by Jill Sanders
CHAPTER FIVE
Over the next few weeks Aaron was busy with work at the office and construction on his house. He was working his ass off, and he hurt in places he shouldn’t. The cold nights had forced him to move his sleeping bag right in front of the large fireplace in the living room. The heating and air conditioner unit he had purchased would be installed after the air ducts were in place, but for now he was enjoying the fireplace.
He’d done all the plumbing himself. It had been an easy enough task, and he had even installed his new tank-less water heater making showers more enjoyable. Laying all the electric wires had been easy enough as well, and he couldn’t wait until he had lights other than the construction ones that ran off the generator he was using.
The window company had come and gone in two days, installing every window including the front door and large glass sliding doors off the dining room and one in the master bedroom.
He was really enjoying seeing the place come together. It had been years since he had worked this hard on something that he had wanted so bad. All his life, he had wanted to live in a “home”. High rise apartments and high-end hotels filled his young life, until boarding schools had taken over and his parents had pretty much disappeared in his life. Turning back to the task at hand, he noticed all the work that was still needed.
Drywall was going to be a bitch. It was taking all his strength and patience to hang every piece. He had just finished hanging his third piece, which had taken him almost an hour, when a he heard a car drive up.
Looking out his new front bay windows he saw Todd’s Jeep. Walking over he switched off the large generator and pulled down his dust mask. This was a good time to take a break; he walked over and opened the front door just as Todd went to ring the doorbell.
“It doesn’t work yet.” Aaron said leaning back against the door. “Matter of fact, nothing electric works yet.” Smiling they shook hands.
“Come on in,” Aaron said stepping back.
Todd stepped into a large room that had a large pile of drywall which sat in the middle of the floor; he turned and looked at Aaron.
“You sure have done a lot of work. Lacey mentioned what you were doing over here. I thought I would see if you needed a hand.”
Then he looked at Aaron’s clothes, he was covered from head to toe in white drywall powder.
“You aren’t trying to hang drywall by yourself are you?” Todd asked.
“I thought it would be easy, like hanging wallpaper. The bitch weights a ton, cracks and breaks if you don’t support it just right.” Aaron threw up his hands in frustration.
Shaking his head, Todd pulled out his cell phone and started to text someone saying, “We’ll see what we can do about that.”
Half an hour later, Iian walked in the door with his tools, a large container of sandwiches, and a case of beer.
As the three men got to work, Aaron admitted it helped to have more arms and backs helping. It only took three hours to finish hanging the living room and kitchen drywall.
The brothers left well after dark with a promise to be back first thing Saturday morning to help finish the rest of the place.
It felt weird to have neighbors who actually helped and cared. It didn’t hurt to have them bring over loads of food and beer every time they helped either.
It ended up taking the trio four full days to hang all the drywall. Walls appeared to make the place a little more closed in, but still the rooms were huge and airy. Why did it seem it had taken less time to demo the walls then to hang new ones?
The weather had taken a turn from cool to cold, fall was finally in full force, and winter was showing its head. The leaves had turned and fallen at what seemed an unnatural rate.
Lacey could always keep herself busy down at the restaurant. There was a few new night staff to train. Then, the financial books for the restaurant had been off by eighteen dollars and after spending days looking for the lost amount, she’d realized it had simply been her eyes reading two numbers backwards.
How could a man affect her so that she couldn’t even see numbers right?
Then to top the week off, she had been cornered in the grocery store last night by several of the younger church women. She hadn’t even seen it coming. How could she have not seen it coming?
She was enjoying the rain and windy nights at home when she didn’t have to work. Even though the place wasn’t empty, she couldn’t help feel lonely. Still, she had Bernard to keep her company.
It had been a few weeks since she’d last been over to Aaron’s place.
Once, at the mart she had seen him, but she’d quickly ducked into the back room and waited him out. She knew it was small of her and to be honest she couldn’t believe she’d hidden from him like that. She just couldn’t help it; she needed more time to think about everything.
She couldn’t get the man out of her mind and to be honest she didn’t know whether she wanted him out.
There was a storm brewing outside, one that almost matched his mood inside.
He’d had enough of the games and didn’t enjoy the little cat and mouse game any longer. It was time he went on the hunt. Taking his coat from the new coat rack that sat by his newly sanded and stained front door, he grabbed his keys and decided to end the game tonight.
He’d seen her ducking in the back room of the mart a few days ago. He’d even seen her quick exit from the restaurant the other night. It appeared she was avoiding him, but that would end tonight.
The way he figured it, if he got over to her place and she wasn’t there, he would just go down to the restaurant and find her. She was bound to be somewhere; he was determined to see her tonight.
He’d never seen the Jordan’s house but knew their place was at the end of the road. After a few minutes of bumping down the dirt road he came to the clearing where the house sat. It was larger than he’d imagined. He’d seen manors like this in England when he had traveled the countryside during his college years.
He could just imagine the large stone two story manor stood there waiting for him to slay the dragon so he could cart off the fair Lacey from her room in the high tower.
He saw lights coming from the large windows and turning into the circular drive as he saw a shadow cross one of the windows near the front door. Pulling up behind Lacey’s car, he turned off the engine and dashed in the rain towards the house.
Lacey always loved the weeks before Halloween she thought of it as the best season for movies. For weeks before the scary night she would hang around the house and watch, what she deemed, some of the best scary movies.
Zombies, vampires, and werewolves were on almost every channel and she tried to watch them all. She’d watch while bathing, dressing, eating, and especially loved watching them while cooking, like she was doing now.
She had the small flat screen on the far kitchen wall playing the old black and white classic Dracula. She loved the music, the lack of color, the overly dramatic actors, and the suspense.
She was alone in the big house tonight making the mood even better. Iian was working the late shift which left her alone to watch her favorite movies. She’d already watched two other classics when the urge to cook had called her to the kitchen. The cooking urge was something Lacey knew never to ignore.
Feeling totally inspired she cranked up the sound on the TV and went to town putting together spicy turkey meatloaf, baby potatoes with onions, and a side of green peppers. She was just chopping up a tomato and carrots for the salad when she heard a sound which caused her to jump while screaming louder than the heroine in the movie.
Standing on the covered front porch, he was about to knock when Bernard raced up to him and shook off the rain then sat at his feet. After a few pets and a quick belly rub, the dog walked off towards the side of the house. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at Aaron, then he nodded at Aaron, as if to say “this way.”
Following the dogs’ lead, Aaron took the small stone path around to the side of the house, wh
ere he could see the lights on in the kitchen. The windows were large and the curtains were wide opened so he could see the entire kitchen and the TV set.
He was reminded that she enjoyed wearing brighter colors as tonight’s sweater was a bright green and yellow. It hung low over her shoulders and she had a pair of dark gray leggings underneath. Her socks had a glowing green ghost with bright yellow eyes.
He could also see that she was totally immersed in the old, what appeared to be Dracula movie. She stood leaning on the counter, her eyes glued to the set. So he did the only sensible thing he could think of… he knocked on the door loudly.
It took Lacey several heartbeats to recover from the shock of seeing Aaron through the back glass door. Walking over she yanked it open.
“Good evening.” he said in a voice that mimicked the blood sucker on her television set.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? You scare the hell out of me!” she said smacking him on the shoulder. Bernard sneaked in the open door between the pair.
He reached up rubbed his shoulder pretending to be hurt. “Turnabout is fair game. Is this how you great your visitors?”
She glared back at him.
“Oh come on Lacey, I’ve missed seeing you around. You’ve been keeping yourself scarce.” he lifted his eyebrows and smiled.
When she didn’t respond, he piped in. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” His Transylvania accent was terrible so she continued to glare.
“You don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve had a good meal and whatever you’re cooking smells so good. Plus, remember, over there in that empty house, I have no furniture, no kitchen, no TV…” he dropped the smile and tried for a pathetic puppy look. Hey, he figured if it worked for Bernard, who was now comfortably curled up on a dog bed in the corner, it might just work for him.
Remembering his empty house, she caved. She may have been avoiding him for the last couple weeks, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t worried over the fact he was still living in an unfinished house. She stepped back so he could walk in and instead it allowed him the opportunity to pull her into his arm for a kiss that was soft and sweet. He could taste her, she smelled like spring.
“If you don’t let go of me, my potatoes are going to burn.” He released her and she rushed over to the stove. “You might as well come in and stay, I’ve made enough.”
“Thanks.” he removed his wet jacket. She saw he wore a light gray t-shirt that stretched across his shoulders. He quickly walked over to her and kissed her again. This kiss was fast and potent.
“That’s what I’ve been missing.” At her frustrated look he walked past her and sat at the table.
As she checked on her potatoes she wondered why he looked so good in an old pair of faded jeans and a t-shirt.
They ate in the living room sitting at the coffee table, so they could watch an old werewolf movie comfortably.
After eating Aaron tried to pay attention to the movie, he really did, but she smelled intoxicating. It was something flowery and soft. She sat next to him on the large sofa with her legs tucked up and her eyes focused on the screen. He would steal looks at her from the corner of his eyes and as far as he could tell, she was engrossed in the black and white movie. He noticed she didn’t even flinch at the scary parts.
How was he supposed to pay attention to an old black and white movie when her profile looked so interesting?
Her hair hung over her forehead, and her small nose had a little upturn at the tip. Her cheeks, he remembered, were soft. Her lips had the look of a cute pout. He was thinking of the dip in the middle of her chin when he realized he could look at her all night.
Making it as smooth as he could he swung his arm over the back of the couch and moved closer until he successfully pulled her into the crook of his shoulder. He felt her tense a little, but then she released her breath and settled in. He smiled to himself and pulled her closer. Leaning his head he started playing his tongue across her earlobe. He heard her breath catch, heard her moan, and then he lost control.
Lacey felt his hot breath on her neck and closed her eyes not realizing she let out a small moan. The next thing she knew he was kissing her, making her forget the movie. His hands slowly and lightly roamed over her body, creating little goose bumps wherever they touched. She felt like she was floating then she realized he had repositioned them so his back was now flat on the couch. He was pulling her on top of him.
Her arms reached around and pulled him closer as he pillaged her mouth. He tasted of dinner and wine, somehow the mixture was intoxicating. Running her hands over his large shoulders she thought she felt him shiver. Was he affected by their kisses as she was? She started to explore his arms and then moved her hands around to his back.
He felt lost. He was sure his whole body was shaking while her hands roamed over his torso. Holding himself in check he reached behind her and pulled her closer. He started to run his hands slowly under her sweater then freed her undershirt loose from her jeans. Reaching underneath to her skin he heard her breath catch, but when his fingers explored the soft skin on her lower back, she released another low moan and pushed herself closer. She was so small and soft; he realized had to have more.
He felt lost. He was sure his whole body was shaking while her hands roamed over his torso. Holding himself in check he reached behind her and pulled her closer. He started to run his hands slowly under her sweater then freed her undershirt loose from her jeans. Reaching underneath to her skin he heard her breath catch, but when his fingers explored the soft skin on her lower back, she released another low moan and pushed herself closer. She was so small and soft; he realized had to have more.
Covering her with his mouth, his hands were roaming lower and lower…
Just then the dog let out a quick bark and darted towards the front door. That’s when they both heard a car drive up.
Lacey quickly sat up and proceeded to fix her sweater. Aaron sat up just as Iian walked in the front door.
Iian was in a foul mood. Not only had the new chef not worked out tonight, but two of his kitchen staff had the flu which left him three hands short in the kitchen. He hated interviewing for new chefs, not only was the process harder, due to his lack of hearing, but he was sure he had exhausted the local pool for talented chefs as well as with that of the neighboring towns.
When he noticed Aaron’s car in front of house, he smiled for the first time that day. Giving his sister grief about Aaron was at least something to look forward to. It’s been months since Iian had dated and he only thought it fair that Lacey enjoy some of his frustration when it came to relationships. His sister, who had always seemed in control of every aspect of her life, seemed nothing but frustrated and dazed around the doctor.
Smiling a little he opened the door just as the pair jumped apart on the couch. This made him smile even more, what a great ending to a terrible day. This was going to be fun.
CHAPTER SIX
In the next few days it seemed everywhere Lacey went, Aaron was there.
When she was at the grocery mart getting some cinnamon for her homemade rolls, he had magically materialized behind her. Then, he had continued to walk with her around the small store as she collected her items, causing her to be frustrated. Her cheeks had heated to a toasty red by the time they reached the checkout. She had been so frustrated; she had forgotten half of the items on her list.
Now, as she stood in her kitchen and added more flour to her cinnamon rolls, she thought of how the whole town was probably talking about her and Aaron. She remembered how Mary, from church, had discreetly followed the pair around the store, at a safe distance of course, listening to them.
Aaron didn’t help matters, it seemed he was always touching her: either her elbow while they were walking; holding her hand; or even touching the back of her neck below her hair line. Remembering, she stopped stirring her dough and reached up with a flour covered hand to feel the spot on her neck.
Taking a deep breath now
, she continued to stir the dough mixture with more vigor.
She had spent years building up her spitfire reputation around town. She was sure this was going to hurt it.
Dumping the dough out of the bowl she started to knead it and thought about how Aaron had helped her take her groceries out to her car and kissed her. Kissed her! Right in front of the large store windows. In front of everyone!
Lacey swore she had heard a hush fall over the town in that very moment and that the moments following were filled with a buzz that flew outwards as the event was retold to everyone within a hundred mile radius.
Feeling her checks burn she looked down and realized she was holding the dough in her hands as if her small fingers were wrapped around Aaron’s neck. Plopping it back on the counter she proceeded to beat the heck out of it.