Daisy nodded at the woman as she left the room. “Thank you. I will.”
Wren’s eyes sparkled and Daisy wasn’t sure she had ever seen her mother look so content. Especially in the years since her father had passed away.
“Take my hand,” Wren said.
Daisy curled both of her scraped-up hands around her mother’s, hoping she wouldn’t notice the abrasions. “You look good, momma.”
“I am good. Now that you’re here.”
Daisy’s heart sank a little. She planned to stay a while, but not forever, though she hadn’t exactly planned out how long she would be around this time. “Tomorrow I’m getting your carpets cleaned for you. It’s going to smell so fresh inside when you get home.” Though she wanted to tell her mother about everything she had done so far on the house, she wasn’t sure if doing so would stir up bad memories or even how much she remembered. She still regretted bringing up insurance when her mother was so out of it a couple of weeks back.
Her mother’s lips turned downward. “I am so sorry for the mess I left you. Maybe we can paint the wall outside that got a little burned.”
Daisy tilted her head and offered her mother a smile. Perhaps it was time to give her some good news after all. She flopped onto the bed and sat beside her mother. “You’ll be happy to know that the new siding is almost done.”
Her mother gasped. “How?”
“Where do I start?” Daisy settled against her mother’s pillow. “For one thing, I hired Rafael to help me with all sorts of things.”
Her mother curled her upper lip. “That guy with all the muscles? What sort of things?”
On the one hand, Daisy was encouraged that her mom had the ability to move her lip at all, but on the other, what had brought on that response? And muscles? What the … ?
Daisy gave her head a tiny shake. “Momma, please.” She tamped down her gagged laughter.
“I mean it. What is he doing at my house?”
Daisy rubbed her thumb across the soft, translucent skin of her mother’s hand. “Well, for one thing, after Jake helped me get the permit, Rafael and I made quick work of the new siding. We’re almost done putting it up. We bought it pre-painted, so there’s no need to worry about painting it anytime soon. I-I think you’ll be super happy when you see it.”
She expected her mother to smile, but instead, her expression intensified, as if straining to corral scrambled thoughts. “Who is Jake?”
“Morelli. You remember him, don’t you?” She did not care to remind her mother that it was Jake’s sister, Grace, and her husband, who had literally saved her life. “His family owns the house next to ours?”
Her mother seemed to relax, the stress leaving her face. “Ah, yes. You liked him when you were younger, didn’t you?”
Daisy blushed. She could feel the hot flush of it from the tips of her toes to her forehead. Change the subject, change the subject … “I liked all the Morelli kids. He just happens to be the one in town right now. He’s here to give their family home a kitchen makeover.”
“Because they are going to sell, aren’t they?”
Her mother’s voice sank in disappointment. She and Mrs. Morelli had been great friends and she knew that her mother missed her. Daisy realized that she felt the same way about their neighbors selling the house. Part of her knew she wouldn’t stay in Colibri Beach forever, but the thought of the Morelli family leaving—especially Jake—made a knot form in her throat.
She patted her mom’s hand. No need to dwell on what-ifs. “Who knows? Maybe they’re just fixing it up so they can all enjoy it in the summers.”
A smile appeared on her mother’s face. “Like old times.”
“Yes, momma,” Daisy said, “like old times.
She stayed awhile longer, until her mother’s eyelids closed and she had fallen into easy slumber. Carefully, Daisy slipped out of bed, the news that her mother would soon be released from the rehab center weighing on her. More than anything, she wanted to head home to meet Rafael to finish the job they had started yesterday.
He’d felt her all week. Jake had lived alone for years, by choice. His mornings usually consisted of a run and coffee and a bucket full of phone calls. Then work, far into the night. His days had been more or less the same this week, with one exception—though he had not interacted with Daisy much, he had sensed the perfume of her.
Jake charged down the sand later than usual, scattering sandpipers as he ran, the midday sun overhead. Salt-laden oxygen filled his lungs while thoughts of her took over his mind like a Porsche spinning out of control. Purposefully, Jake had left his phone at home. He’d had enough of lawyers and other scoundrels. The foreman on the hotel project remained elusive. A reporter had emailed him during the night, asking for a quote regarding the pending litigation against him. He had respectfully declined comment, then dropped his phone into a drawer and slammed it shut.
Now he began to question that move. Perhaps if he had brought his overactive device with him, his mind would not be so free to obsess over the woman living down the stairs from him.
A gull skittered away from his path, cawing at him, offended. Last night, when Daisy had wandered onto the front porch looking deliciously disheveled, he sensed the sinking of his own ship. The anchor of stability he had dropped when he moved back here last week, the one that told him to do the job and get out, had shifted. The pull between them had been … unmistakable.
Then she spilled the news that she had been eavesdropping. Jake pumped his arms, jetting a breath from his lungs. In some ways, he was thankful for the detour she had placed in front of him. He’d sensed just prior to that an unpredictable force was about to take over. If she had not asked her questions right then, would there be regret this morning?
He slowed, his house in view. The breeze had kicked up a notch, quickly wicking the sweat away from him. Hands on his hips, his breath still pumping, Jake trudged up a sandy embankment toward home.
Jake spotted her standing at the base of her house, looking up, arms folded in front of her, that cowboy hat pulled low to her forehead. She looked hot, irresistible with her blonde hair flowing lazily out of that hat.
He followed her line of vision and saw where it was aimed. Rafael was at the highest point of the house, probably inspecting the installation job they’d been working on all week. Jake narrowed his eyes. The guy had forgotten his shirt. Again.
Jake gave his chin a quick shake and turned back toward the sea. Hands at his hips, he slowed his breathing more for a proper cool down. He had work to do. Plans to draw. Emails to answer. Reporters to fend off. Oh, and a little thing like a kitchen remodel to finish. Jake looked up, the light of the day beginning to bounce off the water’s surface. He did not have time to wrestle with Daisy … tempting as the thought might be.
But when Jake turned around, a battle of another kind kicked him in the gut. Rafael had jumped down from that ladder and wrapped his sweaty self around her. He was bear hugging her, staking his claim. Jake’s shoulders tensed. He knew he should walk away. Maybe cool down a little longer. Walk the beach. Take some deeper breaths.
Let her go. She’s made it clear, jerk, that she’s not into you.
Obviously, Daisy was into … Rafael. The sound of the guy’s name in the space of Jake’s mind made him want to puke. But what was he supposed to do about it?
He trudged closer to his own house, his eyes focused now on the back door. Learning not to obsess would take some time, but avoidance—that, he could do.
“Jake!”
He turned to see her waving her hat at him, her blonde hair flying in the air. How was he supposed to avoid her now?
Rafael stood closely behind her. Too close, in his opinion.
“Morning,” Jake said on approach.
Rafael nodded a hello. On the outside, the guy seemed pleasant enough. But the telltale sign of his true self was that his smile failed to reach his eyes, eyes that continued to assess Jake.
Daisy rose up on her tiptoes. He
’d noticed her do this before, and both then and now, it made him want to scoop her up in his arms and carry her across the divide to his house next door.
“We finished installing the siding this morning!” she was saying, snagging his attention again. “What do you think?”
Jake pressed his lips together, taking in the work that they had, apparently, accomplished together. Clean. Professional. Not half bad, though he wished … what did he wish? That the guy had done a lousy patch-up job that Jake would need to fix? That Daisy had worked outside in the heat putting up siding all by herself?
He forced a smile. “You did a nice job, Daisy.”
“Why, thank you very much.” She beamed with a certain pride, not the boastful kind. Her face shone with contentment.
Jake had been surrounded by hard-working women his entire life, but he wasn’t sure he had ever seen any of them push quite this hard before. Daisy had tended to her mother’s home from dawn to dusk all week long, often toiling alone—except for this latest project. Guilt bubbled inside of him for not having joined her out here to help much.
“Tomorrow I’m having the carpets cleaned and then my mother’s things will be delivered next week sometime. Do you think I’ll have any trouble getting the city to take down that red tag?”
He shook his head. “Call Mel and let her know that the siding work has been completed. They’ll send out an inspector, and if all goes well, he should remove the tag.”
“Great.” She reached forward and touched his elbow. “Thanks a bunch for the help. I’ll go call them now.”
He hesitated.
She quirked her head. “Did you have something else to add?”
“Was going to say … the kitchen remodel is still a few days away from completion. I’ve been thinking about having a burger all week. Want to grab one with me later tonight?”
Her smile faded and she bit her bottom lip. She glanced at Rafael. “Oh, we, uh, Rafael and I were planning to celebrate tonight.”
“Celebrate?”
“Getting the siding done so quickly.” She did that hopping-on-her-toes thing again and her eyes lit. “I know what—come with us. Will you?”
He couldn’t think of a thing that he wanted to do less. With Daisy in his field of vision, he had imagined he suddenly had time on his hands—that he wasn’t actually someone subject to a lawsuit, nor a guy with a half-done kitchen remodel waiting for him. What had he been thinking?
Jake shook his head. “I’ll pass. You two enjoy yourselves.” He almost choked on the word enjoy.
“Okay, Jake,” Daisy said. “See you later tonight.”
He nodded once and began to walk toward home. “Yes. See you.”
Six
Had she moved too fast? Daisy watched Serge’s Carpet Cleaning van pull into the drive with Rafael riding shotgun. As anxious as she was to get the stink out of her mother’s old carpets and couch, the siding inspector hadn’t made an appearance and she had a niggling feeling that one should have come before the other.
As it stood, she just might find herself in the pickle of having to explain to an inspector why she was allowing two men to roam around the inside of her home.
Daisy glanced over at Jake’s. Yesterday, after finishing up for the day, she and Rafael had walked over to Matty’s for pizza only to meet up with a hole-in-the-wall full of old friends. She closed her eyes, unwilling to think about the number of pitchers of beer she had put on her credit card. And she didn’t even like beer.
When she returned home, Jake was nowhere to be found. She knew he was around this morning only by the subtle creaking of floorboards as he moved through the house. By the time she showered and came out here to wait, he seemed to have vanished again.
As Serge hooked up the truck’s machine to the hose bib, Rafael opened up the house to help clear a path. Soon after, he appeared on the front stoop and waved to Daisy. “Everything is ready for Serge to clean the carpets. He will do the couch too, okay?”
“Great.”
He hopped down from the stoop and tromped over to her. He flashed her a bright smile. “Had fun with you last night. You?”
“I had a good time too. Thanks again for all the hard work.”
He sucked his top lip a moment, watching her. “I let you take me out last night, but next time, it’s on me.” He brushed her chin with his thumb. “Sound good?”
Daisy opened her mouth to speak, but no response came. Rafael laughed. “We can talk about that later. I have a small job two streets away, but I’ll return as soon as I’m finished over there. Will you be okay without me over here?”
She closed her mouth and nodded, then watched as Rafael strolled away. Sunlight glinted on his otherwise dark hair. Objectively, she knew he had the ability to melt hearts. She’d seen his swagger, not to mention the rugged abs he never tired of revealing. Daisy exhaled. The thing was, he was still her old friend, Rafael. And she doubted that could ever change.
After he’d gone, a smaller truck arrived and parked right next to Serge’s van.
Daisy’s lungs clenched. Jon Carnes, the inspector with the short-cropped hair and dour attitude, marched solemnly toward the house. When he lifted his chin, he did not spare words. “This house has a red tag.”
“Yes, I know. Hello again, Jon.” She reached out her hand, but he was slow to shake it.
“Shouldn’t be letting anyone in there until I’ve done my inspection.”
“I apologize.”
“And you should not infer that having an appointment automatically means that the red tag will be removed.”
She nodded, her mouth going dry.
His beady eyes watched her unwaveringly from behind thick-framed round spectacles. “Now, show me what’s been done.”
Daisy led him around the house to the side where the exterior wall had burned. He strode up the steps of the two-story balcony, his face pinched. From where she stood on the sand, she shaded her eyes with a hand and watched as he leaned close to the newly placed siding, poking it with his hand. “Was waterproofing added underneath?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I don’t see evidence of it.”
She frowned. How could he if it was all covered up? Daisy licked her lips, thinking, but before she came up with an answer, he had already jogged down the steps. “You have the materials?”
“Excuse me?”
He frowned, his cheeks puckering. “The materials used for waterproofing.”
“Oh yes, of course—wait.” She sighed. “I gave the rest of it to Rafael. He’s not here, but I could call and ask him if it’s in his truck. Oh!” She shook her head, frazzled. “Never mind. They brought the van today.”
He puffed out his lower lip. “You gave your carpet cleaning guy building materials?”
“No, I mean, his brother is the carpet cleaner. Rafael came with him, but then he left for another project. I’m trying to get the house ready for my mother to come home from the hospital. She had a stroke—maybe you know that already—and I really just want it to be perfect …”
Was she saying too much?
Jon peered at her over those sallow-tinted glasses. “I hope Rafael is a licensed contractor.”
She swallowed, thinking. Actually, she wasn’t sure, but she should have asked. Chalk that up for one more mistake to add to her list. Daisy’s mind raced. What were to happen if she called Rafael to come back and asked him to produce his license and he couldn’t?
Jake was walking up behind her. She could tell by the sound of his gait, by the way his feet landed in his leather flip-flops.
Jon looked past her. “Hello, Jake.”
“What’s up, Jon?”
The inspector flipped shut his notepad and stuck it into his front shirt pocket with a pen. “Might have a problem with this siding installation.”
Daisy swung a look at Jake. He did not return her gaze, but instead crossed his arms and planted himself right in front of Jon. Her gaze lingered on that familiar move of his.
&
nbsp; He stared at Jon. “Maybe I can help.”
Jon stuck out his bottom lip again, like he was looking for trouble. “Daisy here can’t prove that waterproofing was installed under all that siding.”
Daisy shook her head, cutting in. “What I said was that I gave the extra materials to Rafael. I could always ask him to go home and retrieve them.”
“What good would that do?” Jon barked, unfolding his arms. “He might just drive to a hardware store.”
Daisy wilted. “I see.”
There was no shift in Jake’s stance. “C’mon, Jon. You and I both know that waterproofing is important, but not required. But if it helps you check a box, I’ll vouch that it was done.”
“Sure you wanna go there? Even after your name’s been in the paper about that suspicious project you’re mixed up with?”
Daisy glanced at Jake. What was Carnes talking about? To his credit, Jake didn’t flinch.
“As I said, I’m happy to sign off on Daisy’s siding project. I inspected it myself yesterday.” He nodded at her. “She did a good job.”
Jon clicked his jaw, staring back at Jake. He handed him a pen and a form to sign. Jon looked at Daisy. “The red tag is removed. Good luck.”
In silence, they watched him drive away. Daisy quirked a look up at Jake. She wanted to ask the obvious, but didn’t. “Thank you for going to bat for me. You’ve been … very helpful lately.”
Jake unfolded his arms but kept the scowl on his face. His eyes darkened. “I’ve watched you work your butt off over here getting this house ready for your mother’s return.” He shook his head, his gaze turning now toward the empty street. “Couldn’t let a bully stand in your way.”
She nodded. So that was it, the answer to why he had been helping her. She felt a pout forming, but pushed it away. Daisy had much to be thankful for, and she was. Because of Jake’s intervention, she could move quickly to finish the repairs of her mother’s home and make it livable. More livable than it had been in years. Just knowing her mother would be able to move back in on time gave Daisy such relief.
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