Chapter 33
Dax
I t’s been nearly a month since I last stepped foot in Chicago. The house is coming along, complete with some new furniture and a washer and dryer. The master bedroom now has a king-sized bed that doesn’t squeak.
While work hasn’t started above Quintessential Treasures, Kandace and I spoke with Lynell Jacobs about the wiring. He said that it’s functional for what is present, meaning the store, but if additional space is utilized, replacing the electrical panel is recommended.
That update is on his schedule.
While I can swing a hammer and use a saw, I’m not the man to rewire anything.
My weekdays start at the diner on Main Street.
I have a standing date with a beautiful girl with her mommy’s hair color and her dad’s color of eyes.
Once our breakfast is over, I take Molly to Quintessential Treasures and then drive her to school.
My Porsche is gone, replaced by a truck with a super cab—plenty of room for a car seat.
Some mornings I see the guys at the diner.
Most of my days are spent with the one person who wasn’t happy to see me back in Riverbend.
The Sheers property is larger than I remembered.
Justin studied agriculture at Purdue and has made some worthwhile changes to the crops, changes that replenish the soil instead of draining it of its nutrients.
It turns out that running a farm isn’t as simple as one would think.
Randy is home from rehab, and doing better each day. He was just recently cleared to drive again. I think Bridget is happy to get him out of the house. She’s back to work at the hospital in Washington.
I still haven’t asked Kandace to marry me, but I will.
We are taking things slowly for us and for Molly. That doesn’t mean we haven’t had playdates or that the big box of condoms hasn’t been used. Hint, we have, and they have.
Today isn’t a weekday. It’s Saturday. That means it’s Kandace’s busiest day at Quintessential Treasures and according to Justin, just another day.
We had more help on the farm today as Ricky, Mick, and even Cory came out to pitch in.
The silo is nearly filled with corn. The Sheers have a contract with a company in Illinois.
The corn we harvested is going to be turned into ethanol.
Learning about all of this has me thinking about my future.
There are farms all around that aren’t being used. If I could represent the landowners and broker arrangements, they could benefit from the crops produced. We aren’t talking big money, but to a struggling landowner, it could be their safety net.
I’m in the office in my house, showered after a long day and working on a few things Gena sent me. There’s a pot of spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove and another pot with water waiting to be heated when I hear welcome voices.
Pushing my chair back, I hurry toward the kitchen.
“Dax,” Molly calls as I lift her up and her little arms encircle my neck. “Do we really get to spend the night here?”
“You sure do. And I have a surprise for you.”
Her eyes grow wide. “You do?”
“I do.” I set her feet on the floor. “First, I’m going to kiss your mom.”
Kandace smiles as I tug her close and we kiss.
I can’t stop my laugh when I turn back to Molly.
She has her arms crossed over her chest and a sober expression. “Are you guys done? I want to see my surprise.”
My focus goes to Kandace. “Are we done?”
“No, but we can pick up later.”
“I’m good with later.” I reach for Molly’s hand. “Come upstairs so I can show you.”
The three of us go up the stairs. Once we’re to the landing, I go to the bedroom on the right. Standing at the closed door, I ask, “Are you ready?”
Molly nods as does Kandace. The thing is that Kandace knows what is inside. She helped me get everything set.
I open the door and Molly’s eyes grow wide again as she steps inside her room. She points to the colorful letters on the wall. “That’s my name. It says Molly.”
The letters came from Quintessential Treasures. A couple in a nearby town makes custom woodwork items.
“That’s because this is your room.”
“My room?” She runs to the bed and lifts a stuffed Anna doll, from Frozen .
While I thought Elsa is the rage for those movies, it seems Molly prefers Anna. Now that I’ve had the pleasure of watching not only Frozen 1 but also Frozen 2 , I understand. Anna is the one who tells the story, the hero who saves the day. My favorite character is Olaf.
“What do you think?” Kandace asks.
“I have a room at home.”
“You can have two rooms,” Kandace explains. “This way you can spend the night here sometimes.”
“With you,” she says, looking up at me.
I crouch down to my haunches. “Yes. If you want.” Her expression isn’t what I expected. “Molly, you don’t have to stay here.”
“I want to.”
I reach for her shoulders. “What’s the matter?”
Kandace also squats down. “Is something wrong? You were excited to come to Dax’s and spend the night.”
She looks at her mom. “You call Granddad dad.”
“I do.”
“Amber calls her dad dad.” She looks at me. “You’re my dad.”
“I am. You can call me whatever you want to call me.”
Her chin lowers as she bashfully says the most wonderful words I’ve ever heard. “I want to call you dad.”
Kandace’s grip of my arm tightens.
Swallowing a lump in my throat, I reply, “I’d like that very much.”
Molly’s smile returns. “I can tell Amber that I have a room at my dad’s house.”
“You sure can.”
She looks around. “Where’s Mommy going to sleep?”
My gaze goes to Kandace whose cheeks have a rosy glow. “I’m going to sleep in your dad’s room.”
“Like Grandma and Granddad.”
Kandace nods and wrinkles her cute nose. “I’d rather not think of it that way, but yes.”
“Okay,” Molly says as she goes to the bookshelf and begins to look through the books Kandace recommended.
“That went well,” I say.
Kandace smiles. “I didn’t want to tell her I was in one of the other bedrooms and have her wake and not find me.”
“I thought it took a marching band to wake her.”
“That doesn’t mean she won’t come in the room in the middle of the night.”
My mind fills with new concerns. “Maybe I should tell the ghosts they’re fired.”