Chapter 6 #2
“We’ll talk to Wolfe about this when we get to HQ. My guess is he isn’t going to want you to attend, but that’ll be between the two of you. Besides, maybe it won’t be an issue, and we’ll have this all cleared up before the fundraiser takes place.”
I wasn’t going to argue with Jackson about it. I would save that for later when I talked to Wolfe, but I wasn’t going to miss the event. I agreed with Dr. Reyes. I needed to do something. Telling my story didn’t feel like enough, but it was a start, and I was doing it.
The day went by quickly considering the fact that we were cooped up in a cabin. I worked on a jigsaw puzzle while Crowe read. Every so often, he would get up to get a drink or a snack and stop by the table and insert a piece like he just knew where it belonged.
He did that a couple of times before I said, “Why don’t you take a seat and help me?”
He didn’t agree; he just pulled out a chair and sat down. I watched him for a minute as he methodically started sorting the pieces into shapes, and I couldn’t help but smile at him. You could learn a lot about a person by the way they did things like puzzles, if you paid attention.
He looked up and saw me watching him and grinned. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“So, flowers, huh? Was that what you did before?”
He didn’t have to explain what he meant by before. My whole life was divided into two parts. Before I was kidnapped and after.
“Yeah, it was. I love arranging flowers. They make people happy, and not just at events like weddings or birthdays, but even during sad times, flowers make people feel better.”
He looked at me thoughtfully. “That’s really nice, and it suits you.”
“You think so?”
“I do.”
“Well, I think Three Bears suits you, too.” I reached across him to grab a piece that I needed.
“Oh, really?” He smirked at me, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of what I said or because I’d found his puzzle pieces sorting useful.
“Yeah, I mean, you have that whole protector vibe down pat.”
“You know I’m not usually a bodyguard, right? I run the training camp.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I know, but you’re still really good at it. Trust me, I would know.”
Crowe
We worked on the puzzle until we took a break to eat a couple of sandwiches for lunch, and then I suggested we take a walk. I’d never been good at being cooped up inside, but I didn’t feel comfortable leaving him here alone, so I was glad he agreed to go.
I brought my camera along just in case I saw something worth taking pictures of. Something besides Noah, because I would love to have some pictures of him.
We set out on one of the trails Wyatt and I had created years ago.
“So where does this trail lead?” Noah asked.
“This one just circles through the property, but there are smaller ones that branch off that actually go somewhere.”
He looked intrigued by that. “Like where?”
“Well, one leads to a decent-sized pond, one leads to the biggest tree ever.” I winked at him. “At least that’s what Wyatt and I thought when we were kids. We used to climb all the way to the top of that tree and pretend we could see to the ends of the earth.”
“That sounds fun.”
“It was. There’s another that leads to our clubhouse.”
“Clubhouse?”
“Yeah, that’s what we called it. Of course, our club consisted of me and Wyatt, and the house is a lean-to we managed to put together from scrap wood and old tin my grandfather had piled out behind the woodshed.”
“I bet you really miss having your brother around.”
“I do. Not that we spent that much time together with him being in Dallas and all. Plus, I wasn’t a fan of his ex. I regret that now that he’s so far away.”
“Oh, look.” He grabbed my arm to stop me and pointed at a small patch of little purple flowers. “Those are Spiderwort. I always thought they were so pretty. You can’t put them in bouquets, though, because the flowers only last a day.”
“They’re pretty.” I pulled out my camera and took a picture before starting down the trail.
“I know more about mushrooms than flowers, to be honest. See that over there?” I pointed at a cluster of orange mushrooms growing on the base of an oak tree.
“They look a lot like chanterelles, but they aren’t.
They’re called Jack O’Lantern mushrooms, and they’re toxic. ”
His eyes widened, and he stared at the mushrooms. “Toxic, like they’ll kill you?”
“Not really, more like you’ll wish you hadn’t eaten them. They’ll mess your stomach up. My father was big into mushroom foraging, and he taught us which ones to watch out for and which ones we could eat.”
“That’s really cool. I know more about which plants are toxic to dogs and cats than humans since people usually aren’t trying to eat my bouquets.”
“I would hope not. How about you? I know you said you don’t have any siblings, but what about the rest of your family?”
He shrugged. “There really isn’t anyone. My mom was an only child, and my grandmother passed away when I was around twelve. I never met my dad, so he isn’t really a factor. It was just me and my mom until she died from cancer when I was nineteen.”
“That’s rough. We lost our mom when we were young, too. In an accident, not cancer, but still it sucks, and it sounds like you two were really close.”
“We were. She loved flowers, and she passed that on to me. I got a job at our local florist shop in high school. Mostly working holidays and making deliveries, but then when Mom got sick, I put off going to college to stay home and take care of her. I ended up working at the shop full-time then, and just never left.” He paused and took a breath.
“Well, not until… you know. It wasn’t safe to go back after that. ”
“Well, maybe after this is all over, you can go back.” I meant that. I wanted him to be happy and to live a life that was of his choosing, so if the idea of him leaving Vesper when this was all done felt all kinds of wrong to me, I would keep that shit to myself.
“Nah, there’s nothing for me there. My mom rented her house, so when she died, I put her stuff in storage and got an apartment with my work-mate, Michael.
We’ve kept in touch, but we weren’t close friends or anything.
And after working with Carina, I don’t think I could go back to the shop I worked at before.
Mrs. Smith is nice, but it’s a small town, so she mostly just does holidays and funerals.
I want to do more weddings like the one we were doing when you came to get me. ”
“But not in Houston?” I asked, remembering that he hadn’t sounded like he liked it there.
“No, not there either. I like the fact that not everyone is in your business like back home, but I can’t say I liked being one of four million either.”
I wanted to suggest he stay in Vesper. He had friends there. He seemed to like it there, and I was there. Not that there was anything between us, but when this mess was all over, I’d like there to be.
I paused and pointed down a trail. “We don’t have to go down there today, but that trail leads to the pond. Maybe we can take a tackle box and a couple of rods and do some fishing tomorrow. Do you fish?”
“I never have, but I’d be willing to give it a try.”
“Sounds like a plan then. We can just stay on this trail for now; it’ll circle right back to the cabin.”
Once we got back, I went to work on dinner. I planned to grill us a couple steaks and make us a salad. While I mixed up the marinade for the steak, he went back to work on the puzzle.
I’d called Wyatt earlier in the day and let him know what was going on.
He’d offered to come back if I needed him to, but he knew I had all the Three Bears behind me.
My guess was that he was just looking for an excuse to come for a visit, so when I looked up and saw Noah completely focused on finishing the puzzle, I snapped a quick pic on my camera and sent it to Wyatt with no words.
Just so he could see that everything was fine, not because Noah looked so freaking adorable.
Wyatt: Looks like I’m not the only one who enjoys a good puzzle.
I didn’t respond, though.
Over dinner, Noah shared some stories with me about his mother, and I told him more stories about my grandfather.
It was nice to talk to someone who understood how much it hurt to lose the people we loved, but how much it meant that we carried parts of them with us.
Me, with my love of this cabin and the respect I’d learned for the land, and him, with his knowledge and love of flowers.
Gifts from those who came before us that we could bring with us into the future.
After dinner, we watched another movie, and Noah managed to stay awake for that one. It was a comedy that I assumed everyone had seen, but he hadn’t. It was wonderful to see him laugh after such a rough couple of days.
It was getting late, and I could tell that he was tired, but I also saw the way he kept glancing over at the bed like it was his enemy.
“Noah,” I said softly.
“Yeah?”
“No one’s going to get you. I have a state-of-the-art security system on the cabin. You’re safe here.”
“I know. That isn’t what I’m worried about. It isn’t what’s out there”—he motioned around the cabin, then tapped the side of his head—“it’s what’s in here.”
“The dreams?” I asked gently.
“Yes.”
“Do you have them often?”
“Sometimes. I had them every night for a while, but now a little less often.” He shrugged.
A little less often? I wondered just exactly what that meant, and how much sleep he was actually getting on a regular basis.
I studied him for a minute and then nodded. “If you think it’ll help, we can share the bed again.”