Brenda Novak - Discovering You

She hurried out front to find him cutting her grass. “Rod!” she yelled, trying to flag him down.

When he finally heard her, he looked over.

“You don’t have to do this,” she shouted above the noise. “It’s getting a little overgrown, but I plan to buy a mower on Monday. I’ll take care of it then.”

“No big deal,” he said. “Won’t take long.”

He seemed more than capable in spite of his broken hand. And here in Whiskey Creek, neighbors probably did that type of thing for each other. But receiving even a small amount of kindness on the heels of that call with her in-laws brought a lump to India’s throat.

“Thank you,” she said and turned away before he could see the tears in her eyes.

* * *

That night, Cheyenne brought over some lasagna and garlic bread. While Natasha helped her serve dinner, Rod and his brothers tossed Kellan around, making him laugh and squeal. Cheyenne complained that they were getting him too riled up, but Rod could tell she liked the attention they paid him. Kellan certainly enjoyed the roughhousing.

“More,” he’d say whenever they stopped. It was about the only word he knew, besides Mama and Dada.

J.T. and Anya either heard the noise or smelled the food, because they entered the kitchen just as Cheyenne asked about their new neighbor.

“She’s all moved in,” Grady told her.

“I’d love to see the inside of the house now that it’s been renovated,” Cheyenne said, interested because she used to live there before she married Dylan.

“I bet she’d show you.” Mack handed out forks. Rarely were their meals formal occasions, with someone setting the table beforehand. They ate whenever they were hungry and fended for themselves or ordered out. Heaven forbid Anya would ever go to the trouble of cooking or doing the dishes, even though she didn’t work.

“You should stop by,” Grady said. “And get her number for me while you’re there. She’s freaking gorgeous.”

Cheyenne glanced up. “She’s single?”

“Not sure yet,” Mack said. “She’s wearing a wedding ring, but her husband hasn’t shown up. So...maybe he works out of the state or country.”

“He’s dead,” Rod announced.

Everyone looked at him.

“She told you that?” Mack asked.

“When she gave me a ride home last night.” Rod felt this would be the natural time to reveal that he’d be taking India to dinner tomorrow night. He’d heard Grady’s little joke about getting her number and didn’t want him or Mack to go on thinking she was fair game. But he didn’t speak up. He wasn’t sure his relationship with her would go anywhere and decided he’d wait and see how they got along before telling anyone. His brothers could be merciless; he wasn’t going to provide them with fresh ammunition.

“Why’d she give you a ride home?” Cheyenne asked. “Where was your truck?”

“She came across me after the fight, when I was trying to get help.”

“What was she doing out there so late at night? Was she at the bar, too?”

“No. She was on her way back from some art show.”

“Oh, art,” Grady said.

“Something wrong with that?” Rod asked.

Grady gave him a funny look. “Of course not. I’m just messin’ around. When did her husband die?”

“About a year ago.”

“So she’s available,” Mack said, and Rod felt himself stiffen—almost as much as Natasha did.

“She’s too old for you, bro.”

“But not for you.” Anya smiled like the Cheshire cat. “Is that why you mowed her lawn today?”

Rod hadn’t realized his stepmother had seen him. She usually stayed in her room all day, playing on the computer or watching TV. “Not necessarily. She doesn’t have a mower yet, so I figured I might as well do hers while I was doing ours.”

“And did she show you any appreciation?” J.T. joked, sending him a meaningful grin.

Rod didn’t care for the way his father talked about women since he’d been released from prison. “She thanked me, if that’s what you mean.”

“Is she nice?” Cheyenne asked.

“Seems like it,” he said.

Cheyenne took a bottle of salad dressing out of the box she’d used to transport all the food. “I’d like to meet her sometime.”

Grady sat down and dug into his meal before the rest of them could get a plate. “Why not tonight?”

Without Mack’s even asking, Natasha added a second piece of garlic bread to his plate, and Rod pretended he didn’t notice that whatever Mack received from Natasha was always the biggest and the best.

“Dyl’s getting home soon,” Cheyenne replied. “So I should head out.”

“Have him join us,” J.T said. “He hardly ever comes over these days.”

Rod suspected Anya’s presence had a great deal to do with that. Dylan liked her even less than the rest of them did.

“Can’t,” she said. “He has a baseball game.”

“We should go watch him play,” Anya suggested, but no one chimed in to encourage her.

Rod put Kellan down to accept his plate. “Thanks.” Since he wanted to speak to Cheyenne in private before she left, he hoped she wasn’t going to rush off.

“How’s your hand?” She nodded toward his cast.

“Throbbing like crazy,” he admitted.

“I made that apple crisp you like for dessert.” She winked. “Maybe that’ll help ease the pain.”

He leaned over to drop a kiss on her forehead. “Dylan got lucky the day he married you.”

“That’s what I keep telling him,” she teased.

“Will Aaron be at the game, too?” Mack asked.

“Should be,” she told them. “Dyl talked him into joining the team.”

Mack got up to get a beer and grabbed one for Rod, too. “Want to go over to the park?” he murmured so Anya and the others couldn’t hear.

Normally, Rod would’ve enjoyed seeing the game. But after being up so late, and everything he’d dealt with today, he was ready for bed. “Not tonight.”

Cheyenne put the dessert on the counter and started cleaning the spatula and serving spoons. “I’ll leave the rest of this here,” she said, indicating the leftover salad, lasagna and bread. “Just remember to take the dishes to Dylan tomorrow so he can bring them home.”

“I will,” Rod said.

She swung her son into her arms. “I’d better get going. I want to make sure Dyl has a chance to eat before he has to show up at the field.”

Rod wasn’t finished with his supper, but he stood. “I’ll walk you out,” he said so the others wouldn’t find it odd when he left the kitchen after only a few bites.

He caught up with his sister-in-law at the front door. “Before you go, could you do me a favor?”

She turned in surprise. “Of course.”

“Will you take a second to come up and look in my closet?”

“What for?” she asked.

He lowered his voice to make sure no one else could hear. Fortunately, they were all so busy eating, he didn’t think anyone was paying attention. “I have a date tomorrow.”

“And you want me to tell you what to wear? This girl must be special,” she said. “You’ve never asked for my help with that kind of thing before.”

He’d never felt so out of his element before. “She’s...different.”

“Special,” she confirmed with a grin. “Do I know her?”

He scratched his neck. “It’s our new neighbor.”

“Oh!” Her smile widened. “Why didn’t you speak up a second ago?”

“It’s one date,” he said with a shrug.

“But you’d like to impress her.” She wasn’t buying his nonchalance.

“I need to dress up a little, that’s all,” he said. “Her husband—the man who passed away—was a heart surgeon.”

“I see,” she responded. “So we’re going for sophisticated and respectable.”