The Rifters by M. Pax

Chapter 9

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If Dante would have let Earl stay, he would have. Leaving Daelin in his otherworldly hands poked at Earl wrong, as if he broke his promise to Charming. What were she and Dante up to? Part of him believed he should warn Daelin off. The part devoted to Charming said he couldn’t.

“I’ll see how things play out. Yeah.” He filled a cart at the bulk store with items from Wilma’s list, groceries, and a prepaid phone for himself. “No matter what, I can be Daelin’s friend.”

“What’s that, sir?” A young man in a blue and gray apron blinked up at Earl from the floor.

“Just talking to myself.”

“It’s a rampant disease in this town.” The stock boy carted off his empty boxes, shaking his head.

After loading up his pickup, Earl headed back to Dante’s. Daelin sat with Betty, watching the television, picking at her sandwich. Whether it was magic or an ability of alien origins, Dante must have succeeded in erasing Daelin’s memories of the afternoon. Earl deduced so because Dante left her alone. Yet she appeared restless.

“My errands are done. Do you want to see more of Bend?” he asked her.

She shook her head, her dark eyes crinkling slightly at the edges, the hint of a frown. “I’m anxious to see my sister. What if she’s home? I can see the sights another time.”

Her teeth tugged on her lower lip, red and full. The sun had deepened her olive complexion. The sun had more strength in the high desert, suffusing the thinner air with its intensity. If Daelin had never set foot outdoors in her entire life, she’d still not have the fairness Charming did.

Their beauty was as individual as their fathers. Charming had told Earl about their free-spirited mother, and he had the honor of meeting Rosalie Dae Moon two months ago. He had honestly never met anyone like her. A saloon gal in San Francisco he had once known came close, and if she had lived in this century she might have rivaled Rosalie, but he doubted it. At any rate, Daelin showed more of her mother’s spunk than Charming.

“Sure thing.” His girl could return tonight, then he could quit lying. The constant stream of falsehoods did nothing for his redemption. He tipped his hat at Dante. “See you.”

Dante’s eyes sparked like electric lemons. “Stay away from the horses.”

Earl didn’t like the way he said it, as if from here Dante could impact the minutia of his life. Sooner rather than later he needed to figure out how to take Dante on and win. It’d be necessary for his survival. Mostly he worried for Charming’s.

With a hand to her elbow, Earl escorted Daelin out to his pickup. Her height made it easy for her to climb up into the cab. The truck started with barely a rumble. Its power surged up his leg when he pressed down on the accelerator, a high he would have missed if he had never been brought into this century. He steered toward the highway and whatever fate had been set into motion by Dante and his girl. The way Daelin sat as the mountains whoosh by, she couldn’t have any idea what she had agreed to when moving in with her sister.

Her lips pursed, and she glanced at Earl. “It’s not much of a city,” she said. “When you mentioned going to the city on my sister’s porch, I had such great hopes. I don’t see anything taller than a two story house.”

In his time, San Francisco had bustled more than the towns around here. He could see her point. “We could swing through downtown if you’d like.” That wouldn’t bolster her impression, though. He shrugged. “Give it a chance. It’ll grow on you.”

“Maybe Portland. I can’t see staying in Settler long.”

Yes, a lot like her mother. “Rosalie didn’t. Three weeks was her limit.”

The knot between her eyes threatened to burst into storm. “My mother? She was here? You met her?”

The coldness in her tone didn’t escape him. Charming had harbored it too. He’d best tread cautiously. “She visited in April.”

“Charming never said.” Daelin crossed her arms. Her jaw stiffened, and she glared at the world. “How long have you been seeing her?”

What an abrupt change of subject. He shifted in his seat. “Seeing her? Who?”

“Don’t play dumb. You don’t strike me as dumb. How long have you and Charming been together? I saw a photo of the two of you on her refrigerator.”

Oh boy. Dante had succeeded. She didn’t have any memory of having talked about this earlier. “It’s not like that.”

“Then how’s it like?”

If he said anything other than what she expected, she’d not believe him. Yet he could only answer with the truth. “We’re good friends. I gifted some money to the Paleo Institute so they could hire a paleontologist. I helped interview the candidates. Charming and I hit it off.”

“I think there’s more to it than that.”

Oh, there was, but Earl would keep his secrets.

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