Page 67 of The Other Side

Thea woke to the sun shining brightly through the bedroom window. She tried to roll away from it, but the heavy brace on her leg pulled. Her arm and neck ached. Sleeping had been a pain lately, but she couldn’t put all the blame on her physical injuries.

Flopping onto her back, she closed her eyes and prayed for sleep to take her again–just for a few minutes. At least she’d slept late enough that she’d miss Brett’s worried looks. It was enough that he’d watched her with those pitiful glances after her breakdown in the barn yesterday. He’d tried his best to perk her up, but the emotional toll of everything was piling up at once.

He’d left her with Hadley for a few hours in the evening to pick up a load of lumber from the hardware store, but other than that, Brett had stayed dutifully by her side. Thea didn’t understand the reasoning. She was a complete wet blanket, weighing everyone down.

The sound of clinking glasses coming from the kitchen told her Hadley was probably making coffee, and Thea needed some in the worst way.

Pushing slowly out of bed and stretching the protesting muscles, she got dressed and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She’d been right about the coffee. The warm smell lifted her shoulders and filled her with a spark of life.

“Morning, sunshine. How do you like your eggs?” Hadley asked.

“You’re cooking?”

“I thought we’d skip the early morning social hour. You didn’t seem too chatty last night.”

Thea propped her crutches against the wall and practically fell into the chair by the table. Getting up and down with grace was out of the question these days. “You got me there. Sorry I’ve been a downer.”

Hadley pulled a skillet out of a cabinet. “It’s fine. Anything you want to talk about?”

“What are you up to today?” Thea asked.

“Hanging out with Ben and Abby while Colt and Remi enjoy some of their honeymoon at home. You?”

“I told Ava I’d help her in the office today. Can I get a ride?”

“Sure thing. You like bacon?” Hadley asked.

“Definitely. Anything I can do to help?”

Hadley grabbed a package of bacon from the fridge. “Just sit there and keep me company. After hearing from your lovely cousin yesterday, I don’t think it’s a good idea to meet up with your mom again.”

“I know. It was a stupid idea in the first place. That’s how all this mess started.”

“Right, but maybe I could just get a message to her for you.”

Thea thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. “I don’t want to push the limits. We all know how dangerous this could be.”

“I get it. The offer still stands. I could pretend to be a vacuum saleswoman, or I could act like I was the exterminator and just show up at the door.”

“I definitely don’t want you showing up at the door when Tommy could be there.” Thea shuddered at the thought of sweet Hadley coming face-to-face with the devil himself.

“I told the kids I’d take them to Grady’s Feed and Seed today to look around. They love that place. You need me to pick up anything for you? They have some winter clothes. You might need a thicker coat if this winter decides to keep up the unforgiving temps.”

“I could really use a sweater,” Thea said as she got up to get Hadley some money.

“Comfy and warm. Got it.”

Thea laid the money on the table. “There’s some extra for groceries.”

That was the last of her cash, and while she needed money, she wasn’t sure about trusting Hadley with her debit card yet. Maybe Brett would take it to the nearest ATM the next time he was in town.

Though, knowing him, he’d probably just try to give her money. His generosity was both sweet and frustrating. He trusted way easier than Thea did. How many times had he been taken advantage of in his life? Unfortunately, her name was on his list of traitors.

His uncle had tried to blame him for her dad’s death. He probably had his own set of trust issues that he calculated in his spare time. Growing up with families like theirs made it hard to see the good side of anything.

The casual chat with Hadley over breakfast had turned Thea’s mood around, and she was looking forward to the morning when they headed outside. Fog settled over everything in the cold morning. She could barely see her hand in front of her face, much less her future.

Hadley parked in front of the check-in office and reached into the back for the crutches. Thea took them, closed the door, and waved as Hadley rolled the passenger window down. “Call me when you need a ride somewhere. If I’m not around, I’m sure Brett will pick you up.”

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