She filled the bigger pot with water, set it on the stove, and turned on the oven to preheat. “You can set the table and pour each of us a glass of sweet tea. I saw the perfect pan in the pantry for the peach crisp that we’re having for dessert. When I get back, I want you to tell me some more about who all is included in thewethat will be helping you pick elderberries.”
“Who do you want it to be?” he asked.
“I hope it’s not some other woman who you have hiding in the background.” She brought a glass pan out and set it on the cabinet. Then she opened and poured two cans of tomato sauce into the smaller pot and added spices.
“Truth is, all of us Callahan brothers have had—or in my case have—commitment issues, but I have never been unfaithful. Then again, I’ve never found someone like you, Lottie. You can rest assured, darlin’, that no other women will come out of the woodwork. Besides, not even one from my past short-lived relationships would even know what an elderberry is.”
“What about long lived?” she asked.
He made a zero with his forefinger and thumb. “How many lasting ones have you been in?”
She stirred a few more spices into the sauce and set it on the stove. “I really like to start with fresh, ripe tomatoes to make my marinara, but it has to simmer all day. This will be faster. To answer your question, only a couple, and they ended because”—she hesitated—“they weren’t worth fighting for, and I don’t like anyone trying to control me.”
“That would be like trying to cage a lioness,” Knox said.
“Thank you,” she said and poured a can of peaches into the glass pan. “Are you are planning on your brothers or sisters helping you with the elderberry harvest?”
“Not really.” Knox filled two glasses with ice from the refrigerator and then poured tea into them from a gallon jug. “I’m hoping thatyouwill. Remember when I told you that I could probably get you a job up here in Spanish Fort?”
“Yes, and I’m sure thinking about moving here,” she answered.
“Well, as soon as the papers are signed, I’m planning to turn this property into a place somewhat like Swan Song Estates, only on a little larger scale. I envision ten plots with five acres for each home, and I’m offering the first one to Bo and Maverick. The lots will be for sale right at the beginning, and I’ll hire a good construction team from the local folks. Joe Clay has offered to help me with that. I’m hoping that by the end of summer, we’ll be ready to start framing on the first house. I’ll have to get the land surveyed, plots laid out, utilities checked into, power lines run, wells drilled,permits taken care of, and all that kind of thing before we can lay foundations.”
“And a rec hall?” Lottie asked.
“That will be the first item on the list,” Knox said. “Will you be the mouse in my pocket?”
“A mouse…oh!” she gasped. “You are asking me if I want a job helping build the houses? I am thewe.”
“Yes. You can live in this house with me—no strings attached—either in a shared bedroom or your own room, or you can park your trailer in the yard. You choose when and where we take the steps along the way.”
“It’s a little early to ask me to move in with you.” Her mind spoke, but her heart disagreed.
“Maybe so, but you can make that decision when the time is right for you. I’m all in when it comes to this relationship.”
“Can I think about it for a few days? I told my folks that I would give them the summer to get settled in before I moved closer, and I planned to work for Walter out in El Paso for three months to kind of get him started.”
Knox handed her a glass of tea. “Take all the time you need. This house isn’t going anywhere, and neither are my plans.”
“Do you really think we could survive a long-distance relationship?” She was still worried that he would find her boring after a while.
“If we can’t last three or four months, how would we ever make it through fifty years?” he asked.
She almost dropped the butter that she was blendinginto oatmeal to make the crispy top on the peach crisp. “You are thinking that far ahead?”
“Yes, ma’am, I am.” Knox took a sip of tea and then brushed a sweet kiss across her lips. “Sometimes it works out like I see it in my mind. Sometimes it falls flat.”
Lottie’s hands shook a little, but she managed to get control of her roller coaster of emotions while she slid the dessert into the oven, opened a box of angel hair spaghetti noodles, and worked them down into the pot of water. “Are you disappointed when it doesn’t work?”
Knox set the table and even folded a paper napkin into a little tent for each of them. “Of course, but disappointment doesn’t kill a person. At least it hasn’t in the past. I’m not sure about the future because I haven’t lived in that time capsule yet.”
Lottie could hardly believe that they were having this conversation. She would have a place to live, either with Knox or in her trailer. If she got really mad at him over something, she could always get over it in her own place. And she had until the end of summer to decide all of the above.
“Well?” Knox finally said.
“My first concern is that if we do this, what happens if we break up?”
“That bridge can be crossed or burned when the time comes. My mother used to say that worrying about tomorrow sucks the joy out of today. Tonight, we eat the supper that smells pretty amazing, and you take that long soaking bath.”
