5. Maisie
Chapter 5
Maisie
I tune out the doctor going over my discharge instructions. My mind is busy scrambling on what the fuck I’m going to do.
I’ve had concussions before. I know what to look out for. And that’s the least of my worries right now.
A new car seat for Audra is a must after an accident. The one she’s got right now will have to do until I can get to a store to replace it. From what Harlan said, Everette is a resort town, so there’s gotta be a ride share service, and even though it’s going to cost me an arm and a leg, I can probably arrange a ride to my rental in Shelley.
I’ll have to come back for my camper once the repairs are done, but that’s unavoidable.
The doctor helps me get dressed in the clothes that Jedd brought for me from my rig, and I shove down the humiliation at not being able to dress myself. I’m hurt. It’s not the first time, and it probably won’t be the last. The bruises and my head will heal. Me and Audra are okay.
I focus on the positives like they’re a mantra keeping me moving — and they are. They and the little girl in her car seat on the floor of this hospital room are the only things keeping me going.
Yanking my phone out of my purse I pull up my email to grab the rental listing’s address to look for a ride to Shelley. Audra’s car seat is just going to have to work for the next few hours, and then I’ll work on replacing it.
Does that make me a bad mother? Probably, but it’s not like I have other options at the moment.
An email from the rental company catches my eye and the subject line steals my breath.
Confirming rental cancelation.
What in the actual fuck?
I quickly open the email and skim the message.
Motherfucker.
Because I didn’t check in during the allotted time frame or inform the landlord that I’d be later than the time frame, they canceled my reservation.
There’s no number for me to call, so I quickly type out an email with the situation, explaining that I was in an accident and asking that they reinstate my reservation before sending it off.
Oh my god. What are we going to do? I don’t have anywhere for me and Audra to stay, and Harlan already said there are no rooms in town.
Jesus Christ, what a mess.
Should have just hit the stupid deer. Then I wouldn’t be in this mess.
Doubting that I’ll hear back tonight, I wonder if I can’t stay in the camper in Jedd’s garage since there are no rooms available in town.
This is a clusterfuck and a half, and I don’t know who I wronged in a past life to deal with more trouble heaped upon me. I’m a good person, goddammit .
A nurse comes into the room, and I take the paperwork they hand me along with the prescriptions for pain medication and fold them before tucking them into my purse with no intention of filling them.
I can’t afford to be loopy from pain pills while I’m taking care of Audra. Good old fashion ibuprofen will have to do the trick.
Looping the diaper bag strap over my shoulder, I untuck my hair from it before snagging the handle of Audra’s car seat. My shoulder twinges in pain, and I have to grit my teeth before the ache subsides enough for me to trust carrying my daughter out of the hospital room.
Harlan and one of his brothers are standing by the door, whispering about something, and their heads snap toward me once the door closes at my back.
“Hey, — here, let me take her.” Harlan steps forward and — before I can argue — takes the car seat.
I want to bristle at the assumption that he can just take my daughter from me, but the relief from not carrying her weight is too great.
“Thanks. Is your brother around — the one with the shop — Jedd, I think?” I ask. Not sure if I have the right brother, but mostly confident.
“He went to grab a drink. What’s up?”
Embarrassment makes me tuck my chin. Sometimes I feel as worthless as I’ve been told I am.
No. You’re not worthless. You’re a good person, a good mom. You’re doing what you can. I snark back to the inner voice that doesn’t ever let the fuck up.
Straightening my shoulders and lifting my chin, I say, “My rental was canceled because I didn’t check in. I wanted to see if I could stay in my camper for the night at the garage until I can reach the landlord for the property to see if they’ll reinstate my reservation.”
Harlan’s shaking his head before I finish explaining. “Honey, your camper is well and truly fucked. It’s not safe to run and it’s too cold for you to stay in tonight without heat. Especially with her.” He tips his chin down to my daughter and defeat drags my shoulders down.
He must see something on my face because he says, “It’s gonna be okay. I have an apartment situated over my garage. It’s not much, but you can stay there until you figure out what’s going on with your camper and rental.”
Why would he offer up his garage apartment to me? He doesn’t know me, or where I came from. Are people in this town really this nice or is there something else going on?
I cut a glance at his brother trying to read what’s going on.
“Our mama would about roll over in her grave if we didn’t offer a place to stay to a woman and her baby fresh out of an accident. Har’s a good guy. There are no strings attached to the offer. My wife and I would have you stay with us, but we don’t have the room.”
My eyes start to sting and my nose tingles at the kindness of these strangers.
I’m so fucking tired of this. Of the struggle of moving from one place to another. Of trying to figure out and find enough money to keep us going. Sure, I have my work, but it’s not like I’m rolling in cash and traveling the country with a baby isn’t cheap.
Every part of me wants away from Harlan, not because he’s been unkind, or cruel, but because of who he is to this town. He’s a danger to me and my peace of mind. If he knew …
“Thank you, but no.” I cannot stay with him. There has to be some other way for me to figure out what to do.
But I don’t have anyone to call or anywhere to go. Even if I did have somewhere to go, I have no way to get there.
Harlan’s hazel eyes are on me. Again, I’m hit with the sensation that he’s staring through me, seeing everything that’s ever happened to me, and I bristle against the foreign sensation.
A shiver works its way down my arms. If it’s this cold in the hospital, what does it feel like outside? There are no rooms available at the resort in this town, or at the local bed and breakfast. It’s too cold for me to subject my daughter to — if it was just me, that’d be one thing, but it’s not. I have no options.
“Are you sure?” I ask, quietly, ashamed at needing to take a hand out.
I’m supposed to be a strong independent woman, one who’s a great role model for my daughter, but here I am, being saved by someone else.
“Of course I’m sure,” he says, his voice confident and strong where my question was meek.
“Thank you.”
A beautiful brunette turns the corner and calls out, “Hey, guys,” before stepping into Harlan’s brother’s arms. She turns to me.
“You must be Maisie. I’m Jem, Boone’s wife.” She waggles her thumb at Harlan’s brother, and I commit the faces to names — or try to. There are too many of them to keep straight right now.
“Sorry to hear about your camper, but I’m really glad you and your daughter are okay. Harlan texted me and asked me to pick a new car seat up for your baby. I think I got the right model based off the picture, but I’ll have you look at it and exchange it if it’s not right.”
I gape at her, my mouth hanging open. “You bought Audra a car seat?” I ask dumbly.
“Yeah. Har said that you can’t use that one now that it’s been in an accident. It’s no trouble,” she says kindly. Her voice is cheerful and smooth, like she doesn’t have a worry in the world and that’s the final straw as tears start cascading down my cheeks.
I hastily wipe at the drips before saying, “Thank you. Let me know how much it cost and I can pay you for it.”
She waves her hand through the air. “Don’t worry about it.”
But I am going to worry about it. I cut a glance to Harlan to try to read his face, but the only expression that I can decipher is worry. He’s either worried about his sister-in-law being dragged into my orbit or he’s pitying me for being such a mess.
Either way, there’s nothing I can do about it and worrying about what he thinks of me is stupid. I’m not staying in this town, and the second I have reliable transportation and a place to stay, I’ll leave.
“Come on. You can come take a look at the seat and then we’ll swing by your camper to pick up what you and your daughter need to stay at Harlan’s.” Jem loops her arm through mine like we’re best friends, and I flinch at the contact.
It’s been so long since I’ve been touched by anyone who isn’t my daughter that I’m out of practice accepting the innocent contact from another adult. Even one as harmless as Jem seems to be.
“Sorry about that. I’m a hugger and all around touchy feely person,” Jem says after pulling her arm back and letting it hang at her side.
“No, you’re fine. Sorry. I’m just sore from the crash,” I lie. But Jem doesn’t loop her arm with mine again.
I follow Jem out to the parking lot and after unboxing the new car seat and base, I transfer Audra to the new seat. Jem pops the old car seat in her trunk to dispose of.
“Thank you again.” I might not be comfortable with these people, but I won’t be rude on top of it.
“No problem. Did you want to fasten the base in here and I can drive you to the garage, or would you prefer to ride with Harlan?” she asks.
I glance at Harlan, and desperate for a break from his piercing stare, I say, “I’ll ride with you, if that’s okay?”
Does it make sense that I’ve latched on to this woman and am using her as an escape from the town cop who should be arguably the safest person for me to be around? No. Not one bit. But one, she’s a woman, and two, I feel safer with her.
“Yep. Har, can you install this base? I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“I can do it,” I offer, but Harlan’s nudging me out of the way.
“I got it. Jem, get in here and watch this. It’ll be good practice for when you and Boone have kiddos.” He teases her.
She barks out a laugh, the sound smooth and loud, but full of joy. “Haha, that’s not happening for a few years,” she says and winks at her husband.
He grins back at her. “It’s cute you think you’ll last a few years, Buttercup.”
Awareness prickles between his words, and I fight the urge to look away. The sexual tension between the two of them is enough to make me blush.
Harlan rolls his eyes at them and then leans into the backseat of Jem’s car with her looking over his shoulder while he expertly installs the base to the car seat. Once he backs out of the car, I climb in and double-check it. Not because I don’t think he knows what he’s doing, but placing my trust in someone else when it comes to me and my daughter is not happening.
After securing Audra in the back of the car, I walk over to the passenger side of the vehicle and wait for Jem to say goodbye to Harlan and Boone.
“We’ll follow you,” Harlan says to Jem while pinning me in place with his stare. The statement is a promise and a threat rolled into one.
It’s like he can see right through me. Like he knows all of the mess that’s going on inside my head, and that’s the most dangerous position for me to be in.