Chapter 19
It wasn’t the normal, weekly winners’ get-together.
Freddy had bitten the bullet and taken possession of the Corner House. They were breaking in his backyard. The former soldier had purchased a new barbecue which he said was for cooking until he got the kitchen rewired, but Andie laughed too hard when he said it for the excuse to be true. Doug hoped it would be a long summer for his sake.
There was a large deck off the kitchen, but Freddy had tied it off with “Caution” tape. It was obvious why he’d taken the precaution. When Doug crouched beside the slightly raised platform and looked up, he saw daylight through the cracks. Cracks in the boards, not just between them. The deck was a death trap. “Fortunately,” Freddy had joked, “I know a guy.”
“Those boards will make a monster bonfire once you get it down,” Tyler said. “I hope you bought s’mores ingredients for dessert, or we’re going to have words.” He grabbed Noah and headed to his truck to help move the things borrowed from Scarlett to handle the rest of the food.
“Between replacing the deck and the roof, by the time I’m finished, I’ll have enough scrap wood to heat an entire house for the winter. Maybe two. Do you know anyone with a wood-burning furnace? You would not believe the stuff I’m finding in the house and garage.”
Freddy had started his own construction company. He’d opened the doors to his Hopewell office—the office being the living room—at the beginning of the week. He told everyone he was living on the main floor for the time being, but he refused to give them a tour of the house until he’d emptied the rooms.
“What kind of stuff?” Kirby asked.
“Have you seen the show Antique Hoarders? They are all rookies compared to whoever lived here last.”
“Oh, my, that sounds like heaven! You know, when it comes to organizing, I’ve got serious skills, and a list of every thrift shop in the southern part of the province. I’ll help you go through it, if you want a hand.” Kirby’s brown eyes got brighter as she spoke.
Freddy stood a little taller as an invisible weight seemed to lift from his shoulders. “Sold! I’ll talk to you after dinner, and we can set up whatever dates you want. You’re a life saver.”
Doug laughed when they shook on the deal. He couldn’t tell who was more excited.
“It’s nice to be appreciated,” Kirby said. She pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Let me set you up with some apps to get started.”
“We’d appreciate another hand over here,” Tyler shouted from the corner of the house. He and Noah were having trouble keeping the grill upright after both wheels had fallen off the frame.
“Freddy, I’ll get them to you later. Right now, it’s Kirby to the rescue!”
Doug followed Freddy to the kitchen door and took the platter of burgers and sausages Freddy handed him. “You really did it. You moved from Winnipeg to Hopewell permanently. And you did it voluntarily.”
“This is where the work was.”
“Who are you kidding? You had plenty of work in Winnipeg. You chose to move back. Why?”
Freddy shrugged. “I like the quiet. I like the space. You’re right. I could work in Winnipeg, but there’s no room to grow. If this works out like I think it could, I can build something in Hopewell that I couldn’t in the city. I could do more than replace shingles. Plus, the different jobs and locations keep my brain busy. I need that right now.”
“As long as you’re happy.” Doug still didn’t understand, but he could respect someone else making that decision.
“I’m working on it.”
They kept things lowkey. Get-togethers in Hopewell usually were. Doug turned up the portable speakers on the picnic table to drown out the crickets as the sun dropped below the roofline. Tyler pulled out his guitar and sang along to some of the country songs.
Jonathan was on his third beer, something Doug hadn’t noticed until Jason called out the English teacher for trying to outpace the nightclubber.
Doug was seeing differences in them over the last few weeks. Kirby and Jonathan didn’t bring their spouses to any of the non-business dinners anymore and brought them up less and less in conversation. Jason’s attitude had skyrocketed. Evelyn had stress lines she hadn’t had a month earlier and was often found having serious-looking conversations with Scarlett and Kirby. Noah still sniped at Evelyn every chance he got, only now, instead of ignoring her in his silent periods, he stared at her. Andie had permanently moved in with her grandfather and was moping around town as news of her forced retirement spread.
For a bunch of millionaires, none of them were handling their newfound wealth very well. He was no exception. He had three million dollars left in the bank, and he still couldn’t find a way out of his contract.
“Doug, I forgot to pass along a thank-you from Mrs. Werner. You got outbid, but Cameron won the painting from the Diamond Willow Festival. She says they raised enough to repair the stands inside the arena,” Jonathan reported.
“That’s great. Hopefully they’ll replace some of the seats, so you don’t get slivers in your butt anymore,” Scarlett said. Every person sitting on the picnic table bench squirmed in sympathy. “They really need to be replaced, not just fixed. The whole arena needs a serious overhaul,” she continued.
Tyler nodded in agreement. “The dressing rooms are a wreck too. It’s embarrassing when we host other teams.”
Doug tuned out the various needed repairs.
“Doug? Earth to Little, are you receiving?” Tyler asked “What?” He couldn’t have missed that much.
“The donation thing. Are you in?” Tyler continued.
The state of the arena didn’t affect him personally, but he knew what it meant to anyone who lived in Hopewell. It was more than a place to skate. It was somewhere the kids and grown-ups socialized, where they could meet people and have a place to go. “Are you talking about that charity fund? Setting it up and giving some to the arena? Yes.”
Now that he was paying attention again, he noticed all focus had moved from him to Jason. “What did I miss?” he whispered to Scarlett.
“With your yes, we’re all in but Jason.”
This should be entertaining, he thought. The rest of them had splurged a little, but Jason was going through his money like water.
“It’s a charitable donation,” Jonathan said. His tone indicated it wasn’t for the first time.
“It’s a tax deduction,” Andie said to no avail as Jason shook his head again.
Noah played dirty. “You’ll look like a massive jerk if you don’t. You’ll never get another date in the area when people find out you refused to support the community centre and all the local kiddies.” His tone was without remorse, but the truth hit hard. Jason’s reputation would be in tatters if he was the sole holdout, especially since everyone knew exactly how much each of them had received in the first place.
“Fine. Okay, you can have my money. But I want credit.”
Tyler clapped Jason on the shoulder. “You won’t even know it’s gone. Besides, you still have your Lamborghini. Where is it, by the way?”
Jason shrugged off the friendly hand. “In the shop. I opened it up on the highway, and it took a beating. I bought a new truck in the meantime. Fully loaded. It’s a beast.”
“See. You’re giving away pennies and spending dollars.”
“It’s a good thing, Jason,” Andie said. “Thank you.”
“Whatever. Since I’m such a good guy, somebody should get me a beer.”
At least Jason went along with it, Doug thought. He didn’t ask if anyone had spoken to Cameron; they all knew he’d be with the program.
Andie nudged Doug’s shoulder. “Can I sit on the end so I can stretch my leg?”
He slid down the picnic table bench. Andie sighed as she unstrapped her brace and extended her knee. “I already have tan marks from this stupid brace. This fall is going to be lots of fun.” She sighed again. “Sorry, I’m trying not to take my bad humour out on all of you.”
When Freddy lifted her foot into his lap to give it a rub, Doug knew he needed to buy Jackie a donut; she’d made a comment about them, but he hadn’t seen that pairing coming. “If you want, we can paint tiger stripes on your other leg with SPF60 so you can match,” Freddy offered.
The teasing drew a smile from her. “No thanks.”
Jonathan plowed forward. “To be clear, we’re giving the go-ahead to Aurora to get things started, and then we’re making a donation to the community centre and arena? That’ll take a chunk, but there will be lots left.”
“We don’t have to spend it all in one place. I’d like to look at the hospital roof fund Jackie mentioned,” Andie said, before Doug could bring it up.
“I can start a list,” Kirby volunteered. “In fact, I volunteer to run point on the whole foundation.” She ran her hand through her wavy red hair, then jammed her ball cap back on. “I have the time.”
Evelyn looked up at her words. “If you want to take it on, I’ll say thank you. We’ll talk later.”
Doug wasn’t worried about what would come after the arena and the hospital. His portion would be his farewell present to his hometown. When he left, he’d be leaving a legacy for the next generation of kids who needed to kill time before getting out of Hopewell. He slipped away from the barbecue as soon as he could, promising to meet with Aurora to sign the paperwork for the new charitable organization whenever she called, but he didn’t say much more.
On the way home, he stopped in to see Jackie. He hadn’t been able to see her after work, and he’d promised her a kiss goodnight. He hoped it would become a regular event. She was becoming a daily necessity.
He didn’t mention anything to her, but the universe might be shifting in his favour. All he needed was a couple more days to be sure.