After feeding Harley and checking the garage, she returned to Pete’s room. He looked up from his book. “You look pleased with yourself.”
“I found something that will work for your walking stick. Are you up for a day of whittling?”
He set the book aside. “You didn’t steal one of the legs off the dining room table, did you?”
“Nope, this is way better!”
While Lisa was gathering supplies from dark, spider-infested corners of the garage, the front door slammed, indicating the workmen had arrived for the day. If Pete was going to make a big mess whittling, they were already in a construction zone and a few more wood chips wouldn’t make a difference.
When she went back into the kitchen, Pete was chatting with Luke. The workman was laughing, but stopped abruptly when he saw Lisa.
Lisa said, “I need to talk to Craig. Is he here yet?”
Luke shook his head. “No, ma’am. I’m not sure what we’re supposed to be doing today.”
“He didn’t tell you yesterday?” Lisa pulled a bowl down from the cabinet and turned around. “I was hoping you’d do something about the wall.”
“Well, we need you to pick out some paint colors. I do know that,” Luke said. “Then we can get started on painting some of the rooms.”
Lisa slammed the silverware drawer. “Yes, I know. But it would be nice to have a wall to put the paint on first. Why did you rip it out that wall between the living room and dining room?”
“I didn’t take out no wall.” Luke said.
Lisa turned and pointed a fork at him. “What do you mean, you didn’t? I’m missing a wall in my house.”
Luke’s eyes widened in innocence. “I was working upstairs yesterday, steaming that hall wallpaper. Or trying. It wasn’t working too good. Rod was with me, scraping wallpaper and sanding some of the trim.”
Pete said, “What was Craig doing?”
Luke moved his shoulders in a halfhearted shrug. “I dunno. Rod and me were busy. I guess Craig was downstairs the whole time.”
Lisa sat down at the table. “Could you call Craig and find out what you’re supposed to do?”
“I already tried this morning and left a message. He gets really pissed if we do stuff outta order or not on the schedule. I learned that the hard way.” He frowned. “Man, I don’t need that kinda lecture, you know.”
“Unfortunately I do,” Lisa said. “Why don’t you and Rod take the day off? If Craig shows up, I’ll have him call you. Honestly, I don’t understand why this incredibly special schedule isn’t kept here, so you know what to do every day.”
“Craig says we need to remain flexible and the schedule is fluid, like an ocean with currents. Or something like that.” Luke shrugged again. “Heck, I don’t know. It’s a job, you know what I mean? There’s not a lotta work here in the wintertime.”
Lisa said, “I know how that can be. Have a good day.”
After Luke left, Lisa turned to Pete. “So, Mr. Synesth-whatever-you-said, was he lying?”
“Nope. He has no idea what happened to your wall.”
“Well, then let’s enjoy the quiet day and make a huge mess.”
He laughed. “That sounds like more fun.”
They settled into Pete’s room with lots of tools. Pete used a hand-saw to cut down the old Christmas tree trunk to a manageable size and began peeling off the old, dried-out bark. Underneath, the wood was a warm yellow-gold color.
Lisa busied herself flipping through the huge stack of Cosmo magazines. She held up an image of a woman with a bouquet of flowers. “What do you think of this?”
Pete looked up from his wood. “It’s not my table. It’s yours. What do you think?”
“I don’t know. This is harder than I thought it would be.”
“No one is going to die if you cut out the wrong picture from a ten-year-old magazine.”
“Thanks for your input.” Lisa picked up the scissors and began cutting. She held up the bouquet. “I like these colors.”
“Find more things you like. You’re on a roll.” He pulled off a long strip of bark and held it up. “Check it out! A new record. I’m getting good at peeling.”
She smiled at him. “You seem to be having fun over there.”
“That’s the goal.”
Once she started cutting, Lisa enjoyed the shredding process. The more magazines she looked at, the more colors and patterns she found that intrigued her. She started laying out her selections on the top of the old nightstand, trying to envision what it might look like once it was decoupaged.
She was so absorbed in her work that she was startled when Pete broke the silence by saying, “So I’ve been wondering what you plan to do after the work on the house is finished.”
“My parents will list it for sale again.”
“I know that, but what are you going to do?”
Lisa put down the scissors and smoothed her pieces of paper on the nightstand, trying to think of something to say. She had no good response to that question. “I’m not sure. Before I came up here to Alpine Grove, I took a couple of classes at the community college.”
“In what?”
“I took English 101 and a U.S. history course because they were requirements. You know why I never went to college. While Bev was busy selecting her major, I was changing diapers. When I signed up for classes, I wasn’t sure what to take, but I had to start somewhere.”
“Aren’t you missing classes now?”
“The deadline to sign up was ages ago. I didn’t know what I wanted to take and my car died. I also was worried I was sick, so I didn’t want to commit to another semester of classes. It turned out I wasn’t sick, but then I ended up here, so it’s just as well.”
Pete didn’t say anything for a few moments and continued chipping away at his wanna-be walking stick.
Lisa looked down at her magazine. “At the rate this remodel is going, it could be quite a while before the house can be listed for sale. It’s not like I’m going to throw you out tomorrow or something.”
He looked up. “That’s not what I was asking. I am wondering what you want to do next. What’s the next thing you plan to do with your life? Are you going to return to Gleasonville and go back to school?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure. I guess so. Are you going back to Phoenix?”
“It’s where I live. Right now, I’m paying rent on two places, which isn’t the smartest financial decision I’ve ever made.”
“I suppose not.” Lisa looked down at her magazine and closed it. She glanced at Pete, who had returned to silence, engrossed in his wood peeling. Why was he asking her these questions? Was something wrong? With a sigh, Lisa opened the magazine again, trying to distract herself from questions that she didn’t know how to answer.
Lisa continued cutting up magazines, but she remained disturbed by Pete’s comments. She had no idea what was behind his concern about her future. Maybe she wasn’t the only one who was wondering if they had a future together. Her ruminations were interrupted by the jarring sound of the phone ringing.
Jumping over the scraps of paper and magazines, she ran to the bar and picked up the phone.
Craig said, “I’m returning your messages.”
“I’ve been calling all day. Thank you for getting back to me. Is something wrong?”
“I had to go out of town.”
“When are you coming back?”
There was a pause. “Well, I’ve got to take care of some business, so it might be a while.”
“How long is a while?”
“I’m not sure.”
Lisa’s angry reflection stared back at her from the mirror behind the bar. “So when do you plan to put my wall back together?”
“Well, it could be a while.”
“Why did you rip it out in the first place?”
“I told you there was water damage.”
“Do you think I’m blind? There’s no damage there. Were you looking for something inside the wall?”
> There was a suspiciously long pause before Craig replied. “We were looking for dry rot, like I said.”
“Did you find it?”
“Well, there might be some rot. I think there is, so we were checking.”
“No, I mean whatever it was you were looking for in the wall. I know you weren’t looking for damage and that there wasn’t any dry rot. What did you take from this house?”
“I don’t think I appreciate your tone, Ms. Lowell.”
“Did you steal from me?” Lisa knew her voice was shrill, but she didn’t care. “Did you? Tell me!”
“I’m not sure what you’re insinuating, but I think you need to find someone else to finish your remodel.”
“Answer me! What did you steal? I know you found something in this house.” Lisa heard the sound of Pete’s crutches on the floor as he came up beside her. The line went dead and she turned her head to look at Pete. “He hung up on me.”
Pete put his arm around her. “Did he really take something?”
“He won’t admit it, but I know he did. I could tell from his voice. He knew I was on to him.” Lisa leaned her head against Pete’s shoulder and closed her eyes. “Even worse, I think I just lost the only general contractor in Alpine Grove. What am I going to do?”
The front door opened and Harley shot out of the room, barking furiously. Lisa looked at Pete. “I doubt that’s a contractor.”
Harley ran back into the room, followed by Lisa’s mother, who stopped in the doorway of Pete’s room, taking in the scene. Pete dropped his arm and Lisa took a step away from him, smiling meekly. “Hi, Mom.”
Natalie Lowell opened her arms toward the room. “Lisa, what in heaven’s name have you done to my house?”
“Um, well, Dad was supposed to talk to you about that,” Lisa said.
Pete looked at Lisa and raised his eyebrows. Lisa closed her eyes in silent affirmation that yes, she was in fact lying to her own mother.
Natalie put her hands on her hips. “Where is the dining room wall? And the carpet, and the furniture and the wallpaper? Lisa Marie Lowell, you need to tell me exactly what is going on, right this second.”
“All right. The truth is that Dad and Larry asked me to remodel the house, so it will sell. That’s why I’m here. But they didn’t want me to tell you,” Lisa said.
“But it was professionally decorated! It doesn’t need to be remodeled. Before you tore it apart, it was beautiful!” Natalie pointed at the bar. “I mean, look at that fine leather. It’s gorgeous. You can’t get that type of thing anymore.”
Lisa stepped farther away from Pete. “I know, but it’s really old now, Mom. Styles change.”
“Why is there a hospital bed in here? Where is the desk?” Natalie’s eyes widened and she moved toward Lisa with her arms outstretched. “Oh honey, are you sick again? The cancer didn’t come back, did it?”
Lisa hugged her mother. “No, I’m fine, Mom. The bed isn’t for me.”
“You’re sure you’re okay?”
“When I got here, I had a little cold, but it’s gone. I’ve been feeling great lately.”
Natalie stepped back shook her head and seemed to realize that Pete was standing in the room. She pointed at him. “Excuse me, but who are you? I hate to be rude, but this is my house and I have no idea who you are.”
Pete lifted his hand off his crutch and extended it to Natalie. “Pete Harmon. I’m, uh, staying here.”
“You’re the fellow Lisa and the dog saved at Snow Grove,” Natalie said.
Pete nodded. “After my accident, I was going stir crazy in the nursing home and Lisa was kind enough to rent me this room, drive me around, and feed me.”
Natalie glared at Lisa. “Well, now I know why your father kept suggesting that we meet you in town. It wasn’t because it was more convenient for me. You two didn’t want me to find out what was going on here. I’m going to have such a conversation with your father. How could he not tell me about any of this?”
Lisa made a face. “Well, he does know about the remodeling work, but I might not have mentioned the fact that Pete is staying here.”
Natalie narrowed her eyes. “What type of arrangement do you have?”
“Arrangement?” Lisa said.
“Oh please, Lisa. I know that look. It’s the same one you had when you slithered out of your room to meet that grotesque boy, Jared Oldman,” Natalie said.
Pete chuckled and Lisa glared at him. “Don’t you dare say anything.”
Pete raised a palm in a gesture of surrender. “There’s no way I’m touching that.”
Natalie looked at Lisa, then at Pete. “I see. Fine. It’s long past time when I have any say in what you do, but really Lisa, couldn’t anyone have told me what was going on in my own home? When is all this construction going to be finished? It’s a mess. We can’t list the house like this. It’s a disaster.”
Lisa grimaced slightly. “Well, I might have just had a big fight with the contractor, and I’m not sure he’s coming back. He tore out that wall for no reason. I think he’s looking for something.”
“He’s looking for something in the wall? You can’t be serious,” Natalie said.
Pete pointed toward the doorway. “I think she might be right. It makes sense in a strange way. Craig said there was water damage, but there’s not. And Betty has been looking for something in the house.”
Lisa nodded. “It’s true. Betty keeps saying that whatever she’s looking for is in the house. I’ve brought her everything I can think of to her to look at, but now I think she means something is actually inside the house. And now I think the contractor took it.”
Natalie’s shoulders slumped. “Oh Lisa, you’ve always had an overactive imagination. This sounds completely far-fetched.”
“It’s Betty we’re talking about, Mom. Think about it. This is exactly the type of weird thing she could have done,” Lisa said. “I need to talk to her and find out if I’m right.”
“But why would it be in the walls?” Natalie said. “And how would I not know about it?”
“Who knows? I’ll let you know if I learn anything. Why did you decide to stop by today?” Lisa said.
“Well, you know your father’s birthday is coming up, and I wanted to talk to you about it.” Natalie pinched the bridge of her nose. “I swear I can’t get two minutes away from that man, so I lied and told him I was going to the bank. I’d like to have a get-together, but our little cottage in town is too small. I thought since you weren’t busy you could make arrangements to have it here.”
“Having it here obviously isn’t an option, and I might be busier than you thought,” Lisa said. “I need to find a new contractor.”
“Yes, you do. This is quite a mess you’ve made,” Natalie said.
Lisa tugged at her earring. “Maybe Larry could take care of the arrangements. I bet he could make a deal with the guy who owns the Italian restaurant, and you could have Dad’s party there. I’m pretty sure Larry keeps that place in business, so they owe him.”
“I suppose you’re right. It’s only a few phone calls. I didn’t want to ask because he’s been so snippy since he started working on that Snow Grove project,” Natalie said.
“Tell me about it,” Lisa hugged her mother again. “I’m sorry Mom. I promise I’ll fix everything.”
Natalie held onto Lisa’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Please keep me updated. I mean it.”
After Natalie left, Lisa collapsed on the bed and threw her arm over her eyes. What a mess. She felt Pete crawl in beside her and move her arm. Lisa sat up and gazed down at him. “I’m sorry. That was not how I envisioned you might meet my mother.”
“It’s okay. She seems nice and she reminds me of you in some ways. I don’t blame her for being a little…well…startled by the state of her house.”
“What am I going to do? I’ve already talked to every general contractor in Alpine Grove.”
“You could manage the project yourself. It’s fairly obvious what n
eeds to be done to at least get the house put back together.”
“A new wall in the dining room, for example.” Lisa leaned to kiss him. “Thanks for backing me up and not saying I’m crazy for thinking Craig stole something.”
“I don’t think you’re crazy. After all, he did lie about something.” Pete put his arm around her and she snuggled into his embrace. He ran his palm over her hair, stroking it gently.
Lisa hugged him. “I’m so glad you’re here. I love you.”
Pete’s hand paused on her temple. He didn’t say anything, but she could feel his body tense. Oops. She probably shouldn’t have said that. Closing her eyes, she pretended not to notice the silence that felt like it went on for hours.
Chapter 12
Barnacles & Bean Dip
The next morning, Pete had another physical-therapy appointment, and Lisa went through the morning routine of letting Harley out and feeding everyone before the appointment. Fortunately, getting ready to go managed to be uneventful and accident-free this time. Not worrying about being invaded by workmen made the experience quite a bit more relaxing. Of course the house was also in shambles and her mother was furious, but Lisa was trying to find bright spots anywhere she could.
After Lisa had blurted out her feelings to Pete, the awkwardness had slowly dissipated. It was like they had an unspoken agreement to ignore that she’d said anything and pretend it never happened. A little corner of Lisa’s heart was devastated that Pete obviously didn’t feel the same way she did. But she didn’t want to make a big deal about it because he’d be more likely to leave sooner rather than later.
Inevitably, Pete had to return to Arizona, but Lisa was trying not to think about his departure from her life. Then what? Pete had asked her what was next after the house was finished, and she had no idea. Maybe it was time to start putting some real thought into those questions, instead of avoiding ugly, complicated issues and hoping they’d go away. The future was going to arrive whether she wanted it to or not. She could go back to school, but to study what?
At the Alpine Grove Care Center, Pete went to his appointment and Lisa was again crowded with people who wanted to talk to her or pet Harley. It was nice to receive such a warm welcome every time she came to the nursing home. Residents told her interesting stories about the dogs they had owned and shared other experiences about life in Alpine Grove years ago. The only person who didn’t seem to enjoy her company was Aunt Betty, but Lisa was hoping that would change after she talked to her aunt about the house.
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