That stopped her dead in her tracks. Her mouth opened but nothing came out. Jeff was as stunned as she was. He couldn’t believe he’d said those things, and instantly regretted them.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean that. I mean, I did mean it, but I didn’t mean to say it like that.”
Aunt Flo found her voice, and said, “After all the wonderful things I have done for you.”
“Excuse me?”
“Taking you in, giving you a home after what happened to your mother and father. You think my life has been easy since you showed up?”
Her lip quivered. Jeff thought she looked like she might actually cry. He’d never believed, up until now, that she had the capacity to produce tears.
“It’s not just about you, you know! Do you have any idea how much I loved your father? He was my baby brother, and I adored him! And maybe I didn’t always get along with your mother, but I loved her, too. I know it was a hundred times worse for you, losing your parents, but I thought the world of them!”
Jeff didn’t know what to say.
“You think I’m tough on you? Well, maybe I am,” she admitted. “Do you think I do it just to be mean? You think I like yelling at you all the time?”
Jeff shrugged. “Kinda.”
“Well, I don’t!”
“You’re yelling at me right now,” Jeff said.
She seemed to deflate, like a tire losing some air. More quietly, she continued.
“Maybe I am. But you have to be strong. You’re going out into the world without a mother or father to guide you, and if you’re not tough, you’ll get eaten alive.”
A tear emerged from her right eye and ran down her cheek. Jeff gazed upon it as if it were a flying cat. Not the kind of thing one saw every day.
“Okay, maybe I never wanted to be responsible for looking after you, but now I’ve got you, and you’ve got me, and we’re stuck with each other.”
Jeff noticed, watching from a distance from behind the screen door of his cabin, his friend Harry Green.
“I never... I never understood,” Jeff said. “But I still hate it here.”
That actually made Flo laugh. She did something Jeff couldn’t remember her doing since he’d come to live with her. She held her arms out to him.
Really? She wanted to give him a hug?
Jeff stood frozen for a moment, then closed the distance between them and let her take him into her arms. Tentatively, he wrapped his arms around her in return. After three seconds, Aunt Flo disengaged herself.
“So, okay then,” she said, looking down at the grass as though embarrassed by her openness.
“Yeah, well,” Jeff said.
“Now, could you tell me why you were gone so long?” she asked, regaining her composure.
“No.”
“What?”
Jeff rested his hands on her shoulders. “Aunt Flo, there’s something I have to do right now that’s very, very important, and I can’t tell you, at least right now, what it’s about. You just have to trust me. I will be back as soon as I can.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m just running in to grab my phone, and then I have to take off for a little while. I promise I won’t be super long. If I run into a problem, I’ll call you.”
“But—”
“No,” Jeff said firmly. “There’s something I have to do and I can’t really explain what it is. You have to believe me.”
“But—”
Jeff gave her shoulders a squeeze. “Please.”
Aunt Flo took a deep breath. “Fine. But will you be here for dinner?”
“I don’t know. Just save me something.”
She lowered her head slightly in an admission of defeat. Jeff gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, turned and ran into the house. He flew up the stairs in less than a second and dashed into his bedroom. He had left his cell phone charging on the bedside table. He detached it from the cord and shoved it down in the front pocket of his jeans.
He was just turning to his bedroom door when he heard a car — what sounded like a big car — barreling down the driveway into the camp. He went to the window and stared in disbelief.
It was a big, black SUV.
Twenty-Seven
The SUV came to a stop directly behind the Flo’s Cabins pickup truck. Flo, who was still standing out front of the house, walked with a spring in her step towards it. She had several empty cabins — all cleaned and ready for guests — so she put on her most welcoming smile.
With the engine still running, Daggert stepped out of the SUV. Seconds later, two other doors opened and Bailey and Crawford exited. They stood next to the vehicle, one on either side, while Daggert came up alongside the pickup, stopping to look at the door that featured the camp’s name.
“How are you folks today?” Flo asked.
Daggert made a fist and pointed a thumb at the door. “Are you Flo?”
“That I am,” she said, coming to within six feet of the man. “You folks don’t exactly look like you’re dressed to go fishing, but if you’re looking for a cabin, you’re in luck! I just had a cancellation!”
She did not, after all, want to look desperate for business. Let these folks think that they were lucky to find a vacancy.
Daggert eyed her from behind his shades. “Where’s the boy that was driving this truck?”
Flo blinked. “Uh, is there some kind of problem?”
“I said, where’s the boy that was driving this truck? You’re his aunt, right?”
“Uh, yeah, I am. How did you know that?”
“Where is he?”
“Well, you can see that he’s not in the truck, that much is for sure.”
Daggert took a step towards her. She tried to see his eyes behind the glasses, but couldn’t make them out.
“Your nephew’s in a heap of trouble,” Daggert said. “You’re going to be, too, if you don’t tell me where he is.”
“If you could just tell me what this is about and who you people are, maybe I could help you with whatever your problem is.”
“Where’s the dog?” Daggert asked.
“The... what?”
“The dog. He’s got the dog. Where is it?”
Flo shook her head and chuckled. “Mister, if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that Jeff—”
“His name is Jeff, is it?”
“That’s what I said. And I’m telling you, that if there’s one thing I know, it’s that Jeff does not have a dog. That’s because I can’t stand dogs.”
“That’s what he told me,” Daggert said.
“So you’ve already talked?”
“We’ve met. Just because you don’t think he’s got a dog doesn’t mean he doesn’t.”
Flo crossed her arms and sized up Daggert, his two associates and their fancy car. “You know, I get it now. You guys are the county’s new dog-tag enforcement unit. I gotta say, you’re the coolest-looking bunch of canine control officers I’ve ever laid eyes on.” Daggert glanced back at his aides, raised a hand into the air and snapped his fingers. They began to move.
“Hey, listen, I’m just kidding,” Flo said. “I’m gonna tell you something and you better listen. My nephew’s a good kid. Whatever you think he did, I’m sure he didn’t mean it, or else he had a good reason to do whatever he did. If you guys can’t even tell me who you are, then I don’t see any reason why I have to answer your questions.”
“Search,” Daggert said to Bailey and Crawford.
Flo, without realizing it, glanced at the house, then back to Daggert.
“Start there,” Daggert said, pointing.
“No, wait, stop!” Flo said. “He went into town! Jeff borrowed my other car and drove into Canfield to get us some takeout for dinner! Honest! There’s a great fish and chips place!”