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Belle pulled up and stopped her vehicle in front of Ezra, which caught him off guard. It had been two days since he had visited Hadley, and yesterday he signed his paperwork with Living River Ranch to work on Scout’s maintenance team. He was excited to be going back to work on Monday. It would be good to be outside, using his hands and making a decent living. Now, he just had one more person to see about his resurgence here in Little Bend.
Mindie Amos had been a second mother to him. He spent so much time here, that half of his pictures from childhood events were taken in the house he now stood staring at. As Hadley came out of the house toward him, he couldn’t help but smile. The girl he had known in high school, had grown into a confident, gorgeous woman. He realized how wrong those thoughts were because that was a train that had already left the station. With so much history behind him, getting a relationship back on track was not feasible. Though, she would remain the single reason no woman could ever measure up in his eyes.
Her long brunette hair was piled on top of her head, with no makeup on her perfect skin. She had the tiniest dusting of freckles to add character to her flawless face. It was the eyes, though, those dancing emerald green eyes. They changed color with her moods from deep-sea green to a lighter dusty color. He had known whatever shade meant once upon a time. Now, though, this woman hid a lot behind those shuttered features.
“Okay, I did as you said and told her you were coming over,” she said to Belle.
“Great. And did you tell her about the company?”
Hadley’s face turned a dusky pink. “I couldn’t. I realized that she would figure out who it was, by my reaction. I’m sorry.”
“Hey,” Belle said. “I’m here to help.”
Ezra watched the bobbling back and forth between the women. He knew they kept saying Mindie was not good, but this level of tension put him on edge. “Will there be a problem? Should I maybe call her instead? I don’t want to cause issues.”
Belle turned toward him, “I don’t know how to prepare you, but things have gotten terrible. Mindie requires things to remain as they are and has gathered a lot of stuff around her. It is a coping mechanism of sorts, but we just don’t know how she will react to your presence. She may become belligerent.”
“Mindie?” He said, glancing at Hadley.
She simply nodded, with her eyes down-turned.
Ezra registered how bad the situation indeed was, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize it. I know grief is a tough thing to overcome,” he said, honestly. Thomas still was something he was uncomfortable discussing. The VA doctors had tried to work through exercises to help, but it was marginally successful.
“Hey, we take one day at a time. And sometimes, like today, we try something new,” Hadley said, as he walked up the stone walkway. As he crossed the threshold, his eyes had to adjust as the lighting in the house was dim.
Hadley closed the door behind him. “She doesn’t like the sunlight, so it’s pretty dim,” she said, and the look on her face appeared ashamed.
“No worries,” he said, trying to reassure.
As they tried to walk through the hallway, Belle turned back to look at him. The piles of stuff filled the lengthy walk, and while it was neat, probably Hadley’s doing, it was nearly impassable.
The living room surrounding Mindie’s chair upon which she sat was worse. Things were piled everywhere. He moved from behind Belle and then walked to the front of Mindie. When he was within a few feet, he crouched down.
“Hey Mindie,” he said, quietly.
Her lip quivered, and her eyes filled with tears that erupted down her face. For a minute, she appeared to be ultimately in shock, before she moved slightly forward and laid her head on his shoulder. “I missed you so much,” she whispered.
Ezra felt the tears in his own eyes give way as he glanced up at Hadley. She was bawling.
No words needed to be spoken.
