Keagan gave a small nod of approval. “My mom’s going to send over a casserole tomorrow to get you started. I’ll drop it off when I deliver the mail.”
“Thank you.”
He grinned. “You won’t believe me, but Mill Pond’s a pretty friendly place except for him. Here.” He opened his cell phone and punched in the name of the local motel. “Nick and Meg own it. I hope they have an open room.”
She was in luck. When she handed his phone back to him, she looked surprised. “They only had one vacancy tonight. They’re full for the rest of the week.”
“Tourists. Mill Pond is a happening place. You’re lucky it’s not leaf season. We’re mobbed when people come to the National Forest to see the trees in their glory.” Keagan grabbed an empty carton of microwaved mac ‘n cheese off Axel’s TV tray and carried it to the kitchen to throw away. “Good luck with everything. If you need something, holler.” He gave her his cell phone number.
She watched him drive away, then went to make a slow inspection of the house. The refrigerator was clean inside, stocked with Axel’s Ensure and cottage cheese. As for the rest of the house, she might as well have signed up to be a charwoman. She returned to the back room and noticed the TV remote on Axel’s cluttered tray. The house might be ready to fall around his ears, but the flat screen mounted across from his bed took up most of the wall.
He glared at her. “The sooner you leave, the better.”
“Then find a nice nursing home, and I’m out of here.”
“Never gonna happen.”
She smiled. “Then it sucks to be you. Until you show me that you can take care of yourself, I’m going to be in your business.”
His hand shot out to pinch her again, and she raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead. Make my day.” A Clint Eastwood quote, but appropriate. He folded his arms over his chest, and she said, “Let’s get you cleaned up before I go to the motel.”
“Keagan takes care of that.”
“It looks like you need to be washed again.”
“That’s not gonna happen. No woman’s touching nothing of mine.”
“I’m a nurse.”
“You’re a girl.”
She could argue, but he wouldn’t change his mind. He’d been living alone and taking care of himself this long. Another day wouldn’t matter. She started for the front door. “See you tomorrow.”
“Not if a semi hits you first.”
“You’re not that lucky.”
Chapter 2
At night, in her motel room, Karli called other motels around the area, hoping to find a place to stay, but Keagan was right. Mill Pond was a happening place. Every room was taken. Seems tourists came in November to buy handcrafted items for their Thanksgiving tables and to hike the trails in the National Forest before the snows fell.
She’d never been to the shops in Mill Pond. When her parents came to town, they drove straight to Axel’s farm, stayed as short a time as possible, and then left. Even at its best, the farm had been nothing to brag about. Eloise kept the house clean, raised her children, and cooked food that filled bellies. End of story. Karli wondered if her grandmother had always been so dispassionate or if being married to Axel had drained her of all hope and stamina.
When hunger struck, Karli drove to a McDonald’s. She usually avoided fast foods, but she didn’t have the energy to engage with anyone at the local diner, and she had a feeling people around here were friendly. Probably far friendlier than she was.
Her room at Nick and Meg’s Hotel had a pamphlet that listed local attractions, and she was amazed to read about the trendy resort on the lake, Harley’s Winery, a microbrewery with specialty hot dogs, and the many shops on Main Street. Art’s Grocery caught her eye with a long list of local offerings available in his Olde Time Store. The butcher’s counter stocked ducks, Guinea hens, and fancy cuts of meats—all organic. She paused when she saw Handmade Dinnerware on display by Keagan Monroe. How many Keagans could there be in Mill Pond? Was it Grandpa’s neighbor, the mailman? He did strike her as artistic.
She glanced at her watch and was surprised to see that it was already eight-thirty. It had been a long day. She called her mom on her cell. “Axel hasn’t improved with age,” she told her.
Her mom sighed. “I didn’t expect him to.”
“You never told me what a nice, little town this is.”
“Mill Pond? We hardly ever interacted with anyone, except for school. Even there, we were sort of the odd kids out.”
“I can see that. Is that why you always drove home to see your youngest brother?”
“I felt sorry for Charlie. Everyone left as fast as we could, and he was stuck there with Dad until he graduated. Then he left, too.”
Karli wondered if Axel would be worse or better to the last kid in the family. She’d bet on worse, since Charlie wouldn’t have anyone to defend him. “How did that go for him?”
“Charlie’s a sweetheart. Everyone loves him. People had him spend the nights at their places most of the time. He wasn’t home any more than he had to be.”
The word “sweetheart” made her think of Keagan. “Your neighborly mailman’s sure a decent guy. Do you remember him?”
“Never met him. I went to school with his mom, though, a wonderful woman. She’d smile at me whenever we passed in the halls.”
Karli shook her head. “That’s as good as it got for you?”
“We wore clothes about twenty years out of date, hardly ever left the farm, and everyone cringed when they saw our dad. My older brother, Kurt, and two of my sisters had Dad’s temperament but worse. Kids avoided us.”
Karli’s heart hurt for her mom. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey, it made me a stronger person, but don’t let Dad bully you. He won’t make anything easy about making arrangements for him.”
“I’ll manage. I don’t have to take his crap, and he knows it.”
There was another sigh on her mom’s end of the phone. “Thanks for doing this, Karli. He won’t appreciate it, but I do.”
“I’m used to uncooperative patients.” She didn’t have to live with them, though. “Let me take care of this, and I’ll see you before you expect it.”
“If you need help, call me,” her mom said. “I can drive to Mill Pond in half a day. We’ll miss you in Indy.”
“Miss you, too. ‘Night, Mom.”
With that, she turned off the bedside light and nuzzled into her pillow. She was tired. There was nothing to do but clean a room for herself at Grandpa’s house tomorrow and get things settled as fast as she could. She’d wake up early and get a fast start. And since she was stuck here for a while, she might as well look around the town. It seemed as if Mill Pond had a lot to offer.
Chapter 3
Keagan drove to his parents’ farm early in the morning. Heavy frost covered the fields, and fog swirled in the low spots on the way. It was only a twenty-minute drive from the two-story that he rented in town with his roommate, Brad, and he knew every inch of the way. He’d been looking for property to buy for a while now, but farms were too big and ranch houses in town with tiny yards were too small. He’d better find something soon, though, because his landlord was getting the itch to convert the rental into a bed-and-breakfast. He’d make more money, for sure.
No lights were