came home last time. Mama says that it’ll ruin my teeth and make me fat. Don’t tell her you brought it, okay?”
Noah put a finger over his lips. “It’ll be our secret. What else does Mama tell you when I’m gone?”
“That I must be a good girl and sit up like a lady and to stop rolling my eyes at her. Sittin’ up ain’t too hard, but sometimes I turn my back and roll my eyes,” Miss Janie said between bites.
“Why do you turn your back?” Kayla asked.
“Because if she sees me, she slaps my face real hard, and it hurts.” Miss Janie put a hand on her cheek as if she could feel the pain by talking about it.
“Does Daddy say anything when she hits you?” Noah asked.
Miss Janie shivered. “Her slaps don’t hurt as bad as his belt. He didn’t have to whip you because you were a good boy, but he says girls got to learn their place so they’ll be good wives. Let’s go inside and get some milk. If you ask for it first, Mama won’t say no.”
Teresa blinked back tears. Who would ever have thought, as kind and sweet as Miss Janie had been to her two foster daughters, that she’d been an abused child? She’d made the comment that she didn’t ever want to get married. No wonder, if she thought those whippings went along with being a wife.
“How about I get your new wheelchair out of the truck, and we give you a ride in it?” Noah asked. “No racing through the house, though. You might break something, and that would make Mama mad for sure.”
Miss Janie clapped her hands and squealed like a little girl. “I promise I’ll be careful.” She lowered her voice. “But I might race down the hallway if Mama isn’t looking.”
“I’ll help you bring it and whatever else is out there,” Teresa offered, and stood up.
Kayla moved closer to Miss Janie. “If y’all need me, just yell. I’ll stay right here with Miss Janie, in case she needs help eating all that delicious chocolate.”
“Thank you,” Miss Janie giggled and took another bite.
When they’d crossed the yard and were almost to the truck, Teresa remembered to say, “Welcome home. Miss Janie missed you.”
“Thanks.” He grinned. “Is she the only one who missed me?”
Granted it had been a while, but Teresa knew flirting when she saw it, and Noah was definitely flirting with her. She air slapped him on the arm. “Of course not. We all did.”
“Well, it’s good to be back.” His smile got even bigger. “I missed being home.”
He didn’t say he missed her in particular, but the twinkle in his eyes gave her hope. Then the smile faded, and he pulled the box with the wheelchair out of the back of the truck.
“This sure happened fast,” he said.
“I expected a gradual thing, too, but one minute she’s shuffling along with a walker and the next she’s flat on the floor and her legs won’t work.” Teresa followed him across the yard.
“The doctor said we could expect anything, and the decline could be slow or come along in the blink of an eye,” Noah said.
“What were you doin’? Or is it classified?” she asked.
“Surveillance for an old friend,” he told her. “I got all the information he needed, so now he doesn’t even have to go. I owed him because he’s the guy who helped find you and Kayla for Miss Janie.”
Well, thank God for that guy, whoever he is, she thought.
“Looks to me like you could use about twenty hours of sleep,” she said as she watched him use his pocketknife to open the box.
“Is that the voice of experience I’m hearing?” He pulled the chair out, popped it open, and attached the footrests.
“Yes, it is. Anytime I could work a double shift, I did it,” she answered.
“You’re working triple shifts every day here,” he reminded her as he picked up the chair and started toward the porch with it.
“But here I only have one patient, not a whole wing,” she told him.
“How do I get into that thing when my legs don’t work?” Miss Janie frowned at the two of them. “The doctor says my hip isn’t broken, so I don’t know why they won’t work.”
“Maybe they’ll get well if you stay off them,” Kayla said. “And we’ll carry you to the chair like we did when we brought you out to the porch.”
“Good thing I didn’t eat two candy bars.” Miss Janie giggled. “I’d