Page 16 of First Surrender
“You were listening?”
“I was only making sure you didn’t advise him to put a frog in my bed or something.” My attempted humor hardly makes her blink. I was hoping for an eye roll.
She blows a long breath out and stands up, but immediately sits back down. “I don’t know what to do.”
“I’m taking you to a hotel. The Sheriff’s Department can cover it for a while. We have extra funds for situations like this. Consider it your taxes at work.”
“How do you know if I even pay my taxes?”
“I know you would never take the chance of being arrested for tax evasion and leaving Dec to fend for himself.” That snaps her out of her stupor. Her eyes flick to mine and she looks at me for the first time since my arrival.
“Was he okay?” She asks even though she already spoke to him on the phone.
“Yeah. He was fine. Kids are resilient.” She nods her head, almost looking at me appreciatively until the nurse walks in and she blinks. The look is replaced by her usual disdain and I question if I imagined the sincerity before.
“Do you know where you’re going, dear?” The nurse asks, politely. They must’ve already discussed this issue earlier.
“I’m taking her to a hotel. Are we good to go?”
“Yes, Sheriff. Here’s the discharge papers.” She hands them over, patting my hands excessively. It’s always the older women who are touchy.
“Those are private.” Natalie snatches the papers out of my hand after the nurse leaves. “HIPAA.”
“Worried that I’m going to find out that you have seven toes on your left foot?”
“Meh-meh-meh,” she mocks me as we exit the room.
“Very mature.”
“Not all of us can be as mature as you, old man.” Her comment makes me grit my teeth.
I’m not old but it makes me painfully aware that I’ve been arguing with and letting a woman seven years younger than me piss me off this easily.
“You’re right. Respect your elders.”
“Never.”
* * *
“Why are you here?” The ever-pleasant Natalie greets me from the bottom of her apartment staircase.
This is the first time that I’ve seen her or spoken to her since dropping her at the hotel after the hospital. A part of me hoped we’d gotten past the ire-filled interactions. A sicker part of me is enjoying the familiarity of it.
“Nice to see you, too.” I throw a garbage bag full of her clothes over my shoulder as I descend the stairs. The building was condemned after the fire but I convinced code enforcement to let me in to get some of their stuff. I didn’t want it to be a total loss. “All of this needs to be washed but the smoke smell should come out.”
“Are thosemyclothes?” She shrieks, following closely behind me as I cross the gravel parking lot. I throw the bag into the back of my SUV while she continues complaining at me. “You went through my stuff! That is so violating.”
I ignore her comments. “There wasn’t much else that could be salvaged.”
“My brother’s stuff…” Her tone is solemn suddenly and the shift forces me to meet her eyes. They’re quickly cataloging the other bags I have piled back here, searching for Dec’s belongings. I shake my head and her dark lashes squeeze shut in despair.
“He’ll need new clothes, but the other stuff can wait. He’s got you and a bed to sleep in for now. He won’t care about the toys as much as you might think.”
She nods her head stiffly and releases a breath. “I need to see if his box from the closet made it.” She turns on her heels to go back toward the apartment but I stop her short.
“I have it.” I pull it out of the backseat. It was the first thing I looked for.
She all but lunges back toward me, her hands dancing over the lid. “Is it okay?”