Page 118 of The Rut in the Road

Hart shook his head. “They fucked off around eleven last night, according to Dan Maza,” came the response. He looked around the group. “Serious question—is everybody who’s driving okay to do so?”

“I’m fine,” Raj answered.

Mason also nodded.

Vi yawned.

“Great. I don’t want to hear about any fucking car accidents for any of you over the next hour, you got me?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Mason mumbled.

Hart pinned Raj with a look. “We need you back at work,” he said, his voice serious.

Raj nodded. “I’ll drop Rayn off, then be right there.”

I almost suggested that I could find another way home, but that would also have to apply to Vi, since her car was parked at my apartment, too. I also suspected Raj would feel better knowing—because he’d be the one to take me there—that I was safe at home.

I just wanted to sleep.

22

What is?What do? What do?

Beneath that,older and deeper, was more.

He likedthe way it squished. Liked the weight at the bottom that meant Duckbert would always roll back up on his orange duck-feet. Liked that he had the same patches of color as the ducks in Grandma’s book, just like a real duck.

I tookthe stuffed bean-bag duck back to Mason’s office, where Zane was on the floor in his pack-and-play.

“Here you go, Zane.”

The baby reached up his hands, letting out a happy sound.

“Did you miss Duckbert?” I asked him, talking to him the same way everyone else at BTV did.

“How did you know his name was Duckbert?” Mason asked, looking at me over the tops of his reading glasses.

I felt my cheeks flush a little. “Underneath Zane’s thoughts, such as they are,” I answered. “Were Jackson’s.”

Rather than put an end to the conversation, which was what I expected would happen, this made Mason sit up a little more and took off his glasses. “‘Zane’s thoughts, such as they are’?” he repeated.

“Yes?” I didn’t know what he was asking me.

“Zane has… thoughts? At his age?”

“Sort of?” I frowned. “They’re less thoughts from Zane and Grace than they are feelings. Curiosities. Impressions less than words.”

“Hmm.” Mason made a thoughtful hum. “Interesting.”

Where that conversation would have gone, we didn’t find out, because the bells over the door rang as someone entered, giving me an excuse to leave to see who it was.

I was preparing to offer a welcoming smile to whomever it was, but then I heard Hart’s voice.

“Fuck, these windows are huge.”

Raj’s voice answered him. “They’re the same windows,” he said. “It’s not like they got new ones.”

“They’re still fucking huge,” came the reply.