Special Delivery. Judi Lynn

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СКАЧАТЬ style="font-size:15px;">      “Let’s do it.” She put a hand under his elbow and helped him to his feet, steadied him when he turned to lower himself into the chair. He could do it on his own if he had to, but she could tell it wore him out. The more he moved, the better off he’d be. She pushed him into the bathroom and handed him his toothbrush and toothpaste. She got a clean washcloth for him. When he’d finished, she wheeled him back to his room and helped him settle back in bed.

      “You’re not too bad at that,” Axel said.

      “I’ve had practice.”

      He grunted. “Wouldn’t mind doing that most nights.”

      “No problem.” She didn’t make a big deal out of it, or he’d refuse. When she’d finished up, she turned out lights as she headed to her room. Once there, she changed into her pajamas, got comfortable on the air mattress, and called her mom.

      “How’s it going?” Mom asked.

      “About what we expected. Axel doesn’t like anything I suggest. I’m going to call different social services tomorrow to see what’s available. Axel doesn’t want to leave this place.”

      “It’s in bad shape, though, isn’t it?”

      “It looks horrible, but the house itself is really solid. Once you get past how it looks, you realize that it could be a really nice house if someone did something with it.”

      There was silence on her mom’s end for a minute, then Mom sighed. “Someone told me once that the house was beautiful when my grandma was alive. I can’t picture it that way, too many bad memories growing up, but I suppose you’re right.”

      “I can see it,” Karli said. “It has simple, clean lines.”

      It was a large, two-story house with the open porch that ran across its entire front. Six, straight columns ran from the roof to its cement floor. A wide chimney was centered on the left exterior for the fireplace in the living room. An eyebrow arch let light in the attic.

      “Keagan said he’d bring friends over on Saturday, and they’d fix the porch column. Can you believe that?”

      “No.” Her mom sounded surprised.

      “People are really nice around here. Mill Pond isn’t what I expected.”

      “I’m glad it’s better for you than it was for me.”

      “I don’t have Axel for a dad, or Eloise for a mother.” She was beginning to think that Eloise was no prize, either. When they hung up, Karli thought about her family. All twelve of Axel’s kids had run from him as soon as possible. Her sister, Nora, had sort of done the same thing. She’d wanted to leave Indianapolis for some place more glamorous for years. Karli loved Indiana, loved being close to her mom and dad. She was happy to travel, to stay in some new place for a few months, but Indiana always called her home.

      She looked out the parlor’s long, narrow window at the side yard. Dead weeds bent at odd angles in the beam of the security light near the mudroom’s door. Frayed ropes hung from the branches of two trees. What was left of a hammock? It would be a perfect spot for one.

      She pulled the drapes and reached for her book. She couldn’t help but smile at Catherine Bybee’s romance, Not Quite Mine. Would she ever find her happily ever after? Maybe. Maybe not. And it didn’t matter. She didn’t need a man to make her happy. But even as she told herself that, her thoughts drifted to Keagan.

      Chapter 7

      While coffee brewed the next morning, Karli made eggs and toast for herself and Axel. The old man was sitting up in bed, watching the History Channel, and he looked like he’d been awake for a while. “Couldn’t sleep?” she asked.

      “Nah, didn’t finish the football game. Called it an early night, woke before the roosters crowed, and couldn’t go back to sleep.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “‘Bout time you got up and moving.”

      She glanced out the window at the barn at the end of the driveway. “Do you have chickens?”

      “Don’t be daft, girl. Not anymore. Used to, though. They crowed at first light.”

      She was unimpressed. “You only got up half an hour ago then. First light doesn’t happen until after eight this late in November.”

      He finished his eggs and swallowed his pills, then pushed his plate toward her. “Don’t you have something to do?”

      “Lots of things. I’m making calls to see what I can line up for you today.”

      “Knock yourself out.”

      She took a napkin and swiped at the toast crumbs in his beard. “Consider your options, old man, while you still have them. Want me to help you to the bathroom to clean up?”

      “I did that last night, didn’t I?”

      She shrugged. “Suit yourself. I just thought it might feel good.”

      He waved her away, too caught up in his TV show. She’d let him pass this time, but she’d try again later. If he didn’t use his legs, soon they wouldn’t hold him.

      After she tidied up their dishes, she took the industrial broom she’d found at the back of the closet and swept the dining room floor. It was probably meant for the front porch, but it would save her time now. It got the top layer of dust, so that she could use the kitchen broom to remove the finer layer. She finished with the dust mop, and the floor was passable. She settled at the long, cherry table with its sixteen chairs. Two corner cupboards, one on each side of the front window, held cut glass vases and pitchers, fancy pieces that hadn’t been dusted since Axel’s mom died, she’d guess. She spread all of her papers and notes over the table’s surface. She could look into the living room across the hall. This house would be easy to entertain in. She wondered if Axel’s mom invited people over a lot.

      She liked the downstairs layout. Off the entryway to the left was the parlor, behind it, the living room with the fireplace, and then the bathroom. To the right was the monstrous dining room and behind that, the kitchen. Two rooms jutted out the back: a mudroom on the left and the three-season room on the right. There was a basement, but she had no desire to go down there. If the main floor was this bad, what would it be like? She pictured spiders and mice scampering across crumbling cement.

      It had taken longer to clean than she expected, so she called: “Hey, Axel, I’ll reheat some of the tamale casserole if you come out in the kitchen to eat with me.”

      “Save it. Just bring me a carton of cottage cheese and some applesauce.”

      “I know you can get those yourself.”

      “Never mind. I’ll just eat some crackers.”

      She sighed. Baby steps, she told herself. She’d get Axel moving and motivated one step at a time. She carried his cottage cheese and applesauce to him, then made herself a peanut butter sandwich. Once she ate that, she shook her head. Enough stalling. Time to get to work.

      Karli checked her list and began making calls. She learned that a home nurse would come and check on Axel once a month, so she made an appointment for her to come to make her first assessment. She learned that Axel СКАЧАТЬ