Chapter 1

The deer strolled out into the road—five of them—and Tanner braked hard and twisted the wheel. His old Altima skidded off the gravel road that led down to Lake Monroe’s beach. The engine shuddered and nearly stalled. “Sonofafuc—”

“Mitch!” Kathy put a pudgy hand on his arm. “You promised you’d be nice.”

“I said I’d try, sis.” Tanner glanced at Brianna in the back seat.

Her eyes were wide. She pointed. “Deers, Mommy! Look at the deers!”

“Yes, those are deer,” Kathy agreed.

Two fawns pranced onto the gravel, ears waggling. Two does lowered their heads and began grazing in the grass directly in front of the car. The third stayed in the road, seeming to stand guard.

Brianna moved in her car seat to see them. “Where’s the Daddy Deer?” she asked. She kicked the back of Tanner’s seat.

“I don’t know, honey. Maybe he’s still in the woods.” Kathy lurched back, puffing, to check Bri’s seat. From a donation program, it was used and scruffy.

Tanner tapped the steering wheel, part of him itching to lay on the horn. As ridiculous as it sounded, it would still startle the deer, he figured. Using the rearview mirror, he watched Brianna’s face, realizing that she hadn’t yet seen the fawns. Her gaze moved from the deer on the grass and her mouth eased into a sweet “O” of delight when she saw them. “Baby deers!” she shrieked and the deer heard her, heads jerking up, tails flagging, then they flashed away. “Oh, bring them back, the baby deers!”

“We can’t, honey. They’re gone.” Kathy patted her hand.

Brianna leaned out the window as they rolled back onto the road. “Daddy deer!” she called. “Come find your fambily! They’re here.”

Tanner let a smile stretch his lips as he toed the car’s sticky accelerator. The afternoon had shifted from pesky obligation to near-fun. He glanced at Kathy. “You know, sometimes the kids get on my last nerve but then they do something so damn cute.”

“It’s nature’s way of making you not kill them.” Kathy heaved her bulk back into the passenger seat; it squeaked.

“I guess.” He sighed and wished for a joint. “This isn’t exactly my idea of a fun Saturday, you know.”

“I know. But you can stand an afternoon at the lake, right? Family time, Mr. Man?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” The Indiana August pressed down on them, a heat that had weight to it, not like the humid summers of Tanner’s childhood. He steered the car back onto the road.

* * * *

Five minutes later, he’d barely set the big, blue cooler in the sand when Brianna shrieked again, making him wince. “Water! Swimming! Water!” Her four-year-old legs kicked up the gray sand at the edge of Lake Monroe. It looked dirty, not like the sugar sand of Tanner’s Florida beaches. He was surprised at how strong she was, pulling him to his ankles into the cool water, dark as tea. Grit pebbled over his sandals, oozing between his toes like something alive. Creepy.

“Wait a sec, Bri.” Tanner knelt to undo her shoes. The rip of the Velcro gave him a moment’s chill: it sounded like the cops tearing off their Kevlar.

“Uncle Mitch, come with me. Swimming!” She tugged at his arm.

Tanner glanced back. Towering maples blocked his view back to the parking lot, and a warm breeze ruffled Bri’s hair. Where the hell was Kathy?

“You stay on the beach until your mom gets down here.” Tanner struggled with her tight shoes. Must be time for new ones again.

“No. Swimming!”

“Your mom’ll be here in a sec. Hang on.”

“Now, now, now!”“Don’t start with me, missy.”

Bri rubbed his scalp. “I sorry, Uncle Mitch. Don’t be mad.” Her brown eyes gazed into his, soft and wide. “Please. Take me swimming.”

He hated that look, like she was scared of him. “Come here, baby doll.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m not mad. You just have to let your mom get you all set, okay? I don’t know how to do this.”

“But you’re a grown-up.”

Who doesn’t know shit about kid’s shoes.

“Too-toos,” Brianna said, and traced the barbed wire inked around his wrists.

“Tattoos, hon.”

“Tattoooooo. Owies.” She shook her head solemnly. “I don’t want any owies.”

Kathy trundled up, the cooler’s wheels slogging off the concrete walkway and into the sand. Her damp hair clung to her neck. “Over here, Bri. Let’s get your swim shoes on.”

“Don’t lift that, Kath. I got it.” Tanner rose, feeling a pleasant twinge in his glutes; he’d worked extra hard at the gym yesterday. He snagged the red cooler from her. “Want this in the shade?”

“Yeah, but let’s us get some sun for a little bit, ‘til lunchtime.” She tugged Bri’s hair into a ponytail then deftly slipped Bri’s rubbery swim shoes on. “They should be here; I thought Paul’s truck was right behind us.”

“He called from the game. I’ll go check the parking lot.” He smushed the cooler deeper into the sand, knowing that once Clark, his nephew, showed up, it might get turned over. “You want a drink?”

“Diet, please.”

He said nothing. His sister weighed three hundred pounds. He scooped out her Coke, then felt a pull, like a heartbeat beneath a shirt. He turned and saw Paul, trudging up the path, with Kathy’s son. Paul’s grin was the sun, gold and warm light.

Tanner’s mouth curled upward.

Clark was still in his baseball uniform, knees orange, his cap backwards. Paul raised Clark’s left arm. “Ladies and gentleman, allow me to present…Batter extraordinaire, with two doubles and the game-winning home run: Claaaarrrrkkk Watson!”

“Oh, honey, that’s great news!” Kathy bent to kiss him on the cheek. Clark was trying hard to look bored but Tanner could tell that he was pleased with the attention. “And a home run!”

“Good work, my man.” Tanner held out a fist and Clark figure-eighted him back, showing his front teeth. The need for five thousand dollars worth of braces stared up at him.