by Aimee Laine
“Oh, good grief.” She twisted toward Isabelle. “She been responsible for keeping you in place on his behalf?”
Tripp nodded.
“Dammit, Dad.” Jill rummaged for her cell.
“No,” Tripp said.
She stopped. “Why?”
“You want to get back at him on my behalf? Then hold the wedding. Let him think it’s me, but give him the surprise of his life.”
The droop took hold of her posture. “But how?” She exaggerated her question with hand gestures. “How, Tripp? How?”
“Trust me. You know I’m really good at finding things … I can do that with people, too. Let me do this for you. I promise he’ll be ‘the one’. I’ll deliver him a week before the wedding. You just keep him under wraps.”
“This is intense, Tripp. You want to bring me a new fiancé as if he’s a tube of toothpaste, hope I fall in love, do it all a week before a worldwide wedding and not say a thing to anyone?”
“Yes.”
She eyed him with the expression of one very interested but wary woman. “There’s more to this, Tripp. What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing. At this point, you know everything.” Or everything you need to know. “So, what do you think?”
“You’re totally serious?”
“Have I ever not been?”
A sip of lime water.
A tap of one nail on the tabletop.
A slight nod of her head.
“October thirtieth. Six o’clock. That gives you three weeks to deliver. You screw with me, and I will send Isabelle to hunt you down and have you castrated.” She added a sweet but serious smile as Tripp mouthed ‘ouch’ and covered his crotch. As she took another sip of her drink, her eyes lit with interest. “Need to know anything to make this happen?”
Oh, so many things. “Nope. I have it all under control.”
Narrowed eyes accompanied another drink. “You know this is the weirdest thing you’ve ever asked of me, right?”
“Trust me, Jill. If this wasn’t ‘the way’ to make this happen, I’d never have asked.”
• • •
Lexi tapped the end of her pen on her desk. Another morning had arrived and left, but Tripp hadn’t called. She’d given up on both the questions to Emma and Ian, and the thoughts—at least the verbal ones—to avoid their constant shrugs. Lexi considered making a call herself, but with the realization she and Tripp had more than just a physical connection, she went another route.
Her attempt at meditation got no response either.
Despite her personal rule about searching for people, and the fact she couldn’t usually find Tripp, Lexi tried to pull to mind his face, but when she couldn’t, she figured he didn’t want to be found.
Still, he didn’t call.
Neither did she.
The chime from the front door had her head popping up. Neither she nor Emma had appointments.
Tripp?
Voices trailed off and heightened as if the person who walked in claimed some sort of popularity. Rather than sit and wait for him, Lexi headed to the lobby.
Lexi entered to Ian and Emma wafting their hands over steaming food—no doubt brought by their guest. She plastered on her happy face even while her inner spirit plummeted to her feet.
“Hey, Janey.”
The scent of chicken, rice and a hint of sugar made its way up to her.
“Brought you some goodies today.”
“That was sweet of you.”
Janine opened the top of another dish, revealing steak in a sauce similar to the one Tripp ordered when they ate together in her restaurant. “I also brought you these.” She held out a box.
Lexi smiled at two of her favorite raspberries. “Wow. This is a serious treat. What brings this on?”
“I just wanted to thank you for the Missy introduction.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Emma said behind a mouthful of food.
“Oh, yeah, I did. She put me in contact with a restaurateur in D.C. who wants to feature a few of my dishes in his kitchen.”
Lexi bit into one of the two bite-sized desserts. “That’s awesome. I mean it. Oh, god, these are amazing.”
Janine giggled with excitement. “I know. And, I’m making those—” She pointed to Lexi’s box. “—for a wedding on October thirtieth. A woman called me from New York about it.”
Lexi’s heart slung back up from her feet, smacked her in the face and exploded. She masked the inner turmoil and emotional pain by stuffing her mouth with the second dessert.
I pushed him away.
Missy probably suggested Janine for the wedding and passed the information on to Jill. Lexi fixed the smile to her face. “That’s just … um … superb. I am beyond speechless and excited for you.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you, Lexi. I mean it.”
“Aw. You’re so sweet. Everything you’ve done has been based on hard work and a strong business sense … and one fantastic menu.”
“You still like these two dishes? I was thinking about using them for the samples for that chef in D.C.”
Lexi nodded. “Oh, yeah. They’re my favorites. I’d totally use them.”
“Well, I’ll leave you guys to your work. Thanks for the input, and enjoy lunch. I brought enough for you all to have some of each.”
Lexi didn’t have the nerve to tell Janine she could barely eat.
The office phone trilled, and Lexi went to answer it until Emma beat her to it.
“Wise Women, this is Emma Shepherd, how can I help you?”
Her sister’s sweet voice resonated professionalism and interest. While Emma didn’t have the same gift as Lexi, she worked a figurative magic in other ways.
“Hey, Lex.” Emma cupped a hand over the mouthpiece. “C’mere.”
Lexi shuffled to Emma’s computer.
“Check these out. New drawings.”
Missy sent sketches almost every day—updates on her ideas and thoughts. Dropping to Emma’s chair, Lexi studied the first image as Emma trudged away.
The design Missy had sent of the kitchen reflected the hand-drawn art she’d made while she’d been in Rune. Lexi clicked to the living room—a complement of colors, furniture, light and wonder. The master bedroom mixed masculine with feminine in a way to suggest the two could live in a symbiotic manner.
Her newest ideas came in the form of a nursery and another of an office. Lexi laughed at the idea Missy would build those into her models, but since she knew Tripp better than any other, Lexi accepted it.
Missy even sent a landscape design with a path of lights leading to and from the barn and another to a beautiful white gazebo. The designs suited the property. It brought life to an otherwise drab two stories of unused home.
Every bit of Lexi’s heart remained with that house. The thought Tripp owned it, that eventually some other woman would have her hands in it, burned.
At her sigh, Emma put a hand on Lexi’s back.
“It’s not over, Lex.”
“What’s not?” That he has my house and the designs are just what I want? Or that he’s gone back to Jill, and that’s why he hasn’t called?
She backed away from Emma and stalked to her office. “I’m so stupid! I should have given up sooner. Should have run away from him that day on the beach. Dammit.” She slammed her fist against the desk. “There was never an ‘us’, and yet here I am thinking there was something real.”
She needed time to let her emotions separate from her body, and Ian and Emma’s babysitting had extended far too long.
Her Mini, clean and ready for a road trip, sat in the parking lot.
She grabbed her keys and her bag, listened for Ian and Emma gabbing in the front and slipped out the back.
• • •
One train ride, three planes and four rental cars later, Tripp found himself a few miles from Rune. He’d begged Ian to keep his return a secret, wanting to surprise Lexi. What had turned into two days, reached into four, a
nd his idea of ‘surprise’ had become ‘I hope she doesn’t hate me.’
He’d kept in touch with Ian, who assured him Lexi remained clueless of his plans and still pined for him. Yet, as he drove, he prepared himself for a chilly reception, though in reality, he had no idea how she would react. He only hoped he could win her over with his plan.
If it worked, he’d live the rest of his life a happy man. If it didn’t, the precautions Tripp put into place would protect Lexi—or he hoped they would.
The car hummed beneath Tripp as he drove onto the farmhouse’s drive. Missy had bombarded him with questions about the farmhouse, her ideas and the renovations—some he’d already approved. Others, he wanted Lexi’s input on but took secondhand answers through Ian, who promised he’d picked them up from Emma and Lexi.
At least a dozen cars and trucks and one city official parked around the yard, in the drive and near the barn. Tripp took a spot at the end of the road, grabbed the ‘For Sale’ sign that Lexi forgot to remove and threw it in the back seat. He walked the rest of the way to the house, scanning for the General Contractor, who he’d never met but hired based on a dozen recommendations and Ian’s research.
Yellow and white hats bobbed around the space,
Tripp tapped the shoulder of one worker. “Hi.”
“You need a safety helmet to be up here,” the blonde said.
Tripp shrugged.
She groaned, spun to a blue truck, threw open the door and handed him what he guessed to be an extra. “Do you need an assignment?”
Tripp smiled. “No. I’m looking for Taylor Marsh.”
“That would be me.” She brought up her clipboard, scribbling on it without looking at Tripp. “Subcontractors are handled by AJ. He’s over there.” She pointed with her pen.
Tripp’s grin grew until he couldn’t hold it back. He tapped her on the shoulder again.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve only got three weeks left to renovate a two-story, hundred year old farmhouse.” She waved him away. “You’ll need to work with your sub.”
“Would you point me to the electrical guy, then?”
She pointed again. “Red hat on the ladder.”
Tripp plopped the hat on his head and strode to the silver steps leaning against a wall. “Hello.”
“Yo. Here for the rewire?”
Tripp motioned for the man to come down.
“You look familiar.” The man scratched at the back of his neck. “You the owner?”
Tripp nodded.
“Good to meet you. I’m AJ. Have you met Taylor?” He inclined his head toward the blonde who blew him off.
“Only sort of. She didn’t give me the time of day.”
“You wouldn’t either if you had teams working twenty-four seven. You tasked us with the job of the century.”
“And I’m paying you for it, too.”
AJ’s lips curved up as he laughed in one big burst. “That you are. Let me introduce you.” He waved Tripp forward.
As they walked up to Taylor, she put her hands on her hips. “What now?”
AJ chuckled again, a louder, more sincere sound as the whine of a circular saw kicked in. “This is your boss.”
“No, you are his—” Her blue eyes grew wide. “Oh, shit.” She hung her head, shook it. “Dammit. I’m sorry, Mr. Fox. I’m very tunnel-visioned these days.”
Tripp grinned. “Actually, I’m happy about that. And on that note, I’d like an update.”
“Let’s walk and talk.”
She took him through the side door, the same one George and Marge had welcomed him and Ian through—or rather their apparitions had. Taylor’s comments ran the gamut from structural integrity to wiring and plumbing. Architectural plans pilfered from county archives laid on the center island—already built into the kitchen.
“I don’t know how or why, but for a building which has sat untouched for thirty years, it’s all in really good shape. We’re tearing out and replacing all the wiring, but it’s going smoothly, like no other project I’ve been on.”
“Good.”
“Mr. Fox?” A man with ‘Town of Rune’ emblazoned on his shirt approached. “I’m Ken Ribald, one of the residential inspectors. You’ve assembled quite the team here.” He motioned through the space as buzz saws, nail guns and hammers resounded.
“That’s what a half million dollar budget will get you.”
“Well, I just wanted to say, whoever this project is for, she must be one lucky girl.” He extended his hand and shook Tripp’s. “I’ll leave you to a survey, but so far all inspections are coming through without a problem.”
“Excellent.”
“Let’s go upstairs.” Taylor took off, leaving Tripp to follow. The first and fifth stairs creaked as she stepped on them. “We’ll get to those.”
“No.”
She stopped, turned to him. “What?”
“Don’t replace either of those steps.”
“Are you serious?”
“Completely.”
“Okay, hang on then.” She pulled out a walkie-talkie and called for the floor guys. “I’m marking stair treads one and five for non-replacement.”
“What the hell?” The radio squawked back.
She smiled, pressing the button again. “Boss says.”
“Fine, fine, whatever,” the voice said.
Taylor lead Tripp to the main bedroom. “This is the only room where we changed any structural element. Took out the closet, per your request, added that space to the master bath and added the Jacuzzi tub. Added a good solid hundred square feet, though your sister suggested we break a hole in this wall, add a peek-a-boo door.”
“Why?”
Taylor shrugged. “Not my job to ask why.”
“Do it then.”
“Okay.” She jotted notes on her pad.
“So, you think you’ll be done by October thirtieth?”
“There is no question.”
“Good.” They walked back out into the sunshine, where three ladders leaned against the house. “Heard you were the best.”
Taylor smiled. “You could say that.”
As they reached her truck door, someone yelled ‘four!’ and she spun as Tripp did. One of the three ladders tilted backward with its climber still attached.
“Oh, good grief,” she said.
The men at the bottom worked to push it back in place, called out to the one on top to stop flailing.
“Dammit. I keep telling them to set the bases out farther. Do they listen?” She shook her head.
“That’s going to be one hell of a bump when he lands.”
She turned back to the truck. “That should teach ’em a lesson.”
Tripp started toward the ladder in the hopes that he might help.
“Tripp.” Taylor motioned him back with the crook of her finger before she waved once in the direction of the ladder. “They’re fine.”
He spun around as the ladder fell against the house and the man at the top climbed back down. The guys at the bottom resettled the ladder farther out.
Taylor leaned on her truck, elbows up on the bed rail. “You just gotta know when to wait and when to help.”
“Clearly, this is your domain.”
She snorted. “Hands on is me. Computers are not.”
Tripp chuckled. “I gotcha. From this point until the thirtieth—don’t take any calls from a Lexi Shepherd, please. And if she happens to show up here, push her away. Show her nothing and tell her there’s six months worth of effort to go.”
Taylor nodded, though a small smile eked out. “Alrighty.”
26
Tripp made the trek to Wise Women at a slow pace, taking time to breathe in the scent of clean air—a blend of nature and life. His meeting with Taylor and review of the renovations gave him a solid picture of the life he intended to lead in a matter of weeks. He only needed to find and convince Lexi to play a part in it.
He noted Ian’s car as well as Emma’s in the parking lot but not Le
xi’s. A quick check of his dashboard clock suggested she’d be there, but then again, with the short leash Ian kept them on, Tripp figured they’d carpooled.
Parked between the two vehicles, he sauntered toward the door as Ian stepped out.
“Hi,” Tripp said.
Ian blocked his entry. “The man finally arrives.”
“I got almost everything I needed. Now I just need Lexi.”
“All of it? So Jill’s getting married?”
“Yes, though I need Lexi’s help with the last piece.”
“Yeah, well …” Ian turned toward the parking lot.
Tripp narrowed his eyes. “What’s going on?” He pushed at Ian to get by but stopped when Ian shifted into his way.
They eyed each other without words until Ian hung his head.
“Where is she?” Tripp asked.
“Don’t know,” Ian said.
Tripp grabbed Ian by the front of the shirt. The fact he didn’t fight worried Tripp more. He let go as the outer door swung open and Emma flanked Ian.
“Where is she, Emma?” Tripp asked, anger in his tone.
Emma dropped her gaze. “I don’t know. We were here, eating lunch about two hours ago, and she went into her office to work. I didn’t even hear her leave or get in her Mini, but it’s gone, so we’re assuming she left—”
“Damn silent cars,” Ian said.
Emma rolled her eyes, adding a dramatic sigh. “I called our Mom. She says she doesn’t know. I checked with Missy—”
Tripp thumped his palm against his forehead. “Why’d she leave? Where does she go?”
“The old farmhouse?” Emma asked. “She used to go and sit at the roadside, stare at it. Or she’d go in, spend time with George and Marge if they were there, which of course is totally weird now.”
Tripp shook his head. “I was just there. Nowhere else?”
Emma shook her head. “I’ve wracked my brain trying to figure it out. She always tells me what’s going on, but she’s been living inside her head for days, if not longer. You should have called her and not waited a whole damn week.”
Tripp spun to the cars, turned back to Emma and Ian. “I know. Time got away from me. What do I do now?”
Ian pursed his lips. “You’re not going back to Jill, are you?”