He pulled off his leather work gloves and shoved them into his back pocket. “I’m serious. This is…”
He let the sentence trail away and Emma rolled her eyes. “Not women’s work?”
“I was going to say it’s pretty demanding, physically.”
“It takes me a little longer than it would a man, but I chip away at it. And sometimes I’ll pay Joey and Danny to give me a hand.”
“So Mike and Lisa’s kids know you pretty well, then?”
“Yeah. If I didn’t have you today, I probably would have brought all four boys. Brian and Bobby can spread mulch and stone and they make a few bucks under the table. It usually takes me longer to fix what they did than to do it myself, but they get jealous if it’s only the older two all the time.”
“Do you think they can really handle a secret like this?”
Emma sighed and leaned on her shovel. “I don’t know. I hope so.”
It was a two-part plan, though shaky at best. Part one was to keep the kids away from Cat Shaw as much as possible. Part two of the plan was to make it a game. With prizes. Terry’s daughter, Stephanie, and Lisa’s four boys had been given the backstory and issued the challenge. All children who didn’t blow the secret would earn cash and video-game time at the end of the month, with hefty bonuses going to teens who helped coach the younger kids.
From what Sean said, it was surprising Mrs. Kowalski’s head hadn’t exploded, but she seemed reluctantly willing to comply. For now.
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what your family’s doing for me,” she said, pulling her gloves back on. “I know they must think I’m crazy.”
“A little.” But he smiled, which kept her from focusing too much on his words. “But they’re trying.”
Because he’d asked them to, she thought. And she knew it wasn’t just a matter of asking them to. He’d probably had to fight for their cooperation, trying to convince them to go along with something he himself wasn’t sure about. Or hadn’t been sure about.
There had been another sticky note on her bathroom mirror that morning. I think you’re doing the right thing.
It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to get her through one more day. And, assuming Gram didn’t come home from town demanding answers, another after that.
Cat took her time wandering down the main street of town, enjoying a perfect New England early summer day.
She had some old friends to look up and a few groceries and other things to buy, but for now she just walked. Walking helped clear her mind, a state she hadn’t achieved since arriving back in New Hampshire.
Something just wasn’t quite right about Emma and Sean’s relationship. She’d felt it in the airport and the feeling had only grown stronger after living under the same roof with them for a few days.
At first she’d tried to excuse away Emma’s reaction to Sean’s touches as the embarrassment a well-raised young woman would feel about public displays of affection in front of one’s grandmother. But really, it was so obvious to her they hadn’t been dating for the last year, never mind living together, that she wondered if she should be offended by their drastic underestimation of her intelligence.
What she couldn’t wrap her head around was the why of it.
A banner advertising a going-out-of-business sale caught her eye and she stopped on the sidewalk. Walker Hardware had been selling household, gardening, animal and building supplies since Isaiah Walker first hung out the sign in 1879, and Russell Walker had been the guy behind the counter since 1983 when his father had passed away. Actually, he’d been behind the counter helping his dad since he was barely tall enough to see over it, and she couldn’t imagine how hard losing the store would be for him.
He’d lost his wife about six years before. Flo Walker had a heart attack hanging out the laundry and she’d lain in the grass until she didn’t show up for knitting club. A friend had called the house and then Russell. He’d called out the rescue squad, but he’d beat them there only to find she was already gone. Cat had only had a passing acquaintance with Flo, who was originally from Connecticut, but she’d gone to school with Russell. They’d never been chummy, but they’d known each other their entire lives.
She walked up the wooden steps and smiled as the familiar bell jangled to announce her entrance. No annoying buzzers for Walker Hardware.
Russell was behind the counter, studying a newspaper through reading glasses perched on the end of his nose, but he looked up when the bell sounded. He took the glasses off as a smile warmed his face, which was still handsome under a full head of silvery hair.
“Cat! I heard you were coming home for a visit.” He rose to his feet and closed the newspaper with a snap. “Florida obviously agrees with you.”