Oh. Codes. She said the word as if it were very interesting, she was listening, she cared, and then promptly moved on. We could make her life totally better. And-if you need the help-I could do more than just the decorating and style side of things. I can hammer a nail straight. And stain. And varnish. And use a drill and sawwell, some saws. I cant use a band saw. But a jig saw or
She was still wired up when they reached his house. By then theyd worked up a potential work program-some projects he had to work solo, and his schedule was always wildly different. But he knew he could give her an extra twenty hours a week, if she wanted it. She did. And that set her off on another spill of enthusiasm. In fact, she was still talking when she climbed out of his truck and aimed straight for his back door.
Whoa, he said. I thought you had to close up the café? That we were just coming back here so you could collect my car?
That was the plan, I know. And I do have to make sure the cafés closed up tight by seven. But theres plenty of time before that, and I have to use the bathroom, okay?
So you want to see the inside of the house.
She grinned. You got it.
She shot in the back door and started snooping faster than a bat out of hell. He dropped his mail and keys on the counter, peeled off his jacket, started a kettle.
He suddenly badly wanted a cigarette, but since hed quit smoking ten years ago, he couldnt do that. A shot of liquor had equal appeal, but no question about Daisy, she was a woman where he needed every wit he had around him.
The same woman whod waxed poetic at the café about living on yachts and wintering in the Riviera was beside-herself excited at the idea of designing a kitchen for a wheelchair-bound stranger. The same woman who regularly wore cashmere shamelessly boasted about her skill with a jig saw. The same woman who could likely convince a priest she was a spoiled prima donna was up at five, baking for a second-class café in a town she professed to hate.
You used to have a dog, didnt you? Her face showed up in the kitchen doorway, disappeared again.
Yes. Lets not go there. He followed her. The house-hed liked it when he bought it. At the time hed wanted solitude, a place in the country not too close to neighbors, where there was ample space for his dog to roam. At the time hed accepted being too ornery to ever live with anyone else, so he had no one to please but himself.
The kitchen always seemed okay to him. He used the table for everything but eating-mail, projects, a place to store things he hadnt had time to put away, like Christmas presents from his mother. The sink and counter were both clean. The refrigerator held the important staples-juice, ice cream, ice cream bars, eggs, mustard. Hed sort of forgotten that the kitchen wallpaper was pea green and orange. He was going to replace the wallpaper right after he moved in, but it slipped his mind. Now, though, he could see it through Daisys eyes.
Not good.
His living room said more for him. At least he thought it did. He searched Daisys face as she wandered around. The fireplace had a barn-plank mantel, a deep serious hearth. A two-foot brass lion sat at the hearth. No furniture there, just giant pillows, because if you wanted a good fire going, it was because you needed to stretch out and let the fire work on your soul. One step up was the more regular part of the living room, with bookcases and a couch and a theater TV. He had a massive chair-one of those that looked like an upscale lounge chair but actually had a dozen controls.
Daisy took one look at that chair and lunged for it. She sank in, closed her eyes and let out a heartless erotic groan. What controls she didnt immediately find, he pressed for her. The chair was actually a rip-off. It worked; it was just a lot of money for something that he forgot to use most of the time. But watching her bliss out made him think it was worth every dime.
That thought pestered his mind, unsettled him. He was coming to realize that he could look at her-her face, her hands, her knees, or any other part of her-and never seem to get bored. Just looking seemed like chocolate. No matter how good it was, you wanted more. Even if youd just had a look. Even if youd just had a taste.
Whats the woodwork in here? she asked.
Wild cherry.
Its gorgeous.
Yeah. He loved good woods. She already knew that. She was also suddenly bounding out of the chair and streaking for the hall. Hey, he said.
So your dog was black and white, right?
Howd you know that?
Fur in the carpet, on the chairs, on the couch. She turned right, with him trailing her. She poked her head in the bathroom, switched on the light, took a look at the dark-green and white tiles and sink and the puddle of thick, beefy towels on the floor and moved on. So, Daisy said, I figured she was spoiled rotten.
My dog?
She was allowed everywhere. Good spare bedroom, she announced after shed inspected it.
Hell, she was starting to make him so nervous that he started chattering like she did. He used the spare room for an office, but had a couch that made into a double bed for when his parents or younger sister came to visit. Hed built the screen to hide the desk and file cabinet and computer then, to make it more a decent retreat for company. And that room had its own small bath. No towels on the floor. No toothpaste in the sink.
Wheres the wild cherry wood come from?
Georgia. Maybe you dont want to look down there.
Dont worry. Ive seen unmade beds before. She smiled before opening the door to his bedroom. Hed built the frame to put the king-size mattress on, because his back could get tricky, and he needed a hard mattress. The double-down comforter was the opposite, all soft and fluffy and embarrassingly sissy-but hell, Vermont winters were damned cold. Especially when a guy was sleeping alone.
Because he was suddenly nervous-hell, he was never nervous-he seemed to be bumbling on again. Look, I know the dresser looks messy, but I swear, things climb up on that dresser in the middle of the night. I cant explain it. Like that hammer-I never put it there. And the fork. I dont eat in this room, so I have no clue how that fork showed up. And all those socks. I never left a sock lying there in my entire life-
She chuckled. I believe you. Completely, she assured him.
Good.
She was a girl, wasnt she?
Who? He hadnt had a woman around in so long that he couldnt fathom what Daisy could be leaping to conclusions about.
Your dog, she said gently, and motioned to the pink dog collar on the dresser along with all the rest of the debris. Aw, Teague. You lost her recently, didnt you? And you loved her a ton.
She was just a mutt.
Big deal. You still loved her beyond life. She owned the whole house, for Petes sake. Its obvious. Her voice was softer than sunlight, gentler than compassion.
She was just a mutt.
Big deal. You still loved her beyond life. She owned the whole house, for Petes sake. Its obvious. Her voice was softer than sunlight, gentler than compassion.
Did he need this? Like a hole in the head he needed this. She could have commented on his messes and his ugly kitchen wallpaper. She could have teased him about the towels on the floor. Insteaddamn, but hed loved that dog.
What was her name?
Hed called her Hussy. Which she wasnt. She never left him, went with him to work anyplace they could tolerate dogs, never got in his way. I wasnt looking to have a dog. I just came across her in a ditch one day. Some car had hit her. Shed been just a puppy, bleeding, bewildered, too close to dying to even whine. She never did have much of a voice. Worthless as a watch dog. The only one she ever watched over was him.
Aw, damn, Teague, she said softly. Im sorry. Thats rough.
How the hell had she found out his weak spot, just like that, just walked in and in one look, found the one thing he didnt want her to find.
You know, he said, hearing the frustration in his tone, its about time you owned up to a few things.
Like what?
Like what its all about. Making people think your ex-husband was some kind of jewel. Rich. Famous. Fascinating. But youre here, Daisy, and youre struggling to get even some basic security together. I understand about pride. But I dont get why youre keeping what happened such a secret. Not from people who care about you.
He didnt mean to pry. He figured hed find out in time. What good did prying ever do? People shared when they were ready. If you pushed them, it never came out the same way. You never found out when they were ready, for one thing. But Daisyshed made him think about Hussy. Shed poked. Shed looked at him with those loving, caring, beautiful dark eyes.
She still was. And suddenly she was walking toward him, as well. He thought she intended to leave the bedroom, and he turned sideways to give her room to pass.
Only, when she reached his side, in the shadow of the door, she faced him. Ill tell you about Jean-Luc if you want to know, she said. But not now. Theres only one thing on my mind right now.
And that is?
You, tiger. Just you. Only you. And she reached up, and lassoed her arms around his neck.
Eight
He wasnt expecting the kiss, Daisy knew. He was exasperated with her. She knew that, too.
But she didnt throw her arms around him because she wanted to. For damn sure, she would never have done an eyes-closed, mouth-open kiss-from-the-heart if shed had any-any-other choice.
Dais-
Shh! she ordered him and resolved not to let him up for air ever again. Or at least for a while. A long while. She back-walked him down the hall, past the living room and den and bath. She walked, blind, her arms slung around his neck, fingers shivering in his scalp, lips clinging as if she were the glue and he was her only stamp.
Anxiety nipped at her conscience. This was such a bad idea-in principle. After the blizzard, shed steered clear of Teague for an excellent reason. She knew she was vulnerable to him, and she wasnt climbing into another relationship that couldnt work out. If a woman quit trying to climb mountains, then she couldnt fall off.
But damn Teague. Damn, damn, damn Teague. She kissed him again, harder, softer, deeper, wilder, loosening her arms from his neck so she could pull at his shirt. And once shed peeled loose his shirt buttons, she yanked off her sweater-although the instant her mouth lifted from his, he tried to say, Daisy- again.