Free Just Give In… by Kathleen O'Reilly

over, the Captain went back to his task.
    “But Sonya doesn’t believe that’s true. Why does she think that?”
    The Captain, apparently now realizing the conversation wasn’t over, put down his screwdriver. “Look, I grew up in Baltimore, not Texas. I haven’t lived out hre that long, but I’ve seen how the oil industry happens. Maybe they are doing some more work out here, but it’s a crap shoot. Tin Cup is at the perimeter of some fields and every time that gasoline goes up, some greedy suits crawl out from their rock, hoping to make a buck.”
    He waited, hand poised over the screwdriver, and Brooke decided that she could find out her answers later.
    Eventually, the Captain realized that she wasn’t going to press him and returned his attention to the mixer.
    Not wanting to disturb him, Brooke picked at the corner of his army trunk and thought how much nicer it would look if she painted it. Nothing very flashy, maybe a soft blue. She liked blue. After glancing at the Captain, she thought that maybe she’d ask next week.
    He put down his screwdriver and looked up. She noticed that he didn’t sigh. “They drill test wells, see what happens, lots of people show up, all sorts of rigs and machines, making a mess with no respect for the land.”
    Brooke nodded and the Captain went back to work.
    A few seconds later he sighed and put down the screwdriver again. “It’s not like she needs the money. She’s a lawyer. I send her money. The house in Killeen is paid for. I don’t get it.”
    He paused, apparently expecting Brooke to now take part in the conversation, which she did. “Maybe she wants it for you.”
    “I don’t need anything.”
    “I know.”
    The Captain went back to finishing the mixer, next pulling out a board with wires and lights and switches, but apparently he wasn’t happy with that. He swore and looked up. “Why’d you ask?”
    “Austen’s place isn’t far from here. I was thinking how cool it would be if there was oil on the Hart land. I mean, I don’t care about being rich or anything, but…it’d be nice. We could build a house, maybe have a garden. Curtains. Blue curtains, I think.”
    The Captain stopped what he was doing and studied her, his mouth a hard line. “I should have told you this earlier because you should know that Austen’s involved with another woman, and I think you should leave him alone.”

6
     
    W ORDS WERE DANGEROUS THINGS , which was why Jason never used a lot of them. He would have liked to blame Brooke’s red face on sunburn, but he wasn’t a stupid man, and the aloe vera that he’d rubbed all over last night had really done the trick.
    “Either that is the most disgusting idea that anyone has ever thought about me, or else you think I’ve traveled across half the continental United States on the basis of some delusional family. So, please tell me, Captain, am I an incestuous sleaze or a crazy lady? And you can only pick one.”
    Jason opened his mouth, thought better of it, and shut it again. She was steaming mad, which he found disgustingly arousing, but he knew that he had to man up and admit the truth.
    “If Austen is really your brother, then why the hell are you broke and living in your car?”
    It was another mistake. Her eyes filled with tears and Jason hated to see a woman cry, and this was Brooke, who, as he had just told her, was broke and living in her car.
    She didn’t answer, not that he expected her to. Instead, he watched her stomp to the door, open the door, stop, slam the door, go back to the bedroom, emerge with his pillow, open the door, stop, and then she glared at him.
    “Your money’s in the jar. I don’t need it.” The door slammed, and Brooke was gone.
    Furiously, Jason swore, picked up the circuit board and threw it across the room, watching the tiny pieces scatter across the floor.
    A long time ago, he would have known what to do. A long time ago, he would have been better able to think on his feet. A long time ago,