Henry was at Mikkels' new house, working on something that needed to be finished before more crews came in on Monday. He'd asked if she needed help getting Heath home, promising that he'd be there in minutes if necessary, but they'd made it without extra help.
Polly sat down on the bed, texted Henry to tell him they were home and settled in, and that she was lying down for a nap. Before her head hit the pillow, it occurred to her that this might be another opportunity to call on Evelyn Morrow for help. It would make Polly feel better if Evelyn stopped by just to assure her that Heath was recuperating. Maybe she could even talk Evelyn into changing some of his bandages. Avoiding that would be worth nearly anything.
She slid her legs under the sheets, luxuriating in the feeling of finally being able to stretch out. Turning over on her side, she felt Obiwan lie down against her back and she reached out to stroke his fur. Luke curled up in front of her belly and Leia found a place on Polly's pillow. She was so tired that she felt none of her usual claustrophobia, but relaxed at the warmth and purrs surrounding her.
~~~
"Polly, honey. Are you ready to wake up?"
She found herself unable to move with animals packed in around her. "Move it," she muttered.
Henry picked Leia up off the pillow and deposited her on a ledge of the cat tree, while Polly made a valiant attempt to push Luke far enough away so she could twist and turn in the bed.
"Help?" she asked, pleading with Henry.
He laughed and reached in for the big cat, then planted him beside his sister. They wrapped up together on the ledge and ignored their humans.
Polly fumbled for her phone. "What time is it?"
"Four thirty. I didn't know if you needed to do anything for your evening with the girls tonight. If not, I'm sorry I woke you up so early."
"No. This is great," she said. "I've had a good nap. How's Heath?"
"Sound asleep on the sofa. Rebecca tiptoes over to check on him and then skitters back to the table so she doesn't wake him. That poor boy looks so small and young. I talked to his brother earlier today and he's coming home after the game tonight."
Polly sat up and rubbed Obiwan's back. "I'm glad. We'll take care of both of them tomorrow."
"He has late classes on Monday, so I told him to just plan on spending a couple of nights here."
"Thanks," she said, reaching out her hand. She scooted Obiwan over so Henry could sit on the edge of the bed. "I'm a little worried about leaving Heath alone this evening. With you in Ames and me..." Polly grinned. "I'm being ridiculous, aren't I?"
"Yes you are. You'll be downstairs and Andrew will be here with Rebecca. If they need you, one can run down and find you."
"I'm glad you're going to the game."
"Heath and I always have a good time together and I’d rather take him." Henry let out a breath. "We had a short conversation about me staying home tonight, but it’s important to him that his brother has family at as many games as possible."
"Hayden likes having you there, too," Polly said.
"It's a strange feeling," Henry said, stroking the top of her hand with his thumb.
"What's that?"
"This family thing. Polly, last night I was so angry that someone hurt Heath, I didn't know what to do. Fortunately, Rebecca chattered about the silliest things at school while we drove down. When I saw him in that hospital bed, all beat up and having trouble breathing, I wanted to..." He took a breath. "I don't know what I wanted to do. I thought you were the only person that raised those protective instincts in me."
Polly sat forward and wrapped herself around him. "You make me so happy."
Henry chuckled and pulled back. "Because I want to do unthinkable things to people who hurt my family?"
"Well, yes. That," she said. "We all know you won't lose control, but that you want to protect our family sends a little thrill through me. You are such a good man."
"How much of a little thrill?" he asked, winking at her.
Her eyes darted to the bedroom door and then she sat back. "Andrew's here."
"I'll shut the door. They're busy in the dining room."
"We can't do that," Polly whispered. "Not in the middle of the day when everybody is awake. They'll know we're in here messing around."
Henry curled his upper lip. "I missed out on all of those years before kids came into our lives."
"Go tell them that you're going to take a nap," she whispered.
"Really?"
Polly lifted her shoulder and smiled as seductively as she could. She ran her finger around the collar of her shirt, pulling it down so he could see a little skin.
"I'll be right back," he said and jumped up, startling the cats.
In a few moments, he was back in the room, kicking off his shoes as he pushed the door closed. "What brought this on?" he asked.
"You are so amazing and I love you," Polly said, pulling her shirt over her head.
"And?"
"That has to be enough," she said. "But it also helps that I've finally relaxed after the stress of worrying about Heath. I missed you last night, too."
"The animals tried to make up for you being gone, but it just isn't the same," he said. Henry pulled her back down into the bed beside him and kissed her. "I missed this, too."
~~~
"Don't hesitate to come get me if you need anything," Polly said.
"What could we possibly need?" Rebecca asked. "You've gone over everything four times and Heath has already had his medication. He's going to be pretty much out of it for the next few hours. You made way too much food for the three of us, especially since Heath doesn't feel like eating. We have his phone with both yours and Henry's numbers on speed dial." She looked at Andrew. "What am I missing?"
He grinned.
"Oh, of course!" she said. "You'll be right downstairs."
"Precocious brat," Polly said.
Heath had moved into his bedroom with Henry's help. Polly made sure he had water and cookies and fruit in containers on his bedside table. His cell phone was within easy reach and she'd even given him a small brass bell so he wouldn't have to summon up the strength to yell for help. Rebecca and Andrew were under strict orders to not have the television up too loud.
It occurred to Polly as she put her hand on the front door handle that she should warn Andrew and Rebecca to be good. She was leaving them alone in the house with no supervision and in the stress of the last day, she hadn't connected the dots on that one. Polly had been very careful over the last few months to make sure that there was always a third person with them. It was usually Kayla, but even Heath was conscripted from time to time. Tonight would be the first time they were truly alone since she'd caught them last fall. She could only be thankful that it hadn't been more of a problem.
A little voice in her head reminded Polly that they were junior high kids and this couldn’t have been the first time they'd been alone. They were smart enough to make a way. Polly took a deep breath. She was certain that she wasn't cut out to be a mom of kids older than nine or ten years old. This other stuff was high stress.
She took one last look at Heath's bedroom. Just one more check on him. Polly walked across the living room and pushed his door open enough so she could look in. He was propped up in the bed, his head tilted to one side on the pillows. His eyes were closed and though it was obvious everything ached, he was as peaceful as possible.
"Polly?" he asked. "Are you still here?"
"Sorry. I was just checking on you before I left. Do you need anything?"
"I'm okay."
She walked on in. "Are you sure?"
Heath nodded and flinched. He touched the bandage on his face. "I was just thinking about this. Is it going to leave a scar?"
"We have an appointment with the plastic surgeon who took care of you. He did a really nice job. Yes, there will be a scar, but it will fade."
"Why would they cut my face?" he asked.
"I don't know, honey. Maybe they hated your good looks." She brushed a few str
ay hairs off his forehead.
"That's a laugh. It will cut into my modeling career, though."
"Are you going to tell me who did this to you?"
He turned his head to look away from her. "I told you I don't know who it was."
Polly slipped her fingers into his hand. "And I told you that we weren't done with this conversation. You can't look me in the eyes when you say that, which tells me there's more to the story. I won't stop until I find out."
"But you said we'd do it tomorrow or another day," he said.
"That's right. I did." Polly laughed and squeezed his hand. "My bad."
"Is Henry mad at me?"
She looked at him. "No. Why do you ask?"
"He hasn't said very much today. It's like he doesn't want to talk to me."
"You two have gotten pretty close, haven't you?”
"I really like him. He's cool."
Polly smiled. "Yes he is. I doubt that he even realizes he isn't talking to you. He doesn't know how to fix this. I haven’t seen him this angry since the last time I got myself into trouble. He's patient and lets us live our own lives, knowing that sometimes we forget to ask for help. But when somebody else tries to hurt us, he wants to jump in and stop it. The problem is, since we don't know who hurt you, Henry can't confront them. And just about the time he’s ready to deal with it, somebody from the sheriff's department or the police shows up and he has to step back." She chuckled. "I test his patience on a regular basis and now he's got more people in his life that will do that, too. If he's acting upset, it's because he couldn't stop what happened to you last night."
"I didn't mean to upset him."
"It's part of being in a family," Polly said. "Tomorrow will be a lot more normal. Hayden will be here; we'll all stay in and have a good day together. You'll see."
"Thanks for taking care of me," he said. "And for staying at the hospital last night."
She reached up and touched his good cheek. "You're our son now, Heath Harvey. And we love you." Polly patted his shoulder. "And now I'm going to get out of here before I make us both weepy. Try to get some rest and don't forget to ring the bell if you need anything." She snickered. "Hmmm, let's see."
Polly rang the little brass bell and waited. It didn't take long for the sound of Rebecca's feet in the living room to reach Heath's door.
"What are you still doing here?" she asked. "And why are you ringing the bell?"
"Just checking," Polly said. "You have a really good response time."
"So it was nothing?"
"Yep."
Rebecca put her hands on her hips. "You know the story about the boy who cried wolf, don't you
"I didn't do it," Heath protested. "It was her idea."
"You have people coming to a party in your house," Rebecca said, scolding Polly. "You should be down there to greet them."
"Yes ma'am," Polly said. She touched Heath's hand and smiled at him. "I'd hug you, but I don't want to hurt anything."
"Thank you," he whispered.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
"There you are," Polly said to Tallie as they met in front of the Sycamore House office. They'd moved Tallie into the back downstairs room yesterday. "How was your day with Beryl?"
Tallie laughed and rolled her eyes to the top of her head. "She's a riot. I want to be like her when I grow up."
"Did you get lost?"
"So many times." Tallie laughed uproariously. She finally took a breath. "I would tell her to turn right and she'd keep going straight so we had to turn around. Then we drove around and around before she finally had the courage to drive up to her aunt's house. And what an old biddy that woman was."
"Really bad?" Polly asked.
"But Beryl handled her. It was awesome. She had a purpose and she was going to make sure we got out of there with what she wanted. We have to take everything back soon, so when Beryl comes with the stuff, we were hoping to use your photocopier. Aunt Mildred said that we had better not lose anything or put coffee cups on it or draw pretty pictures on any of her pages. And oh, we dare not get them out of order."
Polly turned the photocopier on. "Dare not?"
"That's what she said. 'Don't you dare get these out of order. I've spent fifty years compiling this information and if you mess it up, there will be hell to pay.'" Tallie's voice changed to mimic an old lady's command. "The first thing Beryl did when we got into the car was shuffle two of the folders around. Then she asked me if I wanted to do anything to them. I decided it would be better if I didn't. I get to leave town and never deal with that old biddy again."
"Beryl won’t want to deal with her ever again either. What time did you get home?"
"We were all over," Tallie said. "I was afraid I'd never see Bellingwood again. Beryl had us in Boone, in Webster City and when we ended up in Fort Dodge, I begged her to let me drive."
"Holy cow," Polly said.
"I know! We went to this great place in Fort Dodge, though. It's an old drive-in. She told me I had to eat the pork tenderloin because it was your favorite sandwich. I've never heard of anything like that."
Polly smiled. "Good for her. Did you like it?"
"It was good."
"So. Not your favorite sandwich?"
"It was good. But I couldn't finish it. She made me have ice cream, too."
"She made you?"
Tallie smiled. "I couldn't say no. If I spend much time with you people, I'm going to gain ten pounds before I get home."
"It will all be worth it," Polly said. "I promise."
"Who's that?" Tallie asked, looking out into the hallway.
Polly turned around. "Eliseo. Just a second." She stepped out of the office. "Eliseo, could you come in here a minute?"
His eyes were the only part of his face that showed his smile, but they were very expressive and lit up in greeting. "Certainly."
"Eliseo Aquila, this is Tallie Carter. She's staying in the back room on the first level. Tallie, this is Eliseo. He's my everything here. He takes care of the grounds and the large animals."
He put his hand out and Tallie shook it. "Nice to meet you," she said. "I love watching the horses play in the snow. The big one was rolling in mud this afternoon. I'll bet you love cleaning that up."
"As long as they're happy," he said. "I have plenty of help to brush them down. Welcome to Bellingwood. If there's anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable, please let me know."
She nodded and watched as he walked back into the auditorium. "What happened?"
"He was in Desert Storm."
"Oh," Tallie said. "One of my cousins was killed in Afghanistan and another lost his legs in Iraq." She dropped her head. "I'll never understand war, but I guess I understand the need to stand up for what's right. He seems like a good man."
"He's wonderful," Polly said. "I couldn't do what I do here without him."
"And Sylvie? Did I understand that she works here as well as at the bakery?"
"She's our head chef. She's in charge of anything that has to do with food - the receptions and meetings here as well as our catering. She's putting together a good team. We have another girl who works here full-time. Rachel will be around during the week."
"I met her when I came back this afternoon," Tallie smiled over Polly’s shoulder.
"Hello," Sylvie said. "How are you? I can't believe you had to spend the night at the hospital."
Tallie looked at Polly in concern.
"Not me," Polly said. "My son was beaten pretty badly. But he's upstairs in bed now. They don't keep them in the hospital very long, that's for sure."
"Do you know who did this to him?" Sylvie asked.
Polly shook her head. "No. He's not saying. But I've informed him that the conversation isn't over yet, so he'd better figure out a different story." She looked at the clock on the wall. "Where is everyone? I thought I was going to be late."
Sylvie looked back toward the kitchen. "They should be coming through. Beryl caught Eliseo and asked for a handca
rt to bring everything in. Lydia and Andy are finishing up a few things in the kitchen. I thought we could leave all of the food in there."
"Or we could eat at the kitchen table," Polly said. "No reason to carry things back and forth." She chuckled. "For that matter, let's just spread out the work on that big table. That way we can eat all night."
Tallie moaned. "You're killing me."
"Come on. Let's stop them before they move all of the boxes too far in," Polly said. She took Sylvie's arm. "I left the two kids upstairs alone and didn't threaten them with their lives if they got out of hand."
Sylvie grinned. "Andrew is so scared of you and Henry, it's funny. He's promised me that he won't do anything. But if Rebecca ever starts something, I don't think he has much control."
"That poor boy," Polly said. "He's got no hope."
"Eliseo," Sylvie said, stopping the man in his tracks. "We're going to just take everything to the kitchen. No need traipsing through the whole building with this. Do you mind?"
He nodded. "Of course. Go ahead, I'll put this wherever you'd like."
Lydia looked up when they walked in. "Hello there. We were just finishing things up here." She watched Eliseo follow Sylvie to the back of the kitchen. "What are we doing?"
"We're going to meet in here," Polly said. "It's just as comfortable and we have access to food and wine all night long."
"Fabulous!" Beryl said, coming in from the storage room. "I'm ready to start on the wine. Did you get a delivery today?"
Sylvie nodded and pointed to the refrigerator. "The whites are already chilling." She turned to Tallie. "We have a winery in town and I'm pretty sure Beryl is their best customer. When she calls, they deliver."
"Don't be that way," Beryl said. "He told me he was bringing over a delivery for the wedding reception anyway." She smiled and hugged herself. "But they are the sweetest boys."
"The corkscrew is already on the counter," Sylvie said. "And you know where the glasses are."
Beryl snatched up the corkscrew and headed for the cooler. "If I get too smashed tonight..." She spun around. "And after the day I've had, being smashed is a great remedy. Anyway, if I get too smashed tonight, will you open up the other room for me?"
Unexpected Riches (Bellingwood Book 13) Page 16