The Best of Me - Nicholas Sparks [34]
Abee Cole could feel the fever inside him making him sick, and he shivered despite the heat. Two days ago, he’d taken his baseball bat to a guy who had provoked him, and the guy had surprised him with a box cutter. A dirty one that left an evil-looking slash yawning across his gut. Earlier this morning, he noticed green pus oozing out, smelling like a sewer despite the drugs that were supposed to help. If the fever didn’t break soon, he had half a mind to take the bat to his cousin Calvin, since he’d sworn the antibiotics he’d stolen from the veterinary office would work.
Right now, though, he was distracted by the sight of Dawson running on the opposite side of the street, and he considered what to do about him.
Ted was in the convenience store behind him, and he wondered whether he’d spotted Dawson. Probably not; otherwise he’d be rushing out of the store like a wild boar. Ever since he’d heard that Tuck went toes up, Ted had been waiting for Dawson to show up. Probably while sharpening his knives and loading his guns and checking his grenades or bazookas or whatever the hell other weapons he kept at that rat hole he shared with Ella, that little tramp whore of his.
Ted wasn’t quite right in the head. Never had been right. Just a bundle of rage, that one. Nine years in prison hadn’t taught him how to keep it in check, either. In the past few years, it had gotten to the point where it was almost impossible to keep Ted in line, but as Abee often reflected, that wasn’t always such a bad thing. It made him an effective enforcer, ensuring that everyone involved in producing crank on their property followed his rules. Ted scared the crap out of everybody these days, family included, and that suited Abee just fine. They kept their noses out of Abee’s business and did what they were told. While he didn’t particularly care for his younger brother, Abee did find him useful.
But now Dawson was back in town, and who the hell knew what Ted was going to do. Abee had figured that Dawson would show up on account of Tuck dying, but he hoped that Dawson would have had the sense to stay just long enough to pay his respects and leave before anyone knew he’d even come home. That’s what anyone with a lick of sense would have done, and he was sure that Dawson was smart enough to know that Ted wanted to kill him every time he looked in the mirror and saw that crooked nose staring back at him.
Abee didn’t give two licks what happened to Dawson, one way or the other. But he didn’t want Ted creating unnecessary trouble. It was hard enough to keep things going already, what with the Feds and the staties and the sheriff poking their noses into the family business. It wasn’t like the old days, when the law was afraid of them. These days, the cops had helicopters and dogs and infrared and snitches everywhere. Abee had to think about such things; Abee alone had to plan for such things.
Thing was, Dawson was a lot smarter than the meth-head tweakers Ted usually dealt with. Say what you want about Dawson, but he’d beaten the crap out of both Ted and his daddy when both of them were armed, and that meant something. Dawson wasn’t afraid of Ted or Abee, and he’d be prepared. He could be ruthless when necessary, and that should have been enough to give Ted pause. But it wouldn’t, because Ted wasn’t going to be thinking straight.
The last thing he needed was for Ted to be sent away again. He needed him, what with half the family tweaking and prone to doing stupid things. But if Abee couldn’t prevent Ted from going off the rails when he saw Dawson, Ted just might find himself standing before the judge again. The thought made his stomach burn, compounding his nausea.
Abee leaned over, vomiting onto the asphalt. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as Dawson finally disappeared around the corner. Ted still hadn’t come out. Abee gave a mental sigh of relief and decided