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Rear sank in the realm of my stomach. When I normally would walk around the house and find her, I ignored my instincts, and pushed the door open, calling out. "Sienna!"
My voice echoed back at me through dust motes danced on thin beams of light filtering through the door, all the way from the back. I kept my boot steps heavy, knowing I should've kicked them off at the front door, but from the layer of dust and crap on the wooden boards that needed polish told me my breach in etiquette didn't matter.
I walked through the house, finding no one until I discovered a living room beyond the kitchen that opened out onto a small patio. There, in a chair looking out at his daughter where sheplayed with a group of what looked like puppies gambling about, sat a man about my father’s age when he passed. He didn’t turn to acknowledge me as I emerged from the house’s dusty innards, and I followed his gaze to find Sienna.
Grasses surrounded her and she played with one fluffy bundle that curled in her arms, the fluffy black-and-white form nestling there sweetly.
I stopped at the doorway and cleared my throat. "Hi, Mister –"Shit.I searched my memory for Sienna's last name, and hoped to God I came up with the right one. “Andrews?" My voice hung in the cold draft that blew in from the shadow of the mountain for a long moment.
Slowly, the old man turned toward me. Grief, and other anguishes lined his face in a way my father’s never had.
She lost her mother a few years ago.
Trav’s words tumbled through my mind. I knew I thought at the time what that meant to Sienna, but I hadn't thought what it might mean to her father.
He studied me for a moment, and then nodded back to his daughter. “Badgers.”
The word came out twisted, like it tortured his throat to speak. Maybe this was where Sienna got vow of silence from. Or maybe I just chatted on uselessly, filling the void with unnecessary words when she spoke only when she had something important to say.
"Yes."
The only word she spoke to me in the caves before her mouth landed back over hers rippled through me. I shook my head, but when Mister Andrews had turned back to me, I got the impression he saw more than I expected.
"Sorry I came through the house. You got a broom? I'll clean up the mess I made." I was rather intent on cleaning the entire house, like I did with Jack Stone from time to time.
Sienna's father shook his head and waved me forward. "It’ll manage. Go see her."
He nodded, but when I didn't move off the patio, running my thumb across the top of the knife on my belt, he motioned to a rickety, rocking chair that sat lopsided on its rails. I gripped the doorway and gingerly lowered my ass into it, fully expecting to land on the bare planks. By some miracle the thing held my weight, and I settled back uneasily.
“You’re the trader.”
"That's right. Kyle.”
"Brendan.” He held out a hand palm down in my general direction, his fixed gaze finding a sightless point over my shoulder. “I heard you met my girl.”
“I have.” I squeezed his hand, noting the old scars across his knuckles. The hand was full of more than just scars – old marks scattered across the top of his hand and up his arms. "You’ve seen some action.
Brendan shook his head. "I used to blow glass. Stopped after Lindsey died." He motioned out to where Sienna laughed softly. “When I lost her mother, everything stopped after that."
I watch Sienna play with the badgers. Of course she would have a yard full of tamed creatures, cuddling her and gamboling around like she was one of them. One nudged her back, and she rolled on the grass on her back, disappearing into the tiny yellow and white late bloomers.
"I can understand that."
"Can you?"
Brendan turned his wizened face towards me and for a moment, I saw the man he might've been had her mother stayed a little longer on this earth. Then his body slid back into the shadows, as though growing more tired by the way of each passing second.
"Sienna is..." He shrugged. "Different."
I agree. "A bit."
"You're gonna take care of her?"
"I get the impression she's taking care of herself just fine."
"Yeah, but she gets lonely." Brendan scratched his chin as he stared out toward her. "This isn’t a good place for her to stay."
I tilted my head to one side, watching her but listening to him. “Then make it a good place, " I said softly.
