Page 1 of Serve (Men of Hidden Creek Season 1, #5)

Chapter One

Chip

“I swear that’s marijuana, Aunt Dixie. Why’s it growing in your backyard?” Chip wiped beads of sweat from his brow. The sun was directly overhead in the Texas sky and showed no mercy.

“Honey, you pay that no mind. It’s hibiscus. Now come inside, I’ve made fresh lemonade.” The elderly woman grabbed him by the arm and tried dragging him to the backdoor.

“Don’t you want me to put the lawnmower away?” He chuckled. She pretended innocence, but hustling him from the scene of the crime was a dead giveaway.

“Chip, I’m only sixty-one, a very young sixty-one. I can handle putting it in the garage on my own.” She took her glasses off and cleaned them on her sleeve. This was a nervous habit Chip recognized from when he was a kid. Back then it was his Dad, her big brother she was hiding things from.

“Now come inside. I know you’ve got to head into work.

An ice-cold glass of lemonade will cool you right off.

And thank you for doing my lawn, sugar.” She gripped his elbow in her strong hand and led him into the house.

He shook his head and laughed, allowing her to drag him through the screen door.

The kitchen was large, taking up almost half of the downstairs in the smallish, two story house.

It was her favorite room. When she and her wife Sue originally bought it, they’d torn out the wall separating it from the dining room.

Pictures of Dixie and her blue hair, and Sue’s huge smile decorated the walls, as well as childhood pictures of Chip.

He missed his Aunt Sue, and every time he entered the room, memories of her flooded his mind.

She’d been the cook, while Dixie entertained the guests.

Since she’d passed away a few months ago, Chip made it a point to check up on his favorite aunt almost daily.

He’d even moved from Houston to Hidden Creek in order to be nearby.

He missed the big city, but family was everything to him, and she was all he had left.

“Here you go.” She placed the glass in front of him. “Now drink up. I pressed your uniform, and it’s folded on top of the dryer.”

“Thanks.” He lifted the frosted glass to his lips, and instantly forgot about the illegal foliage in the backyard. Tart, lemony goodness flooded his taste buds. Nothing beat Aunt Dixie’s lemonade. He drank the contents in one go, and she refilled it as soon as he set the glass down.

“Hits the spot, don’t it?” She drawled. “I’ve never told you this, but the lemonade was Sue’s recipe. She let me take credit for it, since she knew my skills in the kitchen were spotty, to say the least.” She sat down across from him and folded her arms in front of her.

“Really? I never knew that.” He drained half the glass and set it in front of him. Now that he thought of it, it made perfect sense. Aunt Dixie lived on take-out nowadays.

“I know you’ve got to get ready to go, but I’m serious about what I said earlier. You’ve got to get out more. I’m an old lady now, and you need friends your own age. Why don’t you go drinking with some guys? You know, go to one of those bars on the strip.” She reached over and patted his hand.

“Are you trying to get rid of me? I’ve only been here a few weeks, Aunt Dixie. Give me time, I’ll make some friends. I’ve already met a couple of people at the hospital.” He knew she meant well, but he was more concerned about her. She’d always been cagey about her life outside of the family.

“What about you, Aunt Dixie? You’ve been rattling around this house all by yourself for a few months now.”

Right before Sue passed away, her employer had cut her hours to very part-time. She was his housekeeper and assistant, working when he was away on business. Now that he was semi-retired, she wasn’t needed as much.

“I still talk to him once a week or so. He says I should relax, I’ve earned the extra time off.” She sighed and absently moved a grey curl off her forehead. A blank expression threatened to settle over her features, but she looked up at Chip and smiled instead.

“Stop changing the subject. You know, you’re a handsome fella. You might want to try dating, maybe one of those new-fangled apps? I hear that’s where people find each other nowadays.” She whipped her phone out of her apron pocket and smiled.

“I set up a profile last night. Wanna see?” She held out the phone. A picture of her winking at the camera while pushing her boobs together in a tight, hot pink shirt made him laugh.

“You didn’t! Oh my God, Aunt Dixie! What the hell?” He snatched the phone out of her hand and brought it close to his face.

She grabbed at his hand and tried to wrestle the phone from his grip. He relented, and she fell back in her chair and gave a little whoop.

“Got ya! You don’t think I’d really do that now, do you?” She stuck her tongue out at him and giggled. Her eyes lit up with mirth, which lightened the heaviness of his heart a little bit.

“I put nothing past you, Aunt Dixie” He glanced at his watch and realized he was officially running late. He stood and scooted his chair under the table. Aunt Dixie stuck her phone back in her pocket and rose. She went to the fridge and pulled out a thermos.

“Here, take it. It’s more lemonade. Now go get ready for work.

” She placed the thermos on the table, then reached out and gave him a big, bear hug.

She played jokes on him all the time, always had since he was a little boy.

They were all they had left of their family, and they both were very aware of it.

“Yes, ma’am.” He squeezed her tight, then went to the laundry room to change into his uniform.

Chip put his stuff on the passenger seat and climbed into his truck.

“You remember what I said in the kitchen, maybe find yourself a friend to hang out with. Better yet, a date!” She yelled to him as he backed his truck onto the street.

“Yes, ma’am!” He yelled back, then raised the window and sped off. If he was lucky, with the lights, he should be able to clock in with seconds to spare.

He turned on the radio, heard one bad song after another, then switched it off. She’d struck a nerve, a fact he didn’t want her to know. Otherwise, she’d keep pestering him. One simple question she’d asked filled his head with thoughts he’d rather ignore.

“How do you like Hidden Creek so far?” She’d asked. He loved it, or at least he thought he did. When he was here visiting Aunt Dixie and Sue, he had a great time, but living in Hidden Creek was a different story.

He graduated from school a few weeks after Sue had passed. Instead of looking for jobs in Houston, he immediately sent his resumé to Hidden Creek Memorial Hospital. When they offered him the EMT job, he didn’t think twice about taking it.

Aunt Dixie was the only family he had left, and he wasn’t about to leave town just because he was lonely. He’d have to make the best of the situation.

He’d never had problems making friends before, but it seemed to be taking longer than it usually did.

This was also his first job out of college.

Seemed like people were more standoffish.

Even folks his own age seemed to be on a tight schedule, always in a hurry.

It made him wonder if he smelled bad, or something.

While sitting at a traffic light, Chip lifted his shirt collar and took a deep sniff. Nah, that wasn’t it. He’d just mowed the lawn, but he still smelled like soap. The light turned green, and he eased the truck forward.

“You’ve been here for over a month. Go to one of the coffee shops downtown this weekend.

Stop hanging out at Aunt Dixie’s house. She’s right, you need to get out more.

” He pulled into the employee lot, and hoped nobody noticed that he was the only one in his truck.

If someone did, he could always pretend he’d been on the phone.

“Who the hell cares?” He mumbled as he climbed out of the front seat. He grabbed the thermos and his backpack and locked up. Jogging to the rear entrance of the hospital, he prayed he wasn’t late.

Hunter, a guy he had coffee with in the cafeteria occasionally, opened the door for him. The young physician assistant greeted him with a clap on the shoulder and a smile.

“Have a good day off?”

“Day off? Oh yeah, I did have one off. My aunt kept me busy in her yard. Talk to ya later, running late.” Chip raced down the narrow corridor, hoping to clock in on time.

“Six minutes late is nothing to shrug off Chip. This is your first job, you need to make a good impression. Please, make this your last time, okay?” Chip’s boss glared at the time clock.

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry, my aunt kept me talking, and…” Chip’s voice dropped to a whisper as his boss walked away. Damn it. Why the hell couldn’t he ever be on time? He’d been like this his whole life, always racing against one clock or another.

The door to the locker room opened. His partner, Sheila, held it open for him.

“C’mon, let’s go.” She smiled. Even though she’d been an EMT for a few years, they were both new to the hospital, but unlike him, she had her shit together. Never late, she was always peppy and cheerful. A perfect counterbalance to his brooding self.

“Sorry, got caught up at my... well, never mind.” He blushed, then walked through the door and found his locker.

When he closed it, he slammed it harder than he realized. The sound echoed throughout the room. He glanced up and saw Sheila’s normally perky features look serious for a change.

“Let’s get in the truck, then we can talk about it. The boss was pissed.” She whispered. Sheila rubbed his shoulder for a moment, then they headed out to the parking lot.

“What’s wrong? There’s got to be something going on, I can tell.”

“I’ve only been here for a month. You don’t know me that well.” Chip was whining, and knew it. Sheila saw him more than anyone else, including Aunt Dixie. She spoke the truth. He continued, minus the whine.

“You’re the second person today to tell me that. I guess I’m feeling lonely. I moved here to help Aunt Dixie out after Sue died. I guess I’m just missing my old friends back in Houston.”

“We’re not that far away. Take a weekend off and visit them. Dude, you could also try making some new ones. All I know is you can’t keep showing up for work late. Reviews are next month. You know Maria is going to clock you on it.” Sheila put her seat belt on and faced forward.

“I’ll be on time from now on, I swear I…” Chip began, then was interrupted by the radio.

Car accident in Moore Wood Park. It was only a few blocks from the hospital. Sheila flipped on the siren, and they raced out of the parking lot.