by Noelle Hart
More like a boulder, thought Will.
“Took Jolene's ten speed for a spin. Thing rides like a charm. I was headed for Willow's beach and made a pit stop at the Oak Bay Marina.” An incredulous laugh bubbled up. “He interrupted my day and my head space. Managed to follow me all the way there without me seeing him. Then I felt him. Felt his eyes boring into my back. What the hell does he want?”
“What you need is a restraining order.”
She told him what Jay Humphrey had outlined for her about getting a peace bond.
“Hell, I'll be a witness or whatever you need me to be. I think it's time to put his harassment on public record.”
Kylie slumped in her chair. “I'm no woos, but he's making me nervous. Maybe I should start following him, see how he likes it.” She fumed for a bit. “All this stress can't be good for the kid inside me. And here I am spilling it onto you. You, who has nothing to do with any of this. I'm sorry Will. I shouldn't have come. You probably have tons of work.”
Will let her vent. Then he picked up his desk phone. “How about a long, tall orangeade? After that, why not come with me to check out our Langford construction site?”
She appreciated his diversionary tactic. “Are you sure it's a good idea? What if...”
“If he follows us, so be it. You came here because you feel safe with me. And while that means a lot to me, what's more important is that you live your life the way you choose. You can't let that jerk control you from afar.”
Stunned, it hadn't occurred to her that her coming here had been an instinctual reaction. While his words rang true, he was forgetting something important.
“What about Max? You have him to consider, and we don't know how far Drew might take this thing. I won't let you risk his safety Will.”
“Max is with his buddy across the street from my house today. The kid's mother is grateful to have him over. Keeps her own kid out of her hair. She's an artist and needs spaces of time without interruption, so I guess we're doing each other a favor. Kylie, I'd like you to come with me and give me your unbiased opinion of the new diner so far.”
She figured her opinion was neither here nor there; he was playing guardian. Grand gesture aside, she wanted to spend more time with him. “Alright. I'll trust your judgment since you're planning on trusting mine.”
Millie delivered two frosty glasses of freshly made orangeade. Refreshed, they headed out with Dino along for the ride.
Langford was a township nestled north of the city with enough malls and businesses to make a trip into downtown Victoria unnecessary. The Langford Diner site had been chosen because of its proximity to business offices and a high school, and would cater to the lunch and after school crowd as well as evening clientele for dinner.
Riding in Will's Jeep with Dino, they took the Old Island Highway, a more domestic route than the congested main artery that extended from downtown Victoria all the way up-island. Will cranked up the radio and they both laughed at each others pitch-y efforts to sing along.
“Well it's official,” proclaimed Will. “Neither of us were born to be rock stars. But most everyone has a dream and their forté.”
“Yeah, but sometimes dreams and forté don't add up. Then what?”
“Then you start over with plan B. How about you? Do you love what you do?”
“When I was a little girl my mother couldn't keep me out of her garden. She'd find me on a pile of dirt surrounded by flowers that I'd ripped up just to see how the roots looked. When I got bigger she put me to work planting and weeding her vegetable garden, which turned out to be a lot of work using plastic gardening tools. That was when I discovered my green thumb. Went to horticulture school and the rest is history.”
“You love to make things grow.”
“I'm a nurturer, if that's what you mean. Plants have a lot of different qualities. Most of them are beautiful, some are deadly. All serve their purpose and it makes me feel useful to help them achieve their full potential and deliver on that purpose.”
“Makes perfect sense to me. Kinda how I feel about serving up a plate of food that's got all the essentials. Nutritious, delicious and memorable.”
“Not to mention profitable.”
“Doesn't hurt. The fast food industry leaves me cold. It's quality or nothing for Lyle and me. It was something we agreed on from day one. There's a helluva kick in watching people appreciate good food at a fair price. I imagine it's a lot like how you feel when folks take home your plants to beautify their space, or your produce to enjoy their home cooking.”
Kylie let that sink in. She was learning things about Will Delaney that intrigued. For one, his ability to delve inside of a person rather than skim the surface.
Will pulled the Jeep onto a side road where a large lot had been temporarily fenced off. Raising a dust cloud, they entered the site near an opening at the rear where Will parked and got out a leash for Dino.
“Can't have him running loose. Dangerous equipment around here.”
They headed toward the skeleton of the diner whose bare bones were already taking shape, the building nestled into a copse of fir trees. Will spoke with a worker who brought them both hard hats. Kylie put hers on over her cap and followed Will inside.
Contractor Al Saunders sighted Will, came over and firmly shook his hand. Will made the introductions, then handed Kylie Dino's leash. “I need to go over some things with Al. Why don't you take a wander around, get a feel for the place.”
Will and Al huddled over a makeshift table with blueprints covering it.
Buzz saws and hammering assaulted the clouded air. A fine sheen of dirt coated just about everything. Debris was piled in one corner and stacks of materials were heaped in another. Over the din male voices called out, their raucous laughter at some crude joke resounding off the existing walls.
It felt exciting. Alive with promise. This was Will and Lyle's dream in the making. It struck Kylie that she didn't know all that much about either of them, and wanted to fill in the gaps.
Taking cautious steps she made her way, Dino in tow, soaking in the general setup. Larger than their Village Diner it had a more open floor plan and two bar stations. She asked a worker and he explained that one would be for fresh juices and smoothies, the other for adult beverages.
In the kitchen the work was almost complete, with three massive stainless steel ovens, two eight burner gas cook tops, a grill, and no less than four glass front refrigerators. Deep basin sinks lined one side with industrial dishwashers on either side. At the far end a walk-in freezer was underway, as well as a large, temperature controlled storage room.
Will stepped up next to her, hard hat in place.
“This kitchen is incredible. Love what you've chosen for the walls.”
“It's standard white subway tile. You look like you're enjoying yourself.”
“I love all this,” she admitted. “Gives one a real appreciation for what it takes to create an efficient restaurant.”
“Helps to have a guy like Al running things. Lyle and I used to work for him, and now we're restauranteurs. Pretty cool, huh.”
“Are you two fifty-fifty on this diner?”
“Mine's still the bigger stake, but I consider Lyle a full partner. In my books, he worked hard to become the exceptional chef that he is, and that's something I'm not. So for me, it's fifty-fifty all the way in terms of profit.”
A nice combo of fair and honest. Where were his flaws?
A worker approached with a clipboard and asked Will for some signatures. Picking up and cuddling Dino, Kylie feasted her eyes on him while he scanned the documents. He wore jeans and work boots with a casual shirt. Comfortable, practical, sexy as hell. His dark hair had grown over his collar and his blue eyes shone with the friendly banter he offered the worker while cheerfully signing his life away.
She felt her heart trip. Where with Drew she'd questioned her feelings, with Will she couldn't seem to deny them. She'd sought him out instinctively, felt a thrill of exciteme
nt to be in his company and enjoyed it without a single trace of defensiveness or anxiety.
The realization made her heart sink.
She was pregnant by another man. And not just any man. A nut case. Maybe worse. Her reality had been shelved since the moment she'd run to Will for cover. Now it hit her full force.
Dino squirmed, sensing her mood change.
When Will turned back to her he immediately saw that her thoughts had taken a turn. He took her hand. “You're thinking too much.” He led her outside where they sat on saw horses and watched the roofers lay down material. “Okay, spill. What's eating at you?”
“What makes you think...”
“I can tell when that mind of yours goes into overdrive. Please tell me you're not still worrying about that idiot. He's taking up too much of your time and energy.”
“It's hard not to think about it. I'm carrying his child.”
“So you've told me. Doesn't matter. He's out of the picture.”
“That's the problem. He's not.”
Will sidled up close to her, their legs and shoulders touching. He gazed directly into her eyes. “I said I'd hold off. Not consider you more than just a friend. Problem is, I'm battling the urge to kiss you right now like you wouldn't believe.”
“Right here, in front of the roofers?”
He closed in and their hard hats clunked. He angled his head and their lips met. Just a brief contact, yet filled with longing and promise.
Kylie sighed. “Damn you, Will. What about this baby in my womb? Isn't it going to become an issue at some point?”
Will wrinkled his nose and she felt an immediate sexual tug.
“This may be far ahead of things and going out on a limb, but I think everything happens for a reason, so if raising an adopted son or daughter is in the cards for me, then I'm okay with it. It's not the kid's fault his or her father turned out to be slap happy. It will be part of you, Kylie, and that will be enough.”
She was utterly blown away. Silently she allowed herself some relief. Maybe they had a shot at this thing, whatever it was, regardless.
He smiled toothily at her. “Let's pretend we're in AA and take it one day at a time. I want you to come to me, Kylie Lambert. Whenever you're ready.”
“You sound pretty confident I will be.”
“Maybe to you I'm just a rebound guy.”
She laughed. “How can you be a rebound guy when we haven't even had sex?”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “We could remedy that. Like I said, whenever you're ready.”
And damn it all, if she wasn't suddenly feeling ready. She leaned in close, her lips poised...
...and a thick cloud of dust billowed and enveloped them as a flat bed truck pulled up with a squeal of brakes. Even Dino was choking. The driver slammed out of his cab and came over to where they sat.
“Sorry about that, Mr. Delaney, I let my temper get away from me and put the pedal to the metal coming in here. Some asshole – oh, sorry miss – some guy in a sports car was blocking the entrance and I got into a bit of a scrape with him.”
Will and Kylie looked at each other.
“Er, what kind of sports car?” asked Will.
“I dunno. It was silver and the top was down. Serves the mother... er, guy right if it got full of dirt.”
“Listen Jake, the guy, what did he look like?”
“Well, he had brown hair. Couldn't tell about his eyes 'cuz he was wearing shades. Guess you could say he's a looker but he sure needs to work on his personality.”
“Did he leave?”
Jake frowned, concentrating. “Not sure. He finally moved but I saw him pull in a ways down again.”
“Okay. Thanks. Why don't you go and see Al. He's got a list of materials we need you to pick up.”
“Gotcha boss.”
Jake wandered off and Will turned to Kylie.
“Stay right here. I'm going to have a word with the asshole.”
Kylie stiffened. “No! Don't do it. I don't want him to make trouble for you.”
“I'm not going to stand here with my thumb up my ass and do nothing. Just stay put. I'll be right back.”
Kylie saw sparks coming off him as he strode toward the front of the property. What had she gotten him into? She knew now that what might have begun just now would have to be put off, indefinitely. She wouldn't allow Will or his business to be hampered by her problem.
An ear-splitting screech of clanging metal on metal reverberated explosively from inside the structure, echoing hollowly. Ripe curses and screams of pain ensued.
Kylie hurriedly grabbed Dino and rushed into the building.
An entire bundle of stacked copper tubing had tumbled down onto the area where some of the men had been eating their lunch. Everyone had scrambled for safety but one unlucky soul had been pinned. The men were working furiously to uncover him while he howled in pain.
Will rushed in. The worker had a large lump forming on the back of his head and his wrist was swelling up fast. Maybe other injuries too.
Al Saunders called emergency services.
Waiting for their arrival, Will examined the ropes holding the copper tubing. Someone had sawed three quarters way through the end rope and the thick cord, compromised, had given way.
As paramedics carted off the worker, Kylie asked Will, “What happened out there with Drew?”
Will's nostrils flared as he contained his anger. “The bugger was nowhere in sight. But I've got a pretty good idea where he was while I was out looking for him.”
*
Olivia Hammond couldn't find her gardening gloves anywhere. She had another pair for lighter work, but these were for the more arduous, heavy-duty tasks and she'd planned on re-potting two of her root bound shrubs. Now she'd have to put it off.
It wasn't the loss of the gloves that bothered her, it was the fact that she'd misplaced them, and she was a fastidious woman, always putting things in their place.
Was this a sign of dementia?
Or maybe she'd been indulging in too many martini's lately.
The thought of having one right now slithered through her mind but it was barely noon.
She headed out to the garden anyway; today she would pluck weeds and trim off dead foliage. Stay busy. Not give herself time to think.
But think she did. Her troubled mind bounced from one subject to another, but never far from the worry over Drew. She hadn't seen nor heard from him since that disastrous dinner with Kylie Lambert.
When he'd slapped her and she'd run away.
The day was hot and sweat beaded along her brow. She should be inside sipping something cool. Yet she squatted next to a row of Swiss chard and pulled weeds, brooded. Beneath her floppy garden hat her eyes dimmed as images from Drew's upbringing ran like a reel of film across her mind's eye. He'd been such a difficult child, so defiant, so closed-minded and... unhappy. He'd had few friends at school and even fewer from the neighborhood, been in fact a loner.
She knew he was faking his own happiness now as an adult. He would never admit to such a thing, but she felt his restlessness and discontentment every time she was around him.
Speak of the devil.
She heard the rumble of Drew's sports car in the driveway around front and glanced at her watch. It was late afternoon. The hours had slipped by on dark thoughts and sinking emotions.
And now she wanted a drink.
Gathering her things and placing them in her basket of garden supplies, Olivia headed inside and found Drew poking his head in her fridge. He came out holding a bottle of beer. His Saturday casual attire of shorts and polo shirt were caked with fine dust, as were his face and hair.
She flicked something unidentifiable off of his shoulder and smiled at him in welcome. “Been driving with the top down I see,” she joked.
Drew grimaced. “Drove past a construction site and got bombarded. Thought I'd pop in and see you before heading home for a shower. Been gardening, have you? How's it coming?”
“
Zucchinis and lettuce galore. Soon I'll have so much produce I'll be able to supply you for a while, although it will most likely rot in your refrigerator.”
“C'mon Mom, we both know you'll end up donating it to the soup kitchen downtown.”
Olivia pulled a bottle of vodka from the freezer, poured it over ice with a splash of tonic.
“At least the homeless will appreciate my efforts.”
Drew eyed his mother's choice of beverage from over the rim of his beer bottle. Hard liquor was taking the twinkle out of her eye and turning her skin sallow. Her innate beauty was fading fast.
“Look Mom, we both know there's a gorilla in the room. I know you saw what happened with Kylie and me that night. I didn't mean to hit her like that. It was a mistake. I'm trying to make her see that but she won't have anything to do with me.” He hesitated, watching his mother's bland expression, her non-reaction. Christ, was the booze turning her into a zombie? “I was wondering if maybe you could talk to her, make her see that I'm a good guy with good intentions.”
Are you? Olivia suddenly felt weary. A mother loved her son unconditionally and she was no exception. But this? She couldn't, wouldn't play referee. She'd already heard Kylie's take on things from the woman herself. But of course she couldn't tell him that.
Taking him by surprise, Olivia ran a hand over Drew's cheek. “I love you,” she told him, “but you can't make a woman see things your way, Drew. You have to find a way to redeem yourself through positive actions. Why don't you send her flowers, or...”
“Send a woman who works with plants all day flowers?” Drew scoffed. “Kylie's got her mind made up to raise my baby on her own.” He slammed the beer bottle onto the granite counter. “My baby! On her own! Who the hell does she think she is?”
Oh dear, thought Olivia, alarmed at Drew's volatility. One moment passive, the next steaming mad.
She kept her tone level. “Drew, sweetie, it's these temper flare-ups that scare her away. Don't you see? No woman wants to put her child in harms way, and she feels... probably feels that if you hit her, then you could hit the child. It's a perfectly normal...”
