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“Also, I may have had a little surgery this week. My appendix decided it was time to go.”
“What? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I can’t get back to work for another week, but I’ve healed up quickly.”
“You should’ve called me!”
“I know, but it happened pretty fast, and I was in good hands.”
She pauses for a moment. “The woman you mentioned last time?”
“Yes, her name is Maren. You’re going to like her.”
“It’s serious then?” She’s trying not to ply me with questions, but I can hear the excitement in her voice.
“She’s my girlfriend. Once I’m done here, I’ll bring her to meet you, I promise.” A little kid walks past me, making a beeline for the pool. “I have to go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Hey kid!” I call out, after hanging up. He stops while I jog over to him. His face is familiar, but I can’t remember his name. “What’s your name?”
“Baxter.”
Baxter, that’s right. Archie’s grandkid. He watches him a lot. “Are you supposed to be out here by yourself?”
“No, but Papaw is taking a nap and I need to dig up my time capsule.”
He isn’t more than five years old. Archie is going to freak if he sees he’s missing. I send a quick text to him to let him know where Baxter is. “A time capsule, huh? That’s pretty cool. Where did you bury it?”
“Over there.” He points toward the tree on the opposite side of the pool enclosure. “I buried it so the future people could find it and meet Hoppy but I miss him, so I want him back.”
“Is Hoppy a stuffed animal? Maybe a rabbit?” I guess.
“He’s a frog.”
Archie must’ve already been awake and looking for the little escape artist because he shows up quickly. “You know better than to leave the house without telling me!” he scolds.
“I need to get Hoppy!” Baxter exclaims.
“Did he get loose?” Archie asks him.
Uh-oh. Not a stuffed frog then.
“He’s in my time capsule.”
I nod at Archie when he looks at me. “Baxter was just telling me that he buried a time capsule for the future people to find.”
“When did you bury it?”
“Yesterday.”
Archie rubs a hand over his face and takes his hand. “Come on boy, we need to talk about Hoppy.” He gives me a wave. “Thanks for letting me know. Hope he wasn’t any trouble.”
“Not at all. Good luck.” He cracks a smile, shaking his head as they walk away.
It feels so good to be back on my feet and I spend a good hour walking around, checking on things before heading back to the office trailer to call Dylan. When he left, I had doubts he’d be returning, since his mom needs him, and he confirms this is the case. I’m going to have to move up my hiring for a new more permanent maintenance man. Monroe is due back from vacation tomorrow, so I spend some time drawing up a job offer.
Hopefully, he’s available or knows someone trustworthy.
CHAPTER
