Cold River - Carla Neggers [48]
Devin swiped at the remains of her cobweb. “You ever think about leaving Vermont?”
Hannah went still. “You mean move?”
“Yeah. Start over somewhere else.”
“How would I—” She stopped herself. “No, I haven’t thought about moving. Why?”
“I’ve been thinking…” He gave her a weak smile. “Let’s at least talk up where there are no spiders.”
Finally Sean rose again, with a sharp look at her brother. Hannah gulped in a breath. A collage of images came at her. The California desktop background on the computer she shared with her brothers. The searches she’d found for smoke jumpers and Beverly Hills. The talk about needing to figure out what came next for him now that he’d graduated high school.
The nightmares, the pacing, the certainty that he had to do something.
“Toby’s leaving for California with Sean the day after tomorrow.” Hannah tried to keep her emotions under control. “Is that what you’re up to? Going out there with your brother?”
Devin grimaced and looked down at the floor. “Sean offered me a job.”
“Sean Cameron?” She spoke as if he weren’t right there. “What kind of job?”
“Basic step-and-fetch-it until I figure out what comes next.”
Hannah felt as if the dust were settling on her, encasing her, as if she were another cast-off in the old, musty cellar. “How long do you plan to stay in California?”
“I don’t know. It’s open-ended.”
“So—what? A month to start? Five months?”
“I’ve committed to three months to start. Same as Toby.”
“Where will you live?”
“I said he could stay at my place until he gets on his feet,” Sean said.
“Not a bad deal, right, Hannah?” Devin seemed desperate for her approval. “Sean also said I could fly out with him and Toby.”
“The day after tomorrow,” Hannah repeated dully.
“That’s right. I’m eighteen,” he added, with a hint of defiance. “Almost nineteen.”
“Of course. You don’t need my permission.” She raked both hands through her hair, not even sure what she felt. “You can do whatever you want now. Toby turns eighteen soon, too. Then he can do whatever he wants, too. Stay in California and mountain bike his life away.”
Devin looked crushed. “I can stay here. I don’t have to go.”
“No—no, Dev.” She shook her head, pulling herself together. “If this is something you want to do and you can make it happen, I’m not going to stand in your way just to keep you here.” She was aware of Sean’s presence. The coconspirator. But she wasn’t going to let Devin get sucked into whatever was going on between the two of them. “I’ll be upstairs in a few minutes. We can talk more then.”
His face brightened with obvious relief. “Yeah. Great. I’ll go up and figure out supper.”
Hannah waited stiffly for him to get back up the cellar stairs. Her side throbbed now in addition to her cheek and wrist. She forced back the pain and turned to Sean. “How long have you known?”
“Two days.”
Sean came around to her, his coat open to a dark, soft-looking sweater. He’d changed since she’d left him at Four Corners. She was still in her hiking clothes, still had rock dust and dirt on her, the cuff of her shirt wet from her ice pack.
“Hannah—”
“When did he start talking to you about California?”
“During the search for the twelve-year-olds on Christmas Eve. He’d been thinking about it for some time. He convinced me he’s serious.”
“He’s romanticizing your life, smoke jumping, California.”
“Then he’ll find that out for himself.”
She heard more footsteps, heavier than either Devin’s or Sean’s. It had to be Bowie. She called up to him. “Come on down, Bowie. You can handle the stairs, right? You’re not going to pass out from loss of blood, are you?”
“Ha. Funny, Hannah.”
He thumped down the stairs and, dodging the string hanging from the lightbulb, headed over to the back wall. His face was badly swollen and bruised. He’d changed into a heavy gray sweatshirt and put a fresh bandage on his hand, no blood yet seeping through.
He glanced at Sean, then turned to Hannah. “I can come back.”
“No, it’s fine,” she said quickly. “The leak’s right over there. Please, have a look now. Sean owns the building. It’s not