by Debby Mayne
Jeremy greeted him at the door. “C’mon in. Shouldn’t take us too long. I managed to remove most of the old stuff, and I have all the new parts lined up, ready to install.”
“I bet Gina will be glad to have her kitchen like she wants it.”
“Yeah, but now she won’t have an excuse to order carryout.” Jeremy turned around, and Pete followed him through the house. “I miss her cooking something awful.”
As he walked through the foyer and down the hallway, Pete noticed some of the changes the Maples family had made. The wallpaper in the living room had been stripped and the walls painted a pale yellow that brightened up the room. The dining room had a newer, more modern light fixture. Even the hallway felt more welcoming with the glossy coating on the hardwood floors and a carpet runner leading the way to the back of the house.
“You’ve done a great job with this place.” Pete shrugged out of his jacket and leaned over to inspect the hole where the new sink would go.
“I’d like to take credit, but Gina’s the decorator. When she said she wanted yellow walls in the living room, I thought she’d lost her mind.” Jeremy grinned. “But now that it’s done, that’s my favorite room in the house. Let’s get this job done, and she’ll be really happy.”
It took Pete and Jeremy until mid-afternoon to finish all the work in the kitchen. After they completed the job, they stood back to admire it.
Jeremy rubbed his chin as a self-satisfied grin crept across his lips. “Now all I have to do is put the finish on the cabinets, add the hardware, and the kitchen is done.”
The sound of the front door opening made Pete smile. “I think we’re about to have our first review.”
“Daddy!” Jeremy’s little girl bolted through the kitchen and straight into her daddy’s arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a big hug but pulled back when she noticed Pete. “What are you and Mr. Pete doing?”
“We finished the kitchen sink.”
Her eyes widened. “Pretty. I like it, Daddy.”
Jeremy picked her up, walked over to the sink, and showed her the new faucet. “Now we can use everything in the kitchen, see?” After that, he pulled a glass from the cabinet and showed her the water coming through the refrigerator door.
“That is so cool!” She clapped her hands. “Now Mommy can make yummy food again.”
Gina laughed from the doorway. “Most kids beg for fast food, but not this one. She actually likes my home cooking.”
Pete tweaked Lacy’s nose. “I’m with you, kid. Home cooking is the best.”
Jeremy put Lacy back down and turned to his wife who’d been standing there watching and smiling. “Where have you and Lacy been all day? I thought you were coming home after lunch.”
“Working on the garden club festival committee.” She walked around the kitchen, smiling as she inspected all the new equipment. “Naomi even gave Lacy some projects to do.”
“Daddy, Miss Nomi said I can draw pretty pictures of flowers for the festival. I think I’ll make ’em yellow and pink and red and orange.” She tapped her finger on her chin. “And purple, but not blue.”
Bloomfield had more festivals than any town Pete had ever seen, with half of them cooked up after Pamela took over as the Bloomfield Garden Club president. Her motto seemed to be “Festivals are fun, so let’s have more.” He’d heard some people on the city council grumble about the volume of them, but council members never failed to charm their constituents with smiles and plenty of handshakes during the events.
Bethany took a long look around her living room before squeezing her eyes shut. Lord, show me true joy, and lead me to get rid of anything that bogs down my life. Help me move forward and remove the temptation to live in the past. Forgive me for hanging on to things, hoping they would give me the comfort I can only get from You.
This would not be easy, but without the Lord’s help, it would be impossible. She gathered as many items as she could bear to part with and carried them all to the living room, where she placed them in various stacks. She labeled one collectibles and another handmade quilts and linens that might make good Welcome to Bloomfield prizes. Then there was the miscellaneous pile for the rummage sale.
The sound of knocking at the door made her groan. Pamela had said she’d be by to pick up some of Bethany’s donations, but she was nowhere near ready.
When she opened the door, she noticed Pamela wore jeans and a work shirt rather than one of her usual flamboyant, head-to-toe, color-coordinated outfits. “I’m here early to help you sort through your junk.”
Bethany wasn’t about to raise the woman’s ire over a single annoying word. Junk. After the emotionally draining time of sorting through all of her belongings, she just smiled and took a step back so Pamela could enter.
“Here ya go.” Bethany swallowed hard as she turned to Pamela. “And this isn’t even all of it.”
“Wow, that’s more than I thought.” Pamela stood at the living room door, eyes bulging, fingertips tapping the doorframe. “I need to call someone to help.”
“You don’t—”
Before Bethany had a chance to finish her sentence, Pamela had whipped out her cell phone and punched in the number. “Hey, Pete. Drop whatever you’re doing and come on over to Bethany’s place. We have a disaster, and we need your help.”
Disaster? Bethany took a long look around and turned back to Pamela, who winked.
After Pamela hung up, she walked gingerly around the room, almost as though in fear of something leaping out and grabbing her. “Do you have any boxes?”
“Yes, I picked up a few on my way home from your house. They’re in the garage.”
“Go get them.” Pamela found the pile of quilts and knelt down. “I’ll look through these and see what we can use.”
Bethany was glad to leave the room for a few minutes to collect her composure. She came back with the boxes and saw Pamela had surveyed everything and started making more orderly stacks. She lifted one of the paintings. “I remember this piece. It’s part of a set. Do you have the rest of them?”
Bethany nodded. “They’re upstairs.”
By the time Bethany rounded up the other four paintings in the set, Pamela had put the figurine collections into groupings and lined up all the oil paintings according to types—from landscapes to indoor settings. As annoying as Pamela could be, she sure knew how to organize things quickly.
“I think we can use everything here.” Pamela took a step back and glanced over her shoulder. “Got anything else?”
Bethany opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
“Never mind.” Pamela grabbed a box and started wrapping some of the collectibles in the newspaper that Bethany had put in the middle of the room. “After we get all of this out of here, you can make some more piles.” She glanced at her watch. “I wonder what’s taking Pete so long.”
It had only been a half hour since she’d called, but Bethany knew patience wasn’t one of Pamela’s strong points. “I’m sure he’ll be here when he can.”
They had boxed up all of the fragile collectibles when Pete arrived. As he walked through the house, Bethany noticed his surprise. But at least he had the good manners not to voice his opinion, even though Bethany didn’t doubt he had one. After all, when it came to her décor, there weren’t many people who didn’t.
Pete’s willingness to stop whatever he was doing to help a friend wasn’t lost on Bethany. From helping set the table without coercion to coming here now showed her the depth of his caring nature. She glanced up at him, and when their eyes met, her insides fluttered. She quickly glanced away.
When Pete entered the living room, Pamela glanced up, and without bothering with a greeting, pointed to the taped-up box. “Be a sweetheart and carry that out to my car so we have room to finish loading all these things.”
Pete winked at Bethany and mock saluted
Pamela. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good boy.”
Any other man might bristle at Pamela’s bossiness, but not Pete. He always took life in stride, something her mother once said showed his confidence in his own manhood. Charlie had been pretty good about that, too, but he wasn’t a fan of Pamela’s. When they visited his family or her mother in Bloomfield during any holiday season, Pamela was generally smack dab in the middle of things, barking orders and flashing her fingernails.
As soon as Pete left the room, Pamela spun around to face Bethany. “So what’s keeping you and this sweet young man from getting together?”
The comment caught Bethany so off-guard, she coughed and sputtered. When she tried to talk, she wasn’t sure how to answer Pamela.
“C’mon, Bethany. Is it that difficult for you to see?” Pamela lifted both hands out to her sides, palms up. “Everyone else knows there’s a spark between you.” She finally shrugged. “But sometimes people are so caught up in their own little worlds and how they think things should be they don’t see the forest for the trees. Maybe one of these days, you’ll come to your senses and let a little happiness into your life. Just because you’re widowed doesn’t mean you have to act dead. Look at me. I’m a prime example.”
No point in arguing. “I’m trying my best.”
“Good. Let me know if you need any advice because I have plenty to offer.” Pamela glanced around the room. “In the meantime, we have our work cut out for us. After we get all this junk out of here, maybe there’ll be some room for you to move around. Honestly, Bethany, I don’t see how you can stand all this clutter.”
Before Bethany had a chance to respond, Pete returned. “I’m ready for the next load.”
“We’re working on it.” Pamela lifted a stack of quilts and lowered them into one of the bigger boxes. “Charlie’s mama sure did like to do needlework, didn’t she? I don’t know where she found all that time, between raising her kids and doing so much with the garden club. And her gardens . . .” Pamela used the back of her wrist to push back the hair that had fallen over her eyes. “She had the prettiest English country gardens in town.”
“She sure did.” Pete took the box she’d just filled. “I remember her vegetable garden too.” He turned to Bethany. “Remember how she got all the kids to eat vegetables by letting us pick our own? I think she even had so much she supplied your mom and mine with fresh veggies.”
All this talk about Belva brought back the guilt she’d felt when she first started culling through Mom Hanahan’s things. Pamela’s chatter about the past reminded Bethany that she had no business even thinking romantic thoughts about Pete, but each time she was around him, she found it more and more difficult to push them aside. She shuddered and dared a glimpse at Pete who stood over her, watching Pamela pack.
When she met his gaze, he blinked as though something had struck him hard. Bethany’s mouth went dry. But the sound of Pamela clearing her throat brought her back to the moment.
“Well, kids, I’m running out of steam. Help me get all this stuff packed so I can get out of here. I have a date with Andy.” She snickered. “He even promised to leave Murray at home this time.”
All three of them quickly packed the remaining items in boxes. Pete and Bethany carried all of it out to Pamela’s SUV.
“Good thing you didn’t bring out all your junk, or we’d never be able to close the car door.” Pamela brushed her hands as though she’d done all the work herself.
Bethany held her breath, waiting for another snide remark. But Pamela only smiled at her.
“Do you need help unloading your car?” Pete asked. “I can follow you if you want.”
“No, that’s okay,” Pamela said. “I’ll get some of the nice boys who hang out at the community center to do that. You stay here and help Bethany gather the next load.”
Bethany had never offered, or even mentioned, that there would be a next load, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she chewed her bottom lip until Pamela pulled away.
“That woman is a piece of work.” Pete glanced down at her and frowned. “Are you okay?”
Bethany nodded. “Just a little annoyed, that’s all.”
“That was hard for you, wasn’t it?”
She smiled. “You have no idea.”
“Want me to stick around, or should I leave?”
Deep down, Bethany wanted nothing more than for Pete to come inside, but she knew she was vulnerable at the moment. “I’m really tired.”
He smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder. “I can imagine. Why don’t you go on inside and try to relax? I’ll head over to the community center and let Pamela know you’re not up to doing more today.”
“I appreciate that.”
“We can get together another time. I’d like to take you to dinner soon . . . that is, if you would like to go with me.”
“Sure.” She’d agree to anything that wasn’t concrete. Well, practically anything.
After Pete drove away, she went inside and saw she had a voice mail from Aunt Mary, her mother’s younger sister who’d moved away from Bloomfield. Bethany smiled. Aunt Mary was one of the few people who accepted Bethany at face value and didn’t try to tell her what to do.
Chapter 7
Iwish I’d known you were coming,” Bethany said.
“Your mother finally talked me into coming home for a visit, but she made me promise to keep it a secret. She wanted to surprise you.” Aunt Mary let out a deep sigh. “It took coming back to realize how much I missed this place.”
“Where are you staying?”
Aunt Mary laughed. “Where do you think?”
“With Mom?”
“Yes, but I’m actively looking for a temporary place of my own.” She paused. “Not sure if I’m staying permanently, but I might as well get out of your mother’s hair before I drive her batty.”
Bethany could hear her mother in the background touting the benefits of living at the Lake Bliss Retirement Village. But Aunt Mary was more the type to move to Fontainbleu because she loved being around younger people.
“So what are you doing tomorrow?” Aunt Mary asked. “I thought it would be fun to have a girls’ day out, just like old times.”
“I’d love that.” Some of Bethany’s fondest memories were of times spent with her favorite aunt—shopping, antiquing, and getting their hair done. “I have to do a little cleaning in the morning, though. Pamela just left with some of my collectibles, and now I can see all the dust they were hiding.”
Aunt Mary’s laughter still hadn’t changed; it was exactly how Bethany imagined an angel’s laugh would sound. “How about I pick you up around eleven, and we can have lunch—your choice of restaurant.”
“Is my mother coming with us?”
“Heavens, no. She’s too busy with her Zumba for Seniors class at the Village and a garden club committee meeting.”
Relief laced with guilt flooded Bethany. “Maybe we can take her back some dessert.”
“I’m sure she’ll love that. I need to run now. Your mother wants to introduce me to someone.” She lowered her voice. “And as I’m sure you know, that makes me want to gag, but I’m going along with her because she’s so relentless. I just hope this guy doesn’t drool.”
Bethany laughed. “Maybe he’ll have coupons for an early-bird special.”
“Oh, I’m sure. They even have a coupon bulletin board for people to swap.” Aunt Mary laughed. Her sense of humor hadn’t changed a bit, so there was no doubt they’d have a blast tomorrow.
If there was one thing Pete knew after living in Bloomfield all of his life, it was to follow up on everything he was involved in, or he’d have a garden club member to answer to. So first thing the next morning, he drove over to the community center to check on all the items Bethany had donated. The second he walked into the multipurpose room, he was glad he did
.
Along one wall sat a display with a sign stating Lovingly Handcrafted by the Late Belva Hanahan. That was fine. But the other sign, the one that read More Beautiful Crafts to Come, gave him pause. He wasn’t sure Bethany had it in her to scour her house for more donations.
One of the regular checker players motioned for him to come on over to the game corner. “Looks like Pamela’s been mighty busy. That woman sure does work hard making this town a great place to live.”
Pete bristled as he thought about all the hard, soul-wrenching work Bethany had put into gathering all those things on the tables. “Yes, Pamela does work hard, but so do a lot of people.”
“Ah, that goes without saying. But Pamela’s somethin’ else.” The man laughed. “I have to say she’s quite the looker. You don’t see too many women who look like her still willing to get their hands dirty.” The older man pointed to a nearby chair. “Have a seat and get in line to play the winner. I’m about to cream Howard here.”
Howard rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know how you do it.” He glanced up at Pete. “Claude’s been the checkers champion for the past year.”
“Then I better not challenge you,” Pete said with a chuckle. “I’d hate to mess up your winning streak.”
Howard leaned back and howled with laughter. “That sure sounds like a challenge to me.”
“Trust me, it’s not.” Pete took a step back. “Besides, I just stopped by to see if I needed to do anything to help with the festival.”
“Them garden club folks seem to have everything under control,” Claude said. A twinkle formed in his eye. “I agree with Howard. That Pamela sure is a pretty girl. Andy better keep a close eye on her, or I just might take a notion to ask her out on a date.”
“You’re too old for someone like Pamela,” Howard said. “She’s not interested in a guy with one foot on a banana peel right outside the Pearly Gates.”