Chapter 17
The next morning, Chelsea woke up, got ready for work, and headed outside, not surprised to find Joel waiting for her at the front door. She frowned at him. “You really don’t have to drive me, you know?”
“Not up for discussion,” he declared cheerfully. “I’m coming in to talk to security anyway.”
“Great,” she muttered. “So much for my going about my business in all this.”
“Nope, probably not,” he agreed, “but we can’t in good conscience not give them fair warning.”
“Isn’t that Richard’s job?” she asked. “Oh wait. He doesn’t do his job. Plus, he’s not on the job anymore soon. I’m actually really happy about that.”
“It was Richard’s job to inform the hospital security guards,” he explained, “but, for my own peace of mind, I’ll talk to them myself.”
She nodded and didn’t say anything.
When they arrived, he dropped her off at the front. He was back in serious mode, and his face was a mask. “I’ll park and then come back inside to talk to them. You have a great day.”
When she leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss, he laughed, pulled her into his arms, and gave her a whopper of a kiss that left her reeling. When she finally got out of the vehicle, several of the other nurses coming in on shift had big grins on their faces.
Chelsea smiled at them.
“Wow, that went from zero to sixty really fast,” one coworker noted.
“It sure did,” Chelsea confirmed, “and I couldn’t be happier.”
“He seems really nice, and he’s definitely delishy-looking,” another one added.
That whole delishy-looking term just blew her away because it felt like a phrase her mother would have used way back when, and yet these women were way younger. It was almost like things had come back full circle.
She didn’t comment and just went in and got to work.
She made it through the busy day, tired as usual, but mentally exhausted at the end, since, if nothing else, it had been a much harder shift knowing that this sniper guy was out there somewhere.
The idea that he could possibly track her right through the hospital, causing trouble for patients and staff or bringing danger to all of them was gut-wrenching.
She couldn’t judge anything he might do by normal standards.
In the end, it was just impossible for her to relax and to do her job.
She’d spent the whole time looking over her shoulder, double-checking hallways, looking in closets, bathroom stalls, and behind doors.
It had all been far more stressful than she expected, and, by the time her shift was done, she could hardly do anything but groan as she made her way to the main exit door.
Security stopped her there and declared, “You can’t go out yet.”
She closed her eyes and sighed. “When can I leave then?”
“When your ride arrives.”
She sat down, and there wasn’t much to do but wait.
She closed her eyes, immediately lost in thoughts, losing track of all time.
When she opened her eyes again, Joel was walking toward her, a big grin on his face.
“I think that’s my ride,” she said, turning and pointing at him.
The security guard turned, saw Joel, and nodded.
“Yes, that he is,” he said, with a grin.
She waited until he got inside, and when he opened his arms, she walked into them, just needing the comfort of somebody who actually understood the chaos she was going through.
“We’ll see you tomorrow morning,” the guard called out behind her.
She nodded. “I would absolutely love to take a few days off,” she whispered to Joel, as she walked out to the parking lot with him. “But—”
“I know, it’s all about the buts, at least for a couple more weeks,” he noted gently.
“So, where are we going then?”
“We’ll be home soon enough, but I wondered if you wanted to go see the eagle for a short visit?”
“I would absolutely love to see him,” she said, “but mind you—I’m exhausted.”
“It’s not really on the way,” he admitted, “so if you really are too exhausted, we can turn around and head over to Sterling’s.”
He was being very considerate, and she was dead on her feet, but, then again, she really wanted to see the eagle. “When did you take him over there?”
“A few days ago, the same day we found the dead body. I just want to make sure that the eagle’s doing okay.”
“So do I,” she agreed. “Sometimes I think I should have gone into looking after animals, but I can certainly help at the center regardless—or at Sterling’s training center on the farm.”
“Oh, I think the Haven will take nursing skills of any kind, even the human kind,” he suggested, with a smile. “There are just always so many animals.”
“And you found that eagle that same day, didn’t you?”
“I did, and he was not in great shape. Yet he’s doing much better. Still not able to be released yet but soon hopefully.”
“Do you think Tiger’s the one who hurt the eagle?”
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised. He seems to have a temper that he may not be able to control, but I don’t know that for certain, just from reading John’s …
log,” he shared, with a shrug. “I kind of wonder if Peacock told Tiger, just before Peacock died, that maybe he had contacted people about his own kill record, or worse about Tiger’s.
But I don’t know if Peacock would have, just because of his family. That is another concern too.”
She nodded. “I’m not sure he would have told because of his family either. I hope Richard made contact with them and lets them know that Peacock intentionally stayed away because of this Tiger guy.”
“Yeah, but still, it’ll be hard for them, but it may still be worth sharing.
I don’t know,” he admitted. “Yet, if you thought your father was somebody who didn’t give a crap about you, then all of a sudden you find out that he spent his life away from you in order to protect you, that’s kind of a heavy burden too. ”
“Still, if that’s what Peacock was doing, I think we have the right to let his family know.”
“Absolutely,” he agreed, with a smile in her direction.
It didn’t take too long, only about twenty minutes, and it was partially in the right direction toward Sterling’s house.
It was still sometimes hard to get the Sterling’s house part in her head, after all those years of being there with her mother.
But as they pulled up to the raptor center, all that left her mind as they hopped out, and Joel let the way around to the front, where he seemed to recognize someone immediately.
She looked over at him and waved. “Hey, Joel. How are you doing?”
“Pretty good, Ruth,” he replied. “This is Chelsea. We just wanted to check in on the eagle and see how he’s making out.”
“Well, come on over here, and you can take a look. The vet took a really good look at him. We got the wing set, and he seems to be doing fine, though he’s not too impressed with his cage. But until that wing heals, it’s almost like he knows he can’t do anything anyway.”
“Of course.”
As they moved over to the cage, the massive eagle just sat there on a perch, staring at them.
Joel smiled up at him. “I know you don’t remember me,” he began, speaking softly, “but it’s really nice to see you up there.” The eagle just stared at him with that huge, unblinking gaze.
“What does he eat?” Chelsea asked.
“Depends on what we have at the time,” Ruth replied.
“Sometimes the early days are different, but it’s our intent to feed him what he’s used to eating early on, then transition to what our vet recommends within a day or two.
We’ll do our best to keep him strong and wild, and, when he’s ready, we’ll release him.
If you want to know when that’s happening, just let me know.
Sometimes, depending on how it goes, we allow people to be part of the release. ”
Chelsea gave an enthusiastic reply. “Yes, please.”
They stayed for a little bit longer, then he thanked Ruth for her time and her help. Joel turned and wrapped an arm around Chelsea’s shoulders. “Come on. We better head home before we get Sterling worried.”
She smiled. “To even think that somebody may be worried is quite a change,” she said, as they walked toward the vehicle.
“You certainly have that now though,” he reminded her, “because we know he cares.”
“I know, and that’s the part that surprises me.” She laughed, as they got back in his vehicle.
Then, before he started the truck, he told her to fasten her seat belt.
She was surprised at that. He shrugged. “We don’t know much about Tiger, where he’s coming from, what his plans are,” he began.
“However, we do know he’s dangerous, and, if we must deal with being run off the road, I need to know that you’re buckled in. ”
She stared at him and then quickly buckled up and sagged back into her seat.
“I’m sorry for bringing the reality check,” he said, “but we must be ready for anything.”
“No, no,” she replied in barely a whisper. “It’s fine. I needed the reminder.”
“Maybe, but I didn’t have to make it sound quite so horrific.”
“There’s no easy way to say something like that,” she stated. “At least I can’t imagine there is.”
“I certainly don’t know an easy way to say it,” he told her, “but at least we are aware of what could happen. Of course we’re hoping nothing will happen, but there’s just no way of knowing.”
“I know.” She let out a groan. “I shouldn’t be feeling so off about it.”
He reached over and squeezed her fingers. “This is new to you, so go easy on yourself,” he said. “It’s been a lot, but, because we’re all on alert, we’re all looking after each other and the farm and taking extra precautions. So we can get through this.”
“But I notice you didn’t say, We can capture this guy.”
“Well, that’s the plan,” he acknowledged, “and I’m not forgetting that for a moment. Yet our first priority is that we survive all this.”
“Right,” she whispered. “So let’s get home. … Did you happen to tell Sterling that we were stopping by to see the eagle?” she asked, misery in her tone, “because I think I was supposed to cook.”
He laughed. “I think there is steak waiting for us.”
“Oh, that would be good,” she said, even as she yawned. “I can’t believe how exhausted I am.”
“As you mentioned, it was stressful at work.”
“I know, but it’s stressful for other people too, and I just don’t want anybody to see me as not …doing my fair share.”
He groaned. “I’m thinking you are the kind of person who probably does more than your fair share, without even realizing it, and I’m sure you don’t ever come up short,” he replied. “Yet you’re also stressed out and exhausted.”
“Sure, along with everyone else.”
“I know,” he conceded, “but everybody else isn’t dealing with the same issues that you are right now.”
“Maybe,” she muttered, “but I don’t want that to be an excuse. I don’t want people to look at me and to think that I’m getting an easier time of it.”
He sighed, knowing he couldn’t change her mind on this.
“I just don’t want people thinking I’m getting a break or special treatment. … I just want to be treated like everybody else and get through this.”
He kept silent, and, before long, they pulled into Sterling’s farm, parking at the back door, as prearranged with Sterling. She hopped out with Joel as the two of them safely stepped inside.
In the kitchen, two of the farmhands sat at the table and gave them a wave. Joel knew both of them from their Haven days, and Chelsea smiled at them. “You guys are so busy that I rarely see you anymore.”
The two just nodded in agreement.
Chelsea turned to Sterling, who was checking on the potatoes in the oven. He looked over at them and smiled. “Right on time,” he greeted them. “The potatoes are about done, so, now that you’re back, I’ll broil the steaks. Sorry, no barbecue pit tonight.”
“I’m sorry too,” she said, as she walked over toward him. “I was supposed to cook tonight.”
“I don’t think there’s any supposed to right now about much of anything, given the circumstances,” he told her gently, “not as far as I’m concerned.”
“Maybe,” she said, “but I also don’t want you with more work to do because of me.”
He looked at her in surprise and asked, “Bad day?”
“Yeah, … bad day,” she replied, “and a bad reminder that this Tiger asshole is still out there.” Sterling didn’t say anything, just hugged her. She accepted the hug, needed the hug, then muttered, “Sorry, I’m just over it. I’m going to get changed.”
And, with that, she headed upstairs.