She laughed. “That sounds terrible.”
He sighed. “Maybe to you. But it’s a good memory to me.”
“I took pictures of the trailer park. It was really something. All these charming old trailers that had been so carefully restored. Really quaint and sweet. I’d never seen anything like it before.”
“You don’t say . . .” His eyes twinkled.
After breakfast, Dillon automatically started to rinse the dishes.
“Why don’t you let that go for now?” Grandpa pulled on his John Deere ball cap and work coat. “Come on outside with me first.” He held out Grandma’s old green barn jacket. “Still cool out there. Better wear this.”
“Okay.” She peered at him with curiosity. Something about this felt mysterious.
Outside, three teenage boys were energetically unloading lavender plants from the nursery delivery truck, with Margot shouting orders like a Marine sergeant. “Over there! No, I mean there. Line them up by the rows.”
“Looks like Margot’s found her calling,” Dillon observed.
“She always did like to give the orders.” Grandpa chuckled.
“Believe me, I know.”
“Something I want to show you.” Grandpa tugged Dillon’s arm, directing her toward the barn. “Hearing you talking about those old trailers reminded me of something I’d nearly forgotten.” He took her past the barn and over to the attached loafing shed where, to her surprise, an old camp trailer sat.
“What in the world?” Her eyes grew wide as she looked at the rounded shape of the trailer—like something out of a cartoon. “Where did you get this?”
“Remember my buddy Jack Martin?”
She nodded, walking around to see the other side of the trailer, taking in the dry, flaking paint and grime-encrusted windows, running her hand over the dirty aluminum door. What a treasure!
“Well, Jack passed on and left this to me last summer. As well as his old pickup truck. I didn’t know what to do with them. Almost sold ’em last fall, but then Marie got sick . . . and I sort of forgot about the whole works.”
“Jack left this to you?” Dillon stood on tiptoe, trying to see in a grimy side window. “He must’ve really liked you.”
Grandpa snickered. “Or else Rose just made that up as an excuse to get it off her property. She went off to California to live with her sister after Jack passed. I’m sure she didn’t want to be bothered.” He grew more serious. “But Jack and my hunting buddies did have some awfully good times in this trailer. I guess Jack thought I’d appreciate it.”
“I think it’s wonderful, Grandpa.” She peered curiously at him. “Why are you showing it to me?”
“Well, you mentioned that trailer park in Wyoming. And I knew it was something you could appreciate.”
“Can I see inside?”
“Sure. But I’ll warn you, it was infested with mice when I brought it home. Although I’m sure my barn cats have taken care of that since then. I left it open all last summer. Only closed it up after I realized that Curly and Mo had taken up permanent residence inside.”
“You still have the three stooges?” she asked. “I haven’t seen them around all week.”
“Well, Larry was the friendly one. Unfortunately, he disappeared a couple years ago. Probably by coyote. Curly and Mo are still around. The females were never too sociable, but good mousers. If you hang around the barn long enough, they’ll probably show up. Especially if you rattle their food bag.” Grandpa extracted a brass key from beneath a well-worn welcome mat and handed it to her. “Here you go, have a look.”
She unlocked and opened the metal door and then an old-fashioned screen door before going inside. “It does smell a little mousy.” She looked around with fascination. “But it seems solid.”
“It’s solid, alright. Jack always kept it under cover.”
“Oh, look at those adorable little appliances.” She traced her finger through the dust on top of the bright orange stove. “I wonder if this works.”
“Don’t know why it shouldn’t. This Aloha trailer was top of the line back in 1964, when Jack and Rose got it brand new. Last time we took it hunting—not so very long ago—it all worked.”
She opened the fridge and, although it smelled musty, it was spotless inside. Even a tiny set of ice cube trays was in the freezer section. “Looks like someone kept this clean.” She closed the door and hooked the latch pin into place.
“Rose probably.”
She opened a cabinet door. “It all seems very well built.”
“They built everything better back in those days.”
She checked out what appeared to be a couch in the back.
“That pulls out into a full-size bed.” Grandpa demonstrated how it worked, pulling down the pads. “Jack always slept here.” He pointed to the bunk overhead. “That was mine. But last time we took it out, I had a hard time getting my old bones up there.”
“This is so cool, Grandpa. What do you plan to do with it?”
“I don’t plan to do anything with it, Dilly. But it’s yours if you want it.”
“Are you serious?” Dillon could hardly believe it.
“Yep. It’s not much. But I’d like you to have it. Consider it my thank-you for all the work you’ve done around here this week. Rescuing Marie’s garden . . . and the housework too. You’ve been a trooper.”
“Thanks.” She felt slightly teary to think he’d really noticed these things. “So that means I can fix it up—however I like? I mean, with paint and fabrics and everything?”
His blue eyes twinkled. “It’s all yours, Dilly. See what you can make of it.”
“Is there anything I should know about it?” She tried to turn on the light, disappointed to see it didn’t work.
“It’s not hooked up. But I’ll show you how that works.” He led her outside, showing her a door where a long electrical cord was stored. After unwinding it he plugged it into the exterior outlet. Next, he showed her a place where she could fill a holding tank with water. “As I recall the water from this tank was mostly for washing and the bathroom. We always carried our own drinking water.”
“So water and electricity,” she said cheerfully. “Modern living.”
“At its finest.” He glanced upward. “Now I better get busy before the sun gets any higher.”
She thanked him again, feeling like she’d just won the lottery. Dillon filled the water tank, then continued to explore every nook and cranny of the compact trailer. Although it was small, it wasn’t as tiny as the yellow trailer she’d slept so well in just a week ago. It even had a tiny bathroom in the back corner across from the rear sleeping area. And up in the front, just over a sweet little dining table, was what appeared to be a second bunk with a railing that doubled as a ladder. Clever! Not that she planned to climb up there, but it would make a good storage area.
Dillon went back outside to look at the trailer again—with the full realization that it was truly hers. It was almost unbelievable. Glad that no one could see her, she actually did a Snoopy happy dance all around it. This was a dream come true!