Chapter 11
The next two months passed in a blur. The girls started school. Gran and Brett took turns watching Liam on days where I took care of Garrett’s mom. Garrett and I would meet every Friday night on the edge of his grandpa’s ranch and sit by the fire. We just fell into a comfortable rhythm. Nothing became awkward after that family dinner. We simply carried on as good friends.
Liam’s birthday party was an absolute success and a reminder of the family and community we had at our sides. He was now working on walking independently and eating everything put in front of him. Things felt good, up until the morning my realtor called.
“Hey Lucy. I have great news.”
I shifted Liam on my hip and took a deep breath. “It sold?”
“We have several competing offers. However,”
she paused, excitement clear in her voice. “We have a military family moving to the state in three weeks. They said they would pay cash right now, no inspection. They came in five thousand above the other offers, too. What do you think?”
I plopped down on the couch, suddenly winded. “I think I need to get a moving crew and have a talk with my kids. I accept the offer. Please let them know.”
“You got it. Congratulations, Lucy!”
As much as it was a good thing, I was suddenly filled with an overwhelming feeling of loss and fear of moving forward.
“You okay, Mom?”
Eve asked as she entered the living room, sipping her hot cocoa.
I glanced up at her and my lip quivered. “Come here.”
I reached out my other arm, still holding Liam. Eve settled on the couch and leaned into my side, laying her head on my shoulder.
“Remember how we talked about settling in here? I mentioned that I had listed the house. Do you remember?”
“Yeah,”
her voice trailed off as she looked up at me.
“Well, it sold. I’ll have to go in the next week or so to pack everything up.”
Eve was silent as she sat with me, holding her drink. She stared at the wall in front of us. A tear ran down my cheek and I held Liam to my chest.
“I just want you to know, it’s ok if you have mixed feelings about this. I do.”
I sniffled and fought the onslaught of grief. “I have a lot of feelings about selling it.”
“Will we buy a house here?”
Her eyes were red, shining with unshed tears as she looked back to me.
“I plan to, yes.”
I brushed her curls out of her face.
“I’m not ready to leave Gran’s yet. Is that ok?”
I breathed a broken laugh and nodded. “That’s absolutely okay.”
Eve dropped her head as she rubbed her eyes. “I don’t think I want to go back. Can I stay here?”
I set Liam on the floor and wrapped my arms around Eve’s shoulders. “Yes, Eve. You can stay here. I won’t make you go.”
Her shoulders shook with her tears. “I just, I kept expecting him to come back when we were there. It made me sad when we lived in our house after…”
I held her tighter. “It made me sad, too. You’re not alone, Eve. Your feelings are okay. and you’re allowed to grieve as you need to. I love you.”
She threw her arms around my waist, and we just held each other as we processed this. Kaley eventually found us and played with Liam, taking the information in typical fashion for her: acceptance and zeal for the future.
“Are you girls sure you don’t mind me working today?”
I asked once everyone seemed mostly at peace with the news. “I promise not to make a habit of working Saturdays; Garrett was just needed for the event today.”
The annual fall festival had arrived, and the town tried to have at least one officer available at all times. However, being a station with only five officers in total, that didn’t leave a lot of wiggle room.
The festival always drew in huge crowds of people from out of town. Mae’s parents owned the winery just on the outskirts of town and did special samples at the fair. Plus, it didn’t hurt that the mountains were always gorgeous this time of year.
“Uncle Josh said he was going to take us to the festival tonight and buy us all the candy,”
Kaley said as she bounced on her tiptoes with excitement.
Eve tried to hide it, but she was beaming at the idea of kettle corn and cotton candy as well.
“I expect you both to brush your teeth as soon as you get home.”
I pointed between the two of them as I grabbed my shoes.
Gran entered the living room and took her seat by the fireplace. “They will be just fine, Lucy. Be sure to take the Williams the casserole I made them for dinner. I put in a bottle of red wine from Whispering Acres Winery. It’s their fall spiced one. I thought they might enjoy something festive. Oh, and I made a blanket for Mrs. Williams. It’s in a bag on the coat rack, dear.”
I smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you, Gran. I’m sure they will love it.”
Looking to the girls, I said, “Love you and behave.”
“I always behave,”
Eve objected, aghast that I would even imply otherwise.
I kissed each of their foreheads, grabbed everything Gran prepared and made my way to the car. Mrs. Williams had been doing alright lately. We would take a walk every afternoon at three. When she would be interested in TV, we would work on a puzzle or crochet project together. Sometimes we baked bread. She was very interested in the sourdough process. It had taken her some time to adjust to me. After my first week, we decided to hang up a visual schedule and my picture, so she knew to expect me. It seemed to help most days.
As I pulled into Garrett’s parents’ drive, I filled my arms with our craft projects and Gran’s delivery as I trekked up their stairs. Using the heel of my boot, I gently knocked on the door.
“Coming,”
Garrett’s voice came from the other side of the door.
He opened the door and assessed my situation. Laughing he asked, “Are you moving in?”
“Haha,”
I rolled my eyes, and Garrett, the gentleman that he was, took half of the items and helped me inside.
“You’re looking pretty good in those scrubs, Daze.”
His eyes trailed appreciatively over my hot pink scrubs.
“Eyes on the road, Sheriff,”
I teased as he nearly ran into the doorway of the dining room.
Garrett scoffed and corrected his trajectory. “I think I like where my eyes are at.”
“Lucy!”
Mr. Williams greeted me with a warm hug. “Glad you could make it today. I hope it wasn’t too much of a hassle.”
I unloaded everything onto the dining room table and smiled. “It’s no trouble at all. I’m happy to be here.”
Mr. Williams eyed the casserole. “I’m so glad your Gran thought of dinner. I hadn’t gotten that far this morning.”
Smiling, I put the casserole in the fridge. “She’s been bitten by the cooking bug, that’s for sure.”
“And she sent me wine, how thoughtful.”
Garrett smirked as he tucked the bottle under his arm.
Mr. Williams pointed at Garrett, giving him a stern look. “No drinking on the job, son. That bottle is for us. If you’d take a day off every now and then, maybe we could have shared it.”
Garrett rolled his eyes and winked at me as he set it back on the table. I did my best not to blush, attempting to tidy the crafts I brought.
I failed completely when Garrett pressed a kiss to my cheek and said, “Thanks again for coming out today, Daze. I’ll try to get back before five.”
Any sense of coherency was lost, and I was left gaping. Garrett smiled, proud of himself, as he made his way out the door. “I better not get a call that your party gets out of hand over here.”
Mr. Williams scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “And just how many times did I have to pick you hooligans up from a party out in the boonies? Hmm?”
Garrett looked at me and gave me the most panty melting smirk as he waved goodbye and closed the door behind him.
“That boy of yours is trouble, Mr. Williams.”
I shook my head and made my way to the coffee pot, pouring us both a mug.
“It’s been nearly two months of you working in my home, Lucy. What will it take for you to call me Grant?”
I handed him the mug and smiled. “A miracle.”
Making my way down the hall to their bedroom, I checked on Mrs. Williams, or Myra as she preferred to be called. She was in bed, sleeping soundly. I pulled her blanket over her and returned to the living room with Mr. Williams.