“You’ll come, won’t you?” Eleanor asked.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I think I’ll even buy a new dress.”
Eleanor giggled. Then she grew serious as if she suddenly remembered her role. “May I pour tea?” Eleanor asked, playing the perfect hostess.
“But of course,” Torrie played along.
Eleanor poured. After she poured a cup and carefully placed it before Torrie, she leaned down and whispered, “I slept in my new room last night. It was sooooo wonderful.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Torrie put some sugar in her tea.
“I love it. You should have been there. Miss Velvet loves it, too. She’s very happy.”
Torrie noticed for the first time Eleanor’s doll sat on the fourth empty chair. “I’m glad.”
“Will you stay late when it’s time for me to go to bed and tuck me in?” Eleanor asked. “Miss Velvet would like that, too.”
“We’ll see.”
“Have a sandwich,” Will offered patiently, holding out the plate.
Torrie took a sandwich. Eleanor followed suit.
“Do you really have to go back in and work?” Eleanor asked. “It would be wonderful to stay out here all day. It’s such a warm, perfect day. We could climb trees or play tag. Papa says he’s going to put up a swing for me, too. He said I could even pick out what tree we’d hang it in. I like that tree over there. I know it’s not the same tree my swing used to be in, but I think it will work.”
“The same tree your swing used to be in?” Torrie asked.
“She means the tree where her swing was at our old house, don’t you dear, Eleanor?” Will put in quickly.
Eleanor looked as if she’d just been scolded. “Yes, that’s what I meant.”
“Well,” Torrie turned and looked at the tree where Eleanor had pointed moments before. “I think that tree would be perfect for a swing. And as much as I’d like to play hooky, my employer might not like that,” Torrie gave Will a grin.
He smiled back. “Besides, we all have work to do, Eleanor. You have your studies.”
“Couldn’t I just skip them for one day, Papa, especially if you put up the swing?”
“Well, I suppose you could delay them for a while, Darling. Then perhaps when the house is finished, we could all take a day off to celebrate. But for now, Miss Torrie has work to do.”
She put her head down in disappointment, and the sight of it tore at Torrie’s heart. “Maybe later, after the work is done, you can bring your books and show me what you’re studying,” Torrie offered. “If it’s all right with your father.”
Eleanor looked up again, her expression brighter. “I’d like that. Could we do that, Papa, oh, please say yes.”
“I don’t see why not. If Ms. Torrie is half as good at studies as she is with decorating my house, I’m sure you’ll learn a lot.”
“Thank you, Papa! I’d love that, Miss Torrie!”
“Me, too.” Torrie offered the girl a smile. “We could perhaps meet in the dining room, share a snack and study together. How does that sound?”
“Wonderful!” Eleanor was so excited she could hardly sit in her chair.
“Eat your lunch,” he instructed.
Eleanor smiled between bites.
A short time later, as Eleanor walked with Miss Velvet amongst the trees, Will convinced Torrie to stay a few minutes longer and enjoy the sunshine. “She seems painfully shy and impressionable.” Torrie noted.
“Things have been very hard for her,” was all of an explanation Will would give.
“I’m sure losing her mother has not been easy,” even to Torrie, it sounded like an understatement.
“You have no idea. But I have you to thank.” He met her gaze evenly and reached out to take her hand.
Torrie let him hold her hand. The world always felt right when his warmth touched her. “Me?”
“She’s talked more in the past day since meeting you than she has in a very long time.”
“Those comments I made about her going to school or you keeping her hidden away yesterday—I’m very sorry.”
“Don’t mention it. You couldn’t have known then how she was. But she likes you and she’s opened up since meeting you. If I had had any idea of the change in her, I would have introduced you before now. I really appreciate your studying with her. Even having the one-on-one with the tutor, she hasn’t done as well in her studies as she should.
“I’m glad to help.”
“She misses her mother, and there was no one else—”
“You don’t have to explain,” Torrie insisted, watching the little girl carry the doll around the trees.
“But I do. She and I were never very close. I missed a great deal of her growing up because I was working. Her mother spent a lot of time with her, and suddenly her mother was gone. And she blamed me for everything that happened, I think, so we could never bridge the gap. You’ve helped with that.”
Torrie slowly shook her head. She had no idea ‘what happened.’ And she wasn’t certain she wanted to know. “It wasn’t like it was hard to do. She’s a delightful child.”
“She is.”
They watched as Eleanor moved around the trees, kicking fallen leaves, pretending she and Miss Velvet were in the jungle. Eleanor chose that moment to look up at them and smile. She then moved the doll’s arm up and down making Miss Velvet wave. Torrie smiled and waved back. Then she slowly stood up. “I need to get back to work. I’d hate for my boss to think I was not doing my job! Or heaven forbid, he might dock me for taking a long lunch.”
Will grinned. “I doubt he’ll do that. Your boss has watched you work hard for the past few weeks, and he thinks you should take a break.”
“My boss knows I really can’t. Not now. Especially with being in the middle of so many things—the bedroom, the ballroom, the kitchen, the bathroom fixtures. At any minute, one little thing could go wrong and it would be like a domino effect. I can’t let that happen especially when my boss has a big holiday party planned. But I can’t thank you enough for this wonderful lunch. It was the best, and it was exactly what I needed.”
Slowly, she stood up, and he followed suit.
“You’re very welcome.” Absently, he took her hand and walked with her to the edge of the gazebo.
She would never get over the warmth he always filled her with each time he touched her. She could have stayed out here in the sun, holding his hand and watching his beautiful daughter play forever. But alas, work called.
Perhaps his words would ring true and after the work was through they could spend more time together. Torrie found suddenly she wanted that more than anything. “I really didn’t know this gazebo was here. Of course in a week or two when all the leaves are off the trees, I guess everyone will be able to see it from the house.” She looked around, feeling as if she’d somehow stepped into paradise and she hated to step off the gazebo and leave it.
“It is a nice hideaway, though, isn’t it?” he asked.
Torrie smiled. “Yes.”
“We’ll have to meet out here again before the weather turns too cold. Or I could figure out a way to put in some heat out here.”
“There are a few different ways to accomplish that.”
“Oh, like what?”
All he had to do was hold her hand, she thought. That seemed to keep her pretty warm. “There’s always a simple fire pit or a portable heater.”
“We’ll have to talk about one of those. Would it work with snow? Because I can’t wait to see this old structure covered with snow.”
She offered him a small smile. “It might be work.”
They were quiet for a long moment.
“Will I see you later?” she asked softly, hoping she didn’t sound too hopeful.
“I’ll be around. I may see you during your studies with Eleanor, if she will allow me.”
At the mention of Eleanor, they both looked out at the little girl still moving about the trees. Then, “Torrie?”
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She turned and looked at Will.
He quickly, yet tenderly placed his lips on hers when she turned to him. His touch sent a tingle to her stomach in an instant. And she thought, nope, won’t be needing any fire pit any time soon.
He let go of her hand, and Torrie stepped away, already feeling a cool loss without his hand in hers. Her knees were weak. Her chest was tight. Yet, her lips still tingled.
But then Eleanor ran to her and threw her arms around Torrie’s waist. The hug tugged at Torrie’s heart and warmed her like Will’s hand. It sent a flutter through her. And putting her arms around the little girl felt as natural as breathing. “I have to go back to work now; Eleanor, but I’ll see you later.”
“Do you have to?”
“Yes, I must.”
“Oh, all right…” Still, Eleanor hugged her tighter. “But you’ll still help me with my studies later, won’t you?”
“I will.”
“Papa said I can’t bother you while you’re working.”
Torrie couldn’t help but smile. “You would never be a bother, Eleanor.”
Eleanor looked up and smiled broadly. Then she squeezed Torrie tighter again. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“I’m glad you’re here, too. And I’m glad I’m here with you,” Torrie didn’t quite know how to respond to the comment. “I’ll see you later.”
Eleanor finally let her go. And it took all of Torrie’s will power to head back to the house and not stay out in the sun with Will and Eleanor playing hooky. The strange thing was, inside the house without Will and Eleanor close was colder than being outside in the November sun.
Thankfully, the rest of the day went smoother than the morning. The cabinets got installed. The third bedroom was painted, and Susan finished with wallpaper in the second bedroom. The floor of the ballroom would take more work. It was simply a big room and the boards needed cut precisely to fit so the diamond design matched at the walls correctly.
By the time the workmen finished and left, Torrie wished for nothing more than a hot bubble bath, a hotter cup of tea and a good book to read. The last thing she wanted was to sit down and study math, history and English.
But when Eleanor made her way into the ballroom, took Torrie’s hand, and said, “Papa said you need to finish for the day, and Alice has set out a snack for us in the dining room,” Torrie knew she could never refuse the little girl and never in a million years would she have simply snuck out.
Torrie got one part of her wish—Alice had a steaming pot of tea waiting. There was also a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies and Eleanor’s school books. After finishing two cookies that all but melted in Torrie’s mouth, Torrie was convinced that she no longer needed the bath or the good book.
“What are you smiling about?” Eleanor asked after they had just finished another math problem.
“Do you know what I learned when I was little?” Torrie asked.
“What?”
“I learned that warm cookies are good for you.”
Eleanor laughed.
“Seriously, though,” Torrie went on, “I’m also finding it funny and I’m very surprised at how easily this math comes back. It’s been years since I had to really do this stuff. I think the cookies help.”
Eleanor giggled a little girl laugh again, and Torrie couldn’t help but join in.
By the time Torrie and Eleanor had read Eleanor’s history lesson and Eleanor had completed a worksheet regarding commas, Torrie was full of cookies and warm tea, but tired and happy. “Your studies aren’t so hard,” she commented.
“That’s because I had you to help me, and you’re so smart.”
“So are you,” Torrie said. “You could have done all this easily without me.”
“But it wouldn’t have been as fun.”
“Doesn’t your father ever help you?”
The smile left the little girl’s face in an instant. “He’s very busy right now.”
“The house keeps him busy, but it won’t last forever.” Unfortunately that was what scared Torrie. She didn’t want this job to end. She wanted to stay in Hargrove House.
“It’s not just the house,” Eleanor said slowly.
Eleanor captured Torrie’s complete attention with the seriousness in her words.
“It’s the—” Eleanor whispered.
“It’s the what?” Torrie asked.
“Eleanor.” Will’s stern voice from the doorway stopped the girl’s next words.
Eleanor’s gaze snapped toward her father. “Yes, Papa?” The two words nearly trembled. She reminded Torrie of a cat caught with its paw in the birdcage.
“If you’re finished with your studies, please go upstairs and wash up for bed.”
The tension was suddenly so thick in the large room Torrie thought she could taste it on her tongue with the lingering flavor of chocolate. She could think of nothing to say as Eleanor closed her books and slid off the dining room chair. Then with her books in her arms, and without a word, she silently moved to the door. Whatever she’d been about to tell Torrie hadn’t been something Will wanted said, that was obvious. At the door, she stopped and turned back to Torrie. “Could you stay and tuck me in?” she asked tentatively.
“I could,” Torrie replied. “If it’s all right with your father.” The apprehension still hung in the air, and the last thing Torrie wanted to do was step on her boss’s toes or undermine him as a father in any way, even if she didn’t understand what just happened.
“Of course, it’s all right,” Will forced a smile as he spoke. Then he attempted to ease the moment by reaching out and patting Eleanor on the shoulder. “I’ll make sure Miss Torrie stays until you’ve washed up.”
Then Eleanor was gone. The sounds of her footsteps echoed back to them then faded as she obviously reached the stairs.
It was then and only then that Torrie took in Will’s appearance. Again, his shirt sleeves were rolled up. He had washed his hands, but there was a smudge with dirt at his elbow that he’d missed. It was obvious he’d been digging again, although the dining room was too far away from the cellar door for Torrie to hear it.
“May I—” She started to ask if she could ask him a question. And she had every intention of asking what the hell he was doing in the cellar. She could, after all, offer to hire work crews to help him. Then she planned to ask him what just happened and why tension was so thick suddenly she could have cut it with a knife. But she didn’t get the chance.
“You never had any supper,” he interrupted. Will met her gaze evenly. The look in his eyes was rather hard, almost a challenge, as if he knew what her questions would be and he didn’t like it. Torrie was certain too, that even if she’d asked either question, he would have refused her an answer.
She felt out of place, as if she should never have said anything. “The cookies were delicious and they were plenty, especially after the wonderful lunch we shared today.”
He stepped further into the room. In the light of the chandelier above the table, Torrie saw that dirt caked his shoes and his pants, too. “I don’t know how I can ever thank you.”
She let out a huffed laugh. “Thank me for what?”
“Do you really need to ask? For helping Eleanor with her studies, of course.”
“It was nothing, really. She’s very smart. She already knew everything we worked on together. I was just along for the ride.”
“It was more than that. I heard her laughter,” he said slowly. “It’s been a very long time since I’ve heard her laugh.”
Torrie was uncertain as to how to proceed. “Young girls can be very…”
“Very what?”
She shrugged, remembering her own awkward young years. “Sometimes, they just need a great deal of patience. Give her time. And listen to her. Don’t shut her out, even with all the things going on with this house.”
He nodded knowingly. “I’ll do my best. But I must confess, it’s not easy to be patient.”
Torrie offered him a
small smile. “Well, I’ll be around whenever you need me to, um,” she paused, “help her with her studies or with anything. It was hard for my parents to be patient with me, too.”
“I appreciate that.”
Torrie stood up. “I suppose I should go up and tuck her in. I need to get home and get some sleep, too. It’s been a very busy day.”
“That it has,” he agreed. And still, he didn’t move out of her way to let her leave. Instead he pulled her into his arms and kissed her as a man dying of thirst gulps a glass of water.
Torrie felt as if all the air left her lungs in a whoosh. Was this really his idea of slow? Her knees were suddenly weak and a tingle slithered through her insides. His kiss was more than just a touch to her lips. With his kiss, he managed to send her soaring to the clouds.
And no matter how many times she told herself she wanted ‘slow,’ she would never have refused this.
He tore his mouth from hers and kept his cheek pressed to hers as he held her close. The roughness of his cheek against hers was warm and left her needing more. His alluring earthy scent filled her senses. “Do you know how much I want you? Do you know how much I need you?” he whispered harshly.
Torrie could barely find her breath, much less speak. Yes, she had a pretty good idea how much since she felt the same need and want. It would have been so easy to stay with him, to kiss him again, to melt against him and become a part of him. So when she finally managed to reply, her words were little more than forced breaths. “You can’t want me…You can’t need me…” She felt as if the words choked her.
“Why not?” he asked after kissing her again.
“You’re my boss.”
“That’s not a good enough reason.” He slammed his lips against hers again, and this time took her higher than the clouds as his tongue danced with hers.
When Torrie finally managed to pull away, she could barely stand and had to lean against the dining room table. It was another few seconds before she could think coherently. He was right. His being her boss was not a good enough reason.
The reason was, she was scared. And she didn’t even know why.
“No,” she let out. “We can’t do this.”
“We can’t ignore our feelings, Victoria.”
Hargrove House: The Haunted Book One Page 9