As he already knew.
She must be going out of her mind.
At the hospital again, alone. But at least this time, she didn’t have to worry about Jade.
His chest constricted as he recalled her unintentional revelation about the circumstances surrounding her husband’s death. No wonder she didn’t like hospitals. No wonder she panicked so easily when it came to Jade.
But in fact, her messages hadn’t sounded panicky. She and Jade were waiting, which meant they must both be okay.
But her request for storage had been given with a note of fatalism, as if she wasn’t surprised that it had come to this.
That calm acceptance had been the last straw for him. She’d grown so much stronger since he’d known and loved her before, but her chronic expectation that people would let her down had only gotten worse, it seemed.
Thus far, he hadn’t exactly helped, either. But that was about to change.
He clapped his hands, gathering the attention of the crowd of kids in front of him.
“Okay, guys,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do and not much time to do it in. You ready?”
Taking an entire class out for a job like this and calling it a field trip stretched the boundaries of acceptable teacher behavior, but if Principal Stern didn’t like it, he could lump it.
A cheer erupted from the group in front of him. They were great kids.
“I’ve told the gentlemen from A-1 they’ll be back on the road by four,” he continued.
The conversation had been slightly less civil than that, but his students didn’t need to know that. He gestured to the sky above, where ominously thick clouds were gathering. “Think we can get Ms. Davis’s possessions safely inside before the rain hits?”
Whoop-whoop chorused the students.
“Let’s go, then! Burgers and fries once the truck’s empty,” he added, to renewed shouts of joy.
It wouldn’t be the staged perfection he’d hoped to present her with, but Sam would get her house. She would see that people cared, and that not everything ended in disaster.
And that she could count on him, after all.
His students hovered around the back of the truck, their arms open to receive boxes and smaller items. Walt and his tough-guy assistant began moving the heavier things inside – couch, table and chairs, Sam’s disassembled king-size sleigh bed, Jade’s twin princess bed, and the associated dressers and night tables.
Gradually, the truck emptied and the house filled. The echo disappeared and in its place was the sound of boisterous enthusiasm and teamwork.
Finally, with a honk and a wave, Walt pulled the A-1 moving van away from the curb and it was over. Samara’s things were all inside, jumbled and disorganized, but there, safe and sound.
And, just in time. Logan stood at the door, watching the truck drive away. Just as they turned out of sight, a crack of thunder sounded and the skies opened above them. The soft golds of evening disappeared like a blown-out candle and the air grew cold. Lightning made the sheets of rain show up like a matrix against the shadowy neighborhood.
Logan checked his phone. No new messages. He tried her cell phone again but she didn’t pick up. No service at Bramble House. Eliza’s cell went to voice mail as well.
Were they all at the hospital? Still?
Then a thumping, bumping noise sounded from inside the house, followed almost immediately by shouts.
“Mr. S!” yelled Gabi. “Come quick. Josh just fell down the stairs!”
*
Jade had spent the ever-darkening afternoon playing with her cards, sorting them into different piles – terriers, hounds, white dogs, brown dogs, long tails, short tails – but her time limit was about to run out.
Sam checked the window for the millionth time, watching the rain beat sideways on the glass. She couldn’t have ordered up a worse moving day if she’d tried.
It turned out that a clot had formed deep in Mabel’s arm. They suspected she may have suffered a transient ischemic attack – a mild stroke – as well. The nurses had been great about bringing Sam any news. Mabel was still undergoing diagnostic tests, a lengthy process requiring permission and signatures at every turn, but even without that, Sam didn’t want to leave. Other than Eliza, still missing in action, and Sage, who Mabel wouldn’t let her contact, she didn’t seem to have anyone else.
Sam couldn’t help but feel disappointed that Logan hadn’t shown up to check on them. He knew they were here.
Then again, she’d left her furniture debacle in his hands. And now with the storm, who knows what sort of disaster he was dealing with. He had more than enough trouble without having to worry about her. And it was her own fault for not charging her phone.
She just wanted to talk to him.
“Mama, I’m hungry. I want junk food.”
They’d already been to the cafeteria twice but Jade needed more than fruit, cheese and yogurt. Jade had made her desires crystal clear: saturated fat and white death, i.e.: mac and cheese, followed by dye and sugar, i.e.: Jell-O.
“We’re going home soon, honey,” she responded. “We’ll eat then.”
But Jade had that unerring ability to recognize when she was being fed a line.
“You said that two times before, Mama.” One hand began slapping lightly at her side. “I’m hungry now. Where’s Auntie M? I don’t want to be at the hospital anymore. I miss Bob.”
Before Sam could respond, the doors into the ER whooshed open and a group of kids burst in. In the middle of the group was a red-faced boy who appeared to be arguing with the rest of them. Sam recognized them, at the same time they saw her.
“Hey Ms. D,” called Gabi. “Here you are! Mr. S has been trying to find you.”
“We were working at your place and Josh fell down the stairs,” added Robbie.
“And I’m fine!” snapped Josh.
“Mr. S?” said Jade, perking up at the name. “Where is he?”
“He’s parking the car, chipmunk.” Gabi grinned at her.
The triage nurse called the kids into a room then and they followed her, all seeming to talk at once.
The door whooshed again and this time, it was Logan. When he saw Sam, his eyes widened. He ran to her and caught her up in his arms.
“Are you okay? How’s Mabel? Oh Sam, I’m so sorry I couldn’t get here sooner. It’s been chaos but your things are safe and dry.”
He’d come. He’d taken care of everything. Just like she knew he would. She should never have doubted him.
Jade threw herself at his legs. He caught her and swooped her up onto his back. “Hey, chipmunk, what a day, huh?”
“They think Mabel threw a clot in her arm,” said Sam. Tears filled her eyes. “Is Josh going to be okay?”
“He’s fine,” said Logan, touching her shoulder. “I have to take all precautions for school insurance purposes, that’s all.”
“Excuse me?” A clerk stuck her head out of the little window by the triage desk. “Are you with Josh Peterson? We need to do his paperwork.”
Logan’s face told her that all he wanted was to gather her into his arms. Instead, he hiked Jade up farther onto his back.
“Don’t disappear, okay?”
“I won’t.”
“Good.” For a moment he stood as if memorizing her, his warm blue-green gaze washing over her like a soft autumn sky. “That’s good.”
*
Thank goodness he’d brought Principal Stern on side, thought Logan while he filled out the necessary forms, as Josh’s teacher.
Jade clung silently to his shoulders and he patted her knee absently. They hadn’t located Josh’s parents yet, likely due to a power outage because of the weather.
Had there been a single telecommunication that had gone right today?
Was it Friday the 13th?
No. It was Thursday. The 18th.
September 18th.
Something twigged.
“I’ll take that paperwork, if you’re finished.” T
he clerk paused. “Mr. S, is that you?”
He recognized her as a Marietta High grad from several years ago. Her name tag said Andi.
“Bad timing for Livingston, just before the big game,” she said, running the end of her pen over the questions he’d answered. “Good for us though, am I right?”
A Livingston team member injured while working on a school project in Marietta… the optics weren’t great. But hopefully it was nothing serious.
Outside, the electrical portion of the storm had played itself out, but the rain continued to fall. As soon as he reached Sam, he peeled Jade off his back.
“Mr. S, I’m hungry,” said Jade, jumping from foot to foot. “I want macaroni and cheese and Jell-O.”
Sam’s expression was a painful sight. “I’ll make you some proper food at Bramble House.”
“I want macaroni and cheese and Jell-O!”
“Jade, that’s enough.” She tried to hold onto her daughter’s arm, but the kid wriggled out of her grasp.
“Macaroni! Cheese! Jell-O!”
Logan recognized the escalation, the wild eyes, the tell-tale tics and repetition.
He caught her just as she was about to run, wrapped her up tightly in his arms and braced himself. She struggled and screamed, gathering the attention of anyone within earshot. Sam sat hunched, her face crimson, but she didn’t object.
Within a minute or so, the episode ebbed, leaving Jade trembling and damp with sweat.
“Macaroni? Cheese?” she said in a hitching voice. “Jell-O?”
He stroked the child’s ebony hair, smooth like her mother’s. His heart broke for her.
“Make you a deal, chipmunk.” He laid his cheek against the top of her head. Then he covered her ears.
“Is frozen yogurt okay?” he whispered to Sam.
She nodded gratefully.
“Turkey sandwich, carrot sticks, frozen yogurt.” Jade’s stiff limbs eased.
“Will you sit beside me?” she asked.
“Sure. Do we have a deal?”
Jade sighed as if exhausted. “Okay.”
She tucked her thumb into her mouth.
“Sit with your mom for a minute, okay, chipmunk?” He transferred Jade to Sam’s lap. “Give me your keys. We need Bob.”
As she handed over the fob, Sam grabbed his hand and kissed it.
*
To Sam’s relief, Jade ate several carrot sticks and almost half a sandwich before she started head-bobbing. They’d moved to the casual seating adjacent to the cafeteria, where the dog would be allowed.
She heard a woof and looked up to see Logan striding down the wide corridor with Bob straining at her harness.
His long legs ate up the distance and he held the excited dog easily, laughing at her antics. Maybe it was the storm still raging outside, but it seemed to Sam that the whole solarium grew brighter, warmer, with his approach.
“Bob, Bob, Bob,” called Jade blearily.
The dog threw herself at them, her tail thumping wildly. She pressed her head against Jade and groaned.
Logan slid onto the upholstered seat beside Sam. Raindrops sparkled in his hair and his shirt was wet and molded to his shoulders.
“Now that,” he said with a grin, “was a dog that needed to pee.”
“She’s such a good girl,” said Sam, ruffling Bob’s ears. “Thank you, Logan. I didn’t even think to ask if she could come inside.”
He shrugged. “That’s the beauty of a small town; word’s gotten around that she’s a service dog, even if she doesn’t have a vest.”
Jade gave Bob a lick of her frozen yogurt. Sam pretended she didn’t see.
“How’s Josh?”
“Fine. His dad’s with him, and his mom’s on the way,” said Logan. “Kid’s going to have a nice bruise to show the girls, but nothing to affect his game. He’ll get beat up far worse on the field, just watch.”
Even though Sam hardly knew Josh Peterson, relief coursed through her at the news.
“Better safe than sorry though,” continued Logan. “With Homecoming excitement ramping up, everyone’s justifiably twitchy.”
Logan had been distracted by her and Jade and Sam felt bad about that. He was up to his eyeballs in stress and work and obligations, much of which were due to her own overly-demanding inflexibility; she shouldn’t keep him from where he really needed to be.
“You don’t have to stay with us, Logan,” she said.
He smiled, put his hand on her thigh, lightly, and ignored her.
“I talked to Mabel’s nurse. They’ll be keeping her for a few days while the clot-busters work, but they expect her to make a full recovery. She was already complaining about the tea, apparently. She’s asleep now.”
Sam dropped her head backward. “Thank heaven.”
“Auntie M’s sleeping?” mumbled Jade.
“Yes, she is.” Logan gathered her onto his lap. “And you should be too. You’ve got a busy day ahead of you.”
The movers!
She couldn’t believe it had been the most important thing on her mind this morning.
“My furniture,” she said. “What happened with it?”
“It’s all fine. We got it in before the rain.”
He said it so casually, as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“Wait. You got it in where? In storage?”
“In the house.”
“What?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But it’s not ready. How did you… when did you…?”
“A promise is a promise, Sam.” Logan stood up, holding Jade’s wobbling head gently against his shoulder. “I had to call in a few favors. Lucky for you, people like me.”
“I want to see it!” Sam scrambled to her feet, nearly tripping on Bob, who responded with a yelp.
A slow smile spread over Logan’s face. “It’s a mess. You’re tired. Maybe in the morning.”
“Logan!” She punched him lightly in the arm. It was like punching concrete.
They hurried through the quiet corridors toward the parking lot.
“Here, take her, I’ll bring the car around.” Logan deposited Jade gently into her arms before dashing out into the rain.
Suddenly Sam’s chest was so tight it felt like it might burst. She pressed her face into Jade’s warm hair, her breath coming in short, sharp jerks.
She was thrilled and relieved and excited about seeing her house.
But that’s not what had her in tears.
It was those little gestures, remembering the dog, carrying Jade, getting the car, that cracked her heart wide open.
Logan was with her, at her side, recognizing her needs and doing what he could to meet them, without being asked, with no expectations or fanfare.
Because that’s what you did when you loved someone.
She sucked in a great gasp of air.
It was the Spider-Killing Factor.
*
It wasn’t the grand finale he’d hoped for, thought Logan, as he pulled Sam’s car to a stop on Collier Avenue.
He saw her face as she stepped over the threshold, hands clasped in front of her mouth, and wondered if he’d made a huge mistake bringing her here tonight.
Bob trotted through the doorway, her ears perked. She ran from one piece of furniture to the other, sniffing and whining, her tail flapping like a flag.
At least the dog was happy.
“It’s a mess, I know,” he said, stepping around the couch. “We’ll finish cleaning and get everything in the right place tomorrow. Inspector’s coming then, too. But it’s all here, Sam. I watched them unload and there’s no damage.”
She walked through as if dreaming, trailing her hand over things as she passed. She was sort of smiling, but she was sort of crying too. Maybe this was her worst nightmare.
In his arms, Jade twitched. It certainly wouldn’t do the chipmunk any good to see such disorder. What had he been thinking?
“This is…” Sam shook her head, moving to the kitchen. “I can’t believe it. W
ho did all this?”
“My crew, mostly,” said Logan, wincing. The kitchen was the worst. “They each called a friend or two. Good kids, but not detail-oriented.”
The table was piled high with boxes bearing labels such as Bath Towels and Jade’s Room and Winter Boots. Who knows where the dishes and cutlery landed? Tools and trash littered the countertops. The new sink was covered with grime, the faucet set dull and smeared.
By the time she went upstairs, his heart was hammering in his chest. Sam pushed open the door to the master bedroom and stopped, stock still. Bob darted past her.
Instead of going in, she moved to Jade’s room, her steps quickening. The canopy was up on the princess bed and the lamp was plugged in.
“Did you do this?” She gestured to the stuffed bear he’d nestled against the cushions. Her hands were at her mouth again and her voice sounded choked.
Logan nodded. Once the big items were in, he’d worked on these rooms himself. The rest of the house might be a mess, but at least this part would be clean and somewhat orderly.
Sam went back to her room and entered this time. She touched the bed frame and fingered the edge of the duvet.
“You made the beds. You put soap in the bathroom. You did all this. You found Jade’s pajamas!”
She looked at him in wonder, her eyes shining. In that endless, wordless moment, gazing at each other, he felt something that could only be called synchronicity. Their timing finally clicked. The compass points of their individual lives overlapped, connected, slid into perfect union and snapped into place.
They were locked together like crosshairs on a target, no escaping the inevitable, each of them fighter plane and rebel at the same time.
He would never, ever let her go again. And he’d forever be her captive.
“I probably put the sheets on all wrong,” he said. But his spirits were soaring.
She went back to Jade’s room, gesturing for him to follow.
“Put her down.”
Logan laid the child gently on the bed. “Shouldn’t we get her back to Bramble House?”
“Nope.”
Quickly, Sam replaced Jade’s rumpled street clothes with the Hello Kitty pajamas and tucked her under the covers.
“Up, Bob,” she said.
The dog needed no further encouragement. She curled up tightly next to Jade, put her head on the girl’s body and sighed deeply.
Finding Home (Montana Born Homecoming Book 2) Page 12