The Reunion (Love Stories From a Small Town #5)

61. Useless

Faith was more than happy to go to the old thrift store she used to hate so much and clear the racks of everything that might fit Carolyn and the boys. The boxes of stuff they ordered started to trickle in, too, and the bedrooms were all set up for everyone.

Every room that sat empty all these years had someone in it now, and they’d already about emptied my pantry of all the snacks I stockpiled. Not that I minded sleeping in my reclining chair — I always did it, even when I didn’t have a houseful of company. But I was really looking forward to getting my king-sized memory foam bed back, though.

Breaking the cardboard boxes down in the garage, I stomped them against the floor to flatten them out until I heard the door to the kitchen open. “Hey.”

Wearing something that kind of fit her this time, instead of my boxers and t-shirts she struggled to keep on, Carolyn held tight to the railing as she stepped down from the stairs.

About a hundred wrinkles folded up the bottom half of the stretchy pants Faith gave her, and I laughed at them before I ripped the side out of another box. “Little long. Aren’t they?”

Pulling out the extra fabric around the hips, she kicked out her leg as she shuffled toward me in her too-big shoes. “Faith’s legs are like a mile long.” The metal framed lawn chair leaning against the wall unfolded. “I just started a load of those clothes she bought, though.”

I let the box fall to the floor and rocked my boot over it. “I’ll take care of it. Dom said you already had enough excitement for today.”

She folded up her legs underneath her. “I’m fine. I’m not used to sitting around so much, and it’s stressing me out more than it’s making me feel better, to be honest.” Having that puppy-that-just-did-something-wrong look all the time, she barely even made eye contact with me anymore. “Um. Since it doesn’t seem like I’ll be going back to work anytime soon, I was thinking maybe I could do something for you, for like, your business or something. You’ll probably be super busy with the cleanup for the next couple of months.”

I folded the boxes over each other and shoved them into the trashcan. “I mean, I guess you can if you want. But school’s over for the summer, so you got the kids to take care of. And the job site isn’t the funnest place for kids.”

Her shoulders collapsed when she sighed. “Okay. Well, I promise I’ll keep the house clean and have dinner waiting when you get home, and I’ll try to find a job doing something else.”

I shoved the lid on the can. “Carolyn, there weren’t any decent jobs here before the tornado. So, I doubt you’re going to find much after.”

People in her family had to work and save for everything they owned, and I realized how the idea of not pulling her weight was making her already shitty situation feel a hundred times worse. I pulled my chair from under the workbench and dragged it over to her. “You and the boys are still recovering from a whole lot of stuff right now. I’m not pushing any of you to do anything but get better. We’ll worry about everything else once that happens.”

Pulling my flannel tighter around her, she jerked up her shoulders at herself. “I hate feeling like we’re mooching off you. I wish I could do something to not be so useless.”

My elbow bumped into the arm of her chair. “You’ve been working since you were tall enough to reach the counter. Sometimes two or three jobs. Then you run yourself ragged between those jobs, getting the boys to and from sports. You are not now or have ever been useless.”

When she rolled her eyes and slid her fingers underneath them, I leaned over a little. “You’re going through something beyond your control, and I’m in a position to help you. And I’m just happy I was here to be in that position.” She finally looked at me, and I shrugged. “You don’t need to do anything, but if you want to fold my towels and make me dinner sometimes, that would be great.”

Something had bothered me since she got here, and I shifted uncomfortably and cleared my throat. “By the way, did you call their dad to let him know where they’d be? He must be worried sick.”

The edge of her mouth bent up for a second when she scoffed. “Yeah, he said okay and then hung up on me. Didn’t even ask to speak to them or if they were okay. Actually, he hasn’t tried to visit them at all since he left. So, I wouldn’t worry about him showing up or anything.”

Her ex wasn’t any kind of man at all, and him starting anything with me would be a major mistake on his part that made me laugh back at her. “Yeah. I’m not stressing about that possibility.” My hand flipped off my knee. “You got some good boys, Carolyn. So, if he doesn’t want to be around, don’t keep trying to force him to. They don’t need that kind of sometimes parent undoing all the hard work you’re putting into them.”

Shaking her head at her hands, she rubbed them together for a little while until they broke apart. “I just don’t understand it. I’m so lost whenever I’m away from them for a single second, and he’s out living his best life with his new family like they don’t exist.” Her eyes shut, and she slowly shook her head. “Don’t you wish sometimes you could go back and fix things? Like tell your younger self how stupid your life turned out and warn them to make better choices?”

I watched Dom make himself crazy with regret over shit he couldn’t change, and I swore I’d never live my life that way. My lips turned out when I shrugged back at her. “Can’t look backward. Just decide today you’ll live a different kind of life moving forward.”

She relaxed into the seatback, laying her head on my shoulder as I moved my arm around the back of her chair. “I guess so.”

I was so close to having everything I wanted. She was right there in my house. So, I decided just to be still and let things unfold on her time, hoping she’d come to me when she was ready.