By now Parker was cradling the phone and remembering what it felt like to be a girl talking to a boy. “I didn’t say I wasn’t interested. Although I’m tempted to see what turning up the charm looks like.”

His throaty laugh had her giggling along with him. “We’re getting somewhere.”

“I’m rusty at this,” she warned him.

“Then we move slow.”

“We’re going to have to.”

“Well then, Parker. I’ll let you get to bed now since you have to yell at moms first thing in the morning.” The man had heard everything she’d said. That was a first.

“Good night, then.”

“Good night.” She tossed the phone on the bed after he hung up and hugged her knees hard. God, it felt good to have a man flirting with her.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Parker drove through the long line of dump trucks that Ray waved back once she was spotted. She rolled down her window as she pulled in. “Thanks, Ray.”

“No problem.”

She peeked out her window in hopes of spotting Colin. Half a dozen trucks that looked just like his were parked side by side. Much as she wanted to see him, had thought about him most of the day, she wasn’t about to go search him out. She’d be subtler than that.

Nora’s car was parked to the side of the driveway.

Parker walked into the house from the garage. The minute she opened the door the scent of something savory cooking stopped her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose. Pot roast . . . or something similar.

The garage was situated under the main living area of the house, so she had to take a flight of stairs before the full force of smells hit her. She turned the corner to see Nora sitting at the dining table they’d been perched at the day before.

The morning chaos had been cleaned from the kitchen and a vase of fresh flowers sat on the kitchen island.

“What smells so fabulous?”

Nora looked up, set her reading glasses to the side. “I thought I heard someone come in.”

Parker glanced inside the oven. “You cooked?”

“I hope you don’t mind. I thought you might need some comfort food after everything.”

“You didn’t have to—”

“I know. I wanted to.” Nora walked over to her. “I found a few ingredients, bought a couple others. One of the things I miss most about my children growing up and leaving the house is cooking big meals.”

“I don’t make the time for big meals,” Parker told her.

“We get together at least twice a month so I can get my fix. I’d have them over every week or more if I could.”

“This is because of Mallory’s cereal dinner last night, isn’t it?”

“I’m not judging, sweetheart. I understand what it was like to have teenagers running in all directions. I think Colin lived on frozen pizza for three years.”

“Austin’s favorite.”

Nora tilted her head. “What you may not realize is how much more expensive that kind of eating is in the long run.” She waved Parker over to the table. “There was a time when my husband and I were struggling. My mother had been declining in health and we eventually had to move her into a home. It was expensive and I needed to make the grocery budget stretch.”

Nora handed her a notebook full of recipes and discussed the art of cutting coupons. Next she handed her a spreadsheet. “For someone so young, you really do have a handle on your budget. I can see where you used your father’s life insurance policy to pay the mortgage, taxes, and insurance.”

“But it’s running out.”

“I see that.” She pointed to a column. “This is from your renter. Is there a reason you didn’t rent the guesthouse out sooner?”

Parker nodded. “Mallory and Austin were both under eighteen when our parents died. Taking guardianship at twenty-four came with supervision from the courts.”

“Do they still watch you?”

“Not really. I mean, the high school knows about our situation and I’m aware that they could report it if there were any real problems. I thought it was best to avoid any potential for issues with a tenant.”

“And when Austin turns eighteen, you no longer have that hanging over you.”

“No. We also lose our parents’ social security checks once he’s out of high school. I’ve already filed for the three-month extension after his eighteenth birthday.”

“Like we figured out yesterday, all this is working but obviously not for long since the accounts are running low, less than two years with your current expenses. Even with the tenant.”

“Unless I got a better job.”

“Which is going to be key if you’re staying in the house.”

For the next ten minutes, Nora talked to her about the pros and cons of moving out of the family home and into an apartment. She talked about equity and the economy . . . things Parker hadn’t spent a lot of time considering. While Parker realized the fire would stop potential buyers and lower the overall sale price of the home, she hadn’t considered the whole picture.

“What if I can’t afford to pay all the bills here?” Parker asked.

Nora lifted a finger before slipping her glasses over her eyes. “The insurance money. They paid you for the loss of your barns, but there is nothing here that says you need to rebuild them.”

“I would think the property would be worth more with a barn.”

“Maybe. But do you need them?”

“Not anymore. The first thing we did after the accident was sell the horses.” A hundred dollars a month per horse to feed was out of their budget.

They mulled over the spreadsheets of damage and moneys collected from the insurance company, and Nora had added a column for estimated cost of repairing the damage with a do-it-yourself budget.

“I have no trouble doing any and all of the work that I can, but I don’t know the first thing about fixing shingles on a roof or building a fence,” Parker told her.

Nora’s kind smile helped ease the tension building in Parker’s shoulders. “That’s where you ask for help, m’dear. A barbeque dinner and cookies goes a long way with some of your new friends in your front yard right now.”

The thought made her uncomfortable. “I couldn’t do that.”

“Why not? People like to help.” Nora kept going. “I’m not suggesting you won’t have to hire a few things and pay the inflated price for it. But on a few of these things, you won’t have to hire anyone. The mom in me wants to tell you not to stress about the money. But I realize that’s not possible when you’re sitting on so many unknowns this winter. I am going to tell you to try not to stress, Parker. Mainly because you’re too young for wrinkles.”

Parker tried to smile.

“Work the hours the school district gives you. Encourage your brother to get a part-time job. All my kids worked when they were in high school.” Nora placed a hand over hers. “This is temporary. A new job may not be as forgiving of the interruptions that you may not be able to avoid right now. Colin and his crew are doing all that out there, but you have a lot going on in here. And that’s personal and emotional. It would have been difficult on your parents if they were here, and doubly hard on you.”