by Lynn Patrick
“All right.” Heather gave Priscilla a little shrug before following Rick.
Was there something about Priscilla he didn’t like? she wondered. Then she thought about his keeping that footage of her to watch—was it simply that he preferred being with her? The idea made Heather’s pulse quicken. She had so little experience with men that she’d never learned to read them very well.
The place was crowded now, and the sampling table had a short line.
When they stopped, Rick said, “This seems like a nice little business. I hope your friend has great success with it.”
Heather nodded. “Me, too.” She tried another pitch. “Priscilla is such a nice woman. Smart. Ambitious. She and my sister, Kristen, went to high school together, which means she’s several years older than I am. You know, closer to your age.”
He sailed right past the prompt. “She must be pretty ambitious to open a small business in this economy.”
“I’m sure she would love to talk to you about it.”
“I’d rather talk to you.” His smile flooded her with warmth. “You know, so we can get to know each other better.”
“Of course.”
“Isn’t that why you invited me?”
Suddenly flustered, Heather looked beyond him and realized the sample table was clear. “Oh, it’s our turn now.”
Okay, no doubt about it. Rick came tonight because he wanted to get to know her better. He thought that’s why she’d invited him.
And then it hit her...
Oh, boy, had he thought she’d invited him out on a date?
If so...and he’d accepted...how was she supposed to feel about that?
When they stepped up to the cheese table, the lump in her stomach made her say, “I’ve changed my mind, but you go ahead and get whatever you want.” It was suddenly a little hard to breathe.
“Okay.” Rick picked a single wedge of cheese and a glass of wine and said, “Let’s mingle.”
Mingling meant standing. The place was packed. Seeing Gloria and Shara struggling through the crowd toward her, Heather was relieved. Maybe she could neutralize the situation until she could get her bearings. As soon as they reached her and Rick, she introduced the women.
“Rick works at Flanagan Manor where I’m doing my internship,” she told her friends, who were looking him over like he was eye candy. “And Gloria and Shara used to work for me at Sew Fine,” she told him as he slid a proprietary arm around her shoulders. She loved his touch but felt more than a little self-conscious.
And she could tell both Gloria and Shara noted the gesture and were nearly bursting to say something.
Before either of the women could speak, Heather cut in, “Sew Fine is, uh, my Aunt Margaret’s quilting shop. I managed it while I was going to school for a while. Now Kristen is in charge.” Realizing she hadn’t seen her sister this evening, she said, “Kristen is always on time. I wonder what’s keeping her.”
“Maybe she’s waiting on Alex,” Shara said.
“Alex doesn’t usually run late, either.”
“Maybe he has a case to solve,” Gloria said.
“Case?” Rick’s curious gaze locked onto Heather’s.
A little thrill she couldn’t deny shot through her. “My sister’s fiancé is the Sparrow Lake police chief.”
She tore her gaze away from him and noted Shara’s smirk.
“Looks like romance in your family is contagious. Kristen and Alex. Margaret and John.” Shara grinned. “And now you and—”
“Oh, look, Marcus is here,” Heather interrupted as Shara’s husband came through the door followed by even more people.
“Ah, he found a parking spot. Talk to you later. C’mon, Gloria.”
Gloria arched her eyebrows meaningfully at Heather before following.
The press of guests was becoming as uncomfortable as Heather’s growing uncertainty. Left alone with Rick again, she felt awkward. At least he’d removed his arm to help himself to more cheese.
Rick glanced around. “Wow, what a turnout.”
“Great, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, just too crowded. Think it’s okay to leave?”
Heather frowned. “You want to go already?” Not that she wouldn’t have enough company if he left. She knew at least half the people here.
“Well, there’s nowhere to sit, and you and I can hardly have a conversation with so many people making so much noise.”
Oh. He meant they should leave. Heather’s stomach did a little dance. “Seems like the whole town is turning out. Where did you want to go instead?”
Rick leaned in close, his breath feathering her ear, sending waves of warmth down to her toes. “I thought maybe we could take a walk or something. Go someplace where we could talk. But only if you’re okay with that.”
Was she? The way Heather’s pulse was ticking, she couldn’t deny it. “Sure. I don’t think anyone will miss us in this crowd.”
Maybe her sister. If Kristen ever made it to the opening.
As they zigzagged their way out of the shop, dodging customers, Heather was aware of the light touch of Rick’s hand in the middle of her back.
Once on the sidewalk, Rick asked, “Which way? Is there someplace we can sit outside?”
“Sure. Down by the lake. It’s just a bit more than a block from here.”
“Sounds perfect.”
The late spring evening was indeed perfect. The promise of summer was warming things up. In more than one way, Heather thought, grateful for the errant breeze that cooled off her cheeks. Rain had been predicted for this evening, but a glance up at the sky made her think it wouldn’t be any time soon.
“So what would you like to talk about?” Heather asked.
“You know a lot more about me than I do you,” Rick said, “so why don’t we start there? Tell me about yourself.”
“Wait a minute. I know you were in the army and moved around a lot and that now you work at the estate. And you know that I’m working on an internship to finish my degree, that I have two daughters and a temporary dog and that I used to manage my aunt’s quilting store. Sounds like you know more about me.”
Rick laughed. “You’re right. Okay, I’ll go first. What do you want to know?”
“What made you decide to follow in your dad’s footsteps?”
“I didn’t enlist just because Dad was an army man, but because it gave me the sense of belonging to something important—protecting this country.”
Heather swallowed hard. Practically the same thing Scott had said when he’d gone on his second tour of duty. A reminder of why she shouldn’t be out here with Rick.
“But with all the moving around because of your dad’s job, did you even know this country?”
“Of course I did. Though we lived in other areas of the world later, when I was a kid, Dad was mostly stationed stateside at different bases.”
“Did you like moving from place to place?”
“I did. I always got to see something new. To learn about another way of life. New customs.”
Did... “And now?”
“I don’t know,” Rick admitted. “I think I would like having a place I could call home. I’m trying out a different lifestyle. We’ll see how it goes.”
Which meant he could be around forever...or for hardly any time at all, Heather thought, which was a very distinct possibility that she needed to keep in mind. She told herself she didn’t need a romance in her life at the moment. She’d expected to be on her own until the twins got a little older, anyway.
“What if you get bored staying in one place?” she asked.
“It’s not the places that attract me.” He was looking directly at her when he said, “It’s the people. Up until now I had my men. We were a team. Good friends.”
Like a family of his own?
Whoa...she wasn’t ready to go there. She hadn’t even meant to be on a date tonight. Ironic that she’d thought she was trying to give Priscilla a shot at him. She reminded herself that Rick wasn’t the right man for her. Better to think of Rick as a good friend than someone with whom she could form a closer relationship.
They’d reached the lake, making her glad for a reason to change the conversation.
“This is one of the public access points,” she said, indicating the sloped pathway down to the water’s edge. “We can go down to the shoreline and walk around the lake, or we could find a place to sit.”
“Let’s find that place to sit. I think it’s a little late in the evening for walking around the lake. It’ll be dark soon.”
It was already dusk. The moon was glimmering in the distant sky, and a handful of streetlights made the area around them glow softly.
“We can sit on the grass closer to the water,” she said, “or we can walk a little farther and grab one of the benches along the path.”
“Your preference?”
“I’ll leave it to you.”
“Considering your choice of profession, I would guess grass would be your choice. And mine,” he quickly added. “Don’t worry, I haven’t been mowing around here.”
They laughed together, a good sound that lifted her mood. Heather couldn’t have too much laughter in her life.
“Hmm, you know me better than you thought.” She pointed to a flat grassy spot above the water line. “How about right over there?”
“Looks perfect.”
They sat a yard or so apart. Although there weren’t any boats with motors on the lake, a sailboat still skimmed the water. And in the distance, along the opposite shoreline, Heather spotted a couple of rowboats, too. Undoubtedly dedicated fishermen who might have been out there all day. The wind was picking up now, and another glance at the sky revealed dark rain clouds rolling in.
“You like the water,” he observed.
“Love it. My mother always said I was a water baby. She had to keep an eagle eye on me whenever we visited Aunt Margaret because I would head straight for the lake.”
“Then you must enjoy working at Flanagan Manor.”
“Being right on Lake Michigan is a big plus. But I would love the job even if it was inland. It’s taken me so long to get to the place where I can be paid for what I want to do. And now I can. It doesn’t get much better than that.”
“It is great that you can be paid for doing something you love.”
“What about you? Do you love what you do?”
Thoughtful for a moment, Rick finally said, “Being a handyman? It’s okay for an honest day’s pay. I’ve always liked working with my hands.”
“But you don’t love it.”
“Not exactly.”
An odd reply, as if the answer were more complicated than he let on. She studied his strong features for a moment. Darkness was descending, and his face was half in shadow, half illuminated by a nearby streetlight. It made him seem...mysterious. She could sense he was holding something back.
“What about the army?” she asked, her throat tightening. “Did you love that?”
“The work itself? Not always. It can be a tough life. Scary at times. I guess what I loved about it—other than the people—was that I felt like I was doing something not only necessary but important. I must have inherited some kind of protector gene from my father.”
“Protecting what you love is important.” Heather’s mood grew more serious. “But sometimes it can be devastating.”
“You lost someone...?”
“My husband. He felt it was his duty to keep his country and his family safe. Twice. In Iraq. He didn’t come back the second time.”
“I’m so sorry. When?”
“Three years ago.” She plucked at the grass next to her leg. “Sometimes it seems like yesterday.”
“So you’ve been raising two little girls, working and going to school at the same time.”
“Welcome to my life. The internship is the last of school for a while.”
“For a while?”
“I learned a lot about commercial landscaping and naturalizing areas. Lots of green thinking. I want to help make the world a better place for my kids. For everyone. That means I have to learn more. Someday I’ll go on to get a four-year degree.”
“Considering your circumstances, you’ve accomplished a lot in a short time.” Rick slid his hand over hers and squeezed. “You’re an impressive woman, Heather Clarke.”
And he was an impressive man. His support warmed her inside. As did the touch of his hand, which she squeezed in return.
“Everyone should do work they love, Rick.” Including him. She was certain he could do anything he wanted if he set his mind to it. “If you weren’t working as a handyman for Ben Phillips, what would you want to do? What would make you happy?”
He stared at her for a long moment, and she swore she saw longing in his eyes. “Maybe I’m doing what I want to do for now.”
Did he mean holding her hand, or his job at the estate? A little flustered, she pulled her hand from his and shifted positions so she was facing him more directly.
“There’s nothing wrong with being a handyman.” Though she couldn’t imagine he made enough money to have that place he wanted to call home. “And living on the estate gives you the opportunity to try out civilian life without having to commit yourself to anything permanent.”
“Right.”
He seemed as if he wanted to say more.
She asked, “So why does a handyman install security cameras?”
“I told you, it’s just part of my job.”
“Hmm, I was thinking it might be more than that.”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His words told her one thing, his expression another. There was something more going on at the estate than she knew. But Rick wasn’t talking. Even so, she was wondering now about those cameras he’d set up.
“I was just concerned about what might have been going on around the estate to require surveillance.”
“Nothing to worry about. Cora saw someone on the property at night, and one morning there was a broken window. Just a precaution.”
Rick was trying to make her believe it was nothing, but Heather’s antennae were up. She’d had plenty of experience sorting truth from fiction when dealing with the twins.
“Why would someone be casing the place? Or trying to break in?”
“Maybe it was vandalism. Kids...” he said, still not being direct.
She fished for more information. “Does the house have something that someone would want to steal?”
“Antiques, I guess.” He laughed. “Unless Red Flanagan actually left behind a treasure somewhere on the property. But that’s nothing but a rumor. The Feds cleaned the gangster out and sold his house.”
“But someone might believe in the treasure story. Or maybe you’re right about the antiques.” She suddenly made a connection. “Could an intruder have been responsible for what happened to our sod cutter?”
He shrugged. “If he stepped on it.”
Heather’s mind was racing. “And minor incidents like that are enough to require security cameras?”
The way he was looking at her, as if he remembered the recording that had so amused him, made Heather flush. And when Rick leaned forward, cupped her cheek and grinned at her, the warmth spread down to her toes. He looked like he wanted to kiss her.
Her eyes widened as he
dipped his head closer.
He really was going to kiss her...
She sat frozen, not knowing what to do.
His lips brushing softly across hers made her head go light. This wasn’t supposed to be a date, and here he was kissing her. And she wasn’t objecting.
When he pulled back, she stared at him in confusion. Before she could decide what to do if he made another move on her, Rick kissed her again.
This kiss was more deliberate, and her body felt light. In contrast, her heart sped up and she could feel her pulse along with other pleasurable sensations. Her lips were tingling sweetly when he pulled back and stared into her eyes. Her heart was thumping even harder when he suddenly started, backed off and stuck his hand in his pocket.
“Sorry.” He pulled out his phone and touched the screen several times. Then, frowning, he lunged upright. “I can’t believe it.”
She remained still, breathless.
“I’m so sorry. I have to get back to the estate.”
Something serious was going on. She couldn’t see the phone’s screen clearly, but they’d talked about how it was hooked up to the security cameras. “What’s the matter?”
“Oh, probably just raccoons again.” He sounded casual, but his stance was alert and his closed expression reminded her of why her crew had called him a spy.
“Raccoons?” Heather scrambled to her feet. “Where?”
“Near the boathouse.”
“Can you see them?”
He shook his head. “I’ll walk you back to the shop.”
“That’s all right. I’m safe here. If you have to go right away, I understand.”
His expression regretful, Rick nodded and jogged back to wherever he’d parked.
Heather didn’t immediately follow. She thought about his quick reaction to the alert. A few raccoons wandering onto the property wouldn’t prompt such concern. Again, she thought about the broken sod cutter and the intimation that an intruder could have damaged it. Would a handyman be responsible for doing something about an intruder? Surely he would just call the authorities. Something didn’t add up here.