Читать книгу Designs on the Cowboy - Roxann Delaney, Roxann Delaney - Страница 11

Chapter Three

Dylan couldn’t believe he’d let his brother talk him into staying late at the reception after Hayley’s graduation. Even worse, what on earth had possessed him to let them drag him along afterward to a late dinner with a good twenty people he hadn’t the least desire to talk to? The best part was that it was over, and he wouldn’t have to deal with something like it again. Except Luke and Hayley’s wedding, and there’d be no begging off of that.

As he turned into the drive leading to his house, he was surprised to see Glory’s car still there. It was close to midnight, and he hoped she wasn’t still working. Getting out of the car, he grunted his concern. He’d have to start paying her overtime.

Having her around had become an interesting experience. She hadn’t been someone in school that a person could ignore, but he hadn’t known her well. Not that he needed to. In fact, the less he saw of her, the better.

Ready to tell her in no uncertain terms to go home, he spied her before he stepped from the porch into the open kitchen doorway. Her head rested on a stack of what he guessed were books containing some kind of samples, while she slept soundly, oblivious to the fact that he was in the room.

He watched her, knowing he might seem a little like a stalker, but he couldn’t stop himself. Her lips were slightly parted, as if she had something she wanted to say, and a strand of hair had fallen across the slender bridge of her nose, while thick eyelashes rested on creamy skin. She looked like an angel. An imperfect one, but beautiful, all the same. He knew he shouldn’t stand there and stare.

Looking up, he noticed the upper cabinets were missing. He couldn’t imagine that the job would be done in two months. It seemed that the longer the remodeling went on, the worse it got. The kitchen was only one room. There was no telling what the rest of the house looked like.

Stepping as lightly as possible, he moved to his right and slipped into the dining room. Even that rarely used room was a mess. The curtains had been removed and the floor was covered in plastic. The heavy dining table and ten chairs were stacked in a corner, beneath more plastic. The wallpaper was mostly gone, and he wrinkled his nose at the smell of vinegar that filled the air.

In the living room, he found the same conditions, although it was hard to see in the dark. When he flipped the light switch, he discovered the lights weren’t working. After taking a closer look, he saw that the fixtures were gone. Everything was chaos.

He turned to find Glory standing in the doorway to the kitchen, watching him. He didn’t doubt that he looked angry. He’d never seen such a disaster in his life, and although something inside him didn’t want to upset her with his quickly growing fury, he knew he’d failed by the fear on her face.

“I know it looks like it’ll never be done, right now,” she said, her voice husky with sleep.

“Yeah, it does” was all he could say. He watched as she lifted her chin, but he didn’t know if it was in pride or defiance. No matter which one it was, he couldn’t tell her it was all right, because it wasn’t.

“I promise it will be better.” Her chest rose and fell as she took a deep breath. “It really will. It’ll only be like this for a few days.”

He winced at the thought of dealing with the mess for much longer. “How many?”

“Well...” She glanced around the room before offering him a weak smile. “The kitchen will probably be the last to be finished.”

“When?”

“Two or three weeks. Maybe four?”

He tried not to let her see how disappointed he was and how angry that made him. He usually had more control, but with Glory, he was learning that control wasn’t always so easy. “I guess it’s too late to change my mind.”

He hadn’t meant for it to sound the way it had come out of his mouth. He’d been half joking. Before he could take it back or explain, she turned and disappeared down the hall. “Glory,” he called, but all he heard was her footsteps on the wood floor.

A moment later, she answered. “It really will be better soon.”

Relief swept through him, but he wasn’t sure why. “Okay, I believe you.” Did he have a choice?

She reappeared in the dining room doorway, having obviously circled around through the kitchen. “Thanks for trying.”

“I’m not—”

“Yes, you are.” She smiled. “It’s all right. I really do understand that it seems like the work will never get done,” she said, waving her arm to encompass the whole house. “But if you’ll just be patient—”

“It’s not—”

“Don’t say it, please,” she begged.

He wasn’t the kind of man who enjoyed hurting someone, and he wouldn’t make her the exception. “It was a shock to see it, that’s all,” he explained when she came into the room. “I’m sure you’ll make it right.”

She settled on what he suspected was the large sofa, hidden beneath a white sheet. “You hope it will be all right.”

“Do I have a choice?”

She leaned her head back against the sofa and laughed. “No, I suppose you don’t, although it’s always a possibility.” Closing her eyes, she sighed and smiled. “Tell me what it was like growing up here in this house.”

Her request surprised him, and he wasn’t sure how to answer. He also wasn’t sure he wanted to take a trip back to a past he’d spent fifteen years trying not to think about. “There’s not much to tell.”

She turned her head and looked at him with wide eyes. “I don’t believe you.”

His answer was a shrug. The way she sat studying him was causing his body to react in ways it shouldn’t have, and he looked away.

“I know you all worked hard. That’s always a given on a farm or a ranch. And you know it wasn’t like that for me. But that’s not what I’m asking about.”

In the silence that followed, he knew she was waiting for him to say something. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Okay.” He heard her take a deep breath. “What’s your best memory of growing up?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think I have any.”

“Oh, surely you do!”

He was forced to look at her. “No, really. I don’t remember much.”

She shook her head, her disbelief achingly clear. “All right. I understand that you don’t want to share with me.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to. I just—”

“It’s all right, Dylan,” she said, straightening her shoulders and lifting her chin. “I have my own memories.”

She’d grabbed his curiosity, so when she started to stand, he couldn’t let her leave it at that. “Like what?”

“Like that hayride you don’t remember. All the times Tracy— You remember Tracy Billings? She was my best friend. When we weren’t riding horses at her place in the summer, we were hiding under the bleachers at the park to watch you at Little League practice.”

“You’re kidding,” he said, sure they’d done no such thing.

“Not at all.”

“Someone would have seen you.”

Her smile was impish. “You have no idea how sneaky little girls can be when they want to watch little boys they have crushes on.”

“Crushes?” Now she’d snagged his attention and he wanted to hear more. Had he really been one of those crushes?

With an odd smile, she gave him a dismissive wave of her hand and looked away. “Lots of them. A new one every summer. Sometimes.” She turned back toward him. “Baseball was important to you, wasn’t it?”

“More important than breathing.” He’d won an athletic scholarship to college, but he hadn’t taken it. After his parents’ accident, he felt he had to stay and help keep the ranch running. Luke had still been in high school, and Erin had offered to stay and help.

“Those were some of the best times of my life,” she said. “Those times with Tracy when we were kids.”

He was surprised to hear the sadness in her voice, but didn’t ask why. It wasn’t any of his business.

“If it’s all right,” she said, standing, “I’ll straighten up a little and go home. I’m tired.” She walked toward the kitchen, then stopped and looked back at him. “I promise it will get better. Okay?”

He nodded and she disappeared, leaving him with questions and a tiny hole in the wall he’d built around his memories for the past fifteen years. He wondered if she had any idea what that meant to him. He’d forgotten how happy his childhood had been. He just wasn’t sure yet if that was good or bad and hoped he wouldn’t regret it when he learned which one.

* * *

GLORY’S SIGH ECHOED in the upstairs hallways. Once again, she’d forgotten something. This time it was the faceplates for the wall switches. The electrician would arrive soon to put the new light fixtures in the bedrooms, and she’d wanted everything to be ready. Now she’d have to make a trip into town.

“Hey, Miz Andrews?”

She smiled at the luck she’d had in hiring three high school boys to help out. It hadn’t hurt that one of them had grown up helping his mother wallpaper, and that another was a wizard with a paintbrush.

As she started down the stairs, she spied the tall, dark-haired young man waiting at the bottom. “What is it, Mark?”

“Stu said he’d be here a little late. He promised his mom he’d go with her to the farmer’s market this morning, now that school is out. He said to tell you he’ll stay late, if you need him.”

She stopped two steps from the bottom of the stairs and looked directly at Mark. A blush crept up his face, and he looked down as she spoke. “I don’t see why he’ll need to stay late. And you’re here awfully early, aren’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, still refusing to meet her gaze. “I woke up early and thought I’d give you a hand with whatever needed to get done this morning before Brent gets here.”

“I really appreciate that, Mark. The electrician should be arriving anytime, so I’m glad you’ll be here when he does. I need to run into town for the faceplates, and Mr. Walker seems to have been an early riser, too.”

“No problem.”

She smiled. The boys were eager to help, and she counted herself very lucky to have them. Dylan had made himself scarce since their little bit of reminiscing on Saturday night. No matter how early she arrived, he was gone, and she suspected he was avoiding her. It was just as well. She needed to focus on the job, not him. Even so, it would be wise to let him know she was leaving, just in case someone needed her.

She took the last two steps. “I’ll let Mr. Walker know I’m leaving.”

Mark nodded and moved out of the way as she walked to the kitchen. Grabbing her bag, she looped it over her shoulder and went outside, heading for the barn.

It was a beautiful morning, with only a hint of a breeze stirring the leaves on the trees. Dew glittered in the sunshine, and the scent of flowers drifted around her. There was so much she loved about her hometown and the surrounding countryside. In spite of her failed marriage, she’d enjoyed living in North Carolina and marveled at the beauty of Charlotte. But Desperation, Oklahoma, would always be home to her.

As she walked closer to the barn, she spotted Dylan’s pickup parked on the far side. At least she’d been right, she thought, as she climbed through the corral fence. Moving to the oversize opening of the big barn, she waited for her eyes to adjust, and then looked around for Dylan.

If she hadn’t seen movement out of the corner of her eye, she might have missed him as he worked along the back wall of the barn. “There you are,” she called to him.

He stopped and looked in her direction. “What are you doing out here? You’ll get dirty.”

“Like when I’m in the house stripping wallpaper and sanding?”

“Worse. That’s nothing but dried paste and some dust. This is—”

“Mud and manure? I can live with that.”

He didn’t answer right away. “Was there something you wanted?”

What she really wanted was for him to relax around her—it would make her work a lot more pleasant. But he’d become even more guarded than before. If only she could get a glimpse of the boy he’d once been—the one whose rare smile had been the reason she and her friends had gone to the baseball games. But she sensed that if she told him, he wouldn’t believe her.

Swallowing a sigh, she answered his question. “I wanted to let you know that I’m going into town. Is there anything you need that I can bring back?”

“Not that I know of.” He turned away from whatever he was doing and faced her. “I see you found some helpers. How are they working out?”

“They’re perfect,” she answered, and then thought of something. “You didn’t have anything to do with them applying for the job, did you?”

“Nope. Didn’t need to. You never had a problem getting guys to help you.”

For a brief moment, she thought of telling him that he was wrong, but he wasn’t. She’d been blessed with a special talent for enlisting whatever help she needed.

“I suppose you’re right,” she finally answered. “But I don’t do it on purpose.”

“Never said you did. Just be careful.”

“Careful? Of what?”

“They’re boys. And you’re... Well, you’re Glory.”

She opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but before she could, he’d disappeared. Turning for the big barn door, she wondered exactly what it was he remembered about her. For someone she’d barely known, even though they’d gone all through school together, he seemed to know her fairly well. Or thought he did. Had talking about the past, three nights before, been a mistake? If it had been, she was sorry. She hadn’t meant to make him uncomfortable. Maybe she should try to be more aware of his feelings, but that would require him showing some, and she wasn’t sure how to break through that wall he’d built around himself. And there was really no reason to try. Besides, she finally felt good about herself, and not because of what others thought. Why mess up a good thing?

The trip to town was quick, thanks to finding exactly what she wanted at the hardware store, and she was back at the ranch minutes before the electrician arrived. With the help of Mark and Brent, the boxes containing the light fixtures were soon upstairs in the circular hallway.

“The chandelier goes in there.” Glory pointed to the room at the top of the stairs. She was the only person who’d been in it since she’d finished the painting and papering, but this was the day she planned to unveil Dylan’s new bedroom to him. Once everything was done, anyway.

“This one first, then?” the electrician asked.

Being both eager and apprehensive about the outcome of this first and most important room, she hesitated. Considering how Dylan had refused to give her any input— “Yes, do it first,” she said.

Maybe forcing him to acknowledge her work in a positive way would bring him around. It was worth a try. How much more could he avoid her, without completely disappearing or firing her? Before she panicked that he might, she reminded herself that Erin wouldn’t let that happen. Since Dylan wasn’t cooperating, she’d been in touch with his sister about everything that was done or that she planned to do. Erin was fine with all of it.

After taking a deep breath, she followed the boys into the room to see their reaction to the work she’d done.

“Wow,” Brent whispered to Mark, only a foot away from her.

“Yeah,” Mark answered, his eyebrows raised and his eyes wide as he looked around the room.

Glory wondered if that was a bad wow or a good one, but the electrician was giving instructions to the boys, so she couldn’t ask.

“Hold it steady,” the electrician ordered as he perched high on the ladder. “These nosebleed ceilings are enough to make a grown man think twice about a lot of things.”

“That’s the charm of old houses,” she said, without thinking.

The man on the ladder looked down at her, a frown pulling at his mouth. “You wouldn’t think so if you’d had to deal with the nightmare wiring that I have. Luckily, it’s been kept fairly updated here.”

“That’s good,” she answered. “I hope the plumbing is the same. I’m thinking of updating the bath up here.”

As soon as it was out of her mouth, she wondered where it had come from. She’d had no intention of doing anything more than redecorating upstairs. But now that the idea had surfaced, it wasn’t such a bad one. She’d run it by Erin first, though.

“Who would you recommend for that kind of thing?” she asked.

“Hand me that rope, there, boys,” he called down to them. “Well, now, Miz Andrews, there’s a couple of plumbers in the area, although not all of them from Desperation.”

As he named off several people, she wished she had a paper and pencil on her. “Maybe I should just try—”

Certain she heard a noise on the stairs, she hurried to the door and into the hall. Dylan stood at the top of the stairs, one hand on the railing.

“Doesn’t anybody hear me?” he asked. “And what the devil are you doing in there?”

The last thing Glory wanted was for him to see the room before it was completely finished. Considering the string of words coming from the electrician at that moment, she had a feeling it might not be soon.

“Just having a new light fixture hung,” she said, joining him. “Is there something you need?”

“Yeah—you.”

Her breath caught and she stared at him. She felt warm, deep inside, and immediately scolded herself. If she had any sense, she’d turn around and run—

“I need you to go downstairs,” he was saying, his dark brows drawn together in a frown. “There’s some guy delivering something. I’m guessing it’s the kitchen cabinets. I need his truck out of the way, but he says he can’t move it until he’s unloaded it.”

It took a few seconds for her mind to wrap around what was happening, and when she did, she felt like a fool. “Of course,” she said, still a bit unsteady and hoping her voice didn’t wobble. “Let me get Mark and Brent. We’ll have the truck unloaded immediately.”

“Good.” He turned and bounded down the stairs, leaving her to wish she could find a way to stop the lustful thoughts she was having about him. He wasn’t interested in her. It wasn’t as though she wanted him to be. As if he ever would. Except for a few rare times, he’d been cold and unreachable—the last things she found sexy in a man.

But as she called to the boys to come help, it took more concentration than it should have to put a stop to those lustful thoughts.

* * *

FROM THE BARN, Dylan watched as the kitchen cabinets were carried inside, knowing he should be helping, but he’d been avoiding being in Glory’s vicinity as much as possible. Not that it was easy. She was there every day except Sunday, from early morning to late evening. It hadn’t taken long to learn that she brought her lunch and ate while she worked. People had called him a workaholic, but they obviously hadn’t seen her doing her job. At least he took time off for his dinner.

He was wondering what it was that drove her when his brother pulled in with the trailer behind his pickup and parked at the gate to the pasture. Dylan waited until Luke reached the barn to speak. “Any trouble?”

Luke shrugged. “A little with that one heifer, but she finally realized she was going to have to leave her baby behind, if she didn’t get in the trailer. It didn’t take long after that.”

“Yeah, I bet it didn’t.”

Turning in the direction of the house, Luke asked, “So how’s the redecorating going?”

“Is that what it’s called?”

Luke looked over his shoulder. “I guess. That’s what Hayley calls it, at least.”

Dylan nodded.

“It’s going okay?”

“I don’t pay a lot of attention,” Dylan answered. It was a lie. The truth was that he’d never intended to, but he did. A lot more than he liked. He didn’t know much about decorating, but he knew at what point she was with the work in each of the rooms.

Except the upstairs bedrooms.

“She’s working upstairs,” he admitted.

Luke faced him, his eyes wide. “Yeah? What’s she doing?”

“I’ll be damned if I know. Stuff. All I know is that when Jim White was tearing out the old kitchen cabinets, she started asking questions about upstairs.”

“You’ve been up there?” Luke asked.

“Just up the stairs,” Dylan admitted. “She ordered me to stay out of the rooms.”

Luke’s eyebrows shot up. “Ordered? She ordered you?”

“Pretty much.”

Luke ducked his head. “Glory never struck me as someone who ordered other people around. It’s like she just wished it and it was done.”

When he looked up, Dylan could see that his brother was trying not to laugh. “Yeah, well, people change,” he grumbled.

Laugh was exactly what Luke did, loud and long. “That’s pretty obvious, at least where Glory’s concerned.”

“Right.” Dylan didn’t want to talk about it, and he couldn’t look his brother in the eye when he said, “Let’s get these cattle unloaded, instead of gossiping like a couple of old women.”

He noticed a look on Luke’s face that he couldn’t quite understand, but he ignored it as they went to work. After they were done unloading the cattle, the two of them went into town for lunch. Instead of going home when they finished, Dylan stopped by his brother’s house to spend some time with his nephew. He was amazed at how much Brayden had changed since Hayley had come into their lives. They were happy. Whenever he saw them all together, he’d have one of those “maybe someday” moments. Not that he thought he’d ever be a family man. He’d spent almost half his life working with his brother to make their ranch a success. And they had. He’d given up everything but ranching when his parents died, believing that was what they would have wanted. He owed them that much. There’d never been time for relaxing or even taking a woman out for dinner, but he hadn’t thought about it. Until now.

Back at his ranch again, he managed to keep busy in and around the barn until it was getting too dark to see. He knew Glory was still working, but he’d run out of things to do to keep him away from the house. There was nothing left but to go inside and clean up. If he was lucky, Glory would be too busy upstairs to know that he’d come in, and she’d be gone by the time he’d showered and changed.

The kitchen was beginning to look as if it might survive the war Glory had waged on it. While it didn’t look like the picture he’d seen, it had the same feel. Not that he needed that kind of kitchen. But now that Glory was making changes, he was beginning to think his sister had done the right thing when she’d hired Glory.

As he searched through the boxes in the dining room for a glass, he heard Glory’s footsteps on the stairs. So much for that drink he’d planned to have.

“Oh, you’re in,” she said, stepping through the doorway and into the dining room. “Are you busy? Can you spare me a minute?”

“Sure,” he answered, in spite of the wariness he felt.

Her smile was tentative and shy, and not at all like her. Then it was as if she shook it off and became the self-assured woman who’d walked into his kitchen three weeks before. “I’d like to show you something,” she said, pointing toward the stairs behind her.

“Up there?”

She nodded. “It won’t take long.”

He shrugged. “Lead the way.”

Following her up the stairs was an exercise in strength. It took everything he had not to watch her move from step to step. She always wore well-fitting jeans, but the view from just a few steps below nearly made him break out in a sweat. He was more than relieved when they reached the top and the view was more normal. Not that normal had been easy for him recently.

But being upstairs brought its own reaction. Until earlier that day, he hadn’t been on the second floor for years. He took a deep breath and focused his attention on Glory while he spoke in what he hoped was a normal voice. “What is it you wanted to show me?”

Her wavering smile reappeared. “I’ve finished the first bedroom, and I’d like to get your opinion on it.”

He couldn’t imagine why she’d need to know what he thought. After all, he hadn’t known the difference between Oyster and Creamy Ivory or even cared to. “I’ll do what I can.”

She opened the door to the room at the top of the stairs and walked in. He followed her, not knowing what to expect, but once he was inside, he could barely speak, except to say, “Wow.”

The expression on her face as she looked at him was priceless. It was clear that his approval was important. He wasn’t going to lie. There was no need to. “Wow,” he repeated.

She moved farther into the room. “That’s the same thing Brent said this morning.”