by Susan Schild
Mama snorted.
Ignoring her, Dessie went on. “In a few shots Letty walked by real close to the RV.”
“But she walked all over the campground,” Ruby pointed out. “That’s why she’s so thin.”
Mama nodded. “And our campsite was right on the road. Anyone walking passed close to our RV.”
Dessie gave them both you-poor-naïve-Pollyannas looks and went on. “She’s a suspect.”
“Why would a man marry someone so keyed up? She walks like this.” Ruby modeled the high, gyrating arms of a power walker, almost hitting the girls with her elbows.
With an exaggerated look of patience, Dessie waited until she’d finished. “In other shots I caught Hal lurking around the RV. Now why would he do that?”
Ruby rolled her eyes. “Because he was worried about us.” She gave Linny a confidential look. “He fixed a problem we had with a valve getting stuck and us not being able to dump the gray or black water. Not a good situation,” she said with a shudder.
“Let’s not jump at straws,” Dottie said and wrapped up the story. “So Dessie thinks she’s got a perp and Ruby can’t believe it’s Hal because she’s got a little crush on him.”
“I do not,” Ruby said hotly.
“What do you think, Mama?” Linny asked.
“It’ll all come out in the wash. At Mount Rushmore we’ll be staying at the same campground they are. We can do more investigating then,” Dottie said with a knowing nod.
“Any other news?” Linny asked.
“Perry and Mack are flying up to tag along for a few days. They’re going to camp in tents at the campgrounds where we’re staying.” Dessie’s eyes twinkled. “Neither have camped in twenty years, but they’re gung ho about it. Wait until they sleep on those air mattresses.”
Linny chuckled. Roy, Wilbur, and Orville slipped in the dog door one after the other and milled around her legs, ready to eat. “I need to get going. Y’all be safe now, and Jack and Neal send their love.”
“Send them our love, and we’ll call you soon.” Dottie blew her a kiss.
Grinning, Linny blew one back.
Still smiling as she thought about their conversation, Linny scooped kibble into bowls, the dogs dancing around her feet. Her phone rang. “Hey, Kate.”
Her sister sounded calm but strained, her voice one octave higher than usual. “I tripped on a dog toy and fell down a few steps. I believe I’ve broken some bones.”
CHAPTER 10
Oh, Baby, Baby
Linny gasped into the phone as she hurried toward their bedroom to get Jack. “Are you okay? Is Ivy okay?”
“Ivy was down for a nap. I fell down three stairs. My arm is probably broken and my ankle hurts like a bear.” Kate’s voice faltered. “Jerry’s in DC at a conference.” She was crying now. “Can you and Jack come get the baby? I called 911 and the ambulance is on the way. I’ll wait for you to get here.”
The atmosphere inside the truck was tense and Jack, Neal, and Linny were quiet as they drove the ten minutes to Kate and Jerry’s house. Linny squirmed in her seat, wishing Jack would step on it, but he drove the same way all the time: steadily and carefully. As they pulled up in front of the familiar Craftsman bungalow, Neal’s hand snaked over the seat and patted her on the shoulder. “It’ll be okay,” he said softly.
Touched, Linny tried to pat his hand, but it was gone. As soon as Jack put the truck in park, Linny had her seat belt off and her door flung open. As she raced up the front walkway with the Avery men right at her heels, the boxy ambulance pulled up.
“Thank goodness,” she murmured as she used her spare key to open Kate’s door.
Her sister’s dogs, Duke and Delilah, barked madly and Curtis joined in with his ferocious woof. But they recognized Linny and milled around her as she pushed open the door. “Hush, fellas.” Linny gave them quick pats and brushed past them.
Her sister sat on a straight-backed chair in the kitchen, white-faced with pain. Tears leaked down her face. She cradled her right arm in her hand and her left leg was stretched out straight in front of her. Her right cheek was swollen.
“Hey, honey.” Linny’s heart lurched as she hurried over and kissed the top of her head. “The EMTs are right behind me.”
“Can you put the dogs up and go check on the baby?” Kate asked, wincing as she tried to move her outstretched leg.
Linny nodded. Rounding up the dogs, she shut them in the spare bedroom. In the nursery Baby Ivy gurgled as she waved her arms around and batted at an airplane mobile. “Hey, Miss Ivy,” Linny called softly and smiled as she scooped her up and rested the baby on her shoulder. Carrying her into the kitchen, she cradled her low in front of Kate. Jack and Neal hurried in, followed by the EMTs wheeling in the gurney.
Grimacing as she rested her hurt arm on her chest, Kate brushed away her tears and touched her baby’s face with her good hand, love shining in her eyes. “Hey, baby girl! How was your nap?”
The baby’s swimmy eyes focused on her mother’s face and she cooed.
Kate spoke to Linny in an urgent tone. “I need y’all to keep Ivy until Jerry gets home.” She groaned. “If my ankle and wrist are broken how am I going to manage this baby over the next few weeks?” She began to cry in earnest now.
Linny blinked back her own tears, and touched the top of Kate’s head.
Drawing a deep breath, Kate brushed away tears with the back of her hand. “I don’t want Mama to know this happened or she’ll cut short her trip. Jerry and I can figure out a way to make this work until she comes home.”
“We’ll help,” Linny said and glanced at Jack and Neal, both of whom nodded in confirmation.
Kate shook her head. “You can’t. You have work and Neal and . . .”
“We’re going to help,” Linny said firmly.
“These might only be sprains,” the pretty brunette EMT reminded Kate. But Kate yelped when the woman eased off her shoe. When the EMT gently touched the side of her foot, Kate blanched and tears trickled down her face.
As the EMTs sized up the injuries, Linny and Jack spoke in hushed tones and made plans. Linny would take Kate’s car and follow the ambulance to the hospital. The men would take Ivy home and set up the den as a temporary baby’s room. Linny would text updates to them and to Jerry.
Linny watched anxiously as the paramedics loaded Kate up for the ride to Raleigh Memorial Hospital. The three of them quickly kissed Kate.
Linny jiggled the mercifully quiet baby on her shoulder while Jack and Neal rummaged around the baby’s room, trying to find the baby supplies they’d need. “Kate usually keeps an already packed diaper bag somewhere. It’s pink and has ponies on it.”
“Here.” Looking triumphant, Neal held up the bag he’d found behind the door.
“Good job, bud.” Jack rubbed his chin. “As I remember, we’ll need a baby sling or a carrier, milk, the playpen, and a baby monitor. Neal, you and I need to go get the car seat out of Kate’s car and put it in the truck.”
As the men walked purposefully toward the door, Linny gave Jack an admiring look. “I’m impressed.”
Jack gave her a crooked grin and put a hand on the back of Neal’s neck. “Wasn’t that long ago I was lugging this guy around in a carrier.”
“Dad!” Neal said but didn’t pull away.
As she hopped into Kate’s Honda and started toward the hospital, Linny worried about her sister. A nurse friend had told her once that if a patient who has fallen says they think they’ve broken a bone, nine times out often the X-rays confirmed a break. If Kate had fractured her wrist—her right hand, of course—and her ankle, she probably was looking at a daunting recovery time. She’d not only need help with the baby, she’d need help with daily life: bathing, dressing, and cooking. Plus she’d need physical therapy. To calm herself, Linny began a mental to-do list.
But her mind still raced with worry. Work was busy. She had another meeting with Chanel at Green Sage. That project would take time. She’d heard from another old cli
ent the day before about doing more training for them and she had another customer service class for small businesses filling up fast at Earth and Sky. Realistically, Neal might become a more full-time member of their household, which would require much more of her time and attention, at least until school started up again. Linny felt a clutching anxiety in her stomach. How was she going to manage all that?
* * *
Four days later Jerry dropped a sleeping Ivy off after lunch, easing the baby over to Linny as carefully as if he were handing her a ticking time bomb. His hair was parted unevenly and he had a dab of toothpaste on his beard.
When she slipped the baby into the crib they’d set up in the den, Jerry breathed a sigh of pure relief.
They tiptoed into the kitchen. Linny gave him a sympathetic look. “How are you holding up?”
“Okay,” he said, but his eyes were underslung with blue circles. “Ivy’s a little pistol. She drifts off when we wake up and raises Cain when we sleep. She has a pair of lungs on her,” he added.
“How’s Kate today?” Linny asked, pressing a glass of fresh iced tea into his hand.
He gave her a grateful look and took a long swallow. “Shaky. She wants to shower, but she’s too weak for that even with the shower chair and grab bars. The bathroom is hard for her. She’s embarrassed.” He shook his head sympathetically. “I told her it was nothing I hadn’t seen before and she started crying,” he said, shutting his eyes and rubbing them. “The wheelchair won’t fit in the bathroom. All my houses from now on are going to have total wheelchair access and be disability friendly out the wazoo,” he vowed.
Jerry was a nice man. Linny patted his shoulder. “You’re a great husband and father.”
“Timing is always off, isn’t it? I’m worried about Kate and the baby. The mayor wants to see me and Innovative Housing Design magazine has given me an award and wants an interview. This new turn to the business is going to let me have more normal hours and spend time with my girls, but between now and when I get there, I’ve got a landslide of work.” His face clouded. “Thanks for babysitting. Friends have offered to help, too, but everybody works or has small kids, and we don’t want to overburden anyone.” He tilted his head and met her eyes. “Are you sure this isn’t too much?”
“We’re happy to help. That’s what family and friends are for,” Linny said, pushing down the niggling worry about just how she and Jack were going to pull this off. She paused for a moment, hoping she wasn’t bringing up a touchy subject. “Kate said you all decided not to call your folks for help.”
He shook his head, a glint of humor in his eyes. “Let me refresh your memory about my Holy Roller parents. At the wedding Daddy gave the long blessing concentrating on the sin of fornication and Mama hollered about the evils of drink while trying to wrestle bottles of Kendall-Jackson from the poor college student bartender.” He gave a lopsided grin. “We decided not to call on them.”
Linny smiled but sobered, thinking about her one-armed, one-legged sister trying to care for a baby. “Are you managing?”
“We’re bumping along.” Jerry gave his beard a scratch.
“Good,” Linny said. “Mama will be home from her trip soon and she’ll be thrilled to help.” She thought about it. “You sure I shouldn’t call Mama and get her home sooner?”
“No, Kate wouldn’t want that. I can hold it together for two more weeks,” Jerry said as he rose to go. “Thanks again, Linny, and tell Jack how grateful we are.”
“I’m glad we can help,” Linny said but again thought about the mountain of work on her desk and her decision to change her schedule so she could create more of a routine for Neal. “Remember, the doctor said that every day Kate is getting stronger and stronger.”
“Right,” he said, nodding like he was trying to convince himself. “I need to head out. Thanks, Lin.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, then slipped out the door. Though they’d spoken in voices softer than whispers and the house was still, Linny froze as Ivy started to wail. Wilbur, Orville, and Roy slunk out of the living room, tails between their legs, and scooted out the dog door, slick as grease. She didn’t blame them.
Linny touched the spot on her temple that was beginning to throb, shot a hopeless glance at her desk, and walked to the other room with heavy steps to see what could be done to calm Miss Ivy.
* * *
Linny stared out the window at the bright green soybean fields and their crimson barn as she tried to settle her mind. She jotted down a to-do list for the day and sipped coffee with her feet resting on Roy, who was snoozing underneath the kitchen table. Ivy had kept her hopping yesterday. This morning she was stopping by to bring Kate a cup of coffee and to try to cheer her up. She’d swing by Jack’s office to pick up Neal, take him to a dental appointment, and buy him a few new pairs of shorts. She’d drop him back at Jack’s office, run over to Green Sage for her follow-up meeting with Chanel at two, and then go back by Jack’s to get Neal again and take him to the driving range. She shot a guilty glance at the laundry room, where dirty clothes bulged over the sides of assorted laundry baskets. Housekeeping was getting sketchy at their house.
She rubbed her face with her hands. Meals were getting spotty, too. Most new wives and stepmothers were probably still preparing home-cooked meals and thoughtfully packing nutritious and tasty lunches, throwing in real pancakes for breakfast to sweeten the pot. They’d ordered pizza from Gino’s Gas and Go for the past two nights. Linny pushed back her hair and frowned. Grooming was another thing that was slipping. She was pushing it on day four without a shampoo, saving time wherever she could.
Glancing at the calendar on the refrigerator, she realized it was Thursday. She’d not heard from Mama and the SWAT Team in a while. After she’d left them in Tennessee, Mama had called twice a day and sometimes FaceTimed her, too. But the more at ease Dottie felt on her road trip, the less she called. Still, Linny felt a flutter of worry. She picked up her phone, checked her emails, and blew out a sigh, relieved. Dottie had written. She opened the note and grinned. Her mother wrote long emails and formatted them like letters.
Dear Linny,
We girls are still having a grand time. Ruby is still hogging the bathroom and the hot water in the mornings. We switched up the shower schedule and now she’s last. Ha! We stopped at a flea market today and Dessie bought a talking bass that you hang on the wall. He sings, too. We just need new AA batteries.
Were in Omaha yesterday. We wanted to drive by Warren Buffet’s house but RV too big for neighborhood streets. Ruby was hoping he was single, but I read online that he has a nice lady friend.
I’m in high cotton, sleeping back in the Penthouse again.
We are traveling footloose and fancy free, going unscheduled for these next few days.
It’s our freestyling mode, just like Frank and Mike on that American Pickers television show but in an RV. We stopped at Custer State Park. That was real pretty and we saw bison.
Ruby heard about some festival in a little town nearby so we’re headed there tomorrow. Should be fun. She didn’t get all the details but says it’s an arts and crafts show at a place called Sturgis. Hope they have some of those gourds made into birdhouses. So precious.
Hugs from your lovin’ Mama
PS–I miss Curtis something terrible, but we’ll be home soon, right?
Linny shook her head and grinned as she closed the laptop. Typical of Mama to admit to missing a dog but not to missing her and Kate. The SWAT Team was hitting its stride, though, if they’d discussed tracking down Warren Buffett and trying to lasso him for Ruby.
Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror in the hall, Linny grimaced. All right, she’d wash her hair. Swigging coffee from the mug she carried like a security blanket, Linny made herself hurry. She was due at Kate’s in an hour and a half and she needed to stop by the grocery store on the way over to get supplies for her family. She wouldn’t be home until supper so she’d stick a cooler with ice in her trunk for the refrigerated
items. And she’d take her laptop. Maybe she could get some work done while Neal got his teeth cleaned. Blowing out a sigh, she padded to the shower. The faster she tried to go, the more behind she seemed to get.
Jack rang as she pulled up in front of Kate’s house and she answered, trying to sound cheerful and energetic. “Hi, sweets. How’s your morning going?” He’d told her last night he was worried she was pushing herself too hard and she’d told him she was fine, just fine.
“Dogs chasing cars and catching them, dogs swallowing knee-highs, cats getting into bees’ nests. Add staff infighting and that’s my morning,” he said wryly. “Oh, and my ex-wife called to ask how to get a virus off her laptop. Told Ruthie it was an emergency so she’d put her through.” He blew out an exasperated breath.
Linny exhaled, willing her blood pressure to go back down. She was too tired and too irritated to even comment on this last bit of news. But she had to know. “Did you stop to tell her?”
“No, I didn’t. I told her I had to go and to call a computer place,” Jack said, sounding reasonable.
“Good,” she said, though she’d have liked it better if he’d just told Vera to buzz off and not call him at work instead of offering her the helpful tip about finding a computer professional, but she wasn’t splitting hairs. Maybe he was coming along with not being at Vera’s beck and call. “I’ll be by the clinic to pick Neal up later this morning.”
“Good. He’s walking dogs for the techs and having a ball. Heard from your mama?” he asked. He knew she’d been concerned about the radio silence from the SWAT Team.
“Yes.” Linny breathed out thankfully. “She and the girls are fine. They’re going to a big crafts festival in a place called Sturgis,” she said, glancing at her watch.
Jack paused a beat. “Lin, do they have their facts straight?”
“I guess.” That third cup of coffee she shouldn’t have had made her only half-listen to Jack. She needed to wash Kate’s hair with the dry shampoo she’d picked up at the drug store and make sure she was doing her physical therapy exercises. As she unbuckled her seat belt and reached for her purse, she heard the last of what Jack was saying.
