“I’m on the third,” Eb added.
“Nice.” Derrick grinned. “Great playground there. I work part time for Walt, so I’m familiar with the place. You guys can follow me and Nigel.” He hopped into his vehicle.
“I wonder what the earl’s friends in England would think about him riding in a beat-up old pickup truck,” Eb said, his expression bemused as he watched them drive away.
“I’d like to see it. But I think he’s trying to win marks by getting friendly with Trish Johnson’s grandson.”
“Ah. Theold lady—as Alex called her—who visits the same salon as Nigel?” Eb opened Sandra’s door for her.
“Yep. They’re adorable to watch, though they’re both pretending to just be friends right now.” She slipped inside.
Once they were on their way, Eb scanned his phone. “I’ve ordered dinner for us all. It should arrive in half an hour, along with a cookie basket.”
“A cookie basket!” Alex sat up in his seat, fully alert now.
“Yay!” Grace and Rue cried.
The four buildings of the condo complex formed a square with a central pool and park area for the residents. Eb handed Sandra his key and went to help Derrick with the mattress.
“I’ll get Nigel and the kids settled inside,” she called after him.
Eb’s home had a faint smell of takeout food. He must not cook much. Nigel went past the kitchen and claimed a large recliner in the living room. He settled in it with a sigh. Alex picked up the TV remote and flopped onto the couch.
“Is this my new house?” Rue asked, glancing around, looking unsure.
“Yes, it is.” Sandra already liked Linda’s floor plan better. It didn’t have guests walking into the kitchen first thing. But the room was pristine, probably from lack of use, so it hadn’t been an issue for him.
From outside the door, she heard voices and hurried to open it. Sandra stepped back so they could angle the box springs inside.
“Which room?” she asked.
“The far door.”
“Let’s go, girls.” Sandra took their hands, and they hurried into the room.
“This has been your father’s office,” Sandra said when Rue came to a stop and stared around.
All it held was a modern desk. She took an empty box from the walk-in closet and carefully moved items from the desk into it.
“Good thinking,” Eb called, as he and Derrick laid the mattress against the wall. “I’ll need to move it into my bedroom.”
It only took fifteen minutes and two more trips to the vehicles to shift the desk and set up Rue’s bed. By the time they’d made it up with pink sheets and the purple quilt, the food had arrived. Sandra was exhausted, so she sympathized with the children’s droopy eyes.
“Young Derrick,” Nigel said, when the kids had been given permission to choose a cookie, “perhaps I could persuade you to drive me right home.”
“We all need to go.” Sandra stood. “These two are ready for baths and beds, anyway. And Eb and Rue need a chance to get settled together.”
“Must we?” Grace asked.
“No,” Rue whined.
“Yes, Miss Rue. Grace’s parents will be home soon. You don’t want to get your new friends in trouble, do you?”
Rue scrunched up her face, her bottom lip sticking out, arms crossed tightly in defiance.
“I think if someone wants to have a sleepover, she’d better not throw a tantrum now,” Sandra warned, though it wasn’t her place to do so. She glanced at Eb, who looked as tired as his daughter did.
“She’s right,” he said. “Say goodbye to your friends.”
