Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
“You made it,” Julie said on a sigh three weeks later when she opened the door and saw Scott standing on her doorstep. She stepped back and invited him in, and Scott made it inside about three feet before he stopped and looked around.
“Wow, what a difference.” He looked around and the living room was loaded with boxes of all sizes and several pieces of furniture squeezed into the room. He looked over to where the dining room had been and noted it was completely empty and it looked like she had been setting up to paint.
“Yeah, this is everything I’m taking to Erin’s Way. Well, not everything, I still have Sara’s furniture from her room, and mine, but this is everything from the rest of the house. I’ve been talking to Erin and she said that one of the new cabins will be mine, and I’d need to furnish it with furniture and bedroom stuff. She said she provided the cabin and the appliances.”
“Correct, and I can see where you guys will need your own furniture. Unfortunately, it might be another two months before they are ready. Right now, we’re waiting for an inspector to return from his vacation. We are at a standstill until then.” Scott saw her dejected look and raised his hand to reassure her. “Don’t worry, Erin told me to reassure you that you can stay in the cabin you and Sara used when you came to visit a few weeks back. And she’s rented you a storage locker in town.”
“Remind me to pay her back.”
“Don’t bet on it, she said something about tax write-offs or something.” They shared a chuckle, and Scott looked around again. “Tell me what you’re doing, or have been doing.”
“First, you know what it’s like to live with Erin, right?”
“No, not really living with her, but I know what it’s like to live on her property.” He looked at her with a grin, then had his hands out on either side of his body as far as they would go. “Big difference.”
“Okay, fine,” Julie laughed. “You know what it’s like to live at Broken.”
“Correct.”
“Okay, when I got home, I contacted three realtors who all came and walked through the house and gave me pointers. I haven’t picked any one in particular yet, but I know who I’m leaning toward. Anyway, all three of them said that I should empty my possessions, do a deep clean on the entire house, and paint the walls a neutral color. I’m going to wait until I’m done painting before I get a company that steam cleans in here to go over everything.”
“Okay, do you need help painting?”
“I do, however, there is one place I haven’t touched yet. I have no clue if I should sell it all, leave it for the new owners to deal with, or take it with me.”
“What is it?”
Julie only crooked her finger at him and turned on her heel to head to where he knew the kitchen was so he followed her. He didn’t say anything as she went out the back door, past the detached garage and over to a shed behind the garage. He paused and looked out over the backyard and then looked at her in awe.
“How many acres do you have?”
“Four, and what I’m about to show you is what both Sara and I have used to keep it maintained.” She pulled a key from her pocket, undid the lock, and threw the doors of the wooden shed open, Scott stood there in shocked awe. Without saying a word, he walked inside. He only nodded when the light was flipped on. Again, without saying a word, he pulled his phone from his back pocket to snap pictures. When he thought he had enough, he looked at her with a grin. “I just sent a text to Erin, Clark, and the other guys asking if we should bring this, or sell. If we bring it with us, do you have paperwork on it? Do you owe anything on it? By ‘it’ I’m talking the equipment as well as the building.”
“I don’t owe anything, it’s all paid in full, and I do have the paperwork. As you can see, there is a farm tractor, a zero-turn mower, another garden tractor with no mower deck, but I use that with the lawn sweeper. There are at least three carts of different sizes, two wheelbarrows, and numerous hand tools. Oh, and back in the corner are three rototillers. Two work, or at least they did when Dad parked them there, and one was for parts. They haven’t been used in over ten years because after Mom and Dad died, I didn’t have the time, nor the knowledge of how to use them. See, Mom always had a garden every year, so after what Ann said, and then Ducky about canning, I have some stuff in the basement I haven’t been able to bring upstairs yet because that’s where Aunt Lydia put all of Mom’s canning supplies. Oh, and after we cleaned out Aunt Lydia’s house, we brought all her canning stuff to put with Mom’s.”
Thinking his silence meant he was mad at her, she kept talking. “See, Mom and Dad were the same age. Only a couple of months apart. They met when they were sixteen, and started dating immediately. They both went to school, Mom to nursing school, and Dad to trade school. Both programs only lasted for two years. They married when they were twenty. For a wedding anniversary present for their second anniversary Grandpa Truman talked it over with Grandpa Tate, and with the money Dad had saved, and Grandpa had invested, they went to Mom and Dad and offered to help them purchase this house. It happened. I didn’t come along until Mom and Dad were twenty-eight, and they were thirty-one when Sara was born.” She drew in a deep breath and let it out in a rush, before continuing on, “By the time they were thirty-five both sets of grandparents were gone. We lost all four of them in one year. Well, as with Aunt Lydia and Uncle Darren’s house, we cleaned it out, took what we wanted, and sold or donated the rest. This tractor was Grandpa Tate’s. He had thirty acres outside of town where he grew vegetables for his roadside stand.”
“It will come in handy.” Scott admitted then held up his finger to pause them both as his phone started dinging. He stepped up to her and held it so they could both look at the incoming text message. “I sent the photos in a group text to see what Erin and Clark had to say.”
“What do they say?” Julie bit her bottom lip and held her breath as she waited for his reply.
“Both of them said to bring everything, and it would be better to have it there, than want it and it’s not available. There is Erin’s Way, Broken, Broken Two, and New Double that it could be used with. I don’t know if Ducky, Clem, or Cole is handy with small engines, but I like to fiddle with them. If we store these in a barn, I can always check out the engines on the rototillers when there’s snow on the ground and we can’t do anything outside, other than working with the horses, that is.”
“Good,” Julie said with a laugh, and took him over to the garage and pointed to something in the corner. “The push mower leaks gas as fast as you put it in, it needs some sort of gasket, the weed eaters need new string, and I have no clue what to buy. That was always Sara’s job, and she said she had run out and would pick it up the next time she was in town. That was almost three months ago.” They exchanged grins and Julie nodded. “I’m not saying I’m going to have the lawn meticulous when the real estate agent that I pick has an open house, but I would like to have it in decent shape.”
“I understand,” Scott said as he looked down at his phone and looked up with a grin. “That was Erin, she’s sending some people down to help with loading everything up, and packing the U-Haul.”
“Shit,” Julie sighed heavily as she scrubbed her face with both her hands. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the help, but since I came back from Erin’s Way, I’ve been doing nothing but packing up both my room, Sara’s, the kitchen, and other things. I haven’t even had time to go look for a new truck. Because I want to purchase one. Driving Sara’s car wasn’t a pleasant experience, I want to be able to sit higher and look out.”
“I totally understand. Why don’t we go look for a truck now. You can tell me it’s none of your business, but can you afford one?”
“Yes, let me make a phone call.” She pulled her own phone from her back pocket and didn’t hide what she was saying. From Scott’s point of view, as he listened, he thought she’d called someone at the bank and stated her piece. She nodded and gave grunt sounds, then laughed as she hung up.
“I’m good to go. I just called the bank, and as you heard, I explained that I wanted to purchase a truck. The manager told me that I don’t need the credit that financing would give me, that I was good to go. She told me to talk the salesman about the price, because I won’t be financing, I won’t have to worry about any interest on a loan, then just give her a call with the final price and she will approve the payment as it goes through. She said I should use my debit card so it’s done and over with in one transaction.”
“Wow, okay, can I ask what the laugh at the end was for?”
Julie laughed again, and ended up leaning her shoulder into him, which he took advantage of by wrapping his arm around her. “Nicole and I went to high school together.” She giggled, and looked directly at him. “ She was the one that started the Boom-Boom nickname. I was laughing because she told me not to go to Boom-Boom because I wouldn’t know what I was getting. I knew she referred to the used cars he and his father sold, but she implied that Alex was just creepy. He had a crush on me, and I think I’m the only person from our high school that never fawned all over him, nor did I give him the time of day. It’s not that I hated him or anything, it’s just that my bullshit meter went into overdrive every time he was around.”
“I understand, I’ve had that happen before. Would you like me to go with you?”
“Sure, let me go in, get washed up, and grab my purse. Oh, and I have to get the special bank card from the safe. That’s the one Nicole reminded me to use.” She went inside, and Scott stayed outside answering questions from Erin and Clark about the equipment, and he even took more pictures. When he heard Julie call his name, he grinned.
“You know, the salesmen at the dealerships are going to ignore you, right?” He pointed to the clothes she had been wearing when he’d arrived. An oversized tee shirt, a pair of shorts, and she had exchanged her sneaker on her regular foot out for a different shoe, and there was a matching one on the prosthetic leg. He realized then that she had worn two different shoes when he had arrived.
Julie waved her hand in the air. “Yeah, I sometimes forget to change my shoe on my fake leg, especially if I’m working around the house and I know that no one will see me.” She giggled then nodded once. “My car or your vehicle?”
“Do you want to trade in your vehicle?”
Julie cocked her head to the side in thought, then nodded. “Yeah, I’m not going to need it, it’s only three years old, and paid for, plus there is less than forty thousand miles on it. I’ll be right back.” She disappeared and was back in less than five minutes with an envelope she stuffed into her purse. “Title,” she said. “I figure we can go in my car, look around until I find what I want, then do the deal. It’s Saturday, so we can’t get the plates changed until Monday, so I’ll drive my car home, then I’ll take it back on Monday and pick up my new ride.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Scott helped her close up the shed and garage, then they walked to the front where her car had been parked outside of the garage. “Do you want me to drive?”
“Would you be offended if I said no? I know where I want to go, and I figure it would be easier and faster if I drove.”
“I am not offended, and that makes perfect sense.” They got into the car, buckled up, and Julie started the car, turned the air conditioning on full, and turned to look at him.
“What did you do?” He smirked as he was beginning to recognize some of her expression. He looked at her steadily as she lifted her hand and held her forefinger and thumb about a quarter of an inch apart.
“I may or may not have done something that might be considered a little mean.”
“What’s that? Am I going to have to get my gun from my truck?”
“You keep it in your truck?”
“Along with the one at my ankle.”
“Oh, I can’t do that, but one of mine is in the glove box.” She pointed to it and Scott inspected it.
“Do me a favor and put it in your purse when we go inside. If you’re going to trade this in, then you’re not going to want it in the glove box for the people inspecting this car to find.”
“You’re right, and thank you for reminding me. Anyway, another friend I went to high school with, her name is Darcy, but Darcy, Nicole, and I were always together, three peas in a pod. She’s the manager of the dealership I’m going to, and she says she’s had to write up several of her salesmen for their treatment of female customers. See, three of the five were and still are friends with Boom-Boom. While I was changing I sent her a text to see if she was working, and told her why I was coming in. She said she would observe everything, and when they ignored me, she’d step in, and even though she’s the manager, she still gets a commission of a vehicle.”
“Good to know, so what do you want me to do?”
“Stand there and look pretty?” She looked at him with a grin, and they both laughed. Unable to resist, he unhooked his seat belt, reached over, and brought her in for a hug. Because she still wore her belt, it was awkward, but he took her face in his hands and kissed her. It was over before it began, then he was clicking his seat belt on again.
“Thank you for thinking I look pretty. I know some of the redness of the scars have gone down, but it’s nice to know that they’re not horrible looking.”
“Scott, you were never horrible looking to me. I barely noticed the scars. Once I heard your story, I understood, and they are now a part of you. If people don’t like them, then they don’t like you. We discussed liking each other when I was up there last month. I still do, and I still think you’re extremely handsome.”
“Thank you,” Scott said, but was too choked up to say anything else. She put the car in reverse, and thirty minutes later she shut the car off in front of a dealership that Scott thought specialized in pick-up trucks, because that was all he saw in the lot. He looked over at her with a grin. “How do you want to play this?”
“This?” Julie looked at him in confusion.
“I know you know this, and I’m not talking down to you, but think about what’s about to happen. We are looking to purchase a pick-up truck for you. I bet you dinner that once we walk inside that building the male sales personnel will zero in on me and not you. If that happens, then I will direct them to you, but I have a feeling they won’t listen to you.”
“Yeah, I think that too,” she laughed as she showed him the message on her phone. While he’d been talking, she’d been texting to the General Manager of the dealership they were at, and Scott laughed when he saw her response.
“I think I’m going to like your friend.” Scott looked at her with a grin. He had read from Darcy that she would stand back and observe her salespeople and to have Scott direct them to ask their questions to Julie. When it got out of hand, Darcy would step in.
With his hand on the door handle, he looked at her with a grin. “You ready?”
“Yep. I’ll take you out for dinner after we leave here.” They exchanged grins and got out of the car.