Chapter 14
TAYA
“You’ve been dating for two weeks, and I still have no idea what he does all day while you’re working.”
I looked at Blaine and asked, “Why do you care?”
“Well, I’m wondering why my mom is interested in a lazy . . .”
“Don’t start throwing stones when you’ve been at my house for the last two hours flirting with your wife and playing with your son.
You’ve never even met the man, Blaine, and that’s not because he hasn’t been around.
That’s because you’ve avoided my house when he’s been here.
Your wife has met him, your son adores him, and your daughters think he makes the best pancakes in the state. ”
“They like my pancakes,” Blaine said quietly.
“Well, you better up your game, buddy, because Chevy is moving in on your pancake crown.”
“If I meet him, then that means this is real.”
“You’re not going to have a choice about meeting him, and neither is your brother unless you have decided to join your father for Thanksgiving dinner.”
“I’m staying as far away from him as possible.”
“Did you guys have an argument?”
“Something’s going on. I’m not sure if it’s something at home that’s flowing over into the office or if there’s something going on at the office that’s upsetting him.”
“Did you take my advice?”
“Yes. Our dispatcher, office manager, and every other employee in the building is either a man or a married woman over the age of fifty.”
I giggled before I said, “I bet that pisses him off.”
Blaine grinned before he said, “Every time he grumbles about it, I can barely stop myself from laughing.”
“I have no idea what’s going on in his personal life, and I don’t care to, but we have our year-end meeting with the accountant scheduled for the second week of December. If there’s something up with the business, I’ll find out then and let you know.”
“That’s almost a month from now.”
I glanced at my calendar and said, “Three weeks.”
“I’m not sure I can put up with him that long.”
“Unfortunately, that is your cross to bear, sweetheart.”
Blaine’s phone rang, and I recognized the ringtone as the one he and my other son, Brandt, used for each other, so I listened to his side of the conversation as I logged into my email to check on a delivery I was expecting.
I found the email confirming that the package was ready to be picked up, logged out, and was ready to run a few errands until I saw Blaine’s face.
“What do you mean none of them are working?” There was a pause before he said, “One of them is a Visa, and the other is a Discover. They have nothing to do with each other. The odds of both systems being down at the same time are slim to none.” Blaine looked at me before he asked, “Right?” I nodded, and he told Brandt, “I’m at Mom’s. I’m going to put you on speaker.”
“Hey, baby. What’s going on?”
“My gas card won’t work, and neither will any of my company credit cards,” Brandt replied.
“That doesn’t make any sense. There has to be a problem with the store’s system.”
There was the sound of shuffling in the background before Bryant said, “It’s not their system. I just paid for my gas with my personal card, and it went through just fine.”
“What the hell?” I asked.
“When I called Dad, he told me to quit whining and just pay for the gas myself.”
“Put in a ticket for reimbursement,” I said as I walked around the desk.
“Blaine, call the office manager and have him look into the accounts, and then call the accountant and make sure he’s got records of the bills being paid.
It’s possible that those payments fell through the cracks somehow.
If you can’t use your gas card, neither can the drivers.
We’re going to have ourselves a clusterfuck within the hour. ”
“Well, shit,” Blaine said as he pulled his keys out. “Brandt, I’ll meet you in the office in half an hour.”
“See ya then. Love you, Mom.”
“Love you, too, son.” When Brandt hung up, I kissed Blaine’s cheek and said, “Call me if you need anything.”
“You could come get the office in order for us.”
“Not my circus and not my monkeys,” I quipped. “Well, you and Brandt are my monkeys, but you get what I’m saying.”
“Where are you headed?”
“I have to go pick up some Christmas gifts that I ordered, and then I’m going to get Chewie so he can escort me to the grocery store and then come to the house and help me prep for all the cooking I’ll need to do next week.”
“Better him than me.”
“You’re welcome to drop by and meet him,” I suggested.
Blaine frowned before he said, “I’ll see what Jade’s got planned. Maybe we’ll come over for a few minutes.”
“Thank you, honey. Just taking that small step makes me proud of you.”
“We just want you to be happy, Mom.”
“I know we haven’t been seeing each other for very long, but every minute with him is even better than the last, and he makes me smile all the time.”
“That’s some pretty solid points in his favor.”
“I thought you might appreciate that,” I said as we walked into the foyer, and I picked up my purse. “Now, walk me to my car and get the door for me like a gentleman.”
“Jade loves that I do that for her.”
“She should. That kind of chivalry isn’t nearly as common as it used to be or should be.”
“She appreciates it. That’s one of the many reasons she gets you flowers on my birthday every year.”
“I love that girl.”
“Not nearly as much as we love you.”
It took a little longer to get my errands finished than I had originally planned, so by the time I got to Chevy’s, I felt like I was running behind, which was something that stressed me more than I’d like to admit.
Thanks to my profession, deadlines were a huge part of my life.
I hated them just as much as I appreciated them for keeping me on track.
Sadly, that didn’t help me in having any grace for slow-walking people on crowded sidewalks or irritating drivers that held up traffic.
Of course, they were probably feeling the same as me - stress about the upcoming holiday and the pressure to get everything finished in time for the guests they would be entertaining.
Although our relationship was still new, Chewie had already given me the codes to his front door and the alarm system. Since Samara’s car was the only one out front, I rang the bell instead of going inside and was surprised to hear my daughter ask, “Who is it?”
“It’s me, Brinn.”
“Me who?”
“Your mother.”
“What’s the password?”
“Let me in!”
“Sorry. That’s not the password.”
“You’re grounded!”
“That’ll do it!” Brinn said as she yanked the door open with a grin. “What are you doing here?”
Just to be a shit, I replied, “I’m here to check out the kitchen counters.”
Brinn’s face fell, and she grimaced before she said, “I’m still reeling from the trauma of that day. I think I need therapy.”
As I walked through the door, my phone rang, and I saw it was the vet’s office.
I answered quickly, hoping Rose was okay, and was surprised when the vet informed me that Rose and her puppies were ready to come home.
She informed me Rose would have a couple of prescriptions we would need to keep up with as well as a list of instructions to follow for wound care.
I assured her that someone would be there before the office closed today and then asked Brinn, “Do you have any plans for this afternoon?”
“Sounds like I do now.”
“Where’s Chewie?”
“He and Donner went to mail some things. He called Sarah a few minutes ago to get our coffee orders and said he was on his way, though.”
“I’ll wait for him then,” I told her. “Where’s your car?”
“Mary and I rode over with Sarah.”
“Can you please call them by their given names to avoid confusion?”
“There are multivitamins that can help a woman your age with their memory issues and focus, Mom.”
“And there are plenty of jobs and apartments out there for a girl whose mother cuts her off because of her smart mouth.”
“You’re sassy today! I like it.”
“Will you go get the dogs and take them home? Chewie and I already picked up a dog bed for her and the crate we’ll use to keep the puppies contained. Everything’s set up in the laundry room.”
“Did you get another Ollie gate?” Brinn asked as she sat down on a stool and leaned on the counter.
I pulled a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and took a drink before I explained, “Blaine took care of installing that this morning.”
“Do you mind if we use your truck? Sarah . . . Samara’s car is not the most dependable vehicle I’ve ever ridden in.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m not sure how it’s still operating. At this point, it runs on hopes and prayers. Every time I get into it, I wonder if it would be safer to walk.”
I choked on the sip of water I’d just taken and was still coughing when Chewie and Donner walked into the kitchen.
As Chewie pulled me into his arms, he said, “Let me guess - you’re talking about Samara’s car.”
“I think that girl could figure out how to fuck up a bicycle,” Brinn muttered. She looked up in alarm and said, “Let’s keep that between us, okay?”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
“What’s wrong with her car?”
“A few weeks ago, she won bingo with the lights on the dash. I did the best I could, but I think it needs an exorcism at this point,” Chewie said after he gave me a quick kiss.
Donner was taking coffee cups out of a drink carrier and passed one to Brinn before he slid one my direction. When I gasped in delight, he said, “Chewie probably fucked up your order, but I did the best I could.”
“Thank you!”
“At least he paid this time,” Donner muttered before in a louder voice, asking, “Want me to take a look at her car while you guys are out being domestic?”
“You don’t want to go to the grocery store with us?” Chewie asked.
“I’d rather shit on a fire ant mound and then roll around in it.”
We were still roaring with laughter when Samara walked in and asked what was so funny. As Brinn told her, I took a sip of my drink the men had delivered and sighed in ecstasy.
“What is this?” I asked as I looked at the jumbled code on the side and then at Donner. “Will you write down whatever it was you ordered for me?”
“Sure,” Donner said as he grabbed a notepad and pen that were next to the jars of silverware and other utensils and started writing. Brinn watched over her shoulder as she sipped her coffee.
“Rose and the puppies are ready to be picked up, and I voluntold Brinn that she was up to bat. She’s going to take my car over to get them. Samara, will you go with her?”
“We can take my car,” Samara offered.
I saw Brinn wince as Chewie explained, “Donner’s going to look at yours to see if it can be saved or if we should just call a priest and buy you a skateboard.”
“It’s running fine!”
Brinn hurried to say, “There’s more room in Mom’s SUV anyway.”
“When we’re done, we’ll swing by and pick up Donner and then meet you at home for dinner,” I suggested.
“Can we have game night?” Samara asked excitedly.
Donner groaned when I said, “That sounds fun!”
“I’ll let Mary . . . Jaimee know. She can bring her mom by here and get her settled before she comes over,” Samara said as she started texting.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go shopping with us, Donner?” I teased.
He didn’t answer me, just looked at Chewie and said, “Blink twice if you’re being held hostage.”
Chewie swept me into his arms and then dipped me back for a kiss before he said, “I’ll brave the grocery store before a major holiday for you, sweet Taya.”
“You say the nicest things.”
Donner sounded disgusted when he said, “And this is the part where we all throw up.”
◆◆◆
“I should have made the girls stay until they helped us carry in the groceries,” I muttered under my breath as I walked toward the house.
As if he’d heard my complaints, Chewie walked out and took the bags from my hands. “I’ll carry everything in if you’ll start putting things away.”
“My hero,” I gushed with a smile as I gladly handed over the heavy bags that he carried as if they didn’t weigh a thing. I rushed ahead of him to prop open the screen door. “I’ll have to sort everything out according to my list.”
“Why?”
“Some things will need more prep than others, while some dishes can be made ahead of time. Others won’t need to be touched until the morning of,” I explained.
“Do you want me to bring anything?”
“Just yourself and whatever you guys want to drink. I’ve got some beer in the fridge, but we’ll probably go through that this evening.”
Chewie was on his third trip inside when he asked, “Where did the girls go anyway?”
“Donner needed some parts but already had Samara’s car torn apart, so they went to pick him up and take him to the parts store.”
“Oh, he’s gonna enjoy that, I’m sure,” Chewie said as he walked outside again.
Once he was finished carrying the groceries in and my counters and dining table were covered in bags and items I needed to put away, Chewie went in to check on Rose and then chatted with me while I worked to get everything organized.
I was putting the last of the freezer items away when my phone rang, so I asked Chewie to answer it since it was on the counter near him.
“Hey, kiddo, your mom is . . . Is everyone okay?” I stood up so quickly that I got lightheaded and stumbled toward the bar where Chewie was standing with an alarmed expression. “Where are you? Okay, honey. We’ll be there in just a minute.”
“What happened?”
“They’re okay, just shaken up. I guess Donner had them take him to that junkyard outside of town, and on the way back, someone forced them off the road, and they wrecked,” Chewie said as he hurried me toward the back door.
“They’re getting checked out by the paramedics right now and talking with the cops.
Brinn said she called Brandt to come tow your truck. ”
“It was that bad?”
“Seems like it, but we’ll know more when we get there.”