Last One Home

  Amiee couldn’t possibly fully understand the ramifications of that.

  “Then tonight you have this down-and-out look,” Aimee said. “What’s the problem?”

  That her daughter could so easily read her moods was a revelation to Cassie. “I was unkind to someone today and I said some things I regret now.”

  “Hmm.” Her daughter’s look went grave. “You know what you told me about unkind words. You said it was like squeezing out a tube of toothpaste and then trying to put it all back inside. Once the words are out there, they tend to stay, so think before you speak.”

  “I said that?” Cassie didn’t remember.

  “You say a lot of things, Mom. You might think I don’t hear you, but you’re wrong. I even write some of the stuff you say down in my journal.”

  This was just shy of astonishing to Cassie.

  “I do it because I don’t want to forget. You’ve forgotten a lot of the things your mother said, and I don’t want to do that, so I write it down.”

  That was true, Cassie had forgotten a lot of what her parents had told her while growing up. “Who made you so smart?” she asked her daughter, giving her a big hug.

  Amiee broke into a huge smile. “I don’t know, but I think I got it from my mother.”

  “I’m feeling doubtful about that, after today.”

  “You know what you have to do, don’t you?”

  Cassie did know, but it wasn’t going to be easy to apologize to Steve. Knowing him, he was bound to make it difficult.

  Friday afternoon, Cassie quickly changed her clothes and went directly from the salon to the job site. Shelly and George were already there. Cassie parked behind her friends.

  “Where’s Steve?” she asked first thing, eager to get this over with as quickly as possible.

  George answered her. “He texted to say he’ll be a few minutes late.”

  Cassie did her best to relax and pretend nothing was amiss. For just a half second she feared that Steve had stayed away on purpose in an effort to avoid her. Maybe he didn’t intend to show up at all. It didn’t take long for her to realize that wouldn’t be his way. He was far too pragmatic for that.

  She was nervous waiting for him. If Shelly noticed, she didn’t say anything. About five minutes later Steve’s truck rounded the corner. Cassie’s stomach was in knots. She hadn’t slept well, mulling over how best to approach this.

  By the time he parked, Cassie was waiting for him at the curb. She tucked her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and waited.

  Steve glared at her as he climbed out of the truck and closed the door. A resounding thud echoed, causing her to retreat a step.

  “Can I talk to you a minute?” she asked, as he stepped around his vehicle.

  He didn’t answer, but she chose to take his silence as a positive.

  “I want to apologize for the things I said. Generally, I’m able to keep my thoughts to myself. I shouldn’t have offered you my unwanted and unsolicited advice. And it was totally inappropriate of me to talk about your wife in that way.”

  He nodded, indicating he accepted her apology. She offered him a short, tentative smile.

  “I suppose you’re looking for me to apologize as well.”

  “No,” she assured him. “One has nothing to do with the other.”

  “You sure about that?” Clearly, he was skeptical.

  “Positive.”

  He ran his hand along the back of his neck. “Best haircut I’ve had in years.”

  “My biggest tip ever,” she returned.

  He smiled.

  Cassie couldn’t remember if she’d ever seen Steve smile, and it had an amazing effect on her. In those brief seconds Cassie saw what Rosie had seen. This was a virile, lean, red-blooded man with the capability to make women’s hearts stop. To be truthful, her own heart skipped a beat and it shocked her.

  “Now that this is settled I better get to work.” She was glad she’d apologized and was equally glad for an excuse to escape.

  She was about ten feet away when he stopped her.

  “Cassie.”

  She turned back around. “Yes?”

  “Megan phoned me this afternoon to let me know you’ve put aside your doubts and are going to stick with the program.”

  She smiled and nodded. “Someone, who shall remain nameless, offered me a good piece of advice.”

  He grinned again. “I’m happy you took it to heart.”

  “Me, too. It was the right decision.”

  “Okay, now, time to pick up that paintbrush and put in a few hours of sweat equity.”

  “Yes, sir.” She saluted him like a boot-camp private, but there was far more respect in that gesture than sarcasm. To her delight, Steve saluted her back.

  Chapter 11

  “Who was that on the phone?” Garth asked, sitting up in bed and reading from his tablet.

  Karen closed their bedroom door, her mind and heart troubled. “My sister.”

  “Problems with Nichole?” Garth set his e-reader on the bedside table and lifted the covers for Karen.

  “It was actually Cassie,” Karen explained, and slipped into the bed next to him. She scooted close to her husband, and Garth placed his arm around her shoulders, warming her with more than his closeness.

  “What did she want this time?” he asked skeptically.

  “Nothing. She’s only asked for financial help that one time when we just weren’t able to do it.”

  “I don’t know why you insist on feeling guilty about that. If you’d given her the money it would never have ended. Every time something came up she’d come running to you to bail her out financially. I know it was hard to turn her down, but you did the right thing.”

  “It’s more than that …” Garth didn’t know about their last terrible fight just before she’d run away from home.

  “Karen,” her husband said, cutting her off. “You don’t need to make up excuses with me.”

  “I’m not. I did what was necessary. Cassie had to know she couldn’t just waltz back into our lives as if nothing had happened. We were dealing with Dad’s death and I wasn’t about to take on her problems, too.”

  “I’m not going to argue with you, sweetheart. Like I said, you did the right thing.”

  “I have to wonder,” she murmured, her brow furrowed with consternation.

  “Karen …”

  “I know, I know. It doesn’t do any good to rehash this over and over. What’s done is done. When I spoke to Nichole about the inheritance, she was adamant we did everything we should have. Cassie wasn’t mentioned in the will and we have no obligation to give her a penny from the sale of the house.”

  “It isn’t the legality of the matter that concerns you, it’s the moral issue. You want to be fair.”

  Her husband read between the lines easily enough.

  “Yes.” Garth always seemed to understand her best. It was as if he knew her thoughts, which were often convoluted and conflicting when it came to dealings with Cassie.

  “You offered her the furniture and she was happy with that.”

  Happy didn’t begin to describe Cassie’s reaction. She’d been overwhelmed with gratitude, pleased and excited. The fact that her sister had been so grateful and appreciative of this offhanded, nearly meaningless gesture had given Karen second thoughts. The decision she’d made with Nichole didn’t rest easy with her and she wasn’t sure what to do about it. Karen placed a hand over her mouth to cover a yawn.

  “Any particular reason Cassie called?” Garth asked.

  “Yes. She needed to know for exactly how long the storage fees had been paid. I asked her when she’d be collecting Mom and Dad’s things, but she couldn’t give me an answer. She said she’d get them as soon as she could make the arrangements.” In thinking about the call, Cassie had been vague about how and when she intended to make the trip across the state. “I told her we could give her a bit of extra time if she needed it.”

  “Karen, I thought we agreed.
Two months and that was it.”

  “An extra month isn’t going to break the bank, Garth.” Karen was surprised that her husband would make a fuss over this. “Besides, by the time I reached out to her she didn’t have the full two months to make arrangements. I want Cassie to have something to remember our parents by.”

  Her husband kissed the top of her head. “You’re much too kind.”

  “She is my sister,” she reminded him.

  “The sister you barely know.”

  That was true. Karen didn’t know Cassie any longer. Although they had shared a childhood, their relationship had come to an abrupt halt the year Cassie turned eighteen. It shocked her to think she hadn’t seen Cassie since she ran off and married Duke.

  Garth reached over and turned out his bedside lamp. “We have a busy day tomorrow.”

  Karen didn’t need the reminder. Her days were crammed full. In the mornings she left the house like a racehorse in the Kentucky Derby. Weekends weren’t much better. It was after eleven already, and she had volunteered to accompany Lily’s Girl Scout troop on a field trip to the Spokane Airport in the morning. She hoped it would take only two or three hours, tops.

  Garth was scheduled to take Buddy to his baseball game, and if they were able to coordinate their schedules, then they would meet up for lunch at their favorite pizza place. In the afternoon, Karen needed to help Lily sell her quota of Girl Scout cookies. They’d gotten permission to set up a table outside the Albertsons’ grocery store.

  The cookie sale would well take an additional two hours out of her day, and she had yet to get the laundry going or some basic housecleaning chores. And she had no idea what she’d make for dinner.

  Although the lights were off and her husband was asleep and softly snoring, Karen’s mind continued to whirl like the blades of a helicopter ready to take off from the launch pad. Sunday was no better. She had yet to prepare for teaching the fifth- and sixth-grade Sunday school class, and afterward Garth’s sister had invited them to dinner and Karen was supposed to bring the dessert. She didn’t know when she was going to find time to squeeze baking a cake in. And on Monday there was an employee meeting before the office officially opened at eight, which meant …

  “Mom …” Buddy’s shout woke Karen from a sound sleep. She bolted upright and glanced at the digital readout on the bedside clock. It was barely past four.

  Tossing aside the covers, Karen tucked her feet into her slippers and went to investigate. Her son was in the hallway outside his room.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, struggling to hold back a yawn.

  “Daisy threw up.”

  Daisy was their cat—or, rather, Lily’s cat, although she seemed far more attached to Buddy than she was to his sister.

  “It’s all over my bed and it’s yucky.”

  Great. Just what she needed to start off her morning. “Come on, I’ll change the sheets for you.”

  “It looks like blood.”

  On closer examination Karen realized that Crazy Daisy had indeed thrown up and it wasn’t pet food that she was seeing mingled in with Buddy’s sheets. It was the remains of a mouse. Karen pressed her hand over her forehead. Daisy was an indoor cat, which meant there were mice in the house.

  “What’s happening in here?” Garth asked, standing in the doorway to Buddy’s bedroom. “Is there a party going on? How come I wasn’t invited?”

  “Crazy Daisy threw up on my bed,” Buddy told his father.

  “You might want to take a look at this,” Karen told her husband, pointing toward a readily identifiable rodent body part.

  Garth walked over to the bed and his eyes met hers. “Gross.”

  That was putting it mildly. “We’re going to need to get someone from a pest-control service to the house,” she said. “I don’t have a clue when I’ll have time to fit that into my week.”

  Garth slowly exhaled. “Don’t worry about it, honey, I’ll take care of it.”

  “The exterminator will only come on weekdays unless we’re willing to pay an outrageous fee for a weekend visit and then I’ll need to take a half-day off work and that’s only if he arrives on time—”

  “Karen,” Garth said gently, and took hold of her shoulders. “I’ll work at home one day next week. I’ll take care of this. You don’t need to do everything on your own. You have a husband, you know.”

  “You don’t mind?” She hadn’t expected Garth to be so willing.

  “Waiting around for a pest-control truck isn’t my favorite job, but I’ll survive.”

  Karen sighed with relief. “Buddy, while I’m changing your sheets, you take a shower.”

  “Another one?” their son protested. “I had one last night before I went to bed, remember?”

  “Do it anyway, and be sure and wash your hair.”

  “Dad?” Buddy looked pleadingly at his father.

  “Do as your mother asks.”

  Although the cat-and-mouse incident wasn’t the greatest way to start her day, the field trip with the Girl Scouts turned out to be a lot of fun. Lily was at the age when she was still pleased to spend time with her mother. Karen felt she should treasure these years, building good memories with her daughter before she hit her teens.

  True to his word, Garth got Buddy ready for his softball game and left a message with the pest-control company. Having him handle this was a huge relief. Karen appreciated that he was willing to take on the responsibility. He’d been making an effort to do more lately, and she was grateful. He’d even agreed to take on the task of bill paying when they got charged for a late payment. Karen admitted she hadn’t paid their Visa bill on time. Garth wasn’t that great with money matters, either, but lately he seemed to have more time than she did, especially now that she’d been elected secretary for the PTA and taught Sunday school class.

  “I’m hungry,” Lily announced, after they left the Girl Scout troop.

  “I know, honey. I am, too.” In fact, Karen had grabbed an apple and that had to suffice as breakfast. She drove around the block in the downtown area of Spokane, seeking a convenient parking spot.

  “Where are we meeting Dad?”

  “Pizza Pete’s,” she replied absently, spying a space in the next block up. If the light turned green she’d have the chance to grab the spot before another car got it.

  “Dad’s not going to order those fish again, is he?”

  “Those are anchovies. If he wants anchovies, he can order his own pizza.”

  Lily was pacified. “You don’t like them, either.”

  “Nope.” The light turned and Karen was able to grab the space on the street. By the time they walked into Pizza Pete’s, Garth and Buddy had secured a table and ordered the pizza.

  “No anchovies!” Garth answered, before she could ask the question.

  “Thank you.” Karen slid into the booth while Lily joined her brother in the video arcade. She’d barely had time to set her purse down when both Lily and Buddy catapulted back toward their table.

  “We need more quarters,” Lily announced breathlessly.

  Karen reached for her coin purse and dug out eight quarters, giving four to each of her children. As quickly as they’d arrived, the two departed.

  “How did Buddy’s game go?” Karen asked, looking up at her husband.

  “They lost.”

  “Really?” His team, up to this point in the season, had gone undefeated.

  “Thirteen to ten; it was a great game. Buddy was disappointed, but I think it was good for him. His team will learn more from the loss than another win.”

  Garth was like this. No matter what the situation, he continued to have a positive attitude. It was one of his most attractive attributes and why she loved him as profoundly as she did.

  “What are your plans this afternoon?” she asked.

  “It’s time I started working in the yard. On the way home, Buddy and I will get lawn fertilizer and some organic plant food.”

  Their yard was badly in need of attention
. Karen couldn’t remember the last time she’d weeded the flower beds. Last year it was late July before she’d had a chance to plant the annuals, and by then the season was nearly half over. “Good idea.”

  “I’m thinking it might be time to teach Buddy to mow the lawn.”

  “Garth!” Their son was far too young to handle a mower.

  Her husband laughed. “I was teasing.”

  Their pizza arrived and they were quickly joined by their two children. Garth had ordered one large family-size veggie pizza, which was Karen’s favorite. He preferred pepperoni and sausage.

  “Where’s the sausage?” Buddy asked, staring down at his plate. “This pizza has tomatoes on it.”

  “All pizza has tomatoes, Buddy.”

  “In the sauce, maybe, but these are right on top where I can see them.”

  “You can take them off if you want.”

  Buddy lifted one thin slice of tomato as if it were a dead mouse in his bed.

  Garth shared a smile with Karen. It was moments like this that she loved most, together as a family.

  They parted outside the pizza parlor, Garth and Buddy heading off to the local hardware store while Karen and Lily went to Albertsons. If Lily sold her allotment of cookies, Karen would be home in time to lend a hand with the yard work.

  Cookie sales outside the grocery were less brisk than Karen had hoped. By the time she returned home, she felt like she’d run a marathon. Garth and Buddy were just finishing up in the yard and putting away the lawn equipment.

  “What’s for dinner?” Buddy asked, as soon as Karen was out of the car. She hadn’t given dinner another thought since last night.

  “Hamburgers,” Garth answered on her behalf.

  Where was her head? Karen had just spent three hours at the grocery store and hadn’t even thought to run in and get something for dinner.

  “I didn’t take any burgers out of the freezer,” she confessed to her husband.

  “Not to worry, I did. It’s warm enough for me to light up the grill.”

  This initiative on his part was a change, and one she wasn’t about to question. “Perfect. Thanks, sweetheart.”

  While Lily ran into the house to change out of her Girl Scout uniform, Buddy jumped on his bike to join his friend James. Karen walked out to the street to collect the mail. As she returned to the house, walking up the driveway, she sorted through the catalogs and junk mail. She stopped abruptly when she saw a notice from the bank.