Every Mile a Memory

Chapter 15

There was some kind of metallic, scratching noise that made me rub at my eyes and listen more closely. My breathing, still erratic, was getting in the way of my ability to hear. I needed to calm down and concentrate. There was definitely a voice mixed in with the other sound. And…I think it was calling my name.

“Yeah. I’m down here.” I was so beyond all sense of normalcy that it took me a couple tries to use the right amount of force in my vocal cords to let the person above know I was in the hellhole below.

“Hey. I’m gonna get you out,” called the voice. “You all right?”

“Yeah,” I managed and, in essence, lied. I wouldn’t be all right until I was out.

“Okay. I’m just gonna need a little help. He’s on his way. Just be a few minutes. Hang tight,” came the voice, which I determined belonged to an angel.

There was help. Help was there. I just needed to hang tight. Like, what else was I going to do? Besides go completely mentally mad, of course. I leaned against the wall and tried to breathe and listen. Then another voice joined the first, followed by a lot of noise and grunting before there was a sudden rush of natural light filling my tomb. I shielded my eyes momentarily to let them adjust before looking up. There was an older gentleman, with scraggly, blondish-white hair, looking down at me.

“C’mon, little miss.” He reached out a hand as I began to climb the steps. “We got you. You’re okay.”

When I made it to the top, my knees practically gave way in the exhilaration of fresh air. I started to shake a little. Everything was a blur. The man who had helped me through the shelter doors asked if I wanted to sit down. I could tell he was a little concerned.

But I couldn’t. I couldn’t sit. I was too wound up and needing… “Where’s Hawk?” I turned from the first man, who was obviously a firefighter—the suspenders and emergency four-wheel-drive vehicle were tell-tale signs—to the younger version by his side. I had expected it to be Hawk, but it wasn’t.

“We got a call from Alex,” the chiseled, light-brown-haired man said.

“Al—? Where’s Hawk?” I asked again.

I needed Hawk. I needed him. Everything was too much. I could maybe handle it with him beside me, but—

“Maya? You’re Maya, right?” the elder asked.

“I don’t feel good,” was my response.

“Let us look at your hands,” brown-haired prompted.

“What?” I peered at the raw scrapes and scratches that had formed from trying to make my escape. Despite the blood, I hadn’t felt them at all.

“What were you trying to—” was all fireman number one got out before my stomach retched, and I promptly threw up on the grass. “Geez, little lady, take it easy. You’re okay.”

I sat down that time—on a large, downed tree trunk. It was right next to the red doors of terror. Oh! The tree had fallen on the shelter. That was why I couldn’t get out. I looked then to the house. It appeared all right. Thank God. It was still standing—doors, windows, roof, all looked intact.

The younger man cautiously handed me a mint from his bag. “You think you’re done?” He spoke of my unexpected upheaval.

“Uh-huh.” I gladly sucked on the red and white peppermint. “Thanks.”

“When was your last tetanus? That shelter is pretty old.”

“Uh…uh…” Trying to remember something like that was pointless when I was having trouble just concentrating on simple things like my name and where I was. “A while,” I admitted.

When the walkie-talkie on his hip started beeping and sounding out a static noise, he flipped it into his hand and turned to the lighter-haired fellow. “You better take her to the clinic just as a precaution. I’ll follow through with these.”

I looked to the other man who said, “Good deal. Call Alex. Tell him what’s going on. And I’ll call this in and meet up with you after.”

I picked up my phone. I needed to call someone, too. But I couldn’t. The damn thing was dead. It wasn’t that there wasn’t any service. The battery had run out. Damn it!

As the younger man quickly packed up and took off in his blue sedan, the second firefighter’s phone started ringing. He was immediately engaged in a conversation, while leading me into his truck. I followed, still kind of in a fog, but knowing I did need to get my wounds checked.

The ride to the medical facility wasn’t too far from Della’s home. It only occurred to me as we pulled up that I should have seen about locking her door and grabbing my purse with my insurance and credit cards. But I hadn’t. I could have even called Hawk from the landline, since the fireman was on his phone non-stop. But I hadn’t. I wasn’t thinking clearly yet.

The clinic was fairly busy, as should have been expected after a weather system like that blew through. Luckily though, it seemed, by my car window observations and listening to the fireman’s dialogue on his phone, the storm wasn’t as bad as what had been predicted. And my wait in the clinic wasn’t going to be, either. My fireman hero, who I learned was named Elijah, coaxed the receptionist into moving me up in line.

I had just turned my paperwork in and Elijah had gotten off his phone when Hawk streamlined through the doors. It didn’t take him long to spot the two of us sitting in the row of connected chairs. It was an even shorter amount of time for him to get to me.

“Oh, shit!” He shook his head as I got up, and he gently brought my weathered hands into his.

I clung hard to his torso. And for the first time since those tears in the storm shelter, I cried. I had never done so in front of him, but I didn’t care. I knew I could. I knew my real shelter from the storm was in my arms.

“Breathe, Mai,” I heard him murmur from behind my back.

Knowing I was finally able to do that again, I pulled my body a little apart from his. “I didn’t want to go down there.”

“I know,” he concurred, and tucked a piece of my hair, which probably looked like Medusa’s, behind my ear.

“There are a lot of places I need to—” Elijah rose to his feet, too.

Hawk extended his hand out to the firefighter as I sucked back into my man’s side. “I know. Thanks. Thanks, Eli. And thank Gavin, too, for coming and calling me. I owe you both.”

“John’s kid owes us nothing,” he said, and then I realized the connection—Hawk’s dad had been a firefighter. “And your mom…well, there’s no one better.”

Another Della admirer, I thought, as Hawk said to Eli, “You oughta do something about that.” It was an obvious attempt at a set-up.

“I have.” The older man shifted a little awkwardly on his feet.

“Really?” Hawk asked the question in a light but legitimately inquisitive way and then added, “A little conversation-starter for dinner tonight.”

Elijah shook his head and turned to me. “It was nice to meet you. Get those hands looked at. And make sure to tell them you threw up. Whether it was dehydration or nerves, you should check it out.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Thanks.” We watched Elijah exit before I said, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” His look was incredulous.

“For not listening when you asked me to go down there right away. For being such a baby.” A few fresh tears emerged in my eyes.

“Maya…” He cupped my face with his large, comforting hands. “I know how hard it was for you. I would have never, ever asked you to go down there if I thought there was another way.”

“I tried hard not to panic.” I started to retell my scary tale as Hawk brought his hands down to my hips. “I did. But especially when the doors wouldn’t open…”

“I’m sorry, sweetie. I got here as soon as I could. I—”

“I know.”

“I couldn’t understand why you weren’t picking up your phone. I knew you would be out of there as soon as you possibly could. I knew there had to be something wrong.”

“I’m okay now,” I said, and that time it was almost the truth. “And just so you know, I wouldn’t have gone down there for any other person.”

He kissed the top of my head as a sign of his gratitude. “C’mon, let’s sit down.”

But as soon as we did, Hawk’s phone rang. He looked at it and said, “It’s my brother Liam. It’s probably about my mom.”

“Where is she?” I was trying to recall what Hawk had told me prior to all of the storm shelter mess.

“The plane ended up going to Will Rogers.” When I furrowed my eyebrows, Hawk explained. “Airport. Let me get this.”

Listening to Hawk speak with his brother, I gathered the other airport was closer to where Liam and his family lived. So they were picking Della up and then meeting us back at her home. Hawk then explained to his brother where he and I were, and they had a light banter about the Elijah-Della connection.

The doctor’s assistant called my name while Hawk was still on the phone. I reassured him that he could keep talking, and I went in for the poking and prodding. First was the dreaded height and weight, followed by routine questions, and then the additional wait for the doctor in the exam room. After my wounds were cleaned, they didn’t look so bad. All I needed was some gauze and ointment momentarily and, of course, the lovely shot. She encouraged me to drink plenty of water and ran blood tests just to double check everything. But because my stomach had immediately settled, the vomiting was most likely due to my panicked state and lack of air.

When I went to leave and sign any papers at the front desk, the receptionist said everything was already taken care of. She was able to look up my insurance by the information I had given them, and the co-pay had been paid. I turned to Hawk, who had come to my side. I knew I was going to have to ask him to foot the small bill, but it was obvious he already had.

As we walked out to the parking lot, I asked, “So when I pay you back for the copa—”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t have to pay me back.”

I had figured that—it really was minimal—but that wasn’t where I had been going with the line of conversation. “Should I make the check out to ‘Alex’?” When he squinted those mesmerizing eyes at me and shrugged, I concluded with, “Really? That’s you, right?” My mind was clear again and was able to replay things that had happened since the first of the winds blew.

“Yeah.”

“What? What’s with Hawk?” We stopped in front of the SUV.

He related the story of how Alexander was, indeed, his formal name. But shortly after he and Finn met, Finn started jokingly calling him Hawk due to his precision to detail and looking out for everything…Hawk eyes. And it stuck. No one knew him by Alex at Team Murphy.

“Hmmm,” I said, looking him up and down.

“I’m the same guy,” he seemed to tsk more than say. “I don’t even think about it until I come home.”

“Uh-huh.” I offered little again and then started to walk away.

“What are you doing? Where you going?” he immediately questioned.

“I’m not getting in a car with a guy I just met seconds ago,” I teased.

He carefully took my wrapped hand and turned me toward him. “First of all”—a knowing grin spread across his face—“you went into a hotel room with me in even less time and didn’t know my name.” When I smiled with remembrance, he continued in a more serious tone. “And second, you know me. You know me better than almost anyone.”

“Alex?” It wasn’t flowing off my tongue the right way.

“Yeah.”

“I think I’m gonna stick with Hawk. You’re definitely more of a Hawk.”

“Yeah, I kinda think so, too.”

***

Thank goodness I had time to shower, reapply some makeup, and change into fresh clothes before meeting Hawk’s family. Medusa, as a descriptor of my appearance, would have been too kind. I’m surprised Hawk hadn’t run out in horror or had me committed when he saw the mess I was in at the clinic.

When I came down the stairs, everyone was gathered in the enormous kitchen. They were a boisterous group, having not seen one another in a while and replaying the excitement of the day. I was able to stand back and simply observe without being noticed for a moment or two.

“So, you know, Momma”—Hawk was leaning against the woodblock counter—“it was Eli who rescued Maya.”

“So I heard.” She was standing at the sink washing some vegetables.

“Oh, yeah?” There was no mistaking Liam. “From the source?”

“Yes, boys. He told me you would be harassing me about it.”

“No harassing, Ma.” Liam spoke again. “We like Eli.”

“And we kinda think you’re okay, too,” Hawk teased.

“Well, how nice of you to say, middle one,” she bounced right back.

“Should we invite him over for dinner?” Hawk continued.

“No.” She shook her head at the teasing. “He said to have fun with y’all tonight and tomorrow he would come and take care of the tree.”

“Momma, you know we—” Liam halted his own sentence when he spotted me. “You must be Maya.”

“The bandaged hands kind of gave it away, huh?” I tried a non-standard reply as all eyes swirled to me.

“Oh, you poor thing.” Hawk’s mother wiped her hands on a dish towel. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

“Yeah. I think I may need you to book me a trip to somewhere sunny and calm—no winds…lots of open space.” I jokingly appealed to the travel agent in her.

Hawk took the few steps over to me. Kissing the side of my head, he said, “You look nice.”

“Thanks.” I smiled.

“Hi, Maya. I’m Liam.” He stretched out his hand. “I’m the handsomest and smartest of the clan.”

Hawk swatted his brother’s hand away. “And also the most modest.” He then went on to introduce Liam’s wife Keita and their two kids, eight-year-old Landon and six-year-old Neve, who were both very engrossed in their electronics at the table. “You hungry?” he asked me.

“Actually, famished.” My stomach was eager to be replenished.

“Good,” Della said. “There’s plenty. I wanted to cook.” She pouted. “But because of all this delay business, I just picked up one of those precooked turkeys. And there’s tons of veggies, bread, and chips. I just finished the coleslaw. It’s going to be make your own salad or sandwich, if that’s all right. And then we can all catch up and get to know Maya better.” With her open invitation and genuine smile, I could see why so many people adored Della.

***

Later that evening, Liam and Keita went out on a date night. Their anniversary was that weekend, so they took advantage of having three built-in babysitters. While Grandma Della was baking with the kids in the kitchen, Hawk and I found some alone time on the porch bench. We lay there with my head on his chest and our feet intertwined, watching, after some brief rain, the peacefully clear sky.

“Hawk?” I broke the serenity of the silence.

“Mmmm?” He appeared to be in the same mode.

But I hesitated. Suddenly, I didn’t want to say what had calmly and naturally flowed into my mind. I was afraid it might not be the right time and actually ruin the perfect moment.

“What, Mai?” He kissed the top of my head.

“I—” I hesitated again, but that time it was because I noticed Landon and Neve, who had auburn hair and freckles like their mom, standing at the doorway.

“What’s up, super spies?” Hawk jested to his niece and nephew while adjusting our bodies slightly.

“Gram says it’s time for the game,” announced Neve.

Her brother added, “And she needs you to open a jar.”

Hawk hmmffed, patted my leg, and said, “All right.”

As we both stood up, I turned to Hawk. “Y’know, I think I might just go to sleep.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, the nap I wanted earlier was rudely interrupted,” I said with a slight smile. “And with all that’s happened, it’s been a pretty tiring day.”

“I know. It has been,” he concurred.

“Spend some time with your mom. You never got that chance to tell her how weird I am. But I think she pretty much found out firsthand.” I had been more nervous about meeting Hawk’s mother than meeting Finn or any of the celebrities that summer. And, of course, the first time I did, I had just torn up her storm shelter and had cuts all over my hands.

“I’m pretty sure she thinks the exact opposite.” He caressed my face. “I’ll be up soon. It won’t take long to beat these two, hands down.”

“Nu-uh!” the kids said in unison.

I couldn’t help but smile. The Brannigan home was Americana. And Hawk was definitely a good part of that.

“Good night.” I let my lips touch his.

On their “Eewww,” Hawk started shooing Landon and Neve into the house. But then he turned to me and said, “Mai? Me, too.”

Me, too? Me too, what? I stood alone on the porch, wondering what he meant. I backtracked our conversation but couldn’t decipher his meaning. Surely it wasn’t what I had started to say and wasn’t able to finish. Was it?

***

When I woke the next morning, his arms were securely wrapped around my body in a spooning position. That was different for us. When we had the rare opportunity to actually fall asleep in the same bed, we didn’t usually end up that way. We were normally more spread out.

I started to play with the light hair on his arms, thinking how much more rested I finally was and how much the man saddled up with me had to do with it. I could tell his breathing was changing and he was beginning to wake up. So I replaced my fingers with my lips.

“That’s a nice hold you got there,” I noted.

“I figured it worked in the elevator.”

“What?” I tried to turn, but his embrace kept me still.

“When I came to bed last night, you were crying out in your sleep about needing air.”

“Oh,” I more exhaled than said. I didn’t remember dreaming, but it didn’t take a genius to understand my distress.

“You calmed when I brought you close to me like this.”

“I…yeah. Thanks.”

“It wasn’t exactly a hardship.” I could hear his smile even though I couldn’t see it. “How you feelin’ now?”

Refreshed, ready, a little horny…I pulled his index finger into my mouth and began slowly sucking. My emotions were on overload from the harrowing experience, as well as his capacity to understand what I needed in the middle of the night.

“Maya…” He purred out my name.

I released his finger and brought our hands together. I guided them from just under the waist of my tank down to my panties. When I felt his manly reaction start behind me, I pressed into him a little. His breathing was starting to become labored, like mine had been in the storm cellar. So, I turned toward him. I knew my eyes were a blue blaze of heat. I could feel them.

“God…hell…this is gonna be…I—” He started pulling down his sweats as I yanked off my top and tossed it aside. “We gotta be quiet, okay? There’s lots of ears around here.”

I started kissing his chest as he wrangled me out of my panties. There was the slightest of pauses as our gazes connected before he let me connect our bodies from the top. His hands were on my bottom and I could feel our mutual need. Ah…God, the release…from so much.

The knock on the wall was an obvious reference to our inability to be quiet. Thankfully, we knew, by the force and location, it was Hawk’s brother. Della’s room was across the hall and the kids were downstairs in sleeping bags. Still, my eyes opened just a little more from being caught.

“I told you to be quiet.” Hawk had the silliest of sly grins on his face.

“Me?”

He readjusted us so I was lying flat on the bed. With a soft kiss, he entered me again and rolled his hips for a more serene, uninterrupted finish. I laid lax in his arms, feeling more protected than ever before.