Sidecar Crush

“What?” I asked.

He lowered his sunglasses. “Nothing. It’s just… you said it was a small town in West Virginia. I guess I hadn’t realized you meant small-town West Virginia.”

“Come on, Kelvin, don’t be a snob. It’s charming.”

“Not the word I’d use,” he said. “But okay.”

I rolled my eyes and looked out the window. The route to my dad’s house skirted the outside of town. I’d have to show Kelvin around later. From what I could see, Bootleg Springs looked much the same as I remembered it. Dad had told me it had grown as tourists discovered the hot springs. But so far, it still held the same charm I remembered so well.

My dad lived about five minutes outside town. Kelvin cast me a questioning glance when we turned down the gravel driveway, but he didn’t comment on it. We bounced down the long drive until the house came into view.

Dad’s house was a little more worn that I remembered. The wood slats were weathered and there was a slight sag to the front porch that hadn’t been there before.

A grin stole over my face at the sight of my dad. He sat in his old rocking chair on the front porch, just like he always had. Kelvin brought the car to a stop and I hopped out.

“Hey, Daddy.”

My heart squeezed when I saw how slowly he rose from his chair. Add to that the tube beneath his nose connected to an oxygen tank, and the sight of him almost brought me to tears.

“Leah Mae sunshine,” he said, holding out his arms. His hair was more gray than blond now, and the lines at the corners of his eyes and across his forehead had deepened. He wore a faded hickory shirt and a pair of jeans that had seen better days.

I walked up the creaky steps. “Dad, you didn’t tell me you were on oxygen.”

“Oh, this?” he asked, tugging on the clear rubber tubing. “This is nothing. Just a little extra help. I won’t need it much longer.”

I stepped carefully into his hug and was surprised at how far around him my arms went. Dad had always been a big man—tall with a barrel chest and arms thick from hard work. His height hadn’t gone anywhere—I was five foot ten, but at six foot four, he still made me feel a bit like a little girl. But he felt so much smaller—his thickness was diminishing with either age or his illness.

He was only fifty-four—much too young for this.

“It’s so good to see you,” I said, pulling away. The stairs behind me creaked beneath Kelvin’s feet. “Daddy, this is Kelvin Graham. Kelvin, this is my dad, Clay Larkin.”

The smile left Dad’s face and he straightened. He had a good three inches on Kelvin, and apparently he intended to use them.

“Mr. Larkin,” Kelvin said, his voice smooth as he held out his hand to shake.

Dad hesitated a second before shaking his hand. “Kelvin, huh?”

Kelvin’s eyes flicked to me, as if he wasn’t sure how to respond. “Yes, well, it’s nice to finally meet you. I think the last time you visited Leah, I was away on business.”

“I reckon,” Dad said.

I’d expected my dad to be a little cold to Kelvin at first. That was the Bootleg father way. He’d warm up to him soon.

I hoped.

“Well, Daddy, can we come inside? It was a long drive from the airport.”

Dad’s smile returned. “Of course, sweetheart. Come on in.”

Kelvin stood back with his hands in his pockets, eying the old house while Dad shuffled inside, wheeling his oxygen tank behind him.

The house was clean and cozy, with a wood-burning stove in the corner and a worn couch with a blanket over it. It smelled faintly of pine and cinnamon. A few pictures of me as a little girl hung on the walls in mismatched frames.

Dad went over to his old leather recliner and lowered himself down. It took him a second to get his tubes situated. Kelvin followed me in, but stayed standing while I sat on the couch.

“Place looks nice,” I said. “You’re still getting help from Betsy Stirling, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, Betsy comes by regularly,” he said. “Checks up on me and helps me keep the place in order.”

Dad had balked at hiring someone to help him around the house, but after his hospitalization, I’d insisted. And Betsy Stirling was perfect. She was a part-time nurse down at the Bootleg Springs Clinic, and had been looking for a side gig to keep her busy. She helped Dad with things like grocery shopping and cleaning up the house, and she kept tabs on his health. It made me feel a lot better to have her around.