Beauty and the Mustache (21 page)

“
Speaking of which, I want
to ask you a question.”

“
Go for it.”

“
Did you know, when you
made me your power of attorney—and everything else—did you know
that you were….” He paused, and I assumed it was because he had no
intention of saying it out loud, but he surprised me when he asked,
“Did you know that you were terminally ill?”

She didn’t hesitate in her
response. “Yes. I knew.”

Drew release what sounded
like a tortured sigh, and they both sat quiet for several minutes.
I thought about stretching, waking up for show, but I didn’t. I had
too many new pieces of information swimming around in my brain. I
needed a second to catch up.

Momma then said out of
nowhere, “She was in the Miss Tennessee competition, you know. She
was only eighteen at the time, came in second.”

I hated this fact about
myself, hated that I’d done it—not because I was patently opposed
to beauty contests per se. I was just so shy and reserved at the
time, but I was also desperate for a way out of Tennessee, out of
this small town with its one sawmill, one library, one high
school.

Momma had money, yes. But
she also had seven kids. Her parents were wealthy, but supporting a
family without knowing how to invest her savings had eaten away at
her nest egg. I didn’t ask her, and she hadn’t offered.

Thinking back, it was the
memory of desperation that I hated, not the contest.

“
Really?” He drawled.
“That explains a lot.”

My mother gave a small
chuckle. “No. It really doesn’t. Not at all, really. Can you
imagine what it was like for her in a houseful of boys? And not
just any boys; Winston boys and their friends.”

“
Brothers and sisters
don’t always get along; nothing unusual about that.”

“
True, but they were all
just like their daddy growing up, wild with their own freedom,
caring not two licks about anybody but their own selves. Yet Ash…as
I’ve told you, she was quiet, curious, sensitive. Like you, she
wrote poetry. Lord have mercy, the pranks they used to play on
her—they never stopped. They never stopped tormenting, and pushing,
and using, not until she left. Then they realized that some hurts
can’t be undone, and selfishness drives people away. But it was too
late.”

“
You never told me what
they did.”

“
Oh… let’s
see….”

I decided that my mother
had said quite enough. I didn’t need Drew hearing about how my
brother Jethro had frequently tried to use dates with me as a trade
with his football buddies for whatever he wanted from them. Jethro
always said I was doing him a favor, but it felt suspiciously like
I was being pimped out, especially when one of his
eighteen-year-old friends insisted that I—a mere
fifteen-year-old—was expected to put out.

Of course, another great
example was the twins’ preferred method of demonstrating their
affection for me by rubbing their dirty underwear on my head—skid
marks and all—or holding me down and spitting in my
mouth.

But then, boys will be
boys, as my daddy liked to say. I had to give my father credit
because, in the end, he was right. Boys will be boys. And that’s
why I knew better than to open my heart to one.

I shifted my limbs
restlessly under the covers and stretched my arms over my head. As
I’d hoped, their conversation came to a halt. Fluttering my
eyelashes as if coming fully awake, I turned my neck and glanced
blandly around the room. I let my eyes move to my mother first,
then to where Drew sat twisted in the chair facing me.

“
Oh,” I said when my gaze
met his, my voice husky with sleep. “What’s going on? Is everything
okay?”

His eyes ensnared mine,
held me immobilized. Back was the weird intensity and heat, but now
I saw it for what it was—reluctant desire.

What I’d suspected last
night after he called me sexy was confirmed this morning while
eavesdropping; Drew liked me—or, at least the way I looked—a whole
heck of a lot. And that’s probably why he acted like Mr. Itchy
Britches whenever I was around.

I knew exactly how he
felt. Finding him handsome definitely gave me sand in my cracks.
Everything about being attracted to him was inconvenient: wrong
place, wrong time, wrong person.

But after sleeping on my
hissy fit the night before, I decided what we needed to do was grow
beyond this pattern we’d fallen into of snapping at each other,
lapsing into a confusing and heated moment, then avoiding contact
for days. We needed to move past the irritation of our mutual
attraction and into a nice, safe, placid familial space.

The jury was still out on
the rest of his intentions and life experience told me to be wary
of handsome men wielding compliments. If we could reach a
compromise where his intentions were made innocuous by defined
roles, then maybe we could relax around each other.

Momma’s slow speech cut
through the thick silence. “Everything is fine. Andrew and I were
just talking about how beautiful you are.”

I smiled inwardly at my
mother and her cheeky antics then let my eyes slide back to Drew.
He also wore a smile; it was small and patient.

“
Well, don’t let me stop
you,” I said, swinging my legs over the side of the cot and
reaching for my bathrobe. “Please, continue speaking of my
beauty.”

My mother laughed lightly then sighed. “When
does Marissa get here? I promised her a recipe yesterday.”

“
Which one?”

“
Mother’s
biscuits.”

I nodded, knowing the
recipe. “If you want me to, I’ll transcribe it for you.”

“
No. Just get me the card
and I can do it. I’d like to use my hands for something
useful.”

I caught Drew’s eye and
indicated with my head that he should follow me. His eyebrows
lifted in what I guessed was surprise. Nevertheless, he stood,
left
North and South
on the wooden chair where he’d been sitting, and turned to my
mother.

“
I’ve got to get going.
But I’ll be back tonight.”

“
That’s fine, dear,” she
slurred, giving him a hazy smile.

Drew exited the room first, giving me a
quizzical look.

“
I’ll be right back,
Momma. I’m going to brush my teeth.”

“
Please do. For heavens’
sake, I didn’t want to say anything, but you’ve been looking rough
the last few weeks. Maybe go get a facial and a hairstyle. While
you’re at it, get your nails done.” She laughed lightly and winked
at me. “Take your time, dear. I’m fixin’ to take a little cat
nap.”

I crossed to her bed and
gave her a kiss on the forehead. Her eyes were already closed. When
I left the room, I closed the door behind me.

Drew was waiting for me in
the hall, his arms crossed over his chest, his expression both
solemn and curious.

We both started speaking at the same
time.

“
Can we just….”

“
I need to tell
you….”

He sighed and closed his eyes. I glanced at
the ceiling.

“
Please, you go first,” I
said, fiddling with the tie of my robe.

He gave me a measured
look, but he relented. “I thought I saw an Indiana Bat in your
backyard last week while I was here. It’s an endangered species in
this part of the forest. Since your property backs up to the park,
it’s not unheard of to have sightings from time to
time.”

“
Okay.” This news and
conversation topic took me completely by surprise. I thought he was
going to fuss at me for my poor behavior. Instead, he was
discussing game warden business. “What does that mean?”

“
It means the fiber-optic
cable that’s buried in your front yard, which is being used by the
county, has been hooked up to the house. We’re going to put cameras
facing the park off the back porch, hoping to catch one of the
Indiana Bats.”

I nodded and shrugged.
“That’s fine.”

“
It also means you’ll have
free Internet access—really fast Internet access. I installed a
router this morning.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket
and handed it to me. “Here’s the login and password for the
wireless. You can choose your own, of course.”

I stared at him, my mouth
falling open by inches. My mind might be moving like a river of
molasses these days, but I caught his drift and then some. He’d had
Internet connected to the house. I could now call my friends in
Chicago. I could now Skype with them on Tuesdays.

My eyes stung, and a rush
of gratefulness swelled in my chest. Drew held my gaze, his own
cautious and watchful.

“
Thank you,” I blurted.
“Thank you so, so much.” Instinct told me to hug him, but something
about his glare told me that hugging him would be a
mistake.

In the end, I squeezed his
bicep. “Thank you,” I repeated, my eyes going to where my hand
rested on his bare arm. Four jagged white lines caught my attention
and I frowned, speaking before I thought better of it.

“
What on earth…? What
happened to your arm?” I stepped closer, inspecting the
scars.

“
Ah, that was a bear.” He
said this matter-of-factly, like everyone has a bear
scar.

My eyes lifted to his, and
I’m sure my face betrayed my incredulousness. “A bear? You got
these from a bear?”

He nodded.

“
What? When? How?” My
attention went back to the scars. They were ugly, like the bear had
tried to take his arm off.

“
I go trail running in the
morning. Sometimes one or more of your brothers come; sometimes I’m
alone. Sometimes there are bears on the trails.” He shrugged like
everyone goes on runs with bears. “Usually they leave me
alone.”

“
How long is the
trail?”

“
Anywhere from six to
twelve miles.”

“
And this time the
bear…what—he wanted to take your arm and beat you with
it?”

He grinned down at me.
“No, Sugar, and it was a she bear. A momma bear can get testy if
you come between her and her cubs.”

“
How did you get
away?”

“
I carry a tranquilizer
gun strapped to my back when I run. I shot it, but it took a swipe
at me before it went down.”

“
Oh, my God.” I shook my
head. “You are a lunatic. If you had a Viking name it would be Drew
the Thrill-Seeker or Drew Never-A-Dull-Moment.”

His grin dimmed to a
small, perplexed smile like he didn’t know whether or not my poking
fun was mean spirited.

I frowned at the confusion
casting a shadow over his features. “What’s wrong? What’d I
say?”

He shook his head,
studying me as though trying to determine my intentions.
“Nothing.”

But it was something. I’d
inadvertently said something to diminish the brightness in his
eyes. I decided to let it go for now and let my hand drop.
“Anyway…again, thank you.”

“
No need for thanks.” He
cleared his throat. “What did you want to tell me?”

“
Oh, yeah.” I’d almost
forgotten. The gift of Internet connectivity and the bear attack
story had driven all thoughts from my mind. I tucked the piece of
paper that held the wireless password into the pocket of my
robe.

Preparing myself for the
conversation to come, I planted my feet and took a deep breath,
determined to move us out of our perpetual loop of snarkiness.
“Drew, I want to apologize for calling you an ass last night. That
was very rude, especially after you fed me dinner and pie. I hope
you will accept my apology.”

Drew’s jaw ticked, his
mouth a flat straight line, but his eyes were vibrant and vivid
quicksilver, traveling over my face. I had to wait several seconds
before he gave me a stiff nod.

“
Good.” I sighed my relief
and eyeballed him. Good….” I repeated, not knowing what else to
say. I was trying to gauge his mood, and wondered if now would be a
good time to broach the subject of a ceasefire. I’d known him three
weeks, but after eavesdropping on that conversation between him and
my mother, I realized I barely knew him at all.

Ultimately I decided
sooner was better than later, and I plowed ahead without thinking
too carefully about my words. I didn’t want them to seem rehearsed
or forced.

“
So, you appear to have a
very positive relationship with my momma and my brothers, wouldn’t
you agree?”

His gaze sharpened and he
licked his lips before responding. “Yes. I’d like to think
so.”

“
Almost familial, it
seems. Like, Roscoe told me about the road trip you two went on.
That seems like something brothers might do together. And the way
you helped out Jethro and the other boys with their auto shop, and
how you seem to care a great deal for Momma, almost like she was
your own.”

Drew held very still,
watching me but saying nothing. Since he didn’t appear to be
inclined to confirm nor deny my statements, I pressed
forward.

“
Do you have a
sister?”

He flinched, blinking
several times before releasing a slow breath. “I….” He swallowed
and looked at the wall behind my head then back at me. “I had a
sister.”