by Nan Dixon
The table was crowded and noisy. But periodically Daniel caught worried looks aimed at Pop from the other diners.
It was a traffic jam clearing the table, but with all the young people clearing, it took no time at all.
“We’ll have pie in the library,” Abby announced.
Daniel might have to loosen the button on his pants if he ate any more.
Gray grabbed his arm and pulled him out the kitchen door. “Let’s take a walk. Cigar?”
“Sure.” Daniel wasn’t in the mood for a cigar, but he wanted to find out what Gray wanted. They walked through the gardens to the carriage house.
“I need to ask if your intentions toward Bess are honorable,” Gray said.
“What?”
“You heard me. If your father felt better, he’d be having this discussion. Martin’s too new to the family. That leaves this conversation to me.”
“It’s none of your business.” Daniel puffed angrily on the cigar.
“So have you?” Gray wiggled his eyebrows.
“I’m not telling you.” Daniel stubbed out his half-smoked cigar and threw the butt into the garbage.
“I like you, Forester. You’re a better friend than any person I know in Boston. But when I fell in love with Abby I became part of this family.” Gray tipped his cigar at him. “You hurt Bess, you’ll answer to me.”
Daniel looked at the man who had become his closest friend. “I gave you the same speech when you were messing with Abby.”
“Funny world, isn’t it?” Gray punched his shoulder and laughed. “Abby made brandy-pecan pie. I plan to get my share.”
This was why Bess hadn’t wanted the families to know about them. Talk about the no-win scenario. His mother wanted to plan a wedding. Gray wanted to punch him out.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Like flowers in a storm, life is full of goodbyes.
Masuji Ibuse
“I’LL BE WITH you in a second,” Daniel called to Bess.
“You worked all night.” Bess tugged his phone away. “Look at me.”
Look at her? He needed to schedule out the week. He tried to pull his phone out of her hands. “I just need...”
She held his phone between her breasts. Breasts covered by a silky, black— His mind blanked. Whatever he was adding to his to-do list didn’t matter. All he saw was Bess. He would pluck the flimsy negligee off with his teeth.
“You plan on seducing me?” He shuddered as Bess punched buttons on his phone. “Don’t mess anything up.”
“There.” She tapped at his phone with a flourish. “No distractions.” She flipped his phone onto the desk and it fell to the floor. Backing out of the room, she crooked her finger.
He followed her down the hall. Bess was his reward for a long day’s work.
The past month with Bess had been fantastic, but this night might top all their time together. She brought him joy. He needed her in his life.
A jolt went through him as if he’d brushed a live electrical outlet. He wasn’t falling in love with Bess. He’d fallen. Hard.
His breath whooshed out. Love. He tried the idea on like a new pair of work boots. It was a snug fit, but he needed to wear the idea before making a decision.
Daniel caught Bess around the waist and swung her into his arms. “You’ll pay for interrupting me.”
Bess laughed. “Oh, I hope so.”
* * *
BESS’S MUSCLES GAVE out and she collapsed on top of Daniel. “Mmm.”
He stroked her back. “Right back at’cha.”
Was it possible for bones to melt during sex? If so, Daniel would have to pour her into her clothes. If there was anything left after he’d ripped them off. “You’re amazing.”
“You’re just figuring that out?” His chest rumbled under her head. “This has been an awesome month.”
She rolled over and curled into his side. “Don’t jinx it.”
“Don’t be paranoid.” He brushed a kiss on her forehead.
Bess wasn’t paranoid. It was just that she didn’t want what they had to end. Even though they’d worked an ungodly number of hours since the beginning of November, they’d done a lot of it together.
“I need to talk to you.” Daniel brushed kisses along her cheek and down her neck.
“Mmm-hmm.” She arched into his lips.
He rolled so they were face-to-face. “I’m sorry you had to move out of your apartment.”
“You don’t have to keep apologizing.”
He cupped her cheek. “I know.”
She shivered, not from the cold, but from the serious look in Daniel’s eyes.
“I worry about you.” He stroked a finger down her cheek. “I think of you all the time. I think about you even when I’m not supposed to be thinking about you.”
Her heart clutched. “Daniel.”
“Day and night.” His eyes glittered. “I think about you while I’m working. The guys are giving me weird looks.”
She touched his face. “You’re taking my breath away.”
He kissed her. “You center me.”
No one had ever said that about her.
“You’ve barely unpacked. Don’t live in the carriage house.” Daniel wrapped his arms around her. “Move in with me.”
“You want me to move in?” Her voice came out breathy. “I don’t...I don’t know.”
“We’re good together.” He pulled her closer. “We’re happy.”
“It’s so much to take in.”
He rolled on top of her, capturing her face. “I’m falling in love with you.”
“In love?” she squeaked. “With me?”
His mouth closed over hers. At the hospital, she’d only thought the word love and he’d broken up with her. What would happen now?
Even though she loved him, she couldn’t say the words aloud. If she did, something bad would happen.
She couldn’t take the risk and lose him again. Her breaths came in pants. What if Daniel ended up having more big projects or Nathan left the company? Would he sacrifice her for the good of Forester Construction?
He rolled again, stopping when they both lay side to side. “Take a deep breath. Don’t panic.”
She inhaled a shaky breath.
“Think about moving in,” he said. “Please.”
As if she could think about anything else.
* * *
“I’LL GET THE bid back to you by early next week.” Daniel shook the homeowner’s hand. This remodel was right in Pop’s sweet spot—he’d always wanted to work on this Greek revival mansion on Abercorn. It might be as big a project as Carleton House.
In his truck, he said to Carly, “Pop will want this job.”
He would’ve sworn the dog nodded.
“Yeah, I’m talking about your buddy. The one who sneaks you treats.”
He opened his phone to enter notes on the bid. His to-do list wasn’t on his front screen. He flipped into his folders. Nothing. Panic built like a steam engine about to blow. He turned off the phone and turned it back on. Still nothing.
Where were his plans and lists? He scrolled, checked his apps, checked his folders. Notes, reminders and plans were gone. His breaths exploded in desperate gasps. How would he make sure the company survived without his planning tools?
Swearing, he raced to Carleton House. He had a drywall delivery, he thought.
On the drive, Daniel retraced his morning. He’d pulled his phone off the charger. Kissed Bess goodbye and tucked it into his pocket.
Last night, Bess had fooled with his phone before tossing it on his desk. Had she deleted his files?
Everything had to be here. Just hidden. His heart pounded in his ears.
He pulled in to Ca
rleton House, slamming the brakes so hard that Carly squealed. “Sorry, girl.”
Bess was planting shrubs in the raised bed next to the library.
Jumping out of the truck, he called, “Bess.”
“Hi.” She dusted off her hands. “How was the walk-through?”
He grabbed her. “Did you do something to my phone?”
“What?”
He dropped her arm as if it was a hot welding torch. “Last night when you had my phone, did you delete anything?”
She shook her head. “I shut it off.”
“Are you sure?” She had to have done something.
“Of course.” She reached for his hand. “You rely on your phone.”
“Everything’s gone.” He stuck the offending device in his jacket. What good was it to him now?
“No.” Her fingers squeezed his. “I didn’t. I wouldn’t mess with your work.”
He rubbed his head, knocking off his cap. “I’ve lost all my lists.”
“You must have backup, right?” She waved her hand in a circle. “Anyone as organized as you has backup.”
He should have. But he’d put off syncing his phone for...a while. Ever since he and Bess had told their families about their relationship. Instead of getting his work done, he’d spent time with her. “It’s old.”
“What can I do to help?”
He pulled her into his arms for a hug. Bess hadn’t wrecked his phone on purpose, right? “Feed me tonight while I reconstruct my life.”
* * *
BESS SCRAPED THE remains of dinner into the garbage. Neither of them had done justice to the pork chops, mashed potatoes and green beans she’d thrown together. She could have fed Daniel cardboard and he wouldn’t have noticed.
Sitting at the kitchen counter, Daniel bent over his phone and computer.
She set the last dish in the dishwasher and started the cycle. Crouching, she rubbed Carly’s head. “How’s it going?” she called up to Daniel.
“Not good.” He didn’t look up. “I’m rebuilding everything from month-old backup files and emails.”
She moved behind him and rubbed his shoulders. They were as hard as granite. “I’m sorry if I did something to your phone.”
“Mmm-hmm.” He groaned as she dug into a tight muscle. “I don’t blame you.”
His tone didn’t match his words.
“I want to help.” She dug deeper.
Closing his eyes, he shook his head.
“There has to be something I can do.” The words pushed through the ton of gravel blocking her throat.
“Could you grab my charger cords?” he asked, shifting away from her hands. “I’m almost out of battery.”
In his study, she unplugged the computer cord. What a difference from last night. She bit her lip. She’d come prancing into his study in her negligee, taken his phone and thought she’d just shut it off. What if she had deleted everything? She hated the idea that she might have messed up Daniel’s phone. It was his way of keeping his world in control.
In the bedroom, she gathered his phone charger. Last night, he’d said he was falling in love with her. He’d asked her to move in with him.
And he hadn’t mentioned it again.
She hadn’t wanted to hear the words, afraid that anything between them would crumble. But to have him say it only once made her feel like butterflies were having a boxing match in her belly.
All night she’d wondered if she should tell him she’d fallen in love, too. But he hadn’t looked her in the eye.
“Here you go.” She set the cords on the counter.
“Thanks.” He didn’t look at her.
She swallowed the bitterness filling her throat. He hadn’t kissed her since they’d gone their separate directions this morning. That had never happened before.
She took Carly out to the backyard. In early December, it was already dark and cold was settling in. She tugged her jacket close but couldn’t get warm.
Carly did a lap around the yard, then did her business. Bess brought the puppy inside and moved her bed into Daniel’s bedroom. Packing up the bag of clothes she’d brought over a few nights ago, she headed into the kitchen.
Daniel ran his fingers through hair that looked as though he’d been standing in a wind tunnel.
Bess swallowed. “Daniel?”
“Hmm?” He didn’t look up from his screens.
“I think I’ll stay at the apartment tonight. Let you keep working.”
“Okay.” He typed on his phone.
Okay? She waited to see if he would stand and say goodbye. Nothing.
Her feet dragged as she moved to kiss him. He turned just as she bent and her lips brushed his cheek. “Good night.”
“Night.” He never looked at her.
She closed the door carefully. Would Daniel ever invite her back to his home?
There had to be something she could do. Because right now, she was afraid she’d lost him.
* * *
“I’M SORRY. IT won’t happen again,” Daniel assured the inspector. Where was Nathan? He wanted to kill his brother and then maybe Bess. If he hadn’t been recreating to-do lists for the past three days he might have known about this inspection. “I don’t know why we requested an inspection when there were so many issues.”
“I’ve never had a problem with your company.” The inspector made another note. “And nothing has ever been this...incomplete.”
“I hate wasting your time.” Daniel held up a hand. “My dad’s ill.”
“That’s a bitch. Tell your dad I wish him the best.” The man frowned. “You need to make sure everything is ready for inspection and someone meets me at the site.”
“I promise.” From now on, he’d monitor Nathan’s requests.
The man handed him two pages of notes. “Here’s what needs to be finished.”
There was a ton of work on the list. “We’ll get it done. When can you come back?”
The man checked his schedule. “Four o’clock tomorrow or a week from now.”
Daniel took a deep breath. “Tomorrow, then.”
“If anything’s not done, the next request from your company will go to the bottom of my pile. Understood?”
“Absolutely.”
By the time Daniel walked the inspector to the door, his jaw ached from clenching his teeth.
He hit Quint’s speed dial. “I need you at the Wildwood development—right now. Bring anyone looking for overtime.” He called Nathan—it rolled to voice mail. “Get your ass over to Wildwood.”
He grabbed tools, checked the list and headed to the basement. Why wasn’t the sump pump working?
The basement issues were finished by the time trucks arrived.
“Yo, Daniel,” Quint called as he and two more of the crew piled from the truck. “What’s up?”
He got them securing the stairway railings and adding missing baseboard on the first floor. “After that’s done, attach the cabinet doors in the kitchen.”
Nathan pulled up in his shiny truck while Daniel caulked windows. He’d barely slept in three days and his brother had time to wash his truck.
He dropped the caulk gun and met Nathan in the driveway. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Oglethorpe.” Nathan crossed his arms and spread his feet.
“You had a two o’clock inspection on this property today.”
His brother’s face went pale under his tan. “I did not.”
“Did you forget or were you blowing off work?” Daniel shoved Nathan’s shoulder. “You promised Pop you’d give the job your best.”
“I am!”
“The hell you are.” Daniel had thought Nathan was improving. Wishful thinking, apparently. The betrayal cut l
ike a band saw.
He yanked the inspector’s list from his pocket and waved it at his brother. “This is your best? We can’t pass inspections with your best.”
Nathan snatched the list from his hand. His gaze darted across the page. “No.”
“Why did you call for an inspection with all the stuff missing on this list?” Anger bubbled like a boiling pot. He wanted to punch someone, and the closest person was his brother. “Are you trying to destroy Pop’s company?”
“I called for Oglethorpe’s electrical work—not the Wildwood project.” Nathan ran his hand through his hair. “That’s why I was there.”
Daniel cursed. “The inspector is coming tomorrow at four. Everything has to be done. I’ve finished in the basement. Work on the second floor.”
Nathan stared at the paper, not moving.
Daniel leaned over and pointed. “Switch plates and outlet covers in the master bath. Jesus, Nathan.”
“Sorry.” Nathan shouldered past him. “I have dyslexia.”
“Quit using that poor me excuse.”
Nathan glared. “Screw you.”
Daniel’s hands formed fists. “Get your ass in there and fix your problems.”
“Yeah, Mr. Perfect.” Nathan headed to the door. “I guess you’ll run to Pop and rat me out.”
“Are we still in high school?” Daniel moved back to the window. “I’m not telling Pop because he’s got enough to worry about.”
Nathan’s shoulders relaxed. “Thanks.”
Daniel climbed the ladder and ran a bead along the top of the window. He wanted to get everything caulked before the sun set. Hopefully, someone would help his idiot brother read the rest of the list.
* * *
AROUND FIVE THIRTY, Daniel ordered pizza. The crew worked while they ate. They’d eliminated most of the issues. The only task left was nailing all the joist supports. How had this work gotten by Nathan? Was construction this sloppy in Atlanta?
His head ached with each slam of his hammer. Another forty-five minutes and he’d head home to a shower and a beer. His head hurt so much, he might take a jet bath.
He pinched between his eyebrows, but nothing stopped the pounding. His phone buzzed with a message.