I appreciate you coming out to fix this so promptly. Annies former teacher held the ladder for her until Annie had her feet once more on the ground. Give me a moment to find my checkbook, and Ill pay you for your time. Though I still dont understand why youre doing handyman work instead of teaching.
Mrs. P
Never mind. She patted Annies shoulder. I promised not to nag, and I wont.
While Mrs. Perez went in search of her checkbook, Annie made out her bill on the kitchen table. She was determined not to let herself start brooding over past mistakes or her current lack of direction. Shed done too much of that already. After years of working determinedly toward one goal, taking step after difficult step along the path shed set for herselfa path she had chosen in part because of the woman whose wiring she had just fixedit had been more than upsetting to learn shed been wrong about her lifes work. It had shaken her world.
Which was how shed ended up making the second big mistake of her life.
Annie shook her head. She was not going to think about Jack. She wasnt going to speculate about why he was here, or what he intended to do. With Jack, she assured herself as she tore off the bill, speculation was pointless.
Mrs. Perezs voice came to her from the back of the house. Why do you suppose Jack Merriman is in town?
Of course, it was hard to put him out of her mind when people insisted on talking about him. Who knows? Jacks reasons dont always make sense to normal people.
He didnt return for his aunts funeral.
He was in Borneo, for heavens sake. Im sure he would have been here if he could have made it in time. She bit her lip, annoyed at the way shed automatically defended Jackand that shed given away her knowledge of his whereabouts.
Here it is! Mrs. Perez returned, waving her checkbook triumphantly. Ida was hoping Jack might have decided to move home for good. He owns that house now, after all.
I imagine hell sell it. Jack doesnt need a house here, not when his job takes him all over the world. Which was just how he liked his life to bein motion. Annie held out the bill. Here you go, Mrs. P. You let me know if theres anything else I can do for you.
Mrs. Perez glanced at the bill, then fixed Annie with the steely look that had always made Annie confess to anything in high school. This cant be right.
Is it too high? Let me run the figures again.
Nonsense. You know very well you havent charged me
enough.
Annie also knew that Mrs. Perezs husband had been in the hospital twice this year. She tried to look innocent. Ahsenior citizens discount?
Mrs. Perez charmed Annie by rolling her eyes. Shall I tell all my age-disadvantaged friends that you will do their work for less than half the going rate, then?
That might be a problem, given the current state of her bank account. Age-disadvantaged?
The old eyes twinkled. Never mind. Youre a rascal, Annie, but a bighearted one. She bent and wrote out the check. Now, when you see that other rascal, you be sure and tell him I expect him to come visit me. She cocked her head to one side, looking like a wrinkled sparrow. You know, back when you and Jack were in high school I used to wonder if you two would make a match of it.
Annie concentrated on tucking the check away neatly in a bank deposit pouch. I cant imagine why.
Oh, I dont know. You were such good friends and you had so much in common, in spite of your differencesI suppose I thought you might be a good balance for each other. Youre so level-headed. Jack could use a touch of your caution.
Except that it usually worked the other way around, Annie said dryly. Just ask my brothers. Jack always could talk me into She flushed. That came too close to home. The last escapade Jack had talked her into had been a good deal more serious than the high school high jinks she and Jack and her brother Charlie had sometimes pulled.
Mrs. Perez looked at her over her glasses. Perhaps you could use a touch of his impulsiveness, too.
Definitely not. Shed proved how poorly acting on impulse worked for her. She started for the door. Dont let Ben hear you say that.
Mrs. Perez followed, opening the door for her. Ben means well, but brothers arent always realistic about their little sisters. And youve always possessed a surfeit of brothers.
She grinned, liking the phrase. Since she had three older brothers, it fit all too well. You do have a way with words, Mrs. P. How would you say that in Spanish?
Una plaga testosterone, the older woman replied promptly.
A testosterone plague? Annie laughed and took her leave. She was still grinning as she climbed into her Bronco. The first thing she did was check her to-do list and cross off Mrs. P.s job.
Jack was back.
There was no point in writing that down. She wasnt going to forget, and nothing Jack Merriman was likely to do would fit neatly on any list.
Though it was only September, the air had a bite to it. She shrugged into her jacket so she could leave her window down. Annie liked to feel connected to the world around herto the quiet bustle of her hometown, and to the wild and rugged peaks surrounding it. The air streaming in her window was spiced with pine and juniper, sharpened by a hint of ozone. Breathing in the familiar mingling of scents comforted her.