Chapter 3

 

Since his night was restless with bad dreams waking him, Wyatt was up early. He was tired but that wasn't enough to keep him in bed. Without Barney with him, he didn't even have the distraction of that little fuzz ball, but the boys needed his company more than Wyatt did.

Dressed and out of his room, he could hear Aunt Deb bustling around and getting ready, but it looked like the boys weren't up yet.

Barney came over to nose around his feet and to get his head scratched. "Good morning. Who's a good boy. I missed you," Wyatt whispered to him and they both went off to the kitchen.

He let Barney out the kitchen door to run around in the field in the back and do his doggy business. Already Wyatt knew he would be spending all his time getting burrs out of his fur. Keeping an eye out the window in case he had to pick up after him, Wyatt looked for coffee so he could make some and finally get his eyes to open fully.

By the time Barney came bounding up the porch steps, coffee was already brewing. Wyatt set down some fresh water for him and watched him drink greedily.

"Thirsty boy, you like it here, don't you?" Wyatt said to him and Barney wagged his tail in answer. "You be careful out there and don't get eaten by bears."

Wyatt was looking through the cupboards when he heard noises out in the hall. There was the thumping of two sets of little feet and then two high, anxious voices conferring.

As the voices and the footsteps got closer, Wyatt eyed the kitchen door. Two little heads poked around the corner then ducked back. Wyatt heard them whispering to each other.

"See? He isn't gone. He's still here," Riley whispered to DJ.

Wyatt wondered if they saw that his room and his bed were empty and got worried. "Yes, I'm still here," he confirmed to them loudly. "And I'm hungry. You guys hungry?"

The boys came around the corner saying yes, and Wyatt saw that they were already dressed.

"What's for breakfast, guys?" Wyatt asked as he poured himself some coffee and got glasses for the boys.

"We don't know yet. Aunt Debbie knows," Riley told him.

"She's getting ready right now. I think the three of us are in charge of breakfast," Wyatt informed them. "What do we put in these glasses? Milk or juice?"

"Good morning, boys," Aunt Deb said as she came into the kitchen and came over to kiss the boys on the head.

"You're all dressed up," Riley noticed as he looked up at her. She was wearing makeup and a nice outfit, not the usual jeans and a polo shirt in a pastel color, what Wyatt called the Aunt Deb uniform.

"I wanted to dress up for my flight and for seeing my Tom again. Wendy is driving me to the airport pretty soon," she told them and looked out the window toward the front. Wendy was one of the ladies that Wyatt had met on his whirlwind tour of the neighborhood the day before.

"You have time for a cup of coffee, right?" Wyatt asked getting ready to pour her a cup.

"Not even that. Wendy is going to be here any second now. I just have time to hug these two boys." She got on one knee and hugged both boys at once. "I'm going to miss you a lot, but I know Uncle Wyatt is going to take good care of you."

"We miss you," Riley said effusively before she was even out the door.

"Me too," DJ added more shyly while hiding his face in her shoulder.

They heard honking outside and the boys ran ahead while Wyatt went to get Aunt Deb's small suitcase.

"Give Tom our best and we'll FaceTime with you whenever you have time," Wyatt said as they went out the front door.

There was more kissing and hugging before Aunt Deb drove off with Wendy.

"She has chickens and she gave us Easter eggs," Riley told Wyatt as they went back inside.

"If she gave you Easter eggs, I think that means she has Easter bunnies," Wyatt told him.

Riley gasped but DJ shook his head. "Uncle Wyatt is just being silly, Ry."

"I know," Riley protested, but he wasn't sure who to believe.

 

"What do we do about breakfast?" Wyatt asked when they all went inside with Barney scampering ahead of them.

"We only know how to make cereal. What do you know how to make, Uncle Wyatt?" Riley asked him.

"Cereal," Wyatt told him. "Let's see what kind we have."

He opened the cupboard where he had seen boxes of cereal. There were two kinds and both were healthy, not the kind he and Lloyd had stuffed their faces with when they were kids.

He took the boxes down and had the kids choose, not that he saw much of a difference. There were some bananas and he sliced them into their cereals. He had some vague idea that parents were supposed to do that.

"We can go shopping today. You'll show me the town, and we'll get some frozen waffles and things like that. OK?" Wyatt said as he poured milk into all their bowls.

"Yay," Riley said while DJ just smiled.

 

They were all doing the breakfast dishes together when DJ looked up at Wyatt several times without saying anything.

"What's on your mind, young man?" Wyatt asked him.

"Can Barney come too?" DJ asked hesitantly like he was asking some big favor.

"Sure he can. He needs to learn his way around too. You boys can show both me and Barney all the good places in town."

"We will. We'll show you everything," Riley said with manic enthusiasm as he jumped up and down.

"Maybe not everything. Save something for next time," Wyatt said, but he still had a feeling these two were going to exhaust him. "OK, go get ready and brush your teeth. I'm going to send some emails," he told the boys as he wiped his hands on a dish towel.

Wyatt had taken a few days off from his job, but he still had to keep up. He mostly checked over final translations of technical manuals from German and Italian, but he was usually available to consult on the preliminary work too.

When he was done, the kids and Barney were waiting for him on the front porch. He might be needed at work, but these guys needed him more. Walking seemed like the better way to get to know the area, so they set off on foot.

They walked next to the same road Wyatt had taken to come there, but their progress was very slow. Barney had to sniff everything, and DJ and Riley insisted on showing the dog every rock and tree along the way.

"I thought you boys were going to show me the town," Wyatt said to see if he could hurry them along.

"It's over there," DJ told him and pointed down the road. That was his idea of showing him the town.

"Barney, you look too," Riley said though Barney was more interested in sniffing things than looking at them. But Riley wasn't giving up. He tried to make the dog look at even more stuff. "Over there is a good place to run downhill really fast. See Barney? That's where I saw the biggest grasshopper. The biggest." He said this to Barney too, and Wyatt started to feel like he was just tagging along.

"Is Barney your uncle?" he asked the boys to let them know he was feeling a little left out.

"No, he's a dog," Riley informed Wyatt then looked at him like he was crazy.

"OK, then, show me some stuff too," Wyatt said.

"We can show you where we like to fish," DJ decided.

"Sounds good," he told them and wondered if he would have to go fishing with the boys. He also wondered if they would ever get to town. They did so much meandering plus Barney wanted to sniff everything and mark every other tree.

 

They did reach the town of Peach Tree eventually, and Wyatt had to admit it was a pretty place. Window boxes with flowers, quaint little storefronts, vintage lampposts and signs all added to the touristy vibe of the place.

In the center of town, there were peach trees in bloom with benches underneath them. They looked inviting but there was no getting near them. The little park was full of tourists taking pictures.

Wyatt decided to see what the town had to offer to someone who actually lived there. He noted where the post office was, two grocery stores, small clothing and shoe stores that had kids clothes. A unisex salon was a relief to see. It's not like Wyatt could cut the boys' hair himself.

 

The town wasn't very big so it didn't take too long to see it all. Just about the time when the boys were ready to have some food, their tour of the town was done.

"We should think about lunch now. We can buy something and make sandwiches," Wyatt said.

"They have sandwiches," DJ said and pointed inside the Peach Tree Café as they were about to pass in front of it.

"And pie," Riley said.

Wyatt was going to tell the boys that they couldn't go in there with Barney when he saw a familiar face through the big cafe windows. It was the guy he and Barney met by the firethorn bushes. Seeing him, Wyatt grinned from ear to ear while his heart thumped happily.

From what he could see, the guy wasn't just stopping in. He worked there. He was serving food to customers. Wyatt wasn't sure he'd ever see him, much less right here in town. What a stroke of luck. Of course they still couldn't go in with Barney, but maybe some other time.

While Wyatt was anticipating his next visit to town, the boys were arguing about pies.

"You have to like peach pie," DJ was lecturing Riley. "Because it's where we live."

"We don't live in a peach pie," Riley told him. "I like the chocolate pie."

Wyatt was more tempted by the hot, young guy in there than pie. Unfortunately for all of them, there was an obstacle to going in.

"Barney can't go in, guys, so we can't go in either," Wyatt told them.

That put an end to the boys' arguing, and all three of them looked at Barney. Completely unaware that he was causing a problem, Barney was busy sniffing one of two benches that were set up on either side of the café doors. There was an old man sitting there. He was leaning forward and resting his chin on his cane while smiling down at Barney.

"If you like, I'll watch that little dog for you," the old man offered and looked up at Wyatt.

"Don't let him run away," Riley admonished the old guy before Wyatt had actually agreed to let him dog sit.

"I won't," the old guy told him. Then he turned to Wyatt. "I'm Ben Jasper. I live over in one of the river cottages."

"I'm Wyatt Hayes, nice to meet you," Wyatt said and offered his hand. "Are you sure you don't mind looking after Barney?"

"Is that his name? Hello there, Barney," Mr. Jasper said and scratched the little guy's head. "Don't mind at all. I miss my old dog. If I got another one, I'm afraid the poor thing would outlast me."

That settled it. Wyatt had to agree now. "OK. We'll leave Barney with you, and we won't be long."

"Take your time," Mr. Jasper told them as he took hold of Barney's leash.

Barney was glad to make friends with the old man, and Wyatt was very happy to get to see the young guy who worked at the cafe. He already considered the hot, young guy a good omen. He was the first person he met coming here, even if he never learned his name.

Still, Wyatt knew he had to keep his expectations reasonable. In the end, the café guy might turn out to be just something pretty for Wyatt to look at. Anything more might be impossible.