hard.”
“He’s always been a quick learner,” Earl
said. “I remember when I first starting teaching him the ropes, I
was skeptical at first, because unlike 99% of the other people in
the business, he didn’t have any kind of a military or law
enforcement background. But he took to the job like a camel to
sand. Just like everything else I threw in his path. Even when I
deliberately set him up to fail, he’d somehow figure a way out of
the situation. I’ve never been around someone able to assimilate
information and alter a plan as rapidly as he could. He’s quite the
specimen over there.”
Kelton felt his face beginning to flush.
He’d never taken compliments well. “I’ve always been that way,” he
said. “I have no idea where it comes from.”
“What about your parents?” Jessica said.
“What were they like?”
“I don’t really remember,” Kelton said.
“They died when I was nine. Car accident.”
Jessica cringed. “Oh God, I’m sorry, I would
have never—”
“That’s all right,” Kelton said. “You
couldn’t know.”
“Still—”
Kelton put his hand up and she fell silent.
“It’s fine. Just forget you even mentioned it. I already have.” He
took a bite of his sandwich and let his eyes wander over to the
blank television.
The room fell silent as everyone ate their
sandwiches.
“Excuse me for a moment,” Jessica said after
finishing hers. “Earl, do you mind if I use your restroom?”
“Not at all, honey. It’s down the hall,
first door to your right.”
“Thanks.” She stood up and started towards
the hallway.
Kelton caught himself again watching her as
she walked down the hall.
“That is one interesting girl,” Earl said
after she had disappeared into the bathroom.
“You can say that again.”
“Quite a looker, too.”
Kelton raised his eyebrows.
“Come on, Kelton. I may be old, but I ain’t
dead yet. Some things you just can’t peel your eyes from, no matter
what your age.”
“I hear you there,” Kelton said.
“You know, she’s really smitten with
you.”
“Oh, don’t give me that crap.”
“I’m serious,” Earl said. “She couldn’t stop
asking questions about you while you were in the kitchen. She
wanted to know everything about you.”
“What did you tell her?”
“Just the basics.”
“Nothing personal?”
“Come on, Kelton, give me a little bit of
credit. I told her if she really wanted to know that sort of stuff,
she’d have to get it out of you herself.”
“And what did she say to that?”
Earl shrugged. “She said she’d been trying,
but you’d stonewalled her so far. She also said she wasn’t going to
give up.”
“She’s been trying to get inside my head
from the very beginning. She even admitted to me that she’s just
trying to make me feel uncomfortable because she wants to feel like
she has some control over the situation.”
“Yeah, she told me that too,” Earl said.
“About how she regretted saying it, because even though it was true
at the time, things have changed. She was worried that you were
still holding that first couple of hours against her.”
“She actually said that?”
Earl nodded.
“Damn,” Kelton said. “I wonder if she meant
it?”
He didn’t realize he had asked the question
aloud until Earl answered it.
“It seemed sincere enough to me,” the old
man said. “But what do I know about that kind of stuff?”
More than me, Kelton thought, and
this time, he was pretty sure he kept it to himself.
The toilet flushed, the water ran, and a few
seconds later Jessica was walking back into the room. “You boys
miss me?”
“I know I did,” Earl said. He climbed to his
feet. Turning towards Jessica, he said, “And as much as I have
enjoyed talking to you, Milady, I’m afraid it’s time for you guys
to get back on the road. This old man needs his sleep.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
It was a little after midnight when they
pulled into a run-down motel in one of the seedier
“He’s always been a quick learner,” Earl
said. “I remember when I first starting teaching him the ropes, I
was skeptical at first, because unlike 99% of the other people in
the business, he didn’t have any kind of a military or law
enforcement background. But he took to the job like a camel to
sand. Just like everything else I threw in his path. Even when I
deliberately set him up to fail, he’d somehow figure a way out of
the situation. I’ve never been around someone able to assimilate
information and alter a plan as rapidly as he could. He’s quite the
specimen over there.”
Kelton felt his face beginning to flush.
He’d never taken compliments well. “I’ve always been that way,” he
said. “I have no idea where it comes from.”
“What about your parents?” Jessica said.
“What were they like?”
“I don’t really remember,” Kelton said.
“They died when I was nine. Car accident.”
Jessica cringed. “Oh God, I’m sorry, I would
have never—”
“That’s all right,” Kelton said. “You
couldn’t know.”
“Still—”
Kelton put his hand up and she fell silent.
“It’s fine. Just forget you even mentioned it. I already have.” He
took a bite of his sandwich and let his eyes wander over to the
blank television.
The room fell silent as everyone ate their
sandwiches.
“Excuse me for a moment,” Jessica said after
finishing hers. “Earl, do you mind if I use your restroom?”
“Not at all, honey. It’s down the hall,
first door to your right.”
“Thanks.” She stood up and started towards
the hallway.
Kelton caught himself again watching her as
she walked down the hall.
“That is one interesting girl,” Earl said
after she had disappeared into the bathroom.
“You can say that again.”
“Quite a looker, too.”
Kelton raised his eyebrows.
“Come on, Kelton. I may be old, but I ain’t
dead yet. Some things you just can’t peel your eyes from, no matter
what your age.”
“I hear you there,” Kelton said.
“You know, she’s really smitten with
you.”
“Oh, don’t give me that crap.”
“I’m serious,” Earl said. “She couldn’t stop
asking questions about you while you were in the kitchen. She
wanted to know everything about you.”
“What did you tell her?”
“Just the basics.”
“Nothing personal?”
“Come on, Kelton, give me a little bit of
credit. I told her if she really wanted to know that sort of stuff,
she’d have to get it out of you herself.”
“And what did she say to that?”
Earl shrugged. “She said she’d been trying,
but you’d stonewalled her so far. She also said she wasn’t going to
give up.”
“She’s been trying to get inside my head
from the very beginning. She even admitted to me that she’s just
trying to make me feel uncomfortable because she wants to feel like
she has some control over the situation.”
“Yeah, she told me that too,” Earl said.
“About how she regretted saying it, because even though it was true
at the time, things have changed. She was worried that you were
still holding that first couple of hours against her.”
“She actually said that?”
Earl nodded.
“Damn,” Kelton said. “I wonder if she meant
it?”
He didn’t realize he had asked the question
aloud until Earl answered it.
“It seemed sincere enough to me,” the old
man said. “But what do I know about that kind of stuff?”
More than me, Kelton thought, and
this time, he was pretty sure he kept it to himself.
The toilet flushed, the water ran, and a few
seconds later Jessica was walking back into the room. “You boys
miss me?”
“I know I did,” Earl said. He climbed to his
feet. Turning towards Jessica, he said, “And as much as I have
enjoyed talking to you, Milady, I’m afraid it’s time for you guys
to get back on the road. This old man needs his sleep.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
It was a little after midnight when they
pulled into a run-down motel in one of the seedier
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