Book of Love Page 11

  “Yeah, sure, Alexis.” John waved his hand.

  Alexis drove his truck down the street where his Aunt Robin lived. She and Chris lived in the same neighborhood, just in different houses on separate streets. As he drove by, something caught his attention. When he looked more closely, he saw fire and smoke coming out of the side of his Aunt Robin’s house. Alexis slammed on the brakes, jammed the truck into park, and jumped out, running up to the house to bang on the doors and windows. On his way he called 911 to report the fire. Robin came down the stairs, and he could smell smoke as she opened the front door.

  “Aunt Robin, your house is on fire in the back!”

  “I just noticed the smoke,” Robin said frantically.

  “Where are Glen and Ruthanne?” Alexis asked.

  “Upstairs.”

  “You go out and bring the fire department to the house when they come, and I’ll go up and get Glen and Ruthanne.”

  Stunned, Robin nodded her head.

  Alexis ran up the stairs two steps at a time and got to Ruthanne’s bedroom as Glen came out of his bedroom.

  “Glen, there’s a fire at the other end of the house. You need to get out. Robin’s outside, and I’m getting Ruthanne.”

  Glen and Alexis went into Ruthanne’s room and Alexis, being the bigger of the two of them, picked the sleeping girl up and carried her down the stairs with Glen following him out the front door. The fire had moved from the back kitchen area to the front living room and dining room, and smoke was filling the air quickly.

  The fire department pulled up and immediately started to work putting the fire out. The fire had jumped from Robin’s house to the home next door, and the firefighters went to get those residents out too.

  * * * *

  When Alexis and Glen appeared, Robin ran to them and Alexis handed Ruthanne to her. They walked out to where Alexis’s truck was parked and Robin placed Ruthanne in the truck and then asked Alexis, “Can I use your phone to call Chris?”

  Alexis handed her his cellhone, and she called Chris and told him what was going on.

  When she hung up, Alexis asked, “Is Dad coming?”

  “Yes, he’s on his way.”

  Ten minutes later, Chris pulled up and walked over to where Robin, Dale, and Alexis stood. “Where’s Ruthanne?”

  “She’s in Alexis’s truck,” Robin replied.

  “Anyone hurt?”

  “No, we all got out, thanks to Alexis.”

  Chris turned and looked at his son with admiration.

  “I was on my way home, and saw the back of the house on fire, and I stopped, called 911, and went and banged on the door to get them out,” Alexis explained.

  The fire raged out of control for several hours before it was quenched by the fire department. Finally, the fire chief came up to them and said, “The fire is completely out, but I’m sorry to say that your house is totally destroyed. Fortunately, no one was injured.”

  “Yes, thankfully Alexis was here at the right time to alert us and get us out,” Robin said, on the verge of tears.

  “Do you have someplace to stay?” the chief asked.

  “Yes, they’ll be staying with me.” Chris spoke softly.

  “Oh, Chris, you don’t need us at your house,” Robin said tearfully.

  “The only option available is for you to stay at my house. Now, no arguing about it, let’s go. There’s nothing more we can do here.”

  Glen asked the fire chief, “Any idea what caused the fire?”

  “I won’t be able to do a complete investigation until the morning, but from what I can see, it looks like faulty wiring. I hope you guys have insurance.”

  “Yeah, we do,” Glen replied grimly.

  Everyone piled into their vehicles and drove over to the next block, to Chris’s house. Robin took Ruthanne upstairs and put her in the extra bed in Sandra’s room. Ruthanne kept crying as Robin rocked her gently until she drifted off to sleep. She returned downstairs to the kitchen where Chris, Alexis, and Glen were seated, having coffee and talking about a plan of action for later in the day.

  “Is Ruthanne okay?” Glen asked as Robin walked up to them.

  “Okay for now.” Robin choked back tears.

  Alexis got up and said, “I’m going to try and get some shut-eye, since I have to get up in a few hours to go to work.”

  Robin walked over to Alexis and gave him a big bear hug. “Thank you, Alexis. You saved our lives tonight. I will never forget this.”

  “I’m just glad no one was hurt.” Alexis hugged his aunt and then went upstairs.

  * * * *

  Chris, Robin, and Glen sat around the breakfast table drinking coffee. No one seemed to be able to think about sleep. “You guys will stay here until your house is rebuilt.”

  “Are you sure, Chris?” Robin asked, tears forming in her eyes again.

  “Yes, I’m sure. There is plenty of room, and it would be best for Ruthanne to be surrounded by her family during this stressful time.”

  “The first thing we’ll have to do later this morning is call the insurance company and get things rolling,” Glen said to Chris. “We’ll have to find clothing to wear too.”

  “I can float you a loan to go shopping today and get some clothes and personal items that you need until the insurance company pays,” Chris said.

  “I imagine the insurance company is going to wait until the fire department makes a ruling on how the fire got started.”

  “Yeah, probably. At any rate, it will probably take six to eight months before the house gets rebuilt and you can get back in.” Chris felt a great sense of relief knowing his family was alive and okay. He couldn’t imagine what his life would be like if he had lost Robin, Glen, or Ruthanne.

  Chapter 12

  Janice thought she had enough money saved that she could get herself a vehicle. She was toying with the idea, and looking over at Colstrip Auto Care each time she thought of a car. She wondered if she could get Chris to go with her to help her get a car. She admitted to herself that she knew nothing about cars, and after the last debacle she didn’t want to buy another piece of junk.

  Robin walked up to her and said, “You seem a little preoccupied, Janice. Is something wrong?”.

  “No. I’m just thinking that I have some money put aside to make an auto purchase, but I don’t want to get ripped off like I did with the last one. I’ve been thinking about asking Chris if he would help me find a good car.”

  “I think he would be delighted if you asked for his help. He’s always good that way. Look at what he’s doing for us, all crowded into his house. Plus, if he’s going to maintain the car, he would probably want to know what he’s going to be maintaining.”

  “I feel really bad about not knowing anything about cars and needing to ask for help.” Another thing about being weak, not being able to do something yourself and having to ask someone to help you do something as simple as buy a car. Lots of women go out and buy their own cars, why can’t I?

  “Look at it this way, Janice, you’d get to spend the afternoon, morning, or whenever you go, together for a while.”

  Janice grinned secretly at that. Yeah, that would be nice.

  There was a lull in the afternoon, and Janice told Carly and Robin, “I’m going across the street for a few minutes. I’ll be back soon.”

  Robin smiled knowingly as Janice walked out the door.

  * * * *

  It had been a quiet afternoon for Colstrip Auto Care, and Chris was sitting on the stool talking to Glen when he looked up and saw Janice walking to his shop.

  When she walked in he could see the sparkle in her eyes. “What brings you over this way?” Chris asked, smiling.

  “Um, I was wondering—could we talk in your office for a minute?”

  “Yeah, sure.” He stood and walked back to his office with Janice following.

  She entered the office and sat in the chair. He closed the door and walked around to his chair behind his desk.

  “What’s on y
our pretty mind today?”

  Janice flushed. “Well, I’ve got a little bit of money saved, and I think I have enough to make a down payment on a car. I was wondering if you’d be willing to help me find a good one. Obviously, I know nothing about cars, and I got taken advantage of when I bought that other car and I don’t want that to happen again. Is that something you would do for me? I’d be happy to pay you for your time, or offer some sort of a tradeoff.”

  “I’d be glad to help you find one. What kind of car would you like to look at?”

  “I...I don’t know,” she replied hopelessly.

  “Okay, so you’re looking to get one financed and make payments on?”

  “Yeah, I mean, that’s the only way to get a good car, isn’t it?”

  “Well, yes and no. You can get a good older model used car if that’s what you want, and it could run for you, but you have to do a lot of searching for it.” Chris thought for a few minutes. “If you don’t mind my asking, how much do you have to put down on it?”

  “Three thousand dollars.”

  “Hmm, that’s pretty good. One thing you have to understand is that the winter months here are long, and sometimes it’s hard to get around. Most of the vehicles you see here are SUVs and trucks. The SUVs are good for getting through deep snow and good for traction. Plus, you sit up higher and can see better. Would you be interested in looking at something like that or do you still want to stick with a car?”

  Janice thought about it for a bit. “I think an SUV would be good. I can also haul things in it when I need to.”

  “Yes, there is that capability as well. Okay, are you free Saturday morning?”

  “Yes, I’m free,” Janice said almost too quickly.

  “A couple of dealerships are open Saturday mornings, and we can check them out. How about I pick you up at seven-thirty, and we’ll stop at Kellie’s on the way out and grab some breakfast. By the time we’re done, it’ll be around nine and the dealerships should be open. Will that work?”

  “That would be great. I really appreciate you doing this with me,” Janice said, looking relived. “How can I compensate you for taking the time out of your schedule to do this?”

  “I’m glad you asked. You can compensate me by bringing it to this shop when it needs maintenance.”

  Janice smiled. “I will.” She stood and said, “Well, I’ll let you get back to work.”

  Chris walked her out, and she turned around and kissed him on the lips. He grabbed her arms gently, and kissed her back.

  “I’ll see you Saturday,” she said as she left the building.

  He watched her walk back to the library, admiring her beautiful legs. Aaron came up behind him and said, “Dad, when are you guys gonna get married?”

  “Aaron, we’re not anywhere near that kind of a commitment,” Chris said, annoyed at the question.

  “Why not?”

  “I’m just not sure we could make it work,” Chris said and walked back into his office.

  Aaron followed him. “So you have been thinking about it?”

  “No, not really,” Chris said, sitting in his chair and looking at his son.

  “Well, personally, I think you two make a good couple,” Aaron quipped and walked out.

  Chris still couldn’t believe the admission he’d made to himself a few days ago...he was in love with Janice. They seemed to have a lot in common, and enjoyed each other’s company, and he loved her. The question now was what was he going to do about it? How was he going to tell her? Was he going to tell her? Each time he’d tried to get her alone and make love to her, something always came up. When could he say enough was enough?

  He also still had the issue of it being a biracial relationship. He had faced many racist people in his lifetime, and heard a lot of innuendos about his Native American heritage and being a successful business owner. Would his relationship with a white woman compromise his business? Would it affect the progress Janice had made with the library? Those were things they would need to discuss.

  In addition to that, how did she feel about him? She didn’t seem too concerned about the fact that he was Native American when they were seen together in public.

  He was also concerned about why she had this lawsuit going on against her ex-husband and his family. She knew she wasn’t going to get anything since she’d signed a prenuptial agreement. And the fact that she hadn’t told him about any of it—not even the marriage—made him wonder what else she was keeping from him. Was he just opening a Pandora’s Box with her? Would she try to take all his money and run? It seemed to Chris that the two sides of her were in conflict, and he didn’t know which side was the genuine one.

  * * * *

  Chris listened to the radio station Saturday morning as he drove to Janice’s apartment to pick her up. High in the nineties, typical July temperatures in Montana. When Janice climbed into his truck, he wondered why she always wore long sleeves and high necklines.

  “Do you get cold easily?”

  “What? Um, why?” she asked as she fastened the seatbelt around her.

  “I’ve never seen you wear anything except long sleeves, I just wondered if you get cold easily.”

  “Oh, um, yeah,” Janice said. She dropped her gaze.

  Chris drove to Kellie’s and they went inside. Cheryl greeted them.

  “Hi, Janice, Dad. What are you two doing up so early?”

  “Janice and I are going to look for an automobile for her at the dealership. They open at nine o’clock and we thought we’d grab breakfast first.”

  “Oh,” Cheryl replied with a knowing smile. “You want a booth or a table?”

  “A booth,” Chris replied.

  Cheryl seated them in a booth and took their drink orders.

  “So Janice, what do you have plans to do this afternoon after we get back from car shopping?” Chris asked.

  “Hopefully, I’ll be driving around in my new car!” Janice said, laughing.

  Chris smiled at her. She must have had braces when she was a girl, because no one could have such perfect teeth.

  “How about you?” Janice asked almost shyly.

  “When we get done this morning, I have to go to Shane’s place to help him with a home improvement project.”

  Cheryl returned with the two cups of coffee and water. “Are you ready to order?” she asked.

  “Yes, I’d like one egg, scrambled, with a bowl of oatmeal please,” Janice replied.

  “Okay, and do you want your usual, Dad?”

  “Yes,” he answered.

  Cheryl left to place the order and Janice asked Chris, “What’s your usual?”

  “Ham and cheese omelet with jalapeno peppers, red peppers, green peppers, and onions.”

  “Ooooh, the spicy one, huh?” Janice said.

  After breakfast, they left to go to the dealership and look at SUVs. They also looked at used cars, and then they looked at new cars. Chris saw a couple of good used cars that would have been cheaper for her, but Janice said she wanted something new. They started bantering back and forth in front of the salesman as if they were a married couple, and the salesman didn’t know what to say or do.

  “I want something like your truck, Chris.” Janice smiled coyly at him.

  He looked at her, pretending to be shocked. “My truck’s a man’s truck.” He looked at the salesman and rolled his eyes.

  “Oh, silly, don’t you know that trucks are made for women too? Besides, I think I’d look pretty good in your truck. It rides nice, and I think it’s just right for me.” She stuck out her lower lip as if she was pouting.

  He chuckled. “I think you look cute in my truck too, but we need something a little more practical for you. I think the new trailblazer is more in line for what you should have.”

  “Yeah, they are a thing of beauty, huh?” she said, looking one over.

  “I’m thinking you’re a thing of beauty,” Chris said with a grin. “We’ll look at getting you a new SUV, but it needs to have the OnStar
on it. It also will be maintained by me, and I will take it in and give it the usual maintenance so that the vehicle lasts a long time.”

  After nearly three hours at the dealership, Janice walked out and drove a brand new SUV home to her apartment. She called Chris when she got home.

  “Hey, Janice. How did the drive home go?”

  “Oh, it was great. I love it,” she exclaimed excitedly.

  “Good, I’m glad we were able to get one for you.”

  “Yes, I am too. Thank you so much for going with me and helping me with this, Chris. I really do appreciate it. I wish there was some way I could repay you.”

  “I don’t want you to worry about that. I’m glad I was able to help.”

  Chapter 13

  Janice was assisting a student at the checkout desk when Barb Wickman entered the library. She waited patiently for Janice to finish her task. Once the student left, Barb smiled and said, “Hello, Janice. How have you been?”

  “Hi, Barb. I’ve been doing great, you?”

  “Fine, just fine. I stopped by for a reason, is there someplace we can talk?”

  “Sure, come on in my office,” Janice replied.

  They walked into Janice’s office, and Janice closed the door and sat down behind her desk as Barb sat down across from her.

  “How is the new employee working out?” Barb asked.

  “She’s doing wonderful. She has really freed up some of Robin and my time to work on other priorities.”

  “Good, I’m glad to hear it.”

  “What can I help you with?” Janice asked.

  “Well, I was just at a state fair in Helena, and I noticed that the district library there had set up an informational booth where people could come to the table and see what’s going on at the library and what new things are coming up and so on. I got to thinking, we’re having our county fair in a couple of weeks, and I’m one of the county fair council members, and I thought I’d ask if this is something that you think would be a good thing to do for our library.”

  “I think that’s an excellent idea. Robin and I have been discussing other activities that we want to start in addition to what we already have, and the county fair would be a great way to get the word out to the community.”