by Tara Randel
He didn’t.
Handing the plate to her, he said, “Please cut me a piece.”
She slid her plate over to him. “Take this one. You look like you need it more than me.”
He grimaced. “That obvious?”
“Afraid so.”
He examined the plate, then asked, “Ice cream?”
“In the freezer.”
When he moved to the massive appliance and opened the big slide-out compartment, she let out a long breath. He rummaged around in the freezer and removed a quart. “Vanilla?”
“Works for me.”
He shut the compartment with his knee and carried the carton to the counter. Heidi sliced another piece and placed it on the empty plate. Reid grabbed forks and spoons from the utensil drawer, and soon they were seated at the round table, smothering their pie with ice cream.
Reid took the first bite and groaned. A shiver ran over Heidi at the sound, but she dutifully ignored it.
“I swear that woman has never made a bad pie in her entire life.” He took another forkful and closed his eyes.
Heidi tasted hers and agreed, savoring the burst of sweet fruit along with the flaky pastry. “She’s got some kind of magic touch that no one will ever be able to replicate.”
“Has she taught you her secret?”
“No. We bake together from time to time, but I can’t come anywhere close to her magic.”
“Too bad she didn’t go pro.” He dug in for another forkful. “She could have her own dessert dynasty by now.”
Heidi pushed a piece of crust into the melting ice cream. “It wouldn’t be about the fame or money for her. She’d be happy that we’re all happy enjoying her dessert.”
A rare smile lit his face. “Well, she’s made me extremely happy.”
On impulse she asked, “Because you weren’t?”
He took another mouthful and chewed. While she waited for an answer, Heidi dipped her fork in the mound of ice cream for another taste.
“Grandmother is interfering again.”
Heidi laughed. “What now?”
“She presented me with a list of potential dates to ask to Logan and Serena’s engagement party.”
Heidi’s hand stilled as she brought the fork to her mouth. “Are you serious? I thought she stopped doing that?”
“Me too. But now that Logan is engaged, she expects me to follow suit.” His face pinched into a panicked look. “Wait, she’s not sick again, is she?”
“No,” Heidi assured him. Mrs. M. had had a health scare a while back, but she was now as fit and ornery as ever. “Alveda would have told me.”
He blew out a breath. “Good, because last time was tense.”
“Your grandmother is a survivor.”
“She is.” He scooped up a bite before dropping his fork with a clatter. “Why are you here?”
“Alveda wanted to talk, so she asked if I’d stop by.”
He wiped his mouth, which had Heidi noticing his lips.
“To set you up on a date too?”
She snorted, glad his silly question took her attention from how good he looked. “Please. Alveda knows better.”
“Maybe she can explain boundaries to Grandmother.”
Heidi chuckled. “I’d love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation.”
They ate in silence until their plates were empty.
“So, I have to ask,” Heidi said. “Who’d your grandmother put on the list?”
He rattled off a few names.
“She needs a new roster. Some of those names are left over from high school.”
“She’s nothing if not consistent.”
Heidi rested her elbows on the table. “What’re you going to do?”
“Find my own date.”
Heidi chuckled. “Good for you.”
He smiled again and the room seemed to brighten. She swallowed hard, taken aback by her reaction to him. Good grief, what was in this pie? Or the air, since this wasn’t the first time today she’d thought of Reid as being...attractive.
“I wish she’d focus on Logan and Serena and leave me out of it,” he complained, blissfully unaware of her racing thoughts.
“Your grandmother is an equal opportunity meddler.”
“True.” He shook his head. “Let’s change the subject.”
She certainly understood that tactic. Had taken it more than a time or two herself. “Okay. What are we doing tomorrow?”
“Knocking down a wall, so it’ll be pretty gritty.”
She wrinkled her nose.
He pointed his fork at her. “Hey, you wanted this. It’s all part of sweat equity.”
“I get it.” She glanced at his button-down shirt and pressed slacks, giving him the once-over. “Now, there’s the Reid I know.”
He shrugged.
“I have to say, the tool belt threw me off. Seems like you replaced your briefcase with one.”
“Funny.”
“Just observant.”
He nodded at her flower-print blouse and jeans. “Make sure you wear something you don’t mind getting dirty tomorrow.”
“Got it, boss.”
“Yeah, the boss thing has to stop.”
“You’re no fun.”
“So I’ve been told.”
Heidi stood to collect the plates and silverware to carry to the sink. She ran the water and squeezed dish soap over the dishes and cutlery. Reid grabbed a towel and waited for her to wash and place the items in the draining rack.
“I’m kind of surprised to see you here,” Heidi said, hoping she wasn’t venturing into murky waters. “Alveda said you don’t come around much anymore.”
“I stay away when my father is here.”
Guilt over using his estrangement with his father to secure the house remodel job niggled at her. “She said he had a function tonight.”
Reid shrugged as if he didn’t care, but the stress lines around his eyes told Heidi otherwise.
Finally, she just spit it out. “Look, Reid, I’m sorry I brought up that night as a way of making you give in.”
He didn’t look at her. Waited for her to hand him a wet plate. “Goes to show how determined you are.”
“It wasn’t really about getting my way.” She stopped. Waved her hand. In the process, water and bubbles shot into the air between them. “Okay, maybe a little bit. I shouldn’t have brought up something so painful when I know you don’t like talking about it.”
“That night is over. In the past.”
“Is it though?”
When he mulishly kept his mouth shut, she went on. “Look, that night you were...I don’t know...out of control. I’d seen you in the aftermath of an argument with your dad before, but this time was different. You scared me.”
He reared back. “Like I’d hurt you?”
“No! More like I wasn’t sure what you’d do.” She rinsed off another plate. “I knew there was a team party and the guys were bringing alcohol. It’s not like you hadn’t partied before. In fact, you were kind of making a habit of it. I was afraid you’d do something dumb like get drunk and then try to drive home. Let’s face it—you were a bit of a race car driver when you zipped around the mountain roads.”
He ran a hand over his face. “You were at the other parties where I drank too much. I didn’t and wouldn’t have done it again.”
“Are you sure?” She chanced a glance his way. “At those other parties you were having fun. Blowing off steam. But that night, I couldn’t take the risk that in your dark mood, you’d drink and drive and maybe wreck the car. Or hurt an innocent bystander.” She bit her lower lip, then said, “I couldn’t let anything happen to you. You had so much to look forward to. College. Taking on the family business. I had to stop you.”
He shot her a tight smi
le. “I appreciate it, so can we quit rehashing the past?”
“See, that’s the problem. You never want to talk about stuff.”
Both dark eyebrows rose. “And you’re any better?”
She grimaced as his words hit their mark. “No. Not really.”
“Heidi, in all the time I’ve known you, I haven’t really heard your story. Why you ended up on Alveda’s doorstep. Why you refuse to talk about your past. What was so horrible that you ran away?”
The very question she didn’t like to discuss or analyze. She procrastinated now by slowly washing and rinsing the utensils. “Why does it matter? I’ve been in Golden for a long time.”
Reid took the silverware, dried it and put it away. “Because you can’t call me out on the past, push me into letting you onto the jobsite because I owe you, then give me nothing in return.”
He was right. Alveda didn’t really know the entire story either. If she did, she would have hunted down Heidi’s mother and given her what for.
Suddenly the dim lighting that should have made this conversation intimate and romantic—if they hadn’t gone down this road—made her restless. She dried her hands, then crossed the room to flip the wall switch, trying to control the pounding in her chest.
“So, that’s it,” Reid said, a frown wrinkling his forehead. “We’re done?”
“No.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, as if the motion could calm her racing heart. “Sorry. It was just a little too dark in here.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“I...” Why was it so hard to talk about this? With Reid, of all people? He’d been her closest friend growing up.
Reid pushed away from the counter, tossing the towel aside. “If you can’t be honest, then there’s nothing to say.”
“No, wait.” She reached out to touch his arm, then stopped in midair, afraid to make contact with him. “It’s not easy for me to talk about my childhood.”
He waited for her. In his gaze, she read patience, and decided, yes, it was time to unburden herself, at least to tell some of her past.
“My mother was a kind of free spirit. We moved from place to place, sleeping on people’s couches or in spare rooms. My mom would meet folks and hang with them for a while, but then we’d be off again.” Her arm swung in an arc to encompass the room. “You grew up in this beautiful house. I never had anything close to this.”
“You thought I wouldn’t understand?”
She flinched. “You have a grandmother who adores you. Your mom is really nice, and you and your brother are tight. Sure, you have issues with your dad, but that’s nothing like never knowing where you were going to sleep, or whether you’d have food.” She traced the seam of the wood flooring with the tip of her shoe, not wanting to see the expression in his eyes when she told him about her upbringing. “I don’t have a lot of pleasant memories from my childhood.”
Thankfully he didn’t ask any additional questions. His expression was blank.
After a few moments, Reid opened the cabinet and lifted the plates to place inside. His shirt pulled taut over his muscles. Heidi was confused. Why was she suddenly noticing muscles or how the color of his eyes changed with his mood? Or had she always done so, but had never realized it before?
She decided to blame the noticing on the cozy kitchen and close proximity to him. Or maybe it was because they were doing something so homey together. Either way, she had to remember that their friendship came first.
She watched Reid close the cupboard door and fold his arms across his broad chest. Scratch that, just plain old chest. His gaze captured hers and darn if his green eyes didn’t hold secrets she’d love to uncover.
“Why is that house on Hanover so important to you?” he asked in the quiet space between them.
She stilled. Would he get her reasoning, the desire to have one place to call her own?
She went with, “I think, for me, anyway, after turning thirty it’s time to settle down.”
He barked out a laugh. “You’re basing your decision on your age?”
She shrugged. It was as good a reason as any.
“I’m not buying it.”
“Why not?”
He met her gaze and held it. Shivers broke out over her skin. Because she was caught in his very attentive sights or because he was seeing inside the real Heidi?
“The disappointment I saw on your face when you discovered I’d already purchased the property was much more personal than your age.”
Busted. She leaned against the counter beside him, their shoulders brushing. His body heat and the scent of his cologne made her heart go haywire and she had to focus on what she was saying.
“You know how being involved at Masterson Enterprises is like winning the lottery for you?” she asked. “My lottery is that house.”
He shrugged. “How do you know I want to go back there? Maybe I’m happy away from the hassles of the family business.”
She sent him a sideways look that said, I’ve got your number. “Please. You used to eat, sleep and breathe Masterson Enterprises. It’s all you ever talked about. I don’t know what happened to make you leave, but it’s very clear you miss it.”
He offered a wry smile. “We’re a fine pair.”
She laughed. They were, both with pasts they’d rather not talk about.
Reid hadn’t experienced a childhood like hers. Heidi had dragged around her meager belongings from town to town as her mother... Well, she wasn’t sure what her mother did. Not hold a job, that’s for sure. Reid had a true family at least.
“I’m not an expert on families,” she went on to say, “but it seems to me that if you two sat down, you and your dad could talk out your problems.”
Reid pushed away. “You’re right about the second point. You don’t know anything about my relationship with my father.”
His words stung. “I didn’t mean to...” She ran a hand through her hair. “I thought maybe...”
“Please stay out of it. I know my family better than you do and trust me when I tell you there’s no going back.”
She was about to apologize, but Reid moved off. “I need to get going,” he said, and he left the kitchen without a backward glance.
Heidi sagged against the counter. “You stepped into that one,” she muttered to the quiet room. Who said confession was good for the soul? Obviously, Reid disagreed.
She wouldn’t make that mistake again.
* * *
JUST AS GAYLE ANN was reaching for the switch to turn off the living room lights, she heard the sound of a car starting up. She hurried to the window and brushed aside the curtains in time to see headlights. Was that Reid leaving already? She’d purposely kept scarce so that he and Heidi could visit as they shared slices of Alveda’s pie. Had their conversation been a success?
Footsteps. She turned, the satin fabric slipping from her fingers. Alveda looked resigned. “Heidi’s on her way home. She didn’t want to talk about it, but when she said goodbye, I could tell she wasn’t herself and was holding something back.”
“Oh, dear.”
“Sure you want to carry on with this scheme of ours?”
“More than ever.”
Alveda tsked, but nodded. Gayle Ann would have to come up with their next step. She’d come too far to have her entire plan unravel now.
* * *
AT THE SOUND of someone entering the house on Hanover the following morning, Reid tensed. The renovation plans were spread out on the kitchen counter. He’d arrived early to review them, making mental notes of what needed to be accomplished today.
Heidi peered from around the corner as if taking the temperature of the room before she entered.
“Good morning,” she chirped in a cheery tone.
Reid focused on the plans. He was ticked at his behavior last night and hadn’t slept well.
She stepped into the kitchen and handed him one of the two coffee cups she was holding. “Peace offering.”
He took one and gave her a quick apologetic nod. After their previous conversation, he was still raw, but that was no excuse for being moody toward Heidi. She’d only acted like a concerned friend. And it had given him a brief glimpse into her childhood, which he considered a rare gift. “Sorry for being so short last night.”
“I went too far. Sometimes I do that.” Her attention bounced around the room but didn’t meet his gaze. “I shouldn’t have pushed. It was nice that we were having a moment.”
“Which I ruined.”
She faced him. “Why don’t we pretend it never happened?”
He saw hope reflected in her eyes and felt worse. He took a sip, savoring the burst of caffeine. He could do this. “Truce it is.”
He watched the tension drain from her, then her perkiness ratcheted up a notch.
“So, what’s on the agenda this morning?” she asked.
“First, look over the document I drew up. If you agree with the conditions, sign off and we’ll get started.”
He appreciated that she took her time reading the agreement instead of just signing on the spot. It showed she was taking this seriously.
Once she gripped the pen and added her signature, she asked, “Now what?”
Pointing to the sledgehammer in the corner with his free hand, he said, “Demo.”
Her eyebrows angled over wide eyes. “Which you’re doing, right?”
He set his cup on the counter. As the general contractor on this job, he had a part to play in everything related to this project. “You want to be part of the team?”
“Yes.”
“Then you have to know the first rule of construction. Demo is a big day. To be honest, we all love it.”
Now her gaze turned puzzled. “I don’t understand.”
He tipped his chin to the wall separating the kitchen and living room. “Needs to come down.”
“And?”
From a bag on the counter he handed her goggles, a mask and heavy gloves. She’d taken his advice, dressing in worn jeans, a baggy T-shirt and sneakers. While the clothing was out of character for her, somehow she made the outfit look trendy as well as work friendly. He found it appealing. Then frowned at the thought.