A Mother's Heart (Sweet Hearts of Sweet Creek Book 6) Read online

  Chapter 6

  “When will this place be ours?” Emma asked as Claire let herself into the house at the end of her long, arduous day.

  Claire’s heart tightened at her daughter’s innocent question. Once again, she had to choke down her anger with her cousin and, if she were honest, with Devon. He knew how much this place meant to her.

  This is strictly business, he had told her when she called him. Nothing personal.

  His words still burned in her ears. She had wanted to believe he was telling the truth, but she also knew Devon wasn’t happy with the selling price his mother had negotiated with Claire.

  Now he didn’t have to worry about it. Whatever Nik was paying him made him happier than with what Claire could afford.

  “We’ll talk about that after supper,” Claire said, forcing a smile for her daughter.

  “I like how this house smells,” Emma said with a satisfied twirl around the kitchen. “And that chicken is making me hungry.”

  Claire had picked up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and taken a few leftovers from the coffee shop home with her for supper.

  Today, she was exhausted. Physically, emotionally and spiritually.

  “I want to go shopping for paint tomorrow,” Emma said, dropping onto the window seat of the bay window. “And when can we get our furniture out of the apartment?”

  Emma’s innocent question added more layers of stress. “I talked to the fireman. He said we can get them Wednesday.”

  “I wish we could go tomorrow.”

  “Wednesday will be soon enough.” Sooner than Claire wanted.

  She had a lot of things to get in place before that. Once her daughter was in bed she needed to talk to Nik to see if he could give her a few days grace to find a new place to stay.

  And where will you go? She thought. Now that the weekend was over she might find a place in a motel. Which would mean finding somewhere to store her furniture come Wednesday.

  Too much to think about. Too much to juggle.

  “I see Mr. Nik is in his trailer,” Emma said, hands pressed against the window. “Should I ask him if he wants to come for supper?”

  “No. Absolutely not.” Claire quickly replied, much harsher than she intended. “You have your baseball practice tonight, so we don’t have time for company,” she said, tempering her voice.

  Emma made a pouty face. “I don’t want to play baseball. I’m no good at it.”

  “That’s why you have practice. Besides, you love your coach.”

  “Yeah. Miss Cory is awesome. So is Mr. Matthew. Did you know they are getting married?”

  “Yes, I did.

  “And even Chris’ mom, Kelsey, is getting married. To someone named Ben.”

  “I know. I think that’s nice for her.” Claire set her crutches aside, thankful that her ankle was feeling better.

  “Chris is lucky he gets a dad.” Emma wrapped her arms around her legs. “I sure wish I had a dad.”

  Emma hadn’t broached that topic for a few days so Claire, foolishly thought she had abandoned it.

  Obviously not.

  Claire pulled in a deep breath then walked over to her daughter, sitting beside her on the window seat. “Honey, we talked about this before,” she said, pulling Emma close. “We have each other and that has to be enough for us. I love you more than anybody can, and we are a family.”

  Claire had often spoken these words to Emma but with her life falling apart around her, they sounded glib. And, worse, as if Claire was putting Emma off.

  But Emma simply sighed, snuggling closer into her mother’s arms. “I love you, mommy,” she said.

  Claire brushed a kiss over Emma’s hair, then laid her cheek on her head. “And I love you, too. More than you can know.”

  “My teacher says I’m really smart, so you must love me lots.”

  “Tons,” Claire said, easing out a thankful sigh.

  Right now she didn’t have the energy to deal with anything more.

  “Emma hasn’t been super enthusiastic about practice,” Claire warned Cory as she watched Emma trudge toward outfield, her head down.

  Cory gave Claire a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure she’s still dealing with the apartment fire.”

  “That and a few other things,” Claire agreed.

  “We’ll watch out for her, won’t we Matthew?”

  Matthew, her fiancé, was chatting with Chris, Kelsey Swain’s son, and gave Cory an absent nod.

  “I doubt he heard that,” Cory said with a grin and a shrug. “But we’ll take extra care with her.”

  “Thanks.” And once again, Claire was thankful for the community she was a part of. She made her way to the bleachers. Her ankle was still a bit sore, but she was thankful she didn’t need her crutches.

  Parents of Emma’s teammates filled the first two rows and for a moment Claire sympathized with her daughter. Though she was thankful she didn't have to worry about Emma's father, there were times she missed having someone with her.

  She gingerly made her way through the people to the top row of bleachers and sat down then rolled her eyes when she spotted her daughter. Emma sat on the grass, elbows planted on her knees, her head resting in her hands while the other children practiced.

  Claire waved at her to stand up, but Emma ignored her.

  All the way there, Emma had complained about coming and now she was making her protest known.

  Claire’s phone beeped and as she bent over her purse to see who it was, someone sat down beside her. She shot a sideways glance, smiling a greeting.

  And then a chill slid down her spine.

  Nik.

  He must have come here to watch Cory coach.

  “Hey there,” she said, her smile freezing in place. Her phone buzzed again, and she pulled it out, thankful for a reason not to talk to him.

  But the only thing on her screen was a notification for an update. She dropped it into her purse, fighting a very unwelcome desire to cry. Nik, sitting beside her, was the personification of all she had lost today. She thought, as soon as he had found out about getting the house, he would ask her to move out. But he hadn’t contacted her at all.

  She knew it was coming though.

  She wrapped her arms around her purse, looking out over the field. Emma was now on her feet, looking ready to participate.

  Be grateful for small miracles, Claire reminded herself.

  Nik cleared his throat and, then, to her shock, he laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “So, believe it or not, I’m sorry about the house,” he said, his voice quiet.

  Claire wasn’t sure what to make of either the apology or the touch of his hand. The one made her feel good, but the other was a reminder of what she’d lost.

  “I didn’t meet the terms, so that’s what happens.” She chanced a quick glance his way, hoping to show him there were no hard feelings, but as soon as their eyes met and she saw the sympathy in his, her throat tightened.

  Even worse, her eyes prickled.

  She spun away, hunching her shoulders in a defensive posture. She wanted to make a lighthearted comment about her loser cousin but couldn’t muster the self-control. And there was no way she was crying in front of him.

  “I imagine you’ll want me out of the house as soon as possible,” she said. “So you can start… start working on it.”

  She heard Nik blow out a sigh and then he leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “I know you’ll need time to find another place to stay, so I want to make sure you have that.”

  “Thanks so much, I appreciate it.” And to her dismay, her voice broke. And then, even more surprising, was the feel of Nik’s hand, once again resting on her shoulder.

  “Hey. I’m sorry. I know how much that house meant to you.”

  Claire closed her eyes. The touch of his hand, his nearness, prompted a yearning she hadn’t felt in a long time. A yearning for someone who she could share life with. For someone she could turn to when things were difficult.

&
nbsp; “Well, I’ll just have to find another place, won’t I?” she said with forced brightness. But she had gotten a bargain from Mrs. Blatchford. A bargain she could not easily replicate in Sweet Creek on her wage.

  Her cell phone had the decency to ring, and she yanked it from her purse, thankful for the diversion. She didn’t recognize the number but took the call anyway.

  “Yeah, hi. This is Doug Sawatzki. I got the go-ahead from the Fire guys to let you into the apartment to get your stuff. I’m doing it on a rotating basis. I figured ‘cause you’re living next door it would be easiest to start with you. Only trouble is they only gave me ten days, so to save traffic I have to give all you guys a time limit and a hard date.”

  Claire scratched her forehead, thinking furiously. “So what’s my hard date and time limit?”

  “For you, I’ve got Tuesday afternoon booked.”

  “That’s tomorrow. You told me Wednesday. How… why… I don’t… I can’t get all my stuff out. I don’t have a place—”

  “Sorry. Gotta be firm. Fire chief was pretty clear on the time-line. And I started with you 'cause, like I said, you're right next door.”

  "I’ll need to arrange for a storage facility. I can’t do that tomorrow.”

  “Well, that’s why I called you now. So you’ve got tonight and the morning. But I gotta make a ton of other calls, so see you tomorrow.” He hung up. Claire tossed her phone in her purse, sucking in a long, slow breath. Anger vied with fear as she stared at the ball diamond where her daughter was now enthusiastically chasing the baseballs Cory and Matthew were tossing the kids’ way. At least she was happy.

  “Everything okay?” Nik asked. “You look upset.”

  “I’ve got to get my stuff out of the apartment. And I’ve only got tomorrow afternoon to do it.” The words were out before she could stop them. She would not look at him. She had felt that same deep need for someone to share her problems with and he’d asked, so she’d turned to him.

  His dark brown eyes held hers, sympathy still embedded in their depths.

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know.” She didn’t want to deal with any more problems, but she couldn’t avoid this. “I guess I’ll start with finding a storage place.” A wave of exhaustion washed over her. No time. Too many things to deal with. “Then I need to find a place to live.”

  She shoved her hands through her hair, pushing it away from her face as she blew out another sigh.

  “So you’ll need a few more days in the house then and some help with moving your things.”

  He said it as if it were a given.

  She hated that she was so deep in his debt. “A few more days should give me enough time to find another place,” she said. “And as for moving the stuff out, I’m sure I can find someone to help.”

  “Well, I’m not doing much else. I can pitch in, too. Besides, I still owe you for supper the other night.”

  “Seriously? It was just pizza.”

  “Yeah, but it was nice to not eat by myself.”

  The faint note of melancholy in his voice caught her attention. “Well, it was nice to have help. Given I could hardly walk.”

  “So, it worked out for both of us.”

  They shared another look that probably went longer than it should have, creating a sense of longing.

  “Besides, I’m not so hard-hearted that I would kick a single mom and her daughter out onto the streets,” he said, giving her a crooked grin. “That wouldn’t be good for business.”

  Despite everything she’d dealt with that day, in spite of the hovering headache, she felt a gentle warmth at his smile and at his comment. “So you’re just worried about your reputation?” she teased.

  His expression grew serious. “I know what it’s like to be at the end of your rope. With no one to help you keep you hanging on.”

  She frowned at that, thinking of his comments about the house and what happened to him there. She had an urge to know more. To find out what made him want to destroy it.

  Do you? Really? Don’t you have enough stuff going on in your own life?

  The questions grounded her, and she turned back to look at Emma. To remind herself of her priority; her daughter and what she needed.

  Besides, once Nik was done here, he would be gone. She couldn’t allow herself to get too deeply involved in his life.

  Even still, as she thought of him living on the yard of the house, she hoped she would be able to keep her distance.

  Chapter 7

  “I thought living in such a small space would have made you more of a minimalist,” Tess complained as she set another box in the living room of the house.

  “I read The Joy of Cleaning up. I only keep what gives me joy,” Claire returned, pushing a box into the corner.

  “Then you must be ecstatic,” Tess groaned, arching her back to ease out a kink. “Isn’t that book supposed to make you throw things away?”

  “No. It’s about caring for the things you have. And I care deeply about all this stuff.”

  “You need to read it again. I think you missed the basic concept.”

  Claire bopped her sister on the head with a pillow and they both laughed.

  Nik chuckled at the give and take between the two. They’d been at it from the moment Tess and their mother came into Claire’s apartment. He flashed back to a memory he had of them — years ago — walking down the street, holding hands and laughing. Two sisters who enjoyed each other’s company. Then, as now, he was jealous of their easy relationship as siblings.

  And once again he felt a surge of anger that his mother had taken that away from him.

  “So where do you want this?” he asked, carrying a box into the room.

  “Can you set it on the kitchen counter?” Claire asked. “There’s spices and utensils in that box I might need.”

  “Can do.” He carried it back through the arched entryway into the kitchen. Against Claire’s strong protests, Tess had unpacked one of the boxes and put the same decorative tablecloth on the table as Claire had in her apartment and put the same plant on it as well. She’d hung a few prints on the walls and set some of Claire’s knickknacks on the empty shelves. Before her mother, who was also helping with the move, left she had hung curtains on the rods of the bay window and set pictures on it stating that they needed to make the place homey.

  Much as Nik hated to admit it, they had made the house cozier and inviting.

  “Hey, just wanted to say thanks for all your help.”

  Nik turned to see Tess, hands on her hips, smiling at him. She walked over to the table, straightened the cloth and looked around. “I know that Claire couldn’t buy this house, but I want to say, from my family, that we’re thankful you’re letting her and Emma stay here a while.”

  He wanted to ask her to define “a while”. Her mother had said close to the same thing to him when she left earlier.

  He said nothing, but he would have to discuss this with Claire once everyone was gone. If it wasn’t for the fact that the equipment he’d lined up wouldn’t arrive for a couple of weeks, he’d be tearing the house down right now. But he also needed to know Claire would have a place to stay before that happened.

  “I’m glad to help,” Nik said.

  Tess lingered a moment, and Nik sensed she wanted to say something more. So he waited.

  “I was chatting with Emma just a few moments ago,” Tess said. She looked directly at him now, as if challenging him. “You may as well know she’s been dropping heavy hints about what kind of father you would make. I hope you haven’t encouraged her.”

  Anger was his first reaction. How could she think that when he had done nothing, said nothing?

  But behind that came a lingering admiration for a sister who was only looking out for her sister and her niece.

  “I have said nothing to her,” was all he could come up with.

  Tess didn’t seem convinced.

  “Look, I’ve got my own plans and they don’t i
nvolve Emma or Claire. As soon as I can get this house torn down and my new building up, I’m out of here.”

  He said the words with more conviction than he felt. Sitting beside Claire at the baseball practice, watching his sister interact with the kids and with Emma had felt, for lack of a better word, right. He felt as if he were slowly being drawn into a place of belonging.

  At the practice Cory had waved to him a couple of times and so had Emma. Allen Andrews had stopped by to ask him a few questions and one of the clerks from the grocery store he went to had also said hello.

  “I’m sure you also understand how important this house is to Claire,” Tess said.

  Nik felt like he was being pushed into a corner, so he simply said nothing.

  “I just want to give you permission not to feel too guilty about buying it,” Tess said. “In spite of her tough as nails attitude, she’s a sentimental softy. I’ve seen her cry over coffee commercials. And she has an idealized view of this house.” Tess looked away from him, fiddling with a flap on the box she had set on the table. “Look, I’ve probably said too much. But I wanted to let you know we’re all okay with this. You owning the house.”

  Nik wasn’t sure what was expected of him, so he went with another vague smile.

  “But there’s something else I need to mention to you. As a protective auntie, I want to warn you that Emma is a romantic as well. So… just… please… be careful with her too.”

  Nik wanted to reassure her he would be.

  But as the words were ready to come out, he hesitated. He was growing fond of Emma. She was a sweet, spunky girl, and she made him laugh. Something that he hadn’t experienced for a very long time.

  However, he understood what Tess was intimating.

  “I absolutely will be,” he assured her, holding her gaze. He was about to leave, but something she said about Claire’s version of the house stuck with him. “You grew up in this house, too? How do you feel about it?”

  Tess looked around the kitchen then shrugged. “I’m not as sentimental as Claire is, but then the boundaries of my life have fallen into pleasant places lately. I don’t feel like I need to return to some special place in my life to find peace because I’m happy right now.” She returned his look. “A lot of stuff in my past has been resolved, or I’m at least working through it. Claire, however, still struggles with issues from the past and from her ex.” She stopped there.