Family. Warmth. Companionship. Fun. Laughter... Love.
He’d lost them all, along with any concept of who he was. But that was okay because he hated who he was. The stammer that had plagued him as a child had returned, becoming so bad he had barely been able to make himself understood. The weight had dropped off him until he’d resembled a walking skeleton. His long hair and beard had turned him into the sort of person people side-eyed before crossing the street to avoid.
Leon hadn’t cared. He hadn’t seen Stillwater as the small Wyoming town where he’d been raised. Where everyone knew each other’s name and business. Back then, he’d only viewed it as the place he’d come to die.
Yeah, couldn’t even get that right, could I?
Now, he stood on his porch and tried to observe his house through another person’s eyes. How would Flora see this place when she arrived?
He took a moment to compare their situations. So alike in many ways and yet, at a certain point in time, they’d diverged. Flora had known the heartache of burying a partner. But the path she’d taken since was sunnier. It would be easy to say that was for her boys, and they clearly played their part in her choices. Leon gave a shrug. Possibly it just came down to personality.
The house itself was compact. A neat, two-floor, log-framed square with a wraparound porch. Leon’s mother had described it as “three bedrooms in the middle of nowhere.” He smiled at the memory of her standing in the big family kitchen, serving up wholesome food along with equally sensible advice.
But the surroundings made the building special. The Stillwater Trail and surrounding mountains rose protectively to the rear, but at the front and to the sides, as far as the eye could see, the land was Leon’s. A barn, two sheds, and the play area that his father had built for him when he was a child were located in a paddock to the right. To the left, also fenced off, was Bobcat Creek, the tumbling brook where Leon’s father used to take him fishing.
What would Flora think? He shielded his eyes against the early evening sunlight and watched a vehicle kicking up dirt as it approached along the drive. He was about to find out.
Since he’d spent most of the afternoon with his hand hovering over his cell phone as he rehearsed his reasons for calling off their dinner plans, the rush of pure joy he felt as Flora stepped out of the car almost bowled him over.
Perhaps he should have canceled, after all. She felt like a danger to the equilibrium he worked so hard to maintain. But it felt good. A high that was as natural as the one Flora’s smile gave him. Now, that had to be worth the risk. A little loosening of the rigid hold he kept on his emotions. Just this once.
When she stepped from the car, Flora turned a full circle, her eyes wide. As he watched her, Leon had no need of his earlier question. He could see her thoughts reflected on her face before she spoke, and his throat tightened. For a long time, he had taken this place for granted. For so long it had been just somewhere to eat and sleep. The land useful only because it gave him privacy, open spaces for Tiny to run off his excess energy, and wildlife spotting opportunities during the long, sleepless nights. Now, Leon really could see it through Flora’s eyes and it transformed once again into the unique, welcoming home of his childhood.
“It’s beautiful.” Her face shone with pleasure. “I would never tire of looking at those views.” She cast a nervous glance around. “Where’s Tiny?”
Before Leon could answer, a frustrated volley of howls rent the air. “In the dog run.” Leon jerked a thumb in that direction. “I thought it might be best if his first introduction to the twins took place with a fence between them. As you can hear, he’s not happy about the situation.”
“Oh, dear.” Flora bit back a smile. “I don’t want to blight your dog’s life.”
“Blight away.” He moved toward the rear of the car. “He’s in disgrace. Tiny has had a thing about one of the bushes that grows around the back of the house. After eating the leaves for months and making himself sick, he finally dug the whole thing up while I was at work and left it on the porch. Roots, soil, branches...but no leaves. Oh, no. He’d eaten every last one of them.”
When he’d arrived home to find the porch decorated with mangled horticulture and dog vomit, Leon hadn’t been amused. While he’d cleaned up, Tiny had watched him with a guilty expression and the occasional sorrowful belch. Now, Flora’s gurgle of laughter made him see the funny side of what had happened.
“Is he okay?”
He nodded. “Not only is he okay, he sneaked indoors and stole Bungee’s dinner while I was disposing of the mess. Which could have been the plan all along.”
As they opened the car doors, he was greeted with cries of delight. “Dr. Leon!”
“Hey, guys.” He studied the twin closest to him. “No, it’s no good. I can’t tell them apart.”
“Frankie has a freckle beside his right eye.” Since both twins were squirming to be released, it wasn’t exactly helpful. “Get ready to move fast.”
As they each freed a twin from the restraints of their car seats and set them on the ground, Leon realized what her instruction meant. With a speed that had to be seen to be believed, the two little boys took off across the grass in opposite
