Читать книгу Once a Marine - Loree Lough - Страница 16

CHAPTER SIX

“SO WHERE ARE your folks?”

“Having lunch in town with friends.”

Rose laughed. “I didn’t know Vail had any vegan restaurants.”

“Oh, they always manage to find something organic on the menu,” Summer said.

Rose tapped the folded edge of Zach’s flyer on the counter, nodding as she munched a cookie. “You know what I think? If you’re dead-set against ever going out of the house, you could make a handsome living, selling these cookies. I’ve never had any quite like them. What’s your secret?”

Summer chose to ignore the “never going out” part of the observation. “If I told you,” she said, topping off her neighbor’s coffee, “it wouldn’t be a secret anymore, now would it?”

“No, I’m serious. You could sell them to restaurants. I’ll bet a few local bakeries would even buy them. They’re that good!”

“I can see it now.” Both hands forming the corners of an imaginary sign, she pretended to read, “Summer Lane, founder of Chips Off the Old Block.” Grinning, she shook her head. “Thanks, but no, thanks, because then I’d be obliged to fill orders. And fight off the reporters clamoring for an interview with the next Mrs. Meadows, Cookie Queen.”

Rose threw her head back and laughed, a little too long and way too loud to sound sincere. But Summer overlooked that, too, because she wouldn’t have offended her for the world.

“You’re a hoot, girl.” Then she got really serious, really fast. “I can’t tell you how glad I am that your parents are here. It drives me crazy, thinking of you over here alone all the time, wasting that delightful sense of humor and all that gorgeousness. But if I said something like that in front of them, only God knows what sort of Pandora’s box I’d open for you.”

“I appreciate your discretion.” Summer had heard it all before. She glanced at the clock.

“I’d better get supper started. They’ll be back in time to eat.”

“Oh. That’s right. And you can count on them to be punctual.” Sarcasm rang loud in her voice. “Like they were punctual last night, when you went to all that trouble to fix them a full vegan meal—which they didn’t eat because they stopped at a restaurant on the way here, without bothering to call and let you know they were running late.”

“Oh, it’s all right,” Summer said. “They fell all over themselves, apologizing when they got here.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “But won’t they be surprised when I reheat the entire meal tonight.”

She saw no point in telling Rose that her parents’ guilt had provided the perfect way to sidestep another In Your Own Best Interests speech about the dangers of skipping orthopedist appointments, or yet another lecture about why she should find a therapist who’d force her to get out of the house.

But how she’d avoid all that tonight was anybody’s guess.

“Well, I don’t envy you.”

Rose was still holding Zach’s flyer. She had that look in her eye, and Summer had a sinking suspicion it was behind all this chitchat.

“So how long did Zach stay this time?”

Summer should have known Rose would have seen his truck out front. Was it her imagination, or had her friend put extra emphasis on this time?

“He stayed just long enough for me to fill two more sandwich bags with cookies.” Not the whole truth, but not a lie, either. “He dropped off his friend’s flyer,” she said, nodding at it.

He’d met Harry Wilson at a seminar, years earlier. And since Harry was vacationing in town, he’d asked Zach’s permission to lead a few classes. Monday’s class, to be precise, and Zach thought it only fair to warn her that he and Emma wouldn’t be the only instructors on site.

Rose dismissed the flyer. “So? Have you made up your mind yet?”

“About what?”

“Good grief, girl. Now I know what it feels like to be a dentist. Sometimes talking to you is like pulling teeth without the benefit of Novocain! What do you think of him?”

“I think you were absolutely right. He seems like a good guy. It was nice of him to give Alex some behind-the-wheel time.” And nice of him to give me a heads-up about Harry Wilson.

Rose huffed. “That isn’t what I meant.”

“Well, he’s still raving about my cookies, so I guess you could say he has good taste, too.”

Rose clucked her tongue. “All right, I’ll quit beating around the bush.”

“I’m glad to hear it. It’s unnecessarily hard on the shrubbery, and a waste of time, to boot.”

She laughed, swatting playfully at Summer. “Be honest, now—just between you and me—isn’t he the hunkiest hunk of man on two feet?”

Rose had a good heart, but she had absolutely no control over her tongue. There was no such thing as between you and me where Rose was concerned. Summer knew that anything she said in the moments that followed would be repeated, probably before morning.

She grabbed the teakettle, a perfect excuse to put her back to Rose. As she filled it with water, she thought of Zach, tall and blond and broad-shouldered, with a voice so deep and smooth, he could work as a voice-over actor if he wanted to. She’d had plenty of time to think about it, and still hadn’t come up with a color to describe the blue-green shade of his eyes. Hadn’t been able to rationalize the way she’d reacted when his warm fingertips grazed hers, either.

She felt the heat of a blush creeping from her neck to her cheeks and continued facing the stove, because the ever-perceptive Rose was sure to figure out why...and would never let Summer hear the end of it.

When at last she turned around, Rose was reading Zach’s flyer. A not-so-subtle hint for Summer?

“What kind of tea can I get you?” she asked, riffling through her collection.

“Oh, sweetie. I’m sorry, but I can’t stay. But thanks.”

So Rose had stopped by for no reason other than to see if her opinion of Zach had changed between yesterday and today?

“Besides, if I stayed, I’d want to help you get the food reheated for your folks, and that is a one-woman kitchen if ever I’ve seen one.” She narrowed one eye. “Now, if you’re smart, you’ll invite Zach over for a meal sometime. I happen to know that meat-stuffed shells are his favorite main dish. You could ask him to rinse lettuce leaves or chop something while you do...whatever.” Rose smirked. “Squeezing into that tiny space is sure to cure your aversion to being near him.”

It wasn’t just Zach, Summer thought. It was every man, with the exception of her dad and her best friend, Justin.

The teakettle started to whistle, and it dawned on her that the only way Rose could have known how she had reacted to Zach’s touch was if he’d told Alex, and Alex told his mom. The heat in her cheeks intensified. How dare he drag an innocent teenager into...into whatever this was! Oh, she’d go to class on Monday, all right, if only to give him a piece of her mind. What she wanted to tell him couldn’t be said on the phone!

The doorbell rang as she turned off the gas. Saved by the bell, she thought. “It’s probably Justin,” Summer said, heading for the front door.

“I’m sure you already know that you’re doubly blessed,” Rose said as he entered. “Who else has a best friend who’s the most sought-after stylist in all of Vail...and he makes house calls!”

“Flattery will get you anywhere, Rose,” Justin said. “But you still have to make an appointment like everybody else.” Winking, he pressed a kiss to Summer’s cheek. “I’m early, I know, but a client canceled, and I thought we could fill the extra time with a visit.” He looked at Rose. “Sorry if I interrupted your girl talk.”

“Girl talk indeed,” Rose said, waving the comment away. “This one’s lips are buttoned up tighter than Fort Knox.” Grabbing her jacket, she shook a finger under Summer’s nose. “You’re surrounded by enablers, this guy and me, included. Is it any wonder that you’ve been stuck in this same old rut for so long?”

She hugged Summer and smiled at Justin, and with that, she was gone.

Summer couldn’t meet Justin’s eyes. She had a feeling that her friend of many years agreed with Rose.

She shook off her suspicions. “My folks are in town, but they’ll be back in a couple of hours. I’m warming up some vegetable lasagna for supper,” she told him, taking refuge in the kitchen. “Why don’t you stay? I’m sure they’d love to see you.”

“Wish I could, but I have plans.”

If not for Justin and his family, she would have spent countless major holidays alone while her parents were on location. They’d been in Europe when she was attacked, and it had been Justin who’d spent the long hours with her at the hospital and rehab center. She couldn’t help but wonder if he really had plans, or if he’d made up the story to avoid spending time with the couple who, in his words, had been absent every time their only child needed them.

“Then what can I get you to drink while we set up for the haircut?”

He sat down at the counter. “Coffee, if you’ve got it.”

The friends launched into familiar, comfortable conversation that continued even as they moved the dining room table and covered the colorful rug with a white sheet, and while he cut and styled her hair. After he helped her put things back into place, he grabbed her hand.

“Sit down, Sums,” he said, leading her to the living room sofa. “I have something to tell you. Something really important.”

He plopped down beside her, looking more serious than she’d ever seen him look.

“Let me say this before I lose my nerve. Again.”

Again? How long had he been planning this little speech?

“Do you like wearing your hair short?”

“Sure. You do a great job. I don’t even miss the long ‘do’ anymore.”

His expression grew even more serious. “You are the only client I make house calls for. You know that, right?”

Yes, she did. Just like she knew what an inconvenience it was for him to haul scissors and combs, dryer and styling tools from his shop on East Meadow to her place. She’d always done everything possible to show her appreciation, and sent him home with generous tips, his favorite desserts and healthy casseroles that he could freeze then bake when work left him no time to cook.

“I realize it’s a hassle,” she said. “Coming over here every month for nearly two years...if you need to charge more, or change the schedule so that—”

He grabbed her hands. “Summer. Shhh. Please?”

She didn’t like his tone. Didn’t like feeling like a misbehaving child, either. It made her remember what her dad had said during his last visit: “If you keep acting like a helpless child, you can’t complain when people treat you like one.” It hadn’t been easy to hear then, and it wouldn’t be easy, hearing it from her much-trusted friend.

“You know I love you like a sister, right?”

She nodded. “And I feel the same way about you.”

Justin looked sad, and pained, and frustrated all at once. Her heart ached for the friend who’d always been there for her. If she loved him half as much as she claimed to, she’d spare him the ordeal of telling her the house calls had to stop.

She sat up straighter and forced a smile. “You know how much I appreciate all you do for me, right?”

One brow rose high on his forehead. “Uh, yeah...”

“So please don’t take what I’m about to say the wrong way.”

Eyes narrowed, he studied her face.

“I’ve let you baby me for far too long. It’s time I stood on my own two feet, inside and outside of this house. So next time I need a trim, I’ll come to your shop, just like any other client.” As he’d done earlier, Summer raised a hand to silence his retort. “I’ve made up my mind, and there isn’t a thing you can do to change it.”

He pulled her into a brotherly hug then held her at arm’s length. “I’m proud of you, Sums. Really proud!”

Summer did her best to match his happy smile...while hoping that someday, she’d share his feelings.