Читать книгу An Eligible Bachelor - Carolyn Greene, Carolyn Greene - Страница 10

Geneva hoped to take Jacob to the toddler-age Sunday-school class without either of them crying. He’d had a lot of changes in his young life, first losing a father—bum that he was—and then moving to a whole new community. There were some positive changes, too, such as the wide-open yard for him to play in and a new friendship with Sean, who doted on the boy and took him for rides on his golf cart. But the changes, both good and bad, were creating stress, and her son had become slightly clingy in the past few weeks.

His reaction had made her more resolved than ever to find just the right house for Jacob to grow up in. The only child of a military man, Geneva had gone through more than her share of uprootings, and she wanted to give her son the kind of stable home environment she had longed for as a child…and still wanted.

And while she was dreaming, her idea of the perfect upbringing for her son included a strong and loving father and a handful of siblings. She’d gone into her relationship with Les harboring this same dream for their future. Although she’d seen evidence of his party-boy ways, she had believed him when he’d told her that her happiness was his foremost concern. She’d thought he would settle into family life after Jacob was born, but he soon found more excuses to be away from the house. Away from her and his child.

“You really didn’t need to drive us to church,” she said as Wade pulled his car into the parking lot. “We could have met you here.” All weekend long, she’d had to impose on him to answer the door each time they’d needed to enter or exit the apartment through his house. And on the one occasion they both had to go out, he’d hidden a key in the hanging basket of begonias that adorned the broad front porch. It was a hassle doing it this way, no doubt about it, but she had no desire to encourage any more togetherness than was absolutely necessary.

“It’s no bother. Because of the rain, I doubt we’ll have any but the most diehard golfers at the course this morning.” He looked at her strangely, as if something was on his mind, but he only sighed and added, “Sometimes I have to miss church, especially when it’s sunny and mild, but now that you know the way…”

Then she understood. He was saying, in essence, after this you’re on your own. He was doing the hospitable thing today, bringing her here and introducing her around, but he was making it clear this was not to become a habit. Well, that was perfectly okay with her.

Once inside, Sean and Jacob walked ahead as Wade led Geneva past the adult classes, the high-school class, and eventually stopped at the fifth-grade room.

“I want to get Jacob to the nursery.” Her gaze remained fixed on Sean, who was making faces at her laughing son as they waited for her and Wade to catch up.

Wade straightened his tie before answering. “There’s someone I want you to meet first. Sean, why don’t you take Jacob to the nursery for Geneva?”

Her protective instincts kicked in as she imagined her son feeling helpless and abandoned in a new place. “But I was going to take him.”

Oblivious to her concern, Jacob grasped the older fellow’s coattail and left without a backward glance. She supposed she should have been glad he went along so easily, carefully dodging Sean’s crutches, but instead she felt as though she’d been forgotten in the excitement of the moment.

“He’ll probably cry,” she protested. And if he did, who would hold him and comfort him until his tears dried?

“It’s better this way,” Wade assured her. “Kids are less likely to cry when they leave Mom than when Mom leaves them. You can check on him through the two-way mirror when we’re done here.”

“Since when did you get to be an authority on children?” she muttered. She hadn’t intended for him to hear her grousing, but the upward quirk of his mouth told her he’d caught it all.

“Since I helped raise my younger brother,” he replied.

Before she could respond, a dark-haired man in his early thirties appeared at the classroom door. “May I help you?”

A roomful of eleven-year-olds studied them with keen interest.

“I’d like you to meet Geneva Jensen,” Wade said without preamble. “She and her son are visiting our church for the first time today.” Then, finishing the introduction, he pulled her by the elbow so that she was positioned squarely in front of the man. “Geneva, this is Deacon Tackett.”

Geneva smiled shyly. If ever she’d felt put on the spot—on display, even—it was now. But she appreciated her landlord’s friendly gesture, so she would just tough it out.

The gentleman before her seemed to sense her discomfort. After switching a bit of chalk to his left hand, he shook her hand and smiled warmly. It was a pleasant expression set against an attractive backdrop of dark eyebrows, aquiline nose and slim cheeks that carried what she suspected was an ever-present shadow of beard, and it went a long way toward making her feel welcome.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” he said. “I hope you’ll like your visit enough to return and perhaps become a member of our congregation.”

She was about to murmur a polite reply so they could excuse themselves gracefully, but Wade seemed determined to prolong the awkward conversation.

“The deacon teaches Sunday school to fifth-graders,” he said, stating the obvious. “He really likes kids a lot…always organizing youth trips and having pizza parties for them.”

“No need to be formal,” the man said in response to the manner in which Wade addressed him. “Please, call me Ellis.” Ellis tilted his head as if suddenly realizing the implication behind the introduction. “Is your son in fifth grade? He’s welcome to join our study class this morning.”

“Oh, no, he’s in the nursery.” And she was getting antsy about checking to see how Jacob was accepting his new situation.

“Well, I’m glad Mr. Matteo stopped by to introduce us. If there’s anything you need, or if you have any questions…”

That’s when it hit her. These two men barely knew each other! Why else would they call each other Deacon Tackett and Mr. Matteo? Until now she had assumed Wade had merely wanted her to meet a friend of his. But they obviously weren’t close, and she didn’t have an older child for Ellis to teach, so why was Wade putting her through this?

“Geneva does a lot of sewing.” Wade ignored Ellis’s attempt to close the conversation and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Perhaps you could charm her into helping with the costumes for this year’s Christmas play.” The smile Wade flashed the other man seemed fraught with meaning. Then, turning to Geneva, he added, “The deacon is a real pillar of the community. His family has lived in the area for more than a century. They even have a road named after them.”

Why was he telling her this? Not knowing how else to respond to this seemingly unnecessary bit of information, she merely said, “That’s quite impressive.”

Wade gave her an amused grin. “Personally, I’d rather have a roller coaster named after me.”

She wasn’t surprised. A date with Wade Matteo was probably just like a roller-coaster ride—full of exciting turns, giddying heights and heart-stopping plummets, that ultimately ended up right where they started. Whoever dared to take such a ride would certainly have a story to tell and a memory to cherish, but nothing more.

Realization dawned with such crackling intensity that it nearly blinded her. Wade was setting her up, and he’d chosen to pair her with Ellis. She felt herself blush, not certain whether to get angry with him for being so presumptuous or go along with the match-making attempt.

Taking another, more assessing look at Ellis, she realized Wade had chosen wisely. Now, there was a man with whom she could go somewhere. From what little she knew about him—that he was a leader in the community, that he seemed kind and polite and, best of all, that he liked children—she decided this was someone she could possibly build a relationship with. There wouldn’t be any hairpin turns or spiraling heights of ecstasy as in a roller-coaster ride perhaps, but he seemed like just the kind of man she and Jacob needed.

Ellis obviously hadn’t caught on to Wade’s machinations yet. He pointed at the two of them. “How long have you two been dating?”

“Oh, no, we’re not dating,” Geneva quickly supplied. “We just live together.”

Wade gave her a look that told her she’d blown it, and then his Adam’s apple bobbed as he tried to hold back a laugh.

“I mean we live in the same house.” Suddenly the spring day seemed to have grown unseasonably warm, and Geneva realized she hadn’t actually clarified the deacon’s misconception after all. So she tried again. “I’m at the back, and he’s in front.”

Oh, good grief, that sounded even worse!

Ellis’s blue eyes darkened as his gaze darted between them. Geneva had the sickening feeling that not only had she ruined her chances with him, but also with anyone who might talk to him.

To her relief, Wade fished her out of the hot water she’d gotten herself into.

“What she means is that I’m her landlord. Geneva lives in an apartment attached to the back of my house, which is next door to Sean.”

Ellis’s eyebrows descended to a more normal position, and he gave a soft chuckle. “Of course.”

The conversation fell suddenly quiet, and Ellis glanced over his shoulder at the children who were swatting each other with their lesson books.

“Would you like to see it sometime?” Wade seemed impervious to her growing discomfort. “Tuesday evening, maybe?”

Geneva caught his elbow and gave it a squeeze. “I don’t think—”

“Sure,” said Ellis. By now the kids had stopped their horseplay and were chanting a jump-rope song about sitting in a tree and k-i-s-s-i-n-g. Ellis seemed not to hear as he smiled benevolently at Geneva. “Is seven o’clock okay?”

“That’s perfect,” Wade said, cutting off her protest. “Bring an appetite. I hear Geneva is quite the cook.”

This was getting out of control. What would people think when they found out the town’s resident playboy was procuring dates for her? What must Ellis think about this peculiar setup? A knot clutched at her stomach as she considered the expectations such an arrangement might arouse.

Wade stabbed at the buttons on the phone and stopped before he reached the last one. It should be such a simple thing to ask a wealthy heiress to accompany him to a charity ball, but he couldn’t bring himself to punch that last number.

He felt like a phony…he didn’t even like the woman. That had never stopped him before, so he couldn’t understand why he was having so much trouble going through with it this time. Hell, he didn’t even have this much trouble asking the deacon for a date with Geneva.

Maybe Geneva had something to do with his hesitation. He hadn’t been the same since she moved in. At first he’d told himself it was because a single woman on the premises, especially one as wholesome and motherish as Geneva, tended to cramp his style. Instead, he found himself daydreaming about unfastening her hair clip and letting her rich brown locks tumble over his fingers. And if he wasn’t careful, his thoughts led to imagining the softness of those curls tickling his bare chest as they lay together in each other’s arms.

Then, to shake himself out of the foolhardy reverie, he reminded himself of his resolve to date only career women or those over forty who had no desire to add to their families. Geneva embodied every quality that he sought to avoid in women: she was in the prime of her childbearing years, making clear in actions and words her wish for a large family. She was the kind of woman who wanted permanence…and promises of things he could not fulfill.

Wade paced the kitchen floor, reminding himself that the end justified the means, and forced himself to redial the woman’s number.

Cherise Watson was the daughter of a wealthy businessman-turned-senator, and though her father had died a few years ago, she and her mother still had strong ties to others in the political arena. Wade had long been a dedicated fundraiser for the children’s hospital. Not only would a generous donation from Cherise provide the hospital with a new magnetic resonance imaging machine, but a well-placed word in the right politician’s ear might garner the research funds the facility so desperately needed.

Geneva hoisted Jacob to her hip and allowed him to peek carefully into the nest at the two most recent additions. One of the parent birds sat in an oak tree, chirping its indignation at their intrusion. Setting her son down, she contemplated the best way to approach the problem. Although she thought her landlord could have been more subtle, and definitely more tactful, in his matchmaking effort, she was grateful that he had introduced her to such a nice man.

Fortunately, after church she was able to talk a bit more with Ellis without interruption from her busybody neighbor. Their conversation helped convince her that the deacon’s desires mirrored her own. He loved children and wanted a traditional family life but, as was her own experience, his exacting standards narrowed the dating pool so that his options were severely limited.

She stood back from the house and examined the bare area beside the light fixture. If she moved the wreath those few feet, perhaps the parent birds would adapt without complaint to the minor adjustment. And she would regain the use of her door.

For the past couple of days, she’d been using Wade’s house as a cut-through to her apartment. Despite his insistence that her entering and leaving through his living quarters was not an inconvenience, Geneva was equally insistent that she had to find another solution. Today. Before her upcoming dinner date with Ellis tomorrow night.

It was inconvenient to have Wade let her and Jacob through his house every time they needed to enter or exit. The situation could prove awkward if he had to serve as the gatekeeper for her date as well.

Considering the way in which Wade had meddled to bring her and Ellis together, she didn’t want to give him an opportunity to meddle any more than he already had.

Mustering up his gumption, Wade took a deep breath and finished dialing the number. It was only for one evening, for crying out loud. And it was a public event, so it wasn’t like he’d have to wine and dine Cherise privately…and risk giving her the impression that he harbored a romantic interest in her. The line on the other end rang once.

“Excuse me.”

Startled, Wade wheeled around to find Geneva poised hesitantly on the threshold between his den and kitchen.

He sucked in his breath at the sight of her and dropped the phone back into its cradle. The trim white pants that ended in a slit just below her knees showed off a flat stomach, enticingly rounded hips and lightly tanned calves and ankles. As for the tailored blue shirt, it caressed her curves in a way his hands itched to mimic. And her hair, as usual, fought to escape the clip that held the riotous waves prisoner. A fragment of oak pollen clung near her temple, giving evidence that she’d been gardening or playing outside with Jacob. If she looked this good while just hanging around the house, he dared not imagine how easily she could outshine all the ladies who would be attending the hospital’s charity ball later this month.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if I might borrow a hammer?”

Jacob crawled between her ankles. “Bam-bambam!” he said, imitating a popular Saturday-morning cartoon character.

“Sure, it’s out in the utility room.” He started to step past her and lead the way. But, preferring instead to savor this unexpected visual treat, he motioned for her to go ahead of him. The view from the back was as good as the front. His body reacted as if he’d just returned from spending several years in a monk’s retreat. His overstimulated hormones had his nerve endings tingling with anticipation, and Wade knew if he didn’t send her away immediately he might do or say something he’d regret later.

Grabbing three different sizes of hammers from his workstation, he shoved them all in her hands and abruptly turned and went back inside. Standing once again in front of the telephone, he tried to wipe the picture of her—eyes wide and lips puckered in an unspoken question—from his mind and return to the task he’d been avoiding for weeks.

Waiting a moment for his heart to stop racing, he once again forced himself to pick up the phone. But this time he couldn’t bring himself to go through the motions of calling Cherise.

When Geneva returned a moment later, he felt rather than heard her enter the kitchen.

“I think I need a screwdriver after all.”

“They’re on the workbench where I got the hammers,” he said, inviting her to help herself and save him the torture of having to refuse her round bottom’s beckoning gesture as she exited the room.

Fortunately, she took his cue and left before a fit of conscience compelled him to change his mind.

Trying to pull his thoughts back to the matter at hand, Wade knew he couldn’t wait any longer to find a date for the charity ball. Although there’d never been a shortage of willing ladies to accompany him to similar fund-raisers in the past, courtesy dictated that he give his guest ample time to book a fitting for a new dress and otherwise prepare for the event. With only two weeks to go, he was already pushing it to the wire.

Despite the urgency, he couldn’t bring himself to focus on what he had to do. He was distracted, partly by the image of Geneva in those casual pants, and partly from wondering what she was up to with his tools. Remembering the shelves he’d promised to install over her sewing table, he wondered if she’d decided to put them up herself.

Happily abandoning his mission, he followed the path she’d taken through the garage to the back of the house.

Having anchored a screw in the wood siding beside her door, Geneva reached to lift the wreath from its current mooring.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

The deep male voice almost made her send the wreath—nest and all—crashing to the deck. “I wish you wouldn’t sneak up on me!”

Ignoring the scolding tone in her words, Wade stated simply, “I talked to Tim, the golf pro, and he says the parents might abandon the nest if you move it.”

Releasing her grip on the grapevine decoration, she also let go a breath of frustration. “Then what am I supposed to do? I have a date tomorrow night, and I want to make a good impression.”

“You will.” Wade stepped uncomfortably close. “How could he not be impressed?”

“You know what I mean. Imagine how odd it looks for me to be coming and going at all hours through your house.”

“What’s the matter?” he whispered. “Are you afraid the good people of Kinnon Falls will think we’re together?”

Of course she was! But, to spare his feelings, she shook her head. “It might make Ellis feel weird.”

“Here, take my key.” This time he pressed the metal into the palm of her hand. His gesture clearly said he would brook no further argument on the subject. “I’ll stay out of the way while you two get to know each other.”

It felt so personal, so intimate, to be holding the key to his house. She’d been putting off accepting it, hoping to come up with a more acceptable solution to her bird-imposed dilemma. But that had only put them in more frequent contact as he let her and Jacob in and out of his house. Closing her fingers around the key, Geneva couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes, so she used the excuse of glancing toward the yard where Jacob played in a new sandbox Wade had built just for him.

“Your generosity in letting us cut through your home is very much appreciated.” Unfortunately the birds gave her no other choice. She paused, uncertain about the propriety of putting conditions on a favor. But it was either that or be confronted with improprieties herself. When he offered to stay out of the way tomorrow night, her imagination supplied the most likely scenario—that he’d be having company of his own. “However, considering your, uh, bachelor situation, perhaps we could devise a code for when you’re…” Geneva felt her cheeks flush with heat “…indisposed. Perhaps a candle in the window or a string tied around the doorknob?”

Wade ran a thumb over the shallow divot in his cheek. “Or we could wire the porch lamp to my bedsprings, and when the light flashes on and off, you’ll know—”

“I should have known you’d make fun of my concern. This may not be a big deal to you, but it is a big deal where my son is concerned.” Moving away from the nest and out of earshot of Jacob, she added, “The reason I moved to Kinnon Falls in the first place is because I wanted to protect him from being exposed to certain unsavory elements.” The major one being the boy’s father, but she wouldn’t go into that now.

Wade’s countenance suddenly turned serious. He leaned in as if to stress his point. Feeling dwarfed by his size, Geneva retreated a step. It didn’t help much. He still took her breath away.

“It’s foolish to make assumptions before you have all the facts,” he said. “When I want to, I can be quite…savory.”

The tone for her date with the deacon was set when Geneva failed to hear the doorbell from her apartment and Wade met Ellis at the door holding a horsewhip and wearing a devious smile. She had hoped he would be out on his own date tonight, but it looked as though he would be sticking around for the evening.

On first glance at the jeans Wade wore and the too-tight T-shirt that pulled across his chest, he looked like an eternal teenager. A well-built one. Ellis, on the other hand, was dressed for the occasion in tan slacks, a pale blue oxford shirt and a navy tie.

Jacob hid shyly behind her, pressing his face against her skirt. Except, perhaps, for the current situation with her landlord, she knew Kinnon Falls would be a wonderful place to raise her son. Discreetly studying Ellis from the den, she wondered if he might be the man with whom she would someday raise Jacob. Judging from his interaction with parishioners and the respect they held for him, he certainly appeared to be a good possibility. And if he wasn’t the man for them, well, she’d keep trying until she found the right one. Never again would she marry someone who didn’t fully meet her needs. And never again would she believe that she could change someone to fit her criteria of the perfect family man.

She stepped into the room, Jacob clinging like an appliqué to her leg, just as Wade was launching into his explanation about the whip.

“Our riding instructor found this in the old barn beyond the stables.” Wade shook the coil loose and danced the worn leather across the floor. “Louis thinks it could be as much as a hundred years old.”

Ellis pushed his hands into his pockets. “What are you going to do with it?”

Her nemesis flashed her a wicked smile. “At first I considered how I might use it for myself, but eventually I decided to do something a little wild and crazy.”

Fearing the worst, Geneva sought to intercept the conversation and gracefully extricate Ellis to the safety and privacy of her apartment. “I don’t think Wade needs to go into—”

But he was determined to finish…and most likely embarrass her.

“I was thinking I’d hang it in the Fox and Hound room at the restaurant,” he said with utmost innocence. Then, raising his eyebrows at her, he rewound the whip over his hand and elbow. “What did you think I was going to do with it?”

Wade held her gaze a moment longer than necessary, breaking contact only after a flush of pink swept over her cheeks. He told himself he was only encouraging her in her wrong opinion of him because it fell in with his plan. If she thought him a wayward man, she would avoid him even if he should lose his head momentarily and attempt to flirt with her. But the real reason was that he enjoyed teasing her and watching her react with the fresh innocence of a much younger woman. He liked the way her chin dipped, revealing the embarrassment she tried not to show. He liked the way her pale brown eyes glowed with golden flecks when she confronted him about his reputation and how it might affect her child. He liked…way too much about her.

Jerking his gaze from the tight line of her soft pink lips, he addressed the man standing patiently in his living room. The deacon was a good man, and Wade was certain he’d treat Geneva right. But something deep down inside Wade nudged him, asking if that was enough. Would she be happy with this guy?

If this relationship went sour for her, he’d be consumed with guilt for having fixed her up with someone unsuited to her. He had to know without a doubt that they were right for each other, and to gain that certainty, he would need to know more about Deacon Tackett.

“So, what kind of car do you drive?”

Geneva sighed and narrowed her eyes at Wade to signal that she was ready to take over from here. All the while, Tackett enthusiastically filled him in about the collector-model Mustang he was restoring. Although the man’s boss cam fascinated him greatly, he reluctantly acknowledged that bit of information would be of no help to Geneva. He decided a more personal question would give him a better idea of their compatibility.

Geneva turned and lifted a hand toward the den, but before she could lead her date away, Wade intercepted them. “You seem to be a man of high standards, Deacon. Tell me, what do you think is the most important attribute in a woman?”

There. That should tell him volumes about whether he was truly the right one for Geneva.

“Wade?”

The deacon touched a hand to her wrist. “That’s okay, Geneva. It’s a fair question.” He addressed Wade much as a student answers a teacher when called on in a spelling bee. He squared his shoulders and looked him directly in the eye, fully confident in his answer. “It is written that charm is deceptive and beauty fades, but a woman who loves the Lord will be greatly praised.”

“No fair,” Wade said with a grin. “You took the easy way out by quoting Proverbs.” It would take some thought, but Wade knew he’d have to come up with a better test.

Geneva bestowed a blistering frown on him that could have made a small child cry. “Here’s another proverb for you. ‘He who guards his lips guards his life.”’

This time, she hooked Tackett’s elbow and practically dragged him from the room, no easy task considering that Jacob had mooched a ride on her foot. So far Wade had scored a double bogey with his line of questioning, and Geneva was calling it a game before they’d reached the eighteenth hole.

But he refused to let her off that easily. He’d impulsively hooked her up with this man, taking his reputation at face value and failing to check him out thoroughly beforehand. Wade’s conscience would not allow him to stand by idly while innocent, trusting Geneva turned her heart over to someone who might not be worthy of love.

Honesty compelled him to consider that his concern about this pairing was not totally altruistic. There was something about Geneva’s sweet innocence that made him want not only to protect her, but to keep her for himself. He supposed that, in an ideal world, he might have considered her his perfect match.

But this wasn’t an ideal world. And he had no guarantee that Ellis was the ideal mate for Geneva.

Deacon or not, Ellis was subject to flaws just like any other man. Wade would have to find out more about this guy before the evening was out.