LITTLE BIT STRONGER | A COUNTRY ROMANCE

Chapter Twenty

As Kate walked through her front door the next day after picking Caleb up from school, her cellphone rang.

Clenching her jaw against the instant stress seeing the caller caused her, she answered, "Hello, Brian."

"I want you to know I hired people to clean the house. They're coming in two hours."

"Good." She wanted to ask if he wanted a gold star but managed to contain herself.

Instead, she stored Caleb's backpack and her work bag on the shelf in the bottom of the coat closet. Ruffling her son's hair, she watched him race to the living room and pull his basket of building blocks from under the coffee table.

"Pest control people were out this morning."

"Okay." Walking into the kitchen, she removed a few simple ingredients and the salmon she'd thawed for dinner.

"I sealed the windows and added weatherproofing around the doors. I think that will help with stuff getting in." When she didn't respond, he continued, "I'm going to start painting rooms this weekend. I'll do Caleb's first. I already bought him new bedding and pillows."

Kate went to her bedroom and pushed the door mostly closed. "Brian. It's great that you're cleaning and solving the bug infestation. As for the rest, Caleb lives there half the time but I don't live there at all. What you do to fix up your girlfriend's house is none of my business."

"I wanted you to know I'm doing projects again. Remember when we used to do projects together? Weekend warriors DIYing our way through renovations?"

"What are you doing, Brian?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are you doing right now? Skipping down memory lane, reliving the good old days when we bought the house. You're rewriting history. You hated doing projects on your days off but you hated it more when I asked my dad for help. You ranted and kicked shit through every room."

"Why can't you ever give me credit?" he screamed into the phone. "Just once, don't fucking tear me down when I do shit right!"

Brian was an expert at gaslighting. It had taken her a long time after the divorce to recognize how much of it she'd been subjected to as his wife.

The moment she questioned his version of events - because they weren't happy memories for her - he blew up.

Kate didn't have to take that shit anymore.

"I'm glad you cleaned the house. I'm glad you're getting rid of the cockroaches. I wish you luck with your projects. I need to make dinner."

Disconnecting the call, she returned to the kitchen, washed her hands, and started cooking.

Brian called back three times but she put her phone on vibrate so Caleb didn't hear it.

Placing the salmon in the oven, she suddenly needed to hear Josh's voice. "I'll be right back, Caleb. I'm going to change out of my scrubs before we eat dinner."

"Okay, Mommy. Can I listen to Pokémon while I build?"

"Of course." She found the anime for him and kissed the top of his head before going to her room.

Josh's phone rang twice before he picked it up. He shouted, "One second, Kate!" over loud machinery operating in the background. It gradually faded as he walked away. "Hey there. I was just thinking about you?"

"How could you possibly hear yourself think?"

"You are the brightest thing in my brain. You drown out everything else when you wander through."

"That's...wow. Thank you." Leaning against her window sill, she watched a starling defend its nest from a diving crow. "I didn't mean to derail you while you were working." She glanced at her watch with a frown. "It's so late. You're still in the fields? Is everything alright?"

"We're digging the retention ditch on the back forty. I was going to wait until next year but the last rain threatened to flood a second pasture."

She smiled at nothing. "You sound excited."

"I love upgrades. I look like I lost a mud wrestling contest but it will be worth it in a couple days." He paused. "Enough about me. How are you, Kate?"

"A little tired but better than last night. I-I'm sorry I called you so late."

"Never apologize for needing someone to talk to. I want to be the person you call. No matter what time it is." He laughed. "It feels like I haven't seen you in a year but it's only been three days."

"I feel like that, too." She cleared her throat. "So, Caleb has a Cub Scout thing this weekend. I agreed to let him go as long as he wasn't staying in that house for a few days to make sure the bugs are dead. He'll be back Sunday night."

"Sounds like an excellent time for me to take you to dinner in Tulsa. Maybe get a drink at a place where we can dance. What are your thoughts on that, ma'am?"

"Good thoughts. Really good thoughts."

"I like the sound of that."

Smiling, she said, "I'll let you finish up. Be careful out there."

"Always. I'll text you when I'm home and clean."

"I like the sound of that."

He made a low grumble. "You know, Kate...I like literally everything about you. One of the things I like most is your bravery."

Kate chuckled. "I used to be but..."

"No, honey. It's easy to shut down, to stay in the sadness of it all. It's a lot harder to tally your losses and move the fuck on. Let's move on together. See what happens."

"Maybe magic."

"I think so." There was shouting from the ranch hands in the background. "I have to go for now but I'll talk to you later, Kate. I miss your face."

"I miss yours."

They hung up and Kate enjoyed dinner with her little boy.

Afterward, they went through their nighttime rituals. Caleb still insisted on taking his own shower and handling things himself. Kate listened carefully from the hall to make sure he didn't fall.

When she tucked him in, she read him another chapter of Treasure Island - their current story. As usual, he requested a second chapter and since they hadn't read together in days, Kate obliged him.

He dozed off halfway through and she marked her place with a smile. Pulling up his blankets, she kissed his hair and whispered, "Have good dreams, Caleb. I love you."

Kate made sure the apartment was secure, laid out her running clothes, and applied her moisturizer.

A light knock on the front door startled a scream from her. She peeked in Caleb's room to make sure neither noise had woken him up.

Moving through the dark, she approached the peephole and looked through it without touching the door or making a sound.

Brian stood on the other side.

© Shayne McClendon