The Mill River Redemption (11 page)

“Got it,” Rose said reluctantly.

“And yes, we’re going to eat just as soon as I cook the spaghetti.”

“Yay!” Emily said, clapping. “I love sketti and meatballs!”

“Me too!” Rose said. She smiled, already forgetting Josie’s scolding.

“Me three,” Ivy said, laughing. She winked at Josie. “C’mon, girls, let’s go put your dress-up stuff away so you don’t get sauce on it when we eat.” Ivy herded Rose and Emily back toward the stairs as Josie slid the garlic bread into the oven and put the spaghetti on. With dinner in the homestretch, she meandered back to the little storage room. Other than the ancient typewriter and the rickety card table on which Ivy had placed it, the room contained her vacuum cleaner and a few boxes pushed up against the far wall.
Still, it’ll make a cozy place to work, eventually
, she thought. For now, she was tickled to have the beginnings of a home office, albeit one of the makeshift variety.

“Let’s set the table,” she said when Ivy and the girls came back
downstairs. Rose climbed up onto a chair and watched as Josie capped her highlighter and closed her notebook.

“Mom,” Rose said, pointing to the still-open study guide, “why are you writing in your book? You always told us we were
never
supposed to write in a book, unless it’s a coloring book.” Josie looked at the yellow highlighted passages. “I’m not writing in the book, Rosie. I’m highlighting. It’s what you do when you read something that you have to study and that’s
really important
for you to remember. See here, how I’ve made lots of these words yellow? It’s because those are the main points in this chapter, and I want to remember them and also to be able to go back and see them quickly when I review them.”

“Can I have a highlighter to use?” Rose asked.

“Hmm. What exactly would
you
use a highlighter for?”

Rose screwed up her mouth and was quiet for a minute.

“My spelling words!” Rose said suddenly. She looked up at Josie with a brightened expression. “Mrs. Harp gave us ten words that we have to know by the end of the week. And we have a spelling test on Friday. Don’t you think that if I use a highlighter, I’ll be able to remember them better?”

“Well,” Josie said slowly, “I suppose that would be a good use for a highlighter.”
This kid’s going to be a lawyer, with the way she can think on her feet
. She looked over at Ivy, who was lifting plates down from the cupboard, trying not to laugh. “All right, I’ll let you use one, but only if you promise that you will use it only in your spelling workbook and NOT in any other books or anyplace else. Deal?”

“Deal!” Rose held out her hand and grinned triumphantly as Josie handed her one of the fluorescent yellow markers. “I’m going to go put it up in my room. Be right back!”

“Make sure you cap it after you use it so it doesn’t dry out,” Josie called as Rose dashed out of the kitchen.

“She got you good,” Ivy muttered. She nudged Josie aside to set the plates down on the table. “I call that manipulation through logic, and she’s only six! You’re in for it, I tell you. You just wait until she gets older.”

“You’re right,” Josie said. She made a mental note to remove Rose’s paper-doll scissors from her room. “Rose is diabolical. I’ll just have to keep a close eye on her. I shudder to think how she’ll turn out if I don’t.”

L
ATE IN THE EVENING
, C
LAUDIA SAT WAITING ON THE SOFA
in Kyle’s apartment, aimlessly flipping through television channels while he said good night to Rowen. She thought back to the afternoon, to the blowup between the DiSanti sisters, and before that, to when Kyle had offered to help unload Emily’s things. He was always eager to lend a hand, and it was just one of the things she loved about him. Their relationship had matured during the time they’d been together, and Claudia had no reason to doubt Kyle’s feelings for her. But even so, Emily’s presence in Mill River made her nervous.

Claudia glanced down at her tummy and thighs, currently covered by her favorite blue jeans. It had taken her so much—months of exercise, strict dieting, willpower, and tears—to be able to fit in those size-ten jeans. Her stomach still wasn’t as flat as she would like, and despite her now being at a healthy weight and very fit, she knew she would
never
look like Emily, who was effortlessly lithe with a gorgeous face to match.

Quit being so paranoid
, Claudia suddenly chided herself. Of course Kyle had just been his usual polite self. Her own insecurities were trying to get the better of her.

“Well, she’s not sleepy yet,” Kyle announced as he came back into the living room. “We struck a bargain—she can read for another fifteen minutes and then it’ll be lights out.”

“She’s already sucked into those new books, then?” Claudia asked.

“Yep,” Kyle said. “She’ll blow through them in a few days, tops. Did I tell you that her last achievement test showed that she reads at the eleventh grade level?”

“Um, you do remember that she was one of my students this past year?” Claudia asked, smiling.

“Oh, yeah.” Kyle grinned, and his ears turned pink. “I just can’t believe it myself, I guess.”

“Nothing wrong with being a proud papa.” Claudia snuggled closer to Kyle. He lifted an arm so that she could slide in beneath it and rest her head against his chest. “And it’s good for her to read over the summer. Lots of kids don’t do anything but watch TV once school’s out. When school starts, their brains are still on vacation.” She yawned. “I think tomorrow I’ll start one of the books I got.”

“It sure must be nice being a teacher, not having to work during the summer,” Kyle said. “Sleeping late every day, reading novels, eating bonbons—”

“I haven’t been eating bonbons!”

Kyle laughed and hugged her closer. “I know, I’m just teasing. And I’m not looking forward to starting my shift in the morning.”

“Well, we’ve got a little time before you need to turn in. Do you want to watch TV? Or, hey, don’t you have cable now? Maybe there’s something on HBO.”

“Oh, so
now
television is good?” Kyle said.

Claudia sat up a little, ready to unleash a witty retort in response to his latest tease, but she never got the chance. Before she could get one word out, he was kissing her. He reached his free hand around to run his fingers through her hair and, after a minute, he slid his hands around her waist and pulled her onto his lap.

“You don’t suppose she’s asleep yet?” Claudia whispered as Kyle’s lips moved down her neck. She shivered and closed her eyes.

“Not a chance,” he said softly. “But she can’t stay awake all night.”

“And you can?”

Kyle laughed and took her face in both of his hands. “Do you remember that night, oh, about five months ago, when we had dinner at the King’s Lodge?”

Claudia would never forget that first night they’d spent together. She smiled and kissed him, thrilled that
he
had been the one to bring it up. “Valentine’s Day.”

“Um-hmm. And do you remember the surprise snowstorm, and how we came back here to watch a movie and couldn’t because we lost power?

“Yes,” Claudia breathed. Kyle’s hands had slipped beneath her shirt, and the feeling of his fingers on her bare skin made it extremely difficult for her to concentrate.

“So you’ll probably remember, then, that we were
both
awake for most of that night.”

“We were,” Claudia admitted. “And sleep is overrated.”

Kyle pulled her tight against his chest. She was so focused on his mouth and his wandering hands that she forgot all about Emily DiSanti.

E
MILY WAS UP EARLY THE NEXT MORNING
. G
US DIDN
’
T SHARE HER
energy, however. He lay across the foot of her bed and lifted his head, watching as she got herself cleaned up and dressed, before lowering it back down with a groan.

“You out of sorts, Gus?” Emily asked him, rubbing his ears. He responded with a whine and a few thumps of his tail.
Poor thing
, she thought. She completely understood his reluctance to get up. For a minute, she toyed with the idea of climbing back under the covers, but she had absolutely no food in the house for herself, and she needed to see about finding some sort of job. Also,
as much as she preferred not to think about it after their horrible first exchange the day before, she knew that she would need to have a conversation with Rose at some point to work out how best to move forward.

By the time she had gotten groceries and turned back onto Main Street, the little town was fully awake. There were a few other cars on the street, and people were bustling in and out of the bakery and the other shops. Although she intended to go back to the little house, unload her groceries, and take Gus over to visit Ivy, Emily had a sudden idea as she spotted the hardware store. She pulled into a parking space and went over to the store just as an older man inside turned a sign hanging on the door so that
OPEN
faced out.

“Good morning, young lady,” he said as she entered. “Can I help you with something?”

Emily smiled warmly. “Maybe,” she said. “Are you the owner of this store?”

“I am,” he said, puffing his chest out a bit. “Name’s Henry Turner. And you are?”

“Emily DiSanti,” she said, and immediately, Henry’s expression changed.

“You’re one of Josie’s daughters,” he said, nodding. “Your mom was my Realtor when I bought this place about ten years ago. You and your sister had already moved away by then, but I got to know your mom pretty well over the years. She was a sweet lady. I’m real sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” Emily replied. “Mom’s the reason I’m in town, actually. I’m tying up some issues with her estate, and I expect to be here for some time. I was wondering if you might be in need of any sort of help with the store? I’m pretty handy, and I could be available full time or part time.”

“Hmm.” Henry’s brow furrowed as he looked at her, and
Emily recognized his expression as one she’d seen dozens of times. He was sizing her up, wondering whether someone like her could be helpful to customers looking to buy tools or pipe fittings or paint.

“I have quite a bit of experience in home repair and renovation. For the last several years, I’ve been supporting myself by restoring old Victorian homes in San Francisco. I can do pretty much everything—plumbing, painting, even a little electrical work,” Emily said.

“You don’t say?” Henry asked. The wrinkles in his forehead became more pronounced as his eyebrows shot up. “How’d you learn to do all that?”

Emily chuckled. “While I was growing up, I was the one who fixed everything that broke in our house. My mom was always too busy and my older sister was too lazy, to be honest. Later on, I helped Mom spruce up properties she was trying to sell.” Emily paused and considered carefully how to describe the next phase of her life. “After I left Mill River, the first job I got was as an assistant to a contractor. He taught me a lot. I started taking some courses at technical schools, too, when I had the time and money. Eventually, I moved further west and began doing jobs on my own. I enjoy it.”

Henry looked at her without speaking for a minute. He walked over to one of the shelves, selected a tool from a display, and held it up. “Can you tell me what this is?”

“That’s a pipe wrench.”

“Yes. What’s it used for?”

“You use it to tighten iron plumbing pipes and fittings.”

“That’s right. Why would you use this kind of wrench for that job?”

Emily smiled a little, amused at Henry’s pop quiz. “Well, it’s adjustable. Lots of pipes and fittings are made of soft iron. And,
they’re smooth and rounded, without the angles that a standard wrench needs to get a good grip. A pipe wrench has metal teeth, and the jaws tighten when you apply forward pressure. You need both those things to get a secure grip on a soft iron pipe.” Emily’s smile grew wider as Henry’s mouth dropped open, and she decided to throw in a bit more for good measure. “You wouldn’t usually use a pipe wrench on anything made of hardened steel, like a hex nut, because the teeth would ruin it.”

“Well, shoot,” he said finally. “With what you know, you’re just the kind of person I’d hire if I could. The truth is, though, that I really don’t have the budget to offer you a decent job. I could maybe give you ten or twelve hours a week at minimum wage, just for the summer. It’s not much, but it’d give me some flexibility during our busy season, and it’d be a little change in your pocket.”

“I wouldn’t turn it down, Mr. Turner,” Emily said, “so long as you understand that I’d have to take a second job once I find one.”

“Call me Henry,” he said. “And sure, I’d expect you need more than a few hours here. In fact, I actually have an idea about that. I’m sure you know Fitz and Ruth, the police chief and his wife?”

Emily nodded. “Ruth was my mom’s best friend.”

“They own that big white house up on the hill now,” Henry continued, pointing over his shoulder in the direction of the McAllister mansion. “They’re looking to turn the house into a bed-and-breakfast, and I have a feeling they might need some help getting it ready. I haven’t seen the inside, but it’s an old place. There’s bound to be all sorts of things that need to be fixed or updated, and your experience would be perfect for that.”

“It sounds wonderful,” Emily said. “Thank you so much for the tip, Henry. I’ll speak with Ruth about it as soon as I can.”

“Good,” Henry said with a smile. “And if you want to come by here around noon tomorrow, we can fill out some paperwork and decide on your schedule.”

Emily gave Henry her contact information and left the hardware
store with a grin on her face. Once back in her Impreza, she sat quietly for a few minutes before starting the engine. Maybe the good news on the job front was a sign that she had made the right decision in returning to Mill River. Maybe she really was supposed to be here. She couldn’t help but wonder, though, whether her dealings with Rose would go equally as well.

R
OSE WAS FEELING FRUSTRATED AND SLIGHTLY CLAUSTROPHOBIC
. She sat on the sofa in the sweltering living room of her tiny summer house surrounded by half-open boxes, assorted pieces of her own furniture, and heaps of items that she had already unpacked. It didn’t help that the house was full of the furnishings her mother had used over the years to stage her listings, as well as countless books and knickknacks and boxes of clothes. Even after he had reloaded some of her things back into the U-Haul, she was still “buried in her own crap,” as Sheldon had so helpfully pointed out.