Chapter 9
ANITA DID NOT EXPECT WYATT and Paula to be so helpful. Not only contacting the towing company, but offering a ride home as well? It was nice, though, and she wasn’t going to complain. As they walked into the lobby together, she asked him, “Are we putting you out too much?”
“It’s no problem,” he said in a no-nonsense tone. “Paula will wait for the tow truck, and I’ll take you and Carly home.”
The next moments were a blur as Wyatt told his grandfather goodbye, and Paula got their phone number, then said she’d have Jim call them with an update as soon as he had one. Next thing Anita knew, she and Carly were climbing into Wyatt’s car, which happened to be a shiny red Cadillac.
“This is fancy,” Carly said from the back seat.
“It was Gramps’s car before he couldn’t drive it anymore. He and my grandma bought it right off the showroom floor in 1961.” Wyatt adjusted the vents. “Too cold? Too hot?”
“It’s fine.” Anita glanced about the pristine upholstery. “This car looks brand new. I can’t believe it’s over twenty years old.”
“Gramps babied it,” Wyatt said, firing up the engine. “Now where to?”
“We’re on Locust Street,” Anita said. “Your grandfather did an amazing job with this car. “I wish the Bug looked this good.”
He cast her a smile. “Maybe when you retire and have more time on your hands, you can spend every day polishing and buffing.”
“That will be the day,” she said with a laugh. “I’ll probably never retire since I have no pension or 401(k).”
Wyatt nodded. “I guess being self-employed has its pros and cons.”
“What’s your job, Mr. Davis?” Carly asked.
“Wyatt—please call me Wyatt,” he said. “As much as I love my grandpa, I don’t want to be called Mr. Davis.” He paused, glancing in the rearview mirror at Carly. “I’m an accountant for a couple of corporations.”
Anita could hear the frown in Carly’s voice when she asked, “What do you do there?”
“I keep the books, attend meetings, print out reports, that sort of thing.”
It all sounded interesting and gave Anita a little insight into Wyatt’s personality. She wondered if he felt cooped up spending every day dealing with numbers. His shirtsleeves were still rolled up, making him look the most casual she’d ever seen him.
“Do you have a 401(k)?” Carly asked.
“Carly—” Anita started to say.
“It’s all right,” Wyatt said with a chuckle. “I do, in fact. Corporate America and all that. Insurance benefits with dental and vision.”
“Oh, that must be nice,” Carly said wistfully.
Anita turned to look at her daughter, mostly to give her a stern look to stop this line of conversation.
“We have to pay out-of-pocket for the dentist,” Carly continued, completely oblivious to Anita’s stare-down. “Which is why my mom is so hyper about us brushing our teeth and flossing.”
“Those are good things to do no matter what,” Wyatt said, clearly amused.
“You know, Carly, we don’t need to tell Wyatt all of our secrets.”
“I won’t tell a soul.” He winked at Anita. “That’s what I like about teenagers—they keep things real.”
She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had winked at her. And was Wyatt complimenting her daughter? What was it with the Davis family? They didn’t seem to have any reservations around her or Carly.
“Oh, you should turn here, it’s a shortcut,” Carly said.
Anita blinked. She hadn’t even been paying attention to their route. In a few moments, they’d be at the house. Should she invite him in for refreshment? Maybe offer some money for gas? How did she repay this favor?
They passed the middle school. “Is this your school?” Wyatt asked.
“Yeah,” Carly said. “It’s a nightmare.”
Anita’s mouth dropped open, and he said, “What? Why’s that?”
Apparently he wasn’t as shocked as she was.
“Oh, I just got into the worst friend group, and now those girls have ostracized me.”
It seemed her daughter wasn’t shy about holding back information from a near-stranger. Granted, that stranger was driving them home and would now know where they lived, but still...Carly was surprising her more and more.
“Ah, friendships as a kid can be tricky,” Wyatt said. “I take that back. Friendships as an adult aren’t all that much easier. You never know who you’ll connect with or who will actually have your back.”
“Your grandpa told me there are friends for a reason and friends for a season,” Carly said.
Wyatt glanced in the rearview mirror again. “Sounds like something he’d say. I’d have to agree. Choosing your friends wisely is perhaps the most, well, wise thing you can do in life.”
“Yeah, I guess I’m learning it the hard way.”
“Not that I know you or your mom all that well, Carly,” Wyatt said, turning at the next corner, “but you seem like a great kid. Anyone would be lucky to have you as a friend. Those other girls just lost something good, but maybe it will be better for you in the long run.”
This was totally a lecture, but by the look on Carly’s face, she was soaking it all in.
“Yeah, that’s basically what my mom said too.”
Wyatt glanced over at Anita with a smile, and she ignored the growing warmth in her chest.
“Then your mom’s a smart lady.”
“I guess so.”
Anita laughed. “I can only speak from experience, and I loved what your grandfather said. He’s full of great wisdom and has been a good friend to both of us already.”
Wyatt nodded. “He talks about both of you during every phone call we have.”
“It’s the one with the blue shutters,” Anita said as he pulled onto their street.
Wyatt slowed the car, then turned into their driveway. He shifted into park. “Thanks for spending time with Gramps. He really appreciates it, and both my sister and I do too. As you’ve probably surmised, I’ve been really swamped with work, and Paula only visits a couple times a month.”
“It’s been fun,” Carly piped up.
“We’ve enjoyed every moment,” Anita added. “He’s a great man and full of interesting stories.”
“Yeah, like Susan,” Carly said. “His lost girlfriend.”
Anita drew in a breath. How would Wyatt react? He hadn’t been happy with all the talk about Susan—who he didn’t even think was real.
“About that...Susan may or may not be a real person,” he said.
“Really? Why not?” Carly sounded surprised.
“Gramps has some memory problems, and I don’t really want to encourage any false memories.”
“Can’t we just ask someone who knew him when he was younger?” Carly suggested. “I mean, he’s not that old and he probably still has some friends around he knew in high school.”
Anita felt Wyatt’s gaze on her, but she wasn’t going to get in the middle of this.
“Your mom suggested digging through old high school yearbooks,” he said. “I don’t know what became of the ones belonging to Gramps, but the library probably has an archive.”
“Can we go with you?” Carly asked, practically bouncing in her seat.
“Oh, we can’t do that,” Anita said immediately.
“I don’t see why not,” Wyatt said. “If I go alone, I might chicken out.”
Anita didn’t know what to say. Well, she should say no. This was becoming too involved, and why would Wyatt want them along on his sleuthing trip?
“What about tomorrow?” he asked.
“Libraries are closed on Sundays,” Carly said.
“Oh right.” His gaze shifted to Anita. “Monday or Tuesday?”
When she didn’t answer right away, Carly grasped her shoulder. “Mom, please? It will be fun, and then we can make photocopies and show them to Mr. Davis.”
Maybe there wasn’t any harm to this plan. Mr. Davis would certainly love to see parts of his old yearbook again. And she was curious about whether Susan was a real person. “All right. I think Monday is fine. Unless you have too much homework?”
“I’ll get as much done as I can tomorrow,” Carly gushed. “Thanks, Mom! Now you guys need to exchange numbers.”
Anita wasn’t going to read any further into this situation with Wyatt because this was basically a research trip. She sifted through her purse to locate her small address book. She pulled it out, noticing the worn edges. “All right, what’s your phone number, Wyatt?”
He rattled it off, then she gave him hers, which he scrawled across the back of a receipt he pulled out from his wallet.
“How about I call you Monday afternoon when I know what time I can leave work for the day?” he said. “And whatever your car situation, I’ll plan on picking you up. It’s only fitting we take Gramps’s car on this excursion.”
Anita had nearly forgotten about her car problems and how on Monday, she’d probably be facing a large repair bill. “Sounds good,” she said, before she could let her thoughts send her into stress mode.
“I’ll be home by three thirty,” Carly said, “so any time after that works. Or my mom can check me out earlier.”
Wyatt smiled. “No need for that. I usually can’t get out of my office any earlier than four o’clock.”
“Well, thanks again,” Anita said, reaching for her door handle.
He popped out of the car, and hurried around it to fully open her door.
“Thank you,” Anita said, pleased by his chivalry. He was just dropping them off—this wasn’t a date or anything.
Next, he opened the door for Carly, who’d happened to wait.
“Thanks again,” Anita said, wondering how many times she could thank someone in one night.
“Don’t forget to call my mom,” Carly said as she headed to the front porch. The light was off, and beyond the window was darkness.
Next door, the living room light glowed in Phyllis’s house, and Anita thought she saw the front window curtains move. She hid a sigh. Her neighbor was probably watching.
She gave Wyatt a half-smile and turned to go.
When his hand touched her arm, she turned, surprised. “Wait,” he said in a low tone. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? I mean, I know Carly is gung-ho, but I don’t want to intrude on your schedule.”
“I think it would be great to find out once and for all, but you’re the one who has to be okay with it. Not me.” She paused. “You weren’t too thrilled earlier tonight.”
“I know.” He exhaled. “But I’ve changed my mind, and I’m okay with it.”
“Mom, I need the keys,” Carly called from the front porch.
“Hang on,” she said. Wyatt’s gaze was still on her. “Monday, then?”
He gave a single nod. “Monday.”
She turned toward the house again, and this time he didn’t stop her. He didn’t move either, but was apparently waiting for them to get their front door unlocked.
After opening the door and turning on the porch light, Carly bounded inside. Anita turned one more time toward the driveway.
Wyatt lifted a hand and then headed back to the car.
The light in Phyllis’s living room window turned off. So she had been watching and might be now. Anita waved toward her house just in case. If she waved back, Anita didn’t know.
She headed into the house and shut the front door. She wasn’t going to peer out the curtained window to watch him drive away. No. Because she wasn’t going to be nosy like Phyllis.
She walked into the kitchen, where Carly stood in front of the open refrigerator.
“Hungry?” Anita asked. They could make something simple like hoagies with deli meat and cheese.
“Yeah.”
“Want a hoagie sandwich?”
“Sure.” Carly moved to the cupboard and pulled out the bag of hoagie bread. “I think he likes you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Wyatt Davis.” Carly opened the bread bag and pulled out two buns. “He kept looking at you and smiling.”
He hadn’t been...had he? Anita was grateful that the cool air of the refrigerator was keeping her from blushing. “I don’t even know him. I mean, his grandfather is a nice man, but Wyatt could be married or have a girlfriend.”
“He’s not, and you know that.” Carly opened the rolls, laying them flat. Next she fished a knife out of the utensil drawer, then picked up the mayo jar Anita had set on the counter. “He’s your age, and he’s single, and he kept smiling at you. He likes that we’re friends with his grandpa or he wouldn’t have invited us to the library. And he’s picking us up in his car instead of meeting us there. So it’s like a date—except with your kid coming along.”
Anita shook her head and carried the lettuce to the sink to rinse it off. “None of that means he likes me. He’s just a nice guy and wants to help out his grandpa, so he’s grateful we’ve been spending time with him.”
Carly scoffed. “I thought adults were smarter.”
Anita turned from the sink and grabbed a paper towel to pat the lettuce dry. “Believe me, I’d know if a man were trying to flirt with me, and Wyatt Davis wasn’t doing that. Besides, I don’t really want to date anyone for a while. I’m going to focus on you and my job.”
Carly wrinkled her nose. “That’s so boring, Mom. What are you going to think about all day?”
“What do you mean? I have plenty to think about.”
“I don’t mean listening to the radio, then talking to the neighbors about the news. That’s boring too.”
Anita set her hands on her hips and faced her daughter. “You know, sometimes boring is perfect. It’s peaceful. It’s being grateful. It’s savoring the small things.”
Carly shrugged. “I guess.”
“Besides, I can’t wait to go to the library and see if there are any new books on tape.”
“Mom! You can’t be serious. I know you’re totally into Wyatt Davis.”
Anita laughed. “Nice try, Carly. Sometimes a woman just looks forward to a good book to read.”