Stroke of Love

by Melissa Foster

  Kate could think of a bunch of things she’d happily give him an hour to do, none of which included a roof. Or tools.

  A little over an hour later, Kate had just finished cleaning up the classroom and rearranging the desks when Sage and Oscar appeared in the doorway. Sage had put his shirt back on, and it clung to his glistening muscles.

  “How’d it go?” she asked hopefully.

  “You should be good to go. There were nails that had been hammered through the wood. At some point the roof must have been replaced, and…” Sage shrugged. “I guess they never replaced the wood beneath. They just covered over it. The nails were encased in dirt and muck, so there’s no way Oscar would have known to even look for them.” He slung an arm around Oscar’s shoulder. “You did a great job, Oscar. Thanks for letting me help you.”

  “You taught me. I am grateful.” Oscar had fashioned a rope into a tool belt, twisting the rope around the head of the hammer, which hung from his hip.

  Kate watched the two men bond and felt the walls around her heart loosen just a little. “Sage, thank you. We’ve been dealing with that forever. So you think we won’t need the buckets?”

  He had such an easy, sincere smile. It reeled her right in.

  “Hopefully not, we’ll see.” He wiped a hand on the bottom of his tank top, lifting it just enough to flash a strip of ripped muscle.

  Kat couldn’t look away. How long had it been since she’d seen anything so wickedly sexy? Shit. Never. She forced herself to turn away.

  “So, what’s next? When do the kids arrive? What should I do?” Sage asked.

  “I’ll be on my way. The store in town had a leak, too. Okay?” Oscar waited for Kate to respond.

  “Oh, yes, of course. Thank you, Oscar.” She watched him leave, then reminded herself that Sage was just like any other six-foot-four mass of gorgeous muscle who had ever volunteered with AIA. Yeah, right. Tell me another lie. She began moving the desks back into position to avoid staring at him again.

  “The kids will be here any minute. Their teacher is in the office, so she’ll handle their lessons, and your art classes will take place around one.”

  “Great, so we have a few hours?”

  “Mm-hmm.” She put the mop in a closet in the back of the room.

  “I need to go into town. Want to come along?”

  How can you be so casual when all of my womanly hot buttons are going off?

  He softened his gaze. “Please? I need to go to the Internet café, and I want to refill your secret stash. Waddaya say?”

  “Um…sure?” What am I doing?

  During the half-mile walk into town, Kate felt oddly rigid beside Sage, who was excruciatingly relaxed.

  “There’s something about being here that’s so much more…I don’t know…real, than New York.” Sage breathed in deeply.

  Kate tried not to notice the muscles in his chest expanding, or the way his biceps twitched when he drew his arms out in a stretch. She had to get her mind off his body.

  “How did you hear about AIA?” she asked.

  “I was talking to a friend about wanting to do something more than give money to charities and he mentioned AIA. He said he’d read an article about it, so I looked it up, and here I am.”

  She listened for a hitch in his voice, a hesitation, something that didn’t follow his story from yesterday about wanting to find a way to pay his good fortune forward. He had to be putting up a front. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d met a volunteer at Punta Palacia who was there for reasons other than their own reputations.

  “Is it what you expected? What did you think it would be like?” A vacation?

  He shrugged. “I didn’t really think about it. He said AIA brought artists into developing nations to work with the communities, and I figured anything they needed me to do, I would be happy to.”

  Damn if every word didn’t seem sincere. The celebrities and artists who had volunteered would never have climbed on a roof—even if she’d asked them to. He hadn’t thought twice. He’d even insisted after she’d tried to deter him. Sage was definitely different.

  “Do you like living in New York?”

  “Everyone thinks living in New York is glamorous and exciting, and I think for many people it is. But for me, it’s just the place that made the most sense to settle down. I grew up about an hour outside the city, and the galleries and clientele I work with are there, so moving there seemed like the right thing to do. But now, after five years, I feel like a caged tiger.” He looked away. “Not that I’m complaining, because I know how fortunate I am. Anyway, thanks for coming with me. How’s your head?”

  “Ugh. A few Tylenol and a Motrin helped. I don’t usually drink like that. I’m not sure why I did.”

  He narrowed his eyes, but his lips curled up in a smile. He knocked his elbow softly against hers. “We both know why you did.”

  Gulp. “We do?”

  “Sure. You help others all day long, and then you have to deal with the…personalities of all of us. Luce is here, and she’s obviously a friend. You were just having fun. By the way, I had a really nice time last night. Thanks for letting me crash your reunion.”

  Okay. Sure. I’ll go with that reasoning. “I don’t mind the personalities.”

  He narrowed his eyes.

  “Okay, maybe some of them. But it is nice to have Luce here.” And you. The silent acknowledgment rang true and brought a smile to her lips.

  The road widened, and the jungle to their right gave way to a clearing of grass, which led to a small town where a strip of low concrete buildings lined the dirt road.

  “So this is Punta Palacia?” There was a fruit stand in front of the first store, bursting with bananas, oranges, papayas, mangos, noni, and pineapple. There were only a few people on the street.

  Kate waved to a woman in a colorful dress. “Hi, Maria.”

  The woman waved back. “Good morning. Glad for the rain.”

  “Yes. We needed it. How is Lorena?” Kate asked.

  Maria nodded. “Better. Thank you.”

  Kate turned her attention back to Sage. “Lorena is her mother. She was sick for a few days last week. I’m glad she’s better. Anyway, this is our little town, population of a few hundred.” She knew that to someone from New York, there was nothing particularly impressive about the small town, or the people, but Kate took pride in the area. She’d come to love the close-knit community and the ease of their lifestyle. “See beyond the strip of stores?” She pointed farther down the road. “If you follow the road, you’ll come to a small group of homes at the base of the mountains, and that’s where most of our students live.”

  “I’d like to see that sometime.”

  “Sure.” She couldn’t find one thing to dislike about Sage so far, but Kate was still wary. “Let’s go to the Internet café first. The Internet’s not always great, so don’t be surprised if it’s spotty.”

  “That’s okay. I have an international phone plan, so I can always call, but my mother wants to see my face and know I’m alive.”

  Kate looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “Your mother? How old are you?”

  He laughed. “I know. I know. Twenty-eight. But hey, it’s better than her not caring, right? Besides, she’s the one with the artistic talent in the family. She was kind enough to pass her talent down to me. I think I owe her the peace of mind of knowing that I’m okay. My older brother Rush is visiting them for a few days, so I’d like to see him, too.”

  “You have a brother?”

  “Actually, I have four brothers and a sister. Rush is a competitive skier, and he’s the second oldest. How about you? Any siblings?”

  Kate shook her head. “Nope. Just me and my parents.”

  He nodded. “That must be nice. All that attention.”

  She felt a smile press forth. “Yeah. My parents are great. Although, I have to admit, I’ve often wondered what it would be like to know there was someone out there that I could call and they’d kn
ow exactly what I was feeling before I said a word. I hear it’s like that with siblings.”

  “It can be. They can also be a pain in the ass. But I swear my mother knows things about each of us no matter where we are. She has some motherly sixth sense or something.”

  Two plump, short women waved to Kate.

  “Hi. Good to see you.” She leaned closer to Sage and whispered, “Adela and Indira. Mother and daughter. They speak Belizean Creole, but with a much thicker accent than Oscar does.” Both women wore cotton shirts, skirts that hung below their knees, and identical expressions that were common to the area: a permanent squint to ward off the sun and a ready smile. Adela’s face was heavily wrinkled, giving her a much older appearance than her fiftysomething years, much different from Indira’s smooth, soft-looking skin.

  Indira touched Kate’s arm as she passed and glanced up at Sage. Kate had an easy six inches on each of the women. She squeezed Indira’s hand and said, “Sage Remington. He’s an artist from the States. Here to work with the children.”

  Indira looked up with her beady, yet friendly, dark eyes and nodded. “Thank you,” she said just above a whisper.

  “Thank you for sharing your beautiful country with me,” Sage responded.

  Kate felt her skepticism of Sage chipping away.

  They entered the Internet café, and Kate waved at a tall, slim man sitting behind the counter. “Hello, Makei. Sage is a new volunteer and he needs to use the Internet.”

  Makei pushed himself up from the cushioned stool with great care and walked across the concrete floor one careful step at a time, moving as slowly as a sloth. Sage looked at Kate, and she knew he wondered if Makei moved like he did for a medical reason. She’d wondered the same thing when she’d met him, but she’d quickly learned that this was simply Makei’s normal pace.

  “You’re not in New York anymore. We move a little slower around here,” she said to Sage.

  “Actually, I like the pace around here.”

  Once again, he surprised her with his answer. She could practically hear the pieces of her steely resolve hitting the floor as they fell away.

  “Sit.” Makei motioned to two stools by the counter.

  “I only have U.S. currency.” Sage slid worried eyes to Kate.

  “That’s okay. They take it here,” she assured him.

  Sage paid him, and Makei pulled a computer monitor from beneath the counter and set it up on the thick wooden counter. Then he set a keyboard down in front of Sage and nodded. “Go ahead.”

  “That’s it?” Sage asked.

  “Yeah. Easy. But don’t expect too much. Like I said, coverage is spotty at best.” She looked around the small café. “Do you want me to wait over there? I don’t mean to hover.” She rose from her stool, and Sage touched her arm, sending a goddamn shiver down her back.

  “No need. Stay. Makei, can I buy Kate a cold drink?”

  Makei smiled, his dark eyes slanting to near closed. “Yes, my friend.”

  “Oh, you don’t have to.” But thank you.

  “You bought last night,” he reminded her.

  Makei held up a finger. “Banana papaya. Kate’s favorite.”

  “Ah, you have a favorite.” Sage smiled as he looked around the empty café.

  Behind the counter, cups, plates, bowls, and napkins were stacked on wooden shelves. The concrete walls appeared textured, though Kate knew the uneven finish was due to poor workmanship or lack of proper tools rather than created by design.

  Sage checked his email as Makei put the ingredients in a large plastic cup, then turned a larger cup upside down on top of it and shook the contraption for a minute or two. Then he poured them each a full cup.

  Sage took a big drink of the deliciously cold, fresh-fruit smoothie. “This is incredible.”

  “Thank you, Sage. You didn’t have to buy them.”

  “They’re your favorite. Now I know.”

  Stop being so damned perfect. She watched him click on Skype and then hover the mouse over the connection link.

  “My mother is lovely, but my brother Rush can be snarky.” He looked away, as if he was picturing him. “Well, you’ll see, and if it gets annoying, go do your thing and I’ll catch up with you when I’m done.”

  “My thing?” she asked, intrigued about his mother and brother. There was no way she was leaving the seat she had to this show. She was dying to see from his family whether he was as authentic as he seemed.

  “I just don’t want you to feel trapped with me.” Sage swung his stool around, and his hand hovered over her thigh, then quickly grabbed the table, as if he had suddenly realized he was going to touch her.

  Kate’s stomach fluttered again. She felt like a schoolgirl with a crush-gone-wild.

  He clicked the link, and it took several tries before he was able to connect. The other line rang three times before quieting. They watched the circle on the screen spin. Then stop. Then spin again. Eventually, the page came to life.

  “Hi, Mom,” Sage said loudly.

  The smile that graced his gorgeous lips reached his eyes, and Kate could feel happiness emitting from him, very different from the scorching, sexual blaze she’d felt last night—the one she hoped hadn’t been just a figment of her drunken imagination.

  “Sage,” his mother said in a loving voice. “Oh, honey, I’m so glad you could call. Look at you.” She had the prettiest blue eyes, long gray hair, and a pleasant, friendly face.

  He nodded. “I’m here and I’m fine. What’s happening there? How’re you? Dad?”

  “Hey, asshole.” A male voice came from the computer.

  Sage turned to Kate. “That’d be Rush. Four years older, handsome, and cocky as hell.”

  She saw a look pass through his eyes and wasn’t sure what it meant.

  “Lemme see you, Rush,” Sage said.

  Rush popped his head over his mother’s shoulder. “Sorry, to invade your space, Mom.”

  His hair was a shade lighter than Sage’s, his eyes as bright blue as his mother’s. He had the same chiseled features, though he was clean shaven and his face was more animated. He was strikingly handsome—and Kate felt absolutely nothing. Not a single butterfly in her stomach, not even a hint of attraction. And then she looked at Sage, and those damned butterflies let her know they were still there.

  “Dude, what’s up? How’re things in Belize? Meet any hot babes?” Rush’s voice was deeper than Sage’s, and he spoke fast, teasingly.

  Kate felt the question like a punch to the stomach, killing the flutters as quickly as they’d appeared. She watched Sage’s jaw clench.

  “You’re an idiot,” Sage said to Rush.

  “Rush, please. We don’t know how long Sage has to talk,” their mother said.

  Sage glanced at Kate. “He’s an idiot.”

  No, I’m the idiot for thinking you might be different.

  The screen pixilated, blocking out half of his mother’s face.

  “Sage, honey, who are you talking to?” his mother asked.

  “Oh, um. Kate Paletto. She runs the show for AIA here.” He leaned toward her and whispered, “Would you mind saying hello?”

  Don’t do it. Do not do it. Get up and leave. He’s exactly like the rest of them. Before she could answer, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in front of the monitor. Cheek to cheek with him, and damn did he smell good.

  “Mom, this is Kate. Kate, Joanie Remington.” His mother’s image became clear again.

  She forced her teeth to unclench. “Hello, Mrs. Remington.”

  Rush pushed his face back into the frame. “Hi, Kate. I’m Rush.”

  She felt Sage’s hand go rigid on the back of her shoulder. “I’ll let you guys talk. Nice to meet you.” Kate tried to pull from his grasp, but he held on tight.

  “Nice to meet you, too, Kate,” his mother said.

  Sage didn’t move his arm from her shoulder when she sat up, and the heat of it was making her body awaken in places she wished would stop reac
ting to him. She wasn’t about to become one of the string of women he probably had God knows where waiting for him. Brothers talked. She knew that. She wondered what he would have said if she weren’t there with him. Would he have mentioned Penelope? Cassidy? Me?

  “Honey, tell me about the culture. What’s it like there? What have you done?” his mother asked.

  “I’ll fill you in on that after he’s off the computer,” Rush said with a laugh.

  Oh my God, really? What an ass.

  “Hush up, Rush. You’d think you were fifteen again. Please,” his mother chided him.

  “Today I fixed a roof at the school, and I think we’re working with the kids later. The town is small, a few hundred people. I haven’t seen many of the locals yet, but, Mom, it’s so beautiful here. I wish I had all my supplies. I’m working on Kate to let me paint a mural with the kids on the side of the school.”

  “Oh, honey, that’s a marvelous idea. So good for the children,” his mother said.

  Kate’s ears perked up at the mention of the mural.

  “I’m working on it. It’s one reason I’m calling. Mom, if Kate agrees…” He slid his hand from around her shoulder and held up a finger, indicating for her to hear him out. “Can you arrange for the supplies? I want to donate as much to the charity as it takes to fly the stuff here. Equal amounts.”

  “Yes, honey, of course. What does Kate think about the idea?”

  “Ask her.” Sage pulled Kate in front of the monitor again.

  She tried to wiggle out from his grasp, but again, he held on too tight. She shot him a hot stare and tried to keep her anger from her voice. “Well, I’m not really against the idea. I just…It will cost a lot of money, and that’s money that could pay for medical supplies, food, and other, more necessary things.” Jesus, now your family will hate me. She tried to lean out of his grasp, but she was stuck. And mad.

  “Oh, honey, in some aspects, I suppose you’re right,” his mother said. “Well, I’m sure you two will figure it out.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief to be off the topic and she thought of Javier, his big, dark eyes and mop of pitch-black hair. The way his face lit up when he told her of the paintings he was going to create when he was older. She felt her resolve soften, even if she wasn’t ready to admit it yet.