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No one cared what Sam Sunderland thought, least of all her.
“Delete the picture,” Luna said to Mia.
Chapter Five
“Iwant tomove away, Sammy.”
Sam had come to his mother’s house to repair the side of the fence that had blown over during the last windstorm. Not that the weathered old boards needed much help as many of them were rotted through. It was only a matter of time. Still, one didn’t come for fence repair only to be hit with such a surprising declaration from their mother.
He set down some of the fence planks before saying, “What do you mean you want to move away? Why?”
His mother, who was a petite woman with gray streaks running through her auburn hair and steel-colored eyes, crossed her arms as if expecting a fight. “What, so your father can move away, but I have to be stuck in this?”
Thisbeing his childhood home, which had been a little neglected the last few years, inside and out, and it wasn’t just the fence. After the accident, and his parents’ divorce, his father moved down to San Diego, got remarried, and seemed to have moved beyond Sam and his mother. Except for the property his father owned in the El Dorado area and holidays, Sam and him didn’t have much to talk about these days.
“Where do you want to move?” Sam asked.
“I just want to get a little cabin in the woods near Tahoe.” When she noticed her son wasn’t going to fight her, the crossed arms dropped, her posture softening. “It’s just this place is too big. It doesn’t work for me anymore.”
“Okay,” was all he replied.
“So, you’ll help me fix up the place to sell it?”
“Yeah.” He’d give his mother whatever she wanted even if it meant she’d be leaving him, same as his father. He owed her that much and he tried to assure himself that a little cabin near Lake Tahoe wasn’t too far away, unlike San Diego. He couldn’t fix the emotional turmoil but having something substantial, like fixing a house…well, this was something he could do. He’d put his own feelings on the matter aside and do whatever he could to help his mom sell her house.
Sam continued with the fence as he started to make a mental checklist of what this project would entail, and as bad as a blown fence was, it was easy compared to what could be on the inside of the house.
“You want something to drink?” His mom offered him a glass of ice water.
He stretched his back, removed his hat, and took a long greedy drink from the glass. It wasn’t quite summer yet, but it was already warm.
“You’re not going to get everything you need for the new fence using your motorcycle, are you?” his mother asked.
Sam let out a small chuckle. “You don’t think I could balance the boards across my lap?”
A frown stretched across her lips, demonstrating she didn’t find his teasing at all amusing.
“Don’t worry. I’ll rent a truck or something,” he assured her.
“I hate that thing. Why don’t you get yourself something else to drive?”
“Because I like it. Don’t worry, I’m being careful.” He wouldn’t tell her the truth. He only had one rule. No rides given, no rides taken. His bike guaranteed there would only be one rider and, therefore, he’d never have to be responsible for someone else. That was good enough for him.
“You should at least get yourself a haircut,” his mother said, eyeing his hair.
He raked his hands roughly through his thick locks before replacing his ballcap on his head. “I just haven’t had time.”
“What do you mean? What have you been busy doing?”
“I don’t know. Apartment stuff and now I’m trying to fix up a house to sell. I’m busy.” And going to a barber or even a Supercuts was never on his list of priorities.
“How’s everything going at the apartments?” his mom asked.
“Okay. Signed a new tenant for apartment seven.”
“Oh yeah? What are they like?”
Whatever his thoughts were about Luna, he wasn’t going to discuss them with his mother. “It’s one person. She seems okay.” He concentrated on stacking the discarded boards into a neat pile.
