Jake carefully glued the broken wing of the balsa wood glider back in place. He held it together for several seconds so the glue would stick. When he was satisfied it would hold he opened the bench seat his father had handmade when he'd built the tree house. Gently, he placed the glider inside. The airplane had been broken since the day of his mother's death. He and his dad had been testing it out in the park when a gust of wind knocked it into a tree, breaking the wing. Lifting Jake into the tree, his dad had assured him they would fix it when they got home. Fixing the airplane had been forgotten when they saw a police car at the house.
Jake had been scared when he'd seen the two officers. His dad had sent him next door, but he'd already known something terrible had happened by the faces of the policemen. From the neighbor's window, he'd watched his father rush away. It was late that night when his dad returned. Jake could see he'd been crying. When he'd told Jake his mother had died in a car accident, Jake had hugged his father and cried too. After the funeral, Jake had stored the airplane in the bench seat.
Since his mother's death, Jake's father hadn't been the same. They no longer did fun stuff together. His father was always sad. Jake was sad, too.
He didn't know why he'd taken the airplane out and glued it back together now. He'd kind of gotten glue all over the wing. If his dad had repaired it, it would have been perfect. Jake sniffed. He didn't want to cry. Crying was for babies.
Instead of going into the house where his sitter was watching some dumb love story on TV, he decided to sit in the opening of his tree house and dream about him and his dad flying gliders again.
A flash of movement in the upstairs window of the house next door caught his attention. He saw a figure dart to the side of the window and peek at him. He pretended not to see anything, but looked out the corner of his eye. The figure stayed at the edge of the window. It was kind of creepy.
Jake had watched furniture and boxes being unloaded from a moving van the day before. The furniture and boxes seemed to be the usual stuff. Jake wondered if that was just a cover up. Maybe a spy had moved in next door. He wanted to share the weirdness of someone peeking at him with his father, but he knew his father wouldn't care. All his dad did was work, eat, and sleep. They never did anything fun anymore. Jake sighed.
Ryan gazed out the darkened window in his office. He made a final entry in his computer and signed off. Stretching, he rotated his shoulders and winced. He had been sitting too long in one position. Opening a desk drawer, he retrieved his briefcase.
The design plans for the expansion of a home in the Sunriver community outside of Bend were coming along nicely. The retired couple who owned the home had called him earlier that week and asked for an estimate. They had already interviewed several architectural firms about an addition to their home, but another Sunriver resident had recommended him. He'd redesigned the former client's kitchen shortly before Annie's death. Ryan's throat constricted. He remembered how Annie had inspired the design. She'd been an avid cook. Her dream had been to attend chef's school when Jake was older.
Ryan passed a hand over his face. He didn't want to think about the past. Instead, he conjured up the image of the crazy woman crossing the highway that afternoon. He almost laughed when he remembered her inane conversation. "Do you know Boss-at-the-Top, too?" What kind of question was that?
For all her crazy talk, she'd been interesting to look at. She wasn't beautiful, or even pretty in the strictest since of the word. She was small, with average brown hair, and average facial features; except for her eyes. They had been exotically tilted upward and a striking shade of blue. Or was that lavender? He decided it was somewhere in between. The effect of her gaze had shocked him at first, and then it had unnerved him. Why that was, he wasn't exactly sure, and he didn't want to speculate.
Ryan turned his thoughts to Jake. He would be in bed by now. The familiar feeling of guilt washed over him. Since Annie's death, he knew he hadn't given Jake the kind of attention he needed. But caring for Jake only made the hurt of losing Annie that much worse. Instead of a hot poker burning a hole in his heart, it felt as if it had exploded and there was nothing left but pain.
Gathering his belongings, Ryan switched off his desk lamp. Unbidden, he remembered the blue-lavender eyes of the woman. Sighing, he locked his office door and closed his mind to her.
Jake heard the automatic garage door open and close. His father was home. He listened for the familiar sound of him entering the house. He always had trouble sleeping until he knew his father was safe at home. When his mother hadn't come home, the reason was because she was dead.
He listened to the sound of his father talking with Jenny, his sitter. He hated the fact that his father insisted he have a sitter. No amount of arguing would change his mind, though.
A few minutes later, he heard his bedroom door open and he pretended to be asleep. He always pretended. He felt his father sit on the side of his bed and stroke his forehead. "Night, Jake," was all he said, and left the room. Jake's eyes burned. He wouldn't cry. Crying was for sissies. So what if his father didn't hug him and tell him he loved him. He was too old for that anyway.
Jazmine couldn't sleep. There had been something unbearably sad about Jake sitting alone in the entrance to his tree house, his legs dangling over the side. She'd watched him from the edge of her drapes until he'd climbed down and entered his house.
Her job was to reunite father and son. Her assignment had purposefully been designed to encompass the holidays because it was hoped that the magic of the season would assist in her endeavor.
Jazmine planned her strategy. She would learn to bake fabulous Thanksgiving and Christmas dishes. She would decorate her house for the holidays and plan parties for Jake and his father and neighbors to attend. She envisioned a beautiful Christmas tree with twinkling lights, glittering tinsel, and lots of presents.
The excitement of planning the holidays kept her awake until the early morning hours. She wished Phossy was with her to share ideas with.