Chapter 76

As they got out of the SUV in back of the retreat, it was obvious that Turcott was having problems. Laura had parked as close to the door as she could, but Alesha was unsteady on her feet as she stood up from the vehicle.

Ann took one look and frowned. "I'll run get the wheelchair."

"I don't need that," Alesha protested. "It's just that I've been dizzy ever since this happened. I don't know if it is caused by him slamming my head against the wall, or that gun going off next to my ear. The doctor called it vertigo. Sometimes it's worse than others. Just let me stand still for a moment, and it will get better."

By the time Laura and Arlene got Turcott into the mudroom, Ann was back with the wheel chair — and Diana.

"No, I can walk. I just get really dizzy sometimes. It comes and goes," she said, but they managed to get her to sit in the chair, anyway.

Diana put out her hand. "Hi. I'm Diana. Of course you don't know me, or any of us except for Joyce, and her for only a few minutes before all the bad things happened. But please believe this," Diana said leaning down and hugging Turcott. Pulling back a little, but with her face still close, "You helped to save the life of one of us and we are eternally grateful. To say that you're welcome here is an understatement."

Standing up and taking Turcott's hand, Diana continued. "We can never repay the debt we owe you, but that's not going to stop us from trying. You're going to be introduced to a number of people. They're all part of our family. It isn't our intention to overwhelm you or make you uncomfortable, but we want to make you understand that you are now very, very high in our esteem."

Turcott continued to protest, saying that she had only helped Jesse with the pressure bandage on Joyce's head, that she hadn't really done anything.

"'Only helped, '" Diana quoted, "to save our very special friend's life. Enough of that for now. Let's talk about things less stressful. We'll get you in your suite and into bed. You'll feel better tomorrow," Diana said with total conviction in her voice as she thought about the healer. "We'll bring you a nice meal in a little while..."

"Could I please see Deputy Cramer?" Alesha asked trying to look up into Diana's face as Ann began pushing her down the long hall.

"Sure," Diana replied, "That's where we're heading now. She's in the living room, still a little weak, like you."

As they turned into the living room, Joyce, who was sitting on a couch, her wheelchair parked nearby, stopped talking in mid-sentence. As soon as Ann pushed the chair near Joyce, she stood and grabbed Turcott in a hug.

After a tearful reunion where each woman thanked the other for saving her life, Arlene introduced the rest of the immediate family, keeping Jeff for last. Jeff hugged her as everyone else did, but Turcott didn't react to him in any noticeable manner, since he had locked down on his pheromones and mental push.

After talking with everyone for a while, it was obvious that Turcott was tired and not feeling well. When Arlene asked her, Turcott agreed that she would like to lie down. As they left the living room with Arlene pushing the wheelchair this time, Ann and Laura walking on either side, Turcott fretted, "Jesse said he would come to visit me when he got off work. I don't want to go to sleep and miss him. If I could just lie down for a few minutes, I'll feel better, I think. A lot of the dizziness seems to go away when I close my eyes for a while."

Arlene leaned over a little, addressing Turcott, "Oh, we won't let you miss him. If you go to sleep, we'll wake you when he gets here. The suite has a nice sitting room where you two can be alone to talk as long as you like, or you can visit with him in the living room if you had rather, and feel like it. Mom just told me that she has stocked the refrigerator with soft drinks and snacks. If Jesse will stay for dinner, and you're up to it, we can all eat together in the kitchen, otherwise, you can eat with him in your suite, if you prefer. We have all the latest movies. If you want to, you can watch a movie with him."

"I don't know what to say. You shouldn't be going to all this trouble for me."

"Oh, poo. It isn't any trouble, and I think that Jesse likes you. It surely seemed like he did back at the hospital."

"Do you think so? Oh, but remember what I said while we were in the room. He won't be interested in me. He's bound to know by now that it was my ex-boyfriend that shot Deputy Cramer..."

Ann gave a little laugh. "I don't think he's bothered by any ex-boyfriends you might have. And one of them surely isn't going to bother anyone. Joyce saw to that. Besides, it surely did look like Jesse could hardly take his eyes off you at the hospital."

"Yeah," Arlene laughed as Ann held the door to a suite open for them. "If he's driving all the way up here to see you right after he's visited you at the hospital ... Seems like he's showing a little more than just a casual interest in your health."

Turcott sighed, but didn't answer. When they got to the couch in the sitting room, she got slowly to her feet. "Oh, my. This is so nice." Looking around for a moment and commenting on the furniture, she sat and opened a small white sack that she had been holding with her purse. "Could I have something to drink? That nice doctor gave me some samples because he knew that the drugstores would be closed on Sunday in the area and I wouldn't be able to get a prescription filled today."

"Sure," Ann said, going to the small refrigerator to get her a coke.

Opening a plastic tab that contained a pill, Turcott continued, "He said I was supposed to start the antibiotic as soon as I got home, and take this other pill twice a day for the vertigo."

After taking both types of medicine, she took another sip of drink and relaxed into the soft leather of the couch. "Everyone has been so nice. One of the paramedics went back into the house and got my purse out of the kitchen before we left in the ambulance. Jesse told me that they found my car in the bushes about a quarter mile away. Keys were in it, so I guess that Crawford must have made a copies that I didn't know about. After they fingerprinted the car, one of the deputies drove it back home for me. Jesse brought the keys when he came to visit."

Looking at the medicine boxes again, she said, "The doctor gave me the name of an ear, nose and throat specialist who I'm supposed to call for an appointment to see if there is anything he can do for my hearing. I just hope this sorry insurance company will pay for it. It surely cost enough, but with just a few employees at the car lot where I work, we apparently didn't wind up with much of a policy."

Alesha's eyes pooled with unshed tears. "I've really messed myself up this time. First, that idiot I lived with in Denver, then I got involved with yet another idiot. Now I'm half deaf. Oh, how did this happen?" she said, putting her face into her hands and leaning forward. "What am I going to do? I answer the phone at Lennie's and keep his books for him. I can barely tell that someone is saying something when I put a phone to my left ear, and with my right ear, there's nothing at all, no matter how loud the noise is."

Fighting to not sob, "I don't have anybody. How am I going to make a living with what little hearing I have left? I can't afford a hearing aid. Those things are extremely expensive."

Laura quickly sat with her. Taking Turcott in her arms, she hugged her. "I know that you can't believe this right now, but everything is going to be all right."

"But Lennie will fire me, if he hasn't already. Saturday is our big day at the lot and I wasn't there, and I didn't call in. I was mostly asleep all day yesterday from something they gave me at the hospital for the dizziness and nausea. By the time I woke up enough to realize what was going on, it was past closing time at the lot. I'm sure that when I didn't show up, he fired me. He doesn't give a shit about anybody. He yells at all his employees, me included. If anyone ever messes up in the slightest way, he just fires them."

"What did you do other than answer the phone?" Laura asked, just to break the silence that dragged out.

"Oh, I managed to take a couple of courses in accounting before the guy I was living with in Denver made me quit. I talked my way into this job at the car lot and moved out here to get away from my live-in. I've been using QuickBooks to keep Lennie's accounts for him, and I answer the phone. Heck, keeping his books isn't hard; anyone who's reasonably computer literate can do it with the software."

She tried to smile at Laura. "He sells cars, mostly, but he has a small mechanic and body shop there as well. That's where I got my car. It had been wrecked, but the owner never did come and pay for it after it was fixed. Lennie sold it to me for what he had in it. Truth is, he probably thought he was going to get in my pants, but when he found out that wasn't going to happen, he started treating me like he does all the other people working for him. In other words, yelling at me like I was a dog or something. But I don't really have any job skills, so I have to put up with it."

Laura smiled back at Alesha. "You don't have to worry about him yelling at you any more..."

"I can't just come into your wonderful home and take your charity. I just need to find another job that I can do..."

"What about college?" Arlene asked. "Would you like to go back?"

Alesha chuckled, but made it sound a little morose. "I would love to go back. But even if I could, I wouldn't be able to hear the instructor well enough to get by. Maybe I'll be able to get a hearing aid sooner or later. But right now, I guess I just need to concentrate on getting another job. One where I don't have to talk on the phone."

Laura and Arlene now flanked Alesha on the couch, with Ann sitting on the coffee table in front of her.

Laura smiled at Turcott. "Do you feel like getting a shower and shampooing your hair, if we helped you? We can fix your hair and maybe assist you with your makeup so that you'll look really nice when Jesse gets here."

Alesha's eyes lit up. "Yeah. I think I can do that, but I can fix my own hair ... And I don't have any makeup with me. I don't have anything except what you wonderful people bought for me. Jesse said it might be a week before I can get back into my house."

"Nonsense," Laura broke in. "We would love to help. We do each other's hair all the time. We'll go slowly, and if you get dizzy, you can take a break. And trust me, there's enough makeup around this place to sink a battleship — at least that's what Jeff says," she laughed. "As pretty as you are, we'll have you looking fabulous in no time."

Turcott giggled a little. "Okay, I'll try," she said as she got to her feet, a little wobbly, but they got her into the wheel chair and headed for the shower.

Later, Jeff, Dave and Deputy Goodman sat in the living room. Turcott was taking a nap while Jeff's wives, Margaret, Evie, Linda and Annie were fixing supper. Madison, Wainwright and Jeb had gone for a walk.

" ... Okay," Jeff laughed. "We'll dispense with the 'Deputy Goodman, ' but remember, it goes both ways. Jeff and Dave, or we go back to the Deputy routine."

"Sorry," Jesse said. "But like I said before, part of our policy is to refer to everyone we meet on duty as Mr., Mrs., or Ms. It gets to be a habit. I'll try, uh, Jeff."

Diana and the girls walked by the door, and Diana winked at Jeff.

Jeff smiled at her and turned back to Jesse. "They're going to get Alesha up and dressed. If she feels like it, they'll bring her to the kitchen to eat. Otherwise, she wants you to eat with her in her suite."

Jeff, sitting with his legs crossed, uncrossed them and leaned toward Jesse who was sitting on a couch only a few feet away. "I hear that you blew your engine getting to Joyce..."

"Well," Goodman broke in, "the truck is an old Nissan four cylinder. It belonged to my grandfather. When he went to the nursing home, I bought it from him. I've put a lot of miles on it since then, and it certainly wasn't new when I got it, either. It was just its time. I pushed it beyond what it was still capable of doing. I redlined it and it started knocking just before I got to Alesha's place. It was going to go sooner or later, anyway."

"Yeah," Jeff said, "'sooner or later.' But I suspect that you babied that truck and it would have lasted a long time if you hadn't have had to stress it like that."

Goodman chuckled, obviously uncomfortable. "Like I told Joyce, don't make a mountain out of a mole hill. We've backed each other up on some bad calls. She would have gone to the wall for me in a heartbeat..."

"I saw on the security system that you're in a pickup, a Chevy 1500."

"Yeah, my dad let me borrow his until I can have the motor rebuilt in mine."

"You're not going to buy a new truck?" Dave asked, knowing the answer.

"Are you kidding? On my salary? I'm going to have to wait a little while before I can fix ... uh..." he wound down, realizing what he was saying, afraid that Jeff was going to offer him money.

Jeff frowned, knowing exactly what Jesse was thinking, but trying to come up with a way of replacing Goodman's truck. Doggonit, I know that he's too damn proud to let me buy him a truck, but he saved Joyce's life, and now he's hurting because of it. And from what Arlene says, Turcott is going to be the same way. She just wants to find another job so she can buy a hearing aid. I've got to help them, both of them — somehow — while still allowing them to salvage their pride.

"How long have you been with the county?" Dave asked as Jeff continued to think about the situation.

Little One will fix Alesha's hearing problem tonight, and she wants to finish with Joyce. Looks like I won't get much sleep, but I can live with that. At least I'll be able to do a little for Alesha by having Little One take care of her, and surely, we can come up with a job for her. Yeah, and she's going to suddenly come into contact with a foundation that will put her through school, if that's what she wants, but how in the hell am I going to get Jesse a set of wheels? Money running out my ass and I can't even help the person that saved my new wife. Shit.

Jeff sat, barely paying attention to the conversation, as his mind toyed with the new problem.