by Bella Andre
She couldn’t do it. As desperate as she was to mix with people again, to talk and laugh, she couldn’t allow it.
As if he could read everything written on her face, Daniel said softly, “It’s okay, Tasha. We want to do this. It’s fun for us. There’s no obligation.”
She wanted it too—wanted the camaraderie and the conversation and the fun more than she’d ever wanted anything in her life. Well, apart from Daniel’s kiss. She wanted that more than her next heartbeat.
But the only right thing to do was turn them down. It wasn’t penance otherwise, was it?
“It’s really sweet of you all,” she said, “but I haven’t ordered the materials I need. So there’s nothing to be done yet.”
Will slapped Daniel on the back. “We’ve got a home-improvement mogul in our midst, remember?”
Sebastian hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “And a Top Notch store just over the hill in Carson City with a warehouse chock full of anything you could possibly need.”
“Even better,” Matt put in, “you can get it at cost.”
She looked at Daniel, and he spread his hands in a don’t-blame-me-that-they’re-dying-to-help gesture.
They had her beaten all around. Even Evan, though he hadn’t uttered a single cajoling comment, wore his tool belt. They were clearly determined to pitch in. En masse, they would charm the heck out of any person they’d ever met.
But hadn’t falling for charming already gotten her into enough trouble? Then again, if she’d known any of the Mavericks before meeting Eric, she surely would have seen right through him. His versions of charming and powerful were paper-thin by comparison.
She was still fighting with herself when one of the puppies started to whine in the crate, whimpering for her to let their hunky new friends inside.
“How is Noah’s little Spanky?” Matt’s eyes danced.
“He’s great. And always hungry.”
Will stepped into the action too. “I told Jeremy about his new puppy before he left for camp this morning. He was so happy that Harper didn’t even get upset at my highhandedness. Plus, I’m pretty sure she’s been secretly hoping for a dog.”
How could Tasha resist them? And how could she resist Daniel when he looked at her like that—as though her happiness was directly responsible for his?
At last, she held the door wide and stepped to the side. “Come on in.”
Giving her a huge smile, Sebastian retrieved a measuring tape from his voluminous tool belt and got straight to work with Will, Evan, and Matt.
Meanwhile, Daniel surprised her by grabbing her coat, taking her hand, and drawing her outside, his warmth and strength momentarily—and deliciously—engulfing her. The sun sparkled on the lake below them, dazzlingly beautiful, and Daniel had to let her go as the trail narrowed. She missed his touch more than she wanted to admit.
“What are they measuring?” she asked, stopping at a rock outcropping to view her cabin.
“Floors, walls, kitchen. They’ll do the roof too. You can use the measurements whenever you’re ready. We’ll add them to that app I showed you, if you’d like.”
“Daniel, I—”
He put his finger to her lips. It drove her crazy when he did that, making every cell in her body tremble for a taste of him.
“I promise I’m not going to steamroll you. I just want to help.” He smiled his killer smile. “And my mom ordered us to be gentlemanly and help you out.”
“You talked to your mother about me?”
“Of course I did.”
She was stunned by this news, but tried not to show it as she said, “So you’re doing this because your mother told you to?” She imagined a tiny white-haired lady shaking her rolling pin at her five able-bodied sons. Of course they’d do anything she ordered.
He tucked away a lock of hair that had escaped her ball cap. Her body tingled with awareness at the light touch.
“Well, I’m definitely not doing this because you’re having a Bad Hair Day.” He tapped her cap, and she laughed as she remembered the slogan stitched on this one. “Your hair is beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she said, “but I swear I wasn’t looking for compliments when I put it on.”
“I’m not complimenting. I’m just stating a fact.” He ran the length of her ponytail slowly through his fingers, and she shivered as though he were touching so much more—her lips, her cheeks, her body. “And I’m doing this because I want to.” His voice was as gentle as his touch. “I hate the thought of you being in a house that leaks. You don’t even have a working stove or a real bed. But my friends and I have the means and the skills to help. And Sebastian’s right—I have a warehouse full of everything you need.”
“I’m grateful, I really am.” But that’s not how she sounded. All because she couldn’t tell him that she was scared—or why. She especially couldn’t explain why she didn’t deserve all the wonderful things he and his friends wanted to do for her.
“Just take one minute.” He seduced her with his deep voice, his expressive gaze. “Close your eyes.” He lightly touched her lids.
With his voice and scent surrounding her, making her knees so weak she had to reach out and hold on to him with one hand, she had no choice but to do what he said.
“Now tip your head back and imagine.”
“Imagine what?” she whispered, though she was already visualizing being in his soft bed, with his big hands on her, his muscled body over hers.
“Your cabin. The way you want it to be.”
In her mind’s eye, all she could see was her future hot tub. And the two of them in it together. Naked and wet.
“Tell me what you want.”
I want you to touch me.
“I see log cabin walls.”
“What else do you see?”
You above me. I can taste your naked skin.
“Hardwood floors. With a slate hearth for the wood stove.”
“Tell me more,” he said, his deep voice as enticing as all the small touches he constantly showered on her.
“There’s a counter separating the main room from the kitchen, with barstools, so I don’t need a kitchen table.”
“That’s perfect,” he murmured as if he were talking about the feel of her skin against his.
“Maple kitchen cabinets. Maple floors. It’s light and open and airy.”
“Good.” He paused and lowered his voice to an even deeper tone. “Now tell me about the bedroom.”
She shivered as she sank further into her fantasy of the two of them tangled up together, his body heat surrounding her.
“French doors leading out to a small deck.”
“And the hot tub.”
She bit her lip. “Of course.” She saw him in the bubbling water, reaching for her.
“Do you want it?”
“Yes.” God, yes. What she wouldn’t give to finally have a home, to finally have a place—and a man—she wouldn’t have to leave behind the way she’d had to for so many years.
She opened her eyes because she couldn’t bear the fantasies anymore. He was close enough for her to make out the dark cocoa laced with milk chocolate in his eyes.
“You can have it, Tasha. Let me help your dreams come true.”
This wasn’t what her time here in the forest, on this mountain, was supposed to be about. She wasn’t supposed to build her own dreams after playing a part in helping her father and brother crush those of so many other people. Yet here she was, on the verge of letting Daniel help her.
Then it hit her—he’d be leaving soon. She’d be alone again.
And nothing would hurt more than watching him go.
Maybe that was the reason she’d been compelled to come to Tahoe, to buy this cabin. Because she was destined to meet Daniel, to fall for him, to want him, to need him. To love him.
And then to lose him.
It would, she knew with perfect certainty, be the ultimate atonement for her mistakes.
The lump in her throat was
so big she could barely speak around it. “Okay, Daniel, you’ve convinced me.” It was nearly impossible to keep the tears from falling as she said, “Make my dreams come true.”
Chapter Thirteen
Daniel took Tasha to his store in Carson City and helped her pick out slate for the hearth, log cabin paneling for the walls, and hardwood for the floors. They chose roofing material and new leafless gutters based on the guys’ measurements and decking for the sagging porch. They wandered the kitchen displays, checking out cabinets and countertops, appliances and fittings. Everything she purchased, he got for her at cost.
He wanted to give her so much more.
The least he could do was buy her a ball cap that read, Carpenters know how to nail it.
She put it on right there in the store, and he nearly threw the rest of his caution to the wind and kissed her. All day, he’d been overwhelmed by the heat of her skin, the scent of her. Not to mention their earlier talk, which seemed to be about so much more than simply planning her house.
Could she possibly know how much he wanted to make all her dreams come true?
With her eyes closed, her body so close, so touchable, kissing her had been a temptation that was almost his undoing. And it sure as hell didn’t help matters that the phrase on the ball cap gave him seriously hot fantasies.
The roofing materials were all he could fit in the truck bed, and the rest would be delivered tomorrow. Shortly after they returned to the cabin, the guys got to work, and the woods rang with the sound of hammers and nail guns. As long as everything went according to plan, her roof would be done tomorrow.
He hadn’t forgotten a present for the puppies, having picked up chicken wire to build a simple outside enclosure. Soon, the dogs were in the pen, wrestling in the fresh air.
Daniel stood behind Tasha as she watched through the window. “They’re getting better every day.” Her voice was a sigh of relief.
“More like every hour. It’s amazing.” The little creatures were incredibly resilient.
“Thank you for today,” she said softly, though she was still looking out the window. “With your wholesale prices, I didn’t have to spend anywhere near as much as I thought I would.”
He breathed in her sweet shampoo scent, aching to put his hands on her shoulders and pull her against him. “You’re welcome.” He wanted to say so much more, but he was trying to be patient, telling himself to take things one step at a time. First, he’d make her dreams for her cabin come true. Then he’d convince her that he should be part of those dreams too.
Despite his ongoing misgivings about the bumps his mother might be hiding, she was right when it came to taking a risk—he hadn’t pushed Tasha, but he also hadn’t pushed himself. If he didn’t risk his heart now, he would never know if what he and Tasha might have together would be worth everything he had to give. And he’d never know whether he’d discovered the woman and the love he’d always been hoping for.
Not if he didn’t put his heart out there completely, perfect or not.
To do that, he had to spend more time with Tasha, draw her out, and ultimately get her to trust him. Part of him burned to tell her about his mom’s strange words, as if disclosing his confusion and his feelings would help Tasha reveal herself to him. But right now, he sensed she had too many of her own worries for him to do that.
He hadn’t even laid his concerns on the Mavericks. He didn’t have all the facts, and freaking them out over something that might be nothing…no way, he couldn’t do it. Besides, was it even his business to talk about his mother’s stuff behind her back? He didn’t have a really good answer, so for now, it would remain his issue to think through without burdening everyone else.
Moving away from the window, Tasha said, “I should get started on the kitchen plan.”
It gave him a reason to push his dilemma to the background again. “I’ll show you how to use the app.”
“You don’t need t—” She stopped herself. “I mean, thank you. That would be great.”
“Like I said before, you don’t need to thank me for anything. I’m enjoying myself. And don’t forget, there’ll be hell to pay if my mom thinks the five of us haven’t given your cabin everything we’ve got.” It was an exaggeration, but it had worked before to help Tasha get over her hesitancy. He didn’t feel guilty about using it again.
“I keep forgetting about your little white-haired mom shaking her rolling pin at five strapping young men and ordering them to help out the neighbor.”
“Little white-haired mom?” He laughed so hard he nearly cried. “Mom will go into hysterics when she hears that.”
“Oh no,” Tasha said, her cheeks turning pink. “I didn’t mean to offend her or you.”
“My mom is impossible to offend. She’d have to be, after raising the five of us and my sister.” He was still grinning as he said, “But she’s neither little nor old. She’s only fifty-six. And as fit and active as they come. Although, now that you’ve put the picture in my head, I can easily see her running after the five of us with her rolling pin.”
Tasha grinned. “I like her already.”
“She’s going to love you.”
Just like that, the light in Tasha’s eyes died. Her movements robotic, she brought up the building app and said, “I’ve been playing with it a little already.”
He wanted to take her hands in his and ask her what the hell had happened to make her so wary. Somehow, though, he managed to keep his hands to himself and his mouth shut.
Yes, he’d decided to risk his heart. But that didn’t mean he wanted to destroy hers in the process. The fact that she was allowing him to help with her home was a good first step. He’d just have to hope she’d be ready to take the next step and confide in him soon.
Of course, that didn’t stop him from wondering—was it something to do with her family? Was it a man? Or was it an issue with her job? He wondered about the bumps in Tasha’s life just as much as he wondered about those maddening bumps his mother had alluded to.
Unfortunately, he was nowhere close to answers for either problem.
Turning his gaze to the computer screen, he saw that Tasha had digitally created the shell of the house, added walls and the bathroom with all the correct dimensions. “This looks great,” he said. “We can start parsing out the kitchen. You want the sink under the window?”
She nodded. “And upper and base cabinets on this side. Then a tall pantry cupboard against this wall.”
“Let’s bring in the cabinets. We can adjust size—but it’s cheaper if you use standard sizes—and we can move the pieces around.” He clicked and popped in the sink.
“That’s so cool.” She looked at him. “You’ve really done something amazing here.”
Amazing was her smooth skin, her silky hair beneath the ball cap with the phrase that kept giving him wild ideas. He hadn’t realized the exquisite torture it would put him through when he bought it.
She began to select what she wanted, moving the pieces around. “I like these cabinets with the drawers in the base so I don’t have to bend down to see what’s at the back of the shelf. The carousel for the corner will utilize the space better.” She was getting into it now. “And maybe it’s better to put the tall pantry cupboard over here.”
Her features came alive as she played in the app. She didn’t need him; she had it all figured out on her own. But he loved watching her. Loved being with her.
For the next half hour, they moved cabinets and appliances like they were pieces on a chessboard. As the racket above increased, they drifted closer, their arms almost touching. He’d never been more aware of a woman, never more conscious of the curve of her lips when she talked or the music in her voice.
At one point, she reached for a piece of fruit in a bowl on the counter, taking a bite, leaving peach juice on her lips. He had the wildest urge to lick it off. But she did it before he could, the sight of her tongue driving him to the brink.
He wanted to grab her hand, suck the pe
ach juice off her fingers and from her lips. Wanted to kiss her until she begged him for more.
Instead, he talked about counters and backsplash tile and range hoods, all the while drinking in her excitement as though it were an elixir.
This was the real Tasha Summerfield—he’d learned her last name today when she’d made her purchases at his store. She was enthused about life, about new projects. She loved to talk, loved exchanging ideas. She would have been the girl who always raised her hand in class, the cheerleader of her study group, the one voted most likely to succeed.
Yet here she was, living alone in a run-down cabin in the woods.
Again, he thought as a dark cloud shrouded his head, nothing added up.
“I love it!” She was practically beaming, her face lit by her excitement. “I can’t wait to get it all installed.” She looked down, holding out her hands as if she knew they were capable of anything.
All he could think was that he wanted her hands on him. And his on her. Touching her everywhere.
Driving her absolutely wild.
“You suggested so many things I never would have thought of,” she went on, seemingly oblivious to the heat building to a fever pitch inside him. “I know you said to stop saying thank you, but I just can’t stop. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
In her exuberance, she threw her arms around him, and it was so natural that he knew it was another clue to the woman she’d been trying so desperately to keep hidden away.
He wanted her to let out her true self, to break the bonds of fear that had made her run away from her life and her career. He wanted to set her free.
And he wanted her to be his.
Time seemed to stop as he instinctively pulled her against him. There was nothing but her soft curves nestled close, the sweetness of her breath against his ear, her silky hair caressing him. He raised a hand, pulling back far enough to stroke his fingers along her chin. Her eyes were a radiant blue, as bright as the real Tasha struggling to get out.
