The Evening Hour by A. Carter Sickels

Author:A. Carter Sickels [Sickels, A. Carter & Sickels, Carter]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781608195978
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Published: 2012-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

“This shit is humiliating.”

Cole was at Lacy’s watching an old episode of America’s Funniest Home Videos. Brides tripping down the aisles, kids dumping bowls of spaghetti on their heads, guys getting nailed in the nuts.

Irritated, she told him to lighten up. “It’s funny.”

“Yeah, it’s funny,” Sara Jean agreed. “Lighten up, Cole.”

He glanced at the clock. He had customers who were expecting him, but he knew how Lacy would act if he left. Although they had made up after their fight on Christmas and had been seeing more of each other, it didn’t feel right. She was suspicious and he was living a double life. The tension put him on edge and made her distant. Now she was sitting next to him but not touching him, her arms crossed over her chest. Cole drummed his fingers on the coffee table.

“I was thinking we could go to the Eagle.”

She looked annoyed. “What about Sara Jean?”

“Can’t your sister watch her?”

“I work there, Cole. You think I want to go there on my night off?”

On commercial break Sara Jean scooted between them, and in her hands was the camera that had caused the fight. Lacy said she was over it, but it still reminded Cole of what was not right between them.

Sara Jean showed him the digital pictures on the camera’s screen, and he had a hard time seeing them. Brown hills, flattened land. “We went up to another reclaimed site with Michael,” she explained. “He told me to take pictures of everything. Always document what you see.”

“Don’t you ever do anything for fun?”

She looked at him with her deep brown eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Fun kid things. You’re too wrapped up in this.”

She nestled closer and he smelled her clean hair and hesitated and then put his arm around her and looked over. Lacy was watching them with a faint smile, but her eyes were sad. Sara Jean showed him picture after picture, the same blurs of land, and then one of Lacy appeared, a close-up; laughing, her head thrown back, mouth open, eyes squinting. “I want you to print me one of those,” he told her. There was one of him too. She pushed the little arrow until she came to it. He was startled.

“When did you take that?”

“The other day.”

In the picture he was sleeping. He was stretched out on the couch in a T-shirt and jeans. The sun shone in soft waves on his face; he did not look like anyone that he recognized.

“I’ll print you one of these too.”

The phone rang, and Sara Jean answered. “It’s Michael.” Cole shot Lacy a look, but she ignored him and took the phone.

After she hung up, Cole said, “Well?”

“He’s coming over. There’s a photographer with him. They went up to Stinkweed Hollow. Some old couple let them on their land.”

“The Williamses,” Cole said.

“You know them?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you’ll want to see the pictures.”

“If I want to see, I’ll go up there myself.”

“You won’t ever go.”

The phone rang again. This time it was for Cole.

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