Chapter Four

 

 

Savannah walked into the house as soon as Katrina opened the door. She was there to pick up Kyle for hockey practice, and it was one of the few days where the sisters got to visit for a few minutes.

Katrina motioned to the staircase. “Kyle is upstairs taking a shower before he changes into his uniform.”

Savannah’s brows rose, and she fought for a neutral expression. “He does know he’s going to hockey practice where he’ll get horribly sweaty and need another shower when he gets home, right?”

While Katrina was not a single mother, her husband, Don, traveled all week and was only home during the weekend. Savannah knew how hard that was on her older sister sometimes. Years ago, she’d volunteered to take Kyle to an activity once a week just to give Katrina a well-deserved break. Once he started roller hockey, that became Savannah’s time with her nephew. Katrina always made it to his games, though.

“Yes, he’s fully aware of that.” Katrina led the way to the couch in the living room where they both sat. “It turns out a teammate has a younger sister who said she was coming to practice today.”

“Oh, really?” Savannah chuckled and made a mental note to watch for the girl tonight. When had her little nephew gotten old enough to notice girls? “I’ll be sure to report back if there’s anything worth mentioning.”

“Sounds good.” Katrina shifted on the couch. “Speaking of reporting, I thought I saw Baxter at the Christmas tree lighting ceremony.” She said it casually, but there was nothing casual about the way she watched Savannah and waited for more information.

“Yeah, he moved back to Romance again.” Katrina was one of the few people that knew about the torturous interactions between her and Baxter.

“Ooh, you guys have been talking?” Her eyes glittered with interest.

Savannah flashed her a look of warning. “It’s not like that. Trust me. He wants to make some repairs on the Potters’ house to surprise them when they get back. He came by on Sunday and didn’t realize I was house-sitting.”

“Wow. How do you feel about that?”

“I think it’s nice of him to do that for his grandparents. Trust me, that backyard fence is in serious need of repairs. How their dogs haven’t escaped before now is beyond me.” Savannah kicked her shoes off and brought her feet up to sit cross-legged on the couch.

“That’s not what I mean.” Katrina chuckled.

“Yeah, I know.” Savannah sighed. “I had every intention of ignoring him. Avoiding him.”

Katrina looked even more interested. “I take it that’s not going according to plan?”

“It’s pretty hard to give someone the cold shoulder when he’s apologized for everything. He’s called a truce.”

She glanced at Katrina and found her trying not to laugh.

“Seriously?” Savannah gave her a playful shove. “What’s so funny?”

“You realize that you two are now officially frenemies.” When Savannah rolled her eyes, she continued, “Baxter lacked a lot of tact, but I don’t think he was ever as bad as he seemed. In fact, I think he might have liked you back then. It’s nice that you two have a chance to start over.”

Savannah shook her head. “There’s no way he liked me. Hated is more like it.” She knew boys could tease a girl they liked. But even considering the misunderstanding surrounding the Miss Piggy incident, they’d never had moments where they connected. It was always like going into battle with him. Frankly, the endless sparring got old.

She’d just focus on the truce and hopefully a peaceful coexistence when needed. Baxter would finish the repairs, Savannah would go back to her apartment, and their run-ins would be few and far between after that.

 

~*~

 

Baxter held another picket and nailed it into place. Originally, he hadn’t intended to construct a nearly new fence. But once he marked the rotten boards and those broken at the bottom, more were going to need to be replaced than not. He wasn’t a perfectionist, but even he would’ve been annoyed by the strange combination of weathered gray pickets mixed in with the bright new ones.

He ended up having to order enough pickets to go all the way around the yard and have them delivered. Apparently December wasn’t a popular time to build a wooden fence. Who knew? Baxter was finally starting on the work today. Thankfully, they had a nice break in the rain so he could focus on the fence without getting soaked.

So far, he’d yet to see Savannah. Granted, he hadn’t spent as much time in the backyard as he thought he would. But still, the disappointment surprised him.

He was just about to give up on seeing her today, too, when the sliding glass door opened and she stepped onto the porch. “Nessie is whining at the door. Is it okay if I let them out?”

“Sure.” He moved to position a couple of pickets in place so there was no exit for the dogs to escape.

She nodded once, disappeared for a moment, and then reappeared wearing a coat. Both dogs flew past her to race toward him. Several barks and tail wags later, they were off to sniff around the yard.

Savannah seemed to hesitate on the porch before slipping her hands into her coat pockets and walking down the steps to the grass.

“Wow, the fence is going to look great.” She motioned to the stacks of pickets. “I take it you decided to replace the whole thing?”

“I think it needs it. It’ll look a lot nicer, don’t you agree?”

“I do.” She studied the pickets he was working on now. “Would it be easier to just remove a whole section of the fence first?”

“It would, but then you’d have to walk the dogs on a leash. This way, when I’m done, there won’t be any gaps for them to escape through. Well, no new ones, anyway.” He smiled at her.

She looked surprised. “I appreciate that. Your grandparents will be thrilled when they see this.”

The pair of dogs explored the pile of wood with great interest. Nellie tried to climb it as though she were a goat. Baxter and Savannah laughed. Savannah took out her cell phone and snapped a picture.

“To show them after they get back,” she explained. “Mrs. Potter will get a kick out of that.”

“Grandma always has loved her dogs.” Baxter couldn’t remember a time when they didn’t have at least one.

“Your grandfather loves them, too. He just likes to pretend otherwise.”

Baxter laughed again. She was right. “Grandpa would complain about the dogs all the time, but then he was the one who slipped bits of food to them under the table. Or he would go to the pet store to buy a box of dog treats, put a bow on them, and place them under the tree. Anyone who knows him also knows just how soft-hearted he really is.”

“Most definitely.” Savannah smiled. “Your grandparents really are kind people.”

“Yeah, they are.” He nodded toward the fence. “That’s why I want to do this for them. Goodness knows they put up with a lot from me growing up.”

“Isn’t that the truth.” She shot him a teasing look, one he wasn’t used to seeing. “I think it’s a nice thought.”

Just for a moment, Savannah’s expression was open. Baxter wished he’d spoken to her and called a truce years ago, especially if it meant she looked at him this way more often. “Well, it was nice of you to house sit for them. I know they are much more at ease knowing the dogs are here at the home they are familiar with instead of sitting in a kennel for a month.”

Savannah shrugged. “I don’t mind. The house is nice and quiet, unlike my apartment. The neighbor above me works weird hours and isn’t quiet about clomping across the floor when he gets home. Then the neighbor on one side likes to yell at her kids. A lot. Oh, and they yell back. So yeah, I’ve enjoyed the peace here.” She hesitated. “The Potters are paying me to stay here, in case you thought I was just doing it out of the kindness of my heart.”

She wasn’t fooling anyone. Baxter didn’t doubt she would’ve agreed even if they hadn’t paid her. In fact, he knew it was Grandma who’d insisted on paying her no matter what. Besides, her apartment sounded terrible.

“I hate to hear where you’re living is so annoying. Any plans on moving somewhere else?”

“It’s just three blocks from Sweet Hearts, and the rent is pretty hard to beat.”

Most likely because of the neighbors, but he said nothing. He was enjoying this easy conversation with her.

One dog stuck her head through a hole in a fence slat that he hadn’t been able to repair yet. Savannah snapped her fingers to get the dog’s attention before turning back to him. “Any idea how long it’ll take to fix the entire fence? I imagine it’ll take a lot more work than you’d originally planned on.”

He couldn’t tell whether she was asking out of curiosity, or disappointed that he might be coming by in the evenings more. He decided to go with the first. “I’m not sure. A lot of it will depend on the weather. If I can get some clear, rain-free days, it’ll go faster.”

She nodded. “I guess I should let you get back to it. It really does look nice.” She offered him a small smile before calling the dogs to her and leading them back inside the house.

Baxter tried to focus on replacing the fence. It wasn’t easy when his mind kept going back over one of the first normal conversations he’d had with Savannah in a long time. Hopefully the first of many.