A Time for Home: A Snowberry Creek Novel (13 page)

He hadn’t mentioned getting any help in decompressing from the strain of fighting in the war, not to mention the loss of a friend so close to the end of their deployment. According to everything she’d read, therapy could help. But how could she even suggest such a thing to him without hurting his feelings? If she pushed too hard, he might decide to up and leave. Another bit of truth was that she wasn’t ready for him to go.

And might never be.

She pulled out of her parents’ driveway and drove the short distance to Spence’s. No, it was hers now, something she needed to keep repeating over and over until she actually believed it was true. For a minute, the past was superimposed over the present, and she could see Spence with his head under the hood of that old Chevy he’d been restoring back when they were sixteen.

She slowed to a stop halfway down the driveway, not yet willing to face Nick and Leif, especially when she was lost in the past. Time sped up, and Spence was older and about to leave for his first deployment in Iraq. He’d been so handsome in his uniform, a big smile on his face but with a hint of manic fear in the depths of his pale green eyes. She was probably the only one who knew him well enough to recognize it, but she’d never doubted for a moment what she’d seen.

The next time she’d seen him, war had carved its mark on her friend. He still laughed, but not as easily. Even in the quietest moments there’d been a thread of tension running through him. It was as if he could never quite relax because maintaining constant vigilance had become second nature for him.

Her eyes burned, but she refused to give in to tears. She missed Spence so darn much, but somehow meeting his two friends had eased the pain a little. Not only were they a lot like him, but they also carried a big chunk of Spence in their hearts. Between the three of them, their combined memories would keep him alive, at least in their world.

Maybe. She hoped so, anyway. Right now the wounds were still too fresh for all three of them. Leif’s literally. She’d wanted to ask him about the prognosis on his ankle but sensed the question wouldn’t be appreciated.

Nick had his own scars that went far beyond that twisted red streak on his upper arm. While that one would heal, there was no way to know if the other ones ever would. She hated what the war had done to them all.

Driving slowly as the house came into view, she was struck by how much Nick had accomplished in just a handful of days. Already the grass looked healthier, neatly mowed instead of harvested like a wheat field. The flower beds were edged and weeded. The overall effect on how the place looked was amazing. Imagine what a coat of paint on the house itself would do!

She couldn’t wait to see how it all turned out, but now wasn’t the time to get lost in her plans for the future. Especially since Nick and Mooch had both stepped out on the front porch. When the dog tried to charge down the steps, Nick grabbed him by the collar to make sure Mooch didn’t run in front of Callie’s car.

Once she was safely stopped, he released his buddy and followed the dog down the steps.

She managed to get out of the car without being bowled over by her four-footed fan. Kneeling down, she laughed as Mooch about wiggled himself to pieces in his efforts to deliver enough doggy kisses to last her a lifetime.

When he finally settled down, she stood up and dusted off the knees of her jeans. “I think he missed me.”

Nick grinned. “Can you blame him? He hasn’t seen you since lunchtime. In dog hours, that must seem like forever.”

Callie patted the dog on the head again. “I hadn’t thought about it in those terms. Poor baby!”

Nick peeked into the backseat of her car. “Let me help you with all of that.”

She opened the back door and pulled out the salad and the cookies, handing them off to Nick. After retrieving the rest herself, she shut the car door with a quick nudge of her hip.

Nick was busy sniffing the air. “I’m guessing something Italian with an underlying hint of oatmeal raisin.”

“Right on both counts. Since this is Leif’s first night here, I thought I should hold off on serving MREs for dinner. Tomorrow, though, all bets are off.”

He stood back to let her lead the way into the house. “That’s just mean, Callie. Besides, they won’t taste right unless you season them with Afghan dust. Not sure the stores around here will have that in stock.”

There was something in his voice that made her think he wasn’t kidding about that. She couldn’t imagine a steady diet of gritty food morning, noon, and night.

“Fine, then. I’ll see what else I can come up with. We could grill something tomorrow night.”

“That sounds great. Maybe with some roasted corn or a big salad.”

“You’ve got it.”

They headed inside the house with Mooch bringing up the rear.

L
eif was waiting for them in the kitchen. The two men had set the table with the dishes that had once belonged to Spence’s mom. Another ping from the past. Callie set the lasagna down and peeled back the aluminum foil. Nick added the bowl of salad and then the bread Callie handed him.

As soon as Leif spied the plastic container of cookies Nick had put on the counter, he hobbled around the table to pop off the lid. His expression turned positively reverent.

“Tell me those are oatmeal raisin.”

“They are.”

Nick slapped Leif’s hand as soon as he started to pick one up. “Down, boy. You can have cookies after you eat a good dinner.”

Leif tried again. “Come on, Sarge. Just one. Call it an appetizer. You know how long it’s been since I’ve had one of Callie’s cookies.”

Nick relented. “Fine, but that’s it for now. Got that, Corporal?”

Callie blinked. Nick was kidding, wasn’t he? Maybe not, considering that Nick made that last part sound like a direct order. What was going on?

Time to distract them. “They’re just cookies, gentlemen. I can always bake more. But right now I could really use some ice water, and the lasagna is getting cold.”

Her effort to defuse the situation worked. Nick immediately fixed drinks for all three of them while Leif settled himself at the table. Callie rooted through the drawers to find some serving utensils and a knife to cut the lasagna. Soon all three of them were seated at the table and passing their plates.

Leif accepted the huge helping of lasagna she gave him with a smile. “This smells delicious. Thanks for cooking for us.”

Then he shot a sly smile toward the cookie container. “And baking. Spence always shared your cookies whenever he got some, but I swear he made us beg. Believe me, we all got excited whenever he received a package from you. A couple of times we had a long discussion with our fists over how he divided up the goodies.”

Okay, that was just too much. “Seriously? You actually fought over cookies? Don’t tell me neither of you received packages because I know better. Especially you, Nick. Spence told me about the stuff you got from your mom.”

Leif looked a bit sheepish. “Well, sure, we all got stuff, but it was from our moms. Spence was the only one who got cookies from someone who wasn’t a blood relative. We wanted some of that for ourselves.”

She blushed. “But Spence doesn’t have any family. The only relatives he has . . .”

Had, darn it, had. Callie ignored the fresh stab of pain that idea caused her as she paused to correct herself again. “The only family he had left were his uncle and his cousin. God knows neither one of them would have thought to send Spence a package, not even for Christmas or his birthday.”

Nick perked up. “Have you talked to either of them since you heard about Spence?”

“Yes.”

She turned her attention to serving herself some salad, hoping to avoid elaborating, because that meeting hadn’t been at all pleasant. The army had notified Spence’s uncle as his next of kin. Vince had promptly come snooping around Spence’s house, assuming he was going to inherit. Her father had noticed him hanging around and wandered over to see what was going on.

That was the first anyone in town had heard about what had happened. She could only imagine how Vince had reacted when he’d learned from the attorney that Callie, and not Vince or even his son, had been named as Spence’s heir.

“I’m guessing they weren’t happy about you ending up with this place.”

She set her fork down to answer. “No, they weren’t. Vince took it harder than his son, Austin, but neither one was happy. They threatened to contest the will, but the attorney Spence hired made sure it was ironclad. There was no love lost between Spence and Vince; that’s for sure.”

It was hard to face Spence’s two friends. “I had no idea he’d left everything to me. I hope you both know I’d rather be Spence’s guest in this house instead of its owner.”

Nick was seated on her right and Leif on her left. Each of them reached out to take her hand. Leif gave it a quick squeeze.

“Yeah, we both know that. We’re all having a hard time getting our heads around the fact that Wheels won’t be walking through the door again.”

“Wheels?”

The two men exchanged an odd look before Nick answered. “Actually, that’s short for Wheelman. When the three of us were out on patrol, Spence was our driver of choice.”

The flatness in his tone made it very clear that there was more to the story than that. “Okay, fess up. Which one of you christened him with the nickname, and why did you choose him to drive?”

Another one of those looks. It appeared that this time Leif drew the short straw because he rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. “I’m not admitting anything, but I assume sometime in the past you had the questionable privilege of riding in a car with Spence at the wheel.”

Okay, now she knew where Leif was heading with all of this. That didn’t mean she was going to make it easy on him. “Yes, often. Did you know the cops around here used to hold him up as an example to the other teenagers whenever they talked about driving safety?”

Leif looked incredulous as he sputtered, “Seriously? Are we talking about the same Spencer Lang?”

Nick joined the protest. “No way. That boy was already crazy the day he enlisted. The army didn’t make him that way.”

It was hard to decide which of Spence’s two friends had the funnier expression on his face: Nick trying to keep a straight face or Leif looking completely befuddled.

Nick took pity on Leif and pointed the tip of his knife in her direction. “Corporal, you might note that she didn’t say what kind of example Spence was.”

Giggles burbled to the surface. “No, I didn’t, did I?”

Leif finally caught on and joined in the laughter. “They held him up as a crappy example, didn’t they? I swear that man never took a corner with four wheels on the ground if he could manage to take it on two.”

Nick nodded in agreement. “Pardon the expression, but Wheels took balls-to-the-wall driving to a whole new level.”

There was no mistaking the admiration in Nick’s voice. Clearly Spence’s driving had made a definite impression on his fellow soldiers.

Remembering her friend’s wild side had her smiling. “It’s nice to know the army allowed him to hone his personal skill set. ‘Be all you can be’ and all of that.”

Leif stared off into the distance. “Gee, I don’t remember seeing ‘crazy-assed driver’ as one of the job descriptions when I enlisted. Maybe they do things differently out here on the West Coast.”

“No, they don’t.” She thought back to when she and Spence were juniors in high school. “After one close call involving a late-night drive through the mountains, my father wouldn’t let me back in the car with Spence for a month. Then Dad had a heartfelt discussion with the dear boy. Neither of them ever shared what was said, but after that Spence never ever exceeded the speed limit when I was in the car with him.”

She remembered those summer nights when the two of them would take long drives and talk about their dreams. Neither of them expected to end up back in Snowberry Creek, and look how that had turned out. She was thinking of starting her own business here, and Spence . . . well, he was here, too.

She reached for her water to try to wash down the lump in her throat. It didn’t help, and silence settled over the table for a short time. At least over the course of the discussion, the three of them had made a huge dent in the lasagna. Leif pushed his plate back.

“That was delicious, Callie. It’s been a long time since I’ve had home cooking.”

Callie managed a smile. “I’m glad you liked it.”

Nick started clearing the table. “I’ll put on a fresh pot of coffee before we break out the cookies. Then I’ve got something to show you.”

Something he seemed nervous about. When his back was toward the table, she shot a questioning look in Leif’s direction but got no response. Okay, then. Something was definitely up, and it had these two big, tough soldiers acting awfully skittish.

Leaning over closer to Leif, she whispered, “Give me a hint about what’s going on, and I’ll bake you your own batch of cookies.”

She’d underestimated Nick’s hearing. Despite the noise of the faucet running, he responded, “Corporal.”

Leif was clearly tempted but then shook his head. “Sorry, Callie, but this is Sarge’s dog and pony show. I wouldn’t want to steal his thunder.”

“Fine, then.”

Then, while Nick still had his back to them, she winked at Leif. “I’ll still bake the cookies.”

“Callie, my friend, you seriously rock.”

She smiled at him. “Gotta do my part to fatten you up a bit.”

•   •   •

Damn, not only was he capable of being jealous of a dog, but now he resented the small exchange between Callie and Leif. Although she was right on the money about Leif needing to pack on some weight. He must have lost a good twenty pounds since getting his ankle almost blown off. He needed protein, not pastries, but right now seeing Leif acting enthusiastic about anything was good.

Nick wiped down the kitchen table and the counters before setting out three mugs for the coffee. When he reached for the cookies to set the plastic tub on the table, he hesitated as visions of his mother artfully arranging hers on a fancy plate popped into his head.

Sorry, Mom, but that’s not happening.

As a compromise, he did pour some milk into a small pitcher. Besides, a gallon jug took up too much of the room he’d need to spread out the plans for Callie to study. He set out the sugar bowl along with a handful of paper napkins and called it good.

Leif minded his manners long enough to offer the cookies to Callie first. She took one and set it on a napkin.

Nick snagged the container out of Leif’s hand and held it out to her again. “Take more than that. They won’t last long the way Leif inhales cookies.”

His friend didn’t bother to deny it. “Yeah, well, it’s not like you haven’t wolfed down your fair share of them in the past.”

Callie dutifully took another cookie and waved him off when he continued to offer her more. “No, this is fine. Split the rest between the two of you.”

Once the coffee was poured and a few cookies consumed, Nick reached for the stack of papers he’d left on the counter. Callie followed his every movement, obviously curious about what was coming next.

He wiped his hands on his shirt twice before finally unfolding the detailed plans for the gazebo. Taking a deep breath, he slid them over in front of Callie.

“I saw this and thought about what we talked about for the far corner in the backyard.”

Callie’s eyes widened as she studied the picture. “It’s beautiful! You’re so right. This would be perfect.”

Her enthusiasm quickly dimmed. “But having something like this built is going to have to wait until I find out how much else needs to be done to bring the house up to code for a bed-and-breakfast. Not to mention I found out today I have to apply for a variance in the zoning to open a business at this location.”

She leaned back in her chair and sighed. “I had another talk with the clerk at city hall about building permits and all the other things that it would take to pull the whole project together. It was pretty overwhelming.”

“One step at a time, Callie. Don’t let it scare you. Maybe we can visit city hall together at some point and ask about what needs to be done to get the variance.”

She’d started to push the paper back toward him, but he stopped her. “But back to this. I mean it to be a gift from me, so don’t worry about the cost. While we’re checking on the variance, we’ll find out if a permit is needed for a small project like this.”

“It’s too much, Nick. I can’t accept a gift like this from you.”

And why the hell not? Guessing that wasn’t the right approach, he tried a different tack. “You’re planning on fixing this place up as a kind of quiet memorial for Spence. Well, this would be my part of that. It would mean a lot to both me and Leif if you’d let us build this.”

Callie traced the curving line of the gazebo’s roof with a fingertip, her expression more hopeful. “Are you sure? Both of you? It looks like a lot of work.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve been doing carpentry work from plans like these for my dad for years.”

He nodded toward Leif. “And my boy here takes orders well. He won’t be much of a hindrance.”

Leif rose to the bait. “Hindrance, my ass. We already agreed I’m the supervisor on this project.”

Yeah, right. “And remind me again, what qualifies you for that job?”

“Supervisors sit on their backsides most of the time.” Leif patted the boot that reached halfway up his leg. “I’ve gotten really good at that lately.”

Nick had to laugh. Damn, he’d missed moments like this exchanging banter with his friends. “You’ve been good at that as long as I’ve known you.”

Giving Nick a superior look, Leif tidied up his stack of cookies. “We all go with our strengths. That’s the army way.”

Callie reentered the conversation. “So what all will you need to build this thing?”

Time to lay his cards on the table. “Most of it will be here tomorrow morning. That’s what I was doing when I was gone today. The hardware store promised to make delivery by ten.”