Heaving a sigh, Clint glanced back at the car, but his throbbing hand won out. He couldn't concentrate on anything anyway. After tossing aside his tools, he finally ventured outside and to Angel's office. It was different for him...she wasn't just the ranch doctor, but her being his mother-in-law always made it a little more awkward than need be. Regardless, here he was.
After knocking, he entered and glanced around. "Hey, Angel..." A sheepish look crossed his face as he held up his hand wrapped in the bloody bandana. "I, um...yeah. Stiches, prolly." There was so much more on his mind. So much more pain in his heart than his hand. And maybe it showed in his tired eyes, even though he tried so hard to hide it. But he refused to speak of it. "...and maybe a pain pill or two?"
In the quiet stall in the barn, Jim stood beside a colt, whose mother was busy eating. His hand rubbed the furry neck, his fingers running through the short mane. His other hand cupped under the young horse's mouth as the colt got his first taste of sweet feed. He lipped at the grain then swished it around in his mouth before bobbing his head up and down.
Jim smiled then chuckled as he continued to rub his neck. "Mm...you like that, don't you?"
"I thought maybe I'd never see that smile again."
Jim's head whipped around at the sound of Mick's voice, and his expression immediately changed. "I was just... It was..."
Mick stood at the stall door, arms folded. He'd been here for a few minutes already, just watching his brother interact with the young horse. "Don't let me stop you."
"Naw, I was done. I mean...I wasn't gonna stay long anyway." Jim let the colt finish the small handful of grain before coaxing him back to his mother. He left and shut the stall, turning to leave, but Mick stopped him."
"Jim, wait." Mick sighed, frustrated and confused. "Why do I have to catch you off guard in order to see the brother I used to know?"
Jim stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "I guess maybe the old me doesn't like hanging around much anymore."
"But why? I don't understand. I know things have been rough but...if you'd just see that what you're doing has made things so much worse."
"I know." Jim nodded slowly before resuming his route to the door. "I know." Getting outside, he stopped as the sound of a leaving vehicle caught his attention and he looked to the driveway. He could feel Mick coming up behind him. "Did someone just leave?"
"Uh...looks like it." Mick squinted. "A jeep maybe?"
"Huh." Could it be? Jim shook his head. He hoped not. Without asking more, he aimed for the house.
Garret really hadn't expected much of a response from Sapphire, let alone as nice a one as he got, and his eyebrows rose slightly. He accepted her handshake though, and a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "New guy? That sounds more like an addition to the team, not the resident prisoner."
Despite preparing the smoothies at the counter, Justin listened to the conversation, pleased that Sapphire was willing to interact.
Garret's eyes roamed Sapphire's face. How had she ended up here? What was so appealing about this place? Why did she stay after all the abuse her brother had endured? "From what I hear, you've got a pretty good brain yourself. Just 'cause you're not on the I.T. team doesn't mean looks are the only thing you've got going for you."
Gunner grunted and stood up, crumpling up his sandwich wrapper. "Well, this has been cozy, but I've got an appointment with my shrink."
Jason snickered and waved him off. "Don't stir the pot or it'll boil over on ya."
"Yeah, yeah."
Justin finished up his two glasses of what was quite visually unappealing, and slid one across the table to Garret, but was careful not to interrupt the conversation with Sapphire.
Gunner flopped down in Hope's extra chair, and smirked a little. It was the first of the month, and that meant his routine evaluation. Usually it went quickly - he answered a few questions, they exchanged smalltalk, and that was it. At least Reese had reduced the mandatory visits from once a week to once a month, but it still put Gunner on edge.
"Okay, so...Hi, how are you? Oh, me? I'm good, thanks." He bit his lip to try and hide his silly grin as his knee started to bounce. "I keep thinking Reese is gonna lay off one of these days, but I guess not." If he missed just one session, he'd be in big trouble.
He fell quiet for a moment. Despite him treating this so lightly, there were still deeper issues that needed to be vented, lest they overtake him once again. But even so, he still treated this as just something that was required of him.
"Alright, so first thing first - my whole crazy in the head issue. Well, you know how if you've got a thorn in your shoe, it hurts right? But if you keep walking on it, it sorta goes numb and you eventually forget it's there. But then if you take a break, then start walking again, the pain comes back, and can be even worse." His knee continued to bounce, and his fingers fidgeted in his lap.
"So I take a break from my whole obsession thing 'cause I'm told to, but then when certain thoughts enter my head, it's worse, ya know?" He shrugged. "Not that I want Reese to get wind of that. He'd prolly suspend me...again. Do you know how many times I've been suspended?" He started to count on his hands, then gave up. "Yeah, a lot. Con could vouch for that. He was always trying to keep me out of trouble - even when we were on the police force together." He smirked. "I miss him around here. Just isn't the same, but as far as I know, he's being stubborn. Not that I blame him. I'd be scared to come back too. Not that he's said he's scared, mind you, but I think that's what it is. But then, I'm not the professional in that department... That would be you."
Another grin surfaced, and he got to his feet. "So yeah. We good? I gotta go help close a case downtown."
No comments:
Post a Comment