Her eyes widened. “Baby?”
“Yep. What do you think, Becs?” he asked her.
Becca hugged the box in a death grip.
“Say thank you, sweetie,” I said.
Becca stared at Boner, her fingers whitening over the box. “Ank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He tilted his head at me. “Done now.”
He took us home and brought the bags into the kitchen.
Boner stared out the window. “This backyard needs a lot of work.”
“Rae used to have this kid from down the block take care of it, but his family moved, and no one else is interested in helping out. Landscapers are a little expensive for her right now, with the doctor bills and all that.”
“You ain’t doing it either.”
“No, no. I was going to put an ad in the local gazette and ask around. I just haven’t gotten to it yet. Oops.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“You’re going to do it?”
“No, I’ll have one of the prospects take care of it.”
“Are you sure? I mean—”
He faced me, his body brushing mine, as we stood at the kitchen window together. “What do you mean?”
His cinnamon breath from the gum he’d been chewing fanned my face, and prickles went up my neck at the dark shadow crossing the angles of his cheekbones and jaw.
“I mean, I’m sure your prospects must have more important club things to do than mow a local lady’s lawn and weed her property.”
“On top of the fact that Rae is good people and a solid part of our community, you’re living here, too, and you’re good people and a part of our community now.”
“So, it’s a good PR move for the club then?”
“PR?” His eyes narrowed, as if I’d said something unintelligible, and I instantly regretted it. “You mean, my boys get seen out here, raking and clipping while wearing their colors, doing a thorough job. Then, the neighbors see Rae’s terrific new garden and ask her about it, and Rae sings our praises to the locals. Nothing better than that kind of word of mouth. That kind of PR?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I wasn’t thinking of the PR, Jill. If I know that Becca has a clean garden to play in, I’m going to feel good, knowing that she’s happy and that her grandma’s happy out there, in the clean garden, watching her granddaughter enjoy it all, and—”
My eyes bugged out of my head. “There’s more?”
His hands went to his hips. “It takes one thing off your to-do list, which will lighten your load and make you happy, and then you’ll be able to enjoy your daughter enjoying her grandmother’s garden. That’s why I’m taking care of it.”
Something fluttered in my chest, and I tore my gaze away from his green eyes that were literally sparkling in the sunlight filling the kitchen.
“Well.” I chewed on my lip. “That’s a hell of a lot of happy.”
“LET’S HEAR IT for the dark-haired princesses. Right, Becca?” I clapped my hands, and Becca clapped with me. “Thank you for getting her the DVD, Rae. We love Snow White.”
“My pleasure, honey. We’re going to start her off with the classics. Cinderella will be next on our list.”
I turned to Becca. “Oh, Cinderella! I love Cinderella.”
Becca’s gaze jumped from me to her grandmother and back again. She clomped over to Rae, who sat in her electric lounge chair, and climbed onto her lap. My heart squeezed. I was so grateful that she had a grandmother whose lap she could climb onto, a grandmother who watched classic movies with her, told her stories, fed her, held her, laughed with her, shared her home with her and her mother.
Every day, I thanked God that I had landed in Meager, South Dakota. After Catch’s sister, Tania, and her friend Grace had saved my daughter from a kidnapper in Nebraska, I had left with them and come to Meager where they lived. Tania had offered me room and board and pay to look after her mom and her house now that Rae was ill. It was a temporary solution that was working out great for all of us.
Catch and his family were estranged, so it was kind of ironic that I, his ex-girlfriend, was now a part of his family. I truly liked being a member of their circle. His mom, Rae, was an outspoken and smart woman, Tania was the same with a vein of humor and sass I really enjoyed, and his eldest sister, Penny, was a married mom to two boys, no-nonsense and practical to the core.
Tania and Grace had ended up saving my daughter from Creeper, a renegade One-Eyed Jack, and Grace and I had finally met by that stroke of fate. Her first husband, Dig, had saved my life by killing the man who had kidnapped me when I was fifteen. A week later, Dig had been shot and killed by my captor’s brother, in revenge for that act of salvation. Since Grace was unable to have her own kids, I had offered to carry her and her new husband’s baby.
I was thrilled to be a part of their new start. It had been a new start for me, too, a huge positive. It was giving back with gratitude, coming full circle.