Читать книгу Finding Her Home - Carol Steward - Страница 11

Two weeks later, Tori drove up to the tiny house on Piñon Lane. Unexpected emotions wrapped themselves around her like a cobweb. She stepped out of the SUV, stunned by the dreariness of her grandparents’ home. The August heat had sucked the life out of their yard. She touched the lilac bush and the leaves crumbled like crisp tortilla chips. Chrysanthemums drooped over, their bright buds withered. Marigolds and zinnias were dried clusters on the end of gray-green sticks.

It had only been four months since her parents left for the mission in South America, and Tori had been here just weeks before Abuela’s stroke. What had happened?

She unlocked the front door and stepped inside. A sour stench permeated the air. Tori hurried from window to window, wrestling them open. Abuela had always kept a tidy house, but now clutter filled every table and chair. Dirty dishes were piled in the sink. Trash hadn’t gone out in weeks. How had everything fallen into such disarray so quickly? Why hadn’t they told her they needed help? Had she overlooked the signs?

Tori collected the odor-causing garbage, sprayed room freshener and set the trash bag outside the back door. She studied the back entrance, wondering if it might be easier to fit with a ramp than the front. She walked around the house, noticing things looked much different through the eyes of the caregiver. The three steps out front seemed like nothing until she considered how to get Abuela’s wheelchair up them and into the house. The wrought-iron handrail wobbled in the slight breeze. It, too, had fallen into a sad state of neglect. The once-neat house looked as worn-out as the owners.

School bells rang across the street and Tori turned, expecting to see the kids run anxiously out of the building, yet not a student appeared. Her alma mater, like the rest of her hometown, looked older, smaller and more withered as a result of the harsh elements and sparse budget.

“Tori!” She heard Steve holler from the school parking lot across the street. He waved, sauntering closer, speeding up with each step. She waved, recalling Steve’s occasional telephone calls to check on Grandma’s condition. “How are you?”

“Fine,” she said, stretching the truth. “I came to see about renovations. They’re sending Abuela home soon.” Tori felt an odd sense of panic. Suddenly taking care of two other people seemed overwhelming. She, who worked seventeen-hour days, was actually feeling out of her realm.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I’d have—”

“It was a last-minute decision. I dropped Abuelo off at the care center to spend the day with Grandmother. My brother will pick him up this afternoon. They tried to talk me out of coming here by insisting that it would only take a little rearranging of furniture to make it work.”

“I’m sure it won’t be too difficult.”

Tori appreciated his cheerleading efforts, but he hadn’t seen the mess inside. “I’m glad I didn’t put this off any longer.” She took a deep breath and lifted her shoulders. “I met with the physical therapist yesterday to find out what needed to be done before they could send Abuela home. She’s paralyzed on one side.” Tori shook her head, the weight of the situation winning again. “I just don’t know if this is going to work. The rooms are small, doorways narrow and the house is so cluttered.” She looked around the yard and felt tears cloud her vision. “This is so unlike my grandparents.”

“I came over last week and tried to see if he had a mower in the garage, but it’s locked. How long are you staying?”

“For the weekend. My brother and his family are on their way from Texas.” She looked at her watch. “Should be arriving any time. He’s going to stay at my condo with Abuelo….”

Steve looked puzzled. “And you’re here to work all weekend? Alone? Have you forgotten it’s supposed to be a holiday?”

She felt her eyes flutter closed, pushing the tears down her cheeks. “After two weeks of my grandfather at my house, being alone will feel like a vacation, even if I’m cleaning.” Tori closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t complain. I’m just not used to having extended houseguests.”

Tori opened the hatch of her SUV and pulled out a stack of empty boxes. Steve got the other stack and followed her into the house.

“Is everything okay at work?”

“The principal suggests I take a few weeks of family leave. How can I even consider taking time off in September?”

“I’m sure they could manage.”

She looked at him suspiciously. He seemed awfully agreeable to the idea. “Better than I can, probably. I’m not accustomed to anything but a win-win situation, and this one has none. Abuela and Abuelo obviously can’t take care of each other anymore, but they insist on coming home. Run-down as it is, it’s been their home for over fifty years, and they refused to leave ‘until God moves them to the castle in the sky,’ as Abuelo always says.”

“Sounds just like your grandfather.” Steve laughed and Tori pushed her emotions aside. Now wasn’t the time to let down her guard. Especially with someone she hardly knew.

“Yes, it does.” She didn’t want to feel comforted by his sympathy, his soothing voice or his good looks. She looked nervously around, trying to find some distraction from her weakness for cowboys wearing the mythical white hats. “It was nice of you to stop by, Steve, but I need to take care of some things before everyone is closed for the holiday,” she said absently as she rubbed her forehead.

“You’re doing great, Tori.” He took her by the shoulders and smiled. “Don’t worry. It’ll work out. You have all day to make your calls.” He looked around. “And you don’t need to look for a contractor. I’d be happy to do any building renovations you may need done.”

“How…?”

“It stands to reason that if Mrs. Sandoval is coming home in a wheelchair that you’d need a few changes to be made. When are they looking at releasing her?”

She hesitated, unsettled by his nearness. “She’s making such good progress they keep moving the date up. I don’t see how we can be ready now that I know what state the house is in.” She knew what teachers’ hours involved, not to mention that she wanted to be sure the work was done right, by a professional. “I appreciate the offer, Steve, but I couldn’t take you away from your kids and job. And I refuse to take your time on a holiday weekend.”

“Maybe we could work out a compromise. I’ll see what needs to be done, and you let us take you away from here Sunday afternoon. Aunt Elaine and Uncle Bill are having their annual Labor Day picnic.” His plea was gentle, open for discussion and terribly tempting.

Tori wanted to keep her visit to Segundo as quiet as possible. “I haven’t been to the ranch since Brody and I were in high school. I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”

“It’s nothing too frightening, just the picnic and the annual hayride to end the summer.” Steve paused, “Think about it. I pick up the kids around three. Why don’t we stop by and mow the grass so you can at least water the trees tonight? You can let me know if we have a deal then.”

Tori followed him outside and glanced at the yard. “I’m not sure if I’ll be done with my appointments by three.”

“If you just leave the garage unlocked, we can get started.”

“But I don’t even know if the mower is working.”

He backed away with a laugh. “I’ll see you later. I came out to see if the school bells are working, so I’d better get back.”

Tori unlocked the garage then locked the house and slipped into the car to run her errands, surprisingly anxious to see Steve again. She returned long before two o’clock with a few groceries and a very short referral list from the health care coordinator of handy-men who had experience with handicap renovations. At the top of the list was none other than Steven Remington. She had called several of the others on the list from her cell phone, but all were busy until the end of the month. While she liked Steve, she wasn’t sure it was a good idea to hire him to do the work. He had a job and children, and who knew how much time the building would take?

Tori carried her supplies into the house and removed several containers of green growing things from the refrigerator, replacing them with her own meals for the weekend. By the time Steve and his kids arrived, she’d made room for the box of ice pops in the freezer and met them outside when she carried the trash bag to the garage.

His kids jumped out of the truck and waited for their dad.

“Kyle, Kelsey, this is Miss Sandoval.”

“Just Tori, if that’s okay with you. I’ll think I’m back at school. How are you kids today?”

Two meek voices murmured, “Fine.”

“Hasn’t school started yet?”

Kelsey shook her head, but Kyle spoke. “Not until next Tuesday. This is our last weekend of summer vacation.”

“Do you have fun plans?” Tori asked.

“We’re going on a hayride, and ride horses and maybe even swimming.” Kelsey blurted out, “Dad says maybe you could come with us. Will you?”

Tori smiled. She was flattered that his daughter didn’t feel threatened by sharing her dad’s attention. “I’d like that, but I do have a lot of work to do here.”

“Bummer.” Kyle looked up to his dad and frowned.

Seeing that the kids’ disappointment matched Steve’s surprised her. She presumed that Steve had told his kids that he had offered their help during their last weekend of the summer vacation. “I’ll see how much I get done. How about that?”

Their faces brightened.

“Sounds fair enough.” Steve clapped his hands once. “Let’s find that lawn mower and get to work.”

Tori led the way to the backyard and the kids took off when they found the rickety old swing set that her grandfather had built from discarded supplies from the mine.

The kids stood examining the structure, tugging on it before climbing aboard. “Dad, I’m going to get your tools from the truck, okay?”

“Sounds good, Kyle. It’s unlocked.” Kyle disappeared with Kelsey close behind.

“I appreciate your help, Steve, but I don’t want you to…”

Steve paused before going into the garage. “I’m not going to take anything away from my family,” he whispered. “It’s important that they learn to help others, and I make sure they are appropriately rewarded for doing so.”

Her willpower faltered. Then Steve’s mouth twitched and she caved in. “If you’re sure.”

His immediate smile told her that there wasn’t much Steve Remington wasn’t sure about—even the humbling experience of raising children by himself. “I am. Did you have any luck arranging for home health care?”

She felt the insecurity creeping back. In the city, care for the aging was a hot commodity, but here it had always been a family responsibility. That meant her. “They’re overbooked and short-staffed. They can’t offer much more than once-a-week service. I’m going to have to find someone who isn’t part of the home-health system to come and help.”

“Did they have names of qualified people?” While they talked, she and Steve unburied the mower.

“A few. I recognized a few names from school, so I’ll start there, I guess. They also gave me a list of men who could do the renovations.”

Steve moved a cast-iron birdbath. “You won’t need that list. I’d be insulted if you don’t let me do the work for you.” Tori set aside a box of old clay pots, along with the special memories they held, choosing to overlook Steve’s comment for the moment. It was almost tradition for households to include several generations in the valley. And surprisingly, that crossed all cultures and social classes. Even the Remingtons, with all of their money, kept family on the ranch. She looked at Steve with an unusual jealousy. While he’d left the circle of his own parents, he’d still come back to family for solace. Her family broke every cultural boundary for the times.

Steve pulled the mower into the yard where they could take a better look. He yanked on the cord and nothing happened. “Sounds pretty dead.” Rubbing his chin, he stood and moved the mower closer to his toolbox.

Tori forced her unruly emotions to the back of her mind, focusing on the present. “Steve, you’re going to ruin your clothes. This doesn’t have to be done today.”

“I don’t suppose you have those scrubs around, do you?” His eyes twinkled, and she was convinced that he wanted to say something more.

“I returned those to the hospital,” she said, reading way too much into his gaze. “I’m sure I could find something, though it wouldn’t look nearly as cute on you.” Why did she suspect that they would be having a much different conversation without the kids here?

He laughed. “I think I have my basketball clothes in the truck. Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to change. I’d hate to have you indebted to me again.”

Tori rolled her eyes. “Oh, really? Maybe I should ask for a written estimate before you start the renovations. Not sure I can afford your help.”

“It shouldn’t be a problem.”

She didn’t want charity, but she would save that argument for another time. “Help yourself to the house. I’ll see how the kids are doing.”

Steve lowered his already deep voice, imitating Arnold Schwarzenegger. “I’ll be back.”

Kelsey tossed a twig at Steve. “You’re such a dork, Dad.”

“King Dork to you, princess.” He turned and disappeared.

Tori found herself studying the closeness between Steve and his kids, pleased to discover what a good relationship he’d developed with them. She admired a parent with determination to keep in touch with their children. Not in a monthly letter way like Tori had experienced. Times were different, she tried to tell herself. In her parents’ thinking, they’d done nothing wrong. Leaving grandparents to raise the kids was perfectly acceptable in their world, yet Tori had wanted more. And she still longed for the kind of closeness Steve was creating with his son and daughter.

“Tori, which one is a crescent wrench?” Kelsey asked quietly, tugging her from her trance.

Tori dug through the toolbox. “This one,” she whispered.

Kelsey handed the wrench to her younger brother and smiled back to Tori.

“Hey, how’d you know which one I needed?” Kyle studied it a minute and smiled. “Thanks, sis.” Kyle worked on one side of the toolbox, Steve on the other. An hour later the kids were enjoying the same swing set that Tori had used as a kid, and Steve had the mower cutting grass. She went inside and cleaned until she heard the mower stop.

“Could I fix dinner for your help?”

“Thanks, but I think Aunt Elaine is expecting us for supper at six-thirty.”

“Would an ice pop ruin their appetites?” Tori raised her eyebrows and waited for Steve to protest.

He surprised her by accepting the treat. “Since it’s a half-hour drive, I think we’ll be fine. I’m sure they’ve worked up an appetite since snacks at Mrs. Niccolo’s.”

“Bette is watching kids? We were best friends growing up, but I haven’t talked to her in a few years. I thought she got a teaching degree.”

“She did. She likes child care better, and it lets her stay home with her family. She’s the only licensed provider in the valley, and the kids love her.” Steve called the kids. Kyle came dragging the toolbox back to the truck. “Here, let me put that away, Kyle.”

“Thanks for letting us play on the swing set, Tori. It’s awesome. We can swing really high on it.” Kelsey hugged Tori, surprising her once again.

“Come on in and wash.” Tori waited in the kitchen, glad that she had thought of buying refreshments for them. “I have a treat to thank you for your hard work.”

“Tori, while Dad works on the ramp tomorrow, could we paint the swing set?”

She was caught off guard. “Tomorrow?”

Steve swallowed a chunk of the frozen confection. “Tomorrow, as in the day after today. You will be here, won’t you?”

She nodded blankly. “Sure. I’ll see if I can find—”

“We have some leftover paint out at the ranch. If you don’t mind multicolors, I think we’d have it taken care of and use up some scraps while we’re at it.”

She smiled, trying to recall the original color. “That sounds great.” She hadn’t planned to fix that up, but it would be nice to have the bright colors in the yard again.

The kids devoured the red, white and blue ice pop and begged their dad to let them have another.

“We need to save one for tomorrow. Let’s get going before Aunt Elaine scalps us for being late.” Steve looked into Tori’s eyes. “We’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

Steve and the kids arrived the next morning and started working without even ringing the doorbell to announce their arrival. Tori stepped over the piles of magazines she’d sorted through and went outside to greet them. “Morning.”

He studied her a moment before saying anything. “I hope we didn’t wake you.”

She must have looked as bad as she felt. “I fell asleep drawing diagrams of the rooms. I’m trying to rearrange on paper so it’s less work. Then I woke at three and couldn’t sleep anymore, so I finally just started moving things around. If you have a minute to spare I could use help moving a few pieces into the shed.”

He glanced past her into the living room. “You sure that’s all you need moved?”

She was getting comfortable with the sound of his voice, a deep baritone that seemed to ease her tension and make everything okay. “Now that you mention it, the curio would work better on the other wall.”

Tori expected his smile, almost welcomed it, realizing that, now she was thirty-four, his age mattered less to her than it would have ten years ago. The smile didn’t disappoint, but this time, he added a wink as he walked past her.

He inhaled deeply, noting a sweet and spicy scent pervaded the room. “I think you’re right,” he said. He pulled out his measuring tape and compared the numbers with the space Tori had saved for it. He shoved the chair a few inches to one side then helped her move the antique cabinet. “There you go. You can put the knickknacks back inside.”

She had washed all of the contents and polished the silver frame of her grandparents’wedding portrait. Steve picked up a smaller frame with Tori’s first grade school photo inside. “No question who this adorable little girl is.”

“Those were the days,” she mumbled.

“And not much has changed.”

Tori felt her tired expression melt into a rosy blush and took the frame from his grasp, returning it to the empty shelf. “So what do you have planned today?”

“I hoped to take measurements for the doorways and draw up the plans for the ramp. The kids can’t wait to paint the swing set. I hope you really don’t mind, and that your grandparents won’t, either.”

She set her cup of tea on the counter. “I’m sure they would love it. I think they’ve about lost hope for another generation to use it. My brother’s kids rarely come, and as you can see, it’s been in such bad condition….”

“Then maybe we’d better get it back into shape, just in case….”

She froze. Surely he didn’t mean what she thought he did. “In case?”

“Kids come into your life,” he said with a mischievous laugh.

Tori heard Kyle and Kelsey in the backyard and glanced outside. The kids were attempting to spread a canvas drop cloth beneath the swing set. She shook her head. “It’s a lost cause.”

Steve’s voice was a little awkward. “Nothing is a lost cause.”

She looked at him in disbelief.

“You shouldn’t give up on your dreams, Tori.”

“I’m not. I’m just being realistic. I left here simply because I didn’t want to end up single and pregnant, living in fear of the mine closing like so many of my friends. I was determined I wouldn’t get stuck here, just another statistic….”

“I understand. And for the record, I enjoy father-hood more than anything. If the right woman comes along, I’d have no qualms about having another child, maybe even two.”

Tori chuckled. “Thanks for clarifying. Not that it’s any of my business, but it’s…something to think about.” She didn’t dare admit that she admired him enough to actually remember the information, even though the one factor that would eliminate any hope for a relationship between them still existed. He loved Coal Valley, and she couldn’t wait to leave.