“Terrific. I’m going to set out some iced tea for your crew. Please tell them to help themselves.”
Mandy started toward her house. One of the team’s SUVs was parked out front. Angel was standing next to it. She nodded at him as she went past, hoping he didn’t catch anything off about her. Unfortunately, he fell into step beside her.
“What’s up, Em?”
“I’m just going to make iced tea for the workers. Want to help me?” She knew Rocco was still in the barn and didn’t want him to see her having a deep conversation out here with Angel. Probably wasn’t any better that he could see them go into the house together.
She opened the screen door, then unlocked the front door and stepped inside. Every time she came back to the house that she’d inherited from her grandparents, she half expected to see them still hustling about, doing the things they’d done every day. Maybe she should change the furniture so she wouldn’t miss them so much.
She walked into the kitchen. Angel was close on her heels. He touched her shoulder, stopping her.
“Talk to me.”
“I went over to see him. In the barn.” She glanced at him. “I wanted to know how his visit with Dr. Kimble went. And I wanted to give him a heads-up about the garden work.”
“Kit already did that at this morning’s team meeting.”
Mandy fished the bullet out of her pocket. She held it in her fist a moment before peeling back her fingers to show Angel. “I found this in his trunk.”
Angel took it from her. “Was there a gun that went with it?”
“I didn’t see one, but I was certain I heard him dry-firing one before I went up to the loft.”
“I’ll talk to him. Again.”
“Not sure that’s a good idea. He visited Dr. Kimble this morning, then went straight up to play with his gun.” Her voice broke as a wave of tears choked her. “Should I stop the garden work, Angel?”
“No.”
She nodded, then lowered her head and let her tears take her. It was a relief when Angel pulled her close. He rubbed her back, patting her like he might comfort a weeping steer. She tried to breathe but snorted instead. He didn’t spook, just reached over and grabbed a paper towel, which he shoved toward her. She blew her nose.
“I’m afraid for him,” she said.
Angel nodded. “Give the shrink time to work with him. Rocco didn’t get this broken overnight. It’s going to take a while to unbreak him. In the meantime, we have to keep carrying on. He has to see that normal is still happening all around him.”
Mandy blew her nose. “Okay.”
“Let’s get that tea going.”
“I don’t mean to keep you.”
“You’re not. One or more of us will be over here while they’re working.”
“I appreciate that. The foreman said they’d be done in a few days.”
*
Rocco pounded the heavy bag in a rapid succession of right and left punches. Every time he slowed down, he saw the way Mandy had looked at him earlier when he’d put his boy to bed. He hadn’t heard her come into Zavi’s room, but she’d been there to catch the lame excuse he’d given his son about why he couldn’t stick around for a story. Hell, even his four-year-old had seen through it.
Rocco picked up his rhythm. He’d caught her expression in the seconds before he turned off the light in Zavi’s room. Hurt, anger, worry, sorrow…every human emotion had been tangled up in her green eyes. She’d turned the light back on, picked up a book, then scooted next to Zavi on the bed.
It was good they had each other. Damn good. It would make what he had to do a little easier.
He pounded the bag. Someone came into the gym, flipping on all the fluorescent lights. Rocco squinted as he looked up. “Shut ’em off, Angel.”
“Kinda hard to use the equipment if you can’t see it.”
Rocco had propped the door to the men’s locker room open, letting its light spill into the room. “Got enough light.”
“Yeah. Now you have a whole lot more.” Angel sat on one of the benches along the wall behind Rocco.
Rocco put a fist against the heavy bag to steady it as he turned to look at Angel. “You want the room? You can have it.”
“I don’t want the fucking room. I came to talk to you.”
“Not in the mood.” He tugged one of the wrist ties loose with his teeth, then held it between his arm and body and pulled his hand free. After removing the other glove, he put them away in the equipment shelf.
“Oh well.” Angel held up the bullet between his thumb and forefinger. “You got the gun that goes with this?”
Rocco saw the light shine on the metal casing of a .45 cartridge. “Where’d you get that?”
“Don’t matter.”
“Mandy give it to you?”
“Maybe. Maybe I went snooping. Where’s the gun, Rocco?”
“What difference does it make? If I were suicidal, do you think a gun’s my only way out?”
Angel got to his feet. “Where’s the fucking gun?”