Chapter 7 #3
He felt like he’d just been stabbed, as he stepped over the threshold and opened his arms. She fell into them as he kicked the door shut behind him.
“Nora… Sweetheart, what happened? Dylan saw you coming out of the ER.”
“I’m not crying because I hurt myself. I’m crying because I’m mad, tired, and frustrated.
I tripped over a loose brick in the backyard, fell and cut my hand on a piece of glass half buried in the dirt.
I didn’t even see it,” she sobbed. “I have four stitches in the palm of my hand and I’m mopping up blood I strung all over the house.
I want my family back. I want my life back.
I don’t have a rudder anymore. I’m afloat, but drifting. ”
“You still have me,” he said, then led her to the sofa, sat down beside her, and held her while she cried.
“You’re breaking my heart. Life drop-kicked you big time.
Our reunion has resurrected a multitude of emotions, and you were already dealing with too many responsibilities and grief before this. Did they give you anything for pain?”
“Yes. They’re going to deliver it.”
He grabbed a handful of tissues from the box on the coffee table and handed them to her. “Is it hurting bad right now?”
“It’s still numb from the shots to deaden it.”
“Then we’re going to go pick it up, and then we’re going to the Yellow Rose, and you’re going to eat lunch with me and my brothers.
I will feed you myself, and you can soak up the sympathy and kind words from the other diners and get free pie from Pearl.
You have been alone too long. I will either take you home after or bring you home with me and put you to bed there, while we fix a window. Okay?”
She wiped her eyes and blew her nose, and then laughed through the tears. “I don’t know as I’ve ever had an offer like that before, but it’s one I don’t want to pass up. Even if my eyes are all red from crying.”
“They’ll be fine by the time I get a pain pill in you,” he said.
She wrapped her good arm around his neck and hugged him. “You were my best friend before you were my lover. I missed you, Ash. I missed you so very much.”
“I missed you, too, love. I missed you, and I missed this.” He brushed his mouth across her lips, then went back for more, until their hearts were pounding, and they were waffling between sex or soup. “I can’t go anywhere in these bloody clothes, though.”
“I’ve stripped you before. I remember how it goes. You lead the way and pick out what you want to wear. I’ll help with the rest. And pack an overnight bag, too. You’re staying the night with me and the boys. I wouldn’t sleep a wink thinking of you alone and hurting.”
“What if they don’t want—”
He rolled his eyes. “Nora… Honey… They love you. They always have. Now let’s get this over with, and I’m sorry ahead of time if I hurt you.”
She nodded, and when he began, she kept thinking, this was Ash. He’d always taken care of her, even when she hadn’t needed the help, she’d understood his need to matter to her. To take care of someone he loved, and this was no different.
He pulled her bloody jeans down to her knees first. “Now sit down on the bed, and I’ll get your boots and pants off, then we’ll do the shirt.”
Within minutes, he had the bloody clothes off and her clean clothes on, and with her standing by him with instructions, put the bloody clothes into the wash.
“With laundry soap and on cold, right?” he asked.
She nodded, then laid her head against his shoulder as he did as he’d been told.
“Okay…we’ve got your overnight bag packed. Go rest a minute while I finish mopping up the blood. I called Belker’s and told them we were coming by to pick up your meds.”
She sighed. “You think of everything.”
“On-the-job training,” he said, and winked.
A few minutes later, they walked out, locking the door behind them. He had one hand under her elbow, helping her down the steps, and was carrying her bag with the other.
He put her bag in the back seat and buckled her in before closing the door.
Nora sat, thinking his sheepskin coat made his shoulders look even wider, then watching the way he walked into the wind with his head down just enough to keep the wind from catching his Stetson as he got into truck.
Before he could start the engine, Dylan called, and the first words out of his mouth were, “Is she okay?”
Ash turned his head, looking at the sheen of tears in her big brown eyes, and the beautiful shape of her, then answered.
“She will be. We have to stop at the pharmacy, then we’ll be right there.”
* * *
By the time they got to the Rose, Nora knew Ash had been right. She needed to feel normal again. To soak up the hometown welcome and be with people who knew her for the girl she’d been, and were not impressed with the high-powered world in which she now lived and worked.
Dylan had chairs waiting at their table, and when she walked in, and they saw her and Asher together again, and the fresh bandage on her hand, she became the object of much teasing and much sympathy.
One man they’d grown up with shouted out at Asher.
“Dang, Ash. Did you have to twist her hand that hard just to get her back?”
“Hush it, Roger. Everybody in town knows Nora Borden doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to.”
That comment brought up countless stories from friends at the Rose, about their high school years.
About Nora at fourteen, refusing to play basketball just because she was tall, and the fit the athletic coach had when she said no.
And the time Nora proved to the computer science teacher that there was a flaw in the program he was teaching from, then fixed it for him on the spot.
Nora sat listening, surprised so many people remembered anything about her, and that she’d been admired for standing up for herself, when she’d felt like the nerdy girl who always made perfect scores and ruined the grading curve for everyone.
Now, it was funny, and she could see that they were laughing with her, not at her, and all the sad, empty places inside her began to fade.
Pearl even made a quick trip out of the kitchen to give her a hug, and as she did, Gunner took it upon himself to ask about the black truck that made a U-turn the night of the shooting.
“Miss Pearl, did you recognize that truck, or see who was driving it?” he asked.
She frowned slightly, trying to picture it in her mind.
“I know for certain that it was an extended-cab truck with big dually wheels, a ladder sticking out of the back, and one broken taillight. I didn’t see the driver.
But I know he had nothing to do with shooting Jacob, because I heard the gunshot first and ran to the window.
Then, I saw the black truck pass by the Rose and watched it go down the highway and make a U-turn in the parking lot and come back into town.
I was calling Jacob by then, and still watching out the window when I saw the white sports car come flying out from the bar parking lot and go west. At that point I got dressed and ran to check on Jacob’s welfare.
That’s about all I know. I need to get back in the kitchen before Davey messes with my chi. ”
They were smiling as she left, trying to imagine what Pearl’s punishment to her grill cook might be for interfering with the setup in her kitchen.
“Black extended-cab truck. Dually wheels. Ladder in the back. One broken taillight,” Gunner repeated, and at that moment, Nora interrupted.
“That sounds like Miles Terrell’s truck. He works at Lowe’s. I was just in there earlier today and saw him leave in it to make a delivery. No ladder in the back but it had all of the other features.”
“Can’t beat the grapevine of small-town living,” Gunner said as he wrote down the name. “If this is him, then he may have more information for us. Many thanks, Nora.”
Ash winked at her, and Dylan gave her a quick pat on the arm.
“You are officially part of the investigation,” Ash said, “and here comes our food. Did you take a pain pill yet?” he asked.
She nodded.
He leaned over and kissed her cheek, then winked when she blushed.
“Outrageous man,” she said.
“No shame within him,” Gunner added.
Ash shrugged. “I’m not ashamed of anything. Didn’t you see the way those two truckers have been staring at her? I just posted my own version of a No Trespassing sign.”
Nora glanced up at him and winked. “Like I said…such an outrageous man, but since he did offer, I plan to keep him.”
After that, they began eating, but still talking among themselves.
“I’ll go run down Miles and see what he has to say,” Gunner said.
“After I tuck Nora in Dad’s bed, I’ll help Dylan install the new glass in the front door,” Ash said.
“You don’t have to do that,” Nora said. “I’ll be fine on my own.”
Ash shook his head. “But I won’t be fine knowing you are worn out, half sick and hurting, and doing it alone. If you were operating on what’s left of your emotions, I’d say you’re about one pothole away from having a wreck.”
Nora grinned. “Such a sweet-talking man. You always were a charmer. Pothole, indeed.”
Dylan laughed as Ash reached for the check.
“I can’t eat my pie. I’m too full,” Nora said.
“We’ll take it back to the house. I’ll eat it for you later,” Ash said.
And this time, it was Nora who laughed.
“That will be another thing about you that hasn’t changed, but I’ll gladly give up pie for the pleasure of your company,” she said.
At that point, Gunner stood. “I’m taking the truck. You two can ride home with Dylan. See you later, hopefully with more info,” and then he was gone.
Nora could almost see the chip on his shoulder as she watched him walking out.
“Gunner holds a grudge better than anyone I ever knew,” she said.
Ash nodded. “Yes, he does, but he’s damn good at his job. You go on ahead with Dylan. Get in the front seat with him. I’ll be out as soon as I pay up.”
Dylan winked and held out his arm. “Come on, darlin’. The Kingstons will always have your back,” then he helped her on with her coat and zipped it up for her, before escorting her out of the Rose.
Asher glanced back, satisfied that his brother was on the job, and waited for someone to get to the register so he could pay.
Finally, he threw down a couple of twenties on the counter on top of his ticket, and waved Darla down.
“Keep the change. I need to get Nora home.”
Darla rang up the money paid, pocketed the eight dollars in change, then watched him walk out of the Rose.
“That is one fine man,” she muttered, then reminded herself she already had one, and two kids to boot, and went to bus a table as they drove away.
“Remember, as soon as we get the door fixed, I’m heading back to Amarillo to keep an eye on Dad,” Dylan said.
Ash nodded. “Is this interfering with your work?” he asked.
“If it wasn’t for Angie, it would be, but we’ve managed to keep everything running smoothly with phone calls and texts, and I’m still communicating with the crews via texts and video calls.”
Nora smiled. “Isn’t technology amazing? We couldn’t have done anything like this when we were growing up here. There was nobody and nothing for miles and miles, and no way to communicate beyond phone calls. Now I have Zoom meetings with people in London, and China, and LA, all at one time.”
Dylan’s eyes widened. “Dang, girl. I had no idea. I don’t know what I thought a job in technology meant, but I didn’t think worldwide when I thought it.”
“I’m going to have to readjust my schedules now because of this stupid injury. My typing will be ridiculously slow until the bandage comes off,” she said.
Ash frowned. “When did they say you could do that?”
“I’m not to get it wet for forty-eight hours, and then take the bandage off and let it heal without it. If all is well, they’ll take the stitches out in about a week. It’s not the end of the world, but it sure slowed my world down.”
Dylan pulled up to the front of the bar, then turned around and backed up to the front door.
“I’ve got keys,” Ash said. “Let me get Nora settled in the house, and then I’ll be right back.”
“No hurry,” Dylan said. “I have to remove the trim and what’s left of the old glass before we can put in a new piece.”
“I’m sure glad you know what you’re doing,” Ash said.
Dylan grinned. “I’m glad I know what I’m doing, too. You get Nora inside where it’s warm, and Nora honey, I’ll say goodbye now, in case you’re asleep when I leave. Glad to have you back in the family.”
“I’m glad to be back,” she said, and went up the steps with Ash, then through the bar to the house.
Then the moment she walked into the living room, she had a sensation of déjà vu. In all the years that had passed, nothing much had changed.
“You know where everything is,” Ash said. “I’ve been sleeping in Dad’s bed until he gets back.” He hung up her coat, then picked up her bag. “I’m going to put this in his room with my stuff. Do you want to watch TV, or would you rather lie down a while?”
“Lie down, please. I feel like I’ve been up a week, and the day is only half over.”
“Then follow me,” he said, and led the way down the hall and into the big room. “There’s an en suite attached. Let me help you get your boots off. Can you manage your jeans? I mean…getting them down and back up again?”
“Probably not. Just help me get them off and I’ll sleep in my sweater and underwear,” she said.
So, he did, then waited until she came out of the bathroom and eased her down on the bed, covered her with a blanket, and kissed her.
“Rest, darlin’. Ignore the ensuing noise. You’re safe here.”
She rolled over and closed her eyes so he wouldn’t see the tears. She hadn’t been tucked into bed in years, and the thought of feeling safe again made her weep.
She heard Asher walking out of the room, then closing the door behind him.
Her hand was sore, but the pain pill was working.
She was so tired, and the pillow smelled of Ash’s aftershave.
She’d never slept with Ash before. They’d only ever made love.
The bed was soft, and the blanket so warm.
It was as close to sleeping with him as she’d ever been. Within minutes, she was out.