“So, you take people up to these spots . . . and then what?” I asked. He said it all so matter of factly, I was genuinely curious. Men who wore turquoise jewelry and talked about the earth’s energy weren’t exactly common in Big Lake, where oil and football were at the top of the accepted list of conversation topics.
“And then they pay him a lot of money and say they’re enlightened,” Rusty answered.
Bru chuckled. “I don’t know about a lot of money, but some of ’em do come back with the insight they were looking for.”
I nodded like I understood, but I was still a little hazy on how it was supposed to work. Bru waved his hand. “Anyway, that’s just work stuff. When I’m done with that, we’ll get to work on your car, so don’t you worry about it.” He stood and patted me firmly on the shoulder. “We’ll get her all fixed up tomorrow, and you can be on your way.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I appreciate it.” And I really did. He had a calm about the way he spoke that was reassuring all on its own.
“Sure thing,” Bru said with a wink. “See y’all in the mornin’.” He pushed himself out of his chair with a grunt, then leaned down and gave Celia another kiss on the cheek and shuffled back into the house, leaving the three of us out there in the cool night air with comet dust falling all around.
After a moment when we were all quiet, I turned to Celia. “Have you gone to one of those places? The vortexes?”
She smiled a warm, soft smile. “I have. They’ve helped me work through a lot of things in my life. Met Bru at one of them, as a matter of fact. That’s a story for another night, though.” She leaned her head back and sighed. Then, after a long moment, said, “We should probably all be getting to bed soon. You two must’ve had a long day. Probably could use the rest.” Neither of us said anything, and I wondered if it had seemed as long to Rusty as it had to me. Watching the sunrise with Wyatt, the fight with Rusty afterward, the monsoon and the car crash, all of it felt like years packed into the space of a day.
Celia lay a soft hand over mine, and I could see out the corner of my eye she put her other one on Rusty’s. She breathed in deep and closed her eyes, chin lifted up to the starry sky, and the glow from the candle made her long, soft curls shine gold. “I think that car breaking down on you is a sign,” she said dreamily. Rusty shifted in his seat, but she kept her hand on his. “I mean it. I think the two of you are supposed to be here together right now, sharing this.”
I glanced over at Rusty, curious if he thought it was crazy, what she’d just said. And also kind of wondering if I was a little crazy for liking that she’d said it.
“Don’t get started with all your New Age crap,” he said, drawing his hand away. “We’re supposed to be to the California state line by now.”
Celia sat up. “I’m sorry, honey. It just came out.” She turned to me. “Rus doesn’t like it when I talk like that. Doesn’t believe in his own mama’s intuition. But I tell you what—some things are so true you can feel ’em right here.” She put her hand to her chest. “And that’s one of ’em. You two are meant to be in this together. Here.”
She nodded to herself, then her hand went from her chest to my arm. “Which reminds me, Honor, I think it’s just perfect that you’re taking those tickets Finn gave you and going to see Kyra Kelley. I’m sure he would’ve wanted you to.”
I shot a thanks a lot look over at Rusty, but Celia didn’t seem to notice. She was too excited right then, her hands all aflutter as she spoke. “Have you been reading about what she’s going through, with her boyfriend cheatin’ on her and her manager stealing from her and all? That is a girl who needs someone genuine in her life right now!” I looked from Celia to Rusty, who was leaned back into the shadows, trying to hide a smirk. Celia hopped up from her chair. “Matter of fact, I just read an article about her that you need to read for yourself—it was all about how she’s at this complete crossroads in her life right now, you know, looking for the right path to take. A lot like you, probably, and . . . I’ll just go and get it.” Without waiting for a response, she disappeared through the sliding glass door into the house.
I sighed at Rusty, who still hadn’t said anything from across the table. “You told her about Kyra Kelley?”
“What was I supposed to say we were doin’ here?”
“I don’t know,” I shot back. “Apparently we’re supposed to be here. Earlier, she seemed to think you went home to get me.” I looked at him straight on. “Is that true?”
Rusty stayed quiet, and out of nowhere something in me felt close to breaking down. I looked to the sky for the next shooting star, hoping it might quiet the confusion in my head, but nothing came, and my eyes landed right back on Rusty.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “I don’t understand why she’s acting like you came home to get me, or why you would in the first place, because . . .” I paused to breathe, a last grasp at composure before I went on and said what had been in the back of my mind since he showed up in my driveway. “Because the day Finn enlisted, you were so mad at him, and hurt. And I understood. You guys . . . you had it all laid out in front of you—football and college, and you lost all that when he changed his mind. But . . .”—I fumbled with the words on the tip of my tongue before I finally got them out—“but you seemed like you hated me for what he decided, like it was my fault, and I . . .” I dropped my eyes to a crack in the wood of the table. “I never understood that. At all.”