Page 14 of Misadventures Of A Single Mom

Kelly waved to me from the front door. She wore shorts, a pink tank top and flip flops. At five-one, she was what you’d call petite. After seven kids, she was round in all the right places but seemed to melt off the baby fat like Crisco in a hot pan after every birth. Keeping up with them could do that. Her hair was blond and cut short into a chic style. A cross between Meg Ryan and Tinkerbell. I wasn’t not sure how she did it, but it always looked good. Brushed, never a hair out place. Maybe she used tons and tons of hairspray. I never asked. I didn’t want to seem petty and jealous of her gorgeous hair. My curly, dirty-blonde mess always looked like I kept my head out the window of a car like a dog. And that was after attempts at styling. It was impossible to tame wayward curls. Usually, my hair went into a ponytail and stayed there.

Kelly was jealous of me being skinny, I was jealous of her hair. Go figure.

Cute or not, jealous or not, I did not want seven kids. Having only two was worth a perpetual bad hair day.

I stepped out of the car and leaned an arm on the top of the door. “They’re in the backyard,” I told her.

She laughed from the porch. “Seven kids, nine kids, what’s the difference?”

To me, a lot. To her, not much.

I promised her an update when I came back later and was off.

I cruised back into town to get Ty, my older-model Jeep Cherokee chugging along. It was black and I’d had it longer thanI’ve had the boys. It wasn’t that pretty anymore. It only got an occasional summer wash so the shine was gone. A few door dings, kid stains and hail damage from the storm last summer. But it got me where I wanted to go, especially in the snow and cold. There was no point in wasting money on a flashy car when I didn’t go far and had messy kids, so it would have to catch fire before I replaced it.

Ten minutes later, I pulled in front of Ty’s house and knocked on his door.

He was holding a cup of coffee when he let me in. He looked me up and down.

I wore a pair of olive capri cargo pants, a white V-neck T shirt and a pair of Keds sneakers. My hair was down as I’d showered and let it wind dry in the car on the way to Kelly’s. It now spilled around my shoulders in a windblown casual look. Or at least that was what I was going for.

If you had to dress up in Bozeman, you wore a clean pair of jeans and your best boots. My wardrobe screamed casual. Why dress fancy when I usually collected dirt, grease—from food and bike chains—grass stains and other mystery spots over the course of a day? At least I had mascara, sunscreen moisturizer and lip gloss on, and that was pretty darn fancy. Oh, and a bra which if Ty were asked, he’d have said was optional.

I felt as if he was looking through my clothes and picturing me naked. Which he already had, at least one part of me. Yeah, optional.

“I’ll drive,” he said. “Be right back.”

“Um, sure.” As I slipped on my sunglasses, I made a mental note to wear nicer underwear tomorrow. If he were going to undress me with his eyes, I might as well be dressed to impress.

“Sure you don’t want me to drive?” I asked after he locked his front door.

He lifted one eyebrow in a look that screamed I was nuts to even consider it. “If I’m going with you, I’m driving.”

“Control freak?” I asked.

“Definitely.” He beeped his truck open with the lock remote. It was a very nice and new four door pickup truck that could haul anything and everything. Silver. Typical rugged, outdoors guy car. Immaculately clean as if he spent hours washing and buffing it. Even smelled brand new. If I locked him in my house for a couple hours, I’d bet it would be super clean, too. Something to remember.

Ty wore navy shorts that came to just above his knee, a BAHA T-shirt and running shoes. BAHA was Bozeman’s amateur hockey league. I warmed in all the right places thinking about how hot that was. A hockey playeranda fireman. My kind of guy. Ty opened the passenger door for me. Holy chivalry! I hadn’t seen that one in a while. Or ever. Nate had been obnoxious, not chivalrous.

We took Kagy to 19th and headed south. The windows were open and sunshine was on my face. We skipped small talk for the drive, which suited me fine. I enjoyed the peace and quiet with no kids yakking away from the back seat. But with Ty, the silence was a little unnerving because I knew he wasn’t super excited about this outing. I felt a little bad. Not enough to change my mind though. My mission was to find Gnome Stealer and kick his ass. Reality would be different, as I had no expertise in ass kicking, but I could dream. Ty’s mission was to keep me safe. Or at least that’s what he’d alluded to the night before. A knight in shining armor under duress.

Minutes later, I directed him to a seventies era subdivision. Houses had been built on two roads running perpendicular to 19th. They had big lots, close to an acre, with established landscaping. A few trees dotted the lawns here and there, but none were taller than fifteen feet. The winds and snowhammered down all winter long and they were afraid to get any taller. Most of the homes were vintage, no remodels or exterior updates to the split-level style. Without any type of zoning or HOA, the homes were painted an eclectic mix ranging from light tan to a bright turquoise. Full sized RVs were in driveways and stuck out above backyard fences.

The garage sale house was half brick, half wood siding painted dark green. An attached two car garage jutted off the left side. Black shutters graced the average looking windows. Junipers grew large and scraggly around the foundation. Enormous lilac bushes bordered the neighbors on both sides.

Ty pulled the car into the driveway and turned off the engine. “This is it? Looks like they’re on vacation.”

No signs of life were apparent. Windows were closed on a hot summer day. No trash cans at the curb like the neighbors. Must be trash day. Several newspapers rested on the mat by the front door and the grass could have used a mow.

I took off my seatbelt and climbed from the car. Away from town the wind was stronger. It blew my hair into my eyes and I swiped it behind an ear. Ty stood behind me when I knocked on the door. Nothing. I knocked again. Still nothing. I looked around as I waited.

“They must have put all the stuff that didn’t sell in the garage,” I guessed.

Ty walked up to the garage door and peeked in the dirty windows. He tilted his sunglasses up to get a better look. “No car. A workbench, an old fridge. You’re right. There’s a pile of junk in the middle of the floor.”

By then I’d joined him. I wasn’t as tall and didn’t get the same view, but I got the gist. Nothing interesting. “Now what?” I asked, disappointed. Frustrated.

“Let’s look around back.” Ty slipped his sunglasses back on.

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