05.
The Ride Home
The rain had started to slow as Wren's truck rolled up the highway, which was a good thing, considering his windshield wipers didn't work. Neither did the central air, and the seatbelt fibers were so frayed it looked like a strong breeze could've severed them. The passenger window got stuck halfway down, but at least Sam got a little fresh air. And the whole cab stank of engine fumes and even worse--fast food burritos.
"Holy hell, Wren, how can you
drive
this thing? This contraption is a death trap."
The mechanic shrugged. "She's bought and paid for, and I reckon gets me where I wanna go. Ain't nothin' wrong with that, is there?"
"Not if you've happily lived to ripe old age of twenty-one," Sam said with a sidelong glance, "which
I'd
like to reach without getting into a car accident, thank you. You're, what...thirty?"
The truck gave a sharp swerve as Wren jerked on the wheel in surprise. "I'm twenty-
three
, thank you. And
you
worry too much."
"You met me all of a couple of hours ago," she objected. "You don't know
how
much I worry,
thank
you."
Wren didn't have hackles to stick up, but the look on his face told Sam she would've seen them. "Look, I'm doing your Daddy a favor. Least you could do is be grateful for it."
Sam opened her mouth to argue further, then shut it again. Instead, she closed her eyes and took as deep a breath as she could stand beyond the stink of burning motor oil and the smell of him, which she found enticing
and
distracting.
"You like talking about yourself, Wren?"
Now it was his turn to give her a side eye. "No ma'am, not really."
Sam lightly drummed her fingertips atop the helmet in her lap. "Humor me. Least you could do after a pretty girl sucks you off is make conversation."
Wren was pale enough that she could see him blush, and it made her smile without meaning to. He pulled his cap a little farther down towards his eyes and hiked his shoulders up. "You came onto
me,
as I recall."
"And I liked it."
One second, Wren was walling himself off; the next he was looking over at her, too surprised to keep those walls up. "Beg pardon?"
Sam leaned over, extended a forefinger, and tapped him on the tip of his nose. "I. Liked. It." Three taps for three words. "And so did you--like I need to point
that
out."
Wren blushed again, but now without the stink of hostility about him. "Well...yeah. 'Course I did."
"So did you and Rebecca used to be a thing?"
The man squirmed in his seat, looking
very
uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Rebecca likes to
dabble
, ya understand. I had a case of puppy love, and I got over it quick once she told me it weren't gonna last."
"You sound like my Dad, a little."
"Yeah? How's that?"
"It's a long story," Sam said, unsure how much she wanted to share. "My Mom did the 'puppy love' thing her whole life. Dad wanted more; she didn't." She shrugged.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
It was quiet in the cab for a moment, aside from the growl of the engine. "So tell me how a good ol' boy like you got mixed up with Tennessee Watkins." Sam knew it was a risky question, and expected him to become hostile again, but she had to ask it all the same.
As expected, he hiked up his shoulders and clenched his jaw, but the anger wasn't directed at her. "Tenn's just a dumbass bully who's got too much weight to throw around, so when he throws it, you
feel
it. He treated the pack like his own private booty call service, or got off watching the rest of us." He turned his head and spat out his window. "Getting shot was too good for him. I wouldn't piss on that motherfucker if he was on fire--I'd just pour on more gasoline."
"That sounds a little harsh."
"You don't know him," Wren countered, giving her a hard look. "You ain't seen what he's capable of yet. Hopefully, you never will, neither."
By that time, they'd reached Phil's house. The rain had slowed to a misting trickle, and after killing the engine, Wren climbed out and took a step back for Sam to exit. Helmet in hand, she slid out to a rattling of half-crushed cans and crunching paper bags.
"Thanks for the lift," she said, looking up at him. Wren wasn't as tall as Tennessee, but was still tall enough that she had to make effort to look him in the eye.
"My pleasure," he said. For a moment, she thought that he was going to climb back in the truck, but instead he glanced at the house, then back to her. "You...planning on sticking around for awhile?"
"Maybe." Sam felt that sensation again, the one she'd sensed when Wren was standing close to her during the Meet--she might've called it
greed,
except Sam wasn't his to covet. Not yet. "Why do you ask?"
"Because your Daddy's good people--I've known him for years." He set an arm atop the rusty pickup and leaned against it, keeping his eyes trained on hers. "He was excited when he told me you contacted him, more than I've seen him in awhile."