by Susan Stoker
“Hey, Squirrel. You find her and bring her in?”
“No. I’m her friend. And she has a name. It’s Blythe. And if I hear one more derogatory word from your mouth, I’ll be talking to your supervisor.”
The detective looked taken aback for a moment before recovering. “Sorry. No offense intended.” Then he looked at Blythe. “I’m sorry for what happened to you, ma’am. Are you ready to give your statement?”
Squirrel slowly sat in the chair he’d vacated and put his hand on Blythe’s arm, offering his encouragement. He saw the tears in her eyes, but she blinked them away before she looked at the officer. “I’m ready.”
Twenty minutes later, Blythe had finished recounting what had happened and how she’d ended up stabbed several times and lying in the emergency room. Squirrel wanted to find the assholes nicknamed Dog and Tweek and pound the shit out of them. Ask them how it felt to be on the receiving end of an ass beating…but Blythe needed him more.
She was obviously shaken up but trying to hide it. She was tired and hurting, and Squirrel needed to get her to Sophie’s house. He’d touch base with his cop friends, Quint and TJ, later. The police were always patrolling the downtown areas for crime and trying to monitor the homeless population that lived down there. But panhandling and begging for food and money were one thing. Assault and battery, and attempted rape, were something else.
“You ready to go?” Squirrel asked Blythe after the detective had left.
She nodded.
“Let me help you.” Squirrel lifted her easily when she started to sit up. She winced, but otherwise didn’t complain.
He called for a nurse and turned his back when she helped Blythe back into her jeans and shirt. After the nurse left, and she was finally ready to go, her eyes went to her backpack in the corner and, without a word, Squirrel took the few steps to it and picked it up.
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. It was a lot heavier than he’d thought it would be.
“What do you have in here, rocks?” he teased.
Without smiling, Blythe said, “Everything I own.”
That wiped the humor off his face fast enough. “Will you let me carry it for you?”
Squirrel knew what he was asking. He wanted her trust. Wanted her to let him take care of her, even if only by carrying her possessions. If she balked, he wouldn’t push. He had plenty of time to gain her trust. He hoped.
She hesitated and stared at him for almost an entire minute.
Refusing to break the silence, Squirrel let her think it over.
He was rewarded when he saw her swallow hard, then say, “Okay. But please…be careful with it.”
Squirrel didn’t break eye contact as he shrugged the backpack onto one shoulder. He didn’t care that it was covered in dirt or that it smelled a little funky. “I will. You, and this pack, won’t be out of my sight until we get you home.”
“Home,” she whispered and swayed on her feet. “It’s been so long since I’ve thought of anywhere as home.”
“Come on,” Squirrel told her, wrapping an arm around her waist and taking much of her weight. “Let’s get going.”
She let him lead her out of the room. The doctor had popped in after the detective left and given him the prescriptions for painkillers and antibiotics that Blythe needed. She’d signed discharge papers, and had either ignored or not seen the part where it said the bill had already been paid in full. Sophie had come through for him. Ensuring she got the discount for people without insurance and taking care of the bill on his behalf. He’d pay her back as soon as he could arrange it.
“How’s your hand?” he asked as they walked.
“Fine.”
“And your sides?”
“Good.”
Squirrel rolled his eyes. He needed to work on her being more honest with him. He steered her down a short hallway and through a set of double doors that led into the waiting room.
Blythe stopped in her tracks at the sight that greeted them. The double doors knocking together as they closed behind them couldn’t be heard above the noise in the room.
Everyone stopped speaking and turned to face them when they realized they were there.
Squirrel had hoped Blythe would be pleased, but instead, she turned to face him, buried her head in his chest, and burst into tears.
Chapter Five
Blythe couldn’t hold back the tears when she saw everyone in the waiting room. She usually had much better control over her emotions, but everything that had happened tonight, plus the painkillers coursing through her body, had lowered her resistance.
“Shhhh,” Sawyer consoled her as she continued to cry.
She felt his hand on her hair, holding her to him, but couldn’t seem to stop bawling like a baby.
“Is she all right?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Is she in pain? You need to get her home, Squirrel.”
Blythe heard the questions directed at the man she was clinging to as if he were a buoy in a turbulent sea, and the only thing holding her up, but she couldn’t seem to let go of him or lift her head to reassure everyone she was okay.
But she didn’t need to. Sawyer had it covered.
“She’s fine. Overwhelmed, I think.”
Blythe struggled to bring herself under control. She took a deep breath, noticing how amazing Sawyer smelled as she did so. His clean, soapy scent reminded her of how unclean she smelled. And she was plastered to him from chest to hips.
She forced herself to take a step away and reached up to swipe at the tears on her face. But Sawyer got there before she did. Tenderly using his thumbs to brush against her cheeks.
He confused her to no end, but she couldn’t deny there was something between them. All those late-night phone calls and marathon text sessions had forged a bond so strong, that finally being face-to-face only solidified it.
“You good?”
“I’m good,” she whispered back, then, taking a deep breath, she turned around.
The room was full of people. At least it seemed that way to Blythe. She recognized everyone, even if she didn’t know all their names.
Tadd and Louise were there, and of course Sophie. A Native American man was standing next to her with his arm around her waist. Blythe assumed that was Chief.
She recognized one of the women who worked at the same lab as Sophie. Quinn, she thought her name was. She was easy to remember because of the birthmark on her face. She’d also brought her and Tadd coffee more than once when they were living in the abandoned building next to the hospital.
Then there were all the people she’d only seen in the pictures on Sawyer’s phone. A petite woman with black hair that matched the fur on the Labrador retriever sitting calmly at her side. A woman about Blythe’s height, with long brown hair, who honestly looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there. She also had a dog at her side, wearing a service vest. It looked like it was part pit bull, but mostly mutt.
And then there were the men. She mentally counted. Seven, not including Sawyer. Blythe could tell immediately which were taken, as they stood next to their women, most touching them in some way. She also knew they were Sawyer’s firefighting friends, as she’d seen all of them in his picture gallery on his phone.
No one said anything until a woman—even smaller than the one with the black dog—stepped forward. One of the tallest men in the room hovered right by her side. Blythe was almost amused at the height difference between them. It had to be at least a foot. She was concentrating so hard on placing all of the people, she almost missed what the blonde said.
“Hi, Blythe. I’m Penelope. I’m a friend of Squirrel’s. We all are. We’re so sorry you were hurt tonight. Are you okay?”
Blythe stared at everyone, one by one, and tried to wrap her brain around why they were there.
She felt Sawyer bend close a split second before she felt his warm breath waft over the side of her face as he spoke in her ear. “My parents would’ve brought my sisters, but I
figured since they have school tomorrow, they could wait and see for themselves later that you’re all right.”
Looking up at Sawyer, Blythe blurted, “I don’t understand. Why are they all here?”
The big man at Penelope’s side answered her question. “Because you’re Squirrel’s friend. And any friend of his is a friend of ours. Besides, do you think we were going to pass up the chance to meet the woman who has our buddy wrapped around her little finger? No way.”
“I noticed that you generally preferred to stay away from the River Walk area. Probably smart, too many people. At first, I didn’t understand why you don’t stay at the shelters every night, but after researching, I realized that they fill up really fast, and it’s first come, first serve. That sucks.” This from the uneasy-looking woman.
Blythe blinked. She knew this had to be Beth, the hacker. Embarrassed that she’d brought up the fact that she was living on the streets in front of everyone, Blythe wasn’t sure what to say.
The man next to Beth put his hand on the back of her neck and said, “Not sure Blythe appreciates you throwing it in her face that she was homeless, honey.”
Beth turned to look up at him. “I wasn’t throwing it in her face. I was just making conversation.” Her gaze swung back to Blythe’s. “I’m impressed with how much ground you can cover in a day. If you were wearing a fitness tracker, you’d probably clock in twenty-thousand steps a day or more.”
Blythe couldn’t help but smile. She was still embarrassed as hell, but Beth made it seem like there was nothing wrong with trudging all over the city, looking for a safe place to crash.
Sophie came forward, with her man behind her, and said, “I’m s-so glad you’re going to s-stay at m-my house. Everything’s ready for you. S-Sheets are clean, towels washed, and tomorrow I’ll go to the s-store and s-stock up the fridge for you. Is there anything in particular you want?”
“Uh…” Blythe’s mind was blank. She hadn’t thought about shopping in forever. Hell, finding something to eat usually meant suffering through whatever was served at the shelters or foraging through the trash bins she slept under.
Louise pushed through the growing crowd around Blythe and Squirrel and didn’t even hesitate. She pulled Blythe forward and gave her a giant hug. They stood together like that for a long moment before Louise pulled back and turned to Sophie. “Whatever you get is fine. I’m guessing that Blythe isn’t picky. Besides, it’s too overwhelming to try to think about specifics when it’s been forever since you got to choose your own food.” She turned to face Blythe again. “I’m so glad to see you, honey. I’m sorry you were hurt. But you’re safe now.”
“I’m not sure about this,” Blythe whispered to the old friend she never really expected to see again.
“I know you aren’t. Tadd and I felt the same way. We’d been on our own for so long, we almost forgot what it was like to lean on someone else. To have friends who would have our back. I never used to think twice about my friends doing things for me, but after I was homeless, it felt too much like pity, so I stupidly turned away everyone’s offer of help. Is that what happened with you?”
Blythe gave the older woman a small nod.
“Right. It’ll take a while to figure out who you are again. As you know, when you’re on the streets, the only thing you can think about is food, shelter, and safety. But one day soon, after you’ve been under a solid roof for a while, safe, eating healthy food, you’ll realize that the people around you aren’t helping because it’s required of them, or because they want something from you. It’s because they’re truly good people and they genuinely like you.”
Blythe’s eyes filled with tears again. She was overwhelmed, and it was hard to believe she’d gone from sleeping under a trash can earlier that night to having over a dozen people hanging out at the hospital, waiting to see if she was all right.
“Okay, everyone, party’s over,” Sawyer announced to the group.
Blythe felt his hand touch lightly on her lower back. He wasn’t pushing her. Wasn’t trying to get her to move. He was just standing behind her, letting her know he was there. She felt herself leaning against that hand. Wanting to feel his comforting touch.
As if he could read her mind, Sawyer flattened his palm against her, giving her the support she craved.
“I’m going to take Blythe home. Sledge, will you talk to the chief and see if he can rearrange my shifts?”
“Already done,” the man next to Beth said. “Before we went off duty this morning, we cleared it for you.”
“Thanks. Crash, can you get ahold of TJ and let him know I’d like to speak with him? Maybe Quint too?”
“Of course.”
“Driftwood?”
Blythe almost laughed when, after a prolonged silence, everyone turned to look at one of Sawyer’s firefighting friends. He obviously hadn’t heard Sawyer call his name—all his attention was on Sophie’s friend, Quinn, who was studiously avoiding looking at him as if her life depended on it.
“Driftwood!” Sawyer repeated.
His friend’s head whirled around and he stared at him. “What?”
“Geez. You need to stop fucking around,” Sawyer said under his breath. Then louder, asked, “Will you and Taco go with Sophie to the store tomorrow? She’ll need help with the bags.”
Blythe looked up at Sawyer just in time to see him wiggling his brows at his friends. She almost rolled her eyes. He was so obvious.
“They’re going to buy way too much food, aren’t they?” she asked quietly.
“Of course they are,” Louise answered her. “Just as they did when me and Tadd moved in.”
Blythe opened her mouth to protest, but it was Tadd who interrupted before she could say a word.
“Let them,” he ordered. “Let them take care of you, sweetheart. I should’ve insisted you come with us when we left, but by the time I realized what was happening, me and Louise were in the hospital and you were long gone. There’s nothing wrong with accepting help.”
Blythe’s eyebrows rose. That didn’t sound like the man she’d gotten to know when they were all living on the streets.
“I know, I know, I always said I was too proud to accept help. But I was wrong. Refusing help was hurting my Louise, and I was too stubborn to admit that I needed help too. These are good people,” he told her. “Let them help. You can repay their kindness when you’re back on your feet again.”
Feeling weak and overwhelmed, Blythe leaned into Sawyer’s hand and sighed in relief when she felt him move behind her so she was practically giving him all her weight. His hand shifted to rest low on her hip, and she could feel his warmth from her thighs to her upper back. All she could do was nod at her old friend.
“Thank you for calling everyone,” Sawyer told Sophie. “And thank you all for coming. Give Blythe a day or two to settle in before you all descend on her like a pack of locusts, all right?”
Everyone chuckled but agreed.
“You ready to go?” he asked, leaning down. And once more, Blythe felt his breath on the side of her neck.
She nodded.
The people parted as if by magic and Squirrel escorted her through all of his friends toward the front door.
“I ordered a bunch of stuff,” Beth called after them. “Overnight. Most of it should start arriving later today or tomorrow.”
Squirrel lifted his hand in thanks but didn’t stop his movement toward the door.
Just as they got there, and the doors opened, Sledge said, “Welcome to our family, Blythe.”
The hospital doors closed behind them and Blythe looked up at Sawyer. “What just happened?”
He grinned, the sight making her knees weak. “You just met your new brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins, so to speak. We’re a large weird family, one that’s not connected by blood, but by the bonds of friendship.”
For someone who hadn’t cried since her mom had passed away, Blythe was finding herself doing it a lot lately. She didn’t answer but a
llowed Sawyer to lead her to a Jeep Wrangler. He helped her in, buckled her seatbelt for her, then went around to the driver’s side.
Without a word, he started the engine and pulled out of the parking spot.
Blythe did her best to stay awake, but within minutes she was dead to the world.
Chapter Six
Squirrel pulled into the driveway at Sophie’s old house and cut the engine. He sat there for a long moment, simply watching Blythe sleep. She was a mess. Dirty, and he could still see a smear of blood on her neck. Her clothes were tattered and torn, and the smell emanating from her hadn’t lessened much with her stay in the hospital.
But it all didn’t matter. The outer trappings didn’t concern him. Who she was as a person did. He could’ve sat there all day watching her sleep, but he wanted to get her inside and settled more than he wanted to satisfy his own wants and needs.
He eased his door open and grabbed the bag of meds he’d stopped to pick up on the way home and her backpack. Shrugging it onto his back, he walked around his Jeep and opened her door. Blythe’s head was bent at an awkward angle and she seemed to be fast asleep. He unbuckled her seat belt and scooped her up into his arms.
She woke up enough to mumble, “My bag?”
“I’ve got it, baby. Relax.”
“Mmmkay.”
Squirrel shut the door with a foot and headed for the house. Sophie had told him earlier that she’d left the front door unlocked when she’d left for the hospital, making their entrance easy. He strode toward the back hallway once they were inside.
He went straight into the master bedroom and to the attached bath. He settled Blythe on the counter and held her upright as he woke her.
“Blythe? Wake up, baby. We’re home.”
It took her a moment, but finally her eyes opened all the way and she stared at him.
“We are?”
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“It’s okay. I bet you haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a long time.”
“You’d win that bet,” she told him.