COME TO THE BARN.
He waited for Melissa to respond. She didn’t, so he assumed she was preoccupied. Chris was mistaken. She entered the barn, trying to catch her breath.
Her hands glided over his arms, then down his chest. “What happened? Are you hurt?” Melissa panted.
Chris sucked in his breath and reluctantly pulled her hands off him. “I’m fine.”
Melissa dropped her hands to her side and asked, “Then why the urgent text?”
He cocked a brow. “Did I say it was urgent?”
She raised her phone and held the message up to him. “What would you think?”
“That I was needed in the barn.” Nothing he read made it seem like life and death.
She turned and started to stomp out, mumbling under her breath, when he grabbed hold of her wrist. She spun around and snapped, “Let me go.”
Chris was confused. He did what she requested and then asked, “Are you angry at me?” Melissa let out a sigh and shook her head. “You’re sure? Because you seem very upset.”
“I am.”
“So you are angry with me?” Chris wished she would make up her mind. Actually I wish I’d never sent the text.
Melissa came toward him and said softly, “Sirveo and I were in a . . . deep conversation when I received your text. I hated running out on him like that.”
A part of him was envious how well those two seemed to click. Sirveo didn’t normally take to anyone so fast. He wanted to ask what they had been talking about, but if she wanted to share, he’d listen. Chris trusted Melissa not to repeat what they had discussed on the way over. Chris never would’ve invited Melissa to return with him if he didn’t. There was something special about her.
“If you want to go back and finish your conversation, this can wait.”
“No. I’m here now. What did you need?” Melissa asked.
Your hands rubbing my chest. Chris walked over, retrieved his shirt from the fence, and slipped it on. She could pretend as though the thought hadn’t crossed her mind, but he hadn’t missed her eyes gazing over him. If she had been anyone else he never would’ve removed her hands in the first place and they’d be having some fun on that bale of hay instead of talking.
Don’t forget who she is.
“I’ve been working on the barn door. It’s almost done, but I need someone—you—to hold it still while I secure it.” He turned back to her. “Do you think you’re up to it? If not, I’ll see if Sirveo can—”
Melissa grinned. “I can do it.”
She seemed eager, which was odd. “It’s only holding a door.”
“I tell you what, why don’t you hold the door and I’ll climb the ladder and nail it in.”
Chris laughed. “And why would I let you do that?”
Melissa walked over and picked up a handful of nails and the hammer. “Because now you want to see if I can really do it.”
Damn. She was right. It wasn’t just nailing it, but lining it up so it swung just right. Once the top was set, the bottom was going to be easy.
“I’ve already shimmed it so it won’t slip. But I’ll be right here if you change your mind.”
Swaying her hips, she climbed the ladder. “No chance of that happening.”
He held it steady as she made her to the top. “Are you set?”
“Yep.”
He let go of the ladder and gripped the door angling it just right. “How does it look?”
“A little more.” He did as Melissa said. “Almost there.” Slowly he adjusted it until she shouted, “Good.”
Then he held it in place while she hammered the hinges with the first long spike. “How are you doing up there?”
“Quit moving. I have two more,” Melissa instructed.
He held still and Melissa nailed the other spikes in. Once she was back on the ground he said, “Thanks for your help.”
Melissa nudged him out of the way and said, “It’s not done. We have two more hinges to secure first.”
He stepped aside and said, “Might as well finish.”
Melissa grabbed more spikes and within minutes the barn door was swinging shut like new.
“Should I ask where you learned to do this stuff?”
Melissa handed him the hammer. “With five older brothers, you learn a lot of things. Unfortunately they never let me utilize them. Thanks for trusting me to do it right.”
Sadly he’d assumed she’d fuck it up, and he’d need to fix it tomorrow. But he wasn’t about to tell her that. Melissa wasn’t one to hold back, and she was feisty as fuck. Yes, it turns me on. She was nothing like what he’d imagined, probably because her brothers had described her as someone different. They made her out to be much more . . . delicate than she appeared to be with him. Life in the Army had taught him plenty, including never underestimate a woman.
Chris had come to help Sirveo, but maybe there were two in need here. Melissa needed to be . . . needed, appreciated. If I can see that, why can’t her brothers see that? Maybe because she didn’t show them this side of her. As Melissa headed back to the house, Chris said, “Get some rest, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
She turned back to him and asked, “Doing what?”
“There’s a leak in the roof too.”
Melissa nodded and continued on her way. But he noticed she carried herself differently. He was glad she was there, and together they might just pull off more work than he’d anticipated. He foresaw only one problem. I’m going to enjoy myself more than I should. But then again, this really isn’t a hardship.
Chapter Nine
She slept in one of the spare rooms. Funny, that bed wasn’t as comfortable because Sirveo’s wasn’t a normal bed, at least not like what she’d experienced last time. It had been like sleeping on a pile of feathers, less the prickly parts. Her new bed was a standard mattress with springs. And I think I felt every one of them.
Melissa made up her mind. Tonight, she would sleep on top of the blankets and hopefully would sleep better. Chris had said they would be here a week at the longest. She could only picture what her back was going to feel like by then.
When she came out of her room, breakfast was on the table and the kitchen was vacant. There were dirty dishes in the sink, which meant the guys had eaten and taken off already. You should’ve awakened me, Chris. But the fact she never heard them meant she did get some sleep. A small, but welcomed blessing.
Melissa downed her coffee and grabbed a scone, deciding to eat it on the way. She wasn’t sure where they were. Chris had mentioned the barn roof leaking, but there was no way he’d allow Sirveo to help him up there.
It wasn’t as though Sirveo wasn’t capable. He handled the goats and made the cheese all on his own. But Melissa had climbed that rickety wooden ladder yesterday. She thought it might be in greater need of repair than the roof. If it hadn’t been for Chris making sure it didn’t tip over, she’d most definitely would’ve toppled off by the fourth rung.
Although it probably hadn’t been wise to go up the ladder, she was glad she had. It proved to Chris she could be an asset to him here. And since her initial plan had fallen by the wayside, Melissa needed to do something productive. Who would’ve thought it would be construction?
As she scanned the area outside looking for any sign of Chris or Sirveo, she saw the barn door still attached. She snickered to herself. Melissa had boldly grabbed the tools and had taken charge as though she had done it before. She didn’t even own a hammer, and it had been dumb luck she’d picked up the right nails. They were the only thing that looked strong enough to work. Luck seemed to be on her side yesterday. Was it possible to go two for two? If she ever found where the men had taken off to, she might find out.
Melissa had no clue where to start. Although she hadn’t seen all the property, Chris had pointed out how far Sirveo’s land extended. As far as the eyes could see. It was impressive but definitely it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack to find them. So instead of wandering th
e farm for hours, she opted to go back inside and do some much-needed housecleaning. Obviously the dishes, but once she started, she was like a woman on a mission. She rolled up the rugs and carried them outside, hung them over the fence, and beat them with the broom getting all the dust out. While they aired, she swept and washed the floors. Before she knew it, a few hours had gone by and she was still in the house alone. Are they ever coming back?
Chris had informed her to prepare for hard work. Moving furniture and cleaning fit that bill, but it wasn’t what she expected to do. Although she could tackle the bedrooms, she had already invaded Sirveo’s space more than she should have. The last thing she wanted was to offend him. Not the way to repay his kindness. She also knew it wouldn’t sit well with Chris.
With the kitchen and sitting room clean, Melissa decided the only thing left to do was make dinner. Sirveo had all the ingredients needed to make her homemade chicken and dumpling stew. She pulled out pots and started preparing it. She hoped he wouldn’t mind her using his food. She would make sure there was a delivery to replace everything she used. All she needed to do was ask Chris how to go about arranging that. He seemed to know quite a bit about what Sirveo needed and how to make it happen. Should I have talked to him first before thinking I knew what to do at this place? I hope I haven’t overstepped any boundaries.
As she prepared dinner she couldn’t help but think what it must’ve been like for his wife to be all alone out there. This was only Melissa’s second time there, but she hadn’t seen any neighbors around at all, and no one stopped by. She could only imagine how lonely it was, cooking for one, not seeing another soul until Sirveo came home. And then to have been injured and sick.
She understood why Sirveo had left. Making a better life for his wife had been important to him. It was the most natural thing to do. It must have been hell on him, carrying a guilt he shouldn’t, believing it had been his fault. But even if he had been there, the outcome might have remained the same. The only difference is she wouldn’t have faced it alone. It must have been so different back then. These days, even though you might be physically alone, it wasn’t that hard to connect with someone electronically. She counted on that, especially when her brothers were away, but now that they had their respective partners, they didn’t have as much time to connect with her. If it wasn’t for the women in their lives, she might not have a clue what was going on with them. How could she even think to compare her level of isolation to Sirveo’s? He’d lost a wife; Melissa was far from being left on her own. Stop, Melissa. I have always been independent. Phoebe had her own friends and the guys banded together. I never thought of myself as lonely before. Why now?
Maybe it was because the dynamics of her family changed so quickly as her brothers started their own families. First Rafe, now with two children, and Vanessa and Ellie were having babies too. Could it be her biological clock ticking away? She’d spent so much time burying her own pain by working all the time she wasn’t sure if she was capable of anything more. Her brothers deserved every moment of happiness the women they loved provided them, and she was more than happy for them. It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. It was a saying she never truly understood until now. I’m not giving up. He’s out there. Our time just hasn’t come yet.
It was obvious that Sirveo wasn’t one to give up. If he had been, she was sure he’d have followed his wife shortly after her passing. But he didn’t and had chosen to keep the farm going. Looking around the kitchen she noticed there was nothing modern about it. It probably was the same as it had been fifty years ago when she had died. That had to be why he refused to leave. Everything here reminded him of her. And because Sirveo hadn’t been able to give his wife a better life, he didn’t want one for himself either.
She remembered him playing the mandolin and singing. Since none of them spoke Italian, they had no idea what the song was about. It now had a different feel to it. He wasn’t singing to them, he’d been singing in remembrance of a time long ago. She was glad they had been oblivious to his pain. With two pregnant women there, it would’ve become an emotional mess. She could picture Ellie bawling her eyes out, followed by Vanessa. And once they started, Melissa would surely cry too. Probably for Sirveo as well.
She needed to finish cooking dinner before the men returned. She didn’t want Sirveo to walk in and see her standing at the stove. He may have told her to make herself at home, but she might have taken it too literally. Cleaning and cooking wasn’t the same as making herself a cup of tea and lounging on the sofa.
Thankfully they guys were out most of the day and dinner was finished in plenty of time. When they walked in the door, Sirveo looked exhausted. Melissa gave Chris a warning look, and he shrugged.
As she set the table, she asked “What have you two been up to all day?”
“Rebuilding some fencing on the east side,” Chris responded.
Sirveo went into the bathroom and closed the door.
Softly Melissa said, “He looks beat. You should’ve knocked on my door. I was supposed to go with you.”
“I did knock. Hell, I even opened the door. You were fast asleep.”
She didn’t recall any of that, and she also didn’t want Chris in her room when she didn’t know it either. “I hardly slept at all.”
“You were sleeping this morning. Did anyone ever tell you that you snore?”
She wanted to throw the wooden spoon she was holding at him. “No.”
He grinned. “Not really a snore. More like a—”
“You can stop right there.”
Chris laughed. “More like a sweet soft purr. It was kind of cute.”
“Chris, there is nothing cute about the word snoring.”
“But there is something adorable about your expression right now. It is—”
“Don’t you dare say cute,” Melissa warned, waving her spoon again.
Chris couldn’t respond because Sirveo came back into the room and said, “Signora, you have been working all day. You should sit and rest.”
Out of the three of them, she was the least tired. “I’m not tired. Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll bring the food to the table?”
Sirveo shook his head. “No signora. I’m cosi stanco, so tired. I shall go to bed. Buona notte. Good night.”
Melissa walked over and gave Sirveo a hug and said, “Sleep well.” He went into his room and closed the door. She turned back to Chris and asked, “Is he okay?”
Chris nodded. “It was a long day for him. But he insisted on going.”
“You should’ve come back earlier.” Melissa was worried about Sirveo. He didn’t eat or drink anything when he came in. “He’s not in his thirties you know.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”
“I’m serious. He shouldn’t have been out there working like that.”
Chris raised a finger to her lips to hush her. Then reached out for her hand and led them outside and closed the door behind them.
“Melissa, I know you care, but if you think you could’ve stopped him, you’re wrong. He wanted, no needed, to be out there.”
“It looks like he did a lot more than just supervise.”
He nodded. “Like you yesterday, he wanted to . . . prove he could do it.” Melissa huffed at the comment. She didn’t need to prove anything, at least not to him. Chris continued, “He did more than I would’ve liked to see him do, but at least he wasn’t alone. And if I thought for a minute he couldn’t handle it, I’d have called it a day. Hell, I’d have hit my own hand with a hammer to get him to stop if that’s what it took.”
She knew Chris was only trying to lessen her worry with his attempt at humor. It worked a bit. Chris cared about Sirveo and never would’ve let him do anything dangerous. As a physical therapist, she knew physical activity was good at any age. But overdoing wasn’t wise. “He’s so wiped out he went to bed without eating.”
“I’m not sure that’s why. I saw the look on his face when we came insid
e. He was—”
“Overwhelmed,” Chris added.
“Because it brought back memories of his late wife?” Melissa asked softly.
Surprisingly, Chris shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“Then why?”
“He has secluded himself for so long and you have a way of . . . making someone not want to be . . . alone.”
“I’m not trying to cause problems,” Melissa said. And that was the truth. Everything she did had a purpose. Maybe she shouldn’t have tried doing what she thought would be helpful and just done what Sirveo had asked.
“You’re not. Unless you consider bringing an old guy some joy.”
“I don’t understand. If he is happy, what’s the problem?”
Chris ran his hand through his hair. “Sometimes being happy can be the most . . . difficult thing for some people.”
Something in what he said that made her think Chris wasn’t only speaking about Sirveo. Was Chris hiding a pain he didn’t want the rest of the world to know about? Melissa wanted to ask, but someone like Chris would only clam up and deflect the issue back to Sirveo. For now, she’d let that go, but she needed to be more attentive to what Chris wasn’t saying going forward. Maybe that’s why Chris and Sirveo get along so well. They respect each other’s space. She had to give Chris credit; it seemed to work for them. But how can someone help if they keep everything so . . . private?
Sirveo needed her, he just didn’t realize it. All Melissa needed to do was alter how she did things. Instead of boldly jumping in and making things happen, she needed to involve Sirveo. I’m not here to change anything. Not unless he wants to change, that is.
Melissa had devised her plan of attack regarding Sirveo. That only left Chris. He wasn’t going to be as easy to get through to. She could to be wrong, but she had a feeling Chris was keeping something bottled up inside, and if he didn’t face it, eventually it’d rear its ugly head and break him.
“Chris, I need your help then. We can’t let Sirveo live out the rest of his life like this. He obviously wants to be happy; he’s just afraid to be.”
For Love Page 9