Page 21 of Promise Me This Christmas
Bozeman was less than an hour away.Maybe he should pay Andrew a visit.He’d like to ask these questions in person.See the expression on Andrew’s face.
For almost an hour his work and his angry thoughts preoccupied him.So much so that when he heard the front door open and the sound of women’s voices, he dropped his hammer on the tile floor.
“Carson?Is that you?Did you drop something?”
He picked up the hammer, relieved it hadn’t broken any of the black and white tiles.He unzipped the plastic dust barrier and looked down the hall.Larkin and Ethel were taking off their boots at the entryway.And suddenly his black mood vanished.
“Sorry.That was my hammer.Have you come to check out my work?”
“We came for a bowl of my minestrone soup,” Ethel said.“Would you like some?I have plenty in the freezer, as well as homemade cheese buns.”
He looked at his watch, surprised to see it was noon already.“I sure would, thanks.”
Using her walker, which Larkin must have carried into the house, Ethel padded toward the kitchen.Meanwhile Larkin removed her wool hat and shook out her long bourbon-colored tresses.Her cheeks were pink from the cold, her eyes bright.She made a totally intoxicating sight.Especially when she smiled at him.
“You look good in a tool belt.”
He glanced down at the heavy leather belt strapped around his hips.“I bet you say that to all the guys.”
“Actually, I don’t think I’ve spoken that sentence ever before.”She ventured down the hall and peered toward the bathroom.“Good idea to put up that plastic barrier.”
“It should keep most of the construction dust from spreading throughout the house.How did your interview with Amy and Chet go this morning?”
“It was good.I do get the feeling that they’re struggling to hold everything together.It’s a lot, right?They each have their own small business, plus an active one-year-old.”
His instinct was to defend his sister.“They’ve got it under control.”
Yet, he had to agree they were close to maxed out.Amy had seemed on the verge of tears about the garburator until he’d told her he thought he could fix it.She and Chet were always running from one job or chore to another.They barely had a minute to themselves all day.
“I hope you’re right,” Larkin said.They heard a clatter from the kitchen.“I better go help Gran.I’ll call you when lunch is ready.”
Carson went back to work.He found himself whistling.Caught smiles on his face when he passed by the vanity mirror.Thirty minutes later, Larkin called him to come and eat.He washed up and joined them at the kitchen table.The room was small, but cozy, and he felt a twinge of nostalgia as he recognized Ethel’s dinnerware.
In a flash he was a teenaged boy again, excited to be having dinner with his girlfriend and her grandparents.Back then it had been important to him that her family liked him.He’d been extra polite and well behaved, so much so that her grandfather had often teased him and tried to get a rise from him.
Now that he was an adult, he was more concerned about what Larkin thought.Did she believe him that he hadn’t known what Andrew was up to?Even if she did, maybe she would find a simple Montana rancher too boring for her tastes.Well, he couldn’t change that about himself.Couldn’t change anything, really.
Larkin ladled out the soup then passed around the basket of cheese buns.
“Thanks so much.This looks great.”The food did look tasty, but he would have eaten macaroni from a box to have the chance to be with Larkin like this.
“It’s the least I could do,” Ethel said.“Considering all the work you’re doing for me.Do you really think the project will be completed by Christmas?”
“I didn’t find any nasty surprises when I pulled up the floor.No mold or rotting wood.So I’d say yes.You should be able to move in on Christmas Day.”
“What a great present that will be,” Ethel said.“I’ve been out of my home for so long.”
Larkin patted her grandmother’s arm.“It must have been hard on you but think of all you’ve been through.The surgery.The rehab.Getting back on your feet.You’ve done so well, Gran.I’m glad you’re waiting until your house is safe before moving back.”
As kids and teenagers Carson had enjoyed Larkin’s wild and adventurous side, but he’d especially loved the way she was with animals and little children.Patient and gentle, a lot like she was being now, with her grandmother.
“This soup is so good, Gran,” Larkin said.“I’m having more.Anyone else?”
“Yes, please,” Carson said.
Ethel looked pleased.“It’s my grandmother’s recipe.She used to make it every spring when we were drowning in zucchini.She’d add carrots, onions, and potatoes from the root cellar.A jar of preserved tomatoes, and beans of course.We didn’t get them in cans back then; we bought them dried.”
“I don’t suppose you have any cookies in your freezer for dessert?”Larkin asked hopefully.
