Wyatt went into the living room and found her curled up in the armchair in there. Aunt Deb had her phone out and was smiling at the screen. He had already noticed that she texted with Uncle Tom all the time.
Noticing him lingering there, she pointed to the couch and put away her phone. "Take a load off and tell me what's on your mind."
Taking a seat, Wyatt told her, "I guess I still find it hard to believe that Lloyd and his wife would want me taking care of their kids."
"You heard Lloyd say it himself. You're family. In the end, that's what matters," she said like that solved everything. Then she got her phone out again. "I'm sending you copies of the recordings that Lloyd made in the hospital. There is the one for you and one for each of the boys." She then grew thoughtful. "Jill was already gone when he made the recordings. He knew he didn't have much longer. His voice was weak. He looked pretty bad, so he didn't want video."
Aunt Deb looked so sad as she spoke, heartbroken really. Hearing her, Wyatt was amazed at how strong she was. Wyatt didn't know how he would hang on once she was gone.
All day the boys had occupied him, so maybe that pulled him through. To help him hold it together now, he kept the boys foremost on his mind. Soon he was going to be all they had, and he couldn't fail them. He still wished Aunt Deb could have stayed just a little bit longer.
"I can't believe you're leaving so soon," Wyatt said.
"I have to. They were good about it at my job, letting me take the time off, but I have to go back as soon as I can. And Tom needs me."
"I understand. It's just that the boys don't even know me," Wyatt said worriedly. "I think they need more time to get used to me."
"This way they'll get to know you and also know that you're the one they can depend on, instead of looking to me." Aunt Deb was a tough-minded lady, of course she would favor the sink or swim approach and throw Wyatt right into the deep end.
"I guess you're right." Wyatt sighed and rolled his shoulders trying to let go of some of the tension that gripped him when he thought about taking care of the boys by himself. He didn't feel so overwhelmed when he was with them, only now when they weren't here to distract him. "They're good kids," Wyatt said with a smile.
"And you have the potential to be a good uncle," Aunt Deb told him and gave him a wry look that told him he still needed to prove himself.
"I'll do my best," Wyatt assured her. "That's what those boys deserve. I'll even try to like this place."
"The house or the town and everything?" she asked with a frown.
"All of it. But I guess Lloyd really liked living here," Wyatt said and looked out the window where all he saw was darkness. All the bright green that he had seen out there before had turned nearly black. The lights of the town were somewhere to the east, invisible to him. Even as he sat there with his aunt, the view made him feel lonely.
"Loved it. Lloyd thought this was the perfect place to raise the boys, and you will get to appreciate it too," she assured him.
Wyatt wasn't sold on that idea. The best he could hope for was not to hate the place. For the sake of the boys, he would try to give Peach Tree a chance.
Now that the boys were asleep, he and Aunt Deb finally had some quiet time and got to catch up. She told him how Uncle Tom was doing, and Wyatt told her a little about the life he was leaving behind. It reminded him of how different his life had become practically in an instant.
"I'm still in shock about everything. That Lloyd is really gone, that I'm going to be living here, that I have two boys to take care of. I'm not sure I'll be any good at it," Wyatt told his aunt.
"You brought along that dog. He'll get you out of any sticky situations," Aunt Deb said with a smile. "Now I'm going to go do some packing. You can look over that list I made you. It's phone numbers of the neighbors, what to call on them about. Where the nearest doctors and clinics are and of course the kids' own pediatrician. Numbers for their school and teachers."
"So I get homework," Wyatt said as he picked up the small stack of papers. "I'll put these in my phone to have them with me."
"All right. Sleep tight, hon," she said and patted him on the shoulder.
Left alone in the living room, Wyatt did his homework then checked some work emails. After that, with nothing left to do, he stared out the window again and tried not to let the loneliness out there swallow him.
Chapter 3
Since his night was restless with bad dreams waking him, Wyatt was up early. He was tired but that wasn't enough to keep him in bed. Without Barney with him, he didn't even have the distraction of that little fuzz ball, but the boys needed his company more than Wyatt did.
Dressed and out of his room, he could hear Aunt Deb bustling around and getting ready, but it looked like the boys weren't up yet.
Barney came over to nose around his feet and to get his head scratched. "Good morning. Who's a good boy. I missed you," Wyatt whispered to him and they both went off to the kitchen.
He let Barney out the kitchen door to run around in the field in the back and do his doggy business. Already Wyatt knew he would be spending all his time getting burrs out of his fur. Keeping an eye out the window in case he had to pick up after him, Wyatt looked for coffee so he could make some and finally get his eyes to open fully.
By the time Barney came bounding up the porch steps, coffee was already brewing. Wyatt set down some fresh water for him and watched him drink greedily.
"Thirsty boy, you like it here, don't you?" Wyatt said to him and Barney wagged his tail in answer. "You be careful out there and don't get eaten by bears."
