Tobias: Book One of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Five

Tobias watched as Jane sped away down the road, hair flying wildly in the wind, waiting until she fully disappeared in the fine mist that was beginning to permeate the air to drive back home. Rex bounded up to him as soon as Tobias opened up the squeaky, screen door. After he fed the large, furry dog, he made his way to the caving-in shed to begin splitting wood for the long, winter months.

Slivers of pain shot up from his hip and to his back every time he brought the axe over his head and back down again. Lately, he'd been able to almost block out the incessant pain by thinking of her. Long, silky brown hair framed an angelic face with just a few freckles that he found perfect. Large, brown eyes the color of whiskey weren't caked over with make up, only a light coating of mascara. And those lips, he could only imagine how addictive they would feel.

Usually, Jane wore khaki pants and a hospital t-shirt for the appointments, but he could tell that underneath those bland clothes, there was a perfect body underneath. He had to admit that most times he went for the curvier woman with fuller breasts and hips, but with her, he found himself not caring.

At his first appointment, he had been a little timid, afraid that he was going to mess up and say something stupid in front of her. But she had made him feel completely at ease with his complications, even going so far as to play that joke on him with Alan that one day. He hadn't minded, even though it had surprised the hell out of him. He had even been about to ask her for her number but chickened out at the last second.

Most times, women had shot him down for not being wealthy enough. He tried though. They had no idea how hard he had to work to get where he was today. But Jane, Jane saw that. She was different. With everything he said, there had always been understanding, compassion, and joy in her eyes.

And tomorrow, tomorrow he was going to take her out and learn more about her. For some reason that he still didn't understand, everything she said had him captivated and wanting to learn more. She lived a simple life, one with a good family and a great job. It was going to be a simple date, really. He planned on bringing her to his favorite, small town diner and then walking with her on the marina to just look at the stars.

All of these thoughts flashed through his head with every swing of the axe until his arms started burning. He kept going, knowing that he needed to stay in shape for work and it wouldn't hurt if he kept all the muscle mass going for tomorrow and hopefully more time spent with her. Out of nowhere, his phone started ringing in his back pocket.

Wiping a hand over his sweat-drenched brow, he picked up the phone. “'Lo?”

“Toby,” his mother's voice crackled with static on the other end, panic and sorrow filling it.

“What's wrong, Ma?”

“It's Tawson,” she said, sobbing for her first born child, “h-his pacem-maker-er failed again!”

“Shit, put dad on the phone. Please, Ma.”

After a few seconds, he heard his parents talking quietly and then his dad said, “Hey, Toby.” His voice was more confident and steady than his mother's but still strained as he explained, “Taw's pacemaker failed, so we've got him in the hospital. The paramedics said his heart stopped for nine seconds, and then they revived him again. He might not make it this time, son.”

“No,” Tobias practically whimpered into the phone, unashamed. Putting the axe down, he sat down heavily on one of the logs and placed his head in his hands, willing the pounding headache to go away. Images of Tawson, his forty-seven-year old brother who had been born with Down syndrome flashed through his mind. In a family with five other brothers, Tawson being the oldest and him being the youngest, they had formed a bond since the time Tobias had been born.