“I won’t let you down,” Darcy promised.
“I have every confidence in you,” Janie said, and left.
Darcy gave a silent cheer as she sat on the skinny bench in front of the lockers. I have every confidence in you. Who would have thought she would ever hear those words? For a long time she hadn’t believed them herself. But now they were true. She was dependable, reliable and all those other lovely “able” words. Not bad for a former flake.
She was nearly as excited about the compliment as about the chance to expand business for Darcy’s Delectables. If she could land a contract with the Hip Hop Café, she would go a long way toward building up her minuscule savings account. Life was definitely taking a turn for the better.
Which meant she could indulge in a back-patting festival if she wanted…or she could deal with her more pressing problem, namely the fact that she’d invited Mark Kincaid over for Thanksgiving.
Her good mood did an instant crash and burn. It wasn’t that she objected to having the man in her house. How could she? He was easy on the eye in a big way. Of course that was also part of the problem. She hadn’t been on a date in five years. To be blunt, the man turned her on. The combination of great body, killer green eyes and sexy, barely there smile was pure temptation. Something she had no time for right now.
To make matters worse, he was completely single. And from what she could tell, he didn’t date. Not that she spied on him or anything, but he did live next door to her. They shared a duplex on the far side of town. He’d moved in a couple of months after she had, and what with him being so very good-looking, he’d been impossible to miss. She didn’t exactly monitor his movements, but she was the tiniest bit aware of his comings and goings.
It was a crush. There—she’d admitted it to herself. She had a crush on him and that’s what had her scared. What if he figured it out? She would be too humiliated to live, and right now she couldn’t afford to die.
“I won’t be alone,” she reminded herself as she rose and headed back to the diner. Eight other people were going to be at her place for dinner on Thanksgiving. She would barely notice Mark’s presence. With a large people-buffer in place, she might even avoid making a fool of herself in front of him.
“I really hate to cancel on such short notice,” Millie Jasper said the following morning. She tried to sound sad, but instead she beamed with pleasure.
“I understand,” Darcy said, because she really did understand. She just didn’t like it very much. “If your parents want you to come home for the holidays, that’s a whole lot better than staying here.”
Millie shifted two-year-old Ronnie to her other hip. ”I’m hoping they’re going to ask me to move back home,” she confided. “Ever since Ron ran off with that bimbo of his, I’ve been struggling. So this is like a miracle.”
Darcy knew that miracles didn’t come around very often. She patted her friend’s arm. “Go home. Make peace with your parents and see if you can start over. I’ll miss you on Thanksgiving, but this is better.”
“Thanks for being so sweet.”
Millie gave her a quick hug, which meant Ronnie wanted to plant a sticky kiss on Darcy’s cheek. Then the two of them waved goodbye as they left the café.
“Don’t panic,” Darcy murmured to herself. She reached for a clean cloth and began wiping off the counter. “There are still four other people coming to dinner.”
Four people, plus him. Because she was now refusing to think about Mark Kincaid by name. Her insides had started acting very strange when she pictured him or said his name—her heart thumping when she thought about him, her stomach sort of heaving and swaying. It was scary and gross.
“I’m just doing a good deed,” she reminded herself. ”There’s absolutely nothing personal going on.”
It was a darned pitiful excuse for a lie.
Light snow fell Tuesday night as Mark jogged up the driveway toward the duplex. He’d pushed himself too far and felt the resulting pain in his side. With each step, still-healing muscles tugged and pulled, making him ache. He would pay for the extra miles in the morning when he would awaken stiff and sore. Assuming he slept.
At least he could go running and suffer the consequences, he reminded himself as he rounded the bend in the path. There’d been a time when he hadn’t been sure he was even going to survive. Now he knew he would completely heal and—except for a few scars and a slightly more cynical take on the world—life would go on as it had before. Or would it? Could he ever trust a woman again…after what Sylvia had done to him?
He shook his head to clear it of thoughts of her. The driveway widened, circling in front of the single-story duplex. He was about to head to his half when he noticed his neighbor standing by her car, wrestling with something large in the back seat.
He slowed his steps. This wasn’t his problem, he reminded himself. Living next door to someone didn’t obligate him to anything. He stopped about ten feet from her car—her very old car. The compact import had seen better days and too many miles. There were chips in the green paint, a few rust spots and a battered rear fender. But the snow tires were new. At least Darcy knew enough to keep herself safe as winter approached.
She wrapped her arms around whatever was stuck in the back seat and tried to straighten. Instead she staggered back a couple of steps. Mark hurried forward before he could stop himself and grabbed the thing from her. The “it” in question turned out to be a very large, squishy turkey.
Darcy blinked at him.
“Mark. Hi.”
A blue down jacket made her large eyes turn the color of a summer sky. Snow dotted her blond curls, and her ever-present smile widened.
“Thanks for the rescue.” She waved at the turkey he held awkwardly against his chest. “I know it’s too big, but I had to special-order it—you know, to get a fresh one. And it was either some puny thing or something large enough to feed the multitudes. My oven is huge, so I figured I’d just go for it. I know about a million ways to serve leftover turkey, so I don’t mind if we don’t eat it all on Thanksgiving.” She paused to draw breath. “I know fresh turkeys are more expensive, plus this one was open-range raised, but it’s only once a year, you know?”
The chilly bird had to weigh over twenty pounds. He could feel something wet dripping down his leg. Great.
“You want to show me where this goes?” he asked.
“Oh. Sorry.”
She hurried toward the front door, glancing at him over her shoulder. “I could carry that. I mean you don’t have to bring it in if you don’t want to.”
He was nearly a foot taller and had to outweigh her by seventy pounds. Handing over the turkey at this point would be pretty tacky. “I think I can manage.”
She ducked her head. “Of course you can. You’re being really nice and I appreciate it.” She unlocked the door and held it open for him. ”I’m guessing you know the way.”
Her place was the reverse of his, he noticed as he moved inside. A small area of linoleum led to a square living room. While his was on the left, hers was on the right. Which meant her kitchen was in the opposite direction. He turned toward the dining room, passed through it and found himself in the middle of her kitchen. She opened the refrigerator door and motioned to a shelf containing nothing but an empty roasting pan.
He deposited the bird into the pan, then glanced down at the wet spot on the front of his sweats. She followed his gaze and groaned.
“Sorry. I didn’t realize he was leaking.” She reached for a dish towel, made to approach him, then stopped and handed him the cloth.
Mark found himself wishing she’d offered to clean him up herself. He pushed the thought away as soon as it formed. No way was he going to get involved with another woman. Certainly not a neighbor. Hadn’t he learned his lesson?
He rubbed at the damp spot, then tossed the towel back to her. “How many are you planning to feed with that?”
She unzipped her jacket and hung it on the back of a light oak chair. Her
kitchen table was white tile edged in oak, surrounded by four matching wood chairs. He noticed that while her kitchen was physically the mirror image of his, nothing about it looked the same. His battered cabinets were a shade of green somewhere between mold and avocado, while hers were white and looked freshly painted. A blue border print circled the walls just below the ceiling. Plants hung at the sides of the big window where lace curtains had been pulled back to let in the light. As their landlord was a hands-off kind of guy, Mark knew that Darcy had made the improvements herself.
Neither apartment had anything so modern as a dishwasher, which meant he mostly used paper and plastic, when he bothered to eat at home. Darcy had a metal dish drainer placed neatly by the sink. Several pots were stacked together, drying in the late afternoon.
He returned his attention to her only to realize she was avoiding his gaze. She shifted uncomfortably.
“There were supposed to be ten of us, including you,” she muttered, studying the toes of her boots. ”It’s actually good news for Millie that she can’t make it. Her husband—soon to be ex-husband—ran off with some young girl. Millie’s been struggling ever since. Her folks invited her home for Thanksgiving. She’s hoping they can reconcile and that her parents will ask her to move home. She’s got three kids and desperately wants to finish her college degree so she can get a decent job. So it’s all for the best.”
He digested the information, wondering if he should ask who Millie was, then decided it didn’t matter. “So how many will there be now?”
She glanced at him. “Six. Millie has three kids.” She offered a bright smile. “I like having a lot of people around for the holidays. I try to find people like you—with nowhere to go, no family around. As I said before, it’s a tough time to be alone.”
Great. A table full of strays.
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. The movement drew his attention to her soft-looking blond curls and the way her sweater outlined a sweet pair of full breasts. He might have spent the past few months recovering from a couple of bullet wounds, but parts of him had never been injured. They chose that moment to remind him that a man had needs.
Blood flowed south with a speed and intensity that made him grit his teeth. Damn. Why did he have to notice Darcy was attractive? He’d managed to avoid that particular truth for the past couple of months they’d been neighbors.
“Where’s your family?” he asked, determined to ignore the pressure from his body. He willed away his desire.
“My folks died five years ago.”
He didn’t say anything. His parents had died, as well, but he wasn’t about to bond with her over the fact. He didn’t want anything in common with her. Was it just him, or was it hot in here?
“Can I get you something?” Darcy asked. “Tea? Cookies?”
“Made with whole-wheat flour and tofu? No thanks.”
She laughed. “While I do make the cookies myself, I promise I use very normal ingredients.”
“You probably consider tofu normal.”
“Not when I bake. Although I’ve used carob before, if that counts.”
He couldn’t begin to imagine what carob was. “I need to be getting back.”
She followed him to the door. “Thanks for helping me, Mark. I’m sure I could have wrestled Mr. Turkey inside myself but it was nice not have to mess with him.”
The top of her head didn’t even clear his shoulders. She looked innocent and wholesome. He had no business being here.
“Look, Darcy…”
He paused, not sure how to tell her he wouldn’t make it for Thanksgiving dinner. He wasn’t very social these days and he couldn’t imagine anything more torturous than eating with five people he didn’t know and didn’t want to know.
Her blue eyes stared at him, while the corners of her full mouth turned up slightly. She had perfect skin. Clear, pale and nearly luminous. But the worst of it was the complete trust in her eyes. He had a bad feeling that she’d never told a white lie, let alone a really soul-threatening one. He felt as if he was about to kick a puppy.
His shoulders slumped. “Do you want me to bring anything for Thursday? Like wine?”
“Wine would be nice. I know absolutely nothing about it.”
He nodded and left without looking at her. He didn’t want to see her smiling at him as though he’d just done something amazing.
After he entered his own apartment, he stretched his cooling muscles, then headed down the tiny hall. Once in his bathroom, he tugged off his T-shirt and the thermal shirt underneath. Bare chested, he stared into the mirror.
The scar from the bullet wound in his side was still red and thick. He probed at it, remembering how the doctors had told him he’d been lucky. A few millimeters toward the center and he would have lost a major organ or two. Sylvia had been aiming for his heart. As it was, he’d nearly bled to death. He bent down to massage his leg. That bullet wound didn’t give him nearly as much trouble as it had even a month ago.
When he’d been in the hospital, a lot of the guys from the precinct had come by to visit, most of them teasing him that bullet scars were a chick magnet. Somehow he couldn’t see a woman like Darcy cooing over his injuries. She’d probably take one look and pass out. Not that he planned on showing her anything.
He straightened and turned on the water, then pulled off the rest of his clothes. As he stepped into the steaming shower, he reminded himself that, however much he found Darcy attractive, he wasn’t about to go there. As he’d already learned the hard way, getting involved with a woman could be fatal.
Two
The great room at the Madison School was nearly forty feet square, with a huge rock fireplace in one wall. Half a dozen sofas formed conversation groups, while card tables set up around the perimeter of the room offered places to play different games. The high-beamed ceiling added to the open feel of the space. The smell of wood smoke mingled with the lingering scent of popcorn from last night’s snack.
Darcy sat on a sofa in the corner, her feet tucked under her, listening intently as her brother, Dirk, described everything he’d packed in his suitcase.
“I even remembered my brush and comb,” he said proudly.
Darcy’s heart swelled with love for him as she studied his familiar face. They both had blue eyes and blond hair, but Dirk’s features were more masculine. And as much as it tweaked her ego, she had to admit he was the better looking of the siblings. At fourteen, he should have been suffering from skin troubles and a cracking voice. Instead he appeared to be making the transition into adolescence and manhood with little pain. He was growing steadily, which kept him lean, his skin was clear and she noticed the faint hint of a beard on his chin. Her baby brother was growing up.
“I’m impressed with your packing skills,” she said sincerely. “I have never taken a trip without forgetting something. Remember, when I went off to college and left all my registration stuff at home?”
Dirk laughed. “Mom had to bring it to you and she got real mad. You were in trouble on your first day.”
Darcy smiled at the memory, even as she tried to remember what it had felt like to be so irresponsible. Life had been easy back then—the world had been at her beck and call. Not anymore.
“You’re rarely in trouble,” she said.
Dirk beamed. “I can remember all the rules. Some of them are dumb, but I follow them. I like it here, Darcy. I want to stay.”
“I know.” She leaned forward and took his hand in hers. “You will stay right up until you’re ready to be on your own.”
He looked doubtful at the prospect. Darcy didn’t blame him. Self-sufficiency was years away for him, but the Madison School was one of the best in the country. The well-trained staff specialized in helping developmentally disabled teens become happy, productive adults. The process could take years, but Darcy was prepared to be patient. All the reports so far had been positive. Besides, Dirk was worth it.
“In the meantime,” she continued, “I guess
you’re going to travel the world, aren’t you?”
He grinned. “I’m not going to see the world. Just Chicago.”
He made it sound like no big deal, but she saw the excitement brightening his eyes.
“Andrew says it’s cold there, so I’m taking my warmest jacket,” he continued. “You bought it for me last month. Remember?”
Darcy nodded.
“We’re going to sleep on the train. Andrew says the hotel will have a Turkey dinner for us when we get there.”
“I want to hear all about it,” Darcy said. “Will you write in your journal so you can remember everything?”
He nodded. “I have the camera you gave me for my birthday. I’m going to take lots of pictures.”
“Oh. That reminds me.” Darcy bent down and fished through her purse. She pulled out a three-pack of film for his camera. “This is for you.”
Dirk looked at the gift, then at her. “Darcy?”
She knew what he was asking—what worry drew his brows together and made him study her so carefully. Her brother might have the slow, studied air of someone out of step with the mainstream world, but he wasn’t an idiot. He knew that money had been tight for them for a long time. While he didn’t know what the school cost her or how many nights she stared into the darkness and prayed she would be able to hold it all together, he guessed that life still wasn’t easy for her.
She gave him a quick hug. ”It’s just film, Dirk. I can afford it.”
He still looked worried when she released him. “I have my allowance. I can pay you back.”
“No. That’s your money. Spend it on something for you. Oh, but if you want to bring me back a postcard from Chicago, I wouldn’t say no.”
He nodded. “I’ll bring you two.”
“That would be great.”
He took the film she offered and turned the boxes over in his hands. In his chambray shirt and worn jeans, he looked like any other fourteen-year-old. But he wasn’t. His difficulties had become apparent within the first year of his life. Darcy’s parents had despaired, but Dirk’s uniqueness had only made her love him more.
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