by Glynna Kaye
“You’ve come prepared.”
“I gave ones to the boys, too, if they’d remember to pull them out.”
“What’s the fun of that when you can run blindly into the dark and fall into a snowbank?”
“True.”
They walked in silence for some distance, the voices of the boys, not far ahead, chattering about the nighttime adventure.
“So, how’s your first week on duty been?”
“Pretty good. Not a whole lot of time to myself right now—the boys seem to find their way to my apartment quite frequently.”
“I can see how that might be a problem.”
“I think once they get used to me being there, I’ll be less of a fascination.”
He doubted that, but he’d let her think what she wanted to. “If you can find the time next week, you should practice driving the Selbys’ bruiser of an SUV in the daylight. You may need it the next time a winter storm system moves through. Depending on where you have to go, that compact of yours might not be able to handle it.”
Her chin lifted as if she didn’t like to be told what to do.
“At any rate,” he continued, not giving her a chance to argue, “you need to tell the Selbys to invest in an extra set of booster seats that you can keep in your car. The boys are big enough that the backless kind should suffice now. Ray and Therese’s can probably be converted, too.”
They’d run out of sidewalk, had shifted to walk along the edge of the road, and Tori called out a reminder to go single file. At least the snow had melted enough that they didn’t have to walk in the roadway itself. The boys had pulled out their flashlights, too, sparring as though with lightsabers.
“Does it seem funny, Sawyer, to have brothers—half brothers—so much younger than you?”
He figured it wasn’t anyone’s business what he thought of it, since Dad had never asked his opinion on the subject. But he sensed Tori’s question was sincere interest, not prying.
“I have two other brothers not too many years older than me. But yeah, it does feel funny at times. I’ve had people think Cubby and Landon are my kids.”
“I can see why. They resemble you. Your dad, he was divorced? Widowed?”
“Widower. When he moved to town to work with me at the Outpost, he met Vanessa Selby—Therese and Ray’s youngest daughter—who was fifteen years his junior. She’d spent most of her adult life on a mission field in South America. Never married. No children, but still young enough to have them and—” he chuckled, still marveling at how excited Dad had been when Vanessa announced she was pregnant “—lo and behold, that’s exactly what Anderson and Vanessa Banks did.”
“How old was your dad when the twins were born?”
“Fifty-three.”
“Brave man.”
“That’s my dad, alright. But after he’d lived alone for so many years, I could hardly begrudge him a little happiness.”
“It’s a shame it was short-lived.”
“Yeah. It is.” More than anyone knew.
“There are so many things I can’t pretend to understand,” she said softly, “and this is one of them.”
He didn’t understand it either. Oh, he understood the free-will part, that he’d used his to mess up and there had been deadly consequences. But just as when his mother died from a series of strokes when he was eleven, where was God when Dad arrived home to find the house on fire? Where was He when Dad got the boys out, but couldn’t save Vanessa, too?
A muscle tightened in his throat. No, he didn’t understand it at all.
“I’m sorry if I’ve stirred sad memories.”
She’d picked up on that, had she?
As they approached the Selbys’ place and the boys raced ahead, the porch light softly illuminated Tori’s face, her compassion-filled eyes. She halted at the edge of the yard. “You lost your father like your little brothers did.”
“But I had him for a lot of years,” he reminded her quietly. “I have real memories of the greatest mom and dad in the world. Memories my younger brothers will never have.”
“No, but you can make your memories of him come alive for them, can’t you? Teach them about the man their daddy was? You can show them by example the way he lived and how he’d want them to live, too.”
That sounded nice, but he hadn’t lived the way his father had. Not by a long shot.
Before he could respond, an approaching car slowed and turned into the driveway, headlights briefly flashing over them. The Selbys were back, and they probably weren’t overjoyed to see him standing in the shadows with Tori.
“Thank you for walking us home, Sawyer.”
“Anytime.”
As their grandparents exited the vehicle, the boys dashed off the porch and into their open arms.
Sawyer caught Ray’s pointed stare in his direction. No doubt the boys’ grandfather would be having a heart-to-heart with Tori tonight.
Warning her to keep her distance.
Chapter Five
“The way you talk, you kids must think your mom and dad are ready to be put out to pasture.”
At the sound of Therese’s brittle laughter, Tori paused in the doorway to the kitchen Thursday morning. She was on the phone, pacing the floor, but motioned Tori to come in. In the two weeks since Tori started the job, she and the boys’ grandmother had fallen into taking turns preparing lunch on weekdays. Never anything elaborate or time-consuming. Healthy and light. But it was an enjoyable family time for the five of them. Today was Tori’s day as chef.
“Well, stop with the worrying, Curtis,” Therese continued as Tori opened a cabinet and pulled out the boys’ favorite drinking glasses. Superman for Landon. Snoopy for Cubby. “We’re doing fine. Maybe slowing down. But I’ve read that seventies are the new sixties, you know. We don’t need any of you hovering over us...Yes, we now have help with the boys. A nice young woman who attends our church...Yes. Yes. Experienced with kids. She’s working out beautifully.”
She rolled her eyes at Tori and used her shoulder to tuck the phone by her ear, then opened the fridge to pull out a gallon of milk and set it on the counter. “If something comes up and we need help, trust that we still know how to pick up the phone...What? That’s not putting a whole lot of confidence in your dear old mom, now, is it?...Yes. Yes. I love you, too. Talk to you later.”
Therese hung up the landline phone. “Kids!”
Tori looked up from where she was setting the table. “Giving you a hard time?”
“Curtis. He’s our oldest. All our kids live in Los Angeles now and have been at us to move there, too, ever since we retired from teaching. But we want no part of that.” She shook her head. “Curtis has it in his head that Ray and I are on our last legs and don’t have the combined sense of a goose. Now he thinks the boys are too much for us. You know, at our advanced age.”
“Little boys can be a handful.”
“We’re doing fine with a housekeeper coming in twice a week, and with you here, everything is more than fine.” She gave Tori a thankful smile. “So what’s for lunch? Is there anything I can do to help, besides pour the milk?”
“I thought we’d have turkey tacos, French green beans, orange slices and ants-on-a-log.”
Therese’s eyes widened. “Dear me, what’s that? Or maybe I don’t want to know.”
Tori reached into the refrigerator’s vegetable bin and pulled out a celery bunch. “Sliced celery ribs filled with crunchy peanut butter and topped with raisin ‘ants’ arranged like they’re crawling on it.”
Therese laughed. “Cubby and Landon will love it. Now Ray, that may be a different story.”
As it turned out, the ants-on-a-log were a hit with Ray as well as with the twins. Then shortly after lunch Tori headed off to the Outpost, where she’d started the day befor
e yesterday. For the time being, it looked like Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons would be her designated time in the outdoor-gear shop. The boys usually attended a preschool program two of those afternoons each week, and Outpost hours would be added as she further settled into the boys’ routines. Sawyer, fortunately, was open to her need for flexibility.
She still hadn’t quite pinpointed the underlying feeling that she’d picked up on between the Selbys and Sawyer. But the night Sawyer walked her and the boys home, she’d almost sensed him tensing when the Selbys drove up. And maybe it was her imagination, but it seemed Ray was more concerned about their walking home instead of driving than the situation warranted. In particular, he’d quizzed her as to how Sawyer had gotten involved.
“Hey, Tori!” Diego Santiago called out when she walked in the door of the Echo Ridge Outpost. “Great timing.”
“Yeah? What’s up?” Slipping off her coat and drinking in the aromas of leather, WD-40 and what she’d come to know as Hoppe’s gun cleaner, she approached the dark-haired young man who was straightening items around the cash register. He was probably about her age, maybe a few years younger, an energetic guy whose love for the outdoors made him a perfect match—unlike her—for working at the outdoor-gear store.
“I got a call that my girlfriend locked herself out of her car. I need to dash by her mom’s place and pick up the spare key.”
“Nasty day to have that happen. You’d better get going.”
“Thanks.” He headed toward the door, then paused. “You’ll be okay, right? I know you don’t know anything about fishing and hunting stuff, but it’s been a slow day. I won’t be gone long. If someone comes in who’s looking for something more serious than a pair of gloves, stall him.” He flashed a grin. “Or her.”
“I’ll be fine. Is Sawyer here?”
He looked at his watch and frowned. “Still at lunch, I guess.”
“Okay. Get going.”
When she’d hung up her coat and stowed her purse in Sawyer’s office, she immediately got to work. He’d left her a sketched diagram of where he wanted merchandise moved or displays rearranged. He agreed with her that the store could use some changing up, that certain items had sat too long in the same place year after year, causing customers to overlook them.
An hour passed before the cowbell over the door clanged, signaling someone had entered the shop. She rounded the corner of a display, expecting to see Diego with an excuse on his lips as to what had taken him so long. But instead, she faced a burly ball-capped man who, when he spied her, raised his brows in mild surprise.
“Where’s Sawyer?”
“He should be back...any minute.” Now, why’d she say that? He might be back momentarily. And he might not. Maybe it was that this guy was big, bearded and looked a little rough around the edges. She wouldn’t care for him to think that she’d been left alone indefinitely. Better to think that Sawyer could walk in on them at any time.
The man grimaced. “Unfortunately, I can’t wait. Was in town for an earlier meeting and now I need to hit the road. But could you give him something for me?”
“I’d be happy to.”
He pulled a few sheets of folded paper out of his jacket pocket. “See that he gets this, will you? And tell him I’ll call him later.”
“Sure.”
She accepted the papers, then his eyes narrowed. “You’re new here, aren’t you?”
“Brand-new.”
“Well, I have to hand it to old Sawyer for trying to drum up business.” With a grin he touched the brim of his cap, then was out the door.
With plans to put the papers on Sawyer’s desk, she headed to the back of the store. There she gave them a toss from the office doorway, only to have them slide off on the other side of the desk and onto the floor.
“Arrgh.” She rolled his leather chair out of the way, then bent to retrieve the scattered papers. But before she again placed them on the desk, bold red wording stamped across one of the pages caught her eye.
Overdue. Second Notice.
“Whatcha got there?”
With a gasp, she clasped the papers to her chest and spun toward the door. Sawyer.
“You scared me to death! I didn’t hear the cowbell.”
“I came in the back way.” His eyes danced at catching her off guard. “No bells.”
“Don’t do that to me ever again. I lost a dozen years off my life.”
“Sorry.” But he didn’t look sorry. “So what do you have there?”
She glanced down at the papers, then held them out to him. “Some guy stopped by and said to give these to you. I was, you know, putting them on your desk and accidentally knocked them off.”
He unfolded one of the sheets. Took a slow breath, then met her curious gaze with a bleak one of his own.
* * *
Exactly what he didn’t need right now.
“Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to accept anything from a stranger? I could have done without this today.”
“Bad news?”
“Not good anyway.” He flipped through the other pages, then tossed them onto the desk, facedown. “One of the drawbacks of owning your own business.”
“The guy said to tell you he’d call you.”
“I don’t doubt that he will.” Like Kyle, he and Graham had hung out at Hunter’s Hideaway as teens, mucking out stalls, cleaning rental cabins and busing tables at the inn’s restaurant. Then on to college in Flagstaff. It was probably Graham’s idea of a joke to stamp overdue across the unpaid bill. Or at least he hoped so. “Did he say anything else?”
“No. He wasn’t here long. Said he was in town on other business, but couldn’t wait until you came back.”
“Where’s Diego?”
“His girlfriend locked herself out of her car and he went to help.”
He nodded, then glanced at the papers on the desk. “You probably saw what Graham gave you to give me, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t mean to. I—”
He raised a hand as he lowered himself into one of the side chairs. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll get paid. I always meet my payroll obligations.”
“I wasn’t worried.”
“That’s good, because there’s no need to be. There have been unanticipated expenses with the store this past year. And despite accruing a cushion for emergency situations, the timing is such that I’ve gotten into some cash-flow issues. Have to pick and choose who gets paid when.”
She nodded. But he doubted she had a clue.
“You’ll figure it out. I have confidence in you.”
He chuckled. “Nice try, Tori, but you hardly know me. How can you make a statement like that?”
“I can because—” She moved to drop into the upholstered chair beside him, her expression earnest. “Because although I haven’t been here long, I’ve seen firsthand how hard you work. Seen how you love this place. How much you enjoy helping people find the right equipment to get the most out of their outdoor experiences.”
“You’ve seen that, have you?”
“I have. It’s been my experience that people with a passion for something always find a way. I know you will, too.”
As dumb as it seemed, his heart swelled as her words pumped into him a renewed determination. He did have a passion for the Outpost. One that Tori actually recognized. He loved the outdoors and loved providing a variety of means for other people to enjoy it, as well.
He leaned back in his chair to study her thoughtfully. “You know, I think hiring you may be the best thing I’ve done in a long while.”
Their gazes held, then she abruptly broke eye contact and rose to her feet. “Of course it is. Your friend—Graham? He said he has to hand it to you for hiring me to drum up business.”
Sawyer let loose a b
elly laugh. “He did, did he? Well, that old dog may be right.”
She shook her head apologetically. “But of course, he didn’t know that I don’t know the difference between fly-fishing and lure fishing. Or a shotgun from a rifle.”
“But you’re starting to pick up on the lingo, aren’t you?”
“Just enough to be dangerous.”
“I think—” he couldn’t help but smile at her innocence “—that Graham was making a point that a little thing like that won’t much matter when it comes to you making a sale.”
She stared at him uncomprehendingly for a long moment, then abruptly her eyes flashed fire. “That’s not why you hired me, is it? To be a token female lure of some kind for your stupid store?”
“Now the store—the one you’ve convinced me I have such great passion about—is stupid?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yes, I know what you mean. And you can calm down. I hired you because I need you to stay in town to take care of my brothers and because—”
Her eyes narrowed. “Because what?”
“Because I do need help getting things in shape. After the excessive expenses on this place, I have to turn things around this year. I can tell that you have a talent for setting up effective displays that puts me to shame. An understanding of balance and color that will catch a customer’s eye. And that, Tori, is what will lead to more sales.”
“You think so?”
“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it. That’s one thing you’ll learn if you stick around here long enough. I say what I mean and I mean what I say.”
He might not have always followed in his father’s footsteps, but that was one thing he’d stuck to his guns on.
“I’ll do a good job for you, Sawyer.” Her eyes took on an intensity, communicating that it was important to her that he believe her. “Even though I’ll never be able to answer customer questions or close a sale on much of anything.”
Her half smile was weighted with apology.
“Who says you’ll never do that? True, maybe not today or tomorrow, but I’ll make an outdoorsman—woman? person?—of you yet.”