She raised those gray-blue eyes to his, and he could see her trying to assess the situation as her brow furrowed.
“Okay,” she said slowly. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get another bid.”
He smiled. “I can swing by Monday evening.”
“Wednesday will work better for me.”
Was she trying to be difficult? “Wednesday it is.”
Glenda smacked her hands on the table. “Darn. I completely forgot to take the cookies out.”
“Actually”—Kate glanced down at her cell phone resting on the table—“I really should be going.”
“It’s only seven thirty, dear. Oh. Are you going out?” His aunt’s surprise couldn’t have been more evident and he worked to keep a straight face.
“Not tonight.” If she had been pink before, her face turned a deep purple now as she looked everywhere but at him. “It’s been a long week. All I want is to relax in a nice hot bath.”
“I understand, dear. But don’t think I haven’t noticed, other than working upward of fifteen hours a day, you never get out and do anything fun. You’re only young once. Lord knows the trouble Danny and I used to get into when we were your age. We never could have kids of our own, you see, so we were determined to be kids ourselves, living every moment to the fullest.” Glenda looked off with a fond smile on her lips and a bit of mist in her eyes.
“Save for those weekends when my parents lassoed you into watching the four of us, if you remember,” Dominic teased. “By Sunday night, I think you were both counting your blessings you didn’t have kids.”
Glenda chuckled. “As exhausting as you four were, I loved every minute of our time with you all. We both did.”
Kate stood abruptly. “Thanks again, for your help. But I really do need to be going.”
“Let me grab you some cookies at least.” Ignoring Kate’s objections, Glenda stuffed a sandwich bag with as many cookies she could cram in. Kate accepted them reluctantly and sailed out the side door before Glenda could delay her further.
“You enjoy your bath, dear!” Glenda called out from behind her.
Kate
blanched and gave them a halfhearted wave.
He joined Glenda at the table and nodded while she continued to make conversation long after Kate left. About what he didn’t know. His mind was still on the redhead.
And that damned bath.
…
Dominic stepped out of his truck the next evening, pretending not to notice the faces that peered at him from the windows. The front door swung open, and before he could reach for the handle a small figure threw himself at his legs.
“Uncle Dominic!”
“Oomph! Take it easy, Paul. You almost took me out.”
Even though his presence in his six-year-old nephew’s life has been sporadic at best thanks to Paul’s nomadic father, the kid was eager to give his affection without restraint. Paul’s two older sisters, Jenna and Natalie, wise already at nine and seven years of age, watched him warily from around the corner. Their affection wasn’t as quickly given. He’d win them over with time.
“Hello, girls. What’s your grandma been brewing over her pot for dinner?”
“I heard that,” was the quick response from the kitchen. With Paul holding on to his legs, Dominic strode down the hallway to the large room at the back of the house.
“You’ll eat what I make and won’t complain,” scolded the dark-haired, petite woman washing her hands at the kitchen sink. But the wide smile belied the true affection she had for him. She briefly wiped her hands on a towel and opened her arms for a hug.
“Hey, Mama,” he said and folded her in tightly and lifted her off the floor.
“Dios mío. You’ll drop me,” she squealed and he set her down. “It’s not like you didn’t just see me last Sunday.”
Her accent was faint, something more than forty years in the United States had softened over the years but couldn’t quite erase. Elena Marguerite Eschaban Sorensen was as beautiful and youthful at fifty-seven years as she appeared in her wedding photos. Dominic could see how someone like stoic, fair-skinned Petter Sorensen had fallen for such a warm, lively woman with mischievous dark eyes. Four kids later, they were still very much in love, something all their children looked on with pride and possibly a little envy.