Restoring Romance

by Tamie Dearen

  Had she been aware yesterday that Adam was her cousin, she would’ve been more careful not to antagonize him. She understood most men wouldn’t tolerate any woman who disagreed with them on a regular basis. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t dated much. Yet since living on her own, she’d grown bold in expressing herself, lazy about keeping the peace. Interacting with a real family meant she needed to practice being accommodating again. Hopefully, she hadn’t lost the ability to bite her tongue.

  As if testing her, Adam asked a confrontational question. “How’s your cat? Was her name Lucky?”

  “Lucky’s fine, perfectly fine. I’m sure Kujo didn’t mean to scare her.”

  “Well, I shouldn’t have even brought Kujo inside, knowing you’re a cat person, not a dog person.”

  She hurried to pacify him, knowing how much he hated cats. “I don’t have anything against dogs, and Kujo seems very nice.”

  He squinted, his head tilting to the side. “Wasn’t it just yesterday you told me all the negatives of being a dog owner?”

  “Yes, but that was before... I mean to say... I shouldn’t have spoken so harshly.”

  He frowned. “Look, I’m trying to apologize here, and you’re not making it easy.”

  “You don’t need to apologize—I do. I shouldn’t have criticized your dog. I really didn’t mean anything by it. The only reason I prefer cats is because I miss my roommate’s cat back in New York. But dogs are okay—”

  “Don’t do that, Ash.”

  “Don’t do what?”

  A hand grabbed her elbow, pulling her to a stop, and she gasped, yanking her arm away by reflex.

  “Geez, Ash, I’m sorry!” Adam stepped back with his palms up in the air. “I’m not going to hurt you, Ash. I would never do that. Ever.”

  She swallowed, taking deep calming breaths. “Yes, but I shouldn’t give you a reason to. I need to quit running at the mouth.”

  Adam’s face contorted as if she’d stabbed him with a knife. “Is that how I look to you? Like the kind of man who would take a swing at you because of something you said?”

  “Of course not.” She didn’t add that he might if he’d been drinking, which was generally true in her experience.

  “Then why did you make that comment?”

  Ash didn’t know how to answer. Everything she said seemed to offend him. That’s when she got lucky, because the sky opened up and dumped on them, ending the conversation.

  He held her arm as they ran for the house, completely drenched by the time they made it back. Like two kids who’d been playing in the rain, they sloshed inside. Donna gasped at the sight and clucked about her like a worried mother hen, and Ash basked in her nurturing. Soon Ash found herself warm and dry in borrowed clothes, and she made certain Adam had no opportunity to ask his question again. She desired the family’s approval way too much to risk another volatile encounter with the unpredictable man. Perhaps she could gain their approval, and then they wouldn’t reject her when they found out about her mother.

  Chapter Six

  ADAM SPIED ASH SITTING alone at the lunch table at the Della’s Diner and padded over until he stood right behind her. He bent over to speak in her ear. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were avoiding me.”

  “Cripes!”

  She jumped about three inches out of her chair and her fork rattled to the table.

  He chuckled as he slid into the empty seat across from her and propped his elbows on the table, resting his chin in his hands. “I’ve called you multiple times this week, and you never answer.”

  “You’re not in my contacts. I never answer if I don’t recognize the caller.”

  It was true they’d never actually spoken on the phone. He’d finagled his sister-in-law into giving up Ash’s number, claiming the need to contact her about the furniture.

  Ash took a sip of her drink, and he noticed her hand trembling a bit. He shouldn’t have snuck up on her—he forgot how easily she was frightened.

  “But I left at least three messages asking you to call me.”

  “Sometimes my messages don’t come through,” she mumbled, while studying a piece of lettuce she pushed around on her plate.

  “Maybe you should consider getting a different cell service.”

  He gave her a teasing grin, but it was wasted since she never looked up from her plate.

  “That’s a good idea.”

  Ash wasn’t acting like the same person she’d been at her house on Sunday or on Saturday, when he first met her. Something had changed, and the only reason he could think of was his outburst at the table. Could she still be that afraid of him?

  “How’s Lucky?” he asked, in an effort to spark conversation. Perhaps they could have another spirited discussion about the merits of cat ownership versus dog ownership. Anything was better than nothing.

  “She’s fine, thank you. How’s Kujo?”

  “Big as ever.” This was going nowhere. “I was trying to contact you about buying your antiques, like I promised. Shall I come over tomorrow morning, early? My shop doesn’t open until eleven a.m. on Fridays.”

  “I don’t know. The workers are painting the house tomorrow.” She stabbed the lettuce and jammed it into her mouth, chewing with vigor.

  “Painting? The outside or the inside?”

  “Both, I hope.”

  “Are you planning to repaint it white?”

  She swallowed and lifted her gaze, her eyes narrowed. “No, I’m not planning to paint it white again. White is boring.”

  He shrugged, careful to keep his face impassive. “I just wondered if you’d already gotten your color approved.”

  “Someone has to approve the color? It’s my house.”

  “Yes, but it’s in the historical district. You’ll have to talk to the city council and the historical society about any colors you use on the outside.”

  Her intense blue eyes blazed. “I can’t believe it! Do you know how long it took me to pick out colors for the house and trim? Now I have to convince some crotchety old fuddy-duds to approve my colors?”

  “I’m afraid so.” With great difficulty, he kept a straight face. “You’ll probably only have to persuade one crotchety old fuddy-dud, since the president of the historical society also happens to be the mayor of Romance.”

  “Is it a man or a woman?”

  “A man. Why?” For some reason, her innocent question sparked a bit of jealousy.

  “Ughh! It’s just that men often see me as a child and treat me like that, acting all fatherly. Women don’t judge me by my size.” She wiped her mouth with a paper napkin and wadded it into a ball.

  Adam let his gaze wander down her curves. He couldn’t imagine a guy who would think she was a child.

  “I wouldn’t worry too much about that.” The corners of his mouth tried to curve up, but he squeezed his lips together. “This guy isn’t old enough to be fatherly.”

  “He’s young? That’s great! Maybe he’ll be open to change instead of set in his ways.” She grabbed for her purse, fishing inside for her cell phone. “Let me make myself a note. Since you know him, do you happen to have his contact in your phone? What’s his name?”

  “Adam Walker.”

  Her eyes widened for a moment, before narrowing to slits. “A crotchety, old, fuddy-dud, just like I predicted.”

  ADAM GROANED AS DANIEL banked a perfect shot to sink the eight-ball, winning the third straight game.

  “Want to go for best four out of seven?” Daniel laughed, retrieving the balls from the pockets.

  “No, I guess I’ll admit defeat.” Adam held his cue stick in front of his eye, looking down the shaft to see if it might somehow be defective. “For some reason, I’m off tonight.”

  “I’m not complaining. Best Thursday pool night I’ve had in ages. I enjoy winning, for a change.” Daniel hung his cue stick on the wall rack. “Honestly, Bro, I think Ash is messing with your head. You haven’t talked about anything else.”

  “That’s
not true. I told you about my research on Queen Anne house colors.”

  “Yeah, thanks so much for that fascinating account,” Daniel said sardonically. “You know how much I love it. Anyway, the only reason you looked that stuff up was to prepare for your meeting with Ash tomorrow morning.”

  “Yeah, I wish you’d been there to see her face when I told her she’d have to get her approvals from me. It was hilarious.”

  “So you’re not going to let her change the outside color?”

  “I never said that. As it turns out, it was unlikely the original Scott house was white, anyway. The houses were usually colorful, to show off the trim and details. I think someone painted it all white a while back because they were lazy, and it’s never been properly restored.”

  “Then you’re going to let her paint it however she likes?”

  “I didn’t say that, either. I thought Ash and I could consult together and come up with an acceptable palette.”

  Daniel went to the game-room fridge and grabbed a can of cola, popping the top open. “From the way you described your little lunch meeting, I don’t think she wants to consult with you.”

  “I’m trying to help her.” Adam scowled, wondering why his family seemed to be ganging up on him.

  “Your frowny face doesn’t intimidate me, so don’t bother.” Daniel swallowed three big gulps in a row. “I’m only stating the obvious. You have a thing for Ash, and she doesn’t share the feeling. In fact, I think she’s terrified of you.”

  “First of all, I don’t have a thing for Ash. But I think you may be right about her being scared of me. When we first met, she was stubborn as a bulldog, but now she seems to say whatever, just to appease me.”

  “No wonder you like her. You can boss her around, just like Darla.”

  “I didn’t boss Darla around.”

  “Adam you have a distorted memory of things. Just think back to the three years when you guys were dating. Did you ever once make a decision based solely on what Darla wanted?”

  “We didn’t have to... Darla and I wanted the same things.” Adam crossed his arms, daring Daniel to defy him.

  “Which is impossible, so you just proved my point. She let you have your way and convinced you she wanted the same thing, trying to make you happy.”

  Was it true? Had he squelched Darla’s personality? “I never asked her to do that. I never asked anyone to do that.”

  “I know. And I also know you don’t mind a little debate. In fact, you’ve always enjoyed butting heads with me and Tristan and Elias. We’ve never cut you any slack, and neither did Mom and Dad.”

  “Ha! That’s an understatement.”

  “Well here’s your chance to change your ways, Bro. You need to find someone strong enough to stand up to you. And then you need to accept that you can’t win every disagreement. Compromise is the key word in relationships.”

  “You’ve only been married a few weeks, Daniel. What do you know?”

  “I may not be an expert on marriage, but I’m an expert on my twin brother. I think I understand you better than you understand yourself.”

  “Or maybe you’ve been watching too many chick flicks.”

  “Go ahead and make fun. I know what’s in your secret DVD collection. An Affair to Remember... Casablanca...”

  “Those are classic films.”

  “Whatever. We’re not as different as you pretend we are.” Daniel swallowed the last of his cola and ambled through the kitchen toward the back door, where he stopped, sweeping his hand in a grand gesture. “You know, Adam, this is a great house to raise a family in—huge kitchen and family room, game room, lots of land, cows, horses...”

  “Thanks.” Confused, Adam rubbed the back of his head.

  “And you’re going to be a great father someday. It’s been years since you and Darla broke up, and it’s time you started dating again.”

  “What’s with you and Mom, both trying to give me relationship advice?”

  “I think it’s because I’m so happy with Erin. Now I want the same thing for you.”

  “And you think the answer is Ash?”

  He lifted his shoulders. “Only if Ash has the gumption to knock some sense into you when you need it. Erin has no qualms doing that for me.”

  Adam chuckled. “You’re right about Erin. She’s a spitfire, for sure. I’m really happy for you, Daniel.”

  “Ash seems a bit too fearful to handle you, in my opinion, but she might be a good match for Tristan or Elias.”

  “She’s going to be twenty-six on Saturday—I saw it on her building permit application. I can’t see her being with either of the boys. They’re way too young for her.” The truth was he could picture her with them, and he didn’t like it.

  “The boys, as you call them, are twenty-six and twenty-eight years old.”

  “I don’t care how old they are... I don’t think they’re serious enough for Ash. They’d end up hurting her, for sure.”

  “Isn’t that what you’ve done? Scared her out of her wits?” Daniel chuckled. “You really need to go easy on her tomorrow. Don’t turn her off to the entire family.”

  “I haven’t done anything to Ash. I’m trying to help her.” Adam flung his hands in the air in frustration.

  “Just dial back that dark, overwhelming personality you wear around all the time. Lighten up.” Daniel slapped him on the shoulder and slipped out the door.

  Lighten up? How was he supposed to do that?

  Chapter Seven

  “HE’LL BE HERE ANY MINUTE.” Ash looked out her bedroom window, eyeing the street below. “I had to call off the outside painters, since I haven’t gotten my colors approved yet.”

  “You don’t think he’ll like the colors you picked out?” asked Maggie on the cell phone. “Those colors you sent links for looked great to me.”

  “Thanks, Maggie. But no, I think he won’t like anything but white. He hates change of any kind.”

  “But he’s your cousin, right? Why don’t you just level with him about who you are? Then you could call in a family favor.”

  “No way! I’m pretty sure the family disowned my mother, and I don’t blame them. They probably won’t be too happy to discover her daughter has snatched away the family home. My only chance is to win them over before I let them know who my mother is.”

  “Come on, Ash. You’re an amazing person. Who wouldn’t like you?”

  Ash rolled her eyes, even though Maggie couldn’t see the gesture. “Adam, for one. I make him mad almost every time I open my mouth.”

  “If he hates you so much, why did he call you three times last week?”

  “To buy my antique furniture.” Ash put Maggie on speaker phone so she could brush her teeth. “I promise, that’s all it was. He’s got a furniture restoration and antique shop. It’s called Good As Old. Isn’t that a cute name?”

  “I thought he was the mayor of Romance.”

  “He is, but it turns out that’s not a paying job in a town this size. So he has this antique store, and he’s also a rancher.”

  “What about your date today?”

  “It’s not a date—it’s a meeting to discuss paint colors, after which, I’ll probably have to keep the outside white,” Ash garbled with a mouthful of toothpaste.

  “If it’s just a meeting, why did he tell you to wear jeans and walking shoes and bring a jacket?”

  “I don’t know... that’s what I’m worried about. I don’t want him to hate me, but I don’t want him to like me—not like that. It would be even more disastrous. He’s my cousin for Pete’s sake!”

  “Yeah, that’s too bad, because he sounds hot.”

  Ash spit into the sink. “Oh he’s hot, no doubt about it, but I can’t let myself think of him that way.”

  “Let me get this straight. He’s hot, but you’re trying not to have the hots for him. And you want him to like you, but you don’t want him to like you.” Maggie let her voice go gravelly on the second like.

  “Exactly.” />
  A long, low whistle sounded through the phone. “Ash, you are in so much trouble.”

  “That’s why I’m freaking out here.”

  “Listen Ash, I’ve been doing some research, and I have a solution.”

  “What?” Ash was wary of the amused tone in her friend’s voice.

  “It turns out you can legally marry your first cousin in New York. So you and Adam can come here and get married and then go back to Oregon.”

  “Right. And then we can live happily ever after and have deformed children.”

  Maggie snickered. “You could always adopt.”

  “Maggie, be serious here.”

  “Okay, okay. I’m being serious. I think you should look on the bright side... at least you won’t be all alone on your twenty-sixth birthday.”

  “It’s not like anybody knows about it.”

  “Well, you could casually mention it to Adam.”

  “I’ve already done enough mortifying things around him, I’m not going to beg for attention on my birthday.” Ash walked back to her window, watching the cars drive by on Scott Street.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know, but I better figure it out fast.” Ash spotted Adam getting out of a truck across the street, and her heart started hammering out a jazz pattern. “He’s here.”

  Maggie’s laugh rang in her ear.

  “Why are you laughing? It’s not funny.”

  “Yes it is! I can’t help laughing. You’re the only person I know who gets in these predicaments. I say, you should just tell him the truth today.”

  “What am I supposed to say?”

  “How about, ‘Hey Adam. Guess what? I’m your long-lost cousin.’”

  “I need to tell my aunt first. I think I owe her that much.” A knock sounded down below at the front door.