Chapter 12
Hog
Well, fuck.
I’m pretty sure this wasn’t on my list of things to do this week, but my mind may not be that reliable at the moment. At least that’s what the ER doc says.
I’m not entirely clear on what happened. I recall Bodhi yelling and the ceiling coming down on me. After that it all gets a bit fuzzy, and I haven’t had a chance to ask anyone on my crew. The doc said I was lucky, and if I’m still here and breathing, I guess that’s true.
According to him, I got my bell rung—which I could’ve told him—in addition to some second degree burns on my back, a nurse just finished dressing, and assorted bumps and lumps. Miraculously, no broken bones and nothing too serious, although he insists on keeping me for the night for observation.
“Damn, Hog.”
I turn my head to the door to find Cap walking in, Bodhi right behind him.
“Lucky bastard,” Cap adds. “Scared the shit out of us. Still not sure how Roadkill was able to haul that fucking beam off your ass and drag you halfway down the stairs before we even got in there, but he did.”
I notice a bandage on Bodhi’s left hand when I try to make eye contact, but he keeps his focus on the floor. I’m guessing he’s not here by choice.
“Appreciate you having my back, man.”
He briefly glances over at Cap before looking at me. “No problem.”
“Now, was that so hard?” Cap comments, clapping Bodhi on the shoulder. “Let’s get out of here. I’m sure the rest of the crew is in the waiting room by now.” He turns and points a finger at me. “And I don’t want to see your ugly mug for at least a week, and only then if you bring a note from your doctor you’re fit to work.”
With that, he starts walking out of the room.
“Bodhi, hang on a sec,” I call, when he turns to follow Cap out. “My phone is probably still in the rig, can you let your sister know we’re both fine before she has a chance to worry?”
He squints at me and knows exactly what I’m asking, but I calmly hold his gaze.
“Fine,” he concedes after a few moments before disappearing through the door, letting it fall shut behind him.
Good. He can stay pissed at me as long as he needs to get it out of his system, but his silence is upsetting Anika and I’m not cool with that.
Tired and a bit dizzy, I close my eyes. The sooner tomorrow gets here the better.
I’m just starting to nod off when I hear the door open, and I crack an eyelid. For a moment I wonder if I’m dreaming, but then I hear her voice.
“Hey, you were sleeping, I’ll come back later.”
She starts backing out again.
“Don’t go,” I quickly tell her. “Sweetheart, come here.”
It’s not until she starts moving toward my bed, I catch sight of Bodhi in the hallway behind her. He doesn’t say anything but closes the door, leaving his sister in here with me.
“How are you feeling?”
I reach out and she slips her hand in mine. I notice her eyes look a little puffy.
“A little rough, but I’ll be fine. What are you doing here?”
“Long story,” she says, trying to brush me off.
“I’ve got nothing pressing at the moment.”
I’m glad to see her crack a little smile.
“All right. That call you were at? That was Kim’s house on fire.”
“You’re kidding.”
If that was Kim’s house, then the guy we were searching the house for would’ve been her asshole husband. That’s messed up.
“She happened to be talking to one of her neighbors,” Anika continues. “They mentioned the roof had just collapsed on some firefighters. Bill Evans confirmed it was your crew, and there were injuries.”
I give her hand a little tug to pull her closer.
“So you came here.”
She shrugs and echoes, “So I came here.”
I lift her hand to my lips and press a kiss on the inside of her wrist.
“I’m sorry we scared you.”
She waves it off. “I’m just glad it wasn’t worse.”
Me too, it could’ve easily ended much differently. It would have seriously sucked to wait all those years for only the one night with her.
How ironic, it takes someone worrying about you to realize what a lonely existence you’ve led. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like she had to worry, but I can’t deny it’s a pretty good feeling.
Before I get a chance to tell her that, Vic and Cheddar walk in. Anika immediately pulls back the hand I’ve been hanging on to since she walked in.
They had the presence of mind to bring me the phone I left in the engine, and just want to check in on me before heading back to the fire station. They don’t stay very long, but I stop them before they walk out.
“Any news on the guy we were looking for?”
I’m pretty sure he wasn’t in the house, but you never know, he could’ve been in the garage. I’m more curious now I know the guy seen going in the house was that son-of-a-bitch husband of Kim.
“The Engine 2 guys went in and didn’t find anything,” Vic volunteers. “Won’t know for sure until the fire inspector goes through though.”
It’s kind of strange, the guy comes home in his truck, lights a brush fire in the yard he was clearly not supervising, and now he’s nowhere to be found, but his truck is still in the driveway.
“I should probably check in with Monique,” Anika announces when my crewmates leave. “I kinda left in a hurry and that was quite a few hours ago.”
“Yeah, of course.”
The woman has a business to run, so I’ll suck up my disappointment. I don’t think I’d be good company anyway; I have a feeling I’ll be crashing soon.
“Bodhi mentioned you’ll be released in the morning?”
“That’s the plan.”
“You’re going to need a pickup,” she points out.
“I haven’t had a chance to think that far ahead,” I admit. “But yes, I guess I do. Which reminds me, I was supposed to pick up the Suburban in Farmington tomorrow afternoon.” I rub a hand over my face when my head starts throbbing. “I’ll give Franco a call.”
“Or…I pick you up and you come home with me. He has the farm to deal with, and someone’s gotta look after you.”
Her offer is delivered with a bit of uneasy bluster, as if she isn’t sure how I’ll respond. It’s a no-brainer for me. There’s little for me at the farm in comparison.
“Not gonna say no to that, Sweetheart, but I should be fine to look after myself. And for the record; you’ve got a salon to run.”
“Pfft. The salon is covered, but we’ll see how you feel in the morning. Let me know what time they’ll be releasing you.”
“I will, but I am gonna need something to tide me over ’til then,” I tell her.
It takes a moment for the penny to drop, but then a smile slowly spreads on those pretty lips as she approaches the bed.
Anika
“I’m on my way back.”
I have to stop to wait for the city bus to pass before I can pull out of the parking lot.
“Don’t bother, Kim and I are just locking up,” Monique shares with me. “Is everyone okay?”
I check to make sure it’s clear and turn onto the road.
“They were lucky. My brother is already on his way home, and Hog will be released in the morning. How did you manage this afternoon?”
“Fine. It was a bit of a juggle, but between all of us we were able to take care of your clients. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen tomorrow, so I took the liberty to do a little shuffling with the schedule so it’s a bit more manageable if we’re short a pair of hands. Only a day and a half left in the week, so it wasn’t that bad.”
I’m so lucky with my staff. Monique especially. As much as I like to be in control, it’s nice to know I can walk away in an emergency, leave things in her care, and know the salon will be looked after.
“You know I love you, right?” I tell her.
“Of course, what’s not to love?”
“Exactly,” I confirm with a snicker. “Anyway, it’s perfect, because I’ll have to leave to pick up Hog at some point in the morning.”
“You are?”
“I offered. He’s gonna need someone to look after him for a while.”
I can hear her chuckle.
“And you volunteered,” she mocks me.
“Somebody had to.”
“Hey, I would’ve in a heartbeat, given the chance. Some people have all the luck, that’s one good-looking man.”
She’s not wrong, but he’s more than that. I’m only now starting to learn how much more.
“Hey, is Kim there?” I change the topic.
“She just went out back to dump the garbage.”
“Oh, okay. How is she holding up?”
“She’s been okay. Detective Evans was in here earlier to talk to her.”
I was going to give her an update on what I’ve heard so far about Chris, but that kind of information is probably better coming from Evans. He’ll know more than I do anyway.
“Oh, I’m glad. Tell her I’ll touch base with her in the morning. I’ll be in early.”
“Will do.”
The clock on my dashboard says it’s a few minutes to seven when I pull into my driveway, but it feels a hell of a lot later. It’s been a long, stressful day, on top of what already was a pretty eventful week, and I’m going to make this an early night.
Inside, I head straight for the kitchen. Meds first, and then I dive into the fridge for something to eat, when I spot the leftover container of last night’s Chinese food. The extra chow mein Hog got me. I’m going to enjoy that in bed, watch a little bit of Food Network, and crash.
I barely get myself comfortable under the covers with a pile of pillows in my back, when my phone rings on the nightstand. A glance at the screen shows my mother calling. I want to ignore it, but I’m afraid she’s going to keep calling until I pick up.
I’m pretty sure I can guess what happened. Bodhi probably talked to them to let them know what happened, and mentioned I was at the hospital. Now she’s going to want to know what I was doing there and why I didn’t call her. Whether or not Bodhi said anything about Hog and me, I’m not looking forward to this conversation.
To be honest, Bodhi surprised me earlier. I didn’t expect him to talk to me, let alone show me to Hog’s room. Granted, he didn’t talk much, other than to say he was fine and Hog would be too, but the fact he took me to see him said enough.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Oh, you remember who I am, that’s progress.”
“Mom…”
“You didn’t think to let us know your brother was hurt?”
Yep. I expected that. I can hear Dad trying to moderate in the background. He’s not a fan of conflict and has tried to play referee before.
“I didn’t know he was hurt, Mom. Not until I got to the hospital and Sumo told me Bodhi only had minor injuries. I didn’t see the point in worrying you needlessly, and after I found out, I figured he’d probably want to call you himself.”
“I’m his mother, don’t you think I have a right to know?”
“Honestly, Mom? No.”
I know I’m sticking my neck out, but her reaction goes a long way to why I haven’t been upfront with her about my diagnosis. I’m making a point she’s not even aware I’m making.
“We’re adults,” I continue. “Bodhi has a wife, a son. We have our own homes, jobs, lives. Of course we’ll share with you but, Mom, it’s not our obligation.”
To my surprise, it stays quiet on the other end for an extended period of time.
“Mom?” I prompt, wondering if perhaps the connection got lost.
I know it didn’t when I hear her firm statement.
“Sunday dinner. No excuses this time, Anika. I want you here.”
Wonderful. Just what I need.
“Fine, Mom. I’ll be there.”
I’m about to hang up when she takes the wind out of my sails.
“And, Anika? Bring Hog.”
Immediately the line goes dead.
I’ve got to give it to her, her delivery is flawless for maximum impact. She doesn’t yet know there are bigger issues for me to feel guilty about.
If I have to be there anyway Sunday night, maybe I should rip off the Band-Aid and lay all my secrets on the table.