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  2. Severed Heart (Ravenhood Legacy Book 2)

  3. Severed Heart: Chapter 4
Severed Heart (Ravenhood Legacy Book 2)

Severed Heart: Chapter 4

US PRESIDENT: WILLIAM J. CLINTON | 1993–2001
MY ARMS BURN as I cut the corner with the mower the way Daddy taught me before stopping to wipe some of the sweat from under my ball cap. When I look up, I see the same two boys riding their bikes past my house. I know one of them from school. Sean. And I see him sometimes at the Pitt Stop. His daddy owns it, and my daddy knows his daddy and loves their burgers. We go there for grub after church sometimes. The other boy moved into the neighborhood a while back. Daddy calls their yard a ‘shit show’ ’cause they never cut their grass. Daddy says, ‘A man who takes no pride in his yard has no pride at all.’
Sean waves at me the next time they pass, and I wave back. They ride by my house two more times before Sean pulls up into our driveway, shouting something at me. I shake my head to tell him I can’t hear him and cut the mower.
“What?” I yell over from where I stand in the yard.
“Why doesn’t your daddy cut your grass?!” Sean hollers back.
I walk over as the other boy pulls up and stops next to Sean. He doesn’t say anything but just stares at me.
“He’s deployed,” I tell Sean, still staring back at the dark-haired boy. His eyes look like the metal on one of Daddy’s guns.
“Oh,” Sean says before tilting his head. “What’s that mean?”
“It means he’s a Marine, and he’s protecting you and me from all enemies, foreign and domestic. I’m the man of the house while he’s away, so I cut the grass.”
The dark boy laughs, and I cut my eyes at him. “Your yard is a shit show. Why doesn’t your daddy mow it?”
The dark boy only stares at me.
“His daddy is dead. His momma too,” Sean tells me.
“Oh,” I say, wiping my forehead with my shirt.
“Aren’t you going to ask how they died?” Sean asks.
“It’s not polite to ask things like that,” I tell him. “He can tell me if he wants to.” The boy doesn’t say anything and just keeps looking at me. “If you want to, you can tell me.”
He nods, but he doesn’t tell me. Now I wish I did ask.
“Is your daddy deployed all the time?” Sean asks.
“Sometimes for a long time. He was deployed when the Desert Storm came years back. You hear about that?”
“Nope,” Sean says and looks to the boy. “You hear about that?” The boy shakes his head.
“Well, it was a bad storm,” I tell them. “When my daddy has no choice, he has to kill the bad guys.”
Sean’s eyes get big. “How did he do that in a storm?”
“He won’t tell me sometimes. It’s secret Marine stuff.”
“Huh . . . well, I’m Sean.” Hands on his handlebars, he tilts his head toward the dark-headed boy. “This is Dom. He moved here with his brother and his Tatie. That means aunt in French ’cause they’re French. You’re Tyler Jennings. I seen you at school. You’re a grade up from me.”
“Yeah, I seen you too.”
“Well . . . want to be in our club?” Sean asks.
“What club?”
“We sneak out at night, get on our bikes, and ride into the woods. We bring flashlights.”
“And do what?” I ask him.
“All kinds of things, right, Dom?”
Dom nods, and I wonder if he can talk at all.
“He doesn’t talk all the time,” Sean tells me. “But he’s nice. You don’t have to look at him like he’s weird. He’s not weird. I made sure.”
“Okay.” I tug my ballcap.
“Well,” Sean says, “if you want to be in our club, you have to bring a snack.” Dom looks at Sean as if he’s telling a lie but stays quiet.
“What kind of snack?” I ask.
“Any snack, and as much as you can bring. I like Fruit Roll-Ups.”
“I have a box of berry,” I tell him.
Sean nods. “That will work. But we stay up really late, sometimes past midnight. One time, we stayed up until one o’clock. Think you can stay up that late?”
“I’ve stayed up later than that,” I tell him.
“Oh, well then, meet us on Dom’s street at the second light post after dark if you can come tonight.”
“Yeah. All right.”
“Don’t forget the Roll-Ups if you want to be in our club.”
“I’ll bring them.”
“K. See ya.” Sean pedals away, and Dom still stares at me. I wonder if Sean feels sorry for him, and he is weird because he still doesn’t talk.
“It’s rude to stare at people,” I tell Dom. Then I feel bad because I know not having my daddy would be hard. I probably wouldn’t talk a lot. Before I can think of anything else to say, Dom pedals away and looks back at me one more time. He smiles a little at me, and it’s a nice one.
* * *
Hoping I still have enough gas, I push the mower up the driveway, look around the yard and then back to the street. This is going to take a lot longer than I thought it would. Deciding to try, I push it onto the grass to start the first row. Dandelions shoot out, and I know that’s not good because it will only spread the seeds and grow more weeds. I’m almost done with the second row when I look up to see an older, dark-headed boy on the porch, watching me. When he sees me watching him back, he walks down the steps and over to me, and I stop mowing.
“Why are you mowing my yard?” he yells over the mower. “Did my aunt hire you?”
“Uh, no.” I take off my ball cap. “You Dom’s brother?”
“Yes. I’m Tobias.”
He sounds very French.
“Oh, well, I’m Tyler, and I just met Sean and Dom, and Sean told me you didn’t have . . . uh, that your daddy isn’t here anymore to mow your yard, and my daddy said your yard was a, uh, needs to be mowed. So, I thought I would mow it for you. My daddy is overseas. He’s a Marine, and he’s deployed. Do you know what that means?”
He nods.
“Well, he says if you ever find someone that has a need you can fill, then you should fill it.”
Tobias smiles at me like he’s about to laugh. “Thank you, Tyler, but I can mow my own yard.”
“Oh. Okay. I didn’t know you were the man of the house.”
He nods. “I am.”
“Okay then. Well, I can go.” Feeling stupid, I start to push the mower back to my house.
“Tyler,” Tobias calls after me, and I look back at him. “I don’t have a mower right now. Would it be okay if I borrowed yours?”
“Oh, yeah,” I say, letting off the gas and stepping away from it. “It’s a real good one. A John Deere. You ever heard of him?”
He glances at the mower. “No.”
“Well, it’s one of the best there is. It’s self-propld or somethin’. That means it pushes itself. You can try if you want. But don’t cut it off ’cause it’s really hard to start. K?”
He nods and smiles at me like I’m the one that talks French. “Thank you.”
“Welcome.”
Standing at the edge of the driveway, I watch Tobias mow his yard. A little while later, the front door opens, and Dom comes out with a cup of water. He walks over and holds it out to me.
“Thanks,” I tell him, drinking the whole glass. He still doesn’t talk, but he looks over and stares at me as he drops to sit on the driveway. After a bit, he scoots over to give me a spot to sit next to him. I take a seat, and we both watch Tobias mow for a while.
“Is it fun to have a brother?” I finally ask him. “Sometimes, I wish I had one. I got my cousin, Barrett, but he’s younger and a crybaby.”
Dom laughs and finally talks. “It’s okay. He tells me what to do—a lot.”
Dom doesn’t speak French like his brother, but I don’t ask him why. Maybe he’ll tell me that tonight, too.
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