The Deadbeat Next Door

by Katharine Sadler

  My gaze snapped up to hers. “It doesn’t matter. He left town.”

  She gave me a sly smile. “Is that what he told you? Funny, because I just saw him at Uncle Bart’s yesterday. He’s settling in nicely.”

  I narrowed my eyes. Was she about to tell me she and Cody had something going on? “Good for him.”

  “I’d love to bounce on that pogo stick, but he turned me down. Again.” She rolled her eyes. “Where are all the men I read about who are capable of casual sex?”

  Frankly, her frankness shocked me. “In the big city?”

  She sighed. “You’re probably right. I’ve got my fingers crossed that winery of his will bring in some fresh blood.” She raised her hands in the air and crossed her fingers. “He told me not to say anything to you, but I thought you should know he was still in town.”

  I was beginning to think Mary Ellen was speaking a different language. “Um, why?”

  “Because my cousin is over the moon about your break-up with Cody and I don’t want you giving him any if he shows up on your doorstep. He is a dawg, capital D A W G, and you should hold out for Cody.”

  “I have no interest in your cousin. But trust me, Cody is done with me.”

  “Okay.” She shrugged. “Now that I’ve done my good deed for the day, let’s talk about your house.”

  After an hour and a walk-through of my place, I had my marching orders for getting the house ready for sale. It shouldn’t take much, Cody had done a great job with the flower beds so the outside was perfect. I had a week to get the inside ready and then Mary Ellen would be back to take pictures for on-line sites. I walked around the house after she left, feeling a bit nostalgic. It had been the first house I’d ever owned, the first place I’d bought with my own money, and I was sure I’d miss it when I was trying to make the mortgage payments on Cody’s larger house.

  I waved to Harrison, who was running around with the kids in an intense game of tag, and took a seat at the picnic table on Cody’s back patio.

  Harrison collapsed on the bench seat on the other side of the table. He panted. “Damn,” he said. “Those kids make me feel old.”

  I snorted. “You’re a baby.”

  “And you’re an old lady.” His words and his smile were teasing.

  “Sure am.” I forced a smile.

  “Everything okay?”

  And because I hadn’t had another chance to talk to an adult I knew wouldn’t judge me, I spilled. “I may have had a few more feelings for Cody than a person should have for a fake fiancé.”

  Harrison’s eyes widened in mock surprise. “Yeah, wow, because that was never going to get complicated.”

  “Laugh it up,” I said. “I know I was an idiot about the whole thing. I just…I miss him.”

  “Want me to beat him up for you?”

  “No. It’s not like we could ever have a future together anyway.”

  This time, his eyes widened with real emotion. “Why not? He seems like a good guy.” He paused. “I mean, clearly he’s an idiot for letting you go, but he’s a good person.”

  “He is a good person, just not the right person for me.”

  “Because he doesn’t fit some ideal you’ve created from all the books you’ve read?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I just need a man who has a steady, dependable job, who’s home by five every night and who puts his family first.”

  “You don’t think Cody could be all those things?”

  “There’s nothing sedate or predictable about Cody,” I said. “The winery is his number one priority and he doesn’t have any room for a family.” Although, while he’d been living with the four of us, I’d never for a moment felt him putting us second. Of course, he hadn’t had a winery to keep him busy, yet.

  Harrison shrugged, watching Jenny and Simon wrestle over the soccer ball. “Priorities change,” he said. “And so can life plans. You didn’t plan for your family to be three half-grown kids, did you?”

  “That’s different, these kids need me.”

  He frowned. “Maybe you need to spend some time thinking about what you need, Aunt Carrie. Are you saying you aren’t happy to have the kids?”

  I looked out at the three kids. Jenny had jumped on Simon’s back and she and Kayla were trying to tickle him into submission. “I wouldn’t want it any other way, but I’m not sure happy is the right word. I’m pretty sure I’m doing everything wrong.”

  He stood and came around the table to sit next to me. “I’m positive you’re doing everything right. Quit thinking so much and just enjoy the good moments. I’ll try to come around more often to hang out with all of you.”

  “You have better things to do with your time,” I said, thinking of his adorable girlfriend.

  “She can come, too. She’s part of the family.”

  “I’d love that.” I hugged him. “What do you want for dinner? I’ve got a million and one casseroles in the fridge and freezer.”

  “Betty’s homemade macaroni and cheese?”

  “Ugh,” I said on a groan. “We’ve had that every night this week.”

  “You don’t have any left?” he asked, batting his eyelashes.

  “Simon told her it was the best he’d ever had and she’s been providing a steady supply. We just got a new batch yesterday.”

  “Great,” he said. “Go in and heat it up, I’ll hang with the kiddos.”

  My phone rang just as I stepped inside. I dug it out of my back pocket and answered without checking the caller ID. “Hi, sweetheart,” my mother said. “Do you have any plans this weekend?”

  I pulled the mac and cheese out of the fridge as I considered her question. Did I want to be available this weekend? The kids and I were going furniture shopping with Harrison’s girlfriend Frankie Saturday morning, but I hadn’t seen my parents in more than three months, so I could put that off. “Nope,” I said. “All clear. What’s up?”

  “Your father and I would like to meet the children. Do you think they’d be up for that?”

  “As long as it’s a short visit,” I said. “They’re still adjusting to me and the new house.”

  “Yes, of course, dear. We don’t want to monopolize your entire weekend. We’re planning to arrive before supper on Friday and we’ll leave in the late evening on Sunday.”

  If it had been anyone else’s elderly parents, I would have suggested they stay longer, but my parents loved a good road trip. Even though they were almost twelve hours away in Florida, it wasn’t too crazy for them to make a short visit. “You can come in earlier if you want. I’m going to sell my house and move permanently into the one next door, so you could stay at my place and have your own space.”

  “That would be perfect, dear. We’ll see you early Friday, then. We can’t wait to meet the children.”

  “Love you, Mom.”

  “Love you, too, sweetheart.” I hung up and grimaced. My parents were good people, but they were a bit old-school in their child-rearing policies and believed children should be seen and not heard. And it had been a long time since they’d been around kids. I suspected that these three would overwhelm my parents more than a little bit.

  The oven beeped and I put in the macaroni and cheese and started the timer.

  ***

  That Friday, my parents arrived with smiles and bags full of presents. The kids were on their best behavior and we had a lovely day together. My parents went back to my house immediately following dinner and missed the pre-bed screaming match between Kayla and Simon when Simon stole her diary and read it aloud to all of us. I calmed everyone down and got Jenny to bed. The older kids and I stayed up and watched a movie and, after they went to bed, I stretched out on the couch to watch HGTV and knit until I was sure they were settled.

  I woke up to sunlight streaming through the windows, my back sore from sleeping on the couch, and a knock at the door. I leapt off the couch and hurried to the door, trying to straighten the tangles from my hair and not trip over any of the toys on the floor. I couldn’t
believe I’d overslept and Frankie was already here. I couldn’t believe Jenny hadn’t woken me up.

  I opened the door and found Cody, looking gorgeous and clean in jeans and a fitted t-shirt. He looked well rested and happy, like he hadn’t missed me at all.

  “Cody. What are you doing here?”

  He shoved his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet. “Do you think I could talk to the kids for a few minutes?”

  The kids. Of course he was there to see the kids, not to confess his undying love for me. “Why? Jenny just stopped crying about how much she misses you two days ago. I don’t want you getting their hopes up about you being in their lives again.”

  His mouth set in a firm line and he shook his head. “I just…I didn’t say goodbye to them. I want to explain some things.”

  I was going to tell him no. It was on my lips to tell him to stop being so selfish and leave us all alone.

  “Mr. Cody!” Jenny flew by me like a shot and jumped into his arms.

  He caught her with a huge smile and pecked her cheek. “Hi, sweetheart. Are your sister and brother up?”

  “I’ll go get them!”

  She ran back into the house. A voice cleared behind us and I looked over Cody’s shoulder to see my parents. “Hi, Mom and Dad,” I said. “This is my friend, Cody. He just stopped by to talk to the kids. Cody, these are my parents, Franklin and Lily.”

  Cody stepped aside and made room for my parents on the porch. “It’s very nice to meet you both. Carrie has told me a lot about you.”

  My mother blushed the prettiest pink and my father stood up just a bit taller. Damn Cody and his unfailing charisma. “It’s very nice to meet you, too,” my mother said, shaking his hand. He and Dad shook hands and then jenny appeared with Kayla and Simon rubbing their eyes and still in pajamas.

  “Hi, guys,” Cody said. “Would you mind having a quick chat with me? We can talk on the back patio.”

  “You going to tell us why you just took off?” Simon asked.

  “Yeah,” Cody said. “I’m also going to apologize.”

  The kids followed him around to the back of the house. I ushered Mom and Dad inside, started the coffee and headed back to take a shower. Unlike me, my father was an excellent cook and he got started on making breakfast.

  When I returned to the kitchen, showered and dressed in a lemon-yellow sun dress, I found Cody sitting at the table, laughing with my father, Jenny on his lap. My heart squeezed and my vision went blurry with unshed tears. He looked like he belonged here, like he’d always belonged here. Maybe Harrison was right, maybe I’d been holding on so tight to this ideal of what I wanted that I’d left no room for interpretation. No room for anyone different.

  Cody looked up, like he’d sensed me and slid Jenny off his lap and onto her feet. He stood. “I should be going. I’ll see you all later.”

  “Later?” I asked.

  Cody’s smile was a bit too smug for my taste, and I got the distinct impression he was up to something. “You’re all coming over to my house later tonight for dinner. I think you’ll really like what I’ve done to the place.”

  I narrowed my eyes, trying to work up anger at him for inviting everyone without checking with me first, at my parents for agreeing to it before they’d consulted me, but I couldn’t find any anger. I just had sadness and the loss of a dream I hadn’t even realized I’d had until that moment. Cody walked out and I didn’t say anything to stop him.

  I ate breakfast with my family, went furniture shopping with Frankie while my parents watched the kids, and tried not to think about that evening or the pain it would bring.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Cody

  It took every bit of willpower I had to walk out of Carrie’s house and not grab her. Not pull her into my arms and tell her how much she meant to me. But I had to stick to the plan. She was worth the grand gesture. She was worth it all.

  I drove back to my place, what I finally thought of as my place, now that Bart had accepted my money and sold it to me. As the godfather said, I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. He was welcome there any time and he could have all the free wine he could drink, if I ever managed to get any grapes to grow.

  Bart was sitting on the front porch in his usual rocking chair and I heard banging from inside the house. I took a seat next to Bart.

  “How’d it go?” he asked.

  “I’m pretty sure she hates me. But the kids are on my side.”

  “Hate is good. It ain’t too far a leap from hate to love.”

  “Sure,” I said, lacking his confidence. “How is that obnoxious neighbor of yours?” Bart had moved into a small retirement community on the edge of town and there was a lady next door who gave him nothing but trouble, according to him.

  “Ornery as ever. She got on my case just this morning for cutting down a rose bush in my front yard. My front yard. I told her if she wanted the rose bush she could have it, but she wouldn’t take it. Infuriating woman wants me to take care of the dang thing so she can enjoy the view with none of the work.”

  I laughed. “You cut it down anyway, right?”

  He rocked for a moment, staring out at the yard. “It’s a fine rose bush. Really isn’t that much trouble. Figured if it meant that much to her, I’d leave it there.” He sighed. “Not that she appreciated it. Got all flustered ‘cause I didn’t speak kindly to her. I left the damn rose bush there, what more did she expect?”

  “Sounds high maintenance to me.”

  He grunted in satisfaction.

  “What are they doing in there?” I asked. I wasn’t exactly flush, but the house had needed some immediate work and Bart had recommended some guys to do it cheap. They’d put on a new roof and replaced the plumbing where it was needed, but they weren’t the most reliable guys for showing up when they said they would. I couldn’t complain, because I needed the work done fast and they were the cheapest crew I could find. I was impressed by the multiplicity of their skills.

  “I’m not sure,” Bart said. “You might want to check on them. They’re good boys, but they’re strange as a two-headed sow.”

  I hopped up from my seat and followed the banging to the second floor, where the guys had pulled down sheet rock and were working on the joists. “What are y’all doing?”

  Jersey, a tall, skinny guy with hair that stuck out in all directions like he’d stuck his finger in an electrical outlet, paused and looked at me over his shoulder. “Fixing the water damage, man. It’s not nearly as bad as we thought it’d be.”

  “That’s great,” I said. “But I can’t actually pay you for that work, yet.” The bank and my investors were footing the bill for the work I’d be doing building the winery, but the house repairs were on my own dime. My own very slim dime. If I could find some extra hours between building the winery and preparing the vineyard, I might have to get a part-time job.

  “We know, man,” Winston said. He was as round as his partner was lean, but his mullet was always neatly combed. “But you’re good for it and you can’t live in a house with water damage. Best we get this fixed up for you right now.”

  “It could be months before I pay you,” I said. “The new roof and plumbing pretty well bled me dry.”

  “So, you pay us in a few months or you pay us in favors,” Winston said.

  “Favors?”

  “Sure,” Winston said. “Free wine, like you offered Bart, or a job here once the business is up and running.”

  “Why would you want a job here? You have your own business.”

  “We don’t like the hours,” Jersey said. “We’re night owls and don’t nobody want handyman work down at midnight.”

  “Nobody ‘cept you,” Winston said. “We figured you might need a couple of night time workers.”

  “I’ll think about it,” I said. “We’ll work something out. Just as long as you two understand I can’t pay you right now.”

  “Got it, boss,” Winston said. “We’ll be heading out about eleven so we can get
some sleep.”

  “Sounds great.” Jersey and Winston’s preferred work day ran from midnight or one in the morning to ten or eleven in the morning. Humans were supposed to be diurnal, even night owls usually slept during the hours Winston and Jersey liked to be awake. I suspected scientists would love to study them. I headed back out to the porch just in time to see my brother pull up with my mother in the passenger seat and Aubrey and Jill in the back. My mother’s boyfriend had been unable to make it.

  “You know them folks?” Bart asked.

  “That’s my family.”

  Bart actually got to his feet and smiled at my mother and brother and sister, shaking their hands and being some close approximation to charming.

  “Where do you want us to start?” Noah asked.

  “Back yard,” I said.

  May, who’d moved in with me two days earlier, burst out the front door and wrapped her arms around my mother. “I’m so glad you’re here,” May said, a little screech in her voice. “I’ve been going crazy out here in the boonies.”

  “You’ve been here for two days,” I reminded her. “And this was your idea.”

  She ignored me. My mother fussed over her like she’d been lost at sea and stranded on a desert island with only a coconut for company. May claimed she was here to get better at nature photography and to prove to my mother, and herself, that she had what it took to be a photojournalist, but I had a feeling this whole thing was just some way to make my mother feel sorry enough for her that she gave in and paid for her to go back to college.

  “How are you doing?” Mom asked. She wrapped an arm around my waist and gave me a squeeze.

  “I don’t have any clue what I’m doing,” I said. “Except trying to create money from grapes I haven’t grown, yet.” I hated to admit vulnerability to anyone, but she was my mother and had an excellent head for business. She could also tell if I was lying and would harass me until she got to the truth anyway.

  “I can create money for you,” she said.

  “What?”

  “Let’s talk inside.” We made our excuses to Bart and I led her into the make-shift sitting room we’d put together.