by Dorie Graham
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THE FIRE IN the hearth at The Coffee Stop popped and crackled the following morning as Lucas settled his new charge on a big pillow before it. “Here you go, girl. You’ll stay warm by the fire and you can see everything that’s going on.”
The bell on the door tinkled and Grey barreled in with Claire close behind, a gust of cool air entering with them. The dog whimpered and readjusted her position on her makeshift bed. Lucas petted her as Grey made a beeline for them.
“How is she?” the boy asked. “Mom said the vet said she’s hurt inside.”
Lucas nodded. “She had some internal bleeding, but it seems to have stopped, so we’re going to let her rest and see if she gets better.”
“Can I pet her?” Grey looked from Lucas to his mother as she knelt beside them.
“Sure,” Lucas said.
“Be gentle,” Claire reminded him.
Grey nodded as he sank his hand into the dog’s fur. “She looks better all cleaned up.”
“She probably feels better, too, but she still has a lot of mending to do.” Claire touched Lucas’s hand.
While Grey focused on the dog, Lucas threaded his fingers through Claire’s. They’d decided to keep their relationship discreet in front of Grey, until they knew where they were headed. Claire didn’t want to get his hopes up.
“What are we going to call her?” Grey asked as he stroked the animal behind her ear.
“I don’t know,” Lucas said. “I’ve kind of just been calling her ‘girl,’ but that’s not really a name. Do you have any ideas?”
Grey shrugged. “What if we call her Lady, because that’s how she should be treated? Like a lady.”
“That’s great,” Lucas said. “Simple, but respectful. I like it.”
“Hello, Lady.” Grey leaned forward to gingerly hug the dog. “We’re going to take good care of you.”
Claire smiled cautiously and gestured toward the counter. “I’d better order our drinks. Do you want an espresso or smoothie this morning, Grey?”
“A smoothie is fine,” the boy said, without taking his attention off Lady. As Claire left them, Grey turned to Lucas. “You’ll make her better.”
“I’m going to give it my best shot, Grey, but there aren’t any guarantees. You should know the vet wasn’t overly optimistic.”
“Doesn’t he know you’re the guy who fixes things?” Grey asked.
Lucas chuckled. “I can fix your bookshelf, but that doesn’t mean I can fix a dog. I appreciate the vote of confidence, though.”
“Sure you can. You fixed Ramsey.”
Lucas tilted his head in surprise. “What do you mean, I fixed Ramsey?”
Grey shrugged. “Well, he was doing stupid stuff until you gave him a job and helped him to stop. And Mom told me how you fixed people while you were in the military and how you fixed that guy at the car accident. If you can fix people, a dog should be a piece of cake.”
“Did Ramsey tell you I fixed him?” Lucas asked.
“He told me you helped him out. Was he in a gang? Did you get him to quit? That’s why he has the tattoo, isn’t it?”
“What do you know about gangs?” Lucas asked.
“I saw a show on them on the History Channel.”
Lucas inhaled. “I didn’t fix Ramsey. I gave him an opportunity and he was smart enough to make the best of it. I’d say that Ramsey fixed himself.”
Grey turned away from Lady to face him. “But you do fix things. And you can fix people. I know it.”
Lucas’s stomach tightened. “Grey...”
“You fixed Ramsey and now I need you to fix my mom.”
Lucas squeezed his eyes shut. What had the boy gotten into his head? He opened his eyes and met Grey’s hopeful gaze. “Grey...look...”
“What is wrong with her? She’s...not normal.” The boy glanced at his mother at the pickup counter. “She didn’t used to be like this.”
Lucas touched the boy’s arm. “Listen—”
“You can help her be like she used to be.”
“I promise you I will help her in any way I can.”
A smile lit the boy’s face. “Yes, I knew you could do it.”
Lucas glanced at the counter as Claire collected their drinks. “I haven’t done anything yet and anything that happens will be completely up to your mom.”
As Claire approached, Grey stood. He threw his arms around Lucas’s neck. “Thanks, Lucas.”
Lucas wished he deserved the boy’s gratitude. The concern he felt over the espresso machine was nothing compared to the dread filling him now. Grey expected him to fix Claire. Lucas would laugh if his stomach weren’t tying itself into knots.
“One banana-strawberry smoothie,” Claire said as she reached them and handed the drink to Grey.
She gave Lucas a questioning look as Grey bid Lady goodbye. Lucas raised his hands and shrugged, but couldn’t meet her eyes. She’d likely ask him about Grey’s enthusiastic hug later. That was a conversation he wasn’t looking forward to.
“Thanks, Mom.” Grey took the drink, and then smiled back at Lucas as they headed toward the door.
After they’d gone, Lucas turned to the dog by the fire. “Lady, what are we going to do?”
* * *
THE LATE-AFTERNOON sun hung low in the sky by the time Lucas maneuvered out of traffic and found his way back to The Coffee Stop. He and Claire had just dropped Grey at her sister’s after the interview at the BBBS. Though the interview had gone well, Claire had remained unusually quiet on the return ride.
She finally broke the silence. “Thanks again for going with us.”
The sadness in her tone pulled at him. She’d made it clear yesterday that she’d wanted to be able to do this alone. Obviously, it still bothered her that she couldn’t.
He drew a deep breath before replying. “You’re welcome. I think it went well.”
They exited the car without saying anything more. When she was depressed like this he couldn’t help but think of Toby. The heaviness pressed down on him as he remembered his mother’s words.
You always feel responsible for other people, even at your own expense.
Did he feel responsible for Claire? If he were honest with himself, he definitely felt responsible for Toby. He didn’t want to make the same mistakes with Claire and he was determined to be there for her, but what was he supposed to do when his being there got her this down?
They entered the shop, where Lady still lay before the fire. Ramsey nodded to him from behind the counter. Lucas returned the nod. “How did she do?
“She drank a little water, but she hasn’t eaten anything.”
Lucas turned back to the dog to find Claire on her knees, petting the animal. He knelt beside her, stroking the golden fur with her.
“I’m sorry I made you leave her,” she said, her voice choked with emotion.
“Ramsey kept an eye on her.” He slipped his arm around her and she leaned into him.
“She isn’t going to make it, is she?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t think so, but you can never tell.”
He’d learned never to second-guess death. He’d seen injured soldiers pull through when he didn’t think they stood a chance. Then there were instances like Toby’s, where he’d thought the danger was long past.
Claire straightened. “I don’t feel like working and I have time before I have to pick up Grey. Do you want to put up your shelves? I totally owe you and I want to repay my debt. Can Ramsey keep an eye on her?”
“Sure.” He stood, then held out his hand to her.
He nodded toward Lady as they passed Ramsey. “Can you watch her while I’m in back?”
“Sure,” Ramsey said.
When they were alone he turned to Claire. “You don’t owe me, sweetheart, but if it will make you feel better to do something, then we can certainly work on the shelves.”
“I watched a video last night. I get the gist of it. If you work the power tools,
I can work the level. That much I can do.” She pressed her lips together. “I just need to feel like I can be useful.”
The distress in her eyes increased the heavy feeling in his gut. Between her and the dog, his mood was definitely plummeting. Maybe putting up the shelves would be good for both of them.
He gave her a quick kiss. “Let me get you the level.”
* * *
“HERE, TAPE this.” Grey angled the large box toward Lucas, kneeling beside him on his bedroom floor the day before his mom’s birthday. Excitement rippled through him. Tomorrow they’d have breakfast at home, a nice, quiet breakfast.
Lucas smoothed a piece of tape over the seam. “Nice wrap job, Grey,” he said. “Where did you get the paper?”
Grey scanned his handiwork as Lucas took the box from him and added more tape. “I swiped some out of the stash in her bedroom. I didn’t see any with flowers, so I thought stripes would be okay. There’s a pink stripe.” He pointed. “That’s girly enough, don’t you think?”
“Sure. Do you have a bow?” Lucas searched around the scraps of wrapping paper scattered around them.
“A bow? Yeah, hold on.” Grey ran to his closet and dug around for the bag of toy cars he’d gotten from his cousin last Christmas. He still kept them in the gift bag. “Here it is,” he said as he yanked the bow from the bag. “It’s a little squished, but will this work?”
“It’s perfect,” Lucas said. “We just need a little tape to make it stick.”
“I can put it on.” Grey held out his hand for the bow as Lucas stuck tape on the back. With a flourish, Grey stuck the bow on the top of the box.
“She’s going to be so surprised.” Grey stared at the gift, smiling. “Then we can have breakfast at home in the mornings. Maybe you can show me how to use it and I can get up early and make espresso for her.”
“Sure, I’ll even show you how to steam the milk for lattes. You can do all kinds of things with this little baby.”
Grey sat back on his heels, feeling remarkably satisfied as he surveyed the present. She was going to love it. Yes, this was going to be a birthday his mom would never forget.
* * *
“I HAVE no idea what I’m doing.” Lucas walked into his madre’s kitchen later that afternoon and headed for the refrigerator.
His mother glanced up from the desk tucked into a nook on one side of the space. “So what else is new?”
“I’m not kidding,” he said as he slipped into the seat across from her.
“Have you eaten? Richard is making me dinner at his place at seven, but I’ll have a snack with you, if you’re hungry,” she said.
He rubbed his stomach. “I don’t know—I’m really not that hungry.”
“Really?” She moved to the refrigerator and pulled out a half-full pie tin, which she set on the table. “Not even for my homemade key lime pie? Oh, wait...” She turned back to the fridge. “If we’re going to be bad and have dessert for our snack, we may as well break out the whipped cream.”
Lucas sighed. She wouldn’t be happy until she’d fed him. He gave in and grabbed plates and silverware. The knots Grey had put in his stomach intensified.
Where was Toby when he needed him?
“Out with it,” his madre said. “What is it you’re doing that you don’t know about?”
“I’m...dating...her.”
Her eyes widened. “Who? The undateable one?”
“Yes.” He bowed his head, his fork still. Why had he let himself get sucked in by Claire’s soft eyes and amazing touch, by her ability to make him feel complete? “And now her son thinks I can fix her.”
“I see.”
“You see? That’s all you have to say? You’re the wise one who said I have to save everyone. I didn’t ask for this.”
She took a bite of pie and chewed it thoughtfully before she answered. “You want to help her, right? So help her.”
“Did you hear the part where her son wants me to fix her? Her son asked me that.”
“Of course I heard. There’s nothing wrong with my ears. We all need fixing. The real question here isn’t whether or not you can fix her, which, of course, you can’t—”
“Well, I can’t fix her by myself, but I can help her—”
“—it’s whether or not you want to date her.”
“Well, I am dating her, so the answer to that is yes. I want to date her. She may have issues, but like you said, we all do, and she’s an amazing woman. The question is how do I avoid disappointing Grey. He has no idea what’s wrong with her. All he wants is to have the life they used to have.”
“There’s no going back. They’ve moved beyond that point. Even if she were to get help, they can never go back to before.” She shrugged. “Life is different if for no other reason than that you’re a part of it now.”
“But for how long? What happens when Grey realizes I can’t fix her? And what if she decides she doesn’t want to be fixed?”
His mother leaned toward him, holding his gaze. “If you want to stick around at that point, then you need to find another purpose for being there.”
“What do you mean? I’m there because I want to be there.”
“And do you want to be there because you want to fix her?”
“I want her to get better for both her and her son,” he said.
“And you think you’re the man to make that happen?”
“I don’t know. No one else was helping and I couldn’t just let them keep going as they were.” Why did this have to be so complicated?
“So you’re there because you want to help her get better.”
“Is that a bad thing?” he asked.
“You tell me. You’re dating her because you want to fix her. Is that a bad thing?”
Lucas frowned. “I’m not dating her because I want to fix her. I have feelings for her, for both of them. I want to be a part of their lives. I’m there to be a support to them,” he said. “Though I don’t know how to get her to help herself.”
“Is she aware she has these issues, or is she in denial?”
“She’s aware. We’ve talked about PTSD. I’ve encouraged her to get help, but I can’t force her. She has to be ready to do that herself. I wish...I wish I could help Grey to understand that.”
“He may not be able to right now, because you’re telling him something he doesn’t want to hear. This is a boy without a father, right?”
Lucas nodded.
“So you’re probably the first man in a while to give him the attention he needs. He idolizes you. He sees you as being able to fix his problems.”
“Right, but I’m not that guy. No one is.”
Light sparkled in her dark eyes. “You’re more that guy than you realize. But you were right when you said that all you can do is be a support to them.”
“But how? What do I do when I can’t fix her and she isn’t ready to get the help she needs?”
She patted his hand. “It’s easy, dear one. You wait.”
He straightened. “I wait?”
“For her to realize she needs to help herself and for him to realize no one else can fix her.”
How was Lucas supposed to just stand by and wait? The train wreck was coming and he needed to do something.
“Wait,” his mother repeated. “You’ll see. It’ll either work itself out or it won’t. Either way, there isn’t anything more you can do at this point. You, my dear one, can’t fix this.”
The unease in his stomach intensified. No, he couldn’t fix this, even he realized that. “Okay, I’ll wait.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THE ROCKING OF the Goo Goo Dolls and the blaring of the TV news broadcaster provided the soundtrack to Claire’s morning round of checking the doors and windows. She shivered as she touched the latch on the last window in the living room before heading into the kitchen. The cold air seeped through the pane. October wasn’t normally this cold in Georgia. Did the chilly temperatures have to accompany her birthday?
She
padded into the kitchen and stopped. A large box sat on the floor by the kitchen table, wrapped in her favorite striped paper and topped with a crushed bow. She smiled. From the looks of it, Grey must have used an entire roll of tape wrapping the gift.
“Happy birthday.”
His voice behind her made her jump. She turned to him, her hand pressed to her heart. “Honey, please don’t sneak up on me like that.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t sneak. You just couldn’t hear me, because the television and computer are making too much noise.”
She pulled him to her and hugged him. “You got me a present. That’s so sweet. Thanks.”
He hugged her back, then moved to the box, turning it toward her. “It was too big for me to put it on the table. I slid it out from my room last night. Do you want to open it?”
She frowned. “Now? Shouldn’t I wait until after dinner tonight? That’s what we normally do.”
“Who says we have to do things like we normally do? I think you should go ahead and open it now.”
She glanced at the clock on the wall. “We need to head out soon.”
“But it’s your birthday. We should take our time, enjoy the morning.”
“Take our time?” A nervous laugh bubbled up in her. “Since when have you known me to enjoy taking my time, especially when it comes to getting out of here in the mornings?” She smiled, hoping he would return it, but he frowned, his gaze on the floor.
She lifted his chin. “I’m sorry, honey. You must have worked hard on this. I’d love to open it. We can stay long enough for that.”
A wide smile broke across his face. “All right. Just tear into it.”
She turned the package around, trying to find an easy spot to rip. “Do you think you used enough tape?”
“Lucas helped. Hurry, tear it,” he said as he bounced on his toes.
She tore off a long strip of paper. “Lucas helped you wrap this?”
Grey nodded. “When you were with your running group yesterday and he stayed here with me.”
She exhaled. Whether she liked it or not, Grey was getting as attached to Lucas as she was. And she was definitely getting attached.
“Here, let me help,” Grey said, peeling back more of the paper.