Finally, all the pieces were falling into place. "Sothat'swhy you're mad at them?"
"That and other things. My whole life, they've been screwing things up."
"Both of them?"
"Them and the other two."
"Wait," I said. "There's more?"
"Unfortunately."
He always said that. And just like always, I wanted to argue. No matter how awful his brothers might seem, I still believed that Joel was luckier than he realized.
At least, hehadbrothers. But this wasn't the time to quibble. So instead, I said, "The two I haven't met, what aretheylike?"
"They're dicks," Joel said, "just like the other two."
"Oh come on," I said. "That can't be true. I mean, there's gotta besomecloseness there, right?"
Joel practically snorted. "Close? You wanna hear something funny?"
From the look on his face, I wasn't so sure. Still, I said, "Sure. What?"
"One of my brothers? Supposedly, he's got a place around here. "
I sat back in my chair. I hadn't seenthatcoming. "Really? Do I know him?"
"Hell,Idon't even know him."
"What do you mean?"
Joel shook his head. "I haven't seen him in years."
And just like that, another piece of the puzzle snapped into place. "Sothat'swhy you're camping here? You were hoping to track him down?"
Joel glanced away. "I dunno. Maybe." Under his breath, he added, "It's probably a bullshit story, anyway."
"What story?"
"Nothing. Like I said, it's probably bull."
"Wait, isthatwhy your stuff is in storagehere, instead of in your hometown?"
"No," Joel said. "It'shere, because my brothers are dicks, and I didn't trust my things anywhere near them."
"But what about yourotherbrother–"
"That's all I know." He gave me a look. "Now, it's your turn."
Chapter 54
I glanced around the patio. "My turn? Already?"
"I told you about the fights," Joel said. "Now, you tellme. What are you afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid."
"The hell you aren't. So tell me. What's going on?"
