The Recipient by Dean Mayes

Author:Dean Mayes
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Central Avenue Publishing
Published: 2016-03-18T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 20.

Waving to Scott as the van pulled away, Casey dashed up the oil-stained path to the warehouse. She could feel anxiety creeping in the minute she stepped out into broad daylight, but she made it to the comforting shelter of the garage before it could overwhelm her.

Sidestepping around the Volkswagen, she paused to catch her breath beside the stairs. She reached out for the rail and was about to climb them when she heard a male voice grunting and cursing through an open doorway that led from the garage to the rear of the warehouse. Cocking her head with both curiosity and concern, Casey regarded the doorway and gulped.

She’d had enough of being outdoors for one day.

Nonetheless, she peered around the paint-chipped door frame and spied Lionel standing before a pile of timber that was leaning up against the warehouse wall in the far corner of the paved courtyard. Across from him, a dump bin had been positioned outside a large gate.

Casey blinked and noted that the bin was half-filled already. She turned back to appraise her grandfather. He was sporting grubby overalls, a wide-brimmed hat and a pair of canvas gardening gloves. A wheelbarrow sat beside him, partly filled with refuse.

Lionel stepped back from the discarded timber pallets and other refuse and wiped his dripping brow. His expression hinted at exhaustion but his demeanour remained determined.

“Dare I ask?” she ventured, studying him.

Lionel shook his head. “You can ask,” he responded. He promptly turned his attention back to the timbers.

Casey smirked, watching as he made a second attempt at hefting a pallet. This time, he succeeded in wheeling it around and dropped it noisily onto the barrow. He staggered back but quickly recovered and smiled with satisfaction.

He winked at Casey.

“You don’t have to do this, Pa,” she said.

He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. “Think of it as a belated housewarming gift. You know, you could do quite a lot with this area. A courtyard garden, an outdoor retreat, entertaining space—just like on those nauseating renovation shows.”

Casey pursed her lips and blew a raspberry at that.

“Outdoor entertaining? Christ, could you honestly imagine me as the perky hostess? I don’t think so.”

Lionel chuckled and rested his hands on his hips. He inspected his handiwork.

Casey had attempted to make something of this area in the past. A rusted barbeque stood in the far corner. She had bought it not long after purchasing the warehouse but had never used it. A similarly rusted and paint-chipped outdoor dining set—three cast iron chairs and a circular table—sat forlornly nearby.

Aside from the accumulated refuse, the rest of the courtyard area was populated with large stone pots boasting the remnants of Casey’s failed attempts at growing trees and shrubs, an effort to bring some greenery to the otherwise austere industrial building and its grounds. In the time that she had been away, Lionel had achieved much in removing the worst of the rubbish she had been promising herself she would deal with for as long as she had been here.

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