Chapter Text
While finishing up his morning chores, Red noticed the moving vans at the little farm house next door. The new owner must be moving in. He heard through the grapevine of his small country town that it was a young single woman from the city. He remembered wondering why a young single woman would want such a fixer upper house for herself in the middle of nowhere.
“Dad! Breakfast!” called Madeline from the porch.
“I’ll be in in minute!” he called as he was finish up feeding the chickens.
Red walked in the house and hung his dirty old ball cap on the hook on the wall next to the door. He walked into the kitchen to wash his hands. “Smells delicious, sweetheart!” he says as his teenage daughter kisses him on the cheek and sets a cup of coffee on the counter next to him while he is drying his hands.
“Mornin’ Daddy!”
“Mornin’ Maddie! Thank you!” He smiles and grabs his cup to join his daughter at the table
“Did you see the new neighbor is moving in?” asks Maddie.
“It looked like it,” says Red digging into his breakfast his daughter made.
“I should make a casserole and bring it over there to welcome her to town.”
“If you have time after school and you get your school work done,” Red said with a little bit of a warning tone.
“I know, dad,” she says rolling her eyes. “Mrs. Cooper did say it was a young woman moving in, right?”
“I think so. But you know how she loves to gossip,” Red chuckles. Red looks at his watch and finishes his coffee. “We gotta get going Maddie. I got a meeting with Harold before class.”
Maddie clears the table and puts the dishes in the sink. “I’ll clean that up after school. Let me get my backpack. I’ll meet ya at the truck!” Red grabs his dirty old ball cap pulling it tight on his head and heads to the truck to await his daughter.
“What’s your meeting with Principal Cooper about?” asks Maddie on the way to school.
“I’m not sure, he didn’t say,” says Red as he pulls in the lot. “Have a good day sweetheart! Meet me in my classroom after school!”
Maddie kisses her dad on the cheek, “Sounds good. Love you, dad. Have a good day! Good luck with Principal Cooper,” she says as she rushes to jump out of the truck and catch up with her friends walking into the school.
Red heads into the school and straight to the Principal's office. “Mornin’, Harold!” says Red holding his hand out to his good friend and boss!
“Good morning, Red! Have a seat!” he says gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk. Red takes a seat and rubs his hands on his thighs nervously. “So… I have a proposal idea for a project for your students, but it would be off campus.” Red lifts his brow in interest, but doesn’t say anything urging his friend to continue. “Your new neighbor actually, her name is Elizabeth Keen, she contacted me wondering if some of the shop students would like to help her with some of the household repairs. I told her I would talk to you and get your thoughts.”
“When would this take place? I have a couple different class sections, but the hour and half class period is hardly enough time to drive out there and get any real work done on any projects she would want our help with. Unless it was an after school thing or a couple kids give up a study hall around my class time so they’d have 3 hours.”
“Why don’t you see if there is an interest from your students and we will go from there,” says Cooper as he stands up and reaches for Red’s hand.
“Sounds good. I’ll get back to you on what the students’ interest is,” Red says shaking Cooper’s hand and turning to leave his office. He pauses in the doorway and turns back to Cooper, “We’re still on for dinner Friday night, right?”
“Charlene and Maddie wouldn’t let us skip it,” Cooper chuckles. It’s been a monthly thing since before Maddie’s mom passed and Maddie and Charlene have made sure it stuck even after. Red nods his head and turns to leave Cooper’s office.
——
Red opens his shop classroom. He has a free period first thing in the morning to prep for his lessons that day. He starts getting the shop ready for his first class.
——
Red hears the bell signaling the end of the first period of the day and opens his classroom door ready for his students to file in. He steps out in the hallway and sees his daughter talking with her friend Cassie and smiles. He can’t believe his beautiful daughter is already 17. It feels like just yesterday she was born. Now she’s about to be going off to college in a year and half. Not that he is counting. But he can’t help but think about how this fall will be her last fall at home with him.
Maddie catches her dad’s eye in the hallway and smiles at him. He’s always protective at a distance. She’s grateful he isn’t an over protective single dad. It was rough those first few years after her mom died. She was grateful for her best friend Cassie and the Coopers. Mrs. Cooper taught Maddie how to cook and do laundry, things no 8-year-old should have to worry about. But Maddie was happy to learn how to do it. She had done some baking and helped her mom on occasion, but she didn’t expect to have to take it over at that young age. Her dad was a decent cook but he was running their small farm and a full time teacher. He didn’t handle her mom’s death well either, especially in the beginning. He had shut down for a while. She had spent a lot of time with the Coopers that summer.
——
The bell rings signaling the beginning class and Red walks into his classroom and shuts the door! “Hope everyone is having a good day so far! I have a project proposal from Principal Cooper that would take place after school or you would have to give up a study hall. It would be helping a new community member with some home renovations… How many of you would be interested in this? And be honest…”
The students, mostly male, look at each other and a couple raise their hands. Red takes a mental note of who is interested. “Thank you for being honest! I understand most of you probably have after school jobs or don’t want to keep doing school after school,” he chuckles. “Let’s get started. You guys all have your projects you were working on last week so today is a day to keep them going! Have at it!”
——
At the end of the day Madeline is chatting with friends in the hallway knowing her dad is finishing up things in his office. When her friends head out she goes to her dad’s classroom where he told her to meet him. “You ready, dad?”
Red looks up from his desk. “Uhh.. yeah.. let’s go,” he says standing and grabbing his ball cap off his desk and putting it on his head while shutting off his office lights and headed out of the classroom and locking up. He puts his arm across his daughters shoulders as they walk out together “So how was your day?”
“Same old school day, dad! How was your meeting with Mr. Cooper?”
“The new neighbor wants help with renovating her house and asked Harold if he would ask me about having students help,” he says getting into his truck with his daughter.
“So… are you gonna do it?”
“I asked my students today, since they would have to give up a study hall or do it after school in order to have enough time to accomplish anything. Not too many kids wanting to give up their free time to hang out with me,” he chuckled.
“Maybe you can still help her, dad,” suggests Maddie with a smirk to herself. She knows her dad is lonely since her mom passed. The last few years she has told him he should start dating. She reminds him she isn’t gonna stay home forever to take care of him. He always laughs at her and tells her he is good on his own. But she knows him well enough to know he could use the company when she goes off to school. She knows the Coopers will be there for him but she worries about him when it comes to being in the big house by himself.
“I have my own work to do on the farm and projects to grade.”
“Dad… You’re the shop teacher. You never bring any of your teaching work home. And I can help more around the farm too.”
“We haven’t even met this woman, Maddie,” he says pulling at the last excuse he has.
“Then come with me tonight and meet her.”
“I got chores to do.”
Maddie leaves it alone. She knows he will just continue to make excuses, but in the end he will more than likely end up helping the neighbor because he’s a nice guy.
When they get home, Red goes immediately to starting the chores on the little farm while Maddie starts dinner and makes an extra casserole to take over to the new neighbor. While dinner is cooking she works on her school work.
Just as Maddie is pulling dinner out of the oven to set on the table Red walks in the door and hangs his hat on the hook. “As always it smells delicious, sweetheart,” he says as he kisses his daughter’s temple on his way past her to the kitchen sink to wash up.
“After dinner I’m gonna bring the extra casserole I made over to the new neighbor if you’d like to join me.”
“Sweetheart… Just promise me you’re not gonna try and set me up on a date with this woman,” he sighs.
“Dad… I haven’t even met her yet,” Maddie laughs.
“Please…” he says with a slight warning tone.
“Yes, daddy… I promise,” says Maddie while crossing her fingers under the table. She wasn’t going to make that promise without meeting the woman first.
Red shakes his head at his daughter’s promise and laughs to himself. He knows she is more than likely crossing her fingers under the table. She’s always voiding her promises with ‘I had my fingers crossed’ just like her mother used to do to him. He misses his late wife dearly. Especially in these moments where he sees her in his daughter.
After dinner Red offers to clean up so Maddie can go over to the neighbor’s house. “You sure you don’t want to come with dad? We can do the dishes when we get back.”
“No.. You go ahead, sweetheart.”
Maddie kisses his cheek, “Okay. I’ll be right back.” Maddie grabs the casserole and heads out the door.
It’s not too far so she walks up the road to the little old farmhouse. She knocks on the door.
——
Elizabeth Keen just moved to town from Washington D.C. She needed a change of scenery after her dad passed away. She found herself a little farmhouse that needed a little fixing up. Being raised by a single dad she learned how to be fairly independent when it came to fixing things around the house. In turn she isn’t the best cook, but she makes do.
She was unloading boxes all day and getting things put in the rooms she wanted them in for now. She had a lot of renovations she wanted to do. Including refinishing the hardwood floors through out the house. She had gotten a job at the local hardware store which would come in handy for getting everything she needed for the renovations. She also got a part time bartending job a few nights a week at the local bar on the edge of town.
There was a knock at the door so she set the box down in the kitchen and went to answer the door. “Hello?”
“Hi… My name’s Maddie,” she said with a smile. “I’m your neighbor and I brought you a casserole to welcome you to town.”
“Thank you. Come in,” she says as she takes the casserole from the young girl and sets it in the kitchen. “It’s nice to meet you Maddie. My name is Lizzie… If you don’t mind me asking… how old are you?” Lizzie was curious where this girl’s parents were.
“I’m 17. My dad is at home being stubborn,” Maddie says giggling to herself. “So where are you from?”
“Washington D.C.”
“Oh that is so cool.”
“Have you ever been?”
“Naw. With the farm… dad and I don’t get to get away much,” Maddie says a little disappointed.
“It’s just the two of you?”
Maddie’s head drops a little, “Yeah… mom died 9 years ago.”
“I’m sorry… I just lost my dad recently. It’s hard loosing a parent. I can’t imagine losing one that young… My dad was a single parent too.” Lizzie wasn’t sure why she was telling this girl so much but it felt good to tell someone those little things about her dad.
“So… Are you gonna do all the fixing up of the house yourself?” asked Maddie wanting to change the subject and looking around the open floor plan of the kitchen and living room.
“Yeah… Well what I can do myself at least.”
“My dad is the high school shop teacher… He could help you with anything you might need help with,” Maddie was quick to volunteer her dad knowing about the meeting he had with Cooper and that his students weren’t on board with the idea. She felt bad that no one would be helping Lizzie. Plus she got a good feeling from Lizzie and thought maybe it would be good for her dad to interact with someone like her.
“That’s good to know,” Lizzie said with a smile.
“Well… it was nice meeting you Lizzie!”
“It was nice to meet you as well Maddie. You’re welcome over anytime!”
Maddie smiled and walked out the door to walk home. On the short walk home Maddie continued to smile to herself trying to think of the best way to get her dad to meet Lizzie.
Red was just finishing up the dishes when he heard his daughter walk in. “So…”
“Sooo…” Maddie mocked him. He gave her a more stern look for mocking him. “What? If you had came over you would know,” Maddie shrugged with a smirk. “I’m gonna go to my room. Night, dad!”
“Good night, sweetheart,” he called after his daughter. “Why’d she have to get my smartass attitude?” He mumbled to himself as he finished up what he was doing in the kitchen.