Katori

Nasaan came home a bit after eleven. He was in an extremely good mood while stuffing dollars into the coffee can on top of the refrigerator.

"Don't you think you ought to put that money somewhere?"

"It is somewhere," he said, folding and rolling and stuffing. "It's in this can."

"I mean somewhere that's not in my house, where people might be tempted to break in and steal it. And where it can earn some interest."

My son laughed at me. Laughed. In my face. Okay, he chuckled. "I'm gonna earn, what ten bucks a year? Not worth it. I want it where I can get to it."

"Nas-"

"I'm pretty tired, mom. I'm gonna hit the sack. If it snows tonight, I can work again before school." He dropped a dry kiss on my cheek and stepped around me, leaving me standing in the middle of the kitchen. I was shaking my head, eyeing that coffee can and thinking about where else we could hide that thing when I saw headlights light up the driveway.

Surprised to see Kaya home early, I went to the kitchen door and pulled it open. But it wasn't just her that got out of the truck. Someone got out of the passenger seat, wearing hospital scrubs and a blanket over his shoulders.

Oh, what fresh hell is this?

"You're home early," I muttered to Kaya as she stepped into the house.

"Those extra hours I worked kicked in. Uh... I brought a houseguest. At Eloise's strong urging." I could tell by the roll of her brown eyes and the downturn of her mouth that she was not pleased.

"She's such a bully. Hi, come on in." I greeted our guest, who gingerly limped over the threshold into the house. He wasn't tall but he wasn't short, either. More of a stocky build with a mop of wavy and dark but slightly greying hair with a goatee to match. He looked at me, his expression dark but his eyes were a... really warm, bright blue.

"This is Joshua," Kaya said, pulling him further into the house and unwrapping the blanket he'd been draped in. "He owns the bike you have at Nez. Eloise thought it would be a great idea for me to bring an injured stranger home to put him up for the night. She thinks you're cooking him a meal, by the way."

"I... I really don't need a meal." Joshua shook his head, waving a scratched up hand at me. "I'd love some water, though. And you can call me JC. Only my mom calls me Joshua."

"Fine. JC it is, then." I pulled open the refrigerator and retrieved a bottle of water from the stash inside the door, then I set it on the table and pulled out a chair, which he slowly sank into, grimacing all the way. "Let me tell you how this is going to work, JC."

"Look, I know this is weird and awkward. I didn't suggest it. I'm just as bullied by Sheriff... Eloise? Is that her name?"

When I nodded, he twisted the cap off and sucked down the whole bottle. Weird, but his color started returning almost right away. I got him another bottle and watched him drink that down too, tipping his head back and closing his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing with every swallow. When it was empty, he crushed the plastic in his hand and belched.

"Anyway," he continued, "I don't plan on rifling through your drawers or anything. I'm a normal... average guy from LA. I really just want to get a hot shower, a change of clothes and figure out what I need to do to get out of here. No offense, but this wasn't a planned stop. So... I'll be nice if you two will be nice. Deal?"

Kaya leaned against the counter and looked at me. I looked at her with a million questions in my eyes. JC's head bobbed from me to Kaya and back.

"I have a son. He's fifteen. I need to make sure he'll be safe with you in the house."

"Normal... average guy from LA," he repeated.

"It's the weirdos that always insist that they're normal."

He laughed, beaming a smile at both of us. "I don't know what to say. I don't even have clothes. What do you want me to do? Sleep outside? Want the Sheriff to come and handcuff me to this chair?"

Kaya snickered. "Now that's something I might actually enjoy." She pushed off of the counter and nodded at me. "I'll fix up the couch. Maybe some of Sean's old stuff..."

My eyes almost burst out of my head, they got so big, so fast. We didn't talk about Sean, my ex-husband. Hardly ever. He still had boxes of things in the storage shed behind the house and, while Kaya was right, some of his things would probably fit JC, I wasn't ready to just hand over my ex's clothing.

"Okay. Or not." She hunched her shoulders up around her ears and threw her hands up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest that our guest might be able to wear some of those precious clothes that have been sitting in the shed for years."

"I don't wanna cause a rift or anything," JC interrupted. "If I could get a shower, I'll just put the scrubs back on. I have a bag that's strapped to my bike with a couple days of clothes in it. I don't need a whole wardrobe or anything."

"You didn't cause a rift. This is how we are." I glared at Kaya until she left the kitchen, then turned my attention to JC. "Come on. I'll show you around."

After I gave JC the lay of the land and showed him where he could take a shower, I headed back downstairs where Kaya was piling blankets and pillows on the couch. She straightened up when I hit the landing and came into the living room.

"I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry. It was just a random thought. He's built like Sean. I mean... except he's white."

"It's okay. You're right, he is. Maybe I'll grab a few things and throw them in the dryer so they're not frozen when he puts them on."

I grabbed my empty beer can from the coffee table and went to the kitchen. Kaya followed and watched me take the leftover lasagna out of the refrigerator.

"He said he didn't want a meal."

"He said he didn't need a meal. Men will always eat and it has to have been forever since he had some food. I'm just going to warm up a little something. He'll sleep better."

I loaded up a plate with the lasagna and garlic bread and put it in the microwave. While the plate rotated and warmed, I leaned against the counter and faced Kaya.

"What the hell was Eloise thinking? Her head tilted to the left, the smirk on her lips telling me all I needed to know. "If he wasn't cute, she'd have taken him to Starlight Motel and impounded his bike."

"He's a looker, though. A little rough right now but probably cleans up nice." I gave Kaya a withering look, though I agreed with her. But you're right. She's out of control."

"I know she thinks Nasaan needs a male influence, but it's not like he doesn't know any men. And a stranger who just literally rolled into town is supposed to be an option?"

I started to say something else, but I heard the stairs squeak with light footsteps. JC rounded the corner wearing the scrubs he'd had on before. They were almost too small, so the top stretched and molded across his chest. The bottoms were roomy with a drawstring closure but were clingy enough. Freshly showered, wet hair slicked back and pink face from the steam... I swallowed hard and I couldn't stop staring.

"You didn't get your bandages wet, did you?" Kaya reached for him but he pulled back, nearly leaping across the room.

"A little. But they're fine. I don't... I don't need you to check them."

She sighed, planting her hands on her hips. "You big baby."

"You're not touching me ever again, Nurse Ratchet."

The microwave beeped, bringing me out of my trance. I opened the door and pulled out the plate. His eyes grew wide. Just like I thought.

"You said you didn't need to eat, but I have a man-child who can always eat, so I figured you might want something."

He smiled, sort of half a grin, and uttered a throaty chuckle. Dear God. I had to look away. "You figured right. I can always eat."

"There's more in the fridge if you want. Help yourself to anything in there- tea, water, there's some beer too."

"Beer would be awesome. Not that I'm a drunkard, but I could really use a good drink right about now."

"I hear you. And I get it." I plucked a bottle of my beer stash from the second shelf and uncapped it. Then set it in front of him. "Unfortunately, the best I can do is an IPA. It's rated the best in New Mexico, though so I hope it's good enough for those LA taste buds."

He laughed, dipping his head and picking up his fork. "Ah, here we go with the pretty boy from LA jokes."

"Nobody called you pretty," joked Kaya. "I didn't call him pretty. Did you, Tori?"

I leaned against the counter, amused by watching him eat. I'd always thought Nasaan picked up the habit of shoving food into his mouth and practically swallowing it unchewed from his father. It seemed JC picked up the same habit. His plate was empty in about a minute and a half.

"There's plenty if you want more," I lobbed softly.

"That'd be great. I guess I'm hungry."

I reached for his plate and cut another slice from the lasagna, then put it in the microwave. He crunched garlic bread and drank beer.

"So..." He leaned onto the table, talking through a mouthful of bread. "You two gonna stare at me all night or what? Feel like I'm being fattened up for slaughter."

I chuckled, not meaning to. But then Kaya caught it and laughed hard and her laughter is so contagious, she never laughs alone.

Once we simmered down, Kaya yawned. "I'm probably punch drunk. I'm going to go celebrate being able to get in the bed before the sun comes up. See you in the morning."

We both wished her a good night. And then it was just the two of us.

JC dug into the lasagna I'd pulled from the microwave. I slid a chair out from under the table and sat.

"So, what brings you out this way? Pretty far from LA."

"Uhmmm... I uh... I just bought the bike. I thought it'd be a great idea to take it out on the road."

"In the middle of winter."

He shrugged. "It's never winter in LA. I definitely didn't consider the weather. I'm supposed to be meeting my buddies at Taos tomorrow." He shook his head. "Not gonna happen."

I laughed. "Not unless you hitch a ride to Albuquerque and fly. Which, I mean... can still happen. I can ship your bike back to LA if you want. You go... do whatever it is your friends are doing. Take care of it when you get home."

"Hmmm." He mused, tossing his head back and forth like he was having a devil of a time deciding what to do. "It's an idea. I really just want to see the bike and the damage to it. Did you see it?"

I nodded. His eyebrows rose. "And? Do you think it's fixable?"

"Yeah. It's fixable. Not easily, but yeah. It's sturdy, well-built. A Triumph from the original line. I'm... impressed actually."

"Impressed. Why?"

"Because most pretty boys from LA ride those Honda plastic things. Or get an enormous Harley that they can't control, just because it's a Harley. A Bonneville is a piece of art. A conversation piece."

"Yeah. Yeah." He nodded a few times, deeply. "I mean, I don't pretend to be heavy into bikes or anything. I just liked the idea of owning something that old. At least it didn't break down on me."

"At least there's that." I reached across the table to tap his arm, yawning. "Take your time, finish up. Put your plate in the sink when you're done. Help yourself to whatever you find in the cabinets. Check the expiration date, though. We're not good at keeping up on that stuff."

"Okay. Thanks a lot and... sorry about invading your house. It wasn't my idea-"

"Oh, I know." I stood and pushed the chair back under the table. "That's our Eloise. She was my father's best friend. She means well but... just be thankful you don't have a real life Guardian Angel. Who looks like a roided out Barney Fife."

I left JC in the kitchen laughing and turned down the lights in the living room. "Goodnight, JC," I called out, my foot on the bottom step.

" ‘Night," he called back.