“I’d love for Austin to hang around with me and Queenie today,” Kerry said quickly. “I could use the extra help.”
“See, Mom?” Austin said, beaming. “I told you they needed me here.”
“All right then,” Gretchen said, consulting a slim gold watch on her wrist. “I’ve got a car picking me up in ten minutes.” She reached into her tote and thrust a quilted red Spider-Man lunch box at Kerry. “Here’s his lunch, and some fruit for a snack. No telling how long my meeting will be. Hopefully, his father can come this afternoon and…”
A black town car glided to the curb and the driver blinked the headlights. “Oh no. He’s early. I really do have to go.”
She leaned down and kissed the top of her son’s head. “Bye, love.”
* * *
Kerry and Austin looked at each other. She liked kids and was certainly fond of this particular kid, but she’d never actually been in charge of a small human before. Unlike most teenagers, she’d never done any babysitting, and most of her friends back in North Carolina were either single or still childless.
They turned to see Murphy standing in Spammy’s doorway. His hair stood on end and he was dressed in thermal long johns, his preferred sleeping attire.
“You’re up early,” Kerry drawled.
“Mom just called,” he said, keeping his voice low. “Dad had to go back in the hospital.”
Kerry stared. “How bad is it?”
“Not that bad,” he said. “He was refusing to eat right, got dehydrated, and because nobody can tell the great and mighty Jock Tolliver there’s anything he can’t do, he decided last night would be an excellent time to go out and chop some firewood.”
Kerry closed her eyes and groaned.
“He passed out, hit his head on a tree stump. Mom called the ambulance, and they took him to the hospital. He’s got a gash on his forehead, they gave him some stitches, and they’re keeping him for observation, giving him IV fluids and running some tests.”
“Thank God it’s not worse,” Kerry said. Her heart was racing. “Maybe we should close up shop and go home—”
“No way,” he said, cutting her off. “Mom won’t hear of it. She knows we need to sell these trees to get back in the black. And she swears she’s got it under control.”
“Really? She’s gonna stop Jock from being Jock? She couldn’t do it while they were married, so how’s she gonna manage it now?”
Murphy’s expression was grim. “I’m gonna stop him. I called him up just now, cussed him out and called him every name in the book.”
“So? The two of you fuss at each other like that all the time.”
“This time is different. I told him if he don’t do exactly what Mom and the doctors say, I’m out. I’ll get a job with the Forestry Service, get my own place.”
She studied her brother’s face. “You’d do that?”
“In a heartbeat. That old man is so stuck in his ways. I go to all these agribusiness seminars the state puts on, take classes at the university, but every time I try to do something different on the farm than the way him and Granddad have always done it, he shuts me down. I’m nearly forty years old. He’s gotta start treating me like a man, listen to some of my ideas.”
Murphy ran a hand through his unruly hair. “I need to get dressed.”
She reached out and touched his elbow. “You still haven’t told me what Dad said to that.”
He laughed sheepishly. “I guess I finally got through to him. He bawled like a baby, begged me not to move on. He promised to listen to Mom, really quit smoking, and do exactly what the docs said.”
“I’m glad,” Kerry said. “You don’t really want to leave the farm, do you?”
“Nah,” he admitted. “Last thing I want. But I will if I have to.”
* * *
Vic rode up on his bike while Murphy was getting dressed.
“Who’s the little kid?” he asked, jerking his thumb in Austin’s direction.
“That’s Austin. He lives in the neighborhood and he’s gonna hang out here today and give us a hand. He can be your helper. Right after he walks Queenie for me.”
Murphy emerged from the trailer and headed off, without a word, in the direction of Anna’s. He came back with two large cups of coffee, handed one to Kerry, and sat down.
A moment later, he went back to the trailer and came out with his notebook. He thumbed through the pages, sipped his coffee, and shook his head. “This ain’t good.”
“The coffee? Mine was great.”
“No, dummy. The tree sales.”
“It’s picking up,” Kerry said. “I sold ten trees yesterday, and you sold how many overnight?”
“Eight. But it ain’t enough. We’re way behind our usual numbers. And we have those idiots across the street to thank for it.”
“I’ll think of something,” Kerry said. “But I need to run back to the flower market to buy more lights for my decorating job tonight.”
“Huh?”
“I sold a couple trees to this mother and daughter yesterday, and they asked if I could put lights on their trees the way I did ours. So I said yes. Vic delivered their trees, and this evening, I’m going to go over and hang the lights.”
“You getting paid for that?”
“As you pointed out, this is the city. Nobody does anything for free. I’m charging them seventy-five an hour with a two-hour minimum, and they didn’t bat an eye.”
“That’s crazy,” he declared.
chapter 23
Kerry opened her laptop to check her email. She’d posted her contact information in an online forum for freelance designers, hoping to snag a new account, but her in-box was depressingly empty.
She’d invoiced another client before leaving town, but there was no reply. Since she was living rent-free with Birdie, things weren’t dire yet, but they would be soon if she didn’t line up more work.
“Okay, Austin,” Kerry said, setting her laptop aside and opening the sketchbook. “Where were we?”
“In the forest of Christmas trees,” Austin prompted. “And the birds and squirrels were my friends.”
On impulse, she added a large, elaborate wrought-iron gate to the drawing she’d made previously, with a leafy vine curling around it. Trees and bushes crowded up against the other side of the gate.
“What’s that?” Austin asked.
“I was thinking, it’s the gate to a magical, mysterious forest kingdom, right in the middle of the city.”
“But it should be a secret forest. That nobody else knows about but me. And I have the key.”
“I like it,” Kerry said.
“You like what?”
Patrick smiled down at them. He was carrying two foam carry-out cups. “Who wants hot chocolate?”
“Me!” Austin said, eagerly grabbing one of the cups. “Dad, what are you doing here?”
“Your mom called and asked me to come pick you up.”
“I can’t leave yet. Me and Kerry are working on our story.”