The Touch (Healer Series) (5 page)

  
“I do miss him.
Every day.
But that doesn’t mean I’m lonely. I have friends, I have a beautiful family.”

  
She stopped watering long enough to turn
around and face Addie, putting her granddaughter’s chin into her weathered
hand.

  
“I’d rather live with both of those things
than with a man who treated me poorly.”

  
“Gram, you’ve never seen him do anything
mean.”

  
“Not personally, but the town talks and people
see. Good, God-fearing people who don’t lie. They don’t like seeing him
treating you like you’re nothing.”

  
“Gram, drop it.”

  
Addie was getting frustrated now. She didn’t
particularly care for Joseph either. She liked not being alone. It was pretty
slim pickings in a town this small; even smaller when you had a baby at 17.

  
“Okay, okay. Tell me instead about this new
boy in town. I hear he’s been around you quite a bit.”

  
“This town really does know everything. He’s
just a newbie in town and needs some showing around.”

  
“I heard from Patricia down at the café that
he is one fine male specimen.”

  
Addie rolled her eyes.

  
“Gram!
Stop talking
about it. He’s a stranger! He could be a mass murderer for all you know and you
go around talking like he’s a prince. You haven’t even met him. He can be
kinda
rude.”

  
“Rude is a step above fertilizer, dear,” Gram
said, winking again.

  
There was silence as Addie tried to change
the tune of the conversation. There was a thought though that she couldn’t get
out of her mind.

  
“Gram, have you ever been shocked, so to
speak, when someone touched you?
Not just the electrical
kind, but…I don’t know how to explain it
; a jolt just goes through you
like a bolt of lightning.”

  
“Depends.
Was it
Joseph or stranger?”

  
“For the sake of argument, let’s say stranger.”

  
“I’d say it probably was the same feeling I
had when I met your Granddad. It feels like an awakening. Like you know there
is something to this person. Like there are fireworks.”

  
“I thought fireworks were just from kissing.”

  
“Not all the time, dear. Sometimes it’s a
look or a touch. Something inside you just screams that maybe this is someone
important. And I like the way this sounds, you having this feeling.”

  
“Didn’t say I did.
Was a girlfriend of
mine.
”

  
“Which one?”

  
“One you don’t know.”

  
“I know everyone in town, dear.”

  
“Well then, you can find out from one of your
gossip minions.”

  
Addie laughed, hopping down off the wall.

  
As her granddaughter walked towards the house
to get Rose, a breeze swept through Jane’s hair and she looked around. The town
seemed different somehow, and she had a feeling that something positive was
there among them. She’d had the feeling before, yet she couldn’t be sure it was
the same. It was a different smell of the breeze, a different feeling in the
air, and she was excited for the changes it might bring to the sleepy old town.

3
The Caretaker

Out in
the yard, AJ was helping Matthew clean up some of the landscaping. Hotter than
he had remembered spring being, the sun was filling a cloudless sky and
reigning down heat on them. AJ had long ago taken off his shirt and changed out
of his jeans, throwing on his trademark cargo shorts. They always stuck out
like a sore thumb in the city where people were dressed to the nines. They were
his style though, loose and
laid
back, and if he found
a pair he liked he would buy them in every color.

  
He wiped his forehead with the back of his
hand, leaving a smudge of dirt below his hairline. His hair was getting a
little shaggier than normal. He almost liked the new look.

  
The old truck pulled up the neighboring
driveway and out jumped the girl that AJ had become fascinated with. He leaned
one arm on his shovel and stood there for a moment, watching without even
realizing he was. Maybe it was the fact that he knew he couldn’t have her that
made her so enticing to look at. She was a puzzle and since he couldn’t figure
out his own life, maybe figuring out hers would be fun.

  
As Addie got out she shot him a look over the
bed of the truck and grabbed her bag, noticing out of the corner of her eye
that his groceries were in there. She partly suspected that was on purpose
until she saw remnants of the sandwich he had set on top. Setting her own bags
down and picking his up, she walked over towards the two men.

  
“You forgot something,” she said, nearly
dropping the bag into his outstretched arm. She feigned annoyance. It was just
that though – feigning.

  
“Thanks,” he replied with a smile that she
had grown accustomed to seeing after only two days.
 
He had a great one. One side of his mouth
always turned up a bit more than the other and created a dimple. Dimples were cute
on anyone; she thought they were especially cute on him.

  
“Don’t let it happen again,” she continued,
walking back towards her home, taking a moment to glance back over her shoulder
and smile at him. It felt good to smile a real smile she thought, realizing
that around him her smiles weren’t the normal false ones she plastered on with
a sense of bravado.

  
He was only two days in, and he felt like a
completely different person than he had been a mere week ago. In the past he
hadn’t wanted to be near people. He preferred his solitude, as lonely as it was
for him. He watched people and didn’t get close to them. Something about being
in this tiny town was making him want to open up, help out, be around people.
Everyone was so friendly and part of him felt like perhaps he could be part of
a family – even if it included an entire town – again. He wondered though if
they would ever truly be family since he would always have to lie to them about
who he was, in some aspect.

  
As she walked through her door he stopped
watching long enough to pick up his shovel and move towards the house to put
the bag of groceries away, first locking eyes with a grinning Matthew. The old
man’s wrinkled face looked as though he remembered what it was like to be
entranced by a girl. AJ imagined what he and Helen must have been like when
they were younger.

  
“You’re playing with fire boy,” he said,
shaking his head with a laugh. “Something tells me you’re not the type afraid
to get burned though.”

  
Matthew was glad in a way that AJ had
developed a fascination with the girl next door. He took enjoyment in the fact
that it was probably eating Joseph from the inside out. AJ smiled a bashful
smile and went inside. He felt guilty at that point bringing a bag of food up
to his room, so instead he began taking everything out on the counter after
removing his dirty gloves. Helen was in the kitchen, getting dinner ready.

  
“What’s that?” she asked, leaning back from
the stove to peek at what he was doing.

  
“I’m not much of a cook. That being said, I
wanted to be able to bring a little something into the house. Just some snacks
and
treats,
nothing big. This way, I won’t feel like
I’m eating you out of house and home.”

  
“Please don’t tell me there’s anything
wrapped in plastic in there.”

  
AJ nodded with a sideways grin.
Helen didn’t believe in anything not home-made.

  
“Don’t be silly, I love cooking. But thank
you. Matthew and I enjoy a cupcake now and then.” She was genuinely sweet, and
reminded AJ of his own mother. Perhaps that was why he felt so at home.

**************************************************

  
Pulling up to the dilapidated old shop the
next morning AJ waved at Bob as the disgruntled mechanic responded with an eye
roll and nod. He laughed, thinking to himself that he’d be able to break Bob
someday and get the old guy to loosen up. “Break ‘
em
with kindness,” he whispered to himself.

  
Getting out of the car he shut the door and
walked towards his new boss. Bob tossed a pair of tattered navy blue coveralls
at him. The name on the front said “Tim” and AJ just hoped Tim hadn’t been
short or extremely thin.

  
“Here you go, to keep your clothes clean.
It’s our uniform,” Bob said, as he signaled to AJ to follow him.

  
AJ slipped his legs into them and over his
clothes, buttoning them up as he followed Bob into the shop.

  
“You can start by getting this tractor to run
for Matthew. I owe him that much for finding me someone to work. If you work,
that is,” Bob grunted. “I took a look at it, but I’m better at fixing bikes.
That’s why I need someone who can work on the cars and such.”

  
AJ nodded, and before he could ask, Bob began
talking again. “The tools are all here in the garage. Got everything ever made,
I’m pretty sure. You can use it all, just don’t break it. If you break it, it
comes
outta
your pay, understand?”

  
“Understood,” AJ said, looking around. Bob
grunted again and started walking away.

  
“You get a lunch break that lasts an hour.
Take a break here and there if you want. Workday ends at 5, but if
ya
need to leave early or
somethin
’,
we can talk about that.”

  
“Got it, boss,” AJ said, grinning. He knew
there was more to Bob, and he was determined to find the diamond in his rough
exterior.

  
With Bob off working on who knows what, AJ
was left to his own devices. He leaned over the old green tractor trying to
figure out how he would get to the parts he needed to look at. As a city boy
his expertise had been trucks and cars; he tried to convince himself a tractor
couldn’t be too far off.

  
Around lunchtime, he unbuttoned the top of
his coveralls and pulled his muscular arms out of the sleeves. It was beyond
hot in this little town and he needed to cool off. He tied the arms around his
waist hoping that Bob wouldn’t mind a little deviation in the uniforms. If he
put up a fuss, AJ would wear them the right way. It wasn’t worth getting the
man signing his paycheck all steamed up.

  
Just as he sat down on the bench out front to
eat the sandwich Helen had dropped off a bit earlier, he heard a familiar truck
sputtering up the street. It pulled into the parking lot sitting in front of
him and he looked up from his seat towards the driver’s window.

  
The door swung open and the sun was directly
behind her and blinding him from seeing the details of her face, as she stepped
down and out of the direct sunlight forcing him to smile.

  
Damn if he couldn’t help it. She was
something beautiful.

  
“I believe we have a deal,” Addie said,
swinging the door closed. “You fix my car, I show you around town. Fair’s
fair.”

  
“Sure Joseph is going to go along with this?”

  
“Doesn’t have a choice
since I sent him packing this morning.”

  
She didn’t make eye contact with him because
she didn’t want to smile and certainly didn’t want to see his face light up. AJ
raised an eyebrow, a grin spreading across his face even bigger than the one
he’d had before.

  
“Don’t go
thinkin
’
you had anything to do with this, stranger,” she said, turning to glance at him
over her shoulder with a sly look on her face.

  
“I wouldn’t dare,” he replied mockingly. It
was in that moment his smile faded. He enjoyed teasing her about Joseph because
as long as she had someone – no matter how badly AJ wished she had someone
better – the flirting was innocent. He knew he would never be free to be with
Addie and knowing she was single now added a wrench into whatever their
relationship was. He felt a weight off of his chest knowing the guy was out of
the picture but came right back on knowing he couldn’t lead her on anymore.

  
“I figured I’ve made enough mistakes in life,
maybe it’s time that I grow up a bit and start making the right ones. For Rose,
ya
know.”

  
“Good for you,” he continued, trying to
change his demeanor. “There’s someone better out there for you anyway.”

  
“I doubt that. I think I’ve had my share of
the wrong guys. And Mr. Right hasn’t found his way to this town either,” she said,
turning back to lift her bag out of the back of the pickup bed.

  
Swinging it over her shoulder, she turned
around to face him again. “How long you think it’ll take?”

  
She couldn’t help but notice the way the sun
reflected off his body, thanks to the sweat dotting his chest and arms.
Normally, she hated sweat and thought it completely disgusting. On him it was
something entirely different; attractive even.

  
He thought about what he’d seen when he’d
checked under the hood last.

  
“Depends on what parts Bob has around here. I
can probably do most of the work today.
Maybe about five
tonight?”

  
“Sounds good!” echoed a voice from behind
Addie, through the window of a bronze Cadillac that had pulled up to the shop.
“And after the car is done, why don’t you come on back with Addie to my place
for some dinner? It’s the least we can do.”

  
“Gram!”
Addie said,
snapping her head towards her grandmother and giving her the evil eye. Gram
raised her sunglasses up.

  
“What? I’m just a polite, old southern lady
asking a strapping young man to come to dinner as a thank you for his help.
That’s how we do it down here!”

  
Lowering her sunglasses, the smile on Gram’s
face continued to beam. AJ laughed. He knew he should have said no, and before
his mind could force the words he called out, “Sounds great, ma’am! I’d love
to. Thank you for the invite, although you might have to battle Helen. She
hasn’t gotten to feed me much today and she loves to cook.”

  
“Don’t you worry about Helen, I can handle
her. You just come on over when that truck is done.”

  
Addie looked back at AJ with a sneer. Yes, he
was beyond handsome and fascinating as a stranger. She simply didn’t want him
to think she would just fall right into his arms; his strong, muscular arms.

  
“Gram, let’s go!” she said, somewhat hurrying
towards the car, slamming the door and whispering something to her grandmother
softly enough that AJ couldn’t hear.

  
The rest of the day flew by as he worked his
tail off to make Addie’s truck run. There was a sense of motivation in seeing
her lips turn upwards at the corners. Luckily Bob had a majority of the parts
and AJ asked if he could dock it out of his first paycheck, to which Bob
agreed. By the time Addie pulled up with her grandma, AJ was turning the wrench
a final couple times and closing the hood, wiping down his forehead with his
tank. As he lifted it up, Addie could see the actual abs she’d only seen
outlined before through his shirt. It made her heart race and that scared her a
bit. Joseph hadn’t had a body even remotely close to this one and she couldn’t
help herself. She liked AJ’s something fierce.

  
Addie got out of Gram’s car, and Gram sped
out of there, hollering from the window, “See you in a bit!” and leaving no
choice but for Addie to drive with AJ.

  
“Guess it’s just us,” AJ said, with a smile.

  
“Guess so.”

  
“I can follow you there in my car if you
want. Or you can give me directions. I’m a little gross and dirty, so I could
meet you over there after I shower.”