I knocked on the door to the room where Elma Mae had been the day before and braced myself as a sweetly southern “Y’all come on in” came my way. I knew she wasn’t going to like the fact she was stuck with me instead of her boy but I was determined to put on a happy face and force the old battle-ax to like me.
“Hi, Elma Mae. Church ran into an emergency with Dalen, so he asked me to come and get you. Sorry you’re stuck with the Yankee.” She was sitting up in the bed much like she had been yesterday only today instead of kittens, her top had owls on it. Not just owls, but owls wearing headphones. Owls that were apparently waiting for the bass to drop. I couldn’t stop the little laugh that escaped, but it died almost immediately as Elma narrowed her eyes at me as she took in my messy hair and casual attire.
“Well, bless your heart, dear. You didn’t have to rush over and get me without taking the time to get ready. I’m not going anywhere with this busted stump.” She sounded sweet but I’d been around Asa and his sister, Ayden, enough to know that when anyone from the south blessed anything they weren’t actually sanctifying you or praying for your well-being. The opposite of that was actually true. “Bless” pretty much meant “eff you and the horse you rode in on.” I wasn’t gaining any brownie points with Elma Mae.
“Church didn’t want you waiting around when you finally got your walking papers, so I hurried over. Do you need to see the doc before we spring you?” I refused to let any kind of annoyance at her rudeness show. My smile stayed firmly in place and I used the same placating tone I often employed when I had to talk a drunk into giving up their last drink when it was time to shut the bar down. It rarely failed me, but Elma gave me a sharp smile that let me know she knew exactly what I was doing. There would be no killing her with kindness, at least not today.
“No need to bother the doctor. He’s a busy man. Let me just call the nurse so they can bring the chair and help me into it. I need to be home before noon. That’s when the home nurse and the physical therapist are showing up to get my house invalid ready. What happened to Dalen? Did he get hurt at practice? I keep telling Julian that football is too violent. That boy is too smart and too handsome to be rolling around in the mud with the rest of the boys his age.” I opened my mouth to deflect, to give a vague explanation as to what constituted an emergency serious enough that Church couldn’t be here when it was what he had come home to do, but before I could she pointed a finger at me and told me, “Don’t you piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining, girl. You tell me where my boys are, and if they’re okay or not.”
I cringed at the visual her words conjured and cleared my throat. “Umm, well, I wouldn’t ever piss on anyone’s leg, so you’re safe.”
She gave an exasperated sigh and tossed her thin arms up in the air. “It means don’t lie to me, child. I can see the wheels turning under that mane on the top of your head.”
I subconsciously lifted a hand to my curls and tugged on one until it straightened and sprung back. This lady was tough as nails. I’d never had anyone be so overtly nasty to me before, well, aside from the third-wheel mother that tagged along on that date from hell. I sighed and gave her as much of the story as I could.
“Dalen skipped a class this morning and ran into some trouble. It sounded like some other guys surrounded him and started a fight. He was roughed up and worried about getting his friends in trouble if he called the cops or went back to school. Jules was out at something called the Holler, so Church had to go get him. He’s angry, really angry. The guys that messed with Dalen picked the wrong little brother to mess with, because his big brother is back home and not going to tolerate that kind of hate or ugliness.”
“Lowry is a quiet town. We have our problems, just like anywhere else, but Dalen has lived here for fifteen years and never had anyone so much as say boo to him. Most folks round these parts know his daddy’s the sheriff and those that don’t know the kid is a future hall of famer. No reason for him to run into trouble other than the fact his big brother is home and brought you with him.” She reached for the control on the side of her bed and pushed a button. “Something’s not right.”
I sighed again and struggled to get my toothy armor back in place. She was making it feel impossible, and I hated that my usually cheery façade was so easily navigated around. “I’m sure Church and Jules will figure it out.”
She narrowed her eyes at me and crossed her arms over her narrow chest. “Chipper little thing, aren’t you? Never would have pegged you as Dashel’s type. When he was younger he liked sweet southern girls. Ones that knew how to dress and speak properly. Do you even have a job? Or are you planning on mooching off a military pension for the rest of your life?” She sniffed at me and turned up her nose. The archaic and clearly old-fashioned snub was the last straw. I was done playing nice when she was throwing cheap shot after cheap shot at me and not getting called for a foul.
I put my hands on my hips and cocked my head to the side. “I have a job. I’m a waitress at a bar.” I held up a hand before she could drag my beloved profession through the mud. “Don’t even start with how that isn’t a real job because let me tell you, I make more on a busy weekend than most of the people I know that have degrees. I like working with people. I love my boss, and I never would have met Church if it wasn’t for the bar. I’m never going to own a yacht or be able to afford a vacation in Saint-Tropez with Harry Styles and the Kardashians, but I live a good life and more days than not I’m really happy.” It was my turn to point at her and turn my nose up in her direction. “I understand that you think I somehow kept Church in Denver when you would have preferred him home, but you do realize he is a grown-ass man, a man that served his country, a man that made the choice, be it the right one or the wrong one, to leave all those years ago. He’s also the one that made the choice to not come home during that entire time when I didn’t even know him. You can blame me all day long for delaying his homecoming because I care about him, and I want to make being here as easy for him as possible, but you have to put the responsibility for all the choices that came before me on him. I get that it’s easier to be mad at me because I’m a stranger and I won’t be around for very long, but eventually you’re going to have to put all that anger where it belongs . . . on Church.”
A deep-throated laugh burst out of her and she seemed to transform right in front of my eyes and the woman that belonged in that ridiculous owl shirt appeared. Her frail and severe features morphed into a smile that was as sunny as the one I usually had plastered on my face. I was so dumbstruck by the change that my jaw dropped and I couldn’t stop my eyes from blinking rapidly.
“You do have a backbone somewhere underneath all the pretty hair. I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to get your knickers in a knot. My boy needs a woman that can step in and save him from himself. He’s got a good heart like his mama and he’s brave like his daddy, but somewhere along the way he forgot both those things. I want a good woman to remind him of who he was, but that’s gonna be a fight you can’t win with only a smile, even if it is a pretty one.”
“It’s a fight worth fighting no matter what I have to use to win.” It wasn’t a battle I’d realized I was engaged in until she pointed out what was at stake, but I’d been in the trenches since I blindly agreed to jump feetfirst into the middle of his homecoming.
I knew he couldn’t see past the scared kid that had made some bad choices to protect himself from further hurt and heartache. He couldn’t see the man that I saw, the man I loved before I even knew how much he really had to both love and loathe. He wouldn’t recognize the man that Rome saw and trusted with his life and his livelihood if he was staring at his own reflection in the mirror. He couldn’t see the man his little brother worshipped and the man his father was proud of. He couldn’t see the man Elma Mae loved like a son, the one that had dropped everything and come running the minute he knew she needed him. All he could see was that kid that packed a bag and turned his back on everyone that needed him. I wanted to be
there when he finally opened his eyes and saw the light, the brightness that was waiting to shine out of him.
“What keeps you from being happy on the days you don’t smile, Miss Dixie?” She sounded genuinely curious and now that I was making headway I couldn’t seem to keep the truth in that painful place where I always kept it.
“I love my job and I enjoy my life, but I wanted something different. I wanted someone to love me in a way that I’d know they could never not love me. I wanted a family, a big one, and a pretty house with flowers outside. I wanted the kind of happy that only happens when your dreams come true.” My voice trailed off when I realized she was staring intently at me, like she was trying to see inside of my head and my heart at the same time. “My folks had that, so I grew up with something beautiful and special all around me. My sister found it, too, so I always assumed it would find me.” It had but the person behind all those hopes and dreams had no idea he was the one.
“Honey, you are far too young to throw in the towel on those daydreams. If all you want is some pretty flowers and a nice house, you go out and get those yourself. You don’t need a man to provide that for you. And you have to know after spending time with Dashel that even a love that feels like it will last forever can be cruelly taken away. Doesn’t matter how tightly you hold on to it.”
I gave a lopsided grin because I liked this spark of feminist outrage so quickly after she had been throwing around how a woman should look and sound. I was glad she wasn’t stuck in old ideals and traditions after all. Now that she wasn’t purposely pushing at me I could see how easy it was to really like her. She was a character and had no trouble speaking her mind.
I was saved from having to make my brain work by several nurses entering the room with a wheelchair. They were all smiling, and it was clear this was the real Elma Mae. This was the kindhearted older woman that held so much of Church’s heart, the woman that all these people enjoyed taking care of and were sad to see go. The harpy that greeted me, the shrew that raked me over the coals, was all an act. She put me through the gauntlet to see if I was worthy of her boy and by some miracle I passed.
“You ready to go home, Elma?” It was a male nurse that lowered the rails of her bed and helped her move her long legs over the edge. The brace that held her leg straight and secure went all the way up to her hip and seemed very cumbersome and awkward to move.
“More than ready. I’ve been missing all the new episodes of The Blacklist. I can’t wait to get back in front of my DVR.”
He chuckled as I still stood there openmouthed and unable to move. “You’re the coolest, Elma. I’ll have Jenna bring the kids by with cookies once you’re up to having visitors. If you need anything don’t hesitate to call.”
It took some maneuvering and a very delicate touch to get her settled in the chair. Once she was comfortable with her leg extended out in front of her she patted the male nurse’s arm and offered him a warm smile. “You do that but now that all my boys are home I have everything I need.” She lifted an eyebrow at me and tilted her head in my direction as she fake whispered, “And Dashel even brought me a pretty girl to help with all the things he won’t want to do. My boy has good taste, doesn’t he?”
All the nurses turned to look at me and I noticed the looks again, only this time they didn’t feel judgmental but more considering.
“Dash always got all the best-looking girls. Looks like time hasn’t changed much. We were all wondering if your new friend raided your closet when she walked in.” The male nurse chuckled and I looked down at my cow shirt and then over to Elma’s owl shirt. I couldn’t stop the almost hysterical laugh that burst out of me. No wonder they had been watching me like a hawk. I reminded them all of their favorite eccentric. Quirky was cute even when you were in your eighties. That was good to know.
I shoved my hands through my hair and gave a tug at the roots to kick myself back into gear. “I’m going to go move the truck around to the front of the building. It’s lifted to the sky, so I hope you’re prepared to pick her up and put her into it.”
The male nurse nodded at me and told me like it was obvious, “We know all about that monster Jules drives. That’s why I made sure I was on shift when it was time for Elma to go home. We look out for our own around these parts.”
It was like something out of a movie. All that was missing was Tom Hanks eating chocolate, or Brad Pitt reverse aging, or Julia Roberts dying a tragic death. It made me all kinds of warm and fuzzy on the inside to think of them collectively looking out for each other and worrying about the well-being of the community as a whole. This little southern town had every single thing I ever wanted in my life, including the difficult man I couldn’t get my stubborn heart to let go of.
“Of course you look out for one another, because that’s perfect and this place is made of magic and dreams. I’ll meet you outside.” When I made my way back to the front doors I realized all the people that I thought had been sneering at me were actually smirking and trying not to laugh at the fact that the girl Church went halfway around the world to find had the same unusual sense of style and the same kind of effortless charm as the woman that had been the only constant in his youth. I had none of the long, lean elegance that Elma Mae possessed, even confined to a wheelchair, but it was clear despite our physical and generational differences that we both wanted to love and care for those that needed it most.
I was lost in thought as I made my way across the parking lot. I was thinking that I was foolishly glad I had passed Elma’s test, not that it mattered. She might actually like me after all was said and done, but that didn’t change the fact that all Church thought we could have was a complicated friendship and some seriously mind-blowing sex. Granted I was really enjoying exploring both of those things with him but I couldn’t deny that the closer we got, both physically and emotionally, the more I wanted to build every fantasy I had right on top of him and surround him in promises. He told me I deserved to put myself first, to have everything I wanted, but he was the one keeping the thing that I desired most annoyingly out of reach.
I had the keys to the truck in my hand and my head in the clouds, so I barely managed to jump out of the way when a big, black SUV roared by me disturbingly close. Close enough that I could feel the heat coming off the motor. Close enough that I could see my own startled face in the glossy paint as it flew by. Close enough that if I’d been paying attention I would have locked eyes with the driver. My swift reaction made me drop the keys as I jumped back, my backside hitting the side of the borrowed truck with a thump as I stared after the SUV like an idiot. I hadn’t heard a honk. I hadn’t heard the engine rev or even the brakes howl when they got too close. It was almost like the person behind the wheel had deliberately aimed for where I was walking. It seemed like they wanted to watch me jump and purposely caused me to freak out. It seemed like they wanted to scare me, because if they had wanted to plow me over they’d had ample opportunity while I was fantasizing about a future I couldn’t have with the only guy I’d ever wanted one with.
It was alarmingly similar to what had happened on the highway with the car trying to run the Harley off the road. Close enough to scare, but not close enough to kill. I looked down at my shaking hands and swore long and loud at the fact I hadn’t had my wits about me enough to look at either the driver or license plate. I knew Church was going to be even angrier than he already was when I told him what happened. He might not want to play house with me, but I had no question about how protective and fierce he was over me. It was one of the things that had made me fall for him from the start.
Elma Mae was right, something wasn’t right here and it was becoming more and more obvious that it was directly related to Church bringing me home with him.
Chapter 14
Church
Locating Dalen was easy enough when I got to the convenience store. He was crouched down on the curb in front of the ice cooler out front, the hood of a gray sweatshirt pulled up over the top of his head and bot
h of his hands wrapped up in white bandages that I assumed came from inside the store. He looked like a prize fighter that had gone a few rounds with a worthy competitor and I knew from firsthand experience that both his eyes were going to be dark purple before the day was done. His bottom lip was already swollen to twice its normal size and there was a line of dried blood down the center of it where it was split in half. He was going to be hurting even though it looked like he had put up one hell of a fight. As pissed off as I was, I also had a good dose of masculine pride working that he had been able to hold his own when things got rough.
He rose gingerly to his feet as I swung off the bike and made my way over to him. “Got in touch with Jules. Turns out the call out to the Holler was bogus, so he was already on his way back when I called. He should be here any minute.” It didn’t escape either of our notices that the call that took him way out of town coincided perfectly with Dalen getting attacked. Someone was pulling on the strings of my return, making us all dance around like puppets and playthings. What started out as annoying and problematic was quickly turning dangerous.
“I told you they weren’t from around here. I didn’t recognize the truck or any of the guys. They were a bunch of backwoods types, the kind that don’t come into any town very often. Think Deliverance.” He took his hood off and licked at the slice in the center of his lip. “There was something weird when they rolled up on us though.”
“Weird how?” The side of his head had a nasty scrape on the side of it and there was a furious red line along the side of his neck like someone had tried to strangle him. The marks made my vision go red and I couldn’t stop the scowl or the furious flood of dirty words that rolled off my tongue.
Dalen looked at me with wide eyes and shifted his weight on his sneaker-clad feet. He tucked his bandaged hands in the center pocket of his shirt and looked down at the ground as his brow furrowed while he tried to concentrate. “Well, I was supposed to be in class. I don’t usually ditch, today was a fluke, but when they stopped, the guy that was riding in the back pointed at me and yelled ‘There he is!’” He shrugged his shoulders and let them fall. “It was like they were looking for me, but that’s impossible because I wasn’t supposed to be here. It didn’t seem like they were out looking for just anyone that didn’t look like them to mess with. I mean there aren’t a lot of us in Lowry but there are enough that I couldn’t have been the first dark-skinned guy they came across today. It seemed like they were looking for a very specific person of color.” He pointed to his face. “This color.”