A Reason to Breathe

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  “That’s impressive. So what do you need me for? Seems like you know all kinds of information about the family now. And, just for the record, I think this is kind of noble of you, trying to bring these two kids together, Jasmine and Trevor.” Her uncle laughed under his breath, and she could tell he was thinking of something as he glanced out the window. What he was looking at, she had no idea. “Well, who’d have thought a bank robbery, of all places, was the place to meet a girl? So what are you planning to do, arrange a date?”

  She hadn’t thought that far. Her uncle could be so direct at times, and he wasn’t smiling now. He had that kind of intense gaze that could make a person squirm. Good thing she knew him so well or she’d be wondering what was coming. She shrugged. “As I said to my mom and dad last night, Trevor goes to work at his jobs, comes here a day a week, comes home, and does the same thing every day. That’s outside the few times a year he goes out and visits Jed and Diana or Grandma and Grandpa. He works around the ranch, too. I just took for granted that he was happy and had everything and everyone he needed, that we are enough, because he seems so happy stuck in that same routine, day in and day out. He’s never had any friends, and I never even considered the option of companionship for him, a girl, someone who’s like him, whom he can relate to and who can relate to him.

  “What I saw yesterday at the bank in that conversation with Jasmine and Trevor was two people who were so connected, so interested. There wasn’t even a moment where she thought Trevor was weird, because she and him clicked.” Katy snapped her fingers. “Her being on the spectrum and Trevor too, I think it’s perfect—and it wasn’t like they didn’t like each other. There was something there, and I honestly have never seen Trevor interact so spontaneously with someone like that before. So yes, I want to talk to her mom and get them together, give them both that opportunity to hang out and do their thing, whatever that is. Apparently she likes horses, and so does Trevor, so right there is one common interest. We’ll see where it goes. It may go nowhere, but I want Trevor to have someone, too.” She lifted her hands, and her uncle said nothing as he watched her. Then he pulled in a breath.

  “I get it. Okay, so what do you need from me? You want me to check out the family, the father and mother, see if there are any skeletons in the closet? I could look for arrest records or something that could ring alarm bells, any red flags that could bring problems that might come back to haunt us. God forbid Trevor does get attached to her and the family turns out to be bad news. Maybe I should hire a detective, really dig in to everything.”

  Okay, and maybe that would be taking it way too far. “You know what? I don’t think that’s necessary. You’d really hire a detective to investigate the family?” She thought her voice squeaked, and for a second she was about to laugh before she realized how serious he was.

  He shrugged. “You do what it takes for those you love.” He jabbed a finger her way, then linked his hands and rested them behind his head as he leaned back. This time it seemed as if he was talking about something else, and she was about to ask about Cat, whom she knew was still living in town with Xander, and about Michael. She wasn’t sure what he was up to now.

  “Which is kind of what you’re doing,” Neil continued. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you have way too much time on your hands. Still haven’t gotten on full time at the hospital?”

  What could she say? There was nothing, and she was having to start over at the bottom since coming home. “No biggie,” she finally replied. “Gives me time with my family, Fletcher, and someone’s going to have to take the lead on this matchmaking with Trevor, so may as well be me.”

  “Good attitude. Let me know if you need me to help.”

  She just nodded. She should really get going, but Trevor was at the bakery, Fletcher was at school, Steven was at work, and her mom and dad would be doing something at the ranch.

  “Okay, Katy, what gives?” Neil said.

  “What makes you think there’s something else? I’m just sitting here, enjoying some time with my uncle.”

  Neil leaned his head back and laughed. “Katy, I know you well. You’ve come through a lot, stronger, better—but you seem bored,” he added finally.

  She could feel her shoulders pull in. “Okay, fine, I just don’t know how my mom ever did it. She stayed home all day, raised us, all of us, and is still being a mom, yet here’s me, sticking my nose in Trevor’s business. Next I’ll probably swing by Steven’s job site and bug him. With Fletcher at school and me not having to work all day… I still haven’t heard back from Rhonda Walker. If she’d just call, I could swing by, stick my nose in, and get the ball rolling.”

  Her cell phone buzzed from her purse on the floor at her feet. “Hold that thought,” she said as she pulled it out, seeing a private number. “Hello?”

  Her uncle watched her, waiting.

  “Katy Bennett, this is Rhonda Walker. You left a few messages on my voicemail.”

  She made a face and gestured to the phone with her finger. “Rhonda, thanks for calling back. I don’t know if you remember me from the bank, the robbery,” she added, hope in her voice. When there was no response, she continued. “My brother Trevor was there with me, and between him and your daughter, they gave quite the detailed description. I remember your daughter extending an invitation for my brother to see her horse and thought maybe it would be great if you could bring her by our ranch, since we have horses, as well. Seems they both have a lot in common…” And she was rambling.

  Her uncle slid back his chair, his expression amused, and stood up, reaching for his mug.

  “Oh, I remember! Yes, yes, of course, the autistic boy,” Rhonda said. “Jasmine is always tossing out an invite to everyone to come over. It’s just one of the things she does, nothing to take seriously.”

  Katy set her jaw. “Well, Trevor is actually kind of excited about it. He’d like to get to see Jasmine again, so how about bringing her by the ranch, or I could bring Trevor there and the two of them could hang out?” She knew she was forcing it, but she wasn’t sensing any excitement on the part of the mother on the other end of the phone.

  “This is kind of a busy week for me. I’m working, so…”

  “And Jasmine, does she work?” She knew a blow-off when she heard one, and there was definitely one coming.

  “No, no, she’s happiest spending her time at home. She hangs out with the horse we got her.”

  So she was alone, or was someone with her?

  “Oh, well, if she’s there, we could swing by and see her.” She was overstepping.

  “It would be best if we did this another time,” Rhonda said. “I could always take your number, and when things slow down for me, I could give you a call.”

  She could hear talking in the background and wondered where she worked. “You know, I have to pick up Trevor from work later this afternoon. How about we swing by your place and say hi to Jasmine, if that’s all right? And then when you have your next day off, we could have you and Jasmine out to the ranch. My parents have a big property outside of town.” She wondered if she was breaking her down. “Please, Rhonda. Trevor has been asking to see Jasmine, just to say hi.”

  He hadn’t, really.

  “Fine,” Rhonda said. “Why don’t you bring Trevor by my place after four?” She rattled off the address Katy had already found online.

  “That’s perfect. We’ll be there at four.” She hung up the phone and realized her uncle was leaning in the doorway, watching her.

  “You’re persistent,” he said, and she wondered if it was a compliment.

  “I am, at that. Well, looks like I’ve got a date for Trevor, so change of plans: You don’t need to pick up Trevor after work. I’ll grab him, and then I’m taking him over to see Jasmine. It’s a start, and whatever hesitation I sensed from Jasmine’s mom, I’m sure she’ll see as soon as Trevor and Jasmine are together that this was the best idea ever.”

  7

  “I’m supposed to go to Uncle Neil’s,”
Trevor said from the passenger side of Katy’s Jeep. He couldn’t believe what Katy was doing. It was supposed to be his uncle who picked him up, and they were going to finish working on a cabinet for Trevor’s video console. Katy was ruining everything. Thursday was Uncle Neil, not the bakery, not this.

  “I told you before, Trevor, you need to be able to change things up. Seriously, this thing of yours, doing the same thing, the same routine all the time, has to stop. Life doesn’t work that way, and new and exciting opportunities come up. We’re going to see Jasmine. I thought you’d like that.”

  He was still staring out the windshield, because they were going the wrong way. Neil’s place was back the other way. Why didn’t she get it? People weren’t supposed to change things.

  “Trevor, don’t you like Jasmine?”

  He pulled in a breath. “Sure,” he said. He wasn’t sure, though.

  “Trevor, I’m trying to help, here. You need to have a friend to talk to, someone you like, who shares your interests. A pretty girl…” The way Katy said the last part was teasing. He knew teasing from Katy, and this time he turned his head to look at her. She was wearing those pink polka-dot sunglasses, her hair in a pony tail, and a blue sweater that looked really itchy.

  “I have friends,” he stated, but this time Katy laughed.

  “And who are these friends of yours? Not the people you work with or your boss. They’re not your friends. We’ve talked about this already.”

  “Stan is my friend,” he said.

  She shook her head, though, and made that sound of hers when she was getting grumpy.

  “No, Trevor, he’s not. Just because you like him and you’re sharing space with him, just because he talks to you, you talk to him the same way you do us, and you think it’s okay when it’s not. The type of relationship you have with a boss is different from the one you have with us, or a friend. A boss tells you what to do, you do it, you get paid, you leave work. End of story. With friends, with family, you share your hopes and dreams.”

  Why was she talking about that again? Katy turned left and was driving out of town. He didn’t remember ever having come out this way.

  “A friend is someone who has the same interests and likes as you. You have fun together.”

  “But Stan likes the same things,” Trevor said. It was true. Trevor had told him all about Marvel’s Avengers and the Lego Infinity War set, and Chinese food. He loved it. Of course Stan did, as well, now that Trevor had told him.

  “Trevor, is this the same thing where you tell me how I love red velvet cake, but that’s you? Your likes, not mine. You don’t listen to what people like, their wants. Have you asked Stan what his favorite TV show is?”

  He stared at Katy again, because everyone loved red velvet cake. It was the best. And everyone knew that Marvel’s Avengers was the best.

  She sighed when he didn’t answer. “This is why we’re going out to see Jasmine. I bet you and her get along great, have the same interests, and will be good friends. Just give it a chance, please,” she said.

  He watched as she looked around before pulling down a paved driveway to an odd-shaped house. There was grass, but it was brown and small, and there was a corral with a horse in front and mud everywhere.

  “Okay, this is it,” she said. “Are you ready, excited? I am.”

  Was he supposed to answer?

  She laughed and reached over and rubbed his arm. “Get that frown off your face, Trevor. This is going to be fun.” She opened her door and climbed out.

  He pulled the handle and opened his door, taking in the mud on the running board of the Jeep. He put his foot on the other side. His shoes were new, the steel-toed ones he wore to work, and he didn’t want to get them dirty. Getting chunks of mud on them wouldn’t do. He kicked at the mud to move it off the running board and then lifted his foot, seeing the chunk stuck there. “Ah, gross.”

  Then Katy was there, holding open the door. “Seriously, Trevor, get out of the Jeep and stop worrying about the mud. It’s just mud. It won’t kill you.”

  “But I don’t want to get my shoes dirty.”

  He used the tip of his finger and flicked off the chunk of mud, and then Katy took his finger and wiped it on his black jeans.

  “Okay, you’re done, and enough of being fussy. This is ridiculous, Trevor. Stop worrying about it. You walk through mud every day at home on the ranch.”

  But at home he wore his rubber boots, and he wiped his boots on the side of the barn, knocking the chunks off. There was a difference. Why didn’t she get that?

  Trevor was doing his fussy thing again, even though she had to agree the mud was extensive. The entire property seemed to be a mud field, with a tiny brown patch of grass by the front of the house, which had a wide porch, minus rails. It was a modest one-story with brown siding that seemed to match the surroundings and appeared much like a work in progress.

  There were a ton of trees in the distance and what looked like broken-down rusted-out cars and trucks at the side of the property—five, six, no, seven. Then there were six garbage cans by the road, so full the lids wouldn’t sit tightly on. Okay, not the neatest of places, but that didn’t matter. She hopped up on the porch to the off-white door and glanced back to see Trevor stepping around the mud onto the brown scrap of grass and wiping his shoes again.

  “Trevor, stop it. Get up here. Just forget your shoes. They’re going to get dirty again when we leave,” she whispered loudly and then rapped on the door. She thought she heard something inside, and then it went quiet. Didn’t she tell Rhonda she was coming by at four? She glanced at her watch. Okay, she was early by three minutes, but still.

  “Are they home? Can we go?” Trevor asked and stood beside her. He cleared his throat and seemed to stand taller. He wasn’t as tall as their dad, but he did have so many of his features, all his handsomeness but none of the charisma and charm. He didn’t understand that way of being.

  “Supposed to be,” she said and lifted her hand, fisted it, and rapped again on the door, this time harder. Then she heard a car. Turning, she spotted a blue minivan parked by her Jeep.

  “Is that her?” Trevor asked.

  She spotted the same woman from the bank get out of the minivan. She had short light hair, freckles, a small nose, and firmed lips. She had a dark blue coat and walked with purpose.

  “Hi, Rhonda. You’re right on time. We arrived a few minutes early, sorry about that,” she said and didn’t miss the way Rhonda dragged her gaze over to Trevor. “Oh, Trevor, you remember Rhonda?” Katy added.

  “Yes, nice to meet you both again,” Rhonda said. “I’m sorry if I sounded a little abrupt on the phone. I was at work, and it’s been, well…crazy.” She let out a sharp laugh as she reached the steps.

  It was an awkward second, and Trevor just stared at her.

  “Well, let’s go in,” Rhonda said. “Jasmine is inside, I think. She should be there.” She stepped past them and opened the door, and Trevor followed.

  “So what’s your favorite movie, Star Wars?” he asked her, stepping inside.

  Katy wanted to reach over and tap his arm to get him to stop. She should’ve gone through what to say and what not to say before they got there. Her mistake.

  “Oh, I don’t know. I’d have to think on that,” Rhonda said.

  Katy followed, taking in the boxlike room, square, cute, with a small fireplace in the corner. Rhonda kicked off her shoes, and Katy noted how neat everything was inside, far different from outside. There was a mat at the door where shoes and boots were lined up neatly.

  “Come in, just leave your shoes at the door,” Rhonda said and started down the hall, which looked like it led to some bedrooms, maybe two or three? There was a kitchen, although small, which opened up to the living room, which held a sofa, a mismatched chair, and a rocker. It was painted light blue, dated, but everything was neat and tidy, and she didn’t think there was a speck of dust anywhere. Not something she was known for.

  Trevor was folding
up his coat, and she spotted him looking for someplace to put it.

  “Just put it on the chair over there.” She pointed to the kitchen chair off to the side and against the wall. It wasn’t lost on her how they’d knocked but no one had answered. So did Jasmine stay here alone? Apparently, and she didn’t answer the door.

  “Good idea.” Trevor settled his coat neatly over the chair.

  Katy kicked off her sneakers and made a point of putting them neatly on the mat beside Trevor’s, not something she ever did, then spotted Trevor making himself at home on the sofa.

  Katy kept her jacket on. This wasn’t the most welcome she’d felt. It was tense, awkward. Yikes!

  Then she spotted her, Jasmine, walking ahead of her mom, her soft brown wavy hair hanging mid-shoulder. She too had light freckles and was wearing an orange and brown sweater—great, one of the colors Trevor hated. Orange. She wondered if he’d say something.

  “That’s an ugly shirt.”

  There, he’d said it. She lifted her eyes to the ceiling and took in Jasmine as she stopped in the middle of the room and stared at Trevor, who was lounging on the sofa like he was at home and pointing at Jasmine.

  “I like it,” she said. “What’s wrong with it?”

  Rhonda seemed confused. “What is it?” she said to her daughter and then looked over to Trevor.

  “The shirt, orange. I don’t like orange,” he added again but didn’t get up. Katy stepped into his line of sight and gestured with her hand for him to stand up. He saw it, then stood on cue. Yup, she really should have had a talk with him first.

  “But, Trevor, you don’t tell people you don’t like what they’re wearing. We’ve talked about this. Apologize,” she added, moving closer to her brother, staring at him and hoping he picked up on her meaning. It was hard for him to figure out facial expressions, so she really tried to exaggerate her annoyed one.