CHAPTER THREE
- THEN -
Five years ago
DAD WORKED WITH Uncle Luke for almost eight months when he first began bounty hunting to learn the ropes. Uncle Luke had been friends with Dad since their army days, and had been in my life ever since I could remember. Though he wasn’t technically my uncle, I’d never referred to him as anything else.
The first time Dad had ever taken a case without Uncle Luke, Mom and I had both been bundles of nerves. He often came home with bruises – and that was while working with a partner. We worried that he’d be in even more danger working alone. Dad’s jokes that his job wasn’t nearly as exciting or dangerous as the movies didn’t do much to reassure either of us.
“He’ll be fine, sweetheart,” Mom said, ruffling my hair as she walked past me into the kitchen. She was better than me at hiding her feelings. “He’s a tough one, your dad. There’s no need to worry.”
I tried to believe her. It was hard when she looked so terrible. But that could have been due to the chemotherapy.
For a while after the surgery, she’d been great. The operation had removed all of the cancerous cells in her breast and she hadn’t even had to undergo any chemotherapy. A few weeks ago, Mom had returned from a check-up appointment looking shaken. Her latest tests had found cancerous cells – this time in her ovaries. It seemed like it had been one thing after another these past few years. She’d been diagnosed with ovarian cancer at first and beat it. Then a few years later, they’d found malignant cells in her breast that needed to be removed. And now the ovarian cancer had made a return.
She’d started chemotherapy up again last week, and for a few days she’d been fine. The side-effects were beginning to take a toll now.
I was terrified. So was Dad.
He’d been home a lot the past few weeks, and we’d all been spending a lot of time together. It was great, but scary too, as I was all too aware of the reason why Dad felt it was necessary to spend as much time as possible with Mom.
He’d given me a long hug before he left. “I’m coming back,” he’d said, exasperated, as Mom and I hovered near the door.
He was beyond grateful for everything Uncle Luke had done for him, but he was ready to work alone. Once a fugitive was returned, the bondsman – who would have loaned the fugitive money for the bail – would share a percentage of the bail money with the bounty hunter. It was more dangerous to work alone, but Dad would be able to claim a higher percentage of the bail instead of splitting it down the middle with Uncle Luke. More money per case meant Dad taking on fewer cases and being home more.
His safety was still a concern.
Axel also came over that morning to keep me company. We’d sprawled on the couch, eating a bowl of microwave popcorn as we watched a movie.
Axel scribbled something on the notebook he always carried with him before he shoved it under my nose.
Your Dad’s a badass. If he didn’t smile as much as he did, I’d be scared of him. There’s no reason for you to worry, you know. He has done this before.
“I know,” I muttered. His eyebrows drew in a little as he stared at my mouth. ‘I know,’ I signed clumsily.
It used to feel weird, having Axel constantly look at my mouth, but I had long grown comfortable with it. My ASL wasn’t the best, so he often had to read my lips to communicate with me. It was slow going, learning a whole new language, but I was learning more and more every day. I wanted to talk to Axel in his language.
Although Axel was very skilled at lip reading, he’d told me that it was hard to decipher a full sentence. The words and people’s mouths just tended to blur together. It had taken him years of practice to get it right.
He hadn’t always been deaf.
He’d gotten meningitis when he was nine-years-old. One of the most common after-effects of bacterial meningitis was hearing loss. In Axel’s case, it had resulted in profound deafness.
He could speak fine, though he rarely did it around me, and never around others. He worried a lot about how he sounded.
‘Where’s Kellan?’ Axel signed, words I was familiar with.
‘I don’t know.’ My signing was awkward and slow. “He got a job. He wants to pay Mom and Dad rent, even though they refused,” I told him aloud, also signing the few words I did know as I spoke.
I was completely bemused by Kellan. I didn’t get him at all. Mom and Dad were fine with him staying here for free, yet he was determined to work for minimum wage in order to pay them. He could have spent his money on a million other things, or put it towards getting a place of his own. It boggled my fifteen-year-old brain.
He was working at a garage in town, and getting paid really crappy by the hour. Apparently, he had some kind of criminal record, so his options were limited. I’d heard Dad talking about getting his record expunged so his future would be wide open for him. Kellan had agreed, but was determined to pay for a lawyer himself.
All he did these days was eat, sleep, and work.
I’d suggested applying to college one morning when he was moaning about going to work, but he’d just snorted at the idea with a, ‘yeah right,’ and slapped a nicotine patch on his arm. He’d been trying to quit smoking ever since he first came to live with us.
I didn’t understand him. He moaned about his job, but he still carried on working there every day. He bitched like crazy about his nicotine withdrawals, but still continued to go without his precious cigarettes.
“Pride,” Axel said, with a knowing look in his eye.
“Huh?” I turned to him, surprised he’d spoken out aloud. He just shook his head, turning back to the movie.
The Dad had ended up coming home early the following evening, supporting a nasty shiner and a check for three thousand dollars. It had been a very welcome sight – him safe and sound. I’d even caught Kellan lurking around the corner – the only sign that he too had been concerned.