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“Well, looks like we’ll be roomies.” Things could be a lot worse. At least she had a family she loved, a roof over her head, and, tapping the card in her pocket, a new old friend. Maybe.
Paxton was beyond frustrated with his brother. Owen had finished up with Jamison and returned early to the ranch. The drive into town to track his brother down had been a waste of time. Except for bumping into Sandra Lynn, but right now, he was mostly annoyed at Owen’s leaving the rest of the family out of the loop. “You do remember how to use a cell phone?”
“I know, but Mom was blowing up my phone. You know how much she wants us home in Oklahoma. She thinks if she wears me down that I’ll wear the rest of you down. I’m sorry, it slipped my mind.”
Quinn squinted at their brother. The man didn’t say a word, but his eyes said a whole lot.
“Slipped your mind?” Paxton glared at his twin.
“Now, now.” Aunt Eileen waved a spatula at the three nephews wandering around the kitchen helping set up for supper. “Everyone’s allowed to make a little mistake here and there.”
“Little? It’s not like he forgot to pick up eggs at the grocery store.” Paxton sighed. His aunt had a point, sort of. It was unlike his brother to spring something this big on them without warning. Owen knew better than anyone how backed up they were with projects off camera and on since the show had made them more popular than ever. “At least if we’d gotten an email about it I would have been better prepared when Valerie brought it up.”
Quinn shook his head. “You’re no better at reading emails than memos no matter who sends them.”
Paxton shrugged. “Maybe not, but it would have been something to stop us from looking like idiots.”
“No one thinks any of you are idiots.” Aunt Eileen shook her head and smiled at them. “Handsome yes, idiots no.”
“Is he still upset about the new house project?” Morgan came into the kitchen and kissed his aunt on the cheek.
“You heard?” Paxton shifted his attention from Owen to his other brother.
“The whole family knows by now.” Morgan’s wife came in behind her husband. “Next time I’ll make sure to follow up with everyone when we do major changes to scheduling.”
She smiled so sweetly at Paxton before glancing adoringly at her husband. It was impossible for Paxton to stay angry with anyone who made his brother so happy.
“City council is thrilled as well,” Valerie explained. “Most of the time these houses go to single parents or injured vets. It’s all for a really good cause.”
His sister-in-law didn’t have to drive that home. He got it. His family had driven home that philosophy since childhood, to those who much is given much is expected. Heck, even when things were tight with the ranch back home failing, they still made time to give of their time and talents if nothing else.
Aunt Eileen shooed everyone into the dining room, handing each person a dish to carry. “Did you hear that Sandra Lynn Baker is back in town?”
“As a matter of fact,” Paxton held out the chair for his aunt to sit, “I gave her a ride home earlier today.”
“Really?” His aunt looked up at him with curiosity in her eyes.
“She was downtown. Her car wouldn’t start. Had to call Ned to help. I didn’t make the connection at first.”
“Her mother lives in that massive Victorian at the edge of town.” Uncle Sean volunteered.
“Yes. That’s where I dropped her off. I was surprised. She used to live out this way.”
His aunt nodded. “They sold it and moved to town when Sandra Lynn started high school. Something about easier for her to be in town than isolated out here. But I always thought there was something more to it. When her dad died and Alice started taking in boarders, I was a bit sad to find out my suspicions had been spot on.”
“So,” Quinn scooped out his favorite mashed potatoes and handed the plate to his right, “what have you gotten us into?”
Morgan and Owen proceeded to explain about the lot near the edge of town and how they were going to build on the old pier and beam foundation making things easier and less expensive, but most of what his brothers said was rolling past him. His mind was stuck on Sandra Lynn, her broken-down car, her sad eyes, and wondering where was her husband?
Chapter Four
“At least we have an intact foundation.” Neil pointed to the rear of the structure. “This part of the house didn’t suffer as much as the front where the kitchen was, so we’ll be able to salvage some of the exterior walls. That will save time. Now.” Neil, the architect in the family, spread his initial drawings on the makeshift plywood work table.
Paxton looked around at the site of the mostly burned to the ground house. At least one positive he could think of at the moment for his work was that tilling under the mounds of ash surrounding the former home would be good organic fertilizer for the miserable clay crud that passed for soil in Texas.
“Pier and beam makes redesign much easier, not to mention that will save us money, too,” Owen glanced around.
Paxton looked at the drawings then the existing foundation. “Same footprint as this foundation? How many square feet?”
