Shallow Creek

And Brendan didn’t say another word to his brother, even after he graduated and headed for the Marines.

Chapter 38

After reminiscing about the good ol’ days, water just wasn’t going to cut it.  Brendan headed back inside to the fridge and grabbed a beer out of the twelve-pack that had survived a surprisingly long time.  He cracked it open and took a seat at the small table next to the kitchen.

Had losing out on some meaningless high school football game pushed his brother into the drug business?  It wasn’t like Grant was ever going to be a pro, or even a college star.  Even Grant couldn’t be that delusional.  Even if the dumbass thought that was his reason for indulging in meth, there was no way that was all there was to it.  There had to be more.

And Brendan was the one to work out what that “more” was.

He sat and finished his beer in silence.  When he started to wonder what had happened to his parents, his mother appeared through the front door with bags of groceries.  Brendan dropped his empty bottle in the trashcan on his way to help her bring the stuffed paper bags in.

“Michelle and Grant bringing the family over again?” he asked as the last of the bags went onto the kitchen island.

“No, hun,” his mom replied.  “I talked to Michelle earlier and she said she was taking Grant out on a hot date since he came back into town early.”

“That sounds nice.” Brendan unpacked some boxes from the bags.  He had no idea where to put any of this stuff, but he needed a reason to hang around and ask a few more questions.  “Did she say where they were going?”

His mom opened the fridge and started filling it up with the cold items.

“She said she’d booked a reservation at De Luca’s.”

“That old, nasty Italian place?  People actually need reservations for that dump?”

“Oh, they remodeled about five years ago,” his mom explained.  “It’s one of the nicest restaurants in town now.”

“It’s not that far from Trish’s Place, right?” he asked, still idly fumbling with the dry goods on the counter.

His mother wrestled a can of beans from his hand and carefully balanced it on top of two other cans in the pantry.  “Not far at all, but then again, nothing’s really that far away in this town.”

And that made things a lot easier when surveillance was involved, especially on a solo op.  It looked like Brendan’s next step had landed nicely in his lap, all thanks to dear old Mom.  He wasn’t exactly sure what good following his brother around would do, but he could at least watch for third-parties involved.

He yawned long and hard.

“Where did you stay last night?” his mom asked, pausing in front of the open fridge, a jug of milk hovering in her hand.

“Uh, I met up with some of Grant’s old friends,” he said, blurring the truth ever so slightly.  “Things got a little out of hand, so I didn’t want to risk driving home.”

“That was a good decision,” he mother said sternly.  “But next time you need to call me and let me know where you are.  I know you’re all grown these days, but I still worry when you don’t come home.”

“You’re right, Mom.  I screwed up.  It won’t happen again.”

His mom placed the milk in the fridge and closed the door.  She walked up and gave him a brief hug before taking his hands and moving back a step, her round face looking up at his with moist eyes brimming with tears.

“It’s good to have you home.”

“It’s good to be home.”

“Be careful,” she said, releasing his hands.

Abruptly she returned to the task of organizing the groceries.  Brendan stood stunned, his mother’s words penetrating far deeper than she’d intended.

Or maybe not.

“Okay, Mom.  I will.”

She turned just enough to catch his eye.

“You look terrible, hun.  Go take a nap before dinner.”

He yawned on cue and nodded as he left the kitchen.

Chapter 39

“Need anything else, hun?”

Brendan looked up from his phone.

“Sure.  I’ll switch to water for this round, though.”

The bartender smiled, grabbed the two empty beer bottles from the table, and moseyed back inside the bar.  Brendan zipped up his fleece a little higher and pulled his Texas Rangers’ baseball cap a little lower.  A cold front had moved in during the afternoon and the temperature had plummeted with the sunset.  Not too many patrons inhabited the fenced-off patio outside Gruff’s Bar & Grill, but enough sat around him that Brendan didn’t stand out.