by SJ McCoy
The next thing he remembered was waking up in a hospital – and noticing how clean the sheets smelled and how kind the nurses were.
“Shit!”
Frankie’s exclamation pulled him out of the memory. “What?”
“I’m so freaking sorry. And there I was asking you if your folks took you on vacation.”
Spider frowned at her.
“I want to hope that things got better for you, that one of those kind nurses took you in and fostered you, but they didn’t, did they?” She touched his cheek, and Spider was stunned to see tears shining in her eyes.
“The nurses?” Shit. Had he spoken the words as he thought them?
“When you woke up in the hospital, like you just said.” She stroked his cheek so tenderly, he had to close his eyes. He didn’t want her pity.
He cleared his throat, wondering what he could say, how he could move them on.
“Please don’t shut me out?”
He didn’t open his eyes, but she came closer and kissed each eyelid, then she kissed his lips, and rested her forehead against his. When he finally opened his eyes, hers were right there staring back at him. They still shone with tears.
Little puffs of air hit his face as she spoke. “It hurts my heart to think of any little kid living through what you did. I’m sorry. But don’t look at me like that. I’m not feeling sorry for you. I don’t pity you. I can see that’s what you’re thinking but you’re wrong. Yeah, I’m sad for the little boy you were, but I admire the man you are. I’m guessing you went through as bad and maybe worse in foster care. But you survived it. You didn’t let it break you. You’re a good person. You’ve built yourself a successful business. You’re kind and compassionate and strong.”
Spider felt the tightness in his chest relax a little more with each word she said. He was more grateful than he could express, but he didn’t want to linger there. “I didn’t mean to give you a blow by blow of what happened to my mom but now that I have, I guess you know me better than almost anyone.”
“Thank you.”
He didn’t know what to say to that. So instead, he drew her closer. She came willingly and didn’t hesitate to straddle him. For all they’d flirted with the idea of sleeping together earlier, the way she sat in his lap facing him wasn’t about that. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and she looped hers around his shoulders, hugging him close. He’d intended to kiss her, but he was happy to lean his cheek against her chest while she rested hers on the top of his head and they clung to each other.
Chapter Eight
Spider felt a little self-conscious when he opened the bedroom door the next morning. He and Frankie had sat down by the river for hours last night talking. She’d told him about her brother and her cousins, he couldn’t remember all their names, it felt like there were dozens of them, not just eight. He’d told her about the community center and about his friend Grace who ran it and who’d bounced around the foster care system with him. He’d told her about his friend Terry, the Vietnam vet who helped run the center, too. He knew that they’d both love Frankie.
She wasn’t like anyone he’d known before; she was a walking contradiction in so many ways. She had a huge heart, but she had no time for idiots. She was sweet as could be with Owen and when she talked about other kids she worked with, but she had the mouth of a sailor when she talked about people who irritated her – and there seemed to be a lot of those. She obviously cared deeply about her family and loved the valley, but she’d spent most of her adult life away from here, wandering from town to town, working with special needs kids and with horses.
It had been almost two in the morning when she’d dropped him off back here. It wasn’t like Reid and Tara would mind, but he felt weird.
“Spider!” Owen came running to him. “You’re a sleepy head.”
He laughed. “Everyone’s a sleepy head compared to you, little buddy.”
Owen nodded. “Dr. Furey says that my brain goes faster than other people’s. That’s good for processing information, but it means that I don’t sleep much.”
“Morning,” Reid called from the kitchen. “Do you want eggs and bacon?”
“I’d love some, thanks.”
“Coming up. There’s coffee in the pot, pour yourself one.”
“Thanks. Can I do anything?”
“You can sit yourself down and eat,” Tara said with a smile.
“Do you have any plans today?” Reid asked.
“Whatever you guys want to do is good with me. Or I can entertain myself if you have something you want to do without me.”
Reid looked over his shoulder from where he stood at the stove. “I was hoping you might say that. There’s a dinosaur exhibition at the Museum of the Rockies that I’ve been wanting to take Owen to see. I don’t imagine it would be much fun for you, but I didn’t want to force you into it, or abandon you. You know I’m not great with social protocols.”
Spider chuckled. “I know that you’re as good as you want to be. I’m going to turn your own words around on you here. Not only can we be upfront and honest, but we need to be. If you want to go do your thing, I’m fine with it. But if you’re only clearing out to give me space, then please don’t.”
“Not at all!” said Tara, which did nothing to convince Spider. Instead, he waited to see what Reid had to say.
“I can see why you’d think that, but I wouldn’t do it. I know that if you want space, you have your motorcycle, and you’ll go.”
“Okay. You’re right. You guys go have fun.”
“But what will you do?” asked Tara.
“I don’t know. I might explore a little. Frankie and I went to the Riverside and to Chico last night and I saw that there’s a little town further down the highway.”
“There is. And there’s a coffee shop. It’s very good. You should check it out. See how they run things.”
“Yeah. I think I will.” Spider wondered how a coffee shop could make it out here. The place that he’d called a little town was nothing more than a gas station on one side of the road and a saloon and a couple of stores on the other. There were houses dotted around the landscape, but he hadn’t yet seen anything that looked like a subdivision or someplace where a whole bunch of people lived. He knew they must be around. Even without the tourists, both the Riverside and Chico had been busy last night. But he couldn’t imagine there being enough people around to make a coffee shop viable.
He looked down at Owen. “Unless you want me to come to the museum with you?”
Owen’s eyebrows came together, and he shook his head. “No. You don’t know anything about dinosaurs. I don’t want to explain them to you.”
Spider couldn’t help chuckling.
Tara gave him an apologetic smile. “I think he’d rather leave me at home, too.”
Owen smiled at her. “I don’t have to explain to you. You go to the gift shop when you get bored.”
Tara shrugged happily. “You’re right, I do.”
“Do you want me to do anything around here while you guys are gone?”
“No. Thank you. But you go off and do your thing.” Reid slid a plate of bacon and eggs onto the counter in front of him. “After you’ve had your breakfast.”
“Are you guys going now?” He was surprised to see Owen heading for the door.
He turned back at Spider’s question. “Yes. We had to wait to see you before we could go.”
Spider shot Reid an apologetic look, but he just smiled. “We’ll still get there before it opens.”
“Okay. Well, you guys have a good day.”
“You, too.”
After they’d gone, Spider made quick work of his breakfast. He decided he should offer to cook for them tonight. Even though they were making sure that he got his space, he did enjoy hanging out with them.
He jumped up and hurried back to the guest bedroom when he heard his phone ringing. He’d left it charging on the nightstand. His heart pounded in his chest at the thought that it might
be Frankie. He knew it was a crazy thought, but he could hope.
He smiled through pursed lips when he saw Grace’s name on the screen.
“What’s up, Gracie?”
“Nothing much. I just wanted to check in on you. You didn’t call to let me know you got there okay.”
“Shit. Sorry. When I first arrived, I had to go and collect Owen from his riding lesson and then, I dunno. I guess I’ve just been busy.”
She laughed. “It’s not a problem. I’m glad you’ve been too busy to think about calling. I was worried that you might be at a bit of a loose end. I know you love Owen and Reid and Tara, but I just can’t imagine you sitting around chatting about dinosaurs the whole time.”
“No. It’s all good. We hung out on Friday night. And yesterday me and Owen played dinosaurs. Last night I went out, and they’ve gone off to the dinosaur museum this morning.”
“Oh, that’s good. I was hoping that you’d all be relaxed enough to do your own thing. It’d be exhausting for everyone if they were trying to be the perfect hosts and you were trying to be the perfect guest.”
He laughed. “Come on, Gracie. This is Reid we’re talking about. You know what he’s like with his ‘not only can we be upfront and honest, but we need to be.’”
Grace laughed with him. “Of course. I should have known. He’s so good with that and it works so well. The world would be a better place if everyone lived by that rule.”
“Hmm. Mostly maybe. But some people’s version of upfront and honest isn’t anything the rest of us want to hear about.”
“I guess. But hang on a minute. You said I went out last night – not we. Does that mean you took yourself off somewhere?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool. Where’d you go?”
“To this local place called the Riverside – they do a really good burger, and then to Chico for a drink.”
Grace was quiet for a long moment. “I know you better than this. You don’t take yourself out like that. Who did you go with?”
Spider couldn’t help smiling. He’d known she’d pull him up on it. “I made a friend.”
“A friend? Who?”
“Her name’s Frankie.”
“And?”
“And she’s …” he stopped, wondering how exactly he could describe her, “she’s awesome, Grace. She’s a crazy cowgirl, but she also Owen’s special needs teaching assistant.”
“Oh, my God, Spider! And she has long dark hair and big blue eyes and the kind of figure that a short fat ass like me would kill for.”
He had to laugh. “I take it you’ve met her? And quit with calling yourself fat. You’re curvy.”
“Whatever! I haven’t met her, but I saw her when we were up there the other week. She was walking back to her truck when we were arriving at Reid’s place. Oscar’s tongue was hanging out, but I couldn’t even get mad at him because I couldn’t take my eyes off her either. But you said you made a friend. What’s the deal? Was it a date?”
“It was.”
“Damn! Good for you. Did you … I shouldn’t ask, should I?”
“No. You’re the closest thing to family I have, Gracie, and I don’t think sisters are supposed to ask brothers if they …”
She laughed. “So, you didn’t. Are you going to see her again?”
“Yep.”
“When?”
“I don’t know. She said she’d call.”
“Oh, Spider.”
“Hey! It wasn’t a brush off. It was …” Frankie asked for his number while they were still sitting down by the river. He could picture her face as she’d kissed him one last time before he got out of her truck when they got back here. Before she’d turned the truck around and pulled away, she’d waved out the window and said, Talk to you soon.
“I hope she does.”
“Me, too.”
“And what are you going to do with yourself today?”
“Tara told me about a coffee shop; I’m going to go check it out.”
“Really? A coffee shop? Oh, I bet she means the bakery. You’ll love it. It’s a cool little place. It’s like a hub for the community. I thought that life up there would be so different. The people are different, the way of life is so different from the city, but some things are the same. People like to come together and drink coffee and hear what’s going on. Do me a favor?”
“What’s that?”
“When you go in there, be sociable. I know you; you’d just sit in the corner and watch. But the woman who owns the place is awesome, her name’s Monica. Have a chat with her. You’ll have plenty to chat about, and it’ll be a totally different experience than if you just went in and watched and then came away again.”
Spider thought about it. Grace was right. When he was outside of his usual environment, he tended to observe rather than participate. It was a habit he’d picked up as a kid. It was safer that way. Whenever he was moved to a new placement, he needed to watch and learn so that he could figure out how to survive.
“You still there?”
“Yeah. You’re right. I will. I’ll have a chat with this Monica if she’s around.”
“Good. I still struggle sometimes, too. But we’re not just a pair of foster kids anymore, are we? You’re a successful business owner, you need to see yourself as one and talk to her as an equal.”
Spider nodded.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to get preachy on you.”
“Nah. I didn’t think you were.” He smiled. “I just didn’t want to tell you that you’re right.”
Grace laughed. “Whatever. Do you have any idea how long you’re going to stay there for?”
“I’m going to play it by ear. I might stick around a while. I thought I’d be worried about Daquan and Rocket. But I’m not. I think it’ll do them both good.”
“I do, too. You take your time. Enjoy the break and give them the chance to step up and run the place. You never know. It might work out so well that you can keep them on as managers.”
“Yeah, right. What would I do with myself if they were managing the place?”
Grace laughed. “Maybe you could figure out how to have a life. It’s about time.”
“Don’t start. You know the coffee shop is my life.”
“All right. I won’t push. But you know what I think. I’d better go. Call me, would you? I want to know what you’re getting up to and when you’re coming back.”
“Okay. Say hi to Oscar and Terry for me.”
“Will do. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Half an hour later, Spider took a deep breath before he pushed open the door to the coffee shop, or the bakery. That was what the sign said. When he’d seen how full the parking lot was, he’d had second thoughts. He didn’t need coffee and he didn’t like the idea of being around that many people to get it. But he’d talked himself into it. It’d never been about the coffee anyway. It was about seeing the place, seeing how it was run – if there was anything he could learn. He doubted he’d get to talk to the owner if the place was this busy.
He stepped inside and let out the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. The place hummed with conversation, music played in the background, the smell of coffee and pastries made his mouth water. All of it went together to make the place feel like … he couldn’t put his finger on it. His heart thudded to a stop when it hit him. The place felt like home. He’d never had one of those, but it didn’t matter. He knew the feeling. And the smells, the sounds, the atmosphere of the place, everything about it felt like home.
He’d half expected all conversation to stop when he went inside. As if everyone in the place might stop and stare at him – the outsider with the tattoos and the weird hair. It didn’t happen. A few people turned to look at him, some greeted him with a friendly smile, others were openly curious as they looked him over. Most continued with their conversations, oblivious to his presence. He felt his shoulders relax as he walked over to the counter.
The board behind the cash re
gister displayed the menu, all the coffees, teas, pastries, and breads that went together to make the amazing aroma that filled the place.
“Hi. Welcome. What can I get you?” The woman behind the counter greeted him with a warm smile. She was older, maybe in her late sixties. Everything about her was round – her eyes, her face, her body. Spider just knew she was the owner.
“Hi. Are you Monica?”
“I am.” She held her hand out to shake with him. “You’re Spider, right?” She laughed at the look on his face. “Word travels fast around here.”
“I guess it does.” He smiled as he shook with her. “And I suppose we’re even. I know who you are, you know who I am.”
“That’s right. I’m pleased to meet you. Do you want to come back and have a look around?”
He raised an eyebrow.
She laughed. “I was going to let you sweat it and wonder how word about who you are and what you do had gotten around so fast. But I can’t do it to you. Reid and Tara stopped in a little while ago with Owen. They said you might come by.”