“I know, right? I’m so sick of them, too.” I laughed. “Let’s try. Help me. Dad and I had worked like crazy, and if we don’t do something, Mom’s going to let them go. It’ll all go to waste.”
Mark hated farming, even in the hundred-thousand-dollar John Deere tractors Grandpa owned. Mark didn’t want anything to do with it. All we had was a small scoop tractor that Dad used to plant the field, but as far as harvesting was concerned, we were back to the days of hand picking. It would take us weeks with only the two of us, but if we could take some of the peppers to the processing plant, then at least all of our work wouldn’t be in vain.
“You’re right. We can get some of it done,” he said. “I still need this other job, though. Do you know where Mom keeps all the legal stuff?”
I pointed toward the dining room. “In the hutch.”
“Cool, thanks.”
My phone alerted me to a text. I pulled it out of my pocket.
Tyler: Meet me at 6 instead of 7
Me: Is the sun even up at that time?
Tyler: Yes
Me: Ok
Mark walked through the living room and out the front door. I went to the kitchen, made ramen noodles, and sat at the table to eat.
Around nine, exhausted and devoid of any inspiration to draw, I crawled in bed. Tyler hadn’t called like he usually did. I double-checked my phone just to make sure, and set it on the nightstand. Too tired to worry about it, I closed my eyes.
A few hours later, I woke to rustling sounds in the kitchen. The red numbers on my clock glowed, twelve forty-two. I stepped out of my room.
Mark staggered toward the refrigerator. He looked at me with bloodshot eyes, swayed a little, and then grabbed the counter for balance. No. Freaking. Way.
“Are you drunk?” I snapped.
“What’s it to you?” he slurred back.
“Great, Mark. This is your plan, drink it all away?”
“For... the... ” He hiccupped. “Moment.”
“Where’s the truck?”
“I think,” he squinted like he was trying really hard. “I think... I left it outside.”
He swayed backwards, taking a step to steady himself. I hurried to the living room window. He’d parked in the grass at an angle in the front yard.
“Mark, are you crazy?” I yelled through the house. “It’s so stupid to drink and drive!”
“Yeah, well,” he shouted back, “so are you.”
Ignoring his childish taunt, I went to the bathroom, fuming on the inside.
That self-indulgent bastard. Just what I needed, one more thing to worry about.
On my way back to bed, I spotted the truck keys on the counter. Quietly scooping them up, I kept them with me so he couldn’t leave again.
Chapter 14
I woke to a text at five-fifteen.
Tyler: Meet me at the Indian mounds
Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes. The Indian Mounds? Oh yeah, they’re in the park.
Me: Ok
Forty-five minutes later, I climbed out of the truck, inhaling the crisp, cypress air. Rounded, green mounds preserved by the National Park were shaded by the towering pine trees. Tyler had told me the Indian Mounds were found in the late 1800s, dating back almost 800 years. The brilliant craftsmanship of the Native Americans had even withstood the war.
Tyler stood outside his car, staring across the grass hills. He gave me a weak smile when I stepped beside him.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. I didn’t sleep much last night. You ready?”
“Sure.”
We walked to the road and started jogging at an easy pace. After a few hundred yards, he picked up his speed. I pushed my stride to keep up. Elbow to elbow, I glanced at him. Sweat rolled down his face, and his shirt was already soaked. A few seconds later, he fell back to slow us down. Relieved, I stayed with him, refocusing on the rhythm of us jogging as one.
Suddenly, the sound of his pounding footsteps stopped. I looked over my shoulder. He was bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for air. I turned around in the middle of the road. What the hell? He never burned out.
“Are you okay?” I shouted.
He took a few more breaths. “Do you trust me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you trust me?” he said, emphasizing the words this time.
“Of course, I trust you. I run in the woods alone with you.” I chuckled. “You could’ve killed me a long time ago.”
He stood straight and stared me down. Clearly, he hadn’t found my joke funny.
“You met me here, yesterday. No, wait.” He waved his hands as if he was erasing the words. “First, you spend Sunday evening with me, then you came out here the next morning, and not once did you say a word about having to clean at the house. Do. You. Trust me?”
“I thought you understood. Why are you so mad?”
“I’m not mad. I’m confused, a little freaked out, and now I’m starting to doubt. I’m not this fucking emotional,” he insisted. “You’re so damn guarded, Elsie. I need to know that you trust me, that you’ll tell me when you have to do shitty work, and you won’t dodge me.”
I took a step back. “You’re angry because I didn’t want to tell you how embarrassed I am that I washed and pressed your sheets yesterday, or folded your clothes? That I hate admitting that I have to do my mom’s job while she’s gone?”
“Why is that so embarrassing?”
I gaped at him like he was crazy. Did I really have to explain it?
“Whatever,” I said, then a surge of anger welled inside. “Don’t question if I trust you. I don’t know shit about you outside this park or your grandmother’s house. I have nothing to offer you. So, I have to wonder, Tyler, why are you here, wasting your time with me?”
He cringed. “You seriously believe that?”
“Yes. I do. You’re freaking gorgeous, and you have everything going for you. So, why are you messing around with me? I’m just the housekeeper’s daughter.”
“Elsie.” He ran his hands through his hair like he always did when he had a rush of emotion. “I’m not messing around. And not a second of my time has been wasted when I’m with you. I can’t read. I can’t sleep. I can’t even comprehend how fucked up I feel. Every morning, I can’t wait to see you, and I hate it when you have to leave. You have no idea the guy you see is the man I want to be. You do that, not me. Everything I know about myself is changing, and it’s freaking me out. No one has ever made me feel this way. And I’m trying like hell to be a gentleman, but my thoughts are killing me.” He took a sharp breath. “You have no idea... But the worst part is, we both know our time is running out.”
I stood there, speechless, trying to process his confession. His words made my head spin.
“Are you willing to be my girl, and can we trust each other?” he asked, firmly. “Because if we don’t trust each other, then it’s pointless for us to be together. I could care less about anything else but the answer to those two questions.”
Be his girl? He wasn’t playing around.
“Tyler. I want to be your girl more than anything, and honestly, I trust you with my life.”
“Okay, good,” he said, but he still wasn’t satisfied. “I have to be sure that no matter what happens, no matter who tries to tell us we’re wrong, you and I know we’re together. This is between us. It doesn’t matter what Nana, your mom, or anyone else thinks.” Stepping forward, he touched my face, then pressed his forehead to mine. “I’ve fallen... ” He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, like he had to force himself to stop, then he breathed out, “Are you with me?”
“Yes. I’m with you.”
Brushing his cheek against mine, he found my lips with his. Slow and tender, I sank into his embrace. Fallen? Yes. I’d completely fallen, too.
After he let me go, his sour mood immediately dissipated. Taking my hand in his, we walked toward the parking lot.
“Why are you so afraid that I don�
�t trust you?” I asked.
“I’m not afraid. It just... hurt. I’m not used to feeling that way.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. This week really sucks for me. I’m at your house Wednesday and Friday, another house today, and then Smith’s on Thursday.” I let my head fall back, looking up at the sky. “I can’t stand it. I keep telling myself it’s only for a little while.”
“It’s not forever.” He squeezed my hand. “Where are your parents? You never told me.”
“They transferred Dad to Nashville.”
“Really?” he sounded optimistic.
“They’re sending him home. I guess there’s nothing else they can do.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
“Not really. Especially, when I came home yesterday, Mark was throwing one of his fits. I tried to help him calm down, but then he goes out and gets drunk last night.”
“What a dumbass. But what do you mean, he threw a fit?”
“Everyone in my family deals with stress in their own way. Mark gets mad. Mom shuts down. I run. It’s been a weird web of emotions in our house these past few years.”
“Do you still think about running?”
“Not really. Well, sometimes. But jogging with you has helped.”
“Where do you go?”
“I used to go to the barn and hide in the hayloft, until Dad figured out my spot. But... I still have one place no one knows about.”
He grinned. “Where is it?”
“No, way. I’m not telling.”
“If you don’t think about it anymore, what does it matter?”
“It matters to me. I have to have a place no one else knows about.” “I can relate, but how can you keep everything bottled up?”
“I don’t know. How do you deal with everything?”
He narrowed his eyes at my challenge. “I’ll tell you, but only if you tell me.”
“You go first.”
“No way! I refuse to let you change the subject. Focus, my beautiful girl.”
“All right, all right. Promise, you won’t cheat?”
“Darling, I don’t cheat,” he said, with a cocky grin and mischievous eyes. “I don’t need to cheat.”
“Ugh. Why do you have to look at me like that? Okay, let me get my mind straight.” I took a deep breath. “You have to take this to your grave, okay?”
“I promise, if you promise to never run and hide again.”
“Fine, I promise. There’s an old, abandoned house by the curve up the road from us. You can get inside from the back door. I like the Victorian couch in the living room. I’ll just sit there until I feel better. But I don’t want to be that person anymore. After my accident, I swore I wouldn’t run again, and I haven’t. But like I said, jogging with you helps. Okay, I told you. Now I can never go back there, so the information is useless. Your turn.”
Letting out a low growl, he stared forward. “Besides running, I write.”
A pang of guilt stabbed my gut. I looked up at the sky. Lying to Mom, I had exceeded my dishonesty quota. I couldn’t hold another one, especially to Tyler.
“I guess, I kinda knew that already,” I said. “You have a journal by your bed.”
“Yes, I do.” He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “Have you looked?”
“Um, well—”
He gasped. “You have!”
He pushed his arms in a V formation, and started skipping backwards in front of me.
“That’s a violation,” he shouted. “You are in violation of cleaning law!”
I laughed. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t resist. It was only a glance.”
He froze in the middle of the road and lowered his arms. “Seriously, you really looked? What did you read?”
“Only like... one sentence.” I fluttered my eyes. “Something about a girl haunting you. I have to wonder who else you bring out here. I’m not very ghostly.”
He let out a relieved sigh and stepped toward me. “It’s all you, Elsie.” Then he leaned down and kissed me.
I drew back. “You’re not mad?”
“No. I don’t have anything to hide, not in that journal anyway.”
“Damn, I should’ve read more.”
By the time we made it to the parking lot, I had to leave for Mrs. Baltic’s. After several playful attempts to get away from him, he gave me a long kiss goodbye, then let me go. Driving out of the park, I realized that I’d never understood what yearning for someone felt like. For whatever reason, I thought of my parents.
Chapter 15
When I pulled into Mrs. Baltic’s drive, the door wasn’t opened by a happy, plump lady in her pink robe. I walked up the steps and knocked. No answer. I wiggled the knob. Locked. I stood there confused for a second, with a bad feeling, so I walked around to the back door. The knob turned without a problem, and I stepped inside the kitchen.
A low moan came from the belly of the house.
“Mrs. Baltic?” I called out.
Another moan. I froze. The hairs on my arms stood on end. I looked around the corner down the long hallway. All the bedroom doors were open.
Another moan came from the end of the hall.
“Mrs. Baltic? It’s Elsie.” I began to shake, walking toward her room. “Are you okay?”
I stopped outside her door and peeked inside. She was lying in the middle of her bed, curled in a fetal position. Panic surged through me and I dashed to her side. She tried to look up but couldn’t even raise her head.
“Oh my gosh, Mrs. Baltic!”
She didn’t react to my overreaction, which freaked me out even more. I grabbed my phone and dialed emergency, reciting her name and address as fast as I could. I didn’t know what to do after I hung up.
I asked her what was wrong. She moaned. I asked if she wanted water, or a blanket, or anything. A scarier moan. I jogged down the hall to the front door and pulled it open, listening for the sirens over my pounding heart. Finally, I sighed with relief when I caught the faint sound of an ambulance. I ran back to Mrs. Baltic’s room. She was rocking back and forth, groaning. Feeling faint, I grabbed the doorjamb to keep myself upright. The next moan sent me running down the hall again. Loud sirens echoed outside as the ambulance pulled up in front of the house. A fire engine parked behind it, then three men stepped out of each vehicle. Overwhelmed at the sight of them, I backed away from the door.
A firefighter approached the screen. I waved him inside.
“Where’s the emergency, miss?” he asked.
“Down the hall.” I pointed. “The last bedroom on the right.”
Dizzy and stunned, I flopped down on the couch, relieved someone could help the poor woman.
A slender, young woman with brown hair pulled in a low ponytail walked my way. “Are you okay, Miss?” she asked, kneeling beside me.
I nodded.
“Is she a relative of yours?”
“No, I’m the housekeeper’s daughter. I’m cleaning for my mom.” Tears rolled down my cheek. “Is she okay? It sounded bad.”
“She’ll be all right.” She patted my knee and stood. “If you’re willing, since there’s no one else here, will you follow us to the hospital? It’ll be helpful if someone could speak to the hospital staff about the incident.”
“Incident?” I flinched. “She was like this when I got here.”
“I understand.” She smiled. “It’s not like that. It’s only so they have someone to reference until we can get a family member here, okay?”
“Yes, of course.”
She turned and walked toward the bedroom. I pulled out my phone and called Mom.
“Hi, how’s it going?” she answered.
“Oh, Mom!”
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“It’s Mrs. Baltic.” I sniffled. “The ambulance is here. It’s awful! She’s in so much pain.”
“Take a deep breath.” She waited a few seconds. “Now, tell me what happened.”
I explained ever
ything, and then I asked, “Who do I call?”
“Give me a minute, I’ll call her sister. Go ahead and go to the hospital.”
“Okay. Let me know.”
“I will. You’ll have to come back later to clean.”
“Are you serious?” I wanted to scream at her, but I kept my cool.
“Elsie, she’s going to need all the help she can get. Please, let me know what you find out. I hope she’s okay.”
“Thanks, don’t worry. I’m fine.”
She didn’t get it. I was horrified and wanted to go home.
“You did great. I’m proud of you. Please don’t get upset about the job. People rely on us. Okay, I’m gonna go. I need to call Betsy.”
“Call me tonight, please. I need to talk to you.”
“I’ll try,” she said. “Love you.”
“Yeah.” I flipped the phone shut, instantly feeling guilty for being a brat.
I scanned the house to see how bad it was. The place wasn’t filthy, but I worried what the bathrooms looked like. The paramedics came down the hall, pushing her on a gurney.
“We’re heading to HMC. Will you follow?” the female paramedic asked.
“Yes. I called my mom, she’s going to call Mrs. Baltic’s sister.”
“Great. Thanks for your help.”
“Is she okay?”
“Yes, they have her sedated. We’ll know more when we get her to the ER.”
“Thank you,” I said, then a wave of exhaustion flooded me.
Not another ER stint. I’ll be there for hours.
When I arrived at the emergency room, I went straight to the counter. A girl pointed me to a lobby full of chairs. I found a cold seat and tried to relax. Fifteen minutes later, a nurse came out and asked questions about Mrs. Baltic’s condition when I found her. The nurse took my name and told me it was a good thing I showed up at the house because Mrs. Baltic’s appendix was on the verge of rupturing.
I pulled out my phone to text Tyler but a call interrupted me.
“Betsy’s on her way,” Mom said. “Now Elsie, I hate to tell you this, but she’s in Chattanooga. It’s going to be a while.”
Life Happens on the Stairs Page 12
