Strays

Chapter 12

By the time Wyatt got to Old Rick's, Wren had thoroughly stewed.

"You seem... happy," Wyatt noted, staring at his bartender, who was throwing darts with particular gusto.

"Oh, no thank you," Wren said in a mocking voice. He threw another dart, which stuck itself firmly into the wall beside the dartboard. He growled to himself.

"You want to talk about it, or do you want to put more holes in my wall?" Wyatt walked over to him and leaned against a pillar beside the darts area.

"What's Lindley's deal?" Wren shot another dart, hitting the board, but not actually within the playing field. "Does she have a boyfriend or something?" He heard Wyatt chuckle and his annoyance rose.

"You asked her out, didn't you?" His question was answered by another dart thudding into the wall. Wyatt hooted heartily. "What did she say?"

"I said, 'Let me take you out sometime,' and she goes 'Like to a party with your friends?'" Wren did a mocking high pitched voice to embody Lindley's part. Wyatt continued laughing at his side. "And so I say, 'I mean like on a proper date,' because I figured we had a thing going, ya know? We'd spent some time together, and—you know—I like her. I wanted to show her, look, I'm interested in you, I want to treat you right, I want to see if this can be something, so let me take you on a real date." Wyatt held his breath, knowing the punch line was coming. "She goes, 'Oh. No thank you."

Wyatt lost his control. He was doubled over, slapping his knees, wheezing from laughing so hard. "Oh, no thank you," he repeated to himself, wiping tears from his eyes. "Oh, man. That's funny."

"I'm glad you think so," Wren said, retrieving his darts. Just when Wyatt thought he has gotten himself under control, Wren added, "Mind you—this is all after she literally stabbed me in the chest with a dart." Wyatt couldn't breathe. "Really, there's a hole in my chest, because she stabbed me with a dart."

"Look on the bright side," Wyatt managed, "at least she didn't do that after you asked her out." Even Old Rick could be heard laughing from the office after that.

"Very funny," Wren said, this time throwing a dart and hitting the wood rim of the dartboard. The tiny missile bounced backwards and Wren flinched, despite it landing feet away from him harmlessly.

"Oh, don't take it personal," Wyatt assured him. "Lindley doesn't date." Wren stopped and searched him.

"What do you mean she doesn't date?"

Wyatt shrugged, "She doesn't date. She explains it much better, so ask her about it, but she's got her goal of getting out of this town, and she has no interest in something that could tie her down here. Dean's been trying to get a date out of her since they were kids—she just won't do it."

"I'm not even from here," Wren complained, tossing the darts in the metal bin mounted next to the board. "How can I tie her to here when I'm not even tied to here?" He looked to Wyatt for an answer.

"Hmm," he said, thoughtfully. "I 'spose that's a point." He paused for a moment, before shrugging and turning away. "Then I guess she just doesn't want to go out with you."

"Oh, fuck off," Wren told him, following him back to the bar. Wyatt looked over his shoulder with raised eyebrows. Trying to appear nonchalant, Wren asked, "Dean—that's the mayor's kid?"

"Yeah, he's had a thing for her forever," Wyatt answered, fully aware of Wren's line of questioning. "He's a good guy. He sometimes will pick up shifts over at the diner when Mama Lacey needs the help. Not that he needs the cash—his family is just about the only family that's real world rich in this town."

Wren nodded, prompting Wyatt to add, "But she still refuses to saddle up. She's got a one track mind." He watched his new protégé pull off his beanie and ruffle his hair anxiously before putting it back on. "You really like her, then, don't you."

He remembered Lindley sitting on the fence—he wanted to take walks like that with her every day. "I don't know," Wren lied. He let out a deep breath. "Yeah, I really do. There's just something about her. We went on a walk together today, and I feel like I saw her for a moment with guard down, and I just wanted to protect her. Like wrap her up and not let anything bad happen to her—but at the same time I didn't, because I wanted her to just go wild." Wren fell into a barstool and stared at his hands. He hadn't had the nerve to take off his jacket since their walk, but now he was itching to have it off. Sliding one arm out before another, he tossed it onto the bar in front of him.

"Give her time." Old Rick was standing at the door to the back office. "Lindley's used to men in her life letting her down. Know when to push her and when to pull back." Wren felt unease bubble in his stomach, remembering the slimy feeling he got when her mom's boyfriend drove by.

"I do like you guys together," Wyatt chimed in. Old Rick grunted an affirmation. Wren gave him a withering look. "What? I do. I think you would be really good for each other."

Wren felt a smirk building on his face. Time to call in the big guns.