Page 19 of Katherine's Last Hope
She bit back a groan. As much as she appreciated the free ride while she secured something better to drive, she didn’t want to spend time upkeeping the hunk of junk.
“I can do that,” Cody said.
One gray, bushy eyebrow hooked high on Pappy’s wrinkled brow. “Excuse me?”
Cody shrugged. “I can change the oil. Do you have what I’d need in the garage, or should I run into town and grab it?”
“You don’t have to do that,” Katherine said. “You’ve already done too much.”
“Nonsense.” Pappy took another swig from his mug. “Boy says he can change the oil, let him change the oil. I’ve got everything here.”
Nora pounded her fists on the highchair, reclaiming the attention. “No cados. More nanas pwease.” Her adorable voice smothered all the tension in the room.
Cody snatched a banana from the bowl on the counter and peeled it. “Does she need it sliced?”
Marie darted her gaze between Katherine and Cody, amusement clear in her dark eyes. “Umm, you can just break off chunks for her if you want.”
“Let me wash my hands first.” He rounded the Formica peninsula that jutted out from the wall then scrubbed his hands in the kitchen sink.
“Wow,” Marie mouthed, her dramatic expression lifting every muscle in her face.
“Stop it,” Katherine mouthed back. The last thing she needed was Cody spinning around and catching her and her sister-in-law in a secret conversation about him.
Pappy clicked his tongue. “My house used to be so damn quiet.”
Cody returned and sectioned off the banana, placing the pieces on the tray for Nora.
She popped one in her mouth. “Yum!”
“Glad you like it.” Cody chuckled then faced Pappy. “Care to show me where I can find your tools?”
Pappy pushed up from the table. “Might as well. Ain’t got nothing better to do, and these hens need their space to keep clucking.”
Heat collided against Katherine’s cheeks, and she avoided Cody’s curiosity as he followed her grandfather into the garage.
Sighing, she dropped into a chair in front of Nora. Not only was Cody handsome and kind, he handled her grandfather like a pro and was great with kids. Not to mention being good with his hands if he could maintain the clunker she’d be driving around.
Marie settled in the seat beside her. “I’m sorry about the accident. Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t want to think about what could have happened. I’ve never been so scared.”
“Then we won’t talk about it,” Marie said. “Instead, we can discuss the cutie patootie deputy who’s braving your grandfatherso he can change your oil. He seems like a really nice guy. Could there be something between you two?”
A punch of guilt accompanied the excitement over the idea of exploring the possibilities with Cody. “It’s too soon.”
Reaching across the table, Marie took hold of Katherine’s hand. “There’s no time limit on when it’s right for you to find happiness with someone else. Follow your gut and know that Theo wouldn’t want you to spend the rest of your life alone. He loved you so much. He’d want you to be happy. Whether that’s with the hottie in the garage or someone else, it doesn’t matter. Just know finding love again doesn’t replace Theo. It’s a testament to the wonderful marriage you shared.”
Emotions choked her windpipe. “What do you mean?”
“If you hadn’t experienced so much joy and love with Theo, there’d be no reason to try and find it again. Theo showed you what true love is. Maybe it’s time to see if you have a second act waiting.”
A chunk of the guilt clinging to her heart fell away. Marie was right. Her marriage had been the stuff every little girl dreams about. She’d thought that meant she’d had her chance, no more shots left for her. But maybe she’d been looking at it the wrong way. Because Theo had showered her with so much love, she knew what she deserved—what she wanted in a future partner.
And maybe wanting Cody wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
A wallof stale air greeted Cody the second he stepped foot in the dingy garage. The sun struggled to peek through the dirt smeared on the windows. A truck almost as old as Katherine’s grandpa sat in the middle of the room. A long workbench took up one wall, shelves lined with all kinds of crap took up another.
Lewis pushed the white button to lift the garage door then ambled over to the shelves. “You work with cars a lot?”
