Читать книгу Her Surprise Family - Patricia Thayer - Страница 11

Chapter Two

Shelby stood on the front porch watching Rafe’s Chevy truck pull out of the drive onto the quiet, tree-lined street.

“Arrogant man,” she mumbled as she sat down on one of the steps. What right did he have to boss her around? No man was going to tell her what to do. She wasn’t her mother, weak and submissive, allowing men to control her life, then walk out on her. As a child, she remembered the men who’d come and gone from Nola Harris’s life, including Shelby’s father. Years ago she had vowed she’d never let a man get close enough to hurt her.

Well, she had managed most of her life just fine by herself, and Rafe Covelli wasn’t going to change that.

Shelby glanced behind her at the house, and suddenly she was overwhelmed. How was she going to get all of it done? She sighed tiredly, remembering how hard she’d worked and saved for this place. Now this was her home. Excitement raced through her. Stewart Manor was hers.

She turned and surveyed the vast lawn. It wasn’t so much grass as two acres of knee-high weeds. The dozen or so maple trees could stand to be trimmed. So could the hedge that lined the wrought-iron fence bordering the property.

She stood and went down the steps, refusing to let herself get depressed. All her life she’d managed to handle anything that had been tossed at her, and she’d survived. With this place there was a lot to do, but she could handle it.

Making her way to the rear of the house, she realized that this area wasn’t in any better shape than the front Weeds were everywhere. The large rose garden had been neglected, but there were some bushes that had survived the neglect.

Shelby continued her inspection of the property and followed the old brick walkway past a row of trees. She froze at the sight of a little cottage, its paint peeling and most of its windows broken. Taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, she kept moving through the high grass toward the building.

A rusty glider swing sat on the small porch, which made memories flood her head. A hot Indiana summer, and she and her mom sitting on that very swing, waiting for rain to cool things off. Shelby had only been six years old, but that period in her life had been tucked neatly into her heart as the happiest time she’d ever spent with her mother. The last summer they were together—before Nola went away.

She felt a chill course through her, and her emotions threatened to surface. She was unable to stop the recollection of the nice woman who used to come and visit them at the cottage. A woman who lived in Stewart Manor and her name was Miss Hannah. She was pretty and always smiling. When she visited in the evenings, she’d bring cookies or ice cream. One time she brought a doll.

Then one night when Miss Hannah came by, Nola sent her daughter to bed.

But that didn’t stop Shelby from hearing their argument. The next day, Nola packed up their shabby suitcases and they left Stewart Manor. A bus took them away, and her mother never explained why.

Not long after that, Nola hooked up with another man, Orin Harris. Nola said he was going to be her daddy. Shelby didn’t want a daddy, especially someone who was mean to her mother. Besides, Orin and Nola were always drunk and at night they’d fight. One day her mother had gotten sick, and with no other relatives to take Shelby, she had been put in foster care. She never saw or heard from her mother again. Later she was told she had died.

Shelby was almost overcome with sadness. But she drew a shaky breath and fought it, as she had so many times. Denial was her protection against getting hurt.

“Hello, is anyone there?”

With a startled gasp, Shelby jerked around to find an old man standing in the rose arbor. He was short, and as he walked toward her, she noticed he had a slight limp. He had snowy white hair and a ruddy complexion, and his smile let her know he wasn’t a threat.

“May I help you?” Shelby asked.

“I’m Ely Cullen, ma’am.” He held out his hand.

She shook it and felt his work-hardened hand. “Hello, Ely. I’m Shelby Harris.”

“I know. The town’s been buzzing about the new owner of Stewart Manor. I was down at the hardware store earlier when I thought I should come by to welcome you to town.” He glanced around and sighed. “It sure was a fine place in its day.” His hazel eyes returned to her. “Could be again.”

“It’s going to take a long time and a lot of money,” Shelby said. “But I plan to turn the manor into a bed-and-breakfast.”

Ely nodded. “Could you use some help getting the grounds in shape?”

Shelby’s spirits soared. “I’d love it. But right now all I can afford are these two hands.” She held them up.

“What if you didn’t have to pay?”

Shelby paused and eyed the old man closely. She didn’t like to take handouts. And he couldn’t possibly handle the hot, humid summer weather. “That’s awfully nice of you, Mr. Cullen, but this is a big job.”

“I know. I did it for over thirty years.”

She stared at the man. “You were the gardener for Stewart Manor?”

He nodded happily. “I used to prune Miss Hannah’s prize-winning roses. Mowed the lawns and trimmed all the hedges. Now I know I’m older and slower these days, but it’s been hard for me to stand by and watch the place go downhill since Miss Hannah’s passing.” His eyes raised to Shelby’s. “I can still be useful.”

“You sure? I could really use the help, Ely, but I don’t want you to be overworked.”

“I won’t, ’cause I’m going to bring my grandson with me to do the heavy stuff.”

“Then I have to insist on paying him.”

He smiled. “We’ll work something out. Right now let’s just spruce up the place a little.”

“I want that as badly as you do,” Shelby said, finally feeling as if things were going in her favor.

Later that afternoon Rafe walked into Maria’s Ristorante and sat down at the end of the bar in the section reserved for Maria’s family.

He was a little early for dinner, but he wanted to talk to his brother, Rick, and this was the best place to find him. Rick’s wife, Jill, had agreed to work the afternoon shift until she began her teaching job in the fall. The two had only been married a month and they were inseparable.

Rafe envied his brother. Rick had found love, and more importantly, he hadn’t been afraid to go after what he wanted. That had been Jill. Rafe hadn’t had time to find and court a wife. Not that he’d wanted one.

If the Covelli curse wasn’t enough to deter Rafe from finding love, he’d had plenty to handle since his father’s accident and death two years ago. Being the eldest son, Rafe had been responsible for Nonna Vittoria, his mother, Maria, and sister, Angelina. And he couldn’t forget the family construction business, Covelli and Sons. Things had gone sour when his father’s accident had been blamed on substandard materials, and Rafaele Covelli, Sr., had been the contractor for the building. It had taken a few months, but with the help of Rick and their cousin Tony, Rafe had gotten the business back on track. They were still searching for the creeps responsible for the accident, and Rafe vowed he wasn’t going to stop until he’d cleared his father’s name.

Recently the family had branched out into different business ventures and were doing well. They even had enough work to employ a bigger crew. But Covelli and Sons had never been about quantity. It was quality that counted, and Rafe had always been the best custom carpenter he could be. His dad taught him that.

That was why he’d laid down the law to Shelby Harris. He remembered the way he’d left her on the porch of Stewart Manor. Her long, jean-clad legs, her emerald-green eyes... Why did he feel as if he’d deserted her?

Because he knew Gus Norton did shoddy work. That man was quick to cut corners. Rafe hated the thought of Gus laying his grimy hand on any of the beautiful woodwork in that house.

“Hey, bro.”

Rafe turned to see Rick coming toward him carrying Jill’s son, Lucas. The eighteen-month-old boy grinned and reached out for his newly acquired uncle.

Rafe took the boy and sat him on the bar. “Hello, Lucas.”

“Hi,” Lucas said, acting shy.

Rafe looked at his brother. “I take it you’re both visiting a certain pretty blond waitress.”

“Yeah,” Rick said as his gaze wandered over to where Jill waited on a table. “It’s tough having her at work all day.”

“Poor thing.” He tickled his nephew’s chin. “Most people have to work for a living.”

“Hey, I work,” Rick said. “I’ve been replacing the hardwood flooring in the living room at the house.” He was talking about the Victorian home on Ash Street that he and Jill had bought a few months back. After moving in a month ago, they’d decided to take their time and redo each room. So far they’d finished the kitchen, master bedroom and Lucas’s room.

“I ran into another fixer upper today. Shelby Harris.”

“She’s the one who bought the big old Stewart place?”

“Yeah. She plans on opening a bed-and-breakfast. It’s a mess right now. You could spend months working on that place. But the craftsmanship is incredible. Dad would have loved it.”

“Didn’t he do some work there when we were kids?”

Rafe nodded. “He designed kitchen cabinets for Mrs. Stewart about twenty years ago. I didn’t go in the kitchen today.”

“So what are you doing for this Ms. Harris?”

“Nothing.”

Rick frowned. “She didn’t like your ugly mug?”

“I was too expensive for her. I think she overextended herself buying the place. Not enough money left over to do any restoring. I don’t think she had any idea what it would cost in time and materials.” He shook his head. “That’s one stubborn woman.”

“Ohh, so you’ve noticed she’s a woman. That’s good. Is she young? Old? Pretty?”

Rafe shrugged. “She’s about our age, and I didn’t pay any attention to what she looked like,” he lied.

“Oh, no. You are in trouble, bro, if you can’t remember whether or not she’s pretty. You’ve been too long without female companionship.”

Rafe gave him a pointed look. “When have I had time? I’ve been trying to keep the business together.”

“And doing a wonderful job, I might add.” Rick opened a package of bread sticks and gave one to Lucas. “I hope you know how much I appreciated your keeping things going while I was away all those years.”

Rafe knew the guilt his younger brother felt for joining the marines, then going to Texas to find his fortune in oil, rather than staying home to work in the family business.

“I wanted the business to keep going—for dad. We don’t have to worry about our independent mom, because she has the restaurant. But Covelli and Sons is our legacy.” It was more than that to Rafe. He remembered his father teaching him about woodworking when he was a child and talking about his sons someday joining the business. Rafe had wanted nothing more than to become an expert carpenter like his father, the man he was named after.

Rick broke into his thoughts. “Well, now it looks like you have more than enough to keep busy,” Rick said. “Charlie told me you’re about ready to rent out the storefront offices.”

Rafe nodded. “I’m putting the ad in next week for that space and also the three low-income apartments upstairs. If you hadn’t been off fixing up your own house, you could keep up with these things.” He turned to his little nephew. “Right, kid?”

Lucas nodded. “Right.”

Rick smiled. “Things have sure turned around these past few months. From the verge of bankruptcy to showing a profit in seven months. Good old cousin Tony was unbelievable coming up with the idea of purchasing the storefronts downtown and restoring them.” He gave his brother a sideways glance. “Too bad we couldn’t get Stewart Manor. Restoring a place like that would be wonderful advertising for the business.”

Rafe shook his head. “What did you want me to do? Give away our services? I doubt she can even afford materials.”

“Maybe something could be worked out. Sounds like this Ms. Harris needs to fix the place up so she can open for business.”

“Maybe she should have taken out a larger loan.”

Rick remained silent.

“So I’m the bad guy here,” Rafe said.

“Bad boy,” Lucas chimed in.

Rick laughed at his son’s antics. Lucas joined in and clapped his hands. Hearing the commotion, Jill Covelli wandered over to the bar. She smiled and her blue eyes shone as she looked up at her new husband. She and Rick exchanged a look that made Rafe almost believe in love.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, and took the time to kiss her husband and son.

“My older brother’s got woman trouble.”

Jill smiled. “Who is she?”

“The new owner of Stewart Manor,” Rick said.

“Oh, you mean Shelby Harris. I saw her at the bank the other day. Mrs. Kerrigan pointed her out to me. A pretty brunette, tall and slender.”

“With the most incredible green eyes,” Rafe said before he could stop himself.

“Looks like another one is about to bite the dust,” Rick said, grinning.

Rafe shook his head. “Oh, no. I’m not as brave as you, bro. I’m not about to mess around with the Covelli curse.”

Around six o’clock Wednesday morning Shelby awoke to the sound of men’s voices outside. She rolled over and realized she’d fallen asleep on the sofa while going over some work. She got up and went to the window. Pulling back the curtain, she looked out to find Rafe Covelli standing on her lawn along with two men. One was an older man of maybe forty-five, the other about the same size and age as Rafe.

It took a minute before Shelby remembered that Rafe Covelli was starting work on the front this morning. Her attention was drawn to how good Rafe looked in his navy T-shirt with his broad shoulders and muscular chest. Her gaze lowered to his faded jeans. His legs and rear end weren’t bad either.

Suddenly Rafe turned and saw her at the window. Their eyes connected and held for what seemed like a long time. Finally Shelby realized she was in her pajamas. She dropped the curtain and hurried to get dressed. After pulling on a pair of jeans, she grabbed a white T-shirt from her dresser and slipped her feet into a pair of beat-up tennis shoes. She finger-combed her short hair and went outside.

The sun made her squint, and she shielded her eyes from the sun as she approached Rafe.

“Morning,” he said sternly. “Sorry to wake you, but we need to get started before it gets too hot.”

“I understand. I’m usually up, but I was working late on the computer.” Shelby looked at the man standing next to Rafe.

“Hi, I’m Rick Covelli. The rude guy’s my brother. Sorry we didn’t warn you we were coming so early.”

“No problem. Like I said, I just overslept this morning.”

“Well, we’ll be as quiet as possible. I just need to check out the gables.” Rick glanced up at the huge brick structure. “I have to admit that I’m anxious to get my hands on this place. Mind if I go upstairs to have a look?”

“Sure. Go right ahead.”

Rick tipped his baseball cap. “Nice meeting you, Shelby. And welcome to Haven Springs. I hope you’re going to like it here.”

“I’m sure I will.”

“Our mother asked us to extend you an invitation to stop by the restaurant—Maria’s Ristorante. She and my nonna would like to meet you. My wife, Jill, also works there.”

Shelby’s head was spinning. She couldn’t believe these too men were brothers. One was open and friendly, the other brooding. She glanced at Rafe, who was busy writing something on his clipboard. “That would be nice, Rick. I’ve been pretty busy with moving in and trying to catch up on my work. I run a computer-graphics business from the house.”

Rick smiled again. “Interesting work. Just don’t let Rafe anywhere close to your machine. He and computers don’t get along.”

Rafe glared at his brother. “Don’t you thinks it’s about time you started working, bro?”

“All right,” Rick said cheerfully, heading for the house. “I’ll be on the third floor if you need anything.”

Rafe introduced the older man as Charlie. Then another truck pulled into the driveway. It bore the logo of Norton Construction.

Shelby ignored Rafe’s look as she walked toward the man getting out of the truck. “Hello, I’m Shelby Harris,” she said, and shook his hand. “You must be Gus.” The man appeared to be in his late thirties. He was heavyset and evidently hadn’t taken the time to shave. And although it was early morning, his clothes were already dirty.

“Howdy, ma’am,” Gus Norton said. He looked around. “I see Covelli is doing your exterior.” He shook his head. “I don’t blame you for not accepting his inflated prices. Old Gus here, I can do it for you at a lower cost I’ll fix up the old Stewart place for ya.”

Shelby knew she was making a mistake. “Like I said on the phone, Mr. Norton, I can’t afford to do much right now.”

He nodded and gave her a wicked grin. “That’s right, sweetheart. You said you wanted to work something out.”

Shelby cringed. Asking for a bid from this man had been a mistake.

“Well, hey there, Rafe,” Gus said. “I hear you’re doing these facade renovations. It’s a shame you had to get out of new construction because of what happened to your daddy.”

“I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing, Norton,” Rafe said coldly.

Shelby could only stand back and watch the sparks fly between the two men. Then Charlie leaped into the fray. “Since when did they allow you inside the city limits, Norton?”

Gus just grinned. “Hey, Charlie. You ever want to work in real construction again, give me a call.”

Charlie started to say something, but he glanced at Shelby and seemed to think better of it. He walked away.

Shelby quickly ushered Gus into the house and sent him off to his task. In the kitchen she made a pot of coffee. She needed the caffeine to get her going this morning.

She’d spent most of the previous evening at the computer, trying to hammer out the ideas that were due tomorrow. She’d been behind with her work since she’d come to Haven Springs.

With her business doing so well, it had been a bad time to do the move from Louisville, but she couldn’t wait to get into her new home. Now she was paying for it. If she didn’t finish the story she’d been working on in time, she wouldn’t get paid—and she desperately needed the money for the restoration of her new home.

Home. The word seemed strange to her. In her almost twenty-nine years she’d never been able to call anyplace home.

“I can’t believe you actually went ahead and called that guy for a bid.”

Shelby turned around to find Rafe Covelli standing in the doorway.

“I told you, Mr. Covelli, that I needed to get some things done on this house. The rains don’t stop just because I can’t afford to fix the roof.”

“I’ll fix the roof. You already have enough materials in the attic for a decent patch job. I could have it done in a few days. Then you can take your time on some of the other repairs. Just don’t hire that jerk upstairs. Believe me, he doesn’t know a router from a chisel.”

Shelby was tempted to smile but didn’t. She was curious to know why Rafe Covelli was coming to her rescue. Or maybe she shouldn’t ask why and just accept it. “I won’t take charity. I’m going to pay you.”

“You can pay me by getting that jerk who calls himself a contractor out of this house. Stewart Manor deserves the best. That’s me.” Rafe entered the kitchen and stopped, eyeing the oak cabinets.

Shelby smiled. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they? But I don’t think they’re part of the original house.”

Rafe ran his hand over the fine wood grain. “No, they weren’t. They were put in about twenty years ago.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because my dad did the work.” He said this with such pride that she envied him his childhood and the obvious love and respect he had for his father.

“The cabinets are my favorite thing in this kitchen,” she said.

He turned to her. “And if you love this house as much as I think you do, get rid of Norton.”

“Stop giving me orders, Mr. Covelli.”

“It’s Rafe.”

Shelby swallowed as she looked into his intense dark eyes.

“What do you say, Shelby? Do we have a deal? I’ll do the repairs on the roof if you tell Gus to get lost.”

“I told you I won’t take your charity. Maybe we can trade something.”

A twinkle appeared in his eyes and she rushed on to suggest, “How about I teach you about computers?”

He blinked. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Take it or leave it,” Shelby said.

Rafe couldn’t believe this was happening. He was bargaining to get the privilege to repair her roof. When had he lost the upper hand here? But it was worth it when Shelby went upstairs to find Gus Norton and told him the bad news.

Just as she returned to the kitchen, a teenage boy came rushing to the back door. “Miss Harris. Miss Harris.”

Shelby dashed outside, Rafe following. “What is it, Josh?”

“It’s my grandfather. I think he fell.” The boy pointed to the yard.

Shelby hurried across the lawn. Rafe was right behind her. When they reached the rose garden, they found Ely Cullen lying on the ground.

“Don’t move him,” Rafe said. He knelt down beside the man. “Ely, can you hear me?”

“Of course I can hear you.” The old man tried to get up. “I just lost my balance. Bum knee gave out.” He sat up with help from Rafe.

“Wait. Let me check to see if anything is broken.”

“Ain’t nothin’ broken—just my pride.”

“Maybe I should take you to the doctor just in case,” Rate suggested as he pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at the scratch on Ely’s head. “Does anything hurt?”

“Son, at my age something always hurts.”

“Grandpa, maybe you should go. You have scratches on your face and arm.” The blond teenager looked concerned.

“Josh, I fell on the grass. I’m fine. Like I said, my knee gave out. Just need a little help getting up.”

Rate eased the man to his feet. The old man did seem steady enough. “Ely, what are you doing out here at seven in the morning?”

“I’m working for Miss Shelby. We’re going to get the lawn and garden in shape by the end of the summer.”

Rafe had had just about enough. Shelby Harris had hired the area’s worst contractor, and then a seventy-seven-year-old man to help with the yard work. He assisted Ely into a lawn chair.

“I’ll get you a glass of water,” Shelby said.

Rafe stopped her. “I think, to be on the safe side, we should run Ely to the clinic.”

“I don’t need to go,” Ely argued.

Rafe exchanged a worried glance with Shelby. She swallowed hard and he could see her fear. “Please, Ely. I’d feel better if you were checked out. I am responsible for your safety, after all.”

The older man smiled. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Shelby wanted to kiss the old man. “I know it wasn’t. It wasn’t anyone’s. But an accident happened.” Oh, Lord, she thought, what if he really was hurt?

“Okay, I’ll go to the doctor as long as this doesn’t mean I can’t work in the garden.”

“If the doctor says it’s okay, you can work here all you want.”

“I’ll get the truck,” Rafe said, and rushed off.

Shelby watched him go, knowing that Rafe Covelli was going to give her a lecture over this one. But right now all she cared about was getting Ely taken care of.