by Amy Lamont
“Truce,” she managed to get out as their hands met. Her palm tingled from the heat of his much larger hand.
Oh, brother.
3
I can’t believe she did it again. For the second time in less than a week, Mitch had the pedal to the floorboards as he headed back toward base. That same itch crawled under his skin. He laughed when he thought of the protests he’d made to Cal the other night when the man suggested he was attracted to Mandy. But there was no denying it now.
He wanted her.
Mitch held the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip. It didn’t really matter that he found her appealing. The same problems existed. Mandy was Miss Abigail’s granddaughter, and he wouldn’t do anything that had the potential to hurt Miss Abigail or to jeopardize the relationship he had with her.
Mitch eased up on the gas as he thought of the older woman. He’d opened up easily to her, not his usual MO. It didn’t take long at all for him to start depending on the older woman’s support. His relationship with her was the closest he’d ever come to any type of maternal relationship.
Which means getting Mandy out of my system is out of the question. The weeks ahead loomed over Mitch. He’d never reacted to a woman like he had to her. Even when he was pissed at her the very first day, believing the worst, he’d felt the spark of something flare between them. And today when she’d offered her truce, the head tilt and the small smile playing over her lips….
God. If he didn’t know better he’d have sworn she was flirting with him. How could he resist her offer of friendship with those liquid brown eyes staring up at him? And then they shook hands, and again, the moment their hands touched, that indefinable something sizzled between them.
She’s just so damn sweet. She wasn’t his usual easy pick up. That fact alone would normally make her off limits. Of course, he might have relaxed his usual rules for her considering the strong pull he felt.
But maybe that was the problem. He couldn’t have her. Would he feel the attraction this strongly if she were one hundred percent available to him?
Then it hit him as surely as if he’d been struck with a rock between the eyes. She had a life waiting for her back in New York. Yes, she was planning on sticking around long enough to get Miss Abigail’s house straightened out. But how long would that be? A few weeks, a month at most? How long would her employer hold her job for her?
Maybe this was the answer. He could ask her out, get her out from where she’d taken root under his skin, and then she’d be gone. No strings. And they could be discreet. No need to even bring Miss Abigail into it.
Mitch could feel the smile spreading across his face as the idea took hold. The itchy, restless beneath the skin feeling receded. His gut told him this was the best way to deal with the unwanted attraction, just like he handled everything else in life—head on.
* * *
Monday morning Mandy slept in. She cuddled under the covers, basking in the sunshine streaming through the gauzy curtains.
It had been a busy weekend. After she and Mitch made their odd peace with one another, Mandy and her grandmother had spent a good portion of the afternoon going through the house, making lists of needed repairs and the budget her grandmother had to take care of all of it.
Mandy sighed and pulled off her comforter. Thinking of the state of the house and the state of her grandmother’s finances gave her all the motivation she needed to get out of bed. The list they made was fairly extensive. There were the little odds and ends, like a door hinge in need of replacing, and bigger things, like a new roof and a new front porch. And that just covered the visible things. Mitch could probably give her a better idea of what needed to be done with the plumbing and electrical.
Mitch. Mandy’s thoughts floated back to Saturday morning. Had she made the best choice in offering a truce? Not that it was a good idea to continue to bicker and argue. Now that she had an itemized list of things to do around the house, she had to concede he had a point when he wondered why none of the family had been here to help sooner.
But, the truce also meant she was accepting his help. Didn’t it?
Mitch had obviously already committed himself to fixing up her grandmother’s house and helping her any way he could. On Saturday, Mandy had felt a little of the weight of responsibility fall from her shoulders when she realized Mitch would be shouldering some of it along with her. But what if he was deployed or transferred? He may mean what he says now about helping, but he was a Marine. If he was reassigned he couldn’t say no. He’d have to go, and Mandy would be left in even more of a mess with a house to fix and no one to help fix it.
Mandy worried over the idea of Mitch being deployed as she got ready for the day. And, she swore to herself, it was purely impersonal. She didn’t want to count on him to help with the house and then be left high and dry. She wasn’t worried about what might happen to him if he was sent off to some dangerous war-torn place.
She decided to push off the gloomy thoughts by getting moving. She might have let worry chase her from her bed, but she refused to wallow in it. The best way to brush off the introspection was to get to work. The first order of business was to mainline some caffeine. Next, she’d head to the hardware store she’d passed in town and see what she could pick up to make some headway on the smaller repairs on her to-do list.
* * *
As Mandy tooled around Main Street, she appreciated being in her grandfather’s old Jeep. The compact rental she’d driven from the airport and returned a few days ago had been fine, but the older SUV put her up higher, affording her a better view of the quaint town. She paid close attention to the storefronts running up and down both sides of the street. If she stayed with her grandmother awhile, she wanted to have the lay of the land.
The wide, tree-lined thoroughfare had parking spots on either side. The brick buildings were sturdy and had obviously seen quite a few decades, but they were all well-maintained and sporting tasteful awnings, window boxes bursting with colorful flowers and shiny front windows.
Mandy pulled into a spot right in front of the hardware store. Hal’s Hardware, the sign out front proclaimed. The perfect place to start her explorations.
Holding onto her shopping list, she walked through the double-glass doors and took in the aisles in front of her. It was unlike anything she’d seen before. The hardwood floors gleamed as if they’d just been polished and sported a number of throw rugs in vibrant shades. The aisles appeared to be neatly organized, with a number of items charmingly displayed in wicker baskets.
In Mandy’s experience, hardware stores were warehouse-like buildings with a good layer of sawdust and grime coating everything. Here everything was spotless and shiny. There were even a few homey touches—the checked curtains on the side windows, big pots of ferns hanging from the ceiling, and pretty antique furniture displaying items.
Home Depot it’s not. Mandy couldn’t help but smile. She’d never felt so at home in a hardware store.
“Can I help you?”
Mandy barely managed to keep two feet on the floor, her hand flying to her now rapidly beating heart. Her perusal of the place hadn’t included the waist-high counter at the very front of the store, so she’d missed the fact someone stood behind it.
The surprises kept coming. The woman who offered her help was far more suited to a runway than a hardware store. She was tall and willowy with about eight tons of blond hair falling in perfect waves to just below her shoulders. She had the flawless skin and clear blue eyes Mandy associated with the women between the glossy pages of a women’s magazine.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” the woman said. The smile she laid on Mandy was wide and full of mischief.
Mandy shook her head a little and couldn’t help but return the friendly smile. “That’s okay. I was just admiring the store. It wasn’t what I was expecting.”
The woman’s gaze moved fondly around the shop. “Thanks. Anything I can help you find?”
“Door hinges and
garden stakes to start,” Mandy said with a quick glance at her list.
The woman came around front revealing a baby bump that had been hidden by the counter. Mandy shook her head, again thinking of the incongruousness of this place. Definitely not the man cave she expected.
The woman helped Mandy find everything on her list quickly and efficiently. She listened as Mandy told her about the different projects she had planned, and even had a few suggestions to make things simpler.
As Mandy paid for her purchases, her gaze landed on a bulletin board to the side of the counter. There were a number of flyers for contractors and handymen. Hmmmm.....
“Is the owner here by any chance? Hal?” she asked, gesturing to the white letters painted on the front windows.
“You’re looking at her.”
Mandy did a double-take. She must have misunderstood. The woman standing in front of her was a Britney or a Claudia or a Heidi. Definitely not a Hal. “I’m sorry. You’re Hal?”
“Uh-huh. Says so on my birth certificate.” Hal flashed a wicked grin. “Actually, it says Hailey on my birth certificate. But I never answered to it.”
“You definitely don’t look like a Hal.” Mandy could have kicked herself the minute the words left her mouth. She couldn’t believe she’d been so rude.
Hal’s smile was kind. “I get that a lot. Believe it or not, as a kid I was a huge tomboy. I wanted to be just like the boys. Of course, once I got to be a teenager, it sort of became apparent that I was nothing like the boys. And,” she said with a rueful laugh and a hand running lovingly over her baby bump, “I guess there’s really no denying I’m a girl now.”
“No, I guess not,” Mandy said with a laugh.
“Anyway, I was always more into sports and fixing things, but try telling people around here that. It’s hard to be taken seriously sometimes.”
“Tell me about it,” Mandy said. “Try being short. I was at the top of my class at culinary school, but when I went to job interviews, I felt like people were barely restraining themselves from patting me on the head before sending me on my merry way.”
The two women shared a commiserating laugh, and Hal asked, “Are you new in town? I don't think we’ve met before.”
“Oh, sorry.” Mandy offered her hand. “I’m Mandy Palmer. I’m staying with my grandmother here in town for a while.”
“Mrs. Palmer over on Belle Drive?”
“That’s the one.”
“I’ve known her for ages. I feel like I already know you. She talks about you all the...time.”
Mandy could guess exactly what the other woman recalled as she spoke. Hal’s smile dimmed a little, and Mandy inwardly cringed as she waited for the pitying look or some trite expression of sympathy.
But Hal surprised her one more time. Instead of offering insincere condolences, Hal came back around the counter and gave Mandy a quick hug. “Your grandmother told me about your fiancé. I'm sorry you had to go through that.”
The other woman’s unaffected warmth had Mandy fighting tears. “Thank you.”
Hal gave her shoulders another fast squeeze. Then she pulled back and made a dismissive motion with her hands. “Have you had lunch yet? The diner on the corner makes homemade mac and cheese on Wednesdays. I don’t know about you, but I could go for some comfort food right around now.” Hal patted her little belly for emphasis.
Mandy shook off the wave of sadness. It was tough to stay sad around someone as bubbly as Hal. “I’m starving. I’d love to grab some lunch. Are you able to get away from the store?”
“Not a problem.” Hal hung a “Gone to Lunch” sign on the front door. “If someone has an emergency, they’ll know to come get me at the diner. I almost never miss mac and cheese day!”
* * *
Ensconced in the red vinyl booth of the retro diner, Mandy sat back and tried to hold in a groan. Hal hadn’t lied about the mac and cheese. Mandy was full at least ten mouthfuls ago, but the creamy, piping hot macaroni was too good to resist. Between the amazing food and the fast friendship she’d found with Hal, this was the best lunch Mandy had in a long time. She’d been so busy trying to make a name for herself as a pastry chef in New York, not to mention the number of hours she’d had to work to be able to afford the rent for her tiny Brooklyn apartment, that it had been a long time since she’d really connected with anyone. They’d chatted about themselves over lunch and laughed through most of it. Mandy was even relieved her grandmother had told Hal about Will’s death. It allowed them to avoid any awkwardness over the lunch conversation and just enjoy getting to know one another.
“Oh, my God, I think I need a larger size pants. You may have to roll me out of here.” Mandy rested her hands on her full stomach. “Is everything here that good?”
“Definitely. You should stop by on meatloaf night.” Hal rubbed her own belly. “I think I may just get pregnant again as soon as this one pops out. It gives me a good excuse to wear elastic waistband pants.” The two women laughed again.
“When are you due?”
“September. Poor planning on our part since I’ll be very pregnant all summer long.” Hal snorted. “Actually, I can’t even say much planning went into it. Joe and I just can’t seem to keep our hands off of each other.”
Mandy smiled at Hal’s obvious delight with her impending motherhood. She just glowed. “Are you going to find out the sex of the baby?”
“We haven’t decided yet. We both think it would be nice to be surprised. But I’m also not known for my patience. I may not be able to stand waiting another four months to find out. We’ll have to decide soon. We have our ultrasound next week.”
At that moment, their young waitress popped over to the table. “Dessert, ladies?” The two women groaned at the same moment and the waitress giggled. “I’ll take that as a no.” She left the check at the table, wishing them a good day.
“It’s a good thing we’re full.” At Mandy’s inquiring glance, Hal continued. “As good as the food is, for some reason, they just can’t seem to get desserts right. It’s a shame because they always look so good, but the actual dessert is always a disappointment.”
“Ugh, there’s nothing worse than bad dessert.”
As they were paying the bill, Mandy remembered the bulletin board back at the hardware store. “I almost forgot.”
“What?” Hal asked.
“The reason I asked about the owner of the hardware store was so I could ask about some of the local contractors. I saw some flyers hung up, and was hoping you could give me some recommendations. My grandmother’s house needs a ton of work, and we could use some help getting things in order.”
“I thought Mrs. Palmer had Mitch helping her out around the house?”
Mandy’s heartbeat picked up speed, but she tried to be casual as she questioned her new friend. “You know Mitch?”
“Well, I’ve met Mitch. He’s come in a few times to pick things up for the repairs he’s doing. But I don't really know Mitch. Although there are quite a few women here in town who wouldn’t mind getting to know him.” Hal gave her a wicked grin. “He’s not exactly hard on the eyes.”
“That’s for sure,” Mandy said, before she was even conscious of forming the words. She bit her lip, not wanting to make it sound like she had any feelings for the handsome Marine.
“Seems like half the women in town suddenly need something from my store when Mitch walks in. He’s been good for business.”
“I bet.” Mandy could almost see Mitch’s broad chest with the black T-shirt stretched tight across it. Can’t blame the rest of the women in town for noticing, too. Didn’t mean she didn’t feel a little twinge of…something…in the pit of her stomach at the thought of other women going out of their way to flirt with Mitch.
“Please,” said Hal, “between the hard body and his job, he’s like catnip.”
The reminder of Mitch’s job brought Mandy back to earth. She shook her head. While she’d concede on the hot body part, she didn’t share their feelin
gs about his job. It didn’t make him sexy. It made him dangerous to care about.
Mandy pulled a deep breath in through her nose. Time to get this conversation headed away from Mitch. “He’s been very helpful to my grandmother. But there’s just so much work that needs to be done. With his schedule, I thought it might be a good idea to find some other contractors to pick up the slack.”
Hal shrugged. “Okay. We can go look through the flyers and the business cards I have.” She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know that I’d choose any of them over Mitch, but there are a few decent ones.”
* * *
Mandy pushed through the front door of her grandmother’s house a little while later. The phone on the hall table rang before she was more than a few steps inside.
“Hello?”
“Mandy. It’s Mitch.”
He didn’t need to announce himself. The moment she heard his deep, rich voice she knew exactly who was on the other end of the line. She tried to tamp down the excitement that flared when he said her name.
Of course he knows it’s you, silly. He must know Grandma’s voice. Who else would be answering the phone? Mandy mentally rolled her eyes at her own wayward thoughts.
“Hi, Mitch. I just walked through the door. I’m not sure where Grandma is.”
“That’s okay. I’m just calling to let her know I won’t make it over tomorrow morning like I planned.”
“Oh, I hadn’t realized you were coming.”
“Yeah, I was going to bring the new pipe over and install it. But I’ve had a few things come up here and haven’t had a chance to pick it up, and now I have to work.”
Mandy gripped the phone tighter. Looked like she had good reason for her concerns about Mitch’s reliability. Already work was interfering with his helping her grandmother. The hand not holding the phone searched in the pocket of her jeans, finding and clinging to the business cards Hal gave her. She ignored the leaden ball settling low in her belly and pushed aside any small hope she’d had that he’d prove her wrong.