Chapter Five
Eddie
I found myself hopping out of bed the next morning. I’d done my best to make Hollis not like me, but I was excited about seeing him anyway. I hadn’t meant to put my foot in my mouth at lunch, and I vowed to be more sensitive.
Right before I went down the stairs to get breakfast, I got a text message on my phone. Don’t bother bringing your lunch. I’ve got leftover veggie lasagna. It’s always better the next day.
I smiled. I’d given Hollis my phone number in case he needed to contact me about work.
Thank you. I’ll take you up on that offer, I texted back.
A couple of minutes later, I got one last text. Probably for the best. My guess is that you’d forget yours again anyway.
That seemed an awful lot like banter. My smile got even bigger, and I headed downstairs for breakfast with a spring in my step. I guess I hadn’t made him dislike me as much as I’d thought.
I heated up some leftover red beans and rice for Ted and me. After that, I made coffee and eggs for my mother. I couldn’t do the bacon, but I didn’t mind frying up a couple of eggs. Since I didn’t have to make my lunch for the day, and I’d gotten up early, I had time to get breakfast for everyone.
“What’s gotten into you?” Mama asked when she came into the kitchen.
“I like the new job,” I said as casually as possible. “It’s satisfying work. I never thought I’d like it so much, but I do.”
“Well, thank you for making breakfast,” she said and poured herself a cup of coffee. “Mind sharing some of the beans and rice?”
“Sure,” I said and put a huge spoonful on her plate.
After breakfast, Ted and I set out for work. I saw the boarded-up window as we drove up to Hollis’s place.
“Everything alright, Hollis?” Ted called out the window as I got out the passenger side.
“Yeah, just some punks breaking stuff,” he said. “Nothing I can’t handle. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure Eddie is safe.”
“Well, let me know if you need any help fixing the glass. I can always come back after work or on the weekend if you need an extra set of hands.”
“Thank you for the offer,” Hollis said and tipped his hat.
“Bye, Ted. Thanks for the ride.”
“See you after work.”
Jada ran up and sat down at my feet. I reached down and scratched her head between her ears. She nudged my legs, and I could see why the pup was good for Hollis. Just having here there almost made me forget the broken window in the green house.
“What happened?” I asked as Hollis walked over to me. “What was that about punks?”
“Someone drove by the house last night and threw a brick through it,” he said matter-of-factly, and it was apparent that it wasn’t a shocking or new thing for him.
“You don’t sound shocked.” I could feel my face heat. He seemed too calm, and I was angry for him.
“I’m not. It’s not the first time it’s happened, Eddie. It won’t be the last. I think it’s best if we just get to work.”
“We need to do something about this. You can’t just let it go. You don’t deserve this. We should do something.”
“You said that twice,” he snarked, but there was a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
“Why are you smiling? This is horrible.”
“It is,” Hollis said. “It’s just kinda nice to have someone agree with me. Now, enough sitting around being upset. Those seedlings aren’t going to plant themselves.”
And with that, we got to work. I went back to planting seedlings, and since the busy work was handled, Hollis went outside to do something with some solar panels he’d been working on.
I heard a car pull up a while later, so I went out to the warehouse doors. I stood back and watched as the sheriff conversed with Hollis. He didn’t tell me to go back inside, so I stayed and listened in.
My blood began to boil again as Sheriff Bran Tyler told Hollis that the vandalism was most likely “kids being kids” and that there wasn’t much his office could do about it.
“I have a description of the truck and a partial plate number,” Hollis said calmly. “It shouldn’t be that hard for you to track down who did it. I want to press charges.”
“Fine. I’ll take the information and make a report,” Sheriff Tyler told him. “I’m not making any promises.”
“I didn’t figure you would.”
“What was that?” Bran snapped, as if he had any right to get snippy with Hollis.
“Nothing, Sheriff. Thank you for taking the report.”
I couldn’t take any more. I knew I’d open my mouth and say something if I kept standing there, so I went back to my work. Jada had been watching the exchange between the sheriff and Hollis with her ears back and her teeth partially bared. When I went back inside, I patted my leg and stayed planted in place.
“Come on, Jada. Hollis can handle himself,” I whispered.
She let out a little whine and then followed me reluctantly. I got another tray planted before Hollis appeared in front of my table.
“Sheriff Tyler wants to speak to you.”
“What? Why me? I wasn’t even here when it happened.”
“I know, and I told him that. He said he still needs to have a chat with you. I’ll hang back, but I’ll be here if you need me.”
I went out to the drive to see what the sheriff wanted. My heart was beating hard. I don’t know what it was about talking to the police, but it made me nervous even if I hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Hello, Eddie.” Bran began. “I just wanted to have a quick word with you. You’re not in any trouble.”
“Then what’s this about?”
“I wanted to make sure you’re okay out here working alone with Hollis Rivers. I’m not sure it’s safe for a young Omega like yourself to be in this situation. He doesn’t have the best reputation, and since you and your family are fairly new in town, I wanted to make sure you understood the community stance on Hollis. I also needed to make sure he hasn’t done anything inappropriate to you. If he has, I can assure you that I will bring swift justice down on Hollis Rivers.”
I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “Considering that your trying to cover for a bunch of vandals, I have my serious doubts that you could bring anyone to justice,” I said.
I turned on my heels to leave just in time to see Hollis’s eyes go as wide as dinner plates. I couldn’t tell if he was more impressed or horrified.
“You probably shouldn’t have done that.”
“Oh well,” I said casually. “What’s done is done.”
Hollis closed the warehouse door behind me, and I went back to my seedlings. As I began planting again, Hollis stood across the table from me.
“I’m guessing that means he didn’t scare you off.”
I showed him my dirty hands. “No, it appears I am planting my seedlings. Doesn’t it?”
“You’re not what I expected,” he said.
“You know what’s not what I expected,” I said, feeling my temper rise again. I wasn’t ready to let the sheriff’s apathy go yet. “I can’t believe that a member of law enforcement would just shrug off vandalism. I mean, if someone had been in the greenhouse, they could have been hurt or killed.”
“There was no one in there, though, Eddie. No one got hurt, and getting upset about it isn’t going to change anything.”
“How can you stay so calm about all of this?”
“I’ve had years to get used to it,” Hollis responded.
“Why don’t you just move the farm somewhere else?” I asked, even though I didn’t want him to move it somewhere else.
“It would be too expensive. I sunk all I had into getting it started here.”
His answer was sincere, but I got the feeling it wasn’t the whole story. After giving me a half-smile, Hollis went back to work.