Rattlesnake by Kim Fielding Page A

business is it of yours? As Shane pointed out, he’s an adult. Why’s the whole family getting up in his business?”
    At first she didn’t answer. She fiddled with the straw wrapper for a bit, glancing every now and then at Shane, who was now chatting with a couple of customers. Then she sighed again, very deeply. “He was in a car accident. It was… almost ten years ago now, I guess. But it was really bad. They thought he was going to die.”
    Ridiculously, her statements made Jimmy’s stomach clench. “But he didn’t,” he pointed out.
    “No. But he was all messed up. Rehab took a long time, a lot of surgeries, and the doctors said he’d never heal completely. He’s always going to limp, and… he doesn’t complain, but I know he’s in pain. That’s never going to go away. He had to give up working on the ranch, and he loved that place so much.”
    Gently, Jimmy said, “I’m not going to break him.”
    Charlie shook her head. “No, that’s not…. He had a head injury too. A brain injury. He was in a coma, and when he woke up….” Her voice almost broke, but she got control of it. She was a tough woman. Strong. “He could hardly do anything when he woke up. He had to relearn so much. And he’s come a long way. But he still has seizures every once in a while. Bad ones. And he has… the doctors call them cognitive deficits.”
    “He’s not stupid.”
    “No, he’s not. And he used to love to read. But he can’t process written information very well. Learning new things is tough for him too. And sometimes his judgment isn’t so great. I worry that maybe he’s a little too trusting.” She swiveled on her stool to look Jimmy straight in the face. “We love him, and we want him to be happy and well. But there are a lot of us, mister, and every one of us will fight like hell to make sure he doesn’t get hurt. You understand?”
    “Yeah.” And knowing that Shane had a fierce army on his side made Jimmy’s heart ache with relief and longing. “And I can promise you now, I have no intention of hurting him. I’m a drifter, a man of no account. You’ve figured that out already. But I’m not dangerous. I’m truly not.”
    She had no reason to believe him and she still didn’t smile, but the angle of her shoulders softened just a little. She wiped her mouth with her hand.
    “I’m gonna tell you something else,” Jimmy said. “I’m not educated. But I’ve seen a lot of things. And if you don’t mind my saying so, I know men. Your brother’s strong and prideful. I suspect it runs in the family. You have to give him room to make some mistakes. If you smother him with concern, you’re gonna end up driving him away or just plain breaking him. He sure as hell doesn’t deserve that.”
    Shane had given up all pretense of disinterest. He leaned against the far wall, between the big front windows, and watched them. He was twisting the life out of his towel.
    Something thawed in Charlie, just a little bit. She blinked rapidly a few times and exhaled loudly. “I have to go. If there’s one thing you don’t want to do, it’s face a room of ten-year-olds when you’re exhausted.” She dug in her purse for a wallet, extricated a five-dollar bill, and set it on the counter. Then she hefted the purse over her shoulder and stood. “Thank you for talking to me tonight, Jimmy. I’m sorry I wasn’t nicer.”
    “You love your brother. I understand. He’s lucky to have you.”
    Charlie detoured by Shane as she left. They spent a moment or two in quiet conversation, but Shane’s eyes never left Jimmy, and the anxious expression never lifted from his face. As soon as she was gone, he hurried over.
    “You have quite a family,” Jimmy said. He was more than a little envious. “I have the feeling you all have a little of Rattlesnake Murray in you.”
    “She didn’t have to come here.”
    “No, she didn’t. But I guess she felt otherwise. I’ve heard that love can make people see the world real