Nat laughed. “Yeah, she just needed some discipline. Of course, half the training is directed at the owner. Rainy paid attention, and she practiced with Delilah every day. Now it all comes naturally to them both.”
“Don’t count yourself short,” Gabe said. He’d been relatively quiet during the meal, and Zeke wondered what was on his brother’s mind. He noted the lack of interest in anything said until Rainy’s name came up. He’d seen that happen several times lately and wondered if something was brewing there. He’d be watching those two.
“I’m proud of all my sons,” Phyllis said. “Tucker and I always knew they’d become fine young men.” She lifted her glass in a toast and smiled at her boys.
“Here, here,” Mayor Greene added. His glass was conspicuously empty, so Decie rushed to fill it with more wine. Zeke watched Decie move, noticing the way she seemed to favor her right side. He would typically have asked her if she was in pain, but his parents had made it clear early on that he was to ignore servants when company was around. When she was out of sight, he excused himself and followed her into the kitchen.
“You hurting?” he asked as he placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug.
“Not too bad. My bursitis is acting up’s all.” She patted his hand and smiled up into his face. Zeke loved her like the mother he wished he had. She was all but his mother by birth, having raised him and his brothers from infancy. He noticed the gray in her red hair and a few new wrinkles. How she continued to wait on his parents was beyond him.
“They being good to you?”
“Same old. You know how they are. I just ignore ‘em most of the time.”
“Best thing to do.” He kissed her soft cheek and winked.
“You’re still a bad boy,” she teased. “You seeing anybody?” She always asked the same question. He always had the same answer. But tonight, she saw something in his eyes that she’d not seen before. She cocked her head and put her fist on her hip. The raised eyebrow said it all.
“Well. You remember Sophie Malloy?”
“Sure do. Cute thing, had those awful braces, always getting spinach in ‘em. Are you seeing her? What her folks think about that?” Never one to miss out on the nuances of town gossip, Decie was aware of the animosity Billy Malloy held toward Tucker and all the Harts, even though she’d never shared her secrets with Zeke.
“Don’t think they know. I sure haven’t told them.” Zeke shrugged his shoulders as if it were nothing.
“You’re going to mess around and stir up some bad mojo if you don’t be careful, son.” She shook her head and bent to add a dish to the dishwasher.
“Maybe you better say an extra prayer for me, then,” he said. He swatted her skinny behind and skipped out of the room before she could chastise him. He knew there’d be a big smile on her face if he could see her. He’d been pulling the same stunt since he was five and found out it irritated her.
She gave nothing away when she served dessert. The mayor would never guess that Zeke loved her more than his parents. To all outward extent, the Harts were a loving, happy, well-adjusted, and financially well-off family. Zeke smirked inwardly at the thought. The Harts wouldn’t know well-adjusted if it hit them in the face. He nodded at something his mother was saying. The thought occurred to him that Tucker and Phyllis had trained their sons as well, if not better than Nat trained dogs. He itched to be home and away from the constant stress he felt in their house.
With dinner behind them, they moved into the library. Zeke remembered the days of cigar smoking and swirling glasses of brandy. The cigars were reserved for special occasions now, and this wasn’t one of them. His sinuses were glad of it. The brandy, however, was an ongoing tradition. He passed when his father attempted to pour one for him. He sat in the leather armchair near the fireplace and wished for a fire to watch.
This should be a cozy room, he thought, but it’s not. Instead, the room felt stuffy, as if his father had tried too hard to build a manly place to impress his guests. Zeke had never been allowed to touch the books in his father’s library. He’d eagerly awaited adulthood and scanned the titles as a boy, but now, he’d rather read on his Kindle. The leather-bound volumes held no appeal anymore. They were mostly classics he’d had to read for teachers, and he much preferred reading his fishing magazines these days.
The conversation droned on around him until he noticed the tone had changed. Mayor Greene was saying his good-byes. Thank the lord, Zeke thought. He stood and shook the man’s hand, gave him a smile and nod.
“Good work on the Walsh deal.” And the mayor took his leave, which meant Zeke could follow shortly. He sat back down. He’d give it five minutes, and then he’d be out of there and able to breathe. He watched Nat fiddling nervously with a button on the leather tufted couch and figured his brother was feeling the same way. Gabe seemed at home, settled into a conversation with Tucker. Zeke never thought of his father as “Dad.” The man was always “Tucker,” like his mother was “Phyllis.” If that didn’t tell a tale, nothing would. His mind drifted to Sophie and the Malloys.
He remembered running in their yard as a kid with his brothers and her brother Sean. They’d thrown softballs and footballs and even practiced soccer in that yard. Sophie wasn’t allowed to play, her parents had been afraid she’d get hurt with all the boys around, but she’d managed to get into the games from time to time. She could be fierce back then. He thought about her sitting across the desk from Patrick Walsh the other day. The woman was still fierce, maybe more so. He didn’t realize he’d smiled until Nat shoved him on the shoulder.
“What’s up? You look too happy to be here,” he said.
“Just thinking about something that happened the other day.”
“Uh-huh.” Nat nodded knowingly but didn’t push for more information. Zeke knew his brother well enough. Nat wouldn’t drop the subject, but he’d wait until they were alone. He saw his brother casting curious glances his way, and it made him uncomfortable. Nat could be like one of his dogs with a bone. He wouldn’t give up easily.
“I’ll need to think of what to tell him,” Zeke thought. He wasn’t sure he was ready to go public after a couple of kisses, even if those kisses were scorchers, unlike anything he’d ever had. Even if he couldn’t think of them without having to squirm to get comfortable in his pants, just like he was doing now.
“I’m going to take my leave of you good people,” Zeke said. He stood and headed out. Nat would be right behind him, so Zeke hurried through the kitchen, kissed Phyllis on the cheek, patted Decie softly on the arm, and left by the back door. He pulled out of the driveway before Nat could stop and question him further. He rolled the windows down and let the fresh air blow the staleness from his parent’s house off him.
Chapter Twelve
Gabe watched Rainy as she trained a new waitress. Olivia was the woman's name. She was more of a girl than a woman, in Gabe's eyes. Maybe twenty-one, he guessed. She had tanned skin, dark brown hair in a messy bun at the back of her head, some weird tattoo on her wrist. She was too far away to see what it was. Nat had been watching the new waitress when Gabe sat down, and he hadn't stopped since.
"Nice addition to the staff," Gabe said.
"Huh?" Nat's mind was not on whatever Gabe had to say.
Zeke slid into the booth, late, but hungry. He'd barely slept all night. His parents' blatant display of patronizing the mayor had irked him. Nat didn't seem to notice his brother's arrival.
"What's up with him?" he asked Gabe.
"New girl." Gabe tilted his head toward Rainy and the new waitress. "He's speechless; has been for the entire ten minutes I've been here."
"Interesting. Never seen him that way. Well, there was that ridiculous crush he had on Becky in high school, but I wouldn't count that. All up to hormones back then." Gabe nodded knowingly.
Rainy and the object of Nat's rapt attention approached the table. Zeke noticed Gabe checking Rainy out. He'd seen that look on his brother's face before. The
man was interested. In Rainy. Zeke was used to thinking of Rainy as one of the guys. He took a closer look as she smiled at them. She was pretty in that girl next door kind of way. He couldn't get a take on her level of interest in Gabe. She was all business this morning.
"Olivia, these are the Hart brothers. You'll get to tell them apart after a couple of days. They're regulars. They all drink black coffee, the stronger the better. So, you can start with that. I'll take their orders in the meantime." Olivia nodded and turned on her heel.
"Tell your brother to put his tongue back in his mouth. He's rather obvious, and I don't want to run Olivia off on her first day."
Gabe rapped Nat on the forehead.
"Hey, watch it."
"I was going to say that you need to stop watching it," Gabe said. Zeke wasn't touching this conversation. He leaned back and stretched his legs out under the table. He rather enjoyed it when his brothers sparred.
"I don't know…" Nat started to say.
"The new waitress? Rainy says to stop eyeballing her, or she's going to kick you out." Gabe rolled his eyes at his brother.
"I wasn't eyeballing. I was just appreciating the view."
Zeke sat up straight and cleared his throat when Sophie walked in the door. He didn't know how to act. Did she want to sit with him? Would his brothers make a scene? He felt relief when she went directly to the counter and ordered a latte to go. They needed to talk, but not in the middle of the café. She chatted with Rainy, met Olivia, got her coffee and left. She never looked his way. She knew he met his brothers at the same booth most every workday morning. She'd avoided him on purpose. Along with relief came a sting. He felt rejected, even though his rational side thought she'd been the smart one.
He pushed his food around; his appetite suddenly gone. He missed most of the conversation as his brothers continued to discuss the new waitress. His mind was on kissing Sophie in the garden, then kissing her again in the car. Damn, the girl could kiss.
"Earth to Zeke." Nat waved his hand in front of Zeke's face to get his attention.
"I need to get to work." Zeke slid out of the booth, placed a ten-dollar bill on the table, and left. His brothers watched with their mouths open.
"What's up with him?" Zeke heard Gabe ask, but he didn't wait to see what Nat would say.
Chapter Thirteen
Sophie sat at her desk, waiting for the computer to boot up. She’d seen Zeke’s big truck when she stopped at the café. She wasn’t ready for the world to know what was going on with him, so she’d made a point to ignore that whole side of the room. It wasn’t easy. She wanted to see those eyes of his taking her in. She’d felt pretty for the first time since he’d begun paying attention to her. Her mother was always telling her she was gorgeous, but didn’t everyone’s mother say that kind of thing? She was deep in thought when Zeke knocked on her door.
“Come in.”
“Saw you at the café.”
“Yeah. I didn’t know if you wanted me to talk to you since your brothers were there.”
“Hadn’t thought of that until I saw you walk in. Guess we need to have a plan?” He looked as handsome as ever. He could use a haircut, but she liked the waves he had to push out of his eyes.
He came in, shut the door, and sat. She watched as he stretched those long legs out. Her eyes traveled up and up.
“Do I pass inspection?”
Her head shot up, and she turned beet red.
“I was just…”
“Just?”
“So, you think we need a plan?”
“You’re changing the subject.”
“I thought that was pretty obvious.”
“As were you, staring at me.” The man could be infuriating. She’d momentarily forgotten. What was she thinking? She couldn’t let her guard down like that. But when she finally met his gaze, his smile was warm and held no guile.
“You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”
“Nope.”
“I was afraid of that.” She took a drink to steady her nerves. Damn the man for making her shake.
“I was thinking about when we were kids, playing in your yard with Sean. You know, I couldn’t think of one time your old man came out and played with us. I don’t think he ever even called you home. It was always your mom.” This had been on Zeke’s mind ever since his short conversation with Decie at his parent’s house.
Sophie’s head spun. The conversation had taken a zig, and she’d been ready to zag.
“Where’d that come from?” she asked.
“Just thinking about that made me wonder how your dad might react if he found out I’d been kissing his daughter.”
Sophie knew the answer to that one. He’d go through the roof. Probably load his shotgun. But was it a good idea to tell Zeke about that? This affair might not go anywhere, and she’d have upset Pops for no reason.
“He works a lot.” It was all she could think of to say.
“He’s not going to shoot me if he finds out?” Zeke was kidding, but she felt as if he’d read her mind.
“I think there’s some bad blood from way back,” she said. She watched him to see if he’d drop the subject. He stood and walked to her side of the desk.
“What are you doing?” He was standing over her, and she had to lean back to see him.
“Getting another kiss in, just in case.” He stooped and took her head in his hands, and then he kissed her thoroughly. He started with a soft touch on her lips. When she responded in kind, he took the kiss deeper. She stood on tip-toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. One of her shoes fell off. When it flopped onto the floor, it brought her back to earth. She pulled away and took a deep breath.
“Wow.” She couldn’t think of another thing to say. Her brain had turned to mush. She sat down slowly, never taking her eyes off his.
“Good morning,” he said. That smile, she thought, is going to be the death of me.
“Good morning, Mr. Hart. Shall we get to work?” She cleared her throat, straightened her blouse, patted her hair, and began moving papers around on her desk. He wasn’t saying anything, so she took a quick peek.
He was grinning from ear to ear.
“I made you uncomfortable,” he said. It wasn’t a question.
“I’m not accustomed to being kissed at work.”
“Well, get used to it. Let me know when you need me.” He thumped his knuckles on her desk and left her office.
“Now,” she thought. “I need you now, on this desk.” She kept that thought to herself.
The day passed slowly after that. It was almost time to call it quits when Zeke came to her door again. He stood watching her until she lifted her head.
“Hi. Come to kiss me again?” she asked.
“Actually,” he said as he sat down, “I wanted to ask you something.”
“What?”
“Would you like to go out on the boat with me Saturday? It’s going to be a sunny day, and I’ve got a new fishing spot I want to try out. I’ll bring some lunch and drinks.”
“Would this be a date?” She fingered her necklace, suddenly not knowing what to do with her hands.
“It would. What do you say?”
“I say, yes.” Her heart skipped a beat. She’d never let herself think this would happen. She knew she’d regret it later. The man was a serial dater. He’d tire of her soon enough, but, by golly, she was going to enjoy him while she could. Common sense be damned.
“Bring sunscreen. You’ll burn up otherwise.”
“Anything else?”
“A book? You might get bored. Fishing is a quiet sport.”
“I can fish.”
“Uh-huh.” He did an eye roll and shook his head. She’d seen that look on his face a million times. She wanted to cuff him, but he was too far away.
“I can!” She huffed and put her hand on her hip.
“We’ll see. I’ll pick you up at five.” He held his hand up with all fingers and thumb as if she didn’t know what five w
as.
“In the afternoon?” She nodded. She’d have plenty of time to do laundry in the morning, get a pedicure, so her toes would look nice, maybe get her hair trimmed.
“Morning,” he said like that was a natural thing, getting up before the sun.
“You’re kidding.” She blinked a couple of times.
“Nope.” Before she could protest, he left.
##
Sophie set her alarm for four-thirty and snoozed through a couple of warnings. She’d rolled over and put her head under the pillow, moaning when it first sounded. She’d wasted so much time, she had to cut her shower short, and she didn’t wash her hair. Instead, she pulled it into a ponytail and decided to wear a hat. She scurried around, swiping a dash of mascara on her eyelashes and pinching her cheeks. She refused to wear a full face of makeup at this ungodly hour. If Zeke Hart had a problem with that, he’d have a problem with her. The buzz of her electric toothbrush was irritating, but she’d heard the thing lessened the rate of getting cavities, so she put up with the noise and the ticklish feeling it made in her mouth. She decided to wear an old pair of shorts over her swimsuit, hoping she’d get a chance to jump into the river and swim when the day grew hot.
She threw lip balm, sunscreen lotion, sunglasses, a comb, and a beach towel in an oversized bag, opting to leave her purse at home. This was a date, so she wouldn’t need a driver’s license or a credit card. When she heard Zeke’s knock, she was ready. She smashed a broad-brimmed hat on her head, opened the door, and stepped out beside him. She turned without a greeting and locked the door.
“Good morning, Ms. Malloy.” Zeke tipped his cowboy hat, and his eyes twinkled. Sophie didn’t think her eyes had ever twinkled that early in the morning, but she tried to be cheerful.
“Morning, Zeke.” Her mumbled words barely made it out of her mouth, and she couldn’t quite manage a smile.
Zeke leaned forward and put his hand to his ear.
“Not a big morning person?”
Hook, Line, and Sinker Page 7