Chapter 15 #3
If things went the way he hoped, they’d be together from now on. Not that he wanted to rush her. She had to come into the relationship at her own pace. Just because he knew his own feelings, that didn’t mean she felt the same.
With her job, her son, and her friends, Pixie had a lot on the line. She didn’t know that Brogan had job prospects in security, that he had a healthy bank account, or that he planned to buy a permanent residence nearby. And neither of them knew when Ruth might roll up to cause more strife.
He was just about to start the dinner prep, but his phone buzzed. Taking it from his pocket, he glanced at the screen and saw it was Cort. With a swipe of his thumb, he answered. “Hey, Cort.”
“You’re home, right?”
Home. He glanced around at the beautiful cottage Pixie lived in—a cottage owned by Cort. “I’m at Pixie’s place.”
“That’s exactly what I meant,” Cort said, sounding amused at Brogan’s careful wording. “Any chance I could get a helping hand?”
“Sure.” Whatever it was, he was glad to help any way he could. “What is it?”
“I think you’ve met Wade, Gloria, and Bobbi, right?”
“Pixie introduced me to Gloria and Bobbi. I haven’t met Wade, yet.”
“Their home isn’t far from you. I’m headed there now. Apparently, one of their largest trees was damaged in that last storm. An hour or so ago, the damn thing fell on the house.”
“Anyone hurt?”
“Thankfully, no, but it was close. I know you have Shayna with you, but they’ve babysat Andy before, and it’s not like we’ll be far away. Just in the yard and on the roof. What do you say? Pixie told me she’d head that way as soon as she got off work. Marlow still has a few hours to put in.”
Gloria had been the woman watching Andy the night Brogan arrived—the first time he’d met Pixie. He figured if she trusted the siblings, he should, too. “I’ll need to get some things together for Shayna, but I should be able to head out within ten minutes. Why don’t you text me the address?”
“Perfect, thanks. I have my chain saw, and Wade has another one, but we’ll need to board up two windows, too.”
“They don’t have insurance?”
“They do. An adjuster is coming out tomorrow, but they need the place secured now. See you soon.”
Within the ten minutes promised, Brogan was out the door with a sleepy Shayna buckled into her car seat. He hated disturbing her nap, but there would always be times when it couldn’t be helped.
When he got to the address and saw the damage, he considered it a miracle no one had been injured.
There didn’t appear to be structural damage to the main house, but the overhang on the front porch was crushed, with two windows shattered and the front door knocked in.
The branches of the large oak half-covered the roof and the driveway.
Clearing away the mess would take some time.
It was the type of physical activity he needed, and a good distraction from the many decisions he had to make.
Pixie peered out the window at the darkened sky.
The sun had still been bright when she’d first arrived a few hours ago, but it had since set behind the trees.
Cort and Brogan had been working nearly nonstop, only taking one break to eat sandwiches.
Because they wanted to finish up today, they were now using outdoor security lights.
At first, Wade had tried to help out, but neither of the younger men wanted him on the roof at his age.
They’d put him to work clearing away some of the smaller branches, but they kept checking on him, too.
They were both relieved when he gave up and came inside.
As large, capable men, Brogan and Cort worked well together.
They were both remarkable.
Gloria was currently feeding Andy, and Bobbi was rocking Shayna.
The kids had been great, but it was past time to get them home.
After she’d declined Brogan’s offer this morning, would he agree to her taking them home with her?
Doubtful. That was something they’d need to work out, because there would always be times when one of them needed to take over with both kids.
Plenty of parents did it, so she was certain they could handle it, too.
With fireflies twinkling around the yard, Pixie wondered how much longer the men would be.
They’d already secured the front door and boarded up the two broken windows. The driveway was cleared so Wade could get his truck out of the garage. The car that Gloria and Bobbi shared was parked at the curb.
It was a good thing that Cort had recently finished a remodel to the downstairs of the house; so, if necessary, the siblings could make it their main living space until the front of the house was properly repaired.
Headlights appeared on the road, then slowed and turned into a neighbor’s driveway.
Bobbi came up alongside Pixie, grumbling, “There’s that interloper again.”
“Interloper?” Pixie asked.
Wade joined them. “I don’t know what’s going on over there, but that house has been vacant since Burton moved to a retirement home near his daughter.
His son is planning to make some repairs and then sell it, but it’s been empty for a few weeks, and now some woman is living there.
I’m thinking she must be a relative or something. ”
Silent alarms went off in Pixie’s head. “What does she look like?”
“No idea,” Wade said. “She keeps to herself, coming and going mostly in the dark, although she catches a ride with old Floyd sometimes.”
“Old Floyd?”
“He lives in Lankton,” Gloria said from the kitchen. “Comes out here to fish and visit friends. I’ve seen him over there, too.”
“He’s stayed all night a time or two,” Bobbi said.
“Man’s got to be older than me,” Wade countered. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”
While the siblings squabbled, Pixie tried to catch sight of the mystery woman, but the kitchen window wasn’t angled right.
Pixie had a driving need to see who was staying in the empty house, so she hurried out the back door, called up to the men, “Don’t drop anything on me,” and then raced past before either of them could acknowledge her.
She didn’t slow her pace as she hurried to the other house. Driven by sudden intuition, she rounded the front toward the garage—and came face-to-face with Ruthie.
She stood inside the garage in the dark, but the moonlight was sufficient for Pixie to see her surprise.
Neither of them said anything for the longest time, but inside Pixie, rage built.
She looked past Ruthie at the other car parked there. It was the same one Ruthie had been driving when she’d followed Pixie home. So this was how the woman had vanished. She’d moved into a vacant house and was using someone else’s car!
“What are you doing here?” Ruthie demanded. “You don’t live here.”
Pixie folded her arms over her chest. “Neither do you.”
“I can go wherever I want,” Ruthie stated with a scowl.
Calm personified, Pixie looked into her eyes. “No, you can’t.” She took a step forward. “Are you renting this house?”
“What I do is none of your damn business.”
Coolly, she stated, “I’m making it my business.”
“So am I,” Cort said as he came up behind her.
“And me.” Wade joined them.
Gloria sidled in next to him. “Same.”
Pixie turned and found Brogan in the midst of them all, his expression enigmatic, his attention locked on Ruthie.
Pixie hadn’t heard any of them approach. “The kids?”
“They’re with Bobbi,” Cort said.
Brogan stepped up alongside Pixie, but he didn’t take his gaze from Ruth. “Did you know Brian is in the ICU?”
“Of course I know. I’m his wife.” Her attitude cavalier, she said, “He’s been in there before. They work him over, fix him up, and then he comes back home. If he still has a home, that is.”
Ignoring that last shot, Brogan asked, “Do you understand that if he keeps drinking, he’s going to die?”
“Now you pretend to care, just because you have your fancy friends around you?”
Wade snickered, elbowed Gloria, and said, “I didn’t know we were fancy.”
Putting his arm around Pixie, Brogan said, “I called Officer Jansen Flynn. He’s on his way.”
Ruth’s eyes flared. “Why would you involve a cop?”
“Because this house was vacant,” Wade said. “You’re trespassing.”
“And,” Marlow said, striding up the driveway, “I told you to leave and never return. Yet here you are.” She smiled her serene corporate smile. “Big, big mistake.”
“You can’t start threatening me! This isn’t your property.”
“It isn’t yours, either,” Marlow said.
When she started forward, Cort put a hand on her shoulder. “Brogan can handle it.”
Unconvinced, Marlow looked at Pixie, and then gave Brogan a longer look. Whatever she saw, she conceded with a small nod and took her place beside Cort.
To face his stepmother, Brogan stepped apart from the others.
“I want you out of my life, Ruth.” She started to protest, but Brogan spoke over her.
“Brian may not live. Even if he does pull through this time, and you continue the same way, he won’t last long.
You have two choices. Go home to him, take two months to figure out your shit, and then get out of Connie’s house. ”
“Two months?” she screeched. “You bastard, you—”
“Or,” Brogan said, his voice firm, “I can tell Erin to start eviction proceedings in the morning. Brian is going to be in extended care for a while either way, so it’s up to you.”
To Pixie’s mind, his offer was more than generous.
Sneering, Ruth said, “Or I can tell you to go to hell! Maybe Shayna’s grandma and grandpa will feel a little more generous.”
Marlow laughed. “Aren’t you the grandma? Oh, wait, you mean my in-laws? I already spoke to them. Believe me, they want nothing to do with you. In fact, they’re now determined to bring the full force of the law against you.”
Ruth’s jaw dropped, and then she seemed to shrivel.
For the first time since meeting her, Pixie saw the woman’s vulnerability. Knowing Brogan would see it, too, Pixie got close to him again, slipped her hand into his, and leaned into his side.
She badly wanted to get him alone, yet that wouldn’t happen anytime soon.
What followed was mass confusion. Ruth started shouting loudly enough to bring out other neighbors, even though the houses weren’t spaced close together. Gloria meandered off to explain to them what was going on.
Officer Flynn arrived, and after asking a lot of questions, he arrested Ruthie and put her in the back of his car. Wade got hold of old Floyd, who admitted he didn’t know how Ruthie had gotten in. He’d quickly figured out that she was bad news and hadn’t been back to see her.
Once the officer drove away, Brogan faced Marlow. “You actually spoke to Mr. and Mrs. Heddings?”
“Don’t be angry,” Marlow said. “Sandra called me, as she sometimes does, and the conversation came about naturally.”
Lifting his brows, Brogan asked, “How exactly did that happen?”
“She asked how we were doing, and then she asked about Pixie and Andy, what they were up to these days, and one thing led to another.”
Cort, standing beside Marlow, gave a slight smile. “She refrains from asking about me.”
Pixie covered her mouth to hide her amusement.
Brogan didn’t bother doing the same. Grinning, he said, “I guess I can understand that.”
“Well, I can’t,” Marlow complained. “He’s my husband now.”
“And he fills the role of Andy’s uncle.” It bugged Pixie that Sandra still held on to old resentments, but at the moment, that didn’t seem quite so important. “How did she take the news of Shayna?”
“Better than I could have hoped. She actually seemed intrigued about having a granddaughter.”
“For Sandra Heddings,” Cort said, “being intrigued equates to massive enthusiasm.”
Nodding, Brogan looked around the area. “I guess we should finish up. It’s getting late.”
His relaxed attitude concerned Pixie, but she wasn’t about to press him on it now. “I’ll go in and check on the kids.”
“Better still,” Marlow suggested, “why don’t you and the kids head home? I’ll follow and lend a hand. The men can finish up here, and then hopefully we can all get some rest.” She yawned. “I’m glad we both have the day off tomorrow.”
Pixie didn’t want to leave Brogan, but when he asked, “Would you mind?” she happily agreed.
It was another sign of trust, another step in the right direction.
Moving forward with Brogan was what mattered most.
Framing his face in her hands, she went on tiptoe to kiss him. “Take your time, but know that the kids and I will be at home waiting for you.”