Breaking Creed

70

Creed grabbed the last box from Jason’s car. It was heavy, and he wondered how the kid had intended to move it on his own. Everything else he owned he’d packed into black garbage bags — the kind with the drawstring handle that could easily be carried with one hand or tucked under the arm. Sadly, there weren’t that many bags.

After talking to Hannah, they decided to offer Jason a trailer they kept on their property. It had been empty for only a few months, after Felix, one of their dog handlers, took a job on the West Coast to be closer to the new love of his life. Coincidentally, Hannah had already reserved Jason’s room at Segway House, because an available room there, no matter how small, was a commodity.

As soon as they had moved Hannah from ICU to a regular room, she insisted on being taken to Amanda’s bedside. Maggie had replaced McCoy’s DEA agent, who had been waiting to interrogate the girl, with an FBI agent to stand guard and protect her.

Creed could only imagine Hannah’s conversation with Amanda. It wasn’t often she misjudged people, and she would make sure that she made it right. He knew that she had promised Jason’s room at Segway House to Amanda, and Amanda had accepted. It was a start. She’d be safe there and well taken care of by not only Hannah, but the entire staff.

The trailer wasn’t luxurious, but Creed figured it was a considerable step up from a room at a rehab center. Jason seemed genuinely speechless at the gesture. But as Creed watched him place a gallon of milk and a carton of eggs in the refrigerator, he thought he saw a hint of a smile.

“What do you have, a load of bricks in this one?” Creed asked as he hauled the box into the living room.

“No bricks. Books. Put it down anywhere.”

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for a reader.”

“It was my secret escape when I was in Afghanistan.”

Creed nodded. He slipped his hands in his pockets and stood in the middle of the double-wide. He remembered when they first met. The kid had a chip on his shoulder as big as Texas. Hannah kept saying Jason reminded her of him, and he didn’t see it. Refused to see it. But now he did. They had both been damaged in ways that would take a lifetime to heal.

“I can’t thank you enough for this,” Jason said.

“You might not be so thankful when it’s two o’clock in the morning and I’m pounding on the door to have you help me with a sick dog.”

“I don’t sleep that much, so that’ll be okay.”

And yet another thing they had in common.

“You saved Grace’s life,” Creed said. “Probably mine, too. I wish there was more I could do to repay you.”

“You already have.”

“A job, a place to sleep…” Creed shrugged, as if it weren’t enough. Certainly not comparable to saving two lives.

“No, you gave me a whole lot more.” Jason’s eyes got serious, and it looked like he needed to swallow hard to get the next part out. “You gave me a purpose.”

Creed understood that, too. It was exactly what Hannah had done for him.

“But there is something else I’d like, if you don’t mind,” Jason said.

“Sure, whatever you need.”

“Can I have one of those black Lab puppies?”

That shouldn’t have surprised Creed, but it did. “I’m guessing you already have one picked out.”

“The runt of the litter, of course.” Jason’s eyes lit up as he pointed to the box at Creed’s feet. “To Kill a Mockingbird’s one of my favorite books. Already picked out Scout for the name.”

“From what I remember, the runt of the litter is a boy.”

“I figure he doesn’t need to know he’s named after a girl.”

“Your secret’s good with me,” Creed told him as he started to leave. “I’ve got to go pick up Hannah.” Before he got to the door, he turned back. “Hey, Jason.” He waited for the kid to look up at him. “Welcome back to the world.”

As Creed took the hospital elevator, he tried to untie the knots that had invaded his gut. Yesterday Hannah still looked so fragile. The bruising and swelling on her face had gone down, but there was something in her eyes that he wasn’t used to seeing. It wasn’t pain or fear. It was something worse — he was afraid that a piece of her spirit had crumbled away.

At the end of the week he was going to pick up her boys from her grandparents’ farm. It was a five-hour drive each way. No way she could come along, though she had already protested. Maybe seeing them would be the best medicine.

But then he heard her voice — boisterous and full of life. Even from down the hall, he could hear her telling someone, “Girl, you haven’t eaten paradise until you’ve had my ham hocks, collards, and black-eyed peas with a nice slab of corn bread.”

“Stop, you’re making my mouth water.”

And Creed stopped short in the middle of the hall. He recognized the second voice, too. The knots began twisting again but for a whole different reason.

He found Maggie O’Dell sitting in a chair pulled up close enough to the bed that she was holding Hannah’s hand. Both women looked up at him, and their smiles slid off their faces.

“What?” he asked when they looked at him as if he had walked in and spoiled their party.

“Is it that time already?” Hannah asked.

“I thought you’d be anxious to get out of this place.”

“Oh, sweetie, I am. I just lost track of the time. We’ve been having ourselves a good chat.”

The two of them exchanged a glance, and Creed knew he had been at least one subject of their “good chat.”

“I think I just convinced Maggie that she needs a vacation. She’s coming back next month for a week—”

“Maybe a few days.”

Hannah shot her one of her looks and continued, “Like I said, she’s coming for a week on the beach, and she’s gonna come over and have dinner with us.”

Maggie looked up at Creed. “She can be very convincing.”

“Yes, she can.” He smiled and caught Hannah nodding at him as if to say, “You’re welcome.” Then to Maggie he said, “Maybe you can bring your dogs so you won’t need to leave them with anyone.”