed gingerly, a bundle of conflicting emotions.

Caledonia eased down next to him, rubbing his back. “Are you okay?”

He nodded grimly. “Yeah… I just didn’t expect to see him yet.”

She kissed his cheek. “Go clean up… I’ll get our stuff.”

He returned to find she had brought their things in from the truck and straightened up the room. She was sitting on his bed contemplating Layla’s purse and bag of souvenirs from their day at Disneyland with pained eyes.

“You’re not going to give up… Are you?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

“I can’t,” she said, imagining how Layla was feeling at that very moment.

He sat down next to her. “I know.”

“You don’t deserve this.”

He sighed, “It’s too late… I’m all in on this one.”

She took him in a wordless embrace. There was nothing to say about it, because there was nothing either one of them could do about it. They were like two little boats being battered by a relentless storm, and a safe harbor seemed to be a very long way off. There was nothing to do but cling to each other for comfort, and they sat like that a long time until they were startled by a knock on the door.

“Yeah?” Calvin called, his voice hoarse.

Jarod ducked his head in the door, “Crystal just got off work…She picked up some chicken for dinner, and we set a couple of places for you… Come and eat with us… It’ll be kinda like a welcome home for Dad.”

Cali nodded, answering for him, “Okay… We’ll be out in a minute.”

When they were alone Calvin flushed yellow-green with anxiety. “I don’t want to. I’m not ready.”

“You need to eat,” she said.

By the time they made their way into the kitchen Jim was already sitting at the table, and he looked up hopefully. Caledonia could see his hunger to connect, and smell the sour stench of his anxiety. She felt another rush of pity, watching the older man struggle inside, uncertain of how to reach out to his son.

“Cali! It’s good to see you–” Crystal moved to embrace her, looking up with a gasp when she saw Calvin’s battered face. “Oh my God! What does the other guy look like?”

Jarod set a bowl of salad on the table. “Sit down,” he said, gesturing to the mismatched chairs clustered around the tablecloth covered card table. Calvin made it a point to sit as far away from his father as possible.

Tension hung thick in the air as they tried to eat, and Crystal rushed around, fussing over everyone a little too much. She brought Calvin and Jarod a couple of beers, pouring everyone else some lemonade from a plastic pitcher.
 

“Dad doesn’t drink anymore,” Jarod announced, his eyes flickering over to Calvin.

“He goes to meetings and everything,” Crystal added.

Calvin failed to respond, and sat stony faced, downing one beer after another.

His father looked to Caledonia with pleading eyes. “So… Cali. Did you go to school with Cal?”

She nodded, “Yes.”

“Do you have family in town?”

“I have some cousins,” she said quietly, “In Los Angeles.”

“Is that where you went?” Jarod asked. “It’s been over a week and we were staring to worry.”

Calvin cast him a warning glance. “I said we’ll talk about it later.”

There was an uncomfortable silence, and Crystal made some small talk, telling a funny story that no one laughed at, trying her best to fill in the empty spaces between the three men.

Jarod cleared his throat, changing the subject, “I’ve been thinking about what you said about starting a shop… And I decided to go for it.”

Calvin nodded, “That’s good.”

“I found a spot, and I’m thinking about signing a five year lease tomorrow… It’s that old auto body place on Third Street– it already has a lift and everything. ”

“Great,” Calvin said in a monotone.

“Dad could do tune ups and oil changes, you know, to get money coming in while we get the custom bike part going… We were thinking about calling it Allen and sons. What do you think?”

Calvin stiffened in his seat. “Whatever.”

Caledonia reached for his hand under the tale, alarmed by Calvin’s changing colors. To the naked eye he was disengaged, callous, but she could see underneath his detached demeanor, and a seething cauldron of conflicting emotions was slowly coming to the boiling point. She was surprised that seeing his father had triggered such a strong reaction in him, never fully realizing the true extent of his anger.

It was obvious that he hadn’t dealt with his feelings at all, and never really mourned the loss of his mother. He’d papered over all of his sorrow and fear with anger, but the stain was finally starting to bleed through, and now he was back to trying to drink it away.

Calvin got up from the table to get another beer, returning with a look that dared anyone to criticize him. No one did. He spent the rest of the meal defiantly drinking much more than he needed, finally getting up to leave with a little wobble. “I’m gonna go kick back for a while.”

Cali helped Crystal clear off the table, standing by her side at the sink as she rinsed off the plates.

“Well,
that
was awkward,” Crystal said.

Cali sadly agreed, “He’s just not ready… I guess.”

Crystal turned to scrutinize Caledonia closely. “How are
you
doing?”

She busied herself with drying the plates, “I’m okay.”

“It was those same dudes, wasn’t it? The ones that came here…” Crystal wiped her hands off on a towel, facing Cali with a no-nonsense look that forced a confession.

“I’m afraid so.”

“Are they coming back here?” she asked, fear in her voice.

“No,” said Caledonia, “I’m going after them.”

“Why?” she asked in horror.

“Because they have my cousins.”

“Are you sure that’s such a good idea?” Crystal asked, “I mean, look what they did to Calvin.”

Cali flushed a deep green teal with shame and guilt. “Excuse me, but I’d better go see how he’s doing.”

She found Calvin stretched out on his bed, and she sat down next to him. “How are you feeling?”

He smiled a lopsided smile up at her. “I’m feelin’ no pain.”

“I’m so sorry,” she smoothed the hair back from his forehead, gently brushing her fingertips around his blackened eye. She stroked his cheek softly, tracing her finger down the line of his nose, “They could have killed you.”

He grunted. “Wouldn’ta matter if they did.”

Her brows knit together. “Why would you say that?”

He heaved a sigh, “One of these days you’re going to figure out that you don’t need me anymore and leave me in the dust… My life will be over anyways.”

She snorted softly. “Don’t be silly. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Then prove it!” He struggled to sit up, propping up onto his elbows. “Let’s go to Vegas and get married… Right now!”

“Calvin, you’re drunk.”

“So what? You can drive.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

His face hardened. “You just don’t wanna.”

She looked at him reproachfully. “I don’t think you’ve really thought this through.”

“It’s all I’ve been thinking about… You’re all I think about… Do you want me to beg? Do you want me to get down on my knees?” He struggled to sit up again, but she pressed her hand on his chest.

“Calvin… shhh…You need to rest.”

He fell backwards, cloaked in a bitter dejected purple, “You don’t wanna because you think I’m a stupid loser… Cuz you know you can do better than me.”

She sighed and shook her head, reaching down to untie his shoelaces and slip off his boots. He watched her undress him with bleary eyes, thinking how he was the only one in the whole world who knew how truly amazing she was. He was suddenly filled with terror at the thought of losing her.

She looked down at him like she could read his mind, making soothing sounds as she lifted his shirt to inspect the bruises blooming on his torso. He grabbed her hand clumsily, bringing it to his lips, and she settled down alongside him, threading her fingers through his shaggy hair, stroking his scalp gently until he sighed. She could feel him relax under her touch, and she kissed his ear, whispering, “Go to sleep silly boy.”

He started drifting off in spite of himself, words tripping over his tongue, “You’re probaly gonna end up with some smart guy… have a bunch of smart kids… do a bunch of smart stuff…” Within a few minutes he was snoring softly, and she snuggled in close to him.

“My answer is yes,” she said quietly.

He woke up the next morning with two bloodshot eyes, rolling over with a groan to see Caledonia peacefully sleeping. He got out of bed and shuffled into the kitchen, where Crystal was smoking and painting her fingernails at the table. The combined smells nearly made him gag.

“Your Dad and Jarod are over at the shop. They wanted me to ask you if you’ll come check it out today.”

He poured himself a cup of lukewarm coffee, “Maybe later.”

He choked down the coffee and went to go brush his teeth, returning to his room to find Cali just waking. She was warm and sleepy, and he crawled back into bed behind her, snuggling into her body.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered in her ear, “I’m sorry… I’m such a stupid idiot.”

She yawned, mumbling, “I’m the one that should be sorry… All I’ve ever done is mess up your life with my problems.”

He nuzzled the back of her neck. “You’re the only good thing in my life.”

“Do you believe in Karma?” she asked, biting her lip. “Because I don’t think I have very good luck. I’m starting to think that me and Layla are somehow doomed…”

He chuckled, grimacing when it made his head pound.

“I’m serious,” she protested. “No one that has…
IT
…. ever seems to get a happy ending. And all the stories about curses and everything… I’m afraid… I’m afraid that past is prologue.”

“What does that mean?” Calvin asked, feeling stupid again.

“That history has a way of repeating itself.”

“Cali,” he whispered in her ear, “I swear I’ll spend my whole life doing whatever it takes to give you a happy ending.”

She shivered a little, because his sweet colors told her that he meant it.

“Now,” his voice rumbled in her ear, “Can you do anything to help an idiot with a hangover?”

She smiled wryly, wriggling to press closer into him, “Sorry, but you’re on your own there.”