Rocky Mountain Angels (21 page)

Moods and all.

He bent to kiss her temple then slid over beside her and wrapped his arm around her waist. Beth gave a little sigh, and Joe smiled.

***

Tuesday morning found Mari absolutely determined to drive herself to the community college campus. She carefully slipped her no-longer-swollen toes into her snow boot, zipped it up, and tested her weight on it. She had a tiny twinge of pain but decided it was something she could live with if it meant getting some of her independence back. She had no intention of walking far anyway—only to the business office to enroll.

After donning coat, scarf, and gloves, she grabbed her purse and opened her front door.

Oh my!

The fierce wind of the night before had completely rearranged the snow, creating a huge drift against the front of her house. Thinking she could just push through the snow that came up to her mid-thigh, she started forward, but soon found it was far more solid than she thought.

Bracing her mittened hands in the door frame, she attempted to climb over it, only to sink into it with a crunch. She heard a vehicle’s engine rev and looked up to see Joe sitting in his truck.
Oh, good, maybe he can help me.
She waved, and Joe waved back then proceeded to back his truck out of the driveway. As she waved more franticly, Mari stepped over the drift with her other leg and crunched deep into the snow drift.
Is he leaving?

Pulling her right foot free, she took another step and slid before sinking into the drift again. Now stretched out farther than her good balance, she struggled to pull her left foot free. It felt stuck, however, and she had to tug hard to get it out. When it suddenly came loose, she was sent sprawling face first in the crunchy snow. She looked up to see Joe’s truck paused in the street, but as she crawled forward and got to her feet, he continued. Steaming, she tried to brush off the icy snow crystals clinging to her coat, but that only got them stuck to her mittens. “Well, Joe, thanks a lot. I think your angel wings lost some feathers today.”

She spun around to pick up her purse and realized that her front door was standing open. She’d have to go back through the drift to close it.

***

Eli had never had a conversation with Beth without Joe around, and since she didn’t have to rush off, he was trying to find out just what the attraction was for Beth, because he was pretty sure their relationship was as about as exciting as milk toast.
How else could they crawl into bed together and expect nothing at all to happen between them?

“So you both met at a wedding, and what, sparks just flew? You just knew that tall blond was for you?”

Beth laughed before sipping her coffee. “Well, not right away, but Joe kept calling, and I don’t know, I like persistence.”

Eli’s brows lifted slightly. “Persistence.”

She sat with her elbows on the table, holding her mug in front of her lips. “Yeah, he knows what he wants, and he keeps after it.”

Eli couldn’t resist. “You mean like turning you into an accountant.”

Beth smiled. “Yeah, well, sometimes he doesn’t have the best of ideas, but his heart’s in the right place. He really was just trying to help me become employable.” She took another sip. “I think he’s finally resigned to that idea going to the scrap pile.”

This was news to Eli. “Oh? I hadn’t heard that.”

She nodded. “I hated every minute of those classes. Sheer torture. I am just not cut out to work with numbers.”

Eli poured himself another cup of coffee and freshened Beth’s. “So, what are your plans? You worked at Starbucks in Denver, right?”

She nodded. “And they said I could transfer to a location here. Plus, I plan to enroll in art classes at the community college.”

The doorbell rang, so he asked her about her moving date as he skirted the table and headed to the foyer.

“This weekend, I hope.”

He flung a response over his shoulder as he opened the door. “That’s fast.”

He turned back to see Mari, looking almost as frazzled as the first time he’d seen her. “Mari, what’s the matter?” He reached for her arm and pulled her in.

“What is with Joe?” she spat out too loudly. “He watched me fall on my face in the snow, and then he just drove away!”

Eli was already peeling the mittens off her cold fingers. “I don’t know, love. Are you sure he saw you?”

Mari’s eyes were blazing. “He saw me all right.” Eli started to pull her toward the kitchen to where Beth was standing in the doorway. “I mean was he in such a hurry he couldn’t help me after he broke my t—”

Mari seemed to just notice the tall blonde frowning at her. She froze in her tracks, and Eli read her thoughts as if they were written on her face. “Beth, this is Mari from next door. Mari, this is Beth.” Her expression didn’t change. “Joe’s Beth.”

Mari’s icy stare slowly melted, and she gave her head a little shake as she extended her hand to the woman who was a good five inches taller than her. “Nice to meet you, Beth. I’m sorry to come in ranting like a mad woman. I’m sure Joe had a very good reason for leaving me in the snow, although at the moment, I can’t think of what it might be.”

Beth gave her a small smile and released her hand. “That is so not like Joe. At least with me. I have no idea how he is with other women.”

Eli blinked, not sure of what was transpiring in front of him. He could see that Mari’s fingers had gone white, however, so he escorted her around the table and ran some water in a mug to put in the microwave.
Mari’s mad at Joe, and Beth seems ...
“Beth, I didn’t make that introduction quite right. Mari isn’t just our neighbor, she’s my girlfriend.”

Beth’s smile suddenly seemed more genuine. “Oh, well, isn’t that nice. The little house?”

The microwave beeped, and Eli swept up the mug and plopped a teabag in it. “Here you are, love. I bought some of the tea you like. Oh, and you like honey, too, don’t you?”

Mari held her hands in the steam and looked back to Beth. “Yes, it’s cozy, but I really like it.” She gave a little laugh and kept talking. “Of course, the disposal was a wreck, but Joe so graciously fixed it for me.”

Beth’s smile was fading.

“And then, he left his toolbox at my house, and like a klutz, I tripped over it and broke my toe, so he carted me to Prompt Care the next day for an x-ray. Carried me around a lot that day.” She paused and sipped her tea. “He even scooped my walk for me yesterday, so you can imagine my puzzlement at him leaving me lying in the snow this morning.”

Eli had no idea what was going on with Mari. She almost seemed to be trying to goad Beth. He set the honey beside her mug and tried his best to divert the conversation. “So, Mari, what are you doing out so early? Taking more snow pictures? You should see her photos, Beth. She’s very good at capturing a mood.”

Beth gave a slight smile. “Really?”

He looked back at Mari, a look of anticipation on his face.

She took her hands away from the steaming cup briefly then wrapped them around it again. “I was going to drive to the college to enroll.”

“Can you drive yet?” Eli looked under the table. “You got your toe in a regular boot?”

“Yeah, it hurts a little, but not too bad.”

He slid his hand under her hair to her neck. “I can drive you, sweetheart.”

Mari glanced at Beth before looking at Eli. “You all have driven me around all week. I really wanted to do this myself.”

Beth held her mug close to her lips. “So why didn’t you?” She took a sip, still looking at Mari.

“Well, I had to get through a three foot snow drift in front of my door then fell down, and the snow is like hard ice shards this morning. Then I had to go back through the mess to close my door. By that time, I was losing the feeling in my fingers.”

Beth merely nodded.

Eli didn’t pretend to understand all the ins and outs of the female mind, but he’d never witnessed the kind of tension that emanated from these two who hardly knew each other. He was looking at Mari’s hands, hoping they were warmed up enough to get her out of the house, when she threw another log on the conversational fire.

“Speaking of early, you seem to be here quite early for someone who lives in Denver. You must be a very early riser.”

Beth seemed to be deliberating her answer. Eli jumped in, throwing water on Mari’s insinuations. “Beth got caught in last night’s ground blizzard and had to spend the night.”

He rose and pulled her up with him, dragging her toward the door. “Come on, I’ll drive you to campus.” She had never taken off her coat and scarf, so Eli scooped her mittens off the stair rail and handed them to her as he reached for his coat. He called back to Beth. “Stay as long as you like, Beth. It was nice to talk to you again.”

“Thanks, I’ll be heading out soon, though.” Her voice slipped in sincerity. “It was nice to meet you, Mari.”

“You, too.”

Eli escorted her out, hardly able to contain himself before getting the door closed. “What the hell was all that, Mari?” He trotted down the steps that Joe must have sprinkled with salt, the snow mostly melted.

Mari stopped at the top of the porch, wondering at Eli’s tone. “What do you mean?”

He looked back at her incredulously. “Are you going to tell me you didn’t do that on purpose?”

She stepped down slowly, and Eli came back to offer his hand. She was starting to feel guilty but wasn’t ready to admit it.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He looked at her with eyebrows raised. “I think you do. For some reason you were trying to make Beth jealous—trying to make her think Joe was spending a lot of time with you.” He opened the garage door then his car door for her. “Why would you want to do that?”

Mari blinked back tears as she sat on the cold black upholstery. Her toe was starting to throb and her heart was aching with the weight of her bad behavior. She got back out of the car before Eli had a chance to get in. “I’ll go later, Eli. I’m... I’m just going home for now.”

She started carefully across the crunchy yard, and Eli caught up with her, taking hold of her elbow. He took her key and crunched through the drift to open the door then carried her over it. Closing the door with his foot, he carried her to the love seat before putting her down. Squatting, he unzipped her boots and slipped them off. Mari winced when he pulled on the right one, and he looked up at her. “Sorry.”

Looking at his apologetic expression, Mari was overcome with shame for what she had just done right in front of him.
I was trying to make her jealous. What is wrong with me?

She unbuttoned her coat, and Eli helped her out of it. Then she flopped over and curled up on the love seat, feeling like a scoundrel. Eli sat on the floor beside her and slid his hand over the sleeve of her blue cotton shirt, over her shoulder, and into her hair. “Do you want to talk?”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“For what, love?”

Mari suddenly realized he’d been calling her that all morning. She sat up. “Am I your love, Eli? Do you love me, or is that just a new pet name that means no more than honey or sweetheart?”

Eli looked thoughtful. “I suppose it would be premature to tell you that I love you. We really haven’t known each other very long, but I will tell you that I care about you more than I have cared about any woman.” He got on his knees in front of her and ran his hands up the sides of her legs to her hips. “You’re very dear to me, so” —he leaned in and gave her a tender kiss— “it concerns me when you try to make Joe’s girlfriend jealous. I have to wonder why you would do that.”

Mari swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling like it was full of paste. “I don’t know,” she squeaked. “I think I was just so ticked off with him... It was really petty of me, and I’m more sorry than I can say.” Tears were rolling down her cheeks, and for the second time in so many days, Eli wiped them away.

***

Joe had eaten exactly three bites of his pizza slice before pushing it aside. Cycles of guilt, sorrow, and righteous anger had been churning in his gut all morning leaving him feeling more nauseated than hungry. His office trailer had been moved from the Denver location to the site of the Marshall apartments, and while Joe had planned to spend the day lining up contractors to break ground, he had gotten very little accomplished.

Every time he picked up the phone, he had to talk himself out of calling Mari to apologize for driving away without seeing if she was okay. He’d then feel sad for the loss of her friendship before moving on to anger at her vindictive words to him through Ben. He’d pick up the phone to call a contractor and start all over again.

Joe got up and crossed to the window. All the snow made thinking about the apartments seem a bit premature, but he wanted to be first on his favorite contractors lists for the spring. The ground blizzard had blown the snow every which way, leaving some patches of ground almost bare while drifts formed against nearly every bush, tree, and man-made structure. He looked at a big one and saw Mari struggling through it. He closed his eyes, and the guilt hit him again.

It had been hard to watch her contending with that drift, and he nearly ran to her when she fell, but he’d gripped the steering wheel even as his anger gripped his heart, and when she’d gotten to her feet, he told himself to just drive.
She can’t verbally slap somebody one minute and expect their help the next,
he told himself yet again.

Shoving Mari from his mind, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Dan Carver, one of the best stone masons in the city, to get the current prices.

Chapter 17

Mari was lying in bed, cuddling Tawny to her chest, and trying to find a place of peace on this Sabbath morning.

Joe hadn’t spoken to her all week, except for polite pleasantries in passing, which upset her more than it should have. She seemed to cry at the drop of a hat. Eli was very understanding of her moods; she was pretty sure he thought she was P.M.S.ing.

According to Eli, Joe and Beth were fighting, because Joe refused to help her move on the Sabbath. He wanted to move her on Sunday, but she had insisted she needed two days to get moved and settled before starting her new job on Monday. Joe had held his ground, however, which had annoyed Eli, who then volunteered to help her. When Mari had reminded him that he had promised to attend services with her, he had gotten mad at her for “putting rituals ahead of people.”