Because she called the plumber, and you turned up. Do you need to me to explain it more slowly? his bear asked.
Funny, Adam said. And at what point do I tell her I’m not Pete?
When you’ve fixed her faucet, the bear said. Although the more important question should be, when do you tell her she’s our mate?
“Yeah, that’s going to take a little more explaining,” Adam said out loud, as he pulled his toolbox out of the back of the truck and headed back to the house. “My dad is going to love this one.”
His bear chuckled, and then went back to sleep, as bears do.
Adam took a moment to consider what he was doing. He wasn’t supposed to lie to his mate. His job was to protect her, and care for her, and always be loyal and true. Carrying his toolbox back to the house, he figured that he hadn’t exactly lied, he simply hadn’t corrected her when she called him Pete. There was no harm in going along with it for now.
“Thank you so much for this,” she said. His mate was waiting by the front door, her clothes dirty, her hair brushed back from her face—long, blonde, and in need of a brush being dragged through it. He tried not to stare at her, but it was hard not to, when her body was so luscious, and he longed to run his hands over her flesh and make her whimper with pleasure.
“No problem,” he replied roughly. She folded her arms across her chest, as if to shield herself from him. Did she know what he was thinking? Damn, he probably looked like some backwards country lecher. “I’ll get the faucet fixed, but it’s going to take a lot more to get the rest of the property back together,” he ventured, deciding to try to keep his eyes on the job and his conversation upbeat. He didn’t want to scare her away before he had a chance to get to know her, or for her to get to know him.
“Yes. My uncle left it to me. I hadn’t realized how bad it was. But I can fix her up.” She stepped out of the way to allow him inside, although he saw her hand on the door, saw the whites of her knuckles, and figured she would slam her fist into his face if he stepped out of line. She probably knew self-defense, and being beaten up by his mate was not a good way to start their new, lifelong, relationship. Only because she needed the water back on, was he in her house. Adam knew he was going to have to play this cool, if he didn’t want to alienate her.
Adam had no experience with city folk. This might be how they behaved, suspicious of people they didn’t know. Around here, everyone knew everyone, and they looked out for each other. She just needed time to settle in.
“It’ll make a good home once it’s renovated,” Adam agreed, setting his tools down on the kitchen table and searching for a wrench. “Your uncle let it run down. He kind of lost interest in the ranch.”
“Do you know why?” she asked, her interest piqued. “I didn’t really know him, which makes me feel bad, since he left the property to me… Sorry, you don’t want to hear it,” she said, fiddling with her hair, curling it around and around her finger.
Adam straightened up. “OK, time to come clean.”
“Come clean?” she asked, looking at his toolbox, more specifically his hammer. Was she really thinking she was going to have to hit him over the head with it, to stop him from… doing what?
“Yes.” He shrugged. “I’m not Pete the Plumber.”
“You’re not?” she asked, taking a breath in through her nose and then letting it out slowly through her mouth. He’d seen this before, when he’d visited his brother Jordan just after his accident, when he was lying in the hospital bed, trying to cope with the news he had lost the use of his legs. Panic was building up inside her and she was trying to control it.
“No. I’m not.” He wiped his hand on his shirt, and then offered it to her again, ready for the shock of recognition that would pass through him, and prepared to break the contact before he appeared too creepy. He needed to put her at her ease. “I’m Adam Williams. My father owns the next ranch over.”
“Williams. As in the Williams Homestead?” she asked, relief in her voice. That explained the pie: the Williams family was being friendly to their new neighbor.
“One and the same.” He looked around the kitchen, noting that she had done more cleaning since she’d arrived than old man Hawkins had for the last five years or more. “I used to come over and check that your uncle was OK. My mom always made extra at dinner so he never went hungry.”
She blushed. “Thank you. I feel that, as a family, we let him down. But he never told us he was ill. And the relationship between him and my parents was strained for many years, although I have no idea why. Some kind of rift they never spoke of. I’m Lynn, by the way.”
“Well, Lynn-by-the-way.” He grinned, but she looked serious and he let his smile go. She was feeling guilty, and he was being insensitive. “There’s nothing like a good feud to keep people apart,” Adam said, searching for the correct size of wrench.
She frowned. “Feud might be a bit strong.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply there was one. Not least between your parents and your uncle.” He started work on the faucet, which he could fix for now, but really needed replacing, like most of the plumbing in the house. “There is one between our families, though.”
“There is? I thought you said you looked out for my uncle?” Lynn asked.
“We did. He was our neighbor, and around here, you do what you can for folk less well-off. But there was still this rift between our families.” If anything, the word feud had set her at ease, as if it meant he wouldn’t be interested in a woman whose family was at war with his own.
“What was it over?”
“This ranch. It was a big deal to my grandfather; it was his brother that lost this ranch. They’ve been trying to get this parcel of land back under their control for years,” Adam said, using the wrench to undo the faucet, in the hope he would be able to fix it. If not, he would drive into town to get her a new one, then come back and fix it. Least he could do for his mate.
“So what are you, good cop? And later I’ll get a visit from bad cop?” she asked, a certain levity in her voice that he liked.
“I’m the only cop.” He grinned with a boyish charm. “Seriously, if anyone else comes around here giving you a hard time, let me know and I’ll deal with them.”
“That doesn’t sound too loyal to your family,” Lynn said, weighing him up. “Is there another feud there too?”
“No.” He shook his head, wanting so much to explain his intentions. “I’ll be honest, I think my dad needs to get over it. When I take over the ranch, there’s going to be the same pressure on me to get it back. But it’s pointless.”
“So you aren’t here to do what money couldn’t, and marry the farm instead?” she joked.
“If only you knew.” He gave her a wicked smile, that was far too shallow and superficial compared to what he really felt for her. But time for that later. A city girl like this would have no idea about a mating bond, and all that went with it. Come to think of it, she probably had no idea about shifters either. This was going to be a delicate situation.
And Adam was not exactly known for being delicate.
“OK, I think this is beyond repair,” Adam said, looking at the faucet in his hand. “I could put it back on for you, but it will only be a matter of days before you are ankle deep in more water.”
“I’m not surprised, and thanks for taking a look,” she sighed, and added, “The whole place needs new plumbing and new wiring. Is there anyone you can recommend, or shouldn’t I ask, since we’re in the middle of a feud?”
“You can trust me not to sabotage your renovations.” He sealed off the faucet. “After all, why not let you do all the work? Then we buy the place back from you at a bargain price.”
“Ahh, clever. I can see you know how to hustle.” A look flashing across her eyes. She couldn’t tell if he was joking, or not.
“Seriously. I’ll get some numbers for you, we know most of the contractors around here. But not Pete the Plumber.” He looked up at the sound of a truck pullin
g into the courtyard. “That might be him, or are you expecting someone else. Family, maybe?”
“Are you fishing, Adam Williams?” she asked.
“No…” He stuttered. “I just figured you wouldn’t be here on your own.”
“Because I’m a woman?”
“Because this is a lot of work for one person, male or female,” he said. “Do I sense a family feud all of your own? A disgruntled brother or sister?”
“Disgruntled parents.” She twirled her hair around her fingers, and he thought that was all she was going to say on the matter. But then she added, “They always figured I’d work for them. And now they think I’ve let them down, abandoned them.”
“Because you decided to do something on your own?” he asked.
“Yes, if you want a co-conspirator or two for getting your ranch back, my parents would relish the role.” Again, she was only half joking.
“Listen, Lynn,” he said, placing his hand on her arm, and feeling a warmth flood through him. “I am not, nor will I ever, be the one to hurt you. It’s not in my nature…”
“Hello there,” a voice called from outside.
Lynn took a last, lingering look at Adam, her thoughts unreadable, and then she walked past him to go and meet the new arrival. Adam followed, trying to ignore the jealousy niggling away at him. He was more than happy to go into town and get her a new faucet, but now that Pete was here, she wouldn’t need him. Oh well, at least plumbers were usually middle-aged men in dirty coveralls.
But not this Pete. A stab of jealousy struck Adam. This Pete was a strapping young man of around twenty-five, with a boyish smile, and blond hair and blue eyes. He was like some Aryan god, and boy did he know it.
“Hi, Pete’s the name,” he introduced himself, holding his hand out to Lynn.
“Lynn Hawkins.”
“Of Hawkins Ranch name,” he said, with an easy smile. “I met your uncle once or twice. Tried to get him to have the old pipes fixed, but he wasn’t having any of it.”
“They certainly do need replacing.” Lynn blushed, and her cheeks tinged pink as he shook her hand. The way he stroked the back of her hand was not lost on Adam. She cleared her throat, and then indicated Adam. “Adam kindly looked at the faucet, he said it needs replacing.”
“Does he now?” Pete flashed a not-so-genuine smile Adam’s way. “The professionals are here now. Let me look at it.” He headed inside, as if he were at home, and it was all Adam could do not to release his bear on Pete.
“Thank you,” Lynn was saying, jerking Adam back to the present. “And thank your mom for the pie.”
“My pleasure.” He wanted to lift her hand and press it to his lips, but that would feel too much like one-upmanship, not something Adam dabbled in. So instead he nodded at Lynn and said, “I have taken up enough of your time.”
“It’s been a pleasure to meet you.” Her smile genuine.
“Has it?” Adam winced at the desperation in his voice.
Lynn smiled gently. “Yes, it has. I’d like to learn more about this feud.”
He knew she was leaving the door open for him, and he loved her, in that moment, for not slamming it closed and running to the boyish charm of Pete.
“Dinner?” he asked.
“I’d like that. Although I have no idea when I’ll be free. Or clean.” She looked down at her dirty clothes.
“Then how about takeout? My treat,” he offered.
“OK.” She nodded in agreement.
“Seven? We can sit on the back porch and watch the sun go down.” He expected Pete had other things up his sleeve, other ways to entertain a lady, like fancy restaurants or noisy clubs, but Adam was a good ol’ country boy.
“That sounds perfect.” She stood and watched him leave, despite the banging and hollering of Pete trying to get her attention.
As he drove away, he knew he’d found his ideal woman. But for some reason, as he reached the Homestead, he chose to keep this piece of news to himself. Instead of going inside the house, he headed out to the barn and started his afternoon chores. He intended to be right on time for his date.
“I have a date,” he said to the nearest cow, who looked at him with her soulful eyes. “I have a date with my mate.” He grinned, and got on with his work. Life was good. His life was almost complete. Or at least it should be, so why did he have these nagging doubts?
Chapter Five – Lynn
Pete made her laugh. He was charming, and spent more time than was needed fixing her faucet. At first she found it flattering, but that turned to a slight annoyance when she realized half the day was gone, and she hadn’t gotten any further with her own chores.
Not that she didn’t truly appreciate Pete the Plumber and his magical wrenches, yes, he really did call them that, but he spoke mostly about himself, reminding Lynn of being back working for her parents. Having to listen to people talk, when all you wanted was quiet in your head, space to dream and think.
It was difficult not to compare Pete to Adam, who had been honest and forthright, telling Lynn about the feud between the two properties. Did she trust him? Lynn drifted off into dreams of Adam; maybe he was her magic charm to beat off the dullness of Pete.
Pete tightened the bolt one last time and stood up with a “there”, of satisfaction. “All done.”
“Great. How much do I owe you?” Lynn asked.
“On the house,” he said, giving her that too-white smile.
“No, I insist.” Lynn crossed the room to where her purse was propped up on the counter.
“Let’s call it a free sample.” He put his tools away, and then slid across the room to her, his voice dropping to what might be called sexy to a woman who was interested.
“A free sample?” Lynn asked. She couldn’t tell if the free sample was of his personality or his tools. She tried not to giggle. He was a tool, who carried a tool, who thought with his tool.
“Yes,” he purred. “You need a plumber, and that means you need Pete.”
“Is that what it says on your business card?” she asked, poker-faced.
“You are a tease, Miss Hawkins. And I like a tease. So, I’ll tell you what. This is on the house, if you let me quote for the rest of the work needed on the house.”
“OK. A quote, but no promises,” she said easily. What harm could there be in a quote? Lynn planned to get at least three separate ones, and Pete seemed genuine, if slow, and time-intensive.
“Deal.” He held out his hand and she took it, his large, work-roughened hand closing around hers. This time, there was no rush of warmth through her body, no tingle in intimate places. Instead, there was a need to get him out of her house, so she could go on with her cleaning, and scheming. Talking to Adam had filled her with energy: he liked her ideas, he wanted her to succeed, and not because there was anything in it for him. Unlike Pete. Pete, who had also eaten half of her apple pie.
“I’ll see you out.” Lynn ushered him and his tools toward the door.
“I could do the quote now,” Pete said.
“I don’t have time, not today. And my furniture arrives on Wednesday. So the day after?”
“Sure.” He pulled out his phone and put it in his diary, suddenly all professional. He gave her his business card, set up a time for an appointment, and then hefted his toolbox in his hand and left. “See you Thursday, 10:00 a.m. sharp.”
Slightly bemused, Lynn watched Pete drive away, feeling a sense of peace settle over the ranch. “Good bye,” she said as his truck disappeared out of her driveway and onto the road. Lynn stood still, even after the sound of his truck had long gone.
Her head relished the space, the sound of the birds singing, the cattle lowing in the distance, and the wind in the trees soothing her. This was what she needed.
If her parents had given her their time, and listened to her plan, they would have seen she had thought it all through, that she had taken what they had taught her and used it to ensure this project was a success. It saddened her they could only see
what they were losing, rather than what their daughter was gaining by attempting to fulfill her dreams, just as they had when they sold their house and bought their first hotel.
Maybe, one day, they might come visit her and see what she’d achieved. “Which will be nothing, if I don’t get to work.”
For now, she pushed thoughts of exploring the farm to one side. She had to catch up on the three hours or more she had lost over the broken faucet. At least Pete had fixed it. First thing on her agenda was coffee, and a piece of what was left of the apple pie.
“Damn, that’s good.” She smiled to herself as she ate one piece, and then another, while she sipped her coffee, and waited for the hot water to come out of the faucet. Feeling refreshed, she took her bucket of hot soapy water, and began to wash the rest of the kitchen floor. After an hour, and another bucketful, or two, of water later, Lynn had gone over the floor twice, and revealed one feature of the farmhouse which was definitely staying.
The tiles were a deep midnight blue, with small crescent moons set at intervals amongst them. Standing back to admire her hard work, she wondered what had inspired them. Her uncle had never been one to talk about the moon or the stars, let alone choose them for a floor tile. As far as her memory could recall, the linoleum had been down all the time. If the tiles had been here, uncovered, she would have remembered them.
Which meant they were connected to the Williams family: whoever built the ranch must have had them laid. That meant they had been here for a hundred years or more. When Adam came over later, she would ask him if there was a story behind them.
Adam. A quick glance at her watch told her she still had an hour or two before he got here.
If he was bringing takeout, she really wanted to make something for dessert, in return. However, cooking was not a skill she had mastered. Years of living in a hotel had left her lazy; there was always food available in the kitchens, and she had counted it as a perk of the job. Lynn settled for the remainder of the apple pie for dessert and hoped to get the opportunity to ask Adam’s mom for the recipe. She would enjoy practicing making pies, with the apples from the small orchard situated on the southern side of the ranch, once she had a new oven installed in the kitchen. That was if Adam’s mom would give her the recipe; there was a chance Lynn would not be welcome over at the Williams Homestead.
Hero Bear Page 15
