Although Toby was taller, between his drug habit and living on the streets, he didn't have much stamina. He was already lagging farther behind. Meanwhile, Ricky sprinted for several blocks and then slowed to catch his breath. There was no way Toby could catch up with him now, and he would draw less attention to himself by walking.
It didn't take him long to reach his mom's house. He walked by without stopping while still scoping the place out. No sign of Lawrence or his truck. That was the good news. The bad news was the front door was closed and there were no lights on inside that he could see. He circled the block as he considered what to do next. He couldn't keep hanging around without increasing the risk of running into Lawrence.
On the next pass, he'd have to man up and knock on the door. What happened after that would all depend on who answered. When he reached the driveway, he almost gave up and kept walking, but he had to know once and for all if his mother regretted her decision to shove him out of her life.
It took everything he had to take that first step up the driveway toward the house. Even though he couldn't see anyone, he had the strangest feeling that he was being watched. He slowed his steps and studied the windows. There, the curtain at the far end of the house just twitched a little.
He waited a few seconds to see if anyone opened the front door. Like maybe it had been his mother watching and she couldn't wait for him to knock, needing to see him. Yeah, right. The door remained closed and no lights came on.
So he had his answer. Nothing had changed. That didn't mean he was going to slink away like he had no right to be there. He marched up onto the porch and pounded on the door with his fist.
"Mom, open up."
Still no answer, which only served to rev his temper even higher. "I'm not leaving until you do."
Finally, he heard footsteps on the other side of the door. "Ricky, I told you not to come here."
"Fuck that, Mom. We both know it isn't you who doesn't want me here. It's that asshole you married." He had to believe that was true or he'd go crazy. "Now, let me in. I promise I won't stay long."
For a long moment, he thought her fear of Lawrence might prevent her from opening the door. Damn it, all he wanted to do was say goodbye. It would kill him to walk away for good, but he wasn't going to leave without looking her in the eye one last time. He deserved that much.
Finally, he heard the click of the lock and the door opened a few inches to reveal his mother's face. "What do you want, Ricky?"
There was no warmth, no welcome. He closed his eyes against the burn of tears, hating himself for showing even that much weakness in front of her. As he struggled for control, he concentrated on better things, better people: Jack, Marlene, Caitlyn, Tino. None of them had known him for more than a few weeks, and yet they'd shown Ricky more love in that time than his own flesh and blood had in years.
What the hell was he doing there hoping for some crumbs of affection from this woman who had become a total stranger to him?
"You know, Mom, I have some good news for you. I don't want a fucking thing from you. I wish you the kind of life you deserve with Lawrence. God help any kids you two might have."
Feeling better, lighter somehow, he turned his back on her and started to walk away. To his surprise, his mother yanked the door open all the way and stepped out onto the porch. "Ricky, don't you talk to me that way. I'm your mother, and you will treat me with respect."
He knew better than to get into a no-win argument, but he couldn't stop himself from snarling right back at her. "Seriously? What kind of mother lets her only son sleep on the streets?"
She frowned and glanced toward the next house. "Keep your voice down. The neighbors are nosy enough without you blabbing our family's private business at the top of your lungs."
He cranked the volume up another few notches. "Why should I care what they think? I'm not the one who chose a jackass like Lawrence for a husband. You know, the bastard who broke my arm so bad that I had to have surgery to piece it back together."
By now her hands were in fists and her eyes wild. "He did no such thing, Ricky. My husband is a good man."
Ricky sneered. "He's good with those steel-toed boots, you mean. I had the broken bones and bruises to prove it."
Her eyes turned colder. "If Lawrence punished you, you must have done something to deserve it."
God, she was still defending the man. "Nobody deserves what he did to me. It took weeks for all the bruises to fade away. I might have died out there on the street when he got done with me if some stranger hadn't called the police."
"Quit telling lies, Ricky. I won't stand for it."
Ricky started to say more, to pour out all the pain and frustration and anger that had been festering inside his chest for so long, but he stopped. No matter what she was saying, the wild look in her eyes made it clear that she knew full well what Lawrence had done and didn't care.
"Never mind. And if it makes it easier for you to sleep at night thinking I'm a liar, fine. But that's not true, and neither is your mistaken belief that you're still my mother. We're done."
This time he walked away and kept going. He could still hear her shrieking at him for at least another block. Oddly enough, it made him smile. So much for keeping the neighbors out of the loop. Lawrence probably wouldn't be happy about that, but it wasn't Ricky's problem. Not anymore.
He hustled his ass down a few blocks and then turned off the street his mother lived on. With luck he'd made a clean getaway, but it wouldn't hurt to use a little extra caution just in case. Originally, he'd planned on stopping by the park again to see if Shelley and Justin had put in an appearance. There was no way he'd risk doing that now. He'd go straight back to the bus station to retrieve his pack and other stuff.
Then he'd … what? That bus ride south no longer made much sense to him. Not when he had people who would worry, ones who actually cared what happened to him. Marlene and Jack had probably noticed he was gone by now. He'd have to do some serious groveling when he got back home, mow the lawn, and probably wash Jack's enormous SUV every day for a month to make amends.
That was okay by him. Heck, he'd even volunteer to shovel out the annex again if that would help. Grinning at the thought, he kept walking. Once he retrieved his stuff back at the bus station, which was only a couple of blocks away now, he'd call Jack and ask him to come pick him up. That would ensure he wouldn't cross paths with either Toby or, worse yet, Lawrence himself.
Once they got back to the house, he'd level with Jack about what had happened with his mother and how he'd come to be living on the streets. He should have done that long before now, but it was embarrassing to admit that the one person who should love him above all others had chosen a loser like Lawrence instead.
Jack might be angry Ricky hadn't trusted him with the truth before now, but he suspected the man would understand, too.
With that in mind, he pulled out his cell and turned it on. One glance at the screen showed he'd missed a shitload of calls from Marlene and Jack. Which one should he call? In the end, there was no contest. Marlene might be more sympathetic, but it was Jack who Ricky needed to come clean with first.
He punched in Jack's number and held his breath as he waited for him to answer.
Chapter 19
"Hey, Tino, where are those boards I asked for?"
No answer. Jack turned off the saw and walked to the front of the shed they'd been building. When he didn't see Tino anywhere around, he headed out to the truck to see what was keeping the jerk. With both of them working, they'd made far more progress than he'd expected to in one day. If they worked an hour or two longer than normal, they might actually finish the damn thing.
Out front, Tino stood by the truck talking on his cell. Jack was about to rip into him for goofing off when he noticed the worried expression on his brother's face. What the hell had happened now?
He parked himself in front of Tino and gave him a questioning look. His brother held up a finger to tell him to wait. "Okay, hold on, Mom."
Jack's entire body shuddered as a sense of dread washed through him. "What's Ricky done now?"
"Mom said that she had to run a couple quick errands this morning. She left him a note to call her when he got up. She wasn't gone more than half an hour."
Would the man never get to the point? "Tino, just tell me where he is."