by Apryl Baker
Not fun.
But you know what was fun? Gramps handled my mom like a pro when she showed up with my antibiotics. He never left me alone with her either. I think he knew she’d start the guilt trip, and I’d feel bad and end up going home. Even though that’s not where I should be right now. I need to be away from everything having to do with Dad and his job. I really will end up saying something Dad and I will both regret.
Instead of badgering me to talk, Gramps set us up in his study and proceeded to attempt to teach me how to play chess. It’s his favorite game, and he’s always complaining Eli isn’t any good at it. I think he thinks I’ll be better because I always have my nose in a book. Just because I love to read doesn’t mean jack. I did start to get the hang of it by lunchtime, at least enough so I didn’t feel stupid.
Since he did breakfast, I’m doing lunch. Nothing fancy, just a simple grilled chicken sub sandwich and some sweet potato fries from scratch that I used the air fryer to make. They’re much healthier that way—no extra grease and still deliciously crispy. Gramps even agreed they tasted good without being deep fried when he taste tested a batch earlier. Personally, I didn’t understand the joy of sweet potato fries until Gramps got some for me at some place in Beckley and brought them home.
“I smell bacon!” Eli and his friend Jordan come through the door followed by a few other football guys whose names I can’t remember. They’re all sniffing, and I recalculate what I have and go to the fridge for more chicken and bacon.
“You making lunch for everyone, Ella, or just for you?” one of the guys asks. He’s tall, but not nearly as tall as Eli. His short brown hair is tousled, and dark blue eyes look over everything I have laid out on the counter.
“I was making enough just for me and Gramps, but since you’re here, I’ll feed you too.”
“Awesome. I’m Matt, by the way. This is James and Carl.” He gestures to the two guys beside him. “Smells delicious.”
I start cutting the chicken into chunks and direct Jordan to get me a bigger pan. “This will take me about half an hour to fix. You guys go clean up. You stink.”
“Hey, now, honey, we don’t stink. We took a shower right after practice.”
“Then your mama didn’t teach you how to bathe properly. You all stink.” I curl my nose, and Eli laughs.
“It’s y’all, not you all,” James corrects me. Everyone seems to take offense at my continuously saying “you all.” I just shrug.
“She’s not wrong, Carl. You stink worse than the rest of us. Has to be the duffle bag you carry around in your car. When was the last time you aired it out?”
“Uh…probably after football season ended last year.”
“No, it stinks too bad for that. Maybe you meant to air it out and forgot?” Matt’s eyes twinkle, and he winks at me.
I turn away, feeling my cheeks heat. Matt’s super cute, and cute boys don’t wink at me. Cecily, sure, but not me. I’m the plain sister, the boring one who likes books more than movies, who will stay home and read instead going to the party on Friday night.
“What do you want us to do?” Matt asks, and I can feel him move closer.
“Shower, maybe?”
“Yo, Eli, can we shower?” Matt is close enough I really do smell the stink. It’s not as bad as Carl’s, but it’s bad.
“Sure, man. There’s the hallway bathroom upstairs, and someone can use the basement shower. Go near Gramps’ master bath and he might do some damage.” Eli snags a piece of bacon and leans against the counter next to the stove. “What can I do?”
“Why don’t you and Jordan stink?”
“’Cause we didn’t ride in Carl’s Honda. Unlike these guys, I don’t leave my duffle in the back of my Jeep. I set it on the back porch and open it up to air out.”
“Smart.” I put the cut chicken in the pan and pour the bacon grease over it. Then I work on cutting up more bacon to add to it.
“Weren’t you the one going on about Gramps eating too much grease?” Eli grins as he snatches more bacon off the paper towel, and I whack him with a wooden spoon. “Ouch!”
“Hands off. And Gramps has his own chicken. I put it in the microwave. It does have a little bacon on it, but it’s not covered in bacon grease like this batch is. He ate almost a whole pack for breakfast. It’s why I’m trying to use all the bacon up. I don’t want him to have access to six packs of bacon. Why is there so much bacon in the house?”
“Everything tastes better with bacon.” Eli winks and hip bumps me. “I told you you’d need an army to keep Gramps’ favorite things away from him. How you feeling, Shortcake?”
“Not as bad as yesterday.”
“But…” Eli prompts when I don’t say anything.
“But I’m still nauseated and a little dizzy.”
“Then why are you cooking instead of resting? The doctor said you need to rest to get better.”
“Mom was here,” I whisper.
Eli frowns. “Jordan, you’re on chicken duty. Don’t let it burn.” He turns and squats. “Get on, Shortcake.”
I sigh but know he’s not going to let me walk by myself. It’s written in those strange aqua-colored eyes of his, so I jump on, and he stands like I weigh nothing.
“Guys, you want food, go shower. Shortcake and I need to talk.”
He jogs outside and into the garden. The small stone bench is hot to the touch. I know this because its already over eighty outside, and the last time I sat on it when it was this hot, I got burned. Instead of my favorite bench, he heads to the tree that shades more than any other tree. He lets me down and I take a seat at the base of the tree.
“Was it bad?”
“Not really. Gramps was there, and it kept her from causing a scene, but there was this look on her face. She might not have been able to do verbal guilt trips, but that look, Eli. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head.”
“My mom has a look like that. She used to nail me and Caleb with it.”
“Caleb was your brother?” It’s the first time he’s even mentioned his family to me.
“Yeah.” He smiles softly, leaning his head against the tree. “He was my big brother. We got into so much trouble together. There was this one time when I was ten that we snuck into a Bruins game. Caleb loves hockey. I mean ‘football crazy fan’ kind of loves hockey. Know what I mean?”
“Yeah. My Uncle Danny’s like that, but football.”
“I miss him.”
Eli hasn’t let himself grieve. He still refers to his family like they’re simply in another city and not dead. That’s not good. He needs to let himself feel their loss to move on, but I don’t know how to say that to him without causing him even more pain.
“My mom would love you, you know. She’s into books. You find her reading more than anything else. When we were little, she was always reading us stories, and not the normal kids’ stories. She’d read us Shakespeare and poets I can’t remember the names of.”
“Eli…”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry they’re gone.”
“Me too, Shortcake, me too.” He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “We’re off topic. Your mom was here, and you’re feeling guilty. Do you want to go home?”
“Is Gramps ready to throw me out already?”
“You keep feeding him healthy junk and you’ll be gone.”
He’s probably right, but I will introduce that old man to some healthy foods if it kills both of us.
“Am I wrong in staying here?” That’s what’s bothering me the most.
“I think if being home makes you uncomfortable or is messing with your head, then take a few days and chill. Gramps doesn’t mind you being here, but I think if you’re gone for too long, your dad’s boss might start asking questions.”
“His boss?”
“Remember the ghost you saw under the house?”
“I can’t forget her.”
“Nightmares?”
“Yeah.”
“Well
, you shouldn’t have been able to see her. We salted your property line in a circle around the house.”
“You did?” I don’t remember that.
“It was while you were still in the hospital.”
“Okay, so what went wrong?”
“We’re not sure, but something happened to disrupt the line.”
“And you think Dad’s boss had something to do with it?” That’s not good. “Did they see you guys salting the place or something?”
“Gramps and I aren’t sure, but we want you to be extra careful. Don’t go anywhere alone.”
“Because they might take me if they think something’s up with me,” I say slowly, a dark, painful fear starting to curl in my stomach.
“I don’t know, Shortcake, but I’m heading to your house tomorrow to check out the line. If I can find the breach, I’ll fix it. Wanna come?”
“Yeah, I do, if you’re gonna be there.”
“I got your back.” He puts his fist up, and I bump mine against it. “Always.”
“Always,” I echo.
“So, I caught those winks Matt was throwing your way and that blushing face you tried to hide. He’s cute, huh?”
“You notice if a guy’s cute? Want to tell me something?”
“I’m confident enough in my own sexuality to not get weird over admitting a guy is cute. Matt’s the team’s wide receiver and built like a truck. He’s also a panther shifter.”
“He was just being nice.”
“He likes you.”
“No, he doesn’t. He probably likes Cecily and wants to ask me about her.”
“Hey, don’t you know how gorgeous you are, Shortcake? All that red hair and those cat eyes of yours turn heads wherever you go.”
“No, I’m not gorgeous. Look at me. I’m in yoga pants and a ratty t-shirt. My hair’s in a bun, and I don’t have a stitch of makeup on. I’m anything but gorgeous.”
He leans his head against mine. “You know why you’re so beautiful, Ella Grace?”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t realize it. That’s the best kind of beauty. And trust me when I say Matt likes you. He’s been bugging me for weeks to introduce him to you, but I put him off. Wanted to make sure he was worthy of getting near my bestie.”
“He has?”
“Yeah. I finally gave in today when he cornered me in the locker room. Figured after the day you had yesterday, a little flirting might be good for you.”
“I don’t know how to flirt, Eli.”
“That’s why you have me for a wingman. I’ll be there to give you cheesy lines and show you how to bat those pretty eyes of yours.”
“That’s so stupid. I will never bat my eyes at anyone. Do you guys honestly like when a girl does that?”
He laughs. “It’s just a surefire way to tell a girl’s into us.”
“But do you like it?”
“No. We end up laughing at it behind their backs.”
“That’s what I thought.” I smile triumphantly.
“Come on. Let’s go check the food before Jordan burns it.” He leans forward. “Climb on, my little monkey.”
“I can walk, you know.”
“I know, but this is me taking care of you, having your back.”
I kiss his cheek before climbing on. “I got your back, too, Eli. Always.”
“Always.”
He stands up, me in tow, and we head back inside for a lunch filled with Matt staring at me and me avoiding his gaze, but I have a feeling he’s not going to let me avoid him for long.
Eli might be right. Matt might actually like me.
At least until he meets my sister.
That’s the way it always goes.
It’s why I’m not getting my hopes up.
But for now, I’ll laugh and maybe pretend he really likes me.
Chapter Nine
Ella
Dad’s at work, so I don’t have to worry about him, but Mom is going to be a cat of whole different color. Not sure where I heard that expression from, but I love it.
The house is quiet when we pull up. I know Mom’s here because her car is, but Cecily might be at a friend’s house.
“You ready to go inside?”
“No, but if I want clean clothes, I need to go in.”
“You look good in my t-shirt, but those basketball shorts make you look like a drowned kitten.” Eli tweaks my nose and gets out to come around and open my door. “Jump on, Shortcake.”
“This is getting old fast.”
“You love it, so don’t even try.”
I sort of do, but I will not admit that.
He opens the front door with my keys and lets us inside. Mom keeps the house really cool, like sixty degrees, and today is no different. It’s odd walking in from an oven into an icebox. Even Eli shivers.
“Why is your house always so cold?” he gripes as we head toward the kitchen. This is an older house without an open floorplan. The kitchen is its own room nestled at the back of the house with an honest-to-God back porch. The place is cute, and I like it well enough. We’ve lived in nicer homes, but like always, none of them feel like home.
Eli and Gramps’ place, now, that feels like home. Probably because it’s a permanent fixture and not a revolving door of an Army family.
“Hey, Mom,” I say as we come through the archway that leads into the room. She’s standing by a pot stirring something, probably tonight’s dinner. It smells good, but it’s not something I can identify right off.
She whirls around, wooden spoon held up, and lets out a shaky breath. “You scared me.”
Eli sets me down on the closest bar stool around the center island. He’s frowning.
“Is something up, Mrs. Banks?”
“What do you mean?”
“You just seem jumpy.”
“Oh, well, I’ve been hearing some things, is all. Old house. I forget how often they settle.”
“What kind of things?” He sits beside me.
“I thought I heard footsteps outside earlier, but when I looked, I didn’t see anything.”
He nods and pulls out his phone to shoot off a quick text message.
“There’s a lot of wildlife around. You might have heard anything from the neighbor’s cat looking for free grub to a bear.”
“A bear?” Her eyes widen in shock.
“We get a lot of brown bears around here. They’re not much afraid of humans, so it’s not unheard of for them to be scavenging trash cans any more than it is for the racoons to be doing the same.”
“We’ve always lived in the city before,” Mom says, her gaze straying to the window. “I’m not prepared for…wildlife.”
“Don’t worry too much about it, ma’am.” Eli grins at her. “For the most part, they’re harmless. Racoons are a little vindictive, though, so if you have them, might want to leave them some food out at night.”
“Vindictive?” It’s my turn to be curious.
“They’ll knock over trash cans, tear cushions apart, things like that. Just feed them, and they’ll be the best unwanted house guests you never knew you had.”
“That is not giving me much comfort, Eli.”
He shrugs and picks up an apple out of the bowl of fruit. He’s as at home here as I am at his place. Mom adores him. Even Dad likes him, but I think that’s because he knows Eli will protect me. Even from him.
Which is part of why I don’t want to be home right now.
“Whatcha cooking?” he asks, leaning forward to sniff the air.
“Something called succotash. Doreen down at Grant’s Supermarket gave me the recipe. I’ve never tried it, but it smells delicious.” She puts the lid back on the pot and turns to face us. “How are you feeling, honey?”
“A lot better. I even managed to eat a little.”
“Don’t lie to your mother.” Eli wags his finger at me. “She threw up everything she ate. Considering how sick she was yesterday, I’m not surprised it hasn’t gone away.”
“Ella Grace.” Mom gets that disappointed look that I hate. “Why would you tell me you’re fine when you’re not?”
“I never once said I was fine. I said I was feeling better, and I did manage food. It just didn’t want to stay down.”
“Where are your antibiotics? Did you leave them at Eli’s? Lord knows we don’t need you getting a staph infection.”
“Yeah, they’re at Eli’s. We came over because…” I trail off when Eli shakes his head. Doesn’t he want me to tell Mom?
Instead, he takes out a small notepad and pen out of his back pocket and scribbles on a blank page before handing it to Mom. Her eyes widen, and he nods grimly.
“Ella, why don’t you go take a shower and change clothes? You’re starting to get a little ripe.”
“Hey!” I knock his shoulder with mine. “You’d be stinky, too, if you went two rounds with a rattlesnake and then spent the rest of the day at the hospital.”
“Yup, and I’d admit I was stinky and go take a shower.”
“He’s right, honey. Your hair looks a little oily.”
And of course this is the day Eli decided to bring Matt by when I was stinky and dirty. If he liked me before, he’s probably changed his mind.
“Fine. Where’s my cane?”
“Hope on, monkey.”
“You know the point of me being on a cane is to help strengthen my leg.”
“And that’s fine when the uninjured leg recovers from not one but two snake bites. And don’t tell me that leg isn’t weak. I saw you try to come down the stairs at the house.”
“You’re as bad as Mom.”
“Uh-huh, that’s because you’re my bestie and I look out for you.” He winks and hops off the stool to present his back to me.
I know there’s no arguing with him, so I hop on, and he’s up the stairs before I can blink.
“You staying or coming back to Rose Hill?”
“Rose Hill?”
“It’s what Gramps calls the property. That big hill behind the house has rosebushes planted all over it. I’ll have to take you up the trail to show you when you’re feeling better.”
