CHAPTER SEVEN
“Ack!” Faith dove to protect Nick’s head as he sped toward the floor. Crouched by his side, she slapped gently at his cheek. “Nick? Please don’t be dead. Tess will kill me if you’re dead.”
Ruby came out from behind the counter. “What happened?”
“Beats me,” Faith said, laying a hand on Nick’s chest to make sure he was breathing. Thank God he was. “He was fine one second and then turned green and took a header. Nick? Nick, can you hear me?”
“Should I call nine-one-one?” Ruby asked.
Nick’s eyes fluttered but remained closed. “No,” he grumbled.
“But, Nick, you just passed out,” Faith said.
“I’ll be fine.” This time, his eyes did open. Pretty, tormented milk-chocolate orbs stared into hers. “Really, I feel better already.”
From the grimace, she seriously doubted that. “I’m calling Tess.”
“No,” he said. “Please. I just need my pain meds and to rest my leg a minute. Is there somewhere I could sit and catch my breath?”
“Ruby, help me get him to the office.” They helped him up and guided him down the short hallway. “Shoo.” Faith gave the cat a shove to clear the big corner chair.
“Oof.” Nick grunted, falling back into the seat.
“Tell me where the pills are, and I’ll run and get them.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“You can tell me, or I can call Tess, but you’re not leaving in this condition.”
“Fine.” He sighed. “They’re on the nightstand.”
Faith got him a glass of water, asked Ruby to keep an eye on him, and sped the two blocks to her house. It was so close, it seemed silly to drive, but time was of the essence. Even in a hurry, she took a second to blow a kiss to the old Ashford mansion. The place was an abandoned, dilapidated mess, but she felt connected to it and showed some love every time she passed by.
She parked, jogged up the walkway, turned the knob, and ran smack dab into the locked door. “What the…?” She and Tess never locked the door. She didn’t even have a key.
Nick.
After trying the back door, which was also locked, she noticed the front window was slightly ajar. It took her five minutes to jimmy it open and crawl through, messing up her hair and tearing her skirt in the process.
“Argh. This guy,” she mumbled to herself, stumbling to her bedroom.
She grabbed the pills and drove back to the shop.
“What happened to you?” he asked, looking her up and down. “You get mugged on the way?”
“ Someone locked the door.” She glared. “I had to break into my own house.”
“You don’t have a key?”
“I do not. How do you have a key?”
“Found it on the key rack by the door.”
She opened the pill bottle. “How many?”
“Just one. Thanks, Faith.”
“No problem.” Her heart softened at his vulnerability. She refilled his water and set the glass on a box of books near the chair, thinking that would be more accessible than the side table. “Stay as long as you want. Do you mind if I work while you rest?”
“Hmm.” His eyes drifted shut, but not in an alarming way. She tiptoed to her desk and worked quietly, sneaking glances at him every so often to ensure he was still breathing.
On one peek, she lingered. It had been ten years since she’d seen Nick Walker. He’d matured and filled out in a delicious sort of way. Big, broad shoulders and a strong square jaw. Handsome as ever, that was for sure—no wonder she’d crushed on him as a teen.
Tess would kill her for not calling right away, but she wasn’t about to put herself in the middle of a sibling argument.
Fifteen minutes later, she was deep into a spreadsheet when he spoke.
“Did I fall asleep?”
Faith nodded. “You need anything? Food, water, more medicine?”
He tried to sit up, but the cushy chair held him captive. “I think I’m stuck,” he said.
“I’ll help you out when you’re ready.”
“The medicine’s kicked in. I feel much better.”
“As fate would have it, I drove my car today, so I can drive you back whenever you want.” Normally, she walked or rode her bike.
“Fate?”
She shrugged. He might have doubts about the universe intervening on his behalf, but she didn’t miss the look of relief that flooded his face when she mentioned a ride. Apparently, the thought of walking two blocks was too much.
“Has that ever happened before? Passing out?” she asked.
“No. Musta pushed too hard today.”
“I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“Whaddya mean?”
“Your aura, your chakras, they’re all out of whack. Sonoma therapy might help.”
“Are you speaking English?” His brows knitted.
“Yes, silly. Your mind and body connection. It’s all over the place. You need to heal the imbalance.”
“Sounds like nonsense.”
“It’s not. It could help you immensely. Bare minimum, you should try some deep breathing and yoga.”
“Yoga?”
“Yes, it’s good for balance and relaxing the mind. What’s your sign?”
“Huh?” He shook his head, as if trying to make sense of her.
“Is your melon okay? Maybe I should take you to the ER.”
“My brain is fine. And I don’t know my sign.”
“When’s your birthday?”
“I feel like I’ll regret this, but January thirteenth. Why?”
“Hmm.” She clicked over to her favorite horoscope site, which was always an open tab on her computer. “Ah, yes. That makes sense. You’re a Capricorn. Venus opposes Mars retrograde in Cancer. That’s why you’re struggling today.”
“Maybe I did hit my head,” he mumbled. Doubt and dismay covered his face, and his eyes darted toward the door, conveying a desire to escape. He thought she was a whack job. Okay, a lot of people did. Whatever.
“About that ride home?” he said.
Before she could answer, Hope burst in. “Faith, can you take me driving? I need twenty more hours before I’m allowed to take the driver’s test.”
“I’m working, Hope. Can’t Dad go with you?”
“Dad can’t do anything,” Hope said. “I wanna get my license before school starts, and that’s next week.”
“I have a hair appointment this afternoon. How ’bout after dinner?”
Hope noticed Nick, who was struggling to extricate himself from the chair. The cat had jumped onto his lap, and he pushed it off with a grunt.
“How about you, Gimpy? Wanna go for a ride?”
Nick glanced over both shoulders. “You talkin’ to me?”
“Yeah,” Hope said. “All you have to do is sit in the passenger’s seat. I’m a really good driver. Tell him, Faith.”
“Nick’s not feeling well. I was just about to take him home.”
“Perfect,” Hope said. “I’ll drive him. After a quick trip to Meredith.” She winked at Nick.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s go.”
Faith’s brows jumped to her hairline. He was going to do it?
“Sweet,” Hope said.
“You don’t have to,” Faith said.
“Hush,” Hope hissed. “He said he’d do it. He’ll do it. Come on, big guy.” Hope offered a hand which Nick grabbed. Hope pulled, he pushed, and together they got him standing. The cat reclaimed the empty spot.
“Now that the drugs have kicked in, I’ll be fine,” he said. “Thanks for letting me crash here. And for your discretion.”
“You know I have to tell Tess.”
“Give me a five-minute head start?”
Faith rolled her eyes but agreed. “Hope, watch him. He fainted not twenty minutes ago. And don’t keep him out long. Call me when you’ve dropped him off.”
“All right, all right,” Hope said.
Nick relied heavily on the cane but wasn’t sweating or grunting. And he’d returned to his normal color. She handed Hope her keys. “Be careful.”
“I have other plans,” Hope said, which was her canned response to Faith’s admonitions of caution.
“Five minutes,” Nick reminded her before following Hope out the door. “Five minutes before you tattle. And thanks.”
Faith flashed a thumbs-up. Whether he knew it or not, he was doing her a big favor. Hope getting her license would be a real time-saver for Faith. Their family home was less than a mile from town, and Hope walked to work most days. But anytime there was bad weather, or she had to go any farther, Faith had to drive her. She needed her dad back in the game. ASAP.
“Hey, Ruby,” Faith said, coming out to the store floor. “You and my mom were good friends. Any advice on what to do about my dad?”
“He still struggling?”
Faith nodded. “Never goes anywhere, barely eats, pays no attention to Hope. He was so reliant on Mom, I’m not even sure he knows how to cook or clean. I may have babied him too much while she was sick.”
“Everyone has their own timeline for getting over someone, but you could start giving some gentle nudges. Don’t make dinner and see what he does. Leave dishes in the sink, and maybe he’ll step up.”
She’d tried the thing with the dishes, and it hadn’t gone over so well. And when she didn’t cook, he ate granola bars. Perhaps a harder push was needed. “Seems mean, but it’s worth a try. Thanks.”
She returned to her desk and texted her father. I won’t be home for dinner. There’s chicken you can bake or fixings for spaghetti .
He didn’t respond, but she knew he’d seen it. He waited by the phone like he waited by the door—as if his wife would call or come home at any moment.
Next, she typed out a text to Tess. Her thumb hovered over the send button, but before she could press it, Tess burst into the office. “You don’t think to call me when my brother face-plants in your store?”
Faith held up her phone. “I was literally just texting you. He made me promise to give him a head start before I ratted him out.”
“Yeah, I could see him saying that,” Tess said, irritation fading. “Stubborn ass. Is he okay?”
“Now that I think about it, the fall might have jumbled his brain a little.”
“What? What do you mean?” Tess asked, alarmed again.
“He agreed to go driving with Hope.” She quickly ran through the events of the last half hour.
“Sounds like he was dying to get out of here. You didn’t start in on all the woo-woo stuff, did you?”
Faith blushed. “It’s not woo-woo. His chakras are all cattywampus. Yours aren’t much better.”
Tess rolled her eyes.
“Anyway, I’m taking a break from dad duty tonight. You wanna see if everyone wants to meet for dinner?”
“Yes, but after seven. I work till then.”
“That’s fine. I have a haircut anyway and plenty to do here.”
“I thought you were cutting back on the hair stuff.”
“I am,” Faith said. “I farmed out most of my appointments and am not taking any new ones. Just finishing the few that were already scheduled and I can’t get covered.”
They set up dinner via the group chat, and Tess returned to work. Faith walked her out and noticed the book Nick had been holding was still on the floor. True crime. Of course. She picked it up, chose another in the same genre, then added a third on the benefits of the mind-body connection while healing from physical wounds.
She paid for and bagged up the books, then told Ruby she’d be back in a few. It had only been twenty minutes. He’d still be with Hope. She walked home and left the books on her nightstand.
Later that night at dinner, she and her friends planned a viewing party for Maddie’s season premiere, which was the following week.
This would be her third season on a hugely popular sitcom about a group of twenty-somethings living in Southern California.
Since Maddie left Green Valley Falls and “made it big,” they’d seen less and less of her, but even three thousand miles away, she remained one of their best friends.
Over drinks, Faith floated a few ideas about how to generate revenue at the store and was pleasantly surprised when her friends agreed they might work.
“I like the one about making a comfy place to sit and read,” Alex said. “You don’t have tons of space, but it’s what the big box stores do, so it must be a good marketing thing.”
“I’m thinking we start with a little nook,” Faith said. “Two chairs and a table. Like you’re in your own living room. And then try to find the space for more. I’d love a tearoom or coffee bar, but that’s a ways off.”
“Stocking popular stuff will be a big hit,” Tess said. “That’s long overdue.”
Faith’s phone vibrated. “It’s about time,” she muttered. Hope had finally responded to Faith’s increasingly desperate texts, asking about her status. “Hope says she dropped Nick and my car off a couple of hours ago.”
“What’d they go to Boston and back?” Tess asked.
“Beats me. But it sounds like she got a lot of drive time in,” Faith said. “Tell him I really appreciate it.”