by Judi Lynn
Both men stared at her. Brad answered. “We’re a foodie town. That’s how we put ourselves on the map. Tourists used to stop here, look through a few shops, and then take off for the national forest. Now, they stop and stay for a meal or two, linger to go from shop to shop and spend some money. More people try to stay in town for the night. The farmers have all upped their game here.”
Karli snorted. “Come on. Chase’s bar, the microbrewery, and Ralph’s diner are the biggest eateries in town. Ian’s resort does gourmet, and it’s always full.”
Buck squared his shoulders, offended. “Have you tasted one of Chase’s burgers? The beef comes from Carl Gruber. Carl supplies Ralph, too. And Cutter Rethlake farms the hogs for the specialty pork around here.”
Karli pinched her lips together. “Should I call truce? I can tell you take farming seriously.”
“Everyone should.” Even Brad looked fired-up. “It’s the difference between quality and quantity.”
She put up her hands in defeat. “I get it. Even Art’s Grocery has its local meat counter.”
“People bring coolers to shop there.” Buck sat back in his chair and chuckled. “But we’ll quit giving you grief. You probably have plenty of fancy restaurants in Indy.”
“We do, but I don’t go to them very often. Too expensive.”
Chase saved her by carrying their burgers to the table. “Here you go, guys. Enjoy.”
An understatement. Boy, were they good! If burgers could be gourmet, these would qualify. Karli thought of all the food she’d eaten in Mill Pond and all of it had been delicious. When they finished their burgers and fries, Buck ordered dessert.
Chase grinned at Karli. “Buck never leaves here without a slice of pie. Ian’s wife Tessa makes them. They’re the best.”
And that wasn’t bragging. He was right. Mill Pond might not be fancy, but when it did something, it did it well.
When Buck finished his pie, he paid his bill and headed to the door. “I’ll be here again next Thursday if you need a table to sit at.”
Karli watched him leave, then turned to Brad. “He’s a nice man.”
“One of the best. Mill Pond’s full of good people.”
It was. No wonder Keagan didn’t want to leave here.
Brad paid their bill, she left a tip, then they headed to his truck. On the drive home, he said, “Indy’s not that far away. I could come up to visit you on weekends.”
She laughed. Was that a definition of booty calls or not? “My schedule’s not that convenient. Some weekends I work, some I don’t. No set hours.”
“No problem. We’ll just have to keep in touch.”
She didn’t plan to, but she wasn’t going to argue about it. “Why do I get the idea that you’re already a busy man?”
He grinned. “I do get lonely, you know, and need company.”
As in women. Exactly what she expected. “I wouldn’t want you to wither away from lack of attention. Don’t change any plans for me.”
“Wouldn’t think of it, but I can always find time for friends.”
Oh, goodie, he could work her in between Girl A and Girl B. No thank you. When he dropped her off, he called, “This was fun. We’ll have to do it again.”
“I’d like that.” She’d had a nice night, but that’s all it was. He was never getting into her panties. He just didn’t realize that yet.
Chapter 19
Karli scowled as she watched Keagan’s mail truck slow at the end of the drive. He delivered a fistful of envelopes, then drove away. The damn scaredy-cat. To hell with him!
She scraped the leftovers of the spinach casserole into a bowl to nuke. No cooking lunch today! Then she glanced at her reflection in the window over the sink. Lord have mercy, it was a good thing Keagan ran for his life. She looked like she’d stuck her finger in an electric socket. Her hair could make Medusa run. But damn, she was practically throwing herself at the man and he pretended not to notice. Worse, he threw Brad in her path to distract her.
There had to be some way to get closer to him. Then inspiration struck. He’d known exactly where to find pictures of this house in its glory days. He hated to see it in disrepair. Every time she painted a new room, he loved it, loved seeing the old place look good again. But what if she went all out? The weather was still decent. What if she decided to scrape the whole damn exterior like his friends had mentioned?
Something had to impress the man!
She grinned at her reflection. If she played her cards right, he wouldn’t want her taking on such a big project by herself. Second, it would knock his socks off that she wanted to try. And third, he’d probably volunteer to help her.
She glanced out the window at the poor barn. It looked worse than the house, and she realized how much it bothered her to see this place in such sad shape. She could almost feel how much Axel’s mom had loved the house when it was built. It deserved to be treated better.
She’d only lived in apartments since she took her boards, and she’d never stayed in one place for more than six months. It surprised her how much she enjoyed restoring this house to a little of its former glory. Had all of her nesting hormones come unhinged when she came to Mill Pond? Or was she just having fun playing house?
The timer dinged on the microwave, chasing away her fanciful thoughts. She dished up their lunch. Axel didn’t look as happy as she thought he would when he saw his plate.
“Not a fan of spinach,” he told her.
“It’s healthy, full of calcium and vitamins.” She kept trying to sneak fruits and vegetables into his diet.
“I get those when I drink an Ensure.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s not the same.”
Kurt shrugged. “Spinach is okay.”
Okay? If they had really liked it, the whole thing would be gone, so she’d better count her blessings. She was eating at the wooden table in the kitchen with the oven on, soaking in the heat, when a mouse ran over her foot.
“Holy shit!” She wouldn’t let herself jump on a chair. She was a grown woman, and she wouldn’t scream over a mouse. But she wanted to.
“You okay?” Words she never thought she’d hear Axel utter.
“A mouse just ran over my foot.”
He grunted. “Yeah, they come in about this time of year when it gets cold outside.”
She walked to the door to talk to him. “How do you catch them?”
“There are some traps in the broom closet.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not going around the house to collect little dead bodies.”
“Suit yourself.”
She frowned at him. “There must be something else.”
“Mice leave when there’s a cat in a house, but when you leave, you take the damned thing with you.”
“I don’t want a cat.”
“Then kill the mice or start naming them.”
She glowered toward Kurt. “Mice are a man’s job. He should deal with them.”
Kurt finished a beer and swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. “They don’t bother me.”
“They’re disgusting. They spread disease and multiply faster than rabbits.”
He shrugged. “They don’t eat that much. Put some cheese out for them.”
She turned and stalked back to the kitchen. The idiots! She wasn’t about to start every day by sweeping away mouse turds. She went to her room and called her mom. “Axel has mice. I heard about a gadget you plug into the wall that has a high-pitched sound that drives them away.”
“You have to buy one for each floor,” Mom told her. “I don’t think there are any outlets in the attic.”
Karli could picture every mouse running to the third floor of the house and partying there. “So what do I do?”
“We always had barn cats when I was growing up.”
Karli sighed
. “Axel says if I get a cat, it’s mine. I take it with me.”
“Cats are portable,” her mom said. “Most apartments are okay with them.”
Not what she wanted to hear. She’d have to buy a litter box and train the cat to stay indoors. And travel with it. Then she thought of Keagan. His parents had a huge farm with massive fields. They had a red barn and must battle lots of mice. Would they take another cat when she left here if she paid to have it spayed and get it all its shots?
“I’ll ask Keagan if his parents will take it when I leave.”
She could almost hear her mom’s smile. “It’s easy to get attached to cats.”
“We never had one. You always had some kind of dog.”
“That was your dad’s fault. He doesn’t like cats. I grew up with them. They’re my favorites.”
Karli had never known that. “I don’t want a pet. Too much work.”
“Okay.” Mom had that mother tone in her voice. She didn’t believe her. But she was wrong. Karli didn’t want anything that was extra work in her life. “Good luck, hon.”
“Thanks. If I don’t see you before then, have fun in Milwaukee.”
Mom laughed. “Has Sylvie come yet?”
“No.”
“Then I hope she stays away until after Thanksgiving. If you get sick of it all, let my dad deal with Kurt and come home.”
“Will do. Love ya.” When Karli hung up, her thoughts turned to Keagan. She had another reason to talk to him. Any reason at all worked for her.
Chapter 20
The next day, Keagan saw the red flag standing at attention on Axel’s mailbox, but there was nothing inside it. Still, Axel must need something, so he drove to his front porch and knocked on the door.
Karli opened it and motioned him inside. She looked cuter than usual today in tight jeans and a flannel shirt that wasn’t tucked in. Her dark hair was pulled back in a hairband with a few bangs that had escaped curling on her forehead.
The old nursery rhyme popped into his head. There was a little girl Who had a little curl Right in the middle of her forehead . . . He smiled. He’d bet Karli could be really good when she wanted to be . . . and very, very naughty when she chose to.
He breathed in the aroma of bacon, sautéed garlic and onions. “Mmm, smells good in here. Are you making lunch?”
“Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, but I started the meatloaf for supper, wrapped it in bacon. Thought I’d fix mashed potatoes, too. Want to stop by?”
He glanced toward the kitchen, tempted, but shook his head. “I’m meeting Brad at Chase’s for burgers tonight.”
“Those are good, too.” She shrugged, then frowned, turning serious. “I’m sorry I put up the flag to bother you, but I saw a mouse in the kitchen yesterday. Everyone I talked to said I should get a cat, but I’m not staying here much longer. I don’t want to take in a pet, then leave it. I was wondering if I adopted a cat and paid for its shots and everything if your parents would take it when I had to leave.”
He blinked. One more cat would hardly be noticed in the barn. “I’d guess so, but it wouldn’t be a pet. It would have to stay outdoors. They like getting new barn cats every once in a while so their cats aren’t so inbred. They’d prefer a male, though.”
She frowned. “I was going to get it spayed.”
“Then no problem. They just don’t need a zillion kittens.”
She nodded and he turned to leave. “Wait. I wanted to ask you about ladders, too. I thought I’d start scraping the house, get rid of some of the peeling paint.”
He stared. “Axel will let you do that?”
“He’d better.”
Keagan grinned. “Some of us have been talking about spending a Saturday scraping, but we’re having such a warm November, we thought we might even be able to paint. Chase and Harley are on the town council, and they got a vote through to buy paint for this place. We thought we’d buy good quality products. Most of us already own spray guns. We’d like to finish as much of the exterior of the house as we can before it gets too cold.”
“How in the world will you talk Axel into that?” Would the old man allow it?
“I think he’ll go for it, since he’s not paying for it.” Keagan nodded toward the back room. “You know he’s listening. The old bastard turned down his TV so he could hear us.” He raised his voice. “What do you say, Axel?”
“Go ahead and waste the town’s money! What do I care? The kids’ll inherit more when I die.”
Karli grimaced. “You’re too mean to die any time soon, old coot!”
Keagan heard his laugh. Axel enjoyed heckling Karli. People had asked him about painting his house before and he’d sent them away. Karli could bully him into things he normally wouldn’t do. Hell, he brushed his teeth twice a day now. “I’ll call Chase and whoever can make it will show up on Saturday. No making food for us either. We’ll cover that. There’ll be too many of us.”
“Will you be here?”
“Yup, so I don’t want to see you climbing some high ladder. We’ll put you in charge of the shutters.”
“What shutters? There aren’t any.”
“They were falling off, so I put them in the barn. They’re really nice, handmade.”
She shook her head. “How long have you been taking care of Axel?”
“I don’t. I just check on him once a week and bring him a few groceries. He’s lost ground the last couple of months, though. That’s why I called your mom.”
“And now I have this damn girl living with me!” Axel yelled out at him.
Keagan chuckled, but his good mood vanished when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Kurt hadn’t even changed out of his pajamas. His gray beard was scragglier than Axel’s, and his long, unkempt hair grazed his shoulders. What a lazy-ass bum! Keagan glanced at the clock and said, “Good morning—what’s left of it. Did you come down for lunch?”
“I smelled meatloaf.”
“That’s for supper. Don’t touch it,” Karli told him. “I made it early so I could drive into town today and buy a ladder.”
Keagan turned to Kurt. “A few of us are coming on Saturday to scrape the house. We could use an extra hand. You worked odd jobs, didn’t you?”
Kurt ran a hand through his hair, making it more mussed. He rolled his shoulders and winced. “I’d pitch in, but I lost my last job because my back’s been bothering me. It’s still not right. I have to take it easy.”
“Yeah, I thought so.” Keagan shook his head. He didn’t know how Karli put up with him, but then, it wasn’t her call, was it? Axel was enjoying himself too much. He started for the door again. “My dad and Stuart, my brother-in-law, both have spray guns. When we paint, I’ll bring those, too. If we have enough people, we should be able to get the house done pretty fast.”
She looked happy. “When I leave, I hope the house looks more like that picture you showed me. I think it will make my mom happy to know it’s pretty again.”
That was nice of her to think of her mom, to care about the house. There were so many things he liked about her. If only . . . He gave his head another shake. She’d be gone soon and then he could concentrate on his job, his neighbors, and his dinnerware.
Chapter 21
For a mid-November day, the weather was mild. Karli enjoyed the drive into Mill Pond and enjoyed talking to Meg at the hardware store even more. She’d decided to wait on getting a cat until after the house was painted. Having so many people coming in and out of the house might terrorize it, or it might slip out and disappear when the door opened and closed.
She bought an extension ladder, but hoped she’d never have to climb very far up it. Keagan meant to paint the house the colors of paint he imagined in the picture—gleaming white for the clapboards and sage green for the shutters. Mom often talked about the old place, how pretty it could have been if Axel had
done much of anything to it. Karli hoped she’d still be here when they finished it.
She stopped at Art’s Grocery since she was in town and visited with a few people she didn’t know but who were friendly while she grabbed three rotisserie chickens, some deli meat, and a few loaves of deli breads. She’d freeze whatever she didn’t use today.
When she got back to the house and dragged everything inside, she went to check on Axel. He was sitting up in bed with his arms crossed over his chest, his lips turned down, his eyes narrowed. The TV was tilted so that Kurt could see it better, and Kurt was leaning back in his easy chair, watching some judge who wasn’t Judge Judy.
Her good mood vanished. Karli could feel the anger roil off of Axel. “Is everything okay?”
He nudged his chin toward Kurt. “He took the remote and won’t let me watch my favorite shows.”
It served Axel right. What did he expect? She should let him stew in his own poisons, but she could hardly tolerate Kurt, and this felt like the last straw. Her fists went to her hips. “Give him back the remote.”
Kurt sent her a cursory glance, unconcerned. “Why should he get to hog the TV all day? Why can’t I watch some of the shows I like?”
“Because this isn’t your house yet. You don’t pay for anything. If you don’t like it here, leave.”
Kurt crossed his arms, as stubborn as Axel. “I have every bit as much right here as you do, and you seem to do pretty much whatever you please.”
She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. Kurt sat up straight in his chair. When he reached to grab it from her, she raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead. Try to bully me.”
He pulled his hand back. “Who are you calling?”
“Keagan.”
“Hey, there’s no need for that. If Axel wants his damn remote, he can have it.” He tossed it to him.
Karli took a step closer to him, and Kurt shrank back from her. She pointed a finger at him. “You’re not a guest here, and you’re not a caregiver. You’re a freeloader. If you don’t annoy me, it’s up to Axel if you stay or go, but don’t push me. I’m not in the mood.” She whirled on Axel, and the old man’s eyes opened wide. “You think you’re so clever, playing people against each other, but when Sylvie comes and I go home, this is the way you’re going to be treated. Get used to it.”
