The Sweetheart Bargain (A Sweetheart Sisters Novel) (18 page)

The word sounded harsh in the small space. “Killed, as in accidentally? Or as in on purpose?”

Lois shook her head and her eyes widened. “No one knows.”

“Well, thanks for telling me,” Olivia said, though she wasn’t quite sure if that was the right response. How did one react to a neighbor saying that kind of thing? Either way, the Luke she knew couldn’t be a killer, so whatever happened had to have been an accident.

If so, it would explain his hermit existence and the way he lashed out at people who got close. If he felt guilty for hurting or killing someone else, that might make him react with anger, sort of like a hurting animal.

Her heart broke for Luke a little more. The part of her that spent her days helping people recover their lives, their spirit, wanted to go to him with a hug, some words of understanding. But she also knew that sometimes, people had to claw their own way out of the darkness.

Lois had started toward the glass case, then turned back at the last second and put a hand on Olivia’s arm. “One other thing I heard, that I think you should know, is about your house. I don’t know if you know, but Bridget had a daughter who lives here in town. She’s our local vet, so I’m sure you’ll meet her someday. Diana Tuttle?”

“I’ve heard of her,” Olivia said, not revealing anything. If she told Lois the whole story, she had no doubt it would be all over Rescue Bay before the sun set.

“Well, Diana’s not too happy that her mother didn’t leave the house to her,” Lois said. “Bridget probably ordered it sold to pay for that shelter of hers.” Lois frowned. “You poor dear. I’m sure you didn’t know any of this when you bought it.”

“I knew pretty much nothing,” Olivia said.

“I heard from my cousin the lawyer that Diana has been looking into probate court. I think she feels like the house should be hers. Though why she waited so long to do anything, I’ll never know. I mean, you’re already there, tearing up things and building new things.”

The information hit Olivia with a cold punch. “She’s fighting for the house in probate?”

“I’m so sorry, dear.” Lois patted her arm again. “You’ve been such a lovely neighbor. I’d hate to see you have to move.”

Carrie came around from the other side of the counter and thrust a white cardboard box at Olivia. A jaunty red bow tied out of string held the lid in place. “Don’t forget your cookies. People say my desserts are the best way to make friends.”

“Then maybe I should have gotten two dozen,” Olivia said. She walked out of the shop and climbed into her car, greeted by a flurry of puppy kisses from Miss Sadie. It wasn’t until Olivia pulled into the driveway of the house that was supposed to be the beginning of her new life, one that would hold the keys to everything she had wondered about since the day she was born, that she faced the ugly truth.

She might not be wanted here any more than she had been that first day in Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“Don’t get rid of your winter coat, Miss Sadie,” she said to the dog, “because I’m not so sure we’re here to stay after all.”

Eleven

Four hours of hard, sweaty, backbreaking work, and the forest that had been Luke’s backyard began to resemble something civilized and green again. He’d trimmed and raked, bagged and weeded. Or at least as best he could. The shrubs were probably cockeyed, and he’d undoubtedly pulled half perennials and half weeds. He couldn’t tell the damn things apart even when his vision had been 20/20. But the yard looked better, and with a good mowing, it’d be something to enjoy.

Chance stayed with Luke the entire time, mostly lying in the shade and watching the human’s progress. Luke talked to the dog, mostly because it was better than talking to himself, but also because it seemed like the dog listened. Understood.

Crazy thoughts. He’d been alone too damned long, that was for sure.

A little after three, Olivia returned. Chance got to his feet and met her at the end of the driveway, tail wagging, head butting up against her palm for a little affection. She indulged the dog, talking in sweet low tones about nonsense, just cooing praise and affection. Chance lapped it up, pressing his long golden body against her thigh, his tail moving at hurricane speed.

Envy curdled in Luke’s gut. Insane. He was a man, not a dog, and he didn’t need somebody babbling at him. He wasn’t three years old, for God’s sake, and rushing to greet his father at the end of the day, still hopeful back then that there’d be a day when he got more than an absentminded hello and a
Get the paper
.

Yet envy the dog he did.

Olivia lifted her head and though his vision wasn’t much for details, he could see her dazzling smile. The envy shifted into something that could have been joy, except he wasn’t so sure he could recognize that emotion anymore. “Hey, Luke,” she said. “You’ve been busy.”

He cleared his throat and closed the distance between them. “Keeps me busy. This yard was so overgrown, I figured it wouldn’t be long before some of these shrubs swallowed the house.”

“You did a great job.” She propped her fists on her hips and looked around. “And you did a hell of a lot of work in such a short period of time.”

“It was good for me. Kept my mind occupied.” Instead of focusing on her, and picturing her in his bed. Lately, that particular thought occupied most of the space in his brain. Especially after that innuendo-laced conversation earlier today.

Not to mention Olivia had changed into a pale-blue sundress and some kind of heeled sandal that boosted her height a couple inches. Her breasts perked under the heart-shaped bodice of the dress. Tempting.

“You didn’t happen to see anyone over at my place while you were out here, did you?” she asked.

He didn’t remind her that he could hardly see his own yard, never mind hers. “Nope. Didn’t hear anything either. Why?”

“It’s probably nothing, but when I pulled in the driveway, I noticed the door to the shelter was open. It’s happened a couple times before and I don’t know why it worries me. That place is falling down. The door latches are probably loose.” She shrugged. “Maybe it was the wind.”

There hadn’t been much of a breeze today, though, just the steady heat of Florida’s sunshine. The open door bothered him, but he passed off the feeling. Olivia was right, the place was in disrepair, and undoubtedly the doors were loose. “Or maybe Chance went over there when I wasn’t looking. Since you found him there the first time, maybe he still sees that place as home.”

“Yeah. Maybe.” She was silent a minute more, then brightened. Still, her mood seemed off somehow, troubled. “Anyway, thanks again.”

“Anytime.” It was the kind of offhand comment people threw out all the time, but for the first time in a long time, Luke meant the word. He’d enjoyed Chance’s company and the bonus of seeing Olivia twice in one day.

“I’ll leave you to your landscaping. You’re probably making Lois’s day.”

He snorted. “I’d need a lot more than a weed-whacker to do that. She keeps trying to talk me into a horticultural plan, whatever the hell that is.”

“You are
definitely
not a horticultural-plan kind of guy.” He wanted to ask her what kind of guy she thought he was, but before he could, she turned to go, Chance padding along beside her.

He clutched the rake. The wooden handle pressed hard against his aching hand, the new calluses building on his palm. The internal war between the need for solitude and the need for more of what he’d had over the last few days waged again, but this time, instead of turning back, caving to that need to retreat, he took a step forward. “Olivia, wait.”

She turned back. “Yeah?”

“You know, it might be good exercise to take Chance down to the beach. The area around the old lighthouse has a nice sloping hill. And, while you’re there, you can get a taste of the pirate lore of Rescue Bay.” His grip on the rake tightened. “I could show you sometime, if you want.”

What was he doing? Asking her on a date? Using those old legends of pirates and buried treasure? How many Rescue Bay teenagers had used the same line to persuade some girl to go parking? Really, this was the best he could come up with?

Interest sparked in her eyes. “Pirates? What pirates?”

He leaned on the rake with both hands. “This area is famous for shipwrecks and pirates hiding out when they were avoiding capture. The bay made the perfect place to hole up for a few days, but they had to be careful navigating past the rocks, which is where the lighthouse came into play. Legend has it that the lighthouse was good luck.”

“Good luck?” She let out a breath. “I could use some of that.”

So could he. Hell, all three of them, the dog included, could use a little turn of fortune.

Olivia turned right, then left, peering past the trees that lined Gull Lane. “So where is this famous lighthouse? I’ve never seen it.”

He leaned the rake against the wheelbarrow and walked over to Olivia. He put a hand on her shoulder and gently turned her west. His fingers itched to trail down her arms, glide along her spine, over that sweet ass, and—

He cleared his throat. “You, uh, can only see the very top of it from here. It’s located on the inward curve for the bay side, so sometimes you don’t notice it when you’re driving down the gulf side, but it’s there. Look past the trees, and a little to the east. Do you see it?”

She shook her head. “I’m not as tall as you.”

“Let me remedy that.” He bent over and scooped her into his arms. She laughed, then wrapped her arms tight around his shoulders and leaned into his chest. A perfect, warm fit. He inhaled the floral scent of her perfume, as light and beautiful as she was.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

I don’t know.
“Helping you see.”

She arched upward, and his gaze traveled down her neck, past the enticing scoop of her dress, lingering on the swell of her breasts. He wanted to drop his mouth to her peachy skin, to taste her there, and everywhere. She arched some more, and his cock hardened, and then she flashed a bright happy smile at him. “I see it. Just the top, like you said.”

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he said, still cradling her against his chest, his gaze locked on her lips.

“Well, all I saw was the top, so I can’t really judge that.”

“Trust me. It is.” He watched her lips part as she inhaled, then again with the exhale. He didn’t want to talk about beaches or lighthouses or raking. He wanted to lose himself inside her deep green eyes, for an afternoon, an evening, a month.

Her lips formed a little O. “I, uh, should get down before I hurt you.”

“You couldn’t hurt me.”

“Oh, I can, Luke. You underestimate me.” She scrambled out of his arms and back to the safety of the ground. She brushed at her dress, even though there was nothing to whisk away. More, he suspected, to break eye contact.

He turned away and began to load more debris onto the wheelbarrow. The work eased the desire brewing inside him. Some.

“Maybe someday I’ll get over there to see the lighthouse,” Olivia said.

He noticed the word
I
, not
we
. A slip of the tongue? Or a
Keep Away
message?

“Assuming, that is, that I can ever make enough of a dent in that house to take some time off,” she went on. “Speaking of which, I better get back over there. I have a to-do list as long as my arm and I’m running out of daylight. Thanks again for watching the dog.” She pivoted and started toward the drive.

“Olivia?”

She turned back. “Yeah?”

“You know, if you want to bring Chance back tomorrow, say around dinnertime . . .”

“Oh, uh, I can’t. I have plans.”

He scowled. Plans. Right. He didn’t need a sledgehammer to the side of the head to get the hint she’d been giving him today. “Yeah, no problem.” He turned back to the clippings and started raking. Twigs and leaves jumped up under the forceful moves, spattering against his bare shins.

Then a touch on his shoulder. He jumped, then settled when he caught the scent of that floral, dark perfume. “Luke? Can I take a rain check?” Olivia said.