Page 11 of Bear's Heart

“I’m already here.At least seeing your problem bathroom would make me feel better.”

“You’re sounding just as stubborn as your sister.”

Rye’s eyes glinted.“Oh, she’s worse than me.But then, she’s a far better human.Josie will give the shirt off her back while I prefer to keep mine on.”

Bear was torn between exasperation and amusement.“I haven’t had coffee yet and I’m feeling it.You’re welcome to come in but know that I’m not planning on putting any money into this house, not when I’ve decided it doesn’t work for me.”

“You’re going to sell it?”

“I don’t know if I will sell or just lease it.But it isn’t comfortable and making the changes your sister suggested—” Bear broke off, jaw tightening.“I know how those projects are.One thing leads to another and another and it ends up taking months and twice the amount of money budgeted.”

“Or three times.”

“Exactly.”

“But you should rest assured that Josie is quite thrifty and is more sensitive to finances than many.We grew up without much, and she learned to create beauty out of thrift stores and hand-me-downs.

“I don’t doubt it, but remodels are exhausting, and I don’t have it in me.”

“Completely respect that.”Rye approached the ramp but instead of walking up it, he climbed the wide porch’s partially obscured front steps as he studied the ramp’s design.“Why didn’t they put the ramp off to the side?”he asked, taking another stair.“There’s plenty of space in your yard and you wouldn’t have had to destroy the symmetry of your front entrance.”

“Would it have worked there?”

“Absolutely.”Rye pointed to the rustic railing on one side.“That would have been a perfect place for the ramp to go.You’d only have had to remove those five-foot pieces, and you’d have had a great landing with minimal damage to the structure.It’s still just as close to the front door, but it provides a better area to arrive, with more room to turn.”

Bear rolled back slightly to study the side of the front porch.Rye was right.“How come you can see that so quickly and others can’t?”

“We’ve had years to learn what works for a wheelchair and what doesn’t.Not sure if Josie told you, but our younger brother Jasper has cerebral palsy and is in an electric chair.His chair, by necessity, is big and bulky, so space is always at a premium.”

“She probably mentioned it, but I was in a terrible mood, and missed half of what she said.I owe her an apology.”

“It couldn’t have upset her that much.She still called and asked me to help you.”

“She shouldn’t have.”

“No, probably not, but Josie’s not your average bear—no pun intended.”

Bear reluctantly smiled.“Come in, check out the bathroom, and I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”He turned and with a push of his right hand, moved into the house with Rye following.“When I turn left into the kitchen, you just keep going down the hall and the first door on the right is my bedroom and bathroom.Ignore the mess if you can.I wasn’t expecting visitors.”

Bear filled his mug with coffee and waited for Rye to reappear.Rye was gone longer than Bear had expected.

“Wasn’t sure if you were working or just needed to use the facilities,” Bear said when Rye finally appeared.

Rye laughed.“Today it was just lots of note taking.”

“With what?”

“My phone.”He pulled the phone out of his back pocket.“I dictate everything these days, makes it much easier than trying to scribble it down.”Rye nodded at the coffee pot.“If you have coffee to spare, I’d love a cup.”

Bear scooted to the edge of his seat and stretched an arm up to retrieve a mug.“Creamer is in the fridge, if you want it.”

Rye took the carton of creamer out and topped off his coffee before putting the creamer back.“You definitely need the bigger bathroom door.You’re destroying the one that’s there now.”

“It’s a tight fit getting the chair in there, which is why I think I’m better off just finding a place that will work for me—a place that has everything I need already, without having to take on a renovation job.”

“I’m not sure there are going to be a lot of places like that around here.You might have to move into Bozeman.With a city you’d have more options.”

“I’m not a city guy.I’ve been on the outskirts of Nashville for a number of years, and I moved back to Montana wanting a different quality of life.”

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