This is far beyond what Penn is capable of, and light-years away from my abilities.
"You sure?" Penn asks, raising an eyebrow, but pairing it with a flirtatious look. "You are quite talented with a pry bar."
I look through the front window, to the tidy front yard. "Actually, I think my talents lie elsewhere." I bat my eyelashes. "In landscaping, perhaps."
The half-full heavy-duty trash bag Penn holds falls to the ground with a thud. "It was you. You were keeping up my front yard."
"Guilty." I shrug. "I learned a lot about desert landscape, and how to care for it. I guess I should say thank you for giving me the opportunity to cultivate a lifelong skill."
Penn wraps his hand around my wrist, pulling me into his chest. "Sunshine, you are something else."
He smells delicious. Citrus and cedar, with the salty sting of sweat. I love this man so deeply, it feels as though my heart could beat right out of my chest. "This was your home, Penn. I wanted to preserve it, as much as I could."
"That means a lot to me, Daisy," he says, emotion trickling into his voice. "I couldn't believe it when I showed up that first day with Hugo and saw that the yard was in good shape. I almost thought it was a joke, or I don't know, something other than someone preserving it for me."
My heart settles instantly. This man has no idea how loved he is. How much the town missed him and his mom when they left. I may have grieved for them the hardest, missed them the most, but the town was lined up right behind me, feeling the same feelings.
Except for Glenn Hampton, of course. I hope that for the rest of Glenn's life, he has the day he deserves.
The sound of tires crunching out front pulls me out of Penn's embrace. Slim Jim streaks past, bumping my leg as he goes.
"Oof," I breathe, bobbling for a moment before regaining my balance. "I need to remember how fast that guy is."
"You'll get used to it," Penn promises, going to the window. "It's your dad's car." He pauses, then says, "And your mom's with him."
I hurry to the front door. I've talked to my mom once on the phone to ask how she's feeling, but I haven't seen them since everything went down at the wedding a few days ago.
"Mom, Dad," I shout, coming from the door. Slim Jim tries to move in front of me, but Penn gives him a command and he snaps back in a seated position.
Mom waves from the car as Dad helps her climb out. I stand on the top stop of the front porch, waiting for them.
"We thought we'd stop by and see how you're doing, Daisy Mae," Dad says as they come closer. "We tried your house first, and when you weren't there, your mother suggested we try here next."
"Mother's intuition," she says, winking at me. "You look good standing there, darling girl. Like the woman of the house."
The tears are instant. They weren't there, and suddenly they're overtaking me. It's the words, it's the way she said it, and the way I feel it.
One day, Penn and I will share this house. We'll make it a home again. A place where we hang Christmas lights and wrap the Saguaros in strings of red, dodging the sharp needles sticking out. We'll raise a family here. We'll love, and we'll fight, and we'll live.
And now I'm crying more.
Dad asks, "Honey, what's wrong?" My mom and dad converge on me, wrapping me in their arms.
"I actually don't know," I say, wiping at my eyes and laughing. "Feeling overwhelmed, I guess."
"I get that way, too," Mom says, brushing her hand over my hair.
"Me, too," Penn jokes, stepping from the home carefully so that Slim Jim stays inside.
Mom and Dad release me, and Penn steps up, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. With his free hand, he shakes hands with my dad.
"Mr. and Mrs. St. James, how are you today?"
Mom clucks her tongue. "Brenda and Charles."
Penn nods. "Yes, ma'am."
"Show me what you have planned, Penn," my dad says, and Penn steps away from me. He turns for the house, and my dad loops an arm over his shoulders. Penn startles, recovering quickly.
