Читать книгу Monkey Wrench - Nancy Martin - Страница 9

“I DID NOT COME to Tyler to meet men, Granny Rose.” Susannah stepped inside the house and said vehemently, “I came to see you.”

“Well, you’ve seen me, and I’m fine, so you might as well get to know Joe.” Rose took Susannah’s coat and hung it in the closet.

Susannah suppressed a smile and kept her patience. Rose Atkins had always been a stubborn lady, and old age hadn’t changed that. “I know Joe as much as I care to know him—no insult intended, Mr. Santori—but I’m very concerned about you, Granny Rose.”

Rose kicked off her sneakers, turned on the heel of her woolly white sock and padded back through the downstairs hallway, calling over her shoulder, “No need to be concerned. I’m in tip-top shape. Joe, you can take that bag upstairs—that should keep you out of trouble for a few minutes. The first bedroom on your right. Then meet us in the kitchen for cocoa. Consider it a peace offering. Come along, Suzie.”

Amused and exasperated at the same time, Susannah looked at Joe, who was closing the front door. Tartly, she said to him, “This is starting to look very much like a wild-goose chase. My grandmother seems fine.”

Joe grinned. “Ornery as ever, huh?”

“She’s not ornery, she’s...” Susannah stopped herself. “Come to think of it, Granny Rose isn’t usually ornery.”

Joe jerked his head to indicate the kitchen. “Go talk to her. I’ll hang around upstairs and give you a few minutes together.”

“Thanks,” Susannah said, meaning it. “And, listen, about what my grandmother said—”

“About you and me?” With a laugh, Joe teased, “It’s an intriguing idea, isn’t it, Suzie?”

He had latched onto her nickname rather quickly, Susannah noted, feeling an absurd blush start. Hastily, she said, “Look, I’m not planning to get involved with anyone right now. I’m very busy, you see. I’ve got a lot of irons in the fire.”

“And no time for love? That’s a pretty sad commentary on your life, isn’t it?”

Susannah opened her mouth to protest. Joe sent her another of his dazzling smiles and proceeded up the curved staircase with her suitcase in hand. Susannah swallowed an infuriated growl and stomped after her grandmother.

In the kitchen, Rose was already puttering at the stove with a carton of milk, a wooden spoon and a box of powdered cocoa. She hummed while she worked. “He’s one of the most sought-after men in Tyler, you know.”

Susannah threw her beret on the kitchen table. “Granny Rose, you’re as maddening as ever!”

Laughing, Rose said, “Because I’m in the mood for cocoa? Or because I’d like to fix you up with Joe?”

“You’re always trying to fix me up with somebody or other. Why him, of all people?”

“Why not him?” Rose cried. “Joe is available, good-looking and well respected, plus he’s fun to be around. And he’s a real man—not one of those overgrown boys you see in the city. What more could a woman ask for?”

“A little culture, maybe? I like men who read books, not just use them to fix a wobbly table now and then.”

“Don’t be such a snob.”

“I’m not a snob,” Susannah replied defensively. “I simply know my own taste, that’s all. I like bright men with a certain amount of...of polish, I suppose.”

“Joe has polish.”

“I meant sophistication,” Susannah shot back. “Not something you rub into fine furniture.”

“That was the remark of a snob.”

Susannah slid limply into one of the kitchen chairs. “You’re right. I apologize.” She rubbed her forehead. “You caught me off guard, that’s all. This whole day has caught me off guard, as a matter of fact. I’ve been working very hard lately. I’m supposed to be going on my vacation tomorrow, but I’m more disorganized than ever. I guess I really do need some time off.”

Rose turned and leaned against the stove to look at Susannah, as if ready for one of their patented heart-to-heart talks. For a moment, Susannah felt as if it were twenty years ago, and that she was still a teenager confiding in her grandmother in the privacy of their cozy kitchen. The room was filled with the fragrance of fresh baking, and rows of cookies filled sheets of waxed paper on the counter. The shelves were lined with jars of fruits and jellies that Rose had painstakingly preserved the previous summer. Sheaves of dried herbs and flowers hung from the beams overhead, reminding Susannah that everything she had become—the cooking, decorating, entertaining expert of Milwaukee television—she owed to her grandmother, who long ago had taught Susannah gracious living and the value of hearth and home.

“It feels good to be home,” Susannah said at last.

Rose relaxed and smiled. “It’s good to see you home, dear.”

She padded to Susannah and gave her granddaughter a warm hug and a kiss on the top of the head. “I wish you were home to stay, not running off to some hot beach tomorrow. I’m going to miss you this Christmas.”

With a guilty pang, Susannah held her grandmother’s hand a little longer. “I’ll be back on Christmas Day, Granny Rose. I just won’t be here for all the parties beforehand.”

“Not even for your birthday?”

Susannah’s birthday fell just a week before Christmas and had been the family excuse for a large pre-Christmas gathering ever since Susannah was born. The famous Atkins party was one of the social events of the season for the whole town of Tyler.

“I can’t celebrate with you this year, I’m sorry.” Hearing the wistful note in Rose’s voice caused Susannah’s heart to ache, but she said, “Roger bought the tickets, you see, without remembering my usual plans to be in Tyler for the week before Christmas. I hated to disappoint him, Granny Rose.”

“Why? He disappoints you all the time.” Rose released Susannah’s hand and returned to the stove.

“He doesn’t mean to disappoint me. He’s just forgetful. He’s a busy man.”

“Too busy to be kind?” Rose sent her a short-tempered frown.

“I won’t defend Roger today,” Susannah said patiently, having endured Rose’s low opinion of Roger Selby for a long time. “Roger and I understand each other, and that’s what matters. Subject closed. I’d rather hear about you.”

“I’m fine,” Rose said at once, spooning cocoa into a saucepan full of milk.

“Joe says—”

“Oh, what does Joe know? I had a little episode, that’s all.”

“An episode?” Susannah echoed. “That sounds like a euphemism for something very bad.”

“It wasn’t.” Rose shook a dash of cinnamon into the warming milk and reached for the bottle of vanilla from the open shelf over her head. “I just...I didn’t feel well for a couple of hours. Maybe it was the flu.”

“What happened, exactly?”

“I felt light-headed. Then, I...well, all right, I admit I blacked out.”

“Good heavens! That’s more than the flu!”

“Joe was here,” Rose said hastily. “So I wasn’t alone. It hasn’t happened again. I’m fine now.”

Her concern heightened, Susannah asked, “But what caused it? Have you been taking your blood-pressure medicine?”

Rose flipped her hand. “Off and on. When I need it.”

“Granny Rose!” Truly angry, Susannah rapped the table with her knuckles. “You’re supposed to take that medication regularly! It’s not something you pop into your system now and then—”

“I’ve been feeling well without it.”

“When was the last time you saw your doctor?”

“I have an appointment scheduled in January.”

“That’s not answering my question. When was the last time?”

Rose didn’t respond, pretending to concentrate on the seemingly intricate task of stirring hot cocoa with the long-handled spoon. Frustrated, Susannah leaned forward on her elbows, trying to think of a way to force her grandmother to take care of herself. It seemed very odd, though, for Rose had been Susannah’s parent for most of her life. To reverse roles and become her grandmother’s caretaker felt...well, presumptuous. Until now, Rose had been perfectly capable of taking care of herself. What right did Susannah have to march in and take over?

“Look,” Susannah said, endeavoring to keep her voice steady, “it’s not my place to order you around. You’re a grown woman with common sense, and you know you should take your medicine and see your doctor regularly. But for some reason you’re not taking care of yourself, Granny Rose. That upsets me.”

Impatiently, Rose said, “I promise to see Dr. Phelps after Christmas.”

“Why not immediately? I’m sure he’d squeeze you into his schedule right this minute if—”

“I don’t need to see him now.”

“But if—”

“I’m fine, and that’s final! Go on your vacation and have a wonderful time, Susannah. After Christmas, you can come see Dr. Phelps with me, if you’re still upset. But I’m not going to budge until then, do you hear me? I’m fine!”

Susannah glared at her grandmother’s turned back. “Granny Rose, are you afraid you’ll spoil my silly vacation if you’re sick?”

Rose was saved from answering that question. A thump sounded on the stairs, and a lofty baritone voice carried to the women in the kitchen, singing, “‘Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o’er the plain....”’

Then Joe appeared, filling the kitchen doorway with his tall frame and broad shoulders. His gaze traveled swiftly to Susannah, and he lifted his brows as if to ask how everything was going. Susannah frowned and shook her head.

Rose turned from the stove. “You don’t look much like an angel, Joe, but you can sing like one. Want a cookie?”

“As many as you can spare,” he said cheerfully.

“Sit down, then. This cocoa is almost ready.”

“Smells great.”

Joe eased his body into the wooden chair opposite Susannah’s, and he continued to watch her face while Rose’s back was turned. “So,” he said, “you two get everything worked out?”

“Yes,” said Rose.

“No,” said Susannah dourly.

“That’s what I like to hear,” Joe responded, reaching a long arm to snatch a cookie off the nearby countertop. “Détente, right?”

“The matter is closed,” Rose said with authority. “Now we’re free to talk about you two.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, Granny Rose.” Susannah glowered at Joe, who grinned back at her before taking a sizable chomp out of his cookie. “Nothing whatever.”

“There certainly is, dear. Given a chance, you and Joe might really hit it off.”

To Joe, Susannah said, “She’s just doing this so we’ll leave her alone about her health. I don’t know why she feels she needs to matchmake for me. I’m very busy in Milwaukee.”

“Not the right kind of busy,” Rose said. “Have you ever seen her show, Joe? It’s really wonderful. Last week, Suzie showed how to make Christmas wreaths out of corn husks, how to roast a goose with sage leaves stuffed under the skin and how to make cranberry preserves in crystal glasses to give to your friends. Trouble is, Suzie’s apartment has a front door hardly big enough to hang a wreath, she’d never roast a goose for herself alone, and I’ll bet her friends in the city would rather eat caviar than cranberry preserves.”

“There’s no man in your life?” Joe asked bluntly, polishing off the first cookie and reaching for another.

“No. Yes.” Exasperated, Susannah said, “I have a gentleman friend whom I see regularly.”

“You ‘see’ him?” Joe inquired. “What does that mean exactly?”

“He’s her boss,” Rose supplied. “The station manager. It’s not exactly a hot love affair.”

“It’s comfortable,” Susannah retorted. “Roger and I don’t have time to develop a serious relationship with anyone, so we...well, we’re happy associating with each other. Dinner now and then—that sort of thing. Now could we please get back to the subject at hand—”

“They’re going on vacation together,” Rose added for Joe’s benefit, disregarding Susannah’s attempt to terminate the discussion. “But they’re going to plan the next six months’ worth of ‘Oh, Susannah!’ shows together. Can you imagine going to the beach to work?”

“No,” Joe said promptly. “But then, I hate the beach. I’d much rather go hiking in the snow. What do you want to go to the beach for? You’ll just get sunburned and sweaty.”

“I like the ocean.”

“It’s too hot.”

“It’s beautiful!”

“It’s boring.”

“How could anyone be bored at the beach?” Susannah demanded. “It’s so overwhelming and awe-inspiring—”

“I don’t go on vacations to be overwhelmed.”

“No,” Susannah said, studying him cryptically. “I don’t suppose a guy like you is ever overwhelmed.”

From the stove, Rose interrupted. “I hope you like marshmallows, Joe. I don’t trust a man who won’t eat marshmallows.”

“I love ’em,” Keeping his lazy-eyed grin trained on Susannah, he said, “I have a terrible sweet tooth.”

“But that’s your only weakness, right?” Susannah asked softly. She felt uncomfortably warm under Joe’s penetrating gaze.

He laughed. “How’d you guess?”

“Just a shot in the dark.”

“You think I’m a legend in my own mind?”

“If the shoe fits...”

Joe leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the table and staring straight into Susannah’s eyes. “And you,” he said distinctly, “are so caught up in your big-city career that you wouldn’t recognize a real man if you ran into one in a dark alley.”

“I avoid dark alleys,” she replied primly.

“Scared?”

“No, just smart.”

“Sometimes even smart people have to take risks. Otherwise, life passes you by, Miss Suzie.”

“Children, children,” Rose cautioned, looking absurdly pleased as she carried two china cups of steaming cocoa to the table. Both cups were crowded with marshmallows. “You’re making assumptions about each other before giving this whole thing a chance.”

Susannah blinked in astonishment at her grandmother. “Five minutes ago you were threatening you’d never speak to this man again! Now you’re practically angling for a marriage proposal! What’s happened?”

Rose set the cups in front of her guests and said smugly, “I was blinded by a brilliant idea. I’ve never known two people who were more ideal for each other.”

“Ideal?” Susannah objected, laughing. “You’re always digging up men with whom I have nothing in common!”

“Hey!” Joe sat upright, feigning offense. “How bad do you think I am?”

“I don’t think you’re bad,” Susannah said quickly, making an effort to be polite despite her frustration. “It’s just that I’m perfectly happy the way I am, and I don’t need a husband to make my life complete.”

“Who said anything about becoming a husband?”

Susannah threw up her hands. “Oh, heavens, how did this conversation get started? Granny Rose, you never seemed to need a man in your life.”

“The right one came along at the right time,” Rose said peaceably, pouring herself a cup of cocoa from the saucepan and adding a generous pile of marshmallows on the top, “but he didn’t last, that’s all. When he passed away, I didn’t feel the need to go looking all over again. I had my happiness. But you haven’t had your chance yet, Suzie.”

“I am happy!”

Rose sniffed. “Drink your cocoa.”

“It’s delicious cocoa,” Joe said to Rose, cradling the cup in one rough hand and slurping marshmallows. “Unique, but classic.”

“Thank you, Joe.” Rose joined them at the table and sipped from her own cup approvingly. “I always add a dash of cinnamon and vanilla along with a pinch of sugar to sweeten the milk. I believe in going the extra step to make everything special...even with little things like cinnamon in cocoa. And I’ve taught Susannah to do the same. Why, you should taste her Christmas eggnog! It’s—”

“You don’t have to sell my wifely skills to Mr. Santori, Granny Rose,” Susannah interrupted dryly. “I am not a prize heifer on the auction block.”

“Don’t be rude, dear, while Joe and I are having an innocent conversation.”

“Must you be so obvious?”

“Obvious about what, dear?”

Susannah began to smile. It was impossible to stay angry with her grandmother, especially in such a ridiculous circumstance. In fact, it was almost a pleasure to be sitting comfortably around the old kitchen table, sharing a snack and laughing with old friends. And that was exactly how she felt about Joe Santori. For some reason, he fit right into the familiar scenery. He was relaxed and funny—surprisingly easy to be with. He bore Rose’s needling in the spirit it was intended. His laughter rang off the ceiling beams and rattled the delicate china cups on their hooks over the sink. His grin was friendly...and ever so slightly wicked. Susannah couldn’t help smiling back at him from across the table.

In a rough, manly kind of way, Joe Santori was very sexy. So sexy that Susannah found herself wondering if she hadn’t missed something in life, after all.

To Rose, Joe said, “So you’re not mad at me after all, Mrs. A.?”

“I’m annoyed, but not mad. I hired you to fix my back porch, not run my life.”

“Well, the porch is almost done, but there are a few other things this house could stand to have fixed, you know.”

“Like what?” Rose asked, drinking her cocoa.

“In layman’s terms, this old place is falling apart.”

Susannah said, “Surely you exaggerate.”

“Not at all.” Quite seriously, Joe addressed himself directly to Rose. “I took the liberty of looking around upstairs a little just now. I notice the roof leaks, for starters.”

“Oh, it’s nothing a few pots and pans can’t take care of when it rains,” Rose answered with a twinkle in her eye.

Susannah frowned. “I had no idea you were having problems with the house, Granny Rose. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Rose shrugged. “Why should I spend my time worrying about an old pile of wood? It just has to last as long as I do. The only reason I had Joe work on the porch was that the posts were rotting.”

Joe said, “You’re going to live a good, long time, Mrs. A., so I think we should make sure your house doesn’t fall down around your ears in the meantime.”

“Oh, Joe, you’re too busy to bother with an old woman like me.”

Despite her objection, Rose looked suspiciously delighted to be the center of an attractive man’s attention, Susannah noted. She said, “Maybe you ought to get some estimates from other carpenters, Granny Rose.”

“Oh, I don’t want anybody but Joe working on my house. If he’s got the time, that is.”

“I’ve got time,” Joe said.

“Aren’t you working on the old lodge for the Ingalls family?”

“It’s coming along fine.” Joe leaned comfortably back in his chair and reached for yet another cookie. “In fact, I think the Ingalls family is trying to decide if they’re going to sell the old place or not. My crew is moving right along on the major renovations while they think about it. The improvements we’ve made should certainly help them get a better price.”

Susannah’s curiosity was piqued by that bit of Tyler gossip. “The old lodge is for sale? I thought it was condemned years ago.”

“Not condemned, just closed up. It was in pretty bad shape,” Joe said, “but Liza has been fixing it up again. Do you know Liza?”

“The youngest Baron girl? Yes, she was several years behind me in school—her brother, Jeff, was closer to my age—but I remember her. She was...well, a little wild, as I recall.”

Joe grinned. “She hasn’t changed. She’s a pistol, but I like her. Liza’s got a real artist’s eye where old buildings are concerned.”

“And,” Rose added with a smile, “she got married recently. I think she’s finally on the right track. Her grandfather is very proud of her.”

The Ingallses were one of the town’s most prominent families, and whatever they did was grist for the gossip mill in Tyler. Old Judson Ingalls had long been a community leader, and his daughter, Alyssa, was respected as one of Tyler’s most gracious and generous ladies. Her good works were well known, and a great many people asked her advice on matters.

Alyssa’s apparently fairy-tale marriage to Ronald Baron had come to a tragic end when her husband took his own life after a financial setback, but Alyssa and her three children seemed to have weathered the tragedy as well as could be hoped. Daughter Amanda was a successful lawyer, if Susannah remembered correctly, and Jeffrey had become a doctor. Only Liza, known for her wild ways, had failed so far to make her mark in the world in a big way. Susannah had always liked the feisty youngest child of Alyssa Baron, and she was glad to hear Liza was finally coming into her own.

She said, “Liza was always very talented.”

“I hope she’s also a good detective,” Joe remarked.

“Why?”

Joe exchanged a glance with Rose. “Well, the Ingalls family has a mystery to solve.”

“A mystery?” Susannah repeated.

Rose’s expression brightened with excitement. “Yes, the whole town’s been buzzing for months. Joe and his men found a dead body buried up at the lodge.”

Susannah stared at Joe. “Whose body?”

He shrugged and appeared unaffected by the gruesome event. “Nobody knows. Whoever she was had been buried for a very long time—more than twenty years, I’m sure.”

“She? How did she get there?”

“That’s the mystery. We don’t know anything, except that it was a woman—the police just figured that out, apparently—and she died under suspicious circumstances.” Joe added, “In fact, I think she was probably murdered.”

Rose set her cup down and said firmly, “I’ll bet you a dozen doughnuts it’s Margaret Ingalls.”

“Judson’s wife?” Susannah asked, astonished by Rose’s revelation. “I thought she disappeared a long time ago. Her disappearance caused a big scandal years back, didn’t it?”

Nodding, Rose said, “Everyone assumed Margaret left Judson and ran off with one of her boyfriends—she had a bunch of them. What a naughty flirt she was! I know where Liza got her spunk. Margaret ran away, but we never really learned what happened to her. The murder story makes sense, don’t you think? Instead of abandoning her husband and never contacting her friends again, she was killed!”

Susannah couldn’t help grinning as she noted Rose’s fascination with the mystery. “That’s what this town needs. A juicy murder mystery to help pass the cold winter nights.”

“It’s been the talk of the town,” Joe agreed.

With even more fervor, Rose declared, “I always knew Margaret Ingalls would come to a bad end.”

“Wasn’t that wishful thinking, Granny Rose? You had a soft spot for Judson, if I remember correctly.”

Rose blushed and got up suddenly from the table. “Oh, that was a long time ago. I never meant for Margaret to get hurt. Judson and I were friends, that’s all, especially after my Henry died. That’s the way things work in a small town. Everybody’s known everybody else since the day they were born, and we look out for one another. Except Joe, of course. He’s not from Tyler, are you, Joe?”

Susannah saw that Rose didn’t want to talk about the details of her romantic past, and Joe must have seen the same thing. He played along, saying, “Tyler is my home now, and my daughter likes it here.”

“Joe has a daughter,” Rose said to Susannah, clearly relieved that the topic had been changed. “She’s a lovely girl. Perhaps you’ll get to meet her.”

Amused, Joe heard the hopeful note in Rose’s voice and knew exactly what the old girl was up to. Practically every woman in Tyler had tried to help Joe’s love life along by introducing him to their daughters, their sisters, their maiden cousins from Chicago—any female who didn’t have one foot in the grave.

And it wasn’t just the women who tried to hook him up with marriageable ladies. A great many fathers, brothers, uncles and even a grandfather or two had made overtures on behalf of their female relatives. A widower like Joe was a prime target in a small town. In fact, Joe figured he’d met every eligible woman within a hundred miles of Tyler.

He liked meeting eligible women, of course. But Joe wasn’t looking for one particular woman in his life. He was having enough trouble with his daughter. Another female around would surely spell disaster.

However, something about Susannah Atkins intrigued Joe, unlike all the other women he’d met since coming to Tyler nearly a decade earlier. He couldn’t help noticing that Susannah Atkins was different.

As she sat at the cluttered kitchen table, her delicate hands cupping her hot cocoa, she looked beautiful, stylish and smart—not the kind of woman Joe was usually introduced to. But he liked the sound of Susannah’s laughter, and he could hardly keep his eyes off her. His insides were churned up, too, with unmistakable physical attraction. And for some reason, he was fighting the urge to reach across the table and toy with her hand. She was that kind of lady.

He tried to figure out exactly why the bells and whistles were going off in his head. It wasn’t just her beauty that drew his gaze, although her fine blond hair had started to come loose, and framed her face in silky, touchable wisps. Her features were more precise than the television camera portrayed. Her eyes were bluer.

But there was something more appealing than good looks about Miss Suzie Atkins. With a start, Joe realized he also liked the fact that she wasn’t making bedroom eyes at him. In fact, she appeared to be downright determined not to start anything personal with him or anyone else.

Susannah was one woman who wasn’t going to chase him, Joe decided.

She’s a challenge, he said to himself.

For once, here was a woman who wasn’t going to bake him cookies he didn’t need or invite him to parties he didn’t want to attend or fuss over him until he paid a compliment. She was cool and lovely and sophisticated, a woman who knew her own mind and could laugh when the moment warranted.

She laughed at Rose’s suggestion of meeting Joe’s daughter and shook her head. “I’m afraid I don’t get along very well with children. Forgive me if I beg off, Mr. Santori.”

“You don’t have kids?”

She blinked, looking prettily surprised. “Me? Heavens, no. I never had the time.”

“Not to mention a husband,” Rose grumbled from the other side of the kitchen. “Don’t you think it’s a shame, Joe? A nice-looking girl like Susannah ought to have a big house with lots of children. A woman her age—”

Susannah pretended to be pained by her grandmother’s not-so-subtle campaign. “Let’s not discuss my age, Granny Rose, if you please. Mr. Santori doesn’t need to learn all my secrets.”

“Whatever your age,” Joe heard himself saying, “it suits you very well.”

Susannah laughed and Rose applauded. “Bravo!”

“Don’t try turning my head with pretty talk,” Susannah cautioned with a wag of her forefinger. “You’re just trying to get me on your side, so you can spend the winter working on my grandmother’s house.”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying.” Joe grinned. Although he told himself he wasn’t looking for any female companionship, he found himself saying, “How about if I take you on a guided tour of this house tomorrow, Miss Suzie? You can help your grandmother decide if any repairs should be made.”

“I’m leaving for the Caribbean tomorrow.”

“What time?”

“I’m not...I don’t know.” For the first time, her confidence appeared to waver. “I’ll have to check with my secretary. I think the flight’s in the afternoon.”

“I’ll come in the morning.”

Rose said, “Come for breakfast. You two can have a nice chat together.”

Susannah covered her face with one hand and groaned. “Granny Rose, must you be so obvious?”

“It’s a date?” Joe asked with a grin.

“Yes, yes, all right. But please come early. I really do have a plane to catch.”

“It’s a deal.” Joe slapped the table and stood. “Now I’ve got to get home before my daughter burns down the kitchen. She’s just learning to cook.”

Rose piped up, “Oh, Susannah could teach her everything about cooking—”

“Granny Rose!” Susannah warned. She stood also and moved to escort Joe to the front door. “You’d better get out of here before my grandmother calls the nearest minister and marries us.”

“There are worse fates,” Joe murmured under his breath, bending to give Rose a quick kiss on her cheek. She gave him a bright look and winked, which caused Joe to laugh before he followed Susannah from the room.

He found her waiting at the front door, with one hand resting on the handle. She wore a soft suede skirt that clung to her hips and flared with feminine grace around her legs. When she was sure Rose hadn’t followed him, she said in a conspiratorial whisper, “Thank you very much, Mr. Santori.”

Joe grabbed his parka from the small chair where he’d left it. “For what?”

“You know. Calling me about my grandmother. I appreciate your kindness.”

“I hope it didn’t screw up your day.”

“On the contrary,” she said, watching as Joe shrugged into his coat, “this trip has actually made my day.”

Joe collected his tool belt. “You think she’s going to be okay?”

“I’m not sure. But I’ll spend this evening with her, and tomorrow morning, before I decide.” Susannah met his gaze. “I must say, it’s a comfort knowing that people like you are still here in Tyler, looking after one another.”

He wrapped his tool belt around his hand, lingering. He wasn’t quite ready to leave yet, and Susannah hadn’t opened the door, either, he noted. He said, “I like your grandmother.”

“And she likes you.” With a hint of a blush starting, Susannah added, “I hope you don’t think she’s serious when she suggests...well, when she talks about you and me.”

“I think she’s dead serious.”

“But...of course it’s impossible—”

“She’s determined,” Joe said plainly, “to get you married and pregnant as soon as possible, Miss Suzie. And frankly, I agree with her theory.”

Her eyes flashed. “I will put up with my grandmother’s opinions, Mr. Santori, because I love her. But you—”

Joe chucked her playfully under the chin, unable to resist teasing her. “You ought to have a family and a home of your own, Miss Suzie, instead of spending your life showing everybody else how to do it.”

“I’m perfectly content with my life the way it is,” she said, turning cool. “I’m very busy.”

“So you keep saying. Personally, I think a woman who’s too busy to enjoy life is missing a hell of a lot.”

He’d gone too far, Joe saw as soon as the words left his mouth. Susannah stared at him for a long, silent moment, then opened the front door. She didn’t say goodbye. Joe considered apologizing, but decided the truth was the truth. He brushed past her, hunched up the collar of his parka and started down the steps.

But on the sidewalk, he paused and turned. Glancing back, he met her gaze and grinned. “See you in the morning, Miss Suzie.”