Chapter 7
Katherine lifted a hand to knock on her grandfather’s door then stopped, facing Cody. There really was no reason for Cody to walk her to the house, but a thrill had shot through her when he’d hurried around to open her car door.
Plus, she didn’t want him to leave. Spending time with him today was unexpected, but there was something about him that soothed her—settled her in a way that made her forget her world had been turned upside down again.
“I should warn you about my grandfather,” she said. “He’s a little grumpy.”
Scrunching his nose, Cody scratched the back of his neck. “I grew up with a criminal for a father and world’s biggest bully for a brother. I think I can handle your grandpa.”
“All right, I tried to warn you.” She pounded her fist on the door, pasted a smile on her face, and waited for the show to start.
The door swung open, and her sister-in-law Marie appeared on the other side. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Hey! Wasn’t expecting you. Come on in.”
“Your grandpa looks downright terrifying,” Cody said on a laugh.
Marie chuckled and smoothed a piece of dark, curly hair away from her face. “You don’t know the half of it.” She waited for the two to enter before locking up and following them into the house.
Katherine glanced over her shoulder. “Is he in the kitchen?”
A low grumble from the other room answered her question, and she led the way through the family room to the kitchen.
Pappy stood with his hands fisted on his hips in front of a giggling toddler in a highchair.
Nora, Marie and Owen’s daughter, slapped a plastic spoon against the tray of her seat and splattered some kind of green goo all around.
“I told your mother you don’t like those damn avocados, but she won’t listen to me,” Pappy huffed under his breath. “No one ever does.”
“Language, Pappy,” Katherine said before placing a kiss on his shrunken cheek. “Owen won’t be thrilled to hear his little princess speaking like that. Isn’t that right, Nora?” She swiped a napkin from the table and wiped the goo from Nora’s cheeks before kissing her as well.
“Oh, pish posh. Ain’t no one cares how this little one talks as long as she’s saying something.” Pappy waved a hand in the air then sank down in one of the four chairs at the table, his back facing the wall. He aimed his gaze at Cody and crossed his arms over his chest. “Who the hell are you?”
“Cody Hogan, sir. Just bringing Katherine by.”
“Cody, this is my grandfather, Lewis Sinclair,” Katherine said.
Pappy ignored the introduction. “And why can’t she bring herself? She’s a grown-ass woman. Don’t need the likes of you hanging out and driving her around town. Dammit girl, you know I don’t like strangers. Bad enough I have to put up with family.”
Marie chuckled and brought Pappy a cup of coffee. She smoothed the thin gray hairs on the top of his mostly bald head. “We all know that bark is all you’ve got, and you love us as much as we love you. Now be nice.”
“Umph. Being told what to do in my own house. It’s a damn shame.”
Grinning, Katherine rolled her eyes. “Cody brought me by because I’m having issues with my car and need to borrow the old truck you keep in the garage. Is that okay?”
Straightening, Marie frowned but she didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. Concern poured off her in waves. Clearly Owen had let his wife know what had happened.
As if sensing the tension, Pappy tapped the top of his finger against the tabletop. “What happened to your car?”
Katherine sighed. As much as she didn’t want to get into the details, lying wasn’t an option. Pappy would find out soon enough, and he’d be even pissier if she hid the truth. “I was in an accident.”
All the color leeched from Pappy’s face, but he kept his expression a hard mask. “You at fault for this accident?”
“No.”
A vein ticked at Pappy’s temple. “Hit and run?”
The question broke her heart. Her mother had been killed in a hit and run accident years ago, upturning Pappy’s—and everyone’s—life. He was never the same after losing his only child. Even though justice had finally been served, it still didn’t lessen the pain of losing her mother.
“Kind of,” she said, then uttered a silent prayer he’d leave it at that.
“What the hell does that mean?”
Prayer unanswered.
“Someone hit the back of Katherine’s SUV, sending her off the side of the road and into a guardrail,” Cody said. “Her vehicle’s totaled. Deputies are searching for the man responsible.”
Pappy worked his jaw back and forth then took a sip of coffee. He kept his gaze fixed on Cody, as if trying to read every thought in his head. “You’re a deputy. Why aren’t you looking for this guy? Seems an important thing to keep a jackass like that off the road.”
The side of Cody’s mouth lifted. “Agreed. But Katherine needed a ride. Hated to leave her stranded on the side of the road, waiting for a tow truck.”
“Can’t say I can blame you for that,” Pappy said. “Go ahead, girl. Grab the keys from the drawer. That old thing might need some gas, maybe an oil change. Been a while since anyone’s driven it.”
She bit back a groan. As much as she appreciated the free ride while she secured something better to drive, she didn’t want to spend time upkeeping the hunk of junk.
“I can do that,” Cody said.
One gray, bushy eyebrow hooked high on Pappy’s wrinkled brow. “Excuse me?”
Cody shrugged. “I can change the oil. Do you have what I’d need in the garage, or should I run into town and grab it?”
“You don’t have to do that,” Katherine said. “You’ve already done too much.”
“Nonsense.” Pappy took another swig from his mug. “Boy says he can change the oil, let him change the oil. I’ve got everything here.”
Nora pounded her fists on the highchair, reclaiming the attention. “No cados. More nanas pwease.” Her adorable voice smothered all the tension in the room.
Cody snatched a banana from the bowl on the counter and peeled it. “Does she need it sliced?”
Marie darted her gaze between Katherine and Cody, amusement clear in her dark eyes. “Umm, you can just break off chunks for her if you want.”
“Let me wash my hands first.” He rounded the Formica peninsula that jutted out from the wall then scrubbed his hands in the kitchen sink.
“Wow,” Marie mouthed, her dramatic expression lifting every muscle in her face.
“Stop it,” Katherine mouthed back. The last thing she needed was Cody spinning around and catching her and her sister-in-law in a secret conversation about him.
Pappy clicked his tongue. “My house used to be so damn quiet.”
Cody returned and sectioned off the banana, placing the pieces on the tray for Nora.
She popped one in her mouth. “Yum!”
“Glad you like it.” Cody chuckled then faced Pappy. “Care to show me where I can find your tools?”
Pappy pushed up from the table. “Might as well. Ain’t got nothing better to do, and these hens need their space to keep clucking.”
Heat collided against Katherine’s cheeks, and she avoided Cody’s curiosity as he followed her grandfather into the garage.
Sighing, she dropped into a chair in front of Nora. Not only was Cody handsome and kind, he handled her grandfather like a pro and was great with kids. Not to mention being good with his hands if he could maintain the clunker she’d be driving around.
Marie settled in the seat beside her. “I’m sorry about the accident. Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t want to think about what could have happened. I’ve never been so scared.”
“Then we won’t talk about it,” Marie said. “Instead, we can discuss the cutie patootie deputy who’s braving your grandfather so he can change your oil. He seems like a really nice guy. Could there be something between you two?”
A punch of guilt accompanied the excitement over the idea of exploring the possibilities with Cody. “It’s too soon.”
Reaching across the table, Marie took hold of Katherine’s hand.
“There’s no time limit on when it’s right for you to find happiness with someone else.
Follow your gut and know that Theo wouldn’t want you to spend the rest of your life alone.
He loved you so much. He’d want you to be happy.
Whether that’s with the hottie in the garage or someone else, it doesn’t matter.
Just know finding love again doesn’t replace Theo.
It’s a testament to the wonderful marriage you shared. ”
Emotions choked her windpipe. “What do you mean?”
“If you hadn’t experienced so much joy and love with Theo, there’d be no reason to try and find it again. Theo showed you what true love is. Maybe it’s time to see if you have a second act waiting.”
A chunk of the guilt clinging to her heart fell away.
Marie was right. Her marriage had been the stuff every little girl dreams about.
She’d thought that meant she’d had her chance, no more shots left for her.
But maybe she’d been looking at it the wrong way.
Because Theo had showered her with so much love, she knew what she deserved—what she wanted in a future partner.
And maybe wanting Cody wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
A wall of stale air greeted Cody the second he stepped foot in the dingy garage.
The sun struggled to peek through the dirt smeared on the windows.
A truck almost as old as Katherine’s grandpa sat in the middle of the room.
A long workbench took up one wall, shelves lined with all kinds of crap took up another.
Lewis pushed the white button to lift the garage door then ambled over to the shelves. “You work with cars a lot?”
“No, sir.” He stayed a step behind the old man. He didn’t want to crowd him but stayed close in case the guy fell over. Hell, he appeared so frail Cody was afraid the slight breeze blowing in would knock him right off his feet.
“What makes you think you can change the oil?” Lewis rummaged through boxes until he found one filled with bottles of motor oil.
Cody hurried to take it from him then carried the box to the workbench. “I change my own oil. Used to do my old man’s, and his truck was a lot like this one. The way I grew up, if you wanted something fixed you either fixed it yourself or wasted time staring at a broken piece of junk.”
Lewis snorted out a laugh. “I respect that. Grew up much the same way and tried my damndest to instill that in my grandkids. Their mother understood hard work. Their father, well, I won’t go into what I think of that guy.”
Curiosity threatened to raise his brow, but instinct told Cody to keep a neutral expression. He liked Mike Wells a hell of a lot and didn’t want to be caught by Katherine or anyone else speaking ill of his former boss. “Your grandchildren seem pretty capable of taking care of themselves.”
Lewis gave one decisive nod. “Sure are. Especially Katherine. She’s the toughest of the bunch if you ask me, but don’t tell her I said that.”
“Your secret’s safe with me,” Cody said.
While Lewis shuffled around searching for the tools needed to do the job, Cody unbuttoned his unform shirt at the wrists and rolled up his shirtsleeves. He popped the hood of the truck and located the oil fill trap and plug. “I’m gonna need to drain this. You got a tray I can use for the old oil?”
“Said I got everything you needed, didn’t I?” Lewis found a tray and handed it over. “I lined everything else you might need on the workbench.”
“Appreciate it.”
He went to work draining the oil, all the while feeling the heat of Lewis’s gray eyes on him. When it was time to swap out the filter, he wiped his stained hands on his pantlegs and turned toward the wooden bench.
“Filter’s on the left of the wrench,” Lewis said. He sat on a backless stool with his spine straight and arms across his chest. A weary look of appreciation on his wrinkled face.
“Thanks.” He found the right box and lifted the flap of the cardboard.
“Be careful with her,” Lewis said.
Frowning, Cody stilled with the filter halfway out of the box. “The truck? I promise I know what I’m doing.”
Closing his eyes, Lewis clicked his tongue and shook his head. When he opened his eyes again, a mixture of worry and pain shone through. “That’s not who I’m talking about.”
A lump wedged in Cody’s throat and every word in the English language left his brain.
“Like I said,” Lewis continued. “She’s tough.
But that doesn’t mean she should have to be.
The rug’s been yanked out from under that girl’s feet more than once.
First when her mom died, then with what happened to Theo.
I’d hate to see it happen a third time. And if there’s even one shred of you that thinks you might cause her pain, walk away now. ”
“Sir, I’m just doing my job. Helping her out because she’s had some bad things happen the last couple days.”
Another snort came from Lewis, but this one didn’t hold an ounce of amusement. “We both know you’re doing more than what the sheriff expects of you, especially since the sheriff just happens to be her brother.”
The musty air thickened around him, and Cody coughed to clear his throat. Two days ago, Katherine was nothing more than another woman in town who didn’t give him a second glance. Had he always found her attractive? Sure. But he’d never imagined there could be anything between them.
That had changed in less than forty-eight hours, at least on his side, and her grandfather had no qualms about calling him out. Something he respected even if it made him nervous as hell.
“Katherine and I are friends, new ones at that. She’s a nice woman and I want to make sure she’s safe.
My intentions are good, that I can promise, but I’m not sure what else there is to say.
I know about what happened to Katherine’s husband, and I’d never do anything to disrespect what she shared with Theo or make her uncomfortable.
No matter what the future holds, it’s up to Katherine to give me the green light on anything that could possibly exist there. ”
Lewis worked his jaw back and forth as if chewing over his answer.
Sweat dotted Cody’s hairline and his nerves bunched up, as though this man’s opinion was the final verdict in something that may not even be a possibility.
“Well, all right then. How about we finish changing this oil?”
Relieved, Cody let out a long breath. If he did want some kind of a future with Katherine, there were a lot of obstacles to overcome. At least he’d just bypassed one of them.
With his focus back on task, he removed the filter from the box just as the kitchen door banged open.
Katherine stood on the step with her phone in her hand. Her gaze stayed glued to the screen before she glanced up and met his eye. “My security system is going off. Somebody’s at my house.”