After a few minutes of eating, neither one of them talking, Charley decided she needed to get to know him better, so their time together wouldn’t be so awkward. “Do you live in this house all alone?”
Mr. Norris glanced up at her. “Yep.” He went back to his soup.
“It’s a beautiful home. I love the high arching windows. Has it been in your family for a long time?”
He gave her a weird look. “Yes.”
Charley was hoping he would expand on that, but he went back to eating. She stirred her soup a moment before deciding she would have to be the one who kept the conversation going. “What kinds of things do you like to do?”
“Work.”
“No, I mean for fun. Do you have any hobbies?”
He bristled at her question. “No.”
This wasn’t working at all, but she couldn’t stand the silence. “I have several hobbies. I’m a crafter. I love repurposing old furniture. Not the antique stuff, but the kind that isn’t worth anything. I had this old dresser that I cut the top off and created this adorable bench. My best friend Mattie died when she saw it. She said it was the cutest thing she’d ever seen.”
Mr. Norris stared at her, not saying anything, so she continued. “And I love to crochet. I’m kind of a yarn addict. I love making blankets and hats. Oh, and I made a pair of socks once because I’m a sock addict as well, but they were way too large for me so I gave them to my father, but he’s not really a sock guy. Plus, they were orange and pink, which isn’t his color scheme at all, but he did put them on and my mother and I had a good laugh over it.”
He blinked at her, his expression hard to read. She gave him a smile, hoping to encourage him to speak, but he stayed silent.
“I also love the ocean. Of course, you don’t have the coast here, but it’s beautiful here as well. I can’t wait to see it snow. Growing up in Florida, I haven’t been around much snow. We took a spring vacation one year and went to a cabin in Minnesota, and there was still snow on the ground, even in April. I read the forecast and it’s supposed to snow sometime this evening and I’m super excited about it. Do you like the snow, Mr. Norris?”
He scowled and picked up his water glass. “No.”
“I can’t wait to see this beautiful mountainside with everything covered in snow. It’s going to be breathtaking, don’t you think?”
He flinched, as if her words caused him pain. Before she could ask about it, he smoothed out his features. “I think, Miss Davis, you should eat your soup before it gets as cold as the garage,” he said, his voice low.
“Oh. Yes. Of course.” She ate the rest of her lunch in silence, wondering what his strange behavior had meant, or if it had meant anything at all.
She returned to the garage after getting her coat from Dorothy. It was a red fleece peacoat, and she hoped it wouldn’t get filthy from digging through the old boxes of junk. As she started in on another box, the door to the garage opened and Mr. Norris stepped in. He held a space heater.
“I, uh, thought this might be helpful to you.” He leaned over and plugged it into the wall.
“Oh my gosh, thank you so much!” Charley bounced on her toes. “I was so chilled out here, but the heater will make it nice and toasty. This will be perfect.”
He stood back, his face impassive. “I expect you to load up the truck each day and take the items to charity before it gets dark. The roads get dangerous here at night.”
She had not expected it to be her job to take the junk to Goodwill, but she masked her surprise with a nod. “Okay. Where’s the truck?”
“Just open the garage door. It’s in the driveway. You can get the keys from Dorothy when you’re ready to leave.”
“All right.”
With that, Mr. Norris went back inside the house, leaving her to her work. She sighed and continued to rummage through the mess of boxes. The silence began to bother her, so she brought out her phone and turned on some Christmas music. With only nine more days until the holiday, she was missing the usual cheer. But soon the songs and the heater brought her the warmth she desired.
The rest of the day was spent piling boxes into the truck bed. And by five o’clock she knew she’d better drive into town so she wasn’t out on the road after sunset. The last thing she wanted to do was give Mr. Grumpy another reason to frown at her.
The trip took fifteen minutes to get to Goodwill and another fifteen to unload the boxes. By the time she got back to the house, the sun had already dipped below the horizon and dusk had settled in. Mr. Norris came out of his house as she pulled up with the truck. “I told you to be back before dark.” He threw his words at her like darts, and they stung.
She was determined not to let his foul mood get her down. She smiled at him as she climbed down from the driver’s seat. The truck sat quite a bit higher than she was used to. “It’s not fully dark yet. Don’t worry, I’m not only an accomplished appraiser, I’m also a very careful driver. I’ve only wrecked one truck.” She winked at him, letting him know she was teasing.
He took a step back from her, his shocked look quite amusing. She giggled. “I’m kidding. I have a perfect driving record. Don’t look so nervous.” She walked past him and into the house.
Chapter 3
Alexander stood in the driveway, gaping at Charley. She was the most aggravating woman. He’d told her not to be out after dark. And what was that? Did she wink at him? He hadn’t been able to respond. She had this way of disarming him that he couldn’t understand.
He let out a grunt and stalked into the house after her. The smell in the kitchen stopped him. Dorothy shooed him into the other room. “No sneaking any food. It’s almost ready. Why don’t you and Charley get situated at the table?”
Since when did his help boss him around? His house was falling apart. Alexander scowled at her but did as she said, taking his seat at the head of the table. When Charley walked into the room, he motioned to her chair. “I guess Dorothy wants us seated.”
She grinned at him, and he noticed for the first time she had a dimple on her left cheek. “Great. I’m so hungry, I could eat a house.”
“Don’t you mean horse?”
Charley wrinkled her nose. “I’ve never liked that saying. Who wants to eat a horse? They’re smelly and have all this hair. What an unappealing thought.”
He couldn’t figure out if she was crazy, or if she was playing with him. “You’d rather eat a house?”
She shrugged, her gaze dipping to the table. “It would have sounded lame had I said I was so hungry, I could eat a hamburger.”
Alexander couldn’t help it. He laughed, and the biggest smile appeared on Charley’s face, along with the dimple again. “Oh my gosh, I wasn’t sure you could laugh.”
Had he been in that foul of a mood since she arrived? He sobered. “Of course, I can laugh.” He didn’t mean for it to sound so irritable, but he couldn’t take back his words. But he did soften his voice when he spoke again. “I simply have lots of work to do and I don’t see a need for lollygagging.”
“Did you just say the word lollygagging?” Her laughter rang out, echoing through his house. “Why do you talk like an old man?”
He gasped at her, but her giant smile erased his annoyance. Why was it hard for him to stay mad at this woman? He tried to keep a straight face, but he felt his lips twitch. “I was raised by my grandfather, and I was taught to speak proper English. And I’m often busy, so I don’t have time to mess around.”
“What is it you do, if I may ask?”
“I have a company I run from this house. I’m in software development.” Alexander had never realized how boring his job sounded until this moment. Charley nodded as Dorothy came out of the kitchen carrying a tray with their food on it.
As they ate, Charley chatted about how much she was looking forward to finding treasure in the boxes in the garage and how excited she was for Christmas. She had an energy about her that he had never seen in a person. When she laughed, she did it with her whole
being. It was like she couldn’t wait to go out and experience life. Had he ever felt even a small part of that? He doubted it.
When they were finished eating, Charley looked out the window and gasped. “It’s snowing! Oh, my gosh. Come on.”
She tugged on his arm and he stood, unable to refuse her. “Where are you going?”
“Outside, of course.” She pulled him toward the front of the house.
“Wait.” He took her elbow. “This way.” He led her to a sliding glass door that opened to the back deck. She grinned at him then walked outside without her coat.
“Look at this.” She stared up at the large snowflakes coming silently down, her hands out as if to catch them. “Isn’t it magical?”
He made a conscious effort not to frown. He hated the snow. Hated everything about winter, but she obviously was enchanted, so he didn’t say anything. He stepped outside and slid the door shut, joining her on the deck.
“It’s so quiet out here,” she said, her voice almost reverent. “I love how peaceful it is. You are so lucky to live in such a beautiful home. I love Florida, but there’s constant street noise. Don’t you love the quiet here?”
He hadn’t thought about it, but maybe she had a point. It was nice. He nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I suppose.”
She pointed to the deck chairs in the corner. “Do you come sit out here when the weather is nice?”
Not anymore. He used to enjoy the deck. He’d sit out here with his wife and they’d watch the birds. But that was a long time ago. He clenched his jaw. “No.”
She peered out at the trees. “What are you planning on doing for Christmas? Are you having any family over?”
“I have no living family.”
She turned to him, her eyes wide. “Oh. I’m so sorry.”
The last thing he wanted was her pity. “Don’t be. I’m fine here by myself.” He slid his hands into his pockets.
A sadness entered her eyes. She turned away. “So, you’re not going to go anywhere for Christmas?”
“I prefer being alone.”
“Oh.” She was silent for a few moments before she rubbed her bare arms.
“Let’s go inside. It’s cold.”
She didn’t move. Flakes of snow were starting to stick to her dark hair. “In a minute. I want to watch the snow a little longer.”
He shrugged out of his suit jacket and placed it over her shoulders. She smiled up at him. “Thanks, Mr. Norris.”
“It’s Alexander.” He stepped back, surprised at his own words. Why had he said that? What was wrong with him? He didn’t want her calling him by his first name, did he?
She nodded, her smile widening. “Thanks, Alexander.”
He frowned and took another step toward the door. “You can stay out here as long as you’d like.” He didn’t wait for her to answer. He slipped inside the house and walked to his office, shaking his head. What was that all about? He was being stupid.
Now she was going to be more informal with him. Not that she’d been particularly formal before. But now she was going to think he was encouraging her behavior. Which was not the case. She was just the hired girl. She would do her job and then leave. It was stupid to think anything could transpire between them. Not that he was thinking of her that way.
He opened his office door and the black kitten scampered over to him, letting out a tiny cry. He bent and picked her up. She’d been half-frozen when he’d found her behind the house. Luckily, she was old enough to eat food. He opened another can of cat food and set her on the floor with it. She attacked the meal like she hadn’t been fed that morning. He chuckled and crossed the room to his desk. “Don’t eat it so fast. You’ll get a stomach ache.”
The kitten ignored him, and he sat down on his leather office chair. He woke his computer up and clicked to check his email. The screen blurred as his thoughts swirled around in his head. He was going to regret allowing the woman to stay on, he knew it. But there was nothing he could do now. It was like watching a train wreck. He was powerless to stop it. All he could do was watch it happen.
Chapter 4
Charley loaded another box into the back of the truck. This was box number five for the day, and nothing of value had been found. She was starting to wonder if there were any antiques in the garage at all. There certainly were a lot of clothes. Women’s clothes. What a single man was doing with all those clothes was a mystery. Maybe they were his mother’s things. That would make sense, if he was dealing with her estate. But if that were the case, his mother dressed quite young.
She dusted off her hands and walked back into the garage. The door rolled down, but the short time it had been open had dropped the temperature once again and Charley blew heat on her fingers. Maybe she would go in the house to warm up for a minute before starting on the next box.
As she opened the door to the kitchen, Dorothy waved her inside. “Come on in, hon. Do you need a break?”
“Yes. I just need to get warm.” Charley climbed onto a stool sitting by the counter.
“I’ll make you some hot cocoa, if you’d like.” Dorothy didn’t wait for confirmation. She opened a cupboard and brought out a sauce pan.
“That sounds delicious. Thank you.”
As Dorothy worked, Charley shifted on the stool. She’d decided to ignore her own resolution and wore another one of her favorite pairs of socks. The left one was red, white, and green checkers, the right had matching colors in stripes. She wore a green pleated skirt so she could show them off. If Alexander didn’t like them, too bad.
A doorbell rang and Dorothy turned, patting her hair. She seemed flustered. “I’ll go get that.” She walked toward the mud room that connected to the back of the kitchen.
“I thought the butler got the door.” Curious, Charley slid off the stool to follow Dorothy.
“This is the service entrance bell. It’s probably a package, and most packages that come are for me.”
The mud room was one quarter the size of the kitchen, with windows all along the back. Dorothy opened the door and a man in a UPS uniform stood there holding a package from Amazon. He had a serious George Clooney look-alike thing going on, with salt-and-pepper hair. When he saw Dorothy, his smile widened, his laugh lines crinkling. “Good afternoon, Dorothy.”
“Hello, Paul.” Dorothy smoothed the front of her apron. “How are you today?”
Paul leaned against the door jam. “Fine.” He handed her the package. “You order another book?”
Dorothy blushed. “You know I love to read.”
“What is it this time? Another Patterson novel?”
“Dean Koontz.”
“Ah, the latest Jane Hawk, I suppose?”
She laughed and fingered the package. “You know me too well.”
Charley rocked back on her toes. This was too cute to watch. All kinds of questions filled her head.
Paul stood there, grinning for a moment longer before Dorothy seemed to realize Charley was standing behind her. “Oh, Paul. This is Charley. She’s an antique appraiser.”
Charley took a step forward and stuck her hand out. “A pleasure.”
He shook her hand. “Nice to meet you. Well, I best be going. I have a lot of packages to deliver. This time of year is a bear.”
“I bet.” Dorothy grinned at him then waved as he turned to leave. “Bye,” she called.
After Dorothy shut the door, Charley put her hands on her hips. “Oh. My. Gosh. You like him.”
Dorothy shook her head as she walked back into the kitchen. “What? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Come on. You’re blushing ten shades of red.” Charley held in a laugh. How cute was that? They were adorable, flirting with each other like that.
Dorothy brought her hand up to her face. “I am?”
“Spill it. Who is he?”
“No one.” Dorothy pulled the cocoa out of the cupboard. “He’s just the delivery man.”
“Whom you have a crush on. Admit it. It’s obvious he l
ikes you.”
Dorothy jerked her head around. “Really?”
“You mean you hadn’t noticed? He is totally into you.” Charley grinned. “And he’s hot.”
Dorothy fanned her face. “He is, isn’t he?” She laughed. “Oh, listen to me. I’m so silly.”
“Well, I don’t think you’re silly. I think he likes you.”
Dorothy waved away her comment. “Just you sit down. I’ll get that hot chocolate for you.”
Charley sat back down on the bar stool and put her elbows on the counter. “How long have you worked here?”
Dorothy paused, looking up at the ceiling. “I was hired twenty years ago by Mr. Norris senior. Alexander was just a boy.”
“A boy? How old is he?”
The smile slid off Dorothy’s face. “Grief has a way of aging a person.” She opened the fridge and pulled out the milk.
“Did his mother recently pass?”
Dorothy shot her a look. “No. His wife.”
“Oh.” Charley sucked in a breath. That was worse than losing a parent. No wonder he didn’t want to go through the boxes in the garage. “How long ago?”
“Two years.”
She bit her lower lip. That explained why he was grumpy. He was still grieving his wife. And Charley was probably a reminder of this because of why she was there. To get rid of all his wife’s things. Sympathy made her heart squeeze. But two years was a long time. He needed to get past it. “Has he dated anyone since?”
Dorothy shook her head. “No.”
“He should. It would help him heal.”
A smile formed on Dorothy’s face. “You’re right.” She stirred the liquid in the sauce pan, glancing back at Charley. “What are you doing tonight?”
Charley choked on her spit. “Me? What are you, crazy?”
Dorothy’s gaze traveled over her. “You’re young and pretty. Why not you?”
“First of all, he’s too old for me.”
“He’s thirty.”
Christmas with the Recluse Page 2
