Yours to Keep (14 page)

“I thought your clients didn’t mind throwing their money around.”

“If they have it. The Johnsons were one of my first clients. Their kids all moved away and they were moving into a smaller house. Mrs. Johnson didn’t want to leave her peonies behind, so I transplanted them for her. They’re far from rich.”

“We can take care of the tree limbs.” She gave him a doubtful look, but he was serious. “I grew up in a lodge in the middle of the woods. I’ve limbed a few trees in my time.”

They reached the main road and she pointed left as a reminder even as he turned his blinker on. “How come you came to New Hampshire when you left the army instead of going home?”

“Wanted to see Uncle Leo and Aunt Mary. Hang out with my cousins.”

After a few moments passed, she realized he wasn’t going to say anything else. And that made her think about how most of what she knew about him, she’d actually learned from Lisa before she’d even met him. “What was it like, growing up in a snowmobile lodge?”

“It was…okay. The Northern Star’s a big place and has a lot of land, so we had room to run. Our bedrooms were separate from the guest rooms, and we had our own family room and bathroom. But it’s weird having strangers in your house every weekend and I never got used to it.”

“So you don’t want to go back there, then?”

He turned his head to look at her, an unreadable expression on his face. “Not really, no.”

“Take your next left,” she said after a few miles of silence. “After Gram leaves, are you going to go back to the apartment over Jasper’s?”

He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, but he was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. “Don’t know.”

“Okay.” She directed him through a few more turns. “It’s the last house on the right. Beige, with cranberry shutters.”

He pulled into the driveway and killed the engine, but didn’t make a move toward getting out. “What’s with the questions? We have sex and all of a sudden you’re interested in my childhood?”

Too stunned to respond, Emma stared at him for a minute. Then she laughed. “You are
so
paranoid. It’s called making conversation.”

“So you’re not getting ideas now that we’re sleeping together?”

Still laughing, she opened her door and slid out of the truck. “No, I’m not getting any ideas about you and me.”

She had a few ideas an hour later, though, when Sean was sweaty and all sexy and in charge. Ideas about him getting sweaty with her. Ideas about him, naked and soapy in the shower. She even had a few ideas about finding some place secluded to park the truck and not waiting until they got home.

After giving the Johnsons’ tree limbs a good looking over, Sean had grabbed some rope and the chainsaw out of toolboxes in the back of her truck and gone to work. He was about halfway through the job now and, so far, she hadn’t had to do anything but guide a few of the smaller limbs away from the house with the rope after he tied them off.

Once he dropped a main limb, he made quick work of cutting off the smaller branches before cutting it into chunks of wood Emma, along with the homeowners, could set off to one side. It would be a while before it would be any good in a woodstove, but Mr. Johnson was going to stack it and let it dry out. She didn’t normally let her clients work alongside her, but it made her feel better about the fact she was going to charge them next to nothing. But after a while, Mrs. Johnson brought out lemonades for Emma and Sean, then fussed at her husband to get in out of the sun for a few minutes.

“I was out of line before,” Sean said when they were alone.

“When before? Not letting me drive? The sticky note on the bathroom asking me to never make pasta salad again?”

“Before, when I assumed you were picking out white picket fences just because you asked me about my childhood.”

“I already have a white fence. Which I installed all by myself, by the way.” She took a sip of her lemonade. “I’m not sure what kind of women you’ve dated before, but I don’t hear wedding bells during sex.”

“I guess I’ve dated some women who do, then. Just wanted to make sure things aren’t getting messy.” He drained his glass, then he pulled up the hem of his T-shirt and mopped the sweat off his face, baring the abs she loved running her hands over. And, of course, he caught her looking. “Speaking of sex, maybe you should—”

That thought was cut off by the reappearance of Mrs. Johnson, and Sean flashed Emma a naughty grin. “I’ll tell you later.”

She’d look forward to it.

On Wednesday they only worked half a day, leaving Sean free to pay a visit to his aunt and uncle while Emma caught up on some paperwork. Emma’s truck wasn’t in the driveway when he got home, but he could hear music, so he knew somebody was home.

Sean found Emma in the kitchen and he almost turned around to go anywhere else. She had the refrigerator pulled away from the wall and was cleaning the baseboard trim behind it with a toothbrush. While the view of her ass was sweet since she was on her hands and knees, it didn’t bode well for his frame of mind.

But when he got closer and saw the coils on the back of the fridge had not only been vacuumed, but were actually gleaming, he got a little worried. A person whose refrigerator coils could pass a military inspection couldn’t be right in the head.

“You okay?” he asked.

She didn’t stop scrubbing. “Sure.”

“Liar.”

“Whatever.”

“Emma, stop for a sec.”

Much to his surprise, she listened. Tossing the toothbrush into a bucket, she sat back on her heels and turned her head to look at him. “What’s up?”

“Where’s Cat?”

“Said she had some errands to do so she took my truck and went into town. She’s probably just sneaking off to see Russell.”

Clue number one. “She’s sixty-five years old. I doubt she needs to sneak off if she wants to see a man.”

Her jaw tightened. “Then why didn’t she tell me that’s where she’s going?”

“Maybe she’s not. Maybe she has errands to do.” When she rolled her eyes, he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at her. “Why don’t you let me push the fridge back and I’ll take you out to lunch.”

“Why?”

“Because you clean when you’re upset and taking a toothbrush to the back of the fridge means you’re on the ragged edge. I’ll take you down to Concord for a Jasper burger. They can fix anything.”

She laughed, but it was on the bitter side. “Yeah, ’cause I need more Kowalskis in my day.”

“Hey, whatever it is, I didn’t do it.”

“I’m just not in a good mood today.”

He grinned and rocked back on his heels. “This is because of my magic penis, isn’t it? Four nights of it too much for you?”

“Ha. Don’t flatter yourself, Kowalski. I’m only having sex with you so I can sleep in my own bed again.”

The renewed color in her cheeks let him know she was full of crap. “So if I offered to do you right here on the kitchen floor, you’d say no?”

“I’d have to say no just to prove my point now.”

“Damn.”

Emma sighed and pushed herself to her feet. “You know what? A Jasper burger sounds really good, actually. It seems like it’s been forever since I had one.”

After she wiped down the baseboard and retrieved the bucket, he pushed the fridge back into place for her, then waited for her in the truck.

She was distracted on the drive down, staring out her window and sighing a lot. Figuring she’d feel better after a burger and a beer, he let her stew in silence.

Kevin’s bar was quiet and he was nowhere to be seen, much to Sean’s relief. He didn’t really want to get any crap for taking his fake fiancée out to lunch, though he hadn’t thought of that until
after
he suggested Jasper burgers.

Paulie, the stacked redhead, was behind the bar but, other than a casual wave, she didn’t show much of an interest in them. Sean found a table in a dimly lit back corner and ordered a couple of beers and Jasper burgers for each of them.

Once their waitress set their glasses down and went to place their food order, Emma seemed to relax a little, but her mouth was tight and she was tapping the toe of her sneaker against the table leg.

“So what are you upset about today?” he asked when he got tired of the silence.

“Nothing.”

“You afraid Cat’s going to fall madly in love with Russell Walker and want her house back?”

With the way her head jerked back and the expression on her face, he was afraid for a second the other patrons would think he’d slapped her. “You’re an asshole.”

He shrugged. “I’ve been called worse.”

“No doubt.”

“If you just tell me what’s bugging you today, I won’t have to guess.”

She looked for a second like she was going to lash out with something bitchy, but then her body slumped in the chair and she sighed. “I want Gram to be happy. I want that more than anything. But seeing her with Mr. Walker was…weird. And I always miss Gramps, but it just hit me especially hard, I guess, seeing her with somebody else.”

Tears shimmered in her eyes and he reached across the table to hold her hand. “I think that’s pretty normal, Emma.”

“And they’ve known each other forever. Just because she watched the fireworks with him doesn’t mean she’s going to run off and marry him. They’re friends.”

“Have you asked her?”

“No.”

“You should talk to her.”

She sighed and he knew there was more. “At the Fourth of July party, she told me she wants to give me the house as a wedding present.”

“Isn’t that what you want?”

“No,” she snapped, pulling her hand away. “I want her to
sell
it to me. I told you that.”

“Okay.” He took a second to think about what to say next. In his experience, talking to a woman in this kind of mood was like sitting on a keg of gunpowder to smoke a cigarette. It was only a matter of time before your ass got burned. “Did you tell her that?”

“Of course I did. But she said it doesn’t make any sense to put another mortgage on the house when it’s been free and clear so long. And she doesn’t need the money.”

He was going to ask her what the problem was, then, because getting a house free wouldn’t bother most people. But he already knew. If at any time over the last two years Cat had offered to give her the house, she probably would have taken it. But the fact it was being offered as a gift for a nonexistent wedding was going to keep Emma up at night.

“Can you tie it into the business somehow? You have your equipment and your office and shit there. Maybe tell her the bank thinks you should build credit by having a loan for a business location or something?” He didn’t know jack about such things.

She shook her head. “Maybe if I was buying a nursery or something, but that’s pretty shaky.”

That left him fresh out of ideas. “You’ve got a couple more weeks. Maybe you can talk her into selling it.”

“And how am I supposed to convince her that going two hundred thousand dollars or so into debt makes more sense than accepting the house that’s been more or less mine now for two years anyway as a gift?”

“I…don’t know.” He saw the waitress approaching with two plates. “But here come our burgers. That’ll help.”

“Jasper burgers are good, but even they can’t help me out of this.”

He grinned. “No, but they’ll make you feel better about being in it.”

Jasper burgers were better than sex, Emma thought as the first bite made her taste buds stand up and happy dance. She had the same thought every time she ate at Jasper’s, but the last few times she hadn’t had sex recently enough to call it a fair comparison.

Technically,
nothing
was better than sex with Sean, but the burger had the edge right now because it wasn’t complicated. It tasted amazing and it didn’t screw up her life beyond her having to make a half-ass promise to herself to eat more salads to make up for it.

Sex with Sean was screwing up her life. As promised, the orgasms were very real and very numerous, but there should have been fine print. By accepting the orgasms, she’d also agreed to accept a level of intense intimacy she didn’t think either of them had expected.

With mind-blowing sex came the tender touches. The way he’d capture her gaze with his and she couldn’t look away. And he was a talker, always murmuring to her about how good she felt and how he never wanted to stop. And there was the life-screwing-up part—she never wanted him to stop, either.

“You’re thinking about my magic penis again, aren’t you?”

She almost choked on a fry. “No, I am not. And stop saying that.”

“You started it.” He leaned across the table. “And yes, you were. I see that flush at the hollow of your throat and the way you’re looking at me. You’re all hot and bothered, right here in the bar. I was right about you.”

“I am
not
an exhibitionist,” she hissed.

“Oh, shit.” She followed his gaze and saw that Kevin and Beth had just walked in and Kevin had spotted them. “Just be cool.”

“Be cool?” She laughed. “We’re having lunch, not planning a bank robbery.”

“I just mean…forget it.”

“You don’t want your cousins to know we’re having sex,” she said flatly.

“It complicates things.”

He had that right. She was saved from further comment, however, by Kevin and Beth approaching the table. Kevin had Lily in his arms, but she clearly wanted down and they looked like a walking wrestling match.

“Hey, guys,” Beth said, giving Emma a warm smile. “Couldn’t resist the siren call of the Jasper burgers? I ate so many of those while I was pregnant, Kevin said Lily’s first word would be
moo.
Thankfully, he was wrong.”

“It was
da-da,
” Kevin informed them in an exaggerated stage whisper that made Beth roll her eyes. “I was going to call you later. Me and Joe and Evan and Terry are going four-wheeling Saturday. You guys want in?”

“Hell yeah,” Sean said, but then he seemed to remember Emma was sitting across the table. “Maybe. If I can.”

“I should ask Gram if she minds. But if she doesn’t, I’d love to go if Lisa will let me steal her machine again. I haven’t ridden since last summer.”

“We’ll hook you up.” Lily was squirming like a fish out of water and Kevin was losing the battle. “She wants to see her Aunt Paulie. Call me and let me know. By Thursday night would be good so we can figure out which trailers we need to load up.”

After they left, Emma returned to her Jasper burger consumption with gusto. She’d asked Lisa once to find out the recipe for their seasoning mix, but Kevin wouldn’t give it up. Plus, as Lisa had pointed out, it wouldn’t do Emma any good to have it since she couldn’t cook worth a damn anyway.

“So about what I said before,” Sean said after he’d wolfed down his food, “about not wanting them to know we’ve had sex. It’s not that I’m trying to hide it, I just…”

“Don’t want them to know.”

“Yeah.”

“That makes sense.”

His face brightened. “Really?”

“No.”

“Damn.” He’d finished his beer, so he took a swig off the glass of water she’d requested with her meal. “Under normal circumstances, I’d want everybody to know we’re sleeping together. Trust me. I’d put a sign on my front lawn.”

“But these aren’t normal circumstances.”

“Not even in the ballpark. I have this bet with my brothers I’d last the whole month and I don’t want to listen to them gloat.” Of course he had a bet with his brothers. Such a guy thing to do. “But it’s more about the women.”

“The women?”

“In my family, I mean. Aunt Mary, especially. They might start thinking it’s more than it is. Getting ideas about us, if you know what I mean.”

Emma ate her last French fry and pushed her plate away. “So we have to pretend we’re madly in love and engaged…while pretending we’re not having sex.”

“Told you it complicates things.”

“I’m going to need a color-coded chart to keep track of who thinks what.”

He grinned and pulled his Sharpie out of his pocket. “I could make sticky notes.”

The man loved sticky notes. He stuck them on everything. A note on the front of the microwave complaining about the disappearance of the last bag of salt-and-vinegar chips. (Emma had discovered during a particularly rough self-pity party that any chips will do, even if they burn your tongue). A note on the back of the toilet lid telling her she used girly toilet paper, whatever that meant.

He liked leaving them on the bathroom mirror, too.
Stop cleaning my sneakers. I’m trying to break them in.
Her personal favorite was
if you buy that cheap beer because it’s on sale again, I’ll piss in your mulch pile.
But sometimes they were sweet.
Thank you for doing my laundry.
And
you make really good grilled cheese sandwiches.
That one had almost made her cry.

“Not to change the subject,” she said, intending to do just that, “but I’m going to bid a landscaping job tomorrow. The homeowner wants to extend the deck out and add some built-in seating. It’s a rush job because they’re spending the last week of July there and want it done. I thought maybe you could do up a bid for that and we could submit it as a package. You know, if you’re interested and think you can it done in time.”

“Are you going to stand over my shoulder and double-check all my measurements and cuts?”

She felt her face blush and rolled her eyes. “No. Pounding nails is your thing, not mine.”

“Then I’m interested. We could make a good team, you and I.”

The words pierced some part of her heart she didn’t want to think about, but she laughed. “Yeah. Just don’t tell anybody.”

Watching Sean flip ham steaks on the grill through the window, Emma tore up lettuce for salads. Her grandmother was cutting the tomatoes, which was probably good since she shouldn’t use a knife and watch Sean cook at the same time.

“Hey, Gram, would you mind if Sean and I disappeared for a few hours on Saturday?”

“Of course not.”

“A few of the Kowalskis are going four-wheeling and Kevin invited us to go. But if you want to spend the day with us, I can go—
we
can go—another time.”

“I had plans of my own, actually.”

Something in Gram’s voice drew her attention away from admiring the way Sean wielded a meat fork. “Oh really?”

“Russell’s going to take me out for an early dinner and then we’re going dancing at the high school. They’re having a fundraiser for chem-free graduation.”

“Oh.” Emma realized she was tearing the lettuce into confetti and dropped it into the bowl. “That sounds fun.”

“Do I need to have the talk with you about how going on a date with Russell doesn’t change the fact I still love your grandfather very much and miss him every day?”