A brown garage matched the house in color and stood slightly away from the house, equally old and lacking in furniture and decorative pieces. But there was one thing it contained that was priceless to Lola.
Her breathing picked up as she parked the Cavalier. Lola slammed the door and ran toward the garage, rain drizzling on her, making her hair and clothes damp. She tugged the hood of her burnt orange sweatshirt over her head as she knocked on the door to the left of the garage doors.
The acrid smell of cow manure offended her nostrils and Lola scrunched her nose up.
When a second knock didn’t get a response, Lola pushed the door open.
“Hello? Jack?” she called, walking up the narrow staircase to the living quarters.
Maybe he was napping. It was a good day for it. Lola fought a yawn and scanned the room for inhabitants.
All of the rooms, and there weren’t many, had tan walls and brown carpet. Except for the kitchen and bathroom; the latter was pink and white tiled.
A small living room was to the left; a shabby red couch and a brown recliner its only furniture. There was a TV stand and TV. Windows overlooked the barn and silo and other farm equipment Lola couldn’t put a name to.
The kitchen had brown linoleum, an avocado stove, off-white refrigerator, and a wobbly table with two chairs. The scent of coffee lingered in the apartment.
Two small bedrooms; Jack’s even smaller than his sister’s, proved to be empty as well. Lola sat on his bed, fingering the frayed green blanket. Where was he?
She didn’t think he would be helping Jared already; he was too sore and not healed enough. But he was a stubborn man so anything was possible. But Jared’s more stubborn.
Even as she thought it, Lola jumped to her feet; intuition telling her something wasn’t right. She raced down the stairs, tripping over her feet and falling the last few steps. Lola twisted her wrist in the process, wincing and holding it to her chest as she ran.
“Jared!” she screamed, rain plastering her hair to her face, seeping through her clothes and shoes. “Jared!” It blurred Lola’s surroundings, making her disoriented for an instant.
Logic kicked in. Of course he couldn’t hear her over the reverberation of barn machinery.
Lola slipped in the grass, caught herself with her elbow; jarring the already injured arm, and scrambled back to her feet, gravel crunching under her shoes. She banged open the barn door, the smell and sight of cows repelling her. It was dim in the building and it took Lola a moment to catch her bearings.
She wanted to shout his name, but knew enough not to upset the animals. Lola stared at the cement walking slab in the middle of the cows, knowing that was the way to Jared. She took a deep breath, gathered strength, and went in search of Jared.
Lola found him at the far end of the barn, knelt beside a monstrous being. She didn’t want to scare him, to make any sudden movements to spook the cow.
“Jared,” she whispered in a hoarse voice. Her throat burned from yelling earlier.
Jared jumped, knocking his head against a metal bar and cursing. He turned said injured head to glare at her. “What?” he asked in a clipped tone.
Lola opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Something in her face must have alerted him all was not right. Jared’s features twisted from annoyance to concern. “Jack?”
“I came…to check on him. He’s…he’s not here.” Her teeth chattered together; she shivered from the cold.
Jared got to his feet. “What do you mean he’s not here? Where is he?”
“I don’t…I don’t know.”
He slammed his hands on his hips and swore. “I think I know where he is.” He stormed through the barn and Lola followed.
“Where?” she called after him, squinting in the rain to make out his receding figure in the rain.
Jared hopped into a huge black Dodge truck and looked down at her. “You stay here.”
Lola grabbed the door when he moved to shut it. “No,” she told him, determination clenching her jaw.
“I’m not arguing with you, Lola.”
“So don’t.”
For one tense moment their eyes collided. Jared looked away first. “Get in. You’re letting rain water into the truck.”
She ran around the truck, grabbing it as she slipped in the grass, and quickly hauled herself into the vehicle before he could take off without her.
It was a short drive, neither talking. When the truck stopped outside Jack’s father’s house, Lola looked at Jared, confused.
“What are we doing here?”
A muscle ticked under Jared’s eye. “See that truck? That’d be mine.”
An old red pickup was parked in the driveway. Lola’s stomach dropped. Why would he come back here? It didn’t make any sense.