“Maggie and I see each other plenty,” he reminded her.
“A date’s different.”
He grinned. “How? More kissing?”
“Stop making fun of me. I’m serious. Ask her out.”
He gazed into Amanda’s lovely upturned face and wondered once again why she wasn’t the one he’d developed a thing for. Maybe it was because she was so darned cheerful. He didn’t want to rain on her parade.
Maggie, however, was another story. Maybe they could commiserate over a few drinks without getting all sentimental or developing any unrealistic expectations. And, to be perfectly honest, battling wits with her had brightened his days considerably. He hadn’t expected to have so much fun on this ho-hum job that Cord had roped him into. Nor had he expected to take on the role of protector despite her objections.
Of course, there was that danger he’d mentioned to her—that they were two peas in a very explosive pod. He wasn’t sure he wanted to risk getting burned.
“Maybe I will,” he told Amanda just to pacify her and get her off his back. “One of these days.”
She grinned at him. “You’re not getting any younger, Joshua. Do it today.”
“Why are you pushing so hard for this?”
“Because I’m hoping that once you finally show the woman you’re interested in her, she’ll stop staring daggers at me every time you and I talk. I thought we’d gotten past it, but apparently not.”
“What?” he asked, immediately scanning the site for some sign of Maggie. Sure enough, she was watching the two of them with a sour expression on her face. There was the jealousy thing, right there in plain view, no question about it. He’d half hoped she’d gotten past that craziness, too, especially since it had never made a lick of sense in the first place. It was even more distressing to know that Amanda was aware of Maggie’s reaction and that it made her uncomfortable.
Since it kept popping up, sooner or later he supposed he would have to find some way to prove once and for all to Maggie that he wasn’t interested in Amanda in that way. Words obviously hadn’t gotten the message across. He just didn’t know if he was ready for the consequences of the actions that would convince her she’d gotten it all wrong.
Caught now, Maggie immediately looked away and slammed a hammer in the general direction of a nail. She was probably imagining his head in its place. Josh winced, guessing from the string of curse words she uttered that she’d split the wood.
“Now!” Amanda said, giving him a push. “Before we have to go and beg for more supplies from the lumber company.”
Reluctantly, Josh headed in Maggie’s direction.
Maggie turned Josh down flat. She knew it was the smart thing to do. It also gave her a tiny shred of satisfaction to see the dull red color climb into his cheeks and the stunned expression spread across his face.
“You’re saying no?” he asked, as if he couldn’t quite believe his ears.
“It’s not a difficult word to understand, though I’m not surprised you’re having trouble with it. I doubt most women utter it in your presence,” Maggie said tartly. “I’m sure Amanda hasn’t.”
“Dammit, Maggie, this is not about Amanda,” he said, his voice rising. “It’s about me asking you out for a drink. Why the hell would I do that if there was anything going on between me and Amanda? Don’t you think she’s been through enough?”
Maggie faltered a bit under the heat of his response. “I do, but I’m surprised you recognize that.”
Josh shook his head. “What is wrong with you? If you don’t want to have a drink with me, fine, but don’t make it about anyone else, Maggie. At least have the guts to be honest and say it’s because you’re scared.”
“Scared? Me?” She feigned indignation. “You don’t scare me.”
He took a step toward her. “Really? I thought we’d established this the other day, but perhaps you still need convincing.”
Maggie’s heart started to race harder and faster than it had in years. And not entirely in panic, either. After their earlier kiss there was a healthy dose of anticipation mixed in. She forced herself to stand her ground. She would not let Josh get the upper hand, not even for an instant.
“Really,” she said firmly. “You don’t scare me.”
The corners of Josh’s mouth tilted ever so slightly. “You should be terrified.”
“Oh?” The breathless quality in her voice irked her, but she made up for it by meeting his gaze with an unwavering look.
He tucked a callused finger under her chin, then ran the pad of his thumb across her lower lip. Maggie was rooted to the spot, lost in the depths of his turbulent brown eyes. Her pulse scrambled wildly.
“Scared to death,” he said quietly, then leaned forward and settled his mouth on hers.
Even though she’d been expecting just that, anticipating it and dreading it at the same time, Maggie wasn’t prepared for the jolt the touch of his lips sent ricocheting through her. Even though he wasn’t doing a thing to stop her from pulling away, she made absolutely no attempt to budge. She couldn’t, in part because pride wouldn’t let her, in part because she wanted the kiss to last forever, the same as she had last time. It was terrifying just how badly she wanted that, wanted him.
She was trembling like a leaf when he finally stepped back. She risked a glance into his eyes and saw that he was every bit as shaken as she was. Good, she thought. If the man was determined to rattle her, she liked knowing she could return the favor.
“Be ready at six,” he said mildly.
“I haven’t changed my mind,” she said, though it was a halfhearted protest.
He grinned. “Then I’ll pick someplace to take you that doesn’t mind a little sawdust. Six o’clock, Maggie.”
A part of her wished she were still five years old so she could stomp her foot and tell him he wasn’t the boss of her. Another part of her—the grown-up woman part that had tromped right over too many men—admired the kind of gall it took not to take her at her word.
Round one had clearly gone to Josh, who was walking away whistling, happy as the dickens with himself.
Trying to see who could get the upper hand and hold on to it tonight was going to make for an interesting evening.
Nadine was sitting with Amanda watching Josh kiss the stuffing out of Maggie when a shadow fell across the two of them. She looked up into George Winslow’s eyes, which were filled with surprising uncertainty.
“Now, you’re the last person I expected to see around here,” she said brightly, surveying his even more unexpected jeans and T-shirt. They looked well worn and were a far cry from the conservative suits he usually wore. “Did you come to help?”
“No, I’m sure he came to gloat,” Amanda said.
Nadine studied him with a narrowed gaze. He suddenly looked awfully guilty. “Gloat?” she asked Amanda. “What would he have to gloat about?”
“He’s got Caleb tap-dancing to calm down his bosses, and he’s had a building inspector crawling all over the roof today trying to find some code infraction,” Amanda said. “Isn’t that right, Mr. Winslow? You’re still determined to cause trouble for us, aren’t you?”
“I—”
Nadine cut him off. “Don’t even try to come up with some excuse,” she said, latching on to his arm. “You and I obviously need to have another talk.”
She dragged him halfway across the site until they had some privacy. “I think you’d better start talking, George. I thought we had an understanding.”
He regarded her uneasily. “I’d already set some things in motion,” he admitted. “It’s not so easy to stop them.”
“Sure it is,” she said. “You pick up the phone and you explain you made a terrible mistake. If you have to, you grovel just the way you expected Amanda to.” Her gaze clashed with his. “You have a cell phone with you?”
He nodded.
“Give it to me,” she ordered.
“Now, Nadine,” he protested.
“Do you want to
fix this or not?”
He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket with unmistakable reluctance. “I’m not sure—”
“Well, I am.” She faced him down, hands on hips. “You either make those calls or get off this site.”
His lips twitched. “Damn, woman, nobody scares you, do they?”
“Certainly not you,” she replied. “Do the right thing, George, then come see me when you’ve taken care of this.”
She went back to Amanda.
“Well?” Amanda asked.
“I think he’s calling off his dogs,” Nadine told her. “At least he is if he knows what’s good for him.”
“Are you sure you can trust anything he says?” Amanda asked, regarding her curiously.
“Actually I am. I think I understand what he set out to do, even if he did go about it all wrong.”
“Meaning?”
Nadine considered telling her that George had been trying to stop the construction so Amanda would be forced to reconcile with Big Max. But she didn’t think that would be much consolation to Amanda. “Never mind,” she said, then brightened when she spotted George coming their way. “Everything taken care of?” she called out.
“Would I risk coming over here if it wasn’t?” he said, his mouth twisted wryly.
“Then you’re ready to help us out?” Nadine asked.
George shifted his gaze to Amanda. “Would that be okay with you?”
Amanda regarded him warily. “Can you promise me you’re not here spying for my father or trying to stir up any more trouble?”
George flinched at the direct question. For a minute he looked as though he was going to turn around and leave in a huff, but he finally swallowed hard. “I’m here to eat humble pie, if you must know. Someone showed me recently that it’s not as distasteful as I’d once thought.”
Caleb materialized just then and stood resolutely beside Amanda, his gaze forbidding. George faced him.
“Seems I owe you an apology, too,” he told Caleb. “You’ve been doing what you knew was right all along, and I admire the courage you showed in standing up to me. I’ve spoken to your boss. I don’t think there will be any more problems.”
Caleb didn’t look entirely convinced. “That’s quite a mouthful, George. What changed your mind?”
“Nadine made me look at things in a different light.”
Caleb looked at Nadine with surprise. “Then we owe you our thanks.”
“I didn’t do that much,” Nadine demurred, uncomfortable being the focus of so much admiration for simply speaking her mind. For once it seemed to have done some good, instead of making matters worse.
“Of course you did,” George said. “Getting a message through this thick skull of mine isn’t easy, as I’m sure Caleb here would be happy to tell you.”
“True enough,” Caleb said, his expression finally relaxing into a grin.
“Then you don’t object to my helping out?” George persisted.
“I don’t,” Caleb said, then turned to Amanda. “What about you?”
She studied George for a full minute before finally nodding. “We’ll be glad to have you.”
To Nadine’s surprise, George seemed genuinely relieved. She realized then that it had taken a lot for him to openly admit to a mistake and risk rejection.
“Just tell me what to do, then,” he said. “I’ve got some experience with building things, so put me wherever I’ll be most useful.”
Nadine tucked her hand through his elbow. “That’ll be up to Josh. I’ll go with you to find him.”
As soon as they were out of Amanda and Caleb’s hearing, she gave his arm a squeeze. “That wasn’t so difficult, was it?”
“You have no idea,” he muttered.
She laughed. “Not used to asking for forgiveness, huh? Trust me, it gets easier over time.”
He gazed down at her, his expression curious. “How would you know a thing like that?”
“I’ve had to ask for my son’s forgiveness more times than I care to remember.”
He studied her intently. “Something tells me there’s a story there.”
“More than one, if you must know, but they’ll have to wait. My break’s almost over.”
George looked surprised. “Your son runs a tight ship, then, even though he’s relying on volunteers?”
“Josh is a hard worker. He only has the volunteers here on the weekends, so he likes to make sure we’re not wasting precious time. He’s determined that Amanda and the kids will get to celebrate Thanksgiving in their new home.” Just then she spotted Josh up on the roof, explaining to a couple of newcomers how to lay the remaining shingles. Given his precarious balance, she was not about to call his attention to George’s arrival. He might nosedive off the other side.
Just as she was about to offer to get George something cold to drink while they waited to speak to Josh, she felt an urgent tug on her hand. She looked down and saw Susie’s sweet little face.
“Hey there, cutie. What’s up?” Nadine asked.
Susie cast a fearful look at George, then whispered, “It’s Larry. He’s climbing up the ladder so he can see what Josh is doing.”
“Oh, Lord,” Nadine said. “Show me where, sweetie.”
George immediately caught her sense of panic. “Who’s Larry?” he asked in a calm, level tone.
“One of Amanda’s boys. He’s only eight. He has no business going up on that roof. We have to hurry.”
Without giving it another thought, George scooped Susie into his arms. “Where is he?” he asked her gently.
“Around the other side,” she said, clinging to his neck. Tears were spilling down her cheeks. “Jimmy told him not to go, but Larry wouldn’t listen.”
“It’s okay, sweet pea,” Nadine reassured her. “We’ll have him down in no time.”
But when they turned the corner, they saw that Larry was already on the roof, trying to crawl up to the peak. Jimmy was on the bottom rung of the ladder, clearly intent on going after him. George shoved Susie into Nadine’s arms and plucked Jimmy from the ladder.
“You stay right here, young man,” he said in a commanding voice. Jimmy was too startled to argue. He stood silently beside Nadine. After a minute he tucked his hand into hers.
“What if he falls?” he asked in a quavering voice.
“George won’t let him fall,” Nadine said with conviction. “And Josh is up there, too.”
“I told him not to go,” Jimmy whispered. “Then he got to the top and told me I was a sissy if I didn’t come, too.”
“It’s not being a sissy to stay off a roof,” Nadine said, her gaze locked on George as he reached the top of the ladder and scrambled after Larry. “It’s being smart.”
Before George could reach him, Larry’s feet slid out from under him and he began to slide down the roof just to the left of where George was. Nadine watched with her heart in her throat as George gingerly shifted position and grabbed the boy before he reached the edge and fell.
Holding Larry securely, George made his way back to the ladder and brought the boy down. By then a crowd had assembled on the ground and someone had alerted Amanda. She and Caleb rushed up just as the two of them reached the ground.
“Larry O’Leary, are you out of your mind?” she demanded, before hauling him into her arms, tears streaming down her face. She turned to George at last. “I will never be able to thank you enough for saving him.”
George hunkered down beside them and put a hand on Larry’s back. “You know what you did was very foolish, young man.”
Larry nodded, apparently impressed by George’s size and his somber tone.
“Next time you decide you want to go scampering around on a roof, you make sure there’s someone with you who knows what they’re doing, okay?” George said.
“There won’t be a next time,” Amanda said direly.
George grinned at that. “Yes, there will. When a boy’s as intrepid as this one, there will always be a next time. You just have t
o minimize the risks.”
“If that’s true, then God help me,” Amanda said.
“He will,” Caleb assured her.
George couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from Larry. When he finally looked directly at Amanda, he said, “You know, your boy is the spitting image of his granddaddy at this age, don’t you?”
“I know,” she whispered, her voice thick. “I have a few old pictures I took with me when I left home.”
“He’d be proud of him,” George told her.
Amanda sighed. “I wish that were true.”
Josh came around the side of the house just then, and someone filled him in on what had happened. He walked over to Nadine and pulled her aside.
“They okay?” he asked, his face pale.
“They seem to be.” Nadine assured him. “You don’t need to worry. The whole thing’s over now. They’re safe, thanks to George.”
He nodded toward George. “What’s he doing here, anyway?”
“He came to work. We were on our way to ask you to give him an assignment, when this little crisis came up.”
“You think he’s serious about wanting to help? He was up to his neck causing trouble not an hour or two ago.”
Nadine nodded slowly. “If I had any doubts about it when he first showed up, I don’t anymore. Look at him. You’d think Larry was his grandchild, not his best friend’s. Big Max will hear about this, I’m sure. Maybe George will be the one who brings that family back together.”
Josh looked skeptical. “There’s that blind optimism of yours again.”
“Josh, honey, when you stop being optimistic about people and about life, you might as well go off and live in a cave.” She gave him a knowing look. “Which is pretty much what you’ve done, isn’t it?”
“Maybe,” he said, surprising her with the admission.
“It’s no way to live,” she scolded him.
“I think I’m beginning to get that,” he said, looking around until his gaze finally settled on Maggie. His lips curved slightly.
Nadine suspected if she commented on his reaction, he’d swear up and down she’d misread him. Better to let him make the rest of this journey on his own.
But it sure was going to be fun to watch.
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