Stranded with My Stepbrother Chapter 175

McKenzie

I couldn’t figure out how Will and Moose chatted so casually as we got back on the highway. It was as though neither of them had seen the devil killed before their very eyes.

Well, to be fair, Moose had done the actual killing, but for Will to be so unaffected boggled my mind. As much of an asshole as Masterson had been, he was still Will’s grandfather. I was sure Will had to be having feelings about his grandfather’s death. But instead of talking about it, he was discussing fishing spots with Moose.

“… fly-in camp in Canada,” Moose was reminiscing. “Best fishin’ I ever had.”

“I did some salmon fishing in Alaska. That was fun,” Will said.

“Never been to Alaska,” Moose replied.

“Really? When all this is over, I’ll take you there,” Will promised.

I just stared at the two of them.

“McKenzie? You ever been fishin’?” Moose asked, looking back at me in the rearview mirror.

“You… realize a man is dead, right?” I responded slowly.

Moose and Will looked at each other. “Sure do,” Moose said. “But not talkin’ about fishin’ ain’t gonna bring him back.”

“No, but… Will? He was your grandfather…” I tried.

“I’ll process that later. Right now, I just want to forget about it,” Will explained.

I gave up. “I fished in the Boundary Waters. It was great.”

“That’s the spirit.” Moose grinned at me. “Can’t be spendin’ too much time cryin’ over the devil.”

I wished I could say he had some redeeming qualities. Masterson was a human being, after all. But, try as I might, I couldn’t think of one thing. “I guess… you have a point.”

“You can process it with Will later,” Moose assured me. “I’m sure he’s got some complicated feelings.”

“Okay.” I leaned on Will’s shoulder and wrapped my arm through his. Maybe we wouldn’t talk just then, but I could at least be physically there for him.

Will kissed the top of my head. “Should I even ask where we’re going?”

“Always best you don’t know,” Moose replied.

We fell into companionable silence. I would have mortgaged a kidney to know what Will was thinking about, but I figured it was better if I didn’t interrupt his thoughts.

The highway turned from four-lane to two-lane, and then there were no painted lines on the road at all. The woods thickened on either side until branches hung over the road and scraped the top and sides of the truck.

“How many hideaways do you have?” Will asked as we went down a bumpy road between the trees that was covered in tall grass.

“Man’s gotta be ready for anythin’. Your life’s gonna be like this, too. If you still got any money squirreled away, I’ll help you hide it,” Moose said.

Will’s eyes widened. “Moose, if I can still get access to that money, you can have it. You’ve done so much for us.”

Moose smiled slightly. “I’m set, Will. You’re the one who’s gonna need somethin’ goin’ forward. I can take care of Dolly, Shep, and me. You got McKenzie, Jacey, Caleb, and any little ones who might be coming.”

Will’s shoulders drooped. “I suppose we can’t stay together, then.”

“I’d like that—I really would—but you’re a hot item and, no disrespect, but I’m choosin’ Dolly and Shep. I’m gonna get you all set up, but then I gotta cut you loose,” Moose said regretfully.

“I understand.” Will hugged me tighter. “We’ve been nothing but trouble for all of you.”

“Yeah, but you’re good people. It’s worth takin’ care of good people as much as you can,” Moose replied.

“Thank you,” I said, “For everything you’ve done.”

Moose chuckled. “We ain’t partin’ ways yet. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Will and I laughed a little. But I still felt sad, and I knew Will did, too. Especially since our problematic existence had led to Dolly being put down some dark hole by Ike.

The cabin we arrived at was much smaller and more rustic than Moose’s other cabin. It was still situated on a lake, however, albeit a tiny one.

Mom was outside, washing something in a trough. When she saw the truck pull up with us inside, she dropped whatever it was and squealed. “Caleb! Caleb, they’re here!”

Dad’s head popped up through a window. I could see he was reclining in a bed. I jumped out of the truck as soon as it stopped and ran to Mom, throwing my arms around her. “Are you okay?!” I asked. “Is Dad okay? How’s Shep?”

“Shep and your dad are recovering nicely. Moose really is the best nurse ever,” Mom said, smiling at Moose.

Moose muttered something under his breath, but his ears turned pink with embarrassment as he stepped into the cabin.

Will came up and wrapped his arms around me from behind. “Did they… do anything to you?”

Mom’s smile faltered. “They tried, but the first round was completely unsuccessful. They didn’t even have to wait to see if it took. They didn’t have time for another before… I don’t know. Someone made a mistake and Moose… just… killed everyone.”

“Everyone?” Will repeated.

“Right down to the horrid doctor,” Mom confirmed. “But don’t worry your sweet heads about it. It’s all in the past now. Moose will get Dolly, and then we’ll be just fine.”

I winced.

“What?” Mom asked.

“When Moose gets Dolly, we’re going our separate ways. They can’t keep helping us, Mom,” I said gently.

Her shoulders hunched. “Oh.”

“But Moose is getting us set up first,” Will added quickly. “We’ll be in a good position. It’ll be okay.”

“I wish we’d stop losing people,” Mom whispered.

My stomach twisted. “Yeah, me, too.”

Will, clearly trying to lighten the situation, said, “My grandfather is dead.”

Mom’s head snapped up. “Masterson? Masterson is dead?!”

“The very one,” he confirmed. His arms tightened around me.

A certain Wizard of Oz song played in my head, but I certainly wasn’t going to mess with his feelings by singing it out loud.

She just stood there, staring at him. “Masterson is dead.”

“As a doornail,” Will said.

Mom stumbled back and caught herself on the trough. “He-he’s dead.”

“Jacey? What’s the matter?” Dad called out the window.

She looked up, tears running down her face. “Masterson is dead.”

Dad’s eyes widened. “You’re shitting me. When? How?”

“Moose shot him a couple of hours ago in that truck then pushed the body out in the middle of nowhere,” I provided so Will didn’t have to. “Masterson came with a bunch of mercenaries to kidnap us from federal custody, but Moose shot some of them and scared the rest off. Masterson wouldn’t help us get Dolly, so… basically I guess he wasn’t any use to us alive. Moose said sometimes you just have to kill evil.”

“Jesus.” Dad looked completely shell shocked. “I thought that man was immortal.”

“I think Grandfather did, too, because he was being all cocky about it,” Will said. His voice was a little scratchy, and my heart hurt for him. “Can’t believe a man that smart could be such an idiot.”

Mom seemed to snap out of it, then. She reached around me to squeeze Will’s arm. “I know we didn’t like him much, sweetheart, but I’m still very sorry for your loss.”

“I mean, he brought it on himself. He was a bad person. He was an asshole to me and a monster to all of you.” Will swallowed. “I was even going to shoot him myself, given the opportunity.”

“He was still your grandfather.” Mom touched his cheek. “You go inside. McKenzie, darling, take him inside. Your room is all the way down on the right.”

“Thanks, Mom.” I slipped out of Will’s arms so I could take his hand. I tugged him into the cabin, which was just as rustic on the inside, with exposed, rough wooden beams and it looked like an old-fashioned pump at the sink.

“I’ve got my doubts about running water,” Will said with a slight smile.

“I’m working on it!” Moose called from another room. “We just might not be here long enough to enjoy the fruits of my labor. Depending.”

Depending. I looked at Will and tugged him down the hall. “We might be a few—”

“See you at breakfast!” Moose said. “We’ll leave your dinner outside the door if you’re hungry.”

“Thank you.” I hauled Will into our room.

It was tiny but cheerful, with one small window, a full-sized bed, and one small dresser with a pitcher, bowl, and bar of soap for washing up. There was a hope chest at the foot of the bed and a happy, floral quilt on the bed itself.

“He’s definitely a quilt guy,” Will said, running his hand over the quilt on our bed.

I took his hand between both of mine. “I’m so sorry, my love.”

He cleared his throat a few times. “It’s okay. I meant what I said. I was planning to kill him myself one day.”

“Oh.” I bit my lip. “Are you feeling like Moose robbed you, then?”

Will barked out a little laugh. “No. Just relieved. It would have been hard to do it myself, despite everything he’s done. And I think that makes me an asshole, too.”

“No! Not at all,” I insisted. “He’s family. He was your family. It doesn’t matter how evil he was, there were always going to be moments when he was actually decent to you. You can’t just erase all that by shooting him. I’ll bet you’re thinking of those times right now.”

He looked away. “That’s… the problem.”

“Of course it’s a problem! You’re going to miss the good parts of hi—”

“No. You don’t understand,” he interrupted me. “I can’t remember a single time he was encouraging of anything I wanted to do. Proud of any accomplishments I thought were important. Or even just listened to me and my problems. It was always push, push, push. You will do this. You will do that. You’re not working hard enough. When he said he loved me, I knew he didn’t mean it. Even as a child.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “My grandfather is dead, and I’m not one bit sorry. Does that make me a monster?”

“What?! No!” I hugged him. “That just goes to show what a monster he was. He couldn’t even get one person to love him and couldn’t love his own grandchild. That’s just wrong. So wrong. He obviously had no soul.”

“That’d be unfortunate because I wouldn’t mind imagining him in hell,” he said darkly.

“Oka-ay, maybe dial that back a little bit, not that I blame you. Or that I won’t be imagining the same thing. You know what? Never mind. We’ll imagine it together,” I responded, playing with the ends of his hair.

Will nuzzled his face into my neck, wrapping his arms around me. “I love you,” he murmured against my skin.

“I love you, too,” I said desperately.

We stood that way for a long time. Then his hand slid down to my ass. “Should we test how well-made that bed frame is?”

I laughed, then leaned up and kissed him. “Absolutely.”