Christmas Home (The Coming Home #6)

14. Clyde

fourteen

Clyde

“ H ey, you,” a man yelled at me as I returned to the motel after a quick run to the store.

“Shit,” I muttered to myself, pretending I didn’t hear him.

“No, you don’t. You come here. Don’t I know you?”

I looked over, knowing if I ignored him now, the consequences would be worse. “Me?” I asked.

“Yeah, you. You look like… Oh, I do know you. You and that faggot Jimmy were a thing.”

I cringed. Less because he’d called my ex-boyfriend Jimmy a derogatory term than because he’d recognized me. “No, I’m Alan Swift, but folks tell me I favor other people all the time.”

I turned to go into my room, which, luckily, was close. “No, you look too much like him, unless you got a twin.”

I waved behind me as I slipped inside. “Shit,” I said as the door swung shut and I threw the deadbolt. “This isn’t good.”

I set the groceries on top of the dresser and paced the room, trying to figure out what I should do. Leave. That’s the solution I usually went with, and it made the most sense. The problem was I didn’t want to leave.

Also, as long as I was staying in no-tell motels, someone who knew me, knew my family, or, in this case, knew an ex, would keep showing up. Small towns were notorious for everyone being in everyone else’s business. The community that man belonged to, the one I accidentally fell into because I’d gone out with someone like Jimmy, well, it was small too.

I heard the motorcycles and knew the guy and others were leaving. They’d been here a few nights, and I’d avoided them until tonight—stupid, careless me. I got back here later than intended. I’d stopped by the café on the way to the store, and Mrs. Cole had said “my admirer,” as she put it, had come looking for me.

Of course, I knew instantly who she meant. I was thinking about Ruther instead of keeping my head down when the jackass had spotted me. Would he tell Jimmy? The fact he’d referred to my ex as a faggot told me he didn’t have good feelings for the man.

That didn’t mean he wouldn’t sell me out if Jimmy was still looking though. Considering the amount of money I had taken from him, he very likely still was. I forced all that out of my mind as I put my groceries away.

I flipped the TV on, hoping it would calm me, and smiled as I recognized the old movie with Bette Midler called Beaches . This was the part where Bette’s character and her best friend had moved in together and she’s banging on the pipes with a frying pan to get heat to their apartment. That scene always made me laugh.

I let the sad but awesome movie distract me until I was ready for bed. Tomorrow would be an early morning since I’d once again agreed to be at the café at four. We were all-hands-on-deck until Mrs. Cole found someone to replace the woman she’d fired. Luckily, though, thoughts of work were swept aside for more desirable ones of Ruther. With him in mind, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.