Page 19 of Memories of the Past

“Sure thing.” I chuckled.

I looked over to where Jack stood speaking with another member of the town and took a step forward, waiting for Jed, only as he took a step forward, he lost his balance, and before I could move fast enough, down he went.

“Jed,” I cried, kneeling beside him on the floor. “Are you all right. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine,” he said, breathing hard. “I just had the wind knocked out of me.” He put his hand beside him and went to move and hissed in pain.

“Jed, perhaps you should just sit there for a few minutes,” I said, trying to grab his hand and check him over. “Catch your breath.”

Just as I caught his hand Jack came running over. “What happened? Dad, are you all right?”

Jed looked over toward his son. “Nothing happened, I fell. I’ve fallen plenty of times in my life, just as you have. It’s nothing to worry about.”

I looked to Jack and saw the concern in his face, and I leaned into him. “I think we should call an ambulance,” I whispered. “He tried to put pressure on his hand and get up, but there is pain somewhere. Could be the hip for all we know.”

Jack looked to me and nodded, pulling his phone from his back pocket and dialing a number for the ambulance.

“Who are you calling? Get off that phone right now,” Jed demanded.

“He’s calling the ambulance, Jed. We want to make sure you’re fine,” I whispered, while Jack spoke to the attendant on the other end of the phone.

“I told you I’m fine,” he said and went to try to push himself up again, this time hissing out in pain and pulling his hand up, rubbing his wrist.

“Jed, I don’t think you are. Now just relax, don’t move. We don’t know if anything is broken.”

I could tell Jed was irritated with us both as we waited for the ambulance. Thankfully, it didn’t take them long to arrive, and we watched as they loaded Jed onto a stretcher and placed him into the back of an ambulance.

I turned toward Jack. “Let me know how he makes out,” I said, shaking his hand.

“Sure will. I fear it might be time Dad moves into that new retirement home they just built here. He’s getting harder to look after by the day. He’s so unsteady on his feet, and I fear leaving him alone when I head to work.” He shrugged, looking at me with worry. “Besides, he keeps telling me that is where he wants to go.”

“Wait and see how he makes out. If you need help talking to him, I’ll come by and have a chat with him. I speak his language, remember.”

“I’m glad someone does. I wish Mom were still here. She was always able to get him to do anything. Sadly, she passed on a few years ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Please keep me posted,” I said, patting Jack on the back. I watched as he made his way to his car and pulled out of the parking spot, following behind the ambulance.

It was nine when I left the funeral home and made my way back to the ranch. I drove up the dark driveway and parked my truck in front of the house. As I climbed the steps, I was surprised to find a few casserole dishes of food on the front porch, each of them containing a small note telling me what the dish was and who it was from. I carried them into the kitchen, carefully putting everything into the fridge. Then I chose one and placed a couple scoops in a bowl and heated it up in the microwave. I sat down in the living room and turned on the small TV. I flipped until I came across a bull riding match and took a bite of the chicken and broccoli casserole.

CHAPTER 8

Trinity

I stood on a ladder, wiping off the tops of the shelves. It seemed they hadn’t been dusted in years and looking at them up close, I noticed they could really use a coat of stain. They were in worse shape than I’d thought. I grabbed my spray bottle and sprayed the cleaner over the surface again and taking my cloth, I wiped them clean again.

It had been a slow afternoon, which I was glad about as it gave me time to get some of this cleaning done. Plus, it was nice to be surrounded by the quiet. Luna lay in the over-sized armchair, sound asleep, curled up on the blanket I’d thrown there.

“There we go, Luna, that shelf is all clean now,” I said, carefully climbing down the ladder to grab the stack of books I’d removed and replaced them. It was the last set of shelves I had planned on doing today, so I folded the ladder back up and placed it back in its spot between the bookshelves.

The viewing for William Jenkins had been yesterday. I’d decided to go as it was my day off, but for the funeral, I would have to close the shop in the morning since Ava, the girl who normally helped me in the late afternoon and on weekends, was not available to work. Many members of the town had shown up and shared some memories with each other. I had gone for a few minutes, offered my condolences to Thomas quickly, and then went off to talk with others, leaving shortly thereafter.

Of course, I’d heard that there had been an incident at the viewing. Apparently, Jed Hawkins had come in with his son, Jack, and had taken a nasty fall. I’d heard from Brooke that they had to take him by ambulance to the hospital. I was glad I’d missed him. After all, he was the man responsible for taking Thomas away from me all those years ago.

I ran my feather duster over the books in the romance section and turned abruptly when the bells above the door jingled. Peggy entered the store, a smile on her face as she closed her umbrella.

“Hey!!” she sang, “It’s really coming down out there.” She shook her closed umbrella just outside the door. It had been raining almost the entire afternoon.

“Yes, that it is,” I said, moving toward the window to look outside at the dark-grey skies, just as a crack of thunder rang out. “What’s with the clipboard?” I questioned, looking to Peggy.

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