Defending Hearts

by Shannon Stacey

  Gretchen wanted to think about that a little bit—imagine them in that big marble shower together, all slick and soapy—but as soon as she closed her eyes, she drifted off to sleep.

  —

  Alex opened his eyes and, after a glance at the clock, closed them again. He could sleep in today. No getting up early because Ida had breakfast on and Gretchen was letting the screen door slam on her way to do her morning chores. No Cocoa tap-tap-tapping her nails on the floor outside his door as she paced, waiting for him to come out.

  He could sleep a little more, then kiss Gretchen good morning. Then kiss her some more.

  Maybe they’d take a very long, very hot shower together just because they could. He definitely planned to make love to her again before they headed back to Stewart Mills. Somewhere in there, he’d order up some room service.

  But first he was going to will himself back to sleep, just because he could.

  “I thought you’d never wake up.”

  He chuckled and rolled onto his side so he could pull her close and nuzzle her hair. “No chickens here. Go back to sleep.”

  “You can take the girl off the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the girl. Or something like that.”

  “Five more minutes, farm girl.”

  “Okay. You sleep five more minutes while I get dressed and go find someplace that has coffee.”

  Scowling, Alex finally surrendered to the inevitable and opened his eyes. “Or you can pick up the phone and ask them to send up coffee. And don’t tell me it’s stupid to pay somebody to do something I can do myself.”

  “My principles are a little more flexible when it comes to coffee.” She sat up, looking at the phone. “I’ve never used room service. Is their number written down somewhere?”

  “I’ll make a deal with you,” he said, pulling her back down onto the pillows. “You let me kiss you for a little while, and then I’ll order you an entire carafe of coffee.”

  She actually looked skeptical, which might have offended him if he were awake enough to care. “Do you mean kissing or do you mean sex? Because I have a no-sex-before-coffee rule.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes, I do. It’s kind of a new rule, though, so I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before.”

  “I just want to kiss you good morning.” He pushed her hair back, loving the way sleepiness softened the lines of her face.

  “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”

  “Neither have I. Do you have a rule about that, too?”

  She smiled, shaking her head. “I don’t if you don’t.”

  He didn’t, and the next five minutes were some of the best he could remember. Cocooned in the cloud of luxury that was the hotel bedding, he kissed Gretchen until he thought he might be satisfied. Then he stretched to reach the telephone and ordered a pot of coffee before kissing her some more.

  “Are we going out for breakfast?” she asked while they waited for the coffee. “I like breakfast almost as much as I like coffee. And I’m starving, too.”

  “We can order breakfast after our shower.”

  She scowled and burrowed farther under the covers while he pulled on just enough clothing to not scandalize the hotel staff. “It would have been more efficient to just eat it fast before our shower, or shower fast and then eat. Now they have to make two trips.”

  He cinched the drawstring on the sweatpants he’d thrown in his bag, and then leaned across the bed to shut her up with another kiss. “We will not be showering fast. We’re going to have a nice, long, very hot shower, and then we can decide if we want room service or if we want to check out and find a place on the way home.”

  Once Gretchen had put two cups of coffee in her system, she stretched and declared she was ready to start the day. “So we’re taking this shower together?”

  Damn straight, they were, he thought. He’d chosen this particular hotel not only because of the excellent coffee and nice luxurious touches but also because of their shower. He stripped down and gave her a come on look before heading into the bathroom.

  Steam was already beginning to roll through the bathroom when Gretchen stripped the nightgown off and stepped into the enclosure with him. She’d taken the time to tightly braid her hair and wind it up in a knot. He imagined that much hair could be a pain to deal with when wet and away from home.

  “Wow,” she breathed. The water was hot and rained down on them from dual showerheads. “I can’t believe the water pressure. Does that mean we’ll run out of hot water sooner?”

  He picked up the bottle of body wash the hotel provided and squeezed a generous dollop into his palm. Then he rubbed his hands together before reaching for her. “We won’t run out of hot water.”

  The sound of pleasure she made when he started spreading the liquid soap over her body shot straight through Alex and he was instantly hard. She tried to stay out of the water streams long enough for him to get her nice and slick, and he found himself watching the intense pleasure flitting across her face.

  It was a simple thing, really. It was a shower. A modern shower hooked up to a state-of-the-art heating system. But to a woman who’d grown up in a house where showers had to be scheduled to ensure hot water for everybody, and whom he’d heard complain more than once about barely having enough to wash the shampoo out of her mass of hair, it was a pleasure she was obviously going to enjoy to the hilt.

  When he ran his hands over her slick breasts, she groaned and leaned forward to rest her forehead against his chest. “This is amazing.”

  “Better than the sheets?”

  “Oh.” She looked up at him. “That’s a tough one.”

  With the water flowing over her bare skin and her brow knit in concentration over the question, she looked adorable, and he couldn’t keep the grin off his face.

  “What? What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing’s funny. I’m just having a good time.”

  “Good.” She took the bottle of body wash off the shelf and poured some into her palm. “I bet you can have a better time, though.”

  He groaned when she put her slippery hands on his chest and started working her way south. “I wouldn’t bet against you.”

  —

  Gretchen had her hand on the door handle, ready to get out and say hello to an overexcited Cocoa, when she realized she had no idea how to act now.

  Gram was neither stupid nor blind. She knew Alex and Gretchen were a little more than landlord and tenant, and had been for a while. But they’d both been pretending she didn’t know because it was just easier that way. Maybe Gram was planning her granddaughter’s wedding in her head, but she hadn’t said anything out loud, which meant everybody could continue on as if nothing was happening.

  But now there was no doubt what they’d been up to. She was pretty sure Alex had even mentioned having only the one hotel room before they left. It would be stupid to keep up the pretense that they weren’t stealing kisses every chance they got, but Gretchen wasn’t sure how she felt about Gram actually seeing that they had a relationship. Somehow that made it all seem more real.

  And it wasn’t all about Gram getting ideas in her head about a wedding and grandchildren in the near future. Gretchen didn’t want Gram to know how she felt about Alex, because when he inevitably left, Gram would fuss over her. If Gretchen were the only one who knew she’d let herself get attached to Alex, maybe nobody would know she was hurting.

  “You okay?”

  Gretchen shook off her thoughts and looked at Alex, who’d turned off the ignition but seemed to be waiting for her to get out. “Yeah. I just got lost in thought for a second.”

  He nodded, looking as though he wanted to ask her what she’d been thinking about, but he didn’t. “Cocoa’s going to totally come undone if you don’t say hi to her.”

  Gretchen forced a laugh and opened the door. She barely
managed to get out with a dog instantly tangled in her legs, but as soon as her feet hit the ground, she crouched down to give Cocoa a hug. “Did you miss me, silly girl?”

  Cocoa was so happy to see her, it took three tries to be still enough to get a high five, and then she went around the Jeep to greet Alex. Gretchen grabbed her bag out of the back and left them to their reunion.

  Gram met her in the middle of the living room. She was still drying her hands on the dish towel, so Gretchen knew she’d been in the kitchen. “Hi, Gram. Everything go okay?”

  “Of course.” She kissed Gretchen’s cheek. “Did you have a good time?”

  “Yeah. I didn’t know what anybody was talking about half the time, but there was a really good chocolate truffle dessert. It wasn’t the kind of place where you asked for the recipe, which is too bad, because you would have liked it.” Gretchen set her bag on the bottom step to carry upstairs later. “And it was interesting listening to Alex talk about his work to people who knew what the technical stuff meant.”

  “Was the hotel nice?”

  The more Gretchen tried to concentrate on keeping her expression neutral, the more her lips twitched. And she knew the heat in her cheeks would give her away, anyway. Finally she gave up and let the smile happen. “The hotel was very nice. I had room service.”

  “Good.” Gram returned the smile. “A girl should get to stay in a nice hotel and be pampered once in a while.”

  Gretchen followed her into the kitchen, not sure if they were talking in euphemisms, or if Gram actually thought staying in a hotel was good for a woman. Either way, the conversation was over since Alex walked through the front door with Cocoa just as they went into the kitchen. She heard the thump of his feet on the stairs as he presumably carried his bag up, but she wasn’t going to take the chance of him overhearing her talking about their sex life with her grandmother.

  “Did the animals give you any trouble?” she asked, changing the subject.

  “Not at all. Dana and I even took Cocoa out for a walk to see the pumpkins. I know it’s not time yet, but I’m worried about you harvesting them all yourself. There are so many now.”

  “I know my limits, Gram, and we don’t have more than I can handle. I can’t do any more than what we have, but I’ve got this crop under control.”

  “Still, so many.” Gram put on a kettle to heat water for her tea. “Maybe Alex can help you.”

  And so it began, in however subtle a way. “Alex is a photographer, not a pumpkin farmer. And he probably won’t be here much longer.”

  “Has he said anything?”

  “No, but he can’t stay here forever. And since he’s not doing an entire book, he probably already has enough to do his story.” She peeked in the cookie jar, then took out a single cookie. If she started shoving comfort food in her mouth during this conversation, she might make herself sick. “Everybody at the reception seemed surprised he’s been here as long as he has and talked about opportunities he’s missed.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t care. He’s made a lot of money from his pictures, or so I’ve heard.”

  She was grasping at straws, and Gretchen didn’t know how to make the situation clear without being harsh. “Photojournalism isn’t just a job he’s way too young to retire from. It’s his passion. He needed a break, but he’s going to go back to it and probably soon.”

  Watching the way her grandmother’s mouth pinched, Gretchen realized it would be better if Alex left them sooner rather than later, because her fears hadn’t been invalid. Gram was getting too attached to the man and, relationship with Gretchen or not, she was going to be heartbroken when he left. They’d become good friends, Gram and Alex, and his absence would leave a void.

  For her, too, Gretchen thought. She’d miss Alex’s friendship.

  He walked into the kitchen just as the kettle whistled, and Gram gave him a bright smile. “Do you want some tea?”

  “No, thank you. I’m just going to grab some water.”

  “I didn’t plan anything big for supper. I wasn’t sure exactly what time you two would be back.”

  “How about you call in a pizza order and I’ll go into town for it,” Alex offered, pouring himself a glass of water. “We can pick a movie and eat in front of the television.”

  Gretchen rolled her eyes. Gram would never agree to that. Meals were eaten at the kitchen table. Even when she was younger and her lunch was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on thick slices of homemade wheat bread, she’d have to sit at the table and wolf it down before she could go back to helping her grandfather.

  “That sounds wonderful,” Gram said. “And they’ll give you a few paper plates if you ask, so we won’t even have to wash dishes.”

  “Perfect.” Alex glanced at Gretchen, and then back at Gram. “Did Gretchen tell you she stole the toiletries from the hotel?”

  “You said I should!”

  He laughed at her outrage, which made Gram laugh, too. “You should have seen her, Ida. She rolled them in her shirt and tucked them in her bag, and the whole time she looked like she was robbing a bank for the first time.”

  “I did not,” she muttered, but Gram probably didn’t hear her over the sound of her laughter.

  When Alex winked at her, Gretchen couldn’t help but laugh along with them. First, purloined hotel toiletries and then pizza on paper plates in the living room. He made her and Gram laugh, and it was good for them.

  God, it was going to be hard when he left.

  16

  On Tuesday, Alex left the house early so he was at Stewart Mills High for the first day of school. He knew they’d hung a banner for the Eagles football team in the main hallway, and the principal had given him permission to take a few photos of the kids arriving.

  Standing off to one side of the hallway, he managed to catch some of the players not only arriving but also jumping up to slap the bottom of the sign. The mood was good, and he got some great shots.

  “It’s a good thing Edna Beecher can’t see you right now,” a voice said from beside him, and he lowered the camera to smile at Jen Cooper.

  “Heard about that, did you?” He would have been worried about it, except for the fact that he trusted Jen almost as much as he trusted Kelly.

  “Kelly and I both live in a world of trying to protect the privacy of people in a town with no secrets. Sometimes we vent to each other, and she was pretty outraged on your behalf.”

  “I was pretty outraged on my behalf, too.”

  “I understand that, but trust me when I tell you a total stranger could show up in town in the dead of night in a black trench coat and reeking of cheap booze and have more credibility than Edna.”

  That made him laugh. “You paint quite the picture.”

  She shrugged. “It’s a gift.”

  “Speaking of gifts, Gretchen looked amazing this past weekend.”

  “What’s the gift part?” She tilted her head. “She’s not giving those boots back, is she?”

  “Hey, that’s between you and her.” He lifted the camera in time to catch Coach McDonnell pass PJ, the Eagles cornerback, in the hall and give him a high five. “The gift part is just how great she looked, I guess, while still being comfortable. She was relaxed and had a good time, I think.”

  “I know she did.” When he gave her a questioning look, she shrugged. “It was her first night out in as long as we can remember. Of course she gave her best friends the details.”

  “Oh. Uh, how many details?”

  Jen’s smile was as enigmatic as the Mona Lisa’s. “I heard the chocolate truffle was incredible.”

  “It was.” And he needed to extricate himself from this conversation. “I guess I’ve got the shots I need.”

  She sighed. “And I should get to my office. The first day of school is always alcohol-worthy.”

  “I should have a rough draft of the st
ory soon,” he said. “I’d like to email it to you so you can take a look at it in its entirety, if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course I don’t. And tell Gretchen she can keep the boots. Not only do they not fit me right, but now that I’ve seen how they look on her, I’ll never wear them again.”

  He laughed and waved as she walked down the hall. Since he had what he needed, and it looked as if Coach had gone into one of the main offices, Alex decided to call it a day. It was drizzling, with a slight chill in the air, so rather than roam around town, he drove back to the farm.

  He waved to Ida, who was in her garden with a basket looped over her arm. Cocoa wandered over to him and he gave her a high five and an ear scratch. Gretchen was nowhere to be seen, so he assumed she was either in the garage or the barn, or maybe out with the pumpkins.

  When he started for the back door, Cocoa followed him, and he looked over at Ida. She just laughed and waved them on, so Alex held the door open for the Lab and then kicked off his shoes.

  “Guess it’s you and me, girl.”

  They settled on the couch and Alex opened his laptop on the coffee table. After downloading the photos he’d taken that morning, he pulled each one up individually. The one of Hunter slapping the banner and Coach greeting PJ, he put in a folder for further consideration. The others he put in a separate folder to offer the yearbook committee, but they wouldn’t work for his story.

  Sitting on the couch with his feet on the table and the computer on his lap wasn’t ideal as ergonomics went, but he enjoyed the feel of Cocoa curled against his leg. She wasn’t really supposed to be on the sofa, but he wasn’t the only one in the house who skirted that rule. Every time somebody watched television, she stretched out with her head in their lap, which probably explained why the dog hadn’t hesitated to jump up next to him.

  Pulling up another folder, he clicked on the picture of Gretchen he’d taken just before he kissed her for the first time. Then he clicked a button, and a sequence of photographs played out on the screen.

  Gretchen playing with Cocoa in the yard. Stroking a horse’s neck before leading it back into the barn. In one of his favorites, even though she’d been annoyed when she heard the shutter sound, she was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of her grandmother’s rocking chair, holding a hank of yarn while Ida wound it into a ball.