Escaping the Past (Wester Farms) (9 page)

Chapter
Five

As usual, Lou woke early the following day and rose to help Sadie prepare breakfast. She put on her normal attire of T-shirt and shorts, socks and running shoes. She checked the mirror and noticed the dark smudges beneath her eyes
,
but shrugged them off as she splashed some cold water on her face. She put her long, dark hair in a ponytail
, brushed her teeth
and walked downstairs. She stopped short when she saw Brody standing at the stove, stirring a pan of scrambled eggs
like a mad scientist might stir petri dish of germs
.

“What’s going on?” Lou asked, her eyebrows drawn together. She stopped on the bottom step, her gaze sweeping the room.

Brody dropped the spatula into the eggs. He reached to grab it and swore softly as he burned his thumb on the side of the pan. He lifted it to his mouth and spoke around it
.
“I thought you might be tired so I wanted to help.”

Lou stepped around him and cautiously removed the spatula from the yellow egg mess he was scrambling. She scraped the bottom of the pan, removing what was stuck. “Oh, dear,” she sighed.

“Did I mess it up?” he asked
. He reminded her of Sarah when she tried to take on tasks well beyond her skill level.

Lou smiled gently and stood on tiptoe. She mockingly patted the top of his head just like she would Sarah. “Not at all,” she replied. “Grab me some cheese and some salsa from the fridge.”

Brody turned and gathered the items from the refrigerator and presented them to her. “What are you going to do with these?”

“Some of the eggs stuck so I’m going to scramble these in to cover up the taste. Otherwise, the whole pan will be ruined.” She poured the contents of the salsa into the skillet and stirred again.

“I guess you never burn the eggs, do you?” he
grumbled.

“Never,” she replied stoically.

Brody grunted in return.

Lou
scrambled as long as was necessary, then
poured the egg and salsa mixture onto a serving platter. She then topped it with the cheese. She opened a container of sour cream and poured it into a bowl. She grabbed several packages of tortillas from the pantry and carried the food to the dining hall. Once the table was set, she rang the bell to call the hands in for breakfast. Then she turned and went upstairs.

Moments later, she returned with a bubbling Sarah who was once again streaking toward Sadie. This time, she held a brush and two ponytail holders in her hand. Sadie took the objects and Sarah sat down on her lap
.
Sadie created two perfect pigtails and kissed Sarah good morning.

Sarah surveyed the breakfast fare and snickered. “Did Mommy burn the eggs again?”

Jeb and Sadie couldn’t hide their grins.

Lou scowled at Sarah. “Do you have to tell everything you know?” She swatted her gently on the behind.

“So you’re not perfect, huh?” Brody asked with a grin, his comments directed toward Lou.

“Far from it, in fact. I just like to pretend every now and then.”

John walked into the kitchen and removed his hat from his head. He hung it on the back of a chair and moved to fill his plate. He gave one to Sarah as well. He tugged her ponytails and said, “Morning, Squirt.”

“Morning, John,” she said as she let him fill a plate for her.

Lou picked up Sarah’s backpack and a note fell to the floor. It was crum
p
led
like the remains of yesterday’s lunch
daymbry, then  to take on tasks well beyond her skill level.
. Lou unwrinkled the paper and read it.
Of course, Sarah had discarded the note.

“Something the matter, Lou?” John asked quietly, coming to stand beside her. She passed the note to him. He read it slowly,
looked up with a grin, and winked at Lou
. He took a deep breath and addressed Sarah. “Hey, Squirt. I heard a rumor the other day that there is a Father-Daughter dance coming up in a few weeks at school.”

Sarah’s eyebrows drew together and her face flushed. “Yes, sir,” she said quietly.

“Well, I’ve never had an opportunity to go to one of those dances
,
so I was wondering if you might let me be your date. I would hate to miss out just because I don’t have a daughter. You think you might let me go with you, so I can see what it’s like? I heard there might be cake and ice cream and dancing…”
Begging puppies had nothing on John Wester.

Sarah’s eyes grew big as saucers. “Really? You want to go to the Father-Daughter dance with me?” She came out of her chair and caught John around the waist.

“Yep. I would love to go with you. If you don’t mind, that is,” he added slyly.

“I don’t mind. I’ll let you go just this once.”

Lou’s eyes filled with unshed tears.
She coughed to clear the emotion from her throat.
“You had better finish your breakfast or you’re going to be late for school.”

Sarah quickly said grace and everyone sat down to breakfast.

After breakfast, Lou cleared the dishes and Sadie loaded the dishwasher. John took Sarah to the bus stop and, when Lou and Sadie were done, Lou looked at her watch to check the time. “Be back in a little while,” she said absently as she headed for the backdoor.

Lou walked to the fence surrounding the corral and started to stretch, preparing for her run. She bent at the waist and stretched her back. When she braced herself to stand up straight, she was startled to find Brody standing in her path. He was wearing
purple
athletic shorts, running shoes
,
and a printed T-shirt that read
“Y
ou’re no bunny ‘til some bunny loves you.
”
Lou’s left eyebrow rose as her eyes met his.

“What?” Brody replied innocently. “This was my bonus for volunteering at the animal shelter during Adopt-A-Bunny week. You got a problem with it?” He added a mock Mafia tone to his speech.

“You volunteered at an animal shelter?” Lou asked incredulously.

Brody replied sheepishly, “Well, not exactly volunteered. In college, I had to write a paper for psychology. I chose prostitution as my topic and I had this great idea I could get some information by interviewing a hooker.”

“Wait.” Lou cut him off, “Interviewing?”

“Yes. Interviewing.” Brody paused to stretch and continued talking. “You know, asking questions and getting answers. I approached this hooker on Fifth Street and, next thing I knew, I was in handcuffs. I got booked and had to go before the judge. He wasn’t sure whether or not he believed my story so he decided to give me community service. I had to work at the shelter so I would get the idea of “screwing like a rabbit” out of my head.”

Lou could hide neither her smirk nor her laugh. She covered her smile with her hand.

“Quit laughing at me and let’s run. You don’t mind if I join you, do you?”

“Not at all. Think you can keep up?” she asked teasingly.

“No doubt about it,” he replied. “Lead on.”

Brody leveled up with Lou so he could run beside her and found a rhythm alongside her footfalls. She remained silent as they ran, her breath moving in and out in a regular cadence in time with her feet.

Lou was acutely aware of Brody as he ran beside her. Her heart pounded
,
and it wasn’t completely because of the running. She could hear his breath blowing across his lips as he maintained the pace. Sweat broke out across his strong brow
,
and he lifted his powerful arm to wipe it away. It would be so easy to get closer to someone like Brody if she let herself fall for his sexuality
,
but he wasn’t a permanent kind of man and she did not do casual.

Lou pushed herself harder than she had in a long time. She blocked out Brody’s presence and picked up the pace, sweat pouring down her face like a hard rain. Her clothes stuck to her body despite the coolness of the early morning air. Brody was in the same shape. He kept the pace, but just barely. Just when Brody began to falter, her pace slowed slightly and she brought herself to a fast walk. They rounded the corner of the house about three minutes later and Lou stopped to cool down and stretch.

Brody bent and placed his hands on his knees. His breath came in gasps and raised his chin to look in her direction. “I thought you were trying to kill me,” he panted at her.

“Nope. I was just trying to outrun you,” Lou replied with a grin. She wiped the sweat from her brow with her forearm. Lou thought she heard him mumble something as she turned and entered the house.

Before she walked through the door,
he said
, “Outrun me or outrun something else…wonder which one it is, Lou.”
She let herself pause for no more than a second. It was better if he thought she didn’t hear him, wasn’t it?

Lou showered and went downstairs to go to work. She met Brody on the porch after she stopped to get a bottle of water. His hair was still wet from his own shower and hung in sandy colored curls across his forehead and his collar. He had transformed from a college kid in a printed T-shirt to Dr. Broden Wester in a matter of minutes. He wore a black polo and khaki trousers. His sneakers had been replaced with casual loafers.

“Do you want to go to the hospital with me today to see Mom?” Brody asked.

“Not this morning. I might go by later today. Sarah wants to make a card for her when she comes home from school so I’ll probably go for a few minutes later in the evening.
”

His steely grey gaze met hers.
“ Thanks, Lou, for understanding.”

She smiled gently and patted his arm. “No problem. She’s your mother after all, not mine.”

“I’ll call if anything changes.”

“Please do,” she called out as she turned and
walked toward her office
.

Chapter
Six

Wesley
lowered the telescopic lens of the
thirty-five millimeter camera
and cupped it in his hand. He took a deep breath and blew it out between his closed teeth. He fished his cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open. Then he dialed the number he had been given.

“Jerry’s
T
owing,” a pleasant voice answered. The detective knew Jerry’s Towing was a front for a phony business which did not and never had existed. But who was he to rock the boat?

“Yo, Wanda. Put the boss on the phone.” There was no response on the other end as the call was transferred.

“You had better have something for me, Wesley,”
a
voice snapped in his ear.

“I’m pretty sure I do, Boss. Looks like the old lady was right and it could have been her at the hospital last night. I had to do some digging
,
but I think I found her. I’m
emailing some photos to you now.
”

There was no click on the other end
,
but the call had been disconnected. Wesley got out of the car and opened the trunk of the old sedan. He put the jack back in the trunk. Hopefully, no one noticed there had never been a flat tire. He would have to switch cars next time so no one would get suspicious.

Within ten minutes, his cell phone
rang
. He flipped it open.
“
Yeah
”
”

“That’s her. She looks just like her mama. I would know her anywhere.”

“What do you want me to do?” Wesley asked.

“Keep an eye on her. Find out who she’s living with. Get as close to her as you can and let her know I want my property back.”

“Consider it done.” He closed his phone and smiled broadly. The chase was on.

****

Brody walked through the sliding doors of the hospital and past the reception desk. He entered the elevators that would take him to the Intensive Care Unit.

Without waiting for permission, he strolled by the nurse’s station and walked into his mother’s room. She looked tiny reclining in the big bed with the rails raised around her. Her head was turned to the side so her cheek was exposed but the rest of her was swaddled in bedclothes.

Brody bent and picked up her chart to see if the treatment plan had changed. Her condition was still marked as critical. The notes and the suggestions in the chart were more along the lines of maintenance and comfort than rehabilitation. The doctors wanted to stabilize her condition with medication and then send her either home or to a nursing home for care until her final days.

Brody replaced the chart and walked to the side of the bed. He lowered the bedrail and bent to kiss his mother on the cheek. She stirred slightly as he slipped his hand into hers. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled slowly at him, taking a deep breath. She untangled her arms from the covers and reached a tentative hand to brush the curls from his forehead.

“Your father always wanted you to keep your hair short and tidy
,
but I did so love those curls,” she said slowly to him.

“Morning, Mom. Did you sleep okay?”

“Well as can be expected, I guess. Nurses came in all hours of the night to test this or that
,
or just to see if my old heart was still beating.”

“Sure beats the alternative, doesn’t it?”
He forced himself to grin at her, although it was the last thing he felt like doing.

She tapped him gently on the arm and smiled
back
at him.

A nurse walked in behind them and began to check the fluid levels in the IV bags hanging on nearby hooks.

“Did Lou come with you?” Mrs. Wester asked.

“No. She’s at home catching up on some work. She said she would try to come by for a little while tonight. Sarah wanted to make something for you so she’s going to bring it by later.”

The nurse broke in. “Is Lou the young woman who was here with you last night?”

“Yes,” Brody replied.

“The night nurse said there was a man here late last night asking questions about your mother and the girl who was with you.”

Brody released his mother’s hand to turn toward the nurse.

“ He started out wanting medical information about your mother. He also wanted to know about your mom and her relationship to the young lady. Of course, we couldn’t release any information to him since he wasn’t family.” She shrugged and walked from the room.

“Wonder what that was about,” Brody mumbled to himself.

Mrs. Wester was visibly flustered when he turned back toward her in the bed. A fine sheen of perspiration graced her upper lip and her breathing was labored.

“Mom! Are you okay?”

She reached for his hand and gripped it with amazing strength. “I’m okay but you have to get me out of here, Brody.” She paused to take a deep breath. This set forth a series of hacking coughs. When the coughing spell was over, she took another breath and continued. “I want to go home. I want to go home today. Do you see? You have to take me home where everything can get back to normal.”

“Will you calm down if I promise to take you home? Soon?”

“Today, Brody. I want to home today.”
She clutched his shirt from in her spindly grasp.

“Okay, Mom. I’ll see what I can do.”
He gently took her hand in his and unwound it from his shirt, laying it into her lap.

Brody made arrangements in record time.
His mom
couldn’t be calmed down until he promised she would be moved home that very day. He spoke with the doctor and then called the medical equipment company to have a hospital bed and other supplies delivered. He also made arrangements for an around-the-clock nursing staff to take up the slack, just in case something went wrong.

At three in the afternoon, the ambulance was backing up to the door of the ranch house and Mrs. Wester was being moved to her new bed. The nurse, Lola, a plump
firecracker of a
woman, fussed over the move and introduced herself to Mrs. Wester as they rolled her into the
house
. She took over with amazing efficiency. Brody stood back on the porch with Lou as Sadie and Lola barked orders at the medical technicians.

Lou turned to Brody and said with a light smile, “I feel like I’m in the way.”

“So do I,” Brody responded.

“I never thought she would come home so soon,” Lou stated, worry etched across her brow. “Is she ready to be at home?”

“Probably not but she got really upset this morning and said she had to come home today. She wouldn’t calm down unless I agreed.”

“That’s strange. Any idea what upset her?” Lou’s eyebrows drew together.

“I’m not sure
,
but it had something to do with you…”

Lou cut him off. “Oh my God! What time is it?” She glanced at her watch. “It’s three o’clock! Sarah should have gotten off the bus five minutes ago.” Lou shaded her eyes with her hand and looked down the long drive. He could almost see Sarah’s long
,
dark hair and pink dress in the distance where she was standing beside a parked car at the end of the drive.

“Who is she talking to?” Brody asked but Lou was already gone. The water bottle that had been clutched in her hand rolled across the porch.

Lou ran down the drive and Brody took off only seconds behind her. They tore down the long winding driveway, dirt flying from beneath their feet in their haste. They reached Sarah at almost the same time, just as the dark sedan pulled away. Dust flew behind the vehicle, making it impossible to get a license plate number.

Lou spun Sarah around, gripping her upper arms tightly.

“Who was that man?” she asked between broken breaths, choked by exertion.

Sarah shrugged her shoulders and looked toward the retreating car. “I don’t know, Mommy. He said he was moving to a house near here and wanted to know if I live at this house. Did I do something wrong?”

“Yes! You did something wrong! You are never, never, never, ever supposed to talk to strangers!”

Brody was much more composed than Lou. He bent down beside Sarah. “Can you tell us what he looked like? Did he say anything else to you?”

“He had on a baseball cap and he smelled like cherry smoke,” Sarah replied after some deliberate thought, tapping her finger lightly on her temple.

“Cherry smoke?”

“Yeah. Like that man who smoked the cigar when he came to see Mr. Jeb.”

“But it wasn’t the same man?” Sarah shook her head.
Lou sighed and looked at Brody. “That’s probably all she noticed.”

Sarah looked toward the house and commented, “Why is an ambulance here? Is someone sick?”

Lou patted her gently on the shoulder. “The ambulance just brought Mrs. Wester home from the hospital.”

“But I have not finished my card yet!”

“You
’
ll have plenty of time to finish after you do your homework. She’s going to take a nap now and you can see her later if Dr. Wester says it’s okay.”

Sarah looked skeptically toward Brody. “Do you mean him?” She squinted one eye at him, as though appraising his appearance. “He’s a doctor?”

“He’s a doctor.” Lou grinned slightly, her eyes smiling as they met Brody’s.

“Cool,” Sarah stated plainly. “Can I go ahead and get my snack?”

“Yeah. Run along.”

As Sarah ran quickly down the drive, Brody looked
at Lou, who looked everywhere but at him
. “Now why don’t you tell me what the hell is going on
?
”