by Sharon Sala
* * *
Bowie got back to the jobsite ahead of the crew. He noticed the old roll-off was gone and a new empty one was in place, so he went in the back door to look around. They already had the studs up for the new bath and walk-in closet and had a doorway framed up for the door leading into the master bedroom. He walked the house, checking the layout and the old plumbing that was being replaced, then moved on into the kitchen, making sure all of the utility hookups were going into the right places for the new appliances.
During the past twenty years, he’d worked on more homes than he could count, but none was more important to him than this one. For a time, three generations of James men and their women had lived in this house. It felt good to be fixing it rather than tearing it down.
When he heard vehicles pulling up, he knew the crew was back. He moved to a window to look out and smiled. Junior Boone was right in the middle of them like he belonged there. Confirmation for Bowie that he’d make the right call.
The crew was still out in the yard when a truck from the lumberyard pulled up. Bowie walked out onto the porch and then jumped off the side and jogged to the truck as the driver got out.
“Delivery for the James location,” the driver said. “Who’s Bowie James?”
“That’s me,” Bowie said, and together they verified the delivery order and then unloaded the forklift and began offloading the stacks of subfloor and lumber, cartridges for nail guns, and everything else on the list.
As soon as something was off the truck, the crew carried it inside.
“Now we can begin putting this place back together,” Bowie said.
* * *
Cora Boone had cleaned every surface of the house and hauled out years of needless accumulation. Part of it had gone into the garbage and the rest was donated.
The fact that she had the only keys to the house now made her feel safe. Even when she was gone running errands, she had no fear of coming back to find Judson waiting inside.
It felt strange to be holding such fear of him when she’d slept in the bed beside him for almost fifty years and birthed him all the sons that he’d wanted. She’d seen the hard side of him plenty of times, but she’d been completely unaware of the cruelty that coexisted with it.
She was putting a skillet of cornbread in the oven to bake when someone knocked at her back door. She turned around and saw Nellie through the window in the door.
Nellie knocked again, then called out, “I just want to tell you goodbye.”
Cora went to the door, hesitated, then turned the lock and opened it. There was a locked storm door between them and it was going to stay that way.
“What do you want?” Cora asked.
Nellie had tears in her eyes. “I’m leaving for Kentucky. I’m going home, but I couldn’t leave without telling you how much I love you, Cora. You were like a mother to me, and I need you to know that I knew nothing about any of this and I am as horrified by what I’ve learned as you seem to be.”
Sorrow welled, but Cora wouldn’t give way.
“Is Mel going with you?” she asked.
“No, ma’am. He wasn’t invited. I won’t see you again, but I’ll never forget you,” Nellie said, and then turned and ran.
Cora watched her get into a car with someone she didn’t recognize, but as they drove away she saw a Kentucky license plate on the car. Looked like Nellie’s family had come to her rescue.
Cora sighed, then relocked the door and set the time for the cornbread to come out of the oven.
She had beans reheating on the stove and a pitcher of sweet tea in the fridge. There was nothing left to do but wait for the timer to go off, so she picked up the newspaper, turned it to the crossword puzzle, and sat down at the kitchen table to work it, then had to quit because of the tears blurring her vision.
* * *
Jud Boone had just signed a one-year lease on a furnished one-bedroom apartment in the old part of Savannah. It wasn’t fancy, but it felt comfortable enough. The utilities were already on and it was a simple matter to get them switched into his name tomorrow. He was back at the motel packing up his belongings. When he finished, he paid up as he checked out, then stopped by a supermarket to buy a few groceries to tide him over until he could make a more thorough list. He had never shopped for groceries in Blessings and considered that woman’s work. But he was about to get a dose of what being without a woman was like.
He’d called Emmitt and Mel to give them his new address, but neither of them had returned his calls. It made him wonder what was happening. The lack of contact with them was unusual. His sons had always answered his calls or returned them promptly. He didn’t realize his absence in their lives was also going to mean a loss of control.
He stopped at a red light, glancing around as he waited for it to change. This was the first time in his life that he was living in a place where everyone he saw was a stranger. The light turned green and he proceeded through the intersection, then missed his turn. When he tried to circle back, there was no “going around the block” in his area. The city was old, and many of the streets were one-way. Back in Blessings, he could go around a block and come back out on the street he’d turned on, but not so here. It didn’t take long for him to figure out he was lost.
He knew there was a GPS app on his phone, but he’d never had occasion to use it in Blessings. And being lost in Savannah was no time to try to learn how to use it. Finally, he stopped and asked for directions. Getting from the supermarket to his apartment should have taken fifteen minutes but had turned into an hour.
By the time he got home and carried his purchases up to the second floor, he was in something of a snit. And when he went to put up the groceries, he had to throw out the gallon of Rocky Road ice cream that had melted.
He was hot and frustrated and mad that this was happening. Today, he wasn’t sure who made him madder, the bastard who didn’t belong, or Cora for kicking him out.
The longer he thought about Cora, the angrier Jud became. He shouldn’t have given up so easily. He should have dragged his things back in the house and shown her who was boss. By the time he went to bed that night, he’d added her to his mental hit list.
* * *
Pearl was taking a mid-afternoon nap and Ella was watching TV when Rowan announced she was going for a walk. Ella shooed her away with a smile, and out the door Rowan went.
It felt good to be out, even though last night’s rain and today’s blistering sun had the humidity set on sauna.
She’d put her hair up in a ponytail and was in the old shorts and oversize green T-shirt when she left the house. She was thankful for the tennis shoes, but wishing she had a cap as she gazed at the surrounding area, wondering where to start. It didn’t take long for her to see the sidewalk behind where Bowie had parked his motor home, and since it was lined with trees, that would make the walk more pleasant.
She took off with a purposeful stride that set her ponytail to swinging, and with her long legs she could cover quite a distance in a short time.
As she walked past trailer after trailer, she could hear a baby crying in one trailer and a couple yelling at each other in the next. There was a little girl playing dolls beneath a tree. Rowan smiled as she passed, listening to the little girl’s one-sided conversation, most of which consisted of punishment for her dolls for being naughty. When she stopped to retie a shoelace that had come loose, Rowan thought she heard running water. When she straightened up, she looked down into the woods and guessed there was a drop-off. She walked a short distance through the trees to look and saw a creek below. The current in the water was moving at a fast clip, which she attributed to the big rain they’d just had.
A little squirrel scolded her from a nearby tree, and when she looked up to see if it was visible, she was momentarily blinded by sunlight coming through the leafy branches. She gave up on the squirrel and walked bac
k to the sidewalk.
As she continued on the path, passing trailer after trailer, she thought living in a trailer park was a bit like living in an apartment building—always hearing the neighbors on either side, as well as the ones above and the ones below.
Living that way seemed stifling to Rowan. She’d always known quiet, the privacy of rural living, and lots of land on which to roam. She thought of the farm, and the land that was now hers, and wondered what to do with it. There was no way she could ever afford to rebuild, and she didn’t know how to go about pricing it and putting it up for sale. The only building standing was that barn, and even though it had been her refuge when she needed one, she never wanted to set foot in it again.
She noticed the sidewalk was taking a turn to the left, and as she kept moving forward, she came upon a small parklike patch of trees and grass. There were a couple of picnic tables and one large charcoal grill made of red bricks, as well as a rather dilapidated swing set. But there were fresh kid tracks all around the swings, so she knew it was still in use.
The sidewalk continued past the minipark and behind the trailers on the opposite side. It was more of the same from the people inside them. The sidewalk ended behind Frank and Jewel Crockett’s fifth wheel, and when she started across the driveway to get back to Bowie’s home, Frank and Jewel were sitting beneath their awning. They saw her and waved her over.
“Hi, honey!” Jewel said. “You’re Rowan, right?”
“Yes, ma’am. I went for a walk around the trailer park, but it’s getting too hot to stay out much longer.”
“Yes, it’s hot, but as long as we’re in the shade we don’t mind it so much,” Jewel said.
“Miss Rowan, would you care for a cold drink?” Frank lifted the lid on their little ice chest. “There are cold root beers and cold water.”
Rowan smiled. “I’d take a water. I should have thought to take a bottle of water with me when I set out. I will next time.”
Frank pulled a bottle out of the ice chest, opened the seal for her, and then handed it over.
“It even feels good to hold,” Rowan said, and then removed the lid and took a big drink. “Oh, that’s wonderful! Thank you so much,” she said.
“Anytime,” Jewel said.
Rowan glanced across the drive. “I’d better be getting back before Ella thinks I got lost. Thank you again for the drink.”
She jogged across the driveway and then hurried inside. The shock of cool air was welcome, and she dropped down onto the sofa with her bottle of water.
Ella was in the kitchen getting herself a drink. “Is it very hot out?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am! That rain made the humidity even worse. The couple across the driveway just gave me a bottle of water. Next time, I’ll have the good sense to take one with me,” Rowan said, and proceeded to drink until the water was gone.
“You also forgot your phone,” Ella said. “And I know this because I heard it ringing. You might want to check your messages.”
“Oh my gosh! I never even thought of it,” Rowan said. “I never had one at home.”
She went to the dining table and picked it up. It took her a bit to figure out where to look for saved messages, and then she sat down to listen.
“Miss Harper, this is Freddy Morse, your neighbor. My sincerest condolences on the loss of your father, and I hope you are well. I’ve had quite a time getting in touch with you. I saw what happened to your property and was wondering if you intend to build back or if you intend to put the place up for sale. If you do, I would be interested in knowing what you want for it because I might be able to buy it. As you know, my property adjoins yours, and I didn’t want to miss a chance to add some land to mine. Let me know your decision when you can.”
Rowan disconnected, then laid the phone aside and went to the sofa where Ella was sitting.
“Everything okay?” Ella asked.
“Yes. It was a neighbor wanting to know if I was going to rebuild the house or sell the property. He’s interested if I put it up for sale.”
“What are you going to do about it?” Ella asked.
“I can’t rebuild, and I don’t know that I would want to if I could. I’ll sell, but I don’t know what land is worth around here, or who to ask.”
“You can talk to a real estate agent. They’d be the best ones to give you advice. There’s a real estate business here in town. You can call them, now that you have a phone.”
Rowan nodded. “Maybe tomorrow. I can’t think about it now.”
Ella hugged her. “You’re having a hard time, aren’t you?”
Rowan shrugged. “I didn’t think I was, but the nightmares are proof that I am.”
“It will get better,” Ella said. “Mama and I had a lot of trouble facing Billie’s passing and then losing track of Bowie for a time.”
“How did you get over it?” Rowan asked.
“Oh, you never really get over it. But after a period of time, we saw we were concentrating more on her death than all the time we had her. So, we made her part of the family again. There were pictures of her all over the house, and sometimes we’d watch her favorite TV shows and do ‘remember when’ moments together. And we still celebrate her birthday.”
“Those are wonderful ways to commemorate her life,” Rowan said.
Ella nodded. “Whatever works, you know? Mama and I have been putting off reclaiming parts of our lives since the flood. We have money in the bank to buy a car and haven’t done it. And we had homeowners insurance, but the flood insurance was too high, so we didn’t have that. So there we sat in that nursing home, reeling from the shock of all that happened, and with nowhere to go and without the money to fix the house.”
Rowan leaned her head on Ella’s shoulder. “Thank you for giving me a place to live. I fully intend to go to work and pay you monthly rent.”
Ella just smiled. “You can work all you want, but we’ll not take a penny of your money. We aren’t renting you a room, we’re sharing our home.” And then she chuckled. “And look what you got in the bargain! Bowie James.”
Rowan blushed. “We’ll see how it goes. He may decide I’m too much trouble to bother with.”
“That’ll be the day,” Ella said. “You just keep an open heart and do what it tells you to do.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Rowan said, and then glanced at the clock. “I guess I need to be thinking about supper. I got those pork chops out of the freezer this morning and they’ve been thawing in the refrigerator. Should I fry them, or does he like them made another way?”
“This is the South. You can never go wrong if it’s fried.”
Rowan laughed. “True. Okay then, I need to check the pantry and see what else there is to go with them.”
“Let me know if you need help later.”
“I will,” Rowan said, and as she got up, she shoved the idea of a farm sale to the back of her mind.
* * *
Bowie had been watching Junior off and on all day, taking note of how readily he took to whatever task he was given and how thorough he was in following through. He hadn’t been afraid to ask for help if he was uncertain.
It was almost time for the workday to end. The men were packing up tools, and they’d sent Junior to lock the back door and close and lock all the windows.
Bowie watched, and when the kid got up to the front of the house to close the last of the windows, Bowie walked up beside him and gave him a quick pat on the back.
“You did a good job today, Junior.”
Junior smiled. “Thanks, Boss!”
“Hey, you earned the compliment. If anyone is picking you up, you might let them know it’s about that time, or I can drop you off on my way home. It’s up to you.”
“Oh…I was gonna walk home, Boss.”
“Want a ride?”
Junior nodded. “Yeah, sure.�
�
“Good. Grab that lunch you didn’t get to eat, and make sure you take everything you brought back home for the night.”
“Yes, sir,” he said, and finished locking the last of the windows. Then he went to get his lunch, his gloves, and his baseball cap, but when he turned around and saw Bowie was on the phone, he went out onto the porch to give his boss privacy.
The crew was driving away when Bowie locked the front door, and Junior was waiting for him on the top step.
“Okay, we’re off,” Bowie said.
Junior followed him to the rental car, got in, and buckled up, trying to be cool about the fact that he was riding with his cousin, while trying not to panic that the man his daddy viewed as the enemy was taking him home.
“I don’t know where you live,” Bowie said.
“Turn right just past the bank. I’ll direct you from there.”
Bowie nodded, and a few minutes later, he braked in front of the house Junior pointed out.
“Have a good evening,” Bowie said.
Junior nodded. “See you in the morning,” he said, and took off running up the driveway to the house.
Bowie drove away before anyone knew he’d been there and headed for home, thinking about Rowan. There was something about sleeping in the same bed with a woman that shifted just being acquaintances to more than good friends.
Chapter 14
As Bowie took the turn into the trailer park, he was struck by how anxious he was to get home. After spending so many years alone, this unexpected turn in his life had given him a glimpse into what family life and having someone like Rowan in his life could be like. He’d never felt like this about a woman before. Despite the fact that he was a grown-ass man of thirty-five, he felt like a lovestruck teen.
He parked, got out, and was halfway up the steps when Rowan opened the door to surprise him. Only she was the one who got the surprise.
Delighted by her sudden appearance, the first thing he did was cup the back of her head and kiss her. It was a surprise attack with unmistakable intensity.
“You’re the best reason I’ve ever had to come home to,” he said, then slid an arm across her shoulder as he entered.
