by Lynn LaFleur
“What, you think I’m an idiot? I knew exactly what went on when Marcus brought you home from a date. It doesn’t take thirty minutes to say good night.” The sparkle of laughter filled her eyes. She squeezed Rayna’s hand again. “You were always an intelligent girl. I knew when you and Marcus went beyond kisses, y’all would be careful.”
“We didn’t … go beyond kisses until his first year in college.”
“And you were always careful, so I didn’t worry. Your parents—rest their souls—raised you with manners and morals, something a lot of young people don’t have these days. When you came to live with me after they died, you were already a well-mannered, courteous young lady.”
“I was only fourteen, hardly a lady.”
“You were already a young lady at fourteen,” she said with the don’t-argue-with-me tone that Rayna had learned years ago.
Leaning her head back against her pillow, Nana looked at the ceiling. “I remember how you would pick up a bug or spider on a piece of paper and take it outside because you couldn’t stand to kill it.” She rolled her head toward Rayna and smiled. “It didn’t surprise me at all when you told me you wanted to be a nurse.” Her smile faded. “There’s so much goodness in you, Rayna. I don’t understand why you broke up your marriage.”
“I told you why, Nana.”
Nana waved her free hand in the air as if to erase Rayna’s words. “I know what you told me, but it never made sense to me. A couple is supposed to lean on each other through hard times, not break up.”
“I couldn’t,” Rayna whispered around the lump in her throat.
“You didn’t want to. There’s a huge difference. You blamed Marcus for something that wasn’t his fault.”
Any minute, Rayna would burst into tears. To keep that from happening, she changed the subject. “How about if we talk about you? I’ll know after I see your house if you can move back into it while the repairs are being done. If not, we’ll talk about what to do. You may have to stay in one of the motels for a while.”
The shrewd look in her grandmother’s eyes proved she knew exactly what Rayna had done. Rayna expected Nana to continue talking about Marcus. She surprised Rayna by responding to her suggestion instead. “Well, that wouldn’t be so bad. I’d have housekeeping service every day.”
“You have that anyway with Mattie.”
“Yes, I do.” A soft smile touched Nana’s lips. “She’s such a sweet girl. If I can’t have you living with me, I’m glad to have Mattie.”
Rayna recognized the guilt trip her grandmother attempted to start. “Nana,” she said with a hint of sternness in her voice.
“Come home, Rayna. I have two extra bedrooms in my house, so there’s plenty of room for you. I’ll even give you the master bedroom and I’ll move into a smaller one. I don’t need all that room anyway.”
“Lanville was never my home.”
“Texas was. You were born here and this is where you belong.”
“And how am I supposed to make a living in Lanville?”
“You can give up that stressful supervisor’s job in San Francisco and go back to nursing. I’ll bet with your experience, you could get a job here in a second.”
Rayna took her grandmother’s hand in both of hers. “I know what you’re doing and it isn’t going to work. I’m not getting back together with Marcus.”
Nana’s eyes narrowed, her lips thinned in a scowl. “You always were stubborn.”
“I wonder where I got that?”
Nana sighed heavily. “Probably from me.”
Grinning, Rayna leaned over and kissed her grandmother’s cheek again. “I have a couple of things to do before I meet Marcus at your house, and I don’t want to tire you out. I’ll be back around five or so, okay?”
She nodded. “I wouldn’t mind a nap. Take your time. If you decide to have supper with Marcus, that would be okay.”
“Good-bye, Nana.”
One more kiss on her grandmother’s soft, wrinkled cheek and Rayna left the room. Once in the hallway, she leaned against the wall and cradled her nape in her hands. A headache marched through her temples and up into the top of her head. Her grandmother had mentioned her stressful job. That stress didn’t compare to what she experienced now being so close to her ex-husband.
A glance at her watch showed her she had over an hour before her appointment with Marcus. That gave her enough time to finish the things she needed to do for Nana before she headed for her grandmother’s house.
The black Coleman Construction pickup parked in front of Nana’s house proved Marcus had already arrived. Closing her eyes, Rayna took a couple of deep breaths. She could do this. She could get through this meeting with Marcus for Nana’s sake. Then she’d never have to see him again.
She tugged the strap of her purse over her shoulder and exited her car. The sight of Nana’s trampled flower beds almost made her cry. She knew how much her grandmother loved flowers. Nana wouldn’t be able to work in her flower beds for a while, not until she could get back to her normal routine.
The thought that she could extend her stay and help her grandmother get her house back to normal flittered through Rayna’s mind. She just as quickly told herself no. Staying in Lanville any longer might mean running into Marcus numerous times. She couldn’t handle that.
She heard a man’s voice as she walked through the front door. Not recognizing it, she moved toward it to the kitchen. A tall, broad-shouldered man with dark hair to his shoulders stood with his back to her, a cell phone at his ear.
“I want good men, Mom,” he said into the phone, “ones who are experienced in construction. I don’t mind training some, but we have a lot of work to do and I need men who know what they’re doing…. Yeah, in all the surrounding counties and the Star-Telegram… . Good idea. It wouldn’t hurt to hit the Dallas papers, too…. I have three more appointments, then I’ll be back there. Should be around six, six-thirty… . You’re the best. Bye.”
He pressed a button to end his call and turned around. A startled look crossed his face when he saw her. It quickly morphed into a smile. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Rayna knew she’d never met him, yet he looked familiar. She would remember a man so incredibly handsome. “Who are you and why are you in my grandmother’s house?”
His smile widened. “I’m Rye Coleman. My brothers and I own Coleman Construction. Marcus asked me to fill in for him.”
His mention of Marcus shook her memory to where she’d seen Rye Coleman. He and another man who greatly favored him had been at the hospital last night with Marcus. He’d told her his injury was no big deal, but maybe it was more serious than anyone originally surmised. A chill went down her spine at the thought of Marcus being hurt. “Is he okay?”
“Oh, yes, he’s fine. He told me something came up. He said he didn’t want to reschedule your appointment because he didn’t want Ms. Grace to have to wait for her house repairs. I got the house key from Mattie.” His voice softened. “He cares a great deal for your grandmother.”
“She cares about him, too.” Not sure what to say, she shifted the strap of her purse on her shoulder to stall a few moments. “So, what’s first?”
He picked up an aluminum forms holder with a clipboard on top from the kitchen counter. “I made a list of the repairs that will have to be done and the approximate cost. I’ll give you a more detailed listing for you to show your insurance agent, but this should be enough for you to get an idea of what needs to be done.”
Rayna looked around the room. She could clearly see the smoke and water damage, and the boarded-up hole in the roof, but hadn’t noticed anything amiss when she walked through the living room. “Is the damage mostly in here?”
Rye nodded. “Yes, but there’s also some damage in the hall and one of the bedrooms. I can walk you through the rooms and show you everything, if you’d like.”
“Yes, please.”
It didn’t take long for Rayna to realize Rye Coleman knew exactly what needed to be repaire
d in Nana’s house, how long it would take, and how much it would cost. He obviously had a lot of experience at his job. She didn’t hesitate to say yes when he asked her if she still wanted Coleman Construction to do the repairs on her grandmother’s house.
“Can Nana move back in here when she gets out of the hospital?”
Concern flashed through Rye’s eyes. “I wouldn’t recommend it until we get the smoke damage cleaned up and the hole in the roof repaired. There will be a lot of sawdust flying around. That wouldn’t be good for Ms. Grace to breathe.”
“I have a room at The Inn on Crystal Creek. She can stay with me.”
“How do you like your room?”
“It’s beautiful. The entire inn is magnificent.”
A pleased smile brightened his eyes. “Thank you. My brothers and I did the restoration for my wife. She’s the owner.”
“Alaina is your wife?”
Rye nodded.
“She’s lovely. And very nice.”
“I agree.” He tore off the top copy of the NCR form and handed it to Rayna. “Here’s your estimate. Marcus told me he offered to take care of some minor things for Ms. Grace, too, as a gift to her. If you’ll make a list of those, I’ll add them to the work order.”
“I know she wants more electrical outlets, but I’m not sure where. Other than that, I don’t know what she might need.”
“I’m putting this house at the top of our repair list. If you can check with your grandmother and let me know in the next day or two, that would be great. We’ll start the repairs Friday.”
“So soon? That’s wonderful.”
“We’ll move as fast as we can, but still do a good job. I promise you that.” He handed her a business card. “My cell number is the best way to reach me, or you can leave a message at the office.”
She looked at the white card with the bold black lettering. Definitely masculine. “I thought I’d be working directly with Marcus.”
The smile on Rye’s face slipped a bit. “I’m taking this job over for him, so you’ll contact me.”
“Is he avoiding me, Mr. Coleman?”
“Rye, please.” He rubbed his thick mustache with one finger. She could tell by his hesitation that he didn’t want to answer her question. “I think it would be best for everyone if you worked with me on the repairs.”
With the way she’d run from Marcus at lunch, Rayna couldn’t blame him for avoiding her. She nodded. “Thank you for your time, Mist … Rye.”
“You’re welcome. Don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions or need anything else.”
“I won’t.”
She walked with him to the front door. Once he opened it, he looked at her over his shoulder. “How long do you plan to be in Lanville?”
“Only until my grandmother is settled back in her house. You said the repairs would take a couple of weeks, right?”
“Two probably, three at the most. Coleman Construction will do most of the repairs, but we hire subcontractors for some of the work, so it depends on their schedules, too.”
Rayna hoped the work could be completed in two weeks. She didn’t want to stay in Lanville any longer. “Thank you again, Rye.”
He dipped his head in acknowledgement of her thanks. Her cell phone rang as she shut the door. The phone number of Nana’s insurance agent appeared in the window. Perfect timing. Rayna answered the call while she walked back to the kitchen to get the estimate she’d left on the table.
A slow stroll through Nana’s house made Rayna smile. She recognized many of the pictures and mementoes that had been in Nana’s old house where Rayna lived from age fourteen to eighteen, when she left to attend college. The extra-wide hallway contained bookshelves down the entire length. Books filled the shelves, along with knickknacks, framed photos, photo albums, and what Nana called her “special jars.” Whenever a special occasion happened in her life, she put something in a jar to help her remember it. A paper tag tied to the top contained the date and place in Nana’s handwriting that coincided with whatever she placed in the jar.
Rayna smiled when she saw the jar holding the five seashells she’d picked up on the Gulf Coast the first time Nana took her there. It had been only three weeks after Rayna’s parents were killed, a time when she didn’t think she’d ever smile again. Nana had made sure she not only smiled, but laughed out loud while the two of them walked the beach at Corpus Christi.
More jars held the blue ribbon Rayna had won at the Lanville County Fair for her oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, the tassel from her high school graduation mortar board, a copy of her first paycheck when she worked at Boot Scootin’ the summer before she left for college.
A small mesh bag filled with bird seed and tied with a pale blue ribbon from her wedding.
Rayna touched the tag on the top. She’d been so happy on that day, sure that she and Marcus would spend the rest of their lives together. That’s exactly what should have happened, what would have happened, if she hadn’t destroyed their relationship.
Her throat tightened, burned. She stared at that little mesh bag and thought of the vows she’d made on her wedding day, vows she had broken because it had been easier to leave her husband than face her pain.
The overwhelming need to see Marcus and apologize for hurting him couldn’t be denied. On trembling legs, she walked to her grandmother’s bedroom and located Nana’s address book in the small desk beneath the window. She found Marcus’s address at the top of the H section. She entered it into her cell phone and quickly got directions.
Ten minutes later, Rayna parked before an older house in the center of a large grouping of oak trees. The house badly needed a coat of paint. She couldn’t help but smile at that realization. Marcus made his living building new homes and repairing older ones, yet his own house needed some TLC.
The sun played peekaboo through the darkening clouds as she climbed the steps to the porch. The forecast called for rain by sunset. Rayna hoped the forecasters got it right. A shower might help cool the temperature down to a tolerable level.
She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. Long moments passed with no response. She assumed Marcus was home because she saw the Coleman Construction pickup in his driveway. She started to press the doorbell again when the door opened.
Marcus stood before her, wearing nothing but a pair of low-slung jeans. Water droplets clung to his shoulders and arms, wet hair framed his face. She’d obviously caught him in the shower.
“Rayna,” he said, surprise evident in his voice. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to …”
Her voice trailed off as her gaze slid across his chest to the tattoo over his left pec. Bold, dark letters in an old-fashioned font formed an arc over his heart.
DEREK
The name of their lost son.
Her body began to shake. Her throat tightened again, this time so she could barely breathe. She reached out slowly, touched the letters with trembling fingertips. Covering her lips with her other hand, she swallowed again and again to try and fight back tears. It didn’t work. Tears filled her eyes, flowed down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry, Marcus,” she whispered in a tortured voice. “I’m so sorry.”
7
Marcus reached out to grab Rayna when her knees buckled. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her over the threshold and kicked the door shut with his foot. She clung to his neck and cried—deep, hard sobs that shook her body and broke his heart.
“Shh, it’s okay. Don’t cry, Rayna.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said again. “I’m so, so sorry.”
Instead of her tears slowing, they flowed even faster. No matter how tightly he held her, he couldn’t keep her body from quivering.
“Rayna, stop crying. Please.”
“I c-c-can’t!”
Afraid she’d make herself sick, he thought about what he could do to help her. He used to be able to stop her tears when they were together. They weren’t together any longer, b
ut perhaps what he used to do would still work.
He fisted a handful of her hair, pulled her head from his shoulder, and covered her lips with his.
Her body jerked as if he’d shocked her. Then, with a soft moan, she relaxed against him. Her arms tightened around his neck, her mouth softened beneath his. What started out as a kiss to halt her crying soon turned into lust.
A jolt passed through his body. He didn’t understand how one kiss with his ex-wife could affect him so strongly, yet it did. Perhaps because it had been much too long since he’d held a woman against him, had her hands run over him in passion. His dick lengthened, thickened, in preparation to take her.
Something that couldn’t happen.
Marcus ended the kiss. He stared into hazel eyes that remained wet from Rayna’s tears. She stared right back at him, her lips parted, her breathing sounding harsh and labored.
He should release her. He should step back and not touch her again.
Apparently, she disagreed with what he should do. She grabbed the back of his head and urged him into another kiss.
Instinct, memories, hormones—whatever—took over for Marcus. The taste he remembered flowed past his lips and over his tongue. He tightened his arms around Rayna until their bodies touched in as many places as possible. Holding her ass with one hand, he urged her closer until her belly cushioned his cock.
When she wrapped one leg around his thigh and hunched her mound against him, Marcus lost all ability to think. Gripping her ass tighter, he backed her the few steps to the front door. He hooked her legs over his arms and lifted her until he could press his hard cock to the warm place between her thighs.
Rayna moaned again. She kissed him with passion, with hunger, her tongue swiping across his lips before venturing into his mouth. Marcus copied her actions, licking her lips, nipping at them, darting his tongue into her mouth to tangle with hers. The entire time they kissed, he pumped his fly into her pussy, creating friction against her clit.
Marcus moved his mouth to her jaw, her neck. He bit the pounding pulse in her throat. Rayna gripped his hair, holding him in place at her neck. She’d always loved a lot of attention to her neck and throat, attention Marcus had gladly given her. He sucked the tender flesh between his lips, bit again, soothed the bite with his tongue. The entire time he teased her throat, he ground his denim-covered cock against her clit.