Love by the Yard (5 page)

The gate opened and Brendan stepped inside, but before she could speak, a second person walked in behind him. A woman was with him. Both Brendan and the woman stopped. He rested one hand on the woman's shoulder. “Shanna, I'd like you to meet my mother.”

Five

Shanna's heart stopped beating.

She remembered when Roger had introduced her to his mother. Looking back, that was her signal that Roger intended to make the relationship serious.

She didn't want a serious relationship. She didn't want any relationship. Especially not with King Kong.

“Hi,” she said, unable to keep her voice from coming out like a strangled squeak.

“Shanna?” Brendan asked, stepping forward. “Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

Shanna shook her head, then nodded as she gulped in a deep breath of air, trying to force her heart to start beating again. “I'm fine,” she choked out. “I'm sorry. I was just thinking of. . .something.” She turned to his mother. “I'm pleased to meet you.”

His mother smiled and extended one hand. “My name is Kathy. Are you sure you're okay?”

“Yes. I'm so sorry.”

Absently, Brendan lifted his hand and stroked his beard. “I have another project to start today. My mother often does painting for me when I need help. If you don't mind, I'm going to leave her here and pick her up on my way back.”

“N–no. . .I don't mind.”

“Great. I just have to get the paint out of my truck.”

The second Brendan disappeared, Kathy started talking. “I've heard a lot about your new playscape. As usual, it looks better than Brendan described it. He's too modest with the things he does. I see he's done a lovely job of your yard, too.”

Even though she'd already looked at it a million times, Shanna took in the transformation, still barely able to believe it was real. The ground was now perfectly even, and the grass was green and lush. A row of small shrubs—azaleas, rhododendrons, some rosebushes, and a few ferns lined the back fence, completing the picture. Brendan told her he'd selected these particular plants so she could have a beautiful array of flowers from early spring until late fall.

The two rock gardens splashed more color into her yard. These were planted with hardy dark green shrubs and a rainbow of pansies. They were both artistic and beautiful. The corner flower bed was constructed with plastic covering the ground and plants poking out from cut holes, the plastic covered by mulch. Brendan had explained that he'd done it like this so she wouldn't have weeds to pull from around the plants.

In both corners he'd planted a couple of bushes. She couldn't remember the technical name he'd given her, but the common name was butterfly bush. Over the years they would become big and lush, and for most of the summer and into the fall they would be loaded with cascading
purple blossoms. This was one of Brendan's favorite
perennials because it was hardy and fragrant. As the name implied, it would attract butterflies. Around both trees he'd planted a mixture of bright blossoms—carnations, marigolds, petunias, and a number of others she couldn't remember the names of. He'd said this was the only place he'd planted annuals because he'd also planted a variety of bulbs for the earliest of the spring flowers—daffodils in all their color variations, tulips, and crocuses. She just wouldn't be able to see those until next year. And as a special touch, under the eaves, he'd hung a few pots of brilliant pink and white fuchsias that were supposed to attract hummingbirds.

“Uh. . .yes. . .he's done a great job.”

Brendan returned with two cans of paint, far too much to cover just the playscape—probably enough to start work on the fence when it was completed.

He checked his wristwatch. “I'll see you at 5:00.”

He was gone before she could respond.

Kathy waved one hand in the air. “Don't mind me. Go back to work. Don't be afraid to let the children into the yard. I'll keep them off the wet paint. I know I'll enjoy their company while I do this. I'm not even going to call it work. I love painting even more than I love knitting. I can tell you that it's much more difficult to find a painting job than it is to go to the store and buy a couple of skeins of wool.”

Shanna glanced toward the empty playscape. “Actually, my children aren't home. As you can see, it's just me and my dog.”

Kathy turned her head to watch Boffo, who was sitting at the gate Brendan had just left through, waiting for him to come back.

One corner of Kathy's mouth tipped up. “So that's the. . . uh”—Kathy paused and cleared her throat—“
large
dog he's been taking to Jeff's obedience class.”

Shanna's cheeks warmed, thinking that Brendan had probably used other words to describe Boffo. “That would be him.”

Kathy rubbed her hands together. “This is getting better. And it's making more and more sense.”

“I don't understand.”

“He talks differently about you than his other landscaping clients.” Kathy giggled. “He said that you and I would get along like peanut butter and jam.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I'm just repeating what he said.”

Memories of what Roger had said about his mother poked into Shanna's mind. Roger had also told Shanna that his mother would like her, although not in that way. At the time, Shanna had been flattered. It had been less flattering when Roger's mother started asking too-personal questions, then began snooping around her house to see what kind of wife Shanna would be to her precious son. In hindsight, Shanna now knew that Roger's mother was looking for someone who would be a perfect housekeeper, because Roger was such a slob. Roger had laughed it off, and not long after that, they were married.

However, this time Shanna wasn't meeting the mother of a man she wanted to marry. This was the mother of someone with whom she had made a business agreement—and Shanna wanted it to stay that way. Yet, despite her hesitations, her impression was that Brendan didn't have any hidden agenda with leaving his mother to paint the playscape. Kathy was simply there to work. There was even the possibility that since his mother said she enjoyed painting, Brendan was doing his mother a favor by providing something she liked to do.

The smart thing would be to back off and not answer any personal questions—and only let Brendan's mother into the house when she had to use the bathroom.

Kathy picked up a can of paint and a brush. “So, tell me, Shanna, do you knit?”

Shanna's gaze met Kathy's and held. Her impression of Kathy was that, unlike Roger's mother, Kathy was sincere, and her question wasn't personal; it was simply to start a light conversation. In a way, Kathy reminded Shanna of an older version of her pastor's wife. “I knit a little,” Shanna muttered, not wanting to be rude. “I'm not very good.”

Kathy pried the lid off the paint can. “I knit a lot. If you want, I can help you. I have boxes of adorable patterns in my collection that kids fall in love with.”

“Really?” Shanna asked before she could stop herself. When Kathy looked up and smiled, something inside of Shanna started to melt. Brendan's mother wasn't grilling Shanna about how she spent her time. She was just offering to help.

“Yes,” Kathy replied. “I have patterns from beginner up to advanced.” She smiled again, the crinkles at the corners of her eyes reminding Shanna of one of the elderly ladies at church whose biggest joy in life was spending time with younger women, either nurturing them or just having fun.

Kathy looked at her, waiting, until Shanna felt awkward about not responding. “I'm definitely a beginner,” she mumbled. “I tried and tried, but it wouldn't work, so I gave up.”

“You probably gave up too soon. All you need is someone to show you how. We have a ladies' group at my church that gets together for coffee once a month, and many of the ladies bring their knitting. I've shown a number of them how to do the pictures, and I could show you, too. Don't be shy. I don't bite.”

Guilt surged through Shanna's heart. She had been completely unfair, as well as judgmental. Brendan's mother wasn't there to spy on her; she just wanted to be friendly.

Shanna gathered her courage. “Matthew has a friend who gets new sweaters with all his favorite cartoon characters on them. He was so disappointed when I couldn't do it.”

“Most of the ones for young children aren't that difficult. The secret is using a ruler.”

“A ruler?”

“I'll show you. Brendan will be here to pick me up later, but I can always come back in the evening myself. Or another day.”

Shanna nibbled on her bottom lip. Matthew would be deliriously happy to get a sweater with a picture on it, handmade by his mother. Ashley didn't have a favorite cartoon character, but she loved sheep or anything with a sheep on it. A friend had given Shanna a pattern to knit a toy sheep, but she hadn't been able to figure it out. If Kathy could knit pictures into a sweater, surely she could help Shanna knit a sheep.

Dear Lord, please tell me I'm not being foolish to trust this woman. Tell me that I'm doing the right thing.

She had to rely on God, that He was opening a new door that led to a place where she would be safe.

“As long as it's not too much trouble, that would be nice. Thank you.”

Kathy smiled warmly. “I think it will be fun. Now you get back to work in your office, and I'll get busy. I'll see you later.”

Shanna returned to her desk, but instead of checking her client's expense figures, she watched Kathy painting. On first impression, she liked Brendan's mother. Thinking about Kathy's offer, Shanna knew she really did need a friend. While the women at church were nice, and she certainly enjoyed herself every few months when she participated in a function with them, she wasn't close to anyone there. Mostly, it was her own fault. When she was married to Roger, he hadn't wanted to go to church. He'd go only on Christmas and Mother's Day. Other than that, she took the children on her own. All the ladies there were married, so she felt awkward at family functions without Roger. And while she had some fellowship, she didn't have anyone she could really talk to or any true friendship. The issues she had to deal with weren't something she could share, so she kept mostly to herself.

But this was different. Like Shanna, Kathy was alone. Matthew had told her that Brendan didn't have a daddy anymore, either. Shanna could only assume that Kathy had chosen to remain single. At some point, Shanna would marry again, but for now she didn't want a boyfriend. But she did need a friend. Perhaps Kathy did, too.

Shanna watched Brendan's mother dipping the paint-brush into the can. She wondered if Kathy was lonely now that her son was grown up and not living in her home anymore.

Shanna couldn't imagine living alone. Being a self-employed, single mother was busy—very busy. Today was a rare day; both children were gone and everything was quiet. Boffo was even behaving himself, sitting quietly watching Kathy paint while Kathy talked to him. He even seemed to be listening and responding to what she said.

But her work wasn't going to get done if she spent the day staring out the window. As she should have done earlier, Shanna took advantage of the silence and got busy.

Halfway through the afternoon, Shanna poured two glasses of iced tea and joined Kathy.

As she walked, she looked up to the top of the fort section of the playscape, noticing for the first time that Brendan had put shingles on the roof—the same shingles that were on her house.

The paint Kathy had applied was exactly the same color as the trim around the windows.

The man didn't miss anything.

She handed Kathy the glass. “I thought we could both use a break.”

“Thanks. This will really hit the spot.”

Shanna made sure the ground was dry enough; then she lowered herself to sit in the soft, new grass. “Do you do a lot of this kind of thing?”

Kathy shook her head. “Not as much as I'd like. Brendan doesn't get a lot of jobs like your playscape. Usually, if he builds anything, it's just fences made with pretreated wood, so there's no paint needed. He's seeing a new trend with chain-link fences, so now there's even less for me to paint. I like to help him. I'm also very efficient with a seeder.”

“I guess you don't have another job? After all, you're here in the afternoon.”

“I have a full-time job, but it's retail, so the hours and days are flexible. I'm only here today because this week I have to work Saturday. Fortunately for me, it's a small, privately owned store, so I don't have to work on Sundays. After church I like to spend the day with my friends, especially in the summer. I try to keep myself busy. I'm sure you know what it's like. Brendan tells me that you're a widow, too.”

“Uh, yes, I am.”

Kathy smiled, but her eyes lost focus. “You've got your children to keep you busy. I only had one child, and he's all grown up now. He still keeps me busy, but in different ways. He's a wonderful boy.”

The image of Brendan towering above her formed a very clear picture in Shanna's mind. Brendan Gafferty was far from a “boy.”

Kathy drank some of the iced tea, then lowered the glass, setting it in the grass so it wouldn't spill while she painted. “I should let you get back to work. Brendan says you're very
busy now that you've taken him on as a client of sorts.”