by Lynn Cahoon
“But he married her anyway.” Angie stated the obvious. “When did you last see him?”
“It’s been over thirty years now.” He set down the photo and looked out the window. “My wife, she kept in touch with them without letting me know. But I didn’t even tell him when she died. I only had an old address I found later in her things. I should have told him his mother died. I guess when he didn’t hear from her, he figured it out.”
Angie let the words settle. This was Randy’s story. He needed space to tell it.
“So now I’m an old man with a basketful of regrets at my feet. Can you help me fix this? Can you help me find my son?” Randy grabbed her hand and gently squeezed. “I’d ask Carol for help, but it’s complicated. I need to know if he’s alive. If he’s happy.”
“Of course.” Angie pulled a piece of paper and a pen out of her pocket. “Tell me his name and where he lived the last time you knew. And his birthdate.”
Randy gave her what he knew. Glancing at her watch, she saw she needed to get busy. “Sorry, dinner’s coming up and I’m in charge tonight. I’ll do some searching tonight and see what I can find.”
“One favor. Please don’t tell Carol. Like I said, she wouldn’t understand. It’s complicated.” He stood and moved toward the bed. “I’ve got another nap to take before dinner. It’s a tough job being this old.”
Angie smiled and motioned to Dom to follow her. When she reached the kitchen he whined and stood at the back door.
“I’ll get him,” Bleak said as she opened the door. “I need a bit of a walk myself. Do I need the leash?”
“Please. And take a poop bag too.” Angie washed her hands in the sink and laughed when Bleak wrinkled her nose. “Part of the fun of owning animals.”
“I know.” She grabbed the bag and tucked it in her shorts pocket, then clipped on Dom’s leash. “Come on, big boy, let’s go stretch our legs.”
Hope pulled a pan of cornbread out of the oven. “She loves dogs. They weren’t allowed to have pets at the compound. And she hasn’t brought it up to the Browns yet.”
“She only has one more year before she goes away to college. Can’t really take a dog to the dorms.” Angie cut a slice of the cornbread. She tasted it without butter or anything else. “Yum. This is really good. You guys did great.”
“Thanks. I love making cornbread to go with stews and soups in the fall. My mom will bake bread some weekends, but I like the ease that cornbread has. Not so labor intensive.” Hope cut a piece off and popped it into her mouth. “Bleak and I have been talking about renting a house in Boise maybe when she goes to school. She’ll be working and I think renting will be cheaper than living on campus. And the thought of living in the dorms, well, it kind of scares her. Too many people.”
Angie studied the young woman who’d started working for her as a dishwasher, the job Bleak took over when Hope moved to line chef. “Is that something you’d want?”
“I need to get out of the house. My folks are driving me crazy. Their house, their rules. You know the drill. And I like Bleak. We’d have fun together. I think Maggie’s going to be upset if she doesn’t try to rush a sorority, but she’s just not into the normal college life.” Hope looked around the kitchen. “How do you want to serve dinner?”
“Let’s dish out bowls of stew and put them on a plate with two squares of cornbread. Then we’ll put a generous pat of butter on the plate and more butter on the sideboard, just in case they want more. Do you think that will work?” Angie surveyed the room. “Then we can eat out on the deck or in the dining room.”
“Are you eating with Randy again?” Hope pulled out bowls from the cabinet and set them near the stove and the stewpot.
“Actually, I think I’ll ask Ian to sit with him. He might like to chat with a guy for a while rather than me.” Angie looked out the back screen door and saw the van pull up. “Besides, I’m going to be busy putting away groceries.”
Hope followed her gaze. “Cool, they’re back. I’m starving.”
“Let’s get the stew dished out and then we’ll eat. I’ll put away the perishables and come sit with you and Bleak.” Angie dished out the first bowl. “I’d like to hear more about this renting plan. Have you talked to Estebe? He might have a place for you that he’d let you rent.”
“Great idea.” Hope cut cornbread and set it on the plate, one square halfway on top of the other, resting on the plate. She put the butter on the left side of the bread and put a spoon and a butter knife on the plate. “How’s this?”
“Perfect. And easy to pick up and move.” She nodded to the two trays behind them. “Set up the trays with two meals and I’ll send Ian and Estebe in to eat with Kendrick and Randy. I think we’ll all take a turn with meal duties.”
“Sounds good to me.” Hope grinned as the men came into the kitchen, arms filled with grocery bags. “Welcome back. You’re just in time for dinner.”
“Good, because I’m starving.” Ian sniffed the air. “Your beef stew. I’m in heaven.”
“I’m glad you’re in a good mood because you and Estebe are taking trays in to the residents. They need someone to talk to who has the Y chromosome.” She pointed to the table near the inside wall. “Just set everything over there. I’ll get it put away as soon as I eat.”
Estebe held up a bag. “I’ll put the items that need to be refrigerated over here to the left of the table.”
“Perfect.” Angie nodded to Carol as she came into the kitchen. Her oversized tote was over one shoulder and she carried one grocery bag. “I bet you’re starving too, after having to deal with them at the store.”
“They were fine. Perfect gentlemen.” She noticed the filled bowls on the trays. “You’re giving the residents way too much to eat. Their tiny stomachs can’t eat two bowls full.”
“Actually, the extra bowls are for Estebe and Ian. They’re just getting the groceries inside, then they’ll take their food along with them.” Angie took the grocery bag from Carol and set it down on the table.
“I can’t have you all just popping in on them all the time. They need their privacy,” Carol protested.
“Men need other men to talk to,” Estebe said as he picked up one of the trays. “It’s the way of the world. We are here, we need each other’s counsel.”
Ian, Angie, and Carol watched as Estebe took the tray and headed toward Kendrick’s room. Ian shrugged and picked up the other tray. “There are only a few more bags in the van. Can you send Hope and Bleak out to get them?”
“I’ll get them.” Bleak came into the house and let Dom off his leash. “I dropped his present, bag and all, into the outside trashcan. I figured you didn’t want it in here.”
“I’ll help.” Hope started to take off the plastic gloves she’d been wearing to set up the cornbread.
“Stay here and finish the dinner service. It won’t take me more than two trips. I peeked in the back when I walked by.” Bleak headed back outside.
Ian leaned over and gave Angie a quick kiss. “Talk with you later, okay?”
“Sounds good.” Angie dished up another bowl of stew. “Are you ready to eat, Carol?”
Carol watched Ian until he disappeared into Randy’s room. Finally, she sighed and turned back toward the counter. “I can’t wait.”
Hope handed her a completed plate and Carol left the kitchen and headed to the other side of the house. Angie assumed her living area was on that side. She dished up another bowl of stew. “How many more do we need?”
“Six,” Hope said as she took the plate and put cornbread on it. “Five now. I get the feeling Carol’s not too happy with having us here.”
“She’s not hiding her feelings very well.” Angie dished up another bowl. “I wonder why she’s so insistent on us staying away from Randy and Kendrick?”
“That is the question, isn’t it?” Hope focused on setting the cornbread on
the plate just right.
Angie finished dishing out the bowls, then texted Felicia that dinner was ready. “I’m sitting outside to eat. What about you?”
“Sounds great.” Hope grabbed her plate and held the door open for Bleak to bring in the last of the bags.
“Except I forgot that I have to put away the perishables.” Angie sighed and set down her plate. She went over to the table and started pulling out the items that needed refrigeration. Hope and Bleak picked them off the table and put them in the fridge. Angie cocked her head, studying the girls. “I thought you two were going to eat?”
“I will as soon as you sit down too. Many hands make light work.” Hope smiled at her boss. “One of my mother’s favorite sayings. Along with Jesus helps those who help themselves.”
In just a few minutes, not only were the perishables put away, but so was all the food and even the paper products. Angie glanced around in pleasure. “Light work done.”
The girls grabbed their dinners and headed outside to the deck. Felicia, Matt, and Nancy came in from the garden with their arms loaded with a pile of peppers and some late-season tomatoes. Felicia motioned for them to put the haul on the sink. “Look what we found.”
“We’ll meal-plan them into tomorrow’s schedule.” Angie pointed to the kitchen. “Come out and sit and eat with me. I’ve sent your fiancé off to eat with Kendrick.”
“Sounds great. And I love it when you say fiancé. It sounds so French,” Felicia said before heading into the kitchen.
Angie ate some of the stew. It was perfect. Of course, a different version would have had some red wine, which would have given the stew a different flavor profile.
She heard Felicia sit next to her. “I can’t believe that garden. It’s huge. But it looks abandoned. Like someone just stopped taking care of it.”
“Carol doesn’t seem like the gardening type. Maybe someone else used to live here.” Angie leaned close and quietly told Felicia about her talk with Randy. “Can you help me do some research tonight?”
“Of course. We’ll hide in our room and work on the secret project. This is turning out to be more and more like camp.” Felicia tasted the cornbread. “This is so good, you don’t even need the butter. Good job.”
“Give the praise to Hope and Bleak. Those two are becoming quite good in the baking department.” Angie polished off one of her squares. “You might not need to be the pastry chef soon.”
“I like being the pastry chef.” Felicia grinned. “It gives me permission to taste-test all the desserts. But it wouldn’t be a bad idea to train a backup.”
“Especially since you’ll be gone for a month on your honeymoon next summer.” Angie watched the sun starting to set in the western sky. One day down and she already had a mystery to solve. Maybe Ian was right. She might just be attracted to these investigations like a fly to honey.
“I can’t believe I’m getting married next year. I always thought you would be first.” Felicia leaned into Angie, hitting Angie’s shoulder against her own. “Of course, I was praying Todd wouldn’t ask you. He was just along for the gravy train. He never would have been committed.”
“I don’t disagree. Todd was a mistake from day one.” Angie smiled at an old memory. One where Todd, Felicia, and she were tubing the Boise River. Todd had been fun. But when there was work to be done, he always had somewhere else to be. Kind of like a reverse Clark Kent and Superman.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that and actually mean it.” Felicia leaned back in her chair, looking up to the darkening sky. “It’s such a lovely night. I’m so glad Hope set this retreat up. Of course, we need to sit down together maybe tomorrow and talk about the plans for County Seat’s next year. I love thinking about all the possibilities.”
“You make it sound like the restaurant’s a living thing.” Angie laughed as she finished her cornbread. “I do think we should do more volunteer activities like this and the time we served at the homeless shelter.”
“I’m not sure I could get Estebe to agree to that. He’s still a little miffed at the way Taylor treated our relationship.” Felicia lifted up her left hand and stared at the engagement ring. Taylor and Felicia had been dating when the teambuilding outing had been at the homeless shelter Taylor ran. The relationship hadn’t lasted long, especially after Felicia realized she was more arm candy for the center’s fundraising events than girlfriend. “But maybe we could think about the food bank or the women’s shelter.”
“We could make our team outings a service project.” Angie was getting excited about the options.
“Some of the time. The crew needs fun too,” Felicia said.
Angie scoffed. “This isn’t fun?”
“You were cooking all day. To you, cooking is fun. The rest of us were scraping paint and cleaning out the garden. Which still needs some work tomorrow,” Felicia reminded her.
“Estebe said he wanted to be on the home projects, not cooking, but I guess I could switch out with Nancy or Matt.” Angie had already been planning tomorrow’s meals, but she could hand the kitchen over.
“Don’t look like that. I’m giving you crap. Nancy wants to be on the garden crew this week and Matt, he’s already started setting up the painting supplies to start tomorrow. The kitchen is yours. But you need to realize that the crew is really working hard.”
“Angie knows this,” Estebe said as he came out the kitchen door. “She is working hard to make delicious food for these war veterans. Kendrick said that the two meals she made was the best food he’s had in years.”
“That’s the kind of compliment that keeps me cooking.” She stood and picked up her plate. She reached for Felicia’s plate. “Are you done?”
“Yes. The stew was lovely.” Felicia glanced toward the kitchen. “Can I help you clean up?”
“I was hoping we could go for a walk down the road for a few minutes,” Estebe said, glancing at Angie. “We haven’t had a minute alone all day.”
“You’re such a romantic. Go ahead and take a walk. I’ve got a lot of people here who can help me wash dishes.” Angie watched as Estebe held out his hand to help Felicia up out of the chair. They were a great couple and were going to build an amazing family. She moved into the kitchen and started working. Matt, Hope, and Bleak dropped their plates off and started out the door. “Where are you off to?”
“There’s a pond down the road we want to check out. There’s fishing poles in the garage and Randy says he used to catch trout in the pond.” Matt grabbed a cookie off the plate on the counter. “I might just catch us enough for dinner tomorrow.”
“Fishing’s gross, but I’d love to see the pond. Maybe wade a bit in the water.” Bleak moved around Matt and took two cookies, giving one to Hope.
Hope glanced at the dishes. She didn’t follow the other two out of the house. “Do you need help with cleaning up from dinner?”
“No, you go ahead and have fun. I’ll get these. Besides, Nancy and Ian are still around.” Angie started stacking the plates and bowls.
“Actually, Nancy’s in her room. She said she needed to call her kids and make sure they were following the rules for her mom, who’s babysitting. I can stay and help.” Hope glanced around, realizing that the pool of possible helpers for Angie was dwindling with each word out of her mouth.
“No, go ahead and have fun. I can do dishes.” Angie waved a towel at Hope. “They’re going to leave without you.”
She shook her head. “No, they aren’t. I was the one who talked to Randy about the pond. I popped into his room this afternoon to chat a little. He reminds me of my grandfather. He’s in Oregon with my aunt, so I don’t get to see him much. Anyway, Bleak and Matt don’t know where it is so they have to wait for me. Thanks for cleaning up, Angie.”
“We all have our jobs.” Angie started the water and watched Hope glance around one more time, then she took off after
her friends.
“I thought she’d never leave.” Ian came in with the tray from Randy’s room. “Randy’s gone to bed and I’m reporting for kitchen duty.”
“Are you sure you know the drill?” Angie took the plates from the tray.
He put the bowls by the others and then took a washcloth and soaked it in the soapy water. “I do. I was a professional dishwasher once. Well, for about a week, but nothing seems to have changed. Besides, we need to talk.”
“Why, is something wrong with Randy?” Angie studied Ian’s face as she put the silverware in the soapy water.
“No, but the pastor of Hope’s church got a call from Carol about an hour ago. She told him that we weren’t working out.” Ian cleaned the other tray. “Angie, she wants us to leave the center.”
Chapter 4
“What are you talking about? We’re only scheduled here for three more days and the house isn’t even painted yet.” Angie dropped the plates into the sink and started washing them. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know. And the pastor said we should stay here. He was just letting me know there’s a bit of controversy going on. He talked her down. I guess he works with the social worker who’s been assigned to the center from the state. If Carol doesn’t let us help get this place up to code, she’s going to lose her license and Randy and Kendrick will be moved to other places. Maybe that would be for the best, but I think something else is going on that Carol’s afraid we’ll find out.”
“Why does she only have two residents?” Angie dropped her voice as she glanced around the kitchen. It wouldn’t do for Carol to walk in on their conversation. “Do you know?”
“There were three, but one of the men died a month ago. The county sheriff called it old age, but the social worker was suspicious. She’s asked for an autopsy, but since he’s already been buried and had no relatives, she has to get a court order.”
