Momma...”
“Bryce.” She lowered her chin and looked at him through the rearview mirror.
“Hey, we need to help your mom unpack the car. Well, maybe repack first, then unpack and find out which room is yours.”
“Oh, I can take care of—”
“I’ll be in a different room? Is it far from yours, Momma?” Worry filled his young eyes. He had seen too much in his short life, and it was her fault.
“Right next to mine.” Sleeping together had become their norm since the night Officer Torres had arrested Billy Havender, her last life blunder. No more mistakes. “Bryce, it’ll be okay. Pastor John told me our rooms are connected through a bathroom.”
“You’re in my sister’s room?” His Florida Key blues narrowed. How did someone have eyes that blue without contacts? She didn’t think he wore them. She hadn’t thought about whose room she would be living in. The offer of a salary, plus room and board, had been all she’d needed to hear.
“Pull up. I’ll run inside and open the door.” His voice was gruff as he looked away again.
“Oh, Pastor John gave me the remote.” Digging it out of the console, she hit the button. The left door slid to the other side instead of overhead. As she pulled into the large space, the feeling of crossing the threshold into a special world washed over her. What if she couldn’t do the job that was needed? What if they didn’t let her stay? She stopped herself. No self-doubt allowed.
The concrete space was large enough to hold three cars along with a workshop. Currently only a large silver Suburban with the ranch’s logo sat in the opposite end of the garage. Color-coordinated boxes lined the organized shelves, sorted by shape and size. She skimmed over her car, filled with a hodgepodge of boxes she had saved from the drugstore Dumpster.
Nothing organized or coordinated about her. Maybe she had made a mistake. Taking a deep breath, she studied the most precious thing in her life, the reason she’d taken this opportunity. Bryce.
“Are you ready for our new adventure, Bryce?”
“Can I go pet the horses?” He blinked. “Please?”
Tyler opened Bryce’s door in time to hear the word horses. “How about we help your mom get your stuff in the house? Then I can take you to the barns and introduce you to the stars of the Childress family.”
“Oh, I’m not sure that’s a good idea. He’s never been around large animals.” She didn’t want to come across as the No Patrol, but Tyler was making all sorts of promises and probably didn’t realize how serious a five-year-old took his every word.
Bryce started struggling with his seat belt. Another roll of thunder shook the walls.
“Hold on, baby. I’ll come help.” She made her way to the other side of the car.
Her son glared at her. She paused. He had never glared at her before today. They had always been a team.
“I’m not a baby. I can get out of the car on my own, and Tyler said we could see the horses.”
She realized she’d embarrassed her son in front of his new hero. Karly glanced at Tyler. He shrugged his shoulders, the wet T-shirt plastered to his skin. He mouthed “sorry” from behind Bryce’s back. She put her attention back on her son.
“First, you call him Mr. Childress. Second, I know you can get out of the car. I just needed to get my bag so you won’t step on it. Third, the horses will have to wait.”
Tyler crossed to the other side and started pulling out trash bags full of their clothes. She bit the inside of her cheek.
Do not apologize for your lack of luggage. You have nothing to be ashamed of, Karly Kalakona. “I’m sure this is the most unique baggage you’ve seen as a pilot.” Her laugh sounded stiff to her own ears. She kept one eye on Bryce as he climbed out of the car, his legs still not at 100 percent.
“You’d be surprised.” Tyler’s voice brought her back to him. “This looks like the luggage I used when I moved to college. Aunt Cora gave me a matching set, but I took it back to the department store for the cash and used dependable Hefty bags. My mom got so mad. The best part is when you’re done you can use them for cleanup and they don’t take up any space.”
But she was a mom, not a kid moving away from home the first time. Growing up, she’d gone from feast to famine. During a con, her stepfather, Anthony, had always insisted they travel with only the best. He would spend thousands of dollars, then take everything to a pawnshop when they ran out of money.
Things were different now. She paid her own way. And she didn’t need to waste time thinking about her stepfather. That was the past. “I can get our stuff if you could point me to the right room.”
“No need, I’m here and I know the way.” He pulled out one of her free book bags full of makeup and hair supplies. “Here you go, big guy, can you carry this for me? That’s pretty heavy. Do you think you can handle two?”
“The doctor said I’m strong now. I can carry three.”
Tyler winked at her. “Oh, I don’t know, three is a lot. What do you think, Mom?” Tyler handed Bryce a lightweight grocery bag before picking up a small plastic container with a sealed lid.
“I can do it. Mom, watch!” With the straps across his shoulders, he tucked the box under his arm.
“Good job, Bryce.” At the look of pride on Bryce’s face, a piece of her heart twisted. She popped open the tailgate and stuffed clothes and toys back into the boxes. Tyler was by the door, slipping off his muddy boots. The wet jeans had mud on them, too. It couldn’t be comfortable. “Tyler, the large tub stays in the car. If you would just show me the way, I can get the rest of our stuff. I’m sure you want out of the wet clothes.”
“Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m a river rat. I love the rain.”
Bryce giggled. “I want to be a river rat.”
Great, now she had to worry about him going to find the river on his own. She followed Tyler and Bryce through a huge washroom. When he led them through a large open kitchen, she paused. It was bigger than any apartment she had ever lived in during her entire life.
It was unreal, the kind of home she had only seen in a Country Living magazine. The smoothness of the long gray-and-black granite counters begged to be touched. A beautiful pine table with eight chairs sat opposite an island. Four stools hugged the counter.
The kitchen had two sinks. Everything was clean and fresh, from the white cabinet doors to the dark wood floors.
Well, except for the two bananas in a ceramic bowl. They were covered in black dots. She should throw them out.
“Mom! Come on.”
He didn’t even know they had just stepped into another world, a world where they didn’t belong. Thank You, God, for giving me such a resilient child.
She looked at the desk with a shelf full of cookbooks above it. She would need those books.
Ramen noodles cooked to perfection were the extent of her skills in the kitchen. She had a feeling this family wasn’t the cheap noodle crowd.
Tyler stepped back into the kitchen. “Sorry, I guess I should have given you a tour first.”
She shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I was thinking I should throw away the bananas before Mr. Childress arrives.”
Bryce came up to the table and wrinkled his nose. “Gross.”
He chuckled. “Oh, yeah, I didn’t even see them. Dad has one every morning with his breakfast. Always made me eat one, too.” He put the bags down and took the overripe fruit to the other side of the room. With a tap of his foot, a trash bin rolled out from under the counter.
“Cool.”