“I’m that obvious, huh? You’re right. I do love it. How about you? Do you love what you do?”
Maddie nodded. “I teach kindergarten and can’t imagine doing anything else. Kids are amazing information collectors. I love being part of that. It’s exciting.” She grinned, brows raised over amused eyes. “Kind of like the way you talk about suspended lighting.”
Rich and warm, Cal’s laugh filled the kitchen. “Okay, guilty. But your passion is nobler than mine. You enlighten young minds. Where do you teach? My son, TJ, just finished kindergarten.”
“Here in town at Nathan Bright.”
“That’s where TJ goes. His teacher was Ms. Gourachy. TJ couldn’t get his tongue around her name. He called her Ms. Grouchy all year.”
Maddie laughed. “I promise you he’s not the first.”
“Fortunately, she didn’t live up to the misnomer. TJ had a great school year.”
Cal’s cell phone interrupted, blaring out the Batman TV show theme song and Maddie bit off a laugh.
Cal afforded her a look of mock solemnity. “We Walker men are serious about our superhero aspirations. Excuse me a moment. It’s my son.” He tapped the face of the phone. “Hey, buddy, I’m working. What’s up?”
While Cal listened to TJ, he watched Maddie freshen her coffee, enjoyed the swirl of her dress against her tanned legs, and thought the coral nail polish made her toes look like little exclamation points. He couldn’t help admiring her, but did his best not to be too obvious about it. He realized he had tuned TJ out when the word “puppy” popped up and jolted him back into the call.
“I’m sorry, son, what?”
“Can I bring one of the puppies home?” TJ’s voice, brimming with hope, sounded in Cal’s ear.
“No. We’ll talk about it later. Remember to tell Aunt Rebecca thanks for taking you to the park, okay?”
“Aw, Dad—”
“I love you, buddy. Bye.”
“Everything okay?” Maddie asked.
“Some lady at the park has a box full of puppies. I like dogs, but I don’t have the time to train a puppy.”
“Lots of adult dogs need homes. The vet I use for my cats is amazing. She had several adult dogs for adoption the last time I was there.”
“So why don’t you have a dog?”
“Jack’s allergic,” Maddie said and the unspoken reality of Jack’s permanent absence hung in the air, the proverbial elephant in the room if ever there was one. Maddie rushed on. “Anyway, we never allowed pets in the house. I’d like to get a dog someday, though.”
“Big and sloppy or small and fussy?” Cal kept his voice light.
“Oh, big and sloppy, absolutely. If it isn’t tracking mud through the house, how can it be a dog?”
“My thoughts exactly, and you’ve just hit on one of the reasons I don’t want a puppy. I have enough trouble picking up after my five-year-old.”
“You should bring him over sometime. We can make a date.”
To Cal’s great amusement, the moment the words left her mouth, Maddie’s eyes widened. An adorable tide of pink crept from her neck into her face and she sputtered, “To see the cats. A date to see the cats. After you start work on the kitchen.” She gulped the rest of her coffee and rushed to the counter for more.
God, she was cute. Cal grinned. “You sure you want more of that stuff? You’re looking pretty jumpy.”
“I’m trying to cut back.” The glug-glug as she poured the last of the coffee from the pot into her mug belied her words.
“Just not today, huh?”
“Ha, ha.”
“I’ll leave these sketches with you. Rough estimates are included, but I’ll write up firm pricing once you decide what you want to do.”
“I already know,” Maddie said. “Jack always wanted to have the cabinets custom-made rather than ordering the pre-fab stuff, and I like your idea of a lazy Susan in the corner so the space can be used. And you sold me on the center work island with the suspended lighting. I already have an idea of what I want for tile and the counters. Jack and I did a lot of window shopping after we bought the house. I know what I want.”
“You should replace your appliances, while you’re at it.”
Maddie wrinkled her nose. “I know. Those I’ll have to shop around for.”
“I also recommend a built-in microwave to leave your counter space open.”
“That’s a good idea. My motherin-law’s is over the stovetop. Is that what you mean?”
Cal nodded. “I can e-mail an itemized quote for labor, or drop one by later today if you plan to be home.”
“I’ll be here all day.”
“Great,” Cal said, pleased with the excuse to see her again. He hoped he wasn’t too obvious about it and busied himself rolling up the drawings so she wouldn’t guess his thoughts.
“How soon can you start?”
“I can start the demo work as early as Thursday, but you have a lot of decisions to make and materials to order before any actual work begins, so maybe you’d like me to start later. No point tearing up your kitchen too soon. Also, you’ll have to decide if you want to do the whole kitchen at once or bit by bit. Did you get any other bids?” At the shake of her head, he said, “You really should get a few more bids, talk to other contractors. It’s a good practice to get a second opinion, so to speak.”
“I don’t need to do that. Jack sent me to you, and that’s good enough for me.”
Cal opened his mouth to argue but closed it before the words left his mouth. Maddie Kinkaid’s expression was one he recognized. He’d grown up seeing it on his mother’s and sister’s faces, and on Gwen’s. He qualified it as 90% stubborn and 10% sass and knew, no matter what he said, she would be intractable.
“Lucky for you I’m an honest man, and good at the work I do.”
“If you weren’t, Jack wouldn’t have told me to call you.” She folded her arms across her chest, and he saw the challenge in her eyes that dared him: Go ahead. Tell me I’m crazy.
“He’s still a big part of your life, your husband Jack.”
“Isn’t your wife a big part of yours?” Maddie countered.
“Yes, of course, but not the same way as your Jack. I talk to Gwen all the time, but,” his voice was gentle and resigned when he added, “she doesn’t answer back.”
Cal held Maddie’s gaze, noted for the first time the heavy scattering of golden flecks in her cinnamon-colored eyes behind the lenses of the glasses, like God had second thoughts about her eye color and decided to mix it up. Emotion had flushed her cheeks—any mention of Jack did that to her, he’d noticed—and he wondered what it would take to earn that visceral response for himself.
Idiot. Rule number 1: No messing with clients.
“Will you be back later to go over pricing?” Maddie asked.
“Sure. Around six. Is that okay?”
Maddie nodded. “Bring your little guy with you. He can see the cats.”
“Deal.” He handed her the drawing depicting the pertinent kitchen design and tucked the others under his arm before walking toward the door. “See you at six. And Maddie,” he said before stepping out to the porch. “Tell Jack I said thanks, and I promise I’ll take good care of you.”
***
Maddie stared at the screen door and beyond it to the empty porch. She didn’t move when Cal’s boots clomped down the stairs into the yard, or when the truck’s engine growled to life and drove off toward the main road. She stood still in the relative quiet of the house. The ice maker clanked in the refrigerator and ice tumbled into the plastic bin. The air conditioner rattled and shut itself off. A breeze whispered through the bushy ferns on the porch. Maddie remained immobile, attempting to gather her thoughts and identify her feelings.
I’ll take good care of you.
The job, of course. They were virtual strangers, so of course he meant the job.
Maddie held the plans for her kitchen and tried with little success to imagine the finished work. She couldn’t s
ee past the tired cabinets or garish floor with its chipped grout and cracked tiles.
New appliances. Jack would agree with that. He’d wanted to replace them before they moved in and she’d talked him out of it, said they needed to save money. Tile for the floor would be easy, as would the countertop. Jack had always talked about marble or granite for the counters, and she knew his preferences. Same for the floor tile. Even if the store no longer carried the tile they had chosen together, she’d be able to find something similar. She’d insist on it, for Jack.
And in her chest, something sparked. Excitement. Giddiness.
“I’m really going to do this, Jack,” she said. “The kitchen first, and then the rest of the house. I’ll get it all done, just the way we dreamed.”
She clutched Cal’s drawing to her chest and laughed like a kid high on summertime, then ran to Jack’s study and tossed the drawing onto his desk. She plopped into the chair and laid her head against the cushioned back, closed her eyes, pushed off with her foot, and spun the seat around in circles, grinning like a fool.
She came to a stop and laid her hands on top of the desk.
“Talk to me, Jack.” She shuffled through the papers, mixing them up like tiles in a Scrabble game. Her fingertips slid over something tri-folded and glossy. She grabbed it and opened her eyes to see what Jack had given her.
“Caravicci’s Pizzeria,” she read the name aloud, smiling when she saw that Jack had at some point circled the words “We Deliver” with a black marker.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” she asked Jack, but he didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.
***
Maddie heard Cal’s truck before she saw it. She stood on the kitchen porch and watched him drive up and park. A minute later, the driver’s door opened. He climbed out and lifted his hand in a wave when he saw her. A second after that, the back door opened and a pint-sized Caleb Walker jumped to ground.
“You must be TJ,” she said to the little boy when he arrived at the porch stairs with his father.
He raised his hand to shake hers. “You’re Mrs. Kinkaid. I’ve seen you at school before. You talk to Mrs. Grouchy sometimes.”
Maddie hid her amusement behind the offering of a warm smile, along with her hand. “Mrs. Gourachy is a nice lady, isn’t she? And it’s a pleasure to meet you. As long as we’re not in school, I’d like you to call me Maddie.”
“Miss Maddie,” Cal corrected.
“Miss Maddie.” She rolled her eyes at TJ and he grinned. “I hope you like pizza, because I ordered some for us to share for dinner.”
TJ’s serious expression vanished, replaced with raised brows and gleaming eyes the same mossy green as his father’s.
“Pizza!” He pumped his fist in the air. “Me and Dad love pizza! Right, Dad?”
Cal just smiled.
“Good,” Maddie said. “I thought I’d introduce you to the barn cats, and you can get to know them while your dad and I talk about the work he’s going to do in my kitchen.” She looked at Cal. “Okay?”
“Whatever you say. I didn’t expect you to feed us.”
“I know, but you were nice enough to come all the way back out here. I figured it was the least I could do.” She turned her attention back to TJ. “C’mon, let’s see who’s hanging out in the barn this evening.”
TJ jumped over the porch steps to the ground. “I like cats okay,” he said, “but what I really want is a dog. Dad said we’ll see, but that means no.”
“It doesn’t mean no. It means we’ll see,” Cal said.
“Well, so far, I don’t have a dog, so it means no right now.”
Maddie led Cal and TJ through the yard to the barn. Horace lay in his usual spot in spite of the waning sun.
“This is Horace. He’s an old guy, but sweet. The calico is Snippet. She’s the small one washing her paws, and Cheeto is the orange tabby stretched out near the food bowl. The others are out carousing.”
“How many others are there?” Cal asked.
“Two others. Spooky is all black, and Liberace is black and white.”
TJ dropped to the ground to pet Horace. “Where’d you get all the cats?”
“They’re strays that have wandered into my yard. I don’t go looking for them, they find me. They seem to know they’ll be safe here. I take them to the vet and have them spayed and neutered, and make sure they have their shots.”
“And you feed them and love them and stuff,” TJ said.
“That’s exactly right.”
“Lucky cats to find you by happenstance all the way out here. And they all get along?” Cal asked.
“Well, cats are very territorial, but I’ve never had a problem.”
“Is it okay for me to go into the barn, Miss Maddie? Maybe your other two cats are hiding in there.”
Maddie nodded and watched TJ run off toward the barn. A twinge of envy wound through her. She wished she and Jack hadn’t waited to have children. How she’d love to have a living, breathing part of Jack with her every day. “You’re lucky to have such a terrific kid,” she told Cal.
“Thanks. I think so.”
“Jack and I wanted kids. We just…ran out of time.” She pointed to the apple trees in the field beyond the barn. “We were going to build a tree house. Jack had big plans. There was going to be a ladder and lights and I don’t know what all else.” She smiled and shrugged. “But his idea of building it would have been to call a carpenter. He was a great accountant, but not very handy with a hammer.”
She pointed to a path leading into the woods. “There’s a creek that runs through there, and a little clearing. We talked about a picnic table or a bench. In my more creative moments, I envision a gazebo tucked back there, but really it would be nice to have a spot to just sit and enjoy the quiet.” She turned her wistful expression toward Caleb and shrugged. “I’ll get to it sooner or later. Kitchen first.”
A late model compact car the color of eggplant rumbled up the drive. A sign riveted to the top of the vehicle declared it to be operating on behalf of Caravicci’s Pizzeria.
“Time to eat,” Maddie said. She laid her hand on Cal’s arm when he reached for his wallet. “No. Please. This is my treat. I appreciate you coming out so late in the day.”
Maddie greeted the pizza deliveryman and led him into the house where he set the pizzas on the kitchen table and accepted payment and a generous tip. On his way out, he exchanged pleasantries with Cal and TJ who came in to wash their hands.
Maddie offered Cal a beer and popped the top on a soda for TJ. She poured sweet tea for herself, and they loaded up paper plates with pizza slices and carried their dinner and drinks outside.
“I like to eat out here this time of night,” Maddie told them after they’d settled around the wicker bistro table on the porch outside the kitchen. “Watch the yard. There are so many fireflies. It’s like our own private light show.”
“Do you catch them, Miss Maddie?”
“You could if you wanted, but I don’t. I like to watch them light up. As it gets darker and darker, they look like hundreds of miniature flashbulbs going off.”
“Can we stay to watch?”
“I hope you will,” Maddie said. “But that’s up to your dad.”
“Don’t say, we’ll see, Dad.”
“Okay.”
“Sweet!”
Maddie laughed at TJ’s enthusiasm and imagined that this was how she and Jack might have enjoyed summer nights had they been fortunate enough to start a family. She looked at the tow-headed, green-eyed TJ and knew that a child of Jack’s would look quite different, with dark hair and eyes bluer than blue.
But there would never be a child of Jack’s.
She glanced at Caleb and found him watching her, his eyes dark and intent in the twilight. He wore a serious expression in spite of TJ’s excited chatter, and Maddie wondered if he had similar thoughts as she, thoughts about his dead wife and what joys of life she was missing, of other children they would never have the op
portunity to bring to life.
But at least he had TJ. He would never have to imagine, as she did, what children with his wife might look like. He knew. And certainly, when he looked at this precious little boy, he must see his wife and mourn her even as he found joy in the life of their son.
“I see some!” TJ cried out. “Look, Daddy, look!”
The show had begun. One by one by one, they came, until there were too many to count. Their phosphorescence flashed, tiny beacons beaming through the blue shadows of oncoming night. And, just as Maddie had promised, the yard began to light up as the little bugs flitted about, their tiny bodies glowing.
Jack was gone, but Caleb Walker and his son were here. And even though they were strangers still, she knew the possibility existed for them to become friends.
She turned her attention to Caleb and found him studying her, his expression veiled. Maddie’s heart thrummed and heat pooled in her core. She recognized the sensation as attraction and a healthy dollop of lust. On the heels of this came a rush of guilt, acute and relentless.
In spite of all the platitudes about moving on and the well-meaning comments by Brenna and Edie urging her to let go of Jack and begin living her life again, she always came up against a solid wall of guilt whenever she considered the possibilities. How could she let go of Jack when he was here with her every day, a living, if not breathing, entity? Didn’t he talk to her, answer her questions, and offer advice through the names and numbers scrawled on business cards and tri-fold takeout menus?
She knew it was crazy. That didn’t stop it from being true.
“There’s so many fireflies here,” TJ said. “We don’t get this many at our house.”
“That’s because we’re in a subdivision, buddy. Miss Maddie has the forest all around her. Do you get much wildlife out here?”
“Deer mostly,” Maddie said. “Rabbits, which I feel bad about, because the cats go after the babies. I’ve heard there are bears, too, but I’ve been here five years and haven’t seen any.”
“Maybe they don’t like cats,” TJ said, “’cuz you have a lot of cats.”
“I do,” Maddie agreed. “TJ, what do your initials stand for?”
Love Built to Last Page 6
