Seven

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday morning came way too early. Colt woke before dawn. Routines didn’t change overnight. And sixteen years in the military didn’t go away because you were no longer a soldier. Army Rangers didn’t suddenly morph into civilians.

Across the room, Deke lifted his head off the stuffed pillow where he’d slept and eyed the guy getting up. Even the dog couldn’t understand why anyone would stir this early.

Colt could sympathize. “I know it’s insane. Humans weren’t meant to function this early. But you get used to it.”

With some hesitation, the pooch finally got to his feet and trotted over to where Colt was putting on his jeans.

“You need to pee? Now’s the time to do it, Deke,” Colt stated, grabbing a T-shirt and heading down the hallway to the back door. Deke dutifully followed and after some encouragement, darted outside in the chilly morning air to take care of business.

While he waited for Deke, Colt started a pot of much-needed wake-up juice, a robust Arabica blend guaranteed to hit the system and jolt it to action. As the machine roared to life, he scooped out dog chow into a pan. Soon the pup came dashing back inside, more awake now, but shivering from the cold.

“I’ll turn up the heat and get us both warm. How’s that sound?”

Deke gravitated to his dish while Colt adjusted the thermostat. “I keep it cold in here at night because I’m used to sleeping that way. Whether it’s Afghanistan or New Mexico, I’m used to the winter weather. And when it changes to summer and the heat shoots up, you wish you had a personal air conditioner on your back. It’s that hot.”

The dog responded by leaving his food dish and trotting over to lick Colt’s hand.

He dropped to his knees to wrap the pooch in a tight hug. “It’s not so bad having you around, in fact, I like it.”

Deke licked his face.

“Yeah, yeah. We’re bonding. We need to get you a collar and a proper dog bed. Finish your chow. I need to go shower and get ready to put in a full day at work. You’re coming, too. You won’t get off that easy.”

He took down an oversized mug, poured himself a cup of coffee, drinking it black and strong without cream or sugar getting in the way of the taste. Years of Army living made him accustomed to a minimalistic lifestyle, no frills or trappings surrounding him. His military training provided the skillset to live in the wild, live off the land, for weeks, perhaps even months at a time without relying on modern conveniences.

He didn’t want to go back to those days though, not even if you paid him a sizeable fortune. He was done with Army life.

That clarity stunned him into a realization. He actually liked living here—nosy neighbors and gossipy fence dwellers included. Although he did find their tendency to think they knew your business annoying. It was a bad habit, a bad concept, Colt decided.

He could see Naomi wanted to believe the CIA rumors. He had no intentions of verifying a past he wanted desperately to forget.

As he watched the eastern sky pinken in anticipation of sunrise, he came to one conclusion. Life was simpler here. For the first time in his life, he wanted a shot at being part of a community where he could participate as a civilian, maybe fit in, live as normal as possible for the remainder of his days.

 

 

Naomi woke with a headache, the pain so intense it was like someone held a drill to her temples, boring something sharp into her brain. She tried to lift her head, tried to roll over, but dizziness hit her along with a queasy stomach.

“French wine sucks,” she mumbled as she tried once again to sit up. “From now on, I stick to box wine. It never made me feel like this.”

Her rolling belly caused her to make a mad dash to the bathroom. It was there she replayed her evening out. She’d never gotten drunk before or been so talkative. She laid that blame at Colt’s feet. He seemed awfully willing to push all that wine on her.

Okay, maybe he hadn’t forced her to keep tipping the glass back, but he certainly hadn’t stopped her from doing it.

“As if he could’ve done that,” she muttered. She was about to call a doctor when she heard someone banging on her front door. It made her head throb all the more.

She wasn’t sure how, but she managed to make her way into the living room without passing out.

“Why are you here so early?” she whispered once she got the door to unlock.

“You look awful,” Zach said as he moved into the house. “You sick or something?”

“I’m…”

Before she could get out another word, Colt followed Zach inside.

Colt bent down to look at her face. “You look like you could use a few more hours of sleep.”

“You think?” she fired back. “My head is killing me.”

“Why don’t you go sleep it off at my house?” Colt suggested. “There’s a guest room there, clean sheets and everything.”

“I couldn’t possibly do that,” Naomi countered.

“Suit yourself, but the noise we make is gonna send you right over the edge, especially feeling the way you do.”

Zach nodded in agreement. “Sorry to say, it’s gonna get loud in here real quick. We use drills to install the cabinets.”

“Oh, God,” she uttered, holding her stomach and turning a whiter shade of pale. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

“I’ll take you there myself,” Colt offered. “You text me when you feel like coming back home and putting up with the noise. I’ll leave Deke with you if you want.”

“That’d be great. I’ll just go get a few things,” she said, scooting off to the bedroom.

While Naomi got ready, Colt and Zach unloaded the cabinets and equipment from a trailer attached to Zach’s truck and brought it all into the staging area.

“What did you do to her last night?” Zach wanted to know.

“Not a thing. We had a nice dinner at Perry’s place and then I helped her chase a raccoon out of her kitchen. You might mention to Troy that her roof is gonna need a patch job before winter hits and the rainy season starts.”

“I doubt that’s in her budget.”

“Screw the budget. It needs to be done. I’ll go to Nick myself if she won’t do it. The material needs to be ordered now.”

“Okay. Okay. While you’re getting Naomi settled, I’ll make the call to Troy. Might as well, I can’t start hanging cabinets by myself.”

“It’ll take an extra ten minutes. Besides, I didn’t know what else to do if we want to stay on schedule. She can’t stay in her own house with remodeling going on if she’s sick.”

“I hear ya. You did the right thing.”

Naomi appeared on the front steps clad in a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, carrying a backpack.

“Feeling any better?” Colt asked. “Could it have been the seafood last night that made you sick?”

Naomi’s head barely moved from side to side. “No, I’m certain it was the expensive Chablis. Be glad you didn’t drink that much of it.”

“You mean Perry’s fancy wine made you sick?” Zach asked in wonder. “You should get your money back. That stuff’s forty bucks a bottle.”

“Come on,” Colt prodded, walking her to his truck. “Let’s get you back into bed.” He slapped his hands to get Deke’s attention. “You too, boy. Let’s go.”

Deke jumped into the middle of the front seat next to Naomi. Colt turned over the engine and headed toward the coast. The dog moved closer to Naomi, nuzzling her shoulder.

“Later, Deke,” Colt muttered. “I don’t think she’s ready to be your buddy just yet.”

Naomi slung an arm around the pooch. “I’ll feel better soon, I promise. Then we can play.” Resting her head on the dog’s, she realized how much she missed owning a pet. “I used to have a collie named Buckwheat. He went everywhere with me.”

Colt swallowed hard. “Are you saying you lost him…that night?”

The sadness in her eyes said it all.

“I’m pretty sure Buckwheat was in my brothers’ room that night.” She let out a sigh and changed the subject. “When I woke up this morning I’d forgotten you and Zach had work to do. I didn’t realize I’d be in the way.”

“Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t be. So feel free to stay at my place until you can take the noise. It’s that simple.”

“Thanks. On top of my head hurting, I’m embarrassed about last night, drinking so much.”

“You’re way too hard on yourself.”

“Maybe. At least I get to see where you live.”

The turnoff came into view with one curve in the road. He left the highway and drove around what was now the familiar bend until it dead-ended into nothing more than a path of unpaved road.

Naomi studied the pastoral setting, a valley where Mother Nature had seen fit to bless the rolling hills with green grass and plenty of trees. “This looks like a piece of Irish coastline.”

“That’s what I thought the moment Keegan brought me out here. I can’t imagine why the guy who lived here would want to leave it.”

He swung into the lane that led up to the cabin. “I hope it isn’t too rustic or isolated for you, but I like the quiet.”

“It’s perfect…and…so still, not unlike where I grew up. I didn’t know this existed so close to town.”

“I know, right? Just a few miles down the road and I have this little slice of countryside all to myself.”

Tempted to ask if that meant he leaned toward anti-social tendencies, she resisted. Instead she turned her attention to the little cabin and the porch where two old-fashioned rocking chairs sat poised to take in the surrounding scenery.

Colt let her into the living area as the dog pranced in and immediately made himself at home by curling up in front of the fireplace.

“The guest room’s down the hall, first door on the right. Fridge is fully stocked. You can even take a shower when you feel like it.”

“For now, I think I’ll just head to bed. Thanks for letting me crash here.”

“No problem. There’s no doggie door yet, so Deke might have to go out.”

“I’ll take care of him,” Naomi declared, beginning to feel light-headed again.

“Then I’ll leave you to it. Text me when you’re ready to leave.” Colt made his way out to the truck and couldn’t help wondering how wine could make a person that sick. He decided it might be the fish. But just as that idea took root, he dismissed it. He’d eaten twice as much crab and shrimp as Naomi and felt fine. Plus, he’d forced down a glass of that fancy booze himself and didn’t feel the slightest bit nauseated.

But he didn’t have a lot of time to dwell on it. There was plenty of work to keep him busy, and he’d already lost valuable time getting started.

 

 

Eight hours went by and Colt still hadn’t heard from Naomi. During that time, he and Zach had more clearly defined the larger kitchen space by getting the cabinets in, installing the farmhouse sink, and putting down about half of the flooring. They stood back to admire their hard work.

“Beginning to look like a real place instead of bare bones,” Zach noted.

“Not bad for two guys on a Saturday. I’m worried about Naomi, though. She was supposed to text by now.”

“You should go check on her,” Zach urged. “I’ll keep working here. The flooring is a job I can handle on my own. You go.”

“I think I should. I can’t figure out why she’s so hungover. Sleeping it off is one thing but…”

Zach rubbed the side of his jaw. “Are we working tomorrow?”

“Your call. I’m free to finish up here if you want.”

“I think I’ll ask Troy about it.” 

“Let me know.” With that, Colt headed to his pickup.

At his house, he found the place dark, no lights on in the living room or the kitchen. Deke met him at the door, tail wagging, desperate to get outside. The pooch darted past him and off the porch to hit the nearest tree.

Colt moved down the hallway and tapped on the guest room door. “Naomi? Naomi? It’s Colt. Is it all right to come in?”

He heard a groan in response and turned the knob. The room was as dark as the rest of the house but even with the lack of light he was able to make out a lump under the covers. He went over to where she was curled into a ball and fumbled to find the switch on the lamp.

He plopped down on the bed next to her and touched her shoulder. “Naomi, are you okay?”

She let out another groan that had him feeling her forehead. He realized she was burning up with fever and it seemed high enough that she was out of her head. He wasn’t sure how effective a cold compress would be at this point, but he started with that, making a dash into the bathroom to wet a washcloth, and using it to pat her face with water.

“Does that feel better?”

“You’ll have to take her to the hospital,” Scott directed from the corner of the room. “She’s been out of it all day.”

“She’ll be okay,” Colt insisted.

Scott shook his head. “Don’t be stubborn. Look at her. She’s clammy to the touch. Her fever is off the charts. Get her to the ER. Now, Colt.”

A panicked look came into Colt’s eyes. “You really think she needs a doctor?”

“I’m positive. Go.”

Colt didn’t waste any more time. He tossed back the covers and slid an arm underneath her body. Scooping her up, he carried her out to the living room.

Deke sensed something was wrong and danced in place in front of the open doorway. “Come on, Deke. We gotta move and move fast.”

The dog trailed after him to the pickup, waited for Colt to open the door of the truck before hopping onto the bench seat. When Naomi was settled beside him, the dog curled himself into her body as if giving her a cushion to lean on for the duration of the ride.