“I can make something simple…”
“Without putting pressure on that ankle? I don’t think so. Go rest. I’ll see you in the morning.” Zach turned away, heading down the stairs with Sean. I sighed and went inside, thankful for the warmth and comfort of my place. It was actually one of three units above the heated garage, since the garage was so large. Mine was a studio apartment, just over 500 square feet, tiny, but felt huge compared to Rio’s space. I didn’t have a fireplace. Didn’t need one as the heat worked great. The garage beneath adding to the warmth. The layout a simple box with the kitchen on one side and the space I’d set up as a living room/bedroom on the other. The thick and cushy furniture, heavy curtains, and plush carpet hadn’t really seemed like a luxury when I’d moved in. Compared to the manor with its polished wood floors and detailed crown moldings, the apartment was simple, homey. I had never looked at it and realized how much there really was that I took for granted.
I limped to the bedside dresser area to put my clothes in the hamper and dig out a pair of warm jammies. A hot shower later and I was ready to go to bed. I really hoped Rio was okay. The idea of him alone, in that cold, with very little to eat all winter made me want to drag him to the manor. Zach still hadn’t found a gardener. Maybe Rio could do that, make some extra money and not have to be around people.
I laid down in bed and ran through possibilities until sleep took over, washing away anything but memories of being in Rio’s arms.
Chapter 5
The ligament wasn’t torn, thankfully, just stretched the doctor said. The early morning trip to urgent care and some x-rays later, the area was still swollen, wrapped in some immobilizing stuff, but no permanent damage done. The product of twisting my body in a way it wasn’t supposed to go. I’d been lucky as it could easily have been a torn ligament and then a broken ankle which would have forced me to stay off my feet for months. As it was, they’d given me a splint with a walking sort of thing that I could fit over a shoe or a boot, but even that had me moving slowly. The splint was slippery and didn’t completely remove the pressure from my ankle.
I was preparing lunch in the big kitchen when Zach appeared and handed over my keys. “Car is back. I changed the tires to snow tires, but don’t let that fool you into thinking you can drive through piles of snow. A few inches at most. The car is too low to the ground and you’ll just bury the undercarriage. I put a shovel in the trunk too in case that happens, but any big drifts and you’re stuck.”
“Thank you,” I said, giving him a big smile. “I need to drop some more stuff off with Rio.” I’d made a couple loaves of bread I planned to give him as well as maybe stopping at the grocery store to load up more.
Zach frowned. “You shouldn’t be walking that far.” But he ran his hands through his hair, which had gotten a little long in the past month or so, and let out a long sigh. “I’ll go with you. I want to better assess that trailer in the daylight.”
I wasn’t sure Rio was going to accept his help. “Can we stop at the grocery store so I can grab him more food?”
“Yeah. But after lunch, okay? Eat and relax for a few.” He pointed to my leg. “Off that foot.”
“Yes, sir!” I said with a big smile, happy we’d be taking care of Rio. “I got the feeling that you and Sean didn’t like Rio. I promise he’s not a bad guy.”
“I’m sure he’s not,” Zach said. “He’s just…” The pause went on a bit as though Zach didn’t know what to say. “Let’s just make sure we keep him fed, okay?”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
“Good. Now eat and rest.”
Lunch went smoothly, even though my ankle ached from spending too much time on it. By the time we got down to the grocery store, loaded up on supplies, canned goods and the like, plus a giant order Zach wanted sent to the food bank, it was starting to get dark.
Zach pulled an old-fashioned wood sled with iron legs out of the bed of his truck. “Get on. We’ll go check on him first. Then you can keep him company while I bring him food.”
I marveled at my boss, always thinking ahead. “You’re so smart.”
“Brilliantly ordinary,” he told me as I climbed onto the sled. The air was cold, but no snow was blowing, though the storm from a few days ago had buried enough of the trail that it hadn’t been cleared. Too much for Rio to probably do without a snowblower. There were a lot of other tracks around the trail this time, rabbits, a few birds, and the wolf. I really hoped Rio was okay.
“Fuck,” Zach said as we got close to the trailer.
I peered around him, heart thumping with worry that we’d find Rio frozen solid in the snow, but instead it was the sight of the trailer that had him upset. And I couldn’t help my gasp either. The weight of the snow from this last storm must have been too much, because the roof was caved in. The back half of the trailer looked like little more than a giant pile of snow, and the section where the fireplace had been was a valley of ice.
“Is Rio okay?” I scrambled to try to get off the sled, ground covered with ice and snow making that impossible. I had to roll to my knees, and get up that way, using my one good leg as support, then limping to the door.
Zach was there first. “Stay out here. I’ll look.”
My heart hammered in fear. What if Rio was in there? Trapped? Maybe in the back where I knew the bedrooms had been but never seen? If he’d burrowed under his blankets, he could still be alive, right?
Zach had to crawl through the doorway, as the concave roof made it impossible to open completely. He was gone only a minute or two while I clenched my fists and sucked in air, praying. It wasn’t like I ever prayed before. Had never been a fan of any god or religion. Self-reliance had been my mantra for a while, and luck. Luck to have met Ms. Yang and gotten this job. Luck that Zach had been a good guy and didn’t just fire me and close up the mansion. Luck that I had a safe place to live and enough food to eat. Since the apartment over the garage was part of my pay, and I didn’t have to pay rent or utilities, I had a nice nest egg saved up. Maybe I could buy Rio a new trailer? Something with heat and running water? Something safe. And I could cook for him. Make him an official food taster or something.
Please let him be safe.
Zach reappeared looking grim. He said, “It’s empty. Blankets and food are gone. Does he have anyone he might have gone to for help?”
“As far as I know, it’s just him. He didn’t always come into the food bank either. You’re sure he’s not in there?”
“He’s not. And the structure isn’t sound at all. Parts of the floor are gone. The section near the fireplace is about all that’s standing, and with that roof gone, even that isn’t salvageable.” He let out a long sigh. “I’ve been in crack houses with more stable structure than this.”
“Not everyone is handy,” I pointed out in Rio’s defense. “And I don’t think he has much money. Just what he gets for being in the military.”
Zach carefully searched the area around the trailer, pausing a few times to examine possible tracks. Maybe Rio had a little hut or something, a cave to hide in, anything. Finally, he returned with a frown. “I’m not seeing anything close that can account for where he might have gone.”