His body relaxed. It felt good having her here when he got home.
Chapter 33Joey
THE BURNING AROMA OF ammonia tickled Joey's nose. She set the bottle of window cleaner on the floor and quickly wiped the glass surface dry. Looking for any streaks, she moved to the last window in the rec center and finished her bi-monthly job.
The tenants were good about picking up after themselves after using the rec center, but the deep cleaning was left to her. Not her favorite job, but it felt good knowing she had two more weeks until she had to do the chore again.
Mr. Baste picked up the spray bottle. "Where have you been keeping yourself, Ms. Joey?"
"I've been busy watching two teenagers all summer." She looked over the window surface. "I've forgotten how much energy kids have."
"You're still a kid to me." Mr. Baste's gaze softened. "I've missed seeing you in here practicing your game. Are you still playing in the pool tournaments?"
"I am." She shrugged. "I've missed a couple, and I'm not sure I'll earn enough for the entrance fee for the Blackfoot Tournament, but there's always next year, right?"
"You can't live thinking there will be a tomorrow or next year." His eyes welled with unshed tears. "When I married my Grace, we had made enough plans to last a lifetime. It was always about waiting until the children grew up, waiting until I retired, waiting until we saved enough money. If I would've known I'd lose her six months after I retired, I would've taken my family to all the places we dreamed about when the kids were young. I would've quit my job and gone without all the material things to have that time again with her."
Joey swallowed heavily. She'd witnessed the love Mr. and Mrs. Baste had for each other as a child, but she'd never thought about how he was doing now that his kids had moved away and his wife was gone.
"I hear you," she whispered.
He cleared his throat. "You've grown close to Mr. Carr."
Her body tingled, thinking about Wyatt. "I have."
"If you love him, tell him." Mr. Baste patted her cheek. "Don't let another day go by without celebrating that love. And, keep fighting for what you want. You've worked too hard getting where you are to give up now. I have faith in you winning the Blackfoot Tournament. It's about time someone local won the money and not one of those out-of-staters who walk away with the pot every year."
On instinct, she hugged him tightly. She missed her grandpa terribly in times when she lacked motivation or doubted herself. He had always been her biggest supporter, and in her loss, she hadn't seen that there were people here who were helping her get stronger.
"Thank you." She kissed his cheek. "That was exactly what I needed to hear."
"Well, now that I have you set in the right direction, it's time for me to find a deck of cards. The gang is coming over to play Pinochle any minute, and my fingers are getting itchy to take their money." Mr. Baste walked away.
She gathered all her cleaning supplies and checked her watch. The day had gone by fast, and she'd been too busy to stop and have lunch.
Going back to the apartment, she looked in the fridge and pulled out the lunchmeat and Miracle Whip. She made two sandwiches and was in the middle of cleaning the kitchen when the phone rang.
She lifted the receiver. "Hello?"
"It's me."
Warmth radiated through her chest at the sound of Wyatt's voice. "Where are you?"
"At the corner of Sixth and Alder at the payphone. Can you still step out and watch Travis get off the bus for me? He'll be there in fifteen minutes."
"No problem. I remembered." She looked at the table. "I made him a sandwich to eat when he gets here."
"He'll like that." He paused. "I'm going to pick up Jess at five o'clock. I'll drop her off at your place. Do you want me to grab a pizza?"
"Are you going to be here for dinner?"
"I'm not sure yet. I might have to go back out."
"Then, don't bother. I can fix them something simple." She wound the curly phone cord around her finger. "Roddy came by this morning and left a message with me, for you. He said if I talked to you, I'm supposed to tell you the guy from the city was out at the plot of land, and they have the permit posted."
"Good. I'll check in with my crew later." He lowered his voice. "I need to go."
"Okay. Ride safe."
"Joey, wait," he said.
"I'm here."
"Watch yourself."
"I will." She smiled. "Bye-bye."
Hanging up the phone, she covered the two sandwiches with foil and then went outside to wait for Travis. Wyatt would probably never get over worrying about his son running away. It would take more than trust. It would take time for Travis to mature for Wyatt to relax. Teenaged boys often acted before they thought everything through.
Leaving the door open, she leaned against the doorframe. A cool breeze made the air chilly.
She looked up at the darkened sky. Gray clouds had rolled in within the last hour. In another month, the weather would change, and snow would come. She looked forward to winter. Wyatt mentioned his workload slowed down from October to March and most of the jobs during that time were remodels and indoors. He'd be able to spend more time at home.
The roar of a motorcycle came behind her. She turned her head and spotted one of the Tarkio members riding slowly through the parking lot. As she'd gone about doing maintenance in the complex today, she'd periodically noticed the riders and knew Wyatt had asked them to make sure everything was safe surrounding his kids.
By the dreary appearance of the sky, the Tarkio member was probably riding to find shelter in case it started raining.
She waved. The rider lifted his chin and headed toward
