The Perfect Homecoming (Pine River) (15 page)

ELEVEN

Are you keeping count? Only a few more sleeps until I head for an awesome skybox and the Broncos-Patriots game. Dad says I sound like a little kid, and maybe I do—but I’ve been dreaming about a game like this since I picked up my first pigskin when I was six and Mom enrolled me in Pop Warner football. I didn’t even know about football, but Mom said I was like a moose in a china closet because I guess I was clumsy or something. I’ll never forget it. She said,
If you need to crash into things so bad, go crash into other boys instead of my house.
She was kind of shouting it when she said it.

It was the best thing she ever did for me. Well, okay, maybe not the best, but I did love football. I played all the way through school and you probably wouldn’t guess it by looking at me now, but I was so badass that I got a scholarship to play for the Colorado School of Mines. I know what you’re thinking! That a bunch of engineers wouldn’t be into football, but trust me, that team
rocked.

I was headed for All-American when I started having trouble with my hand. Like, my hand would just stop holding a football, or stop holding a pen like there was no input from my genius brain. And then my foot started flopping around like a clown while I walked. It was weird, watching pens slip through my fingers and my foot flop around. Anyway, you know the rest of the story, MND, blah, blah, blah, and I had to stop playing. But I
still
love football, and now, after twenty-seven years, I get to see the
Broncos
obliterate the
Patriots.
That is every Colorado boy’s dream, and I’m going to see it from a luxury seat!

I tried to convince Dad to get me some body paint so I could go
super
orange and blue, the Bronco colors, but Dad said no, he couldn’t paint and it would be too cold anyway and he didn’t think the world wanted to see my chest. Killjoy! I was pretty pissed about it, but Luke got me a great Broncos shirt and cap, and I’m ready.

I’ve still got plenty to worry about. You cannot imagine the effort it takes to coordinate and organize when you’ve only got a mouth to work with. Dad the Downer said we’re going up Sunday morning and coming back that night, because we can’t be away from all the breathing machines and crap that he pumps into me every day. So now I’m a little worried that it might snow, and if it does, Dad will drive my van like a grandpa, and we could be late. People, I can
not
be late. It will ruin everything for Dante and me if we’re late.

Just in case, I’ve been studying up on alternative routes. I need to concentrate, and you’d think people would understand I have enough to do without worrying about everyone else in Pine River, but you know how it is, once you’ve established yourself as king of the hill, it’s hard to get off, if only for a weekend. They still keep coming to me.

The Methodist ladies brought me a picnic basket full of stuff for my trip. Like baby wipes and big plastic bottles with crazy straws for all the stuff Dad has to give me, and it was really sweet, and I do love me some Methodist ladies—I mean, they are the reason I’m getting to go to the game after their big fundraisers, right? But I really don’t have time for a hen circle right now. Then again, the Methodists can be counted on for the
best
gossip, and believe me, they already knew all about Cooper Jessup. It’s like they’re aliens with news antennas that come out of their heads the moment someone new comes to town.

This time, the ladies heard about the new guy from Dani. Well, color me mildly surprised, because it turns out, Dani apparently appreciates eye candy as much as the rest of them and has been telling everyone in town about the hunk from Hollywood.

As happy as I was to learn about Dani’s hots for Cooper, all that talking and listening was exhausting. I’m not being sexist when I say that women have an unbelievable capacity to talk. I bet if you Googled it, you’d find it was an accepted scientific fact. If there weren’t guys around, who would ever get them to stop talking? It’s hard for me to admit defeat, but here goes—I was outmatched and I was unsuccessful in getting them to stop. They stayed a really long time. My plans for the afternoon—charting some alternative routes to Denver—were shot, and I had to ask Luke to call Marisol and beg her to come and help me look at maps.

Well, Marisol came immediately, because it turns out she likes to show off that stinky little hot mess of a baby. Valentina has a thatch of hair as black as night and socks that look like sheep. She won’t even look at me because she’d rather sleep, which is really weird because usually little kids stare at me. Marisol stuck Valentina in one of those automatic rockers, and to sleep that kid went, like I wasn’t even there. I’m giving her a grace period since she’s brand-new, but sooner or later, she’s going to have to learn who’s boss around here.

So anyway, Marisol and I were poring over maps, and she was coding alternate routes in different colors when Emma showed up. Emma did this double-hop thing when she saw Marisol, like she wasn’t expecting her at all, and she said, “Oh hey, hi, Marisol,” and Marisol said,
“Um,”
and kept looking at the maps.

I explained to Emma that Marisol was helping me get ready for the game, because I didn’t want her to think she was fired or anything, and Emma said oh, and then she wondered if I’d had my gruel, and Marisol said yes
in that Latina way that essentially means, don’t even think of stepping on
my
toes,
chica
, and Emma just walked into the kitchen. Sometimes she forgets to make a graceful exit. She forgets to say things like “Thanks!” Or, “Excuse me, hope you two have fun.” She just walks off. I don’t take it personally, because I figure she doesn’t know what to say and just goes on. Anyway, she walked into the kitchen and I could hear her banging things around, being loud, and Marisol picked up the yellow highlighter and looked at me and said, “You’re very stupid, Leo.”

I said, “Stop flirting with me, Marisol. I’m busy right now.”

And she said, “That skinny blonde is in love with you.”

Well, tell me something I don’t know already. People, what do you think I do all day with this ginormous brain? I think, I observe, and I am always one step ahead of you. I said, “Look, it’s obvious she’s totally into me, but she’s not in
love
with me. She’s in love with, like
. . .
sanctuary.” I couldn’t think of a better word because I’ll be honest, my genius brain was one hundred percent focused on football. Marisol looked like she thought I was trying to speak Spanish or something and she said that didn’t make any sense, but the thing is, it makes all the sense in the world. Emma is in love with the idea that there is a guy out there who doesn’t want her for her body. I mean, I think she wants a guy to be completely into her kick-ass body, but she doesn’t want that to be the first and only thing, you know? But then, she’s kind of strange, and I think she’s afraid if anyone ever looked past her perfect body, they wouldn’t like what they saw.

Me, I’m
totally
into her body. That’s what
I
want, but I can’t do anything about it, so,
voila
, she’s safe with me.

Emma knows that, too. That’s why she’s hiding out with me. I don’t know exactly what she’s hiding
from
, but hello, it’s obvious to everyone she’s hiding. People like Luke think she’s hiding from something or someone. “Maybe she’s on the lam,” he said with a chuckle, but I could tell he’d actually wondered if that was true.

I’m a lot more astute than any other Kendrick in this house, and I
know
she’s hiding from herself.

So, late one day Luke comes in with Cooper, his new best friend, and they’re all excited because it’s supposed to snow late in the week, and Luke’s suggesting that they take a day or two and go skiing. This guy has been here a couple of days now, which I thought was all he’d planned, but now it looks like he’s sticking around for a few more. Of
course
he’s still here, because it’s the holiday season and the ranch is running itself right now, and Luke has time on his hands and this guy likes to do the stuff that Luke likes to do, and Luke is
full
of ideas. Plus, Luke can be very convincing. Trust me, back in the day, he talked me into doing things that would have made my mom kill herself if she’d known.

I can tell Cooper digs it here, too. He doesn’t want to admit it because that would be, like, super uncool to be from Hollywood and really dig Pine River. Anyway, we were sitting around and he and Luke were drinking beer, and Dad was shoving shit into a blender for me, and I asked Cooper how he knows Emma.

“Only casually. We worked a couple of events together.” But when he said it, he looked like he’d just eaten something lumpy and couldn’t swallow it.

I said, “Don’t you like her?” Because even though Emma’s a little odd, she’s beautiful, she’s funny in a nonobvious way, she tells it like it is, and she likes dogs. What’s not to like?

Cooper looked like I’d caught him with his pants down, and believe me, he’s not the kind of guy to get caught like that. He said, “I like her fine. I mean, I don’t know her that well, but I haven’t had any issues with her.”

I thought that was a weird thing to say, no issues, and so did Luke, because he laughed. “Issues. Like what?”

Cooper shrugged and took a giant swig from his beer and said, “I’ll be honest, guys—she’s got a rep around Hollywood.”

Well now,
that
remark totally made me feel the need to stick up for my woman, and I said, “Sure she does. She’s different. But different isn’t bad, you know? Like that kid playing basketball in New Jersey. You know who I’m talking about, right? The high school senior? He’s like this huge basketball star, no one can block him, and he’s got autism.”

Cooper looked really startled, and so did Luke, who said, all confused, “What are you saying? Emma has autism?”

I am often amazed at how obtuse people around me can be. I was like, “
No
, dude, she doesn’t have autism.” Sometimes you really have to spell these things out. “I’m just saying she’s different. She’s not like the other girls, but she’s still awesome. Like that kid in New Jersey.”

Cooper said, “Right,” but he said it in a tone that told me he didn’t get it at all. So I said, “I bet you didn’t know that she gave a big wad of cash to the Pine River afterschool program.”

Luke was frowning like he thought I was making it up, and he was all, “How do
you
know, genius?” How can he still doubt my powers of observation? I said, “Because Debbie Trimble is on the board and she told me. She was as surprised as you, Luke, and I guess it’s because you guys look at Emma and you don’t think charitable works, right? They didn’t even ask Emma for it. She heard Deb talking about it, and the next time Debbie was over, she handed her a check.”

Cooper stared at me.

“She’s like, super generous, and they’re all excited about the improvements they’re going to make in the spring.”
Boo-yah.
Once again, I am king of information in Pine River.

Even Luke was impressed, because he said, “My God, what do you
not
know about Pine River?”

Well, nothing, but that is way beside the point here.

“So how come you never mentioned this before?” Luke demanded, all mad because once again, I knew something he didn’t. I told him it was because it seemed kind of personal for Emma. Sort of like the Wilson kids, which, of course, Luke knows about because Jackson’s told everyone. I mean, I know what it’s like to want something so bad when you can only look at it. Like when you can’t go out in the world and get what you want because your arms and legs don’t work, or maybe because your heart is too broken. I explained all this to Luke, but it was Cooper I was watching. He was really quiet, just listening, watching me really closely like he wasn’t quite sure I was all there.

I decided that night that I really like Cooper. I think he could get it, like,
really
get it. He just seems sharp, you know? Sometimes a person walks into your house and you get a sense about them, that they are really hearing what you’re saying, and understanding it. Most people walk into this house and they are trying to think of something to say really fast so they don’t have to address the elephant in the room—which would be me—or they are thinking about themselves. You can just tell.

But Cooper doesn’t seem like that. He’s cool.

And Luke
really
likes him. It’s man love or whatever you call it when two dudes find someone just like them out in the world. Luke’s been talking about Cooper and the stuff they’ve been doing, checking out all the places they could stage some sports in the summer like they’re two little kids building a fort.

I remember when that used to be Luke talking about me and what we’d done together. We’d go way up in those mountains, and we’d build forts and hunt elk and ski and climb rocks—you name it. Mom used to get really mad at us and tell us she was going to sell us to a merchant ship if we didn’t come home when we were supposed to, but Luke and I weren’t really scared of her. We were
really
scared of bears.

Anyway, Luke and Cooper’s excellent adventure makes me kind of sad. Not sad that I can’t go—I got over that a while back. I’m sad that Luke has to replace me. Your brother is supposed to be there in the beginning and all the way to the end. Your brother is supposed to be exploring canyons with you in the winter. What really sucks is that I’m the lucky one in this deal, and Luke got robbed.

You know what I hate? I hate that I’m letting him down. I hate it worse than almost anything. Except maybe the Patriots. Anyway, I’m glad Luke has found Cooper who, let’s be honest, is pretty good-looking and super smart. In other words, if you can’t have me, he’s a pretty good runner-up.

I just hope Luke doesn’t forget how totally awesome I was.

Who am I kidding? That would be
impossible
.