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His phone buzzed, and he tugged it out of his pocket. It was his brother, Truman. He almost didn’t take it, but he answered. “’Sup, bro?”
“Raine, come back to Denver.”
“Why?” He hadn’t expected such a desperate appeal. He located the row of hardware where the bolts were and set about looking for the right three-quarter that he needed.
“Because I’m not coming to North Carolina. No way. I don’t like beaches.”
He snorted. Truman had a bizarre fear of beaches. “What do you have against the beach?”
“Uh, Iraq was all the heat I need for the rest of my life, dude.”
Truman didn’t like change. Raine understood why he had an aversion to it; growing up in foster care did that to a person. Raine knew that all too well. He changed the subject. “How is our cash cow selling this week?”
Raine and Truman had both graduated from high school, served in the Army, then worked their butts off for the past five years trying to sell various “products.” They’d even been in some business deals that some might describe as slightly shady. But two years ago, they’d created a software that helped people make money on the stock market, and it’d gone like gangbusters. They were both millionaires.
It was the stability of having plenty of money that had caused Raine to evaluate his life and want something more. Something that had nothing to do with money.
Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, wheremothand rustdoth corrupt, and where thieves break through …
“Earth to Raine.”
Raine focused on Truman, not feeling bad at all about quoting the Bible in his mind. He’d been memorizing all kinds of verses lately. “I told you I’m starting over.”
His brother sucked in a breath. “Right. You’re doing your thing. You’re reading the Bible, blah blah blah. Well, fine. I just miss the next deal, bro. And I kinda miss you, too.”
Guilt assaulted him, but it was easily stifled. It annoyed Raine that Truman didn’t believe Raine could have a different life and get away from the next “deal.” What he was really saying was that he wanted the next scam. Raine was good at figuring out what to peddle on the unsuspecting public. “The brother you know, the one you miss, is gone.”
“Hmm.” Truman sounded unconvinced. “So when are you coming back at least to visit?”
“No. The question is, when will you come visit me in South Port? I’ve been here almost two months and I miss my only brother.” They were actually foster brothers, but they’d lived their whole lives as brothers—it was how they felt about each other. Truman was the only person Raine had ever trusted.
“Never.” Truman was stubborn.
“Whatever. Then you’ll have to wait until Thanksgiving.”
“Thanksgiving? That’s, like …” He paused, and Raine knew he was calculating in his mind. “That’s four months away.”
“Yes, it is.”
His brother let out another sigh. “You’re not working another deal, are you? If you are, I want in.”
“I told you I retired from ourdeals. I’m living an honest life.” And he was.
“Okay, we’ll see how long this will last.” Truman’s tone was doubtful. “Just give this whole thing up and come back. Let’s start a new deal.”
Raine was tired of deals. He was tired of always watching his back. “Stop. Look, seriously, I have a million things I’m doing on the house today. I’ll have to talk to you later, okay?” He always had a million things to do on the house; he’d found over the course of the past two months that it was better for him to go room to room than to tackle all the projects at once. He had to just plug along, one room at a time.
“Bro, come home before Thanksgiving.”
“Truman …” Raine relented. He had to admit he’d been feeling rather lonely himself. Almost a full two months had passed since he’d arrived in South Port, and other than the cool guy who’d sold him a motorcycle, he hadn’t exactly made friends. “Just give me a few weeks.”
“Okay,” his brother said. “Bye.”
For a few seconds, Raine sucked in long gulps of air. Talking to Truman was hard. On autopilot, he recited one scripture Pastor Henry had recommended he memorize. “Mark 22:11.For verily I say unto you, that whosever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.”
He could not doubt the Lord. He believed the Lord could make him a changed person. Peace filled him. Yes, he was okay.
Something fell out of the air, and Raine looked up. Another something was headed straight at him. He dodged in time to avoid the roll of duct tape, which clattered to the floor beside him. After a quick glance around, he spotted a store ladder nearby with a woman on top of it. “Hey!” he exclaimed. “You almost hit me!”
