The River Rolls On (Bellingwood Book 10) (17 page)

She took his hand and smiled. "I'm never going to get you to call me Polly, am I?"

"I try," he responded, with a slight bow.

Polly climbed down and could tell that it had been a while since she'd ridden. The muscles in her legs felt wobbly and she decided to stand still in one place until they didn't threaten to collapse.

Tonya tried to swing herself off Nat's back and ended up on her butt on the ground. Nat looked down at her, huffed and stepped away.

"Damn it," she said, standing up. "That's further than I thought! I was sure I had it." She looked around, her face red with embarrassment.

Eliseo walked over and clapped his hand on her back. "I shouldn't tell you that the first time I tried to dismount from Nan, I did the same thing. But I did it in the privacy of the barn with no one there to catch me." He turned to Polly. "I was so glad you didn't see that happen. You never would have hired me."

She shook her head with a smile and swiped her phone open to call Aaron.

"Two days in a row?" he asked. "We haven't finished the other site yet."

"No, that's not it. I promise. It's just that I think I saw my truck."

At his silence, she knew she had his attention. "Where are you?"

"I'm perfectly safe. Eliseo, Tonya and I are at Ralph Bedford's house on the horses. But I saw it turn west on the gravel road just north of here."

"Are you sure it's your truck?"

Polly looked at Eliseo and pursed her lips. "Eliseo says there are a lot of trucks like mine, so I'm not a hundred percent positive, but I'd say maybe eight-five percent."

"Do you think they were following you?"

Her heart sank when he said it out loud. It was one thing for Tonya and Eliseo to speculate, but Aaron was too close to her. "Crap. I suppose so. We rode over to Joss and Nate's new place and then down here. Do you think they're keeping that close an eye on me?"

"I don't know what to think. But, I'd like you to stay safe, so pay attention to what your people tell you to do, okay? We'll check for the truck. Thanks for calling."

She tucked her phone back into a pocket and walked over to Tonya.

She was talking to someone on her head piece. She held a finger up and then said, "If they're this close to you, I want to get you home in a vehicle, not on horseback. It's too exposed."

Polly nodded. "Can we stay for coffee?"

"Sure," Tonya said. "We're not in a hurry. Gerry will be here in a few. Eliseo, can we lead her horse back?"

"Unless Ralph wants to ride back with us," Eliseo said. "I'll give you a ride home later on, old man." He smiled at his friend.

"Come on over to the porch," Ralph said. "I have coffee or lemonade." He winked at Polly. "And your Mrs. Donovan sent cookies home with me the other day. She's trying to fatten me up. I'm going to be in terrible shape when you open that bakery. She's a magician."

"Where's your new truck?" Polly asked.

The old truck was still parked in the yard, but its rear left tire had gone flat. The poor old thing looked like it had been lamed and left to die.

"I cleaned out the garage for her," Ralph said. "It only seemed fitting that she have a good home out of the elements. She's awfully pretty."

Polly followed him to the garage and he bent over and pulled the door up. It creaked and groaned and as it rose, she glanced at Eliseo, who was doing everything in his power not to laugh.

Ralph Bedford's truck
was
pretty. It was also bright orange. Polly walked around the side and discovered that it had flames painted from front to back.

"Mr. Bedford!" she exclaimed.

"If you want me to call you Polly, you'd best use my first name. What do you think?"

"I think it's wonderful. Did you buy it like this or have the paint job done?"

"I had it done," he announced proudly. "I've always wanted to do something wild with my trucks, but thought I was getting too old to pull it off. My buddy here told me that I was just old enough to do whatever I wanted. Ain't it pretty?"

"It's wonderful." Polly started to laugh and tried to hold it back. "I can't believe this. It's really wonderful. At least I will know who is driving this truck when I see it coming down the road."

"Yes you will," he said, a huge grin on his face. "And all you have to do is wave and I'll stop and pick you up. I'll take you anywhere. You think the kids in town will be jealous?"

She laughed again, this time a snort escaping through her nose. "If they aren't, too bad for them." Polly pulled him into a hug. "Do you have any idea how happy this makes me today?"

"Aww," he said. "I'm just a simple man with simple tastes." He turned to grin at Eliseo. "And a flashy truck to show off."

"I told you she'd like it," Eliseo said. "Who wouldn't?"

Polly slipped her hand in the crook of Mr. Bedford's arm as they walked back to the porch. "So. Is there a pretty woman out there who's caught your eye? Because with a truck like that, you're going to have to beat them off with a stick."

He gave her a sly grin. "I don't have a woman yet, but when I drive this down to the senior center in Boone, you can bet your sweet bippy I'll be keeping an eye out for one of them to act interested."

"Of course you will," she said.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Enveloped in the steam and warmth from a second shower that morning, Polly was trying desperately not to be depressed. Gerry had arrived at Ralph Bedford's to take her home. Polly had stopped along the way to the car to hug Demi's neck. He seemed to sense something was wrong and wrapped himself around her, letting Polly hold on as long as she wanted. He was such a good horse.

Mr. Bedford decided that he had a few things he could do in the garden at Sycamore House and was glad to go for a ride. He admitted that it would have been more fun to show off his new truck, but he had plenty of time and when an opportunity like this presented itself, he should grab it by the reins, so to speak.

In the few minutes it took to get home, Gerry and Polly didn't say much. Polly thanked her and then went inside and up the back steps to her apartment. If this didn't get settled soon, she was going to borrow a shotgun and lie in wait for those two men. It was time for their tyranny to come to an end.

She let the hot water roll off her back and thought about different ways she could trap them. Nothing extraordinary presented itself, which frustrated her even more. By the time she was dressed and in the kitchen, the only idea she had was the shotgun and she knew her aim would be bad enough that she'd miss and make more of a mess than things already were.

Henry had expected her excursion to take most of the morning and now here she was, back in the same place, with nothing to do.

Her phone rang. Polly looked at the number and didn't recognize it.

"Hello?" she said.

"Ms. Giller? This is Mrs. Hastings, Rebecca's teacher."

Polly breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't anything else, and then realized that this probably wasn't good news either. "Hi there. Is everything okay with Rebecca?"

"She's fine. But how are you?"

"I'm okay," Polly said. "I guess I just need to get through this. But what's going on with Rebecca?"

"It's nothing to worry about, but would you consider letting her come home? She's finished enough work for the school year and I'll be honest, she isn't engaged at all. Andrew tells me that her mother is close to dying and I wonder if it wouldn't be better for her to just be there."

Polly felt horrible. She'd been so involved with her own mess that she hadn't paid close enough attention to the little girl who, at this point, was her daughter. Rebecca had been struggling through this last week alone, going through the motions every day because it was expected of her.

"Ms. Giller?"

"I'm sorry. I just realized how unengaged I've been. Of course we'll come get her. I hoped that school would be a distraction from all the time she's spent with her mother. But you're right, it's probably too much for her to handle right now."

Mrs. Hastings waited and then said, "I haven't spoken to her. I wanted to talk to you first, but if you'd like to come get her, I think she'd be glad of that. Andrew, Kayla and I will clean out her desk."

"I'm not sure who will be there to pick Rebecca up," Polly said. "I don't have a vehicle right now. It will be someone Rebecca knows, though. I'll call Lydia Merritt or ask Sylvie Donovan to do this for me. Please don't let her go with anyone else."

"Absolutely. Just have them stop in the office and I'll be sure that Rebecca knows there isn't any emergency."

"Thank you so much for taking care of her these last few months," Polly said. "We couldn't have done this school year without you."

"She's a good kid and I hope next year goes better for her."

Polly smiled. This was one of the blessings of living in a small town. "Thank you again."

"And please, if anything happens to Mrs. Heater in the next few days, let me know?"

"Absolutely."

They hung up and Polly took a breath, then headed down the back stairs for the kitchen. Sylvie and Rachel were sitting at the long table in the back and looked up when she came in.

"What's up?" Sylvie asked.

"I have a huge favor. Would you mind going to get Rebecca from school? Her teacher just called and that poor girl needs to be here rather than there. I don't have a car and I don't think my bodyguards would let me leave by myself anyway."

Sylvie was already up and moving. "Of course. Do they know I'm coming for her?"

"I told them it would be either you or Lydia. Mrs. Hastings said to go to the office and they'd call for Rebecca."

"I'll be right back. Do you want her to come upstairs to your place or go see her mom?"

"I need to spend time with her, but I've not wanted to intrude on what little time she has left with Sarah. And honestly, I feel like I've been a horrible friend to her this last week. I've been so caught up in my own damned pity party."

Sylvie grabbed Polly into a hug and said, "How about you give yourself a break. Rebecca has been where she wanted to be. She's been where she needed to be. You two have a lifetime ahead to talk about her grief and your fears. Okay?"

Polly chuckled. "You are good for me, Mrs. Donovan."

"Yeah. We don't do heavy emotions at my house," Sylvie said with a grin. "And besides, who's got time for all of that self-flagellation. Moving on ... right?"

"Right."             

"Go back upstairs and I'll send her up when we get here. Give her a hug, make her take a nap with the dogs and cats and then let her spend time with her mother when she's ready."

Polly walked with Sylvie into the back hallway. She watched her go out the garage door to the back parking lot and then went on upstairs. Since Han and Obiwan were on the top landing waiting for her, she sat down and leaned against the wall.

Han tried to wriggle into her lap, but he was getting much too big for that. She nuzzled the top of his head and twisted so she could put her arms around Obiwan's neck. Even on the days he smelled most like a dog, he still calmed her.

She shut her eyes and took a few deep, cleansing breaths. Sylvie was right. She and Rebecca had time ahead of them to work out the kinks that had been introduced over the last week or so. They hadn't had time to talk about Polly's kidnapping or even about what Rebecca was going through.

Rebecca wasn't going to want to talk about it for a while. While she was in the middle of caring for her mom, that was all she had the energy to do. When Polly's mother died, her emotions were so chaotic she wasn't able to identify them until several days after the death. Everything was done by rote as they prepared for the funeral. She existed inside herself until the last person had finally gone home. Even then, the abrupt transformation back to a normal life had left her feeling disjointed. For months, the focus of every day had been around her mother. Without that focus, it had taken time for everyone to find their way out of it.

Obiwan sat straight up and gave a happy bark. Rebecca must be home. Polly stayed where she was and waited.

It didn't take long for the downstairs door to open. Polly was shocked at how frail the little girl looked. She obviously hadn't been eating, her eyes were dark and though she'd pulled her hair back into a pony tail, there was little attention given to it. Evelyn Morrow had done her best, but this wasn't a time to expect much.

"Sylvie said you wanted to see me," Rebecca said, coming up the steps.

"I've missed you," Polly said. She patted Han's head. "We've all missed you."

Rebecca bowed her head. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, no, no, no," Polly said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. You're doing what you need to be doing. I just wanted you to know that we love you, even if I'm not with you all the time."

"I know that. Is it okay that I'm home from school?"

Polly patted the floor beside her. "Sit down here for a few minutes." She didn't try to hug Rebecca or touch her. The girl would let her know what she needed. "Mrs. Hastings called this morning and said there was no reason for you to stay there when your heart and mind were here with your mom."

"Oh."

"Rebecca, I'm so sorry. I should have realized that and been the one to help you make that decision."

"That's okay. I can't believe I don't have to go back to school."

"You know that if you want to, you can always go back."

Rebecca shook her head. "No. I'm not paying attention anyway." She looked down again. "I'm so tired."

"I'll bet you are. Would you like to crawl into your bed and take a nap with the animals?"

"Nah."

"I haven't been sleeping either," Polly said.

"Because there are bad men in town?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"I heard about it, but you didn't say anything, so I thought you didn't want to tell me."

Polly chuckled. "I suppose I didn't. I figured you had enough to think about."

Rebecca looked into Polly's eyes. "I'm tired of thinking about death all the time. Does that make me a bad person?"

"Oh honey, no. You're fine!"

"I don't want my mom to die." Rebecca bowed her head again, "but I want this to be over. So does she. She's so worn out. Why won't she just give up and die?"

"I don't know why people wait," Polly said. "But when it's the right time, she'll finally go."

"I feel so guilty sometimes."

"Because you want this to be done?"

"Yeah and because I want to play up here with Andrew and Kayla again. I want to feel happy again and go do things with you."

"I get that," Polly said with a sad smile.

"If Mom was going to get better, it would be great, but it's too late for that."

Polly put her hand on Rebecca's leg. "You're awfully wise for someone so young."

"You learn a lot when your mom is dying," she said flatly. "But you know that, don't you, Polly?"

Rebecca sounded so adult. It wasn't fair that she had to go through this, but Polly knew kids all over faced difficult things every day.

"I'm tired and you're tired. What if we went into my bed and just put our heads on the pillows? Do you think we might take a quick nap?"

"You don't think I'm terrible for wanting to be normal?" Rebecca pressed.

Polly stood up and held her hand out to Rebecca. "Honey, I think you're just perfect. You've been dreading this day for the last year or so and now that it's here, it isn't quite as horrible as you thought. But you don't want to draw it out any longer than necessary, right?"

"Yes!" Rebecca exclaimed. "You really do get it."

They walked through the apartment to Polly's bedroom. "This happens. Not just with death, but with other things, too. It's not always this difficult, but it's never easy."

Rebecca hopped up on the bed and kicked her shoes off. Polly shook out a couple of blankets and threw one over Rebecca and then dropped down on her side of the bed and pulled the other up and over her shoulders. They turned to face each other and again Polly was surprised at how much Rebecca had grown up. She kept wanting to call her a little girl, but the 'little' was gone. Rebecca was nearly five foot tall and her face had lost its cherubic qualities this last year. Today she was finished with sixth grade and junior high was just around the corner.

"Kayla was wondering something," Rebecca said.

"What's that?"

"Since we're going to be in seventh grade next year, do you think we could take those babysitting classes this summer and maybe start making money?"

Polly propped her head up on her hand. "Sure, why not? Do you have any information yet?"

Rebecca smiled and nodded. "We did some checking. They have a class on a Saturday in June. It costs twenty dollars, though."

"Let me talk to Stephanie and we'll see what we can do to fund your class. I'd be glad to take you down. Do you think Andrew would want to do this too?"

"He thinks it's silly. He says that he can make enough money here if he needs it."

Polly chuckled. "He could certainly make more money if he put his mind to it. What made you and Kayla think about babysitting?"

Rebecca nestled her head into the pillow and wrapped her arm around Han. She yawned and said, "Molly is so cute and I never get to see her. Ever since Jessie moved out, she's too busy to come by."