Watching Trin by Freya Barker

Chapter 3

Trin

“How long has he been missing?”

I glance at the screen of my phone.

We’d had a late start this morning, and I barely had time to get breakfast ready and make sure Tuck got on the bus. Pops seemed happy enough watching the birds outside while munching on some toast, so I hopped in the shower, but he was gone when I walked into the kitchen after.

My fault; I forgot to lock the front door after seeing Tucker off. Both outside doors have deadbolts that require a key from both sides. Vic installed them after the second time Pops went wandering. Just to be sure, I quickly searched all the rooms before I started running around the neighborhood, but I couldn’t find him anywhere.

It’s a little after nine now and I was hoping maybe Vic might have an idea where he’s most likely to go before I alert the police.

“A little over an hour.”

The guy’s intense dark brown eyes narrow slightly and I know what he’s thinking, so I quickly explain.

“My father has dementia.”

Apparently, that’s enough to prompt him into action. He pulls a phone from his pocket and dials.

“Bodhi at Station 3. We have an elderly man with dementia missing…” He covers the phone with his hand and asks me, “Where’s the last time you saw him?”

“At home. Uh, 1919 East 2nd Avenue.” He relays the information before prompting me on a description. “Bruce Paige, he’s seventy-eight, six one, and about a hundred and seventy pounds with a full head of gray hair. He’s wearing tan pants, a blue flannel shirt, and running shoes.”

Again he passes on the information, his steady eyes have a calming effect on me and I can feel my heartbeat slowing down.

What a fucked-up week this has been. First dealing with the incident at the school and Tuck, who seems to have become even more closed off since, rushing to finish my column, and now Pops missing. I bend my head and pinch the bridge of my nose, between my eyes, where I can feel the beginnings of a migraine coming on.

“Patrol will keep an eye out for him.” I look up and see he’s ended the call, a look of concern directed at me. “We’ll find him, Ms…”

“Paige,” I fill in. “Katrina Paige. Vic’s sister.”

“My name’s Bodhi, I’m just going to—” He abruptly stops when an ambulance pulls into the fire station. “Give me one second.”

Bodhi. Given his name and his looks, I’d guess him to be of East Indian descent. He’s not overly tall, but he is definitely built, and those liquid brown eyes, longish dark hair, and five o’clock shadow at nine in the morning make for a very attractive package.

I watch him jog over to one of the EMTs getting out of the vehicle. They speak briefly before he heads back this way. He looks as good coming as he does going. Ashamed for noticing, I immediately give myself a mental shake.

“The engine was diverted to a brush fire, but Blue is getting on the radio to alert your sister.” Then he grabs me firmly by the hand and starts walking to the exit. “In the meantime, you and I are going to look for him.”

He leads me to a black, older truck. It looks very similar to the one my father had when we were growing up. He opens the door for me and I climb in.

“Is this a GMC Jimmy?” I ask before he can shut the door.

A lazy grin pulls up one side of his mouth and I can’t help stare. He’s really good-looking, in a boyish kind of way.

“Sure is. 1990 classic.”

“My father owned one of these,” I share. “Was heartbroken when it had to get towed from the driveway.”

“I bet.”

He closes the door and rounds the vehicle to get behind the wheel. I check out the clearly updated interior as he pulls out of the parking spot and turns toward the road. The truck is impeccably clean, not a drop of spilled coffee in the cupholders or crumpled receipt on the floor.

“Where should we—”

He’s interrupted by the ringing of my phone and I scramble to dig it out of my pocket. It’s Vic. I put it on speaker phone.

“What the hell happened?”

I’m sure she doesn’t mean to sound accusatory but it still feels like it.

“He was having breakfast and I ran upstairs for a quick shower. When I came down, he was gone and the front door was open.”

“You left it unlocked?”

“I forgot, I’m—”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Trin. I told you.”

I turn toward the side window and opt to stay quiet. What is there to say? She’s right, I fucked up, I seem to be doing a lot of that lately.

“You at the station?” Vic continues. “Stay put, I’m heading back.”

“Actually,” Bodhi speaks up for the first time and I can feel his eyes burning in the back of my head. “Your sister’s with me and we’re looking for your father. Know of any places he may have gone to?”

“I don’t know,” I hear Vic respond. “He likes walks by the river. Heck, he may be trying to get to The Irish. It’s his old hangout, but…”

The rest of my sister’s words are lost on me as I see a figure in the distance, heading this way up the sidewalk. His gait is slow and labored.

“Stop.”

My hand shoots out, landing on his thigh.

“Stop!” I repeat a little louder, only vaguely registering the firm muscles underneath my palm.

Bodhi immediately pulls up to the curb.

“What’s going on?” I hear Vic ask as I jump out of the truck.

I don’t wait around to hear the rest as I’m already jogging toward the figure. Behind me I hear a car door slam and heavy footsteps follow me, as I watch in horror as my father stumbles and takes a dive for the pavement.

“Pops!”

I drop down on my knees and move to roll him over when I hear Bodhi from behind me.

“Let me help.” He moves to Pops’s other side.

Between us we manage to roll him over, my father’s confused eyes staring up at me as blood stains his skin from a nasty cut above his eyebrow.

“Margaret?”

“It’s Katrina, Pops. You fell, let me check you out.”

I move to touch his face but he turns from my reach.

“Don’t touch me!”

He tries to sit up but yelps when he puts weight on his left hand. His wrist is already swelling up. Bodhi and I share a look before helping him upright.

“Sir? It looks like you hurt your arm when you tried to break your fall. Can you stay still until I grab my medical kit from the truck?”

“Who are you?” my father asks suspiciously.

“This is Bodhi, Pops. He works with Vic at Station 3.”

I notice him taking in Bodhi’s shirt with the Durango Fire Department and immediately his face lights up.

“I was on my way there. Been a while since I’ve seen the guys. You must be new.”

Bodhi smiles easily as he quickly removes his shirt, leaving him in a plain black T-shirt that stretches enticingly over a well-shaped chest.

“You a firefighter, Bruce?”

“Captain Bruce Paige,” Pops proudly announces.

While my dad talks about the job and his last placement at Station 3, as if he retired only yesterday, Bodhi fabricates a sling of sorts and gently stabilizes Pops’s arm with it.

Then he flashes a grin at me and my stomach does a little flip. He really is quite handsome.

“Let’s try and get him on his feet and to the truck.”

Right.

I shake myself, grabbing hold of Pops’s good arm. We manage to get him up and wedged between us and get him to the vehicle where my dad stops in his tracks.

“Is that my Jimmy?”

* * *

Bodhi

“Hey, how is he?” I ask when Katrina walks into the waiting room.

The emergency room hadn’t been too busy when we got to Mercy and Bruce was taken inside right away. Katrina went with him. We’d called her sister on our way, to let her know we were heading straight for the hospital, but she was still at the site of the fire unable to get away yet. Apparently, it was a stubborn one. The wind picking up probably didn’t help either.

Leaving Katrina here by herself didn’t even occur to me, so I took a seat in the waiting room. A few minutes ago a text came in from Vic to let me know she’s on her way here, but I didn’t want to disappear without letting her sister know.

“They’re taking him for an X-ray,” she says, as she hands me my wrinkled uniform shirt. “I wasn’t sure if you’d still be here.”

I shrug, feeling a bit self-conscious now. Getting up from my seat, I notice how she has to look up at me. It makes me feel taller than I am. I like it.

“Just waiting for Vic to get here. She just messaged me she’s on her way so I probably should get going,” I explain.

“Okay. Why don’t I walk you out? I missed my second dose of caffeine this morning and desperately need it.”

Walking side by side, I shorten my strides to match hers and try not to bump into anything since my eyes are glued on her.

“I really appreciate all your help,” she tells me. “I was close to a meltdown and you…” Her eyes drop down to the floor and a light pink stains her pale skin. “Let’s just say you kept me calm. Or…calmer. This week has kicked my ass.”

“Glad I happened to come in late this morning.”

She throws me a sideways glance and the corner of her mouth tilts up.

“So am I.”

We come to a stop in the middle of the hallway. The doors to the parking lot are on the left and the cafeteria is to the right. I turn to face her and for a moment we just look at each other. Then we start talking at the same time.

“I really should—”

“Would you like—”

We both stop mid-sentence and I can’t help wonder what she was about to ask me. Katrina laughs and shakes her head.

“Of course.” She sticks out her hand and I clasp it, liking how it feels in mine. “Thank you again.”

“Don’t mention it.”

I reluctantly let her go. She flashes a smile and turns toward the cafeteria.

“Hey, Katrina?” I find myself calling after her and she immediately swings around.

“Trin,” she corrects me. “Everyone calls me Trin.”

I grin.

It suits her.

I close the distance between us.

“Trin,” I echo. “Can I take you out for dinner sometime?”

She opens and closes her mouth a few times, which is all kinds of cute.

“I’m…uh…flattered,” she finally manages and it’s not a promising start. “My life is a bit chaotic. I recently moved here, and with my sister back at work, and my dad…well, you’ve been witness to that. I just don’t know if—”

“I get it. No need to explain,” I stop her as I hold out my hand, palm up. “Can I have your phone?”

Her face expresses her confusion.

“My phone?”

“Yeah. I want to leave you my number so if at any time you feel you might have room for a new friend, feel free to give me a call. No pressure.”

She regards me for a moment and then pulls her phone from her pocket, handing it to me. I fight to keep the smug grin off my face as I enter my digits and hand it back.

“See you around, Trin.”

She bites her bottom lip to hide her smile.

“You too, Bodhi.”

When I crawl behind the wheel of my Jimmy, I’m feeling pretty good about the way this morning turned out.