A Fine Mess

by Kristy K. James

  “A walk?” Ian said incredulously. “It’s getting dark out.”

  “It usually does this time of night,” she agreed, scraping her plate and setting it in the sink.

  “Shouldn’t you walk him during the day?”

  “I do. But he needs to go out at least twice a day. Sometimes I have to do it at night.”

  “You do realize that it’s not safe to walk at night, don’t you?”

  “Jack will protect me.”

  In his opinion, Jack had never met a human being he didn’t like. The mutt didn’t seem to harbor a vicious or protective bone in his body.

  “That’s debatable,” he muttered, shoving his chair back and taking his plate to the sink. “I’ll go with you.”

  “Ian, that’s not necessary. Really. I do it all the time. I’ll be fine.”

  “Well you’re not doing it anymore. I’m going with you.” Apparently she realized he wouldn’t be dissuaded because she didn’t put up any argument.

  As they cleaned up the dinner mess in companionable silence, Ian realized he’d spent more time in the kitchen during the three weeks since their marriage than he had in any kitchen in his entire life. Washing dishes or chopping vegetables for her didn’t seem as much like work as he remembered from his school days.

  “I’m going to get my sweater,” she said when they’d finished. “Do you want me to grab a jacket for you?”

  “Sure, if you would. I’ll get Jack’s leash on him.”

  “Do you want to get his scooper and a plastic grocery bag, too, please?”

  “His what?” he asked suspiciously.

  “Scooper. If he-relieves himself, we can’t just leave it there.”

  “What do you mean, relieves himself?” Annie only raised her eyebrows and looked at him steadily. And then Ian knew, scowling down at the dog. “Can’t he relieve himself here?”

  “He probably will. But just in case, we can’t leave it on someone else’s property. It’s against the law. And even if it wasn’t, it’s rude.”

  “All right.Whatever you say. Where is his scooper?”

  “In the corner on the back porch. And don’t worry, Ian. I’ll clean up any mess he makes. I’ve been doing it for six years now.”

  Good thing she would because one thing Ian hadn’t mentioned to her was that he tended to have a weak stomach.

  ~~~~

  There wasn’t a whole lot of traffic for a Saturday night. Though the neighborhood was a fairly quiet one, which was why Annie had felt safe in taking her dog for a walk. But Ian tended to be a chivalrous kind of guy, so it didn’t surprise her that he’d take exception to her being out alone without a big strong man at her side.

  And he was pretty close to her side, an arm wrapped around her shoulders while he held the leash in his free hand. They had to keep up appearances, he reminded her, and so she put her arm around his waist.

  “When we were talking on the plane, you said your mom died in a car accident,” she said quietly. “But you didn’t say how it happened.” She felt him stiffen for a second, then shrug.

  “The old story about someone running a red light. Only it wasn’t a drunk driver in this case. Some old guy had a heart attack. He died at the hospital later that night. My mom died instantly.”

  “How did you handle it?”

  “How does anyone handle something like that? Not well at first. And then my old man told me it was time to grow up. Life was tough and I’d better get used to it. And then he sent me to boarding school.”

  “How awful!” Annie gasped, looking up to see him smile sadly.

  “Hey, he always made it clear that I was only here because my mother wanted a baby. It’s just the way he is. He cared about her, and that’s all he ever had room for in his life.”

  “But- You were just a little boy!” She brought her other arm around his stomach in an instinctive reaction. As though she could comfort him.

  “It was a long time ago,” he murmured, hugging her closer for a moment. “Why did you want to know the details?”

  “I just wondered.”

  “Your mom will be okay, Annie. We’ll do whatever it takes to make sure she is. So stop worrying, okay?”

  Chapter 8

  Ian had finally located an office on the southwest side of town. It had taken longer than he’d anticipated because, having never really looked into what the expenses were at his father’s office, he hadn’t realized how high rents could be. And everyone wanted a year-long lease.

  But now that he had found it, he had to furnish it, his biggest cost being the best computer system money could buy. Then there were the permits, the DBA, the business tax I.D. number and a host of other things. Things he should have been thinking about all along but hadn’t.

  “I can help,” Annie said, as he poured over information at the kitchen table one Saturday in mid- October. “I pretty much ran the office at the factory I worked at.”

  “I don’t actually need office help at this point,” he murmured, taking a sip of coffee. “Right now I need to come up with a logo and brochures and business cards.”

  “I can help,” she repeated. “I did all that for my boss. I also designed the website for them.”

  That got Ian’s attention.

  “Really?”

  “Sure. I don‘t know if they‘ve changed it, but if it‘s still the same, you can get some idea of what I can do. Do you want to take a look?”

  “Yes, I do. Come on.”

  They walked to his office, which was located off the kitchen, at the back of the garage. Annie sat in the chair behind his desk and turned on the computer. As they waited for it to boot up Ian asked,

  “How hard would it be for you to do it for me?”

  “If you like what I did for Mr. Palmer, and you know what you want, I could probably have something ready for you by Monday. Nothing fancy, mind you, but a bare bones layout.”

  “No. Not that quick. You wanted to go out to the apple orchard this afternoon and we’re going.”

  “But-”

  “I have a hankering for some ‘preservative-free’ cider and ‘the best donuts’ you’ve ever had,” he said with a grin. “And then I’m pretty sure there was something mentioned about homemade apple pie.”

  There was also something that kind of bothered him about having his wife working for him. Or his wife working at all. Even if theirs wasn’t a typical marriage, he supposed he was more old fashioned than he’d realized.

  “Here it is. And no, they haven’t changed it.” She got up from the desk so he could browse around the site.

  What he saw astounded him. A very professionally done website with several links to other ‘pages’ within it.

  “Annie, this is impressive! I thought you didn’t go to college.”

  “I didn’t. To be perfectly honest with you, that particular website is so easy that I imagine anyone could do a good job. Mr. Cooper tried a couple other hosts before this one and I just couldn’t figure them out.”

  “Is that a picture of one of the brochures you did?” She peered over his shoulder at a tri-fold brochure off to one side of the screen.

  “Yes it is. I’d forgotten I put that on there.”

  “Okay then. If you really don’t mind doing it for me, I’d be grateful for your help. Do you think if I got you the information you could have it ready within a couple of weeks?”

  “I’m sure I could. If you want me to design the brochures and business cards, I should probably do those first though. You’ll want a professional printer for those because they’ll just look cheesy doing it at home. Plus you’ll want raised letter cards. Those are classier than flat ones.” Ian shook his head in wonder.

  “You are absolutely amazing,” he said sincerely, and watched Annie blush. “No, I mean it. You are amazing. You take care of your mother better than a professional nurse would. You can design a website. If the right people found out how well you cook, you could make a fortune.”

  Clearly he’d embarrassed
her with his praise, which was probably why she said what she did. Most likely trying to lighten the moment. But it really rankled to hear her say the words.

  “Yeah. I’ll make a lucky man a good wife someday, huh?”

  “Yeah, you will. Just don’t forget whose wife you are right now,” he snapped, shoving away from the desk and walking to the door. “You’d best get a jacket before we go. It’s chilly outside.”

  ~~~~

  Annie spent more time than usual praying about Ian and their marriage over the next few days. Things had gotten complicated enough before Ian’s outburst Saturday morning. Though he tried, she could still tell that her offhand comment about making someone a good wife had offended him.

  The only problem was, she didn’t know why. He’d made it clear from the start that theirs would be a temporary marriage. But for a man who planned on filing for a divorce as soon as he could, he sometimes behaved as though she really was his.

  “Lord, I know I’m falling in love with him,” she fretted one afternoon while her mother napped.

  She was at their house, as she was every weekday while her father worked, cleaning and cooking, and just making sure that Maddie was okay.

  “Please, God, if it’s not going to work out between us, don’t let that happen. I’d rather just be his friend.”

  The ringing of the telephone interrupted her prayer.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Annie. It’s me, Becca.”

  “Becca, hi!”Her best friend from high school. They hadn’t gotten together much for some time now because they were both busy. Annie because of her mother, and Becca because she and her husband were busy taking care of their first baby. She thought that Sam was over a year old by now, but she couldn’t remember. Too many things had happened in such a short while.

  “Why didn’t you tell me that you’d gotten married?” Becca demanded, clearly put out that she’d been left out of the loop. “I heard it from Lucy, who heard it from someone at your church.”

  “I’m sorry. Things have just been so crazy around here it slipped my mind.” Truer words had never been spoken.

  “Hey, I was kidding. I’d have known sooner if I’d called more often, wouldn’t I? So tell me, who is it? Do I know him?”

  “No. He’s the son of my dad’s boss. Ian McCann.”

  “Is he cute?”

  “Yes, he is. Tall, dark and handsome.” Just like they’d daydreamed about as teenagers. Although Becca had married sort of tall, blond and handsome.

  “When? You must not have had a big wedding or I know I’d have been invited.”

  “Actually we flew to Las Vegas. We’ve been married about six weeks now.”

  “Wow! Has it really been that long since we talked!”

  “I guess it has. Time flies, huh?”

  “It does. And that’s part of the reason why I called. If you’ve changed your mind, that’s okay, but I wondered if you still wanted to keep Sam next weekend.”

  Annie squeezed her eyes shut. She’d promised to watch the baby while Becca and her husband attended his ten year reunion at an out of state college. Ian had barely adjusted to having Jack around. What would he think about a toddler? Even if it was just for two days. And nights.

  “I’m still up for it. And I’m sure Ian won’t mind. He’s a great guy.”

  “He’d have to be for you to marry him. You always did set some pretty high standards.”

  “And you thought I’d never get married. Now you get to eat your words.”

  “I do. And nothing makes me happier.”

  They talked for a few more minutes, arranging for Becca to drop her son off at three o’clock the following Friday. They’d pick him up Sunday afternoon.

  ~~~~

  “Paul?” Paul looked up from his desk, distracted as he usually was at work. Ian was glad he didn’t do accounting. It seemed to put a glazed look in the eyes of all the ones who worked for his father. Of course, it could be that his father was an exacting man, too, in addition to the fact that adding and subtracting numbers all day long must rate right up there with watching dust accumulate on a tabletop for excitement.

  “What’s up?” Paul asked, glancing back at his monitor.

  “Can I talk to you?”

  “Sure.”

  Ian walked in and closed the door firmly behind him. That got Paul’s attention again. His complete attention.

  “What’s wrong?” Ian didn’t know where to begin, so he sat in the one other chair in the office. The same one he’d sat in the day Paul fixed the computer records. “Ian?”

  “Okay. Would you object if I talked to Max Caldwell?”

  “Why would I object? He’s your pastor, too.”

  “Because I need to talk to someone about everything,” he said evasively.

  “Could you elaborate on what you mean by everything?”

  “This whole situation with Annie and I. I mean, I wouldn’t tell him exactly why we got married. Trust me, I’ll keep your name out of it. But I just need to talk to someone. And he has to keep his mouth shut about anything I tell him, right? Kind of like a doctor-patient confidentiality thing?”

  Paul looked at him thoughtfully. For several long, uncomfortable moments.

  “Yes. He would have to keep your confidence. But I’m afraid I have to ask why you would need that from him.”

  “Paul-”

  “Look, you just tell me you need to talk to someone about my daughter and you need it to be confidential. Of course I’m going to want to know why.”

  “Trust me, you don’t want to know. It’s too weird, even for me.”

  “Oh, now I really want to know. What did you do?”

  “Do? Nothing! I didn’t do anything. Except marry your daughter.”

  “I thought you’ve been okay with that.”

  “I have been. Except now I’m starting to feel like I’m really married to her.”

  “You are really married to her.”

  “No. I’m starting to feel like I’m really her husband. And don’t tell me that I really am. Because I know I am. I’m just feeling like it now.”

  “Have you fallen in love with her?”

  “No!” he denied at once. Then he sagged back in the chair. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. Naturally I care about her. How could I not? She’s a wonderful woman. But- I don’t know. I’m just getting really confused. And I need to talk to someone that I don’t feel so uncomfortable around.”

  “You’re uncomfortable around me?”

  “Talking about this, yes.” He found he couldn’t quite meet Paul’s eyes.

  “Then by all means, talk to Max. And you don’t have to worry about mentioning my name. I felt so guilty that I’ve already talked to him about the situation.”

  “So he knows everything?”

  “He does.”

  “Since when?”

  “Since the day you and Annie got married.”

  “That long ago?” he gasped. Paul nodded. “He’s never let on-”

  “He wouldn’t. Like I said, you can tell him anything and trust that it will go no further than to God.”

  “This all seemed so cut and dried in the beginning,” he mussed, almost to himself.

  “Nothing is cut and dried, son. Except salvation.”

  ~~~~

  Annie lay on her stomach in the middle of the living room while Sam, a fourteen month old baby sat in front of her. They were stacking blocks. Well, Annie was doing most of the work while Sam knocked them over. And Ian had to admit that it was kind of cute. She was definitely good with kids. Or at least with this one. After the initial three hours of crying.

  He’d wondered if the entire weekend would be the way it had been after Rob and Becca Underwood had gone, but the boy eventually calmed down and had actually been rather amusing since.

  “Look, Ian!” Sam had actually stacked two blocks on the pile she’d started.

  “Talented kid.”

  “He is. You’re very smart, aren’t yo
u, Sam?”

  Whatever it was Sam said in answer to the question was only something God would understand, because it was a sure bet that no human on the planet could decipher it.

  After another minute or so, the blocks lost all appeal and, quick as a snap, he crawled over to where Jack lay on the floor. But other than his ears perking up in interest, the dog didn’t seem to mind the little body trying to crawl all over him. Annie, on the other hand, did mind.

  “Oh yuck! Sam, no! You’ll get dog hair-” She picked the baby up, whose hands were now covered with dog hair.

  “If he’d keep his fingers out of his mouth, the hair probably wouldn’t stick to them like that.”

  “Ya think?” Annie said with a laugh. “It looks like we’re going to wash your hands, young man.”

  “You’ll probably need some help,” Ian offered, hoisting himself out of the recliner. “That kid wouldn‘t be still if you paid him.”

  “Stop calling him ‘kid.’ He’ll develop a complex or something.”

  “Well, he is a kid, so he’d better get used to it.”

  “I wonder how Becca manages?” she wondered aloud as Ian did the actual hand rinsing at the kitchen sink. He was right. It took two. One to hold and one to wash. “She has two cats.”

  “I expect the cats are smart enough to run for cover when they see him coming.”

  “Funny. Are you saying Jack isn’t smart?”

  “I’m saying Jack isn’t used to babies and hasn’t developed any self-preservation instincts against him yet. There. I think I got it all.”

  “Thanks. I’m not sure how I’d have managed alone.”

  “That’s what I’m here for.”

  “Would you also be here for warming a bottle for me? It’s almost bedtime. Or you could hold him if you’d rather.”

  “I’ll warm the bottle thanks. Twenty seconds?”

  He pulled one of the five Becca had left. Each slightly less than half full, and only to be used at nap and bedtimes because they were trying to wean him. More information than he needed to know.