Chapter 4 #2
His heavy hand lands on my shoulder, and the thumps in my skull quiet to a dull tap while the whooshing fades into nothingness.
“Healing, son. For the both of ya.”
Healing.
A final pat on the back tells me this old man thinks I can, and for some reason, I’m inclined to believe him.
But before Chief can crack the first egg, his front door opens with a bang.
“Saw the boy’s car out front,” a gravelly voice announces. “Figured you’d need backup.”
An old man who looks like he was cut from the same stubborn cloth as Chief shuffles into the kitchen. He’s wearing overalls, no shirt, and slippers that have seen better decades. He takes one look at me and grunts.
“This the one watching Clover?” he asks.
“That’s him,” Chief confirms. “Valen, meet Pops. He’s a nosy bastard who doesn’t know how to knock.”
“I knocked.”
“Where? On your head? That doesn’t count.”
Pops ignores him and settles into Chief’s vacated chair.
Chief says nothing but pulls another mug from the cabinet and pours the motor oil he calls coffee into it.
“You eat yet?” Pops asks me.
“I— No.”
“Good. Agnes’s on her way with biscuits ’cause she saw Chief dragging you over here this morning.”
The mention of Agnes reminds me that my rental car is going to reek of tuna casserole.
Pops narrows his eyes at me. “You passed the test, by the way. Agnes said you had a trustworthy aura. Course, she can’t see for shit, so take that with a grain of salt.”
“I don’t care what she says,” Chief grumbles. “I’ve still got my eye on you, kid.”
“Me too.” Pops points at his eyes with his pointer and middle finger, then directs them at me.
My head spins. “How does everyone already know I’m here?”
Chief and Pops exchange a look that suggests I’ve asked the stupidest question in the history of Happiness, Georgia.
“Son,” Chief says slowly, “you parked an unfamiliar car on R&R Road. At night. Outside the home of a woman half this town has adopted as their unofficial daughter.” He flips a piece of bacon with more aggression than necessary. “We knew you were here before you turned off your engine.”
Should I ask them about the sedan I’ve been watching? If they noticed me right away, they’ve probably also done some recon on that vehicle. It’s a risk though—asking these guys for anything feels like I’m inviting chaos, so I bite my tongue. I’ll find out who it is on my own.
“Agnes saw you from her window,” Pops adds helpfully. “Texted me, I called Moose, who checked you out, then she texted the tree. I got that update at 3:05 a.m.”
“And you’re all just…awake? At three in the morning?”
“Insomnia’s a town sport,” Chief mutters. “That and gossip. ’Specially on R&R Road. You ever met a bunch of seniors with no work, no kids, and no plans to keep them busy? Their hobby is making up stories, and with us all on R&R Road, well, you can see how that would…complicate things.”
“I’m confused,” I admit. “If R&R is for seniors, how did Clover end up here?”
“Ah,” Pops leans back in his chair. “True gift that was. When Clover and Savvy bought their townhomes, there was a mix-up at the realtor’s office ’cause Ben got caught with his pants down and Julie, his assistant, between his legs.
” He hoots as though this is the best story he’s ever heard…
and he’s the one telling it. “Anyway, no one was payin’ attention to the filing system.
All worked out for the best though. Clover and Savvy are the best additions to R&R Road since the ’60s. ”
What the hell is happening? Is my cousin Chase pranking me again?
“How would you know, you old fool? You’ve never lived on R&R Road,” Chief grumbles.
“I know ’cause I know,” Pops fires back.
“Hush.” Chief waves a hand at us both and my mouth snaps closed. “Point is, I’ve been watching that girl pine after a lost love for years. Letters, poems, the whole doggone sad mess. If you’re who she’s been waiting for, you’d better be ready to fight off whatever’s coming for her.”
Leaning my forearms on the table, I ask, “What makes you think something’s coming for her?”
Another flash—weaker this time, like a radio signal cutting in and out.
The smell of grass and tree bark. A feeling of…urgency, of needing to tell her something important.
Then static. Nothing. Gone before I can grasp it.
They both stare at me as though I’ve sprouted a second head.
“Son,” Chief says quietly, while also assessing my mental capacity for this conversation, I’m sure. “That girl checks her locks more than a bank teller counts money. Something’s been coming for her since the day she got here. We’ve just been waiting for it to show its face.”
“Mornings are the worst,” Pops adds. “That’s when the…” He leans in and stage-whispers, “The packages first started arriving. She tries to hide it, even from her friends, but we see how her hands shake. She hates leaving the house too early now.”
Chief nods, his expression softening. “She thinks she’s been hiding by keeping us all on the periphery, but we see her. If you’re not what’s chasing her, then maybe you’re the one she’s been waiting for—the one who can finally help.”
He slides a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me. “Eat up. You’re going to need your strength.”
“For what?”
He grins, and there’s something fatherly in it. “For Happiness, son. This town’s about to adopt you, whether you like it or not. And later, I’m makin’ sure Clover does her self-defense training.”
“Who’s training her?”
He stands to his full height, and I get the feeling he’s weighing how much trouble it would cause if he decked me.
With a haughty tone, he rocks back on his heels and declares, “Me. I’m the best there is.”
Both men watch me expectantly, and I realize I may be woefully unprepared for this mission.