Chapter 5
After hours of waiting, and three cups of shitty vending machine coffee, the hospital finally released Luke and Debbie in the wee hours of the morning. A thick walking cast encased Mom’s foot and shin.
“I can’t believe it,” Mom groused from her wheelchair. “Slipped in the alley and broke my ankle in two places. Two!”
Luke put the brakes on the wheelchair next to where the valet had pulled his car up outside the emergency room doors. “You just had to be an overachiever, didn’t you?”
“Hush, you.”
He chuckled as he helped her inside, handing her the bag of pain pills they’d picked up at the hospital pharmacy. “Let’s get you home so you can get some sleep.”
Buckling himself into the driver’s seat, he got them back on the road to Hawthorn Hills.
“Twelve weeks…” Mom muttered. “That fool doctor said I can’t work for three whole months.”
“If you push it, it’ll be even longer.” Watching his mom argue with the doctor had been equal parts stressful and hilarious. He’d have to bring her back for a follow-up visit with the orthopedic specialist, but the ER doctor had warned her if she didn’t take care, she could need surgery.
“How am I supposed to get the money for any of this if I can’t work?
Or if I have to hire someone to take on the cooking while I recover?
” Deb leaned her elbow against the car door and propped her forehead up in her palm.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do, Luke.
The business insurance will claim it’s my fault if I try to use it, for not salting back there. ”
Luke signaled his turn for the highway even though there was no one around at this hour. The stars were only just starting to fade from the sky. “I thought that was more to protect the employees, anyway. What’s wrong with using your health insurance?”
Mom rubbed her forehead. “Our deductible is so high. I couldn’t afford anything better, premiums for the self-employed are ridiculous. But if I need surgery, it’ll be useful.”
Luke nodded along. “One thing at a time. Let’s focus on getting you home first.” He had savings, but suspected his mother wouldn’t take money from him. “Then we’ll get you healed.”
By the time he got them back to the house, dawn was kissing the horizon. He helped his mom navigate the front porch with her crutches, opening the door for her. His eyelids were getting heavy, but he wanted to get her situated before he crashed.
She brushed him off and hobbled up to her bedroom with the crutches grasped in one hand and the other on the railing.
“I’ll get you a drink so you can take your pill,” Luke called up. He hung his jacket up on the hook and entered the kitchen. Pouring Mom a glass of water, he carried it and the pills upstairs.
Aaron emerged from the hall bathroom as he entered Mom’s bedroom. “What’s going on?” Luke didn’t realize he’d followed him. “Mom? What happened?”
“I slipped and broke my ankle, Aaron.” She gave Luke a weary smile as he set the glass and bottle next to her. “Thank you, Luke. And thank you for taking me to the hospital. The ambulance would only have added to the cost of this.”
Luke gazed down at the woman who’d raised him as she suddenly looked older than her fifty-four years. “Do you need help with anything else, Mom?”
Then she scowled, and he saw the mom he remembered., “No, I’ll manage. Give your mother her privacy, boys. I’m going to bed and no one is to wake me until lunch.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Luke and Aaron said in unison. Luke headed for the hallway, but he had to make the offer before he chickened out. “And Mom?”
She looked up at him as she swallowed her pill. “Yes?”
“I can help with the hospital bills when they come in.”
“You will not!”
Luke sighed. “I don’t want you to worry about it. Let me help you.”
He hadn’t seen her patented Mom glare in quite some time. “I’ll figure it out.”
“Mom, please. At least think about it.”
She huffed. “Fine.”
Luke would take it. The fact she agreed to think about it at all showed how anxious she was about the money. He shut the door behind him and turned around, looking forward to sleep himself. But he jolted when he realized Aaron was still standing behind him.
“I can help, too.” He glared.
“I didn’t think you were working,” Luke whispered, then gestured for Aaron to follow him so they didn’t disturb Mom.
Aaron followed him into his room and shut the door behind them. “I have money.”
“Aaron, she doesn’t want to take my money, I doubt she’ll take yours.” The FBI paid well, but he wasn’t loaded.
His little brother crossed his arms and scowled at Luke’s dresser. “But she should.”
Damn it, this was the perfect opportunity to find out what was going on with his brother. “How are you getting this money?”
Aaron’s blue eyes that were a mirror image of their mom’s now turned to him. They went carefully blank. “Don’t worry about it.”
Luke narrowed his eyes and stared back. “What are you up to?”
“I’m working for a friend.”
“Who? Doing what?”
Aaron’s gaze wandered off behind Luke. “Lots of things.”
Now Luke crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow. “Like?”
“I can’t talk about it.”
The two brothers found themselves at a stalemate. Luke certainly wasn’t going to blink first. But apparently neither was Aaron.
“It’s been a long night. We both need sleep. But I’m going to help with the money, Luke.” Aaron turned to go, but paused at the open door. “After all, I actually live here.” Then he shut the door behind him and his footsteps padded back to his own room.
Luke rubbed a hand over his chest where his brother’s final blow had landed. He needed at least a few hours’ sleep before dealing with any more teenage angst.
Maggie rolled into The Busy Bee the next day and the first thing out of her mouth was “Any news about Deb?”
Shorty looked up from the griddle. “That’s why I’m here. Luke was at the hospital all night with her.”
“Do we know what happened?”
He shook his head and flipped a pancake. “When I talked to him, they hadn’t gotten the x-rays back yet. That poor boy was so exhausted, I’m sure he’s still asleep. They both need it.”
Her heart ached. Deb was such a nice lady, and Maggie loved working for her. They got along so well.
“Well, I hope it’s nothing major.” She slipped her coat off and punched in for her shift. After tying on her apron and making sure she had her pen and notepad, Maggie headed out through the swinging door.
Katya thumbed to the counter as she carried a tray back to the kitchen. “Guy just sat down, haven’t gotten to him yet.”
“You got it.” Maggie slipped behind the chrome bar and came up short when she recognized the man sitting there. Her throat tried to close around her next words. “Hello, what can I get you to drink?”
Kirk looked up from his phone. She hadn’t noticed his striking hazel eyes in the darkness of Tracey’s bar weeks ago, and he was decidedly less disheveled on his lunch hour. He grinned, obviously not remembering her brush off earlier. “Maggie! How’s Hawthorn Hills treating you?”
Maggie kept her distance, putting her polite customer service smile on. “Kirk. It’s been lovely. You were right about this town.” She pulled out her notepad. “Have you had a chance to look at the menu?”
“Sure, sweetheart, I’ll have a Coke and the turkey club.”
She ground her molars at the endearment, but kept her face placid. She’d had plenty of practice with her husband, after all. “Fries okay?”
“Perfect.” He slid the menu back into its holder. “Are you staying at the B & B then?”
“I’ll put this right in for you.” She dropped the smile and gave him an icy glare. His eyes went wide.
“Ooh, tough crowd. Okay, then.” He went back to his phone.
Maggie’s hand trembled as she placed the order slip on the carousel and then poured Kirk his drink. Deb wouldn’t put up with any nonsense if she were here, and Maggie figured Shorty was the same. Some guy had tried to harass Katya last week and Shorty had kicked him out.
Kirk was respectful for the rest of his visit, but Maggie was still on edge until he left. He left his phone number when he signed his receipt, but she placed it in the cash box with the rest of them and ignored it.
Ugh. Why were men…men?
Shorty was an angel as far as Luke was concerned, and worked the entire shift Wednesday, open to close, so he and Mom could rest. That’s why Luke was up before the sun on Thursday, unlocking The Busy Bee and turning the lights on.
As he fired up the griddle and the ovens, he recalled what he’d found when he woke up the previous afternoon.
When he took Mom her lunch, a wad of cash lay outside her bedroom door. It took some balancing, but Luke managed to pick it up once he opened the door. Mom was sitting up in bed where he’d left her, her ankle elevated on a pillow.
“What’s that?”
Luke laid the tray down on her lap and unrolled the bills. “It looks to be… It’s several hundred dollars.” And big bills, too. His mind boggled. Who even carried cash anymore?
“Luke, I told you—”
“It’s not mine, Mom. I think it’s from Aaron.”
“Aaron?” Her incredulous look matched his own feelings.
“He told me last night he wants to chip in so you don’t have to worry about the hospital bill.”
“How does he have that kind of money?”
Luke shrugged. “Beats me.”
The mystery had stumped them both, but it definitely gave credence to Mom’s theory that Aaron was up to something.
If it was something illegal, Aaron could end up in big trouble.
Luke filed those thoughts away in a box in his mind, to be taken out later and dealt with.
Right now, he needed to put on his apron and get started on the waffle and pancake batter.