A Conard County Homecoming Page 8

  “I have to admit,” she said, “I never imagined they’d be so big.”

  “Dinosaurs,” Cadell said lightly. Then he pushed Mikey’s wheelchair to a position near Zane. Mikey’s smile faded into a serious expression as he looked at the man.

  “You can use your arms?” Mikey asked.

  “Yeah,” Zane answered. “That makes me lucky. And my dog, Nell, helps a lot. Nell, say hello.” He pointed to Mikey.

  Nell rose and walked over to the boy in the wheelchair. First she sat and looked at him. Then, as if realizing he couldn’t reach out to touch her, she inched forward and rested her head in his lap.

  Ashley glanced at Marian and saw the sheen of tears in her eyes as Joey murmured, “Wow.” Then the boy’s head popped up. “I want one, too,” he told Cadell.

  “That’s what we’re here for. See Joey out in the corral? We’re going to train him for you. It’ll take a little time and you’re going to have to talk to me a lot along the way so I know what you want and need. You okay with that?”

  Mikey’s entire face brightened. “Oh, yeah!”

  Before long, Mikey was out in the corral with both Nell and Joey, Nell helping Cadell make some basic points.

  As much fun as it was to watch, a half hour later Ashley heard Zane sigh faintly. She immediately turned her attention to him. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. Tired. Stress.”

  She hadn’t thought about that. He’d come here to be a hermit, and now he’d spent a great deal of time with a bunch of strangers. He wasn’t used to that, and it must be exhausting. At once she stood up. “Cadell? We need Nell back. Zane’s getting tired.”

  “Mikey probably is, too,” said Marian, speaking for the first time. She’d obviously been enthralled watching her son feel excited about a new world opening up.

  She came to stand in front of Zane. “I can’t thank you enough.” She offered her hand.

  He shook it briefly. “Thank Cadell and my dog. I’ll see you and Mikey again, I’m sure.”

  “I hope so. Mikey’s been feeling like the odd man out. I think you helped with that whether you know it or not.”

  Zane seemed lost in his own thoughts as he rolled himself back to his van, Nell at his side. Ashley didn’t say anything, figuring he’d pushed himself about as far as he wanted to go for one day. It had been amazingly generous of him.

  The silence continued on the drive back to town. Ashley wanted to tell him what a kind thing he’d done today, but somehow she didn’t feel he’d appreciate it. He struck her as a man who did what he chose for his own reasons, and complimenting his generosity would probably feel like a patronizing pat on the head.

  Anyway, the hermit had probably already had as much human interaction as he wanted for one day. When they got home, she was going to thank him and go back to her place.

  Then she remembered his story of how his neighbors had treated him, and the ache returned. She got that people could be difficult to live with, but surely they must have known he was a vet. For crying out loud, he was a man in a wheelchair! But he’d made excuses for them, saying they had children to worry about.

  She sighed quietly, wondering about the whole story. Maybe when he went over the edge it could be loud and frightening. Maybe he yelled things that people didn’t want their kids to hear. About war. About death. She could grasp that, but to evict him?

  Not the kind of neighbors she wanted.

  As they neared town, he broke the silence. “Is Maude’s still as good as it used to be?” He referred to the City Diner, which everyone called by its owner’s name. Maude was an unforgettable gorgon, and she remained in business only because of her fabulous cooking and scrumptious pies.

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Wanna stop and get something?”

  Her brows lifted. Once again he was taking her by surprise. “I thought you’d had enough of people for one day.”

  “I can also recover, you know. I don’t want my own cooking today. So...should I stop? I’d like your company.”

  Maybe that would make it easier for him? Because he’d never really expressed a desire to spend time with her before. But Maude’s was often loud, and those plates and cups banging on the table could sound like gunshots.

  “You remember she slams down the cups and plates?”

  He nodded. “I appreciate you wanting to spare me, but there are some things I need to get past. Going into the diner is at the top of my list. I’ve thought about those steak sandwiches of hers for years. And the pecan pie.”

  “Okay, then.” She was game if he was. And Nell would be there if he started to have a problem.

  There was a van-accessible handicapped parking place not too far down from the diner. He slid into it and turned off the ignition before facing Ashley. “I can’t make any guarantees,” he said. “I could go off the edge.”

  “I didn’t ask for a guarantee. If you want to try, I’m game.”

  * * *

  One hell of a woman, Zane thought as he went through all the steps of getting himself out of the van and his wheelchair onto the sidewalk. Nell, still wearing her vest, realized something unusual was about to happen. He didn’t put it on her for hanging around the house.

  He looked at Ashley and once again thought how beautiful and appealing she was. His groin gave a throb of desire, and he gave a moment of thanks that his injury hadn’t deprived him of his sexual abilities. Partial spinal cord injury. One advantage in that, not that he’d taken much advantage of it.

  But it made him feel almost like a whole man, being able to look at a stunning woman and feel his body respond. It made him feel so good that he didn’t mind that he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. At least not now. It did put a smile on his face.

  The diner didn’t have a ramp, but the lintel wasn’t too high for him to manage. He sensed Ashley’s desire to help—she had this way of fluttering quietly, something she probably did often as a teacher—so he reassured her. “I can do this. I’ll ask you to open the door, though. Nell might damage the knob.”

  “All right.” Smiling, apparently glad to be able to do something, she pulled the door open. With practiced expertise, Zane tipped his chair back a little, got his front wheels over the lintel, and entered the diner.

  It didn’t surprise him when the place quickly quieted down and every eye fixed on him. He’d known it would happen. He just hoped he didn’t have a lot of people who wanted to come over and recall his high school exploits. He wasn’t that kid any longer. Not in the least.

  Ashley quickly pulled a chair out of the way so he could roll up to the table. Nell parked right beside him, at the ready. Ashley sat across from him.

  Then, bit by bit, the diner’s normal noises resumed. And little by little he allowed himself to relax. Nell thrust her head under his hand, asking for a pat now that she could relax as well.

  Maude, looking as if she hadn’t changed one bit in all the intervening years, stomped over with two menus. “Good to see you back, Zane. Coffee?”

  “Yes, thanks. Ashley?”

  “Ashley likes them latte things I make.”

  “Indeed, I do.” Ashley smiled. “Thanks, Maude.”

  “I guess some things do change,” Zane remarked as Maude went to get the coffee. “Lattes here? Never would have dreamed.”

  “I’m still wishing for a Mexican restaurant. And a Chinese one, too. We did get a chain pizza place on the edge of town, though. Popular hangout.”

  “Mostly with young folks,” he guessed. “Man, what I’d have given for that when I was...” He stopped. He didn’t want anyone else taking him down that particular avenue of memory, so why do it himself?

  “It came too late for me, too,” Ashley remarked, easing a moment in which tension had started to grow in him again.

  Nell poked his a
rm with her nose and he looked down. “I’m okay, girl.”

  High school was so far in the past, and so much had happened to him since, that it felt almost like someone else’s memory, or like a book he’d once read. He couldn’t even connect with that young man who’d had such a sunny future and had been blessed with so much athletic talent and so many friends. That guy had used his gifts in the SEALs, forever putting a wall up between him and his youth.

  He looked across the table at Ashley, who was studying her menu as if she didn’t already have it memorized. When he looked at his own, he saw that it hadn’t changed a whole lot. Maude’s famous steak sandwich was still there, and his mouth watered a bit in anticipation. Ashley chose a chef’s salad for herself. Women and their salads, he thought with amusement. Men and their steaks... He almost laughed.

  While they waited for Maude to serve them, a tall, powerfully built man with streaks of gray in his dark hair came over. Zane felt tension creep along his nerves. He recognized the expression in the guy’s eyes.

  “Hey, Ashley,” he said pleasantly. “Introduce me?”

  Ashley bit her lip for a second before looking at Zane. Not knowing what else to do, Zane offered his hand. “Zane McLaren.”

  “Seth Hardin. I must be one of the few guys who didn’t grow up around here, so I never met you before. I’m the old sheriff’s son. Nate Tate’s kid.”

  Well, that explained the resemblance, but not the expression in the eyes. Seth pulled out the chair beside Ashley. “I won’t interrupt your dinner. I just wanted to introduce myself to a fellow traveler.”

  Tension began to wind in Zane again. “SEALs?”

  “Yeah. Retired a few years ago. Team 2.”

  “Team 3.”

  Seth nodded. “There are a few of us around, spec-ops types. Ashley knows my number if you ever want to hang out with any of us. We usually get together on Thursdays once a month to chew the fat together. There’s my wife, too. Former combat search-and-rescue pilot.” Then Seth stood. “Nice meeting you.” With a smile and a nod, he walked out.

  Zane’s lunch plate clattered onto the table in front of him. Ashley’s followed. For a brief while Zane didn’t even smell the delightful aromas.

  Then Nell nudged him back to awareness, and he saw Ashley eyeing him with concern.

  “I’m fine,” he said. “Fine. Let’s eat.”

  “That was nice of Seth,” Ashley offered as she speared some of her salad.

  Was it? Zane supposed it was. After all, he’d exposed himself by coming in here, and if the worst that happened was meeting a fellow SEAL, he’d be doing well. He knew he’d taken a risk facing the noise and Maude’s famous slamming of plates and cups on the tables, but he’d only had the slightest slip, almost undetectable to him but picked up by Nell, who had yanked him right back.

  “I wonder if Maude would kill me if I gave Nell some steak.”

  “I don’t know.” Ashley grinned and looked around until her gaze landed on Maude. The large woman, frowning as usual, stomped over to them.

  “Something wrong?” she demanded.

  Ashley spoke before Zane could. “Zane wants to give his service dog a little of his steak. Do you mind?”

  Because Maude’s feelings had to be treated more carefully than she treated her customers. Zane had been amused by that in the past. He decided to be amused now.

  “Don’t give that dog none of your supper,” Maude groused. “You need to eat.”

  She walked away, leaving Zane and Ashley to look at each other.

  “Guess not,” Ashley said, her lips quivering.

  “Guess not,” Zane agreed. Not that Nell was supposed to eat when she was on duty. Nell knew that, but he could almost feel her salivating. It wasn’t like she had a chance at steak every day. But she remained calmly beside him, attentive to him, not to his plate.

  He was on his second mouthful of that piece of heaven known as a steak sandwich when Maude slammed yet another plate on the table, one that held a decent-size steak all cut up. “Give the animal that. Just make sure you put the plate on the floor. Don’t need no health inspectors on my back.”

  Before Zane could thank her, she had moved away, talking to other customers in her gruff way.

  “Um, wow?” Ashley said.

  “Yeah. Wow.”

  “Need help getting the plate to the floor?”

  “Thanks, but I think I can do it. If I can’t, I’ll let you know.” Twisting, he managed to bend far enough to get the plate to the floor without dropping it. Nell eyed him. “Eat, girl. It’s okay.”

  Nell didn’t need a second invitation. It also didn’t take her very long to empty the plate, but as she licked her chops, she looked completely content.

  He bit into his own sandwich while Ashley said, “Dogs eat so fast. I always wonder how they can enjoy it.”

  “I think they’re wired differently when it comes to food. Imagine a wolf pack lazing around sharing an elk.”

  She laughed. “Good point, Zane.”

  The sandwich was every bit as good as memory had claimed, and before he left with Ashley, he ordered a second to take home with him. Ashley had finished only half her salad and scooped it into a takeout box while he waited.

  Little by little, now that he was done eating, departing diners and newcomers passed his table. Many said quietly, “Welcome home, Zane.” They didn’t pause, didn’t stop to try to converse, just made those quiet statements.

  The wheelchair, he figured. It made people uncomfortable. They probably didn’t want to have a conversation, because they just didn’t know what they could say.

  Great conversation killer, he thought as he pushed himself back from the table. “I got it,” he said to Ashley as she started to pull out her wallet. “Please.”

  She nodded, smiling faintly. With his boxed dinner on his lap, he wheeled up to the cash register and pulled his wallet out of his breast pocket.

  Maude came around and stared at him over the counter. “No charge.”

  “But...”

  “I said no charge. Don’t be arguing with me. Trust me, it won’t happen again, and I better be seeing a lot of you around here.”

  Zane hardly knew how to react. On the one hand, she was being generous, which he didn’t need and which kind of embarrassed him, and on the other, it sounded as if she were scolding him. Well, he remembered there was no arguing with Maude. “Thank you,” he said. Funny how hard it was to say those words sometimes.

  “Thank you,” she answered. “Now get outta here. Weather’s turning bitter and that jacket ain’t enough. Hope you got a better one.”

  Chapter Six

  Maude was right about the weather. The drop in temperature just during the time they’d been inside was startling. When he was securely buttoned into the driver’s seat, he looked over at Ashley. “I didn’t expect any of that.”

  “If you want friends in this town, you seldom have to look hard.”

  He leaned forward, turning on the ignition, pulling them back onto the street. “I don’t remember the old sheriff having a son.”

  “I’m not surprised. He didn’t know about it, either. Apparently his wife, to whom he wasn’t married at the time, got pregnant with Seth while Nate was in Vietnam. Her dad made her give the baby up, and what with her father’s interference, I guess, Nate never heard about Seth until Seth showed up on his doorstep, a grown man in his late twenties. The whole county buzzed about that one.”

  “I can just imagine,” Zane answered drily. “Gossip enough for months.”

  “Almost ended the Tate marriage, too, from what I remember. Anyway, everything’s all patched up and fine for years now.”

  “And his wife? A CSAR pilot?”

  “She was. Afghanistan, mostly. Anyway, she’s piloting our medical and rescue
helicopters now.”

  Things had certainly changed around here, he thought as he drove back to his house. Even Maude, who had once seemed as unchangeable as the mountains, had softened up a bit.

  A veterans’ group meeting. He didn’t remember if there’d been one when he was in high school, but he supposed he wouldn’t have been interested. His thoughts turned back to those years, and he realized he had some assessing to do.

  “Come in?” he asked Ashley as they parked in his driveway.

  She didn’t hesitate, which relieved him, which meant he hadn’t done something to disturb her today. Yet. “Sure,” she said and climbed out.

  His own exit took a little longer, and Ashley was waiting for him on the porch by the time he rolled up the ramp.

  Nell took a quick dash in the yard, then followed eagerly into the house. The dog was good at fitting in her business when she had the chance.

  “Stay for a while,” he asked Ashley. “I can offer you a soft drink if you’d like.”

  She held up her latte cup. “Still plenty here.”

  He rolled into the kitchen and up to the table, where he placed the box holding his extra meal. He didn’t go into the living room much. Getting on and off the sofa was a pain, hardly worth the effort most of the time. He supposed he could hang a bar in there like he had over his bed so he could pull himself up and over, but he hadn’t felt particularly motivated yet.

  But then, almost before he knew what he was doing, he tugged on Ashley’s hand until she slid into his lap.

  “If I’m outta line, tell me,” he said gruffly. “No social skills, like I said.”

  He watched one corner of her mouth curve upward. “I don’t usually like to be manhandled. However, this time I think I’ll make an exception. What brought this on?”

  “You have any idea how long it’s been since I had an attractive woman in my lap?” With those words he felt almost as if he had stripped his psyche bare. Had he gone over some new kind of cliff?