Page 7 of Summer Weddings
“What fort?” Cole demanded.
“The one that’s in the back of your yard. It’s covered with brush… . Jeff found it earlier today. He wouldn’t know anywhere else to go and that would be the perfect hiding place.”
“No one’s been there in years,” Cole said, discounting her suggestion.
“The least we can do is look.”
Cole’s nod was reluctant. He led the way to his backyard, which was much larger than hers. There was a small grove of oak trees at the rear of the property and beyond that a high fence. Apparently the fort was situated between the trees and the fence.A few minutes later, in the most remote corner of the yard, nestled between two trees, Robin saw the small wooden structure. It blended into the terrain, and if she hadn’t been looking for the hideaway, she would never have seen it.
It was obvious when they neared the space that someone had taken up residence. Cole lowered himself down to all fours, peered inside, then looked back at Robin with a nod. He breathed in sharply, apparently irritated by this turn of events, and crawled through the narrow entrance.
Not about to be left standing by herself, Robin got down on her knees and followed him in.
Just as she’d suspected, Jeff and Blackie were huddled together in a corner. Jeff was fast asleep and Blackie was curled up by his side, guarding him. When Cole and Robin entered, the Labrador lifted his head and wagged his tail in greeting.
The fort wasn’t much bigger than the tent Jeff had constructed the night before, and Robin was forced to pull her knees close and loop her arms around them. Cole’s larger body seemed to fill every available bit of space.
Jeff must have sensed that his newfound home had been invaded because his eyes fluttered open and he gazed at Robin, then turned his head to stare at Cole.
“Hi, Mom,” he said sheepishly. “I bet I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”
Robin was so grateful to find him that all she could do was nod. If she’d tried to speak, her voice would’ve been shaking with emotion, which would only have embarrassed them both.
“So, Jeff,” Cole said sternly. “You were going to run away from home. I see you brought everything you needed.” He pushed the frying pan and atlas into the middle of their cramped quarters. “What I want to know is how you convinced Blackie to join you.”
“He came on his own,” Jeff murmured, but his eyes avoided Cole’s. “I wouldn’t have taken him on purpose—he’s your dog.”
“I’m glad you didn’t…coerce him.”
“All you took was a frying pan and an atlas!” Robin cried, staring at the cast-iron skillet and the atlas with its dog-eared pages.
Cole and Jeff both ignored her outburst.
“I take it you don’t like living here?” Cole asked.
Jeff stiffened, then shook his head vigorously. “Mom told me that when we moved I could have a dog and now I can’t. And…and she dragged me into a neighborhood filled with girls. That might’ve been okay if I had a dog, but then she broke her promise. A promise is a promise and it’s sacred. A guy would never do that.”
“So you can’t have a dog until later?”
“All because of a stupid fence.”
Cole nodded. “Fences are important, you know. And you know what else? Your mom was worried about you.”
Jeff looked at Robin, who was blinking furiously to keep the tears from dripping down her face. The upheaval and stress of the move had drained her emotionally and she was an unmitigated mess. Normally, she was a calm, controlled person, but this whole drama with Jeff was her undoing. That and the fact she’d hardly slept the night before in his makeshift tent.
“Mom,” Jeff said, studying her anxiously, “are you all right?”
She covered her face with both hands. “I slept with a dog and you ran away and all you took was a frying pan and an atlas.” That made no sense whatsoever, but she couldn’t help it, and once the tears started they wouldn’t stop.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” Jeff said softly. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“I know,” she whimpered. “I want you to have a dog, I really do, but we can’t keep one locked up in the house all day and we don’t have a fence and…and the way you just looked at me,I swear it was Lenny all over again.”
“Who’s Lenny?” Cole cocked his head toward Jeff, speaking in a whisper.
“Lenny was my dad. He died when I was real little. I don’t even remember him.”
Cole shared a knowing look with her son. “It might be a good idea if we got your mother back inside the house.”
