Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Maybe it made me a creeper, but I pretty much sat by the window as much as I possibly could over the next two days. Mostly because the shop was closed on Monday. Clara had to go do inventory, and her face had turned red when she’d explained she couldn’t pay me to help her. It had only made me want to help her more, but I understood she wouldn’t be fine with it even if I offered to do it for free, so I’d kept the offer to myself. For now at least.

I’d been distracted anyway, worried about Amos and whether he was all right or not. Sure, I didn’t know him, but I still felt responsible. He’d been curled up on the porch, waiting for someone to get him and . . .

It had reminded me of me when my mom hadn’t picked me up from Clara’s house that terrible day. How I had called home over and over again when she hadn’t shown up at the time we’d agreed on. How I’d sat on Clara’s parents’ porch while I’d waited for her to arrive with some excuse about an emergency she’d had. Mom hadn’t always been punctual, but eventually she had always gotten there.

One little tear had popped up into my eye at the memory of the days after she’d disappeared.

But just like every other time, I wiped it away and kept going.

My original plan for the day had been to go on a practice hike I’d seen online closer to Bayfield, the next nearest town, but the urge to make sure Amos was all right had seemed more important. Even Yuki had texted asking for an update. I didn’t have one other than what I’d overheard the day at the hospital, and that was what I’d shared.

I also had his phone, which had vibrated on and off until the power had eventually gone dead earlier.

I’d almost given up hope of him coming home while I was reading a book I’d picked up at the grocery store, when the sound of tires on gravel came in through the open window. I got up and spotted a Parks and Wildlife pickup truck followed by a hatchback.

A familiar figure jumped out of the truck, and out of the car, another long, male figure came out. They both rounded the other side of the car and, after a moment, helped a much smaller person out. They sandwiched him between them as they disappeared into the house, and I was pretty sure I heard them bickering as they did.

It was Amos.

Relief tickled me right in the chest.

I wanted to go ask him in person if he was fine, but . . . I was going to wait.

Well, unless Mr. Rhodes came over and kicked me out. At least I hadn’t totally unpacked my things yet. Just a few days ago, I’d gone to the laundromat and refilled my suitcase with clean clothes.

At the main house, every light inside seemed to get flipped on.

For about the tenth time, I wondered about a mom or wife figure. No one had come by the house. I’d had the windows open and hadn’t slept all that great; I would’ve heard someone on the driveway. Amos hadn’t asked me to call his mom either.

But hadn’t his dad mentioned something about her the first day?

Either way, Amos was lucky to have a dad and an uncle who would rush to the hospital to be with him; I hoped he knew that. Maybe his dad was strict . . . and maybe not the friendliest person on the planet, but he loved him. Loved him enough to blame me for some dumb shit. To genuinely worry about his safety.

I sniffled, feeling a little heartsick suddenly, and picked up my phone. It rang once before there was an answer.

“Ora! Any news?”

There was a reason why I loved Yuki—and her sister—as much as I did. They were good people with enormous hearts. I knew how busy she constantly was, and it didn’t stop her from always being a call or a text away.

“He just got back home. His uncle and his dad helped him in, but he was walking on his own.”

“Oh, good.” She made a sound before saying, “You said it was your neighbor, didn’t you?”

I snorted, the loneliness already ebbing away with just the sound of her voice. “Yes. The son of the guy renting me his garage apartment.”

“Ohhhh. My assistant ordered a crystal for him. I’m sending it to the PO box address you texted me the other day. Tell him to put it on his left side. I hope he gets better.”

See? The best heart.

“So, how are you doing? Are you settling in? How’s Colorado?”

“I’m okay. I’m settling in. It’s really nice out here. It feels good.”

There was definitely hope in her voice as she asked, “You’re happy then?”

Yuki, like my aunt and uncle, had seen me at my worst. I’d stayed with her for a month immediately after I was told my relationship was over. Partly because she lived down the street, but mostly because she really was one of my best friends. She’d been going through her own breakup at the time, and that month I’d stayed turned out to be one of the most productive periods of my life. And hers.

We’d written a whole album together in that time . . . in between listening to Alanis, Gloria, and Kelly so loud I was pretty sure we’d both lost some hearing.

But it had been worth it, obviously.

“Yeah. I got a job with a friend I used to have when I lived here.”

“Doing what?”

“Working at an outdoor outfitter.”

There was a pause on her end. “What’s that?”

“They sell camping and fishing equipment. Stuff like that.”

There was another pause, and then she asked slowly, “Um, Ora, no offense but—”

I groaned. “I already know what you’re going to say.”

Her crystal clear laugh reminded me a lot of her singing voice. It was beautiful. “What are you doing working there? What do you know about any of that? How long have I known you? Twelve years? The most outdoorsy thing you’ve ever done was . . . was hanging out in tents at festivals.”

I laughed, but really, I cringed because she had a point. “Shut up. Who was going to go camping with me? Kaden? Could you imagine his mom? You?” I cracked up, and she started laughing hard too, imagining it.

Mrs. Jones, his mom, was notoriously high-strung as hell, which was funny because I’d seen the house he had grown up in. His dad had been a plumber with three kids and a stay-at-home wife. They had more money than I’d had when Mom had been around, but they had never been rolling in it. But over the last ten years, since his career had taken off, she had turned into a snooty monster that scoffed over hamburgers unless they were made of Wagyu beef.

“Good point,” Yuki agreed after she’d stopped laughing.

“But seriously, I don’t know anything about anything in there. I’ve never felt so stupid in my life, Yu. Customers ask me so many questions, and I just look at them like they’re talking ancient Greek. It’s the worst.”

She went “aww” but still laughed.

“But my friend needed the help, and it’s not like I can give references to get a better job.” And it wasn’t like I even knew what I wanted to do in the first place. This was just . . . something. Until I decided. A step.

That got her to stop laughing. “Use me. I’ll tell them you’ve worked for me and about how you’re the best employee I’ve ever had. And actually, it wouldn’t be a lie. You have worked for me, and you’ve been my MVP. I did pay you. I’m going to keep paying you.”

Her record label had insisted on giving me credit for my work so that I wouldn’t sue them in the future. They were going to be wiring me money every quarter. If they don’t pay you, they just make more money, Ora. Take it. And she had a point. Better me than the record label.

Honestly, I hadn’t thought about doing that once: asking her to lie for me. But now that she mentioned it . . . it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to have that on my resume once I found something else to do that I wasn’t awful at.

But even thinking about leaving Clara made me feel terrible. She really was overwhelmed, and I wasn’t sure who would help her once Jackie went back to school. I needed to get better and learn more before the teenager did leave. But this was all just in case. In the future. I wasn’t planning on leaving anytime soon.

“Are you sure?” I asked her.

She sighed dramatically. “You need a spiritual cleansing, teddy bear. I think Kaden might have rubbed his dumb off on you.”

I snickered. “You’re dumb.”

She laughed.

“If it comes to it, I’ll take you up on it. I hadn’t even thought about it.”

“Right. Because of the dumb. I’ll send you some sage.”

I cracked up and heard her sigh.

“I miss you, Ora. When are we going to see each other again? I wish you’d move back and live with me. You know, mi casa es tu casa.”

“Whenever we meet up somewhere or you come here. I miss you too. And your sister.”

“Ugh. Nori. She needs some sage too now that I’m thinking about it.”

I snorted. “I think she needs it more than I do. Speaking of people who need cleansings, guess who emailed me?”

She literally choked. Like there was anybody else. “The Antichrist’s spawn?”

The fact she called Mrs. Jones the Antichrist too never got old. “Yup. He asked me to call him. Twice.”

“Mm-hmm. Probably because his album flopped and everyone is talking about how bad it is.”

I smiled.

She hummed thoughtfully for a moment. “You’re better off without him, you remember that, right?”

“I know.” Because I did know. If I had stayed with him . . . we never would have gotten married, even if he’d been in his late forties. We never would have had kids. I would have been in the shadows the rest of my life. I would never have been a real priority to someone that I had supported with every inch of my soul.

I could never forget that. I wouldn’t. I was so much better off without him.

We talked for a few more minutes, and I was just wrapping up the phone call when I heard a car door slamming shut outside the window and peered out.

The restored Bronco was leaving; I had only seen it gone twice in the time I’d been here. The other car was still there though, the hatchback that had to belong to Amos’s uncle, Johnny. I couldn’t see into the driver’s seat, but I had a feeling it was Mr. Rhodes leaving. Tobias. Not that I’d call him that out loud. He didn’t want me to call him anything from the way he’d acted two days ago.

But there was nothing wrong with making sure the boy was doing okay, was there?

With both his cell phone and mine in my pockets, I carried the single can of chicken noodle soup I’d been carrying around for weeks down the stairs and crossed the gravel leading toward the main house, eyeing the entry to the property to make sure the SUV didn’t suddenly turn back. I wasn’t even embarrassed by how fast I hustled up to the deck and knocked on the door, twice, hopeful.

I heard a “One sec!” from inside, and maybe three later, the door opened and the man I’d met at the hospital was standing there with a slight smile on his face that grew wider after a moment. “Hi,” the good-looking man said. He wasn’t as tall as Mr. Rhodes . . . Was he a Mr. Rhodes too? He didn’t look at all like him, not even a little bit. Their features and colorings were totally different. So were their builds. If anything, Amos looked like a blended-up version of both of them.

Maybe he was related to his mom?

“Hi,” I told him, suddenly feeling shy. “We met at the emergency room, remember? Is Amos okay?” I held up my offering a little. “It isn’t homemade, but I brought him a can of soup.”

“Want to ask him yourself?” He smiled so wide, I couldn’t help but give him one right back.

Yeah, he and Mr. Rhodes were definitely not related.

I wondered again if I’d find out what the situation with Amos’s mom was like. Maybe she was in the military, deployed. Or maybe they were divorced and lived far away? Hadn’t Mr. Rhodes said another man’s name when he’d brought up the boy’s mom? I had so many questions and way too much time to think about business that wasn’t mine.

“Can I?” I asked, hesitating, knowing I should damn well just go back to the garage apartment before I got in trouble. It wasn’t like Amos’s dad had been all that happy to see me the last time we’d seen each other.

Much less the first time.

Or never. He was never happy to see me.

Johnny stepped back with a nod. His eyes seemed to scan the area behind me, and a crease formed between his eyebrows like he was confused. But whatever he was thinking over must have not been that important because he seemed to shrug it off before gesturing me forward. “Come in. He’s in his room.”

“Thanks.” I smiled and followed after him once he closed the door.

The house was the epitome of rustic and cute. Light-colored floors led the path through the foyer, past a cracked door that a quick glance in told me was a half bath, and straight ahead, a cathedral ceiling opened over an area that consisted of a living room and a kitchen on the right. In the living area were a single gray love seat and two scarred leather recliners. A wood-burning stove was set up in the corner. There was a milk crate working as a side table with a lamp on it. The kitchen was small with green-tiled counters and cupboards the same shade as the log cabin walls with black appliances. There was a plastic coffee container next to a coffee maker, an old jar with sugar, and more things around the counters.

The place was really, really clean and organized. Or maybe every man I’d ever known and lived with was just messy, because for two males living here, it was pretty spectacular. It suddenly made me feel like a slob for having clothes scattered all over the garage apartment, hanging off doors and chairs.

It was cozy and homey and nice.

I really liked it.

I guess in a way it reminded me of people and things that had brought me comfort. And love. Because the two were basically the same, or at least they should be.

“Aurora, right?” the Johnny guy asked, making me look over at him.

“Yeah,” I confirmed. “Ora if you want.”

He flashed me a white smile that was . . . It was something. “Thanks for calling about Am,” he said as he pointed through the living area and toward another short hall. There were three doors. Through one, I could hear a washing machine going. On the other side was another cracked doorway that was too dark.

“Thank you for letting me in. I was worried about him. I waited around at the hospital as long as I could, but I didn’t see you or Mr. Rhodes again after you went down there to get him, and I went home.” I’d been there until nine.

We stopped outside another cracked door. “He’s awake. I was just in here.”

Johnny knocked, and a raspy “What?” came through the door.

I tried not to snort at the warm greeting as his uncle rolled his eyes and pushed the door open.

I peeked my head inside and found Amos on the bed in boxers and a deep green T-shirt that said “Ghost Orchid” on the front of it. He glanced up from the game console he was holding in his hands and yelped before throwing his hands over his crotch, his face going red.

“Nobody cares what you got under there but you, Am.” Johnny chuckled even as he picked up a pillow I hadn’t seen on the floor and tossed it. The kid dropped it over his lap, eyes wide.

I smiled at him. “I really don’t care, but I can cover my eyes if it’ll make you feel better.” I took a single step inside and didn’t move closer. “I just wanted to check on you. You okay?”

The boy lowered his game console to rest it on top of the pillow. His features still showed his surprise as he muttered in that quiet, shy voice I figured was just part of him, “Yeah.”

“Was it your appendix?”

“Yeah.” His gaze moved to his uncle before returning to me.

“I’m sorry. I’d hoped it was just really bad gas after all.”

He made a face, but he muttered, “I had it removed yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” I turned to look at the uncle who was still standing there, and he tipped his head to the side, like it didn’t make sense to him either that he was free. “And they let you out already? Is that safe?”

The kid shrugged.

“Huh. I’d be wrapped up in a blanket crying if I’d just had surgery and was out.”

His mouth went a little flat. He really was an adorable kid. I’d bet he was going to be a real good-looking man someday.

Well, with a dad that looked the way his did, of course he would.

“I brought you some chicken noodle soup. I figure your uncle or your dad can warm it up for you. Unless you’re vegan. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, I’ll bring you something else.”

“I’m not,” he pretty much whispered, moving his attention over my shoulder briefly.

“Oh, good. I’ve got your phone too, by the way. It’s dead now.” I took a step and set it on the dresser next to me, right beside a mound of loose guitar picks and a few packs of strings. “Well, if you need anything, you know where I am. Just yell really loud. I’ll be home the rest of the day, and tomorrow I’m gone from nine to six.” He was still looking at me with these big, round eyes. “I’ll let you rest. Hope you feel better!”

His “bye” was muttered, but hey, it was better than nothing. According to one of my cousins, one of his sons had gone through a one-month-long phase of not answering with anything more than grunts and nods, so I imagined this was normal.

Figuring my job was done, I took a step back and almost ran into Johnny.

He smiled down at me when I glanced up and gestured toward the hall. Johnny followed, so close to my elbow, it kept brushing his upper body. “You said you were a neighbor?” he asked suddenly.

“Something like that,” I told him. “I’m staying in the garage apartment.”

The way he asked “What?” made me peek at him.

He looked confused as hell, that notch back between his eyebrows. “It’s a long story that Amos can probably explain better.”

“He won’t. He says about ten words a day if we’re lucky.”

Fair enough. I laughed. “To make a long story short, he put it up for rent behind his dad’s back, and I reserved it. Mr. Rhodes found out and wasn’t happy, but he still let me stay when I offered to pay extra.” That was a lot quicker than I expected. “I’ll be here about another two weeks.”

“What?”

I nodded then grimaced. “He really wasn’t very happy. Now he’s not going to be happy I came over probably, but I was worried about Amos.”

“I was wondering about the car out there.” His laugh came out of nowhere and caught me off guard. “I’m sure he wasn’t happy. At all.”

“He was really, really mad, but I get it,” I confirmed. “I don’t want to piss him off any more, but tell Mr. Rhodes that I was eight feet away from his son and you were around the whole time. Please.”

Johnny opened the front door with a smile. “Eight feet away and you brought him soup and his phone. No problem.”

I walked through, and he moved to stand in the doorway.

It had gotten a lot darker in the ten minutes I’d been inside, and I pulled my flashlight out of my pocket. God forbid I trip on a rock, break my leg, no one hears me screaming, and I get eaten by meat-eating bears and birds take my eyeballs. That was literally a scenario that my aunt had imagined and texted me about days ago.

“You’re from Florida?” he asked just as I flipped it on and aimed the beam toward the driveway. It was faint. I should look into getting one with more lumens.

“Kind of. I used to live here, but I moved away a long time ago.” I hopped down the steps and waved at him. “Thank you for letting me see him. Nice to see you again.”

He was leaning against the doorway. “Thank you for taking him.”

“No problem.” I waved again and got a short one in return.

I didn’t want to say I ran to the garage apartment, but I definitely walked fast.

And just as I shoved the flashlight under my armpit to aim it at the doorknob, I heard the crunch of tires on gravel and panicked. Where was the key? As long as I didn’t see Mr. Rhodes, he couldn’t tell me to beat it, right? Shoving my hand into my pocket, I tried to find it but couldn’t. Damn it! Back pocket! Back pocket!

The headlights caught me just as my fingertips touched the cool key.

And I dropped it.

“You okay?” I heard Johnny holler.

He was watching. Probably laughing as I panicked. Did he know what I was doing?

“I’m fine! Just dropped the key!” I yelled back, sounding rabid and panicky because I was as I patted around the ground.

The headlights weren’t moving anymore, I realized just as I found the damn key again.

I heard a door open and slam closed just as I pushed it into the lock.

“Hey,” a gruff voice called out.

Play it cool.Everything was fine. He owed me, didn’t he? I’d saved his son. Kind of. “Hi,” I called back, resigned. Busted.

The lights caught a silhouette as my landlord slash neighbor crossed in front of his Bronco. “Aurora, right?” the man asked. Tobias. Mr. Rhodes.

I totally turned around, flipping off my flashlight when it hit him in the chest. He had a T-shirt on. His headlights lit him up from the back, but I didn’t have that good of a view of his face.

Was he mad? Was he going to kick me out?

“That’s me.” I held back a gulp. “Can I help you with something?”

“Thank you for what you did” was his reply, catching me off guard.

Oh. “It was no problem,” I told the shadowed part of his front. He’d stopped just a few feet away, arms crossing over his chest, I was pretty sure.

He didn’t sound mad. That was a good thing. Then again, he had no idea I’d just left his house.

He took another step forward, but I still couldn’t see him that well, just the overall shape of his frame, so wide at the top and narrow at the hips. Did he go to a gym? There was one in town. He had to. Nobody looked like that naturally.

The man’s deep sigh had me trying to peer at his face.

“Look . . .” He seemed to struggle for his words, his tone just as stern as the first time I’d heard it. “I owe you. Am told me what happened.” His exhale was loud but steady. “I can’t thank you enough,” he rumbled in his hard voice.

“You’re welcome.” The less I said, the better.

Another exhale. “I owe you. Big-time.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

Another sigh, then, “I do.”

“No, I promise you don’t,” I threw back. “Please, really, you don’t owe me anything. I’m just glad I could help and that he’s fine.”

He didn’t say anything for so long I partially expected him not to, but what he did do was take another step forward and then another until he stood closer, arms loose at his sides, so near I could get another good look at that incredible face. The hard, sharply defined bones of his features were tight. He was in jeans, and his T-shirt had a fish on it.

He was definitely mid to late thirties. Maybe early forties.

An excellent mid-thirties to maybe early forties. I bet he’d just gone gray young. It happened. There was a singer I’d known who had gone totally silver by twenty-seven.

And his age was none of my business.

There were other things I needed to worry about, and I might as well get them over with. He was going to find out anyway, and if he felt like he owed me, maybe he’d forgive me and not kick me out. I could only hope. “I went over to your house real quick, and Johnny let me in. I just wanted to check on your son. I stood at the doorway and was only there for ten minutes, if that. Johnny was there the whole time. Please don’t get mad.”

Again, he didn’t respond fast enough to make me feel better. He just . . . looked at me. I couldn’t see the color of his eyes, but I could see the whites at the edges.

That’s what my honesty got me, I guess, and I squirmed.

“I’m not mad,” my landlord said slowly before exhaling once more. His grumbling voice was still hard, but something about his features seemed to soften a microscopic amount. “I owe you. I appreciate what you did. I don’t know how I’ll pay you back, but I’ll figure it out somehow.”

He took another deep breath, and I braced.

“I’m . . . sorry for how I handled you being here.”

He was apologizing. To me. Sound the alarms.

“It’s fine,” I told him. “If I think of something I need, I’ll tell you.” Then it was my turn to hesitate. “If you two need anything too, let me know.” I’d be there until I . . . until I wasn’t. Then I remembered. “Can I ask one question though? You know, just so I know. How many people live in the house with you?”

I could tell he was watching me carefully before he answered. “It’s only Amos and me.”

Exactly what I’d thought.

“Okay.” At least he wasn’t kicking me out. Since he wasn’t, I was going to take advantage of it.

I extended my hand toward him, and a big, cool one slipped into mine, giving it a solid, slow shake.

I smiled at him. He didn’t smile back, but that was all right.

Before he could change his mind and kick me out, I backed up. “Goodnight,” I called out and slipped inside the garage apartment, flipping on the lights and the lock before running up the steps.

Through the window, I watched Mr. Rhodes pull his Bronco up into his usual spot in front of the house. He opened the passenger door and pulled out two white bags with the name of one of the two fast food places in town stamped on them. Then I kept on watching as he went inside.

Well, I was still here.

And hopefully would be for another two weeks.

Or at least as long as possible.