The Influence(31)

She laughed. “No. Not really. But I thought I’d invite you over for a home-cooked meal. We could talk, get to know each other…”

“That sounds great,” he admitted.

There must have been an implied caveat in his voice. “But?” Jill prompted.

“How about a rain check?”

“Oh.” She sounded disappointed. “Okay.”

“Lita and Dave are getting back today, and I should really—”

There was the sound of a car pulling into the dirt outside.

“Hold on, I think they’re here now.” Ross looked out the window.

“I’ll call back later,” Jill said.

“I can still talk. You don’t need to—”

“I’ll call back later.”

He was sorrier to say goodbye to her than he had any right to be, but he hung up the phone and went out to greet Lita and Dave. They were both getting out of the car, and they both looked tired. Lita gave him a wan smile. Dave nodded solemnly. Ross didn’t know what to say—asking about their trip seemed too trivial, and they were probably not in the mood to discuss anything heavy right now—so he simply helped them carry their bags into the house then left them alone. “I’ll come back later,” he said. “When you’re settled in.”

Outside the shack, four hens were standing sentry in front of his door. They had somehow escaped from their enclosure and glared at him belligerently. He felt an irrational flash of fear as he looked at the animals, arrayed in an almost perfect semi-circle and facing outward.

This wasn’t right.

He considered shooing them away, kicking out at them as he went into the guest house, but he knew that no matter how much money they had coming their way, Lita and, especially, Dave, would not want him to damage any of their laying hens. Ross was too afraid to pick them up, however, so he hurriedly returned to the house to get Dave, who quickly got a box out of the shed and took each of the birds, one by one, feathers flying, back into the enclosure, while Ross stood near the front door to make sure none of the chickens tried to run away.

“I wonder how they got out,” Dave mused. “The gate was locked, and I don’t see any breaks in the fence.” He turned to Ross. “Egg production still down?”

“To almost nothing.” He explained about the odd eggs he’d stored in the cellar and described the overly aggressive behavior of the birds.

“Yeah, I thought they were acting a little weird, too. We’d better keep an eye on them.” Dave clapped a hand on his back. “Thanks for all your help, Ross. Seriously.”

“No problem,” he said. He’d offered his condolences after first hearing about the death of Dave’s parents, and he thought it was appropriate to do so again, after the funeral, but Dave was already striding across the yard toward the Big House.

Later, Ross thought, and walked into the shack.

Outside, he heard the hens squawking, their agitated voices blending together in a way that sounded almost like human conversation.

Jill called back after an hour and a half, and she talked to Lita, who came over to the shack and told Ross that he was going out on a date tonight. “I talked to Jill,” she said. “It’s all arranged.”

“What?” He shook his head, confused.

“I was afraid you might try to weasel out of it, so I accepted on your behalf. You’ll meet her at her place at six. I have the directions.”

“Weasel out of it?”

“I know you.” She leaned against the doorjamb, a smile playing across her lips. “So…do you like her?”

“I barely know her.”

“You could do worse,” she said.

He thought of the summer after fifth grade, when Lita’s family had come to visit and they’d gone to Big Surf, which boasted a wave-making machine that created waves in its lagoon just like those of a real beach. On the sand, he’d seen Shauna Boyd, a girl from his class, lying on a blanket next to her older sister, getting a tan. Shauna was a little bit chubby, and some of the boys made fun of her for that, but Ross had a crush on her, though it was not something to which he would ever admit. Seeing her in a bathing suit, he thought she looked wonderful. His brother Rick, having seen where he was looking, burst out laughing. “Break out the harpoons!” he cried. “Whale ashore!” Ross had felt sick to his stomach, but he hadn’t been brave enough to defend Shauna, and he’d even forced himself to smile at Rick’s joke so his brother would think he was cool. Lita had scowled at Rick. “Jerk.” She put an arm around Ross’ shoulder. “Go talk to her. Apologize for your brother.