Next Door Daddy

by Debra Clopton

For Gil’s sake and her own.

  “Nate.”

  Nate watched the boy as he tapped the dirt around the base of the post exactly the way Nate had shown him. He smiled, waiting to see what kind of off-the-wall question the boy was going to come out with this time.

  After the fun they’d had at the campout he’d felt extra protective of Gil. Nate had promised Polly that he would watch over Gil as if he were his own. And he had. Pushing the guilt away, knowing it was unreasonable to feel like he was stealing Marc McDonald’s blessings, he gave Gil his full attention. “What’s on your mind, pardner?”

  “Do you think my mom’s pretty?”

  Nate’s hands stilled on the cedar post he’d been setting in the hole next to Gil. This was the last question he’d expected. “Your mom is very pretty,” he answered honestly, picturing her sparkling green eyes and cinnamon hair. “Why?”

  Gil glanced at him, then back to the ground he was stomping with his boots. “My mom’s great. The best mom in the world.”

  Nate grinned at that. “You’re a smart guy, even if you are a half pint. She loves you very much.”

  “I know. When my daddy died…” Gil stopped working and looked straight at Nate. His eyes, eyes that had been so full of excitement all day, were weighted with serious intensity. “My mom cried. She cried at night in her room when I was supposed to be asleep. But I sneaked to her door and heard her…and sometimes I still hear her.”

  Nate didn’t feel comfortable talking about Pollyanna like this. But he also knew that Gil trusted him or he wouldn’t be sharing this with him. “Have you talked with her about it?”

  Gil shook his head. “I’m eight, but my mom thinks she’ll make me sadder about my daddy dying if she cries around me.”

  Nate decided the fence could wait. He removed his gloves, pushed his hat back on his head and gave Gil his full attention. “Look, Gil. When you lose someone you love deeply, you don’t ever stop missing them. Sometimes that means you need to cry. Even guys like us. How are you doing on missing your dad?”

  Gil looked thoughtful. “I miss him…but…” His eyes misted. “My mom says he’s in Heaven and he’s watching me and that he would want me to be happy.”

  “And that’s true. If you were my little boy I would want you to be happy.”

  Gil’s forehead crinkled at that. “I think my dad wants my mom to be happy, too.”

  Nate was treading on swampy ground and he was ready to backtrack and run. But he wasn’t about to leave the kid hanging on something he so obviously needed to talk about with someone other than his mom. And Nate did know more than he wanted to about what it felt like to be left behind.

  “Gil, listen, son.” He crouched down in front of Gil and placed his hands on his shoulders. “I’m speaking from experience here. You just have to give your mom time. But I’m sure your dad wants her to be happy, too. I would if she were my wife. That’s what you want for someone you love.”

  Gil’s eyes grew serious, his jaw locked and his lips slowly lifted into a smile. “I’m glad we moved next door to you.”

  Nate’s heart, which only a few short weeks ago had been as dead and unresponsive as a rock, thudded in his chest and ached for this child. God have given him something to care about. “I’m glad you moved next door to me, too. Now, how about we finish this fence?”

  Gil grinned. “Okay, pardner. I’m with you.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Polly was rinsing out her paint pan at the outside faucet when she heard a truck drive up. Bert was standing on his hind legs chewing on what was left of the honeysuckle bush. Ornery old Bert had turned out to be the best fence-line cleaner Polly had ever seen. Though she was going to miss the scent of the honeysuckle, she wasn’t going to have to worry about unwanted creepy crawlers sneaking up on her or Gil. She shuddered thinking about it.

  Turning off the water, she propped the plastic pan on end against the shed just as Gil came racing around the corner of the house.

  “Hey, sport.” She laughed, catching Gil in her arms as he almost bowled her over. After the day she’d had she was so happy to hug him. He was flushed when he stepped back from the enthusiastic bear hug he’d given her. “Wow, I’ll take hugs like that any day, little mister.”

  “You won’t believe it, Mom. We saw a newborn baby. A newborn! He was bawling and shaky and slobbering…it was so awesome.”

  She laughed at the way Gil’s joy worked its way over every inch of his expression. Never in a million years would she grow tired of enjoying her child. Behind him, long legs and muddy boots came into focus. Lifting her gaze, she found Nate grinning, too. Gil sucked in a breath and kept on talking while their gazes locked over his head. She could see that Nate was enjoying Gil’s excitement as much as she was.

  “You shoulda seen it, Mom. I thought the mama cow was going to try to stomp me, but we moved real easy like.” He demonstrated walking cautiously, his arms and legs moving in slow motion as he took a couple of steps. “Just like Nate showed me. Piece of cake, just like that she let us have a closer look-see at her little baby.” He straightened and his expression switched to serious intensity as quick as flipping the television channel. “But Nate said we couldn’t trust her completely ’cause of her horn-a-mones being all goofed up. So we kept one eye on the mama, just in case she spooked.”

  Polly stiffened, her gaze darting back to Nate.

  “Don’t look so alarmed, Pollyanna,” Nate interjected. “We were safe. I promise.”

  She relaxed a little. Nate knew what he was doing, after all. And she knew he wouldn’t put Gil in harm’s way.

  “It sounds like you had a really exciting time. Now, tell Nate good-night and go get cleaned up for supper. We’re having pot roast. It’s been cooking all day just the way you like it.”

  Nate tucked his thumbs in his belt loops and watched Gil disappear into the house. “You’ve got a great kid there, Pollyanna. I know I keep telling you that, but it’s the truth. You and Marc should be proud.”

  She smiled. Beautifully. “Thank you. I think I’ll keep him.”

  She was beautiful. Inside and out. “Smart choice. So, how did the painting go today?”

  “Quickly. I finished the upstairs bathroom, did a jig and sang a song of my own to Pepper.”

  He grinned at the picture she painted in his mind. He liked her this way. Happy. “Good for you. What’s next?”

  “The guest rooms.” She crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side. “Would you like to join us for dinner? There’s plenty.”

  “Not tonight, thanks.” His stomach growled loudly. “I’ve got to drive out to Fort Worth on business and to see my parents while I’m there. I’ll be gone until Thursday. Can I take a rain check?”

  “Sure,” Polly said, a tug of disappointment startling her as much as the relief it was tangled up with. She’d had an extremely emotional day. After the emotions that had attacked her watching Nate and Gil work on the fence, she’d had to do a lot of praying. She didn’t have all the answers but she was dealing with it. She should be relieved that he was passing up the dinner invitation. That she wasn’t was disconcerting. Her horn-a-mones must be messed up, too.

  “Will you make sure Gil doesn’t go around my place while I’m gone? He might get hurt or something and I wouldn’t be around to help.”

  “I’ll make sure. Have a nice trip.”

  He nodded, then left, and Polly hurried inside and called Gil to supper.

  She could hear him upstairs talking to Pepper. She paused with her hand on the banister to listen to his excited voice, and though she couldn’t make out what he was saying because his door was partially closed, she did catch the name Nate twice. It was hard to believe Pepper wasn’t already singing Nate’s praises, too. The man made quite an impression.

  “Come to supper, Gil,” she called again, and headed back to the kitchen. In a few seconds she heard him whoop with glee as he slid down the banister. Polly breathed a sigh of relief when she heard his booted fee
t thud to the floor. One more safe trip down the banister. She bit her tongue and kept her warning to herself. All the practice was probably making him better at it.

  Gil raced into the room, Bogie trailing behind him. “All washed up, Mom.” He thudded into the chair and placed his hands on the table with his plate between them. “Good boy.” He laughed. “Look, Mom, Bogie wants his roast, too.”

  She smiled absently as Bogie sat at attention at Gil’s feet. Gil had taught him that if he sat he got a treat. The pup had taken it to the next level by sitting before being told, expecting to still receive his treat.

  “You are your father’s son. You have his way with animals, Gil,” she said, spooning meat and potatoes on his plate. “Before long you’ll have Bogie talking to you like Pepper does.”

  “Whoa, that’d be too much.”

  Polly laughed and sat down. “Should I ask you to say the blessing or Bogie?”

  “I’m the man of the house. I say the blessings.”

  She reached for his hand, loving him so much. “Yes, you are the man of the house.”

  After he’d finished saying grace, short but sweet and sincere, Polly thanked the Lord herself for her little boy.

  “Do you know how proud your father would be of you?” she asked. She’d thought that would make him smile, but instead he frowned. “What’s wrong, babe?”

  He pushed his meat around with his fork. “I miss him, Mom.”

  “I do, too. But he would be glad that we’re getting on with our lives.”

  “Yeah, I know. But, I was thinking about him today. Sometimes Nate puts his hand on my shoulder—” his voice faltered “—Dad used to do that, too.”

  Polly fought to keep her emotions in check. “Gil, about Nate.”

  “He’s the best.”

  Polly set her fork down. It clattered against her plate. “Gil, it’s nice that you—”

  “I’m glad we moved here. He’s like having a daddy next door. He said that when he gets back he’ll give me another horse-riding lesson on Friday.”

  Polly’s world tilted. Oh, Marc. Was this how it was to be? He would mention Marc in one breath and gush about someone else in the next. Eventually not mention him at all. He’d only been six when Marc died.

  This day’s emotional roller coaster was never going to end, Polly thought. Closing her eyes, she prayed that God would give her the strength to watch her son let go of his dad.

  He had to move forward. He had to.

  “Nate tells me you’re going to be some cowboy,” she said, willing her voice to sound bright. Once more, she reminded herself that Gil was going to need a good man in his life and if it wasn’t going to be Marc…then she should be counting her blessings for Nate coming into his life.

  When Nate got back into town, she’d just have to make certain that he understood what was at stake here.

  She’d come to know Nate, to think highly of him. But this was Gil she was thinking of and she couldn’t let anything fog her mind when it came to what was best for him.

  Nate got back home late Thursday night, and as he drove up his drive he saw Pollyanna’s lights on. He thought about going over and saying hello. But he didn’t. She’d been on his mind the entire time he was gone and he wasn’t quite sure about what was going on in his head. Or his heart. The one thing he was certain of was that he needed to go slow when it came to anything that had to do with Pollyanna and Gil. He saw her light flicker and wondered if she was moving around. He wanted to go over there and just see them. To hear their voices and make sure they’d been okay while he was away. He wanted to look into Pollyanna’s eyes and see if maybe she’d missed him, too. How had he, in such a few short weeks, become this attached to them? Attached was too light a term. He’d realized while he was away that he cared. He cared more than he’d believed possible.

  Slowly. He had to take this slowly.

  Everyone involved could get hurt if he didn’t.

  Gil came over the next afternoon straight after school and again first thing Saturday morning. But he didn’t see Pollyanna. Gil told him she was painting.

  On Sunday, Nate had actually wanted to attend church…even wanted to go to Sunday school, if it meant he’d finally get to see Pollyanna. But he’d had a cow in trouble giving birth and had to miss church while helping with the birth. He’d even had to call in Susan Nash to come out and help. By the time she’d arrived, he’d managed to save the calf himself. She’d looked after the mother and checked the baby out, and before she’d left, she’d asked him out again.

  Susan wasn’t all that bad. She was a nice lady, when given a chance. But, as he’d turned her down, he’d almost told her the same excuse he’d always given her—that he wasn’t ready to date. But his words had stuck in his throat. They’d have been a lie. Up until a few weeks ago it would have been true…but not so now. He’d given it a lot of thought and he was ready to date. But only a cinnamon-haired beauty he couldn’t stop thinking about. The question was, what would Pollyanna do if he asked her out?

  Polly couldn’t find her car keys. Obviously Bogie had been at it again. She had been searching for her keys for the past ten minutes and she was going to be late if she didn’t find them soon. Where could the pup have hidden them?

  The sound of a truck coming up the drive had her walking to the front door. Bogie, who’d been lounging on the back of the couch like a fat cat, jumped to attention and bounded off the couch and out the door the moment she opened it. The crazy dog had grown as attached to Nate as Gil and had learned the sound of his truck.

  She watched Nate bend down to pet the wiggling pup. And grudgingly she admitted that her heart was doing odd things in her chest. That she was as excited to see him as Bogie. It had been almost a full week. She’d been busy since he’d gotten back from his trip to Fort Worth and obviously he had been busy himself. She’d found herself trying to make up an excuse to go over and see him, but she’d come to her senses and kept working. Ridiculous. And scary. And just plain worrisome.

  Watching him walk up the path, she forgot about looking for her car keys and had the uncanny need to hurry out to him and give him a hug. Okay, she’d missed him. Friends missed friends. Right?

  It seemed strange and impossible. She’d known him for a short month and yet it seemed like forever.

  “Hi,” he said, scooping off his hat and clutching it between his hands. She drank him in the way she would the first day of summer after a dark winter. He looked sensational. What in the world was wrong with her? She watched the black Elvis curl that fell across his forehead, then dropped her gaze to his smile. He had such a warm smile. Unlike when she’d first met him, he seemed to smile freely these days.

  “Hello, yourself, stranger,” she said. Her voice wobbled like the butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

  He actually seemed to grow red beneath his tan. The man might have the whitest legs in Texas, but his face and arms were a deep golden tan from his hours in the saddle. She was positive that now there was a tinge of rose in that tan that had nothing to do with sunburn.

  Being honest, she’d told herself that the reason she wanted to see him was to talk to him about her worries over Gil getting so attached to him, but looking at him, she wasn’t certain if that was the entire truth. Gil!

  “Oh, goodness! I’m sorry, do you want to come in? I’ve lost my car keys and its past time for me to leave and go pick the boys up from school, so I need to get back inside and search for the keys or else I’m going to be horribly late.” She spun toward the house.

  “I could take you, or go pick them up for you.”

  She placed her hand on the screen door. “Oh, no, I’d hate to impose.”

  He put his hat back on. “Pollyanna, get what you need and come on.”

  His obvious exasperation had her hesitating, but the boys did need to be picked up.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “You and Gil are not an imposition to me. Okay?”

  The look in his eyes shot deep. She felt like
she needed to apologize to him. “Okay. I’m sorry. Let me grab my purse.”

  A few minutes later they were driving down the road in silence. Polly was lost in thought trying to figure out the best way to talk to him not only about Gil but about this entire confusing thing that was happening. She’d thought about it a lot while he was gone. And after all Nate had done for them, she wondered if he’d feel hurt that she would even think she needed speak to him about Gil. She wasn’t sure what he’d say about her…maybe she was worrying unnecessarily that he was starting to have feelings for her.

  “Pollyanna,” he said after about five miles.

  “Yes?” she snapped, feeling immediately foolish at her jumpy answer.

  “I’ve been thinking. The thing is, this weekend is Cassie and Jake’s wedding. And you know how we said it’s hard going to events like that alone.”

  “I am getting better at it. But I don’t know if I’ll ever like it.” Even the thought had her heart suddenly pounding away. At least that was how she explained the sudden erratic pounding.

  “Yeah, me, too. I was thinking maybe I could drive us all there together.”

  She hadn’t planned on going for that reason. Through no one’s fault, she’d felt like a fifth wheel again on Sunday.

  Nate offered an alternative. He seemed nervous.

  “Don’t look so scared,” he said when she didn’t immediately answer.

  She shot him a glance. “Sorry. I know it would just be two friends helping each other out. Nothing more. I just suddenly got worried that the ladies might start getting the wrong idea.”

  Nate didn’t take his eyes off the road. “They’ll get over it.”

  His knuckles were white on the steering wheel. This wasn’t easy for him, either. “Okay, I’ll go.” She nodded when he looked at her for confirmation. “So, tell me about your trip,” she said, changing the subject. And she was genuinely interested in what he’d been doing since she’d seen him. It seemed like it had been ages and ages.

  He smiled, probably from relief, and told her about his family. She enjoyed listening to him talk about his parents and his brother. “What?” he asked after telling her how his mother had fixed all of his favorite foods because she worried about his not eating right and that she’d sent him home with a ice chest full of casseroles. “What?” he asked again, when Polly continued to stare at him after her chuckles died away.