Page 19 of Dyson

“I never thought of that. He might well have gotten her while I was changing the locks.” Amy told her that he’d been arrested for trespassing, but he was going to be able to get out soon. He also made a scene at the bank. “Good. If they can keep him there for a few days, then we can get into a hotel.” Amy told her to go and enjoy her daughter.

“Hey, mom.” She kissed Mandy on her forehead and handed her the things that she’d brought her from the store. “I might get to go home in a couple of days.”

Every time she looked at her, she ached for what she’d done to her only child. She’d actually tossed her down the stairs like she was nothing. Crying with Mandy holding her, she told her again and again how sorry she was. Mandy, of course, thought that she did exactly what was needed and now they were free. They weren’t free, and she was sure that Mandy knew it, but for now, they wereable to visit without Levi intruding on their time together. Mandy asked her how work was going.

She told her how she’d been able to get the stuff sold that her uncle Tommy had bought as well as she was one day ahead of the shipments going out tomorrow. Getting permission from the shop owners on the plan for them to get their items one day early had made three companies happy.

“Tommy wasn’t happy that I’d sold it all at once, but he’ll get over it. I think he was just mad because he had to send out notices that the sale wasn’t going to happen. Also, the seafood is gone, too. Dad called about the time I was telling Tommy to not do that again and he agreed with me. Telling Tommy to not do anything like that unless we had a buyer lined up. I don’t know but I think that the Walsh family will buy anything that we can get to them.” Mandy snapped her fingers, telling her what someone named Walsh had sent to her. “My goodness, child. This is nice. A tablet and things for you to read. That’s pretty special for a stranger to give to you.”

“I thought so too, but I didn’t get to see anyone when it was brought. The hospital staff brought it up here.” She showed her the beautiful vase of flowers, too. “It was like she knew that my favorite flowers were daisies and roses.” Tabby was sure that she did know that and a great deal more about the two of them than was necessary for business acquaintances.

After visiting with Mandy, Tabby went by her parent’s home to bring in the mail. Also, she watered her dad’s plants and made sure that there were no leaks anywhere as well as checking the thermostat to make sure the furnace was still working. Just as she was about to leave, a strange car pulled into the driveway. She stayed hidden within the shadows to see who it was.

When someone touched her mind, she nearly screamed. Tabby had never been so happy with the person who told her that it was Amy and that she had her.

“Do you see the little person on the table where you are? He said to tell you that you don’t have to have him touch you, but he’s there to help you.” She looked at the table and didn’t see anything at first. “He’s about four inches tall and is blue. His name is Barber. They pick their own names, so you’d not believe the names that they come up with. One was called Marlon Brando. Like it was all one word. Then—”

“You’re babbling or giving me time to come to grips with my fear.” She told her that it was both. “All right. I’m better.” Then she saw the little man. “I see Barber. Am I dead already?”

“No. Goodness no. He’s there to help you. Let him land on your palm.” She asked Amy if she was sure. “Yes. Once he’s there, no one will see either of you. The man is coming into the house soon. I’ve called the police and said that you were the caller. I want you to stand right where you are so that Barber can keep you safe.”

The front door exploded open and the alarm that was on the whole house began to scream loudly throughout the house. She thought for sure that the man was going to ignore the sounds but almost as soon as he stepped into the dining room where she was, he turned and left. Still, neither she nor her new best friend Barber moved until the police pulled into the driveway.

~*~

Emma was ready to go home and not hire anyone when the two women came and had a seat where she was conducting interviews. Not only did they have a copy of their license, but they also brought her a copy of their certificate from the training center where they got their permission—or whatever it was called to drive the big rigs. They were tandem drivers, they told her.

“My name is Danielle, and this is my sister Shelby Pennebaker. We’ve been driving for the last five years and have done well.” She thought that the two of them could have been models; they were so beautiful. But it seemed to her, too, that they had no desire to be anything but drivers. “My grandda was a driver, my parents were tandem drivers until we were born, then it was just him. After our mom passed away, he’d take us on the road, and we learned a great deal from him.”

“Do you own your own rig?” That was something that she needed to know, and when they said that they did, with a refrigerant hook-up, she wanted to hire them on the spot. But she had a guideline, and she was going to follow it. “How much traveling did you want to do? Or do you just want local?”

“We don’t have a home, so it doesn’t matter where you send us. That’s the reason that we haveour own rig so that we’ve had it built for us.” Danielle looked at her sister as they continued. “We don’t need to work. We’ve both been made wealthy by insurance from when our family was alive, and now we find moving around together is all we need.”

“I would think that you’d not like being together like that.” She laughed when they did. “Do you fight a great deal? That’s just me asking. I’ve no brothers or sisters to compare my life with except for a step-sister who is a great deal older than I am.”

“We grew up practically in the back of a rig. We were all we had, and it was considered wrong to have your kids with you when driving. So, we learned very quickly to get along no matter what, and we do the same now. Not that we don’t have our differences, but we don’t have fights like a lot of drivers with their tandem drivers have.”

She could see that they were close, and for some reason, she trusted that they would do a good job for them when they were overseeing the warehouse products that they were planning on getting. The fruits and vegetables that they got earlier in the week had given them a boost like they’d not thought of, and they were going to try and do the same again and again.

After the two of them left, Emma only had three more people to interview. She didn’t want to but she had said that she’d knock these interviews out of the way so that they could get started on a few other projects that they had going on. She’d been by the pack yesterday and was happy that they’d been able to use nearly everything that had been purchased from Tabby. And they’d been able to make forty-four pies and put them into the freezer for when they needed them. It had worked out beautifully for a great many people.

When she got home, she was happy to see that Dyson was there. Even though he was on his office phone, she did go in and kiss him in greeting. Her grandda was in the kitchen having a light lunch with the cook and having a great time.

“I was just telling Beth here that I’d like to have some of that salmon she has in the freezer. That’s my favorite dish, as you well know.” She said that she did know that and wouldn’t mind some at all. “I tried to explain to her how you cook it, but I messed it all up. If you could tell her, I’d be thrilled beyond anything about it. It’s about the best that I’ve ever eaten.”

After telling Beth how it was cooked, her grandda wandered off to go in the backyard. He loved spending time there, and with Darling still behind bars with her daughter, it was easier for him to get around town, too. Her grandda would be one hundred years old in a couple of months, and he was getting around better than he had in the last five years. She loved this magic for him so very much.

After dinner, all of them enjoying the fresh salmon, they decided that the weather was just perfect for them to go into town and get some dessert. Grandda and Dyson loved banana splits and she had herself a malt. That was what she loved more than just plain ice cream in a bowl. However, she didn’t care for shakes. The tastes weren’t the same.

“I have me a little job. That little girl, Amy hired me to wander around town when the weather is good and listen to what people are needing. She sure did, with the rest of you fellers, make a good dent in people going hungry this year. Those vegetables surely did fill a lot of bellies and freezers this year. And you getting anyone that could afford it a freezer at cost sure has made them people love what’s going on in their town.” Emma said that she’d noticed too that a great many more people are volunteering at the pack house to help separate out of the foods. “Yeah, I saw that too. And letting people come and get what they wanted was good to do. I know that the women’s shelter was the happiest of the groups that I’ve ever seen.”

They were planning a clothing drive in the next couple of weeks. It wasn’t just for the children of the town so much as to have a shop set up where people could come and get what they needed—adults to children. The Walsh family had purchased two washer and dryer sets so that they could clean up everything that was brought in. She was having the time of her life helping with so many projects around town and into the county.

“Did Amy tell you about the near robbery of Tabby’s parents’ home? It was a couple of nights ago. The robber had noticed that the family car wasn’t moving, and he decided that when Tabby wasthere, he’d go in and get her to open the safe if there was any. She was lucky that Amy had a connection with her or there is no telling what might have happened.” Dyson said that she had a faerie now that watched over her and her daughter, who is home from the hospital now. They’re staying in one of the larger hotel chains until they sell their home. I’m not sure what that’s about, but she might be moving this way.”

“That’s great. Maybe she’s the mate of one of the other brothers.” Dyson said he was joking, but Emma had been thinking the same thing. Then there was the Pennebaker women. They were both single and moving to this area as well. She told them about the two of them. “Twins, huh? Well, that would be awesome. To have all these pretty women around for the others…not that it would matter to them, I don’t think. Believe it or not, I think that Edgar is really looking forward to having a mate. He isn’t even looking for himself a house yet so that they can pick it out together.”

“I don’t think that Sidney is looking for a mate. I believe that he feels like he’s going to be alone for the rest of his life. He is a great man, and I have no idea why he’d think that, but that’s what he’s been saying for a few weeks now. He’ll just be the best uncle to all the kids we have.” All three of them got a kick out of that. Of the six boys, as they were called, Sidney was the biggest flirt and had the most fun with women all the time. “When he gets his mate I think he’s going to be hit hard with the love that they create. He’s going to be a good father, too, to whoever comes along.”

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