His grin was more infectious than chicken pox. He galloped down the hall and pounced, taking a kiss as if she were breakfast and hed been starving for weeks. Then lifted his head and grinned again at her dizzy-eyed response. Where have you been? he demanded.
Its ten to one. Didnt you tell me to come at one?
Well, yeah. But Ive been waiting for you since yesterday. Another kiss, as he stripped off her coat and hat and started pulling her toward the den.
He let her up for air halfway down the hall, only to roll his eyes at her attire. The slacks, the silky blouse-you call those varnishing clothes?
I know theyll get ruined. But theyre old. Theyre what Ive got.
Nah. Well fix you up better than that.
His theory of fixing her up was to strip her down to the buff, make love with her on the pale-pink carpet of the strangers hall, and then loan her his shirt to work in. An hour later, give or take, she had a chamois cloth in her hand.
You need another rag? he asked her.
You! Dont come near me! If I need another rag, Ill get it.
Hey.
Dont you hey me, cher. Every time you come near me, we get diverted for another long while. At this rate, well be done with this by February l0 of 2020.
And this is a problemhow? He managed to look bewildered at the question she raised, which obviously required her stalking over to his side of the room. She kissed him good. On the navel. The shoulder. Under the chin. And once, swiftly, below the waist.
Then scurried back to her side of the room. I love making your eyes cross, she mentioned.
Thats because youre an evil, evil woman.
Dont try complimenting me. You cant get out of making me dinner.
Somehow I ended up with a really raw deal there. Its your payday but Im the one doing dinner. How does that work?
It works fine in a womans head, cher.
Yeah. I get that. What I cant get is how I got bamboozled into the deal to begin with.
It was such nonsense talk. Silliness. She had no idea how three hours passed so fast. He explained the process of finishing the wood. The redwood was all naked and sanded. All she had to do was dip her cloth in the bowl of gunk and love it in as he called it.
It was such nonsense talk. Silliness. She had no idea how three hours passed so fast. He explained the process of finishing the wood. The redwood was all naked and sanded. All she had to do was dip her cloth in the bowl of gunk and love it in as he called it.
Theyd ambled through conversations. His political views were misguided, but she educated him. She told him stories about growing up in Vermont, the winters, tobogganing and skating with the MacDougal boys next door, her dad leading a Percheron-driven sleigh in the fields with the three sisters trundled up in fifty layers of clothing.
He told her about his mom and dad-how his mom was the blockhead of the family, the one whose genes hed inherited. Dad had the patience of a saint, put up with her, put up with me. My sister-Riley-she was the perfect kid. I was the snot.
You? Daisy asked in teasing disbelief.
I know, I know. Its hard to believe. But it seemed like I was always getting suspended for opening my mouth to a teacher. The thing is, when they were wrong, I liked to correct them.
And you always knew what was right?
Yup. I did. And my mom did. Sometimes we butted heads. He thought. Sometimes we still do, I guess. When she and I go at it, we can generally clear the room faster than a skunk.
You yell? At your mother?
She yells at me. The louder the argument, the more she likes it. My dad used to say, lets hope and pray they broke the mold with you two.
Did he try giving you two time-outs?
Nah. Both my parents were hard-core softies. No discipline. Encouraged Riley and me to explore any damn thing we wanted. Dad even encouraged the arguments, because he said they taught me to think. And Mom-she really screwed me up.
Yeah?
She was the one who pushed the major independence. If I got kicked out of class for speaking my mind, she just laughed. When I fought with Dad to travel around the country my senior summer alone, he thought I was too young. She pushed me to do it. Every damn thing I did wrong, Mom was there to egg me on.
Youre blaming her for the times you got in trouble?
Well, I wouldnt put it that way. She just likes to take credit, when sometimes I think I should get some credit myself. But what can you do? Shes my mom. I have to let her have her way.
She loved listening. It was so nice, hearing someone talk up their parents. How good they were. That he enjoyed being with them. He told her about Christmases. About hiking the Appalachian Trail. About his history skiing-which involved a lot of drinking at a ski lodge and very little skiing.
He had endless stories to tell-in most of which, he was the villain, or so he claimed. He kept her laughing and talking so much that it only occurred to her later that hed failed to mention any of the girlfriends in his life. She was about to call him on that when he suddenly walked over, hooked his hands on his hips and shook his head.
Holy cow, are you filthy.
He said it in such an admiring tone that she blinked, then glanced down. The shirt hed loaned her was an old blue chambray with a few spots on it. Now it was thoroughly polka dotted with the finishing product and smelled like something that needed fumigating.
She couldnt help it. There was something about working with the wood. Rubbing in the finish. Bringing out the beauty and grain of each board. Loving it in. Shed had no choice about putting her whole self-and his shirt-into it.
Teague shook his head. Did you play in mud puddles when you were a kid?
Are you kidding? I aced the class in sissiness. I got in lots of trouble, but I was always dressed for it.
Youd never know it now. Come on.
Come on where? We cant leave. Im not done. Although, when she glanced out the window, the sun was gone. In fact, the entire day was gone. It was wicked-dark and snowing like a banshee.
Weve been at it nonstop. Its after six. This is nuts. I know you said you didnt have to close up the café tonight. But we both need showers. I need to start dinner, and first off-before the stores close-we have to go buy you some decent clothes.
Um, Teague. She waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention. In case you havent noticed, the one thing in this life I very definitely have is decent clothes. The last thing I need is more.
You dont have the kind of fancy label stuff Id buy for you, he insisted.
Oh, God. He dragged her into the General Store on Main Street. It was one of those truly old-fashioned places where you could buy a wedding ring, a hoe, dry powders for headaches and stamps at the same time. The back of the store housed clothes-all on shelves, nothing hung up. The denim was so stiff it could walk by itself. The shirts were so sturdy they were heavier than she was.
You think these overalls work like a chastity belt? she asked him. I dont see how anyone could get in or out of them.
I hadnt thought about that advantage, he said thoughtfully.
She slugged him. But she couldnt stop him from buying her a new wardrobe of jeans, flannel shirts, gloves, wool socks. Youre sure you can bend your knees in these pants? she worried.
You dont wear them yet, you silly. First we have to roll up the jeans in dirt and stones, then wash them in bleach. Even then, the fabric will be tougher than the denim youre used to-but the point is, you can spill some paint and varnish and what-all without anything going through the cloth to your skin. And you can wear them over and over, not ruin your pretty stuff.
She gasped when she saw the total. For Petes sake, Teague, I can get real clothes for that amount of money.
Yeah, but would you look this cute? Now. For dinner.
She wasnt aware of being tired, but shed been up before dawn, cooking and baking, and then really poured on the coals through the hours with Teague. At his house, he started a roaring fire, then parked her on pillows in front of it. Were going to picnic in here, he told her. No peeking in the kitchen.
By the time she sank on those pillows, her muscles were creaking, her whole body begging to be let down. It was so different from stress tired, though. Shed loved every minute of the day, loved every minute of being with him.
Aha, he said finally from the doorway, and came bearing a tray with a lit candle on it.
She twisted into a sitting position and then had to laugh. The candle was set in a crystal holder, very fancy, very nice. The two blue plates matched. The napkins were neatly creased. The wine was served in serious stemware.
The dinner fare was simply peanut butter and bacon sandwiches with chips. And ice cream bars for dessert-if you finish everything on your plate. He waggled his finger at her. You dont have to say anything. Im aware that Im not exactly a chef at your level.
Are you kidding? I havent had this in years.
Its got all the food groups, right? Or it will as soon as we have the ice cream bars.
Especially if theres chocolate on the ice cream. You do know that chocolates one of the critical food groups?
He looked affronted at the question. What, you think I was born in a cabbage patch? I never leave chocolate out of a serious meal. He added, I was missing fruit, but then I figured, there are grapes in the wine.
Right.
I guess theres no vitamin D. But tomorrow I could throw you out in the sunshine to take care of that.
Assuming there is sunshine.
That is a problem in winter, he conceded. But assuming we can steal some sunshine, we could have a snowball fight to get our vitamin D.
Im amazed how far youre willing to go for the cause of nutrition.
Hey, there are a lot of things you dont know about me.
Theyd been talking and teasing each other all day, yet somehow both of them suddenly stopped talking. The fire snapped and sizzled. Shadows danced on the far walls. Silence seeped between them.
Shed looked at him all daybut not looked. He made it so easy to be with him. If he wanted something more from her than time, company, someone to work with-someone to make love with-he never let on. After their exuberant coming together earlier, he hadnt touched her, not in any come-on way, yet desire was like a third heartbeat between them. Justthere. Beating, beating, beating. The sound in her ears. The sound in her heart.