Staying at Joe's. Kathy Altman
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popped out from behind the pickup, a foil-covered plate in her hands. “Surprise,” she shouted.
Joe staggered backward, hand to his heart. Giggling, Nat offered him the plate.
“Tell you what, sport. Can you hold on to that for me? I need to wash my hands.” He led them through the lobby and headed for his apartment while Parker found a place to hang the basket of flowers and Nat helped herself to a glass of milk. Joe closed himself inside his tiny bathroom and took a swig of Pepto, praying Nat wouldn’t push a muffin on him. He purposely avoided looking in the mirror.
When he returned to the lobby, Parker was trying to explain why it wasn’t the best idea for Nat to share her milk with the geraniums. She turned to Joe and made a “what will she think of next?” face.
“I hope you don’t mind us dropping by so early. I drew up some plans for your landscaping and I was hoping you’d look them over, let me know what works for you and what doesn’t.”
Joe frowned. “That’s great, but...you sure you have time? With Reid overseas, I figured you’d be struggling just to keep the greenhouses going.”
“With Reid overseas, I’ll take all the work I can get. Helps keep my mind off...you know.”
He did know. Parker’s first husband—Nat’s father—had been in the Army, like Reid. Only he hadn’t survived his tour in Afghanistan, a tragedy that Parker’s new husband, Reid, had been responsible for. Several months ago, Reid had shown up on Parker’s doorstep, determined to make amends for the friendly-fire disaster. They’d ended up falling in love. Just two months ago, and only two weeks into his marriage, Reid had been deployed for the third and final time and Parker was terrified that something would happen to him, as well.
“Anyway.” She smiled brightly. “Don’t forget Nat’s out of school for the summer, if you need extra help. She and Harris have already picked up where Reid left off, clearing junk from the outbuildings.”
“How’s the old man feeling?” Had to be tough for someone as active as Harris, a former Marine, finding out he had a heart condition.
“Ornery, since we’re all making sure he takes it easy.”
“We play poker during our breaks.” Nat swiped the back of her hand across her mouth and flashed a smile. “Harris owes me fourteen ice cream cones.”
“Yeah? I like ice cream. Maybe you guys could deal me in sometime.”
The smile turned sly. “I found something yesterday. I brought it for you.”
“Another surprise? You’ll spoil me, kid. Well, first, I have a surprise for you. Bring your milk. I want to show you something out back.”
Parker’s eyes went wide. “Oh, no. We’re not going back there. That grass has to be three feet tall. You won’t catch me wading through that sea of ticks.”
“Gross.” Nat gave an exaggerated shudder.
“Just follow me.”
Despite the threat of ticks, Nat jogged ahead of them and disappeared around the front left corner of the building. When Joe and Parker rounded the same corner, Nat was already standing at the rear edge of the motel. She glanced back, looking nervous.
“I saw something.”
Joe moved in front of her and scanned the trees. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. It was at the edge of the woods.”
“An animal? A person?”
“I think it was a person, but I—I’m not sure.”
Parker palmed her daughter’s shoulder. “Could it have been a deer?”
“Maybe. I only saw it for a second.”
“I’ll check it out.” Joe tugged once on Nat’s ponytail. “Be right back.”
He crossed the field, his boots making scuffing sounds as he waded through the layer of freshly cut grass. The sharp, sweet scent of the leavings reminded him of his brother. Braden had reveled in the smells of a lakeside summer. Joe’s stride faltered and his chest went suddenly hollow.
“See anything?” yelled Nat.
Shake it off, man.
He held up a hand to buy himself time, and finally registered a trail through the dew-damp grass, parallel to the one he’d just made. Kids, cutting through the woods on their way to the lake? Wouldn’t be the first time. As long as they didn’t start lighting matches he had no problem with it.
He paused at the edge of the field, peering into the shadowed depths. Watching. Listening. The occasional dart of a squirrel, the stirring sound when a gust of air pushed through the leaves. With a series of loud nasal screeches, a blue jay warned him to mind his own business.
Good advice. Excellent advice. He strode back across the field, doing his damnedest to pull away from the thoughts of his brother and the plans they’d made. When he reached Nat and Parker he stopped, and shaded his eyes with the flat of his hand.
“You must have scared off whatever it was.” Nat peered around him, ponytail dangling. “You okay?” She nodded.
“Thanks for checking.” Parker wandered a few feet into the newly shorn field. “When did you do this?”
“Couple days ago.” He raised his eyebrows at Nat. “What do you think?”
“Of the grass?”
He reached behind the square wooden structure that stood outside his back door—if he didn’t have something sturdy protecting his garbage cans, the raccoons would scatter trash all the way to the lake—and retrieved a battered pair of wooden sticks. Each stick had a slight hook at the bottom.
“Of our hockey field,” he said.
“Cool!” Green eyes sparked.
Parker shot him a look drenched with gratitude. He winked and offered one of the sticks to Nat, who was bouncing up and down. “I’ll rake up the cuttings and rig a couple of goals. I figured with softball over, you might be ready to try something new, Nat.”
The girl took the stick and proceeded to whack at a nearby dandelion. The bright yellow head popped off and sailed across the field and Nat giggled.
“When can we start?”
“No way you’re bringing that home with you,” Parker said quickly. “I can see it now—petals all over the greenhouse floor. Please give that back to Joe. He’ll let you know when the field is ready.” When Nat protested, Parker gave her an arch look. “Aren’t you forgetting something? In the truck?”
Nat shoved the stick at Joe and ran off. “Take your time,” Parker hollered after her. Thumbs tucked in the straps of her overalls, she turned back to Joe.
“You’re not looking so hot.”
“Reid would be relieved to hear you say that.”
“I’m serious.”
He shrugged. “Didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”
“Because of Allison?” He reared back and she chuckled. “Hazel was here. You know what that means. All of Castle Creek is clued in by now.”
So much for privacy. Yet another reason to be pissed at yesterday’s visitor.
“You two were coworkers?”
He took his time putting the hockey sticks away. “She’s a PR rep for an advertising firm near D.C. I worked there as an account exec before moving here.”
“And you quit because your brother died?”
Parker wasn’t the pushy type. She’d back off if he asked her to. But she’d brought muffins. And he still owed her for patching him up after that brouhaha at Snoozy’s bar.