The Fire Pit

Chapter Two

Luke watched Shane as he drowned every last bit of his food with maple syrup-the eggs, the bacon, the biscuit, the toast. Luke made a face. He'd never understood how Shane could eat that. How had he not developed diabetes by now?

Shane looked up at him, the container of syrup hovering just above his plate. "Do you have a problem with the way I eat?"

"Who wouldn't have a problem with the way you eat?" Luke asked, incredulous.

Shane stabbed a piece of bacon, dipped it in the syrup, and leaned as close to Luke as possible to eat it. Luke, disgusted, shoved him away. His cousin laughed.

"Don't be such a pussy," Shane jested.

Luke smiled, thinking of how much Shane sounded like Grandpa. It didn't matter how much Shane despised Yuba City. He was still a Pace at heart: dirty-minded, hot-headed, and a little bit of redneck.

It got quiet. Too quiet, Luke noticed. He examined his cousin's face as he ate and knew there was something Shane wanted to say by the way his knee bounced up and down all fidgety-like.

"Go ahead, spit it out."

Shane looked up at him, a few bacon crumbs falling from his mouth. "What are you talking about?"

"I know that look," Luke remarked. He said it as certain as if he'd said the sky was blue or the grass was green.

Shane rolled his eyes. "Fine, but if I ask and you flip out on me, we're going to have a problem."

"Go ahead. Ask me what?"

Shane had always hidden himself, masking his emotions with jokes and anger. But in that moment, Luke had never seen his cousin look so serious. Luke didn't admit it, but it shook him to his core. Curiosity filled him and he wondered what could be on Shane's mind.

Silence rang out until finally, Shane spoke. "How did she get the scar?"

His question rang out in Luke's ears and he sat, stunned. Evelyn. Of all things, it was Evie on his mind and Luke understood. Shane had never been the guy to get attached to a girl, but Evie was no ordinary girl. She was intriguing, just like those cowboy books Shane always read. He liked intriguing.

"That's a complicated question," Luke murmured, hesitant.

It wasn't Luke's place to tell Shane what had happened. On the other hand, he didn't want Shane to open his big, fat mouth to Evelyn and put her through that.

"No it's not," Shane countered, slipping into his smart ass tone. "It's actually pretty simple. I didn't ask the meaning of life-"

"Fine, but on one condition," Luke barked, his lips a firm line. "You cannot say anything to Evie. If she knew that I told you, it would kill her."

Shane shrugged. "Whatever, I won't say anything."

Luke glared at his cousin. "I mean it. If you say anything, I will kick your ass right out of Yuba City."

He could tell that Shane knew he meant it by the sharp nod.

"Okay." Luke peered down the hall, double checking that no one was within earshot. "Evelyn's never had a good home life. Ever since we were little, her dad's been drinking and her mom has worked three jobs to keep them out of debt."

"I remember..."

"She barely eats because grocery money goes towards her dad's addiction and the rest is paying for her brother's college." Luke tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "One night her dad came home hammered and Evie's mom started yelling at him...They were always fighting, constantly, day and night they were fighting. Whenever I stay at Grandma's, I can hear them fighting."