Page 48 of Crowe
“He’s not alone now,” I said.
Wyatt looked at me. And then he smiled. “No,” he said. “He’s not.”
Crowe
I was coming back from the range with the group, Garza was going on about something that had happened there when someone’s shot went wide, when I looked up and saw Wyatt standing on the porch watching us.
“Hey, little brother,” he called out.
“You’re only two years older than me,” I said.
“Still makes me older. Noah and I are almost done with the puzzle.”
I stepped on the porch step and looked up at him. “I told him you were good at them.”
“He’s good, Jackson.”
“I know he is.”
“Good for you, I mean.”
I nodded and moved past him to go inside.
Noah was at the table with the puzzle spread out in front of him, and he looked up when I came in and a smile spread across his face. The puzzle was significantly further along than it had been this morning.
“Your brother is a cheater,” Noah said.
“I’m efficient,” Wyatt said, following me in. “There’s a difference.”
“You grabbed the piece I’d been looking for for twenty minutes.”
“And I found it in thirty seconds. You’re welcome.”
I pulled out the chair beside Noah and sat down, looking at the puzzle. It was a peony, Noah had said when he chose it, mostly assembled now, the outer petals locked into place and the center coming together. I looked at Noah. He looked at me.
“I like him,” Noah said.
“That makes one of us,” I grumbled.
Wyatt pulled up a chair. “He loves me,” he told Noah. “He’s just congenitally incapable of saying so.”
“I’ve noticed that about him,” Noah said.
“Hey,” I said.
They both looked at me.
“The afternoon session,” I said. “We should talk about the format.”
Wyatt let me redirect. He was good at that. Knowing when to push and when to give something room. We spent the next twenty minutes going through the afternoon plan for the de-escalation and hostage negotiation session.
After a bit, Noah looked up at me. “I’ve been sitting here too long. Do you think it’ll be okay if I go for a walk and get some air?”
“You should be safe here. The whole place is wired, and the camp is full of law enforcement. Just stay where we can see you. Or I can come with you if you want.”
“That’s okay. Stay here and talk to your brother.” He smiled at Wyatt and gave me a quick kiss. Then he headed out the door.
Wyatt leaned back in his chair and looked at me with the expression I’d been waiting for since he walked in the door.
