by Freya Barker
“He rolled over. All by himself.”
She’s right. I’d put down Finn on his stomach after Lisa explained it would build strength in his back and neck. She said nothing about rolling though.
“That’s great, Princess.”
At least I hope it is. I pull out my phone and dial Lisa’s number while walking back in the kitchen, so I can keep an eye on the pancakes Kiara demanded for breakfast. Lisa is already at the clubhouse, something about getting the turkeys in the oven.
She left at five this morning, even though we’re not eating until two apparently. I guess when you’re cooking for around thirty people; it takes a little prep work.
“Mornin’,” she answers the phone after only two rings. “Everything okay there?”
“Is it normal for Finn to roll over?”
“He did? Good boy. He’s about the right age.”
Well, that’s a relief.
“Should I do anything?”
“Roll him back on his stomach so he can do it again. How are the other two?”
“Ezrah’s still in bed and Kiara demanded pancakes so don’t yell if I make a mess.”
Her warm chuckle puts a smile on my face. Christ, I’ve turned into a sap.
“Trust me, nothing you can do to my kitchen that isn’t ten times worse than this kitchen here.”
“Tse cooking again?”
“Not this time. This is all me. I took the turkeys out of the brine and tried to lift the tub to dump it in the sink, but I splashed some, slipped, and now the entire kitchen is covered in brine.”
“You okay?”
I worry about her. She’s been feeling a lot better on the beta-blockers and her doctor was pleased when she saw her earlier this week, but I still worry. Lisa is one of those people who’ll put on a brave face and try to bulldoze her way through, instead of looking after herself. I’m going to have to do the looking after.
“Just a bruise.”
“Are the boys up?”
“I’ve only seen Nosh, but I think Wapi may have come in.”
“Check.”
“Why?”
Her question is a challenge. She doesn’t like me dictating things, but fuck it, someone’s gotta look out for her.
“Because either he helps you clean up that kitchen or he comes here to mind the kids so I can come clean up the kitchen. Up to you.”
“I’ll check.” The fact she so easily agrees has me more concerned. “He’s here.”
“Good. Ask him to help, or I can do it if you prefer.” I ignore her grumbled protest. “Do it for me.”
“Fine,” she mutters before the line goes dead.
I slide the first batch of pancakes onto a plate and set the pan on a cold burner.
“Princess! Your breakfast is served.”
She runs over and climbs on a stool at the island. Finn voices his displeasure at her abandonment loudly and I go to pick him up.
He’s on his back again and hits me square in the chest when he greets me with a wide, gummy smile. I’ve had smiles before, but usually with some coaxing. This is the first ‘hey, I’m happy to see you’ smile. I tuck it away right along every other small treasure my days are filling with.
I lift him on my shoulder where his little fist quickly finds my beard.
“Ezrah! You want pancakes, your butt better be on a stool in the next few minutes or you’re outta luck!”
Something incoherent comes from upstairs and I take it to mean he’ll be down. A few minutes later I hear his feet clomping down the stairs. Finn, who I left sitting in his bouncy chair on the floor beside the island where I can keep an eye on him, starts babbling loudly when he catches sight of Ezrah.
The boy usually doesn’t pay a whole lot of attention to Finn—it’s his sister who tends to draw the focus—so I’m pleasantly surprised when he plops his butt down on the floor beside the chair. He picks up a rattle, which was tossed on the floor, the way most of Finn’s toys are, and shakes it in front of the baby’s face.
“How many pancakes, bud?”
“Four.”
“Why can he have four and I only get two?” Kiara complains.
“Princess, you’re having a hard time eating the two I gave you. Finish those up, you’re still hungry, I’ll make you another one.”
“So why doesn’t he have to finish two first?”
I lift my eyes to the ceiling and blow out a breath. Love these kids, but damn…
“Because I’m bigger,” Ezrah answers before I can.
That doesn’t help.
I can see the little girl’s mouth form a pout and prepare myself for the waterworks, but we get a mini-explosion instead.
“You’re stupid!” she yells, shoving her plate so hard, it flies off the other end of the counter, crashing to the floor.
Immediate silence follows, but just for a second before Finn opens his mouth and starts wailing. Then Kiara joins in.
I’m about to take her to task when I notice Ezrah sitting on the floor, staring at me, fucking fear in his eyes. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths.
“Princess,” I say in an even but stern voice. “Go up to your room. I’ll come get you when I’m ready.”
“I’m s-sorry,” she wails.
“I’m sure you are, but I still want you to go upstairs. Right now.”
While she scrambles down from her stool and stomps upstairs, I pick Finn up from his chair and bounce him on my shoulder.
“Hush, Little Man. It’s all over. Shhh…”
With one hand I flip the pancakes before they burn, then grab an empty bottle from the cupboard, when I notice Ezrah inching his way toward the broken plate on the floor. Kid’s gonna get cut with a shard if he’s not careful.
“Bud, stop,” I tell him. “Ezrah? I’ll take care of that in a bit. Can you give me a hand with Finn?”
He’s hesitant when he gets to his feet and takes a few steps closer. It’s like he’s approaching a land mine. Ignoring his defensive body language, I bridge the gap and hand the baby to him.
“I’m just gonna get a bottle for him, why don’t you take him into the living room? And be careful where you put your feet.”
I turn and measure formula in the bottle, put the kettle on, and turn the burner off under the pancakes. While the water comes to a boil, I grab a broom and dustpan from the laundry room and clean the mess off the floor.
Then I pour myself another cup of coffee, fix Finn’s bottle to temperature, and move the pancakes to a plate, setting it on the counter for Ezrah.
“Got your pancakes here, bud. I’ll take the baby.”
I’m sitting at the table, Finn on my lap, feeding. I’m watching Ezrah, who is eating but with little enthusiasm, and when the baby dozes off, the boy is still sitting there.
“You know you never have to be scared of me, right?” His shoulders pull up almost to his ears at the sound of my voice. “Sure, I’ll probably get mad when you do somethin’ wrong, but I’ll never lay a hand on you. On any of you. That’s a promise.”
Lisa
“Need any help?”
Luna walks in just as I’m trying to pull the turkeys out of the oven.
“If you don’t mind.”
Relieved for the extra pair of hands, we make quick work basting them in their own juices.
“God, that smells so good,” Luna mutters, shoving the racks back in the oven. “I always promise myself to snag some leftovers but there never are any.”
“Nothing that’ll last ’til morning anyway,” I agree.
I straighten up and am immediately hit with a dizzy spell that has me grab for the counter.
“Sit,” Luna snaps, wrapping an arm around me and guiding me to the kitchen table.
“I’m fine, I just got up too fast.”
“Bullshit. You’re doing too much. Wapi told me about this morning’s mishap.”
“That was just an accident.”
She ignores me as she pulls her phone from her jeans.
“Are you coming over soon? Can you grab that casserole from the fridge? Yeah, I’m staying here. Thanks, see you soon.”
Tucking her phone back in her pocket she sits down across from me, elbows on the table, waiting for me to say something.
“I did fine on my last checkup.” She looks unimpressed and simply waits me out. “Fine, the stress may be gettin’ to me.” That’s no lie. I hate not knowing what’s going on and I have this dark cloud of impending doom following me around. “I don’t like being in the dark.”
“Fair enough. I was planning to brief Brick today anyway. When is he coming?”
“Should be here with the kids soon. Let me call him.”
Ten minutes later the kids are busy with the PlayStation, Nosh is looking after Finn, and Brick pulls up a chair beside me.
“Couple of things,” Luna starts. “We urged Sophia to take a leave from work. She’s visiting her sister in Oregon.”
“Good,” Brick comments. “I was worried ‘bout her.”
“Yeah, but our FBI office in Denver isn’t getting anywhere with Safe Load. Lots of protective layers for these government contractors, which are not easy to get around. They’re working on it, carefully approaching some employees Kelsey worked with while not alerting management, but it’ll take time.”
“No luck with Kelsey’s car or her apartment?” Brick probes.
“The navy paint composition came back as a standard GM color on models 2016 and newer. We’re talking many, many thousands of possible matches in the state of Colorado. If not for Kelsey’s phone call to you, and the break-ins here and in Denver, this could’ve gone down as a simple hit-and-run. Not a lot of hot leads.
“Nothing remarkable in her apartment either. Dishes in the sink, unmade bed. Confirmed with the security guard in the building she walked out one morning and never returned. The baby’s daycare confirmed she came in earlier than normal that day, seemed in a hurry.
“The last confirmed sighting was at an ATM machine in Glenwood Springs along the 70. She pulled out her daily maximum of a thousand dollars, but most of it was still left in her purse.”
“She must’ve been on her way to Grand Junction,” Brick observes. “Didn’t know I’d moved.”
“That’s what we figure. That’s why she called to find out where you were.”
I cover Brick’s clenched fist with my hand, and he slowly relaxes and turns his palm up, his fingers slipping between mine.
“So what now?” I want to know.
Luna bites her lip and her gaze jumps between Brick and me.
“Well, it’s clear they’re looking for something, but we went over everything that was in her car with a fine-tooth comb and came up empty-handed. Unless we missed something.”
The oven timer goes off and I automatically get up, but Luna stops me.
“You sit. Tell me what you need.”
“Same thing we did earlier.”
Brick ends up helping her baste while I look on. When the birds are back in the oven, he turns and looks at me sharply.
“What’s wrong?”
Trust him to pick up on it.
“I just got up too soon earlier. I’m fine now.”
He eyes me sharply.
“You feel off, you tell me. This ain’t nothing to mess around with.”
I mock salute him and Luna snickers.
_______________
“Tired?”
Brick walks in from the bathroom, catching me trying to stifle a jawbreaking yawn.
I shouldn’t be tired, not after having been forced to sit through most of the day. All I’d been allowed to do was give directions from the kitchen chair I was relegated to, while many hands got the meal ready.
I can’t remember the last time I could sit back and enjoy dinner, being waited on hand and foot. If ever. So much food covering the large table the guys had extended with some of the smaller ones to fit everyone. Nosh rounded up the older boys for cleanup duty and there was nothing for me to do but sit Finn on my lap, watching all the activity.
The guys took the younger kids out on the sleds for a bit to burn off that turkey, and I sat with some of the girls, talking about our kids and men. That too was a new experience for me; being part of the group. Granted, I was the one always keeping my distance, but it sure felt good to be included.
“A good tired,” I tell him.
The kids were all worn-out from the day’s activities, and despite the fact it’s only nine, they’re already in bed asleep.
Brick checks on the baby before climbing into bed with me. I immediately snuggle up to him and he presses a kiss on my forehead.
“Happy Thanksgiving, Sugar. Best one ever.” His voice rumbles in his chest.
“Me too, honey.”
It’s true, for the first time it felt like I was exactly where I belonged, and if not for that persistent worry, the day would’ve been perfect.
“We’re gonna have to figure out something more permanent for Finn soon,” he suddenly says and I hold my breath. “He can’t stay in the same room with us forever.”
I exhale deeply and hide my smile against his skin. Doesn’t matter that circumstances forced our shared living arrangements, I don’t want them to change.
“Mmhmm,” I mumble.
“There’s enough room on the back to bump the place out a bit. Family room, maybe a main floor master. Once Finn starts moving around on his own, I figure we’ll get cramped pretty fast.”
Typical Brick, not so much a man of words as one of action. We’re not so different. I recognize his language and it makes my heart expand.
“Sounds like a good plan.”
The way he pulls me tighter to his chest tells me he recognizes my language as well.
CHAPTER 15
Brick
“PHONE!”
I roll out from under the Kia I’m working on. We only have one hoist and Shilah is using it already to replace a set of brakes.
It fucking gets harder every time to get up from the creeper, it’s basically a board on wheels to move around under a vehicle. Used to be I could hop to my feet easily, but I’m getting old and my knees aren’t what they used to be.
“Fuck off,” I toss out at the snickering prospect when I pass him.
The phone is off the hook in the small office.
“Arrow’s Edge. This is Brick.”
“Hi, I’m gonna need a tow. I’m up on the north end of the Lemon Reservoir. Got my truck stuck off the road. We’re gonna need a winch.”
I glance at the clock. It’s barely nine in the morning, wonder what the hell he’s doing all the way out there on a Monday morning.
“Sure. I’m on my way.”
I hang up, grab the keys to the tow truck, and walk back into the garage.
“Watch the shop,” I tell Shilah when I pass him. “Got a tow up by the Lemon Reservoir.”
His head pokes out from under the SUV.
“What the hell is someone doin’ up there this time of year?”
He voices my thoughts exactly. It’s a popular spot for serious fishermen but not in late November.
“Fuck if I know. No idea how long I’m gonna be, so when you’re done with the SUV, can you check that Kia for me? If you run into trouble, get Tse, he’s supposed to come in to look at that Beemer’s transmission.”
“Will do.”
It’s fucking cold out. No snow, but it sure looks like it could start coming down any minute. The wind is brutal though, biting through my padded flannel. I hoist myself up in the cab of the truck, starting the engine, and throwing the heat on max. It’s only November; if this weather is anything to go by we’re in for a hell of a winter.
I head down the driveway to the county road, but before I turn on I quickly dial Lisa’s number. Better let her know I won’t be around for a bit.
“Takes less time to walk over than to dial the damn number, you know? And yes, I’m fine. Just like I was when you left a little over an hour ago.”
I
grin as her sarcasm fills the cab. Clearly she doesn’t fully appreciate my concern for her well-being, but that’s too damn bad. The woman needs a keeper; she’s too tough for her own good.
“I’m sure it does, but I’m on the road with the tow truck. Wanted to let you know in case you came looking for me.”
“Be careful out there.” She changes her tone to one of concern, and that feels damn good too. “Was just watching the news and there’s a storm brewing.”
“Doesn’t surprise me. You guys bundle up when you go to the clubhouse later. How’s the little guy?”
“Wide awake on his quilt on the floor, chewing on anything he can get his hands on. I think he’s teething, he’s making a drool puddle”
“Isn’t he a little young for that?” I question.
“Almost four months. Kiara cut her first tooth at three and a half.” In the background I hear Finn start crying. “Duty calls,” she points out. “I better go.”
“Okay. I’ll pop into the clubhouse when I get back.”
I traverse downtown and turn onto Florida Road, heading into the mountains on the east side. The Lemon Reservoir actually feeds into the Florida River, which runs parallel to the road once you get out of city limits.
My mind is on the conversation I had with Nosh and Ouray yesterday about the possibility of adding onto the cottage. I explained we’d need more room for the kids and both of those geezers had a long hard laugh at me at first, but then pulled out the original drawings for the compound. They’d been kept in the filing cabinet in the office.
I showed them the rough sketch and we were talking ballpark figures when Tse poked his nose in. He grabbed a few blank sheets of paper and in no time, had some layout ideas sketched out I wanted to show Lisa tonight after the kids go to bed.
It’s not going to be cheap, but Ouray offered to have a talk with Jed Mason, a local contractor who rebuilt the clubhouse a couple of years ago. He seems to think the guy will give us a good deal. We’ll see.
The snow starts to fall when I take the turn toward the dam. By the time I pass it and start curving around the reservoir the road is already covered. I have to lean over the steering wheel, crawling along to try and keep away from the shoulders, otherwise I’ll end up stuck my damn self.
About halfway around, I spot someone waving their arms by the entrance into Miller Creek campground at the edge of the water. Strange, I could’ve sworn they mentioned the north side. I slow down further and carefully turn into the campground where I come to a stop.