“Okay, Xander, nice to meet you. See, not strangers anymore. So, get in.”
“I’ve got a cat,” he announces, pointing his thumb over his shoulder toward the car. “He’s in a carrier.”
“Grab him and come on.”
Xander doesn’t look any more assured, but after he plucks the carrier out of his car, he rounds the front of my truck and pulls open the passenger side door, climbing into the cab, setting the cat on his lap. The opening faces away from me, so I can’t see the animal, nor is it making any noise. Maybe it’s asleep. I join him, not bothering to put my seatbelt back on since we’re not going very far. I do, however, turn the music down.
“It smells good in here,” Xander mutters, dragging his gaze around everything.
“Thanks. It’s some air freshener I picked up the other day.” Putting the car in drive, I go around the Nissan, and head toward his aunt’s house. “What’s your cats name?”
“Larry.”
I shoot a look over at him, a smile tugging on my lips. “Your cat’s name isLarry?”
Much to my surprise, he breathes out a laugh. “Yeah, I don’t know. He just looked like a little wrinkly Larry when I brought him home.”
“Alright, I like that,” I murmur, bringing my attention to the road in front of us again. “I didn’t know Ms. Dawson had a nephew. Are you visiting?”
“Yeah, I’ve never been here. Any time we’ve seen each other, she’s always come to Washington. But yes, I’m visiting, kind of.”
“Kind of?”
Xander’s hands are back in his lap, but this time his fingers are twirling around a bracelet he’s wearing around his wrist. It’s black, and it’s one of those types you can cinch together using the two end pieces. I wonder if he made it himself. “She’s having surgery on her hip soon. So, I’m coming here to help out with her animals while she’s recovering.”
That’s nice of him to do. Ms. Dawson has quite a few animals that I know of. A couple of horses, some cows, goats, chickens. I think she’s even got a few ducks running around too. “You’re from Washington?”
“Mhm.”
“Like, Seattle?”
“No.” He chuckles. “Not like Seattle. I live in a town just outside of Pullman in eastern Washington.”
“That’s cool. Do you have farm animals there that you take care of?”
“No.”
“Have you ever?”
He shakes his head. “Just my cat.”
“So, you have no clue what you’re doing?” I ask, my brow arched in question.
“Pretty much.” His lips lift into a small smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. In fact, it looks forced. “But she said she’ll show me what to do. I’m a quick learner, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, it’ll be great,” I reply—even though Ihighlydoubt it will be—as we pull in front of my house. It looks fairly similar tohis aunt’s, except where mine’s more dark, neutral colors, hers is a bright yellow. “Wait here. I’ll grab the stuff and be right back.”
Because I’m so neurotic about how things in my garage are organized, I find what I need right away, bringing it back out to the truck and sticking it in the bed before climbing back inside. Xander is fiddling with that bracelet again, and he looks over at me as I shut the door.
“Thanks for helping me,” he mutters, throwing a quick glance my way. “I’m not normally this much of a basket case, but everything about this trip has been hell. This is just the icing on top of the fucked-up cake. So, thank you.”
Nodding, I say, “Hey, no problem at all, man. We all need a little help every now and again.”
Putting the truck into reverse, I back out of my driveway before heading back to where his car’s at. It’s easy enough getting it hooked up to my truck, and when we get to his aunt’s place and I unload it, I give him the number to my mechanic before also plugging in my number.
“If you need anything, just give me a call or text me. I’m very well acquainted with farm animals and how to take care of them, so just let me know.”
“Uh, thank you. I appreciate it.” He takes his phone back, stuffing it into the pocket of his hoodie, tossing me one more smile that seems more genuine this time, before he climbs out of my truck. After he grabs a few things from his car, he heads toward the front door, but not before glancing back and giving me a wave.
