Page 63 of Between Brothers

She began to snore, and the minutes turned into hours.

Chapter Twenty-Six

A Solid Shoulder

Kennedy

I shifted, and my back came into contact with something cool and stiff. My arms suddenly felt chilled and I drifted to consciousness rubbing them and staring out over a watery surface.

I groaned, and something on the hood twisted around to face me. I sucked in a breath that stopped short of a scream when I heard Roy ask, “You awake back there?”

In an instant I became aware of everything.

The distance between the car and the land on the other side of the water. The soft swish of its current sounded like a roar, until the symphony of crickets and a nearby frog drowned it out. Leaves shimmied in the breeze, making a sound that was shiver-worthy all by itself.

“Where are we?” I murmured, sitting up a bit.

He waved, a big inviting swoop, “On the river. The view is gorgeous.”

I absently reached for the doorhandle. About the time that I got a grip on it and managed to open it he called out, “Grab that lunch my mom packed, I’m starving.”

The light inside of the car seemed blinding, even if I knew it wasn’t all that bright. I scooted aside and searched around the seat. It was empty, but my foot bumped into something.

There on the floorboard was a brown paper sack. It reminded me of my grade school years, when my mother used to pack my lunch.

“What is this?”

The thin paper held the promise something hard inside, but I was too concerned with getting answers, to investigate. I thrust the bag at him and bugged my eyes.

“My mom said you needed this, to keep from shock or whatever.”

“Shock…” My gaze dropped to the thermos he held out.

I twisted at the lid, but didn’t take my eyes off him.

“Where are we?” I repeated.

“The river, near Menard.”

I’d heard of Menard, but I didn’t know where in the hell it was.

“Why are we here?” I stressed, just as the smell of citrus hit me.

I sniffed at the thermos and cautiously sipped at the orange juice inside.

Penny hadn’t worried after shock, she was making sure my sugar didn’t drop. It wasn’t a bad idea, plus the stuff was still relatively cold.

I twisted the lid back on, set the thermos on the hood of the car and prepared to interrogate him further.

Before I could pose another question, he held out a sandwich.

I raised my hand to deny it, but he insisted, silently thrusting it in my direction.

If it got the answers out of him quicker, I decided I was happy to oblige.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked, ripping it out of his hand.

He slowly shifted a shoulder in a half-assed shrug, “You agreed.”