She did not have time to recover from the jolt of awareness snaking through her body when she recoiled again. Emery had caught her hand, holding it firmly within his larger grasp, the calluses on his palms indicating he was no stranger to manual labor.
“We’ll start with the upstairs and work our way down.” Nodding, she followed him up a curving staircase with delicately carved newel posts.
“How’s your family?” she asked. She had to say something, anything to take her mind off the strength of the large hand cradling hers.
“They’re all doing well for themselves. Kirk is married and lives in D.C. with his wife and two sons. He’s now an assistant curator for the Smithsonian. Paul is a teacher and became a father for the first time this summer. His wife gave birth to twin girls.”
Rhianna smiled. “Were they identical?”
Emery nodded, smiling. “Yes. They’re beautiful.”
“Spoken like a proud uncle.”
His smile widened. “You’ve got that right.”
“What about Brielle?”
“She’s also married with a daughter and lives in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She’s an interior decorator. After I renovated the house she offered to decorate it. It’s a little fancy for my tastes, but I’m getting used to it.”
Rhianna followed Emery up another flight of stairs to the attic. “How is Debbie?” She held her breath as she waited for Emery’s response. He’d harbored a ten-year grudge against her because of Deborah.
“She’s great. She entered Penn State this fall and hopes to become a lawyer.”
“That’s wonderful news.”
“It is,” he agreed. “Once I dropped her off at college I was no longer a surrogate father, but an older brother and uncle.”
She gave him a sidelong glance. “What are you going to do now?”
He stopped on the top stair, staring down at her. “I plan to do all of the things I’ve put on hold for the past ten years.”
Rhianna wanted to ask him if his plans included marriage and fatherhood. Linda had given her an update on most of the kids they’d gone to school with, and the chatty woman was more than willing to reveal that Emery Sutherland was one of Shepherd’s most eligible bachelors.
All conversation ended when Rhianna stepped into a space the width and length of the thirty-five-hundred square-foot house. Tilting her head, she stared up at Palladian windows and skylights bringing the outdoors inside.
“This is where I spend most of my time,” Emery said close to her ear.
She shivered noticeably, as much from his moist breath feathering over her ear as from his closeness. “You did all of this?” Her voice was filled with awe.
A king-size platform bed was positioned under an eave, while a desk, drop leaf table, computer worktable, and bookcases lined an entire wall. A large-screen television resting on its own stand, a home theater, and stereo system were set up to the right of the wood-burning fireplace. It was a place to sleep, relax, and commune with the spectacular Hudson River Valley landscape.
“Yes. It took me nearly a year to put in a new floor, walls, windows, fireplace, and the bathroom.”
Rhianna eased her hand from Emery’s loose grip and walked over to a floor-to-ceiling window. From where she stood she could see for miles. Spotlights shimmered off the frozen surface of a large pond.
“Do the kids still skate on the pond?”
Emery closed the distance between him and Rhianna, his gaze caressing the soft curves of her body outlined in charcoal-gray wool. The twin set matched a pair of tailored slacks. There was something about Rhianna that was so alluring that he found it hard to keep his thoughts straight.
“Yes, they do.”
“I miss ice skating.”
“Do you want to go?”
“Go where?” she asked, not turning around.
“Skating?”
Rhianna closed her eyes, recalling how she’d waited every winter for the town officials to declare the pond safe enough for skating. She’d learned to ice skate before she entered the first grade, and it had quickly become her favorite winter sport.
“When?”
Emery smiled. “Whenever you want. Do you want to go now?”
Rhianna turned, her shoulder brushing Emery’s chest. Her expression mirrored disbelief. “You’re joking, aren’t you?”
His gaze lowered, as did his voice when he said, “I never joke, Rhia.”
She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. He’d sent her flowers and a note asking that she call him because he’d wanted to discuss something with her. If he’d wanted her to go out with him, then he just should’ve asked.
“I can’t…not tonight.”
Emery lifted an curving eyebrow. “When?”
“Tomorrow,” she said quickly.
A hint of a smile touched his mobile mouth. “Good.”
“Is it really that good, Emery?” Rhianna asked. “Couldn’t you have asked another woman to go skating with you?”
“I could’ve, but I asked you.”
“Why?”
His expression changed, sobering. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been on skates, and even longer since we’ve skated together.”
Rhianna berated herself for thinking Emery wanted to date her. What he wanted was to relive a time when their lives were predictable and carefree. Once she’d begun dating Errol she and the Sutherlands skated together every weekend.
“What time tomorrow?”
“I’ll come by Campy’s after closing.” Reaching out, he cupped her elbow, directed her over to a tapestry-covered love seat in front of the fireplace, sat and pulled her down beside him. “I asked you to come here tonight because I want to talk to you about Campy’s.”
Rhianna stared at him staring back at her. His eyes were serious as was his expression, and she wondered what Emery wanted with her parents’ restaurant, a business establishment into which they’d poured their life’s blood and savings.
CHAPTER 5
Emery stared at the smoldering embers in the fireplace instead of at the woman next to him. What he proposed to tell Rhianna had nothing to do with what he was feeling or was beginning to feel for her.
“Tell your father that I’m going to finish his construction project.”
Rhianna wanted to tell Emery that she wasn’t able to tell Reid anything. Not until he was conscious. “Why?”
Stretching out his long legs, Emery crossed his sock-covered feet at the ankles. “Reid came to me once he decided to renovate the back porch, asking my advice about specs and materials he’d need to accommodate an additional twenty customers. I’d offered to help him, but he turned me down. I know he wanted to complete it before Christmas, but with a broken arm we know that will never happen.”
Rhianna sat up straighter. “Why are you offering to do this?”
Turning his head, Emery met her steady gaze. “Because it’s the least I can do for your mother and father. After my folks died they fed my family until I hired a housekeeper. My mother always did the cooking, so we were all totally helpless in the kitchen. Reid and Anna had become my angels because I was overwhelmed with running my dad’s contracting business, making certain everyone got to school on time and that they did their homework.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t know.”
“You couldn’t know, because you’d left.”
Rhianna dropped her gaze. “I left when I should’ve stayed.”
Emery covered her hand with one of his. “You did what you had to do to save yourself.”
“I left, but I had to come back.”
He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze before releasing them. “Are you back to stay?”
She paused. There was only the sound of their breathing and an occasional hiss of falling embers behind the decorative fireplace screen. He’d asked her the same question her mother had posed to her. And the answer was the same for both.
“No. I’ll stay here until my father is able to return to work.�
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Rhianna wasn’t certain whether she’d ever be able to live in Shepherd again; and if she returned to the East Coast she wanted to move closer to New York City.
“Christmas is less than three weeks away. Do you think you’ll be able to have everything done by that time?”
Emery lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. I’ll take a look at it tomorrow morning.”
“When are you going to find the time?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you have your own construction projects?”
Emery lifted his eyebrows and smiled at her. “I sold the business four months ago.”
Her eyes widened. Sutherland and Sons General Contracting had been in business as long as Campy’s.
“But why, Emery?”
He held up his hands, fingers outstretched. “I grew up believing I’d use these hands as a veterinary surgeon, but that never happened because I had to run electrical wires, replace roofs, or install plumbing. I hated my father for making me work with him during school vacations when all I wanted was to hang out with friends. But in the end it all came in handy, because instead of waiting for a handout from social services I was able to support my family.”
Rhianna curbed the urge to touch him. “Was it hard, Emery?”
He gave her a sad smile. “It was in the beginning. My brothers and sisters acted out, the men who were used to taking orders from my dad challenged me, and I’m ashamed to admit that I lost my temper and fired all of them. Two days later I hired them back. I suppose it worked because it was the last time they challenged me.”
Reaching over she placed her hand on his forearm. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help you with Debbie.”
Emery stared at the small hand resting on his arm. “Maybe we all had to go through what we went through to get to where we are now.”
She blinked once. “You’re probably right.”
He covered her hand with his. “I know I’m right, Rhia, because you never would’ve come back if not for a family emergency.” The look in his eyes dared her to refute him. Much to his surprise she smiled and nodded.
“I’ll tell my mother that you’ll finish the expansion. I need you to give me an estimate for the materials and your labor.”
His hands curled into tights fists, causing the muscles to bunch up in his arms. He flung off her hand. “I’m not offering to help your father because I expect to be paid.”
“My father would never accept a handout.”
Emery sprang to his feet and glared at Rhianna. “It’s not a handout, Rhia. It’s apparent you’ve been away so long that you forgot people in small towns help one another in a crisis. It’s best that you don’t come back to Shepherd to live because you’d never fit in.”
Rhianna stood up, her eyes narrowing as fury held a chokehold on her throat, not permitting her to speak. “I’m leaving before I forget my manners and insult you in your home,” she said, once she regained her voice.
She turned and headed across the expansive space; strong fingers curled around her upper arm, stopping her retreat. Rhianna lost her balance. A small gasp escaped her as Emery held her upright.
Closing her eyes, she quickly forgot her anger as she melted against his stronger body. Why did she find herself fighting with him whenever they were alone? Was it because he was alive and Errol was dead, because she was attracted to him, or because she was still angry with Errol because he’d driven too fast and on occasion had drunk too much and he had been responsible for the accident that killed him and his parents?
“Please don’t leave, Rhia.”
“I’m sorry, Emery.”
They’d spoken in unison.
Emery turned her around to face him. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Please forgive me for opening my mouth before I engaged my brain.”
Rhianna successfully blinked back tears. “It’s all right, Emery. I’m sorry if I insulted you when I offered to pay you.”
A slow sensual smile parted his lips. “Apology accepted. I want this to be the last time we argue about minutiae.”
Peering up at him through her lashes, she smiled. “You’ve got yourself a deal. You did promise to give me a tour of the house.”
Reaching for her hand, Emery cradled it in the crook of his elbow. “As I said before, I hang out here most of the time when I’m not checking on the sheep.”
“Sheep?” He nodded. “You’re a shepherd?”
Emery threw back his head and laughed, the rumbling sound coming up from his chest. “No. I’m a sheep breeder.”
Her expression mirrored disbelief. “You’re raising sheep in Shepherd, New York.”
“What goes around comes around. After all that’s how Shepherd got its name.” There had been a time when the lush valley was dotted with countless sheep, goat, and dairy farms.
“What are you breeding them for?”
“Their wool. The ones I’m working with have much finer fleece than most North American breeds. It’s similar to the soft under hair of the Kashmir goat.”
“Are you saying their wool would be comparable to cashmere?”
“That’s what we’re hoping to achieve. And if successful, then we won’t have to rely on India, Iran, and Mongolia for their wool.”
Rhianna studied his face for a long moment. “So, instead of becoming a vet you’ve become a farmer.”
He angled his head. “Farmer, breeder—it’s all the same.”
“Do you find it rewarding?”
“I make it rewarding.”
Rhianna replayed his answer over and over in her head as she followed Emery in and out rooms that were renovated with recessed lighting, new floors, and windows. Baseboards and molding were scraped, sanded, and covered with varnish to bring out their natural wood grain.
Brielle had chosen furnishings in keeping with an early twentieth-century farmhouse. Side tables, armoires, lamps, chandeliers, sofas, and chairs were simple and elegant. The imported hand-knotted wool rugs covering the living and dining room floors were exquisite. Emery left her in the living room as he retreated to the rear of the house.
She stood in the living room in front of the fireplace. The mantel was crowded with family photographs. She studied a picture of Debbie at her high school graduation. Surrounded by her brothers, sister, and in-laws, she’d stared into the camera lens, smiled, and flashed a victory sign. Rhianna’s gaze shifted to the photos of newborns and toddlers. Another generation of Sutherlands confirmed they were still prolific.
Emery walked into the living room and saw Rhianna staring at his family’s photographs, wondering if she was looking for one of Errol. Once he’d begun the refurnishing of the house—room by room—the eight-year project had signaled a healing for him. He’d gathered all of the photographs with his brother and parents and sent them to Brielle. She kept the ones she wanted and distributed the others to Kirk, Paul, and Deborah. He didn’t need a photograph of Errol to remember what he looked like. All he had to do was look in a mirror.
“I’ll follow you home.”
She turned at the sound of the deep voice. Emery had put on a barn jacket over his sweatshirt. “That’s okay. I’ll get home all right.”
He closed the distance between them and held out his hand. “Let’s go.”
Rhianna wrinkled her nose at him. “I’ve haven’t been away so long that I don’t know how to find my way home.”
Emery grasped her fingers and dropped a kiss on her knuckles. “Now, that’s debatable.” He led her to the entryway where she retrieved her boots and coat.
They walked the short distance to their vehicles. Rhianna maneuvered out of the driveway, Emery following a short distance behind her in his truck. Minutes later, she pulled into the driveway alongside Campy’s.
Emery got out of his truck, but left the engine running. He walked Rhianna to a side door. “I’ll be over about six.”
She smiled up at him. “Thank you for everything.”
He reached down and crad
led her face between his palms. “There’s no reason to thank me.” Lowering his head, he brushed a light kiss over her mouth. “Good night.”
Rhianna was certain he could hear her heart pumping wildly in her chest. It was only a mere brushing of lips, but her mouth was on fire.
Her eyelids fluttered wildly. “Good night, Emery.” Her voice had dropped an octave from the rising desire she was helpless to control.
“Now, go inside before you catch a chill.”
There was an icy edge to his command, but Emery could not control the shiver of awareness arcing through his body. Kissing Rhianna had melted the frozen passion surrounding his heart—a passion he’d withheld from every woman since Tonya gave him back his ring.
Rhianna unlocked the door, then closed it behind her; she listened for the sound of Emery’s truck. She waited as the seconds ticked off. A frown formed between her eyes when she encountered silence.
She opened the door and went completely still. Emery hadn’t moved. The light over the door threw long and short shadows over his lean face. A rush of wanting settled in her middle and she sagged against the doorframe. Her instinctive response to him was swift and overwhelming.
“Go home, Emery,” she pleaded in a soft whisper.
He took a step, bringing him inches from her. “I can’t,” he countered. He couldn’t until he discovered what it was about Rhianna Campbell that rekindled feelings he thought long dead.
The pit of Rhianna’s stomach churned in anxiety. “What do I have to do to make you leave?”
Emery came closer without moving. He dipped his head until their breaths mingled. “Kiss me.”
Standing on tiptoe, she touched her lips to his, giving herself freely to the passion of his kiss.
Emery moved his mouth over Rhianna’s, devouring its softness and sweetness. He’d asked Rhianna to kiss him when he wanted more—much more. He wanted her in his bed—naked, flesh-to-flesh, and heart to heart and man to woman. Why her and not some other woman? Why the woman who was to have become his sister-in-law?
He forgot all of the whys as his mouth moved to the column of her neck and breathed a kiss there. “Thank you, Rhia. I can go home now.”
Shepherd Moon Page 4