Four Flames for Angela

by Rose Nickol

He sent Rock around to the back in case they tried to get out that way, and once he was sure Rock was in place, he rushed the door. He burst into the house and was shocked at what he found. He back slowly out and called for Rock. When Rock came around the house, River looked at him and said, “Whoever it was is long gone. We need to get Angela up here without upsetting Todd. I know she won’t want him scared.”

  “I’ll go tell Sawyer what’s going on. Then I’ll send him and Angela up to the house while Hunter and I keep Todd busy. We need to get one of those DVD things in the SUV like the girls have for their kids. If he’s going to be riding with us, we need one of those.” Rock started walking back to the car.

  “Yeah. Good idea. We need to have one of those put in all our vehicles. We can work on that next week.” River walked back to the house to wait for Sawyer to return with Angela. He opened the door and looked again, shaking his head. Why the fuck would someone want to do something like that to someone else’s house?

  * * * *

  Rock held Angela’s hand as they walked up to the house. “What’s going on?” she asked, looking back over her shoulder where Hunter and River were entertaining Todd in the car.

  “Someone broke into your house. We don’t want to upset Todd. That’s why my brothers are sitting with him. We’ve already called the police, but River thinks you need to see it before they get here.” Rock squeezed her hand tighter and led her up the few steps to the house.

  “What’s that smell?” Angela almost gagged it was so bad.

  Rock handed her a napkin he had pulled out of his pocket. “Hold this over your mouth and nose. It will help.”

  Angela did and it helped a little, but the smell got worse the closer to the house they got. “It smells like a sewer leak or something,” she said, trying to breathe out of her mouth and keep her nose covered. Her eyes were starting to water it was so bad.

  “It’s not sewer, honey. Someone did this on purpose.” River guided her to step into the house and kept a hand on her back for support.

  “Oh my God! Who would want to do something like this?” Angie cried as she looked around what used to be her cozy living room. The walls, the floor, even the ceiling were smeared with a brown substance. From the smell emanating from the room, it had to be shit.

  “How am I going to get this all cleaned up? Why?” She stared in shock, wondering how much of the house they had done this to. “Is it in every room?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t gone any farther. I didn’t want to take a chance of messing up any evidence before the cops get here. I think we need to wait for them before we look any farther. Let’s step back to the sidewalk. They should be here any minute.”

  It didn’t take long for the police to arrive and take their statements. They called in a crime scene investigation team to take pictures before they let Angela and the men walk through the house. It seemed like hours later before Angela and the men were allowed to go through the rest of the house. Whoever had made the mess had confined it to only the one room, but it was bad enough.

  “You can’t sleep here until this is cleaned up,” the police informed Angela. And she knew they were right. There was no way she could sleep with that odor in the house. Every wall would have to be scrubbed. Luckily she had hardwood floors that could be cleaned easier than carpet, so that saved some expense. Whoever had done this had left the furniture alone, but it would still have to be aired out to get rid of the smell. It would be a lot of work.

  When Rock had seen how long things were going to take, he’d told Sawyer and Hunter to keep Todd busy. Angie could pack some things for both of them after the police left.

  “You’ll stay with us tonight,” Rock had told her when she voiced concern over the cost of a hotel room for the night.

  “You and Todd can sleep in the guest wing. You can either share a room or each have a room. It doesn’t matter. First thing tomorrow we’ll look into finding someone who can clean this up.” River took the information the police gave them about cleaning companies and helped Angie get some things for her and Todd to take to their house for the overnight.

  Angie bit her lip and nodded her head. She was going to need some help and didn’t know where to start looking. Letting the men assist her would take a huge burden off her shoulders, and she could always pay them back. Now she had to figure out how and what she was going to tell Todd. She didn’t want to frighten him any more than she had to, but she needed to tell him something.

  After the police left, River and Rock helped her make sure the house was secure for the night then walked her back to the truck where Hunter and Sawyer were waiting with Todd.

  “What’s going on, Angie? I’m tired. I want to go to bed,” Todd said, reaching for her.

  “I know, honey. We’re going to spend the night with the guys. Somebody messed up our house, and we can’t stay there until it gets cleaned up,” Angie said in what she hoped was a reassuring voice.

  “Can Spot and Tag come with us?” Todd didn’t seem worried about the house. He was more concerned about the dogs.

  “They sure can, sport. Do they usually sleep in your room?” River asked, getting in the truck and fastening his seat belt.

  “Yeah. Angie said they can stay with me. It is okay at your house?” Todd kept putting his thumb in his mouth.

  “It is fine with us, little man. I’ll even let you and the puppies pick which room you want to stay in,” Rock told Todd as they drove back the way they had just come.

  “Can I skip my bath tonight, Angie? I’m so tired,” Todd said, yawning. Angie looked at his dirt-covered body and cringed. She didn’t blame him. She was exhausted, and all she wanted to do was close her eyes and have an end to the day.

  She really wished things had ended differently. If Todd hadn’t fallen and had a freakout, if her house hadn’t been vandalized, what would have happened? She’d planned on having the guys come in and telling them about how she’d met Todd and how they’d become a family. Now she was so tired, all she wanted to do was sleep. Tomorrow was another day and she could face everything then.

  The ride back to the house seemed to take longer, but she knew it was just because she was tired and worried. River had told her they would take care of getting her house cleaned so she and Todd could go back home tomorrow, but she wasn’t sure they would be able to get it done on a Sunday.

  Then she had to figure out who would have done something like that. The only person she could think of was Thomas, but why? Why would he do something that evil? Did he really hate her that much? Who else could have done it? The police had asked her if she knew of anyone who might have done the damage, and she’d said no off the top of her head, not wanting to implicate Thomas. But thinking back now who else could it have been?

  River answered Todd before Angie could. “We have a really big tub. It’s like a small pool. How would you like to try that out tonight, buddy?”

  Todd’s eyes opened as wide as they could. “Really? Can I, Angie? Can I?”

  “Sure, honey. I think that’s a great idea. Maybe I’ll take a turn after yours.” A long hot soak and a glass of wine sounded like heaven right now. Then if she could sleep for a few hours, she’d be able to face tomorrow and everything she had to do.

  Chapter Eight

  The first thing they did was to let Todd pick out the rooms he and Angie would sleep in. He decided he wanted his own room but wanted to know where Angie would be if he should need her during the night. He still had nightmares often and liked to crawl into bed with her when he was scared.

  “Tell you what we’ll do, Todd. All of us will leave our doors open, and you can come see any of us if you need to.” River didn’t want the little boy keeping Angela up all night.

  “Thank you. That’s all right. I’m used to it,” Angela told the guys while they carried up the things she had brought for her and Todd. She’d packed a quick bag with her and Todd’s night clothes and something for them both to wear tomorrow. Hopefully, they could get the house
cleaned and return home tomorrow before Todd had school on Tuesday. Luckily the mess had been contained in one room and hadn’t gotten on any of the furniture, and Todd’s school was closed on Monday for teacher planning day. She hoped airing out everything would get rid of the odor, and she wouldn’t have to replace it all.

  “Let’s go find the tub the guys were telling us about,” Angie said to Todd, stifling a yawn. She was so tired she was operating on adrenaline. Once she had Todd taken care of, then she could rest.

  Rock led them down the hall to the mistress suite and started filling the tub for Todd. She’d just taken a brief look at the tub before, and didn’t realize how big it was. Hunter took Todd into the bathroom ahead of Angela and the other men.

  River leaned down and whispered in her ear, “The tub is big enough for you and all of us to fit in it. We designed it to share. This entire room was designed to be shared.”

  Angie felt a tingle run down her arms, and when she turned her head to look at him, he brushed a soft kiss against her lips.

  “Would you like to share this with us?” Sawyer asked from her other side.

  Before she could answer, she heard Todd calling, “Angie, come look. Come on!”

  Sawyer guided her into the room, and Angie stopped for a minute to take a better look at the room. It was more than large enough for one woman and the four men. Todd alone in the tub would be swimming.

  “Isn’t it great, Angie? Come check it out. Rock already started adding water, and he’s gonna add bubbles!”

  “It’s very nice, Todd. You want me to help you?” Angie asked even though she felt ready to collapse.

  “How about I help you tonight and we let Angie go take her shower, then she can come listen while I read you a story? Will that work?” Angie’s eyes lit up when Rock made his offer to Todd. That would be perfect.

  “Is it okay, Angie?” Todd was already trying to pull his shirt over his head.

  “It’s fine with me. Are you sure?” She looked at Rock, making sure he knew what he was getting into. In a tub that big, Todd was sure to make a huge mess.

  “I got this, baby. River will show you to the guest shower, and you take as long as you need. We’ll take care of Todd for you.” Rock then turned back to helping Todd get undressed.

  River led Angie down the hall to another huge bathroom that was in the same wing as her and Todd’s rooms. “There should be everything you need in there. Mom had fun stocking all these rooms, and I know you’ll find something you like.” He showed her where towels were and how to work the shower and warming bar. There were several shower heads, and a panel inside the shower controlled them all and also played music.

  In one of the cabinets was a selection of every flavor of shampoo a person could want. Angie picked her favorite scent, lilac, and hung a couple of towels over the warming bar. She might never leave this bathroom. She set the shower on a soothing rainfall, chose a music station, and pointed the nozzles toward the large seat in the corner. It was actually big enough to sit on, as opposed to the seat in her shower, which was only large enough to prop her feet on while she shaved.

  She made herself comfortable on the large padded seat and leaned back, closing her eyes. It couldn’t hurt to close them for just a minute. The feel of the warm water and the sound of it was so soothing she let herself relax. It was the first time she could remember in a long time that she didn’t need to rush and worry about what Todd was doing. He was old enough to be left alone for a few minutes, but Angie didn’t like to leave him alone for long. He still didn’t always make the best decisions and sometimes didn’t understand that he needed to wait for her before doing something.

  He’d lost his parents so early and had been in some uncaring foster homes that he didn’t always know how things were supposed to work. Like the night with puppies. He’d been so afraid that Angie would be mad at him and send him back. He didn’t understand that Angie was doing her best to make sure he was never in a situation like that again.

  She let her mind drift and sat, enjoying the warm water and soft music playing. After a few minutes, she stood and washed her body and her hair. When the water was still warm, she decided to enjoy it a while longer. Hot water never lasted this long at home. Especially when Todd had a bath first. Their old water heater only had enough water for one good bath or one shower, and Angie was always on the short end. This was heaven.

  Angie didn’t know how long she’d sat there before she heard a knock at the door and a voice call, “Angela. Are you okay in there?”

  “What? Hold on.” She turned the water off and grabbed a towel off the warming rack. She wrapped it around herself and padded to the door. She opened the door a crack and looked through the space.

  Rock stood there holding Todd. He gave her an appreciative glance. Not that he could see that much of her. “Sorry to bother you, but you’ve been in here an hour and we were starting to worry. We wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  “An hour! I didn’t realize it had been that long. The hot water at home would have never lasted that long.” Angie was amazed that she had been in the shower an hour. It hadn’t felt like that long.

  “We have multiple tanks. I’ll explain it to you another time. I’m going to take Todd back to his room. He still wants you to come in for a story. Do you need anything?” Rock asked as he started to walk away.

  “I forgot to pack a robe. Would you have something I could borrow?” In her haste to pack, she’d only grabbed a long T-shirt to sleep in, and it showed an awful lot of leg.

  “I’ll have one of the guys find you something and bring it to you,” Rock answered and walked toward the room Todd was sleeping in.

  Angela quickly dried her body and pulled her T-shirt over her head. Then she blew her hair dry with the blower that was in the room. She brushed it until it fell in soft waves of black satin down her back. By the time she was done, there was a soft knock on the door. She opened the door to see River standing there holding a dark blue robe.

  “Here you go, sweetheart. It’s mine and will be big on you,” he said and held it so she could put it on. When she had both arms in, he grabbed each side of the belt attached to the robe and pulled her to him. He placed a soft kiss on her lips and held her. “Umm, lilacs. I like the scent of lilacs on you. Perfect choice.”

  “Thank you,” Angie said, leaning into him. He helped her roll the sleeves up far enough that she could use her hands and wrapped the belt twice around her. It was so long it reached below her knees. She was so short at five foot five inches, all of the men were close to a foot taller than she was.

  River ran his nose over her skin. “Come on, Todd’s waiting for story time.”

  “I’m surprised he’s still awake after the day he’s had today.” Angie followed River to the room Todd was using for the night.

  “He’s close, but I can tell he’s fighting it tonight.” River threaded their fingers together and led her down the hall.

  “Angie, come on. I’m tired,” Todd said as soon as he saw Angela standing in the doorway.

  “I know you are, buddy. Did you pick a story for tonight?” They had a huge storybook Angela had gotten him for Christmas that has several bedtime stories in it. Luckily Angie had remembered to bring it for him.

  “Yeah. All of the guys are going to read the one about the dragons to me. They can each do a voice and you can be the girl dragon.” Todd held up the book, open to the page he wanted.

  “Perfect. I’ll start and the guys can help.” Angie settled on the side of the bed with the book in her lap and started to read. As she read the first part, Todd snuggled down in the bed and one of the guys tucked the covers around him.

  Angie read until she came to the first part where one of the men needed to jump in, her voice soft and soothing. She handed the book to Rock and turned to look at Todd. She brushed a soft kiss across his forehead and made sure his stuffed dragon was close to him.

  One by one the men quietly walked to the door and stood in
the hall, waiting for Angie to follow.

  “Do you feel like talking, or do you want to go to bed?” River asked after he pulled Todd’s door mostly shut.

  “Let’s talk,” Angie said.

  “We’ll go down to the great room. We can start a fire, and it will be warm down there.” Hunter led the way down the stairs.

  “Do you want something to drink? I can bring you a glass of wine or coffee, hot chocolate, tea…whatever you want.” Sawyer stood by the door to the kitchen.

  “A glass of wine please.” Angela let Hunter lead her to a large sectional sofa that took up most of the room. On one wall was the largest television she’d ever seen.

  Sawyer came back with her wine and beers for him and his brothers. River put a remote control in her hands. “This button lifts the footrest, this one turns on the heat, and this one will start a massage action.”

  “Wow, all you can do in my chairs is sit. Don’t show Todd this. He’ll want us to get one,” she joked, adjusting the chair to her comfort level.

  “Will you tell us how you and Todd became a family?” Rock asked, sitting down beside her and adjusting his part of the seat as the others did the same.

  Once everyone was comfortable, Angie started talking. “Just after my fifteenth birthday, my mom and my dad were killed in a car accident.”

  The men all murmured how sorry they were.

  Angie took a deep breath and went on. If she stopped she couldn’t start again. Just thinking about her mom and dad brought tears to her eyes. “I was too young to live alone, so I was put in foster care. It wasn’t too bad. I lived in a lot of places, some good, some not so good, but I survived. I was seventeen years old and in my final foster home when I met Todd.

  “He was just three years old and had also lost both his parents in a car accident. He was already on his second foster home. There were several children in that home. Most of them were older like me. I don’t know why the family accepted Todd. He was the only young child there. Some of the older boys liked to pick on him, and I defended him. He was just a baby.”