Regret (Never Waste a Second Chance Book 2)

by Janice M. Whiteaker

  “Nothing interesting.” He looked straight ahead, hoping she would leave it at that.

  “I doubt that.” She looked at him, her eyes boring into the side of his face. “I’m sure you went out with plenty of interesting women.”

  “You would be surprised.” Interesting was not the word he would use to describe the woman he’d dated.

  “You could have asked me out.” The soft breath that was tickling his cheek for the entirety of their walk in the woods stopped abruptly. Nancy Richards was holding her breath, waiting for his answer.

  He decided to make her wait, still hoping she would let this be.

  It didn’t work.

  She was unfazed and continued on. “I would have said yes you know.” Her hand, initially resting on his shoulder, was now gently stroking his neck.

  Finally his truck came into view. He picked up the pace. His arms were wearing out.

  Along with his self-control.

  He paused as he walked along the bed of the truck. “Put those in there.” He nodded to the easel and stool she held. She laid them in gently and he stepped to the passenger door. “I need you to open the door.”

  “Why? I’m going home.”

  “I know.” He shifted her in his arms and used the three fingers he freed up to open the door. He slid her onto the seat, being careful not to bump her injured foot. “I’m taking you there. You think that foot is going to be fun to wiggle around while you try to drive?”

  Nancy peered down into the floorboard at her ankle. “I ruined my sandal.”

  “We’ll have to get you an actual pair of hiking boots.” He pulled out his pocket knife and cut loose a flapping cream colored strap so she didn’t risk tripping again. Not that he intended to let her walk anywhere, but with this stubborn woman you could never be too careful.

  “We?” Her eyes watched him intently as he started to slip his knife back in the back pocket of his jeans.

  Instead of answering he shut her door. The woman didn’t miss a damn thing.

  He opened his door and slid his bag into the back. Just as he was about to get in, Nancy leaned across the seat, fishing her keys out of her pocket. “I almost forgot. I have candy in my car.” She held her keys out. “Could you get it? It’s for Easter. For the kids.”

  He took her keys, letting his hand brush against hers more than he knew was acceptable. Not surprisingly, she didn’t seem to mind, letting her hand rest in his open palm.

  “Thank you for taking care of me.” She smiled.

  He nodded and pulled his hand away and went to her car, finding the candy in an embossed paper bag in the back seat. He hooked the twisted paper handles over his wrist and walked back to the truck something about what she said bothered him.

  It made him wonder how many times she’d had the opportunity to say it, if ever at all. Had anyone ever really taken care of her? Even as far back as her dad, a man who was never the same after losing his wife, no one that he saw ever took care of her.

  He yanked open the door and handed her the candy. She smiled at him and set the bag on her lap.

  Maybe someone would have to start taking care of her now.

  ELEVEN

  Paul pulled down Nancy’s driveway. This was going to be an interesting experience.

  To say the least.

  Begging the day off wasn’t too difficult. If he was a betting man he’d put money down his boss knew where she could find him.

  And was probably happy about it.

  He climbed out of his old truck grabbing the plastic bag off the console as he slid off the worn bench seat. Walking to Nancy’s door still felt oddly intimidating, even without a protective father waiting for him.

  As he stepped onto the porch, the sound of little voices on the other side of the door had him shifting in his boots. More than Jim Dalton ever had when he came to take his oldest daughter out for a date.

  It wasn’t that he didn’t like children, he loved Mina’s kids. But Maddie and Charlie were older. They could mostly take care of themselves. He didn’t have any experience with the smaller variety and it made him a little nervous, but Beth had to go in to work early this morning for a meeting and Nancy needed help.

  And he wanted to be the one to give it to her.

  The door flew open just as he was about to ring the bell. Two sets of little brown eyes, lined with thick black lashes and open wide, gazed up at him. Beth’s girls were smaller than he expected, but in all honesty he had no idea how big a three-year-old and a five-year-old were supposed to be.

  Their mouths hung open as the girls stared silently up at him. He peeked into the house, hoping to see Nancy on her way. The look on their faces was hard to read and the last thing he wanted was two screaming small people.

  “Are you a giant?” The little one found her voice first.

  “No.”

  The older girl’s eyebrows came together. “Are you sure? Cause you’re ginormous.”

  “Girls?” Nancy’s voice called from the kitchen but it took a few seconds before she appeared in the doorway opening to the living room.

  She started at the sight of him. “I didn’t hear the doorbell.”

  He smiled at her. It was a nice change to be the one doing the surprising. “I didn’t get the chance to ring it.”

  Nancy cocked her head to one side and raised an eyebrow as she put her hands on her hips. “What have we talked about?” She glared at the girls. “You do not open the door to anyone.”

  “But you said Mister Paul was coming. We knowed who it was.” Liza put her own hands on her hips and matched Nancy’s glare.

  Paul took a deep breath as he tried to keep from laughing. That little apple didn’t fall far from the family tree. It looked like Nancy wasn’t the only one who would be bringing some excitement to his day.

  Nancy dropped her arms and started gimping to the door in her sock feet, favoring the ankle she sprained. Or the toe she broke. Or both. “It doesn’t matter if you know who it is or not. Just because you know someone doesn’t mean they are good.”

  Both girls took a quick step away from him. “Is he good?” They eyed him suspiciously.

  Finally making it to the door, Nancy waved him in and closed it at his back. “Yes.” She looked up at him, her eyes catching his. “He is good.”

  Turning back to the girls she clapped her hands together. “Come on, I have breakfast ready.” She used one hand on each girl’s back to direct them to the kitchen. Turning back over her shoulder she smiled at him.

  “Hungry?”

  He was starving. He rushed out of the house without so much as a cup of coffee to be sure he had enough time to make a stop on the way. The mention of food and the smell of bacon wafting from the kitchen made his stomach growl in protest.

  “A little.”

  He followed all three girls into the kitchen and set the bag from the drug store he stopped at on the counter before shucking his coat and hanging it over the back of one of the light oak spindle backed chairs at the kitchen table.

  Nancy pointed to the cabinetry beside the sink. “Could you grab a couple small plastic cups from that cabinet and fill them halfway with milk?”

  Paul did as she asked, pulling one purple and one pink tumbler from the lowest shelf. He eyeballed the cups. They were really small. Half a cupful wouldn’t amount to much. He splashed a little more in each one then carried them to the table and set pink in front of Kate and purple in front of Liza. He barely made it back to return the milk to the fridge when he heard a little voice behind him.

  “Uh-oh.”

  He turned to see Liza’s cup on its side and a river of milk running across the table to stream over the edge and onto the linoleum floor. She looked at him and wrinkled her nose.

  “I made a accident.”

  Nancy grinned at him as she pulled a well-worn dish towel from the cabinet under the sink. “That’s why I only fill them halfway.”

  Taking the towel from her hands, he went to wipe up the mess. Th
e faucet kicked on and a few seconds later Nancy was at his side, using a wet rag to swipe at the areas he’d sopped most of the milk from. Her side gently bumped against his as she swiped the floor clean.

  He stood, holding his hand out to her. Nancy’s skin was soft but her grip was firm as she held his hand and pulled up to stand close. Her hand was still clasped tightly in his as she smiled at him.

  “Can I have more milk?” Liza’s voice drug his attention back to the mess he inadvertently helped create. The little girl held her empty cup out as he wiped up the side and across the top of the table. “Puh-leeze.”

  He gave her a wink as he took it gently from her hands and went to fill it back up. This time only a quarter of the way.

  Nancy tossed the clean-up towels into the sink before grabbing two small plastic princess plates, putting little scoops of fried potatoes and eggs along with one piece of bacon on each. After adding a fork to each one, she handed him the filled plates.

  “Thank you Mister Paul.” The girls chimed as he set their plates down on the table in front of them.

  He grinned at them as they ignored their forks and started grabbing food with sparkly painted fingers. Women of the smaller variety were decidedly easier to handle than their grown counterparts.

  At least so far.

  He turned to find Nancy holding out a large ceramic plate piled high with everything the girls had plus two homemade buttermilk biscuits. He raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Am I the only one who gets biscuits?”

  “We can’t has biscuits till we eat our other stuff.” Liza shoved in half of her piece of bacon as she sat swinging her legs.

  Nancy handed him a cup of coffee. “They’ll only eat bread if you give them the option.”

  Paul smiled. “I’m not sure I can blame them there.” He nodded her direction. Where’s your plate?”

  “I’m getting there.” She turned to pour herself a cup of coffee and he seized the opportunity. When she swung back to face him, he held two plates of food a little proud he’d managed in time.

  Now he got to wink at her. “Go sit down. I’ll bring the food.”

  She smiled, leaning close as she passed him. “You just don’t want to be alone with the mess makers.”

  He followed behind her, balancing a plate in each hand. “You are right there.”

  Nancy sat down beside Kate. His butt was barely in the chair beside Liza before she side eyed his plate then looked up at him. Something told him his biscuits were in imminent danger around this angelic looking little peanut.

  “I ate my bacon. Can I has a biscuit?” Her voice was quiet, her eyes never leaving his plate.

  “No you may not.” Nancy pointed her fork at Liza’s half eaten plate of food. “Eat your eggs. Then we’ll talk.”

  The little girl huffed as she picked up her fork to stab at the pile of eggs on her plate. She looked up. “Is there jelly?”

  “If you eat your eggs there can be jelly.”

  Liza shoved a big bite in her mouth and chewed loudly in his direction. “Nana makes her own jelly from strawberries that grow out there.” She pointed a chubby finger at the backyard before shoving another big bite into her mouth. “She says we can pick some soon.”

  A chunk of egg flew out of her mouth and landed on his shirt.

  “Mouth closed Liza.” Nancy shook her head and mouthed a ‘sorry’ at him.

  He smiled back at her. A little egg on his shirt was worth getting to listen to little Liza chatter beside him. She kept him entertained for the rest of breakfast and while he helped Nancy get the girls shoes on.

  As Kate was swinging her backpack on he remembered the bag on the counter.

  He quickly retrieved it and held it out to Nancy. “I got you this. Hopefully it will be more comfortable than trying to get that toe into your shoes.”

  She eyed him as she cautiously took it from him then peeked inside, a smile spreading across her face. She reached in and pulled out the walking boot he picked up at the drug store on the way in this morning. She started laughing as she opened the packaging.

  “I tried to get it in my shoe this morning and it was awful.” She propped her butt against the wall and started to pick up her foot.

  “Wait.” He took the bag from her hand and pulled out an elastic ankle brace. “I got this too. I’m not sure if it will help, but I figured it was worth a shot.”

  He dropped to his knees and gently picked up her ankle, resting it on his thigh as he ripped open the plastic on the brace. Carefully stretching the beige fabric, he worked it over her sock until it was snugly hugging her heel.

  He looked up to find her eyes watching him intently. “Does that feel okay?”

  She nodded silently.

  He took the boot from her hand and slid her foot into the boxy black canvas shoe. He wrapped the Velcro straps across the top of her foot and set it back on the ground before standing back up. “Try it.”

  She gingerly took a step. Then another. “Oh my gosh, that’s so much better.” She touched his arm lightly as she passed back by him. “Thank you.”

  He watched her as she grabbed her other shoe off the mat by the door and sat on the couch to put it on her uninjured foot. He put his hand over his arm were she’d touched him, rubbing the spot, trying to get the tingling to go away. Who would have thought a simple touch would have such an effect.

  But it wasn’t a simple touch. It was appreciation. Acknowledgement. And it was something he’d never gotten much of.

  She stood up from the couch and looked at the girls. “Ready?”

  They bounced around the room. “Yes!”

  A few minutes later everyone was all strapped in and heading into town to drop Kate off at kindergarten with Liza singing loudly in the back seat to some song about putting a ring on it. “Do you like Benoncé Mister Paul?”

  He looked up in the rearview, then at Nancy. She leaned across the console and rested her hand in the crook of his elbow. “She means Beyoncé.”

  “That doesn’t help clear anything up for me.” What in the world was a Beyoncé?

  Nancy laughed. “Beyoncé’s a singer.” She pointed at the stereo. “She sings this song. Liza loves her.”

  He wasn’t so sure he would share Liza’s appreciation of Ben… Bey… whatever this woman’s name was, but at least it wasn’t Cher.

  ****

  Nancy tried to glance at Paul out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to be more relaxed today than he’d ever been before.

  When she was around at least.

  It made her want more. More kissing, more touching, but she didn’t want to push her luck.

  Not yet anyway.

  For now, just being with him would have to do.

  She pointed out the drop off spot and Paul pulled the car up in front of the school. Kate jumped out and Nancy watched as the teachers and aides directed all the car riders into the doors of the school. As soon as her blonde ponytail disappeared, it was time to pull away and keep the line moving.

  “Do you need to pick anything up while we’re out?” She looked at Paul. He was still craned around watching the kids as they filed into the school.

  “Did she make it in?” His brow furrowed as he looked behind them.

  Her heart warmed. Paul was a wonderful man. If only he could calm down. Just a little.

  “She did and we have to pull away or people are going to start honking.”

  He looked at her. “You’re sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is Mister Paul coming with us?” Liza took a break from singing at the top of her lungs.

  “He is. We are going to go home and get some things done while Kate is at school.” Nancy turned and gave her a smile as Paul pulled away from the curb.

  Satisfied, the little girl went back to singing, filling the car with her sweet, and a little out of tune voice for the rest of the trip back. As soon as they were in the driveway and she was unbuckled, her little legs ran as fast as they could to the back yar
d.

  Paul watched as she took off. “Where is she going?”

  “I told her we were going to work on the garden this morning. She wants to help.” Nancy shrugged at his confused look. “I think she’s worried we’re going to run out of strawberry jelly.”

  Paul looked down at the boot he’d brought her this morning and shook his head. “She’s the only one who can help. You’re out of commission until you can at least get that thing in a regular shoe.” He craned his neck, trying to see Liza as she disappeared behind the house. “I’m going to make sure she’s okay.”

  He took off after her leaving Nancy to make her way slowly to the back of the house. By the time she made it there, Paul and Liza were already tromping through the garden making a pile of dead plant stalks.

  “What all do you need done?” He shaded his eyes from the morning sun as he watched her finish the walk to the garden.

  Navigating the uneven ground was significantly more difficult than the smooth floors inside the house. She couldn’t imagine what she would have done if Paul hadn’t brought the boot with him this morning. There was no way she could have gotten a shoe on. She’d tried. The pressure on her toes was unbearable and that didn’t even address her ankle issue.

  “I hate this.” She had things to do and this ankle was a huge inconvenience. And not just to her.

  “You might want to see the doctor. Make sure everything is where it needs to be.” Paul held up his index finger and jogged to the deck. He returned carrying one of her patio chairs. It was missing the cushion since she’d stowed them all in the barn for the winter, but the waffle weave strapping would work just fine.

  She sat down and smiled up at him. “What would I do without you?”

  He turned away quickly and went back to helping Liza collect last year’s producers, but the blush from her praise made it clear to his ears. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only one who noticed.

  “Mister Paul. Why is your face all red? Are you tired already?” Liza stopped working and was staring up at him as if he might fall over any second.

  “Nope. Just a little warm from the sun.”