Free Unforgiven (Wanderers #3) by Jessica Miller Page B

who aren’t willing to talk to out-of-towners
and children.”
    He just had to throw that last one in there. I let
out a sigh not seeing another choice. “I guess we could give him a
try,” I said, regretting every word. “Give him a call.”
    “I don’t have his number, but I know where he
lives.”
    “Shouldn’t we look him up then? I don’t want to show
up unannounced.”
    “Trust me. Just showing up is better.”
    I agreed to give Uncle Bobby a shot. I never met the
man and my curiosity was getting the best of me. We decided to go
over after dinner. Dean told us he lived in Belfast which was only
twenty minutes away from where we were at.
    When we arrived at his house later that evening, I
thought maybe we were at the wrong address. His house looked like a
rundown shack. The garden, if you could call it that, was overrun
with weeds and I think I even saw a rat. The window shudders were
dilapidated and chipping paint. Except for the raccoons digging
through the garbage it didn’t look like there were any other signs
of life. “Are you sure this is the place?” I asked Dean,
sidestepping the overgrown vines.
    “Yep, this is it.” He pounded on the door and more
paint chips fell off the paneling. “Bobby…hey Bobby, open up!”
    I heard some bottles rattle and then a thud, followed
by some grumbling and locks clicking on the door. A middle aged man
with dark gray, shaggy hair and full beard answered the door. His
white tank top was covered in stains and his trousers had tears and
holes in them. He looked up at me with his gold eyes. “I didn’t
know hookers delivered,” he said, grabbing me.
    I smacked his hand. “Eww gross, I am not a hooker,” I
said appalled.
    “Uncle Bobby,” Dean jumped in. He shifted his
attention to Dean, squinting. “Uncle Bobby it’s me, Dean.”
    “Dean my boy,” he cheered, giving him a hug. “I see
you brought me some lovely ladies.” He reached for Cameron but she
quickly jumped out of the way.
    “No Bobby. These are my friends and this is Ella, my
sister.”
    His eyes widened in surprise and he took a step back.
“Ella,” he smiled, exposing his yellowing teeth. “You look just
like your mother.”
    “Thank you,” I said, trying to remain polite which
was hard with the way he was staring at me. He started to creep me
out and when I met his eyes again they were different. They looked
almost purple. I blinked and they were back to gold.
    “Come inside,” he said, quickly averting his eyes.
Something told me to be very leery of him. I waited for Dean to go
first.
    The inside of his house was just as bad as the
outside. There were beer bottles and whiskey bottles all over the
floor and tables. The little furniture he had was either held
together by duct tape or covered in stains. The couch slash bed
looked like it might fall apart any minute. I was afraid to sit
down anywhere.
    Bobby took a seat on the couch and picked up a pack
of cigarettes offering me one. I politely declined and carefully
took a seat on the duct tape covered chair. We all sat there
silently for a moment. Uncle Bobby’s eyes wandered around the room
at all my friends. He stopped at Josie and sniffed the air.
Although I didn’t know how he could smell anything over the stench
in this place. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of Josie. I
could tell he knew something was off about her. Josie shifted
uncomfortably in her seat and grabbed Billy’s hand. I kept my eyes
on him and I could swear I saw them change from gold to green,
blue, and then back to gold again. I sat back in my seat. I knew
those eyes. I had seen them before.
    Noticing a slight tension in the air Dean spoke up.
“So Uncle Bobby, we need your help.”
    “All business with this one. Relax, have a drink,” he
offered.
    “We’re kinda in a rush,” I said, cringing as a
cockroach scurried across the floor. “We’re looking for someone.
Dean suggested we contact you since you’re a local and all.” I
couldn’t