by Natalie Dean
The buzzer sounded, pulling her from her thoughts, and she slid out from under the truck. It was her back door. When she thought about it, one of her little ones hadn’t visited her in a while. She was overdue.
If anything could get her mind off of Silas, it was taking care of others, so she hurried over and let them in.
“Long time no see,” she said, stepping to the side.
Sure enough, it was Antonio again, along with the much younger Manolito, although he always insisted that everyone call him Manny. They were both pretty scuffed up, with Manny’s lip swelling already.
“Did you miss me?” Antonio said, although it was much more ragged than he probably meant it to be.
“Oh yeah, definitely. Now if only you would visit me when you aren’t bleeding all over my doorstep.” She clicked her tongue. “Come on in. Let me get the two of you cleaned up.”
They obeyed, both seemingly too tired to even banter with her, and that was a pretty grim sign more than anything else. She cleaned Manny up first, Antonio knowing how to wash at the eye station and then the sink. As usual, it took quite a bit to get them even to the point where she could start bandaging things.
“You’ve got a pretty bad gash here,” Teddy said when it was Antonio in front of her. “As usual, I recommend you go to urgent care to get this stitched and taken care of by a professional.”
“You really think I got insurance, Mami? You know those centers don’t take folks like us no more.”
“Not without reporting us,” Manny grumbled, one of the first things he’d said since he arrived. It was disheartening to hear a young one be so bitter, but it wasn’t like she could blame him.
“Alright then, I’m going to glue this, but you need to make sure you take care of this, alright? You don’t want a head wound getting infected. That’s where your brain lives.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just get it over with.”
It wasn’t the first time she’d glued together one of the kids, but she drew the line at stitches. She needed at least about a million certifications before she was willing to sew anybody up.
Antonio, to his credit, handled it like a champ, and after maybe an hour total, she was looking at two patched up young men.
“Alright,” she said, taking a step back to look them over. “Do you two want some food, or do you wanna rush out?”
“Please, after all this? I need to eat before I fall over,” Antonio said, trying for his normal smile. He almost got there but winced right at the end.
“Even if it’s Roman’s night?” Teddy asked.
“Even if it’s Roman’s night.”
“Wow, alright then. Lucky for you, it was actually Andre’s night. Come on.”
The three of them headed up the stairs, although she took her time heading up. She’d never tell them, but she could tell that both of the young men were struggling to follow her, so she figured she could at least go slow.
Opening the door, she flicked on the light and strode forward, kicking off her shoes. The young boys knew well enough to follow suit, and then they were heading toward the kitchen, an eager look in their eyes.
“So he made some stroganoff—ew!” She had stepped into a puddle of cool water and it rushed up into her sock, making her whole foot wet. “Aw, come on, who spilled and didn’t clean u—”
“Uh, Mami,” Antonio said from just in front of her. “There’s someone on the floor in here.”
“What?”
She rushed around the corner, bile rising in her throat. She had no idea what he meant, no idea what he could mean, but then she was in the kitchen and she saw exactly what he was had meant.
Andre was there, laying in the middle of the kitchen, unconscious. A spilled cup and a broken plate were beside him, explaining the wetness, but the water didn’t matter at all anymore.
“Dad!” she screeched, practically diving toward him. “Dad! I’m here. You’ll be fine, I’m here now.” She looked to the boys, who were staring down at her in shock. “Call 911! Please, quickly!”
Her voice was cracking, and her vision was starting to blur from tears, but she didn’t pay them any mind. Her whole world was her father, laying sprawled out in front of her.
“No, no, no, no, no!” She hauled him into her lap, only a small amount of relief sparking in her when she noticed his chest rising and falling ever so shallowly. “You can’t leave me, Daddy. Okay? You get that, right? You can’t leave. I need you. Right here. You can’t leave!”
He had to keep breathing. He had too. There was only so much that someone could ask her to survive.
She couldn’t lose her only parent again.
16
Silas
He hadn’t seen Teddy in a while.
He tried not to think about it because he wasn’t completely pathetic, but after a few days, his mind kept returning to it again and again. She wasn’t at the manor on Tuesday for her usual lunch. She didn’t stop by the garage on her weekend day. If she was around at all, she had to be avoiding him, which was baffling because he was so sure that things were going well between them.
Something had shifted between them since that moment he had offered her a lawyer, holding her hand and cleaning her up like they were comrades instead of boss and employee. Sure, it was probably never going to progress anywhere beyond that, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that she seemed to be trusting him. That she was letting him in.
Was he wrong entirely?
He couldn’t quite say. He’d been busy himself. Half of the time he felt like he was trying to dodge his dad, fearing the man would order him to do more acquisition investigations of Teddy’s neighborhood. But he also was trying to work more on the ranch, trying to learn more of how things worked. He was beginning to feel like all their automation had stolen a lot of the love he had of the field. And also… maybe added more cruelty than there needed to be in the process.
They were separating mothers from calves on a regular basis, and he couldn’t help but see the sorrow in those animals’ eyes when they looked around for their young ones. He also read that cows had best friends, but they weren’t really given much time to roam around, so they didn’t get to play together very often.
He knew that animals were put on earth by God and man as their guardians, but there was a line. They deserved respect and honor. Was his family doing that? He was beginning to think they weren’t. Were his uncle and aunt out west onto something?
Silas shook his head, trying to pull himself off his own tangent. Right, it was Tuesday again and there was still no lunch at the manor, so he was searching for Frenchie.
He found her outside, sunbathing as she drew in her sketchbook. He almost felt bad interrupting her, considering she looked so content while she bobbed her head to her music, but he was beginning to get worried.
“Hey,” he said, walking around to stand in front of her. She took her earbuds out and shot him an easy grin. “Do you know what’s up with Teddy? I haven’t seen her in a while?”
Frenchie’s mouth fell open slightly and the look on her face wasn’t a good one. “Oh. You haven’t heard?”
That was not a phrase that anyone ever wanted to hear. It was never uttered before good news. Never.
“Obviously not, considering I’m asking you now.”
“Oh, right. Of course, sorry. Her father had a stroke and has been in the hospital. She called like… sometime last week? Solomon said she could take as much time off as she needed and not to worry about anything. Family first and all that, ya know.” Her serious expression grew a bit softer. “Do you think he would have done that before?”
But Silas was just standing there. He knew the words that she had spoken were English, but they didn’t make any sense.
Father?
Stroke!?
“Done what before?” he rasped, feeling like his mind was a hamster that had been knocked completely off its wheel and was now scrambling to get back on. Hundreds of thoughts barreled through his mind. Was she alri
ght? Was her father alright? What hospital were they at? Was he getting the proper care? Was he back at home?
“Would he have given her all that time off? It’s probably crazy, but I feel like, sometimes, maybe we’ve both changed for the better,” Frenchie said.
He only just realized that Frenchie was trying to have a conversation with him, and he yanked himself back to the present. “Um, yeah. I can’t say about you, but yeah, there’s been some changes in Solomon lately.”
“For the better?”
“That part’s hard to say, but they seem positive so far.”
She nodded, seemingly comforted, and that seemed to be the end of the conversation.
Except it didn’t feel like the end of the conversation. Silas was still left blinking in shock, his thoughts still going a million miles an hour.
Teddy hadn’t contacted him at all, and technically the contract was between the both of them, not Solomon.
Then again, why would she? They weren’t particularly close, and it wasn’t like he knew much about her beyond the fact that she had poliosis. He certainly hadn’t shared much about himself, for all the joking they did together.
Footsteps sounded and then Sterling was beside him. “Hey twin, where’d that big girl go?”
“What are you on about?” Silas snapped; his tone much harsher than he would normally use on his brother. “Why are you talking about anyone that way?”
“Whoa? What’s wrong with you? Big isn’t an insult, you know. And it’s not like she’s not hot. If she wasn’t covered in grease most of the time, she’d probably have a fan club to rival Solomon’s.”
“Sterling,” Silas heard himself hiss. He didn’t like his twin talking about her so casually. Even if he was right. She was plus-sized, and she was gorgeous, but when those words tumbled from his brother’s mouth, they didn’t seem respectful. “Her father is in the hospital. She hasn’t been around because he had a stroke. A little respect would do you well.”
“Hey, alright. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize your girlfriend was in a bad spot. How about a little mercy for your brother… ”
“Respect, Sterling. Respect.”
He held up both of his hands. “Geez, calm thyself. I’ll try talking to you when you’ve calmed down.” He rolled his eyes and headed off.
For once, Silas wanted to take his brother and rattle him until he stopped being such a jerk.
Silas took a deep breath, looking to where Frenchie had been but realizing that she had packed up and headed off during his and his twin’s argument. He had a feeling that they might have chased her off, and that made him feel guilty.
It also made him realize that he wanted to do something for her.
Teddy that was, not Frenchie. Although maybe he should get her a thank-you gift for tipping him off.
But one thing was certain, he had to do something.
* * *
It was about an hour and forty minutes before he was pulling up to the mechanic shop, which was closed, of course. He wasn’t surprised, considering that Teddy’s father was in the hospital. If he was in the same situation, he wouldn’t be up for oil changes and inspections.
Putting his car into park, he went to the front and knocked, wondering if maybe some workers were around.
Nope. No answer. It seemed that the whole place must have taken off. Silas wondered if he should call her, but he kind of wanted to surprise her, maybe make her smile a bit more than “Hey, I’m outside your job. Answer please.”
Then again, maybe she was working on some cars to help her calm down, little side projects. He’d noticed that she always liked to have something to do with her hands, so that made sense. He could always go check out back and see if she was there, and if she wasn’t, then he would figure out where to go from there.
He headed around the building, hands in his pocket, hoping that he didn’t look sketchy, but when he reached the rear, he saw that he wasn’t the only person waiting there. Clearing his throat, he watched as the three younger people jumped, clearly surprised by him.
“What the hell are you doing here?” the tallest of the trio asked. He looked like he had gotten out of a fight a few days earlier, some bruises almost faded from around his nose and what had definitely been a very deep cut glued together on his forehead.
“I’m here to see Teddy,” he answered calmly. Although the last time he had been in the alley had been dangerous, he was pretty certain the teens in front of him weren’t looking for trouble. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re looking for Teddy,” the smallest answered, a young girl who looked like maybe she was thinner than she was supposed to be but wasn’t nearly as banged up as the first speaker. “She usually patches us up, but she ain’t been around much. We were worried about her.”
“Yeah,” it was the largest and oldest one speaking again. “Last I was with her, it was real bad and they rushed her and her dad to the hospital. I’ve been checking in every day, but she ain’t come back yet. I would call her, but I ain’t got a celly and I never memorized her number. She was always just here, ya know?”
Of course, Teddy had a rag-tag group of children that looked to her for healing and protection. She was exactly the type of person to put herself out there like that.
So much for his surprise. “I was hoping she might be around here,” Silas admitted. “But I can call her for y’all.”
All three of them brightened. “Really? You would, man?” the biggest one asked.
“Yeah. Just gimme a moment.”
Pulling out his phone, he gave one last mental goodbye to the grand gesture that he wasn’t going to finish cooking up and dialed Teddy’s number. He’d saved it, of course, after that first day that she had contacted him. And since then, he’d spent many minutes debating on texting her about something funny or superfluous before always deciding not to in the end.
She picked up on the second ring, sounding drowsy.
“Hey, Silas. Did Solomon not tell you that I’m off?”
Oh geez. Was she getting enough sleep? Was she sleeping in the hospital? That couldn’t be comfortable, no matter how devoted she was to her dad.
“He did. I’m actually calling because I’m outside of your shop—”
“Why are you outside the shop?”
“—and there are a few kids here waiting for you. They said they were worried because last they saw; you were piling into an ambulance. Is everything okay?”
She let out a long sigh, and then there was some muffled background noise. He guessed that she was probably walking out of her father’s room into the hall, judging by the uptick in volume.
“Everything’s fine for what it is. You can tell them that.” She hesitated again, but Silas could tell there was something else she wanted to say. “Can you… do me a favor?”
“Of course. Anything you need.” Maybe he agreed too readily to it, but he was mostly past the point of caring. He wanted to do something.
“Could you ask them if they’ve eaten?”
They probably shouldn’t have, but the corners of his lips ticked upward. Naturally, she was worried about that. When he’d first met Teddy, he thought she was cold and abrasive, but clearly that was just a front.
“Hey, kids, you hungry?”
“We ain’t kids,” the tallest objected. “I’m seventeen.”
“Alright,” Silas shot back. “But are you hungry?”
The trio exchanged a look and that was all he needed. “Yeah, they look pretty ravenous.”
“Okay, I’m going to give you the code to the garage. Let them in and get them some of the leftovers we have in the fridge. They’re about to go bad anyway. There isn’t much, but it’ll be enough to hold them over until I get there in an hour or two.”
“Oh, you don’t have to come all this way if you don’t—”
“No, it’s fine. I need a change of clothes and some other things. Plus, the stuff in the fridge needs to be used by someone, and I’d rather it be s
ome hungry kids than the trash can. I’ll see you in a bit. Look for my text; it’ll have the code.”
And then she hung up, leaving him with three uncertain gazes sizing him up.
“She said she’s got some food up there to take the edge off and she’ll be by to cook in a bit. Let’s all go in, shall we?”
They gave various affirmative answers and then they were moving. The text came just as Teddy had said, but once they were inside, Silas had no idea where to go.
“This way,” the tall one said, leading him through the space and over to a staircase that he hadn’t even noticed. “The apartment’s up here.”
“Thanks,” Silas said, closing the garage door and making sure it was locked before bringing up the rear of their little formation. “You know your way around pretty well.”
“Yeah, and you don’t, so I’m guessing you ain’t her boyfriend.”
There was something defensive about the way he said it, and Silas couldn’t help but wonder if maybe the boy had a little teenage crush. “No, not her boyfriend. Just a friend.”
“I dunno why Teddy never has a boyfriend,” the smallest said. In reality, she probably wasn’t that much younger than the other two, but she was definitely quite petite, her features pointed, almost elfin, with full lips and a dark, thick, curly bun atop her head. “She’s so pretty and strong.”
“Teddy knows there ain’t no one around here worth her time,” the middle one spoke up, the first time he’d chosen to do so since Silas had arrived. “She deserves like, I dunno, a football player, or like… a college teacher or something. Someone real cool and smart.”
The largest one opened the door as Silas tried to hide his grin. Although it was strange, it was nice to hear the young ones admire Teddy so openly. Made him feel a little less silly about doing it himself.
“Her boyfriend is her toolbox,” he said as Silas crossed over the threshold. “Because that’s all Teddy needs. Ain’t a man alive that can compare, and she knows it.”