Szot, JC - The South Window (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (3 page)

Allie followed him downstairs and out to his car, the saw still chewing through the lumber. Sawdust spewed from the blade. Marty glanced over, giving them a friendly wave.

Dan tossed his bags into the trunk of the Audi then leaned over and kissed her. Allie didn’t watch him pull out this time. She climbed the porch steps and entered the house without looking back, alone again after their brief visit.

She began rifling through the cabinets, seeing if she could make Marty something to welcome him to their sedate neighborhood. She knew she couldn’t compete with whatever Tess had made, but she would be polite, as Tess had suggested. Allie decided on a cinnamon swirl coffee cake. She had some gourmet coffee she could bring over to go with it to help break the ice.

The sun was streaming through the kitchen window; lemony light danced across the dark-brown marble counter. Allie placed two sticks of butter inside the microwave to soften, then went upstairs to get dressed.

Allie made the cake for Marty and spent the day doing designs for a new friendship line of cards the company was trying to launch for the upcoming fall season. She had plenty of time to get ahead with her work, especially if Dan was considering planning a trip. Allie was unsure whether that would become a reality or not. One way or the other, she’d be ready.

* * * *

Around 7:00 p.m. Allie heard Tess’s tires screech out of her driveway. Her house was diagonally across from her bedroom window, giving Allie an informative view of her activities. The sprawling acres of land that their houses were built on had, at one time, been a large dairy farm. The lots had been subdivided gradually over a span of fifteen years. Marty’s house was the oldest in style, a simple Cape Cod. Her and Dan’s house was more contemporary, with large vaulted ceilings, glossy hardwood floors, along with ivory-marble tiling in their bathrooms. Allie’s kitchen was the star of the show, contemporary and spacious, done in brown and beige. All of her appliances were the newest stainless steel.

Tess’s house was the newest of the modern monsters, a massive, two-story brick home with overhead arches and French doors off the master suite, along with an inground pool in the back. Allie cringed at the acceleration of Tess’s car engine. She still had the top down, a white scarf over her head, her lips painted a bright fuchsia.

Allie took this as a good opportunity to go see Marty. She walked across the yard, the evening dew dampening her toes. There was a dim light lit in the kitchen and another in the front room, which Allie knew was the living room.

She and Tess had peeked in the windows of Marty’s house many times prior to his arrival. Allie recalled the day when Tess was tempted to break in and have a look around, but Allie had put her foot down, demanding that they didn’t. Allie knocked lightly on the door. She wondered if he’d seen her coming, the front porch was immediately flooded with light.

“Allie, hello. Good to see you. Come in.” Marty ushered her inside, swinging the door closed behind them. His appearance was considerably cleaned up, compared to their last meeting.

“I just wanted to give you a little something to welcome you to the neighborhood.” She felt a slight heat warm her face.

“I appreciate that. Between you two ladies I won’t need to go shopping.” He smiled.

He had a soft shadow on his face, the results of being too pressed for time to shave.

“This smells outrageous.” Marty jammed the bag of mocha java-flavored coffee under his nose. “Let’s brew a pot.”

Allie followed him into the kitchen. The country-blue walls looked granite gray in the dim light. He still had boxes lined up against the wall and on the counter. He filled the carafe and spooned the grinds into the basket.

“So what’s in here?” He lifted the foil off the cake. “Nice, I love this sort of stuff.” He reached into the cabinet for two plates and a pair of mugs. “You can eat this anytime—breakfast, dessert.” He turned to Allie. “Right? Who cares?” He shrugged.

Marty brought everything to the rectangular oak table. The back of his hair was still damp, a water spot visible on the back of his white muscle tee.

His eyes looked darker than they had through the binoculars, now a rich, cocoa brown.

“Sit, Allie, please.” He waved her to the table.

Allie sat while he poured their coffee. He returned the pot to the warmer then turned on a small overhead light above his stove. Marty sliced two thick slabs of the cake, handing Allie hers.

“So, um, I guess your guy’s off again on business, huh?” He stirred his coffee, glancing up at her intermittently.

“Yeah, he had to go to Chicago.” Allie stared out the bay window, noticing his workshop out back. “So what are you planning on doing with all that wood?” Allie pointed out back, attempting to keep the conversation moving, not wanting to elaborate on Dan’s high-powered schedule.

“Well, I’m hoping to finish my chest of drawers. I’ve been working on it for almost a year. It’s just about done. I only need a few more pieces.” He looked at her over the rim of his mug, sipping his coffee.

“So… you build your own furniture?” Allie’s eyes returned to his.

“Yeah, it’s a hobby of sorts.” Marty leaned on the table.

Allie chuckled, hearing that word again, and twice in one day.

“I’ve sold a few pieces, but I can’t build on demand, you know.” He laughed. “Whenever someone asks for something in particular, I clam up, sort of like a writer’s block, I guess.”

His smile revealed two front teeth that had a slight gap in them. His face was seasonally creased due to years of hard work, but strikingly handsome.

“Dan mentioned that you’re an artist. What’s your specialty?” Marty cut himself another piece of cake.

“I do greeting cards for a company in Missouri.”

“Wow, interesting.”

The room grew quiet for a moment. Allie glanced into the living room, a ceiling fan was spinning. Two brass sconces glowed on either side of Tess’s front door, her house amply seen through Marty’s living room window.

“So your friend asked me over to her place for dinner tomorrow. Will you be there?” His brows lifted in question.

“Oh, no.” Allie laughed, thinking of how Tess would love the idea of her tagging along to dinner.

“Any heads-up you can give me on that front?” Marty laughed, shaking his head.

Allie knew he was fishing. She wondered if Marty was laughing directly at Tess or just laughing, a restless nervousness maybe. Tess could be intimidating.

“Oh, not really.” Allie didn’t want to say anything wrong, so she chose to play it safe. “She’s divorced, I think. I don’t know.” She waved her hand dismissingly. “It’s been pending for so long.”

“Allie, you ever work with furniture, like stenciling or antiquing?” Marty pushed his mug away.

“I’ve stenciled, but only on Sheetrock, not wood. Why?”

“I have a bench that I wanted to paint vines on for the front porch. Would you look at it for me?” Marty raked his hands through his hair. “I can’t see myself doing that kind of painting, even with an instructional kit. You mind?”

“No, not at all.”

Allie now felt that she had something to contribute to the life of her new neighbor. Marty pushed his chair back.

“Let’s get more coffee and go out to the workshop so you can take a look.”

“Great.” Allie stood, waiting for Marty to top off their mugs. She followed him out the back door. They stepped over the large, flat stones that lined a path out back to his workshop.

Marty had a frayed tear in the back of his jeans. With every stride Allie could see his white boxer briefs. He stepped gingerly over the stones in his bare feet then slipped on a pair of old sneakers that were outside near the door. He pulled a chain that hung from the ceiling. A blinding, white light flooded the room.

“Oh, sorry about that.” He glanced back at Allie shielding her eyes.

Once the short-lived ache left, Allie began scanning the room, looking at what Marty had in his workshop.

Chapter 4

“You like that?” Marty rested his hand on the back of the chair.

Marty had several pieces of plain, unfinished pine that lined the walls. There was a small bookcase and a unique-looking coffee table. It was the rocking chair that caught Allie’s eye. She walked over to it, running her fingers over the smooth-sanded wood.

“It’s lovely. Way too nice to be out here.” Allie met his soft brown eyes. Marty laughed, the lines around his mouth and eyes deepening. He had an appealing ruggedness to him, a far cry from Dan’s suit-and-tie cronies.

“Let me stain it, and it’s yours,” he offered.

“Oh no, if you have plans for it…”

“I don’t, it’s yours. Tomorrow I’ll stain it. You do the vines on my bench, and it’s a done deal.”

“Great.” Allie sat down in the chair and rocked back and forth. It cradled her back perfectly.

Marty showed her the bench. It was small with a curved back. Three hearts were cut out of the top, an Amish type of design. Allie told him she’d bring over all her green paints, and then he could decide. There was plenty of space for both of them to work. The shop was a long and narrow building, reminding her of a covered bridge. There was a narrow workbench that ran down the entire length of the back wall, with shelves above.

* * * *

When Allie got home there was a message from her supervisor, Vicky. She wanted her to start thinking about some holiday themes and submit a few ideas over the next few weeks. Here it was eighty-six degrees with high humidity, and Vicky wanted snow scenes, wreaths, and cardinals. Allie and Marty arranged to do their painting and staining on Monday. Allie knew tomorrow evening was his field trip over to Tess’s house.

* * * *

The next day Allie worked all day. She designed four new drawings for the Christmas season that she thought were worthy of considering.

That evening Allie had just sat down to a plate of bowtie pasta and a glass of wine when she saw Marty making his way over to Tess’s. Allie couldn’t help but wonder if Tess would try to sack him on their first date. Allie wouldn’t put anything past her. Tess had made the mistake of leaving her binoculars in Allie’s studio. That could wind up working against her. Tess’s nosiness had rubbed off on her, which Allie wasn’t proud of.

Perched at the windowsill before bed, all Allie could see were the flickering flames of the outdoor fireplace casting a glow in the nighttime sky. Allie knew they were out back near the pool. No man could resist Tess. By the time Allie fell asleep, she knew Marty was already a branded man.

* * * *

Allie woke to a pelting rain, a rushing river of water flowing through the gutters. She’d just gotten dressed when there was a tapping on the sliding glass door at the back of the house. Allie padded through the living room. Marty was standing outside, his wet clothes hanging off of him.

“What are you doing out there? Get in here,” she scolded him.

“I thought I could make it over here, but I guess not.” He stepped inside, the water pooling at his feet.

“Sit tight, let me get a towel.” Allie ran into the utility room and grabbed a large blue towel off the shelf. “Here you go.” Their hands brushed together, rain water dripping from his fingers.

“Man, this rain’s really something.” Marty ran the towel over his face then across the top of his head. “I’m sorry about your nice floor here.” He looked down, afraid to move from his puddle.

“Not a big deal, really.” Allie tossed the towel on the floor and sopped up the water with her foot. She picked up the weighted towel and tossed it into the slop sink in the laundry room. Marty waited near the door. Allie went back, waving him into the kitchen.