Chapter Ten

K asey and Dre spent the morning working out, and Dre mentioned going to the school to see Quinn, so Kasey went along. He wanted to see Amanda again. The night they’d spent sleeping on the chair, he’d slept deeply and rested like never before.

He went to her office, but it was locked, so he dialed her number.

“Hello,” Amanda answered the phone. At least, he thought it was her. She didn’t sound like herself, her voice way deeper than normal.

“I’m at Goodson. Dre brought Quinn lunch, and I brought you some too, but your office is locked.”

“How kind of you, but I’m not there. I’m at the doctor.”

“What’s wrong?” He quickly added, “If that’s not too personal a question.” He didn’t want to invade her privacy, yet he was concerned.

“Sore throat, cough, runny nose, itchy eyes.”

“Did this happen because you went camping?”

“Who knows? People get sick. Why does it matter?”

“Because if it’s from my bullying you into camping, I feel bad.” Big raindrops began falling from the gray sky. He stepped back under the awning in front of the school building.

“Don’t feel bad. You didn’t bully me.”

“I made you a deal you couldn’t refuse. And the night turned out to be pretty cold.”

“I loved every minute of camping.”

If that were true, he wondered why she hadn’t stayed longer. Like she’d promised, as soon as the sun came up, she bolted. Leaving him with the memory of her laughter, her warm body close to his, and her sweet scent. He found the next four days without her boring.

“You’re not responsible for my sickness,” she insisted. “I’m around thousands of kids every day, I likely caught a virus.” Shuffling came over the phone. “They just called my name. I’ve got to go. Bye.”

He kept the phone to his ear.

Dre came out of the school.

Feeling like an idiot, Kasey lowered his phone and pocketed it.

“Amanda not want the burger?”

“She’s out sick today. We’ll drop the food off to the homeless guy who lives under the Fry Road bridge.”

“I have some meal bars under the seat too,” Dre said.

Since they were driving age, when they saw a homeless person on the streets, they’d buy them food.

Once Dre dropped him off at his parents’ house, Kasey entered through the back door. His mother, who was wiping the kitchen table, hurried over and hugged him. “It’s good to see you.”

He’d driven back to town early this morning, and Dre picked him up before his parents woke. “Sorry, I haven’t been around much since I got here.”

She shrugged. “You warned me I wouldn’t see much of you this trip. I understand, honey.”

Kasey sat at the table.

“You hungry?”

“Not really.” He and Dre had eaten before going to the school. “Don’t go to any bother.”

“If a mother can’t be bothered by her favorite son, who can she be bothered by?”

“Her other four favorite sons.” He smirked. “We know you tell each of us we’re your favorite.”

“You are all my favorite—for different reasons.”

“What’s my reason?”

She smiled. “You, my Kasey, take life as it comes. You’re my realist. It’s also why I worry about you more than the others.”

Why would she worry about him?

She rinsed a couple of coffee cups and put them in the dishwasher. “I worry because I’m afraid you’re going to turn into a cynic.”

I’m already a cynic.

“My hope is you’ll meet and fall in love with someone who sees life differently than you do. Maybe someone who might slow you down. Someone who’s at least an optimist.”

“Then it’s a good thing Harper chose Ethan.”

“Yes, you two are too much alike. She might even be more jaded than you are.”

Definitely.

“Your brother did you a favor.”

He didn’t bother responding. His parents never took sides, and he respected their middle ground. Plus, he somewhat felt the same way. He just wished the world hadn’t witnessed the proposal. But that wasn’t Ethan’s fault.

Mom went to the freezer, pulled out a box, and put it on the table. Then she grabbed a couple of paper plates, forks, and a knife. She opened the box and dragged out a frozen chocolate pie. She always kept two frozen pies in the freezer—one chocolate and one lemon—made of pudding and whipped topping over a graham cracker crust.

Without waiting for it to thaw, she sliced off a large piece, placed it on a plate, and slid it to him.

He took a bite and closed his eyes. Now, he was home.

“You and Amanda have fun camping?”

“She came up Saturday morning and left Sunday morning.”

His mother cut herself a piece. “You charmer.”

He laughed. “She told me she’d only stay twenty-four hours. I can’t believe she’d never been camping. Or fishing.”

“To be honest, I can’t see Amanda roughing it. She always looks too perfect.”

He inwardly grinned, thinking of how messy she’d gotten on Saturday.

“She’s a darling girl. It’s just—”

When his mother didn’t continue, he prompted her by asking, “What?”

“I detect sadness in her.”

“She lost her parents when she was a teenager. They were killed in a car crash by a drunk driver.”

“Poor child.”

~

T issue in hand and over her nose, Amanda rolled out of bed. She’d ignored the first five knocks, but whoever it was wasn’t giving up. She peeked out the peephole. Kasey stood on her welcome mat, his jacket hood over his head to divert the rain and grocery bags hanging from his hands.

Dread flared through her. She hated for anyone to see her right now. She’d put on makeup to go to the doctor, and once she arrived home took it off then dragged herself to bed.

Her dread fled when she remembered he’d seen her at her worst at the lake. She unlocked and opened the door. “Hi.”

“What’d the doctor say?” he asked.

“I have an upper respiratory infection.”

His shoulders flinched.

“It’s fine. She gave me antibiotics.”

He walked inside and wiped his feet on the rug. “Go back to bed. I’ll cook a soup.”

“I’m not hungry.” She shut the door.

“You will be in an hour or two. It’ll take me that long to make it. Plus, you need food in your stomach if you’re on antibiotics. When’s your next dose?”

“In a couple of hours. You don’t have to do this.”

“Where’s the kitchen,” he asked, as if he wouldn’t be able to find it on his own. She lived in a tiny one-story with two bedrooms and one bath.

“I’m renovating the house.” She led him through the dark, wood-paneled hallway to the kitchen/den area and turned on the lights. “I started in here.” Now that it was finished, this room made her happy. Even though it was raining outside, the room was bright, with new white cabinets and updated tile with white and black scrolls. The stainless-steel appliances and countertops in white quartz with hints of black brightened the room as well.

The kitchen opened to a small seating area with a navy loveseat, a painted-pink table, and a black chest of drawers with a TV on the top. A huge colorful abstract print hung over her loveseat and the other walls had windows.

“You did this yourself?” He set the bags on the counter.

“Well, I didn’t make the cabinets, I had a professional come in and do those, but I learned how to install tile and paint.

“I’m impressed.”

She smiled and coughed.

He approached her and put his arm around her. “Let’s get you into bed.”

She leaned against him. Did he know she felt weak? Could he sense it? How comforting to have someone take care of her. She’d never really enjoyed the reassurance of someone looking after her. She felt certain her ex-husband would’ve done it if he’d ever been around.

“I’m working on the bathroom, but all I’ve done in the rest of the house is pull up the carpet, hence the concrete and so many rugs.” She felt the need to explain.

“Stained concrete is cool.”

“Yeah, I like it too. Haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet.” She covered her mouth and yawned. He escorted her to the bed. She crawled in and turned onto her back.

“Did you have a fever at the appointment?”

“A slight one. I took something for it earlier.”

His lips brushed her forehead. His handsome face was so close. “Call me if you need me, I’ll leave the door ajar.”

“Thank you.” She fell asleep with the warm imprint of his lips on her forehead.

~

A lthough Amanda had answered the door with watery red eyes and a runny nose, she still looked sexy.

When he put his arm around her, he noticed she felt warm and kissed her forehead to verify a fever. He’d learned how to do that when Marisol was a baby.

He found a pot in the cupboard and set to making chicken soup. He sautéed an onion and browned slices of chicken breast. He added chopped veggies and a box of chicken broth before adjusting the heat to simmer.

This room looked like a professional renovation. It could be featured in a magazine. Impressed, he’d never have guessed she’d have laid tile flooring. She seemed much too girly.

Seeing photo albums on the side table, he picked one up and leafed through it. Young Amanda was cute, with curly brunette hair and big blue eyes. He turned the page and found her between a man and a woman. They must be her mom and dad. The three of them were smiling, their faces close together. The next page read “snow day.” He lifted a picture out of the cellophane paper and read the back, Amanda three .

He kept scanning through and saw her playing the piano, dressed as an alligator for Halloween, and pictures of her sitting on Santa’s lap. They spoke of a happy childhood.

Feeling like he was invading her privacy, he shut the album and put it back. He went into the kitchen, found a loaf pan, and used a mix he bought to make a bread and put it in the oven. While the bread cooked, he checked his phone and read his emails, not bothering to get on social media. He answered a text from Zack asking about his and Dre’s summer plans. While in college, the three of them always vacationed together during spring break and summer. With how busy they were nowadays; it’d become tricky to find a time that worked for all three of them.

Kasey went to the bathroom. Surprised to find an unfinished mosaic on the wall, he studied the half-finished piece. The blue sky had been completed, along with white clouds and a set of green hills. Just under the light green hills, one small section was finished in purple, red, pink, and yellow flowers. Other flowers, drawn in pencil, filled the rest of the design.

He opened the bathroom closet. At the bottom, in a Rubbermaid container, he discovered the colored tiles.

“Kasey?” Amanda called in a soft, hoarse voice.

In five steps, he made it to her door and pushed it open.

She was on her side facing him, her eyes closed.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Can you get me another glass of water? I drank mine.”

“It’s time to eat and take your meds.”

“I’m not hungry.”

He walked over and kissed her forehead again. A spike of worry speared through him. “Sweetheart, you’re hotter than hell.”

“Said in a slightly different tone, that might be a compliment.”

Kasey loved her playfulness. Even sick she kept her spirits up. Not everyone could do the same. “You’re a smoke show, and it’s definitely a compliment, but right now we have to get your fever down. You want to take a cool bath?”

She shook her head. “Too much effort.”

“Feed a fever it is.” He coaxed her into eating a cup of soup and a piece of bread before she drank a sip of ginger ale and swallowed her meds. By the time Kasey got back from bringing her bowl into the kitchen, she’d fallen asleep again.

After cleaning the kitchen, he went into the bathroom. Needing something to do, he pulled out the tiles and glue. While doing most things, he listened to music or a podcast, but wanting to be able to hear Amanda, he worked in silence.

He thought no music would drive him crazy, but there was a captivating peace in the quiet—in filling in a small area with glue and finding and fitting the exact right tile for each empty space.

“It’s not enough to love animals; we must actively protect and preserve them. It’s our duty and responsibility as custodians of this planet.” ~ Daphne Sheldrick