Chapter 2
Chapter Two
“That’s so nice that you’re able to take me, and I don’t have to drive myself. I really hate driving after dark nowadays,” Marjorie McBride said to Roland as they pulled up to Gilbert and Summer’s new home.
Gilbert and Summer had just gotten married, and Lucas, Marissa, and Robert, Gilbert’s children with his first wife, were adjusting well to their new stepmother.
The couple loved their new home and enjoyed hosting meals for everyone in the family.
It was tradition to have Sunday dinner after church at Marjorie’s house, although Roland worried that it might be getting to be too much for her. Still, he hadn’t said anything. But since Sunday dinner was taken care of, Gilbert and Summer often had something on a Friday night.
All their siblings were present, even Isadora, who had moved back in with Marjorie and Roland and looked terrible.
It had been a while, more than a year, since her husband had left her, and emotionally she seemed to have gotten over it, but physically she had lost weight, and she just seemed completely exhausted from taking care of her children and trying to work full-time as well.
“Welcome, come on in,” Summer said as they got to the door. They hadn’t even gotten to knock, which typically they just knocked and then walked in calling out that they were coming.
“That was pretty good timing,” Roland said as he took his mother’s elbow and held the door for his mother to go in first. Marjorie might not be hosting the meal at her house, but she had brought plenty of food to go around. Roland was carrying the dessert that she had made.
“It smells amazing in here,” Marjorie said, and it seemed like she sounded a little out of breath. Roland looked at her carefully. Was she pale?
“Thanks. The chicken pad Thai nachos really make the house smell delicious. And it’s a perfect meal for a lot of people.” She grinned. “Okay, maybe it’s a perfect meal for kids, because it’s basically finger food.”
Roland laughed along with her, but there was a part of him that wished that he knew what exactly was a good meal for kids, but since he didn’t have any of his own… He felt like he was missing out a little.
“Did Isadora drive herself?” Summer said as she closed the door behind them.
“She’s coming shortly. She had to stop in town and pick up a couple of supplies for one of the projects that her kids are supposed to make for school.”
“Uncle Roland!” Lucas, Marissa, and Robert called as they came out of the kitchen.
He balanced the dessert in one hand and held out his other arm for them to come and give him a hug.
As the children got older, they probably would outgrow the whole idea of running to him and wrapping their arms around him, but until they did, he was going to enjoy it.
“We’re so glad you’re here!” Robert said.
“Are you going to play with us after we eat?” Marissa asked.
“We’ll see. It’s pretty chilly out, and your mom might not want you to be out too late either, depending on what you have to do this weekend.”
“I have clients in the morning, so the kids can sleep in if they want to,” Summer said.
He knew she still gave horseback riding lessons, and he nodded.
The kids chatted around them as they walked into the kitchen.
Then Robert said, “I do have to work on a project. I’m in Miss Bushnell’s class, and she always has the most fun projects. But I want to beat Kylie, who always thinks she’s so great at everything.” Robert sneered at the idea that Kylie was actually good at anything.
“Well, I’ve got some things I need to do, but I can give you a hand if you want me to.”
“That would be awesome! You always have the best ideas. The last time you and I made the race car track, that was the coolest thing ever. Miss Bushnell was really impressed. She said that no one had ever made anything like that before.”
“Wow. I’m so glad we could impress your teacher.
” Roland tried not to let the idea that Miss Bushnell was actually Nelly, his sworn enemy from third grade, take root in his mind.
After all, a lot of years had gone by since the whole valentine incident, when she got so angry at him and swore that they would never speak again.
Surely she was over it, although…they really hadn’t ever spoken again since then.
They had been sworn enemies, and he had to admit that he had kind of gotten involved in it more than maybe was totally appropriate.
But that was back when he was a kid in school. He was beyond that now.
Although, mention of her name still made his lip curl.
“Hey, I’m here,” Isadora called from the doorway. Her kids tripped in ahead of her as she carried a bag of what looked like potato chips.
“I didn’t bake anything, but I thought I had to contribute to the meal somehow,” she said, looking tired as she held up a bag of chips.
“You didn’t have to bring anything,” Summer said as she went and took the bag from Isadora before giving her a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
Roland wished she wouldn’t have brought anything. It was enough for her to be trying to raise three kids by herself and work full-time, trying to get as many hours as she could while her kids were either sleeping or at school.
“Are you guys gonna come in so we can eat sometime soon?” Judd asked from where he stood with Terry at the dining room.
He was joking, of course, but the family made their way into the room, taking that as a hint, since everyone really was hungry.
Amy and her husband, Jones, along with Wilson and Charity, were already in there. Amy and Jones, best friends since they were little, were bickering back and forth. That hadn’t stopped since they’d gotten married. But usually, their arguments ended in a kiss now, which was new.
Wilson was a wonderful dad to Charity’s five children. It looked like they had just announced that they were expecting another baby.
Charity seemed to glow with her pregnancy, and Wilson never stopped touching her, whether it was a hand on her arm or an arm around her shoulder. It made Roland wish that he had someone to be protective of, to be caring for, to look out for and take care of.
The family gathered around the table, laughing and teasing each other, with the kids being loud but not obnoxious.
The feeling of family rolled over him, and he was grateful that his family had stayed close and that they still got together regularly.
But it also made him feel strikingly alone.
After all, he was the only one in his family who hadn’t been married and didn’t have at least a child to keep him company.
Other than maybe his mother. But he still lived at her house—did that count?
He watched her, smiling and talking, but…he couldn’t escape the nagging feeling that there was something wrong.
Still, after the meal was over, everyone helped clear the dishes, and they played a few games and enjoyed talking with each other before it was time to leave.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do when you have a family of your own and I have to go by myself to these things. I might depend on someone to pick me up.”
“Maybe when I have a family of my own, I’ll just live with you,” Roland said easily. He figured that his mom feared change. And he also figured that there wasn’t much chance of him having a family of his own. After all, who was he going to marry?
“You know you’re welcome anytime. I have always appreciated the work you’ve done to help with the upkeep of the home through the years.
I don’t know what I would have done without you, although I do know that God would have provided.
Still, the provision that He gave was you, and I am deeply grateful.
” His mom smiled at him across the seat, and he glanced over and smiled back at her.
Maybe she was just getting old. And that made him sad too. But maybe it was best that he didn’t have a family—that way he was able to do his best to help his mother. He didn’t have anyone holding him back or getting in his way. That was the reason he was a good choice for the Secret Saint.
Speaking of which, he knew that tonight after he got home, he would help his mom inside and make sure she got to bed. He would wait until he was sure that she was asleep, and then he would slip out.
It took a little longer than what he thought, since his mom seemed to be restless, getting up twice—once to go to the bathroom and once to get a drink. She saw him still sitting on a stool in the kitchen and came out to chat.
Thankfully, she didn’t come around the bar, or she might have seen that he had already put his boots on and was just making sure that he didn’t hear anything else from her.
They chatted for a bit, and she went back to bed.
He supposed, according to what Judd had said, that it really didn’t matter if his mom found out that he was the Secret Saint, but still, in the interest of keeping it as much of a secret as he could, he wasn’t going to tell her.
He wondered, after speaking with Judd and realizing that Judd wasn’t the first Secret Saint, who the actual first Secret Saint had been.
Maybe they were dead and gone, since he couldn’t really remember any Secret Saint activities before Judd had begun.
Tonight, he had decided to deliver groceries to the Harney family. They were on the list that Judd had given him, as being in need, and groceries were a pretty easy way to get started.
Roland had to admit he was excited about it as he drove to the box store, which was an hour away from Mistletoe Meadows.
He had to go up and down three mountains, around hairpin turns, and finally down into the town of Whisker Hollow.
He grabbed the groceries that he needed and made the harrowing trip back.