Desert Bound (Cambio Springs) by Elizabeth Hunter Read Free Book Online

Lowell?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Why don’t you run to the house and see if the food is ready. Find out how much time we have.”
    “Okay.”
    Lowell ran off, leaving Kevin kicking his heels in the dust and looking over a small dent near the rear axle of the trailer.
    “You know,” the boy said. “I bet Ollie and me could get that out. He’s been teaching me how to do body work on his dad’s old pickup.”
    “Yeah?” Alex walked over and looked at the tiny dent. He wouldn’t even have noticed it. “You can try, if you want to. But ask Miss Kathy first.”
    “Yeah, sure.” Kevin shrugged. “Maybe I’ll ask.”
    Alex sat in one of the folding chair’s he’d put up under the shade cover. Kevin took the other one and Alex handed him a bottle of water from the ice chest between them.
    “How you doing?”
    “Fine. School’s good. Made the honor roll again. Mom’s happy.”
    “Moms like that stuff.”
    Had he been this hard to talk to at fourteen?
    “Hey, Uncle Alex, can you hire kids during the summer? You know, to help out with the construction?”
    He shook his head. “Sorry. Have to be sixteen. And you have to have a work permit, too. Actually, I’m not sure minors are allowed on the job site, but I’ll find out if you want me to.”
    “Nah.” He shrugged. “By the time I’m sixteen, it’ll all be built, right?”
    “Hopefully.”
    “And you’re still gonna stay here?”
    “Yep.”
    “Even afterward?”
    Alex nodded, glancing over at Kevin, who was staring out at the main road, watching a car head toward the highway.
    “I guess…” the boy started. “I mean, it’s not the most exciting place, is it? Dad was always talking about all the stuff he could be doing if Mom was willing to move.”
    Alex bit his tongue, trying to figure out what to say to the boy. 
    Kevin continued, his voice a little rougher. “I guess I don’t blame him for wanting to get away. The Springs isn’t all that exciting.”
    If Joe Smith was standing in front of him, Alex would strangle him.
    “You know, I’ve been a lot of places, Kev. Some are pretty amazing. Traveling is great. You should definitely go exploring when you’re older.”
    The boy nodded. 
    “But after you’re done exploring, it’s good to have a place to come home to,” he continued. “And, if you ask me, the thing that makes a place exciting is the people. That’s why I’m moving back. People like your mom and Jena. Ted and Ollie. Kids like you and Lowell. People are more exciting than places.”
    “Yeah?”
    Alex leaned over and put his hand on Kevin’s shoulder, pulling him closer. He spoke in a low, commanding voice, the voice he used on the younger wolves in the pack. Confident. Sure. Maybe a little scary if the pup had messed up. It was the voice his father had used with him, and if Alex knew anything about teenage boys, it worked.
    “Kevin, do not ever think that your dad leaving had anything to do with you. That was his failing, not yours.”
    He sounded like he wanted to speak, but didn’t say anything. Alex squeezed his shoulder again, letting his natural authority roll over the boy.
    “Do you understand me?”
    “Yes, Uncle Alex.”
    “And do not ever think his actions reflect on you. You are your mother’s son, and you will be a good man. You’re going to mess up sometimes, but in the end, you’ll make decisions in life that your mother will be proud of and that I’ll respect.”
    Kevin nodded, sniffing back tears so Alex wouldn’t see. He nudged the boy up and out of the seat, saying, “I think there’s one more box in the back of my truck. Go get it and put it in the shed.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Then we’ll head to the house and get a beer.”
    Kevin halted and turned. “Really?”
    “Well, I get a beer. You get a root beer.”
    A hint of a smile crossed Kevin’s face, then he ran back to the truck.
     
    Alex caught Ted watching him from the corner of her eye over and over during dinner. It was Jena, Caleb,