ScandalandSin

by Lynn LaFleur

  “Oh definitely. Can you do that?”

  “Sure. Walls will have to be moved, but that isn’t a problem.”

  “What about an elevator?”

  “An elevator?”

  “Don’t I need one in case I have a guest who has trouble climbing stairs? Isn’t it a law about handicapped access?”

  “I’ve never remodeled a house that old. I’ll have to check to see what the law requires.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I want an elevator for my guests’ comfort.”

  He rubbed his knuckle across his mustache. Alaina remembered the feel of it when he’d kissed her. She wondered how his mustache would feel tickling her nipples, brushing down her stomach to between her thighs…

  “Before we get too far into this, I’ll call my dad and see if he can meet us at the house in about an hour.”

  The mention of Rye’s father quickly doused her desire. “Your dad?”

  “He’s an architect. I can do the structural stuff, but I’m lousy at designing.”

  His eyes twinkled with humor. Alaina liked this Rye much better than the rude man of earlier today. She smiled and he returned it.

  As quickly as it had formed, his smile disappeared. He frowned and looked back at his legal pad. “I’ll start with the roof. That needs to be repaired first.”

  Okay, what just happened? They seemed to be getting along fine, then the light went out in his eyes and he became stiff and wooden again. “Did I do something wrong?”

  “No.”

  His voice said no, but his tone said yes. “Rye, what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing is wrong, Alaina. This is a business arrangement, nothing more. You need to remember that.”

  She had no idea why he’d say something like that. “What did I do to make you think I don’t know that?”

  “You smiled at me.”

  “I smiled at you? Since when is that a sin?”

  Scowling, he tossed his pen on top of the legal pad. “I don’t want you thinking there will be a repeat of what happened between us yesterday, because there won’t be.”

  Alaina had met some arrogant men in her life. She never would have believed Rye was one of them. He’d just proved her wrong. Yes, the sex had been scorching. That didn’t mean she planned to drop her panties every time he looked at her.

  “This meeting is officially over. Have a nice life, Rye.”

  She made it three steps before Rye grabbed her arm to stop her. “Where are you going?”

  She jerked her arm away from him. “I’m not going to spend the next several months with someone who glares at me and snaps at me when I did nothing wrong. We had sex, Rye. We, as in you and me. It happened. Neither of us planned it. But you’re treating me as if I’m Alesia and I’m not. See?” She picked up a hank of her hair and waved it in his face. “Red hair, not blonde. I didn’t plan what happened between us. I wasn’t trying to use you. But you can’t seem to get that through your thick skull. Don’t worry. You don’t have to worry about me attacking you again. I’ll find another construction firm to work for me.”

  “All right, all right! I’m sorry.”

  “That’s the lousiest apology I’ve ever heard.”

  If possible, his scowl deepened. “What the hell do you want from me?”

  “I want you to treat me with the same respect you’d treat any other customer. If you can’t do that, then give me that list of construction firms you mentioned and I’m outta here.”

  He looked away from her and blew out a deep breath. She waited, unsure if he’d agree she should leave or admit he was wrong.

  “I’m sorry,” he said again, his tone more convincing. She saw the sincerity in his eyes when he looked back at her. “I mean that. You’re right. I should treat you the same way I treat all my customers. You’re also right that it was both of us yesterday who got carried away.”

  “Thank you for admitting that.”

  He stared at her for several moments. “You look like Alesia, but you don’t look like Alesia.”

  “We favor a little, but she took after our father’s side of the family. I’m the image of my mother.”

  A hint of a smile touched his lips. “Then your mom must be a fox.”

  Alaina chuckled. “I’ll tell her you said that.” She quickly turned serious again. “I’m like my mom in every way, Rye…not my sister or my father. I’ve never gotten off by hurting people.”

  He looked at her for several moments, his gaze moving over her hair, her face, her body. It lingered on her breasts longer than anywhere else before returning to her face. “I won’t be rude to you again, Alaina.”

  “So we’ll start fresh.” She held out her hand to him. “Hi. I’m Alaina May. I have a remodeling job for you.”

  With humor twinkling in his eyes again, Rye shook her hand. “I accept your job.”

  She held back the gasp of pleasure at the touch of his skin on hers. It wasn’t easy. Being close to Rye kept her hormones in a constant frenzy.

  Rye released her hand. “I’ll call my dad and see if he can meet us.”

  “Okay.”

  He turned and walked back to his desk. Alaina admired his broad shoulders in the brown T-shirt, his ass in the tight jeans. Doing physical work for a living had given him an amazing body.

  He’s off limits, Alaina. He’s made that very clear.

  Besides, she had her bed-and-breakfast to occupy her life. She didn’t have time for a man, not even one as sexy as Rye.

  She slipped back into her chair as Rye hung up the receiver. “Dad will meet us there in twenty minutes. That gives us time to stop at the donut shop for coffee and hot apple fritters.”

  She smiled. “Perfect.”

  *

  Alaina had barely known Kenneth Coleman when she was in school, but she did remember him as a kind man who served on the volunteer fire department and the city council. She didn’t remember him as being so handsome. Streaks of gray highlighted his dark brown hair. A neatly trimmed Van Dyke reflected the same brown with gray streaks. He was trim and fit, having a better body in his mid-fifties than a lot of men she knew in their twenties or thirties. There was no doubt where his sons got their looks.

  He greeted her with a warm smile after Rye made the introductions. “It’s nice to meet you, Alaina.”

  “You too, Mr. Coleman.”

  “Kenneth, please. We’ll be working together for a while, so there’s no reason to be formal.”

  “Alaina has a lot of ideas of what she wants to do, Dad. I told her I can do the work, but want to leave the designing up to you.”

  Kenneth lifted a leather portfolio holding a white legal pad. “I’m ready. Let’s go through the house room by room, Alaina, and you can tell me your ideas.”

  It became obvious to Alaina within five minutes that father and son had worked together many times as they bounced ideas off each other. It was also obvious that they were very close. Jealousy curled in her tummy. She’d never had a close relationship with her father. Luckily her mother had always been there for her, even when she was hurting so much from her husband’s infidelity. Alaina thanked God every day that her mother had finally left her father and started a new life in a different city. She adored her stepfather. He made her mom happy, and that made him very special in Alaina’s eyes.

  They spent over two hours going through every room on the first two floors while Kenneth and Rye took notes and measurements. There wasn’t anything Alaina suggested that the men said couldn’t be done. They sometimes offered a different suggestion than her original idea, which was always better than the way she’d imagined something.

  Coleman Construction’s impeccable reputation wasn’t an exaggeration.

  “All that’s left is the attic and turret,” Rye said to Alaina. “Do you want to look at it now?”

  Alaina nodded. “I want to see it all.”

  Rye led the way to a small door at the west end of the second floor. It fell off the hinges when he pulled it open. He leaned it
against the wall. “I’m surprised more doors haven’t fallen off the hinges when we’ve opened them.”

  Alaina peeked through the opening to see a set of narrow stairs. Only one person at a time would be able to climb them. “I’ll let you go first and knock down the cobwebs.”

  Rye’s mouth twisted to one side. “Gee thanks.”

  She followed Rye up the stairs, biting her lip to keep from laughing when she heard Kenneth’s chuckle. Each step creaked when Rye put his weight on it, but none broke. The temperature rose as they climbed, until it was quite warm in the stairwell. She was no construction expert, but knew it would be unbearably hot in the attic during the height of summer.

  Tiny dust particles danced in the sunlight flowing through the east-facing turret. Alaina immediately fell in love with the charming area. A dusty, faded cushion covered the window seat that circled the three sides of the bay window. The tall glass looked as if it hadn’t been washed in a century.

  She turned and walked farther into the attic. It ran the length and width of the house.

  “This is amazing,” Alaina said, smiling at the two men. “I love it.”

  “I told Alaina she could make two or three bedrooms up here,” Rye said to his father.

  “That won’t be a problem.” Kenneth made another note on his pad. “There’s plenty of room for three suites with private bathrooms.”

  “Will it be too hot for guests?”

  “Not when I get through with it,” Rye said. “Each floor will have its own central heating and cooling unit. The whole house will be well insulated and have new windows and doors besides the new roof. Basically, we’ll gut the house and start fresh. New wiring, new plumbing, the works.”

  “Can my room be here?”

  “Is that what you want?”

  She gazed at the turret, imagining the sun waking her every morning. She’d like nothing better. She nodded. “Yes.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll do. Unless…” He stopped.

  “Unless what?” Alaina asked.

  “I haven’t computed out the cost yet, Alaina. You’re looking at a lot of money to do the job right.”

  “The cost doesn’t matter.”

  “Cost always matters.”

  “Rye, I promise it doesn’t matter. I have the financing. I won’t give you a blank check, but I want the house to sparkle when you’re finished with it.”

  “I’ll give you every break I can.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  He continued to look into her eyes. The room suddenly seemed warmer and Alaina didn’t think it had anything to do with the sun shining in the windows.

  Rye cleared his throat and faced his father. “Do you have everything you need, Dad?”

  “For now. I’ll start a draft of the plans and let y’all look at them for approval.” He looked at Alaina. “Do you have any questions for me?”

  “Not that I can think of now.”

  “Rye will give you my cell phone number. Call me if you think of anything.”

  Alaina smiled at him. “Thank you, Kenneth.”

  “See you later, Dad.”

  Kenneth waved at them over his shoulder as he started down the steep staircase. The large room now seemed smaller as well as warmer with just her and Rye in it. She wasn’t sure what to say to him now that they were alone.

  “Do you have any questions for me?” he asked.

  Yes. Will you take me against the wall again?

  Alaina slipped her hands into the back pockets of her jeans to keep from reaching out for Rye. “Do you need a deposit from me before you start anything?”

  “I usually get one, yeah.”

  “Can I write a personal check to you or would you rather I get a cashier’s check?”

  “A personal check will be fine.” That crooked smile she was starting to recognize touched his lips. “If Bella Olinghouse accepted your check, I can too.” He slipped his pen above his ear. “Are you ready to go?”

  Alaina nodded. She turned and started for the door. A cold blast of air flowed over her once she stepped close to the turret. She shivered.

  “Did you feel that?” she asked Rye.

  “Feel what?”

  “The cold air.”

  “You couldn’t have felt any cold air. It has to be at least eighty degrees in here.”

  “Then explain this.” She lifted her arm, which had goose bumps scattered across it.

  Rye ran his fingertips over the pebbled skin. “Strange. I didn’t feel any cold air, Alaina.”

  “You don’t suppose this house is haunted, do you?”

  She’d asked the question in jest, yet a part of her wondered if there could be something…otherworldly in the old house. It held a lot of history for Rye’s family.

  And hers.

  “Lanville is a small town with a lot of people who like to spread gossip,” Rye said. “There isn’t much that goes on that doesn’t get back to me. I’ve never heard of anyone claiming to see or hear ghosts in this house, not even as a joke.”

  Alaina slowly looked around the large room. She felt…something. She didn’t know what to call it, whether a presence or simply a feeling of something—or someone—here with them. It didn’t frighten her, but intrigued her.

  “Maybe it’s just the excitement of knowing the house will be mine soon. When will you start working on it?”

  “Dax, Griff and I will pick up supplies this weekend. We may be able to start as early as Monday.”

  Alaina clasped her hands together beneath her chin. This was really going to happen. Stevens House would be her new home in a few months. She could hardly wait to tell Kelcey and Emma.

  “Knowing how quickly my dad works, he’ll have that draft for you to look at tomorrow. And you can get together with Dax to talk about paint colors. It’ll be a while before we’ll do any painting, but he can pick up some of those paint sample cards for you.”

  “I already have dozens of them. I’ve been checking out the building supplies warehouses for weeks. I’ve already picked out most of the light fixtures and ceiling fans. Oh, and the crown molding.”

  Rye chuckled. “You were determined to buy this house, weren’t you?”

  She nodded.

  “Why this house? You told Bella it called to you the first time you saw it. What’s so special about it?”

  Alaina thought of the book she carried in her purse…the book that explained so much about her family, yet left many questions unanswered. She hoped to find all the answers in this house.

  Until she found the answers, she wasn’t ready to tell anyone about the book.

  “My purse is in your truck. I can write that check to you now before I leave Lanville.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Back to Dallas. I want to tell my housemates my good news. I’ll spend the night at home and be back tomorrow.”

  She turned and headed for the staircase, Rye close behind her. At her car, she removed her purse, dug through it for her checkbook, then joined Rye at his pickup. She snagged the pen from behind his ear. “Is five thousand okay?”

  “That’ll be fine.”

  She wrote out the check and handed it to Rye with his pen. She had no reason to hang around since their business for today was done, yet she didn’t want to leave him. Despite their shaky start this morning, they’d been civil to each other for the last couple of hours.

  “I have an appointment with the sheriff in fifteen minutes,” Rye said.

  “Oh sure. I’ll, uh, be on my way.”

  “See you tomorrow.”

  Alaina slipped into her car. Once she pulled away from Stevens House, she looked in her rearview mirror. Rye stood by his truck, watching her drive away.

  Chapter Seven

  April 15, 1937

  Laura came home early to help our mother. She has been ill for several days. We thought it was just a cold, but it may be something more serious. Her cough has grown deeper and more persistent. Laura insisted we need to take
our mother to see the doctor in Dallas. That would be a long and expensive trip, but our father agreed with Laura. He said we would take our mother first thing in the morning.

  That despicable man showed up at the store this afternoon with his “personal physician”. Laura was so grateful, I thought she would hug him. I managed to smile and thank him, but I doubt if there was any sincerity in my eyes. He didn’t bring in a doctor simply to help my mother…he did it to get closer to Laura.

  *

  “You didn’t even get the house appraised, Alaina,” Kelcey said. “How do you know it’s worth anything?”

  “It’s worth everything to me.” She glanced at her housemate and good friend in the passenger seat. She knew Kelcey couldn’t help but think like an accountant. “Bella Olinghouse sold the house and twenty-two acres to me for twenty-five thousand dollars. The land alone is worth over a hundred grand. It was a bargain.”

  “I still think you should’ve talked to other construction firms before you hired that one. You gave him a deposit without even talking about a contract!”

  Alaina bit her tongue to keep from sighing. Kelcey was a year younger than she, but she acted so much older. She was so intelligent, maybe even a genius, yet she didn’t know how to let loose and have fun. Her whole life consisted of numbers and spreadsheets. Alaina had lived with the two women for three years. In that time, she couldn’t remember Kelcey having one date.

  Emma, on the other hand, dated a new guy practically every week. Glancing in the rearview mirror, Alaina saw the petite brunette was still curled up in the backseat, sound asleep. Alaina had woken Emma at six-thirty this morning, much earlier than her friend normally rose after the dinner shift as a chef at one of Dallas’ finest restaurants. She’d grumbled about people who woke up at the crack of dawn until she got in the car, where she promptly went to sleep.

  “What do you know about this construction firm?” Kelcey asked, bringing Alaina back to the present.

  “I know they have a sterling reputation.” She’d debated whether or not to tell her friends that she knew the Colemans, or had known them when she was a young girl. She’d already decided she wouldn’t tell them about the incident with Rye in Stevens House. Emma would think it was cool, but Kelcey would harp on Alaina about having spontaneous sex with a man without knowing his medical history. “I went to school with them when I was barely a teenager. I trust them to do a great job on my house.”