Cal started to follow her inside, but Boone stopped him. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“If it’s about giving us a Christmas tree and ornaments, the answer is no. If Cheyenne wants a tree and ornaments, I’ll buy them. You’ve already helped me enough with all the carpentry work you did to get the garage open.”
“I didn’t do that much. And I’m not giving Cheyenne anything she hasn’t worked hard for. But I didn’t want to talk to you about Christmas trees and ornaments. I wanted to ask you for a favor.”
“Whatever you need, it’s yours.”
Boone grinned. “Good. Because I need you and Cheyenne to move into Emma’s house.”
Emma’s house was a large Victorian that Emma had lived in before she and Boone got together. After they got married, they decided to live on the small ranch Boone had inherited from his grandparents and sell Emma’s house in town. While Cal wanted to help out his friend, he wasn’t in the market for a house.
“I’m sorry, Boone. But I don’t have the money to invest in a house right now.”
“I don’t want you to buy it. You can live there for the rent you pay for your apartment.” Before Cal could decline, Boone held up his hands. “Now I know how much you hate charity. But this isn’t charity. You’d be helping me out. The realtor said that if we expect to sell the house that we’ll have to paint the exterior first. Nobody wants to buy a pink house. I’ve seen how well you and Cheyenne paint. Hell, I couldn’t have gotten this house and barn done in a day without your help. So I thought you might be willing to help me out by painting Emma’s house while you’re living there. There’s no big hurry. If it takes you a couple months—or even a year—that would be just fine with me and Emma. Getting a house ready to sell takes time.”
After hearing about how depressing Cheyenne thought their apartment was, Cal figured he knew who had given Boone this idea. “Let me guess, Cheyenne put you up to this. Or was it Emma? Your wife loves to come up with plans.”
The guilty look on Boone’s face said it all. “Okay, so maybe Emma and Cheyenne did come up with the idea. But it makes perfect sense. We get the house painted and you get a nice home to enjoy the holidays.”
“I’ll be happy to paint the house, Boone. It’s the least I can do after all the help you’ve given me. But I’m not going to move into it while I’m doing it.”
“Why not? It’s just sitting there empty.”
“I’m sure once it’s painted it will sell quickly. But it won’t be to me. Cheyenne and I are doing just fine in the apartment. We’re hardly there anyway. And soon she’ll be leaving for college and it will just be me.”
Boone studied him for a long moment before he sighed. “Cheyenne’s right. You are one stubborn man, Cal Daily.” He took the six-pack of beer from him. “Come on in and I’ll show you how the renovations turned out.”
The renovations they’d done to the old ranch-style house had turned out well. It looked like an entirely different house on the inside. The hardwood floors had been refinished and new cabinets and countertops had been installed in the bathrooms and kitchen. Although it was hard to see the countertops in the kitchen when they were filled with platters of food that made Cal’s stomach rumble.
“Cal!” Emma left the pot she’d been stirring on the stove and hurried over to give him a hug. “I’m so glad you could make it.”
He held up the bottle of wine. “I wasn’t sure what kind you liked. So I settled on a pinotgrigio.”
“Perfect. Thank you.”
“If you show me where the wine opener is, I’d be happy to pour you a glass.”
Emma shot a soft smile over at Boone. “I think I’ll have iced tea today. But I’m sure Jolene would love a glass. She and Cheyenne are finishing setting the table.”
The last thing he wanted to do was pour a glass of wine for Jolene Applegate. But since he couldn’t decline without seeming rude, he had no choice. As he was pouring the wine, Jolene walked in. He expected to see her wearing the same dowdy suits she wore to the bank. Instead, she had on dowdy charcoal pants and a soft gray sweater with a matching cardigan.
She froze when she saw him and nervously toyed with the pearl necklace that probably cost more than a complete engine overhaul. “Oh! Mr. Daily. I didn’t realize you were coming.”
“I didn’t think you were either, Miss Applegate,” he said dryly as he held out the glass of wine.
She took it with a stiff nod. “Thank you, Mr. Daily.”
Boone laughed. “Mr. Daily? Miss Applegate? I think we can dispense with the last names. And that includes you, Cheyenne. I know your father likes you to be respectful. At work, you can call me Mr. Murphy. But here, I’m just Boone.” He slipped an arm around Emma and pulled her close. “And this is just Emma. Now let’s eat. I’m starving!”
It was quite the feast. Boone had deep-fried a turkey and Emma and Jolene had made all kinds of sides—including a green bean casserole that looked twice as good as Cheyenne’s. Cal was instantly concerned that no one but him would eat Cheyenne’s, but then Jolene picked up the other green bean casserole dish.
“I’m sorry. I just remembered I forgot to add an important ingredient.” She carried the dish into the kitchen. When she returned and took her chair, she didn’t have it with her. “Completely inedible. Thank goodness we have Cheyenne’s.” She primly placed a napkin on her lap and reached for Cheyenne’s dish.
The kind gesture should’ve made Cal less angry. But for some reason, it didn’t. Maybe because once again Miss Applegate was butting her nose in where it didn’t belong. Cal could keep his daughter’s feelings from getting hurt. Just like he could keep her from making bad decisions about boys and sex. He certainly didn’t need a childless banker’s help.
Maybe that was what stuck in his craw. Hehadneeded Miss Applegate’s help. Without the loan from the bank, he never would’ve been able to buy the old gas station and start his own business. Cal hated to owe anyone anything. Probably because his father had been a world class mooch.
Mitch Daily had loved charity. He’d always felt like it was a great achievement to get something for nothing and couldn’t understand why his wife worked as hard as she did when it was so easy to con people into giving you things. Ina roundabout way, this theory was what killed him. He’d talked a nearby rancher into giving him an old beat-up truck the rancher had sitting on his property. The truck had no seatbelts or good brakes. One night, his father had been driving home in an ice storm and had skidded off the road and hit a fencepost. Which proved that things that were given to you weren’t worth having. It was best to work for everything you got.
