Susan Sleeman - Silent Sabotage

FOUR

The afternoon flew by and Emily couldn’t believe she’d managed to get everything organized for the small carnival. She wouldn’t have been able to do it without Archer. He pitched in wherever needed, and that included the last item on her list, gathering eggs from the coop so she could sell them. She’d built rollout nest boxes that would allow him simply to open the back to retrieve eggs without entering the coop or sticking his hand under a chicken, but he still puckered his lips as he started gathering.

She forced her mind from those lips that she suspected had kissed many women and went over her list one more time. She realized she hadn’t seen Birdie for some time so she went to check on her and found her in the kitchen eating a large bowl of cereal.

Emily watched her aunt from the door for a few moments. She had a mop of wild, curly hair that she’d clipped up in the back, leaving tendrils sticking out in every direction. She’d changed into striped capris and a short-sleeved blue T-shirt much more in keeping with the warm temps.

She suddenly looked up and noticed Emily. The smile Emily treasured slid across Birdie’s face and brought tears to Emily’s eyes. She had to cherish each and every one of these smiles, as there were fewer and fewer of them as time passed.

“Hi, sweetie,” she said, her eyes clear and present in the moment.

Emily’s heart lifted at the return of her aunt. “The fund-raiser is all set up. Why don’t you come out and have some fun for a change?”

“I’m way too tired to attend.” She yawned and stretched. “I’m going to finish up my cereal and go to bed.”

Concerned, Emily stepped inside. “You’re not feeling ill are you?”

Birdie shook her head, her curls springing in every direction. “Stop worrying about me. Go enjoy the event you worked so hard to prepare, and I’ll be fine.”

“We do have a nice crowd building out there. I’m sure we’ll raise at least enough money for another loan payment.”

Birdie frowned and pushed back from the table. “I’m sorry I put you in this position.”

“It’s not your fault, and I won’t have you worrying about it.” Emily squeezed her aunt’s shoulders. “I’ll save some of the goodies for you so you can have them for lunch tomorrow.”

Birdie clutched Emily’s hand, as tears started to glisten in her own eyes. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Memories of walking through the same back door with a small suitcase and a broken heart washed over Emily. More tears threatened, but she forced them back and smiled. “Then we’re even. I had the same feeling many years ago when I came to live with you. Who knows what would have happened to me without your love and support. Now it’s my turn to give back.”

“Thank you for being so gracious.” Birdie gave Emily’s hand a kiss then released it. “Now scoot.”

Emily didn’t move. She wanted to stay. To enjoy the time when Birdie’s memory was so clear. To just bask in her aunt’s presence and enjoy the only person who’d loved her unconditionally. How she was going to miss the warmth, the affection when Birdie’s memory had been fully eclipsed.

She grabbed Birdie in a hug and held tight.

“Now, now,” Birdie cooed. “Everything’s going to be all right.”

No, it wouldn’t. Birdie would forget everything, even basic bodily functions, and Emily would be all alone unless she did something about it. But what could she do? Men were off-limits. She’d been raised in a highly dysfunctional and chaotic home. An alcoholic father who caroused and had affairs. A mother who paid him back with affairs of her own and didn’t bother to hide them. They fought all the time. Bickering. Snapping. Mean, ugly fights.

When the arguing got brutal, Emily had learned to take control of her own life. To go to the library or when it was closed to take a stroll through the park. Then her father took off and when Emily was thirteen, her mother chose a man who didn’t want children. So her mother left Emily on Birdie’s doorstep. Life might have been tough and her mother less than the parent Emily had wanted, but she was her mother and Emily had grieved her leaving like a death in the family.

Emily vowed then and there that she would never be hurt again. And to make sure that didn’t happen, she took control of everything. Of herself. Her surroundings. And she never...never...gave her heart to a man as her mother had done so many times.

Better to live alone as Birdie had all of her life. It had worked so far, and Emily was happier than her mother and father ever were. She wasn’t about to change that now. Especially for a man whose smile reminded her of all the men her mother readily gave in to.

Emily kissed Birdie’s papery cheek and went back outside just in time to see Archer come up the hill with a full basket of eggs. They were basically clean but had a few feathers and bits of shavings on them.

Not that Archer noticed. He had that same puckered expression lingering on his handsome face. “I imagine you want me to wash these before you sell them.”

“Washing eggs can allow bacteria to get inside the shell.” She grabbed a rag sitting by the empty cartons and handed it to him. “Just wipe the outside and put them in the cartons.”

His pucker grew, and she had to fight back a laugh. He was obviously a clean freak, and he was torn between handling the eggs again and running in the other direction.

“I can do it if you don’t want to,” she offered.

He shook his head hard and firmed his brow in determination. “No. I got it.”

The thought of having a guy around who put her needs first as he’d been doing brought a trickle of joy and she forced it away. The last thing she needed was to be beholden to this man.

“FYI,” he added. “Jake just texted me with an update on the shooting victims. Two are in stable condition and should be released soon.”

“And the other one?”

He frowned. “In surgery. He lost a lot of blood and is in critical condition.”

“Then he needs our prayers more than ever,” she replied softly, vowing to redouble her efforts to pray on his behalf. “Will Deputy Marsh keep you updated if anything changes?”

Archer nodded. “And as soon as I know anything I’ll make sure you know, too.” He lifted the basket. “I’ll get these done so I can help you with something else.”

She stepped away to find a quiet spot to pray, but turned back to check on him. Oddly enough, she was proud that he was able to clean and carton the eggs. A simple task for sure, but he’d done something he detested. Something for her and Birdie. A pure, selfless act. Sure, it was only boxing up eggs, but outside of the guys on the FRS today, no man had really put himself in an uncomfortable position for her, and she was touched that he continued to do so.

His generosity temporarily erased the bad day, allowing her to breeze through her tasks. Unfortunately, once the carnival was in full swing, Detective Carothers cut across the grass, ending her good mood. Archer hurried over to join him. They held a heated conversation, before they stepped up to her.

“Detective Carothers felt he needed to talk to you tonight,” Archer announced, his lips thinning in disapproval.

“My lieutenant insisted,” Carothers said. “We still need to look for accomplices and document the incident.”

“Accomplices?” She watched him for a moment. “You think because we were once part of the same group that I helped him, don’t you?”

Carothers leveled his gaze at her. “Did you?”

“I may know Delmar from Oregon Free, but I am not friends with him and would never help him or anyone else shoot innocent people, much less willingly wear a bomb vest.”