Hometown Holiday Reunion (15 page)

When he discovered that the frame had rusted apart, leaving the engine nearly loose on top of the deck, he was a lot happier than he should have been. Normally, it bugged him to no end when things were neglected so long they fell apart. This time it would save him the hassle of dismantling the mower that had been old when he was a kid, so he decided to forget about the reason and appreciate the gift.

A quick yank freed the motor assembly, and he gladly shut and padlocked the door behind him. The shed's interior was a tangled mess of cobwebs, wasps' nests and spare parts, but he didn't have the time or the energy to deal with any of it now. Maybe not ever, he thought as he circled around the house and trudged up the porch steps.

Mom had taken to sitting out there whenever she could, listening to the radio and waving to neighbors as they went by. She'd told him that many detoured to come and chat for a while, and that she felt more involved in the goings-on around town than she had before.

As he joined her, he had to admit she seemed a lot perkier these days. So his father had been right to get her out of the house, after all. Despite the lingering unease they still felt around each other during his visits, Cam was impressed.

“Cam!”

Hearing Parker's shout, he glanced over at the park and saw his carpenter's assistant hustling across Main Street with Erin and Bear trailing close behind him. The young dog didn't run but trotted easily beside Erin, an alert expression on his face. When they reached the Stewarts' yard, she stopped and so did the dog, dropping down to sit beside her without being told.

“I wanted you to meet Bear,” Parker said, kneeling to put an arm around his furry buddy. “Isn't he awesome?”

They'd already met, but Cam didn't want to spoil the kid's fun, so he played along. Hunkering down to the shepherd's level, he said, “Nice to see you, Bear.”

As he had with Erin, the dog offered a paw, and Cam shook it. The dog's ears twitched when he noticed Mom on the porch, and he looked up at Erin, whining softly.

“I called Glenda earlier, and while we were chatting she told me that he's being trained for a boy in a wheelchair,” she explained.

“And you thought Mom should meet him?”

“Yes, but only if you want her to,” Erin added hastily.

That she'd go out of her way to help his mother touched him in a way he couldn't begin to describe. Thoughtful and pragmatic, it was a very Erin thing to do, and he appreciated it more than he could possibly say. “I think it's a great idea. Come on up.”

Standing, he hung back while the others trooped up the steps. Erin approached his mother easily, as if she was just sitting in a regular chair, and introduced “the guys.”

“It's so nice to have company,” Mom said quietly, motioning toward the porch swing with a hand that still shook more than he'd like. “Would you like a snack?”

“Thank you, but we're on our way home for dinner,” Erin told her. “We were over in the park and thought we'd come by to wish you a belated Happy New Year.”

“That's sweet of you,” Mom approved, her face crinkling in her usual half smile. Focusing on Parker, she asked, “Did you stay up until midnight?”

He nodded earnestly. “Yes, ma'am, for the first time. It was fun but kinda tiring.”

“Most good things are. Like this puppy here,” she added with a smile for Bear. “Does he like to chase balls?”

“Yes, ma'am. But he's a very good dog, because he's going to help a little boy in a wheelchair have a better life.”

“That's wonderful.”

“Bear's great,” the boy assured her, eyes shining with enthusiasm. “He and that boy are gonna be real good friends.”

While they continued talking, the quilting article his mother had been reading slipped from her lap and landed on the floorboards. Without being prompted, Bear stood and walked across the porch. Picking the magazine up in his teeth, he gently set it on the table and returned to his spot next to Erin. The smooth, careful way he handled the task made it obvious that he'd practiced a similar chore many times and had it down pat.

“Good boy,” Erin murmured, scratching between his ears with an approving smile.

When she lifted her head and met Cam's gaze, that smile was still there. Warm and affectionate, it made it easy for him to smile back as he mouthed, “Thank you.”

Giving him a wink, she turned her attention back to the discussion that had shifted to Parker's science project.

“How am-ambi...” Mom stammered, hung up in the middle of a word she'd once used so effortlessly. Cam nearly jumped in to finish for her, but Erin stopped him with a subtle shake of her head.

He held his tongue but waited anxiously for his mother to display the frustration that was so common for her these days. Instead, to his astonishment, she firmed her chin in determination and spat out what she'd been trying so hard to say. “Ambitious of you.”

“Thank you.” Parker beamed proudly. “My teacher said he likes knowing kids want to help keep the planet cleaner.”

“Good for you.”

“Well,” Erin said as she got up, “we really should be going. Dinner's in the Crock-Pot, and Parker has a bunch of homework to do.”

Cam silently thanked her for realizing that his mother was starting to fade and stood while they said their goodbyes before walking them down the steps. “Parker, I found that lawn mower engine today. I'll get it cleaned up and bring it by your place in the morning before you go to school.”

“Awesome! Thanks, Cam.” Wrapping him in a quick hug, the boy grinned up at him like he was Superman. “Can we get started on my project soon?”

“How does tomorrow afternoon sound?”

“Cool. Erin, can I take Bear now?”

“Yes, but calmly.”

“Okay.”

She handed him the leash, and he headed down the brick path, talking to the dog as they turned onto the sidewalk that led into town.

That left Cam with Erin, which for some reason felt awkward all of a sudden. They'd spent plenty of time together since they'd reconnected the morning Natalie had sent him to meet a prospective new tenant. He couldn't pinpoint what had changed, so he chalked the strange emotion up to fatigue and did his best to shrug it off.

“So,” he began in a casual tone. “Thanks for bringing Bear to visit. Mom really seemed to like him.”

“I spoke to Glenda about their program. Bear's slated for that little boy Parker mentioned, but they keep families on their waiting list. If you're interested in adopting a service dog, she'd be happy to help you work through the process. Give her a call on Monday, and she'll get you started.”

Cam glanced at his mother, who was contentedly leafing through the magazine Bear had fetched for her after it fell. Obviously, he wouldn't leave her alone in the house with only a dog for assistance, but it didn't take much imagination to see that having one would make things much easier for whoever was caring for her on a daily basis.

Once she was comfortable and reasonably self-sufficient, he could get back to the life he'd put on hold in Minnesota. He missed working with the crew, not to mention the professional classes he'd been forced to withdraw from. The setback to his new career wasn't a disaster, but he'd be glad to finally get things back on track. The sooner he had his degree, the sooner he'd be designing buildings instead of constructing them.

“Did she say how long it might take?” he asked.

“No, but you could ask her.” Tilting her head, she gave him a curious look. “Are you in a hurry to get back to all that snow?”

“It's not that bad, y'know,” he replied with a chuckle. “The skiing's great up there.”

Erin shuddered as if she could feel the chill just from him talking about it. “I'll take your word for it. See you tomorrow.”

She headed toward the sidewalk, and he heard himself call out, “Erin?”

Stopping at the end of the walkway, she half turned. “Yeah?”

“Why did you ask me that? About leaving, I mean.”

“No reason. Just yanking your chain.”

With that, she hurried away to catch up with Parker. Cam watched the two of them strolling along with Bear, talking as they went. With the charming old homes and towering oaks stretched out on either side of the street, it was a pleasant scene that could have come straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. While he still preferred adventure to sweetness, he couldn't deny that part of him wouldn't have minded tagging along with them.

Man, he groused silently as he dragged his tired feet up the steps, he must be more tired than he thought.

* * *

Saturday afternoon, Erin was measuring her large display windows to see how much space they'd allow for showing off the inventory that had begun to arrive. The oak floors she'd painstakingly refinished now gleamed a deep honey color, and Cam and Parker were almost finished installing the shelves and display stands they'd been building every night for the past two weeks. And Bekah had come through with a website design that was professional and easy to navigate, but fun to look at.

It was all really coming together, Erin thought with a happy sigh. If things kept moving at this pace, this time next month Pampered Paws would finally be open for business. She was envisioning how to arrange items in the windows when she noticed Cam on the sidewalk out front. He was lugging two huge covered buckets, and judging by his expression, even for him they were heavy. When he stopped to set them down, she went outside to see what was going on.

“Cleaned out the fryers this morning,” he explained. “Here's your raw biodiesel.”

“Great! Do you want me to hold the door while you bring them in?”

“You might wanna rethink that one. Smell this.”

He took off one of the covers, and she leaned in for a whiff of the oozy mess. Jerking back, she wrinkled her nose. “Eww. Disgusting.”

“Tell me about it. When I'm done playing handyman today, I'm burning these clothes.”

“Careful. They might explode.”

“Good point. Where do you want these things?”

Erin hadn't considered that Parker's well-intentioned project would involve tasks that probably shouldn't be done indoors. “I hate to say it, but it seems to me the farm is the best place for something gross like this.”

“You want us to drive out there every time we want to work on this thing? That's nuts.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

“We could do it at Mom's,” he suggested in an agreeable tone that was very unlike him. The old him, anyway.

“Granddad's old workshop isn't real big, but it's got lights and electricity. And good ventilation,” he added with a wry grin.

“I guess that could work. Do you think it'll be okay with your mom?”

“She'd love it. Parker's all she's been talking about since you guys stopped by yesterday. Thanks again for that, by the way. It meant a lot to her.”

What about you?
Erin nearly asked before she thought better of it. She and Cam had been cautiously edging closer to each other these past few weeks, and she wasn't quite certain where the line between them was anymore. He'd made it clear he still planned to leave town as soon as he could, but his commitment to stick around until the science fair made her wonder if there might be something else going on behind those dark eyes of his.

Of course, the only way to know for sure was to ask him, and there was no way she'd be doing that. Her phone chimed, and she checked the caller ID. “Excuse me, Cam. This is Parker's social worker.”

Trusting him to understand her brusque farewell, she went back inside and answered the call. “Hello, Alice. What can I do for you today?”

“I have news, but I'm not sure you're going to like it.”

Bless the woman for getting straight to the point. “Okay, go ahead.”

“Lynn Smith wants to see Parker before she makes her final decision about you continuing as his foster parent.”

“Not a chance,” Erin said reflexively. “I've been trying to keep him from finding out where she is and why. He's too young for all this heavyweight drama.”

“Technically, you can't keep him from her. She hasn't rescinded her maternal rights, and she's completely within the law to make this request.”

“Even though she's at least partially responsible for him being abused?”

“Even though. I'm sorry,” Alice added sympathetically, “but you don't really have a choice in this. The guards are used to handling situations like this, and I can promise you they'll take good care of him while he's with her.”

Since there seemed to be no options, Erin relented. “Fine. When?”

“As soon as you can arrange to get him there. If you want, you can stay in the outer lobby during their visit, but you won't be allowed inside.”

“I'll definitely be waiting for him. I'll call up there and arrange a time that won't conflict with school.” Recognizing that this patient, caring woman's hands were tied, Erin summoned a cheerful tone. “Thanks so much for all your help, Alice. I know you're doing your best.”

“I only wish I could do more. Parker's a special little boy, and he deserves the home you're making for him. I'll say an extra prayer for both of you tonight.”

“I'd appreciate that. I'll take all the help I can get.” She hung up and realized that Cam had slipped into the store when she wasn't looking. Seeing his grim expression, she joked, “Did you get all that?”

“Enough,” he growled, crossing his arms in obvious displeasure. “I'm guessing you don't get a vote.”

The frustration she'd been keeping down for too long burst free of her control. “Why should I? All I've done is taken in a foster child no one wanted and given him a family who love him more than anything.”

“Mother's rights are tough to overturn.”