Snakes Among Sweet Flowers (18 page)

“I don’t have the money to go on a trip. What am I going to do?” His mom sounded hysterical.

“Mom, calm down. Pack a bag. I’ll go wire some money to the Western Union at the grocery store, okay? You go today, okay? Don’t wait.”

“Okay. Today. Send enough to get me cigarettes and maybe take Mary and her husband out to eat while I’m there.”

Cam sighed. At least his mother was worried about the important things, right? He rolled his eyes. “Sure, Mom. Go pack. Love you.”

He hung up and sat for a moment.
Shit.
Harold wasn’t going to give up, was he?

Well, this gave him something to do for the next hour, at least. He headed for the back room to dig out his money jar.

AFTER WIRING
money at the grocery store, Cam decided to go ahead and pick up a few things he needed and a whole bunch he didn’t but couldn’t resist. He was toting his bags out the sliding doors of the store when he ran into Grant.

The vet was accompanied by his wife and kids, all dressed in their Sunday go-to-meetin’ clothes. Cam had to admit that Grant looked mighty fine in his suit, but the nasty smirk on his face and the fake wife at his side ruined the effect for Cam.

“Well, if it isn’t our local tomcat,” Grant sneered. His wife and kids kept walking, obviously trained by now that they weren’t needed in Grant’s conversations.

Cam leaned in. “I was sure that was your title. Anyway, I got more important things to do than listen to your shit.” Cam started around Grant, but Grant grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“I hear your cop is in the hospital.” Grant gave him a knowing smirk.

“He ain’t
my
cop,” Cam stressed, looking down at the hand on his bicep.

“He won’t come out of the closet for you.”

Cam smirked. “I ain’t looking to go steady. With you or anyone else. Get your hands off me and keep your nose out of my business.” Cam shrugged Grant’s hand off and headed for his truck before the man could say any more, but he could feel Grant glaring at his back as he went.

CAM SPENT
the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon painting and worrying about Harold and what the asshole was doing, might do, could do. Cam finished one of the downstairs bedrooms and most of the hall before he finally gave up for the day. His stomach was wavering between hunger and nausea, and he figured he better eat something before it decided to eat itself.

He pulled out the rotisserie chicken he’d bought at the grocery store along with a few sides he’d gotten at the deli counter and fixed himself a plate. Tommasina appeared and began weaving through his legs while he prepared his meal, causing Cam to chuckle.

“All right, all right,” Cam told her and placed a saucer of chicken on the floor. “You are one spoiled cat, you know it?”

Tommasina was too busy eating to answer, but Cam didn’t really expect one. He took his own plate to the table and dug in, wondering if his mom had made it to his aunt’s house already. He would have to call her in the next day or so just to be sure.

After he was done eating and his dishes were washed and drying, he went and grabbed his cell phone again, then headed out on the porch. This had somehow become the place he went to make phone calls. He had to admit, he liked rocking and being on a call gave him an excuse to sit still and do it.

When he’d dialed the number, he listened to the ringing before a female voice answered. He remained quiet until he heard some shuffling and her say, “I’m alone, goddammit.”

“Sorry, Detra. I just…. Listen, you sure you don’t wanna come…?”

“Shut up! No. He knows I talked to you. I don’t know how. Things are bad, Cam. Go away. Don’t make this for nothing. Have a good life and forget all about us, okay?” And then she hung up.

Cam sat as the sky darkened into night, just staring off into the distance and feeling angry and helpless to do a damn thing about it.

CAM REFUSED
to admit that he was using the kids as an excuse to go see Jackson again. He’d headed straight for the hospital once he picked them up on Monday morning. But he needed to keep busy, keep his mind off everything, and the kids were all worried about Jackson. So it worked out for everyone.

The hospital was fairly quiet, and Cam figured it probably wasn’t their rush time for visitors or for accidents and such. He herded the kids down the hall and nodded to the nurse when she waved them on into Jackson’s room.

Jackson looked up from his tray of breakfast and smiled as they entered, and Cam was surprised to see he wasn’t alone. Jackson’s father stood beside the bed, dressed in his police chief’s uniform.

Cam shook the older man’s hand and said, “I hope it’s okay if we stopped by.”

“I was just leaving,” Walter responded. He patted his son on the knee and said, “I’ll see you tonight, son.”

“Dad,” Jackson said before his father could go. “Mom doesn’t need to keep spending the night, and both of you need some sleep. Go on home tonight and y’all spend a night resting, okay? I got nurses here to watch out for me, right?”

Walter paused, then nodded. “You’re right, son. Now if I can just convince your mother.”

They huffed out a laugh, both obviously understanding what a task that would be, then Walter patted the kids on the head and left for work.

Jackson greeted the kids, then turned his attention back to his breakfast. “Y’all eaten?” he asked, sounding as if he felt bad about eating in front of them.

“Yeah, no problem,” Cam answered.

“We got Hardee’s,” Tony exclaimed.

Cam grinned when Jackson looked over at him and said, “You sure are treating these kids good. Thank you for that.”

Cam nodded and sat down in the chair beside the bed. “Feeling okay?”

“Better,” Jackson replied as Luanne and Galen started checking out the machines positioned around the hospital bed.

Tony went to the window and looked out at the cars driving by. “You can see a long way from up here,” he said to no one in particular.

Cam and Jackson watched him for a moment before turning back to each other, neither seeming to know what to say.

“You, uh… said the other day that you, uh… might need me to take care of you when you got out….”

Jackson looked surprised. “I did?”

Cam was regretting bringing it up, but pushed on. “Yeah, uh…. You were pretty wasted at the time. I just… you know… the kids got all excited and wanted to help. And, uh… well, I finished painting the downstairs bedroom, so if you need to…. Well, you know… we could help.”
Shit!
That had been like pulling teeth, and he wasn’t even sure what the hell he was doing.

The kids all turned toward Jackson from what they had been doing, puppy-dog eyes turned up to eleven. “Pleeeeeeease, Officer Rhodes?” Luanne begged for all three.

Jackson sat for a moment, staring at his breakfast, then started to chuckle followed by a groan as he held his ribs for a minute before continuing. “You know, I could use an excuse to get away from a bunch of women eager to baby me to death, and my mother heads the pack. You mean it?” He gave Cam an examining look.

Cam laughed and nodded. “Yeah. We can save you from that fate.”

Jackson sighed and nodded. “Okay. Let me talk to my mom and I’ll get back to you. They are talking about maybe releasing me tomorrow. You up for that?”

“Sure. I got nothing better on my calendar.” Cam grinned. “But remember, I haven’t ever been a nurse before.”

WHEN THEY
returned to the house, Cam got them all busy setting up the downstairs bedroom for their soon-to-be patient. He changed out the sheets and moved things around to make it easier to get Jackson in and out of the room, then opened the window to let in some fresh air.

Over lunch, Cam explained their jobs. “Now while you need to make sure he has what he needs, you also have to remember the guy needs his rest, right? So no driving him crazy. You might have to go out and ride your bikes for a while.”

They didn’t seem too upset by that suggestion, so Cam figured they were going to do all right.

“Now once y’all are through eating, let’s go run some errands.” He stood and took his plate to the sink, the sound of scraping chairs announcing the kids were right behind him.

At the dollar store, Cam picked out some plastic drinking cups with lids and straws for Jackson to keep beside his bed, and a big bottle of pain reliever, some bandages and ointments, a few cheap towels to go in the downstairs bath, and a lap tray. He also stocked up on board games and decks of cards, much to the kids’ delight, and some cheap VHS tapes from the bargain bin since he didn’t have cable and didn’t plan on getting it any time soon.

Next, they hit the grocery store and picked up cans of soup and anything else Cam could think of to feed someone sick. They headed home with the bed of the truck just about full, and found Jackson’s mother waiting for them on the front porch when they pulled into the driveway.

She stood from where she had been sitting in one of the rocking chairs, but stayed on the porch while he instructed the kids on how to unload the truck and where to put away their purchases. Once he was done, he met her on the porch and had a seat with her.

“Ma’am,” he greeted.

She nodded, but her gaze followed the kids as they tromped up the stairs and into the house with their load of goodies. Once they were inside, she turned to Cam. “Why are you taking care of those kids?”

Cam was taken back for a moment, then answered, “Well, I needed some help around—”

“No, I mean why?”

Cam’s eyes widened. “Look, Mrs. Rhodes. I want what’s right for those kids, and I’m better than that man they call Daddy. Although, I don’t see how I could be much worse. You can ask them if you want. I would never—”

“There’s no need for that,” she assured him, smiling now. “I just needed to be sure.”

He nodded. “And I’m glad you did, ma’am. They deserve someone watching out for them.”

She looked at her hands in her lap for a moment, then back at Cam. “And why do you want to take care of Jackson when he gets out of the hospital?”

Oh boy.
Now that one was going to be harder to answer. “Well… the kids wanted to help and I got room and….”

“And you think you can take care of him better than his own mother? A man you hardly know?”

“Ma’am… look, I’m from Atlanta and I guess you know I been to prison a time or two. And there ain’t no such thing as being neighborly there. Not really, not where I was from, anyway. But since I moved here, well, everyone has been real nice. To be honest, I didn’t like it much to begin with, but it’s kinda growin’ on me and I wouldn’t mind doing my part. If you don’t mind, that is. And you’re right. I don’t know much about taking care of someone, so if you think I can’t do it, I’ll understand.”

Pamela studied him for a moment before finally nodding. “No, I think you’ll do just fine. But don’t think I won’t be over here checking on him regularly.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

“And I’ll warn you now. Your house is going to be Grand Central Station with all the visitors he’ll be getting.”
Oh wonderful!

“Yes, ma’am.” Cam figured there was no arguing so why even try.

Pamela stood and looked over Cam’s front yard. “I can tell you’ve been working on the place. It was a mess when you bought it.”

“It still is, but it’s coming around. The kids have helped a lot.” He smiled, proud of his house and the kids who had helped him.

She patted his shoulder. “You are a lot different than I thought you would be. A pleasant surprise.” With that, she stepped past him and down the stairs. “They are releasing Jackson tomorrow around noon. No need to come to the hospital, though. His daddy and I will bring him here and pick up his prescriptions.” She paused and then turned with narrowed eyes. “Will there be a problem with his pain meds?”

He knew what she was asking and simply smiled. “No, ma’am. Never cared for drugs.”

She nodded and turned away, continuing on to her car. When she had the car door open, she said, “Jackson wants me to go to my conference on Wednesday. I’ll wait to make that decision until I’m sure things are settled.”

Cam nodded and she slid into the car and drove away without a wave. “Wow. Talk about a mother lion,” he mumbled as he headed inside.

EXCITED SCREAMS
from the children were Cam’s first clue that Jackson was there. While the kids had been outside riding their bikes, Cam had meant to be making sure things were all in order before their patient arrived, but instead had spent an inordinate amount of time staring out the kitchen window with his cell phone in hand, thinking about his mother and Detra. His mother had yet to call to let him know she had safely reached her sister’s house, and he’d heard no more from Detra either. Cam knew he needed to call his mother but couldn’t seem to make his fingers dial the number.

When the noise grew louder with the opening of the door, Cam turned away from the window and left his phone on the kitchen counter. He would deal with that later.

“Mr. Sanders? Where do you want us to put Jackson?” The voice came from Pamela, and Cam hurried his steps. The kids were already showing Jackson’s parents to the front bedroom by the time he stepped out of the kitchen.

Cam followed behind and stood in the doorway. He smiled at Jackson as his parents got him situated in the bed. “Let me know if that’s not comfortable. I slept on it before I got my new bed, but we all prefer different.”

Jackson looked weary just from the ride and seemed relieved to be able to lie down. He was dressed in a baggy T-shirt and old ratty sweats that looked a size too big but also comfy as hell. Pamela pulled out a large pillow and exchanged it with the one already on the bed, then fluffed it for her son.

“I brought a few of his things from home to make it more comfortable for him.” Pamela, who was dressed in a smart-looking pantsuit and low heels, unloaded a stack of magazines and placed them on the floor by the side table, then began instruction on the medicines Cam would need to be sure Jackson took during his recovery. There were symptoms to be on the lookout for, reasons to call 911, a list of contacts in case Jackson needed something, and a few suggestions on foods Jackson either liked or didn’t.