by Ross, Mia
Cranky as she was, she kept smiling and got through her shift as pleasantly as humanly possible. She was just tired, she told herself as she signed her time card and slipped out the back door. She’d make an early night of it and wake up tomorrow in a better frame of mind.
As she walked between buildings, she glanced up and saw Seth framed in an upstairs window. Hands braced on either side of the lacy curtains, he was staring out over the Christmas-card view of Main Street. Dressed in yet another faded T-shirt, he looked as though he wanted nothing more than to get out of that room.
Feeling sorry for him, Lisa waved to get his attention. His expression brightened immediately, and the grin on his face as he opened the window made her heart do a little flip. When he loosened up, the man had a truly amazing smile.
“Hey, there,” he said as he leaned his elbows on the windowsill.
“Hey, yourself. I didn’t see you today.”
“I was working up here in the apartments.”
“Yeah, I heard,” she joked with a quick laugh. “I hope Ruthy brought you lunch.”
“She did. It’s pretty noisy downstairs, isn’t it?”
“No big deal. You’ll be done with all this work soon, right?”
“Soon,” he agreed with a frown.
She couldn’t imagine why that made him unhappy, but she forged ahead. “Y’know, the hermit routine is actually making people more curious about you, not less.”
“I can’t help that.”
He added a pathetic sigh, and Lisa felt even sorrier for him than she had a minute ago. “What are you doing now?”
“Waiting till the diner closes so I can eat my supper in peace.”
“Those apartments all have kitchenettes,” she pointed out. “Don’t you have any food up there?”
He shrugged as though it didn’t matter much one way or the other. “I’ve been so busy, I haven’t had time to buy any groceries. Aunt Ruth’s cooking is way better than mine, anyway.”
“I’ve got plenty of leftover chili,” Lisa blurted without thinking. “You can eat with me if you want.”
Cocking his head, he considered her offer. “You sure?”
“Totally. I’ve even got fresh bread and soda to go with it.” She held up the take-out sack that held a loaf still warm from Ruthy’s oven, hoping she sounded confident. Now that she’d made the impulsive offer, she knew retracting it would hurt his feelings. After the risk Seth had taken to help Pastor Charles, she’d never do that to him. “Whattya say?”
Seth deliberated a few more seconds, then gave her another knee-weakening grin. “I’ll be right down.”
He closed the window and locked it, and she heard his boots eagerly pounding down the back stairs.
“Good grief,” she muttered, fanning herself with her hand the way Helen Witteridge had. Glancing toward heaven, she grinned. “You really outdid Yourself the day You made that one.”
When Seth joined her, he was holding two large Harland Hardware bags and a beat-up metal toolbox that looked as though it had seen a lot of action.
“What’s all that?” she asked as they started walking.
“I got a fan and some ceiling tiles for your bathroom.”
To her knowledge, the man hadn’t gone anywhere since the storm. If she hadn’t happened along and invited him to supper, he’d still be hiding out in his room staring at the walls. It floored her that he’d gone to so much trouble to help her out.
“That was really sweet,” she said, careful not to look right at him. Direct contact with her seemed to make him jumpy. “I’ll pay you back.”
“I’ll trade you for the chili.”
She sneaked a glance up at him, and he actually winked at her. His demeanor shifted faster than a summer storm, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it. Normally, she took people as they came, without analyzing them too deeply. She didn’t have that luxury with Seth. Right now he was being pleasant enough, but she’d glimpsed his darker side. She couldn’t help wondering how long his sunny mood would last.
* * *
“There’s really no hurry to fix the ceiling in there,” Lisa told him as she unlocked her front door. “The patch I made is working fine.”
“No time like the present,” he replied, hoping he sounded cool.
The truth was, this spunky waitress had knocked him off balance when he first met her and he still hadn’t fully recovered. Disturbing as his unexpected emotions were, he recognized that having any feelings at all, even unsettling ones, was better than the fog he’d been living in.
After studying him for a few seconds, she gave him a look that managed to come off as equal parts approval and dismay. “You’re a stubborn one, aren’t you?”
“I’ve been called worse.”
It was the truth, but it wasn’t like him to be so flip with people. Where had that one come from? he wondered. For some strange reason, Lisa had a knack for bringing out the best in him. He didn’t know if that was good or bad, but since his stomach was rumbling for chili, he decided to reserve judgment for now.
Laughing, she reached into a cupboard for two bowls. “All right, you can fix my ceiling. But eat first. You’ve been working so hard, you must be starving.”
“I was ready to fry up my boots.”
He took the bowl she handed him and ladled chili into it. Offering it to her, he took the other one and filled it, too. While she sliced bread on a cutting board, he set their bowls on the pretty mosaic table and filled a couple of glasses with soda. He even remembered to fold some napkins and put them at each place. It was an afterthought, but he congratulated himself for thinking of it at all. It had been a long time since he’d paid much attention to things like napkins and dishes.
Cleo appeared from nowhere, blinking up at him as if she’d just woken up from a nap. Standing on her back legs, she wrapped her white snowshoe paws around his leg and rubbed her cheek on his jeans.
“Careful,” Lisa warned with a laugh. “She’s marking her territory.”
“What?” Seth asked as he reached down to ruffle her fur. “She thinks I belong to her now?”
“Of course.” The mischievous twinkle in Lisa’s eyes contradicted her serious tone. “It’s good to be the queen.”
“And you’re the princess. Guess I better watch my step around here.”
They both laughed. Before long, Cleo got bored with him and sashayed into the living room and curled up on the sofa. Seth waited until Lisa sat down and then joined her. While they ate, she filled him in on her day. She said “crazy busy” several times, but she didn’t seem to mind it all that much. The crowd she’d handled so deftly would have sent him into standing shock, and Seth was impressed with her breezy attitude.
When she stopped talking to sip her soda, he asked, “You really like your job, don’t you?”
“Most of the time, but I know everyone I see every day. It’s nice, but I’d love to meet some new people.”
“You’re a people person, then.”
She nodded. “Totally.”
Seth noticed she didn’t ask him if he felt the same way. Then again, she was more than bright enough to figure that one out on her own. “You’re from a big family. That must have something to do with it.”
“I guess so. I’m the baby, so everyone was always telling me how to be, who to hang out with, stuff like that.”
“Calling you ‘princess.’”
She made a sour face. “That’s my favorite. Anyway, when I moved out, I really liked being able to do what I want.”
“Like art?”
“Yeah.” Glancing over at the easel holding her latest project, she smiled. “I know my family doesn’t get it, but it’s important to me, so they pretend to understand.” Focusing back on him, she added, “Like going to Europe. None of them would ever
do that.”
“Did you decide where to go yet?”
“Everywhere. My sister’s keeping Cleo for me, so I can stay as long as I want.” She nodded to a stack of foreign-language books on the counter. “I want to learn some Italian, French and Spanish. I figure I’m good for England, Scotland and Ireland, since they all speak English.”
“Kind of.” Seth recalled fighting his way through some of those thick Gaelic brogues and wondered how she’d fare with her Carolina accent. After a spoonful of chili, he said, “No matter where you go, you really only need to know how to say one thing in their language.”
“Where’s the bathroom?” she guessed with a cheeky grin.
He chuckled, then shook his head. “Do you speak English?”
“Oh, come on.” She tilted her head in disapproval. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“These days they have apps for your cell phone that record what you say and translate it into whatever language you need.”
“I want to learn how to speak them myself,” she insisted. “At least a little.”
“You can’t learn more than vocabulary and basic grammar from a book,” he cautioned. “You have to hear an actual conversation so you know how it flows. You’d do better on one of those learn-a-language websites.”
She rolled her eyes, reminding him of his twelve-year-old niece. “Ugh. Learn from a stranger? No, thanks.” Suddenly, excitement lit her face, and she leaned toward him. “Do you speak any of those languages?”
“Sure, but—” When it dawned on him where she was headed, very firmly he said, “I’m not a tutor, Lisa. You need a real teacher, someone who knows how to break things down and explain them to you.”
“I need someone who’s actually been to these places and talked to the people there.” For dramatic effect, she held up her hands and looked all around. “Where am I going to find someone like that in Harland?”
“There’s a community college in Kenwood,” he suggested desperately, keenly aware that this sweet country girl had neatly backed him into a corner. “You could take some classes there.”
Sitting back in her chair, she folded her arms and gave him the look of a woman who was accustomed to getting what she wanted. “I want you to teach me. I’ll pay you if that’s the problem.”
That wasn’t the problem at all. In fact, Seth knew he’d enjoy spending time with her, teaching her to speak those languages well enough that they could discuss the things that so clearly fascinated her. The thought of it appealed to him way too much. That was the problem.
His cool, well-honed logic finally kicked in, giving him the ultimate out. “I can’t. When I’m done at Aunt Ruth’s, I’m going home.”
Her enthusiasm vanished, and she looked down at her untouched bowl of chili. “Oh, that’s right. Sorry, I forgot.”
She switched to a less personal topic, but Seth could see she was disappointed. Based on his disastrous history, he’d made it a practice not to promise anything to anyone, no matter how small. The trouble was, his quick friendship with Lisa had tricked him into believing this time—and this place—could be different. But it wasn’t.
Despite every attempt he’d made to break those old patterns, he’d still managed to let her down. He sat there trying to swallow his food while the hope he’d begun to feel evaporated. As his heart coiled around the cold, hard truth, he knew he had no choice but to accept it.
Hard as he’d tried to correct the bleak course his life had taken, nothing had changed.
Chapter Five
Friday morning, several construction trucks and a good-sized flatbed holding a bulldozer rumbled down Main Street. Lisa stopped clearing one of the window tables and watched to see where they were going. When they turned into the lot beside the damaged church, she headed outside for a closer look. Picking up the pieces, she thought with a smile. That was Harland for you.
When someone shouted her name, she turned to see her brother John dangling out the passenger window of a dark blue pickup. Their big brother, Matt, yanked him back into the cab, but she could hear John laughing as they swung into the lot and parked beside several other farmers’ pickups.
“Funny time of year for a parade,” Seth said from the doorway behind her.
It was one of the few bits of humor she’d heard from him, and she was impressed. Maybe hanging out with her was loosening him up a little. “We’re rebuilding our church. Even Mother Nature can’t keep us down for long. A heavy-construction company came in yesterday to brace everything, and last night the inspector cleared us to start repairs.”
He gave her a sidelong look. “How do you know all this?”
“Ruthy’s Place is the hub of Harland,” she replied with a smile. “We know everything that goes on in this town, sometimes even before it actually happens.”
Chuckling, he shook his head and looked back out to the street. “Good to know.”
The procession of trucks continued for almost a mile, and as the two of them watched each one pull in to park near the church, Seth whistled in appreciation. “With all that help, we oughta be done next week.”
Convinced she’d heard wrong, she stared up at him, which he didn’t notice because he refused to look at her.
“We?” she echoed.
It took him a few seconds, but when he finally looked down at her, he shrugged. “Pastor Charles called yesterday and said he really needed my help. The other contractors he would’ve asked are busy and can’t be on-site all the time. With me right across the street, it just makes sense for me to do it.”
“Oh, Seth, that’s awesome!”
Delighted by his change of heart, she gave him an impulsive hug. He stunned her by returning the gesture. Having those strong arms wrapped around her felt wonderful, and she cuddled in for one blissful moment before he stiffened and pulled away.
His eyes had shifted to that icy color she’d learned to be wary of. Because she still wasn’t sure what that was all about, she decided it was best to forget their unexpected embrace. “We’re doing lunch for the volunteers, so I’m headed over to see what folks would like. Do you want to come with me and meet your crew?”
“Sure.” He hesitated, then fell into step beside her. “How’s Pastor Charles doing?”
“When we get there, you can ask him yourself.”
“Should he be up and around already?” Seth asked with a scowl.
“Probably not, but when he heard about everyone coming in today, he told Ruthy he’d be there, too, at least for a little while.”
When they arrived at the site, someone was backing a front loader off its flatbed. Lisa recognized a couple of local contractors talking to men and women dressed in hard hats, pointing here and there to get them organized. A crane was lifting pallets of lumber from a long truck to stack them neatly beside an enormous Dumpster that was half-full of debris.
Seth assessed their progress with an approving look. “They’ve gotten a lot done already. Looks like they know what they’re doing.”
“Most of them, anyway,” she laughed as her brothers headed their way. “These two, I’m not so sure.”
“What?” John asked with an innocent expression. “I can swing a hammer with the best of ’em.” Sticking out his hand, he added, “John Sawyer. This is my big brother Matt.”
Lisa kept an eye on Seth while they shook hands all around. She knew it was crazy to feel protective of such a big, strong guy, but she felt it all the same. Wounded in more ways than one, he struck her as someone who needed every friend he could get. While he traded small talk with her brothers, she noticed that his genetic shyness seemed to be fading. She didn’t know him all that well, but she was proud of him.
“What’d ya bring her for?” John asked him, nodding at Lisa. “The only thing she’s good for is distracting the guys when they’re supposed to be
working.”
“For your information,” she informed him haughtily, “I’m here to take a poll and find out what the crew wants for lunch. Ruthy’s donating the food, and she wants to make sure people get their favorites.”
“Long as you don’t cook any of it,” he teased, “we’ll be fine.”
Blowing out an exasperated sigh, she rolled her eyes. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with my cooking.”
“Best chili I ever had,” Seth put in.
Looking for all the world like a displeased grizzly bear, Matt folded his arms and pinned Seth with an unmistakable stare. He didn’t say anything, but his overprotective meaning came through loud and clear. To his credit, the soft-spoken handyman didn’t back down from Matt the way most folks did. He just stood there and took it.
“Back off, big brother,” Lisa scolded him. “I had a friend over for supper. Deal with it.”
Fortunately for all of them, Pastor Charles picked that moment to come over and say hello.
“Seth, so good to see you!” With both hands, he shook one of Seth’s, a delighted smile lighting his face. “I wanted to thank you again for your help the other day.”
“How are you feeling?” Seth asked easily, making it plain that Matt didn’t bother him in the least.
“Just fine. The doctor says I’ll be right as rain in time for our Sunday service. It’ll be at Ruthy’s,” he added, glancing at the other three. “Priscilla Fairman is spreading the word, and I hope you and the rest of the family can all be there.”
“Absolutely,” Lisa promised, her brothers nodding their agreement.
“Marvelous. I can always count on the Sawyers.” Resting a hand on Seth’s arm, he said, “If you’ll follow me, I’ll introduce you to your crew.”
“You’re in charge?” John asked with a grin. “Seriously?”
Seth answered with a grin of his own. “You ever try to tell this man ‘no’?”
“Yeah, I see what you mean.”
As the two of them strolled ahead with the pastor, Matt and Lisa followed.