Page 73 of The Deadbeat Next Door

“They aren’t from here, Carrie. I don’t know their family.”

Norma Jane left, closing the front door quietly behind her. Carrie dropped my hand and stood. She stormed into the kitchen and slammed the envelope down on the table. “Sometimes I hate this backward, xenophobic, small-minded town.”

I followed her into the kitchen and reached for her, but she dodged away. “Do you know what she meant when she said I’m theirs and Kayla and her family aren’t?”

I had a pretty good idea, but I kept my mouth shut and let her get it out.

“She didn’t mean that I’m a better person, or earned their love and respect. She meant the Parsons haven’t lived in Catalpa Creek for generations. They’re outsiders, even though Kayla was born here and her daddy moved here right after college. They’re outsiders and they’re poor. I’ve heard Norma Jane say it about other people. She’d say, ‘they’re do-nothing people,’ as though they’re evil just for not being able to earn a living. Norma Jane could have saved them all this pain. I could have saved them.”

I grabbed her and pulled her into my arms. I stroked her hair and hugged her tight. “She was wrong not to do anything to help those kids, but she’s right that there was probably nothing anyone could have done for their father.”

“Someone should have tried,” she said between sobs, her body limp against mine. “I should have tried.”

“You did what you could. You tried to get Kayla to open up. Sometimes people make poor choices and there’s not a damn thing you or anyone else can do about it.”

She didn’t agree, but she didn’t argue either. She straightened, wiped her eyes and forced a weak smile. “We should probably get to bed. Jenny will be up at the crack of dawn.”

So, we went to bed. And we slept. I tried to cuddle up to her, but she shifted away from me, saying she just wanted to sleep. I knew it was more than that. She was pulling away from me and I couldn’t do a damn thing about it, because it was what I wanted. It was what I needed.

***

On Thursday, everyone went back to school and I was home alone when Albert Bennett banged on the door. “Come on in,” I said to the older man. He smiled, but he seemed unsure. When he’d learned the children were staying at my house and not at Carrie’s, he’d been less than happy. I’d had to fill out some paperwork and agree to a background check. I also had to agree to stop having wine tastings in the house, and I had to demonstrate that all the wine was stored out of reach of the children.

“I’d hoped to speak to Miss Harrison.” He stepped inside and I closed the door behind him. “But I suppose you can pass on a message to her.”

“I’d be happy to. Have a seat.”

He shook his head. “Oh, no. I’ll only be a minute. I wanted to let her know that the children have only one living relative, an aunt, who resides in Arizona. She doesn’t want custody and has signed the documents to withdraw any and all rights she may have had to the children.”

My heart sank. “Are there no other living relatives.”

“None,” Mr. Bennett said. “Miss Harrison must decide if she wants permanent guardianship of the children. If not, they will be placed in foster care and, hopefully, adopted. It is likely they will be split up.”

I grimaced, Kayla adored her brother and sister and poor Jenny would be lost without her older siblings. The idea of splitting them up was unthinkable, but was I ready for a family? Could I run a vineyard and help Carrie raise three kids? The questions assailed me without warning. When had I started to think of them as my family? Carrie was pushing me away and our relationship was set to end in a few days.

Carrie would insist on doing this on her own and she’d spend the next twelve years caring for the kids alone. She’d put off finding a husband and having kids, she’d put off her own needs. Or worse, she’d find a husband, someone more stable and more willing to commit than I was, someone who’d help her take care of Kayla, Simon, and Jenny and give her a couple of her own kids, too. They’d be one big happy family and she’d remember me as a mistake that was better forgotten.

I growled at the thought, my hands curling into fists.

“Mr. Reynolds?” Albert said, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“It’s just a lot to think about.”

Albert’s eyes narrowed. “I imagine it’s a lot more than you’d intended to take on when you asked our Carrie to marry you.”

What the hell was wrong with this town? As far as I knew Mr. Bennett hadn’t even known Carrie four days ago and now she belonged to him? “No.” I hated the way he’d already judged me and found me lacking. Hated that he was right. “No, it’ll be fine. I’ll pass the message on to Carrie.”

“You do that. You should also let her know that Mr. Parsons died a broke man. There will be no money from him to help her raise those kids.”

Restless, I cleaned the house. I went to the store and got the fixings for a cookout dinner, instead of pulling out another of the casseroles that now filled our fridge and freezer.

At three, I met Jenny at the bus stop at the end of the street. She came flying off the bus and threw her arms around me. “Mr. Cody,” she said. “I missed you.”

A knot formed in my throat and I couldn’t swallow it away. Not even when I reminded myself that she was young and she’d forget me easily once I was gone. Simon got off the bus at a more sedate rate, scowling at me like I was somehow responsible for every bad thing in his life. I scooped up Jenny and gave her a piggy back ride to the house.

Simon started up the stairs into the house, stomping all the way, but I stopped on the sidewalk. “Where you going, man?”

Simon didn’t even look at me. “Homework.”

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