Home For Keeps. Lynn Patrick

the cashier and he set down his money, then went on without waiting for change. “It’s ridiculous, but it isn’t meant to hurt anyone.”

      “Plus it brings in business,” added the cashier, nodding to the group, most of whom seemed to be ordering sandwiches or full meals.

      “Come on.” Caleb held the door open for Grace.

      Once outside, she said, “But what if it hurts the new community? People can be superstitious. If they believe him, they might not want to go anywhere near Green Meadows.”

      “Yes, levelheaded people around here are going to believe there’s a ghost cow with blazing red eyes roaming the property.” His tone was serious but laugh lines crinkled around his eyes.

      Despite her irritation with the tour leader, Caleb made her laugh. “Okay, okay.”

      “If I know people around here, they’ll be snorting over that guy’s story for days to come. Until someone else comes up with a more outrageous tale.”

      “Hopefully Green Meadows is safe then.” The idea of going back to her paperwork made Grace desperate enough to ask Caleb, “Have you thought about taking that tour of the green community with me?”

      “You were serious?”

      “I was.”

      “Then I would love it. Are you busy now?”

      Thinking about the paperwork waiting for her in the office, she said, “Now would be a perfect time.”

      * * *

      SINCE CALEB LIVED so close to the development, it made sense for them to drive separately and meet at the community center. Arriving at Green Meadows before Grace, he took a good look at the wall his daughter had defaced a few days ago. Already painted over. Part of him regretted Angela’s work being destroyed, especially since it had such emotional significance to her. What she had done was wrong, but maybe it was his fault. In the past, he’d avoided discussing Lily with his daughter. He’d had no idea that she’d thought he had somehow taken her mother away from her, the antithesis of the truth. When he’d fallen in love with Lily, he’d been young and naive and had thought they would be together forever.

      “How is Angela doing?”

      Caleb started. He’d been so deep in thought he hadn’t heard Grace’s car pull up. He turned to face her. The breeze caught her dark hair, creating a lovely cloud around her face. “She’s coping, I guess. She’s still avoiding me as much as she can.”

      Grace nodded in what seemed like understanding. “Let’s walk this way.”

      She indicated the sidewalk that would take them past one of the condo buildings, plus several duplexes. Caleb was glad to note that all the buildings sat on large pieces of land and backed onto a forested area. So while people did have neighbors, they also had enough room for gardens and outdoor activities and a wonderful backyard view of something other than more buildings. The solar panels that heated and cooled the dwellings were cleverly inserted into the roofs.

      He asked, “How big is the development?”

      “Almost four acres. Half of that is common land, never to be built on. Phase 1 is only about an acre, similar to the size of a football field.”

      “So there will be a Phase 2?”

      “Down the road. Maybe. Assuming Phase 1 is successful. So far we’re about half-full and still working on completing a half-dozen town houses. Let’s hope that tour operator didn’t scare away people who might have been thinking of moving in.”

      “I doubt that’s likely. He was just too outrageous for anyone with sense to buy into his story.”

      “Hopefully you’re right. At any rate, if we went ahead with the second phase, we would probably add some single-family homes.”

      “That would be good to bring in families with kids.”

      “Exactly what we’re hoping to do. We want the community to be multigenerational, with the option for our more mature residents to age in place.”

      As they walked through the network of winding streets, Grace talked about their objectives. “We want to protect occupant health by using safe building products, including what we can of mold-and fire-resistant materials. And we hope to reduce the impact to the environment by using energy and water resources more efficiently.” Grace sounded apologetic when she said, “But I’m preaching to the choir. You already know all that.”

      “That may be true, but it’s nice to hear someone else talk about it.”

      Caleb appreciated that Grace knew her stuff. Despite the fact that she claimed to be an amateur, she’d gotten so much right. He liked the walking paths carved through the forest so that residents could experience nature just outside their door. He particularly liked the chance to walk through the area with her.

      “This is the rental building where Nellie lives,” she pointed out, taking a path that led behind it toward a stand of trees. “Let me know if you see any ghosts, okay?”

      “A cow with glowing red eyes?”

      They laughed together as they got on the walking path that cut through the trees behind the housing.

      Caleb loved the near silence surrounding them. He could pick up welcome noises. A bird’s wings flapping. A small animal foraging for something to eat. A squirrel racing from one tree to the next. Grace seemed equally happy just being one with nature for the moment, not having to keep a conversation flowing. The expression on her face looked as serene as if she were meditating on the outdoor beauty. He liked that, plus he felt comfortable with her. As if he’d known her for months or years rather than a few days.

      “Angela would love this trail,” Caleb said. “She would find dozens of places to hunker down and sketch.”

      “I noticed how much she used nature in her art at your place the other day. If you wanted to bring her out here sometime, I have no objection.”

      “I don’t think she wants to go anywhere with me at the moment.”

      “She knows you love her. She’ll calm down.”

      “I can hope.” Then Caleb reminded her, “I want to pay for the damage. Did you figure out how much I owe you?”

      “Not yet. How about I send you an email when I tally it up.”

      “Sounds fair. What I should do is find a way to make Angela pay for her own bad choices before she does something worse. I had a rough go of it myself when I was her age.” Surprisingly, Caleb found himself opening up to Grace, probably because she’d been so concerned for Angela and Kiki. “I was reckless. Got into all kinds of trouble. I didn’t expect to end up being a Dad at sixteen.”

      “Oh...wow...you were a kid yourself.”

      Rather than shocked, Grace sounded compassionate, which made Caleb appreciate her even more.

      “I had to grow up fast. Thankfully, I had a terrific mother, who helped me make a U-turn with my life. I took custody of Angela, got myself through high school and into college. Took me a lot of years going to school while working in construction and other hard labor jobs. I had to make a decent living while getting my degrees.”

      “But it was all worth it.”

      He nodded. “I did it for Angela. Not that she sees it. She has no idea of how hard it was for me to give her the comfortable life she’s had. I wanted to be a good example, so that she would make better choices for herself than I did at her age. Lately it hasn’t seemed like I succeeded.”

      “You can’t blame yourself. Every teenage kid goes through something. It’s part of growing up. What you did for her...that was everything. Give her some time, and she’ll realize that.”

      Caleb hoped Grace was correct. Drawn to her caring nature, he didn’t miss the fact that she was a fine-looking woman. A little fancy