Chapter 4
“Hi, Nina. Where are you off to?”
She was just about to climb into her car outside Circle Left when she heard someone calling her. Nina found Birdie and her husband, Sawyer Duke, approaching. Birdie wore a thick jacket, scarf, gloves, and hat, but her husband’s only concession to the cold weather was a sweater.
“I’m going to visit Mom, so I’ll see you around.” If she got into the car, they wouldn’t see that she’d been crying.
The couple didn’t head into Circle Left but continued on toward her.
Damn.
“Are you okay?” Birdie touched Nina’s arm, and she nodded quickly.
“I just need to go.”
“To your mom’s rest home?” Sawyer asked.
Big, intimidating to those who didn’t know him, Sawyer had once worn the title of grumpiest Lyntack, but not now. Now he was in love and happy.
“We’re your friends, Nina,” Birdie said, now rubbing her arm. “You can talk to us if something is wrong.”
“I-I’m all good,” Nina insisted, though the stutter clearly stated that she was not, in fact, all good. “I’m going to visit Mom,” she said again.
“Okay, we’ll drive you,” Sawyer said. “Come on.”
“I can drive myself.”
“You’re upset, so we’re driving you. The kids are at Brody’s. Let’s go.”
Few people could change a Duke’s mind when it was set. Nina had never managed it.
“Hi, Finch!” Birdie said, her eyes finding her brother, who was now standing on the steps outside Circle Left.
Nina watched him literally freeze in place at his little sister’s greeting. His eyes went from Birdie to Nina. She knew he wanted to walk in the other direction, and that made two of them.
Asshole.
“We’re just taking Nina to see her mom. Do you want a ride home?” Birdie asked.
“Of course he wants a ride home. The man left to avoid Blue and Meadow, without his coat, and he is now wearing Caleb’s and likely has a headache,” Sawyer said in his deep growly voice. “Get in the SUV, both of you,” he added, looking from Finch to Nina.
“I really—”
“Now,” Sawyer added. He then took Birdie’s hand, and Birdie took Nina’s. They were soon being towed behind her husband to a large black SUV. “Finch!” Sawyer barked when he noted his brother-in-law wasn’t following.
“I can drive myself,” Nina protested.
“I’ll walk!” Finch called.
“Birdie will go into the rest home with you, and I’ll sit in the car because I can’t use an inside voice—apparently,” Sawyer said. “I have a few calls I need to make, and this will be the perfect time without a kid interrupting me.”
“I’ve been making my own decisions for years now,” Nina said, but then got into the car because arguing was suddenly beyond her. Crying always made her tired. What surprised her was that the opposite door opened, and Finch McAllister got in as well.
“Sometimes you need someone else to do that for you,” Birdie said. “Sawyer excels at it. Just ask his family.”
Her husband glared at her.
Finch had found her crying in the Circle Left gardens. Nina hated anyone seeing her vulnerable, so she’d gone on the defensive, just as he had.
It had been the first time she’d seen him since his discharge from the army, and he looked nothing like the man she remembered. This one had lost weight. His hair needed a cut and was unbrushed. To her, he’d looked angry and wounded.
It had taken little provocation for them to go at each other. She’d tried to apologize, knowing he was going through a hell of his own, but he didn’t want to hear it. Then he’d wanted to apologize, and she’d walked away before he could.
Now he was sitting beside her in a car—the last thing she wanted right now.
“Blue’s angry with you,” Birdie said as they pulled out of the parking lot at Circle Left. “I’d run in the opposite direction when I see her, if I were you, Finch.”
“I’m the eldest, remember, so it’s the rest of you who should be scared of me,” he replied.
Nina felt his eyes on her, but she kept hers focused out the window. Strange how the tension in the backseat was thick enough to cut, but those in the front didn’t seem to feel it.
“How’s the head after your walk, Finch?” Sawyer asked.
“Okay.”
“So it hurts, then?” Sawyer added.
“A bit, but it was good to get some fresh air.”
“Yeah, the air where you live is terrible,” Birdie drawled, which made her husband snort.
“You’ve been living with him too long. The old Birdie never talked like that,” Finch said.
She listened as the siblings debated that point. Nina knew Birdie was worried about her brother, but, like Blue, believed that with family help, he’d get through.
Nina wasn’t so sure. This man was nothing like the old version of Finch McAllister.
She felt a touch on her cheek. It was brief, but it had Nina turning to look at him. He mouthed the word “Sorry,” and she nodded, then turned away again.
Why did her skin suddenly feel like it was on fire? People touched her all the time, and she never reacted like that.
Nina was pleased when they stopped at the end of the McAllister driveway because the strain of sitting next to Finch was making her jaw ache from clenching it.
“I’ll walk from here,” Finch said. “Thanks, and bye,” he added, getting out.
Their eyes caught briefly as she turned again to look at him, and then he was out of the car, and they were driving away.
Birdie sighed.
“He’s going to be okay, baby, I promise,” Sawyer said giving her a gentle smile. “With this family he’s not alone and has someone constantly checking on him. He will get through, it’s just going to take time.”
Nina was pleased Finch had someone who cared about him, even if she was still feeling a bit raw from their encounter. She hoped Sawyer was right, and one day he would be okay, and back to the man she’d once known—and if not that, a new version that he was happy to become.
“Last night, I asked Uncle Asher about the break-in at your place, but he said they don’t have any leads so far, Nina,” Sawyer said changing the subject, as they drove toward her mom’s rest home.
Four days ago, someone had broken into her house and trashed it. Walking inside to the mess, she’d felt violated, especially as there was already so much going on in her life with her mom growing weaker. It had nearly broken her—nearly, but not quite. Nina was strong.
“Yeah, he came to see me. I hope they catch them soon.”
“I’d like a chance for some alone time with them,” Sawyer said.
“Same.”
“How is your mom?” Birdie asked, looking between the seats at Nina.
“Not great. I don’t think she has long.”
“I’m sorry, Nina,” Birdie said. “That’s so hard.”
When her mother had developed the symptoms of early-onset Alzheimer’s, Nina was the one who organized everything when the time came to put her in a home. It was still one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do.
Pulling into the long single-story facility that was Bloom Haven Rest Home thirty minutes later, Sawyer parked outside the building.
“Take as long as you need. I’ll be sweet out here,” he said.
Birdie took her hand as they headed inside, and Nina was grateful for the support. She wasn’t quite herself today. Tomorrow she would be, but not now.
“Hey, Janey, how’s Mom today?” she said to the woman sitting behind the counter in a pale blue uniform.
She gave Nina a sympathetic smile. “She’s not having a good day.” The sadness in her eyes told Nina everything she needed to know. Her mother’s condition had deteriorated.
“Thanks for taking care of her,” she said forcing down the fear.
Birdie’s hand tightened around hers as they walked down the long hallway to her mother’s room.
“They’ve done a lovely job with the Christmas decorations this year,” Birdie said, looking around. “Is your tree up yet?”
“Not yet. Birdie, if you want to wait with Sawyer—”
“I know your mother well, and she was always kind to me,” Birdie said, cutting Nina off. “I count her daughter as one of my best friends, and I will always be here for you both,” she added solemnly.
“Oh God, stop talking like that,” Nina wailed.
“When are you going to realize you don’t have to go through this alone?” Birdie asked, her pretty face fierce.
“Your brother’s right. You’ve been around your husband too long.”
“Let us support you, Nina. You’re not alone.”
“I know.” And she did, but she had always been fiercely independent.
Nina walked into her mother’s room, bracing herself for what she’d find.
“Oh, now this is nice. Look who’s here, Shirley,” the nurse seated beside the bed said when she noticed Nina in the doorway. “Your daughter, Nina, and her friend have come to visit.”
Shirley Winters had always been a small woman, but to her only child, she’d seemed an immense presence. Strong, no-nonsense, and someone Nina loved very much. Watching the changes in her was devastating.
“Hi, Mom.”
Her mother’s eyes were empty as they looked up at her.
“How about I get some tea organized. Shirley does love her tea,” the nurse said, rising to leave the room.
Nina sat in her vacated seat, and Birdie stood behind her with a hand on her shoulder.
“Nina,” her mother said, as if using the name for the first time.
Her body had withered, as had her mind, and there was barely a sign of the woman she’d once been. It was so hard to see.
“That’s right. Would you like me to read you a story, Mom? I have your favorite book with me.” Nina pulled it out of her bag and opened the first page.
It had been Robyn Duke, Sawyer’s mom, who told her that reading to her mother may offer them a connection. She’d then recommended a few children’s books, and this one had been a favorite so far.
Her mother’s eyes closed as she started reading, and a small smile tilted her lips. Birdie pulled a chair closer and sat at Nina’s side.
While times had been tough growing up, Nina had rarely gone without because her mother had always found a way for her to have that prom dress or pair of new shoes.
Shirley Winters had been strong and independent, but looking at the frail, gray-haired woman lying in her bed in the nursing home, she saw none of that now.
“Where’s your father?” The words were weak, but Nina heard them.