Page 18 of Protecting What Is Mine

8

Hank

Somewhere along the way I must’ve dozed off, because the faint sound of someone moving at the edge of the room jerks me awake and almost causes me to fall out of the chair.

The darkness of the room mixed with the bright lights emanating from the hall leaves the figure in the doorway backlit. Faceless.

“Nurse?” I wipe at my eyes and try to gather my bearings.

“You wish,” a man’s voice replies.

I strain to focus on the stranger whose voice sounds so familiar. “Who’s there?” I ask in a loud whisper.

“Damn. It’s barely been a year. You forget your own brother that quick?” Leo steps into the room, allowing the glow from the television to illuminate his face.

“Holy shit!” I bring my hand to my mouth. “Where the hell have you been?” I whisper. “And what took you so long to get here?”

Leo shrugs. “You know. The life of a black sheep. Every day’s an adventure.”

“Black sheep? Shit. Ungrateful ass—sure. Spoiled little baby—definitely. Prodigal son—maybe. But black sheep? I don’t think so.”

Leo ignores my jab and sits across from me at the end of the bed, nodding in Chet’s direction. “How’s he doing?”

I relax into the chair. “Getting better with each day. You know that man doesn’t know how to quit. Never has. That’s just not the way he was built. I’d swear on a stack of bibles he only knows to put his head down and keep going.”

“Yeah…you and I have always seen him differently.”

I shake my head. “Don’t know why I ever would’ve thought otherwise—a year’s not nearly enough time for you to grow up.”

“Whatever. I haven’t crashed a wedding or made a drunken fool of myself in months,” he jokes. “So what’s the deal? Last I spoke to Mom she said they were still trying to nail down what the hell happened to him.”

“Yeah. The sheriff was here when I rolled in this afternoon. They know it wasn’t some accidental thing he did to himself, but still no motive on why anyone else would want to hurt him.”

“You don’t think someone was trying to…?” Leo pauses.

“What?” I ask. “Trying to what?”

Leo leans forward and slowly whispers, “You know. Hurt the family?”

It’s maybe the dumbest question I’ve ever heard. Until I think about it a little. “I don’t think so. Why? Does someone who might have an axe to grind come to mind?” I look my youngest brother straight in the eye, waiting for his reaction so I can gauge his potential culpability.

Leo shakes his head. “No. No one that I can think of. Besides, I’ve been gone for so long, I doubt anyone even remembers me at this point. I’m just saying…it’s not like Chet is everyone’s cup of tea. Maybe he pissed someone off and they decided to get even.”

I don’t care what has happened between the two of them, Leo’s words don’t sit right with me. Sure, he and Chet have history. And okay, maybe Chet doesn’t fit into the typical guy category, but that’s only because he’s the last of a dying breed. Even still, I can’t imagine him ever doing a thing that would cross a line and lead someone to do this. “So, what’s new with you?” I ask, changing the subject.

“You know. Same shit, different day.”

“Which means what, exactly?”

Leo rolls his eyes. “What about you? How’s life?”

“I’ve been here mostly. Sleeping in this godawful chair.” I throw my elbow into the backrest hopeful to soften it somehow, or at the very least, demonstrate that I’m done playing games. “Other than that, just living. Before the accident, I’d managed to build myself a good reputation as a mechanic. Jobs come in fairly steady now.”

Leo’s face says he couldn’t be less interested in my successes.

“Oh, and I’m seeing someone. Actually, you might”—a yawn takes over as I lift my index finger to recapture his attention—“know her. She’s younger than me and older than you, but I think you went to school with her cousin.”

Leo perks up. “Oh yeah? Who is she? You never know, maybe I’ve already had a taste.”

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