“Oh, man. Sorry about the little guy.”
“Yes, me, too. Being a father is the best and the scariest thing that can ever happen to you. Anyway, I’ll see you at Mama’s.”
“Right,” Bowie said, and disconnected.
It was nearing noon. The shadows were short, and the sky was clear. Jesse knew the woods too well to be really lost, and as much as Jesse liked to eat, he would surely take himself home soon. But Bowie knew what was worrying their mom most. She was afraid Jesse had hurt himself. Bowie’s urge to go faster was strong, but the road had too many curves, so he stuck to a safe speed.
He was about three miles from home and beginning to steer into a curve when he tapped the brakes to slow down. But instead of slowing the car, the brake pedal went all the way to the floor without anything happening. He had a moment of panic, then downshifted to a lower gear and steered the truck off the road and down into the ditch, which slowed it down even more before he purposefully steered it into the trees. He was jolted hard on impact, but he’d gotten the vehicle off the road, which was what mattered most.
“Just when I need not to be late,” he muttered, as he got out and popped the hood.
He leaned in to check the brake fluid and was shocked to find that there wasn’t enough there to measure. Now he was stuck waiting for Aidan. He tried to call his mother, but he didn’t have a good signal, so he dropped the hood and walked a short distance up the road until the signal was strong enough for him to make the call.
Leigh answered on the second ring.
“Hello? Bowie? Are you on the way?”
“Yes, ma’am, but I had to pull off the road. I was driving into a curve when the brakes went out. I had to drive the truck down a ditch and into some trees to get it stopped. I just checked, and there was no brake fluid.”
“Oh, no,” she muttered. “I’m sorry. Stanton never mentioned anything to me about the brakes being bad. Want me to come get you?”
“No, I just talked to Aidan. He’s coming up behind me. I’ll ride with him. I’m sure sorry. Don’t worry. We’ll find Jesse.”
“He’s not far from the house, because I heard a couple of gunshots after I called you. I keep hoping he’ll walk out of the woods any minute now.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be there soon.” Then Bowie heard a vehicle coming up behind him and turned around. “Hey, Mama, Aidan just got here. We’re less than three miles from home.”
“Oh, thank goodness. I’ll see you soon.”
Aidan braked as Bowie came running toward him.
“What happened?” Aidan asked, as Bowie slid into the seat beside him.
“No brakes. The brake fluid leaked out. It was lucky this curve had trees. Most of the curves don’t have anything but that wire cable to keep someone from driving straight off the side of the mountain.”
“Yes, and the cable is barely four feet off the ground. I don’t know how the county thinks that’s protecting anyone. I know Dad has brake fluid in the shop because I’ve seen it. He probably knew the truck had a leak. We’ll get you fixed up after we find Jesse.”
“I just talked to Mama. She said she heard a couple of shots not too far away from the house.”
Aidan shook his head.
“Leslie and I talk about this all the time. I don’t know how Mama is going to cope with him on her own.”
“No, don’t worry about that,” Bowie said. “She told me the other day that taking care of Jesse was going to be what saves her.”
“Really?” Aidan said.
Bowie nodded. “She’s one strong woman, brother, and you know it. She’ll find a way, and for the times like this, there are three of you within driving distance.”
“You’re right. Dad would have said we’re just borrowing trouble, thinking like that,” Aidan said.
A couple of minutes later Aidan took the turn off the blacktop onto the long graveled driveway leading up to the house.
Leigh was waiting for them on the porch, and she frowned when she saw Bowie was alone.
“Where’s Talia?”
“She wanted to change clothes. She’s probably already on her way here.”
“You need to change out of your good clothes, too,” Leigh said.
“Yeah, all right. Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll be right back,” Bowie said, and hurried into the house.
“I’m sorry I was late,” Aidan said. “Johnny fell and cut his lip. I had to make sure he didn’t need stitches before I left.”
“Oh, no!” Leigh said. “Poor baby. I shouldn’t have called. You need to be home with your family.”
Aidan frowned.
“Mama, stop! This is what family does for each other. We worry as much about Jesse as you do. We would be hurt, even angry, if you didn’t include us in your lives.”
Leigh hugged him. “You’re all such good sons.”
“We had good parents to raise us,” Aidan said, as Bowie came running back out of the house.