Heart's Redemption (MxM)

Chapter 31 ~ Ian

The Rockbridge Municipal Airport is a small affair—hardly big enough for a midsized aircraft to safely land—and generally used only for small, privately-owned planes. The Walkers arrive slightly ahead of us, having driven with the reckless speed of folk who know their local roads like the backs of their hands. I pull my truck alongside Maria's station-wagon and Jack's old Dodge and cut the engine with a sigh.

Beside me, Sam sits with a little frown bending the sweet bow of his lips, and Carlos has been obnoxiously jiggling his leg the whole drive. We're all a bit on edge, but Carlos seems especially frayed.

I realize that, of all of us, he's the most vulnerable. The Walkers are a tight-knit clan, and Sam and I are bound on some level I can't even explain, but Carlos is something of a loose thread. If he has other friends, or any family besides Toni, he hasn't spoken of them.

"Hey," I say, reaching past Sam to touch his shoulder, "whatever happens, we've got your back, Carlos. Don't worry."

He turns with a startled look, and then smiles crookedly. "Thanks, man. You're a good guy."

Giving his shoulder a final squeeze, I turn away, popping my door open with another sigh.

People keep telling me that—well, Sam and Carlos do, at least. Maybe one of these days I'll believe it. Hell, maybe someday it'll even be true.

As the three of us join the Walkers where they stand near the end of the runway, the low hum of a distant engine reaches us on the air. A moment later, a small plane comes into view over the valley's eastern edge, coming in on a gradual descent. As it approaches, I recognize it as a little Cessna 185, and watch with admiration as the pilot brings it down for a perfect landing, slowing and then taxiing to a halt in a designated spot.

Finally, the cockpit opens, and the pilot helps Toni to the ground and hands her a pair of small duffle bags. She slings one over each shoulder, gives the pilot a friendly salute, and then turns and walks towards us. She wears faded jeans over brown work-boots, a white tank-top and a long-sleeved, black and white checked shirt tied around her waist.

She looks a few pounds thinner than the last time we saw her, the well-defined muscles in her shoulders and arms standing out with lean definition under her light-brown skin, and as she approaches I see dark circles under her eyes and a line of worry etched between her full brows. If I'd had any doubts that her worry for Carlos was genuine, I don't doubt it now. She's clearly had a rough few weeks.

Carlos steps forward to greet her as she approaches, hands at his sides and a nervous tension in the straight line of his back. She walks right up to him without glancing to either side, without sparing the rest of us a look, and stops less than an arm's length from him, fixing him with an intense stare. For a moment no one breathes, and then she smacks her hand across his face, the slap landing with a solid crack.

I hear Sam gasp and start to step forward, but I set my hand on his shoulder and shake my head. My intuition says Toni has a lot of feelings to get through, and anger was just what came out first. I'm proven right when a second later she drops her bags and launches herself into Carlos's arms, squeezing so tight I can almost hear his ribs crack.

"You stupid little son-of-a-bitch," she sobs. "How could you leave me like that? Do you know how worried I've been? I thought you were dead or something! I thought you were fucking dead by the side of the road somewhere, you little cunt."

"Auntie..."

Carlos pats her back and returns her embrace, choked by emotions of his own.

"Why, Carlito? Why'd you do that?" Toni asks, releasing him and grabbing his face between her hands, rubbing the red spot on his cheek where her palm had struck him.