Through His Grace (10 page)

“That’s fine. I’ve only got the one.” Uncle Carl opened and shut the blinds on the nearest window before looking at Grace. “I can make this work.” His comment lacked the “if I have to” brought forth by the other places.

“There’s a jungle gym right this way.” The manager indicated the play area. “That’s the window to my office so you can watch them.”

Grace left Jake and Lizzie happily climbing around while she and Carl went to finish the business at hand.

“Two bedrooms, one bath, kitchen, living room. Gas and utilities are included in the rent. It comes with air-conditioning, and the community pool is over by the laundry room.”

Lord, please let it be in the right price range
, Grace prayed fervently. When he came to the price, she almost hugged him. But instead she kept her cool.

“I believe we can work out something,” she said. And, while Jake and Lizzie played on the tire swing, they did.

“You can move in anytime next week.”

“Whooeee. I am stuffed.” Carl leaned back and patted his well-satisfied stomach. “Those were some mighty fine tacos, Mrs. Ward.”

“Call me Sondra.” She topped off his iced tea and passed it back. “And I’m glad you liked them.”

“You won’t be so glad when you have to call a tow truck to get me unwedged from this seat.” He chuckled.

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.” Dylan spread his arms wide. “We’ll just toss a tarp over you, come rainy season.”

Carl guffawed. He clearly enjoyed being the center of attention.

“Come on, Grampa!” Jake tugged one of his hands. “We wanna show you the chicks!”

“You’ll have to pull a lot harder than that, Jake!” Carl stayed settled until Lizzie grabbed his other arm, and brother and sister tugged in tandem.

“All right, all right.” He stood. “Now where are these birds?” When Grace followed, Nickels doubled his stride to catch up to her.

“Hold up a second.” He cupped her elbow to get her attention.

“Oh, Eric!” Her smile shone in her eyes, beckoning him closer. “I wanted to thank you again for mentioning Briarwood to me. It’s just perfect. Honestly, I don’t know what we would have done.”

“Happy to help.” He didn’t take his hand from her arm, liking the feel of her soft skin against his palm. “There’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while, and I wanted to mention it.”

“What is it?” She leaned slightly closer, making his breath hitch.

“I’ve been coming over with the chicks for a month now,” he began.

“And Jake and Lizzie just love it.” She looked down for a moment before meeting his gaze again. “I enjoy Saturday mornings, too.”

“They’re the high point of my week.” He grinned back at her. “But I was thinking maybe there was something we could do for Jake and Lizzie. They love holding the chicks and taking care of them. What if they could keep that feeling all week long?”

“Do you mean—” Grace’s brows came together as she thought it over. “You want them to raise one? Eric, I’m sorry, but I don’t want a full-grown chicken running around the house. The only reason it works is that the Curly Q raises chicks year round.”

Nickels tilted his head back and laughed. When he composed himself, he agreed, “Chickens don’t make the best houseguests.”

“So what are you getting at?”

“Every kid needs a pet. I was just thinking more along the lines of friendly and furry.” He put the proposition out there.

“I’m allergic to cats,” Grace responded quickly, “and I don’t have the time to train a puppy. Lizzie and Jake can’t care for something that needs so much attention.”

“Agreed.” Nickels pushed his hat back on his head. “So what if we took ‘em to the pet store and found something else? Rabbits are cute but can scratch a kid something awful. How ‘bout a hamster?”

“A hamster.” He could almost see the wheels turning in Grace’s head. “We could probably handle that. It would give them something to focus their attention on.”

“And nothing teaches responsibility like caring for another living thing.” He spoke straight from the heart. “You know that firsthand.”

“Eric, I think you might be on to something.”

“That’ll be Mr. Nichols,” Grace told the kids, hastily shutting the lid on the huge cooler she’d bought for this day. She hurried to open the door, finding Eric, Dylan, and Danny on her front porch.

“Thank you all!” She gave them each a hug then gestured toward the kitchen. “I packed a cooler.”

“That makes two.” Dylan jerked his thumb toward his truck. “Sondra sent one along, too.”

“She’s so sweet. It’s best to have plenty. And it’s kind of her to watch Lizzie and Jake.”

“I’ll drop ‘em off at the ranch and catch up to you in Buffalo Walk. Sondra plans on taking the chicks to Lawton later this morning.”

“Thank you, Dylan. And Lizzie and Jake are rarin’ to go. Your wife called last night.” She stooped for a hug and a kiss good-bye. “I’ll see you two tonight.”

“‘Bye, Auntie Grace!”

“Get Grampa good and settled.” Lizzie gave her last instruction before hopping into the backseat of Dylan’s spacious cab.

“Well, you heard the lady.” Eric grabbed Grace’s hand and held his truck door open for her. “We’ll meet you two there.” They kept the windows rolled down, enjoying the fresh air as they drove to Uncle Carl’s old apartment. The local country station kept her fingers drumming on the windowsill as the miles passed.

As they drew close, Grace rolled up the window.

“Thank you so much for talking to Dylan. It’ll make the move so much easier to have friends helping out.”

“Hmph,” Eric grunted. “Here I was, hoping you’d asked me for my manly strength. Turns out I was almost the only one you could talk into helping.”

Grace laughed at his teasing. “Your muscles are very much appreciated.” She reached over and patted his bicep without thinking. She could feel his strength seep through the fabric of his T-shirt—and a warm flush spread into her own face.

“Now”—his voice deepened—“that’s more like it.”

“Next left.” She quickly pointed to their destination. “We’re here.”

She kept a safe distance for the rest of the day, thankful to have so much to do. The men took the big pieces of furniture out, packing the trucks with overstuffed chairs, the couch, a coffee table, nightstand, and Uncle Carl’s bed. While they made the first trip to Lawton, Grace packaged books, kitchen utensils, and knickknacks.

“Lunch break!” Danny said after they returned. He pulled the lid off each cooler and sat down at the dining table.

“What would you like?” Grace asked, digging around in the coolers. “Ham or turkey?” She held up one of each.

“Ham!” Danny exclaimed.

“Turkey,” Carl said.

“One of each!” Dylan said as he stepped into the room.

“Eric?” Grace arched her brow after passing the requested lunch items along, offering another pair of sandwiches.

“Whatever you have left and don’t want for yourself.” He smiled. “I’m easy to please.”

Grace handed him the ham, keeping the turkey for herself. Before she took a seat, she passed around some bananas and bottles of sports drinks.

“How’re you holding up, Grace?” Uncle Carl peered at her intently.

“Fine.” Grace averted her eyes, hoping Uncle Carl didn’t ask anything about her and Nickels.

“I did everything I could,” he continued anxiously. “Queenie’s been at a neighbor’s place most of this week. I hired a maid to come in yesterday to clean. Even sprayed some of that fancy fabric refresher you gave me on everything!”

“And it’s worked.” Grace smiled at him, hoping he didn’t notice her red-rimmed eyes. She’d been sneezing a little, but the antihistamines and eye drops had things pretty well under control. She hated to think what state she’d be in if Queenie were still in residence and the apartment hadn’t been cleaned top to bottom. When she’d unearthed an air purifier, she’d turned it on and hauled the thing around from room to room as a further precaution.

“Good thinking.” Eric aimed his comment at Carl, but Grace saw him looking at the purifier humming in the corner. “Is there anything else that triggers your allergies—besides cats?” He helped himself to an apple.

“Not nearly so badly,” Grace evaded.
We’re talking about things that make my nose run and my eyes turn red. How do I change the topic?

“My cousin couldn’t eat peanuts,” Danny added. “And I knew a gal once who couldn’t have anything with milk in it.”

“Jake can’t eat eggs.” Uncle Carl peeled the label off his sports drink. “I made egg salad sandwiches the first day the kids were here, and Jake wouldn’t eat ‘em. I thought he was just upset….” His brown eyes grew misty. “We all were. But Lizzie told me his throat closes if he eats eggs. She’s a good girl. Watches out for her brother.” He cleared his throat and took a swig of his drink.

“Makes sense to me.” Eric broke the heavy silence. “He loves the chicks too much to be able to eat eggs. Just isn’t in his nature.”

“Never thought of it that way.” Uncle Carl nodded. “He sure did have a way with Queenie. Old girl doesn’t take much to most folks, but she and Jake got along like peas and carrots.”

“Animals can tell,” Danny agreed. “If a ranch hand comes on the farm, and the horses won’t work with him, we know he’s got to go.”

“Skylar has a nose for character, too.” Eric smiled at her. “Trailed Grace around like a lovesick pup all last Sunday.”

“She wasn’t the only one.” Danny’s whisper to Dylan carried across the room, and Grace pretended not to hear. She smiled at the table. When she looked up, she saw Carl gazing from her to Eric and back again.
Don’t say anything
, she begged. She could feel her cheeks growing hot. She was thankful Uncle Carl popped the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth instead of pursuing Danny’s ill-timed remark. When she saw Eric glaring at Danny, she hid her confusion by cleaning off the table.

“Let’s get back to work.”

“What do you have ready for us?” Nickels followed Grace from the table, shooting Danny a look that promised reckoning. “We can move the table.”

“No, I need the flat surface for sorting. Let me see.” She planted her hands on her hip and surveyed the apartment for the next load. “I’ve emptied those bookshelves.” She gestured to the far wall.

“They look as if they’re part of the apartment.” Nickels strode over to have a look.

“Yeah.” She came alongside him and stroked her hand down the side of one of the bookcases. “Jim made these for his dad, and they installed them together.” Sadness filled her eyes at the memory. “Lisa and I watched the kids while they worked.”

“Well made.” Nickels felt the joints. “They’ll be heavy but should hold up in the move.”

“Thanks.” Her soft smile tugged at his heart. “I know it’ll mean a lot to Uncle Carl. I measured the new place. They should fit in the living room.”

“I’ll take care of it,” he promised. “What else?”

“I’ve emptied his dresser in the bedroom. And I cleaned out the fridge, so that’ll be ready. If you have more room in this load, you could roll up this rug.” She pointed at their feet. “Though I would like to see it vacuumed first.”

“Sure. This stuff will fill both trucks.” Nickels visually measured what he was dealing with. “How much more are we moving?” The place looked pretty bare to him, save for the dining table and the boxes piled in the entryway.

“The table and the boxes.” She ran a hand over her hair, smoothing back her springy curls. “While you’re gone I need to pack up the kitchen dishes and everything in his closets. I’m so glad we decided he’ll spend the night at my place, since it’ll take all of tomorrow afternoon to get him settled in.”

“But we’ll have all of his things moved, except for the cat.” He reached over and rubbed her shoulders.

“Oh.” She tensed then let out a sigh. “You’d better stop that, or I’ll be so relaxed I won’t be able to finish packing.” She pulled away.

“You work on the closets. The guys and I will get cracking on the other things.” The next hour flew by as he, Dylan, and Danny loaded up the trucks again. Carl vacuumed the carpet where the furniture had covered it. It wasn’t until late afternoon before he had the opportunity to catch Danny alone.

“Watch it,” Nickels warned as he and Danny carried the dining table to the bed of his truck.