“No.” Even if she did know that caring for Dustin would be a struggle, the thought of having Luke around, seeing him every day, caused anxiety to tighten her chest. “I’m the one taking on this responsibility. You don’t need to.”
“Sure I do.” He lifted his hand and moved it in a circling motion. “I’m part of the neighborhood now.” He descended the porch steps and said, “In the meantime, I’ve got to go get my truck. I’ve got other work to do.” With a wave, he headed for his own property. “I’ll be back later, and you’ve got my number, so call if you need me.”
Hands on hips, Carly stared after him. She was taking on a runaway boy and, from what she’d seen, he was going to lead her a merry chase. That was hard enough, but now she had a partner she hadn’t asked for. It was annoying to realize Luke thought she couldn’t do this. Even more annoying to admit she had her own doubts.
Giving a last look at Luke’s retreating back, she went into the house to see if any of Dustin’s clothes were dry enough for him to get dressed.
CHAPTER TEN
REACHING INTO HIS truck bed, Luke pulled out a case and set it on Carly’s porch, then approached the front door. He raised his hand to knock but paused when he heard Carly’s voice through the window of the guest room.
“Dustin, you don’t have a choice,” she said. “You haven’t been in school since sometime last spring and you’ve got to go.”
“Why? I hate school. I’ve been to ten and I hated all of ’em. If I gotta stay with you, then let me work around here. If I wanna learn something, I can read a book or...or I can figure it out myself.”
She sighed. “It’s true that you’ve showed real aptitude for picking produce, but you can help me after you’ve spent a full day at school.”
“Ah, come on, dude,” Dustin whined.
“Child Services made it very clear that you can only stay here if you’re in school.”
There was no response from Dustin.
Luke crossed the porch and bent to look in the window. Dustin lay flopped on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Bags from Dyle’s Clothing Store were piled beside him. Carly stood over him, clenched fists on her hips, face full of frustration.
“She’s right, Dustin. It’s the law. You’ve got to go to school until you turn sixteen.”
“That’s four years from now!” Dustin started and whipped around to see Luke at the window. He propped himself on his elbow and glared. Luke noticed that the boy also had a fresh haircut, so he didn’t look quite so much like a wild child.
“That’ll give you plenty of time to make your plans to drop out.”
“Luke!” Carly gave him an exasperated look. “I thought you were supposed to be helping me here.”
Dustin rolled onto his back again, crossed his arms over his chest and resumed his furious examination of the ceiling.
Carly stared at the boy for several seconds while Luke watched emotions flicker across her face—frustration, annoyance and then humor.
She pulled a pair of scissors from her back pocket. “Use these to very carefully cut the tags off your new clothes so we can wash everything.”
“I didn’t need new clothes. Mine were okay.”
“Oh, please, Dustin. The jeans you said were your favorites have more holes than they have denim—which may be fashionable, but not suitable for seventh grade. You can keep them to wear when you help me in the fields.”
He didn’t respond, so she turned and left the room. Luke stepped back, out of sight, but peeked around the corner. As soon as he thought Carly was gone, Dustin glanced out the window to make sure he was unobserved, then jumped up, dumped the bags out on the bed, and began gleefully holding up shirts and pants, a dark blue hooded sweatshirt and a jacket.
Chuckling to himself, Luke walked away and met Carly at the front door.
“How’s Mrs. Salyer?” he asked when she stepped outside.
“Better.” Carly hurried across the porch. “I’ve got to get to work. I can tell you all about it if you’ll... What’s that?” she asked, pointing to the large case he’d set on the porch.
“Water testing kit. I’ve got to check your well.”
She shook her head. “Why would you need to check my well?”
“Data collection. I’ve got to establish a baseline on all the minerals in the water in case...”
“In case you contaminate my well water.”
“That’s right.” He looked at her steadily. There was no point in trying to deny it.
Carly looked tired, but that was no surprise. She’d been up most of the night and spent the day riding herd on an angry boy. Still, she looked beautiful. He let that thought settle into his brain. Yeah, he’d always thought she was beautiful, with her strong profile, full lips and dark brown eyes. That hadn’t been what had first attracted him to her, though. It had been her attitude toward life. She had been outgoing and full of plans and ideas. Most of all, she’d been happy. At least, until she’d married him.
“All right. I guess that would be a good idea.” She hurried down the steps and turned toward the shed.
He picked up the kit as he called after her, “It’ll only take a few minutes. Then why don’t I cook us some dinner?”
Carly rocked to a stop. “Cook dinner?”
“Yeah. I got stuff for hamburgers and a few side dishes from the deli at the Mustang Supermarket. It’s in the cooler in the truck. You’ve got a grill, right?”
“Um, yes.” She paused and looked around. “Did I fall down a rabbit hole? Enter an alternate universe? You can cook?”
“Yes, Omi taught me, made me try out recipes. She said she couldn’t stand the thought of me eating out every night or having doughnuts for dinner. So, are grilled burgers okay?”
“Yes, okay. That would be nice. I’ve fed Dustin four times today and he’s still hungry. We stopped at the grocery store and loaded up on snacks, and, of course, I’ve got fields full of food, but he is terrified of being hungry.” She shrugged. “Rightly so, I suppose. I’m guessing these past few weeks with his grandmother aren’t the first time he’s been hungry. He can really pack it away.”
“Making up for lost calories. I’ll make big hamburgers.”
Carly shook her head in wonder. “He does dishes and laundry, and he cooks. What a difference twelve years makes.”
Luke grinned as he headed for the well.
* * *
HE ALSO MADE a mean guacamole, Carly thought as she dipped a tortilla chip into the delicious avocado dip and savored another mouthful. Although the evening was turning chilly, they had decided to eat outside at the picnic table by the grill.
The table was one she’d found at an estate sale, cleaned up and painted a sunny yellow. It was big enough for eight people, far larger than she needed, but the benches had backs on them that could swing up and lock in place, as well as padded cushions. She’d had many offers from people who wanted to buy the set, but she was keeping this one for herself.
They weren’t eating by candlelight, but by a row of Mason jars she’d lined up on the table and stuffed with strings of battery-operated fairy lights. A few of them twinkled like trapped fireflies. Dustin seemed mesmerized by them, staring at the jars as he stuffed olives, carrot sticks and tortilla chips into his mouth. She would be worried about him ruining his dinner if she hadn’t already seen how much food he could consume at one sitting and be hungry again in twenty minutes.
She was really enjoying this cookout. The only people who cooked for her occasionally were Gemma and Lisa, and now that Gemma was married, she doubted the three of them would be having very many occasions for a girls’ night in.
“These burgers will be ready in about five minutes,” Luke said as he flipped the hamburger patties and adjusted the flame on the grill. “So, Dustin, tell me how your grandmother is tod
ay.”
Dustin looked up from the mound of chips he was devouring. “She’s okay, I guess. She was awake, and she could talk to me.”
“That’s good. What did she say?”
Dustin narrowed his eyes as if he couldn’t quite believe Luke wanted to have a conversation with him. “That I can stay with Carly.” He held up his hand. “But just till she gets better.”
“After she gets out of the hospital, she’ll be in a care center for a while, receiving physical therapy,” Carly added. “She’s very weak. It’s going to be a while before she’s well.”
Luke nodded and changed the subject. “So, you’re starting school, when, Dustin?”
After that afternoon’s battle, Carly braced herself, but Dustin gave a put-upon sigh and said, “Monday,” as if it was a day of doom. “I hate new schools.”
Conversation petered out after that. Carly had gone to school in the same district, with the same people, from kindergarten through high school. She had no idea what Dustin had gone through.
After Dustin finished eating, Carly told him he could watch television or a movie.
“I’d rather draw.” He jerked his head toward the guest room. “In that pink room,” he said, “I saw some paper and stuff.”
“Um, sure, Dustin. Help yourself.”
He went inside and Carly told Luke, “He was pretty upset when we saw Era at the hospital, but he calmed down when she said she felt better. It’ll be a long road until she’s well, though.”
“Does he know about his mother wanting to hand him over to the state?”
“I don’t think so. He didn’t ask about her. He’s only concerned about his grandmother.”
“Since he ran from his mother to his grandmother, I think it’s pretty obvious where he wants to be.”
Carly nodded, took a sip of her soft drink and said, “Era said she hadn’t seen Dustin in two years when he showed up at her door. She hid him, avoided people, so no one would know he was there. She even lied to the deputies, although she said she felt really bad about it. Anyway, she wasn’t sure what she was going to do, and then she got sick, started having bouts of vertigo, which meant she couldn’t do any of her chores or gardening.”
“How’d they survive for four months?”
“Remember the empty canning jars?”
He nodded.
“As we thought, she had quite a stock of frozen and canned food, but they ate it all. Then, of course, Dustin was supplementing their diet with the fresh produce he took from me. She did know what he was doing but couldn’t tell me for fear of losing him to his mother or to the state.
“It started in the spring when he brought in some blueberries. She thought I had left them, but when I brought more later that day, she knew Dustin had sneaked out and stolen them. She didn’t stop him because she was desperate...and...not thinking right. The bouts of vertigo have been so bad for the past month that she couldn’t even drive to town for milk—”
“But you still wish she had called, right?”
“Of course. It hurts that she didn’t trust me, but I guess it’s understandable if she was afraid someone would take him.”
“You’re a good neighbor, Carly.”
“We all have to look out for each other out here in the country.” She paused. “I’ve never asked, Luke. Where do you live in Dallas?”
“An apartment building. No place special. Why?”
“I just realized that in the past couple of days you’ve come to learn a lot about my life, but I don’t know much about yours.”
His grin as he held out his hands was inviting. “Ask away. I’m an open book.”
She hesitated because she’d asked a question she shouldn’t have asked. It meant she would have to take a step she wasn’t ready for. Instead of asking another question, she said, “Apparently you can’t tell me what I want to know.”
He looked at her for a few seconds then changed the subject. “Your new foster son is quite an enterprising young man, but if Mrs. Salyer hadn’t cut her arm, there’s no telling what might have happened. On the other hand, if Jay hadn’t caught Dustin stealing melons, there’s no telling what might have happened.”
Carly grimaced. “That crazy plan he and Owen concocted actually saved Era’s life. I’ll have to tell him tomorrow even though it means he’ll never let me forget it.”
“Yup.”
They fell silent, thinking about everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, until Carly said, “Luke, I don’t think Era will be able to stay on her own out here. She needs to be in town, so she can get help quickly if she needs it. Even when the infection clears up, and she’s had intensive physical therapy, there’s still the problem of her vertigo.”
“So you might have Dustin for a long time.”
“It looks like it.”
“You’re not thinking of keeping him permanently, are you?”
“After one day? It’s a little early for that.”
Carly knew that twelve was a rough age, especially for a kid who’d had the kind of life Dustin had, and the tough attitude he showed would probably get worse as he entered his teenage years and tried to find his way. She liked him, though. He loved his grandmother and had been very sweet with her today at the hospital. He was obviously resourceful and he seemed bright. She was hoping, in spite of his sketchy school attendance and all the weeks he’d missed, that he could still be enrolled in the seventh grade to be with kids his own age. Looking after him was going to be tricky, though.
“Carly, there’s something else you need to know.”
She looked up, meeting Luke’s gaze, which had turned solemn. “My dad is here—at Tom’s house. Probably be here for a few days, at least, or until he thinks his office can’t run without him. I wanted to let you know in case you ran into him.”
Carly’s heart had sunk into her gut, but she nodded. “Thanks for telling me. I doubt I’ll see him, and I doubt he’d have anything to say to me if I did. Why is he here?”
Luke tilted his head toward his job site. “Still trying to control this project.” He told her about Robert’s encounter with Shelby, when she’d refused, point-blank, to reveal anything about the process she was developing.
“I wish I’d seen that. She didn’t seem very...assertive to me.”
“You’re no threat to her or what she’s working on. Dad is. But apparently she handled it.”
“I would have given almost anything to have seen it,” Carly said wistfully.
“Me, too.”
They exchanged a laughing look and their gazes held. His eyes still crinkled at the corners when he smiled. In another time and another place Robert had been their common irritant, if not their foe.
Luke must have been thinking exactly the same thing because his smile faded into a regretful look and he said, “I’m sorry my dad was always between us.”
“He was only one of the obstacles.” Carly took a slow, deep breath. Even after all this time, it was hard to talk about it.
“Carly, I—”
“It’s okay,” she insisted. “There’s really nothing to be said after twelve years.”
“I disagree.”
She surged to her feet. “I’ve got to get the kitchen cleaned up. There’s lots to do. The grand opening of Upcycle is Sunday afternoon and there’s a million things to do to get ready.”
“I’ll help with the dishes. And tomorrow, I’ll take Dustin to see his grandmother.”
She would have protested, but she realized she was simply too tired to fight.
He left shortly after the kitchen was cleaned up and Carly headed toward her bedroom. She stopped to check on Dustin and found that his room was dark and he was huddled under the covers with one bare foot sticking out. She crossed the room, tucked in his foot, then stood l
ooking down at his face, free of the emotions, mostly anger, that had battered him all day.
She couldn’t help thinking about her own child, letting the memory of his tiny face, his shock of black hair, slip out from the place where she kept it locked away. What would he look like now? What kind of person would he be? An even bigger question was what kind of parents would she and Luke have been if they’d managed to overcome their differences and stay together?
That question would never have an answer. They had been too young and too different. And Robert Sanderson had driven too great a wedge between them with his demands that Luke work for him and his insistence that Carly wasn’t right for Luke.
And now Luke was back, and so was Robert. If there was any mercy in this world, she wouldn’t have to see her former father-in-law, but she couldn’t think about that right now. She closed Dustin’s door and went to her room.
* * *
THIS WAS A busy place on Saturday, Dustin decided. He’d awakened early and, after he got dressed, visited the pantry to load up on food. Now he was outside exploring. There hadn’t been time yesterday since Carly had taken him to see his grandma and then dragged him through the barbershop and the clothing store. She’d even taken him to get the rest of his stuff at Grandma’s house. Now, he wanted to look the whole place over. In case he needed to plot escape routes. He’d promised his grandmother he’d stay there, but he never knew when things might change.
Far down one row of the garden, Carly was loading pumpkins into the small trailer she had attached to the back of her four-wheeler. She’d left him a note telling him to get whatever he wanted for breakfast. He didn’t have to be told twice. He’d chugged a glass of milk, then grabbed cereal bars, a banana and two packages of toaster pastries, which he’d eaten cold. They weren’t as good as Carly’s pancakes, but they filled the hole in his gut.
When there hadn’t been much food at Grandma’s, he’d tried not to think about it. Now that he had plenty of food, he couldn’t get enough.
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