by Janis Lane
“That’s right. We told Dave to pull up on that wild overhead smash of his. No good will come of it anyway,” Tony said with a sideways smirk at David.
Malcolm just smiled and said nothing.
Stunned, Cheryl floundered, trying to think of what to say to four hulking men all standing respectively in front of her and grinning. Finally, she managed to find a semi-gracious response.
“Thank you for your concern. It was only one lily. I barely heard you today. Are you all with the police department like David?”
They nodded.
“You look so familiar,” she said to Malcolm.
He dipped his head sheepishly. “I was with Dave the other night when we rescued you and your friend in the old garden. How is she, by the way?”
She answered his grin with one of her own. “Jane? She’s fine. Refuses to go with me back to retrieve my spade and basket however.”
“Probably not a bad idea. One of the boys can get them for you. Best if you and Jane, is it?, allow us to do it. Safer, you know.”
“I’m one of the crew assigned to look out for you, ma’am. I’ll be working for the landscaper. I’d appreciate it if you would pretend you don’t know me. It would help me do my job.” He relaxed with his hands clasped in front of him with David watching with a half-smile on his face.
Cheryl smiled back at Malcolm and nodded. In truth, she was floored to learn of the heavy involvement of the police department in this project. Did she feel safer or more afraid? The situation was far more serious than she’d first thought.
“Must say, if you don’t take offense, I really like what you are doing up there on that barren hill. The change is beautiful. Looks like it was always growing there.”
David then took over and hustled the men off the property. Cheryl sat waiting for him with the new information to digest.
When he returned, he trailed his fingers across her back, wrapping his hand around her neck, making chills run up and down her arms. Fumes of sweat and maleness wafted across the garden toward her mixing with the sweet fragrance of four o’clocks. David flopped down on the grass beside her chair, perspiration still rolling down his face. He reached for a bandana from his shorts’ pocket.
“Did we disturb you today? I still feel guilty about your plant. Did you get another? I’ll be happy to pay for it.” He grinned beguilingly up at her, his hair soaked and curling around his ears. She found herself smiling back. He could be so sweet when he wanted—sexy, sexy, sexy. If she was full of sweat and dirt with soaked clothes, even her mother wouldn’t come near her. It just wasn’t fair. Men could get away with anything.
“It’s okay, David. There isn’t another, but you didn’t kill it. Just stopped the bloom for this year. It’ll be back next year, but thanks for the thought.”
He frowned, looking down at his disreputable sneakers. “It was something really special to you, wasn’t it? I swear it really was an accident. Let me do something nice. Can I take you out to dinner? I know you probably have dates that do that, but you and I are old friends. We can go out occasionally, can’t we? Or I can cook for you. You won’t believe it, but I’m not a bad cook.” He patted her on the knee, and she braced for further liberties.
“I promise to behave, Cher. Don’t be mad at me for the other night. You were so cute I couldn’t help myself. We’ve known each other so long I thought . . . well, never mind what I thought. But listen, about that dinner? You aren’t going steady with anyone, are you?”
She ignored his rapid-fire questions wondering why he seemed nervous. What’s up? “Mom and Dad said to say hello to you and to tell you they were surprised that you decided to keep your grandmother’s house. I saw them the other night at dinner.”
“Did you? They are well? I can’t remember the last time I saw them. Was it? Yes, at the funeral. Good people, your folks. Not a bit like your grandmother, but very nice people.” He was quiet and looked thoughtful for a moment.
Cheryl allowed the peace of the garden to seep into her shoulders. It was nice sitting here with David when he wasn’t destroying her gardens. He seemed to be comfortable with her as well.
“Pretty,” he said, staring at the colorful flowers. “Cute little birds fluttering around those nice-smelling plants. What are they?” He wiped his forehead again.
“The flowers are called four o’clocks. I guess because they only open in the late evening. Hummingbirds love them. That tiny one over there isn’t really a bird. He’s a look-alike moth, called a Sphinx or a hawk moth. A fake, as it were. He only pretends to be a bird.” She lifted her eyebrows at him significantly.
“What? I’m really a cop, I swear. Just because I don’t wear a uniform . . . Oh, you’re kidding me.”
“Your friends seem very nice, David. Thank you for introducing them to me.”
“They’re good fellows. Give me a hard time, but I’d trust them to watch my back any time. They have families, well, two of them do. Malcolm is still holding out. Think he’s got a thing for Jane? I heard him perk up when he found out her name.”
“She hasn’t mentioned anything to me. She’s just getting over a bad relationship and may not be responsive to any overtures. I had almost forgotten about him being with you that night. He seems very nice.”
“Ah, well. I didn’t want you to think we are all ‘beasts’ like me.” He abruptly stood, towering over her. “I need a shower bad. You gonna have dinner with me? You choose where and when.” With his long stride, he rounded the opening in the hedge before she could make up her mind to answer him.
Did she want to have dinner with David? Perhaps that would be a good idea. If they could normalize the fact that they were neighbors and allow ordinary days to happen, then just maybe. It was her only hope. The man was invading her dreams and haunting her days.
David had gotten a job as a day laborer with the landscaper who was still working on the other side of the slope. She had been startled almost out of her hard hat when David looked straight up at her and winked. She knew her face had flushed, but Francine was already leaving. She was enthusiastically making shopping plans to buy the new patio furniture. Cheryl found herself in awe how that woman could navigate in those spike heels all through the mud and grass.
Cheryl blew out a breath. She couldn’t make up her mind whether having David that close was a good thing or not. For some reason she was pleased he could see her at her work. On the other hand, he was almost more distraction than she could handle. David Larkin in a tight T-shirt with his muscles bulging could distract a nun. And she was no nun.
There had been no visitors since she had started work on the Toledo property. What she was supposed to report on she had no idea. She had almost forgotten about it when she spotted David swinging a shovel like he was born to dig. He ducked his head and stayed out of sight when Sam Toledo stood at the top of the terrace surveying the ongoing work. So far, Cheryl had dealt only with Francine, and she sincerely hoped it would stay that way. If there were to be visitors, she assumed they would come next week to the big party.
Dinner? Okay, perhaps it would be fun. A new Mexican restaurant had opened up a couple of blocks over. They could walk. It was a nice night. She gathered her things together and went inside. Finish the column tomorrow evening. I swear I will.
She prowled through her dresser drawer looking for the blue blouse that matched her eyes. Just slacks and sandals. Nothing fancy. Gold bracelet. Tiny earrings. That’s okay, she thought. Why she was bothering with a dab of perfume behind her ears, she had no idea. She ran a comb through her curls and called it good enough. She had never fussed with her hair and she wasn’t about to start now. Her natural curls would stay fairly neat if she kept them trimmed. She grabbed the ringing phone deciding to tell David she was ready to go now.
Gordon. Damn. Damn and double damn. That man just wouldn’t take no for an
answer. She was still irritated about the other night when he sat down at the table at the club, greeting her parents with a kiss for her mother and a warm handshake for her dad. As if he was a member of the family. That engagement had ended over a year ago, but he just wouldn’t accept it. Her mother was still giving her a sorrowful look whenever the subject of the doctor came up. What mother didn’t want her daughter to marry a doctor? It was an embarrassing cliché.
Gordon Moore was known as dermatologist extraordinaire. He was good looking and very comfortably fixed with more patients than he could handle, with the annoying habit of thinking he could control Cheryl’s every thought and action. It wasn’t a fault that was apparent at the beginning of the relationship, but after she accepted the ring, it doubled in intensity.
He called her at work. He insisted she be available to him no matter what her plans. She certainly had no intentions of becoming merely an appendage to a man no matter how eligible he was rated. She ended the relationship as quickly as she could. Her parents were shocked. Gordon was wrong in thinking the break was temporary.
“No, I’m sorry, Gordon. I do have plans for dinner. Not to mention that I’ve worked hard all day and I’m very tired. No, I don’t want to make plans to see you any time soon. Listen, Gordon.” She peered out the window to check for David. “I have to go. You have a nice evening. Bye.” She clicked off just as David knocked on the back door. Wow. He knocked for a change. Almost civilized. Cheryl wondered what had changed his mind.
“You ready, sweetheart? What did you decide, sexy lady? That blouse is exactly the same color of your big blue eyes. You don’t need boosting into my tree house, do you?” He chuckled.
Understanding the reference, she laughed. “Mexican suit you? There’s a new one over on Elm. It’s a nice night. We could walk.”
He nodded and reached for her hand. She felt his large fingers wrapping around hers, engulfing them. A satisfied, safe feeling came over her, and she smiled up at him. Home. Why did she feel as if she had come home?
Silly Cheryl. You are falling under the spell of David Gillard Larkin once more. Tonight he’s the handsome Irishman with a mouth full of sweet blarney.
They swung their hands and bumped shoulders as they walked into the growing darkness. It was a pleasant night with little traffic and almost no wind. Most folks were at home eating dinner. As they crossed the street, David rested a hand in the middle of her back and reached across to hold her hand with his other one.
I’m protected from the absolute world, she thought. Nothing bad can ever happen to me when I am with this man. I’ve been in love with him for half my life and I sincerely hope he never finds out.
Her grandmother had said he had growing up to do before he would be ready for a real relationship. She never said how many years it would take, but sometimes Cheryl would get tantalizing glimpses of the man he could be.
Cheryl suppressed her feelings as best she could. Her heart was still in serious danger with this man until she could find a way to make him ordinary. He had broken her young teenage heart with a casual promise not kept, but eventually she had recovered. She had gotten over it, but never had she forgotten her disappointment.
David could destroy her if she wasn’t careful and it would only be her fault. She was certain she knew him—what he was and what he wasn’t.
David had many holes in her expectations for a perfect mate. He was never going to qualify as a candidate for a lifetime partner. Was she even in the market for a permanent relationship? His eye was ever roving for one thing. Yes, she knew he was fond of her, but fondness did not hold up to a full-time commitment.
Her grandmother had promised one day David Larkin would grow up and be less callused toward her feelings.
“Young men are pretty self-serving, Cheryl. They need a few years on them before they can see others.”
Cheryl was afraid David would never see her as anything other than the tagalong next-door neighbor she had once been. He would protect her and fight anyone who abused her like the football player on prom night, meanwhile stealing a kiss for himself without a thought to her feelings.
She sighed. What a dilemma.
Chapter 8
Okay, Cheryl admitted to herself, David Larkin was pretty special. She wasn’t the only female who felt that way, and she was acutely aware of it. She was supposed to be working on her account books, but the pouring rain outside was giving her the day off. There was just too much mud to continue the work, and she needed the precious time to catch up on other jobs and paperwork. Besides, they were way ahead of where she expected to be. Even Francine had commented on the efficiency of the workers. Did that have anything to do with David?
She scoffed. He couldn’t arrange all that.
Okay, she agreed he was a pretty special fellow, but he wasn’t the president or anything. Be hard to think otherwise after that fiasco at dinner the other night. She had chosen the restaurant so she couldn’t blame the waitress’s behavior on David.
She was all over him, hanging those plastic breasts practically on his nose. Cheryl thought at first it was an old girlfriend, or a current one, but no. David, to give him credit, didn’t encourage the pushy woman, but he grinned later, leaning over and winking at Cheryl. “Think she likes me?”
Cheryl had acerbically replied that it was probably the tip she liked. But to be honest, she knew better. Big David Larkin, Detective extraordinary at the Hubbard Police Department, was a virile, good-looking male, and the ladies knew it. Some merely cut their eyes as he walked by and some, like the waitress, were brazen enough to flirt right in front of his date. They all treated him like so much male eye candy. It was no wonder David had a difficult time settling down. It must be hard to choose just one piece when you’re let loose in a candy store.
Cheryl reminded herself to steel her resolve against ole Eye Candy Man himself. No way was she going to enter the competition, history between them or not. It was already difficult enough just going through with this ‘let’s be friends’ kick David seemed to be on.
Remember who he is, Cheryl. David Larkin, Hedge Hopper, Plant Killer, and breaker of little girl’s hearts. As fascinating as he was, Cheryl knew that eventually, if she allowed herself to be drawn into the vortex that was David, disaster would happen. It always had and Cheryl would historically be too intrigued to resist.
Not this doggone time. She looked up as the bell on the door tingled and the parrot shifted on her perch and squawked, “Come in, come in. The door is open.”
A young couple entered the shop. The attractive redheaded woman was wearing tailored linen pants and a silk shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Her young executive-type escort sported a blue blazer and charcoal slacks which shouted new money. Both owned expensive orthodontist smiles.
“Hi, welcome to Garden Design for You. I’m Cheryl. How can I help you?”
“Hi, I’m Betts. This is my husband, Jack Malone. We know your parents from the country club.”
They each smiled broadly as if they knew a secret and Cheryl didn’t.
“That’s nice.” Cheryl politely waited for more information. She had a bad feeling about this couple.
“We were chatting with your folks at the buffet the other night, and they thought you would be able to help us with a unique problem.”
Again flashed the dazzling smiles.
“I will certainly try my best. Could you give me a short outline of the task?” Cheryl almost hoped it was out of her league. She had enough on her hands right at the moment.
“Well.” Jack’s face flushed slightly. “I play a little golf, but my game isn’t all that great.” He tugged at his collar, and Betts patted him reassuringly. He grabbed her hand.
“Can you design a golf course with a few holes and a putting green for my backyard?” he asked all in a rush.
Back
came the grins. Cheryl decided the smiles were to cover uncertainly and embarrassments and she warmed a bit.
“Certainly I can design a golf course, but how big is your backyard? There are limitations to what I can accomplish without acreage, you know.”
A golf course! Now that was a new one for her. What on earth had her parents gotten her into this time? Bad enough her mother kept encouraging her ex-fiancé. Cheryl could enlighten her that marrying a doctor was only a cliché if she’d listen. She put aside her musings and concentrated on setting the couple at ease.
“We own about five acres but the sub division has restrictions on yard design. We wondered if you could disguise it as gardens. Perhaps with some casual screening from the street to give us a bit more privacy? It could be compact. Just a few holes and a putting green?”
“It would be a challenge, but wouldn’t it be easier for you to just go to a pro shop and arrange for lessons? This could run into some real money, you know.”
The young man flushed. “I can deduct it as a business expense and legitimately too. I entertain VIP clients and they insist on their privacy. Is this something you can do?”
Cheryl was quiet for a moment while the couple waited. It was a strange request. Might be best to consult her lawyer before she went much further. Actually, the situation intrigued her, and she thought she might enjoy the challenge. What was the worst thing that could happen? Her investigation would prove the unsuitability of the project, and she would need to withdraw? That didn’t sound so terrible.
“How about I come by to see your property before I commit? Would tomorrow be convenient?” The appointment was arranged, and the couple left with the parrot singing out that parting was such sweet . . . awkk.