Far from Perfect (Perfect, Indiana: Book One)

by Longley, Barbara

  The kitchen phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. She rose from her place at the table and picked up the receiver. “Hello.”

  “Is this Jennifer Hoffman?”

  “No, this is her niece. She’s at work. Can I take a message?”

  “Yes, I’m calling on behalf of Dr. Jacobs, from the radiology department at United Health Clinic. Could you have Mrs. Hoffman return my call as soon as possible?”

  “Sure. Hold on a second.” She set the receiver on the counter and grabbed a piece of paper and her pen from the kitchen table. She hurried back to the phone. “I’m ready.” After she wrote all the necessary information down, she hung up with a frown. Probably nothing.

  “Mommy, me and Sweet Pea are hungry.” Lucinda came in through the kitchen door with the dog behind her.

  “Huh. Had a conversation with him about it, did you?”

  She nodded.

  “Gotta make a few more playdates for you, Lucinda. With children, not dogs or ponies.”

  “Can I have—”

  “Don’t even say it. You already know the answer.”

  “But—”

  “No ponies, Luce. We’re going to be living in a city. How about taking violin lessons?”

  Lucinda’s brow scrunched. “What’s a violin?”

  “It’s a musical instrument.” She opened the refrigerator door. The shelves were full to overflowing with diner leftovers. Time to send a bucket home with Ted for her uncle’s hogs to dine on. Speaking of Ted—maybe the two guys working upstairs could help reduce the volume. “Run upstairs to the porch and see if Ted and Noah want to eat lunch with us.”

  Her daughter’s expression went from disappointment to glee in a nanosecond. “OK.”

  Soon she heard male voices and work boots coming down the stairs. A good sound. Long ago, the old place had been filled with the deep voices of the Lovejoy men, and she was certain the house missed all the noise a large family generated. Noah and Ted walked into the kitchen and headed to the sink to wash their hands. Ceejay’s heart did a somersault when Noah’s eyes caught hers.

  “We have a fridge full of leftovers. What do you two want?” She turned back to the food to hide her blush. “I could make meat loaf sandwiches, meatball sandwiches, or I can heat up some roasted chicken, and all of the above come with...?” She turned expectantly to Ted and Lucinda.

  “Mashed potatoes!” Lucinda cried.

  Noah laughed. “I could go for a meat loaf sandwich.”

  “Throw me some chicken and mashed potatoes, and I’ll heat them in the microwave.” Ted shook his head. “You know it’s illegal for Aunt Jenny to bring these leftovers home, don’t you? We could set up a barrel for her, and I could pick it up every day for the hogs. Lots of farmers are doing that now.”

  “I know. You tell me at least once a month. You need to have this conversation with Jenny.” her in for a bear hug. k. His

  “Nope. I’ve tried. You’d have better luck.” Ted grabbed four plates from the cabinet. “Say, Noah, I have this friend who’s in a band. They’ve got a gig at a club in Evansville this weekend. He gave me a couple of free tickets. You wanna go check them out Saturday night?”

  “A huge hall full of strangers and loud music?” Ceejay whipped around and glared at her cousin. “I don’t think so.”

  Noah’s eyebrows shot up, and she bit her lip.

  “First of all, I was asking him, not you, Nurse Nosy.” Ted glared right back. “What do you think, Noah? I hear this club is a huge draw for hot chicks.” He raised an eyebrow. “I can be your wingman, or you can be mine, depending on who we meet.”

  Noah opened his mouth to reply, and Ceejay cut him off. “Bad plan.”

  “I’m in. Let’s do it.” Noah grabbed silverware from the drawer and set it out on the table. “A night out might be fun.”

  “Great.” Ted smirked at her. “If any of the ladies ask what I do for a living, I’m telling them I’m a contractor in the home remodeling industry. I’d appreciate it if you’d back me up on that.”

  “Don’t bring up the hogs?” Noah laughed. “All right, so long as you introduce me as your boss.”

  Ceejay fumed. The thought of Noah flirting with other women made her edgy. What was Ted thinking? No way would Noah be able to handle a crowd of rowdies like that. She slapped a piece of meat loaf between two slices of bread, cut it in half with a vengeance, and dropped it on the plate in front of Noah.

  “Thanks.” Noah smiled sweetly. “Pass me the ketchup, please.”

  “Get it yourself.” She stomped back to the counter. “Lucinda, what do you want?”

  “A pony.”

  Ted and Noah laughed, and it was all she could do to keep from lobbing cold mashed potatoes at the three of them. “What would you like to eat?”

  The microwave dinged, and Ted removed the plate. “You want a chicken drumstick and potatoes, Luce?”

  “Yes, please. Mommy, we gotta have a vegetable or a fruit, right?”

  “That’s right. How about grapes?”

  “While you’re up, could you please get the ketchup?” Noah glanced in her direction.

  “Didn’t hear me the first time?” she grumbled.

  Ted laughed. “I think you’ve pissed her off again.”

  “I don’t know how.” Noah rose from the table and came to stand behind her at the fridge. He reached around her and plucked the bottle of ketchup from the door compartment. “Didn’t do anything.”

  He brushed against her back, igniting a heat wave. She huffedass="indent" a

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  NOAH PEELED BLUE TAPE FROM the freshly painted walls and thought about the lunch he’d had with Ceejay earlier. She cared enough to be concerned about him, and a thread of pleasure still tugged through him eyes were riveted on her s c completely because of it, but hell. Didn’t she see him as a man capable of making his own decisions? That part pissed him off. “You do know I’m not going to any club with you Saturday night, right?”

  “Yep.” Ted snorted. “I know.”

  Wadding up the sticky mess in his hands, Noah moved to the next window frame. Maybe laying it all on the line with her had been a mistake. The last thing he wanted or needed was to be coddled, and he sure as hell didn’t need her protection.

  “You do know I don’t have any musician friends, right?”

  “Figured as much.” Noah glanced at Ted. “Why’d you say it?”

  Ted shrugged. “Because I know my cousin.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Haven’t you noticed the way she looks at you?”

  “Sure.” Noah sighed. “I’m real familiar with her look of annoyance.”

  “Man, I may be young, but you’re blind.”

  Noah stopped pulling tape and turned to him. “What am I missing?”

  “Ceejay has it bad for you.” Ted raised an eyebrow at him. “She looks at you like you’re the last hot fudge sundae on earth, and she can’t find a spoon.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “You saw her face when I brought up other women, right?”

  Noah summoned her image. When they were talking about the club, her mouth had been turned down, her expression definitely displeased. “She looked...”

  “Like she just ate a bug?” Ted laughed. “Jealousy is a powerful motivator.”

  Was it possible he’d misinterpreted her reaction? It would explain why she’d gotten so cranky. “What did you hope to accomplish?”

  “First off, I like to push her buttons. She’s easy to rattle, and it’s fun. Second, she needs a shove in the right direction.”

  Ted saw him as a partner material for Ceejay? A gratifying ping bounced through Noah. “What makes you think pushing her my way is a good idea?”

  “Everyone can see the way you two look at each other.” Ted shot him an incredulous look. “You could both use a shove.”

  “How do I look at her?” Noah frowned. Had he been that obvious?

  “Like she’s a thick T-bone steak grilled to
perfection and served with all the fixings, and you can’t find—”

  “A knife and fork?” Noah laughed. “Hell, I’d use my hands.”

  “Exactly. Why’d you agree to go to the nonexistent club?”

  “I didn’t like the way she answered for me.” Noah surveyed the porch. His stump ached as it always did when he’d spent too much time upright. “I’ll put the new hardware on the doors, and we’re done here. Tomorrow we’ll start on the outside window frames.”

  “Why are you doing all this?”

  “All of what?”

  “Putting in all and forced himself to concentrate aA4 these hours on a house that doesn’t belong to you, spending your own money on materials.”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “Break it down.”

  “Matt.”

  “OK, I get that part, but it’s not your deal. Never was. Plus, the house belongs to Jenny, not Ceejay.”

  “PTSD.”

  “Come again?”

  “I need something to do, but...” Noah glanced away.

  “Can’t face working for somebody else?”

  Noah nodded.

  “You ought to start your own business. You can do all this.” Ted gestured to the finished three-season porch. “You definitely have skills, and this kind of work doesn’t require lots of talking or interacting with the customers.”

  “It does. You don’t know what it’s like to face an unhappy customer or some asshole who’s trying to get something for nothing. I do. I grew up in this type of business.” Noah shook his head. “I couldn’t handle some irate homeowner in my face because the color of the paint didn’t turn out exactly the way they thought it would. I’d snap.”

  “That’s what you have me for.” Ted pointed to himself with his thumb. “I’m great with people.”

  “You sure this is what you want to do with your life?” Is this how I want to spend my life? He surveyed the three-season porch, with its refinished hardwood floor and trim, new windows and fresh paint. Returning the old home to its former glory satisfied him. The job gave him a reason to get up in the morning, but he suspected the good feelings had more to do with the people living in the house than the work itself.

  “For now.” Ted’s expression grew serious. “At least give it some thought.”

  “I will.” Noah threw the wadded-up ball of painter’s tape into the cardboard box full of debris. “You think Ceejay has it bad for me, huh?”

  “I know she does, and it scares her shitless.” Ted scowled at him. “If you hurt her, there will be consequences.”

  Noah widened his stance and crossed his arms in front of him. He gave Ted his best military glare. “You threatening me, kid?”

  “Hell, yeah. I’ll sic Sheriff Maurer on your ass.”

  Noah threw his head back and laughed, and Ted joined in. He was the right direction for Ceejay.

  Now all he had to do was convince her.

  “Noah, check out that civilian truck heading our way.”

  He dropped the map he’d been studying and stared in horror. Ceejay was driving the Humvee, and he knew what was coming. “Stop the vehicle.”

  “That truck—”

  Where was that hammering noise coming from? Bile rose in his throat as he searched for the new threat. “It’s an order. Stop the Humvee and get out. Now.”

  “Noah, I don’t like the looks of hand shielding her eyesk. His that vehicle. Could be insurgents...”

  Panic clawed at him. Not Ceejay! “Stop this goddamned vehicle. Run!”

  “...might be carrying improvised explosives.”

  “Why won’t you look at me? LOOK AT ME, Ceejay.”

  “Noah, I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

  Why the hell didn’t she respond to his order, dammit? His gaze flew to the truck full of explosives heading straight for them. No, no, no...can’t let this happen. Not Ceejay. Not her!

  “STOP!”

  “NOAH!”

  He woke with a start, drenched in sweat, with the pounding on his door synced to the pounding in his chest.

  “Noah, I know you’re in there.”

  “Dammit.” He drew in a breath and glanced at his clock. Almost 0100 hours. What the hell? “I’m coming,” he shouted. “Give me a minute.” The pounding on the door stopped. His heart was another matter. He threw his blanket off, swung his good leg over the edge, and reached for his prosthetic. Clearing the cobwebs from his brain, he took off for the door. Ceejay needed him.

  He made it in seconds, turned the dead bolt, and almost tore the door from the hinges getting it open. She stood in the dim glow of the backyard light, still wearing her scrubs from work. He ran his eyes over her. She looked all right. “Who’s hurt?”

  “Nobody.”

  “Fire?”

  She shook her head, and some of the tension leached out of him. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “I...I need to talk to you.”

  “Now?” He stepped out of the way to let her in and shoved the door shut behind them.

  She nodded, and her eyes pooled with tears. What else could he do but draw her into his arms. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

  “This isn’t going to make any sense,” she mumbled into his chest.

  Probably not. “I’m listening.”

  “It’s...complicated.”

  When wasn’t it complicated between the two of them? Her warm tears dampened the front of his T-shirt, and his insides melted. “All right. It’s complicated. Maybe between the two of us we can work it out.” He pulled back to look into her face. “You’ve come this far, right? I’m here, and you have my undivided attention.”

  Having her in his arms and in his apartment wreaked havoc on him. Already he was hard and wanting her, and they hadn’t even kissed. Not cool. She’s in tears, dammit. His jaw tightened, and he tried to focus on her distress rather than his need to get deep inside her. “Let’s sit down.”

  She nodded against him, and he inhaled the clean, flowery scent of the shampoo she used. His groin tightened even more. Shit. He led her over to the couch and waited until she sat down. There was no hiding the way his boxers tented in front. She noticed. Eyes wide, he to the houses . His r gaze slid over him and his dick jerked in response—boy, howdy, here I am.

  “I’m going to go throw some pants on. Be right back.” Pull it together, soldier. Straighten up. Hell, he couldn’t get much straighter, or much more up. He slipped into a pair of jeans, grabbed a few pieces of tissue, and headed back to the living room. Taking a seat beside her, he handed the wad of tissues over. “What’s going on?”

  Ceejay wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “It’s Jenny.”

  “What about her?”

  “She...she has to have a biopsy later this morning, and...” She bit her lower lip.

  The gesture was too much to bear. Noah leaned close and brushed a kiss across her forehead. She sent him a look so full of vulnerability that he snatched her up and held her on his lap. He loved how tiny she was and how good she felt in his arms. “Go on.”

  “It...it got me thinking.” She put her head down on his shoulder and sighed. “I wanted to talk to you before we know the results.”

  Noah frowned. Where the hell was she going with this?

  “You’re worth the risk, Noah,” she whispered against his neck.

  “That’s good.” He went on full alert. Had he heard her right? “I’m glad you think so.”

  “I want to be with you.”

  “With me?”

  “Tonight.”

  He gulped. “I want to be...uh...with you, too, but don’t we want to take things slow? We’ve only had the one date.”

  “Technically we’ve had three.” She looked up at him through her lashes and pressed her palm against his chest. “The tour of Perfect and our lunch date.”

  Could she feel how hard his heart was beating? “That wasn’t really a—”

  “And our trip to the zoo.”

  “We can wait. T
here’s no rush.” Even if it meant his balls fell off. He didn’t want to get it wrong with her. For reasons he didn’t care to examine, getting it right with Ceejay was an all-encompassing imperative. Everything depended on it. “You’re upset about Jenny right now.”

  “That’s just it.” She straightened and twisted in his lap to face him. “I don’t want to wait until we know the results. If it’s good news, you’ll think I’m with you to celebrate. If it’s bad news, then you’ll think it’s because I need to be comforted.”

  He blinked. “I’m not that deep. Once I have you in my bed, I won’t be thinking at all.” The way she smiled at his words undid him. “But, um...obviously you’ve...given this a great deal of thought.” Not that he followed her logic. What the hell was he doing, trying to talk her out of his bed?

  She nodded and shifted in his lap. “I’ve been thinking about it since you showed up on our front porch.”

  Say what? Her movements sent searing heat pulsing through him, robbing him of reason. He leaned in for a kiss. She wrapped her arms around hi to the houses . His s neck and pressed her sweet little breasts against his chest. He deepened the kiss, losing himself in her softness and curves, her feminine scent. His heart took flight. Ceejay.

  No way around it. This mission would involve getting naked.

  He broke the kiss and nuzzled the tender spot where her neck met her shoulder. “I...have scars.”

  “Shoot, this is me you’re talking to. You think I don’t?”

  He grinned against her skin. “I’m not talking about emotional scars, honey. My left side was badly burned. It’s not pretty.”

  “Oh.” Ceejay cradled his jaw and planted little kisses all over his face. “And here all I’ve been worrying about is whether or not you have a condom.”

  He struggled to focus. Condom. “Yeah, I do.” He always kept one in his wallet. No reason it wouldn’t still be there, and his wallet was on the end table—next to his bed. He rose from the couch with her still in his arms. “Damn, you smell good.”