Shae shielded her eyes with a hand to screen out the sun. “It’s so peaceful.” Her voice had gone soft. Almost reverential.
“Yeah, well, that was his idea. When I was kid staying here one summer, Gramps taught me how to drive a tractor over these rolling hills. At the top of a rise, he turned off the motor and pointed back toward town and asked if I heard the same sound he did. I thought he meant the sound of corn growing, thinking myself so smart for regurgitating what Gramps had told me about crop growth at that time of summer.”
“He chuckled at my response but shook his head. Told me it was the sound of civilization creeping toward us. I’d learned in school that the great civilizations of the world had given us religion, and printing, and, unable to come up with anything else, threw in tractors. Though he didn’t disagree, he pointed out how modern society had added things like fast food, car washes, and shopping malls to the list, which in turn had meant that one field after another had disappeared to become ticky-tacky buildings. I’d been so confident then that he could successfully fight off anything. It would be a few years before that bubble burst when Gramps succumbed to cancer.”
“He admitted he couldn’t fight encroaching gentrification, but if it had to happen, he wanted it to be his terms. He didn’t want the land ruined, the land that would someday be mine. Since he’d no longer be here to guard it against unscrupulous developers, he was going to trust me to carry out his dream. Make sure it was developed the right way, retaining as much of its pristine prairie grandeur as possible.”
Damn! Hadn’t meant to tell her so much.
Shae did a three-sixty taking in their surroundings. “Pristine prairie grandeur. That’s almost poetic.”
“Gramps wasn’t much of a poet. More a pragmatic environmentalist.”
“A pragmatic environmentalist.” She nodded, as if she knew exactly what he was talking about. “Why now? You probably could’ve held off doing anything with it yet for years.”
“My mom came home from the gallery late one night and surprised a burglar. Scared him off, but just the thought of her vulnerability in that part of town frightened the crap out of me. Her response was to install a security system, mine was to strong-arm her into moving.”
“But why out in the country? Seems like someone living out here would be pretty vulnerable, too.”
He nodded. “Exactly. That’s why I pulled out Gramps’ plan. Thought I could convince her if I put an emotional spin on the idea and gave her neighbors.”
“That’s terrible. And brilliant.”
The sun disappeared behind several dark, ominous clouds. In the distance, the slight rumble of thunder signaled a surprise late spring storm. Though she’d worn a windbreaker, Shae rubbed her arms to ward off the chill.
“Cold?”
She studied the clouds. “I’m not a big fan of storms.”
“Then let’s go back to town and flesh out your proposal so we can re-sign the contract tomorrow.”
Although they had barely explored any of the property, Shae didn’t disagree.
He gazed out over what used to be his grandfather’s fields one more time. Shae was right about the peaceful thing. Every time he visited, he felt like his dad and grandparents walked the fields with him. He could use their counsel right now.
What he could really use, after their near-kiss, was to get out of here. Didn’t dare admit to himself his feelings for her were changing, evolving into something else. Something he dared not consider because of where it might lead. Shae was one of those women who’d demand serious, if she ever got involved with a guy. He didn’t plan to get serious with any woman for some time to come. If ever.
But he also wanted to seal this deal while she was open to compromise. “When we get back, we’ll go to your office, if that’s okay.” He opened the door for her and moved around to his side of the car. “We should be able to knock out the revisions within a couple hours.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything. Nor did her face reveal whatever thoughts were running through her head. She kept looking out the window, up at the sky. He wasn’t sure if she was angry, frustrated, or frightened of him and his out-of-control libido.
He turned the key in the ignition. Instead of the steady purr he was expecting, though, it choked. What the… He tried again. Same response. Then a third time with no success. He sank back in his seat. He’d wait it out.
“Problem?” Shae asked.
“Won’t start.”
She frowned but didn’t comment further. Instead, she clasped her hands in her lap and stared out the window again.
Her self-control ground against his impatience. His hand itched to turn the key again, but he wanted to give it a full two minutes before trying. When he finally did, yet again, nothing happened.
Didn’t that just cut it? He wanted to throw something but settled for pounding his fists against the leather-clad steering wheel instead.
“How’s the gas gauge?”
“Filled it before I picked you up.”
“Battery?”
Couldn’t she leave the checklist to him? Her questions grated. “Battery should be fine.”
She bit her lip and resumed her vigil of the heavens.
Cars weren’t his thing, but he needed to do something. “Stay here. I’m going to check up front.” He fiddled around with the knob he thought released the hood. Nothing happened. He kept searching and finally found the pull under the dash. He gave a nervous laugh, like he’d known where it was all along and had just been killing time.
She returned a strained smile.
Under the hood, he pulled at This and twisted That and prayed the car would start, because he didn’t know what more he could do, other than call the rental agency to come get them. He tapped on Shae’s window, indicated she should lean over and try the ignition again. He returned to the front to see what happened. Nothing.
He emerged from under the hood and motioned for her to hold off doing anything while he messed around some more. This time he twisted That in the opposite direction and pushed in This. When she once more turned the key, the engine still didn’t turn over.
His mind and body had now officially gotten past almost-kissing his general contractor. But the remedy was a little too extreme for his liking. His back was cramped from bending, and he felt like chewing nails. But he wasn’t ready to concede defeat. So he examined one part of the engine at a time. Perhaps he’d spot something out of place. Turning green. Or smoking.
“What’s up?”
He jerked, smacked his head against the hood. For a split second, he nearly blacked out. A sharp pain shot through the area of impact. Ow, ow, ow, ow!
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to sneak up on you. I thought I could help.”
He eased out from under the hood, straightened to get the kinks from his back and rubbed his head. “Help? You’re batting a thousand against me so far.”
She winced. “Why don’t you go back to the car and let me tinker with this?”
“You? You know about sports cars?”
“Not exactly. But I do know pick-ups and my own SUV. Let’s see how closely the engines resemble each other.”
“Don’t bother. You’ll get your hands dirty. I’ll call the place where I rented this ton of junk.”
“Getting a little dirt on my hands is in my job description. Let me play around here a few minutes, and if I can’t figure it out by then, you can make your call.”
She was just being helpful. What could he say? His macho pride could take it. Yeah, right. But what was she going to do that he hadn’t already tried?
Two minutes later, she signaled him to turn the key again. Why not humor her? She actually thought she’d been helping. He gave it a twist, and to his surprised mortification, the engine kicked in and purred like the softest kitten.
When she appeared at his window, she beamed, two thumbs up, almost beside herself with glee.
Reluctantly, he turned one thumb up in congratulations. Beginner’s l
uck. Or else he’d primed it for her. That was it.
She must have sensed his lack of enthusiasm, because her smile died and she rounded the front of the car and got in her side again. “The end clamp on the battery terminal wasn’t secure enough to start the car, so I took the rubber ends off a few hairpins and stuck them between the clamp and the battery post. That’s all the car needed to start. I just wanted to get out of here before the storm breaks.”
The trip back to town was spent in silence. He wanted that contract. They’d been so close to making it happen. But now he wouldn’t be negotiating from a position of strength, thanks to his talent at car repair.
It wouldn’t be so bad if, when she wasn’t studying the sky, she’d cover her mouth with her hand, as if trying not to smirk.
Okay. He’d use this to his advantage. Should he ever again be tempted to pull her into his arms and plant another one on her, he’d remember that smirk. No self-respecting Lothario, horny or not, kissed a smirk.
Chapter Five
“Ned! What a nice surprise.” His mother unbent from her position over a shipping box and brushed away foam peanuts that clung to her apron. “I’m in the midst of unpacking.”
“Mike told me you stopped by to see me yesterday. Sorry I missed you.”
“I wanted to see how your voice is doing.”
He hadn’t seen his mother since he moved to Mike’s house the week before. Preliminary dig plans occupied his time instead. “I’m taking my meds and drinking gallons of water daily.”
“No singing?” she asked. Her voice sounded a little too intent.
“No, although sometimes I forget and hum a snatch of a tune only to remember I can’t go there yet.”
“Please, please don’t push your voice. It will come back in its own good time.” She picked up a canvas leaning against the crate. “My latest find. Darren Williams. Traditional subject matter this field of daisies, but a bold color palette. You’d expect lots of white and yellow. Instead, purple and green dominate.”
“Reminds me of Sullivan’s Creek.”
She held it in front of her. “It does, doesn’t it? I’ll have to ask her where this is located. She doesn’t live too far from here, so it’s probably somewhere in the state.”
“How about going out to dinner tonight?”
She replaced the canvas in the box, then touched his cheek. “Not necessary, dear. Besides, I’m going to be tied up here for a while cataloguing this shipment.” Her face brightened. “But here’s an idea. I’m doing a special showing of Darren’s works next month. For once you’ll be here to take it in. Will you come?”
She immediately turned away from him, as if she didn’t want him to know how important his attending was to her.
“Ah, Mom!” He didn’t feel the least bit guilty groaning. He hated these staged events, as much as he knew how important promotion was for his career.
“One night. A couple hours. I’d really like for you to be here, but…suit yourself.” Her tone hadn’t quite reached the begging stage, but it was certainly entreating.
He counted to ten mentally, hoped she’d mistake his silence for resolve. Firm resolve she couldn’t erode. Right. He was putty in her hands and they both knew it. “Okay. But just this once.”
She twisted back to him, beamed. “You won’t regret it. You might even enjoy yourself.”
“Don’t gloat.”
“Let’s talk about you, then.” She drew him across the room to a small sitting area. “Me?”
“Mike told me you’ve decided to keep Two Rivers as your general contractor. That’s the outfit being run by the young woman I met at your meeting, right?”
Ah, Mike. Not only had Mike taken an immediate dislike to Shae, he thought he detected sexual attraction, which just didn’t exist. No telling what Mike had told his mom.
“I liked her.”
That was news. His mother had refrained from talking about any of his women since she’d advised him his second fiancée, Julie, was marrying him for his money. He should have listened to his mother then, but he didn’t. He couldn’t believe his unassuming fiancée could be so grasping, so he’d accused his mother of interfering in his life. Then Julie’s sister drank a little too much champagne at a bridal shower and revealed how Julie planned to use her new husband’s money to start her own company. That had been that, as far as their marriage, any marriage for him, was concerned.
“Wow. You rarely comment on my lady friends.”
“She impressed me when she didn’t let you get away with the silly scheme you worked out with Mike. For him to lead the meeting while you sat back and watched her in action? Like one of those judges on those television competition shows.”
“Ms. Harriman does have a way of making me say things I hadn’t intended.”
His mother tilted her head and gave him one of those you’re-kidding-me looks he’d received almost every day when he was a teenager. “Also doing things you don’t intend? Like taking her to dinner or giving her a private tour of your grandfather’s property?”
Apparently she’d stayed long enough at Mike’s to get an earful. “All business. Plus, I got the deal I wanted. Pretty much.” Time to change the subject, before she pumped him for more details about Shae. Instead, he’d let her in on a few of his plans for the development. “I’m going to stick around town while the construction phase of the project gets underway.”
She nodded. “Yes, dear. I know. That’s why I thought you would be available for my showing next month.”
“I’m going to be the project manager.”
Her mouth puckered into something close to a frown. “Mike told me about that as well.” That was all she said, although it was obvious there was more on her mind.
“Go ahead. Say it, whatever you’re so valiantly holding back.”
“There are so many other activities you could involve yourself in during this period. Why take on something you know nothing about?”
“Granted, I don’t know a two-by-four from a-a…whatever. But I know what I want in this development, what Gramps would have wanted. I also know how to read a financial report and negotiate for myself in a business meeting.”
“Why not let Mike continue to do that for you, like you did at the meeting you held here?”
“Don’t you think I can do this, Mom?”
She returned a vigorous shake of her head. “You can accomplish anything to which you set your mind. But why invest so much of your time and energy in something someone else is better prepared to do while you could concentrate on your real work—your music?”
“Haven’t forgotten my music. I’m currently working on a couple movie scores. Which I need to get back to.” Before you begin to guess at my financial problems.
On his way to the front door, his mother called, “Ned? Invite Mike to the showing, too, will you? It’s the twenty-seventh. I’ll send you both engraved invitations.”
Engraved invitations, from his no-nonsense mother? What was his world coming to?
****
“Do we have a deal, Mr. Blalock?” Shae kept her voice even, firm, attempted to sound as authoritative as her dad to convince the elderly supplier she meant business.
The voice on the other end grumbled, “Deal, young woman? Deals are made between equals. Not by wimps in bulls’ clothing trying to force something down the throats of their business connections.”
Wimps in bulls’ clothing? New one. Had she really turned into the bitch he described in the two weeks since Ned Collier had decided to keep them as his general contractor? No. Not her. She was simply holding her own with the man with the reputation for bullying his clients. Her father had often complained about the man’s churlishness. Imagine. Tim Harriman offended by someone else’s truculent manner?
“We’ve been through the draft agreement twice, and I’ve checked off all the points with which you took issue. There’s nothing left to debate.”
“You’re certainly not your father. May growl like a poleca
t, but he at least listens to my concerns.”
Did Blalock not get it? Instead of finding someone who’d supply the weatherization barrier for less, she’d cut the man a break. Sure, he’d have to reduce his original bid, but he still had the job. “My father would have thrown the phone against the wall a half hour ago.”
“Ah, hell! I don’t wanna mess around with this any longer. I’ve already wasted more time talking with you than your business is worth.”
“Good! We’ll send the revised agreement over this afternoon.”
“Hmmph.” He hung up.
Shae set down her phone with a triumphant flourish and checked Blalock and Company off the list. Amazing. She’d convinced the old guy to shave three percent from his cost.
Not bad for a half hour’s work. Ned would be delirious. Not that she cared what he thought, other than it would be one more way to prove she could handle this job.
She ran her eyes down the list, assessed her morning’s accomplishments. Ten names. Seven contacted. All but one had been willing to lower their estimates when she told them she could do better with their competitors. Like Blalock, none of them had been particularly happy until she reminded them of the potential for future business, or lack thereof, from this project.
Shae stretched her back against the chair and attempted to relax the taut muscles.
She allowed herself a drawn-out sigh as she picked up the phone to tackle the next name, but her arm went limp, like a deflated tire. She’d hit the wall. But since her morning’s efforts had produced results, she could afford a break.
She reflected on the events of the past several days. Should be relieved the contract between Two Rivers and Ned Collier had been signed and the construction phase of the project was underway. Instead, regret plagued her mood. She touched her lips, memories of the kiss she’d deflected when he took her to Sullivan’s Creek continued to haunt her. What if she’d allowed it to happen? Would that have been so bad? Ned was such a well-known, powerful man. What would it have felt like to have his lips on hers, if only for a moment?
Tough Enough to Tango Page 5