Pie Town - Lynne Hinton [37]
“Looks like the game’s over,” Alex announced, shaking Trina from her thoughts, drawing her attention to the members of the team as they approached. “And we won,” he added.
Trina stood up as everyone gathered around Alex, congratulating their only home run hitter. She backed away a bit so there would be room. Roger, Alex’s grandfather, walked over to Alex, saw Trina, and headed over to her. He took off his hat and began wiping his face and neck with a handkerchief. “You been here the whole time?” he asked.
Trina shook her head. “Just in time for the big hit,” she answered. “You pitch a mean curveball,” she said with a smile.
Roger grinned. “I have my moments,” he said. He put his hat back on his head. “Everything okay in the apartment?” he asked. They hadn’t spoken since she moved in a few days earlier. His schedule at work and caring for Alex got him out early every morning and home after dark in the evenings.
“I like it,” she replied. “It’s perfect for me. The bed’s soft, just the way I like it, and there’s a nice breeze always blowing through the place.” She stuck her hands in her back pockets. “I like the little room in the back the best,” she said. “Was that Alex’s nursery?”
Roger nodded. “He never really got to stay in it,” he said. “Alex spent most of his early years in the hospital.” He looked over at his grandson. “But Angel,” he said, turning back to Trina, “his mother, she wanted him to have his own room.”
Trina listened, glancing over at Alex as the other team members came over to congratulate him.
“When she moved in, it had just been a little storage room, a closet. But she emptied everything out of it, cleaned it up, and painted it all those bright colors. She wanted it to be special for him, you know.” He slipped his handkerchief into his pocket. “She worked on it a long time, but then after they kept putting him back in the hospital or making him stay down in Albuquerque, she just quit.” Roger paused. “She just quit decorating.” He blew out a long breath. “Then, when we did get him home, the stairs were just too much. She didn’t hang around much after that.”
“And now she’s in Taos?” Trina asked.
“Last we heard,” Roger answered. “She tends to like to wander,” he added.
“What about his dad?” she asked.
“Never really knew the answer to that question,” Roger replied. “Angel would never say, and we really aren’t sure. Although I have my suspicions.”
Trina studied the man. “Guess being sheriff means you hear a lot of chatter, huh?”
He nodded. “I hear stuff,” he answered.
“Yeah, I suspect so.” She stretched her arms out to her side. “But I get your daughter,” she noted. “I never stay too long in one place either. I’m sort of a gypsy at heart too. Like to keep moving, you know.”
Roger turned to the young woman. He realized that Alex was right. She was very similar to Angel. She didn’t physically resemble his daughter very much, but there was something that seemed to connect the two of them. Maybe it was the wandering, maybe it was something else.
“Did you find work?” he asked, remembering that she was trying to get a job at the diner.
“I’m filling in for the dishwasher and the waitress while they take a few days off this month, but I don’t think Fred and Bea have anything too permanent for me,” Trina replied. She looked over at Roger. “You know of anything?” she asked.
Roger thought for a minute