Page 8 of Home on the Road

Ziggy did not voice any of the dozens of questions that were racing through Harry’s mind, for which he was grateful.

It took a few minutes before Harry heard several locks click and the door opened only a few inches. Sam peeked around the panel and stared at him for a long moment before pulling the door open fully.

“Oh, thank God, it’s you,” his brother said, stepping back to allow them inside.

Harry frowned. Sam looked like he had not slept in a week, which was not like his brother who still slept nine hours every night like he did as a teenager. He also looked like he had slept in his clothes, for at least the past couple of nights.

When Sam crowded him, Harry set the box in his arms onthe kitchen table and allowed his brother to step in and hug him tight.

“Sam? What the fuck is going on?”

Harry returned the hug, stunned to feel his brother trembling in his embrace. He did not let go until Sam eased his hold and pulled back.

“I changed the locks,” Sam stated the obvious, sounding like he was confused.

“Are you all right?” Harry asked as he took his brother’s arm and led him to the kitchen table. Pulling out a chair, he pushed Sam into it. “What happened?”

“Someone broke in the other day,” he answered, still not sounding like himself. “Well, they sorta broke in. They had a key, so they didn’t break in, but they made a mess of things in the office. Well, in the office, and upstairs, but as far as I can tell they didn’t take anything, just messed things up.”

Sam’s rambling worried Harry more than the news he was sharing. Sam wasn’t one to get rattled, none of them were. He wondered if he should call Brogan home, or if his being home for the next week would be enough to help settle the man down.

That’s when Sam saw Ziggy standing beside the closed back door, looking nervous.

“Who are you?” his brother asked, sounding fearful and accusatory rather than welcoming to Harry’s new partner.

Chapter Five

Ziggy looked at Harry for help but when the man simply nodded, he said, “I’m Ziggy.”

Sam looked from him to Harry. “Who is Ziggy?”

“Ziggy is the company’s new hire. He’s going to be my driving partner,” Harry said simply.

No need to give Sam more to worry about than absolutely necessary.

“Oh, yeah? And does he at least know how to drive? We’ve got to send Shepherd to school before he’s any use to the company. Though Brogan did say his latest book has been accepted.”

Ziggy did not wait for Harry to answer for him. He was able to speak for himself. “I’ve had my CDL for almost six years and drove up until six months ago.”

He did wonder who Brogan and Shepherd were and what the book was about. He wanted to ask, but rolled his lips over his tongue to stay silent instead. Harry’s brother seemed to be stressed beyond what was healthy and he was not sure how much more he could stand.

“Oh. Okay. Great.”

Sam pulled in a deep breath and released a long sigh. He sat quiet for a moment and it appeared as if he were shifting mental gears. A moment later it seemed Sam was in full business mode.

“I’ll need a copy of your resumé and license. We’ll have to do a security check and set up a physical and drug test before you can go out on the road.”

Ziggy nodded. “Okay.”

“We’ll take care of that later. Right now, I’m going to show Ziggy around and then empty the truck. Why don’t you go get a shower, change your clothes, and take a nap?”

Harry sounded more like Sam’s father than his brother at that moment and Ziggy wondered how the other man would respond. If it was him, he would be heading upstairs at a run to obey the man’s orders.

“Okay,” Sam said, pushing up and walking out of the room as if he were back in a daze.

Ziggy listened as the man clomped up a set of stairs before he looked at Harry. “Is he all right?”

Harry lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck. “I’m not sure. Once he’s out of the shower and had some sleep, hopefully he’ll be a little more coherent. Because I gotta tell you, what you just saw is not my brother’s normal.”

---