Unexpected Riches (Bellingwood Book 13) (17 page)

"Don't hesitate to come get me if you need anything," Polly said.

"What could we possibly need?" Rebecca asked. "You've gone over everything four times and Heath has already had his medication. He's going to be pretty much out of it for the next few hours. You made way too much food for the three of us, especially since Heath doesn't feel like eating. We have his phone with both yours and Henry's numbers on speed dial." She looked at Andrew. "What am I missing?"

He grinned.

"Oh, of course!" she said. "You'll be right downstairs."

"Precocious brat," Polly said.

Heath had moved into his bedroom with Henry's help. Polly made sure he had water and cookies and fruit in containers on his bedside table. His cell phone was within easy reach and she'd even given him a small brass bell so he wouldn't have to summon up the strength to yell for help. Rebecca and Andrew were under strict orders to not have the television up too loud.

It occurred to Polly as she put her hand on the front door handle that she should warn Andrew and Rebecca to be good. She was leaving them alone in the house with no supervision and in the stress of the last day, she hadn't connected the dots on that one. Polly had been very careful over the last few months to make sure that there was always a third person with them. It was usually Kayla, but even Heath was conscripted from time to time. Tonight would be the first time they were truly alone since she'd caught them last fall. She could only be thankful that it hadn't been more of a problem.

A little voice in her head reminded Polly that they were junior high kids and this couldn’t have been the first time they'd been alone. They were smart enough to make a way. Polly took a deep breath. She was certain that she wasn't cut out to be a mom of kids older than nine or ten years old. This other stuff was high stress.

She took one last look at Heath's bedroom. Just one more check on him. Polly walked across the living room and pushed his door open enough so she could look in. He was propped up in the bed, his head tilted to one side on the pillows. His eyes were closed and though it was obvious everything ached, he was as peaceful as possible.

"Polly?" he asked. "Are you still here?"

"Sorry. I was just checking on you before I left. Do you need anything?"

"I'm okay."

She walked on in. "Are you sure?"

Heath nodded and flinched. He touched the bandage on his face. "I was just thinking about this. Is it going to leave a scar?"

"We have an appointment with the plastic surgeon who took care of you. He did a really nice job. Yes, there will be a scar, but it will fade."

"Why would they cut my face?" he asked.

"I don't know, honey. Maybe they hated your good looks." She brushed a few stray hairs off his forehead.

"That's a laugh. It will cut into my modeling career, though."

"Are you going to tell me who did this to you?"

He turned his head to look away from her. "I told you I don't know who it was."

Polly slipped her fingers into his hand. "And I told you that we weren't done with this conversation. You can't look me in the eyes when you say that, which tells me there's more to the story. I won't stop until I find out."

"But you said we'd do it tomorrow or another day," he said.

"That's right. I did." Polly laughed and squeezed his hand. "My bad."

"Is Henry mad at me?"

She looked at him. "No. Why do you ask?"

"He hasn't said very much today. It's like he doesn't want to talk to me."

"You two have gotten pretty close, haven't you?”

"I really like him. He's cool."

Polly smiled. "Yes he is. I doubt that he even realizes he isn't talking to you. He doesn't know how to fix this. I haven’t seen him this angry since the last time I got myself into trouble. He's patient and lets us live our own lives, knowing that sometimes we forget to ask for help. But when somebody else tries to hurt us, he wants to jump in and stop it. The problem is, since we don't know who hurt you, Henry can't confront them. And just about the time he’s ready to deal with it, somebody from the sheriff's department or the police shows up and he has to step back." She chuckled. "I test his patience on a regular basis and now he's got more people in his life that will do that, too. If he's acting upset, it's because he couldn't stop what happened to you last night."

"I didn't mean to upset him."

"It's part of being in a family," Polly said. "Tomorrow will be a lot more normal. Hayden will be here; we'll all stay in and have a good day together. You'll see."

"Thanks for taking care of me," he said. "And for staying at the hospital last night."

She reached up and touched his good cheek. "You're our son now, Heath Harvey. And we love you." Polly patted his shoulder. "And now I'm going to get out of here before I make us both weepy. Try to get some rest and don't forget to ring the bell if you need anything." She snickered. "Hmmm, let's see."

Polly rang the little brass bell and waited. It didn't take long for the sound of Rebecca's feet in the living room to reach Heath's door.

"What are you still doing here?" she asked. "And why are you ringing the bell?"

"Just checking," Polly said. "You have a really good response time."

"So it was nothing?"

"Yep."

Rebecca put her hands on her hips. "You know the story about the boy who cried wolf, don't you

"I didn't do it," Heath protested. "It was her idea."

"You have people coming to a party in your house," Rebecca said, scolding Polly. "You should be down there to greet them."

"Yes ma'am," Polly said. She touched Heath's hand and smiled at him. "I'd hug you, but I don't want to hurt anything."

"Thank you," he whispered.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"There you are," Polly said to Tallie as they met in front of the Sycamore House office. They'd moved Tallie into the back downstairs room yesterday. "How was your day with Beryl?"

Tallie laughed and rolled her eyes to the top of her head. "She's a riot. I want to be like her when I grow up."

"Did you get lost?"

"So many times." Tallie laughed uproariously. She finally took a breath. "I would tell her to turn right and she'd keep going straight so we had to turn around. Then we drove around and around before she finally had the courage to drive up to her aunt's house. And what an old biddy that woman was."

"Really bad?" Polly asked.

"But Beryl handled her. It was awesome. She had a purpose and she was going to make sure we got out of there with what she wanted. We have to take everything back soon, so when Beryl comes with the stuff, we were hoping to use your photocopier. Aunt Mildred said that we had better not lose anything or put coffee cups on it or draw pretty pictures on any of her pages. And oh, we dare not get them out of order."

Polly turned the photocopier on. "Dare not?"

"That's what she said. 'Don't you dare get these out of order. I've spent fifty years compiling this information and if you mess it up, there will be hell to pay.'" Tallie's voice changed to mimic an old lady's command. "The first thing Beryl did when we got into the car was shuffle two of the folders around. Then she asked me if I wanted to do anything to them. I decided it would be better if I didn't. I get to leave town and never deal with that old biddy again."

"Beryl won’t want to deal with her ever again either. What time did you get home?"

"We were all over," Tallie said. "I was afraid I'd never see Bellingwood again. Beryl had us in Boone, in Webster City and when we ended up in Fort Dodge, I begged her to let me drive."

"Holy cow," Polly said.

"I know! We went to this great place in Fort Dodge, though. It's an old drive-in. She told me I had to eat the pork tenderloin because it was your favorite sandwich. I've never heard of anything like that."

Polly smiled. "Good for her. Did you like it?"

"It was good."

"So. Not your favorite sandwich?"

"It was good. But I couldn't finish it. She made me have ice cream, too."

"She made you?"

Tallie smiled. "I couldn't say no. If I spend much time with you people, I'm going to gain ten pounds before I get home."

"It will all be worth it," Polly said. "I promise."

"Who's that?" Tallie asked, looking out into the hallway.

Polly turned around. "Eliseo. Just a second." She stepped out of the office. "Eliseo, could you come in here a minute?"

His eyes were the only part of his face that showed his smile, but they were very expressive and lit up in greeting. "Certainly."

"Eliseo Aquila, this is Tallie Carter. She's staying in the back room on the first level. Tallie, this is Eliseo. He's my everything here. He takes care of the grounds and the large animals."

He put his hand out and Tallie shook it. "Nice to meet you," she said. "I love watching the horses play in the snow. The big one was rolling in mud this afternoon. I'll bet you love cleaning that up."

"As long as they're happy," he said. "I have plenty of help to brush them down. Welcome to Bellingwood. If there's anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable, please let me know."

She nodded and watched as he walked back into the auditorium. "What happened?"

"He was in Desert Storm."

"Oh," Tallie said. "One of my cousins was killed in Afghanistan and another lost his legs in Iraq." She dropped her head. "I'll never understand war, but I guess I understand the need to stand up for what's right. He seems like a good man."

"He's wonderful," Polly said. "I couldn't do what I do here without him."

"And Sylvie? Did I understand that she works here as well as at the bakery?"

"She's our head chef. She's in charge of anything that has to do with food - the receptions and meetings here as well as our catering. She's putting together a good team. We have another girl who works here full-time. Rachel will be around during the week."

"I met her when I came back this afternoon," Tallie smiled over Polly’s shoulder.

"Hello," Sylvie said. "How are you? I can't believe you had to spend the night at the hospital."

Tallie looked at Polly in concern.

"Not me," Polly said. "My son was beaten pretty badly. But he's upstairs in bed now. They don't keep them in the hospital very long, that's for sure."

"Do you know who did this to him?" Sylvie asked.

Polly shook her head. "No. He's not saying. But I've informed him that the conversation isn't over yet, so he'd better figure out a different story." She looked at the clock on the wall. "Where is everyone? I thought I was going to be late."

Sylvie looked back toward the kitchen. "They should be coming through. Beryl caught Eliseo and asked for a handcart to bring everything in. Lydia and Andy are finishing up a few things in the kitchen. I thought we could leave all of the food in there."

"Or we could eat at the kitchen table," Polly said. "No reason to carry things back and forth." She chuckled. "For that matter, let's just spread out the work on that big table. That way we can eat all night."

Tallie moaned. "You're killing me."

"Come on. Let's stop them before they move all of the boxes too far in," Polly said. She took Sylvie's arm. "I left the two kids upstairs alone and didn't threaten them with their lives if they got out of hand."

Sylvie grinned. "Andrew is so scared of you and Henry, it's funny. He's promised me that he won't do anything. But if Rebecca ever starts something, I don't think he has much control."

"That poor boy," Polly said. "He's got no hope."

"Eliseo," Sylvie said, stopping the man in his tracks. "We're going to just take everything to the kitchen. No need traipsing through the whole building with this. Do you mind?"

He nodded. "Of course. Go ahead, I'll put this wherever you'd like."

Lydia looked up when they walked in. "Hello there. We were just finishing things up here." She watched Eliseo follow Sylvie to the back of the kitchen. "What are we doing?"

"We're going to meet in here," Polly said. "It's just as comfortable and we have access to food and wine all night long."

"Fabulous!" Beryl said, coming in from the storage room. "I'm ready to start on the wine. Did you get a delivery today?"

Sylvie nodded and pointed to the refrigerator. "The whites are already chilling." She turned to Tallie. "We have a winery in town and I'm pretty sure Beryl is their best customer. When she calls, they deliver."

"Don't be that way," Beryl said. "He told me he was bringing over a delivery for the wedding reception anyway." She smiled and hugged herself. "But they are the sweetest boys."

"The corkscrew is already on the counter," Sylvie said. "And you know where the glasses are."

Beryl snatched up the corkscrew and headed for the cooler. "If I get too smashed tonight..." She spun around. "And after the day I've had, being smashed is a great remedy. Anyway, if I get too smashed tonight, will you open up the other room for me?"

She leaned against Polly until Polly had to shift her weight so the two didn't fall over.

"I will make sure you are well taken care of," Polly said. "But maybe we start with dinner instead of drinking this evening. The food is already out on the counter."

"Party pooper." Beryl smooched Polly's cheek. "But I still love you."

Eliseo said something quietly to Sylvie and Beryl swooped in. "Are you making plans for later? Because a drunken Sylvie is a fun Sylvie."

"No," Sylvie said. "He asked me if I'd like him to take Jason out for dinner. And Eliseo, I already told Jason that I'd have dinner ready at home for him, Scar and Kent, but if you want to spend more time with them, it's fine with me. Thank you."

"Will you need help putting these boxes back into your car this evening, Mrs. Watson?" Eliseo asked.

"Heavens no," Beryl said. "If I'm too drunk to drive, I'm not taking them home and if I'm not too drunk to go home by myself, that's just too bad. I don't know what to do with it all anyway."

"We'll keep it here until you are ready to store it," Polly said.

"That might be a while. If I don't miss my guess, we're going to want some of these things for the sesquicentennial celebration this summer."

"Then I'll ask Jeff to put them in a safe place until the committee needs the information."

"But it's a jumble," Beryl protested.

Polly laughed. "What in the world do you want me to do with it, then?"

"Damn it girl," Beryl said. "I don't know. Just quit being so helpful."

Lydia handed Beryl a plate. "You need to eat something."

Beryl scowled. "No, I don't. You should have seen the food that Tallie made me eat today. She wouldn't let me leave Fort Dodge until I'd burst the seams of my pants. And I don't wear those damned skinny jeans either. I have plenty of room for these old chicken legs."

Tallie's eyes grew big as she looked around the room.

"I'm leaving now," Eliseo said as he made his way to the kitchen door. "If you need me, let me know."

"Run for your life," Polly said. "We'll try not to need you."

"Since the menfolk have gone, we might as well get this party started," Beryl said. "Last one to the table has to drink first and fast."

Nobody moved.

"I'm not kidding," she said. "Move it. Move it. Move it. Get your food on. We're not wasting time this evening. Too much to do." She gave Polly a push. "Go, go, go, go, go."

"What got into you?" Polly asked, allowing Beryl to push her toward the counter.

"I don't know," Beryl said. "It was a rough and weird day and I'm just thankful to be among friends."

The meal ended up being a much bigger deal than Polly had expected. Of course, Lydia had made fabulous chicken enchiladas, topped with melted cheesy goodness. She'd also brought a dish of Spanish rice and wasn't telling anyone what she'd ended up creating for dessert. Andy had made a Mexican corn salad with colorful bits of red onions, black beans, red and green peppers and then had sprinkled fresh basil leaves on top. She'd also brought a corn casserole, still hot from the oven. Tallie's queso dip and bowls of tortilla chips were moved from the counter to the table and Sylvie took a basket of sourdough rolls out of the warm oven.

They pushed all of the boxes and totes to the far end of the table and after everyone had taken a seat, Beryl stood up again, holding out her glass of wine. "A toast," she said. "To old friends and new, to memories we share, those we make, and stories we uncover."

"Hear, hear," the women said and tapped their glasses together before taking a drink.

The room grew quiet as they took their first bites of food.

Lydia was the first to speak. "I haven't had a chance to talk to you yet, Polly. How's your boy?"

"He hurts. When I found them last night, I was pretty scared for him." Then she laughed. "But you know me and blood. There doesn't have to be a lot of it to freak me out. And there was plenty."

"What in the hell?" Beryl asked.

"Heath was beat up by some boys last night. He was with his ..." Polly took a breath. "With a girl he knows, and apparently some boys were harassing her. He stepped in to stand up for the girl and they thrashed him. One of the boys cut his face and his arm; they kicked him and beat him. I can't believe he wasn't hurt worse than he was."

"And he doesn't know who did it?" Andy asked. "That's what Lydia said."

Polly shook her head. "He says he doesn't. But I don't believe him. We'll have further discussions about this when he's not quite so sorry-looking."

"Do you think it was those boys he got in trouble with last summer?" Sylvie asked.

"I hope not." Polly's shoulders slumped. 'I'd hate to think that he'd started up with them again and was lying to me. That would destroy everything we've been building. I don't want to start all over again."