Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
B ack in his truck, she said, “I can walk back to the newspaper office from Mrs. Brantley’s house, so just take me there. I know you must be having a good visit overall because she’s a wonderful hostess.”
He snorted. “She’s a newlywed.”
Amy glanced over at him. “And?”
“She and James are a couple my parents’ age acting like twenty-year-old newlyweds.”
She laughed. “Well, you’re only here for a week or two, right?”
“A month.”
He put his turn signal on to leave the highway. “That’s a long time. Why?” She held up a hand in a stop motion. “Forget I asked. It’s none of my business.”
“No. You’re okay. The short version is that my sister and her family are staying at my house while they have their house repaired.”
Amy pictured the boisterous family gatherings she’d experienced growing up. Even if he’d come from a similar type of family, he was single, so that wouldn’t be his daily life. “You’re used to quiet at home, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. Her kids are great. I love my niece and nephews. But it was a lot. Besides, the department kept telling me I needed to take some of my leave or I would lose it. Every time I talked to him, Greg asked me to visit. He said Two Hearts was a great place to come and get away from a hectic life. I thought, why not now?”
Amy wanted to ask if he agreed with Greg. Scott hadn’t been here long, though. As they drove down the street, she saw an old woman standing at the end of a driveway and holding onto a walker. The woman waved to them frantically, teetering on her feet as she did.
“Something’s wrong.” He pulled to a stop at the curb.
Amy got out of the truck and walked over. She was surprised to find Scott at her side when she was within a few feet of the woman who she now recognized as Mrs. Robinson. She must be ninety-seven if she was a day.
“Have you seen my Nosey?”
Amy glanced over at Scott with her eyebrows raised. “Excuse me, ma’am?”
The older woman swiped at her cheek, and Amy realized she’d been crying. “Nosey! He got out sometime this morning. I must have left the door open a crack after the mailman brought a package.”
Scott asked, “Your cat or dog escaped?”
Mrs. Robinson balanced wobbly on her walker. “Rabbit. A small brown rabbit.”
“I saw him!” Amy exclaimed.
Mrs. Robinson’s face lit up. “Oh my goodness!” When she pressed her hand to her chest, Amy wondered if the woman was about to have a heart attack. “Where? Around here?”
“Over at Emmaline Brantley’s. I saw him in the front bushes. Scott and I will go over there right now and see if we can’t find him. But first, let’s get you inside the house and resting.”
The older woman protested, but Amy was afraid she’d find her face down in the street if they didn’t get her seated soon. When they reached the front porch, Mrs. Robinson said, “Just sit me down here on one of these rocking chairs, and I’ll be fine. Please go find my Nosey!”
They both assured her they would and started back toward the truck. Scott said, “Maybe we should walk and keep checking our surroundings. The rabbit could have moved since you saw him.” After a pause, he added, “And I’m sorry I didn’t believe you when you said you saw a rabbit.”
They walked through yards between Mrs. Robinson’s house and Mrs. Brantley’s, probably about a block in distance. When they finally arrived, Amy spotted a bit of light-brown fur exactly where she’d seen it earlier. He must have gotten scared and holed up here.
“You go on the other side, and I’ll come on this side. The one thing I know about rabbits is that they can hop fast, probably quicker than we can move.”
They snuck up on the rabbit from both sides. When they were close, Scott swooped down and picked up the bunny in his arms, holding him snugly to his chest so he couldn’t escape. But instead of trying to run away, the rabbit leaned into Scott.
“I think he’s happy to be rescued,” Amy said in a soothing voice so she wouldn’t startle the bunny.
A few minutes later, they were within viewing distance of Mrs. Robinson. She squealed with delight, sounding more like a teenager than the nearly centenarian she was. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! Why don’t you take him into the house? I’ll follow you in.”
Amy opened the door for Scott, and he went through.
Mrs. Robinson called out, “Take Nosey to his bedroom. Down the hall, last door on the right.”
Scott acknowledged her statement and kept going while Amy helped Mrs. Robinson into the house and into her recliner. Once the door was closed, the older woman leaned back in her chair and sighed. But then, new tears started streaming down her cheeks. “It would have been my fault if something had happened to Nosey.”
Amy pulled a tissue out of the box on the table next to Mrs. Robinson and handed it to her.
She dabbed it on her cheeks as the tears slowed. “I’m sorry for getting so emotional. As you can tell, this rabbit is special to me.”
Amy felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. She was many things, but an elder counselor was not one of them. “Nosey is safe. He had a big adventure today, but was scared when we found him. Maybe that will discourage him from running away again.”
Mrs. Robinson patted Amy’s hand. “You are wise for your age, dear.”
Scott called from the hallway. “Should I bring the rabbit out here now, or does he stay in the bedroom?”
“Oh my goodness! Bring him on out. I just wanted to make sure he couldn’t escape while I was getting back inside. I seem to be moving a bit slower in the last little while.”
Amy’s eyes went to Scott as he came around the corner with a rabbit hopping just ahead of him. The rabbit moved toward his owner and a pet bed beside her chair.
“If you wouldn’t mind getting Nosey a treat out of the refrigerator before you go? I have some fresh parsley in there. He loves that.”
Amy did as asked, and the bunny gobbled up his treat. Then they were on their way.
When they were outside, Amy said, “I think I’m just going to walk to the newspaper office from here.”
“Thanks for keeping life interesting.”
“Hey, this wasn’t me. It’s Two Hearts and a bunny named Nosey.”
He looked at her for a moment before he turned toward his truck. “No. I think it’s you.”
She stood in the driveway and watched him disappear down the street. Had he just said he’d enjoyed the time with her? Considering they’d been looking for a place to stage the fake proposal he hadn’t even wanted to be part of, she had to admit she was surprised. As she continued to her office, though, she realized how much she’d enjoyed the time spent with him too.
When her office came into view, and her car wasn’t parked on the street in front of it, Amy stopped. Then, she remembered she’d driven to Mrs. Brantley’s house to pick up Scott. She reversed her path and headed toward her car. With her job, she sat more than she should anyway, so extra exercise couldn’t hurt. But she might deserve a slice of pie on the way back.