Page 26 of Wheelie's Challenge
Wheelie stood up. “Let’s go get the boxes.” He started toward the door when his phone rang. “Hang on. It’s my mom.” Wheelie sat back down and swiveled his chair to face the window. “Hi, Mom.”
“How are you, honey?” His mother’s voice sounded tired.
“Fine. Are you okay? You sound wiped. Al been treating you all right?” Al was his stepdad. His mother had married him a few years after Kendra had been murdered. He seemed like a decent man, and Wheelie was happy his mother had found someone because she’d been so lonely and miserable for such a long time.
“Al treats me like a queen.” There was a smile in her voice.
“He should. You deserve it.”
“When are you coming to Denver? It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen you that Al and I were thinking to come visit with you and then go to Aspen. It’s always so pretty this time of year in the mountains with all the wildflowers and greenery.”
“That’d be cool. Let me know when you’ll be here and I’ll take a couple of days off. I’ll show you some of the sights off the beaten road. I know Al likes ghost towns. There’re a few around the county that tourists don’t go to. They’re pretty rad.”
“That would be nice. Al would really appreciate it. He doesn’t think you like him very much.”
“He’s fine. As long as you’re happy, I’m good. You know me, I’m not that friendly with most people.”
“I told him that. You have a girlfriend yet?”
“You asked me that a week ago and the answer’s the same, Mom.”
A long pause.
Something’s up.“What do you want to tell me?”
“Am I that transparent?”
“What is it?”
An audible sigh. “He’s out.”
Ice ran through his veins as every muscle in his body stiffened. “They let the sonofabitch outearlyafter what he did?”
A soft sniffle. “Isn’t it awful. I couldn’t believe it when they called me. He only spent nine years of his sentence behind bars. Kendra is gone from us forever.” Her voice broke.
Burning rage ran through him, replacing the shock from just seconds earlier. “Don’t cry, Mom. I’ve got this.”
She suddenly gasped. “No. I don’t want you to do anything. He’ll get what’s coming to him someday. I don’t want you getting into any trouble. I couldn’t handle it if I lost you. I pray every day to God for your safety, and for the strength to forgive.”
“God forgives. I don’t. Don’t worry about me, Mom. I’m good.”
“Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”
“Where’s the sonofabitch at?”
“I’m not telling you. I don’t want you to do anything. I told Al I didn’t want to tell you, but he insisted you had a right to know.”
“He’s right. I’m glad you told me. You know I’ll find out where the asshole is, so why don’t you just tell me.”
“San Diego.”
Wheelie had to strain to hear his mother. “Thanks. I’ll try and come out to see you for a couple of days. Listen, Mom, the car wash has been keeping me busy all day, so I should get going.”
“Just promise me you’ll move on and forget I told you,” she said softly.
Wheelie stared at the jagged peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Images of his dad hiking on its trails scurried from the dark corners of his mind. Wheelie would walk next to his dad, but Kendra would always run up ahead.She’d wanted to be the first one to reach the top every time.It was so clear in his mind that he could smell the smoky caramel scent from his dad’s pipe tobacco and hear Kendra’s laughter that was soft like the first light of dawn. “I can’t promise you that,” he said in a low voice. “Don’t ask me to.”
“Fuck!” Animal growled, making the images in Wheelie’s brain scatter back into the shadows.
