Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter
Twenty-Five
Elise had started trusting Lucas with the
entire first shift, lately. He fed the animals, gave medications to
those who needed them, and opened the doors to their outdoor pens.
It was nice to be alone with the animals, and strangely peaceful
considering how much noise an ark of hungry beasts could make.
But he was still always glad to see Elise
when she arrived. She generally brought him a travel mug full of
coffee, for one thing, but it was also good to have someone to talk
to about the animals, someone who could make whatever judgment
calls he found too difficult. And on the morning after Alex’s
visit, it was good to have someone to share his worries with.
Not that Elise was as sympathetic as Lucas
might have hoped. “He’ll be fine,” she said when she’d heard about
Mr. Wilson’s explosion. “Scotty Wilson has always had a big mouth,
but Alex is tough.”
“He’s refusing to go home. He spent last
night in some youth shelter.”
“Good for him. Not the shelter part, but good
that he’s getting out of that house.”
“Yeah, but he’s got nowhere to go. And he’s
not supposed to be volunteering out here, not… Well, I wanted to
talk to you about that. Father Webber was saying that it’d be best
if they could get Mr. Wilson to go along with whatever plan they
have, and, uh…Mr. Wilson doesn’t like Alex spending time with me.
So I was thinking that maybe I should start going home when my
shift is over, instead of hanging around. That way Alex could still
volunteer, and Mr. Wilson wouldn’t be pissed.”
“Because the kid’s got a crush on you?” Elise
sounded like she couldn’t quite believe the stupidity.
“I guess.” Lucas hadn’t really known that
Elise was aware of that little awkwardness. But knowing Alex, the
kid had probably been gushing to her about it any chance he got.
“And, you know…because I was in trouble, before. In jail.”
“You weren’t in for anything to do with
teenage boys!” She stopped herself, then looked as close to
embarrassed as Lucas had ever seen her. “I looked you up,” she
confessed. “After you’d been here a few weeks. I just couldn’t
imagine…well, I still can’t imagine you doing something like that.
I guess you were a different person then.”
“I hope so.” There wasn’t much more he could
say, and Elise seemed satisfied.
“Well, I’m not giving up my two-volunteer
afternoons just because Scott Wilson is an idiot. I have a long
list of chores to get done and Alex isn’t much good with power
tools.” She squinted at Lucas, then shook her head decisively. “No.
You’ll keep volunteering in the afternoons for as long as you want,
and Alex will too. Now, you get that screening stapled back up on
the owl enclosure. I’m going into town.”
And that was that. She whirled decisively and
strode toward the house, and after staring after her for a moment,
Lucas returned to his job. He had no idea what she was up to, but
he was pretty sure Scott Wilson had a bit of a surprise coming his
way.
When the battered pickup bounced back up the
driveway a few hours later, Elise only waved in Lucas’s direction
before starting to unload the bags of groceries from the back of
the truck. He’d made the mistake of going down to help with that
chore once before and been roundly scolded for it. He was there to
help with the animals—she wasn’t an invalid and didn’t need any
assistance with the daily tasks of living. So he kept working, and
the next time he looked toward the house it was because an
unfamiliar car was carefully weaving around the potholes in the
gravel driveway before coming to a stop in front of the house.
None of Lucas’s business, of course, but
whether Elise liked it or not he was going to keep a bit of an eye
on her, just like he would on anyone else. So he was looking right
at the car as Father Webber climbed out of the driver’s side and
Alex practically exploded from the passenger seat.
“Luke!” Alex bellowed, waving his arms
wildly. “Luke! I’m going to live here! Elise says I can stay
with her!”
Elise had come out onto the porch now, and
Lucas squinted in her direction as he walked down the hill. She saw
his look and shrugged her broad shoulders. “Now I can get him to do
even more work!” she yelled, but it was too late. She’d revealed
her softer side to everyone there, and she seemed to realize there
was no point in fighting too hard to cover it up again. Still, her
voice was firm as she told Alex, “Get your stuff in the house
before you go running off to the barn. Turn left at the top of the
stairs and your bedroom will be at the end of the hall.”
He grinned at Lucas, then at Elise, and
hastened to obey.
It still felt awkward being close to Father
Webber but it would have been even more awkward to stay away, so
Lucas continued down to the house. The priest was standing with
Elise on the porch when Lucas arrived, and he stood at the bottom
of the stairs and looked up at the two of them. Alex was shuttling
belongings up the stairs as Lucas asked, “It was that easy? His dad
agreed?”
Father Webber looked tired, and sounded the
same way as he said, “I wouldn’t call it easy. But…” He grinned
toward Elise. “When somebody called his mom in Vancouver, dropped
hints with his boss and recruited his ex-mother-in-law to the
cause? He bent a little.”
Elise’s face was more serious and she turned
to be sure Alex was out of earshot before she said, “I’m not sure
it’s over. I think I made a mistake, thinking he was just an
idiot.” Alex was back down the stairs now and she scolded, “Don’t
scratch my walls with any of those boxes! And I don’t know what you
need those big speakers for, because you will not be listening to
music at any volume that would prevent civilized conversation. Not
in my house.” His grin made it clear that the restrictions weren’t
too onerous. When he was safely back up the stairs Elise said, “I
think he may be worse than stupid. I didn’t see it before, but I
think there’s a pretty deep mean streak in that man.”
She saw their concerned expressions and
laughed as she waved a hand through the air. “I’m not worried about
me! There’s not much he could do to me, and he doesn’t have the
guts to try anything anyway. But he seemed pretty focused on the
two of you. Bad influences, leading Alex astray…you heard most of
it, Mark. And you two…your family is well-liked, Mark, and with
the…the tragedy a few years ago, they have lots of sympathy. But
being an openly gay priest in a small town? It makes you
vulnerable.” She turned to Lucas. “And obviously you’re…less
well-liked. And even more vulnerable.” She sighed. “I think I
helped Alex out, but I’m sorry…I think I may have made things a bit
tougher for both of you.”
“It was worth it,” Lucas blurted out, then he
realized what he’d said. “I mean, my part. Making things a bit
tougher for me? That’s fine. Don’t worry about that.”
“Don’t worry about me, either,” Father Webber
said. “I knew what I was doing. I knew the chances I was taking,
and I’m aware that I’ll be facing some consequences.”
Elise nodded slowly. “Yeah. That’s what I
thought you’d say.” She squinted at Lucas. “What do you think it
means, when I can predict what you’re going to say like that? When
I know you’re going to be self-sacrificing and more concerned about
someone else than yourself?”
And now Lucas was the one who felt tired. “I
don’t know. I have low self-esteem? I don’t take enough time to
think things through?” He tried to dig up a few more of the issues
he’d worked on with the counselors in prison.
But Elise was shaking her head, and she
reached out and gripped Lucas’s shoulder with one of her strong,
sinewy hands. “It means you’re a good man, Lucas. Someone who’s
made mistakes in the past, but someone who right now, in this
place? Is a good man.” She pulled her hand away and shook her head
as if coming out of a mild trance. “Now I’d better go make sure
that little bastard isn’t putting holes in my walls.” She whirled
and stalked into the house, leaving Lucas and Father Webber alone
on the porch.
“Wow,” the priest said as he watched her
leave. “She’s really mellowing out.”
“Is it wrong that I find her a bit scarier
when she’s nice than I do when she’s crusty?”
Father Webber’s laugh surprised Lucas, and
seemed to surprise the priest as well. “No,” he said. “I don’t
think it’s wrong. I think it’s a sign of good sense.”
“She’s probably up to something.”
“Probably,” Father Webber agreed, and the two
of them stood in improbable companionship while Alex carried the
last of his belongings into his new home.