| |
Mac turned in the bed, looking for a comfortable spot that she might have missed during the night.
“Mac.”
Something brushed her shoulder, and she waved it and the word away. Probably another nurse in the room to check on Riley. They’d been in and out all night, rattling equipment, turning on lights, rousing Riley from his concussion and waking Mac in the process. She settled and took a deep breath. The aroma that filled her nostrils brought her eyes wide open.
Randy stood beside her, a large cup of coffee in her hand. The lid was off, and she was fanning the steam in Mac’s direction. “I thought that might get your attention.”
Mac tossed the sheet aside and rolled to sit on the edge of the bed. She accepted the cup and took a cautious sip of the steaming liquid. Her eyes closed in a prayer of gratitude for every farmer who’d ever planted coffee beans. “Thank you. You’re a life saver.”
“Rough night?”
“Not rough, just long and filled with strange people parading in and out. I know its cliché, but there is no resting in the hospital.”
Randy handed Mac a small pink sack. “There’s a scone and a muffin in there. I had no idea what you might like, so I went with two of my favorites. Take your pick.”
Mac peeked inside. “They both look yummy. What flavors?”
“Orange scone, and the muffin is apple cinnamon crunch.”
“Wow, great choices.” Mac pulled the bedside table close, fished in the bag, and brought out the scone. She handed the sack back to Randy. “You said these were both your favorites. Do you have time to eat the muffin and visit for a bit?”
“Absolutely.” Randy took the chair between the two beds. “I was hoping you’d take the scone.” She spread a napkin in her lap. “Because these...”—she pinched off a bite of her muffin—“these are to die for. Melanie always has the best pastries.”
“She does. I don’t go in there a lot, but Melanie and I have a symbiotic relationship.”
“How’s that?”
“You guys go in there and get all caloried up, and then you have to come to me to work it off.” Mac grinned. “It’s a conspiracy.”
Randy chuckled over the top of her cup. “I can see where that would work.” She took a drink and motioned to Riley’s bed. “How is he?”
“Better, I think. They didn’t have any trouble waking him up through the night. Hopefully we can get him home today.”
“Your home or Dane’s home?”
“I’m not sure. The mother part of me wants to take him home, but I recognize the progress he’s making with Dane. I don’t want to mess that up.” She exhaled a deep breath. “I guess it’ll depend on what the doctor says.”
Mac shifted and the Bible she’d fallen asleep reading slipped to the floor.
Randy picked it up and laid it on the nightstand. “Still reading John?”
Mac nodded.
“How far have you gotten?”
“To the chapter where Jesus prays for everyone.”
Randy’s eyes lit up. “John seventeen. That’s my favorite chapter. To think that Jesus knew he was about to face a horrible death and still took the time to pray for you and me. It just blows me away.”
“You and me? How do you figure?”
Randy set her breakfast on the table, picked up the Bible, and flipped through the pages. “Here we go. John 17:20. ‘Neither pray I for these alone.’” She paused and looked up at Mac. “In the verses right before this Jesus was praying for his disciples.”
“OK...”
“Then Jesus says, ‘but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.’” She scooted the open Bible across the small table, her finger tapping the page. “That’s you and me. Two thousand years before we were born, we were on Jesus’s heart. Every instant in our lives. The hurts, joys, and conflicts.”
“You really believe that?”
“Absolutely.” Randy cocked her red head, her green eyes steady on Mac. “Don’t you?”
“I don’t know.” Mac tossed her breakfast trash in the wastebasket. “The words are beautiful, but...I...I don’t know what I believe any more. The men of The Body quoted Scripture to us every day, at least they said it was Scripture, but I haven’t found a single thing in what I’ve read that agrees with what I was taught.”
“And you won’t. You just keep reading and let God speak for Himself.” She wiped crumbs from her mouth and stood. “I have to get to work. Will you let me pray for you before I go?”
Mac stood and Randy pulled her into a gentle hug. “Father, thank You for the new friendship You’ve given me in Mac. I pray that You’d give her an understanding heart as she reads Your word. Help her find the truth she’s searching for. Truth that will bury the lies, mend her soul, and bring her peace.”
Randy pulled away. With one arm still around Mac’s shoulders, she reached out to touch Riley with the other. “Bring healing, Father. Physical and emotional healing. I ask these things in Your name. Amen.”
Mac swiped at the tears she couldn’t hold back. “Thanks, that was beautiful.”
“I really have to go.” Randy dug around in her purse and produced a note pad and pen. She scribbled a number, ripped the page free, and handed it to Mac. “That’s my cell phone number. You call me if you need something or if you just want to talk.”
Mac accepted the note. “Thanks again.”
Randy left, and Mac reclaimed her seat. She pulled the Bible back into her lap. They would be coming in soon to wake Riley and bring him breakfast. She wanted to read that seventeenth chapter again while the room was still quiet.
* * *
DANE STEPPED OUT OF his van in the hospital parking lot. He zipped up his jacket, reached back into the van, and stuffed an excited Jasmine into the space. He checked the results and cringed. I look like a kangaroo with her joey, or the first pregnant man to come to term. The pup squirmed and whined until her head popped through the opening. He shoved her head back under cover and tugged the zipper higher. He patted the pup through the fabric. “You’ve got to be still until we get to Riley’s room or they’ll kick us both out.” The pup settled, either from the tone of his voice, or the petting. He wasn’t sure which, but he’d take it either way.
He hurried across the tile floor of the entry, his hands holding the pup still, his eyes fixed on the bank of elevators. If he timed this right he could ride up to the third floor alone and sneak into Riley’s room with no one the wiser. The fewer people the better, because right now, if he encountered a doctor or a nurse, they’d haul him to the maternity ward before he blinked twice.
When the door opened on the third floor, Dane did a quick survey of the hall. A single nurse sat at the nurse’s station, her back to him, a phone to her ear. He saw her nod as she made notes in a patient chart. He sidled out of the elevator, speed-walked down the hall to Riley’s room, and just made it through the door before the puppy let out an impatient bark. He leaned back against the door with a sigh of relief and wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead. “We made it.”
His entry obviously took Mac by surprise. Her startled eyes were round, and the book she was reading snapped shut with a bang.
“What are you doing, bursting in here like that?” She glanced around him. “And who is we?”
Dane unzipped his jacket, and the pup scrambled for freedom. “We,” he repeated. “Mac, meet Jasmine.” He set the puppy loose on the floor, and after a few seconds of skittering uncertainty, she mastered the slick tile and happily nosed into every corner of the room.
Mac faced him with her hands on her hips. Her expression fell short of stern as a smile played around her lips. “If she piddles on the floor, you get to explain it to the nurse.”
Dane dismissed the threat with a wave. “Her visit is self-defense, plain and simple. She sniffed around Riley’s room and whined all night. I hoped a visit would calm her down.” He motioned to the bed. “How’s our patient?”
“About the same.” Mac crossed to the bed and looked down at her son. “They woke him up every couple of hours last night. I think he’s exhausted.”
“So you still don’t know why they beat him up?”
She shook her head. “I’m supposed to call Charley as soon as he wakes up. He needs to give her an official statement. Hopefully the whys will come out then.”
She looked so forlorn as she stared down at her son. Dane took her hand and rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. The jolt of electricity that arched between them was hard to ignore. He cleared the unwelcomed emotion from his throat. “I know this is tough on you. I—”
“Mom?”
Mac pulled her hand free and leaned over the bed. “I’m here, baby.”
“Could I have a drink of water?”
Mac filled a glass from the bedside pitcher and held the glass while Riley took a deep drink.
He lay there for a few seconds before opening his eyes. “Thanks.”
“How’re you feeling?” Dane asked.
“Really tired, and my chest hurts, but the room isn’t spinning as much as it was.” He handed the cup back to his mother. “Is it OK if I sit up a little?”
“I think so.”
He reached for the control hanging from the rail of the bed, and raised himself to a sitting position. A low growl sounded over the whirring of the mechanism. Riley’s eye went wide and he looked at Dane with a grin. “Jazz?”
Dane lifted the puppy onto the bed. “She missed you.”
“Hey, girl.” Jazz wiggled with excitement as Riley scrubbed his hands over her black-and-white fur. The puppy inched closer to his face, lapping at his chin with her little pink tongue and sniffing his hair. Once her examination was complete, she curled into a ball at his side, huffed a deep doggy sigh, and closed her eyes.
* * *
RILEY LAY BACK ON THE pillows, his breathing relaxed, a hand on top of the sleeping dog. Despite the bumps and bruises, this was a picture of what his life could be. Should be without Rafe’s threats to mess it up. Was it time to come clean? The thought startled him but brought him comfort at the same time. Would they believe him? It was time to find out. “I heard what you said.”
“About what?” Mom asked.
“About talking to the police.”
His mom leaned over the rail and brushed hair away from his forehead, her fingers cool against his skin. “There isn’t any rush, Riley. You need to get better first.”
Riley shook his head, suddenly filled with an urgency to put all of this behind him once and for all. If what he had to say landed him in more trouble, so be it. He just wanted it over with. “I need to do this, Mom. Can you please call your friend?”
Mom squeezed his hand, took a step away from the bed, and picked up her phone.
“It’s Mac,” she said. “Riley is awake and ready to talk to you. Can you stop by the hospital?”
His mom listened, then said, “I think so.” Another pause, and then she grinned down at him and took the phone away from her ear. “She’s coming right over and wants to know what flavor milkshake she should bring for you.”
“Chocolate.” Riley closed his eyes and gathered Jasmine closer to his side while Mom relayed his order. His stomach turned flip-flops that had nothing to do with his injuries. Somehow he had to make them believe that he hadn’t done anything wrong.
He must have dozed, because the next thing he heard was a light knock on the door before Mom’s friend let herself into his room. The blonde was all cop today, from her buttoned up collar to her shiny black shoes, but she came across the room with a smile on her face and a large Sonic cup in her hand.
“Someone order a chocolate shake?”
Riley lifted a hand, and she passed him the cup.
“Oh!” She ran her hand over Jasmine’s back. “Pet therapy? Do I need to ask whose idea this was?” She shook her head at Dane before glancing back to Riley. “Boy or girl?”
“Girl...Jasmine.” His ears went hot. “Well...I mean...Brinkley calls her Jasmine. I call her Jazz.”
“She’s a beauty.” The cop turned her brown eyes on him, and something in her expression hardened. “Riley, I’m here to listen if you’re ready to explain what happened.” She dug a small recorder from a pocket. “I need to record this if that’s OK.”
Riley’s gaze flitted from the recorder to the cop. He lowered his eyes and stirred the shake. “Am I in trouble?”
“Of course not. You’re the victim. We just need to get your side of the story on record. OK?” She switched on the machine. “Officer Charlene Hubbard interviewing Riley Soeurs.”
Riley closed his eyes while she dictated time, date, and place. What he had to say could go either way. He hoped the beating he’d taken was enough punishment for being stupid.
“OK, Riley,” The cop nudged the recorder closer. “Can you tell me what happened in the park on Sunday?”
Riley took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and plunged into the truth with both feet. “I need to start with the robbery of the computer store six months ago.”
He heard a gasp from his mom. “Oh, Riley—”
“It’s OK, Mom.” He looked at the cop. “You know the one I’m talking about?”
Officer Hubbard nodded. “The window was broken and the workshop trashed. There wasn’t much missing, just a box of parts we found in an alley a block away.” She studied him. “Whoever did it gave old Mister Randall a concussion when he woke up and tried to stop them.” The cop looked at his mom. “He works late sometimes and sleeps on a cot in the back room of the shop.”
“I know who did it,” Riley continued. “I was there, but I didn’t help.”
He saw the cop look from his mother to Dane. “OK.”
“Riley...” His mother repeated.
The cop shushed her and turned her attention back to Riley.
Riley bit his lip. “Look, I just need to tell the story. I promise I’ll answer your questions when I’m done.”
When the cop nodded a second time, he continued. “I met Rafe Landry right after school started last August. Some of the guys in my class were picking on me. Nothing bad, just annoying. They’d knock my cap off and toss it around, or hide my lunch, or change the lock on my locker so I was late for class. Just new kid stuff, you know?”
Jazz raised her head, yawned, and let out a puppy moan before settling back down. Riley smoothed the fur on her head. “Anyway, one day after school, they swiped my cap for the twentieth time, ran outside, and threw it in a tree. I got frustrated and yelled at them to give it back. This big guy came up and took up for me. He grabbed one guy by the collar and held him while one of the others climbed up for my hat. When I had the hat back and everyone else split, he introduced himself. It was Rafe. He told me I shouldn’t let them get away with bullying me. That if I’d stick with him for a few days, they’d get the message and leave me alone.”
Riley stared at the wall. Frustration tangled up his insides. “And they did. All the pranks stopped, and I finally had a friend. It felt really good, but it didn’t last long.” He took a sip of his shake.
“About a month after I met him, Rafe caught up with me after school. He said a few guys were having a little party that evening. They invited me to come along, made it sound like a lot of fun. I asked them where, and they told me to meet them on the corner of Fifth and Elm at midnight, and they’d let me tag along.” He glanced at his mom. She didn’t react.
“I climbed out the window that night and rode my bike into town. I chained the bike up at the school and went to meet Rafe. They weren’t there, but I waited. After a few minutes, I heard glass breaking and footsteps. When I looked up, Rafe and his friends were running in my direction. They were laughing and taking selfies with their phones. One of them had a box, and he shoved it into my hands while Rafe snapped more pictures. I looked in the box, and it was full of computer parts.”
Riley felt tears of betrayal sting his eyes. “I tried to give the box back, but they wouldn’t take it. They laughed at me and pulled me under a streetlight so I could see the pictures. There I was, standing there like an idiot, holding a huge box with Randall’s Computer Repair written on it in big black letters.” He wiped the moisture from his eyes.
“I dropped the box, ran back to the school, and rode home. I didn’t want anything to do with Rafe or his friends.”
Mom rubbed his arm. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Riley shrugged. “I didn’t want to be the kid at school who rats out his friends. I decided I’d just stay away from them and let it be. The next week the break in was the big news in town and the cops were looking for the guy who bashed Mr. Randall. Rafe brought the pictures to school. He told me that if I didn’t pay him five hundred dollars, he was going to send the pictures to the cops. And tell them that I was the one who did it.”
He looked at Dane. “That’s why I broke into your van. I managed to scrape together half of what Rafe wanted, but he wanted the rest by last week. I just wanted those pictures. But then you caught me, and I was moving into your house. Then Grandma died. I didn’t have time to get it together. So yesterday was his way of encouraging me to get him the money.”
Riley faced the cop. “I promise I didn’t know what they were doing that night. I didn’t break into that store, I didn’t hurt Mr. Randall.” He closed his eyes. “I just wanted a friend.”