Love by the Yard (3 page)

She bent down to talk to the children at eye level. “Matthew, you can stay out here only if you promise to be good. But it's time for Ashley to have a nap. I think Boffo could use a nap, too. Ashley, you can come back out later, after you have a little rest.” Shanna hoped this would give her enough time to accomplish something constructive.

Because of all the excitement, Ashley fell asleep quickly, and fortunately so did Boffo. Having him sleep beside Shanna's desk was perfect, because she knew where he was
and
what he was doing.

Shanna resumed her work.

Except she couldn't concentrate.

Pastor Harry had been right. Brendan was a good man and a hard worker. Without distraction, he accomplished a lot. He'd shown Matthew how to stuff dirt into the crevices in a pile of rocks that was to become a rock garden. At first, when he'd explained the cheapest way to cover the unsightly boulders that couldn't be moved, she'd had doubts. But now, as the pile was beginning to rise, she could see and appreciate the potential.

She continued to watch Brendan as he worked. He rammed a crowbar beneath a rock with such brute force, she flinched at the contact, even though he was across the yard and she was inside her office.

The phone rang. The caller ID showed her brother-in-law's number. Just seeing the number made her hand shake as she picked up the handset.

“We have to talk,” Ray barked.

Her hand shook even worse.

She sucked in a deep breath and stiffened, trying to give herself strength through an unrelenting posture. “I told you not to use my business number.”

“I want you to come here tomorrow.”

She gritted her teeth. “No. I have work to do. Besides, we have nothing to talk about. I told you that before. Leave me alone.”

The bang of Ray slamming the phone down echoed in her ear.

Shanna slouched and squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to deal with Ray in person. It was bad enough over the phone, with the safety of the distance between them. Her life was hard enough with the everyday struggles of trying to earn enough money to pay the bills while looking after Ashley and Matthew. With the added problems between the landscaper and her dog, she couldn't handle anything more right now.

“Excuse me? Shanna?”

Shanna opened her eyes and straightened in the chair, quickly dropping her hands into her lap and twining her fingers together tightly.

Brendan stood in the doorway. At the sound of his arrival, Boffo stood and sprinted the few yards to close the distance, then sat in front of Brendan, his unruly tail swooshing on the ground while he looked up.

Brendan reached forward and gave the dog a short pat, then tilted his head and narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Shanna. “Is something wrong?”

“It's nothing.” And it would stay nothing, because she refused to go to her brother-in-law's house. She wasn't going to get involved in another confrontation. Her number one priority was her children, not trying to placate Ray. “Is there something you need?”

“I'm going to have Matthew water down the mud in the rocks, but he says he doesn't know where his rubber boots are kept.”

Shanna felt her cheeks turn warm. “That's because he doesn't have rubber boots. He only has one pair of boots—winter boots—if they still fit. I hate buying boots for the kids when they grow out of them in a year. I never know if it's going to snow from one winter to the next. You know this Seattle weather.”

Brendan nodded. “Yes. When I was growing up, most years my mother didn't buy me boots for exactly those reasons. I did just fine, going to school in my sneakers. All of my friends did that when we were kids.” He paused and smiled broadly. “In fact, I remember when we all thought we were way too cool to wear boots. But on this job, good rubber boots are a must.”

Shanna nodded. As an accountant, she didn't need rubber boots, although she did own one pair of good leather boots. But like Brendan, she remembered many years as a child when she didn't have winter boots because it generally didn't get too cold most winters along the coast in Washington State. Thinking of weather, she wondered what landscapers did when the growing season was over. Seattle didn't get snow most winters, but it was still cold enough not to want to work outside.

Shanna mentally shook her head to clear her thoughts. What he did in his off-seasons was none of her business. He was there to transform her lot of mismatched grass and stray boulders into a presentable and professionally landscaped yard, which hopefully wouldn't take too much longer. Then
Brendan and his rubber boots would be long gone.

She looked up to see him checking out her desk. He'd been working for her for a week, and this was the first time he'd been inside.

“So this is where you run your accounting business,” he said. “Harry told me about how you're trying to expand.”

She nodded. “I'm already doing bookkeeping for a few home-based businesses, but I need some larger corporate clients.”

Brendan glanced at a stack of files on top of one of the cabinets. “Does that bookkeeping for home-based businesses include self-employed individuals?”

“Yes. That's what most home-based businesses are.”

“Does your work include preparing self-employed income tax returns?”

“It sure does.”

“I've been really busy, and I just got a second notice to file taxes from the year before last. If you've got the time, maybe we could make a deal. If you could get my taxes done before I have to pay a penalty, I could do something extra for you. Your kids are pretty active. How about if I build them a playscape in the yard here, where you can keep an eye on them? I can build it so it looks like one you see in a playground, not one of those typical backyard types.”

Shanna gasped. “I can't afford that!” She could barely make ends meet as it was. But a good play center would be the perfect solution. It would keep Matthew and Ashley from being bored, especially since soon Matthew would be out of school for the summer. And if it was set in the right location, she could watch the children playing without leaving her desk.

“Maybe you didn't understand what I was saying. I didn't mean for you to pay for it. I could build it for you and provide the materials. After all, I get everything whole
sale. I'll even do it to match the fence. After I fix the
fence, of course. That would be in exchange for doing my bookkeeping.”

Shanna narrowed her eyes. “That's a very large project. Just exactly how do you do your bookkeeping if you think this is going to be an even exchange?”

His ears reddened. “Usually I file late when I get caught up in the winter, but this year I took on a few additional contract projects for the municipality, and I didn't have any spare time. And then the new landscaping season started early, and, well. . .I never did get a chance to catch up.”

“Exactly how far behind are you?”

The shade of his ears deepened. “I'm usually pretty good about entering everything into my program; I just have a hard time balancing it. But since last April, I've kind of been throwing everything in a box. Well, actually two boxes. And I just started a third one.”

“April? This is nearly the end of June. You're not talking months; you're talking two years of back taxes, plus whatever has transpired this fiscal year, aren't you?”

“Uh. . .yeah.”

From his sudden silence, Shanna had the feeling they weren't talking about mere shoe-box-sized boxes—despite the size of his feet, which looked to be about a size 13, to support his height. “What kind of boxes are we dealing with?”

“The kind I get from my supplier where I order my gardening stuff.”

Her head spun at the potential volume.

Yet Brendan's offer would provide the perfect solution to watch her children in the yard while she worked. This way, they wouldn't beg her to take them to the park, where there was no computer.

“I think you've got yourself a deal.”

Three

Brendan stepped back to survey his handiwork.

Phase one was nearly done. The boulders were in place for the two rockeries, and everything else had been cleared out. The top layer of soil had been picked clean of smaller rocks, and he had rototilled in a good base of topsoil and peat.

Now he was ready to lay the sod. Originally Shanna had requested that he seed the lawn because it was cheaper, but since she was going to do two and a half years of his bookkeeping and file his tax returns, he didn't want to do “cheap.” Within an hour, a truck was scheduled to come with the sod he'd ordered, and by suppertime that day, she'd have an instant lawn.

It was a pity that now her front yard wasn't going to look as good as the back. It was something he'd take care of later. He had a feeling she was going to deserve it, and more.

For the past week, he'd barely seen Shanna. However, he'd seen a lot of her dog. While she'd buried herself in his paperwork in her home office, her dog had buried most of his tools in her backyard. Fortunately for him, her children thought it was a bigger game than the dog did. They pretended they were secret spies, hiding behind the rockeries, watching every time Boffo buried his treasure of the moment. Then, when Boffo moved on to his next conquest and was digging a new hole in the fresh dirt across the yard, they would go to where he'd just been and unbury the last thing that had disappeared just when Brendan needed it.

It wasn't the ideal way to finish a project, but it kept everyone busy. If he had to look on the bright side, even though it had cost him a couple of extra-small shovels, the children were quite happy to help. They'd almost finished picking up all the loose stones and loading them into the wheelbarrow, which saved him a lot of bending. Since they were having fun, he didn't think he was contravening any child-labor laws by having the children pick up rocks for him. As a reward, he'd treated them at the ice-cream truck a few times, but only when Shanna wasn't watching; because he knew she'd tell him that the ice-cream truck was too expensive.

Again, he surveyed the yard. It had been two long weeks,
but everything was perfect and ready for the next step.

A noisy vehicle approached on the street, echoing sounds of a motor that needed more than just a good tune-up. At the sound of it stopping in front of the house, Boffo went stiff. He laid his ears back, his lips curled to show huge, white teeth, and a low growl rolled from his throat.

The hairs on the back of Brendan's neck prickled. For as long as he'd been here, and after all of his scuffles with the dog, not once had he ever heard the dog growl. Not including closed doors and the chain used to tie him up, the only thing Boffo barked at was the neighborhood squirrel.

“Stay here, Boffo. I have to see what's out there.” He paused for just a second, wondering why he was talking to Shanna's dog, then made his way to the front.

Of course Boffo didn't stay. Brendan shoved the dog back and kept him at bay with one arm while he squeezed through the gate, then made sure it was firmly closed behind him. He walked quickly to the front of the house, ignoring Boffo jumping and throwing his weight against the gate that held him back.

Just as Brendan stepped from between Shanna's house and her neighbor's, a scruffy man knocked on Shanna's front door.

The door opened.

“Ray? What are you doing here?”

“I came to talk.”

“We have nothing to talk about.”

“Maybe you didn't hear me. I said I came to talk.” Despite Shanna's protest, Ray barged inside.

Brendan ran the rest of the way. Before the door closed in his face, he raised one hand to block it and stepped inside.

Shanna's foyer was large enough to accommodate four or five people without anyone having to go up the stairs. Yet despite there being so much room, Ray moved much too close to Shanna, forcing her to back up until she was against the wall. When she had nowhere to go, Ray edged to the side to block any means of escape, either up the stairs or past him through the door.

All the color drained from Shanna's face until she was as white as bonemeal.

Brendan quickly stepped behind Ray just as Ray opened his mouth.

“Excuse me,” Brendan said, before Ray could speak. “Do you need something?”

Ray spun around to face him, then backed up one step, which gave Shanna a little breathing room.

Ray's eyes narrowed. “Who are you?” he ground out from between clenched teeth.

“The name's Gafferty. Brendan Gafferty.” Brendan
straightened himself to his full height of six feet five inches, deliberately towering well above Ray, who was a “short” guy at only six feet tall. Brendan normally didn't like to intimidate people with his size and height, but today he used his stature to his advantage. He lowered his voice, then stepped between Ray and Shanna. “I don't believe you were invited.”

Ray glanced up at Brendan, then glared at Shanna. “I'll be back,” he snapped. “This isn't finished.” Without saying
what
wasn't finished, he stomped out of the house to his pickup. It started reluctantly with a puff of blue smoke, then roared away, rubber squealing, leaving dark marks on the road in its wake.

Shanna pressed herself into the wall behind her. “You have good timing,” she mumbled. “Thank you.”

“It wasn't really timing. Boffo started acting funny, so I came to check out what was upsetting him. Who was that?”

“He's my husband's brother.”

“The one who has the dog you think would hurt Boffo?”

“Yes.”

Brendan turned his head in the direction Ray's truck had disappeared. From the looks of Ray, Ray could hurt Boffo without help from his evil dog.

He turned back to Shanna, who was still pressed against the wall. Most of the color had returned to her face, although she still didn't look very good.

“Why are you so afraid of him? What has he done?”

“I–I,” she stammered, “don't trust him.”

He could see why. Brendan wouldn't trust him, either, and he'd only seen Ray for a few moments. “It's okay. He's gone now.”

Shanna stepped away from the wall, but only a few inches. “Yes. Which means I should get back to work.”

Brendan watched as Shanna brushed some imaginary dirt off her sleeves while she composed herself. Something inside his stomach felt funny, but he didn't think he was hungry.

He didn't know if he felt more angry or sickened by Ray's behavior. He'd seen bullies in school, and such behavior made him angry back then. His mother had been called to the school many times to talk to the principal after he'd been in a fight—not that Brendan had actually been involved in any fights. Knowing no one could beat him, he always broke up fights between a bully and his smaller victims. In the process, though, he often took a few hits and gave a few back.

But this was different than anything he'd ever experienced. Even though he'd stopped a few fights as an adult, he'd never stepped between a man and a woman.

Ray was trouble looking for a place to happen.

Even outside of his circle of Christian friends, he'd never been in a situation where he thought a man was about to hit a woman. Ray hadn't actually raised his fists, yet
the air was thick with intimidation and Shanna's fear.
It made him uneasy that even though Ray was gone for now, judging from Shanna's reaction, what happened wasn't new or entirely unexpected. He didn't want to think that Ray would be back when Brendan wouldn't be here to interrupt.

The knowledge didn't sit well with him. Brendan wanted to know what Ray had wanted, but it wasn't his place to ask. He didn't really know Shanna that well. Their only association was the work they were doing for each other, and no more.

“The truck should be here with your new lawn anytime now. I need you to keep the kids in the house. And Boffo. Especially Boffo.”

“Of course.”

He waited for her to say something else, but she didn't.

All he could hear was Boffo whining at the gate.

Brendan ran his fingers through his hair, then absently stroked his beard. “I have a few things to do before the truck comes, so I'd really appreciate it if you could get Boffo out of the yard. If he buries any more of my tools and I don't notice before we start putting the sod down, they'll be gone forever.”

“Of course.” She started to turn toward the doorway to go through the house to the back, but Brendan turned toward the front.

“I'll go back out the way I came rather than tracking mud through your house.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

He stepped out, and the door closed behind him.

The lock clicked closed. A strange feeling of separation poked at him, which didn't make sense. Instead of returning to the backyard, Brendan stood facing the door, reminding himself that Shanna's problems with Ray weren't his concern. His only concern was to finish Shanna's landscaping.

As he stood staring blankly at the wooden surface, a huge
whump
banged at the door from inside, so strong that it shook from the impact. Brendan stepped back in an automatic reaction, then smiled. Boffo was most definitely inside.

Brendan returned to the backyard knowing that for once, he could open the gate without any 140-pound hairy surprises lurking, waiting for him on the other side.

He scanned the yard, looking for any lumps or bumps in his perfectly flat work. Sure enough, he did see a disturbance in all the work he'd done leveling the surface for the sod. Again, Boffo had struck.

Brendan gritted his teeth as he brushed the dirt away and pulled one of his good leather gloves to the surface. He stomped to the corner where he'd stacked his tools pending the arrival of the sod, retrieved a shovel, and leveled yet another piece of Boffo's handiwork.

In all the landscaping jobs he'd done, he'd never had a problem like this before. Yet he couldn't say Boffo was all bad. It had been fun to prepare the hole for the apple tree that would soon go into the corner of the yard, and it had been done faster than if he'd had to do all the digging alone. Once he showed Boffo where to dig, Boffo was anxious to please. Boffo's problem wasn't lack of
understanding; it was lack of focus. Shanna simply didn't
have the time to train the dog to live up to his potential.

The thought stopped him in his tracks. Boffo was a smart dog, even though he was horrendously undisciplined and as big as a small bear. Before he could spend any more time thinking about it, the sod truck lumbered up to the front of the house.

Brendan waved to Thomas, the driver. They'd been friends for years, ever since elementary school. Thomas waved back and began the process of lowering the miniature forklift down from its perch on the back of the flatbed to begin unloading the sod.

Brendan rolled up his sleeves.

He wasn't going to stress any more about Shanna's goofy dog. He had work to do.

❧

Shanna tried her best to concentrate on her work, but she couldn't. With every trip the two men took carrying the rolls between the truck in the front and the backyard, Boffo ran back and forth, no doubt hoping that, by some miracle, a door would open somewhere and he could join them.

Shanna sighed. At least he would sleep well tonight.

Again, she tried to concentrate on balancing Brendan's expenses versus his credits. Ashley was down for her nap, and Matthew was in his room building what he claimed was going to be a cargo jet plane out of plastic bricks. She couldn't let the dog distract her when both of the children were quiet at the same time.

While she sorted through a pile of Brendan's receipts from a year and a half ago, the sound of his voice drifted into the house. She stopped working and watched the two men through the window. The task of leveling the yard was monumental, yet he'd done it in two weeks, cheerfully, despite the trials and tribulations of her children and her dog. He laid a section of sod down, positioned it to lie even with the piece beside it, rolled it out, then nudged it into place with his foot before he left to get another section.

Once, she'd helped a friend lay sod in the front yard. She'd barely been able to lift the heavy rolls of grass and mud, yet Brendan carried them effortlessly, sometimes two at a time. It shouldn't have been a surprise. She'd also watched him heave some of the boulders he'd dug up. She struggled to carry a bag of flour up the stairs and into the kitchen. She couldn't imagine carrying a boulder. Yet he did.

His strength was amazing. She could certainly understand why Ray had cowered in front of him.

She couldn't help her self-satisfied grin at the memory. She hoped Ray had felt a churning in his stomach and a pounding of his heart, knowing that he was no match for someone who finally stood up to him. Ray had lost this battle without a confrontation—and he'd left without what he came for. Shanna hoped Ray would remember that sensation of powerlessness and what it felt like to be on the other side of such treatment, and never forget it.

So far, Ray hadn't hit her, but often she'd felt it was close. Only the grace of God had saved her—by either a distraction or unexpected witnesses.