Chapter Three
Chapter Three
“It was so gross, Mom,” Hunter said cheerfully as he unpacked pots and pan from the box and put them on the counter.
“Jimmy threw up everywhere. His desk, the floor. He barfed all over Penny and she started crying. Then a couple of other kids barfed, and everyone started screaming and running out of the classroom.”
Wynn did her best not to picture the event. She was feeling perfectly fine and wanted to keep it that way. “What had he eaten?”
“An egg salad sandwich he’d had in his locker for three days!” Hunter sounded both shocked and impressed. “He said it smelled funny, and I told him to throw it out because you always said stuff with mayonnaise has to be kept cold, but he didn’t listen.”
“While I live to be proven right, I’m sorry about what happened.”
“The room still smells. We had to move to another classroom. They took Jimmy to the hospital. Byron texted and said he’s okay. They’ll keep him overnight and let him go home in the morning.”
“I feel sorry for your teacher. That isn’t something anyone wants to deal with.”
Hunter finished emptying the box. He flattened it and added it to the pile. “The person we should feel bad about is the janitor. He has to clean it all up.”
“An excellent point,” Wynn said, making a mental note to stop and get the janitor a Starbucks gift card on her way to work in the morning. “That’s not an easy job.”
“Especially when teenagers do dumb stuff like that.”
She held in a smile. “I’m glad you see it that way.”
Her handsome, fourteen-year-old son grinned at her. “I’m maturing, Mom.”
“I can tell.”
Hunter reached for a box of flatware. They were spending the afternoon at Garrick’s house, unpacking all the purchases while she waited on the furniture delivery.
She had an easy week and had offered to accept the delivery scheduled between three and six.
She already had the sheets in the dryer and a load of dishes going through the dishwasher.
She didn’t mind being neighborly, but she had to admit it felt a little strange to be in Garrick’s house, which was why she’d asked Hunter to help her with the unpacking.
Having her kid around made the situation a little less weird.
Plus now that he was, as he’d put it, “maturing,” she didn’t see him as much as she used to.
“Aside from the throwing up thing, it was a good day?” she asked.
“Uh-huh. I did great on my algebra test. I might even get an A.”
“Impressive.”
He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “I was thinking, I need to be more responsible around the house and stuff.”
Wynn carefully put down the mixing bowls she’d just unpacked and tried not to shriek, You are an alien! What have you done with my son?
“In what way?” she asked, careful to keep her tone conversational rather than incredulous.
“Like I said, I’m older now and I should be a more well-rounded human being. Maybe help out in the community.”
She busied herself flattening the box so her shock wouldn’t show. “Okay, what does that mean in English?”
Hunter laughed. “I want to start volunteering, Mom. You know, doing some good. I want to talk to Carol and see if she needs help at the animal preserve. My science class went there last semester after the baby giraffe was born. It was supercool.”
“Carol always has work for volunteers,” she told him. “She holds orientation classes every few months, and people sign up to help feed the animals or clean up after them. It’s not glamorous work.”
Hunter surprised her by smiling. “Mom, if it was glamorous, they wouldn’t need volunteers.”
“Let’s go there over the holiday break,” she said. “You can talk to her and get a feel for the work. If you still want to volunteer after that, we’ll look into the necessary steps.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
The dryer buzzed. Wynn left Hunter unpacking the rest of their purchases. She walked into the laundry room and put the clean sheets into the basket and moved the towels from the washer to the dryer.
Once she’d started the dryer, she went into what would be Joylyn’s room and started making the bed.
The sheets were soft and the pillows fluffy.
Wynn smoothed the blanket into place, then tucked in the edges and reached for the comforter.
She’d just flipped it onto the bed when Garrick walked into the bedroom.
“Hi,” he said, smiling at her.
He looked good, she thought, taking in the dark hair, gray eyes and the perfectly fitting uniform. Really good. Swoon-worthy good.
Nerve endings started a conga line in her belly and began hopping and cheering all through her body. Heat flared, not wanting the nerves to get all the attention.
“Hi, yourself,” she managed to say, pleased that her voice didn’t crack.
“I was able to move a few things around on my calendar and get home a little earlier than I’d thought.” He smiled again. “I still can’t believe you took off work to help me with the delivery.”
She smiled. “Happy to do it. So far, no large truck has pulled into the driveway, so you haven’t missed the excitement.”
“Let me go change my clothes, and I’ll join you to finish up what needs to be done.”
She nodded, afraid that if she tried to speak she would offer to help with the whole changing thing, and that would just be embarrassing for both of them. Well, not if he didn’t say no, but what were the odds?
Once he’d left, she drew in a couple of deep breaths to calm herself, then went back to work on the bed. With the throw pillows in place, she folded a blanket across the foot and smoothed it.
The space was calming, she thought. Light came in through two large windows.
The bed frame was beautiful, the bedding complementing the exquisite carving.
There was plenty of storage space in the dresser, and Wynn had remembered to buy hangers on Sunday so the closet was good to go.
Joylyn had a TV on her dresser and a nice desk in the corner where Wynn had placed a couple of paper turkeys along with a little fabric gourd to remind Joylyn of the season.
Across the way, the bathroom looked welcoming.
There were new rugs in front of the sink and the toilet.
Soap, body wash and a loofah were placed on the shelf in the walk-in shower.
She still had to hang the prints they’d bought and add the towels when they were out of the dryer, but otherwise, the bathroom was practically picture perfect.
She returned to the kitchen. Hunter had finished unpacking everything.
“I’m going to take the boxes out to the recycling bin,” he said, picking up the stack.
“Thanks. After that, would you like to head home?”
He glanced longingly toward their place. “I have homework I want to do before dinner.”
“Then go do it and thank you for your help.”
He grinned at her and bolted for the back door. Wynn chuckled as she began measuring shelf paper.
“Put me to work,” Garrick told her as he walked into the kitchen.
She ignored how good he looked in jeans and a T-shirt.
“Hunter and I have unpacked all the kitchen stuff.” She motioned to the stacks of dishes, pots and pans and utensils on the counter.
“The first load is already in the dishwasher. Once that’s done, these have to be put through a quick wash cycle.
The bed is made, the towels are in the dryer and I’m about to put shelf paper in the cupboards. ”
“I was going to ask Jasper and Cade to come help with all this, but you’ve already finished it.” He gave her lopsided grin. “I’m going to owe you big time.”
“Yes, you are, but no doubt some roof or plumbing crisis is looming in my life and you can help with that.”
“I will be there.” He made an X over his heart. “Until then, what can I do? Want me to measure? Cut? Place? Sweep?”
She laughed. “No sweeping until we’re done. Why don’t you—”
She paused when she heard the sound of a big truck pulling up in front of the house.
“Why don’t you go deal with the delivery and I’ll keep doing this?” she said.
“Consider it done.”
He walked toward the front door. Wynn watched him go, thinking the more she got to know her neighbor, the more she liked him. Which was both happy news and just a little terrifying.
***
Garrick stood in the center of his kitchen and took in the changes.
A table and chairs stood in front of the big windows facing the front of the house.
Some tall plant-tree thing was in the corner, the red and black of the decorative pot picking up the colors of the chair cushions.
There were place mats on the table, along with an odd little gnome saltshaker.
Sadly there had been an unfortunate unpacking accident with the pepper gnome, but Wynn had said he could buy a small pepper grinder to replace it.
Behind him, the cupboards were full of dishes and pots and pans, while the drawers held flatware, spatulas, knives and other things he couldn’t identify. The Betty Boop canister set sat on the counter.
Small changes that made all the difference, he thought.
It was the old cliché about a woman’s touch—especially a woman with style.
The right woman. He’d noticed the same thing after Jasper and Renee had gotten together.
Subtle additions to Jasper’s house had transformed it into a home.
The same with Cade and Bethany. The old ranch house was more welcoming now.
He wasn’t sure how women made that happen. He supposed it was an attention to detail that came with an ability to nurture. He’d been a good dad to Joylyn, but he’d been focused on her, not the surroundings.
He moved to the living room where two big abstract prints dominated the wall behind the sofa. There were more plants and a couple of vase things. Down the hall, Joylyn’s bathroom was fully stocked with towels and shower stuff and soap. A new heating pad sat on the counter.