Walker Revenge (The Walker Family Series Book 5) (14 page)

Chelsea nodded. “They’re in my room. I’ll be
right back. C’mon, Lucas.”

“He’s fine right here,” Russell offered,
again, not sure why, but there was great pleasure in having him
there.

Chelsea nodded and left the room.

“He’s not bothering you during your
rehabilitation is he?” Karen asked as Lucas walked to the window
and looked outside.

“No. He seems to be equally as good a nurse
as his mother is,” he said.

“Sometimes children are the best medicine.
You need to let her know if that changes, though,” she said, her
brows raised as if to make a point.

“I will.”

Chelsea returned with her notes and with
Russell’s mother, who took Lucas to do something else. He listened
as the women discussed him, right in front of him, and he focused
in on Chelsea’s voice as she answered every question Karen had for
her. She was brilliant, he thought. Every patient that had her for
a nurse would be well taken care of.

Karen gave her instructions, which Chelsea
jotted down. They discussed his pending doctor’s appointment for
the day after Christmas. When Karen packed up to leave, she leaned
into him. “Have a nice Christmas. I’ll see you in a few days.
Esther will be here tomorrow.”

“Chelsea can’t just take care of me?”

“Not yet, but she’s doing a great job,” she
said, and Russell shifted his gaze to Chelsea, who was still
writing down notes in her notebook.

“I think she is, too,” he offered, and Karen
smiled.

~*~

It was nearly lunchtime when Russell’s
father came for him. “I told your mother I was taking you to check
fences. I’ve already gotten some feedback on that not being good
for you. So if I catch hell taking you into town…”

“We'll be okay, Dad. Hey, I sent an email to
that prefabricated housing company and set us up an appointment in
January.”

His father laughed as he unlocked the wheels
to the wheelchair and began to push Russell from the bedroom.
“You’re serious about all of this, huh?” he asked as he pushed him
out to the driveway.

“Time to think about settling down I
think.”

His father opened the door to his mother’s
car, which was easier for him to slide into than his father’s
truck.

“Settle down? That sounds like wife and kids
talk.”

“Maybe,” he offered, as his father helped
lift him from the chair and ease him into the car.

Once he was settled, his father put the
wheelchair in the trunk, and then climbed in next to him.

“Back to this settling in. Does this have
something to do with Chelsea?”

Russell laughed. “Maybe.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea? Things are
a bit unstable right now with everything going on in her life and
with you suffering these injuries.”

“Mom says it’s fate.”

His father let out a snort of disapproval as
he turned onto the dirt road that would lead them into town.

“Your mom buys into fate much more than I
do. I just don’t want to see you get hurt. If Phillip Smythe is
right, and it was her husband’s truck that ran you off the
road…”

“Ex-husband.”

“Whatever,” his father said lifting his
hands from the wheel for emphasis. “Some connection with her nearly
got you killed. As your father, a lifetime commitment to this
sounds a little crazy. Especially since you’re talking about it
while you’re still ankle to groin in a huge bandage and a
wheelchair, and she’s hiding out in our house.”

There was validity to his father’s worries,
but at the moment he wasn’t going to think about it. He was going
to focus on going Christmas shopping and getting home before anyone
noticed they’d been missing for hours.

As they merged onto the main road, Russell
could feel the tension build in his body. They’d be passing the
guardrail he went through. He braced for it as they came up on
it.

“Slow down, would you. I want to see this,”
he said to his father, who did as he asked and actually pulled to
the shoulder.

“I usually drive the other way. I didn’t
want your mother to see this,” he admitted.

Russell looked at the road ahead where his
tire tracks still stained the pavement. The railing was taped off,
but his truck had done quite a job on them before they gave way and
his truck flipped down the hill and into the trees.

He held his breath. Nearly two weeks later
and it still looked horrible. Closing his eyes, he tried to
remember anything he could about that night.

Innocently, he’d gone to the bar to let off
a little steam. He’d been worked up over his brother going to Italy
with Gia. It had been stupid, but he was lonely, and when things
hadn’t worked out for himself with Gia, well, he just wanted a
night to forget.

He’d had all of two beers before he’d begun
making moves on the bartender. Yes, he’d gotten into it with
someone who didn’t care much for the Walkers, though he hadn’t
offered up much reasoning, except to say Byron Walker had once
screwed him out of a job or something. It hadn’t been much of a
surprise, as many people didn’t care for Russell’s uncle. It was
when he’d made a comment about his father that Russell remembered
getting mad, but even then he’d let the comment slide. And then the
man said something about not being man enough for Chelsea. That had
struck a chord. He’d made it a point to bring up the knowledge that
she had to get some on the side and challenged his manhood again.
That’s when he got in the man’s face.

They never hit each other. Only words had
been exchanged, but they were heated.

There was a woman there, too. She’d been
older, and he remembered looking at her thinking that she must have
had a hell of a life, and it showed like a map on her face. Her
skin was pale, and her hair nearly black. It was a stark
contrast.

She had held off the man, telling him that
Russell wasn’t worth the energy, but he didn’t remember them
following him to his truck that night. All he remembered was
finishing his beer, tipping the bartender, and leaving.

“You doing okay?” his father asked, and
Russell realized he’d closed his eyes.

“Yeah. I was just trying to remember being
run off the road.”

“And?”

“I don’t.”

“We’d better finish our shopping. Where do
you want to go first?”

~*~

With Russell out with Everett, Chelsea found
it nice just to relax for a few hours. Lydia had dropped by with
baked goods for Glenda for Christmas, and she stayed to chat with
Chelsea.

They sat on the back porch of the Walker
house. Chelsea had a jacket wrapped around her to keep her warm,
and a cup of tea between her hands. Lucas was blowing bubbles in
the cold, which Lydia had brought over for him. She would never
have imagined this was how they would spend Christmas Eve.

“I drove by your house this morning on my
way back from the event center. Smythe was loading things into his
truck.”

“I asked him to get Lucas’s bed, a gate, and
his highchair. They were things we didn’t think of the first time,
but it’ll make it easier here.”

“I’m sure between all of Russell’s brothers
and cousins, you could have had them move them for you. Why ask
Smythe?” she growled.

“He offered, and he checks up on the house.
It’s his opportunity to see if it’s been compromised again.”

“You, my friend, are living many different
hells. Your ex is on parole. Your house is broken into, and you’re
forced out of it. And you have to spend all this extra time with
Smythe. He’s never been a fan of the Walkers, you know.”

Chelsea shook her head. “No,” she whispered.
“He’s never been a fan of Byron Walker because he causes trouble,”
she reminded her.

Lydia nodded in agreement. “He’s certainly
had a lot of work because of him. And Jake’s street racing hasn't
helped his attitude toward the Walkers.”

Chelsea laughed. “I think he’s learned his
lesson there.”

Lydia sat back in her chair and warmed her
hands on her mug. “How does Russ do with Lucas? That’s been a sore
spot for him, you know.”

“I can imagine. He wasn’t ready to accept
him, but I think he might have fallen in love.”

“With Lucas?”

Chelsea nodded, as she watched him spin in
circles. “I think they’ll be good for each other.”

Lydia leaned in, her arms on her legs. “Are
you sure about this? Do you really want to go back there?”

“It was a good place to be, Lydia. I messed
it up.”

“You fight a lot.”

That made her chuckle. “We still do. But if
he’ll give me another chance, I won’t turn it down.”

“Do you think it’s your ex that tried to
hurt him?”

She shook her head. “I think it’s
coincidence.”

“You believe that just randomly, whoever
stole that truck decided to run him off the road?”

“I have to believe that. I can’t think that
this is my fault at all. I wasn’t there. And it’s only chance that
I happened to be on that floor at the hospital for rotation when he
came in. This is life offering me a second chance,” she assured her
friend.

Lydia relaxed back. “We’re a mess, you know?
You love a man with a temper and a mouth that causes people to run
him off of roads. And the only man who is interested in me is the
one man I have no interest in.”

“Are you sure?”

“The only thing I’m more sure about is that
I’d rather die alone than to give in to him,” she said with a curt
nod.

Chelsea turned when she heard the door
behind them slide open. She nearly laughed when Phillip Smythe
walked through it.

Lydia gripped her mug tighter and her lips
pursed.

“Afternoon, Ladies,” he said
lightheartedly.

“Good afternoon,” Chelsea greeted, but Lydia
kept her eyes forward.

“Chels, the things I brought from your house
are in the garage. Mrs. Walker thought that would work for now.
She’ll have Gerald and Ben bring them up for you. I also brought
those other items I’d been holding,” he said, as he looked at
Lucas.

“I appreciate it. Can I get you some coffee
or tea?” she offered and noticed Lydia shift her a steel-eyed
look.

“I have to get back to town. I’m going back
over the tapes from the bar.”

“Do you think you’ll find something.”

“I hope so,” he said. “I’d like to give Russ
some closure.”

“He’d appreciate that.”

“Where is he?” Phillip asked, but she
noticed his eyes had diverted to Lydia, who kept her attention
directed away.

“He went out with Everett to check the
fences. They’ve been gone for a very long time, though.”

“Perhaps they stopped up at Eric’s.”

“That could be,” she agreed. She hadn’t
thought of that.

“I’ll leave you two to your drinks.” He
turned to leave and stopped again. “Goodbye, Lydia.”

Lydia huffed out a breath. “Bye,” she said
sarcastically, without ever looking over her shoulder.

Phillip smiled and headed back into the
house.

Lucas jumped around the yard a bit more. His
little nose had become cherry red, and Chelsea’s tea had gone cold.
As she stood to gather up her son, the door opened again, and
Russell poised his chair at the top of the ramp.

Lucas looked up and with an enormous smile
on his little lips. He ran toward him. “Ride.”

The smile on Russell’s face matched that of
her son’s, and she felt her heart swell in her chest.

“Dad, you heard him,” Russell said, and
Everett picked up Lucas, set him on Russell’s lap, and pushed them
down the ramp to the patio where she sat with Lydia. “It’s chilly
out here,” he said as Lucas snuggled up to him and rested his head
against him.

“He’s been a little cooped up in the house.
I thought it was good to let him run,” she said as she gazed at the
two of them together.

“I should head back home,” Lydia stood. “My
grandfather is trying to make nice by having dinner tonight. It
should be interesting.”

Lydia kissed Chelsea on the cheek and then
did the same for both Russell and Lucas before she walked through
the house.

When Chelsea turned back, she noticed Lucas
had already fallen asleep on Russell’s lap, and Russell was gazing
at him, much as she did, herself, when he’d sleep. He brushed his
hand over his head, his fingers lingering on his forehead. She
thought she might cry at the sight.

“Did Mom tell you Santa is coming to visit
him tonight?”

“She did. She’s gone above and beyond.”

“She loves Christmas. She put stockings up
for you both too.”

“I saw them. She’s made me feel like part of
the family.”

Russell reached his hand out to her, and she
took it. “You are part of this family. So is he.”

She squeezed his hand. “That was all I ever
wanted, Russ. You have to know that.”

“I do now.” He shifted slightly so he could
reach into his pocket, under Lucas’s body. “So I have a confession.
Dad and I weren’t out checking fencelines.”

“You shouldn’t leave the house,” she
scolded.

“I know. But I wanted to go to town and do
some shopping.”

Chelsea narrowed her eyes on him. “Karen had
better not find out.”

He laughed. “She won’t. I wanted to get
something for you, and I can’t wait until tomorrow to give it to
you.” He handed her a small wrapped box, and now the tears did
come.

“Russ…”

“Go on,” he said as he wrapped his arm
around Lucas and held him close.

Between the thoughtfulness of the gift in
her hands and the sight in front of her, she thought perhaps her
heart might melt.

She unwrapped the box and pulled it open to
reveal a diamond, heart-shaped pendant. She pulled out the necklace
and held it up.

“Oh, Russell. This is too much.”

“You have a beautiful heart, Chels. I wanted
to commemorate it. I think becoming a nurse fits you. You’ve always
cared for people, and the two of us know how much you give to
others, first hand,” he said before he placed a kiss on Lucas’s
head.