Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
“ Y ou won’t believe this.”
Riley’s head jerked up as Avery came into the office, a cardboard box in her arms. “Oh, no,” Riley breathed. “How many?” She immediately jumped out of her seat and headed around the desk.
Avery raised an eyebrow. “Four. Kittens. And as always…they’re starving.”
Riley shook her head and peeked over the edge of the box. “Where were they?” she whispered, her chest physically aching from seeing the tiny creatures huddle and mewing pitifully.
“Same as always.” Avery sighed and shifted her awkward hold. “Why so many people think that stretch of highway is a good dumping ground is beyond me.”
“There’s no one to see them,” Riley ground out. “No lights, limited traffic.” She scrunched her nose. “They can dump whatever they want, and no one knows.”
“Well, the state should put up a traffic cam and start charging the idiots for neglect. A thousand bucks per head ought to do nicely.” The teenager grinned with a malicious edge .
Riley rolled her eyes. “Like that’ll ever happen. Besides, we need money for things besides traffic cams.” Pursing her lips, Riley tapped them with her finger. “Though at a thousand bucks a head, we’d have enough funds to expand this join in no time.”
“That’s what I was thinking!” Avery cried.
RIley laughed softly, the sound dying as she looked back at the box. “Take them back, I guess. I’m not sure where we’ll put them, but they need a bath, some antibiotics and a good dish of food…or three.”
Avery nodded. “Come on, you little sweethearts. Auntie Avery will take care of you.”
Riley smiled as the teenager walked away, still cooing and talking to the new additions to their facility. It was so heartbreaking to see animals come in, but such a joyous thing to see them begin to thrive after having such a hard start to life.
“On the plus side,” Riley mused to herself as she cracked her computer again. “I’ll have playmates for a few days.” Funny enough, kittens were easier to pawn off on people than other animals, so Riley knew from experience it wouldn’t be that hard to find them homes.
There was just something about that fluffy hair and wide, innocent eyes that lulled their victims into a false sense of security before wham! The claws came out, and the new leather sofa was in ribbons.
Chuckling under her breath, she went back to work, trying to catch up on paperwork that seemed endless and keep her mind off of a certain man who had kissed her far into the evening.
“Whew!” Riley fanned her face which had immediately heated. “That man knows how to kiss.”
“Please tell me you’re not talking about Antony.” Maeve’s deadpan voice had Riley squealing out of her chair.
“Maive Markle!” Riley shouted. “What is wrong with you?”
Maeve raised an eyebrow. “I think you’ve got the question wrong.”
Huffing and adjusting her shirt, Riley plopped back down. “Unless you brought me cake, you better not step farther into this room. ”
Maeve’s lips twitched, and she held up a hand snapping her fingers. “Ta da!”
“Cake and me!” Aspen shouted, holding up a cardboard box.
Riley’s eyes widened. “That better not be filled with kittens. I just got a fresh shipment.”
“Oooh.” Aspen looked back out the door. “Where are they? Can they play?”
“They’re getting detoxified.” Riley held out her hands, making a grabbing motion. “This is gonna be good if you brought me a whole cake.”
Aspen smirked and flounced in, setting the cake down.
Riley lifted the lid, gasping. “Raspberry and lemon!” She shut it again. “Now I’m afraid to ask.” Narrowing her eyes, she looked at each woman in turn. “I’m not taking back your mom’s dog. And no, Baby Tony and little Olivia can not have kittens. They’ll throttle them and stuff them in their mouths. They’re too young.”
“You’re ridiculous, did you know that?” Maeve asked, yawning and sitting in a seat toward the back of the office.
“There’s a difference between being ridiculous and not being easy to fool.” Riley folded her arms over her chest. “What’s going on?”
Aspen laughed. “Sometimes I forget just how much time we’ve spent together.” She leaned forward, her smile wide. “Were you really talking about Antony when we got here?”
Stupid blush. One day Riley would look up tips on how to stop it, but today was, quite obviously, not that day.
Maeve laughed, then coughed and tried to stop when Riley glared. “Don’t talk out loud, and no one knows your thoughts,” Maeve said with a shrug.
Another huff. This time it disturbed a chunk of hair that had fallen out of Riley’s ponytail. She tucked it behind her ear. “Spit it out, ladies.”
Aspen glanced at Maeve, who raised her eyebrows, before coming back to Riley. “We’d like you to talk Antony into coming to a family dinner after the race.”
Riley blinked several times. “Uh…okay. Why is this a big deal?” She frowned. “There has to be more to it than that.”
Aspen shook her head. “There’s not, actually.”
“Riley, you’re the only person who’s spoken to Antony in over a year that hasn’t gotten their head chopped off.” Maeve smirked. “Although it sounds like you got your lips eaten off.”
Stupid blush. “Maeve,” Riley warned. “I’m going to stop giving you free puppy toys if you don’t knock it off.”
Maeve widened her eyes and opened her mouth. “The horror! You wouldn’t!”
Riley shook her head. “I’m serious. I don’t understand why this is a big deal. Antony’s working on healing. He’s still rough around the edges, but why is everyone afraid to speak to him?”
“Because everyone’s been barked at one too many times,” Aspen said bluntly. Leave it to Aspen to say it like it was. “We love him, Ri. You know that. But we’re all still a little gun-shy.”
Riley shrugged. “I don’t think it’ll be a big deal. And it might actually be nice coming from his family.”
“I think he’d rather hear it from his girlfriend,” Aspen argued.
“I disagree.” Riley leaned forward. “He needs to know you all still love him,” she said, her tone dropping to a whisper. “I think that’s all he’s needed from the beginning. To know he’s still needed.”
Aspen turned away, but not before Riley could see the tears in her friend’s eyes. Maeve, on the other hand, tapped her foot with excessive speed.
“We’ve tried, Riley,” she argued. “He’s been home for nearly a year-and-a-half, and we’ve done everything we can. He doesn’t want anything to do with us, but we’re still trying.” She jutted her chin toward Riley. “But this time, we’re hedging our bets and using a middle man. If he decides not to come, at least it won’t be followed by him making one of us cry. ”
“Too late,” Riley said with a sigh. “I’m sorry, Aspen. I know you’ve all done your best.”
Aspen cleared her throat. “It’s fine. I’m just being a girl.” She wiped at her face. “But Maeve’s right. We’ve tried hundreds of times. He won’t let us in.”
Riley held back the words she wanted to say. This conversation was reminding her of just how far Antony had come in the last few weeks. And yet he still had a long way to go.
She didn’t blame the Harrison girls for wanting help. Antony was like a growling bear, but slowly his temper was calming down. Judging from his concerns last night about his scarred hand, though, they still had work to do.
She supposed she should simply be thankful they’d made any progress at all. Obviously people were hurt on both sides of the relationship, and Riley had a twingy feeling that she was stuck in the middle.
“I think you’ll be surprised,” Riley said, forcing a smile. “Antony loves you, and he wants to have a relationship with you all.” She took a deep breath. “Of course I’ll chat with him.”
Aspen clapped her hands. “I knew you deserved the whole cake.” She winked. “If you play your cards right, you might be able to use it to convince him to come. He’s a sucker for lemon.”
Riley rolled her eyes, but she smiled. “I’m sharing this thing with the world. There’s no way the two of us are eating this much cake.” She laughed. “We’re in training, after all.”
The knock on the door was a little heavier than normal, causing Antony to frown as he rolled his way that direction. “Come in, Ri,” he hollered, not wanting her to wait in the heat.
A hot wind had been whipping through the neighborhood today when he’d gone out to exercise, and the idea of Riley standing in it brought out all the protective instincts that Antony had thought were dead and gone, lost with his leg.
The door creaked open. “Are you sure?”
Antony stopped, his muscles tensing. Who had he just invited into his house?
Gavin’s head came around the door, and he grinned. “Hey, man. Long time, no see. Sorry I’m not a leggy blond.”
Antony scowled. “You’re letting all the cool air out.”
Gavin chuckled and came in, his toolbox in hand as he closed the door. “Hello to you too.”
Antony shook his head and relaxed in his chair. “What’re you doing running around out there? Don’t you have a wife and baby who needs your attention?”
Gavin put a hand to his chest. “I just had to see your ugly mug one more time, Tone.”
Antony snorted, but ultimately smiled. It had been a long time since he’d bantered with his friends. His demeanor had driven them off within minutes since getting home, even when he wasn’t trying to. Lifting his chin, Antony indicated the tools. “What’s that for?”
Gavin looked at the toolbox, then back at Antony, his face pensive. “I came to help.” All the teasing was gone from his tone.
Once again, Antony found himself tensing. “Help with what?”
Gavin took a slow breath. “Before you kill me, hear me out.”
Antony’s jaw clenched, but he waited.
“Riley happened to mention to Felicia that your bathroom isn’t user friendly.”
“Cripple friendly, you mean?” Antony shot back. Why was it so hard to get away from this? He hated the pity of his friend. Hated it. Every time it was offered, Antony felt his lungs close up, and it seemed as if he was going to drown in the patheticness that was his life.
“Not the terminology I was going to use,” Gavin grumbled, still watching Antony warily. “But I didn’t come here just to put up a couple of handlebars. ”
“No?” Antony sneered. “Did you come to—” He bit off what he was going to say and shook his head. What good did it do? What good was all the anger? He’d had a run of experiencing life without it, and now with Gavin’s offer, it came rushing back as if it had never truly left.
Where was Riley? He needed her. Needed her to help him get through this without looking like an impotent jerk. She always knew what to say and do to make it work out to everyone’s advantage.
Gavin sighed and pushed a hand through his hair. “Has it ever occurred to your hard head that we keep trying because we love you?”
The words stopped Antony cold.
Hadn’t Riley said something similar?
“Did you really assume that all our years of friendship were because you were living the high life?” Gavin asked, his voice growing in strength and depth. “That because we were kids and things were good, that made our friendship worthwhile? But when crap happened, suddenly it wouldn’t matter anymore? That I’d have no use for you because your body got blown to bits?”
Antony couldn’t help but wince at the words, though the truth of them hit him in the gut. All the emotions, all the rage and pity and vulnerability, it was a veritable soup inside of him, and he wasn’t sure how to get it out. He especially wasn’t sure how to get it out in a way that wouldn’t hurt the people around him.
“Do you really think I haven’t had bad things happen?” Gavin asked, his nostrils flaring. “I’m a firefighter, Tone. I’ve seen horrible things happen to people.” He paused, taking a couple of breaths. “I’ve also seen miracles.” The anger in Gavin’s voice was gone. “You coming home was a miracle, you idiot. A miracle for your family, for you and for your friends.”
Antony worked his jaw. “What if there wasn’t a miracle, Gav?” he croaked. “What if the Antony you knew never came back at all?”
Gavin hesitated only a moment before walking over and slapping his meaty hand on Antony’s shoulder. “Pieces of that Antony are still here,” he said, a crooked smile on his face. “It’s the same leg, the same arms, and the same rock-hard head.”
Antony huffed a laugh and shook off Gavin’s hold.
“Same or not,” Gavin continued. “We’re just glad you’re still here.”
Antony swallowed audibly before finding his voice. “Thanks.”
Gavin nodded, his grin growing into a smirk. “Said and done,” he declared. “Now how about we quit whimpering like a pair of girly chickens and order some wings while I put those bars in the shower?”
Antony rubbed the back of his neck. “Can I hire you for a couple other jobs?”
Gavin raised an eyebrow.
“I finally ordered a bed frame, but?—”
Gavin shook his head. “Two baskets of wings.” He grinned. “I’ll be extra hungry.” He marched around Antony, toward the shower. “Oh, and just so you know, you’re an idiot for waiting this long to get a bed, Tone. There’s pride, and there’s stupidity. You’re flirting with the line.”
Antony grumbled under his breath but pushed his way to the kitchen to grab his phone.
Gavin’s head came back out of the hallway. “I hear you’re also flirting with a certain animal activist.” He pumped his eyebrows up and down. “I have to admit, I never saw that one coming.”
Antony shook his head. “It’s none of your business.”
“If you think I’m not here to gossip over dinner, you’re dead wrong.” Gavin’s head disappeared, and Antony heard noises coming from the bathroom.
He stared in the direction of the hallway for a moment, letting his thoughts settle. Riley had been right. It wasn’t pity, it was care. Maybe his friends didn’t understand what all he needed when he’d gotten home.
Maybe the pity had come from a lack of knowing how to help. Or maybe it had never been pity at all and more of a mourning for the changes they could see but didn’t understand .
No one, not his family nor his friends would ever get what it was like to have a limb amputated. Or to have scarring that covered almost one third of their body, and honestly, Antony wouldn’t want them to understand.
But between his anger and their misguided attempts at help, the communication line had become blurred, leaving a canyon between Antony and those who had once been his dearest companions.
As the banging commenced in the bathroom, he shook his head. “Good ole Gav,” Antony muttered, truth ringing through his core.
Why it took smacking him upside the head before he’d listen was probably something that Antony needed to fix, but in this moment, he was simply grateful he had friends willing to do it.
And a girlfriend who started it all.
Antony glanced at the time, then took a breath. He hated what he was about to do, but he had a feeling it would be for the best.
He pulled up Riley’s number and began to text.
Hey, sweetheart…could we postpone you coming over tonight? I’ve got company.