A Clean Sweep

  The peace she felt when she stepped through the side garage door and flipped on the lights shocked her. It was a far cry from the tensing in her gut the first time Ross led her in there.

  Mom’s right. It is a beautiful garage.

  She walked to the center of the space. Like her mom the night before, she extended her arms and slowly spun in circles, relishing the ability to freely move without having to turn or dip or wiggle or worry about dislodging a mountain of crap.

  Her mom’s gentle laughter from the side door froze her. “I’m glad you understand me.”

  Essie stopped and turned to face her mom. “I’m sorry I left you alone with him.”

  Her mom walked in and over to her, stopping in front of her. “Honey, I chose to stay. I was so proud of you for getting that scholarship and getting out of here. I wish I’d said it better before.” She hugged Essie, long and hard. “Believe it or not, your father was proud of you, too.”

  “He never said it.” They had driven up to Gainesville for her graduation, which had shocked the hell out of her.

  “I know. He said some stuff at the time, when we were driving up for your graduation. Sideways comments.” She finally released Essie and stared around the garage. “I think he kept his emotions as bottled up inside him as he did junk in this house. They were a shield.” She focused her gaze on Essie again. “But he did love you. And me. The only way he knew how to.”

  “Forget the wedding vows. Why did you stay?”

  Corrine shrugged. “It was my vows. And…as stupid as it sounded, I always thought I could change him. I never gave up hope even though I rationally understood how hopeless it was. When you truly love someone, you don’t always think with your mind. You think with your heart and with your feelings. I didn’t want to leave him. I knew if I did that he would bury himself. I had no doubts about that. I gave him the best life I could, and now it’s time for me. And you.”

  Her mom walked over to the large garage door and opened it. Her smile broadened. “I can’t wait to get a garage door opener,” she said. “And I want to paint the house. I want colors. And I want to put down some of that laminate flooring that looks like wood. I want to be able to run a dust mop around the floors in a few minutes and have them clean.”

  “Sounds like you want to redecorate the whole house.”

  “I do. And I will. I know I can’t do it all at once. I want to go to IKEA and get a new couch, and a chair for the living room. And a bed.” She smiled. “And a new guest bed. So when you’re here, you have a place to stay.”

  That actually sounded really nice. “Thanks, Mom. It’ll be good to be able to come back here and visit.”

  “Maybe I can talk you into moving back here one day.” She shrugged. “A woman can hope. No guilt, though. I understand you have your life and friends and stuff.”

  No guilt intended, and Essie knew that, but she felt guilty nonetheless. “We’ll see. Let’s get your house cleaned up first. There’s plenty of time to talk about that later.”

  * * * *

  The men still hadn’t arrived by eight o’clock, but that didn’t slow down the work crew foreman or film crew. The foreman got the volunteers organized and working on clearing a path through the living room to the back door while Essie returned to the kitchen.

  The clutter didn’t emotionally crush Essie as much as it had before. All she had to do was look through the open utility room door and see the now-emptied garage.

  Her mom started work on the utility room. She separated her clothes into a laundry basket and threw away everything that was her husband’s.

  “Do you want my help in there?” Essie asked.

  “No, I’m okay. You’re doing a great job in there.”

  By the time the men arrived a little after eight thirty, Essie had most of the kitchen floor space cleared, the top of the fridge emptied, and had started making a dent in the pile on the table. They were able to bring wheelbarrows into the garage now, and dollies to move fifty-five gallon garbage drums, so Essie was able to make faster progress once her mom had completely cleared a wide path through the utility room.

  Essie felt a little thump in her chest as all three brothers joined her in the kitchen.

  “You’re making great progress,” Mark assured her, holding her gaze with his longer than she knew was normal.

  Her stomach fluttered in response. If she looked at Ted, his blue eyes bored into hers. That left Josh the only safe one, and even then not so much. While she hadn’t had the one-on-one contact with him that she’d had with the other two, she was still viscerally attracted to him, too.

  Stop it. Focus.

  By the time the work foreman called a lunch break, the mop sink in the utility room was actually useable for the first time in over a decade. Her mom hadn’t cleaned out the cabinets in there yet, but the other stuff on the floor and stacked on top of the counter was gone.

  Her mom beamed. “I can’t wait to get a mop in here and get it cleaned up!” She turned to Essie. “I’m going to paint it yellow. That’s a cheery color.”

  Essie smiled. “One step at a time, Mom. Let’s get the house emptied, first. And you have a job to get back to.”

  “Oh, I know.” Her mom turned again, taking in her progress. “It’s just…I feel like I’m over the moon. I know that’s wrong and weird, and maybe I’m using this as a way to delay grieving for your father. I don’t care. Grieving for him will be easier to do when I’m not despising my existence or losing my home.”

  Essie hugged her from behind, resting her chin on her mom’s shoulder. “True. I won’t be nearly as worried about you when I have to return home, either.”

  “I’m glad he died first,” her mom softly said.

  Essie was aware of the two camera crews filming them, one from the garage door and one from the kitchen.

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because I would have hated to die first and left you saddled with him. Worse, he wouldn’t have reached out to you. He wouldn’t have tried to bridge the gap, I think. He certainly wouldn’t have done the work needed to save this place.”

  “True.” That thought made Essie sad because she knew it would have been exactly what happened. She might have been lucky if her father had even been able to find her landline phone number in Spokane, much less called her to let her know.

  “Time for lunch,” her mom announced, patting Essie’s hands before gently breaking away. “I feel like I can relax now. I didn’t understand before how fast this would go. How easy it would be to empty this place.”

  “We’re not done yet.”

  “But we will be. And it’s going to be beautiful again. It’ll finally feel like a home instead of a prison.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Essie found herself alone in the backyard Saturday evening with Josh as the crew wound down for the day. They were both free of their microphones or a crew shadowing them. She stood there, unsure what to say to him and filled with a lot of emotions now that she knew more about him and his brothers.

  “Thank you,” she finally settled on, even though it felt lame.

  “You’re very welcome,” he said. “I’m glad we’re able to help you with this.”

  Without thinking what she was doing, she grabbed him and hugged him, relieved when his arms encircled her. As she relaxed in his embrace, it hit her how comfortable she felt standing there with him.

  And wondered if dreams could become reality if she wished hard enough.

  Before she could stop herself, she rose up on her toes and kissed him on the lips. “Still, thank you.”

  Shaking, she hurried from the yard and back to Ross and Loren’s.

  * * * *

  Josh was still standing there, in shock, when Mark and Ted found him a minute later. “You ready to head home?”

  He nodded. “Yeah.”

  “What’s wrong?” Ted asked.

  Besides thinking I might be falling in love with her, too?

  “Um, she just kissed me.
”

  “Who?” they asked together.

  “Who the hell do you think?”

  A slow smile filled Mark’s face.

  “Stop it,” Ted warned.

  “You can’t stop me from being hopeful.” He looked positively giddy as he smacked them both on the shoulders and left them standing there.

  Josh looked at Ted. “I sense a disturbance in the Force.”

  Ted rolled his eyes. “I sense a disturbance in your jeans,” he said. “Remember, she’s still a client.”

  * * * *

  Ted drove back to his apartment complex that night, full of conflicted emotions. He couldn’t deny his feelings for Essie.

  Then again, feelings were just that. Feelings lied—all the time. He damn well knew that.

  It was his fricking job to know that.

  When he made the final turn, he was aggravated to see his usual way into the complex blocked by construction barricades and heavy equipment. Several bright klieg lights illuminated the parking area, where it looked like a dozen workers were gathered and working around a gigantic hole in the middle of the asphalt. Large mounds of dirt and chunks of asphalt lay to the side.

  This can’t be good.

  Ted rolled down his window as the complex manager walked over to his truck. “What’s going on?” Ted asked him.

  “Utilities break. Water and gas lines.”

  “We don’t have gas in here.”

  “I know. It’s a through-line that apparently no one knew about before they started working on the irrigation system. The water will likely be off until tomorrow morning, at the earliest. Maybe longer. We’re putting everyone up at hotels for the night if they need it.”

  “Dammit.” He needed it. He’d wanted a long, hot shower. “Hold on.” He grabbed his cell phone and called Mark. “Hey, long story short, my complex has no water until tomorrow, at least. Can I bunk there tonight?”

  “Sure. You know you can. We’re already home.”

  “Thanks. I’ll see you soon.” He ended the call. “I’m good. Will they let me in?”

  “Yeah, you have to go around to the back entrance. We have it unlocked for tonight.”

  “Thanks.”

  Ted got turned around, found the back entrance that he usually didn’t use because it was only open during daylight hours, and parked as close to his unit as he could. Thirty minutes later, he’d packed a few days’ worth of clothes just in case and was on his way to his brothers’ house.

  He had a key, but they’d left the front door unlocked for him. Mark stood in the kitchen, hair damp from a shower, and was unloading their dishwasher.

  “So what happened?” Mark asked.

  “I don’t know. Apparently they were working on the irrigation system and took out a water line and a gas line at the same time.”

  Mark laughed. “That takes serious skills.”

  “Tell me about it.” He headed back to what was now a guest room and home office, but had been his room growing up. He set his bag on the dresser and stared around. It felt so different.

  Josh stepped into the doorway. “Guest bath’s all yours, dude. I’m done.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You know, I understand you like your privacy, but you could move back here and pay a fraction of what it costs you every month there.”

  Immediately following his divorce, Ted had needed privacy and time to lick his emotional wounds. Yes, he’d stayed with his brothers for a couple of weeks while he got an apartment lined up, but other than that, he’d been on his own.

  Part of it was he’d wanted to prove he was more evolved than his little brothers, especially since his degree was in mental health counseling. He’d wanted to prove to himself that he could live alone and be successful at it. He’d moved from home to college with roommates, then married, then…

  Six years after his divorce, he was still alone.

  And lonely.

  He turned to Josh. “You guys mean it?”

  Mark appeared next to him. “Duh. We’ve been bugging you about it for a while now. I know Mom and Dad would feel better if we were all together. They keep asking me how you’re doing every time I talk to them.”

  “Why wouldn’t they ask me?”

  “Mom says she does, and you say you’re fine and change the subject.”

  “Shrink, heal thyself,” Josh teased.

  Ted heavily sat on the edge of the bed. “You don’t think we’d get on each other’s nerves?”

  “Not any more than we already do,” Mark joked. “Come on, bro. We miss having you around all the time. We’re three bachelors. Maybe we can find someone to play with again like we did before.”

  “That was pretty fun,” Josh agreed.

  “I thought you had eyes for Essie?” Ted asked Mark.

  “I do.” Mark glanced at Josh, then back to Ted. “Maybe we could…you know…talk to her.”

  “She’s not from here,” Ted reminded him.

  “You like her. You said so.”

  “I do, but me liking her, and Josh liking her, and you liking her, that doesn’t means she’s going to like any of us, or want all of us together.”

  “Tell us to our faces you wouldn’t want to be poly,” Mark challenged.

  Ted reined in his irritation. “That’d be a lie and you know it. But wanting it and finding someone compatible with all three of us who wants us, too, are different things.”

  “Just keep an open mind,” Mark asked. “Please?”

  “Yes, fine. Can I get a shower now?”

  “When are you moving in?” Mark pressed.

  “If it’ll get me into the shower faster, consider me moved now. My lease is due for renewal next month anyway.”

  Mark and Josh high-fived each other. “For the win!” Josh said.

  * * * *

  After his shower, Ted rummaged through the kitchen for a snack. After settling on a handful of almonds from a jar on the counter, he turned to find Josh standing there.

  He held out his hand. “Almond?”

  “No thanks.” Josh leaned against the counter. “Did you mean it? That you’d want to try being poly?”

  His instincts of being a big brother instantly waged war with his training as a counselor. “Yes,” he finally said. “If the right unicorn comes our way. One who won’t up and leave and go back to Washington state, yes.” He popped an almond into his mouth to buy him some time.

  Josh slowly nodded. “Okay. I just wanted to make sure you really meant it and weren’t just saying it to get Mark off your case.”

  “I really meant it. I think Essie is great. But she’s not local. And we don’t even know if she’s kinky. I don’t think a long-distance relationship would work well for any of us. Not that long a distance, at least. It’s Spokane, not St. Pete.”

  “Mark and I have both kissed her.”

  Jesus. “I know.” Don’t rub it in.

  Apparently Josh realized what he said. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant she was interested in us. Why wouldn’t she be interested in you, too?”

  “Again, the whole thing about her life being in Spokane. Look, let’s give it a rest for tonight, okay? Table the topic for now. Get through the Barrone job and go from there. Hey, I’ve moved back in. Consider it a battle won and move the frak on.”

  Josh smiled. “It’s good to have you home, bro.”

  “Thanks. Just remember that next time I make my special chili for dinner.”

  Josh grinned. “We can totally gas Mark out.”

  “Yep.”

  Josh left him alone in the kitchen. Ted hoped this wasn’t a mistake. That moving back in with his brothers wouldn’t turn out to be a really bad move.

  Then again, being alone hadn’t helped him move forward. He was stuck in stasis with no change in sight.

  Maybe I need to be the change.

  On that thought, he headed for his bedroom.

  * * * *

  Essie hoped she hadn’t made a horrible mistake kissing Josh, but
at the time it felt right and she went with it.

  It’s what they do in books, right?

  And Josh hadn’t seemed to object to it.

  She went to bed early Saturday evening and got a good night’s sleep, albeit spent the night having sexy dreams about the three brothers. She awoke invigorated Sunday morning, her mood only boosted by her mother’s positive attitude.

  They made more slow progress. They had plenty of volunteers, but they had to shoot a few scenes for the show with one of the organizational experts who’d managed to arrive a day earlier than expected.

  Essie kept it to herself that she thought it was little more than a circle jerk as the prissy, snooty guy talked with her mom, suggesting ways to prevent a return to such a cluttered state.

  She finally let out a giggle when her mom had apparently had enough of his condescension as well. “You were told it was my husband who was the hoarder, right? Did they show you the difference between my car and his truck? I managed to keep the kitchen semi-functional all these years. Frankly I don’t like a lot of your ideas because it means bringing stuff, even organizational stuff, into the house. I want to get rid of as much stuff as I can, out of the house, and not bring it back. Believe me, young man, you come back a year from now, this house will be spotless without an ounce of clutter.”

  Even Purson turned away, his shoulders shaking and betraying that he was laughing.

  The expert quickly recovered, however. “Well, I’m certainly glad to hear that. It’s good you have a positive attitude.”

  “I’m positive once my house is cleaned out that it’s going to stay like that for the rest of my life.”

  Essie caught Ted’s attention and walked out the side door, switching off her mic as she did.

  He followed and switched off his as well.

  She rose up on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. “That guy is an ass.”