Nerds on Fire

by Grady, D. R.

  When she was finished, Mark’s eyes were as narrowed as Leo’s. With no clue as to what the men were thinking, she peeped at Katy. Katy stared at Leo, who must have felt her gaze because their eyes met.

  “What did the police say?” Mark asked.

  Trixi told him their conclusion of hoodlums and the incident would most likely not be repeated.

  Mark nodded. “Are they going to drive by your place more often?”

  “It was mentioned,” Katy murmured. She appeared to be conducting an entire, silent conversation with Leo.

  “We have some cousins on the police force. We’ll ask them to drive by and make themselves known so you get some sleep.” Leo dug out his phone and soon was in a conversation with someone, presumably one of those cousins, who could drive by her house. Sleep felt like a long lost friend she hadn’t spoken to in a long time.

  “We’ll be fine,” Katy said breezily and waved her hand in the same easy manner.

  Trixi choked on her next sip of coffee.

  When they finally got together for lunch, Trixi’s stomach was so tied up in knots she wasn’t certain she could squeeze ice cream down it. Mmm, chocolate ice cream with brownies and hot fudge...

  “I recognize your chocolate fantasy face.” Katy tapped the table in front of her.

  “Chocolate ice cream with brownies and—”

  “Hot fudge,” Katy finished with her.

  “We’re ditching lunch.” Trixi stood to go in search of the treat she wanted most.

  “You don’t have time to ditch lunch.” Leo didn’t look up from smearing Italian dressing on his sandwich.

  A glance at the clock confirmed his conclusion.

  “A candy bar will do in a pinch.” Katy looked a little wild around the eyes.

  Trixi dug into her lunch bag and came up with leftover chicken stir-fry from two nights ago. “Here, eat this instead.”

  Katy dropped into the chair across from her, beside Leo. “I want chocolate.”

  “Me too.” Trixi felt the container and it was still warm from when she microwaved it.

  They picked up forks and both ate, sort of. Trixi managed three bites before her stomach sent up warning signs. She immediately stopped and instead drank her iced tea. “I need chocolate.” She aimed for the display by the cash registers.

  Mark ended up in front of her and added several more to her stash. He also sneakily paid for her bounty. “You don’t have to pay for my chocolate fix.”

  “Why can’t I? You feed us all the time.” He followed her to their table where he set the heavily loaded tray across from Leo. Then he distributed the candy bars.

  “Thank you.” Katy moaned as she ripped open her bar.

  The chocolate went down so smoothly Trixi stole the last of Mark’s, and watched with some amusement as Katy wrestled the last of Leo’s. Katy ate it with a triumphant air.

  “You two had better sleep tonight,” Mark warned them.

  “Give us a chance to get through today.” Trixi loved neonatal, but the work was daunting on a good day. Haziness from lack of sleep did not improve the situation.

  “I’ve certainly had better working days.” Katy scrubbed her face.

  Trixi went in search of another cup of coffee, or better yet, a double. She had small patients who were counting on her and she would give them her very best if it took all the coffee and chocolate in Hershey.

  When they got home that evening, it was to find an agitated Gran. She tried to hide it, but that she was worked up was obvious to both of them.

  “What happened?”

  “Nothing.” Gran sounded firm, but...

  “You’re worried about something.” Katy brushed hair off her cheek, her full attention on Gran, as was Trixi’s.

  “There’s no reason for it.” Gran blew out a frustrated breath.

  “I understand,” Trixi mumbled.

  Since the night and morning had been offset by broken windows and police, there wasn’t time to think about supper. Now as she rifled through the fridge, she couldn’t care less about eating.

  “Let’s just order pizza.” Katy’s suggestion made sense.

  Gran seconded this so Katy ordered it on her phone. “It’ll be here soon.”

  Trixi took out the makings for a salad, relieved she didn’t have to think about food tonight, other than this salad.

  Katy and Gran helped her and Katy hurried off to answer the door when the bell rang. Gran set the table and it didn’t take long for them to eat.

  None of them appeared to have much appetite.

  “I think we all need an early night.” Gran chased some stray cheese around her plate with the pizza crust.

  Trixi pinned her with a determined look. “What have you done?”

  Gran looked put out. “Nothing you need to be concerned about, missy.”

  “Gran,” Katy said, huffing a little.

  “I asked Leecher to come and watch over the property tonight so we get some sleep.”

  She hadn’t finished speaking before Trixi relaxed. “A wonderful idea.”

  “I thought so.” Gran patted her hand and Trixi shared a relieved smile with Katy.

  Leecher was a middle-aged man who had been with the family long before Trixi and was devoted to her grandmother. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for her. What he lacked in youth he more than made up for in street smarts, experience, and determination.

  “This means we’ll be useful tomorrow at work.” So much relief threaded Katy’s voice they could set a coffee cup on it.

  “Yes, thank goodness.” This reprieve made her a bit giddy. Trixi took a healthy bite of her pizza and it actually went down okay.

  Both Gran and Katy appeared to be eating as well. Maybe they weren’t out of the woods yet, but at least one night of sleep was welcome.

  Chapter 14

  “Did you two get some sleep last night?” Mark demanded as soon as they entered the hospital the next morning.

  Trixi eyed him dubiously. “Yes.”

  He handed her a cup of coffee. She waved her travel mug at him. Nodding, he drank the one meant for her instead.

  “What happened last night?”

  “Leecher, Gran’s devoted...” Trixi paused because she couldn’t think of what to call him.

  “Butler, handyman, chauffeur...” Katy trailed off when both Mark and Leo nodded.

  “Our parents have one of those.” Mark and Leo traded a look Trixi couldn’t read, but it didn’t matter.

  “Anyway, Leecher kept watch and we all finally got a good night’s sleep.”

  “I only had one interrupted night. You and Gran have dealt with this off and on for a couple of weeks,” Katy reminded her.

  “It was nice to get some real sleep last night.”

  Mark’s eyes were narrowed on her face, but before he could comment, he got paged.

  “Time to get to work.” He didn’t have to sound so cheerful.

  Trixi swallowed more coffee, before turning toward her unit. It was going to be a high-octane day. She drained her mug.

  “How’d your morning go?” Leo asked at lunch as they dropped into the chairs clustered around the table they usually claimed.

  Trixi rifled through her lunch bag as Katy answered.

  “Still learning the ropes.”

  Yes. Unlike Katy, her placement was permanent, but it seemed she had so much more to learn.

  Leo drank some of Trixi’s tea, and made a face. “Yeah, I didn’t think I’d like this.”

  “Katy hasn’t decided yet. But she makes the same face whenever she tries it.” Trixi pried the lid off her salad container.

  Mark sat beside her and helped himself to her bottle of salad dressing. He stirred his and then began eating.

  Katy helped herself to Leo’s tea and then stared at her salad. “Trix, did you bring salad dressing, because I forgot it.”

  Since he was sitting across from her, Mark passed the bottle over. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome,” Trixi ans
wered.

  “Why didn’t I put salad dressing in?” Katy dug through the greens with her fork.

  “Because Gran challenged you to a race car derby with that matchbox car you found in the cereal this morning.” Trixi’s voice sounded dry even to her own ears.

  “Oh, yeah.” Katy laughed and turned to Leo. “She won, but I think she cheated.”

  “She is a wily lady,” she reminded Katy.

  “Too true.” Katy ate a bite of her salad. “I still think she cheated. But it was fun.”

  “I like your Gran.” Leo stabbed some of Katy’s salad then devoured it.

  “Have I met her?” Mark seemed more interested in the salad in front of him. After a little pause, he helped himself to a bite of Trixi’s. “Yours is better than mine.”

  “Trixi knows food.” Katy took another sip of Trixi’s iced tea and made the same face. Trixi reclaimed the bottle and slid Katy’s drink, one Katy actually liked, toward her.

  She didn’t mind the tea Katy kept trying to drink. It wasn’t her favorite, but it was one she obviously liked better than her roommate.

  Mark finished his salad and started in on a brownie Trixi had been eying. She waited until he took a bite before she gave in to temptation and broke a piece off.

  It melted in her mouth. “Hey, this is good.”

  “It’s good, but not as good as those cookies you made us,” Mark coaxed. He ate more brownie, and sent her a hopeful look.

  “I’ll bake you something, but not tonight. We won’t be home tonight.”

  He nodded happily.

  Leo shook his head. “You can bake, you know.”

  Mark swallowed some of his tea. “Can I bake like Trixi can?”

  “Of course not. No one can,” Leo scoffed.

  Pulling into the garage of his childhood home felt absolutely right. After Trixi came home from college and took her rightful place in the home of her ancestress, her house had begun to not feel so much like home.

  In truth, he hadn’t much been looking forward to moving into the guesthouse. Mostly because the place was now Trixi’s home, as it should be. He was welcome there; of this he had no qualms. Yet a budding sense of restlessness plagued him.

  Perhaps that was why he had gotten engaged.

  His recent fiasco came from not feeling content with his life any longer. Fortunately, the new sense of discontent had largely dissipated because of his ownership of this house. The old place had passed through his family for generations and he was thankful to become the chamberlain of such a beloved estate. He and his mom had signed the papers and since they both knew people, Wintermyer was officially his.

  The move made him happier than he had been in a few years. His mother choosing to move in with Trixi had sealed the deal, so to speak. Now his precious daughter and mother were together, and from what he could tell, they loved living together. He could gauge for himself since they were all coming for dinner tonight.

  He didn’t have to do anything other than show up, since his mother’s impressive staff had all elected to stay on with him. Rylan had known most of them since he was a boy.

  The transition had been smooth. All he’d done was move his personal belongings in. There were two master suites in this house. The one his parents had used he kept now for a guest suite. He preferred the other one so used it.

  His father’s old study, after moving the furniture around to suit his work style had become his, but with the precious memories of his father lingering. Rylan shut off his car and hit the button to lower the garage door.

  He grabbed his briefcase from the passenger seat and strolled into the house. There were smiling faces to greet him and he returned their greetings with his own. He deposited the briefcase in the study then made his way upstairs to his suite.

  With guests scheduled to arrive soon, he needed to clean up and dress for their arrival. As he went through the mindless task of preparing for the evening, his thoughts centered on Nina. The most beautiful woman he’d met in years, one who would look perfect in this house.

  Chrissy would have wanted to change everything. That was unacceptable. This house needed a woman who saw it for the treasure it was. Nina would likely want to make changes, but reasonable ones. Like moving the furniture and paintings around to suit the new lady of the manor.

  Perhaps he should ask her out on a date. Here he was making plans for them, and he had yet to actually approach her to see if she was interested.

  Asking a woman for a date was the typical first step. Before he made his request to Nina, he needed to inquire if his daughters were open to him dating Nina. Hopefully they were, Nina was willing, and this was the end of his mid-life crisis.

  He descended the stairs, enjoying the stately home and its refinements. The doorbell rang just as he reached the bottom rung. Since he was here, he waved away the faithful Leecher who felt it was his duty to open the door.

  When he opened the barrier it was to reveal a hissing Chrissy. “You’re living here now?”

  “Yes. This arrangement happened after we broke up.” Rylan didn’t move out of the doorway.

  “You bought this place?” Her voice rose into the shrill range. “After you told me we couldn’t buy an estate like this. This is the most well known home in the county, if not the state.”

  “Chrissy, I didn’t buy Wintermyer.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You’re just renting it?”

  “No. Remember how I told you I had two places to maintain?”

  She nodded, lips tight. “Yes.”

  “I maintained Trixi’s house and this one, which was where my mother lived. It has been in my family since it was built.”

  “This is the Wintermyer Estate. You’re not a Wintermyer.” Her voice bordered on accusatory.

  “Yes I am. My great-something grandmother was a Wintermyer. It came to me through her side of the family. Her brothers were killed in the war, so it passed on through her. She was a direct descendant of the man who built this home. Therefore, so am I.”

  Chrissy looked like she was about to hit the screech zone, but his daughters and mother pulling into the circular drive distracted her.

  He could only count his blessings it had been a moonless night when he brought Chrissy here for dessert soon after they became engaged. She had been nervous about meeting his family and he came via the back access, not from the front, which had been a wise decision, since Chrissy obviously recognized the estate.

  By the time he kissed all three of his visiting family members, Chrissy was nudged down the steps until finally with a venomous look at Trixi, she offered a stiff goodbye and flounced to her car. Rylan and the ladies didn’t wave her off, but instead bustled into the house where Leecher clapped the door shut. He greeted each woman with obvious pleasure. His mother affectionately patted the man’s arm and he beamed. Rylan hoped Nina would invoke the same amount of loyalty as his mother had.

  Since Leecher was getting on in years, Rylan was certain Chrissy would have made some excuse to replace him, as well as many of the people who worked here. They wouldn’t be her idea of household servants, although no one in his family considered these people servants. They were old family friends.

  “You know,” his mother said as she looked around, “this place was my home for over fifty years, but it doesn’t feel like home any longer.”

  “It doesn’t?” His eyebrows rose.

  “No, my home is with Trixi. Her house feels like home to me.”

  “Because it is your home.” Trixi sounded very sure and he loved her a little more.

  “I do love living there with you.” His mother patted Trixi’s smooth cheek. “The fact Katy has moved back in is only a bonus.”

  Rylan curled an arm around his other daughter, one he hadn’t been given until she was an adult. “You’re living there now as well?”

  “Yes.” Katy twinkled at him and he reflected again on what a lucky man he was.

  He narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

  “Can’t we
all enjoy being together?” his mother asked. “Now, where are Johnny and Miriam?”

  “They had some hospital function they had to attend.”

  “Ugh. Since I’m in neonatal, I was able to avoid attending that one.” Trixi sighed in what resembled relief.

  “Did Mark have to go?” Katy asked. “He was busy trying to get out of it when I left.”

  Mark, who was Leo’s brother and Leo was Katy’s... friend. This could turn out to be entertaining. Rylan ushered them into the family room, a room Chrissy hadn’t seen on her one visit.

  “Based on what he said as we were leaving, I don’t think his efforts worked.” Trixi plucked a long hair off her sleeve.

  He heard a note in Trixi’s voice he hadn’t heard before. He sent a questioning look to Katy. She nodded, subtly.

  Making a mental note to ask her all about it later, he nodded back and then offered them each their drink of choice. It sounded like Trixi was interested in this man. A neurosurgeon would be more than capable of looking after Trixi and her house. If he didn’t mind the fact the house belonged to his wife, and would eventually pass on to his daughter.

  Katy was well aware of all this, of course.

  Before they left the family room, he managed to snag her as Trixi escorted her grandmother to the dining table. “So Trixi is interested in this neurosurgeon?”

  She smiled. “He’s interested in her. I’m not certain she’s aware of her interest in him yet.”

  “You know he’s interested in her how?”

  “I can tell just by the way he looks at her. The body language is there. He might not be aware yet, but he’s interested.”

  “Why isn’t Trixi aware of this?”

  “Because she doesn’t believe, in usual Trixi fashion, that she’s good enough for him.”

  He and Katy exchanged knowing scowls. They’d been working long and hard to break through this hideous notion in Trixi’s mind. They had succeeded in some ways, but in others, the wall was still as impenetrable as ever.