The Touch (Healer Series) (2 page)

  
“Not at all, just a bit tired of city life.
Thought I’d try a change of pace. Took out my map, closed my eyes and touched it
and this is where my finger rested. Well, this general area anyway. Someone
pointed me in the exact direction of Lee and said it’s a pretty nice place. I thought
it might be as good a place as any to move.”

  
“You picked a good one, honey,” she replied,
smiling now. “We don’t get many outsiders in here. The ones we do always find
they love it. It’s a nice little town. People don’t leave. So what are you
eating?”

  
“What’s good?”

  
She gave a hearty laugh and a few other patrons
chortled at the newbie’s awkwardness.

  
“Everything’s good. I’m the chef!
Been cooking since I was a toddler.”

  
“Then surprise me.”

  
It appeared as though every woman in Lee was
a bit bold. She took his menu and headed back to the kitchen to whip up something
homemade for the city boy.

  
As he ate, he was pleasantly surprised at the
conversation she struck up with him. He imagined in his mind the places and
people she spoke of through her detailed descriptions. She was so vibrant,
which appearances alone would have never shown. She seemed to be a really big
part of the heart of town; an amazing woman who once had a very wild side. She appeared
to know everyone too, and wasn’t shy about sharing the details of their lives.
She’d do well working at a gossip magazine. She could get the scoop on just
about everyone.

  
That type of scrutiny was exactly what AJ
hoped to avoid. He wanted to maintain a low profile and noted that staying away
from this café might be a good idea for the time being.

  
He pulled out his wallet for the bill, and
she pushed it back.

  
“This one’s on me. It isn’t often I get some
new company and conversation in this place. Come back again and you can pay for
that one.”

  
“It was delicious. You were right – you are
the best cook for miles. Thanks.”

  
He tucked the wallet back into his pocket,
and turned back to her.

  
“Any suggestions on where I might stay?”

  
“Depends.
What are
you looking for?”

  
“Somewhere to rest is fine for the time
being. Long term, I think I want to find myself a little house to live in.”

  
“Stay up at Cottage Creek Inn. Go south down
the main street, then make a left and a right at the first streets you come to.
They don’t get many guests at the bed and breakfast, so they’ll be thrilled to
have you. Next to me, Helen serves up the best cooking you’ll ever taste,” she
said with a wink. “Tell them I sent
ya
and they’ll be
extra good to you.”

  
“Will do, thanks again.”

  
He pushed his arm into his old blue jacket,
not bothering to try and zip it since the zipper was hanging by a thread.

  
He made his way to the Inn and found it in
pristine condition taking him by surprise because according to his waitress,
there wasn’t an influx – ever – of guests to the town. He couldn’t imagine this
little bed and breakfast would bring in much revenue. The beautiful Victorian
style house was painted yellow with white trim and baby blue shutters. The
front porch was expansive, wrapping around the house and providing ample
rocking chairs for enjoying the warm southern evenings.

  
Securing a room for a few nights from an
overly-excited Helen, he walked out back to check out the property after
dropping his bags off in his temporary bedroom, which had a clear view of the
street. He figured a walk might do him good. The other half of the two owners –
Matthew - was out in the barn, working on an old truck as AJ sauntered in.

  
“Hi.”

  
He walked up to Matthew who was bent over the
hood of the truck. AJ had spent so many years keeping to himself that it was
almost freeing to walk up to someone just to say hello. No one did that in the
city. Everyone walked, face down, their minds engrossed in the game or text
they were composing on their cell phone.

  
“Well hello,” Matthew replied, walking over
towards AJ with a handful of tools. “I’d shake your hand, except I’m covered in
grease. You must be AJ. Helen said we had a good-looking young man staying with
us for a few days.”

  
“I appreciate the compliment, embarrassed as
it makes me. Word travels fast around here. I was only away from her long
enough to take some bags to my room.”

  
“You’ll be amazed how fast word travels
around here son. With Helen describing you as a handsome young man, I expect
we’ll have more visitors than we’ve had in months over this way.”

  
Matthew laughed. While his words may have
come across as jokes they were quite serious. He had no doubt the single ladies
would be lining up to meet this new stranger in town as word spread.

  
“Things to look forward
to.”

  
AJ covered the wince he felt with a smile.
The last thing he wanted was attention, especially of the female kind. His life
was complicated enough without having to add in the drama he’d seen come from
dating. He watched as Matthew returned to tinkering under the hood, his
frustration evident in the deep sighs and grunts.

  
“Need any help?”

  
“You a mechanic?”

  
“I dabble.
Learned a lot in
shop classes in high school.
I’m pretty good with some of these older
models.”

  
“Well then, grab a tool and start
pokin
’ around! I have no idea what the problem is. I’m
great at fixing things in the house or around this property, but the mechanics
is something I never quite picked up. If Helen saw me out here tinkering with
this she’d be screaming at me to call Bob before I make the problem worse.”

  
Everyone was so happy here, amusing to be
around.

  
“I’ll take a peek, see what we can find.”

  
Tinkering around under the hood, AJ felt
better. It was something to occupy his focus and keep his mind from thinking
about all the reasons he had left the city to begin with. He had gotten pretty
good at controlling his thoughts except when he got tired. When those moments
arose his mind would run like a motor, faster and faster.

  
“Here’s your problem,” AJ said, lifting his
head out from under the rusted hood. “The oil delivery line has a hole, but I
should be able to fix it myself with a few things from the store. Is there one
around here?”

  
“I can drive you up there if you have some
time. Bob probably has something we can use. He’s the local mechanic, owns the
only shop in town. I can’t believe in two minutes you figured this out. I’ve
been working on this thing for days and I hadn’t found a thing!”

  
“It’s easy to miss; I just knew to look
because it was a common problem back when these were made.”

  
“Well son, looks like you’ve earned
yourself
a free dinner!”

  
“Nah, I can pay. I just like doing this
stuff. Keeps my mind
working.
”

  
“
You planning
on
staying awhile?”

  
“I’m not sure yet. Figured I’d feel it out,
take it a day at a time.”

  
“You have family close-by?”

  
“No,” AJ replied, his head falling before he
lifted his eyes back up to Matthew. “I’m pretty much alone, lost my mom awhile
back. The city wasn’t a fit for me, a bit too fast. I wanted something a little
quieter.”

  
“Do you need work?”

  
The men walked towards AJ’s car, Helen
watching from the window.

  
“I’m okay for now. Probably have to find
something soon though.”

  
He hadn’t really thought about work. What
would he do in a small town like this?

  
“You’re in luck because Bob is looking for a
mechanic. Our other mechanic left town a couple months back. If you’d be
interested, I could talk to him for
ya
.”

  
“The lady at the diner said no one leaves
this place. Should I be worried?”

  
AJ smiled at Matthew, glad the older man had
a similar sense of humor. Comedy was AJ’s shield against the world.

  
“He wasn’t a good fit,” Matthew winked.

  
“Then actually
Matthew,
that
would be great.”

  
AJ glanced at his hands, quickly noting it
would be a good job. With all the grease, his hands would be constantly dirty,
and he wouldn’t have to touch as many people with all the hand-shaking people
do down here. He could be normal for awhile.

Bob
wasn’t at the store although his wife was. They found what they needed and
returned to the barn. After fixing the problem the truck started right up,
purring like a kitten. Matthew was beyond happy at the aspect of not having to
purchase another one, and AJ felt happy finding something he could do. It felt
good to use his hands again in a different way than he had been.

  
After a dinner fit for a king AJ settled into
his room, ready for his first night in his new home. From first impressions,
Lee seemed to be a good fit. It was quiet, peaceful, and the people were kind.
He only worried that he would have difficulty keeping a low profile.

  
The town ached of silence at night he
noticed. Crickets chirped and the occasional frog croaked a lullaby. The
occasional moo escaped from the many cows that roamed the pastures behind
nearly every home he had seen. Mostly though, it was just silence. He rested in
his bed, eyes wide open, thinking about how he would shape his own future. The
guilt was settling in, knowing that he was picking a place with very few
people. He had been taught to believe in helping others, and Lee was a town
with very few opportunities to make a difference.

  
As he settled in and the silence began to take
on a normalcy his serenity was interrupted by brash arguing. He rolled out of
bed and walked over to the window. If he were back in the city this type of event
would be ordinary. He most likely would never have even noticed it. However in
Lee, the way it cut through the silence of the night was eerie.

  
The voices were a bit young to be Matthew and
Helen’s so he carefully pulled back the curtain for a closer look. Across the
street and under the glow of the streetlight, a man and woman were quarrelling
loudly. Upon better inspection he noted that the girl was the feisty brunette
from earlier in the day. She stood awkwardly on her front porch telling some
stumbling, obviously drunk fool that he wasn’t stepping foot in her house. AJ
stifled a laugh since it was almost comical that of the entire town, the place
he had picked to stay was the place that would afford him all of the comforts
he was attempting to leave behind when he left the city.

  
The stumbling, drunk fool wasn’t taking no
for an answer. He stepped up and pushed Addie off the bottom stair, right into
the grass. Without a thought AJ’s body reacted, sending him running into the
hallway and out onto the front porch. He was only halted by the sight of
Matthew in the rocking chair near the stairs.

  
“Let it go, son,” he heard Matthew say. 
“It’s not your fight.”

  
AJ stood on the freshly-stained wooden porch
with the white railing standing between him and the girl, not even sure what he
had intended on doing. It was a completely uncontrolled reaction that had brought
him down here. His fists clenched tightly, the breeze blew at his white tank
and green cargo shorts. He just knew what he had seen wasn’t right and as his
heart raced and his chest moved quickly up and down, he felt as though he couldn’t
just stand there and let her be treated like that.

  
“Doesn’t anybody step in and say something to
him?”

  
His jaw locked tight, fists still firmly at
his sides. His body almost shook with the anger he felt towards the man across
the battered pavement.

  
“What they do is their business. Believe me;
we’ve stepped in before, to no avail.
That there is Addie and
her fiancé, Joseph.
She’s a hot tempered one, tough as nails. She stands
up for herself and she knows when to back down. Joseph’s a bully and one of the
worst. She won’t take kindly to you butting into her business; I’ll tell you
that from personal experience.”