As Allen assigned townspeople into two groups, Clay found himself working with Nicki carrying siding to the rear of the building while Allen, nail gun in hand, waited for them. A forth member manned the table saw, cutting the boards into the desired lengths.
Nicki donned a pair of leather gloves she pulled from the pocket of her sweater and lifted the first wooden board from the stack. Clay took the other end and followed her.
He said, “I’m surprised they aren’t using vinyl or steel siding.”
“We’re trying to re-create the original look of the building so we’re using wooden lap siding.”
“It may look like the hall Zeb Garrison and William Logan helped erected here in 1860, but it’s never going to be the same.”
“Some of it is. We were able to salvage the cornerstone from the foundation and some of the original wood flooring.”
“Was that really worth the effort?”
“Of course it was.” She scowled at him over her shoulder.
“Why?”
“Because it is.”
So much for logic. Stopping where Allen waited, Clay helped hold the siding in place while Allen nailed it with a rat-a-tat-tat of his air gun.
Looking from Clay to Nicki, Allen grinned. “Seeing the two of you together sure brings back some memories. Do you remember the trouble we got into after senior prom?”
Clay tipped his hat back. How could he forget it? The sound of hammering and saws faded as he thought back to the night he’d held Nicki close for the first time.
All through high school Nicki had been one of the “good” kids. To Clay, as the self appointed leader of the “wild bunch,” she had always seemed out of his league. A girl too good to be true. Funny, pretty, smart and talented, she shouldn’t have given a guy like him the time of day. But she had.
After his parents died at the beginning of his senior year, Nicki had been the one person who reached out and connected with him. She had been the one person who understood. Her own father, a respected and beloved local minister, had passed away from cancer two years before.
She seemed to know exactly how bereft Clay felt. From the first day she stopped beside his locker to express her condolences, their unlikely friendship took off.
He should have left it at that.
True to his careless nature, he soon thought he needed more from Nicki than friendship. She finally agreed to go out with him as his date the night of the senior prom. He’d never been more nervous in his life than when he’d stood at her front door with her mother looking daggers at him.
“I remember that night,” Clay said quietly.
From the blush racing up Nicki’s face, he figured she remembered that night, too.
They were memories Nicki didn’t want unearthed, but she could no more stop them than she could stop the wind that blew across the prairie. Clay holding her as they danced in the school gym festooned with balloons and streamers. That quiet walk along the banks of the moonlit river.
She could still feel the strength of his hand holding hers, the way their fingers fit perfectly together. They’d talked about everything and nothing as the glittering stars made their slow journey across the night sky.
Later, when they slipped into the secluded darkness of the gazebo, Clay had kissed her with wonderful tenderness. A tenderness that quickly bloomed into teenage passion.
Nicki pulled her mind from the past and let her gaze settle on Clay’s face. If she had given into him that night would he have stayed in High Plains? Would they have had a life together?
No! Don’t even go there.
She’d made the right decision all those years ago. She was proud of that fact. Given the chance, she would make the same choice again. Whatever reason Clay had for leaving, it had nothing to do with her.
When Allen finished securing the plank, Nicki dusted off her hands. “One down, a couple hundred more to go.”
Striding away, she could feel Clay’s eyes on her as she walked to the saw. He stopped close beside her as they waited for the boards to be cut. With a crew working on the remaining framing inside as well as the siding, the guy manning the saw was being kept busy. The screeching buzz of the blade made conversation almost impossible.
Grabbing the set of boards as soon as they were done, Nicki hoisted them under one arm determined to manage by herself. “I’ve got these. You get the next ones.”
Clay caught the end of the boards as she swung around. “No, you don’t. You’ll hurt yourself trying to carry something this heavy.”
“I can manage.”
“With my help.” Taking the weight a few feet back, he motioned with his free hand for her to start walking.
She had little choice but to do as he said. Once again, they held the opposite ends of the boards level while Allen nailed. As soon as her side was secured, she was off like a shot for another piece of lumber leaving no time to reminisce about high school.
She was halfway back with another board when Clay rounded the corner. He scowled at her, but she chose to ignore him. She felt him take the weight of the plank behind her. Only the fact that it required both of them to hold the siding in place while Allen made sure it was level and secure, kept her from leaving Clay to manage alone.
The two men exchanged knowing glances as Allen nailed Clay’s side first leaving her stuck holding up her end while Clay came to stand behind her.
“So,” he began. “How’s your mother?”
“Fine.” She didn’t have to talk to him. All she had to do was work beside him.
“She never liked me much.”
“My mother’s a very wise woman.”
Each pause in conversation was punctuated with the nail gun racket as Allen moved down the board making sure he secured it to a stud. Twice the air hammer misfired, and he started muttering under his breath.
Clay cleared his throat. “What’s your little girl’s name?”
“We call her Kasey.”
Allen finished nailing and Nicki took off, but Clay was ready for her this time. His long stride let him reach the lumber pile first.
“Where’s Kasey’s father?” he asked loudly.
“It’s a long story,” she shouted back. Shouting at him actually felt kind of good. It wasn’t a very Christian thought, but she couldn’t help it.
Picking up her end of the board, she marched toward the rear of the building jerking Clay along.
They met Allen coming around the corner. “This roll of nails is jamming. I’m gonna have to get another one. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
As Allen walked off leaving the two of them alone, Clay pushed his hat back with one finger. “Looks like I’ve got time to hear a long story.”
Nicki dropped her end of the board. “Are you sure you can stick around to hear the ending?”
He winced. “I’m not going anywhere tonight.”
Fisting her hands on her hips, she asked, “And what about tomorrow?”
She didn’t want to do this, but she couldn’t stop herself. She’d stored up too much anger and disappointment to pretend any longer.
He tossed his end of the board to the ground then spread his hands wide. “Nicki, I’ve already said I was sorry. I don’t know what else I can say.”
“You can start by telling me why my friend didn’t bother to call or to write in the last seven years. Hello! Have you heard of e-mail?”
“I wrote.” His voice was barely audible.
She raised a finger and shook it in front of his face. “One stupid line on a postcard is not writing.”
“Things got…complicated.”
Throwing both hands up, she said, “No kidding. Welcome to life. That doesn’t mean you ignore your family and your friends. Do you know how worried Maya was? How worried I was? I didn’t know for months what had happened to you.”
“Jesse knew.”
“And all he would say was that you decided to move on. No explanation, no nothing. What happened?”
“Jesse an
d I—had an argument.”
“You two had lots of arguments. What was so different about this one?”
“That’s not important, anymore. What’s important is that I’ve come back to tell you how sorry I am. To try and make things right. I acted like a jerk that night. I tried to push you into something you weren’t ready for.”
Crossing her arms, she tried to hold on to her anger but it began to fade. “Nothing happened. We were teenagers.”
“Like that’s an excuse. You were the best friend I ever had. You still are—bar none. You deserved better from me.”
She relented slightly. “I was your best friend? Really?”
“And still are. Well, except for this mule in Canada named Sadie, but she has such bad breath.”
Nicki pressed a hand to mouth to hold back a smile, but she couldn’t stop her giggle. How could he make her laugh when she was mad at him? “Clay Logan you’re incorrigible.”
“So I’ve been told.”
At that moment, Allen came back holding his nail gun aloft. “Got ’er fixed. Let’s get rolling. We’ve got a lot of boards to put up.”
Nicki bent to pick up her end of the siding. When she straightened, she found Clay leaning close. She breathed in his masculine, musky scent realizing once again just how much she had missed him.
“Am I forgiven?” he asked softly.
There was a time she would have forgiven him just about anything, but so much had changed. She had changed. “I’ll think about it,” she answered primly.
A sparkle glinted in the depths of his eyes. “That’ll do for now.”
Two hours of nonstop work later, they had laps within a few feet of the pitched roof when Allen said, “It’s getting too dark to continue. I say we call it a night.”
Climbing down from one of the step ladders they’d been using, Nicki rubbed her aching arms and nodded. As she walked ahead the two men, she heard Allen speak quietly to Clay behind her. “Can I have a word with you in private?”
“Sure.”
Nicki caught Clay’s eye. She said, “I’ll be inside.”
He nodded, and the two men faced each other in the growing dusk. She could just make out the somber set of Allen’s face.
Wondering what they had to discuss that was so serious, Nicki rounded the corner of the building intent on giving them the privacy they wanted. She had only taken two steps when the sleeve of her sweater caught on a nail head protruding from the side of the building.
As she attempted to unsnag herself, she heard Allen say, “I never got a chance to apologize for my behavior the night of the prom, Clay. I’d like to do it now.”
“My behavior was worse than yours.”
Unhooking herself from the nail, Nicki should have walked away, but something in the tone of Clay’s voice held her rooted to the spot.
“Nicki is a great gal,” Allen said sincerely. “I was way out of line in the things I said about her. You were right to knock some sense into me. You’ve got a wicked left jab, by the way.”
Clay and Allen had had a fight about her? Nicki frowned. When had that happened? What had prompted it?
“Did it get around?” Clay asked. “Did her reputation suffer?”
“A couple of the guys made some smart-mouthed comments, but I straightened them out.”
Her reputation? That set Nicki back on her heels. She knew teenage boys sometimes bragged about their conquests, but it never once occurred to her that Clay might talk about their passionate interlude.
What had been said? If he had embellished the event at her expense, she was going to give him a piece of her mind.
Did it really matter? she asked herself. The whole thing had taken place years ago. Yet, it was one more piece of the puzzle that she’d been missing.
Yes, she decided, it did matter. Marching forward, she rounded the building and almost collided with Clay walking toward her. She brushed aside the hand he put out to steady her. “I think you have a little more explaining to do, Clay Monroe Logan.”
Allen looked startled and guilty at the same time. “I thought you were inside?”
Clay didn’t look the least bit put out. “Eavesdroppers rarely hear well of themselves.”
She pushed her sleeves up above her elbows and clasped her arms. “My sweater got hooked on a nail and that’s the only reason I overheard you talking about me, but don’t change the subject.”
He quirked one brow. “You weren’t this bossy when we were in school.”
“She’s a teacher now,” Allen said by way of explanation.
“Ah.” Clay nodded in understanding.
“If you two were fighting about me, I deserve to know why.”
Allen sidled past her. “Clay, I’m gonna let you handle this one.”
When he was gone, she waited, glaring at Clay.
He grasped her elbow. “Take a walk with me.”
As Clay’s fingers wrapped around her slender arm, he was unprepared for the jolt that rocked him. The warmth and softness of her skin beneath his palm caused his heart to skip a beat before jumping into a rapid rhythm that stole his breath.
It felt a lot like jumping off a cliff.
“Okay.” Her voice was low and husky.
Releasing her, he curled his fingers into his palms. She took a step back and pulled her sleeves down.
Clay began walking toward the park away from the lights of the hall and the church, and she joined him. Side by side, they followed the sidewalk that once led to the gazebo at the park’s center.
Beyond the narrow grassy expanse of the park the river ambled past the town. A muddy ribbon of current dotted with eddies and swirls, it ran between deep, tree-lined banks except for where the path of the tornado transected it. The missing and broken cottonwoods gave mute testimony to the power of the storm that had run down the town, but the break allowed a clear glimpse of the water as it reflected the last rose and gold colors of the setting sun.
When they reached the bare patch of ground where the pavilion once stood, they stopped by mutual consent. Clay stared sadly at the empty octagonal space until Nicki spoke. “Of all the buildings the tornado destroyed in this town, I miss this old gazebo the most.”
“Me, too.”
“Did your fight with Allen the night of the prom have something to do with your quarrel with Jesse later?”
“You could say that.”
“Don’t be cryptic. You brought me here to explain, right? So explain.”
“You’re not making this easy.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve wondered why you left for so long.”
“Allen and a couple of his buddies saw us here that night.”
Nicki pressed her hands to her cheeks. “Here? They saw us here?”
“Yes.”
She spun around and walked a few paces away. Raking her fingers through her hair, she drew a long breath and blew it out slowly. “Oh, my. I will never be able to look Allen in the face again.”
Clay crossed the space between them and laid his hands on her shoulders. “Nothing happened. They saw two teenagers making out and blew the whole thing out of proportion.”
“Because I was a minister’s daughter.”
“And because I was the town bad boy.”
“Great. So when did your fight with Allen take place?”
“After I took you home I wasn’t ready to call it a night. I ran into Allen and a couple of friends at the pool hall. They made some remarks about you—I threw a few punches—the next thing I know I’m being hauled into the police station.”
“And the police wanted to know what the fight was about. How many people thought that you and I…?”
She suddenly stepped away from him and threw up her hands. “No. Don’t tell me.”
He had to fight the impulse to reach for her. “The police called Jesse. He and I had a discussion after he bailed me out and took me home. After that—”
“You decided I was better off without you. I know, I read th
e postcard but I certainly didn’t understand it until now.”
“I thought a lot of people would be better off without me.”
She stared at her feet. “So you made the decision for all of us.”
“A man’s pride is a tricky thing, Nicki. He can know that what he’s done is wrong, but that pride keeps him from seeing how to change it.”
Turning away from him, she stared toward the river, her shoulders hunched as if she were cold. He wanted to gather her close, offer her comfort, but he sensed she wouldn’t accept it. Not from him.
Finally, she said, “I’m sorry for any part I played in your estrangement from your family.”
“It never was your fault.”
Nodding slightly, she turned away, “We should get back. It’s past Kasey’s bedtime. She gets cranky when she’s tired.”
He didn’t want to go back. He wanted to repair their friendship, to undo the damage he’d done to her trust all those years ago. But like the gazebo she missed, he suspected there wasn’t much left to salvage of that friendship.
Clay fell into step beside her until they reached the hall. Maya was waiting inside with her two kids and Kasey. True to Nicki’s prediction, the baby was rubbing her eyes and fussing.
Layla was crouched in front of her stroller trying to get her to smile by offering her a small stuffed yellow duck. Kasey pushed her away and reached for Nicki instead.
Nicki picked her up and Kasey’s arms immediately encircled her mother’s neck. Nicki patted her back and crooned to her. “There, there, it’s okay. We’re going home now.”
Kasey quieted at once, then reached toward the toy Layla was offering. Clay, seeing the discrepancy in their arm lengths, transferred the duckling from one to the other. Kasey took the toy, laid her head on her mother’s shoulder and gave him a big heart-melting smile.
It seemed there was at least one female in the family he could charm. Too bad he couldn’t charm both of them.
With only a brief goodbye, aimed at everyone in general, Nicki left.
Suddenly, fatigue sapped Clay’s strength leaving him weary and feeling like he’d been dragged behind wild horses. It had been a long first day back in High Plains.
A Family for Thanksgiving (Love Inspired) Page 6