I didn’t know what to do. Would he try to grab me if I came close enough to get the towel? I thought about the knife under my front seat, kicked myself for not bringing it down to the creek. I couldn’t get into the car without passing him.
I walked up to him, slowly. He held out the towel, gave me a friendly smile.
I reached out, ready to run if he moved a muscle, but he stayed still. I took the towel and wrapped it around myself, wishing it was a beach towel and not a small white one from the motel. I moved around to the passenger side of the car.
He had a beer in his hand. “Want one?”
“No, thanks.”
He pulled a red cigarette pack out of his front pocket, lit a smoke, his head tilted to the side. For a second it looked like he was checking out my legs, but then he glanced away. A shiver crawled over my scalp.
“Riley mentioned you’ve been sleeping in your car.” He glanced into the back of my car, stared for a second at the blanket I’d spread out. “He said he told you that you could clean up down here after work.”
So that’s how Gavin knew I was there. Why had Riley told his uncle? Was it a trap? I felt a flash of anger at my stupidity.
“I’ll leave.”
He picked up the roach I’d left on the hood of my car, gave me a creepy smile. “Tell you what, I’ll let you stay if you smoke a joint with me.”
I didn’t want to smoke anything with him, but he had this angry energy about him. Like if I said no, he’d freak out. I imagined his big hands hitting me in the face, all over my body, his own face twisted in rage.
“Okay.”
He walked back to his truck. I quickly opened my car door and pulled my T-shirt over my head, grabbed my shorts and pulled them on behind the car. I could see him sitting in the passenger side of his truck, his glove box open. He was rolling a joint, but he kept glancing in my direction. When he looked away I reached back into the car, felt under my driver’s seat, and pocketed my knife.
My bikini was still wet under my clothes, soaking through my shirt. I wrapped the towel around me. I looked around. No one could see me, and no one knew I was there. I’d thought that meant I was safe. I was an idiot.
Gavin closed his glove box back up, leaned over to turn the radio on. He flipped through a few stations. Country music filled the air.
He left the passenger-side door open and walked back toward me, his tongue flicking out to lick the joint’s seam. He glanced up, met my eyes. I looked away. He came around to the front of the car, sat on the hood.
“Come on, don’t be shy.”
I took a couple of steps closer but left a few feet between us. If he tried to grab me, should I run for the woods or my car? I should’ve left the door open. I fingered the knife in my pocket, the cold metal comforting.
He lit the joint and took a long drag, then passed it to me. He stared at me as my mouth circled the end. I looked down while I finished inhaling, passed it back to him.
“Brian said you were eighteen,” he said.
“Yeah.”
“You’ve got a boyfriend waiting for you in Revelstoke?” He took another drag, coughing on the smoke.
I nodded.
“He doesn’t sound like a very good boyfriend, letting you stay out here by yourself.” He shook his head. “Kids these days, Riley, that fuckhead Noah he’s always hanging out with, they don’t know how to treat a girl.” He passed me the joint. I noticed his hands, how big they were, the dirt under his yellowed nails.
I didn’t say anything, just took a drag, but I didn’t inhale much, didn’t want to get that stoned. I needed to be sharp in case I had to run for it.
“You get cold or scared down here, you come up to the house and knock, okay? I’ve got a couch.”
I’d rather set myself on fire than sleep in your house.
“Thanks, I like sleeping in my car.”
“You got problems with your folks?”
“We’re in touch. My mom worries if I don’t check in every day.”
He gave me a measuring look. “I bet she does.”
I wanted him to leave, but I didn’t know what to say.
“Riley said he might come by later and hang out. Noah too.” It was a gamble—he might already know Riley was doing something else tonight.
“You be careful with those boys. Pretty little thing like yourself shouldn’t be hanging around alone with them.”
“I’ll be careful.”
His gaze slid down, leveling somewhere around my breasts as he sucked on the joint. His phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked the call display, his jaw tightening.
He answered. “The fuck do you want…?” He listened, his face angry. “So deal with it.… Okay, okay.…” He ended the call, stuffed the phone back in his pocket, stood up, and handed me the joint. “You’re going to have to finish that for me. My brother needs me up at the ranch—a hose broke in the barn.”
I wanted to cry, I was so relieved, mentally thanking God and whoever else was watching over me. I was getting out of this place and never coming back.
He gave me one last smile. “Don’t forget, door’s always open.”