6. Lil Orphan Annie
Chapter 6
Li'l Orphan Annie
K nox grinned as he opened the door to Phail General. Troy’s voice called from a back room. “I’ll be right with you.”
Knox caught a glimpse of a woman cuddled in someone’s arms. Had to be Troy. “Stop making time with the pretty lady, Epic. You’ve got customers waiting.”
Troy turned to Knox with a huge grin. “Annie? Seriously? What the hell are you doing in Phail?”
Epic tugged the woman’s hand, and they came into the front room. Then Epic let her go and hugged Knox hard. “Man, it’s good to see you. Piper, I’d like you to meet Knox Malssum. We knew each other in the army where he’s fondly known as Annie. Annie, meet my wife, Piper.”
Knox grinned. “Wife? Epic Phail is married? I hope you kept your own last name, Piper. It’s great to meet you.” Then he turned to find Thea huddled near the front door, watching. He could only describe the look in her eyes as hungry, not for food, but for friendship, and belonging.
He waved her over. “This is Thea Zimmer.”
Troy smiled. “Thea and I know each other. She worked with Jay out at the apple farm. I heard he passed and I’m sorry for your loss, Thea.”
Then Epic’s gaze turned back to Knox. “Holy hell, I didn’t make the connection on the surname until now. You’re related to Jay? I’m so sorry for your loss, too. Jay was a good guy.”
Knox nodded. “From everything I hear. Apparently he was my grandfather’s brother. I didn’t know about him until after he passed.”
Troy frowned. “Is that the grandfather who you lived with growing up?”
Trust Epic to remember details. They hadn’t worked together on missions until after Troy’s team leader had been injured. Still, they’d spent more than a few hours together waiting for missions to go down or traveling from one hotspot to another. You got to know each other well during times like that.
Knox nodded. “My grandfather, Fox, never mentioned having a brother. We lived with him from the time I was eleven. None of my siblings had heard about Jay either. A few weeks back, we all got letters from a lawyer saying that Jay had left the apple farm to the five of us.”
“Wow. That must have been a shock.”
He nodded. “Big one. I came to check out the place. Jay never mentioned having a brother to anyone here. Must have been some rift but we don’t know. If it weren’t for Thea, I’d be still standing in the middle of the orchard, not having a clue what to do next.”
Troy grinned. “Jay always said Thea knew more about soil and farming than most anyone. You listen to her, and you’ll be on the right path.”
Knox watched Thea’s eyes widen with surprised pleasure. He thought again that her life must be lonely and that she didn’t have many people in her corner.
He wanted to be one of the people in her life. Wanted to show her daily that she was amazing.
Troy rubbed his hands together like he was a movie villain. “Is your family going to take over the farm to get it up and running? Jay wanted that to happen, and he relied on Thea’s expertise to point him in the right direction. We’d love to have you and your family in this part of Vermont with us.”
Knox laughed. “Still plotting how to bring everyone you know to your town, Epic?”
Piper laughed. “That’s never going to change. In his defense, it’s a fantastic place to live, and we would love to have you right down the road.”
Knox laughed. “You’re a Phail convert?”
She smiled. “Not only a convert but an urban planner with a ton of ideas for Phail. Adding a successful apple farm would be fantastic. We’ll add you to the website and help each other with tourism. You could have school tours and maybe even get students from nearby colleges to do co-ops and studies. If Thea’s a soil consultant, she’ll have ideas about what subjects they could work on at the farm.”
Knox looked down to see Thea’s eyes widen again. She definitely wasn’t used to people having her back. He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed her into a side hug. A friendly hug. Nothing inappropriate. Even if he had plenty of ideas about doing inappropriate things with her.
Troy pulled out his phone. “Do you guys have plans for lunch? Why don’t we head over to the diner? It’s early enough that we can get enough tables. I’ll text the rest of the guys and tell them I’ve got a surprise for them.”
“The rest of the guys?”
Epic grinned. “All the guys from my team overseas live here now.”
“Holy shit, you did it. You got your dream.”
Troy wrapped his arm around Piper. “Thanks to this lady, I sure did. But there’s always room for one more. On second thought, I’ll text Branna to open the Saloon for us. That way, we can all sit at one table and catch up.”
Knox checked with Thea. “Is that okay with you?”
She nodded but he could see the nerves in her eyes. “Epic’s buddies are all great. I never met his team leader because he’d been flown out with an injury, but the others are awesome, so I assume he is too. You’ll like them.”
Troy nodded. “Arrow’s the best of us. They’re all married, and I’m asking them to bring the ladies as well. It’s a great group of people. We have each other’s backs here. Everyone is going to be thrilled you’re going to build up the farm and make it a viable business again.”
Knox held up his hands. “Whoa. I didn’t say that. I just came out to explore the options. I’m hoping I can talk my family into taking it on, but I can’t make any promises.”
Troy shrugged. “You’re a pretty convincing guy. With Thea’s help, I bet you can get them here. Once they’re here, you’ll have them. No one can resist the power of Phail.”
Knox laughed and hoped his buddy was right.
T hea hadn’t been inside Phail’s Saloon before. She and Jay had visited the diner once or twice, but mostly they picked up food and supplies and then headed home.
Home.
With Knox and the people here in Phail on their side she might be able to stay at the best place she’d ever lived.
The Saloon dragged her thoughts back to the present. It was like walking onto the set of one of the Western movies a man in a foster home had liked to watch. She hadn’t seen many because she’d been safer in her room with the dresser pulled across the door, but she’d seen enough to know that this Saloon would have fit right in.
The large room held tables and chairs. A huge bar spanned most of the room, with doors leading to the back on either side and a staircase on the right leading up to a small balcony. Four closed doors up there had her wondering what they held.
Knox put his hand on the small of her back, bringing her attention back to her surroundings. They’d pulled several tables together, and she wondered how many people were on military teams. She knew next to nothing about the army.
Knowing Knox was former military didn’t surprise her. It explained his awareness of his surroundings and his calm and confident manner. The man trusted his brain and his body to keep himself and others safe.
In the truck on the way to town, he’d mentioned he’d quit a bodyguard job to come check out the farm. She’d been shocked that he would quit. He’d laughed and said he could always find another job but he’d never regret the choice to check out what had been important to the great-uncle he’d never met.
Family was hugely important to Knox. She was learning his army friends were another kind of family.
People arrived, and the names and faces blurred together. Army names and real names. Oz. Scooby. Falcon. Slick. Kimi. Isla. Addison. And Branna, who ran the Saloon.
Two seats remained empty, so she wasn’t surprised when the door opened again. Another couple entered holding hands.
Troy stood to greet them. “Marcus. Elina. I’d like you to meet another army friend of mine from overseas. He was part of the team we worked with after Arrow got injured. Knox, also known as Annie, meet Arrow and Elina.”
The woman’s beautiful face paled, and she stopped. “Annie?” Her voice was a strangled whisper.
Marcus immediately wrapped an arm around her waist, and he looked sharply from her to Knox. “You’re Annie?”
Knox had stopped as well. “You’re the woman from the cave. The one who alerted us that there were hostages. You’re okay.”
She nodded, and tears ran down her face. Then she walked forward and hugged Knox. The man named Arrow blinked away tears and moved forward to shake Knox’s hand. “Thank you. Anything you need. Any time, any place, it’s yours. Anything.”
Talk erupted around the table, and eventually, Thea got most of the story. Elina had been a teacher overseas and had been captured by insurgents. She’d been kidnapped and held captive for over a week. When Knox’s team had arrived, she’d called out to let them know where she was, all despite beatings and lack of food and drink.
For the next hour, stories and conversation flew around the table. Thea struggled to keep up and knew she missed a lot. The people around her tried to include her in the conversation but it was easier to just listen and learn the names and faces.
It was an impressive group of people. Each one was thriving in their careers with lots of plans for the future. Military heroes. An author and comic strip artist. People rescuing animals, growing businesses, and people balancing jobs and family successfully.
She was making compost by hand. Hiding in a new state because Asshole Andy had stolen credit for her work and trashed her reputation. She might be knowledgeable and passionate about soil and farming but these people made her seem like a slug. Actually, it was Andy who made her feel like a slug. These people were kind and welcoming.
Thea gripped her emotions and shoved them to the back of her mind. This wasn’t the time to dwell on the past. She returned her focus to the people around her and found Knox watching her with concern. She smiled at him, hoping to convey she was fine, even if that wasn’t the truth.
He reached over and squeezed her hand with a soft smile. She’d bet her cabin that he saw more than she wanted him to see. But she couldn’t bring herself to regret it. Trusting people didn’t come easily, but she trusted Knox. Maybe one day she’d learn to trust herself again.
She’d start by working on her compost and doing her best to help Knox and his family realize that the apple orchard was a great investment and an even better place to live.
She turned her focus to getting to know Knox and his friends better. They were great people, and she’d love to count them all as her own friends one day.
Garrett and Kimi stood and said they needed to get back to their animals. The others agreed it was time to get back to work and everyone stood.
When Thea pulled out her wallet there were protests around the table. She frowned, and Knox put his hand over hers to stop her. A chemical zip ran up her arm and set her system to tingling.
His eyes widened as if he felt the same thing. “Not a chance, Thea. This is my treat.”
From across the table, Elina laughed. “Not a chance, Annie. This is all my treat. You saved my life and gave me a chance to find my place in the world. Buying you both lunch is the very least I can do.”
The police chief put his arm around the comic strip artist. “Agreed. We’ve got this. We’re so glad to meet you and in some small way to thank you.”
Then the pair hugged Knox hard and Thea had to swallow the tears at the raw emotion in the room.
Eventually they were on their way and heading to Phail Phoods to pick up their supplies. Troy came with them and introduced Knox to his cousin Fiona, who owned the store. Fiona was always sweet and helpful when Thea shopped in the store. This time was no exception.
Thea filled a cooler and a couple of cloth bags with her food. She didn’t know when she’d be able to get back, so she bought more than usual and stocked up on non-perishables.
When they were in the truck, Knox turned to her. “Anything else you need or want before we head home?”
She shook her head with a smile. Hearing Knox call the farm home filled her with warmth and hope.
They drove for a few minutes in comfortable silence. They passed the farm where Thea now knew Kimi and Garrett ran an animal therapy center and petting farm. Then the brewery and fields of hops run by Troy’s team.
Knox grinned. “This is a spectacular area. I can’t believe the amount of diverse businesses in such a small town. We’ll have to check out the petting farm one day. Have you already been?”
“Not yet. I didn’t know about it before today.” She hadn’t known about a lot of the businesses or people until today, but she didn’t add that.
Knox nodded. “Then we’ll have to check it out. I think my family is going to be surprised at how much is going on in this quiet area of Vermont. And wait until I tell Dodge about meeting Elina. I’m so glad she’s okay.”
She couldn’t imagine. “You and the others have done so much good in this world.”
He shrugged. “It was the job.”
She could see he was uncomfortable with the praise, so she turned the topic. “Who’s Dodge?”
That brought a smile. “He was one of my teammates overseas. We spent two tours together, and he’s a close friend. If my family decides to go ahead with the farm, I’m going to talk Ford into coming up to help fix it all up. He’s a construction guy.”
“Ford?”
Knox laughed. “Sorry. It’s an army thing. Everyone gets a call sign. It’s usually short and easy to call out. Keeps our real names quiet and is almost always chosen by other people on the team. We never get to choose our own. My buddy’s name is Ford Evans. Because of his name, the guys chose a rival truck company. So he’s known as Dodge.”
Thea laughed. “I wonder how he likes that?”
Knox shrugged. “I think it drives him nuts some days, but we all get used to the call signs.”
“And from what everyone said today, I’m guessing your call sign is Annie?”
He grimaced. “Sure is. Like I said, we don’t get to choose our own.”
“So why Annie? What’s the story with that?”
“My buddy Ford’s younger sister is a big fan of Broadway and musicals. She’s always singing. Apparently, one of her favorites is Annie . When Ford mentioned my name to her, she started singing “It’s a Hard Knock Life,” but she changed Knock to Knox. Ford thought it was hilarious and I’ve been Annie ever since.”
While it might have been a silly name, the warmth of his voice as he explained made it clear he really didn’t mind.
“And that explains why you know the songs well enough to whistle them while walking through an orchard.”
He grinned. “Guess so.”
Thea had been given a random name when she’d been found as an infant. She didn’t know if there was a meaning behind either her first or last name. She always liked her name and wanted to think that some kind person had named her after someone they liked.
But she’d never been close enough to anyone to earn a nickname. Maybe one day.