That made me snort.“Don’t give her any ideas.Could you imagine?She’d bring every sick, coughing, and diseased bird into my house.We did rescue an injured osprey today.Naomi’s niece has a knack for healing wild animals.That was the other reason we went over there.”
“This family sounds pretty special.You think they’ve got room for two more?”
“Let’s work on me not having panic attacks around them first, huh?”
“You’re joking about it.That’s a good sign.”
Chuckling, and actually smiling, I sat up and wiggled my toes out in front of me.“Thank you again, Harvey.”
“Have a good night, Lennox.”
We hung up, and I set my phone down on my lap.
The owl hooted again in the trees.
“All right, all right,” I said, standing up.“You can have the yard now.Sorry for delaying your dinner.”
I was just rounding the side of the house toward the porch when headlights pierced the darkness and nearly blinded me.
I hopped up onto the porch, hands in my pockets, and waited for the vehicle to stop.I recognized the truck as one that had been parked at the vineyard.This was Danica, Tommaso, and Sam dropping off Mabel.
The truck stopped, and two doors opened.Only one shut.Mabel came around the grill.“We won.Even with you not there.We won.”
I smiled at her as she walked past me into the house.“Well done.You said thank you?”
“For both of us, since I don’t know if you did.”
I didn’t.
Shit.
Tom, with his hands also in his pockets, approached me, his gaze on the ground a little, until Mabel closed the door behind her.It was tough to read his eyes in the dark, but the expression on his chiseled face was one I knew well: pity.
“Panic attack?”he asked.
I swallowed.“How could you tell?”
“Because I have them.”He glanced toward the truck.“Sam has them.”
“They … they don’t happen often.”
“Only when triggered?”
Nodding, I cleared my throat.“Yeah.”
“And something at the house triggered you.”
“I guess.”
“You should know,” he started, his thick accent calm and melodious.“Nobody there judges you.Nobody thinks you are a weirdo or a freak.If you don’t want to talk about what triggered you, that is okay.Not our business.But this family … they are a safe space.These women have been through a lot and judge nobody.If there is ever a place to have a panic attack, you did it in the safest house on the island.”The smile he offered me was one of reassurance and acceptance.He wasn’t talking to me to pry, or lessen what I went through.He just wanted me to know that he understood, and things wouldn’t be weird between me and the women of the vineyard if I chose to return or see them again.
All I could do was nod and stare at the ground.
“You have a very special, very bright daughter.”He chuckled.“Quirky.But we like quirky.If she would like to be around animals, she is welcome to come to my farm.”
I glanced up at him.“Do you have any birds?She’s a bird girl.”
“I have ducks and chickens.”
