by Lindsey Hart
“Do you want some help? I have that dresser I need to get done but I can probably rush it and come with you.”
“No,” Laney said too quickly. She scrambled to cover her tracks. “I know the lady you’re doing it for. She’s not going to be happy if it’s not done exactly by one tomorrow.”
She did her best to mimic Jessie Ardean’s crisp, prim voice. The woman was demanding, and she really wasn’t nice. If it was her, she would have refused to do any more pieces for someone like that, but Charlotte somehow had a way of shutting off the aggravation of annoying clients. She just got on with it. Charlotte put her hand up to her mouth to block a giggle. It escaped anyway.
“Oh my god. You sound just like her. Maybe you’re right. I should probably stay and finish it to avoid a full-on meltdown.”
“She’d probably come here too and lose it. She wouldn’t have the dignity to do it over the phone.”
“Likely.” Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Well, if you’re sure…”
“I am. The guy is tall and strong. He can help me.”
Charlotte’s eyes twinkled and Laney realized, too late, that she’d given too much away. “So, he was handsome then? I remember we were saying…”
“He might be handsome,” Laney admitted, “but he’s a lost cause.” She felt bad as soon as she said it. Like, really bad. She wanted to get Charlotte off track, but still… “I… I just think that I don’t need to be with anyone at the moment. I’m off guys for a while, remember? I only seem to attract the worst kind.” That, at least, was true.
Charlotte nodded. “I wish you could just meet someone awesome. Maybe Rayvn and I should find someone for you.”
“You’ve both tried. You’ve hooked me up with friends before. I really do just need to take a break. Maybe I’ll meet someone when I least expect it.”
“Probably. The good ones seem to come out of nowhere. That’s how Ben was. I certainly wasn’t looking. Well, maybe I was looking, but I didn’t expect to actually find anyone.”
“Yeah. I remember.” Laney nodded.
She glanced back at the buffet she was working on and Charlotte took the hint. She wandered back over to her own project, picked up her drying paintbrush and resumed the coat of black she was expertly applying.
Hector isn’t a lost cause. He’s just sad. Despite her resolve not to go there, to leave well enough alone, the excitement was already mounting. She couldn’t help it. It built and spooled in her stomach, squeezing her insides and turning her breath and her pulse all rapid and offbeat.
She was just going for the furniture. It would be just another pick. Except, of course, she knew already it certainly wasn’t about the antiques and she’d remember the little white farmhouse, the winding drive, the endless fields of dead grass, the ramshackle barn, and Hector, for a long time to come.
CHAPTER 6
Hector
It had taken Hector a good two days to work up his courage to call Laney. He’d been so afraid, so irrationally worried, that every single time he’d picked up his phone, he’d set it back down. Five different times he typed in her number before he deleted it and shut his phone right off.
He’d distracted himself with hiring a realtor but when the guy said to clean out the barn and get rid of the eyesore, he knew he had to call Laney. Strangely enough, he wanted her to have the stuff in there, even if it was for free. She seemed genuine when she promised to give it a good home.
She was damn well genuine when she held me as I cried like a child against her.
Hector tried to keep his mind off of thoughts of Laney. It was hard, given that he expected her at any minute. He’d gone into the barn to sort through boxes and furniture. He had the pieces he knew she’d want set out by the door, ready and waiting for her to load up. After the fiasco last time, he wanted to make it as easy for her as possible.
A cloud of dust on the road alerted him that Laney was already pulling into the driveway. He dodged outside just in time to see her pull up near the house.
Her brake lights flashed and he knew that he’d been spotted. He waved her over and watched as she turned the truck and trailer around. She backed up expertly to the barn. He held his breath as she got out. She was dressed differently. Light jeans that were paint stained, a dark blue plaid shirt and flat black canvas shoes. She looked far more causal, but god… she was glorious. Her clothing somehow fit her petite little frame just right. Her hair trailed after her in a fiery cloud. She had almost no makeup on and it suited her. She was far too pretty for it.
“Hey!” She flashed him a cheerful smile. “How are you?”
She didn’t offer her hand for him to shake, like he thought she might. He was relieved. He wasn’t sure what her touch would do to him at the moment. Instead, she went around to the back of the trailer and lowered the ramp. She then peeked around the edge of the barn door.
“I have everything ready for you.” He resisted the urge to look down at his boots. He’d worn pretty much the same thing as before but he actually thought about putting on something nicer. He’d carefully resisted. It was a good thing since he was filthy from moving around dusty furniture and boxes all morning.
“Wow. You didn’t have to do that.” Laney’s smile was so dazzling it nearly hurt to look at. Her eyes lit up and kept right on sparkling. The pull to her was so damn strong he could barely resist.
“Yes. Really, I did.” He cleared his throat. “It- uh- will make it go faster. I really need this thing gone as soon as possible.”
Laney gave him the kind of look that was almost a little hurt. Why? Why did I have to say that? He wanted to protect himself from her, to keep her distant, but she’d never tried to be close. What she’d done the other day, it was sweet, like something an old friend would do.
“Oh. Alright. So, you want to sell all of this?”
It wasn’t her fault that he’d burned for her for the past two days. That he wanted to feel those sweet, soft, delicate hands of hers on his face again. On any part of him. That he wanted her arms wrapped around his neck and the rest of her body pressed up tight against him.
Guilt filtered through him. He hated the images his mind conjured. He had no business thinking or feeling anything about her. The fact that he couldn’t stop thinking about her tied him up in knots. He felt reckless and out of control. There had been other women over the years. He wasn’t a damn saint. He’d just never felt anything so… so… he couldn’t even define it.
“Yeah. Whatever you want.” He looked quickly away.
“Alright. I’ll take it all, as long as it fits in my trailer. I just want to make sure I’ve brought enough cash. What do you want for it?”
He felt awkward about naming a price. Hector honesty rather would have just given her the stuff, just for being a fainting, weeping, madman before. Just for her kindness. Just because the things his grandparents and maybe even his parents had treasured, deserved to be loved by someone else.
“Uh- why don’t you just make an offer?”
“I can’t do that. Really. You name your price and like I said, if it’s fair I’ll pay and if it’s too much, I’ll bargain.”
He shrugged. His hands started to sweat. It was hot out but he’d never known his palms to actually be moist before. “Alright. Uh- how about a thousand dollars?”
Laney actually looked a little shocked. Her mouth opened and closed and opened again. “No.” she shook her head. “No, I can’t do that.”
“I knew I’d be way off. Just give me what you think it’s worth-”
“No. I mean, a thousand dollars isn’t enough. I would never feel right about that. There must be close to thirty pieces here, each worth a couple hundred. I was prepared to pay two thousand. Is that fair?”
He nearly laughed. He actually smiled, which he couldn’t remember doing in a very long time. People said it felt good- smiling. Maybe they were onto something. “Of course it’s fair. It’s double what I asked you for.”
“I thought maybe you were just b
eing nice.”
“No. I just didn’t have time to look up the values on anything. I thought no one would want to pay a grand for some dusty smelly old furniture.
Her eyes locked with his and a shiver went down his spine. She looked at him like she saw right to his soul. “No, we both know it’s more than that. You weren’t just mad at me the other day. I remember what you said about it having meaning and there was truth to that. You weren’t just trying to be a dick.”
“How can you be so sure?” He couldn’t keep a straight face. Another smile found its way to his lips.
Laney laughed and the sound was perfect, adorable and deeply sexy. He figured he shouldn’t think those things all together, but he couldn’t help it. She might have had a body people would call cute, but her face was beautiful. She was sexy, the whole package put together. He had eyes. He couldn’t not notice it.
“I don’t know. I guess I wouldn’t really know if you were being a dick or not. I don’t know you. I just thought that, well, the whole fainting thing and- uh- what happened after, didn’t exactly seem planned.”
“Maybe it was calculated to drive you away.” He had to make light of it. He had to make fun of himself. He didn’t know what else he could do to stave off the complete mortification.
“It didn’t really work, given that I’m back.”
“No, I guess not.” He glanced toward the barn because he didn’t know what else to do. “Anyway, I can help you load up.”
“Yeah. Great.” She nodded, maybe a little too emphatically. It finally occurred to him that she might be nervous too, or flustered or whatever. If she was, she hid it well.
He turned and got down to work. He needed that, something to throw himself into, something to focus on that was not Laney. He grabbed the hand dolly and fitted it under the first dresser. The thing was heavy, like all antiques seemed to be.
“They don’t make stuff like that anymore.” Laney seemed to appear out of nowhere. She held a brown moving blanket in her hands. “I have twenty or so of these folded in the trailer. I wanted to wrap stuff as we put it in, so it doesn’t all rub together.”
“Good plan. And you’re right. They don’t make stuff this heavy anymore. It’s all real wood.” He pushed the dresser out of the barn and pulled it up the ramp of the trailer. It fit right into the back corner, nice and snug. Laney passed him the blanket and he threw it over.
“Great. One down, a million to go.”
He laughed. The sound took even him by surprise. It had been a long time since he’d done that too. Laney smiled at him softly, like she knew. He turned and wheeled the dolly around and she followed in his wake.
They worked like that for hours. He didn’t get tired. He was used to working hours and hours on the farm, but she insisted on taking over for a few of the smaller pieces. She hauled them out like a pro. He realized that she not only had a huge heart packed into that little body, a spitfire spirit, she was also strong and tough as an ox.
“I do this all day. I mean, I do picks all the time, but I’m constantly moving furniture in and out of the store. It’s an old warehouse that we’re in and we have a back loading dock, but I have to do most of the grunt work. It’s just me and two other girls at the shop. We don’t have anyone to help us. We make do.”
“You seem proud of that.”
“I am.” She handed the dolly over. “But while you’re here and willing…”
He took the furniture mover, thankful that their hands didn’t accidently graze as he did so. He wasn’t afraid of Laney. He was afraid of what she did to him though. The turmoil in his heart and mind she created. The reaction she pulled from his body, against his will. He’d broken down in front of her. Her, and no one else. He’d always been strong. Always tough. He’d looked after his grandpa, right until the end and then he’d taken care of his grandma. They’d looked after him as a child and he always knew he wouldn’t go anywhere until they were gone. It wasn’t just duty that kept him there. It was love. He just didn’t know why he’d reacted the way he had. That grief, that pain, could have come out at any time. But it didn’t.
He turned, amazed at the burning at the back of his throat. He vanished back into the barn and tackled a huge hutch since he knew it would be heavy as hell. He leaned his shoulder into it and pulled back, popping the massive piece onto the dolly. He let his own body take most of the burden. The back part of the hutch cut in painfully into his shoulder, but that jolt of pain felt good. It grounded him. It took his mind off of the things he didn’t want to think about.
He wheeled the hutch into the trailer and went right back for the remaining pieces. He didn’t stop until the work was done even though he was panting and soaking wet. His t-shirt was soaked and clung to him.
When he went to wheel the dolly back into the overflowing trailer, Laney took it from him with a smile. She wiped at her own brow, where a few beads of sweat had gathered. They disappeared, either onto her shirt or into her already damp hairline. She looked even prettier, her face flushed, her cheeks red, lips swollen.
Stop looking at her lips. Stop. Just look away. Look somewhere else. It was easier said than done.
“Thank you. That would have taken me all day if I had to do it by myself.”
“No problem. You’re doing me a favor getting it out of here.” He knew he didn’t quite sound convincing.
“Right. Okay. Let me get this closed up and I’ll get you your money.”
“Most people would be content to cheat another person. You- you could have paid me a thousand and ran. Instead you-”
“I told you I was fair.” She flashed him a smile that hit him right in the gut.
“I’m sorry about that too- what I said about you.”
“Don’t worry. I wasn’t paying any attention. I could tell you were just being a grouch. Or that something was wrong, at any rate. I knew you didn’t mean it.”
“How? Most people would take that right to heart.”
Laney shrugged. She led the way down the ramp and he followed. She closed the trailer and put the locks on the back. Hector stood off to the side and waited while she opened the driver’s side door. She leaned in and produced her purse. She counted out a stack of hundreds before she turned and handed them over.
“Here. There’s two thousand. Thank you so much for calling me back. I really appreciate the opportunity to have these pieces. I promise I’ll find them the best homes.” She said it with compassion and tenderness, as though the pieces were alive. Or maybe it was just that she truly knew how much it meant to him, no matter how he pretended otherwise, even to himself.
“Thanks for coming back. I don’t think I would have.”
Laney stared at him and he stared back. He finally reached out and took the money. He didn’t bother recounting it. He stuffed it into his jeans pocket.
“I have something else for you. Just one second.” She turned and ducked into the passenger side. She lifted something off the floor. “Here you go.” She produced a small Styrofoam cooler.
“What’s that?”
“Not anything that’s going to bite.” She thrust it forward and he had to take it or be bowled over by the damn thing.
“I…” the cooler had some weight to it. He didn’t take the lid off and look.
Laney’s eyes went from sparkling to dazzling. They shone like emeralds and next to the alabaster paleness of her skin, they were incredible. The most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen in his life. On the most beautiful woman.
“You said that you hadn’t really been eating. I can’t pretend to understand that. Loss, I mean. I’ve been through a few rough times of my own, but nothing like that. I wanted to do something for you… I- I just didn’t want you to pass out again. Especially not here, when you’re by yourself. There’s a shepherd’s pie in there and a regular pie. It’s peach, which I hope is okay. I’m not a great cook. If you don’t like it, don’t eat it. I won’t be offended.”
Laney stood there looking at him for just a
minute more, before she raised her hand in a goodbye gesture, got into her truck and started it up. He stepped aside to give the trailer clearance to pass by him. He’d never felt so stunned, or so helpless, in his life. No one had taken care of him. Not for a good number of years. No, he’d been the caretaker. The farmhand, the laborer, the cook, the nurse who provided round the clock care.
It had been a damn long time since someone made him a pie. For the third time in as many days, he felt like he was going to break down. He shoved that back down, back into the abyss that was inside of him. He stood there, the cooler heavy in his arms, until his stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten all day.
Peach pie sounded just about like heaven.
At the very least, it was an excuse to get in touch with Laney again. Just to return the cooler.
CHAPTER 7
Laney
It was past eleven when Laney pulled up to her condo in her own SUV. She had the seats down and a dresser in the back. It was one she couldn’t bear to part with. After unloading the trailer at work with Charlotte and Rayvn, she picked out something for herself. There was one with a huge intricate mirror and a few drawers. She loved it immediately, even though she didn’t really need anything else in the house. Laney figured she could always replace something and put that in the shop to sell instead.
She’d promised a good home for everything and she doubted that anyone would love that dresser as much as she would. She didn’t want to admit it, even to herself, but she wanted something, one piece, that would always remind her of Hector. It was wrong. She shouldn’t have any kind of attachment, but she couldn’t help but feel the strange pull she’d felt the first time she was there. It was stronger the second time, even if he was a little gruff and even more awkward.