Chapter 13
By some small miracle, Thea found her old truck parked out in front of the estate house like it’d been waiting for her. She assumed that it was. Jenny must have had it brought up from where she’d left it butted up against that tree on the main road in. The fact that her truck was outside only served to affirm for her that she had in fact been released from Jenny’s care. On her way out of the building, she’d been tempted to go check in, but opted against it. She was worried about running into Marko before she had a chance to formulate a decent apology for all he’d had to do for her.
Climbing in her truck, she hissed a long, “Ffffffffffffuck,” against the frigid temps that had the plastic bench seat under her ass hard as a rock and cold as ice. Keys dangling from the ignition, it took her three tries before ol’ Frankie coughed to life. She actually named the truck Frankenstein because one front quarter panel was black while the other was a faded red. The hood was green, and the rest of the truck was a hideous beige. Over time, she’d replaced a lot of parts but had never had any luck finding anything that actually matched. Still, Frankie ran smooth and was tough as hell. The fact that she’d smacked him into a tree and all he had to show for it was a slight dent was a testament to that.
Good ol’ Frankie was going to take her home.
***
Marko didn’t bother contacting security. He’d scavenged the estate grounds without finding Thea, and then he’d shifted and was currently flying over the black ribbon of highway that led into the city. After contacting Jenny and finding out Thea wasn’t in the infirmary, he assumed she’d headed home. Luckily, he knew exactly where she lived, but he still wanted to ghost the road in hopes of cutting her off before she made it all the way back to Great Falls.
The farther he flew though, the more worry filled him. Thea only had a thirty-minute jump on him, so unless she was driving like a bat out of hell, he should have found her already. Part of him wondered if she was doing just that. Was Thea flying like the all get out to get as far as fast as she could? The question had him doubting whether he’d done what was best for her. It was possible that he’d seized an opportunity to take advantage of Thea because he was a greedy bastard who wanted nothing more than an excuse to finally touch her.
A mental nudge hit him, and he permitted it.
Jenny’s voice carried to him through the mist. “You find her? I need her back here, Marko! Now!”
Too pissed to respond, he didn’t.
Undeterred by his silence, Jenny kept right on. “She could have another episode anytime! She’s nowhere near being in the clear right now, do you understand? Find her and bring her back!”
Jenny severed the connection, and Marko seethed as he tucked his wings and dove to pick up speed. This is why he never asked people for shit. They always let him down. For Christ’s sake, how hard could it be to stay with a sleeping woman for thirty fucking minutes?
As he hit the edge of the city and soared overhead, he was lost in his anger. So lost, that it took him a minute to realize that Thea’s truck, which had gone missing from StoneCrow, wasn’t parked in front of her little three bedroom house. He knew from tailing her before that she always parked on the street, always!
“Motherfucker!”
***
Thea eased her truck onto the snow-covered back road and felt that hollow feeling that had been gnawing at her middle abate just a smidge. The more she thought about what she and Marko had done, the worse she felt. Now, turning off onto the private road that led to her parents’ farm, she decided that she’d made the right decision by heading back home for a visit.
Twice on the drive here, she’d felt the hints of a panic attack edging in on her. She’d been able to hold it off but could tell by the way her eyes were already pricking that the second she saw her mom she was gonna lose her shit.
Before her truck even rocked to a halt, two familiar mounds of fur bounded down the front steps of the porch and lurched toward the driveway.
Parking near the front of the house, Thea smiled at Czar and Zena’s barking. The commotion wasn’t a warning. Nope, these were yips, whines, and howls of recognition induced excitement.
Climbing from the truck, she immediately dropped to a knee and let the Siberian husky and black lab lick at her face and snuffle at her clothes. When she stood, and the dogs kept right on sniffing at her, she realized they must smell Marko on her.
Thank God dogs can’t talk.
“Thea!” Her mom’s voice had her lifting her head, and just that fast, tears were filling her eyes. She tried to blink them back as she crossed to the porch and made her way up, but her Ma wasn’t fooled.
Brow creasing in her concern, Ethel Kinsey pursed her lips. “What’s wrong?”
Afraid to speak, Thea simple shook her head and folded her arms around her mother’s slight frame.
“Anxiety?’ Ethel asked.
Grateful for the out, Thea nodded against her shoulder.
“Awwww, hon.” Ethel pulled back to stare at Thea from arm’s length. “Come on in, I made turkey and rice soup. It’ll make you feel better.”
Thea barked a watery laugh. Her mom always thought food fixed everything.
An hour later, belly full of hot soup and warm buttered bread, Thea was sipping her second cup of tea and realizing that her mother was right. She did feel better.
Booted feet stomping on the porch signaled her father was back from his chores. The front door creaked open, and then he was bellowing, “Althea?”
She grinned at how he still refused to call her Thea even though everyone else did. Rounding the corner from the quaint farm kitchen, she saw her dad stripping out of his hat, coat, and gloves before toeing off his work boots.
“Hey, dad.”
He lifted his head and instantly beamed at her, and her world felt right. It felt so good to have a place come back to, a place where people were happy to see you. A place where you could either bare your soul or keep your problems close and no one would judge you for it.
In two giant steps, her dad had her wrapped up in a huge hug that lifted her feet off the floor. “There’s my girl.” He set her down and kissed the top of her head before pulling away. “Glad you’re home, baby, what’s the occasion?”
She gave him a weak smile and shrugged a shoulder up to her ear. “Just wanted to see you guys.”
“You doing okay?” He frowned hard. “Your panic thingies back?”
Sometimes she hated that she’d ever told them about her anxiety. She didn’t want them worrying. “Just wanted to come home for a minute. I got some time off work because they’re…remodeling the school.”
His frown slipped, and he grinned. “Oh, good! Well, we’re happy to have ya.”
She was certain she hadn’t fooled him in the least, but one of her favorite things about her dad was that he didn’t fuss over her. Nope, he left that to her mother who did a fabulous job for both of them.
“Come on,” he folded her soft hand in his calloused grip. “I smell soup. You hungry? Your mother’s soup’ll make you feel better.”
“Yeah, dad.” She grinned. “I ate.”