Page 20 of Bad Decisions & Back Roads

“Yep,” I murmured.“That’s the happy one.”

“You ready, Sof?”My mom called.“Let’s get your shoes on.”Mom had her blonde hair styled.She wore one of her “nice” dresses, which meant she was meeting friends.I wondered if it was the Baptist Ladies league, her knitting group, or her reading club.Lisa Hurst was always meeting with another group of gossipy women.

Sofia slid off me without hesitation.She knew I’d be here when she came back.

“Where are you two going?”I asked.

“She wants to come to Bible study with me.Shirley’s granddaughter will be there.They can play while we’re in group.”Mom grabbed Sofia’s shoes, already moving.“Can you pick her up between seven and seven-thirty?”

I nodded.

She leaned into the den.“Mason, hon, I’m taking off for the church.”

I heard Dad grunt something.

“Text me when you arrive to get her, Timothy.”She scooped Sofia up like she weighed nothing.

Sofia beamed over her shoulder at me, arms wrapped tight around Mom’s neck.

Mom paused at the door long enough to point at me.“You and I are talking later.That whole business with…” Her eyes flicked to Sofia.“It can wait.”

The door shut behind them.The house exhaled.

I stepped into the den.Dad was half-asleep in his chair, some game show flashing across the screen, all bright lights and fake laughter.Buck lay sprawled at his feet.The bandage around his tail seemed too small and insignificant for the amount of blood there’d been two days ago.

“I’ll be on the porch, Dad.”

He waved but didn’t open his eyes.

Outside, the night wrapped around me, thick and humming.Cicadas filled the silence.I checked my phone—calendar, obligations, the next thing I had to handle—and realized I’d need to run into town to grab the keys from Deck for tomorrow morning’s HVAC job two towns over.

Always something.The screen dimmed in my hand.

I sat on the top step.My blue heeler, Bagel, plopped down next to me and demanded a head pat.I whispered, “She’s back.You wouldn’t be here if she hadn’t saved your father.”

“Can I ask you something, Timothy?”Vinny dropped down beside me on the top step, close but not quite touching.He reached over and scratched Bagel’s head.

“Sure.”I leaned back, bracing myself for some sort of uncomfortable teenager topic.

“Do you think Erika resents me?”The question hit without warning.“If it wasn’t for me, she never would’ve had to come back here.She wouldn’t be stuck in Vision having arguments like that.”

“No.”I let out a short breath, more reflex than humor.“Hell, no.”

He didn’t look convinced.

I turned toward him, really looking this time.His shoulders curved in like he was trying to take up less space.

“Your sister loves you,” I said, quieter now.“You brought her back to the place she was supposed to be.”I nudged his shoulder lightly.“She adores Josh.Always has.He was falling apart without her.”

Vinny’s gaze stayed on the dark yard.

“If it hadn’t been for you?”I went on.“They’d still be out there somewhere, missing each other.Being too miserable and too stubborn to fix it.”

I slipped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him into a half hug.He leaned in after a second, which was enough to let me know he needed it.

“We’re all a mess, Vinny.All of us.Loud and stubborn and even a little broken.You’re the least broken of us.”

The cicadas swelled, filling the pause.