Chapter Thirteen
“What’s wrong?” Bear asked Aasia. He’d learned that when she was having a rough day or something occupied her mind, she played with her hair.
“Nothing. Why?” She shifted her gaze to the kitten that was weaving in and out between her ankles.
“You look like you lost your best friend.”
“Of course not.” Her chest wasn’t moving as if she was holding her breath.
“Okay.” He wasn’t convinced but didn’t want to pressure her. “Hungry?”
“Starving.”
“I have a plan. Trust me?”
She smiled. “Yes.” She bent and nuzzled the kitten. “Behave, young man.”
“Still doesn’t have a name?”
“I’m putting a lot of thought into it.”
He led her to his truck and once she had her belt fastened, he picked up a brown bag and two bottles of Dr. Pepper from the backseat. “I hope you like grilled cheese.”
“Love grilled cheese.”
“Good because it’s about the only thing I can make.” He backed the truck out onto the road.
“You made grilled cheese? Is this a date?”
“Do you want it to be?” He relaxed in the seat.
“You’re not allowed to answer a question with a question.”
“Then let me just say, I’m hoping it’s a date.”
The wind from the open window caught the ends of her hair, floating them around her cheeks. “Where are we going, cowboy?” she asked.
“There’s something that I haven’t done in a long time.” He stopped at the first red light in town. The sidewalks were hustling and bustling as townsfolk visited the shops.
“Hmm.” One corner of her mouth lifted.
“Be patient.”
Twenty minutes later they were eating grilled cheese sandwiches in his truck and watching a little league baseball game.
“This is delicious,” she said around her grilled cheese.
“There’s nothing more American than one of these,” he held up his half-eaten sandwich, “a Dr. Pepper and a ballgame. My childhood right here. In a nutshell.”
“Wow. Be careful, cowboy, or you might reveal something personal.” She picked off a small piece of her sandwich and popped it into her mouth. “Baseball. How about football?”
“Yeah, I played, but baseball was my thing.”
“What else can you share?”
“There’s not a lot to say.” He swallowed the last bite of his grilled cheese with a swig of his pop.
“So, you say but I know better. One day you’ll trust me enough to tell me everything.”
Her words held promise and he couldn’t deny he liked the idea that they had a future. “I’ve been known to talk about my life a time or two.”
“Then if I ask you a few questions, you’ll answer?” One brow popped up over her probing gaze.
“Ask away. I might not answer every question, but maybe I will.”
She laid her sandwich back into the wrapper. “Outside of sports and sandwiches, what was your childhood like?”
“Fun. Easy. The best childhood.” He watched the game and felt a sliver of nostalgia. One kid hit a home-run and the crowd of parents jumped up and cheered loudly.
“Sounds like a wining childhood.” Her mouth slipped into a frown.
“What about yours?”
“Oh no. You’re not going to get away with that. I’m supposed to be asking questions about you.”
“It’s a give and take.” He stretched his legs, shifting slightly so he could watch her instead of the game. “Come on. It’s just two friends sharing life history. What’s shared in my truck stays in my truck. Pinky promise.” He held up his finger.
“You know pinky promises can’t be broken for anything,” she said seriously.
“I know what a pinky promise is.”
“Just remember the pinky promise was your idea.” She wrapped her much smaller finger around his and he felt a jolt shoot up his arm.
“What do you want to know?” He’d give this a try. He’d never liked being in the spotlight and about the only time he felt comfortable being the star was when he was holding a bat.
“I won’t make this too painful. Were your parents married? Divorced? Do you have siblings?”
“Yes. No. Yes. I have a brother.” He wadded up his trash and made it into a ball and tossed it through the window into the trashcan. “Dillon. He’s five years younger than me.”
“Are you two close?”
“Very, we just don’t get to see each other often because he’s a firefighter and spends most of his time putting out fires.” He gripped the back of his neck and kneaded the sore muscles. “Okay. We made a pact. I will tell you something, you will tell me something. What was your family like?”
She laid her hands in her lap. “I’m afraid as far as childhoods go mine was more like The Addams Family instead of the Brady Bunch.”
“You watched those old shows too?”
“Hasn’t everyone?” The hesitation lasted long enough that he decided she probably wouldn’t tell him more. Then she surprised him. “My mom had three addictions. Men, alcohol and drugs. All three were equally terrible.”
“I’m sorry.” He felt guilty that he’d asked. He could see the light in her eyes dull some.
She picked up her grilled cheese and stared at it.
“My memories are not of baseball games and good times. Mine involve stealing food to keep from going hungry and cleaning my mother up after she’d been beaten by another boyfriend that she swore would be her knight in shining armor. Until Chuck Norris [1]came along.”
“Chuck Norris?”
“Different hero. My stepfather didn’t do martial arts, didn’t have six-pack abs, but he was a good guy. I cared for him. It was the closest to normalcy in a family that I had growing up. I should have known it was too good to be true.”
“What happened?”
“He died.” She sighed. “Then things turned ugly again.”
“I guess I assumed you had always lived with Pedora.”
“My sister, Phoebe, and I moved in with her when I was fourteen. Pedora was a life saver, literally. I can’t imagine where I’d be now if it wasn’t for her.”
“You’ve never mentioned your sister.”
“She’s younger than me. She doesn’t live here in Fin’s Creek. I tried to protect her as much as I could from the unsavory aspects of living with an addict for a parent.”
Bear had a strong urge to pull Aasia into his arms and hold her, and it took all his control to refrain. “No kid deserves that kind of life.”
She ripped at the parchment paper into strips as she talked. “Please don’t feel sorry for me. I’ve learned from everything I’ve endure. I’m stronger because I had to be.” Her expression changed.
“You’re a success story, sweetheart.” He swallowed hard.
“Do you know your father?” He hoped his question didn’t shut her down.
“No. My mother said they met while he was in the Army. She got pregnant with me and he disappeared.” She turned her cheek and stared through the window.
“I have no clue where he is. Don’t want to know.
” She whipped her chin back around and looked at him.
“What sort of father leaves his child? The closest thing I had to a father was Chuck. But just like everything else, all good things must come to an end.”
“Not everything good ends. Sometimes it just changes and we need to adapt,” he said quietly. “I have an idea. Are you up for a short road trip?” “Why not? I can’t eat a man’s grilled cheese then bail, can I?” She pulled her seatbelt back on.
“I need to help a friend with some things around her house. I think you’d like her.”
Something changed in Aasia’s expression. “A woman?”
He chuckled. “Yes, a woman.” He started the engine and pulled out onto the street, heading east out of town. “Have you ever met Lizbeth Coins?”
“Lizbeth Coins? Isn’t she the little old lady with blue hair and used to walk around town with a cane? Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her in a long time.”
“Yes, that’s her. Funny story how I met her.
I saw her coming out of the market and offered to carry her groceries.
She was very friendly and in the course of a few minutes I knew the basics.
She lives alone and has no family. She asked me if I knew anything about water leaks.
I offered to check it out and when I got there, I couldn’t believe what I saw.
She’d hired a handyman to help out around her house, and he ended up stealing her money and taking off.
He didn’t fix the leak, and her water was turned off for more than two months. ”.”
“You certainly are a surprise, Bear.”
“A surprise that my heart isn’t completely frozen over?”
“I already knew it was semi-thawed. I don’t think very many people know just how kindhearted you are. It makes me want to peel back more layers and see the real Bear.”
“Play your cards right and you might learn more.” He chuckled.
“Don’t worry. I always play my cards right.”
~*~
Lizbeth Coins was indeed unique. Her hair was no longer neon blue, but silver. She wore bright, plastic jewelry that matched the colors of her loose-fitting Hawaiian garment.
She whisked around her kitchen like an eggbeater, her short heels clicking the floor.
“That Bear is a catch,” she said in a saucy accent that Aasia couldn’t quite pinpoint. “And he loves my peach pie.” Lizbeth set a plate of peach pie in front of Aasia.
Eating a small bite, she was taken back by how delicious it tasted. “This is wonderful.” She scooped up more.
“Honey, canned peaches make the best pies. Hogwash that we must put in all the work. I spent less time on making it than I did applying my makeup this morning. The trick is adding a touch of cayenne.” Although her face was wrinkled and aged, she still had a timeless beauty.
She buzzed off energetically again to put a kettle of water on.
“This place is beautiful. The land. The house.” Aasia examined all the original wood trim that couldn’t be replicated. There were updates needed, but it had potential. It reminded her a lot of Pedora’s home—the farmhouse where Aasia called home too.
“Want to buy it?” Lizbeth said in a melodic tone, but her gaze reflected truth.
“Excuse me?”