by LuAnn McLane
“There’s no rush, you know.”
“Oh, I know.” Susan nodded. She hoped that someone else didn’t lease the shop next door before she had the chance to look more closely into the prospect of expansion. “I just don’t want to miss a golden opportunity.”
“You’ll know when the time is right. And you know you can bend my ear whenever you need to.”
“I know, Betsy. Your friendship means a lot to me.”
“Same here. Well, now that we settled all of that we’d better get back to the shop.”
Susan smiled. “You’re right, let’s go!”
18
I’ve Got You, Babe
Danny stood back and gave Lily’s miniature rocking chair a nod of satisfaction. “What do you think, Rusty?” he asked the Irish Setter. Rusty seemed more interested in his hambone than a rocking chair. “Well, I think Lily will love it.” Danny pictured his little tow-headed niece rocking with her favorite red teddy bear, who she dragged around as her constant companion. Since she was still unable to pronounce her r’s, Lily called her stuffed animal Wed Ted.
Lily’s infectious giggle always lifted Danny’s mood, no matter what kind of day he’d been having. She called him Dandy, making everyone laugh when she said it, and of course Mattie thought it was a riot to call him Dandy as well. If he wasn’t careful, everyone in Cricket Creek would soon be calling him by his new nickname.
Danny smiled, thinking of how much he adored Lily and baby Oliver. If he loved his niece and nephew this much, how deeply would he love a child of his own? The thought brought a vision of Susan to his mind, making him sit back on his workbench with a sense of wonder. “Wow,” he said, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Rusty, do you think I’m … falling in love?”
Rusty gave him a bored, how-do-I-know look.
“Really, Rusty? You’re the lovesick pup who jumped into the river and dogpaddled after Abigail. A little help in the love department would be appreciated.”
Rusty gave him a you’re-on-your-own wheezy yawn and started chewing on his bone again. “Thanks a lot, pal.” Danny shook his head and chuckled at his dog. “I can’t stop thinking about her.” Not that he wanted to stop. “If thinking about Susan was my job, I’d be a wealthy man, and you’d have a lifetime supply of hambones.”
Rusty raised his bushy eyebrows at the mention of hambones.
“Ha, thought that would get your attention.” Thinking about Susan brought a huge smile to Danny’s face. With a glance at the time on his cell phone, Danny decided he’d better head to his cabin for a quick shower before she arrived to go hiking for a Christmas tree. “Damn, the time got away from me.” He’d mentioned to Mason he might be a little bit late for work. He wished he could ask for the night off but Saturdays were busy and he couldn’t leave his brother hanging. Danny knew he could be replaced with a simple want ad but he couldn’t bring himself to quit the brewery. He supposed that hanging on to helping Mattie and Mason was a safe haven for him, an excuse not to put himself out there and risk failure. Seeing the marina almost go under still spooked him. He knew he needed to get over the feeling of panic but he just couldn’t pull the trigger when it came to talking to his family about doing something on his own.
With a sigh, Danny tried to remember when he’d had a weekend to himself … and damned if he couldn’t recall one. Not that his lack of a Saturday night off was Mason’s fault. The tips at the taproom were great and he always had fun behind the bar, even though he was working. But now that Mason had a family, he hurried home after the taproom closed instead of hanging around to play cards or shoot some pool. Danny didn’t blame his brother one bit. If he had a wife and child waiting, he’d hurry home too.
Danny ran his hands over the smooth, sanded wood of the rocking chair and could almost hear the light tinkle of Lily’s laughter. At just over two years of age, she had a wicked sense of humor and lively personality that never ceased to amaze him. Of course, his sister Mattie had been a rough and tumble tomboy who liked to keep up with the boys, so it wasn’t a surprise that Lily was following in her mother’s rowdy footsteps. But also like Mattie, his little niece had an incredible, lovable, cuddly side that made it nearly impossible to put her in time-out, no matter what mischief she got herself into. And Garret? Oh, Lily had her daddy wrapped around her tiny finger, and the little imp already knew it.
Danny decided he would paint Lily’s name on the back of the chair in yellow, her favorite color. Maybe he’d even make a tiny version for Red Ted to rock in next to her. “She’d sure love that.” Danny pushed the chair and as he watched it rock gently, he wondered what having a family of his own would feel like. The thought brought on an unexpected stab of wistful longing. “Something of my own …”
Like Mason, Danny wasn’t one to show his emotions, but damned if he had to fight a sudden lump in his throat. “Ah, what the hell is going on with me?” he asked Rusty with a shake of his head. He’d heard about the biological clock that women felt but what was this all about? “It’s way too soon for a mid-life crisis, right, Rusty? I’m not even thirty yet.”
“Woof.”
“Ah well … who the hell knows?” Danny inhaled a deep breath filled with the scent of freshly sanded wood and then sneezed. Sneezing always made him chuckle. A big space heater cut the chill from the workshop but he suddenly felt the need to zip up his hooded sweatshirt.
Bringing his bone, Rusty trotted over and sat at the bottom of Danny’s feet, as if knowing he should be closer to his master. He rested his head on Danny’s boot, ignoring his precious bone.
“What’s going on with me, boy?” Danny reached down and absently scratched his dog behind the ears. He supposed that the Christmas season was partly responsible for his melancholy mood. What had once been a magical time of the year had dimmed to a mere flicker in the past few years, leaving him feeling detached from the abundant joy felt by the rest of his family.
Knowing he should get ready for Susan’s arrival, Danny stood up, but instead of leaving the building, he looked around at the various pieces of furniture. While he felt a sense of pride at the beauty of the painstakingly crafted work, he once again felt the heavy weight of failure. Mason had turned his craft brewing hobby into a lucrative business. Mattie had converted the breakfast and bait shop into a beautiful bistro loved by both tourists and residents of Cricket Creek. “What am I waiting for?” Danny looked around and sighed. “Christmas?” he asked with a small chuckle. He could take pictures and sell the furniture on Craigslist or on consignment at a local shop, but neither thought appealed to him. “Maybe there’s some other way,” he said and scrubbed a hand down his face, but nothing came to him. “Okay, enough.” After whistling for Rusty, he walked toward the door. “Come on, boy. Let’s get a move on.”
Bright sunshine sliced through the cold afternoon breeze but did little in the way of warmth. His boots crunched through the crusty layer of snow that had melted from milder temperatures yesterday but refrozen overnight. Light flurries danced and twirled around in the clear blue sky dotted with a smattering of white and gray clouds but held little threat of more accumulation … at least for now. Danny remembered hearing there was a possibility of accumulation later that night, depending upon which way the impending storm blew. Cricket Creek didn’t typically have very harsh winters but this December had started out colder than previous years. When ice or snow hit hard, bread and milk flew off of the shelves and the town came to an abrupt halt.
Rusty trotted ahead of him with his treasured bone sticking out of the side of his mouth, apparently eager to get inside the cabin and into the warmth. “Come on, I’ll start a fire,” Danny promised, knowing that Rusty would perch on his favorite braided rug in front of the hearth. Mason and Danny had rescued Rusty from the side of the road and he’d lived at the marina ever since, but over the past year Rusty had spent most of his nights with Danny, almost as if knowing that he was needed with him more than Mason or Mattie.
Although Danny had already tidied u
p, he looked around the cabin, wondering what Susan would think of his place. It was lacking in Christmas cheer, but he felt it still had a cozy appeal. His furnishings were mostly his own creations, except for a buttery soft leather couch that he’d splurged on last year. He kept knickknacks to a minimum but after seeing Susan’s loft he thought perhaps he needed to liven things up a little bit. He smiled, thinking he would ask for her help—yet another reason for her to spend more time with him.
After grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, Danny headed to the bathroom for a quick, hot shower. He’d remodeled the master bath last winter while the marina was slow, adding a vintage claw-foot tub and a huge walk-in shower stall. He looked over at the tub that he rarely used, picturing Susan taking a frothy bubble bath with her dark curls piled on top of her head, exposing the delicate nape of her neck and gentle slope of her shoulders. She’d be surrounded by flickering candles and slow, sultry music would be piped in through the speaker system he’d hooked up. Danny groaned, imagining a big sea sponge squeezed in her hand while she soaped one long leg extended out of the steamy water.
And then he imagined stripping down and joining her.
“Oh boy,” Danny said, thinking he might need a cold shower if his thoughts kept going down the same sexy path. Still, he made a mental note to invest in some scented candles, bubble bath salts, and fluffy towels … just in case. Tilting his head, he decided he needed to build a few shelves against the far wall to hold any lotions and potions she might want in order to have the best bathing experience ever. Ah, and hooks for warm, fluffy robes. Maybe a heated towel rack?
Danny undressed and turned the large round shower head onto a pelting massage. He lathered up his chest and then washed his hair, turning his face up to the hot spray. His thoughts drifted here and there while the woodsy-scented soap suds slithered from his body. When he finally shut the water off he realized that he’d lingered longer than he should have. He inhaled a steam-filled breath, thinking that he needed to hurry before Susan arrived. Grabbing a towel, he started to dry off, but then heard the chime of the doorbell followed by Rusty’s excited, we-have-a-visitor bark.
“Damn!” Wishing Rusty could answer the door, Danny hastily wrapped the towel around his waist and padded on bare feet through his bedroom as the doorbell rang again. In his haste he stubbed his big toe on the corner of the fieldstone fireplace and hopped in a circle of pain.
He recovered and tugged the front door open just in time to witness Susan turning away, carrying a big bulky box in front of her. She started gingerly descending the wide front porch steps, clearly struggling to see beyond the box. “Susan, wait!” Danny shouted. Rusty barked his disappointment as well and joined Danny in the doorway. He clutched his towel tighter. “Don’t leave!” he added, louder.
At the sound of Danny’s voice, Susan turned, slipping on the slick stone steps. With a shriek, she missed the last step and tossed the box into the air. The lid opened and when it slammed to the ground its colorful contents flipped upward and spilled onto the grass in all their Christmas glory. Susan shrieked again and tried to keep her balance, moving her feet like she was on ice skates for the first time in her life. She was surely going to wipe out on the flat fieldstone sidewalk any second.
“Susan! You’re on a patch of black ice. Stand still!”
“I’m trying to! Whoa!” With her arms flapping her feet did a lightning-fast Bruno Mars move.
Horrified, Danny rushed forward, releasing his grip on the bath towel in his effort to grab her. A blast of frigid air hit his damp, warm skin, making him shiver, but he barely noticed. When Susan slipped backwards Danny caught her beneath her armpits like it was part of the choreography.
“I’ve got you, baby, but hold still.” Danny wrapped his arms around Susan in an effort to keep her from hitting the deck, and he succeeded but only because he fell first, pulling her down on top of him.
Luckily, Danny landed to the left of the steps but prickly, icy grass scraped into his bare skin, making him curse in surprise. Something sharp poked his ass, probably rocks or a stick, and he realized he’d smacked the back of his head pretty damned hard. Dimly, he heard Rusty bark his concern.
“Danny?” Susan wiggled in his grip until she flopped over, landing on her side next to him.
“Oh my God, are you okay?” Danny asked but couldn’t hold back a gasp.
“I think I should be asking you that question. Good God, Danny … why are you … n-naked?”
“Isn’t it National Naked Day?” he asked, wondering if he was frozen to the spot.
“Oh, guess I didn’t get the memo.”
“I was in the shower,” he replied as if his answer made sense to why he was nude on his front lawn. Feeling ridiculous, he tried to scramble to his feet but his body refused to obey his urgent command and instead he floundered around like a fish out of water.
“Let me help you up.” Susan offered her hand but she slipped and landed right back on top of him.
Danny let out an ooof and tried to laugh, but his lack of breath caused him to wheeze.
“Oh my g-gosh. S-sorry!”
“It’s … oh … kay.” Danny decided it was high time to make this crazy situation into something good. “But I think you need to warm me up before I get hypothermia.”
Susan gasped. “Wh-what should I do?”
“Wrap your warm body around me and give me mouth to mouth resuscitation.”
“I can do that.” She dipped her head and captured his mouth in a sweet kiss that had Danny forgetting all about the prickly grass, the stick poking his ass, and the hard buttons of her coat pressing into his chest. All he felt was the soft warmth of her lips pressed to his. When she deepened the kiss, the touch of her tongue to his warmed him up more than a roaring fire. The frozen world around him ceased to exist and he wrapped his arms around her puffy coat and melted into the delicious heat of Susan Quincy.
Finally, she pulled back.
“What are you doing? I need more medical attention from your amazing mouth.”
Susan chuckled. “We need to g-get you inside.”
“Probably, or we might cause global warming. Your kiss carried some heat.”
She giggled. “Can you get up?”
“Oh …” Danny closed his eyes, realizing he was totally aroused, and nearly laughed at her comment. He was already quite … up. “Would you mind grabbing my towel? I lost it in my failed attempt to save you from falling.”
“Well, you certainly broke my fall,” she said. “I just hope I haven’t broken you.”
“Not a chance. I might have played my injuries up for your … warmth.”
Susan giggled harder. “I can’t believe you’re … naked,” she whispered as if someone would hear her.
“Don’t you dare tell this to anyone,” he said, only to have her laugh harder.
“Oh, I do think you’ve one-upped me with this one. The Christmas tree incident comes close but thankfully I wasn’t … you know.”
“Naked on the front lawn,” he supplied.
“Yeah.”
“So, I win the dubious prize?”
“Definitely. Pretty hard to beat me in the how-did-that-even-happen situation.” Susan nodded, still laughing. She tried to stand but fell back into a fit of giggles, leaving Danny to fetch the towel by reaching forward on his hands and knees. “Great, now I’m mooning my dog.” Once he was modestly covered, he stood up and offered one hand to help Susan to her feet.
“Holy crap, I’m cold without you on top of me,” he said as they hurried toward the porch.
“We’ll have to remedy that.”
“Now you’re talking.” He shot her a wicked grin. Quiet Susan could come up with some good comebacks. “You surprise me with the things you say sometimes. Have you always been that way?”
“I don’t always voice what I’m thinking. Sometimes that’s a good thing,” she said with a laugh.
Rusty sat back on his haunches and looked at Danny as if he’d los
t his marbles. His big tail thumped on the porch as he looked at Susan with adoration.
“I know, bud, I feel the same way.” Danny turned and gave Susan a quick peck on the cheek.
“Oh, you’re both so sweet.”
“But I’m sweeter,” Danny said. “Just sayin’.”
“Well, you did greet me nude.”
“I could greet you in the buff every time if you like.”
Susan laughed. “I just hope you don’t have too many bumps and bruises.”
“You can check me out from head to toe and back again,” he said and remembered his stubbed big toe. “I will likely need a lot more medical attention.”
“A medical massage, perhaps?”
“Definitely,” he said as he pushed open the door, making her giggle again. He decided that making Susan laugh was one of his favorite things to do on the planet.
“Yes!” The warmth of the cabin hit Danny like a sweet caress and he hobbled over to the fireplace, holding the towel securely in place. When he shivered, Susan stopped laughing.
“Oh Danny, are you really okay? Did I crush every bone in your body?” She unwrapped the scarf from her neck and took off her coat. “I’m so sorry,” she said, and he could hear real regret in her tone.
“This little escapade of mine wasn’t your fault. The limp is from stubbing my toe earlier.”
“Oh Danny …” Susan looked down at his feet with concern in her eyes. “I can sympathize. I run into things a lot. Part of my problem is that I prefer being barefooted to wearing shoes. And of course I’m always moving things around in my loft.” She shook her head. “It’s a recipe for disaster.”
“Well, you sure couldn’t have seen the black ice. I should have tossed some rock salt out there earlier,” he said, thinking she looked adorably sexy in a dark green V-neck sweater that molded to her sweet curves. Although it was devoid of any blinking lights, she still had a cute, sparkly little candy cane pin to celebrate the season. She wore skinny jeans tucked into black snow boots trimmed with white fur.
“I hope none of your Christmas decorations were broken,” he said.