Nicholas Sparks - The Best of Me

At the bar in the country club, long after they’d finished their round of golf, Frank signaled to the bartender for another beer, unaware of the inquiring glance the bartender shot at Roger. Roger just shrugged, having switched to Diet Coke himself. The bartender reluctantly put another bottle in front of Frank as Roger leaned closer, trying to make himself heard above the noise in the crowded bar. Over the past hour, it had become packed. The game was tied at the top of the ninth inning.

“You do remember that I’m meeting Susan for dinner, so I’m not going to be able to drive you home. And you can’t drive, either.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Do you want me to call you a cab?”

“Let’s just enjoy the game. We’ll figure it out later, okay?” Frank raised the bottle and took another drink, his glassy eyes never leaving the screen.

Abee sat in the chair beside his brother’s bed, wondering again why Ted lived in a crap hole like this. The place reeked, some disgusting combination of soiled diapers and mold and God knows what else had died around here. Combined with the baby that never stopped crying and Ella skittering around the house like a frightened ghost, it was a wonder that Ted wasn’t even crazier than he already was.

He wasn’t even sure why he was still here. Ted had been unconscious for most of the afternoon, ever since he’d collapsed on the way to his truck. Ella was already screaming about taking him back to the hospital by the time Abee scooped him up and brought him inside.

If Ted took a turn for the worse, he might just do that, but there wasn’t much the doctors could do. Ted just needed his rest, same as he could get in the hospital. He had a concussion and should have taken it easy last night, but he hadn’t and now he was paying the price.

Thing was, Abee didn’t want to spend another night sitting with his brother in the hospital, not when he was feeling better himself. Hell, he didn’t even want to be here with Ted, but he had a business to run, a business that depended on the threat of violence, and Ted was a big part of that. It was lucky that the rest of the family hadn’t seen what happened, and that he’d been able to get him back inside before anyone noticed.

Christ, it stank in here — like a damn sewer — and the late afternoon heat only intensified the smell. Pulling out his cell phone, he cycled through his contacts, finding Candy, and hit send. He’d called her earlier but she hadn’t answered, nor had she returned his call. He wasn’t happy about being ignored like that. Not happy at all.

But for the second time that day, Candy’s phone just rang and rang.

“What the hell’s going on?” Ted suddenly croaked out. His voice was gravelly and his head felt like it had been subjected to a jackhammer.

“You’re in bed,” Abee said.

“What the hell happened?”

“You didn’t make it to the truck and ended up eating a pile of dirt. I dragged you in here.”

Ted slowly raised himself into a sitting position. He waited for the spinning and it came, but not as violently as it had that morning. He wiped his nose. “You find Dawson?”

“I didn’t go huntin’ for him. I’ve been watching over your sorry ass all afternoon.”

Ted spat onto the floor, near a pile of dirty clothes. “He might still be around.”

“He might. But I doubt it. He probably knows you’re after him. If he’s smart, he’s long gone by now.”

“Yeah, well, maybe he ain’t so smart.” Leaning heavily on the bedpost, Ted finally stood, tucking the Glock into his waistband. “You’re driving.”

Abee had known Ted wouldn’t let things drop. But maybe it would be good for his kin to know that Ted was up and around and ready to take care of business. “And if he ain’t there?”

“Then he ain’t there. But I gotta know.”

Abee stared at him, preoccupied with the unanswered phone calls and Candy’s whereabouts. Thinking about the guy he’d seen flirting with her at the Tidewater. “All right,” he said. “But after that, I might just need you to do something for me, too.”

Candy held the phone as she sat in the parking lot of the Tidewater. Two calls from Abee. Two unanswered and so far unreturned calls. The sight of them made her nervous, and she knew she should call him back. Just do a little purring and say all the right things, but then he might get it into his head to come and visit her while she was at work, and that was the last thing she wanted. He’d probably notice her packed car in the parking lot, figure out that she was planning on clearing out, and who knew what that psycho would do.

She should have packed up later, after work, and left from home. But she hadn’t been thinking, and her shift was about to start. And while she could cover maybe a week in a motel and the food, she really needed tonight’s tips for gas.

There was no way she could park out front — not where Abee could see the car. Slipping into reverse, she pulled out of the lot and rounded the highway curve, back toward downtown Oriental. Behind one of the antiques stores at the edge of town was a small lot, and there she turned in and parked out of sight. Better. Even if that did mean she had to walk a bit.

But what if Abee showed up and didn’t see her car? That might be a problem, too. She didn’t want him asking too many questions. She thought about it, deciding that if he called again she’d answer and maybe mention in an offhand way that she’d had car trouble and had been dealing with that all day. It was troublesome, but she tried to console herself with the fact that she had only five hours to go. By tonight, she’d be able to put this whole thing behind her.

Jared was still sleeping at quarter past five, when his cell phone began to ring. Rolling over, he reached for it, wondering why his dad was calling.

Except it wasn’t his dad. It was his dad’s golf buddy, Roger, asking him to come and pick up his dad at the country club. Because his dad had been drinking and shouldn’t be driving.

Gee, really? he thought. My dad? Drinking?

Jared didn’t say that, even if he’d wanted to. Instead, he promised to be there in about twenty minutes. Getting out of bed, he threw on the shorts and T-shirt he’d been wearing earlier, then slid into his flip-flops. He collected his keys and wallet from the bureau. Yawning, he descended the steps, already thinking about calling Melody.

Abee didn’t bother to hide the truck on the road outside Tuck’s and hike through the woods like he’d done the night before. Instead, he sped up the uneven drive and came to a gravel-spraying halt directly in front of the house, driving like a SWAT team leader on a mission. He was out of the truck with his gun drawn before Ted, but his brother clambered out of the truck with surprising agility, especially considering the way he looked. The bruises beneath his eyes had already turned blackish purple. The guy was a human raccoon.

No one was around, just like Abee had expected. The house was deserted, and there was no sign of Dawson in the garage, either. His cousin certainly was a slippery bastard. It was a shame he hadn’t stuck around all these years. Abee could have found good use for him, even if Ted would have had a fit.