doing the painting, and little old ladies hauling big pots of sedum to put by the front door. Heck, even the Camper Scout troop came by to hang a fall wreath on the front door and the front door of the chicken coop. The place is cleaner than clean. There’s not an unhealthy snack in the fridge. Every outlet has a cover. It’s still small as heck, but we’ve got ideas for that too. I mean… I mean Diesel has ideas.”
I blew out a breath, thinking of the renovation plans Diesel and I had tried to hash out the night before. Diesel recognized that he needed more room to house Marigold permanently. I’d suggested he try talking to the owner of the huge Victorian that abutted his property from the back, on the far side of a thick tree break, to see if they were interested in selling since the house was gorgeous and perfect for a family; Diesel had said no way.
“It’s a beautiful house, but even if they’re interested, I can’t afford it, Parrish. And I’ll be damned if I mortgage any part of the salvage yard to get a fancy house. I’m handy. I’ll build out on this place myself. Add a bedroom and maybe a bathroom. That’s the best I can do, and it’s better than most people have.”
So I’d nodded and agreed. And if I maybe had some private concerns about how that would stack up against Marigold’s rich grandparents, I kept them to myself, along with an offer to lend him the money. The last thing Diesel needed was to be any more nervous about this visit.
“By noontime it’ll be over,” I continued to Miss Sara. “Marigold’ll be going to visit her grandparents for the night on an unsupervised visit, which is a little nerve-racking, not gonna lie, ’cause she is smack in the throes of the ‘stranger danger’ stage, and tears are probably gonna happen. But then the caseworker will bring her back tomorrow afternoon, and everything will go back to normal for the two of them, building their little family. Together. Which will be great!”
Miss Sara raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“Seriously! If it were any peachier, it’d be pie!”
“Uh-huh. But what about—?”
“The actual court appearance next month?” I hopped off my stool, suddenly too filled with energy to sit still. “Yeah, there’s that too. I’ll definitely have to be there when the judge makes his decision. And I’ll keep stopping by to see Marigold regularly, too, so she stays comfortable around me. You shoulda seen how she shrieked when Jackknife and the Devoted Dogs boys came to wash and paint the house this week. But by last night, she was waving back when they said goodbye.” I couldn’t help but smile as I did a little impression of her fingers opening and closing in a wave. “So it’s not like I’m moving away. I’ll still see them. As a friend. As Uncle Parrish, maybe. I just mean I won’t be going there every night after work anymore, like I did this week.”
I stifled a sigh, remembering how it had felt to sit by Mari’s high chair feeding her soft fruits and chatting with Diesel while he chopped vegetables for pad thai. It was funny how fast you could get used to something like that, how comfortable you could be borrowing a life that wasn’t meant for you.
“But that means I’ll be around here for dinner more, Miss Sara. Maybe I could cook for you,” I offered.
Miss Sara nodded thoughtfully. “That’d be nice, honey. I enjoy your company.”
“I already decided, no more trying to find a date in Licking Thicket.” I stopped in front of the refrigerator and turned on my heel to continue pacing. “I don’t want anything getting back to anyone involved in the case. Marigold’s grandparents are all the way up in Nashville now, but I wouldn’t put it past them to hire an investigator to get dirt and go behind our backs to the judge.”
I figured it was safe enough talking to Miss Sara, since I’d blurted out the whole plan to her on day one anyway. Keeping quiet about it now seemed like locking the barn door after the entire barn had burned down. Besides, I trusted Miss Sara’s judgment, and Lord knew I needed someone to talk to, otherwise I’d have to talk to myself, and wouldn’t that be crazy?
“You just never know about these things,” I continued darkly. “Thanks to my aunt Marnie, I’ve probably watched at