by Lacey Silks
“I will, Mom. Let’s get your suitcase.” He extended his hand.
I had no choice but to take it. My little palm was lost in his hand, yet I’d never felt as comfortable and safe as now. The urge to weave our fingers tickled my skin. Why did this feel so right?
CHAPTER 4
Derek
Three minutes later, the truck’s wheels turned the pebbles underneath as I drove it along the driveway to my house. Annabelle swayed in the seat when we sunk into holes, propping herself up against the dashboard on each dip. I eased my foot on the gas, trying to take the edge off the deep holes we passed over. The up-and-down rhythm swirled the milk in my stomach.
“Fixing this road is next on my list,” I explained as she held on to the sides of the seat.
“No worries.” She braced against the dashboard once again on the next hump as I weaved down the gravel path between two rows of apple trees.
“This is beautiful.” Her head turned right and then left as she admired the blossoming trees. I’d been lucky enough to have bought the land next to my parent’s house from the Browns after they’d moved in with their children. That’s what most families did in Ogden. The parents took care of their children until they grew up, then the children cared for their parents as they aged. That’s how I imagined my life now as well. I had no choice but to live in Ogden until I died, then be buried in one of the family lots. The thought had me wonder how long I’d be able to keep Annabelle in Ogden. She was as country of a girl as they got, and I hoped she’d stay here for a while. Maybe long enough to make my life worth living. Was she in a rush to get back? I’d overheard that she still had an exam to pass. No matter how much I tried to imagine it, I couldn’t see her living in a metropolis, especially with that boyfriend of hers. Was he still in the picture? If she were my girl, I wouldn’t have let her drive two thousand miles on her own.
I pulled over by a white birch tree at the end of the path, right onto the grass. Dust swirled behind us.
“Thanks. It still needs some work.” I jumped out and rushed around to Anabelle’s side, opening her door. She had this odd look on her face as if I just fell off the moon. Had no one ever opened the door for her?
The patch of dying grass crumpled underneath my shoes. This place, in fact the entire town, needed a lot more than the rain my mom has been praying for.
“Much less work than my home.” Anabelle’s voice quivered as she forced the joke out, almost choking.
“Hey, it will get better. I promise.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. She smelled so good. Too good. Each time I got her tantalizing scent into my lungs, my blood rushed through my veins, settling in the southern region.
Pigs, think about the pigs you had to feed, the barn, the hay... how much you’d love to have Annabelle in that hay. Shit!
This wasn’t helping. If I couldn’t control myself around her, how was I supposed to help her? The last thing she needed was a horny man who thought about jumping her delicate bones each time he looked at her.
She leaned against me, her freckle-peppered cheek succumbing against the hardness of my chest, and then melted in my arms like she’d always belonged there. How could she feel so good? The soft skin of her arm brushed against mine, and it took all the power I could muster to keep myself from lifting her into my arms to feel her long legs around me.
“I don’t think it will.” She shook her head. The drizzle from her nose landed on my shirt, and the moment she tried to pull away I tightened my grip. I wouldn’t let her go. I couldn’t, at least not until the last ounce of her pain vanished.
“I was supposed to finish school and come back here where it was safe. And the guy who kidnapped me and Eric had some sort of sick vendetta against my parents and tried to kill them. And now everything is such a mess.” She pulled in a longer sniffle through her nose. Being reminded of what that bastard had done to Annabelle and her family sickened me. While John Huntz, the same bastard who burned the Waters’ house, had kidnapped Annabelle and Eric when they were young, was dead, I was sure that the memories of his demise had been engraved deep in Annabelle’s mind. It’d be a long time before she was truly able to let go of the pain. It was enough to get my mind out of the gutters and help me keep focused.
“I should have never left.”
“Shh.” Stirring the strands of her hair was a mistake. The tender scent filled my lungs, and my pulse rushed my blood to all the wrong places again. “Annabelle, your parents are alive. That’s all that matters. You can finish your exam, come back to Ogden and live here.”
“It’s not that simple. I wish it was, but it’s not. I have to go back to San Francisco. I can’t stay here to help them.”
“You have a boyfriend waiting for you on the West Coast?” I asked, pretending to joke.
She looked at me from underneath her wet lashes, confusion filling her glistening eyes. “No, I don’t.”
Thank God! “Then why the rush?”
“My life is there now.” Annabelle pulled away; black mascara stained my white shirt. Patches of wet snot mixed with tears marked the fabric.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be. You can leave wet patches on me any time.” Shit! Did I just say that?
She looked at me through those innocent wet lashes, and I prayed she hadn’t caught on to my stupid innuendo. I would not only have to watch what I did when near Annabelle, but also what I’d said.
“Why can’t you stay?” I brushed the tear off her cheek with my thumb, holding onto her shoulder with my other hand. Somehow I just couldn’t stand not touching her. I wished there was something I could do to make her happy, or at least help her forget she’d just lost her family home and had two ailing parents to care for. I lowered my body and lifted her chin, forcing her to look into my eyes, “Your decision to leave for San Francisco and get educated was the right one, Annabelle. This town doesn’t offer much of an education. Not many girls are brave enough to go away to school. Most stay here and become housewives while their husbands find meaningless work that barely pays the bills. But now that you’re done, you can come back. There’s so much need here for people with your skills.”
“Like what? We only have a small clinic. Doctor Marvey doesn’t have the resources. Besides, I... I just can’t.”
“Annabelle, you’re over thinking everything. Let’s just get you and your parents better and go from there, all right?” I was guiding her toward my house, the pride and joy of my life, when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I checked the message, cursing in my mind.
“Annabelle, I’m so sorry to do this right now, but I need to leave for an hour. Do you mind being here on your own for a while?” I turned the key in my lock and then pushed the door open.
“No, of course not. Is everything all right?”
Lifting her suitcase, I placed it in the main hall. “I hope so. Just a small emergency. Please, make yourself at home. Anything you need, don’t be shy.”
It tore at me that I had to leave at the moment when Annabelle needed me the most. But I made a promise a long time ago, and I didn’t break promises.
“Go, I’ll be fine.” She lightly touched my arm before pulling it away. I stood there, looking into her beautiful light eyes, captivated, and I knew that the simple touch meant much more than Annabelle wanted to admit.
“I’ll be back soon,” I said and headed to the barn where I kept my truck.
Caroline’s house was only ten minutes away, and I prayed that whatever she needed, I could help her quickly. As soon as I arrived, Pete ran out of the house straight into my arms. His little feet were moving quicker than his five-year-old body could follow.
“Uncle Dewek!” he screamed.
“Hey, buddy.” I picked him up off the ground. “How are you doing?”
“Mommy’s in twoubwe.”
“She is? What did she do?”
“She got the howse aww wet.”
“She did? Well, let’s see if
we can fix it, okay? I’m probably gonna need a helper. What do you say?”
“Okay.”
Carrying him in my arms, I walked inside to find Caroline soaking wet. There was no point in removing my shoes, but it would have been better to have brought galoshes, and maybe a swimsuit. My friend stood in the middle of her kitchen, completely helpless. The sound of flowing water from underneath the sink would put Niagara Falls to shame.
“Let me guess, the pipe burst?” I asked.
“I tried fixing it, but only made it worse.” Caroline pushed through the ankle-deep water. She was lucky there was no basement in this house, but there would definitely be some water damage to her kitchen.
“Did you turn off the main valve?” I asked.
“There’s a main valve?”
I knelt underneath the kitchen sink and twisted the knob, shutting off the gushing stream.
“Oh my God! Thank you so much. I really miss having a man in the house.” Caroline threw her arms around my neck and kissed me on my cheek, inadvertently wetting my shirt. While I took the gesture as gratitude, I got the feeling that my friend wanted to offer much more than I was ready to accept.
“Let’s get this place cleaned up.” I gently removed her arms. Her cheeks flushed with pink. While I worked on fixing the pipe underneath the sink, she began collecting the water into buckets and throwing them outside. Pete sat on the kitchen island, paying keen attention to every single move I made.
“You know, one day you’re going to grow up and you’ll be the one helping your mommy,” I said to him.
“I heard Mommy say to Aunt Katie that all kinds of pipes need cleaning when yoow a man.”
I chuckled. “Your aunt is a smart lady.”
“Even pewsonal pipes. And only men had toowl to clean them.”
I could see Caroline from the corner of my eye still. Her mouth opened by a fraction.
“What are pewsonal pipes, uncle Dewek?”
“You’ll need to ask your mommy about that.”
“When I gwow up, I want to be just like Daddy. A constwuction wowker.”
I wish I could tell the little guy how much more his father was than a construction worker. He was a hero who’d saved many lives. But of course I couldn’t.
“Your father was a brave man, Peter. A very hardworking man who wasn’t afraid of anything. All right. This is all done.” I stood up and paced toward Caroline. “The water will soak into the plywood in the cupboards. They’ll warp but will be usable for a while.”
“Please don’t tell me I have to replace them.”
“It’s either that or mold will set in, Caroline.”
Her shoulders dropped. I could see the despair grow in her eyes. Being a single mother wasn’t easy both financially and emotionally.
“Listen, I can be on the lookout for second-hand cupboards.”
“Would you, please?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you, Derek.” She looked around the kitchen. “I really don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“Anytime, Caroline. I’ll see you soon, little man.” I pulled out a chocolate bar I grabbed at the store on my way here and handed it to Peter. His mouth curved up into the most sincere smile I’d seen in a long time.
I stopped at the doorway and turned around, almost bumping into her. She backed away and her expression turned timid. Caroline would make a wonderful wife to someone one day. She had all the qualities a man should look for, and maybe if I could get past the fact that she was my best friend’s widow, I could open up to her. But I doubted that would happen anytime soon. Especially now that Annabelle Waters seemed to have stolen my heart.
“Caroline,” I whispered. Pete was busy opening the chocolate wrapper. “It’s time to find someone new. Pete will need a father figure, and you... well I’m sure you need someone in your life too.”
“I’m glad you said something, because I was thinking....” She took my hand into hers.
Oh no! “I didn’t mean me, Caroline. Brad was my best friend.”
“I’m sorry.” She pulled back.
“Don’t be. It’s a compliment. Thank you. I’ll be there for you for anything you need, always, but I don’t think it would work out between us.”
“You’re a good friend, Derek. Brad was lucky to have you at his side.”
She didn’t even know that I was the lucky one. I was the one whose life he’d saved, and I couldn’t even tell her that.
“I’m the lucky one. Believe me. I’ll call you when I find the cupboards. By the way, Simon asked about you. He says hello.”
I’d bumped into the fireman at the store. I knew he’d been waiting for Caroline to open up for a while now, and I hoped he had sufficient patience because those two were more right for each other than they even knew. But the grieving widow needed to heal, and the only reason she trusted me was because her fiancé was a good friend of mine who died in my arms. Maybe not in the way she’d been told, but he did.
Her cheeks flushed with pink again. “Thank you.”
I leaned in closer, saying, “And I’m sure that Simon knows how to clean pipes.” Kissing her on her head, I left and promised myself to get those two together soon enough.
CHAPTER 5
Annabelle
Derek’s home had a similar layout to the Fields’. Most homes out here did. If it weren’t for the little forest between the houses, you could see his parents’ farm from here. As I watched him pull out of his garage—otherwise known as an old barn at the side of his house—dried pieces of soil crumpled to the ground, and I wondered whether he’d signed up for some sort of a mud-wrestling competition. Given the current drought, the car must have been parked with the dirt clinging to its fenders for a while now. Looking at my own truck he’d just parked, I made a mental note to wash it.
A gentle breeze moved the swing on the porch side back and forth. Two chairs and a table were set up on the other side. Potted plants decorated the railing, and four ferns swung on intricate chains above. The metal locks looked handmade with beautiful butterflies at the end of their hooks. While I hadn’t gone inside yet, the home already radiated with warmth I hadn’t felt in a long time. Solar panels on the roof reflected the hot sun, making me curious about the rest of the renovations inside.
Once the truck disappeared down the road, I turned on my heel and ventured inside.
Mrs. Fields was right. This house was absolutely amazing, overflowing in country comfort with modern style. When she first mentioned Derek’s house, I didn’t expect miracles, but I never knew one of our farmhouses could feel this cozy when updated with sleek furniture. It reminded me of my loft in San Francisco and immediately felt more like home than it should have. High ceilings and wide wooden floors that somewhat resembled the color of semi-sweet chocolate and white sheers in the windows widened the space. A bench was set against the hallway wall and a small table with a mirror above it, to the side. An empty coat rack by the staircase held a raincoat.
I pulled my finger along the bench arm, smelling fresh lemon. Its rough grain rippled underneath my skin. The rest of the home had the same scent of stone and fresh wood, and for a moment it’d felt like I walked into a woodworking shop. Derek had mentioned a kitchen renovation, and I couldn’t wait to see it. I dropped my car keys into a woven basket on the side table and stepped further in.
Most of the home’s structure remained. The same high-ceiling rooms, large windows encased in wood, and doorways made of thick beams. But the work Derek had done was worthy of a trophy, if trophies were given for renovation, that is. The oak staircase had been sanded and stained, and the railing glistening along its curve. Decorated with black-and-white nature shots, the walls were painted in greens and grays. I’d never imagined a close-up of a wheat stalk could look so beautiful. And everything was complimented by the hints of white fabric and casing paint, and upholstered furniture.
I walked past the gorgeous white kitchen filled with brand-new appliances and ma
rble countertops right toward the glass wall at the back of the house. The scene beyond it took my breath away. I pushed the door open and stepped out onto the sun-warmed stones. Vines of clematis rose along a gazebo, which had been converted to a metal climber. Purple flowers bloomed at each side and along the roof. The sound of bubbling water drew me further in toward a Jacuzzi. The landscaping here was absolutely beautiful. I wondered how Derek managed to keep the garden so green in the middle of a drought.
To the right, underneath two mature maples and a few feet away from a stone barbeque was a hammock. I slid into the fabric and propped the single pillow underneath my head, admiring the rest of the yard. The gentle sway from my initial momentum when I climbed in continued. Soon, the sounds of chirping birds and wind rustling the leaves above me began fading, and the next time I opened my eyes Derek was staring at me from above.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said.
“It’s all right. I didn’t expect to doze off.” Truthfully, after a night filled with nightmares, I wondered how I had managed to stand on my feet since this morning. I tried to get up but found it difficult because of the swaying hammock.
“Have you settled in?” Derek reached for my hand.
“Sort of. I didn’t make it upstairs yet. I sort of laid down and lost track of time.”
“Let me help you up.” Derek grasped both my hands. This gentle strength of a man’s hold was new to me. It’d been quite some time since I’d trusted a man enough to maintain contact for this long.
I used his weight to help me lift off the low swinging bed, and as soon as my feet touched the ground, the motion of the hammock pushed me right into his arms. Derek’s hands splayed against my back, supporting me as my front pressed to his stone-hard chest. I stayed in his arms, completely immobile, slowly lifting my eyes to meet his. Their rims appeared golden when a sun’s ray caught them. With my hands right on his chest, I felt his heartbeat. Were muscles even allowed to be this firm? Wasn’t it difficult to breathe? It couldn’t be, because I felt his pecks rise and fall as I stood there, staring. I cleared my throat and finally took a step back.