“You’ll have to teach me how to teach her.”
He crooked a smile at her while he dried his hands on the kitchen towel. “I’ll be happy to.”
Once the potatoes and corn salad were ready, Erin took the watermelon salsa out of the fridge, added a little garlic salt and tossed it. They set the food on the table and started eating.
“How was your day today?” she asked.
“Good. Nothing traumatic, mostly routine stuff, so that made for a noneventful day.”
She slid a bite of steak into her mouth, loving the burst of flavor. After she swallowed, she said, “And you like noneventful days?”
“Not every day. That would be boring. But it’s better for the animals we treat if nothing bad happens.”
“Of course.”
“But I do get the opportunity to work on some pretty detailed surgeries. Our senior vet, Carl Sunderland, is one of the best veterinary orthopedic surgeons in the state. I’ve learned a lot working with him. And this watermelon salsa has a kick. I really like it.”
She smiled. “Thanks. So tell me what some of your favorite things to do at work are.”
“I like going out on the farm and ranch calls. I don’t like to be idle.”
That didn’t surprise her. “When Owen and I were inside playing video games, you were always outside. You were always on the go. You wanted to be out riding bikes or at the playground, or shooting hoops.”
He nodded. “Yeah. Being cooped up inside was like punishment. The only way I like it even now is if I’m working on something complex, like a detailed surgery. I can get inside my head and work it out, like a puzzle.”
Her eyes widened and she set her fork down on the plate. “Remember the puzzles we used to do? You and me and my sisters and Owen and Clay?”
“Oh, yeah. We’d set it on the table in my parents’ dining room and spend hours putting those things together.”
“Sometimes days. And then we’d get to the end and realize we were missing a couple of pieces.”
“Yeah. Piece of shit puzzles.”
She laughed. “Still so fun. How’s your mom doing these days? I haven’t seen her around town.”
“She’s doing okay. Has her good days and bad days. It’s been hard for her since Dad died, but she has her friends and they drag her out of the house as much as they can. And I try to go over there a couple of times a week to have dinner with her, mow the lawn and stuff. I think selling the store has been the hardest for her. She saw that as Dad’s identity and without that, she’s been lost.”
“I can’t even imagine. But I’m glad you’re there for her.” Erin couldn’t fathom how tough it must be for Nora Callum. She’d spent her entire life being Ben Callum’s wife and work partner at the hardware store. Then when Ben died unexpectedly of a heart attack three years ago, her entire world crumpled. She’d lost the love of her life, then the store that had been their everyday existence.
“Is there anything that interests her, that can keep her occupied?”
“She’s getting involved with some of the Cherokee Nation tribal stuff. Helping some of the kids, going to the meetings, that kind of thing.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
“Yeah. I remember when I participated in Johnson-O’Malley programs when I was in school. I’d go to the meetings, learn about the culture of the nations, do arts and crafts, and there was always someone from one of the tribal nations there. Mom wants to get involved in that.”
“That would be wonderful for her.”
He nodded. “I think it would. She’s also been doing some research into the family history, especially on her side—the Cherokee side. She’s been delving deep recently, doing some online and library research and gathering photographs.”
“I’m fascinated. I’d love to know more about that.”
“Yeah, me, too. I know who my grandparents and great-grandparents were, on both my parents’ side. Beyond that, I don’t know much.”
“I’m sure it’s a rich history. Genealogy is so important, especially with your Native American heritage. Brenna does that for our family, tracking both Irish and Italian sides of the Connors and the Bellinis. I’m sure your lineage is fascinating.”
“That’s very true. I hadn’t thought much about it until Mom brought it up. But since I don’t have siblings, and no kids—”
“Yet.”
He laughed. “Okay, fine. Since I don’t have kids—yet—I should probably pay more attention to who came before so we can do this whole lineage thing.”
“You might have famous people in your background. Chiefs. Leaders.”
“Entirely possible. Or not.”
She shrugged. “You never know. I’ll be interested in what your mom comes up with.”
“I’ll just be happy if it makes her happy.”
She finished off her glass of wine. “You want her to love living life again.”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“It sounds like she’s getting her feet wet, one step at a time. Grief doesn’t have a timeline, Jason. Everyone goes through it at a different pace. You just have to let her get used to living her life without your dad in it.”
“I know.”
“Your mom and dad were in love for all those years. I’ve never known two people who loved each other more. They were like my parents. They spent every day together from the moment they met. So when your dad died, it was like a piece of her went with him.”
He reached out and touched his fingertips to hers. “You’re very insightful.”
She shrugged. “I understand hurt and loss. I’ve seen it before.”
“You talking about you and Owen?”
“No. I’m not even thinking of him in this kind of scenario. We didn’t spend our lives together. My hurt over him is a different kind of hurt. And I don’t want to talk about him tonight.”
“Okay. Sorry I brought him up.”
“It’s all right.” She got up to take their plates into the kitchen.
Jason went in there with her and they worked side by side cleaning up. After, she refilled her wineglass and they went outside. He lit torches and he showed Erin how to do some simple commands with Agatha using training treats. Okay, so with some directed attention, training her dog wouldn’t be all that hard. Agatha was a quick learner. Or, at least she liked the snacks. She had “sit” and “stay” mastered with no problem before Agatha got bored and went off to play with Puddy. Now that she’d had a great deal of exercise, she was a lot calmer and Erin didn’t have to worry about her running.
She took a seat and picked up her glass of wine.
“How’s the renovation going?” she asked.
“Pretty good. Got the deck finished, so that’s one to check off the list. Kitchen’s done, as you can see. I’ve torn out the master bath and am working on putting new floors in the master bedroom, so that’s a mess right now, which means I’m sleeping in one of the spare bedrooms.”
“But it’s a great house, Jason, in a perfect location. And with a little elbow grease you can make it just the way you want it. You’ve already done a fantastic job on the kitchen.”