A Family's Hope: A Sweet Romance (Love in Millars Crossing Book 3)

by Carolyne Aarsen

  Janie counted out one twenty and two fives.

  As Luke pocketed the money, he looked down at the deck. “You might want to have this looked at as well,” he said, pointing with the toe of his heavy work boot at a rotting board.

  “I look at it enough,” Janie said, with a feeble laugh. “But thanks again for your help.”

  “No problem.” He gathered his tools and walked back toward the fence.

  When he was on the other side, he looked back at the house, but she was already inside her house. Safe and cozy with her family.

  At least he had Cooper, he thought, bringing the ladder back to the house. The dog was a poor conversationalist but a faithful friend.

  He untied Cooper and the dog ran back to the fence as if hoping to find the kids. Once again, he planted his paws on the fence, and Luke watched with a sense of inevitability as the fence gave way and Cooper fell with it.

  “Cooper. Come here,” he called, running over to catch the dog before he jumped into Janie’s yard.

  He’d just earned some major brownie points with his neighbor. He certainly didn’t want the dog to jeopardize that.

  Cooper ran back to him and danced around him, eager to play. Luke felt bad because the poor dog had been tied up again.

  Luke picked up a wooden stake and tossed it across the yard. Cooper launched himself after it, his long legs scrabbling for purchase on the ground. He picked it up and ran back dropping it at Luke’s feet.

  They kept it up for a few minutes; though Cooper could have gone on until he dropped, Luke was hungry.

  He straightened and sent one last look toward the house. He saw two faces looking out from one of the windows of the house. Todd and Autumn.

  Todd was smiling, and to Luke’s surprise, Autumn was as well.

  He waved and the kids waved back. When Cooper came back to him with the stick, he saw Autumn point at them both, then laugh.

  It bothered him that this little girl appeared so afraid of his dog. Cooper had such a good heart and he sensed, given the chance, she might appreciate him as well.

  And then he had an idea.

  Chapter Four

  Carry the two and add four and no matter how she worked it, her amazing plan would require a lot of work. And cash input.

  Janie pushed her hands through her hair, wishing away the number on the computer screen of her laptop. She had to have punched something in wrong.

  With a sigh, she started checking her figures, fully aware of the ticking clock. She only had a few more minutes before she had to take Suzie to dance practice. But she had to get this right before she brought it to Mr. Chernowyk. She was counting on this audacious plan to shift her financial circumstances.

  “Mom. Company.”

  Janie’s heart sunk as she pulled her attention away from the blinking cursor on the computer screen. She simply did not have time for company.

  “Who is it, Todd?” she called back.

  “The dog man is here. Luke.”

  Luke? What in the world could he want now?

  As Janie walked out of the kitchen, she picked up a book Todd had left on the steps and set it on a side table.

  The front door was open and silhouetted against the light from the outside, was Luke, aka the dog man, holding something in his hands.

  “Is Cooper with you?” Todd asked him.

  “He’s tied up on your front deck.”

  “Can I go pet him?”

  Luke glanced at Janie. “Is it okay?”

  Janie tried to mentally shift gears, almost feeling a grinding sound in her head. Her mind still back in the debits and credits columns of her bookkeeping program, but when she saw Luke, standing in the doorway of her house, she felt a tremor of anticipation.

  “Sorry, Todd. You need to change. We have to leave in a few minutes.” She hoped Luke would get the hint and realize that she had another schedule to keep.

  “But Mom, my clothes are still clean.”

  Janie raised one eyebrow in his direction. Todd sighed but thankfully did as he was told. Todd was her little trouper. Always obedient, always doing what he was supposed to do. Which balanced out the challenges she was having with Suzie.

  Through the thin ceiling, she heard Suzie’s feet storming around above her. When Janie came back from the coffee shop, she was the happy recipient of Suzie’s foul mood. Her daughter had accused her mother of causing everything evil in her life up until now and possibly including global warming and murder hornets. She didn’t want to go to dance practice tonight.

  In fact, she didn’t want to do anything but hibernate in her room, her stereo blasting while she complained on the phone to her friends about her horrible mother who wouldn’t let her get private Internet access and her own computer.

  She turned her attention back to Luke.

  “I brought you a peace offering,” he said, holding up a pot of brightly colored and unusual looking flowers. “The lady at the greenhouse, Katrina said they were some kind of new and improved be-something or other.” Luke continued. “Of course, she could tell me anything. I know squat about flowers.”

  “Begonia, I’m guessing,” Janie said. She was about to protest the gift, but he handed it to her and she had no choice but to take it. The yellow-hooded blooms didn’t look familiar. Katrina at the greenhouse must have received a new shipment.

  “I replaced the pots at the end of the sidewalk as well. I know they’re not original and rare or anything like that, but I thought they looked like the ones you had.”

  “You didn’t have to do that,” she protested.

  “Oh, yes, I did. Have you seen those plants? There wasn’t much left to them.”

  “I was going to replace them,” she said.

  “Now you don’t have to. I said I was going to replace them, so I did. Katrina, the greenhouse lady gave me some instructions on what to do with them, but I forgot. I figured you, with your green thumb, would know. Plus she said she knew who you were and that you could always ask her.”

  “But I can’t pay you back.”

  “Don’t even think about that. It was my dog that wrecked them.”

  While he spoke, Autumn came thumping down the stairs on her behind, dragging her bear.

  Janie glanced over her shoulder, suddenly concerned. Would she cry when she saw Luke again?

  Autumn blinked and hugged her teddy bear, her eyes going past him as if to check to see if his lunatic pooch was anywhere in the vicinity.

  To Janie’s surprise, Luke slowly squatted, his knees cracking. “Hey there, Autumn. How are you?” he said.

  Autumn stared at him, then she carefully smiled. “I’m good. How are you?”

  “I’m fine. What’s your teddy bear’s name?”

  Autumn hugged her bear tighter. “Berry Bear. I had him since I was little. Where’s your dog?” she asked, a hint of fear in her voice.

  At her question, Luke pushed himself to his feet, his expression growing serious as he turned to Janie.

  “I want to run this past you, but it really bugs me that your girl is so afraid of dogs. I was wondering if I could try something.”

  Cooper barked, and Autumn jumped again.

  “Can you take her outside?” Luke asked Janie. “I’d like her to get to know my dog, Cooper.”

  Janie frowned. “I’m not sure about this.”

  “I’ll be very careful. And if you sense that she’s even the slightest bit afraid, me and Cooper will leave.”

  Janie sighed, glancing at her daughter who was leaning against her. She didn’t like Autumns fear of dogs either but wasn’t sure how to go about easing it.

  “Just stay here for now,” Janie said. She stepped out, and closed the door behind her just as Cooper who was now about six feet away, jumped up, then barked.

  “Cooper. Stop it,” she said, her voice stern. “Sit.”

  The dog dropped to his haunches, his head cocked to one side, his eyes fixed on her.

  Luke shook his head in wonderment. “How do y
ou do that?”

  Janie wasn’t sure herself why Cooper had listened to her. “Maybe it’s my ‘mom’ voice,” she suggested.

  “You’re going to have to teach me how to do that,” he said.

  “What’s this about, Luke?”

  “Like I said, it bugs me so bad that Autumn is afraid of my dog.” Luke patted Cooper’s head absently. “We’re going to be next door for awhile. And Cooper is going to be running around in the yard next to yours. I don’t want her to be scared of him.”

  “And how do you hope to fix that?”

  Luke scratched his forehead with his index finger. “Well, would you let her come outside right now? I’m sure if we give her a chance to see the dog, on her own, take her time, maybe she could see he’s okay?”

  Janie bit her lip, looking back at the house, her concern for her daughter overriding Luke’s request.

  “I know he’s a bit hyper, but he’s all heart. He just gets excited when he’s in a new place.”

  The earnestness in his voice struck a peculiar chord with her. Why did he care? And why did it matter to him that Autumn like his dog?

  “I don’t think that’s necessary—”

  “C’mon, Janie. If she doesn’t start on this, she’s going to spend the next month sitting on the deck, afraid to go farther into her own yard.”

  His eyes held hers, and then he gave her a crooked smile.

  Don’t let him weasel his way into your life, she could almost hear her mother say as she let his smile ease away one tiny part of the barrier she had been determined to put up against him. He was far too attractive.

  Then she glanced at Cooper. He sat quietly on the step, his head cocked to one side as if pleading with her to love him.

  She didn’t know what to do.

  “We can wait,” Luke continued. “But I thought the sooner we get this done, the better.”

  “Okay, but if she shows the least bit of apprehension, I want you to get that dog away as fast as possible.”

  “Of course.” He sounded aggrieved, but she didn’t care. Her first priority was her child’s well-being.

  She stepped inside the house just as Suzie came down the stairs.

  “Autumn, do you want to come with me outside?” Janie asked who was leaning against the sidelight of the door, looking out.

  “What’s outside?” Suzie interjected, walking to the front door. “Hey, it’s Luke and Cooper.”

  “Suzie, do you mind staying inside? I’d like to take Autumn out by herself.”

  Her oldest daughter shot her an annoyed look. “But I want to see Cooper,” she said as she opened the door.

  “Please, can you stay in the house? Luke and I want to try something with Autumn,” Janie said, trying to placate her daughter.

  “Why does Autumn always get all the attention?” Suzie hissed.

  Can you say overreact? Janie stifled a sigh, praying, as she always did, for patience with Suzie.

  “Please, Suzie, it isn’t that big a deal. Just wait, and you can come out later.”

  “Okay. Fine,” she huffed. She walked to the living room and dropped onto the couch.

  Janie reached her hand out to Autumn. “Honey, can you come with me?”

  Autumn hugged her bear closer, but nodded. Janie took her hand and slowly opened the door.

  “Hi, Mr. Luke.” Autumn’s voice grew quiet, her eyes fixed on Cooper.

  “Hey, girly. You remember Cooper, don’t you?”

  Autumn nodded. “I’m scared of that dog.”

  “He’s kinda big, isn’t he?” Luke asked. “Remember when he came to your house before?”

  She nodded again, her expression solemn.

  “What did he do?”

  “He ran into the house. And drank out of the toilet.”

  Janie couldn’t help but smile at her daughter’s memory. Luke glanced up, sharing her humor. Then he sent her a wink before turning his attention back to Autumn.

  “You know, Cooper thinks you’re cute.”

  This caught her attention. “How do you know?”

  “See how he’s looking at you?”

  And sure enough, Cooper’s attention was fixed on Autumn again, as if he was trying to say something, his head tilted just a bit.

  “Would you come and tell him that he’s a handsome dog? He’d like that.” Luke asked.

  Autumn looked up at her mother. Fear flashed across her face, but in her eyes Janie caught the faintest glimmer of hope.

  “Why don’t you try, honey?” Janie said, keeping her voice quiet. Nonthreatening. “Maybe he’ll say something to you.”

  Autumn’s gaze ticked from Janie, to Luke, then back to Cooper. Janie took her daughter’s hand, but waited for her to make the first move.

  Cooper whined, shifted his huge feet and stayed sitting. However, he kept a tight grip on the leash, just in case.

  Luke knelt down beside his dog as Autumn took her first step. Then another. Cooper leaned just a bit forward, as if encouraging her.

  “He doesn’t bite, does he?” Autumn asked, her voice a tiny sound that cut at Janie’s heart. But, at the same time, she knew this was a good thing Luke was doing.

  “Cooper never bites anyone. He wants to be everyone’s friend. He licks people though, which is kind of like a dog kiss.”

  Autumn chuckled at that, took another step, still clinging to Janie.

  “Well, I think that’s a good start,” Luke said, touching Autumn on the shoulder.

  Autumn’s smile gave Janie hope.

  Cooper whined and got to his feet. Autumn took a step back but the terror seemed to have eased somewhat.

  Janie hated to break the moment, hated to be “the mom” again, but time was ticking. “Autumn, you should go into the house and change. We have to leave in a few minutes.”

  Autumn gave Cooper one more glance, then bounced back into the house. As Janie watched her go, she felt a glimmer of hope. Though she never wanted a pet herself, her daughter’s fear of them was a concern every time they came near a dog. Maybe with time it would go away.

  “Thanks for doing this,” Janie said. “I really appreciate that.”

  “It’s just a small start.” Luke shifted his weight, loosening his grip on the leash. “I’m glad this goofy dog seems to get that he needs to be careful with her.”

  Janie looked up at Luke, surprised to see him looking down at her, a faint smile teasing the corner of his mouth. For a moment, their gazes held and Janie felt a shift in her breathing as she caught a glimpse of interest in his gaze. And she felt herself drawn into it.

  Suzie’s raised voice from inside the house brought her tumbling back to reality. Widow. Mother. Three children.

  “I have to go,” she said, making her tone abrupt. “Let me know what those flowers cost, and I can pay you back.”

  And before Luke could protest, she stepped back into the house.

  Chapter Five

  And how was she supposed to pay him back for what that crazy guy was doing now?

  Janie looked out her kitchen window, the shirt she was folding clutched against her chest. She was sure the new fence hadn’t been up this morning when she and the kids were having breakfast. Of course, she could have missed Luke working on it between tossing clothes into the washing machine, making lunches and trying to convince Suzie that the outfit she desperately wanted to wear to school wasn’t suitable. Again.

  In the end Janie had caved, rationalizing that she had to choose the battles she wanted to win. And fights about clothing fell below inappropriate friends and parties—two potential minefields waiting over the horizon. She often wondered if she and Autumn would someday have the same strained relationship. She also wondered if Suzie had absorbed some of the resentments Janie had carried throughout her pregnancy with her.

  “I’m going to start the movie.” Dodie poked her head in the kitchen. “Need some help with the laundry?”

  Janie waved her sister off. “I’m just about done.”

  “If
you would have let me help, you could have been done and we both would be slouching on your bed eating popcorn and dissing the actors.”

  “Why don’t you go ahead and get a head start on the dissing? I have to zip next door to pay Luke back for the flowers he replaced.”

  Dodie gave her sister a knowing smile. “Don’t zip on my account.”

  The hopeful note in her sister’s voice was hard to ignore. “I’ll only be gone a couple of minutes,” she said as she placed Autumn’s shirt on the pile.

  “If you’re not back when the movie is over, I’ll be sleeping on the bed.”

  Janie pulled the cash out of her purse, then walked to the window. And sighed.

  The prestained boards, marching in a straight line dividing the two properties called to the part of Janie’s heart that appreciated order and neatness. But while she was relieved that Luke had replaced the sagging and dangerous fence, she was keenly aware that she couldn’t repay him for it. Not yet.

  Maybe you don’t have to pay him back. Maybe he just did it because he wanted to.

  She quelled the pernicious voice. Of course she would repay him. That was how things were done. She’d have to figure out a way to do it, but there was no way she was going to be in his debt.

  For now, she had enough to pay him for the flowers. She headed out the door, careful to avoid the rotting steps on the back stairs and trying to relegate that particular task to another time and another day.

  There was no answer at the trailer when she knocked. Luke’s truck was parked in front of the house, so she figured he was around somewhere. She paused, then followed the sound of hammering coming from the upstairs of the house.

  She knocked on the front door, then stepped inside.

  Her first impression was dust and dirt and the tang of freshly cut wood. Her next, chaos.

  A lift of lumber lay on the worn rug in the middle of the hallway facing her, and through a set of sliding glass doors set in the wall to her left and hazy with dust, she saw drop cloths on the floor. A ladder leaned up against a wall with an arched doorway leading to another room. Chunks of drywall and pieces of wood lay heaped on sheets of plastic covering the living room floor.