Daydream Retriever (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 10)

by Susan C. Daffron

  She straightened her shoulders and walked back out of the aisle of books and up to the table. “Hi, Pete. Sorry it took me so long.”

  He looked up at her, gathered up his crutches, and pointed at a bag of books. “Could you get those?”

  Jan patted Pete on the shoulder. “It was great meeting you. When you’re done with those, I’ll show you the rest of that series. I know you’ll like it.”

  Pete’s brilliant blue eyes sparkled with mirth. “Oh, I’ll definitely be back. You can count on it.”

  Lisa clutched her bag of books and said to Pete, “I’ll take these out to the truck and drive around back again.”

  He nodded and Jan walked toward the back of the library to open the doors for him. Lisa tried to shove down the feeling of annoyance that seemed to bubble up out of nowhere. She had nothing to be annoyed about. The librarian was just being nice and Pete was certainly well read, so they undoubtedly had a lot to talk about.

  Lisa shoved open the doors to go back outside, and the blast of cold air that hit her face was refreshing. Harley stared up at her as she descended the steps back to the truck. She got in and turned to Harley. “I think your favorite person found a new girlfriend who likes reading as much as he does.”

  Harley didn’t seem to have any input on the topic, so Lisa started up the truck and drove around to the back. Pete was leaning on the back wall of the building, waiting. The librarian had gone back inside, which was a relief to Lisa.

  As she parked the truck, she gave herself a mental shake. Pete was her roommate and being jealous of a librarian was beyond pathetic. It was so easy to imagine Bev ranting about how Lisa didn’t get out enough, but the idea of having any more awful first dates made her want to crawl in a hole and hide.

  Disgusted with her thoughts, Lisa smiled at Pete as she got out of the truck. She helped him in, threw the crutches in the back, and returned to the cab.

  Pete put his arm around Harley and gave him a bear hug. “Did you have a fun walk?”

  “He was very good and has now met most of the people who live in the greater Alpine Grove area.”

  “Wow, you had big day.”

  Lisa glanced at him as she turned down the alley. “How was the library? You looked like you were having a good time with the librarian.”

  Pete peered over Harley’s head at her. “She’s probably one of the smartest women I’ve ever met. I don’t think she’s forgotten anything she’s ever read. It’s wild. Apparently, she has an incredible semantic memory. I’ve never met anyone like that before.”

  “Interesting.”

  “Is something bothering you?”

  Lisa glanced away from the road momentarily to look at him. “Not at all. I’m driving.”

  “You have an extremely expressive face, you know. It’s obvious when you lie.”

  “Maybe it is to you, but you have all those interrogation skills that most people don’t.”

  “I usually look at a person’s mouth more than any other feature when I’m trying to read someone’s emotions. Yours reveals a lot.”

  Lisa briefly glanced away from the road to look at him again. “Stop staring at me.”

  He leaned over and pulled a book out of the bag. “Fine. I’ll be reading then.”

  “Fine.”

  After they returned to the house, Pete retreated to his room. Lisa was more than a little embarrassed about snapping at Pete on the drive home. She decided that since she already was in a bad mood, she’d tackle the conversation with Craig about the wallpaper-removal project. He kept whining that it wasn’t going well, and she’d been avoiding the inevitable fight about it. Listening to his lectures was like enduring the sound of fingernails scraping on a chalkboard and somehow every conversation with him turned into an argument.

  His latest lament was about the wallpaper in Larry’s old room. It was a hideous harvest-gold pattern coated with some type of plastic that, according to Craig, was impervious to steam machines and all known chemicals typically used to remove wallpaper. Craig was worried about how this slowdown was going to affect his schedule. Lisa was more worried that the wallpaper would remain in tact and end up as an archaeological find that would mystify scientists in the year 2310.

  After they discussed the project for a while, she encouraged Craig to move on to something else that wouldn’t affect his precious schedule. If the wallpaper was giving him so much heartburn, she’d have to figure out something else. Maybe she’d deal with it herself. It wasn’t like she wasn’t capable of wielding a paint scraper. This wasn’t exactly rocket science they were dealing with, after all.

  She was fed up with workmen and all their whining. Half the time someone or another who was supposed to show up didn’t. Then when they did show, they didn’t want to work on the house. Why couldn’t Craig keep these guys in line? That was supposed to be his job and was why she was paying him so much money. The endless problems and complaints made her want to scream.

  Completely sick of the house and the constant noise, she stomped back down the stairs and turned down the hallway toward her father’s office, almost mowing down Pete in the process. She reached out to grab his shoulders. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

  He leaned on the wall to steady himself and rearranged his crutches. “I’m fine.”

  Realizing that she was still clutching him, Lisa dropped her hands to her sides. “Do you want something to eat? I was just coming downstairs to see if you’re hungry.”

  “It’s kind of early for dinner, isn’t it? I heard you and Craig yelling at each other.”

  “I wasn’t yelling. We were having a discussion. Do you want some ice cream? I’ll bring you a bowl if you let me stay in your room until everyone leaves.”

  He chuckled. “That bad, huh?”

  “It may require chocolate sauce too. I’ll be right back.”

  Lisa made the sundaes and even added a few candy sprinkles for color. Pete didn’t need to know that the label on the container indicated they may have been purchased for a birthday party sometime in the early eighties. Sugar didn’t go bad, did it?

  She pushed open the door to the office. Harley was on his dog bed in the corner, snoring quietly. The fact that he didn’t even stir indicated that the socializing in town had worn him out.

  Pete was lying on his bed with a book. He set it aside when Lisa sat down next to him and handed him the bowl of ice cream. Taking the dish, he said, “Impressive. You really went all out.”

  “It was necessary. Craig drives me nuts. He and his all-important schedule.”

  “So you’ve said. If you don’t like him so much, why don’t you fire him?”

  “Do you know how hard it was to find a general contractor in the first place? I called everybody. No one wants to work on a remodel at this time of year. Half of the contractors in Alpine Grove don’t work at all in the winter, so they don’t even answer the phone. Craig was practically the only person willing to talk to me because he knew my family.”

  “I guess that would be a problem.” Pete put a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth and smiled. “Yum. This is good.”

  “I also felt like I should apologize for being unpleasant to you in the truck.”

  “Ice cream is a great peace offering.”

  Lisa laughed as she licked her spoon. “It really is.”

  They ate silently for a few moments, and Lisa focused on her own thoughts and how much she adored ice cream. Even in February, there was nothing like frozen comfort food to improve her mood after a bad day.

  Pete put down his spoon and said, “Are you going to tell me why you were upset? Did you see someone in town that you didn’t like or something?”

  Lisa took his empty bowl and set it with hers on the side table. She wasn’t sure what to say. Was she really gutsy enough to tell the truth? “It wasn’t that. I…well…I guess I spend so much time with you, it was a little funny seeing you laughing with that librarian.”

  “Funny?”

  “Not funny, ha
-ha funny. Just odd, I guess.” Lisa looked into his eyes. “I feel like an idiot saying this because obviously you see people all the time.”

  “Like George, my sexy yet slightly sadistic physical therapist? I’ll grant you that he’s hot and I’m pretty sure he’s gay, but I think he knows I’m not interested.”

  Lisa giggled. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed. He is definitely hot! Oh well, it’s another loss for the ladies of Alpine Grove.”

  Pete put his hand on hers. “I might be interested in someone else anyway.”

  “I know. That librarian Jan is really pretty. And I bet she knows as much Shakespeare as you do.”

  He slid his hand up her arm to the base of her neck, glanced at her mouth, and gazed into her eyes. “That’s not who I was thinking of actually.”

  Lisa was too stunned to say anything, and he curved his hand around the back of her neck, never taking his eyes off hers. He caressed the nape of her neck gently as he pulled her head forward slowly toward him. Lisa closed her eyes and let him kiss her. His lips were warm and soft, and the feel of his fingers curling through her hair was delicious, sending little tingles galloping down her spine.

  It had been more than two years since Lisa had kissed a man. Part of her was terrified, while the other part was desperate to jump on top of Pete and have her way with him. But that probably wouldn’t be a good idea for many reasons, not the least of which was that she’d probably re-injure his knee.

  Finally he pulled away from her and Lisa opened her eyes. “I, uh, I wasn’t expecting that.”

  “I know, but I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long. It was probably a bad idea though.”

  After her divorce and the bad dates, Lisa was getting used to rejection. “Well, there’s always the librarian.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” He took her hand in both of his. “You’ve told me how you’re not interested in getting involved with anyone. I should respect that, and I’m not good at these things anyway.”

  Lisa leaned over and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. “Don’t sell yourself short. I can tell you one thing you’re exceptionally good at.”

  “That’s kind of you to say.” He ran his fingertips along her jaw. “And so you know, the librarian spent quite a bit of time telling me about her trip to Russia with her boyfriend. It sounds like he’s almost as pretty as my physical therapist. Apart from that, I think you are way sexier than Jan is. Seeing you every day has become more…difficult.”

  “I know what you mean.”

  “But I’m serious that I’m probably the last person you’d want to get involved with. I don’t want to screw up our friendship.”

  Intellectually, Lisa was relieved. It was true. They’d been getting along well since Pete had moved in, his recovery was progressing, and she considered him a good friend now. She bit her lower lip and looked into his eyes, which had turned deep blue, like the color of a lake instead of the sky. “I suppose you’re right. We should just be friends.”

  He moved his arm to pull her closer to him again and whispered, “Or maybe I’m an idiot. I could be completely wrong,” before pressing his lips to hers again.

  A few long and very pleasurable moments later, Lisa gasped for breath and released her hold on him. “I think there may be some issues with this whole being-friends idea.”

  “No kidding.” Pete ran his fingers through his hair. “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

  “Shakespeare?”

  “Hamlet. It seemed appropriate.”

  “I really need to borrow some of your books.”

  Pete gave her another kiss. “Any time.”

  By the time she’d finished dinner, Lisa’s hormones had settled down enough for normal brain function to return, and she had an idea about the wallpaper problem. After Pete and Harley retired to his room for the evening, she picked up the phone to call Bev.

  Bev answered and at the sound of Lisa’s voice, proclaimed, “What in heaven’s name have you been doing? You tell me you have some roommate moving in and then I never hear from you again. I’m hurt.”

  “I’m sorry, but dealing with taking care of him and managing all these awful contractors has kept me a lot more busy than I expected. The house is a complete disaster. Everything is torn up, except for my father’s office, where Pete is staying.”

  “So am I ever going to see you again? I was hoping to get away from here for a girl’s night before you leave town again.”

  “You don’t have to worry. These contractors are so slow, it’s looking like I’ll be here for a while. That’s why I’m calling. Are the boys still in trouble?”

  “At this rate, they’ll be grounded until they’re thirty-five. The only good thing is that Kevin has lined up enough chores for them to do until they move out of my house.”

  “That bad?”

  “You don’t want to know, bless their sneaky little hearts. I thought I was going to kill Robby the other day. Kevin had to remove me from the room. Thank God I married such an even-tempered man.”

  “The teen years are rough.”

  “I have no sympathy for you. You had girls. Teenage boys seem to feed off each other’s evil deviousness.”

  “I had an idea to keep them busy. But you’d have to un-ground them for the day.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “I need cheap labor and youthful energy because we have a serious wallpaper problem in Larry’s old room. The stuff won’t come off and the contractors are whining about how scraping it takes too long. You have to use a putty knife and it comes off in teensy-weensy quarter-inch pieces. It’s as bad as scrubbing a bathroom with a toothbrush like they do in the military.”

  Bev chuckled. “Oh, I’m liking this idea. Meanwhile, you and I can chat while we watch them slave away.”

  “Watching wallpaper being scraped off the wall is about as much fun as watching grass grow. It’s deadly dull. Tell them to bring whatever horrible music they want to listen to. We can lock them in Larry’s room with it and go hang out in the kitchen.”

  “We’re talking about Robby and Kenny though, so we’ll have to check in regularly to make sure they are actually working and not goofing off.”

  Lisa laughed. “I’ll leave it to you to crack the whip when necessary.”

  “It’s a date. I’ll drag my lazy offspring out of bed, and we’ll see you tomorrow bright and early.”

  The next morning, Lisa responded to the knock on the door and found Bev and two unhappy-looking boys standing on the front steps. Kenny and Robby shared the sullen expression of teens who have been tasked with something they don’t want to do. They looked as if they were being dragged into an arena to battle an ogre to the death.

  Bev said, “All right, we talked about this and you know what you’re supposed to do. Let’s go upstairs.”

  They glared at her and she pointed at the steps. “Now.”

  Robby mumbled, “Hi, Mrs. Ryan,” as he walked by Lisa.

  Bev said, “It’s Ms. Lowell. Move it.”

  Lisa followed them up the steps. “Larry’s room is on the left. It’s got gold-and-white wallpaper.”

  The boys stopped into the middle of the room and Kenny put down the portable CD player with a thump. Most of the furniture was gone, but two stepladders had been placed near the walls and a large drop cloth covered the floor. Lisa pointed at a corner near one of the ladders, where an infinitesimal strip of wallpaper had been torn off. “See that? That piece of wallpaper was removed with a scraper. The steamer and chemicals had no effect on this wallpaper because it’s made of some sort of indestructible plastic.”

  Both boys slumped their shoulders and groaned. Lisa said, “If it helps, feel free to play the music as loud as you like. We’ll be downstairs.”

  Bev pointed at her sons in turn. “I will be coming up here to check on your progress. And I had better see some very good progress.”

  Robby and Kenny mumbled their assent, and Lisa smiled at Bev as
they walked out of the room. She leaned toward her friend and whispered. “Man, you are the meanest mom ever.”

  “You better believe it. What do you have for breakfast snackables? We have some serious catching up to do.”

  Lisa walked into the kitchen, grabbed a mug from a cabinet, and held it out. “Coffee?”

  “Yes, please, and ASAP.” Bev took the mug and examined it. “That’s one classy Garfield mug you have there.”

  Apparently, worried that he’d missed out on the possibility for food, Harley stormed into the kitchen and started hysterically snuffling the floor.

  A few seconds later, Pete thumped into the kitchen on his crutches. Bev waved her empty mug at him, “Hey there. You must be the new roomie!”

  He smiled. “And you must be Bev, the best friend who knows all Lisa’s deepest, darkest secrets.”

  “That’s me. If you want the Lowell family dirt, I’m your woman.”

  A crash came from upstairs, and Lisa and Bev looked at each other. Bev handed her mug to Lisa and said, “Those kids are going to be the death of me. I’ll be right back.”

  Lisa got a mug for Pete, poured some coffee into it, and handed it to him. “I know I’m counting down until tomorrow when I get to talk to Carol and Cheryl again, but there are things I don’t miss about being Mom all the time.”

  “Now you only have to take care of one kind of gimpy guy.”

  Lisa took a sip of coffee and raised her eyebrows at him. “It turns out there are some extra perks I hadn’t anticipated.”

  Pete laughed. “I suppose…”

  Bev came back into the room and took her mug of coffee from the counter. She took a sip and narrowed her eyes at Lisa. “What did I miss?”

  “Nothing. Have the boys destroyed Larry’s room yet?”

  “They’re working on it. To hear Kenny tell it, Robby managed to trip over his own feet. However, Robby says that Kenny pushed him.” She rolled her eyes melodramatically. “Who knows? I told them that they’d better get to jumping like hot grease on a skillet or there would be serious trouble.”