Hope threw the towel at him. “What a thing to say!”
“It happens.”
“You should know.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Now she turned away from him and went into the kitchen. Or what once had been the kitchen. Would it ever be a kitchen again?
“Seriously, Hope, what did that little comment mean just now?”
“What comment?” she looked innocently at him.
“That I should know. Are you suggesting that I’m not the father of both of my kids?”
“No, not at all.” She held up her hands and stepped away from him, bumping into the wall where the refrigerator used to stand. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?” He moved closer, putting his face near hers. Not in a threatening way. But not in a comfortable way either.
“Nothing, Drew. I meant nothing.”
He sighed and stepped back. “You know, Hope, it’s long overdue, but I would like to apologize to you.”
“What for?”
“You know what for.”
“No, I do not.”
“Fine. I’d like to apologize for dating Cherry after you broke up with me.”
“Why should you apologize for that?”
“According to some people, it wasn’t my smartest move.”
“What people?”
“Oh, my mom, for one thing. I remember she threw a hissy fit when I started dating Cherry.”
“But I thought she liked Cherry.”
“She did. But she did not like the idea of me going from one sister to the next.”
“She probably could see the writing on the wall.” Hope wasn’t so sure she wanted to continue this conversation.
“And what do you think the writing said?”
“That you were going to come between two sisters. Seems pretty obvious to me.” Hope glanced around the strange-looking room that once was a kitchen. She wondered what Nona would think if she could see it now…if she could see Hope talking to Drew. Surely this hadn’t been part of her plan.
“It might seem obvious now. But not back then, not when I was only nineteen and thought I had the world by the tail.” He shook his head in a disappointed way.
“So why did you start dating Cherry?” Hope couldn’t believe she actually said that. But then, there it was—out just hanging in the air. No taking it back.
“You want to know the truth?” He leaned back against the wall where the stove used to stand, crossing one leg over the other the way an old cowboy sometimes would do.
“Do you think I deserve to know the truth?” Hope thought this was his chance to end this conversation, make a run for it, pretend they’d never spoken.
He simply nodded.
“Then I think I can handle the truth.”
“Okay then, I’ll tell you. I started dating Cherry to make you jealous.”
Suddenly Hope wasn’t so sure she wanted to know the truth. This wasn’t what she’d expected to hear. She figured Drew had gone after Cherry because, well, because Cherry was Cherry. They were in deep waters now, waters she hadn’t really meant to jump into.
“Cherry made it easy enough for me. She thought I was all that—I could see it in her eyes. And she was always chasing after me, flirting and turning on the charm. You know how she can be.”
“I know.”
“And I’ll admit it felt good…after being dumped by you.”
Hope looked down at the old scarred wood planks on the floor.
“Going after Cherry just seemed like an easy way to get back at you. I wanted to hurt you like you hurt me.” He let out a dismal sigh. “I really am sorry about that, Hope.”
“I’m sorry, too.”
“Kids can be so stupid. And selfish.”
“But did you love Cherry? Do you love her now?” For some reason this was important to Hope. Despite everything, and despite some of her feelings toward her little sister, she wanted Drew to love Cherry—or at least to have loved her once.
Drew leaned down and brushed the dust off his jeans as if it were the most important thing in the world.
“Okay, you don’t have to answer that.”
“You know why we got married, don’t you?” He looked back up with curious eyes.
“You mean because she was pregnant?” At least Hope hadn’t revealed her source; she didn’t say how she knew. She had kept her promise to Avery.
He just nodded.
“But then you stayed together,” she said hopefully. “So you guys must’ve loved each other, right?”
He kind of shrugged. “Love’s a funny thing, Hope.”
“I guess—but how do you mean?”
“Seems that one person always loves more. And that’s always the person who gets hurt most.” Then Drew stood up straight, tipped his hat, and walked out of the house. And for no reason she could explain to herself or fully understand, Hope began to cry.
Chapter Sixteen
Hope didn’t know how Monroe could sleep through the noise of Brian putting down the fir floor this morning. Brian had started in the kitchen around eight, but the noise of his nail gun was like being in the middle of a shooting range. Consequently, Hope had taken Andy outside and was now painting the backside of the house, where Lewis had done all the prep work. She could see how much smoother the paint was going on, thanks to his efforts, but it was slow going working alone. And she wondered where Avery was—probably sleeping in like Monroe. She was trying not to think about her strange conversation with Drew last night. In some ways, it was surreal, and she wondered if it had really happened at all.
At a little before eleven, she put Andy, along with his food and water, into her bedroom. Then she went over to meet Brian’s cabinet-making friend Rick. The plan was to pick out cabinets, but when she started looking at all the photos and samples and choices of styles, she began to feel overwhelmed.
“Rick does this to everyone,” his wife, Cathy, told Hope while Rick was on the phone. “He’s made so many cabinets over the past thirty years that he’s pretty much done it all.”
“I’ll say.” Hope closed one of the notebooks.
“Here’s what you do,” Cathy said quietly. “Just close your eyes and imagine what you’d like to see in your kitchen. Tell me about it, and I’ll take notes.”
Hope closed her eyes and thought. “Really, all I want are some painted cabinets that look like they’re from the forties. Nothing fancy. But not too plain either. And more storage would be nice because it is a small kitchen. But I’m not exactly a gourmet cook, so I really don’t need all the bells and whistles. And the appliances I picked out are pretty basic.”
“How about these?”
Hope opened her eyes to a page that had been torn from a magazine. It was an old-fashioned–looking kitchen with creamy white cabinets, simple lines, but interesting, and they had what looked like antique-glass cut knobs in a pale shade of green. “Yes,” Hope said happily. “Those cabinets would be perfect. Can Rick do that?”
Cathy laughed. “Rick can do anything.”
“Well, thank you,” Rick said as he rejoined them.
“I found this photo in Cottage Living,” Cathy explained. “And Hope decided she’d like cabinets like this.”
He put on his glasses to study the picture. “Not a problem.”
“Now as for the configuration.” Cathy had a piece of graph paper where she’d already sketched in the dimensions of the kitchen based on Brian’s measurements. She even had the windows and doors and appliances sketched in as well. And based on her suggestions, it wasn’t long until they had it completely worked out, including the hardware, which would be the glass cut knobs that Cathy would special order, and the apron sink, also a special order. “But we can get it through our plumber here in town,” Cathy told her. “In fact, while we’re at this, do you plan on having anything done in your bathroom?”
So Hope explained that it, too, was pretty much gutted. “I thought I’d
go with a pedestal sink in there. It might look more old-fashioned.”
Cathy nodded. “Old-fashioned, yes, but not much storage there.” Then she showed Hope some photos of old-fashioned-looking vanities as well as medicine cabinets that Rick had built, and Hope had to agree they looked perfect.
“Rick can get the bathroom measurements from Brian, and I can order the sink to go with that vanity while I’m ordering the kitchen sink. Do you want me to order anything else while I’m at it?”
Hope grinned. “A toilet would be nice.”
Cathy made note of this. “And I assume you want one that doesn’t look too modern.”
“Absolutely. And I saved my grandmother’s claw-foot tub so I won’t need to replace that.”
“You’ll save some money there. But what about the faucet? Do you plan to use it as a shower, too?”
So Hope described the small shower that she wanted to get retiled and how she wanted old-fashioned faucets, too. “But in silver tones instead of brass.”
Cathy pulled a catalogue out of a drawer and handed it to her. “Why don’t you take a look at these? See if there’s something in there that works for you then let me know so I can order them, too, okay?”
“You’re really good at this,” Hope told Cathy as she was getting ready to leave. “Thanks for all the help.”
“She’s my right-hand man—I mean woman.” Rick winked at his wife. “I couldn’t do this without her.”
“And what about your countertops and backsplash?” Cathy asked just as Hope thought it was time to go.
“I like what they did in that photo.” Hope picked it up to look more closely. “What exactly is that material? Marble?”
“It could be unpolished marble or soapstone. If it were me, I’d go with soapstone.”
“Soapstone it will be, then. For both the kitchen and the bath vanity.” Hope pointed to the pale green tiles on the backsplash. “Those look like glass.”
“That’d be my guess, too.”
“Then that’s what I’ll have in the kitchen. Brian gave me the name of a tile company, and I need to pick out the bathroom tile, too.”
“And we know a good tile guy. He’s the same one Brian usually uses.”
Hope thanked the couple and left. As she drove back home, she felt like things were really coming together. Oh, her house might look like a wreck right now…but in time. Monroe was up when she got back, sitting on the front porch with Andy and wearing an unhappy expression.
“What’s up?” she asked as she approached them. Andy bounded happily to her and she picked him up, scratching his ears the way he liked.
“Nothing.” Monroe looked down at his shoes.
“Did the nail gun finally get to you?”
“No. My mom’s what got to me.”
“Your mom?”
He nodded. “She called a little bit ago and said she’s on her way over here to pick me up.”
“Oh…” Hope sat down on the step next to him.
“Do I have to go with her?”
She considered this. From a legal perspective, he probably did. “Have you spoken to your dad yet?”
“Not yet.”
Hope pulled her cell phone out of her bag. “Why don’t you call him? Get his take on this.”
“Thanks.” Monroe took her phone and started to dial. And she decided to give him his privacy by checking on Brian’s progress in the house since it was quiet now.
“Wow.” She found Brian just going out the back door. “You got a lot of floor down in there.”
He nodded. “The kitchen’s almost done. I’m going out to grab some lunch.” He grinned. “Want to join me?”
“I would, but I think I need to stick around for my nephew’s sake.” She nodded toward the front yard. “Family problems.”
“I wondered about that…heard him talking to what I’m guessing was his mom on the phone. It wasn’t a happy conversation.”
“No, probably not.” Hope frowned down at the kitchen floor. While it was nice to see it getting done, it didn’t look nearly as good as she’d expected.
“After it’s all down, I’ll go over it with a sander and a sealer,” he explained as if guessing her thoughts. “And then it’ll look like a million bucks.”
“Oh.” She nodded. “I was wondering.”
“See ya then.” He tipped his ball cap and headed for his truck, and she went to check on Monroe.
“Dad wants me to come home,” Monroe said as he handed her back her phone.
“Do you want to go home?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Do you want to stay with your mom?”
Now he frowned. “Not really. I mean I told her she needs to see a shrink and she went ballistic on me.”
Hope could imagine that. “It’s okay if you stay here,” she told him. “But, as you can see, it’s going to be a mess for a while. And the bathroom facilities…well, you know how that goes.”
He kind of laughed. “Hey, I’d rather be living in a mess like this and using an outdoor toilet than stuck with my nutty mom.”
“Uh, speaking of your mom…” Hope nodded to where Faye’s Toyota was rolling down the street toward them.
Monroe swore, then tossing a worried look at Hope, apologized.
“How about if I talk to her first,” Hope suggested.
He nodded and, grabbing up Andy, retreated to the house. Meanwhile, Hope braced herself. Taking in a deep breath, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her Wranglers and waited as Faye got out of her car. Faye looked bedraggled and frazzled and like she hadn’t washed her hair in days.
“Where’s my son?” she asked in a flat voice.
“Inside.” Hope smiled. “Could I talk to you?”
“Go ahead and talk.” Faye stood on the path, halfway to the house, crossing her arms across her front with a stubborn expression.
“Monroe called his father.”
“And?”
“And Jeff wants him to come home.”
“So.”
“So, maybe it would be good for Monroe to go and stay with him—”
“Look, Hope, I know you think you’re being helpful. But the truth is you don’t really understand the situation.”
Hope pressed her lips together and nodded. “Maybe not completely.”
“That’s right. And you really don’t know what’s best for my son.”
“But I just thought maybe you two could use a little time apart. You know, so you could focus on getting your condo together and Monroe can have some time to adjust to the idea without being thrown into the middle of—”
“The middle of what?” Faye took a step closer. “Do you think I’m crazy, too? Because Monroe somehow got that idea in his head…suggesting I need to see a shrink. Are you the one who—”
“No, I didn’t plant that in his head. But I don’t think it’s a bad idea to see a counselor. You know that. I already told you that.”
“And now you got my son singing the same tune.” Faye narrowed her eyes. “Really, Hope, I don’t see how you think you can come waltzing back into our lives and expect to take over and tell us all what to do and how to live and—”
“I’m not. All I’m saying is Monroe is having a hard time dealing with—”
“And you think I’m not having a hard time?”
“I know you are, Faye. All I have to do is look at you and I can see you’re in pain. But what you don’t seem to realize is that you’re dragging everyone else into it with you.”
“So you’re telling me it would be better for Monroe to go home with his dad?” Faye was angry now. Like the mountain about to blow, Hope could hear it in her sister’s voice, and she knew she better tread carefully.
“I don’t know if that’s the best thing, Faye. But I—”
“Because if you think a fourteen-year-old boy with absolutely no supervision and with nothing but time on his hands for a whole summer as well as dozens of ways to get into trouble—maybe even
serious trouble—is a good idea, I’d have to say you’re the one who needs to get her head examined.”
“Maybe he could stay here,” Hope suggested. “Just for a—”
“Here?” Faye looked over to the Porta-potty then pushed past Hope and into the house. “Well, now this is a pretty sight, Hope. You’re tearing Nona’s house to shreds.” She pointed to the kitchen. “You don’t even have a refrigerator or a sink.” Now she went in to the bathroom and just laughed. “You’re inviting Monroe to stay in this—”
“I’d rather stay here than with you!” Monroe emerged from the spare room, where Hope was pretty sure he’d been listening to everything. “At least Aunt Hope’s not nuts. And she understands—”
“Go get in the car, Monroe.” Faye’s voice was even now. But cold.
“I’m not a little kid, Mom. You can’t make me. Dad said I can come home—”
“Get in the car! Now!”
“I’m not going with you, Mom. And here’s a little news flash.” Monroe narrowed his eyes. “Jody and Aaron are tired of us staying with them. They won’t tell you because they’re too nice. But I’ll tell you—and I’m not going back there. And if you won’t let me stay here with Aunt Hope, I’ll go home to be with Dad.”
Faye turned to Hope with fury in her eyes. “I hope you’re happy now.”
Hope didn’t know what to say or do. She was clearly over her head. Why had she thought this would work?
“It’s not her fault,” Monroe told his mom.
“You need help, Faye.” Hope tried to keep her voice quiet. “You’re not yourself. You’re—”
“Quit telling me what I am and what I am not!” Faye shook her fist at Hope. “I am Monroe’s mother. You are not! But since you’ve already brainwashed him, you go ahead and deal with him. And you will be the one to blame when he winds up in juvenile detention or worse.”
“Oh, Mom!” Monroe turned away in disgust.
“I’ll take care of Monroe.” Hope watched her sister storm out. “But, please, Faye, take care of yourself.”
Faye shook her fist and swore.
Hope sadly shook her head and closed the door. “North Sister has just erupted.”
Love Finds You in Sisters, Oregon Page 15
