“Getting the house ready for what?”
“Well, if it’s alright with you I’m planning to stay here and help out as long as you need me. Also, we’ll need to retrofit the ground floor bathroom with grip bars and make it accessible. It’ll probably be a while before Thom can handle the stairs, so we’ll need to fix up a place for him on the ground floor while he recovers. We figured we’d make room in the dining room for Thom and Steve, since Steve can’t handle the stairs either. Ben? You still there?”
“Yeah, sorry. Just a little overwhelmed. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Thanks. I should probably get out there to help.”
“No, you stay there with Thom. You should be there when he wakes up.”
“That’s pretty much what Chuck said. But there’s so much to do, I can’t ask you to do it all yourself.”
“I’m not – Mindy’s here. It feels good to be doing something useful, anyway.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I am. How are you doing?”
“Tired, but okay. Better after talking to the doctor and you. I think the thing I’m freaking out about the most right now is the damage in the vineyard. Has anyone from the fire department or insurance company called the house?”
“I don’t know. Let me check with Mindy; just a second.”
Ben heard muffled voices and a minute later his cousin was on the line.
“Ben?”
“Yeah, hi Mindy. You okay? Aunt Lorraine didn’t bully you into anything did she?”
“No, it’s fine. You know me, I like to organize things.”
“I really appreciate it – I’ll owe you big after this. I guess someone called?”
“The fire marshal called this morning after you left. I gave him the contact information you left for the insurance company and he was going to coordinate with them to do an inspection. He couldn’t say for sure when it would be, but sometime in the next few days.”
“Did he say whether anyone needed to be there?”
“He said they might have some questions. I told him Thom was in the hospital, but that his grandfather would be here after today, and that you had been here full time for several months and would be able to answer any questions. I gave him your cell phone number, but told him you might not be able to answer if you were at the hospital.”
“Thanks, Mindy. For everything.”
“No problem. You need to talk to Jon again?”
“No, I need to get back to Thom. Thank Jon for me and I’ll see y’all tonight.”
Thom ended the call and headed back to Thom’s room. The orderlies had finished their work and Ben resumed his vigil at Thom’s side. He held Thom’s hand and started speaking to him softly, telling him about the preparations going on at the house, Mindy putting his dad to work, and that Chuck would be back later with Thom’s grandfather. It wasn’t long before Ben’s sleepless night caught up with him and he drifted off to sleep, resting his head on the bed next to Thom’s hand.
Ben woke to a stiff back and the smell of antiseptic. It took him a moment to remember where he was and groaned when he realized the last thirty hours hadn’t been a horrible dream.
“Wakey-wakey, rise and shine,” he could hear his uncle saying as he shook Ben’s shoulder.
“Ow. I’m awake,” Ben grumbled, straightening slowly and rubbing his eyes. He stood and leaned over to check on Thom.
“Still asleep, son,” Chuck said.
“Yeah.” Ben turned to face his uncle and saw that he wasn’t alone. The old man leaning on a cane next to his uncle had to be Steve Caldwell, Thom’s grandfather. He wasn’t tall, maybe five-foot-eight, but he may have been taller before – Ben knew he had arthritis. He still had a full head of hair, but it was snow white where Thom’s was black. What held Ben’s attention, though, were his eyes – they were the same piercing pale blue as Thom’s, with the same dark ring around the iris. They were intelligent eyes, too, not confused or dulled by age, and Ben stood up a little straighter, even though the crick in his back made him wince. The old man smiled, then, and reached out a gnarled hand.
“You must be Chuck’s nephew,” he said in a firm voice that could have come from a man twenty years his junior. “The one that’s got my grandson all tied up in knots.”
Ben reached out to take the old man’s hand, grasping it gently, mindful of the pain a stronger grip could cause. “I’m Ben, Ben Loomis, sir, if that’s what you mean?”
Steve Caldwell smiled then, and Ben let himself relax a bit. He hadn’t been sure what kind of reception he might receive from Thom’s only relative.
“Why don’t you have a seat next to Thom, Steve? I’m betting Ben hasn’t eaten all day, so I’m going to take him to stretch his legs and get something to eat. We’ll be back in a few. Want anything?”
Steve declined the offer and sat down in the chair Ben had vacated, and Ben followed his uncle out of the room.
“Have you talked to the doctor today?” Chuck asked.
“Yes, he came by not long after you left. I didn’t want to call you while you were driving.”
“What did he say?”
“Everything looks as good as can be expected and it’s too soon to be concerned about him not being awake yet. He’s supposed to come back by again this evening. Where are we going?” Ben asked when Chuck led him toward the exit rather than the cafeteria.
“You need some fresh air, and there’s a café in the next block.”
Ben had to admit he did feel better after soup, a sandwich, and a walk. He filled Chuck in on what had been going on at the house, and Mindy’s conversation with the fire marshal. Ben described what he had seen in the vineyard, and Chuck said he would head out there in the morning to take a look.
They walked back to the hospital with cups of coffee for themselves and Steve, in case he wanted one.
“So, he’s okay with me? Me and Thom, I mean?” Ben asked as they walked up the hill.
“Thom’s the only family Steve’s got left, and he loves that boy something fierce. As long as Thom’s happy, and you treat him right, that’s all he cares about.”
Ben swallowed the lump in his throat. “I will. As long as Thom lets me, anyway. I have a feeling he’s going to be a really bad patient, though.”
“I’m sure you’re right. He’s a proud man, and needing help will not come easy for him. But your father has said he can stay as long as you need him, and Mindy too.”
“What do you think of him, Uncle Chuck?”
“Your dad?”
Ben nodded.
“Well, I’m really only just getting to know him myself. He seems like a stand-up guy, though. He said he’s taking a leave of absence from his work, but I get the feeling he’s not real happy there.”
“His partner died a while ago, and he had to sell their house to pay off medical expenses. I think he’s had a rough time lately.”
“Maybe a change of scenery is what he needs then. Let him stay, let him help out if he wants. Sometimes taking care of other people can be what somebody needs to heal himself.”
Chapter 18
Thom was half awake, wondering why everything felt so strange and constricted, then suddenly he was gasping, wide awake at the pain shooting through his shoulder and arm when he tried to move. He heard voices, all talking at once, and then Ben’s face appeared above him, brown eyes worried and lips moving. Between the background noise and the throbbing in his skull, Thom couldn’t make out what he was saying.
Then Ben was gone and someone was shining a light in his eyes. Thom squinted and tried to look away, but again there was that shooting pain that left him gasping. Then almost as soon as it started, the pain eased and he was able to breathe and make some sense of his surroundings. The man with the light was talking to him.
“Can you hear me?”
“Y… yes.” Thom managed to get out through a mouth that felt like it was stuffed with cotton. A straw appeared in front of his mouth and he took a sip of water.
“I
’m Dr. Sterling, can you tell me your name?”
“Thom. Thomas Caldwell. What happened? Where am I?”
“You’re at Cable’s Bend Hospital. Do you remember anything about why you’re here?”
Thom closed his eyes and leaned back on the pillow. “It was raining, and I went outside. I was heading for the shed. The next thing I remember there was a flash of light.” Thom paused, thinking, but after that it was all a blank. “That’s all I can remember.”
He opened his eyes to see the doctor making notes and nodding. “Perfectly normal,” he said. “The light you saw was a lightning strike. You’re very lucky you weren’t more seriously injured. As it is, you have a fractured clavicle, and your right femur was fractured just below the hip joint. It was a clean break, and we were able to stabilize it without doing a full hip replacement. I’m not going to overload you with information right now. Just try not to move around. If you’re in pain, let someone know. You’ve got a lot of family here who’ve been worried about you. You and I will talk again when you’re more awake.”
Then Ben’s face appeared above him again. He looked exhausted. He hadn’t shaved, and his brown eyes were bright with unshed tears. “Oh, God, Thom. I was so worried.”
“Ben,” Thom managed to breathe, and then choked until the straw was back – Ben was holding a cup of water for him. He took a sip, and for a moment Thom thought Ben might kiss him, and wondered why he didn’t. Then he heard an unmistakable voice and knew why Ben was holding back.
“Move aside, now, whippersnapper. No hogging the patient! Let an old man get a turn.”
“Granddad.” Thom was glad to hear his voice was sounding more normal. “How did…? What are you doing here?”
Ben moved aside and Thom’s grandfather stepped up to the side of the bed – on Thom’s uninjured left side – and took Thom’s hand with his own twisted one.
“Chuck called and told me what happened. Gave me a right fright. Of course I came. Wanted to get a look at this young man of yours, too.”
Thom could feel his face flushing, “He’s not my young man, Granddad.”
“Yes he is,” his grandfather said.
“Yes I am,” he heard Ben gripe from somewhere behind the old man.
Thom was too tired to argue. He felt like he’d been hit by a truck. “How long have I been here?” he asked instead.
“Almost two days,” Ben told him, coming up on his other side.
“What’s going on at home?” Thom just wanted to go back to sleep – he suspected that whatever the nurse had put in his IV was making him groggy – but he needed to know.
Ben answered, “It’s been too wet for Ross and his crew to work. Mindy and my dad have been holding down the fort at the house, getting it ready for you to come home.”
“What about…” Thom paused to yawn. “What about the lightning?”
He saw Ben’s mouth twist. He knew that look – there was something Ben wasn’t telling him, but it didn’t matter because at that point he closed his eyes and let himself draft back to sleep.
* * *
Ben really did not want to have to tell Thom about the vineyard.
“Is it bad that I’m glad he fell asleep before I had to tell him?”
“No,” Steve said. “No sense upsetting him when he needs to be resting.”
“Uncle Chuck says the fire marshal and the insurance adjustor are going to be inspecting the damage tomorrow morning. One of us should be there. Do you want to do it? Since you’re family and all?”
“No. It’s all Thom’s now, and you’re his partner. You should do it.”
Ben shook his head. “I’m not, really. Chuck told the hospital that so they’d let me see him and get information, but Thom and I haven’t had that conversation. I don’t think he’s there yet. Or rather, he thinks I’m not there yet.”
“But you are, aren’t you? There? I can see it, and I just met you.”
“Yeah. And I’ll meet with the insurance guy. Thom and I have discussed the vineyard and the plans back and forth for months. I know where all the records are. I can answer their questions. I just don’t want Thom to think I’ve overstepped.”
“Thom’s a results guy – just present him with a done deal and it’ll be fine.” Steve lowered himself into one of the extra chairs that had been brought into Thom’s room. “Let me tell you something about my grandson.”
Ben pulled another chair up near the old man and sat. “Please.”
“He was just a kid when his parents were killed. His mother didn’t have any family – she’d been a foster kid, and finally having a family of her own was a real big deal for her. Anyway, when they were gone, it was just me, raising a little boy on my own. Chuck and Lorraine helped out as much as they could, but they had kids of their own to take care of. Thom had to grow up real fast. It wasn’t a bad life, just a little lonely for a kid, maybe. He went off to college, and I think he had a pretty good time and made a lot of friends. He never talked about dating anybody though, and after a while I figured out that he didn’t talk about it because he didn’t want to tell me he was dating boys and not girls.”
“Was that okay? With you, I mean.”
“Well, I’m an old man, but I’m not closed-minded. I’ve seen a lot of things and known a lot of kinds of folks in my time. So it was okay whatever he did, as long as he was safe and happy. I don’t know if he was happy, though. I think he was still lonely. I think he’s been lonely so long that he doesn’t realize it and doesn’t know how to stop.”
“I’m not sure I know what you’re getting at.”
“Thom’s my grandson, and I love him more than anyone alive, but even I have to admit he can be pretty dense sometimes. He can be stubborn and blind, and set in his ways. Being lonely for him is like a bad habit, and he can’t break it on his own.”
“Aunt Lorraine told me once that if I was going to convince Thom that I wasn’t going anywhere that I just needed to stay.”
“Stay. Like just move in and not go anywhere?”
“Yep. Said sooner or later he’d get used to me being around and realize I belonged there. It’s kind of the same thing. Just show him, here I am, this is how it is, deal with it.”
Steve seemed to be mulling this over. “Seems reasonable to me. So you’re going to stay?”
“I am. Is that okay with you?”
“Oh, son, it has nothing to do with me anymore. It’s Thom’s home, and Thom’s life. I think he needs you in both. If you can convince him, I’ll support you all the way.”
* * *
It was already past lunchtime when Ben made it to the hospital the next day and Thom was asleep again.
“How did it go?” Steve asked as Ben sat down in the chair next to him.
“Fine. It was obvious what had happened. They pretty much took one look and confirmed it. The tricky part will be the adjustor figuring out the value of the damage. It’s not just the value of the plants that were destroyed, there’s the value of what they would have produced over the amount of time it will take to bring the land back to the same level of production. And it’s complicated by the plan to add the winery.”
Ben sighed and leaned his head back against the wall.
“Ben?”
Ben was on his feet and across the room at the sound of Thom’s voice. “Hey, you,” he leaned over and kissed Thom on the forehead where he hoped it wouldn’t hurt. “How do you feel?”
“Like hell. What happened at the vineyard?” Thom asked as he pushed the button to slowly raise the bed so he wasn’t looking at the ceiling.
“You heard?”
“I heard enough to know something’s wrong.”
Steve came over to join Ben at Thom’s side. Ben took a deep breath and decided to get it out and over with.
“The lightning strike – the one that threw you – it hit the north section.”
Thom closed his eyes. “I can just imagine. How bad is it?” He opened his eyes and pinned Ben with his gaze. “The tru
th – no matter how bad it is.”
“About two-thirds of the north section was destroyed.”
Thom closed his eyes again. “Shit.”
“Yeah. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” Ben knew Thom had to be torn up if he was so distracted that he didn’t object to the endearment in front of his grandfather. “That’s where I was this morning – the insurance adjustor was there with the fire marshal to check it out.”
“What did they say?”
“The fire marshal confirmed lightning damage. I guess the adjustor needed an official report. He – the adjustor – has to run numbers. There were other losses in the area, so we may not hear anything right away. I think he’s pretty busy.”
“Thank God we got the harvest in.”
“That’s right. Focus on the positive,” Steve said, patting Thom’s leg. “Okay boys, I’m heading out. Chuck’s going to pick me up in a few minutes. Ben, I’ll see you back at the house tonight.”
Ben pulled a tall stool over to the bedside and sat where he could hold Thom’s hand and see his face.
“The doctor says you’ll be able to come home soon. Maybe even tomorrow. We’ve got everything set up for it.”
Thom didn’t say anything, just looked down at his hand, cradled in Ben’s. He felt small and weak. He was banged up and useless. Who knew how long he’d be out of commission – weeks, maybe even months. The doctor had said he was lucky, and maybe that was true, but how could he consider himself lucky when he was going to be such a burden on everyone else?
“I can’t do this,” he interrupted Ben.
“Can’t do what?”
“This. All of this.”
“Well… I don’t think we’ve got much choice. You’ll need to recover and there’ll be physical therapy and stuff. The family is ready to help. We just need to get through it one day at a time.”
“No, I mean, that. Family. Everyone. I can’t do that. Do us. Not now, while I’m… like this. I’m useless.”
“You’re not useless. Now more than ever is when having us here is important, so we can help you get well again.”
Saving Grapes (Cable's Bend Book 1) Page 13
