Gunner prompted, “Finish that thought. Intuitions are right more often than they’re wrong.”
“As if she was living in hiding. She rarely came outside, and it was only for quick trips to the grocery store or to run an errand, and then she ducked back indoors. And she always kept her curtains closed.”
“Interesting. Who could she be hiding from?”
Chas shrugged. “My guess would be her son. She sounded afraid of him the one time she ever mentioned him to me.”
Gunner passed his phone to Chas. “Text Spencer Newman what you just told me. And the name of your neighbor’s son, if you know it.”
Chas sent the text and then got distracted entertaining Poppy for a while. They managed to drive for about two hours before she had a total meltdown. Who knew a child that tiny could make so much noise in an enclosed space, and at that particular earsplitting pitch?
“We’re gonna have to pull over,” Chas announced. “Poppy needs out of her car seat, and she may be finally releasing some of the stress from last night. This could go on for a while.”
“Say it isn’t so,” Gunner muttered under his breath, deeply regretting having not bought a bunch of earplugs while they were at a store.
He slowed the car and turned off onto a dirt road that didn’t appear to lead to anywhere. It did feel good to get out and stretch. His body was sore and stiff from the accident.
The air was crisp and cool, the trees around them arrayed in their full fall glory. Yellows, oranges, reds, maroons, and even purples cloaked the margins of the rolling field they’d parked beside.
Poppy took off running the second Chas set her down, and Gunner grinned as Chas had to dart after her. The pair got busy picking up leaves, and the little coos she made when she found a particularly big and bright leaf were kind of adorable.
When they finally returned to the car a half hour later, Chas and Poppy’s cheeks were rosy, and they both had big grins on their faces. Gunner was staggered by the wave of warmth that rolled through his gut at the sight of them laughing and talking. Well, Chas talked. Poppy responded in her own private language of baby gibberish. But it was good to see her interacting with Chas and not totally shut down in terror like she’d been last night.
“Did you tire her out?” Gunner asked Chas over her head.
“You’re hilarious. All I did was run off the worst of her frustration. She’ll go like the Energizer Bunny for several hours before she crashes.”
“We can’t sit here for several hours.”
Chas waxed thoughtful for a minute. “If you’ll give me your phone, I ought to be able to download some TV shows she’ll watch. It might buy you an hour or so of quiet from her.”
Gunner stared at her like the alien creature she was to him. “Better than nothing, I suppose,” he mumbled.
“Next stop, you get to change her diaper and entertain her.”
“Oh, hell no.”
“No swearing, dude.”
Gunner huffed. “I can’t swear at all now?”
“Not in earshot of Poppy.”
“She’s not my kid. I don’t care if she learns how to swear like a sailor.”
Chas shot him a silent, waiting look that challenged him to think about what he’d just done and how guilty he should be feeling.
“You do that accusing-teacher-glare thing pretty well.”
“Thank you,” Chas replied, magnanimous in victory.
“Let’s hit the road. I want to put more distance between us and Misty Falls.”
Chas took a lace out of a tiny pink tennis shoe and tied Gunner’s cell phone to the back of his head rest, hanging it in front of Poppy but safely out of her reach. Entertainment for the tiny velociraptor procured, they got back on the road. Before long they crossed into the eastern edge of New York state.
The kid seemed happy, and Chas turned around to face front. “So, what have you been up to the past few years, Gunner?”
“A little of this, a little of that.”
“Is that SEAL speak for ‘don’t ask me questions about my missions’?”
“Pretty much.”
“Anything you can tell me about?”
“Nope.”
“Talking with you is like bouncing a ball off a wall,” Chas muttered. “It just comes back and smacks me in the face.”
“Sorry, bro. Tell me about you.” The easiest way to avoid talking about himself was to get other people talking about themselves.
“Not much to tell. I went to UMass. Partied hard. Got a teaching degree. Moved back home to teach kindergarten.”
“Why back to Misty Falls?”
“My mom worked in the superintendent’s office. She got me a job interview, and having an in with the school district helped.”
“But you stayed. I thought you wanted out of there.”
Chas frowned and stared straight ahead. Hit a nerve, had he? Gunner waited out Chas’s silence.
Finally Chas replied, “I did a little traveling after college. Turned out the big city and bright lights weren’t all they were cracked up to be. Perfect Gaylandia doesn’t exist. There are assholes everywhere and tolerant folks everywhere.”
“Maybe. But there are more tolerant people in some places than others.”
“Whoa. That sounded bitter,” Chas commented. “Care to elaborate?”
“Nope.”
“It had to be hard juggling being gay and a SEAL.”
“Thanks for that observation, Einstein,” Gunner replied dryly. “I would never have figured that out on my own.”
“Jerk.”
“Double jerk,” he responded automatically with the insult they’d used all the time as kids.
Chas smiled fondly.
God, it felt good to be back with someone who’d known him forever. Someone with whom he didn’t have to pretend to be or not be anything. He could just relax and be himself for a change.
They drove on and off for the next several hours, taking breaks to let Poppy out of the car seat, change her diaper, feed her or themselves, and to refresh her entertainment options. He had to give Chas credit. The guy was creative and good at guessing what would occupy her.
But by about four in the afternoon, Poppy and his aches and pains were simultaneously about done with cars. He would love to cross over into Canada, but without any ID for Poppy, he wasn’t willing to risk it. Instead, he found a small town in the middle of the Adirondack Mountains and snagged a room at a national hotel chain. The clerk at the counter went on at length about how lucky they were to get a room, but there’d been a cancellation. With the fall colors peaking, everything was booked, apparently.
The only room they could get had a single king bed, so Gunner reluctantly asked for a crib. They ate at the buffet-style restaurant next door, but Gunner was glad to get back to the room. Far too many people had taken note of the two men and a baby eating together for his comfort.
Once back in the room, though, Chas announced, “You’re up, Daddy Number One.”
“Me? Up?” he echoed in alarm.
“It’s your turn to give her a bath and get her ready for bed.”
“I have no idea what to do—”
“And you won’t until you try it. Just dive in and give it a go. Encourage her to play and move around in the tub. It’ll tire her out. Help her go to sleep. You’re in the Navy, right? You can do water.”