“And where have you been?” Win asked his son, as Jim entered the kitchen one August morning.

Jim cast him a look which clearly indicated that the answer should be obvious. “The lake. But I’m back in time to drive you to work. You don’t need to worry.”

Draining his coffee cup, he replied, “I wasn’t worried. I just wondered.”

“Well, it’s hot already. And I have a lot planned for the day.” Jim took the coffee cup and rinsed it out. “Are you ready to go?”

Win nodded and picked up his bag. He would miss these times with Jim when one day they ended, he mused, as they locked up the house and got into the old pickup. They didn’t talk for the whole trip, but they certainly talked a lot more than they would otherwise. Today, the topic naturally turned to the renovations.

“I’m hoping to get the front steps finished today,” Jim shared. “And, if there’s time, I might try to unjam that sticky window in the dining room.”

“So long as you don’t break the glass,” Win replied.

“Dad,” his son warned. “I broke exactly one window. And the pane was already cracked anyway.”

“Yes, well, I’m just suggesting that you be careful.”

“I’m not going out of my way to break things,” Jim pointed out. “But in a house that old, and in that bad a condition… well, things are going to break.” He did not give his father time to argue with that, instead going straight on to say, “So, what do you want put on the priority repair list next?”

Win considered for a moment. “I’d like to say the bathroom, but I know that’s not in the budget right now.”

Jim nodded, ruefully. “At least we have a bathroom that kind of works. I don’t know how your uncle lived, the way the house was when we got there.”

“He probably just skipped getting clean and smelled bad.” Win shook his head. “In fact, I’m nearly certain that’s how it was.”

“Not the way I want to live,” Jim answered with a smile. “And I don’t think you do, either.”

“You’re right.” He thought for a moment. “The wobbly doorknob in the bathroom bothers me. So does the broken cupboard door in the kitchen. And I’m afraid to put anything in the linen closet upstairs, for fear the whole shelf is going to fall down.”

“I’ll get onto them next,” Jim promised. He hesitated a moment. “So, what else do I need to get done before college starts? Because I don’t think I’m going to have much time for working on the house, while I’m working in the Preserve and studying, all at the same time. And I want us to be as comfortable as possible, especially when it starts getting colder.”

Win considered the matter for a few moments. “We’ll get by, no matter what you do and don’t get done,” he decided, at last. “But I’ll give it some thought and see what else needs doing urgently.”

Jim nodded his thanks. “And I guess we’ll find out where the cold gets in once the weather turns. I’ll just have to make time for things as we go.”

The pair lapsed into silence. Win thought back to long-ago days when he had stayed in the house. In his memory, it had seemed quite comfortable, but perhaps he had just forgotten. They would certainly find out in due course, he reflected.

Win wandered past the front window mid-morning on Saturday, stopping short in surprise as he noticed a shiny new car approaching the house. His eyes narrowed as he tried to identify its driver, then he let out a soft curse. What’s she doing here? he wondered in irritation. Just when things were going well. Casting a quick glance in the direction of the kitchen, where Trixie was attempting to help Jim fix the broken cupboard door, he hastened to the front door with a view to cutting off the unwelcome visitor. Win made a show of locking up behind himself as if leaving the house, then looked up with an expression of surprise as the young woman opened her car door and stepped out.

“Callista,” he greeted, trying to appear regretful. “I was just leaving. What a pity you’ve arrived just now. I hope you haven’t come far out of your way.”

“I was actually hoping to see Jim,” that young man’s ex-girlfriend replied, unperturbed. “If you would like to go and get him…”

She cast a look of distaste at the exterior of the house and Win knew that she would not wish to enter. Her immaculate clothes, so fresh from the boutique that he wouldn’t be surprised to see the swing tags still attached, were not at all suited to the rough conditions caused by the renovation in progress. No, I would not like to get him, he thought, but I’m not going to lie to her, either. Reluctantly, he reopened the door and stalked through the house, frowning the whole way. He found Jim and Trixie wrangling with the broken door, and the glances they shared as they tried to push it back into shape gave him pause.

“Ahem.” Win cleared his throat and waited for them to notice his presence. “You have a visitor, Jim.” He considered the couple before adding his own opinion. “Though if I were you, I’d sneak out the back door while she’s not looking.”

Jim shook his head, not understanding. “Why would you say that? Who’s here?”

Win shrugged. “Just someone you used to know.”

A puzzled expression settled on Jim’s face, followed by a look of astonishment. “You don’t mean it’s Callista? Here?”

“Out the front. She didn’t want to get dirty by coming inside.”

Jim made an exasperated noise, but hastened to straighten his hair and clothes. As he hurried away towards the front door, Win saw the young woman in front of him visibly droop and she murmured something about going home.

“I wouldn’t,” Win assured her. “I’m sure that Jim wouldn’t want that.” With a hint of malice, he added, “Callista wouldn’t want that, either. Go and join them. Jim will introduce you.”

Trixie glanced at the door she’d been working on with Jim. “I might as well, I guess. It’s not like I can finish this by myself. It’s kind of a two-person job and Jim’s got the fastenings in his pocket.”

She followed the path Jim had taken. Satisfied with his work, Win strolled after her and retired to the living room to watch from the comfort of the chair Jim had placed there. The young blonde walked slowly towards the other two, seemingly reluctant to intrude upon the reunion. He watched as Callista smoothed her long, dark hair and leaned towards Jim. Win let out a soft chuckle as his son warily moved himself back a step.

In his mind, he imagined the conversation between the three. What would that little tramp be saying? he wondered. ‘How nice to meet you,’ but said in a tone of voice that means the exact opposite. Jim must be telling her that Trixie lives next door, judging by the condescending look Callista gave in that direction. And by the look of Trixie, I think Callista must have said something pretty rude in reply. Now, what’s that son of mine up to? He’s inviting her inside? What does he think he’s doing?

Before he had a chance to find out, another player entered the arena. From the direction of the path to the other houses came Honey Wheeler. Almost before Win’s eyes the scene shifted. The addition of an ally boosted Trixie’s confidence and she took a step forward. The conversation continued for a few minutes more, but finding herself outnumbered, the unwanted visitor soon beat a strategic retreat. As the sound of her car’s engine faded into the background, the other three re-entered the house.

“She’s an old, uh, friend of mine,” he heard Jim explain to the two girls. “We knew her in Rochester, but I hadn’t seen her for a while before we left. I had no idea that she even knew where this house was.”

“I wonder how she found you?” Honey mused, as the three entered the dining room. “Oh, hello, Mr. Frayne.”

After greetings were exchanged, Trixie excused herself to get a drink of water and Jim trailed after her like a puppy. Honey somehow got left behind, but she didn’t seem to mind at all.

“I don’t know if you saw her, but I just met someone that I understand you and Jim knew in Rochester,” she mentioned.

“Oh, I saw her, all right,” he answered, with only the slightest touch of venom.

Honey picked up on it at once. “You didn’t like Callista?”

He shook his head. “I most certainly did not.”

“She seemed a little bit… possessive,” she noted, diplomatically. “I wasn’t quite sure…”

“Nasty little gold-digger,” Win muttered. “The sooner we get rid of her, the better.”

Honey’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry?”

He gave her a wry smile. “Sorry. Don’t mind me. I don’t imagine that Jim spelled it out, but she is his ex-girlfriend. And I’ve just never believed that a girl like that could be interested in a guy like Jim without some kind of ulterior motive. I have no proof that she ever knew that Jim was set to inherit from my Uncle James; it’s the best explanation I can come up with for her behaviour.”

“Well, she’s gone now, so I don’t suppose it matters,” Honey commented.

“I don’t imagine she’ll give up that easily,” Win confided. “She’s always been most insistent on getting what she wants… and it looks to me that what she wants right now is to get Jim back.”

Honey frowned. “It did seem that way. At least, it did at first, but then she just made an excuse and left.”

Win took a moment to size up the girl in front of him. Acting on instinct, he decided to enlist her help. “You know, if you were willing, you could make a difference.”

His companion seemed surprised. “I could?”

He smiled. “There are a few things you could help me with. Callista knows that I don’t like her, so she won’t pay so much attention to me, but she’d believe you if you told her that the money was pretty much all gone.”

“I could mention that,” she agreed with a nod. “What else?”

“Let her know that the time frame for selling this place is now measured in years, rather than months. We want her to know that there won’t be any money coming from the sale for a long, long time and that Jim will spend those years working on the place.” He rubbed his chin with one thumb, contemplating exactly how far he was prepared to go. “And if that doesn’t discourage her, I think we’ll have to bring a skeleton or two out of the family closet. I’ll have to give that a little consideration, first, so do your best with that, to start with.”

The young woman nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

True to Win’s prediction, Callista turned up again the very next day. She strolled in through the open front door as if she owned the place, delicately wrinkling her nose as if it smelled bad.

The first person she encountered was Honey. “Oh, hello again,” Honey greeted her with a smile.

“Where is Jim?” Callista asked, glancing around and barely meeting Honey’s eyes.

Win eased himself back further into the dining room, preferring not to have to enter into the conversation.

“He’s just gone next door to borrow a chisel,” Honey explained. “He’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Oh, that’s very inconvenient,” the brunette replied. “Maybe I’ll go there and pick him up.”

Honey shook her head. “He’s taken the path, so most likely, if you drove down there, you’d miss him and he’d be here while you were still there. It’s probably quicker just to wait.”

Callista let out a long-suffering sigh. “The things I put up with!”

Honey made a remark that Win couldn’t make out, which the other girl answered. Through the open door, he could hear most of the conversation between the two. In another moment, he congratulated himself on his choice of ally. Honey’s performance was outstanding.

“Of course, it will take years to finish the renovations,” she was saying, in the most natural voice imaginable. “Jim has a lot of work ahead of him, and not anywhere near enough money to finish the project. Between you and me, I don’t think it will be finished by the time he finishes college. He’s a hard worker, so he should make a lot of progress each vacation, but he just won’t have the money to do the more expensive things – plumbing and those sorts of things, I mean, and that’s going to be outrageously expensive, because what’s here is so far out of date that it will have to be all started from scratch, so he won’t be able to get to it until he’s earning a good wage. And, of course, big renovations are always much slower when an amateur is coordinating the project, because to do something like this quickly, you really need a professional and Jim just doesn’t have the funds for that.”

Callista’s voice sounded faint as she responded, and Win knew that Honey had hit a nerve. “But didn’t he inherit a large sum with the house?”

“Oh, he spent that ages ago,” the other girl replied. “You should have seen the place before he got here! I don’t know how much junk he’s hauled out of here, and of course he had to get someone to do the most urgent repairs, so that we could just get in and out safely, and get the electricity turned back on. I think Jim said he had enough put aside to get the place painted and made weather-tight, but on a house this size…”

“When he sells it, it will be worth the effort,” the other woman asserted, sounding somewhat smug. “Property around here always sells well.”

“Oh, but the taxes are terrible,” Honey countered. “Daddy is forever saying he should have bought in a different state, but he works in New York and he can’t exactly change that, so here we stay. I’m sure that Jim will run up some debt against the house to just pay them. He’ll come out ahead, of course, but probably just enough to buy a little cottage somewhere. I think a cottage will suit him, though, don’t you?”

“A cottage?”

“Yes,” Honey continued happily. “I can just see him living in a little cottage, surrounded by trees and plants, with lots of woodland creatures that he specially plants things for and that he creates habitats to support. He’s very interested in the natural environment, you know. I’m not sure I’d personally like to encourage, say, skunks, but I think Jim probably would.”

“Of course he wouldn’t live in a cottage with a pet skunk!” Callista cried. “What a ridiculous suggestion.”

Win could not help but shift his position to get a look at the two young women. He hoped that they wouldn’t notice him there, but they appeared intent on their conversation.

“I didn’t mean a pet.” Honey explained with a smile. “Of course, I could see him having a pet skunk, if he found an orphaned or injured one, for example, that couldn’t survive on its own in the wild. But actually I was thinking of him encouraging wild animals to live good lives in the wild.”

“Well, I think Jim would be a lot better off getting away from places like this.” Callista screwed up her pretty nose, then hastily straightened it again. “He can afford to live a good life in the city. Why should he stay out here and rot?”

“I don’t think he’s a city type of person,” Honey mused. “I mean, I know plenty of people who are, who don’t feel at all comfortable anywhere outside, and then there’s people like my father, who can adapt to wherever they are, but I think Jim is more of an outdoors sort of person.”

“That’s just because you’ve only just met him,” Callista answered, with an air of superiority. “He doesn’t really belong here.”

“We’ll see, I suppose,” Honey replied, utterly unfazed.

At that moment, Jim himself arrived on the scene, chisel in hand.

“Jim,” Callista greeted him, her face lighting up. “I was thinking the two of us might go out for brunch. I’ve found a lovely little place nearby.”

Win held his breath as he waited for his son’s reply.

“Oh.” Jim sounded confused. “Uh, sorry, but I can’t right now.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Callista scolded. “Of course you can. Just put that thing down over there and come with me.”

But she had miscalculated, Win saw at once. Jim’s temper flared.

“I’m sorry, Callista, but that’s not going to happen,” he answered. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

She gathered up her dignity. “In that case, I will see you later.”

She strode out of the house and back to her car.

“I’d better get to work,” Jim commented, heading for the stairs. “This house isn’t going to fix itself.”

Only a few hours later, Callista returned. Win frowned to see her, acting as if that morning’s incident had never happened. Worse, Jim seemed to have forgotten it, too.

“How is the work going?” she asked, though Win noticed that she paid no attention to Jim’s answer.

“Fairly well,” Jim replied. “I’ve got a few more things on my list for today. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours.”

“I was thinking that we might take a drive this afternoon.” She took his arm, turning her back on Trixie and Honey, who had been working alongside Jim, as well as on Win who had been passing through. “I’ve seen another house rather like this one and thought you might like to take a look at it and get some ideas for presentation. It’s not all that far away.”

Jim’s expression shifted. “That does sound interesting. And it might be worth delaying what I’m working on to see it.”

Win rolled his eyes. Couldn’t Jim just concentrate on what he was doing? What was it about this girl that caused him to lose track of all common sense?

“Well, let’s go, then.” She cast a condescending smile back over her shoulder as she led Jim away.

“What about this wall you were working on?” Win called after his son.

“I’ll do something with it when I get back,” Jim answered, his eyes on Callista.

Trixie surveyed the room and sighed. “I guess we’d better get this cleaned up, and then we’ll be going.”

Win shook his head. “It’s Jim’s mess. Let him deal with it. And I’m sorry that he’s acting this way. That girl seems to bring out the worst in him.”

“Yes,” Honey added, “but she’s a lot more interested in him than he is in her, I’ve noticed. And he’s not exactly pleased about her interrupting the work, and I think he only agreed to go with her this time because she enticed him with something that was actually related to the work.”

“That’s very observant of you, Honey,” Win commented. “I hope that you’re right. I’ll be very pleased when she loses interest again.”

“Won’t we all,” he heard Trixie mutter. “If she does.”

He felt rather sorry for her, but said nothing.

As the sun set in the west one day that week, Win eased himself into an easy chair on the porch and looked out over the grounds of Ten Acres. He had been for the appointment with the prosthetics specialist that his friend Matt had found for him and now wondered what the future might hold. Contrary to his expectations, it seemed that there might be hope for him to return to the field of work he loved after all. He didn’t know whether to feel hopeful, disbelieving, or resentful for all of the years he had spent in the belief that it was impossible.

“So, are you going to tell me how it went?” Jim asked, with a smile. Lost in his thoughts, Win had not noticed his son’s approach.

Slowly, he nodded. “He thinks he can help me. He expects that I’ll be able to do a lot of things that I’d given up.” Looking up, Win saw the hope building on Jim’s face. “I might even be able to go back to my old line of work.”

“That’s great!”

“It remains to be seen whether it’s true.”

Jim shrugged. “You need to try while you have the opportunity.”

“Of course.” He shook his head. “I can’t help feeling a bit down, considering the years I’ve spent struggling to get by, and now to find out that if I’d had the money…”

“So, you get to tell me not to dwell on things in the past that I can’t change, but you get to do the exact same thing yourself?”

Win snorted. “I don’t like seeing you repeat my mistakes.”

“That’s a nice double standard you have there,” Jim grumbled. “But getting back to the actual point here, are you getting a new prosthetic made?”

“I am.” He drew a breath. “And it’s going to cost a pretty penny, but Matt is insisting he’ll pay for it.”

“I dare say he can afford it,” Jim answered.

Win shrugged and looked away. He had no intention of telling Jim just how much his new leg was going to cost, or the thing he’d done which Matt claimed he was repaying. Because even if it was true that he’d supplied that information just in time to stop Matt making a mistake, that didn’t really mean that Matt owed him anything. Especially not more money than he’d had all at once in longer than he could remember.

“Callista’s been hinting that I should ask her on a date,” Jim told him, changing the subject.

“If you’re asking for a loan, the answer is no,” Win replied, before he could stop himself.

Jim frowned, but let it go, pursuing his own line of thought. “I’m a little concerned that things will go the same way this time that they did last time.”

In Win’s opinion, the last time should have remained the last time. Almost every hint Callista dropped had caused Jim to spring into action. It annoyed him to see his son so easily led.

“In what way?” he asked, suddenly noticing the ambiguity of the statement.

Jim’s frown deepened. “It started out okay, with places that I can afford and things that I enjoy. But her expectations just seemed to keep on rising and I don’t have a lot of disposable income right now.”

“Maybe you could explain that to her,” Win answered, trying to hide the edge of malice from his voice.

“She doesn’t listen! She just keeps on suggesting that I need to manage my money better.”

“By handing it all over to her?”

“That’s not what I’m saying.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s what she means.”

Jim’s frown deepened into a scowl. “You don’t ever treat her fairly.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Win replied. “But even if it is, you have to admit that you and she don’t see eye to eye on a lot of subjects.”

“It’s not possible to agree with someone on everything,” Jim pointed out. “And I don’t see why I should stop seeing someone because we don’t share all of our opinions. If I did that, I’d be alone forever and you’d never see me again.”

“I’m not talking about whether you prefer multi-grain or white bread. I meant the fundamental belief system that you have and the things that are most important to you.” He took a breath to try to calm down a little. “From what I’ve seen and heard, her life goals, beliefs and values and yours are incompatible. And that’s why things didn’t work out last time.”

“It didn’t work out because she unceremoniously dumped me,” Jim answered, grumpily.

Win paused. He hadn’t heard that detail previously. He wondered why his son chose to share it now.

“How am I supposed to get out of this, Dad?” Jim asked, suddenly sounding much younger and less certain. “I didn’t mean to get back into this endless cycle with Callista. I kind of had a different idea of what I wanted. But I don’t want to hurt her feelings.”

Hiding his scepticism of the existence of Callista’s feelings, Win answered, “Be honest with her. But temper your honesty with kindness. It’s the best any of us can do.”

Jim smiled. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll think about that.”

Saturday came around again, allowing Win respite from the working week and giving him the opportunity to observe what was going on around the house. He had his suspicions that Callista had been around a good deal during the week, despite the fact that Jim hadn’t admitted it. The bathroom doorknob had been held on with tape since Tuesday. None of the other repairs on the priority list had any visible progress either.

But that particular day, Jim had gotten an early start and at the moment appeared to only have one visitor. Win smiled to himself in satisfaction.

Looking out the window, he saw Jim and Trixie taking a break outside. They were sitting side by side, but not touching, on the ground a short distance from the house. They had their backs to him, as they looked out towards Trixie’s home and appeared to be in the middle of a lively discussion.

Now, that’s the sort of girl that Jim needs, Win mused to himself. The kind who doesn’t mind getting dirty, who works hard and plays hard and gets involved in things. Not a fashionable, society ladder-climbing bimbo.

He scowled for a minute, wondering who would win the battle between Callista and Trixie. He had hoped that the outsider would have given in and left by now. Perhaps she still did not really believe that Jim had spent most of the money.

Win couldn’t tell quite what Jim was thinking. He had, in the past, lost his head over pretty girls who paid him a certain kind of attention. Truth be told, discomfort with those particular behaviours was Win’s main motivator in teasing his son about chasing girls. Because when a girl like Callista pandered to Jim’s ego, he was putty in her hands.

Trixie, on the other hand, did nothing manipulative. She always seemed natural and frank, qualities that Win himself admired.

I don’t see what else I can do about it, he decided, at length.

Outside, Trixie scrambled to her feet and turned towards the house. Win eased back slowly, unwilling for her to know that he’d been watching.

“Where are you going?” he heard Jim ask, as he too stood.

“I just want to take another look at it,” she answered, running lightly up the new front stairs and entering by the front door.

Jim followed along a few steps behind.

Win heard the pair climb the stairs and enter one of the rooms facing the front of the house. The sound of their voices floated through the house, but he could not make out the words. They sounded happy and carefree.

Until, that is, a car eased slowly up the drive, stopping at the closest possible approach to the house. Win stared at it, cursing aloud.

Upstairs, his son must also have noticed the newcomer, because his footsteps thudded back down the stairs as he hurried to greet her. Trixie followed at a more sedate pace. Win met her in the hall, noting the droop of her shoulders and the closed expression on her face.

Damn, he reflected. And things were going so well.

“Jim!” he heard Callista’s shrill greeting. “How lovely to see you.”

“It’s good of you to come,” he answered, “but I’m afraid I’ve got a lot of work to do today and I wouldn’t want you to be bored.”

“I’m never bored here,” she lied. “I’ll just amuse myself while you’re busy.”

“In that case, I think I’ll leave,” Trixie muttered, so that only Win could hear her.

He shook his head. “Jim wouldn’t want that. I thought the two of you were working on something upstairs.”

“We were,” she answered. “Until she arrived.”

Outside, the topic of conversation seemed to have turned towards Callista herself. Win noticed that Jim’s eyes had glazed over a little. He wasn’t sure whether that was a good sign or a bad one.

“Jim is anxious to get through his list of important repairs,” Win told Trixie. “I know he’d appreciate it if you reminded him about that.”

Her expression showed her scepticism. “I don’t know if I could get a word in.”

Win weighed his options, then chose a strategy. “Jim’s trying to get rid of her, but he doesn’t want to be rude.”

Her chin rose a little, and she nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

He watched her march outside and ask Jim, “Were you going to get the wood we need to fix that closet shelf upstairs, or should I just come back later?”

“I’ll just run out and get it,” Jim decided, with a slightly apologetic look to Callista. “I won’t be long.”

“I’ll come with you,” Callista offered, reaching out to take Jim’s arm. “We can take my car.”

Jim glanced in its direction, then shook his head. “I’m not going out. The wood’s in the back of the barn, somewhere. You can come along, if you like, but it’s pretty dirty in there. And there are spiders.”

She shuddered elaborately. “No, thank you. Are you sure you don’t want to go and buy new supplies?”

Jim shook his head and kept walking, while Trixie struggled to keep a straight face.

“Well, how do you like that?” Callista complained. “We could have gone out together, but he just insists on doing things the hard way.”

“I didn’t know you were interested in hardware,” Win noted, causing a smirk to spring up on Trixie’s face. “But then again, I’ve never known you that well, have I?”

“No. You most certainly have not,” she answered, turning her back on him.

“I have a couple of things I need to see to, if you’ll excuse me,” Win mentioned to Trixie, who nodded understanding.

He knew, deep down, that he shouldn’t leave the two alone, but the thought of spending even one more minute in Callista’s company felt too much to bear. He retreated to the study, which was acting as his bedroom, and eased the door closed.

He couldn’t help but wonder just what was going on in his son’s head. The fact that Jim had left Callista behind and started back on the work suggested that perhaps her influence was dwindling. But he hadn’t rebuffed her from the house altogether. As determined as she was, perhaps that wasn’t in his power.

After a time, Win tired of hiding and stepped out into the hall. He could hear female voices in, perhaps, the living room. He paused near the door, wondering whether to continue in that direction, or beat a retreat through the back of the house.

“You should know when you’ve been outclassed,” Callista was saying. “You’re never going to get him, so why even try?”

“Who says I’m trying to get anyone?” Trixie snapped in return.

Win took a step or two closer, so that he could see what was going on in there.

The brunette shook her head in a pitying way. “I suppose that’s one way to deal with all of your failures.”

Temper flaring, Win stepped out of the hall and into the room. “Oh, there you are Trixie. I was just thinking I needed help from someone with natural good taste and you’re exactly the person who came to mind.”

“Of course, I’ll help you if I can, Mr. Frayne,” she answered. “What’s the problem?”

“Come through this way,” he replied, leading her into the dining room and closing the door in Callista’s face.

He waited until he heard the unwanted visitor make an exasperated remark to the air and stamp off to the front porch to await Jim’s return from the barn.

“I don’t actually need any help,” he admitted, once he was sure she was outside. “I just felt like being rude to her. She rubs me the wrong way.”

Trixie nodded ruefully. “Me, too. And compared to Honey, she has no class at all.”

“That’s very true.” He sighed. “I really wish she hadn’t come.”

His companion nodded again.

“And I hope, if you’re willing to be patient, Jim will eventually manage to get rid of her. She’s just rather thick-skinned.”

This time, Trixie grinned. “So am I. And even if patience isn’t my strong point, I’m going to hang in there.”

“Just what I wanted to hear,” he answered.

As they ate their evening meal that night, Win tried to find out just what Jim intended to do about his two admirers. Anticipating a certain amount of reluctance to discuss such things, he approached the topic obliquely.

“I haven’t seen so much of your new friends, lately,” he commented. “I suppose they’re busy with other things.”

Jim shrugged. “Maybe. I’m busy, myself.”

Win raised an eyebrow. “Really? I thought the work on the house had really slowed down in the last week or two.”

A flash of guilt crossed Jim’s face, in spite of the mildness of the accusation. In fact, practically no work had been done since Callista appeared on the scene.

“Maybe,” Jim repeated. “I’ve had… other things to do.”

Biting down the comment he wanted to make, Win just nodded. It didn’t really help.

“You don’t need to judge me like that,” Jim snapped. “It isn’t always going to be possible to make lots of visible progress.”

“Who’s judging?” Win interrupted. “I didn’t say a word.”

Jim frowned. “You were thinking it. You don’t like Callista and you want to blame her for my lack of progress.”

Win took a moment to chew his last mouthful. “This is really good,” he commented. “And I’m not in the business of apportioning blame. I just said I thought things had slowed down; not that they’d ground to a stop.”

His son, with a visible effort, let go of his temper. “Fine. It’s true that everything’s slower with Callista here. She isn’t so… practical as Trixie, or even Honey. And it bores her if I’m working and she has nothing to do.”

“And yet, she keeps coming back,” he noted. “I wonder why?”

“Dad!”

“Well, I do.” He took a quick sip of water. “She obviously doesn’t like it here. You’ve just admitted that she keeps getting bored. And she has no interest in getting to know your other friends.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I heard her say those exact words to you just yesterday. It seems fairly obvious.”

Jim’s frown deepened, but he didn’t deny it.

“So, why does she keep coming back?” He waited for an answer, which did not come. “Do you know?”

Jim shook his head, looking down. “Not in so many words.”

“Then, what do you suspect?”

Their eyes met and Win saw that Jim was beginning to move past the state of tolerance and into something rather less yielding. He breathed a silent sigh of relief.

“I’m wondering, too,” Jim admitted. “And I don’t like any of the answers I’m coming up.”

Win nodded, deciding to leave the matter there. “I don’t think the bathroom door handle will last much longer,” he noted. “Maybe we should see about picking up a new one.”

“I’ll run out and get one first thing tomorrow,” Jim promised, adding, “before any visitors are likely to arrive.”

“Good idea.”

“And I’m going to get to all those things on our list,” Jim continued. “I know it’s taken me longer than I meant it to, but all of the really urgent stuff is going to be done before classes start.”

“Another good thought,” Win told him. “Let me know if there are things I can do to help.”

“I think I’ve got it under control,” he answered. “But thanks.”

Win and Jim made a quick run into town on Sunday morning to pick up some groceries. As they gathered the last few bags, Callista’s car pulled up beside the old pickup. Jim barely glanced at her as he headed for the kitchen door.

“There you are,” she greeted. “I called in half an hour ago and there wasn’t anyone here.”

Jim halted his progress at the kitchen door, blocking either Callista or Win from entering the house. And since Win had left his keys on the kitchen counter and the rest of the house was still locked up, he had little choice but to stay where he was. He resigned himself to listening in on the conversation between the other two, which Callista began without delay.

“Have you had any interest from buyers, yet?” she asked. “You never know, you might get some good offers, even before the house is officially on the market.”

Jim looked up at the house. “It’s not for sale.”

“I’m sure it will go quickly, when you decide to list it,” she commented. “Have you chosen an agent, yet? I have one I can recommend.”

“I’m not selling it,” Jim told her, in a quiet but firm voice. “I’ve decided to live here and do the house up slowly, as I can afford it.”

“You’ve what?”

Jim looked away. “I think you heard me.”

“If you think…” She trailed off, making an angry sound. “This horrible, disgusting, old dump of a house. All these trees everywhere. This little backwater town. You really think this is a good place to live?”

“It probably needs more trees,” Jim answered, with a small, sideways glance at his father. “Good idea, Callista. I’ll get onto that.”

“You mean, landscaping?” she asked. “Maybe some formal gardens?”

He shook his head. “I had something less structured in mind. A soft line between the area around the house and the natural environment beyond.”

“Surely, that would devalue the property,” she argued. “Hiring a professional landscaper, clearing away all those scraggly-looking things and putting in proper gardens would elevate it to something that high-end buyers might consider.”

“I don’t care about the property value,” he replied. “I care about making a comfortable place for my Dad and I to live.”

Callista’s gaze slid from Jim to Win and back again. “I see.”

“I’m also beginning to think that I should be cultivating relationships with like-minded people, who share my love of the outdoors,” he added. “I don’t need people in my life whose priorities are diametrically opposed to my own.”

“This is how you treat me? After all I’ve done for you? The least you could do is show a little gratitude for all the effort I’ve put into trying to help you.” She shot Win a scathing look, then turned back to Jim. “You could have been someone, if you’d let me help you out of the hole you’ve been living in!”

Win held his breath, waiting for Jim’s temper to explode, but to his surprise it didn’t.

“I think this is the end for us,” Jim told her, in a slow, calm voice. “I hope you’ll find someone who’s more suited to your ambitions.”

“Don’t even think about trying to get me back,” she snapped, then turned on her heel.

Shaking back her hair, and in full possession of her dignity, Callista climbed into her car, slammed the door and drove away.

Win cast a glance at his son and they shared a smile. “Well, I’m glad that’s over. She didn’t really fit in around here. She was… let’s say, superfluous.”

“Dad,” Jim warned, as he opened the kitchen door. “Be nice. She’s been my friend for a long time.”

“If that’s what you think of as friendship,” Win muttered.

“Dad,” his son repeated, with more force.

The older man let go of his teasing attitude and turned serious. “You can do better.” His voice was quiet, but firm. “All Callista wanted from you was status. It’s no loss that she found you couldn’t give it to her.”

“I suppose you had something to do with that.” It was not a question.

Guiltily, Win turned away. “She would never have believed me if I told her,” was all he would admit.

“But you found a way to let her know, without ever having to tell her yourself,” Jim deduced. “I don’t know why I let you interfere like this. I can manage my own affairs, you know.”

His father shrugged and closed the door of the cupboard they were using as a pantry. “I know… but, then, I also know a thing or two about relationship troubles.”

For a long moment, the two were silent. By common assent, they moved through the house and out onto the front porch. When Jim spoke, he kept his gaze on the view. “I know things weren’t right between you and Mom at the end.” There was another pause, as he seemed to gather courage to continue. “What I don’t understand is why there hasn’t been anyone else since she died.”

Win laughed, without humour. “I’ve had enough troubles without adding to them.”

“I know, but Dad…” He made a gesture of frustration, seemingly unable to find the right words. “I guess what I’m saying is that one day I’m going to want to commit to someone and I don’t really want to leave you all alone – and I doubt my theoretical future wife would want a father-in-law hanging around the house.”

This time, Win’s laugh showed his amusement. “You trying to turf me out already? I don’t think you need to worry about that, Jim. I’ll know when it’s time for me to move on – and I won’t be worried by being alone.”

“Yes, but what I’m saying is that I don’t want you to be alone, Dad.”

For a long time, Win looked at his son, seeing the concern in that earnest young face and the hope for a better future. It swelled his heart, in moments like this, to see what kind of man he had raised.

“I’ll be fine, son,” he told him. “What happens will happen and I’ll deal with it when it comes.”

Jim did not seem to even notice. His gaze was fixed on the top of the path that led down into the hollow.

“Trixie!” he called.

“Was that Callista?” she asked, with a wary look on her face, as she stepped out of the shade of the trees and into the clearing around the house.

Jim shrugged. “She’s just left – for the last time, I hope. She finally got it into her head that I like this house and want to keep it.”

A meditative look settled on Trixie’s face. “She told me yesterday that what this house needed was a lighted match. I might have mentioned that arsonists get sent to jail.”

A jolt ran through Win at the look on Jim’s face when he heard that. His glance back at the house revealed an affection for it that Win had not thought possible.

“If you’ll excuse me, Trixie, I have some things I need to do.”

He saw the thinly-veiled relief on her face as she agreed to let him go. He entered the house without a backward glance, but once inside looked for a vantage point to see what would happen next. He found it in the living room.

Outside, Jim indicated that they should walk in a certain direction. Soon, the two young people passed out of sight around the other side of the house. For a moment, Win thought to just let them go. But his curiosity got the better of him and he tried a window in a different room.

The pair passed in and out of sight between the untidy shrubs, then stopped to talk. Jim glanced back in the direction of the house but seemed satisfied that it was far enough away.

Through the narrow gap, Win caught sight of Jim leaning towards Trixie in such a tentative manner that it must surely be their first kiss. Without a shred of guilt, Win watched the exchange, noting in satisfaction that both smiled as it ended. As the pair closed in for another kiss, he turned away. It was one thing to watch one kiss between his son and a young woman; it was quite another to keep looking.

That’s quite a development, he mused to himself. But I’ll need to keep an eye on them; I promised Peter Belden that I would.

He took one last glance before he moved away. I don’t think there’s too much to worry about there, he decided, at last. Trixie will be good for Jim, in a way that Callista never could have been.

A gentle smile settled on his face. No, this was a very good development, indeed.

The End

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