A Child's Heart (Trent & Cassie's Story) A River City Novel (25 page)

“Shawn Callahan?” A woman in a light blue uniform
brought a tray into the room and put it in front of Shawn.

“What’s that stuff?” Shawn pointed to a white glob of
something.

“Grits. Put some butter on them,” the woman
answered.

“What’s grits?”

“They’re made from corn,” Cassie answered. “Want some
help with that butter?”

Shawn wrinkled his nose. “I want the butter on my
muffin.”

“I’ll see if I can find more butter for you,” Cassie
said and left the room.

“Karen said I may take a bath,” Shawn told his
father.

“Who’s Karen?” Trent asked.

“My nurse.”

“Oh.”

Shawn's face lit up. “Grandmom! I’m all better!”

“I can see that.” She smiled at her grandson and then
at her son. “I woke up this morning and knew I needed to come here.
What a wonderful surprise!”

Cassie tapped on the glass and Trent went to the
doorway.

“Only two visitors allowed. Here’s his butter. Would
you hand me my laptop? I’ll go down to the big waiting room while
you visit.”

Trent took the butter packets from her, then passed
her the case that contained her computer.

“Just let me know what Dr. Ramsey has to say.”

“I will.”

Cassie blew Shawn a kiss before heading down the
hall. She didn’t think anything could dampen her spirits, until she
settled down and pulled up her email. “Damn!” she said under her
breath as she read her email from Mrs. Winston. Hugh Fitzgerald was
granted bond, but was still on suspension from the city. Joseph
Snyder wanted her to call him, and she figured that was probably a
good thing. The man had been receptive to the idea of expanding the
educational opportunities. Mayor Giovanni wanted her to touch base
with him, too. It was Brad Shoemaker’s email that intrigued her.
She flipped open her cell phone and called the city’s finance
office.

“Brad Shoemaker, please.” Her call was transferred
twice before she reached him.

“Hello, Brad Shoemaker speaking.”

“Good morning. I’m Cassie Jones and you wanted to
speak to me.”

“Cassie, yes. It’s Brad. I’ve got what you want. Are
you at the hospital?”

“Yes. I stopped here on my way to the office.”

Brad's deep but friendly voice rumbled, “Don’t give
me that bull. I don’t blame you for camping over there. How’s
Trent's little boy?”

“He’s awake, alert, and seems to be his normal,
bright-eyed self.”

“Hey, that’s great. Mrs. Winston said you’ve been
working on several proposals.”

“Very true.”

“Cassie, I need to go over a few things with you. Is
there any way you can come to my office this afternoon?”

She looked at her schedule. “What time?”

“One thirty?”

“I’ll be there.”

“I’m on the fourth floor.”

She chatted for another minute and then hung up. She
wasn’t sharing the enthusiasm in his voice.

She read over her new proposal for the school system.
She had each area broken down by grade and Critical Learning
Objectives. Those were linked to all upcoming events and
collections.

She also added optional fun classes that would be
held on weekends, where the children could gain a broader
educational spectrum, while still fulfilling the CLO’s. The catch
on those events was having enough adults to assist. She had already
twisted the arms of several professors and other professionals to
provide the educational portion of each event.

Pete Pedoro, a meteorologist from the local TV
station, offered to teach several classes on weather events and
another more advanced class with the hopes of enticing some high
school students into considering meteorology as a career. Mick
Beamon, a young physics professor and pilot, offered to teach a few
classes on lift and propulsion using the history of flight, which
tied in perfectly with an upcoming exhibit.

She smiled as she read through the
whole thing one more time. She was positive the school board would
back her proposal. She pushed save and began to re-write the whole
thing for
River Lights
emphasizing the importance of the museum to the community and
how homeschooled children could also take advantage of these
classes.

“Did you forget?” Amanda asked.

Cassie looked up as her stomach twisted. “I totally
lost track of time.”

“When you weren’t out there waiting, I became worried
that something was wrong.”

“I’m so sorry. This has been my office for the last
few days.” She pointed to her computer. “I feel so terrible.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got plenty of time.”

“Give me a second to tell Trent that I’m going to be
with you.”

“How’s Shawn doing?”

“He’s awake and seems to be fine.”

Amanda's smile broadened. “That’s wonderful.”

“Be right back.” Cassie scurried down the hall to
Shawn’s room and as soon as she got to the glass wall, Trent saw
her and came out to her.

“Sorry. Shall I chase Mom out?”

“No-no. I came to tell you that Amanda McGuire is
here, and we’re going to go look at some other living arrangements.
Shawn needs his own room when he leaves here.”

Trent nodded and snuck a quick kiss on Cassie’s
forehead. “Don’t forget, I can contribute to the rent.”

“I won’t do anything until you see it, too.”

She put her hand on his chest. “I’d rather find
something I can afford on my own. I want you to go to college, and
not worry about paying our rent.”

He drew in a deep breath and whispered, “I can’t
afford to go full-time. I need my health insurance on Shawn, and
Mom would never make it on her own.”

Cassie cocked her head and stared at him.

“I’ve got to help Mom. She can’t do it alone. It's
too much for her.”

“I understand.” She closed her eyes as the
ramifications sunk into her brain. “I’ll find something.”

A few minutes later, Cassie was sitting in Amanda’s
car, looking over a list of addresses.

“What would you like to see first?”

“I’m not sure. Trent just told me something that
might be a problem.”

“Lousy credit?”

“No. His mom is dependent on him. Apparently her
house is paid, but she can’t make it without his help.”

Amanda grabbed her laptop and a moment later, smiled.
“I’ve got the perfect place. Let’s go.”

They drove out of the hospital's parking garage and
into the bright sunlight. Cassie blinked several times as her eyes
adjusted to the sunshine. They made several turns and wound up in a
neighborhood of homes that Cassie had never seen.

“This is actually a stable neighborhood. There’s a
few rentals in here, but it’s a nice, middle class area.”

“The houses look old.”

“They are. They were built in the late 1930’s as some
sort of housing for the military.”

“Military? Around here?”

Amanda nodded. “What is now our airport was once a
base.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“These houses went on some sort of protected list to
preserve the neighborhood back in the 1970’s. They are extremely
well built.”

“They look like duplexes.”

“Quite a few are, but not all.” Amanda slowed the car
and then parked it. “This is it. I’ll call and see if they will
show it. If not, we can come back.”

Cassie looked at the adorable Tudor-style house with
its tiny front yard and its meticulous gardens. “For sale or
rent?”

“Sale, but the cost will be about the same as
renting.”

Cassie listened while Amanda spoke to someone on her
cell phone.

Amanda smiled. “Not a problem. It’s vacant. The owner
moved out last week.”

“It looks huge.”

“It is.”

They walked up a wide flagstone path to a door with
gardens on each side of it. Amanda put a key into a small box that
hung from the doorknob and withdrew two keys from the box. She
tried one and then the other in the lock.

Once inside, they both smiled.

“It’s lovely.” Cassie looked around the empty room. A
big window faced the front yard and several more faced the side. It
was bright and spacious.

Amanda grimaced. “It needs painting.”

“But that’s minor, right?”

“That’s what I thought when I started painting my
house.” Amanda sighed. “It’s hard work, if you do it yourself, and
it costs a fortune to pay someone to do it.”

“All this pretty wood trim and
someone converted the fireplace to gas.” Cassie wandered into the
kitchen and peered into the backyard. There was enough room for
Shawn to play, but it was the massive, detached, two-story garage
that held her captive.
Trent will love
it.

“Cassie, here’s the bedroom, and this is the laundry
room.”

Cassie did an about-face. “Bedrooms?”

“No, bedroom.”

“But we need more than one, that’s our problem
now.”

Cassie looked at the bedroom with its tiny nook and
the small bathroom, then the laundry room. “This is cute, but it’s
too small.”

“For you, yes, but this is only part of the house.
Follow me.”

They went through the laundry room and into the other
side of the house.

Cassie sucked in a deep breath. On the far side,
there was a larger living room and a big kitchen. Upstairs there
were six large bedrooms and another tiny room that wouldn’t hold
much more than a small desk. Then another staircase that led to a
huge finished attic room.

“Ohmigod! This place is huge. We’ll never afford
this.”

“Yes, you will. Your mortgage will only be a few
dollars more than what you are paying now, and the interest you pay
on that mortgage is tax deductible. So it will actually be cheaper
for you to live here.”

“So what am I supposed to do, rent that tiny
apartment to someone?”

“You could, but I was thinking about Trent’s mom.
She’d have her own place, yet she’d be nearby. You’d only share the
laundry room. She could rent her house. There’s a demand for those
houses. From what I’ve been told, the woman who owns this place had
her mom living there.”

Cassie chewed on her bottom
lip.
This place is perfect for us.
“I’d have to talk to Trent.”

“Of course.”

Cassie opened the back door and gazed around the
yard.

Amanda pointed. “There’s also a FROG.”

“Where?” Cassie looked in the general direction where
Amanda pointed. "I don't see any frogs. You must have great
eyesight."

Amanda giggled. “Not that kind.
It’s an acronym for
finished room over
garage
. I can try one of these
keys.”

Neither one worked. Disappointment flowed over
Cassie, as she would have loved to see it. She turned back towards
the house and looked at the two tiny patios, separated by the
kitchen. Picturing quiet evenings with Trent made her heart swell.
Everything about the place was perfect, including the little
apartment. Certain that the falling out Trent had with his mom was
temporary, she imagined Shawn happily playing while his grandmother
watched over him.

Amanda shoved her hands into her pants pockets. “The
appliances are old, but they appear to be in good shape. You could
always renovate the kitchen at a later date. The washer and dryer
look to be fairly new. The place just needs some paint.”

“I love all the windows. That was the one thing about
Sweet Grandview that attracted me to it, those large windows.”

“You should have seen Sweet Grandview before Jeffery
Lister bought it. It was gross.”

“That’s hard to imagine. It's a beautiful
building.”

Amanda looked towards the front door. “I’m going to
grab my computer from the car and go over a few figures with
you.”

Cassie watched Amanda leave and looked around the old
house. It wasn’t new and it did need work. She ran back upstairs
and looked at the bedrooms. The front bedroom was spacious with its
own bathroom. The other rooms shared a single bathroom. Its
robin-egg blue with black trim was quite old, but appeared to be in
good shape.

“Cassie, are you upstairs?” Amanda called.

“Yes. I’ll be down in a minute. Just looking
around.”

“Take your time.”

A peaceful serenity swept over Cassie as if she
belonged in the house, but her head kept telling her that living
here alone would be a mistake. There was a lawn to mow, and the
general upkeep on a house was out of her price range. Was Trent
ready to make that commitment to her? She bit her lower lip as her
heart battled with her head.

~~27~~

“Good afternoon,” Brad Shoemaker said, extending his
hand to Cassie. “Hope you don’t mind sitting in my office. It’s a
little crammed, but everything is in there.”

Cassie followed him into the small room and watched
as he lifted a handful of file folders off a chair before pulling
it around to the back of his desk.

“Here, have a seat, Cassie.”

“Thank you.”

She thought it was rather awkward to be sitting
behind his desk with him, until he shifted his computer monitor so
that she could see it.

“Seems you stirred up quite a hornet's nest. We’ve
had several people working non-stop to straighten out the financial
mess of the museum. Mrs. Winston's fastidious records have been
very helpful. You’re getting your own bank account. I’ve already
sent everything over to Mrs. Winston. All your deposits will go in
there.”

Well, that’s good news.
She leaned back in the chair and waited for the
proverbial axe to fall.

Brad gazed at her for a split second and then pulled
up a spreadsheet. “Can you see this?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. The mayor sent over some spreadsheets you had
given him. Did you do those?”

“No, someone else did them. I’m not an
accountant.”