by Dylann Crush
“Want me to cross my heart?”
“Is that necessary?” She whirled around in my arms, her back now pressed against the counter. “Can’t I trust you?”
That question was loaded. I wanted to be the kind of man she could trust with her hopes, her dreams, her future. But that wasn’t me. For a moment I thought about lying. Maybe if I said it out loud it would make it true.
The moment stretched — longer than it should have.
“Forget it.” She ducked underneath my arm, freeing herself from my embrace.
“Interpolate.” The word left my mouth on barely a whisper. “The word of the day is interpolate.”
“That’s not so bad. What’s the big deal?”
I held the phone out so she could see. “Want me to read the definition?”
“Sure, hit me up.”
“Interpolate. Verb. It means—” I cleared my throat, searching for a stall tactic.
“Come on, you can do it.” Her smirk smacked of sass.
“Fine. Interpolate. Insert something, typically of a different nature, into something else.”
One eyebrow ticked up. “Can you use that in a sentence?”
“Really?”
She nodded.
“Fine.” I racked my brain, trying to come up with something that didn’t sound dirty. No luck.
“Well? Skunk got your tongue?”
“You’re enjoying this.”
“A little bit.”
I narrowed my eyes, moving in on her, herding her against the counter. “What if I said something like the handsome gentleman wants to interpolate the flirtatious lady’s mouth with his tongue.”
Her smile spread from cheek to cheek. “I’d say you’re being a little forward. Somebody could walk in.”
“They’re all busy.” My palms touched the counter on either side of her, pinning her in place. As I inhaled her earthy scent, my nose nudged into the hair behind her ear.
She wrapped her arms around my neck, letting her fingers run through my hair. “I don’t think that sentence conveys the proper use of the word.” She mumbled close to my ear, her lips barely brushing the days’ old scruff I hadn’t bothered to shave.
I pulled back, meeting her gaze. “Would you like me to interpolate you somewhere else?”
Her mouth parted and I wasn’t sure if she was going to scold me or kiss me. Either way, I was all-in.
The screen door slammed shut and footsteps sounded in the front room, heading our way. Harmony ducked out from my arms just as her son entered the kitchen.
“Mom, can I go out to the garage with Rodney? He wants to show me some old motorcycle parts.” Liam leaned against the counter, totally oblivious to the fact that I’d been about to ravage his mom’s mouth.
“Sure. But no riding. You can look all you want. Just don’t even think about going anywhere on one of those things.”
He nodded and hesitated like he wanted to say something else.
“Don’t go there,” Harmony warned.
Liam turned and stomped back through the front room. The screen door creaked then slammed shut behind him.
“Why can’t he ride? Has he ever been on a bike before?” I asked.
“Over my dead body.”
“What about a mini electric bike? It’s probably safer than a riding lawn mower.” For sure safer than the dirt bike I’d built myself out of an old mountain bike and a lawn mower engine when I’d been Liam’s age.
“No.”
“Okay.” I backed away, palms raised. At least Liam’s entrance had broken up the heat the word of the day had sparked.
“I just—bikes make me uncomfortable, okay?” She glanced up, barely meeting my eyes.
“Just the ones with engines?” I asked. “Or is he not allowed to ride a bicycle either?”
“Look, you might think I’m being overprotective, but being a parent is hard. I’ve got to keep him safe, no matter what. I’m the only one he’s got.”
“What happened to his dad?”
She held my gaze for a long beat then looked away. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay. Off limits, I get it.”
“Should we look at the plans?”
“Sure.” That was the whole reason they’d come over. Plans for the studio space. I needed to remind myself of that. It wouldn’t do either of us any good for me to give in to the need that seemed to take over whenever Harmony was around. I grabbed the blueprints I’d picked up at the city office and made my way to the table.
Harmony scooted her chair closer as I unrolled the paperwork. “I don’t think it needs a whole bunch. Maybe a couple of walls added, some sort of division for studio space so it’s separate from the rest of the area. And a big counter for retail sales and for people to check in. Can you do drywall?”
I waited a beat to see if she’d say anything else about the moment we’d shared. She didn’t. Ignoring it seemed like the best course of action. “Yeah, I’ve spent some summers doing construction work. We’ll have to have someone do the electrical, but I can move walls or divide up the space.”
She pointed to the blueprints. “So if we put up a wall here and enclosed this space over here and made them into massage rooms—”
“I’m getting massages for life out of this, aren’t I?” Leaning over her, I traced the thin purple-blue lines on the paper.
“Sorry, you missed your opportunity to negotiate for that.” The tease was back in her voice. “And I’ve decided I can no longer see you as a client.”
“What?” I hadn’t even gotten a full massage yet.
“I don’t make out with my clients.”
“Does that mean you plan on letting me kiss you again?”
Her cheeks flushed. “I’m sure we can arrange something. How’s your shoulder feeling?”
“It’s fine.” Like hell. Usually I could ignore the pain, push through it to the other side. But with this, there was no getting past it. Made me wonder just how likely it was that I’d be able to hang the drywall I’d just promised her. But I’d have two helpers. Rodney and Liam would have to step up.
Harmony switched to therapist mode. She rose from the chair and walked around behind me. “Sit.”
I did.
Her hands ran over my shoulders, skimming along my T-shirt. My skin prickled under her touch. I leaned forward, resting my head in my hands as she used her fingers to explore the contours of my upper back.
“You’re tight.”
The “that’s-what-he-said” joke died on my tongue. Her fingers began working on a particularly painful knot so I groaned instead.
“Pressure okay?” she asked.
“Mmm-hmm.” I gave a little nod, wanting nothing more than to sink into her capable hands and lose myself to her touch.
“Get all your plans worked out?” Mom came onto the porch, a cup of coffee in her hands. “Am I interrupting something?”
“No, of course not,” Harmony said, continuing to work on my back. “Dustin’s shoulder has been giving him trouble. I figured I’d spend some time on it. Are you feeling better?”
“Much. Sometimes my head just messes with me for a minute or two. Care for some coffee?” Mom asked, setting the mug on the table.
“No, thanks.”
“Harmony doesn’t believe in coffee,” I joked.
Mom’s eyes opened wide. “Really?”
The thought of someone speaking bad about coffee would probably send her to an early grave. “I’m teasing, Mom.”
Harmony squeezed the muscles at the base of my neck. “I just prefer tea, especially after dinner. Too much caffeine keeps me up at night.”
“Oh, do you want some tea?” Mom got up from the table to head back into the kitchen.
“That’s okay. I’m fine, really.”
“Too late.” I shook my head. “She’s already on it.”
She came back with a mug of hot water on a saucer, a bag of Lipton perched next to a spoon beside it. “Will this do?”
/> I didn’t want to tell her that Lipton probably wasn’t what Harmony had in mind. I’d seen the kind of tea bags she preferred. They looked like they were made out of some sort of sheer material and had all kinds of dried flowers and leaves inside.
“That will do just fine, thank you so much.”
Mom took her seat again, sliding the mug of coffee in front of me. “So how’s he healing up?”
“I told you, I’m doing fine.” Why wouldn’t she take my word for things?
“I’m not a doctor,” Harmony said. “But it seems like he’s got a lot of tension in his back and shoulders. He can work on it over the next few weeks but it won’t go away overnight.”
Mom nodded. “I tell him to take better care of himself. One of these days he’s going to get really hurt, what with the way he takes the life the good Lord gave him for granted.”
“I am careful.” And if I wasn’t more careful, I’d find myself on the receiving end of unsolicited advice from two strong-willed females as opposed to just one.
Scarlett pushed through the screen door out onto the porch. “What did I miss?”
Make that three. She’d side with them, even though Scarlett, out of everyone, knew how cautious I was when it came to my work.
“Harmony is just working your brother over with her hands.”
Scarlett slumped into a chair, laughing. “Mom!”
“What? It’s what she’s doing.”
“Never mind.” My sister snagged the mug from in front of me and took a sip. “Get the studio figured out?”
“Just about.” Harmony’s fingers continued to loosen my muscles. “Is Rodney okay?”
“Yeah. He and Liam are oohing and aahing over ancient motorcycle parts. Dustin told me about what you’re doing. Sounds like a really awesome concept.”
“I hope so. A colleague and I have talked about doing something like this for years out in California.”
“Why didn’t you?” Scarlett picked a piece of pie crust off my plate and popped it into her mouth. Ordinarily I might have swatted at her hand. But Harmony had me so relaxed, I didn’t want to waste the energy.
“Well, Liam and I ended up moving here instead. Reva told me she had no interest in moving to Missouri, so we parted ways. It’s not like we had an agreement drawn up or anything. It was just a dream.”
“Would you ever consider having a hair stylist as part of your studio?” Scarlett asked.
“Oh, no you don’t.” I sat up, not about to let my sister swindle her way into Harmony’s plans.
“What? I was just asking.” She turned away from me, focusing all of her attention on Harmony.
“I hadn’t thought about it, but you never know.” Harmony paused, her fingers resting on the ridge of my shoulders.
Keep rubbing. I tried to send her the non-verbal message.
“Do you have a card?” Harmony asked.
“Of course.” Scarlett stood, sliding one of her business cards out of her back pocket.
Harmony’s hands broke contact with my back as she reached for Scarlett’s card. “Great. Let’s touch base and see if we can figure something out.”
“Thanks.” Scarlett took another swig of my coffee before kissing Mom on the cheek. “I’d better get Rodney home. He still has homework to do before tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, sugar.” Mom clasped Scarlett’s hands and pulled them to her lips before she let them go. “You sure you don’t mind taking me to the doctor tomorrow?”
“I can take you.” It was the least I could do, seeing as how I hadn’t been around all those years to pitch in when Mom might have needed me.
“I don’t want to bother you.” Mom waved me off.
“No, really. I’d love to take you. What time is your appointment?”
“Oh, it’s all the way over in Nevada. You’d be gone half the day.”
“I want to.” But there was one little thing. “Although…Harmony, do you think you could take Petunia?”
“What?” She glanced back and forth from me to my mother.
Mom started to rise. “I don’t want to cause anyone any trouble. If Scarlett can’t take me then I’ll see if I can get a ride with Frank.”
“No, Dustin should take you, Mrs. Jarrett. I’d be happy to take Petunia tomorrow.” As Mom sat down, Harmony stuck her tongue out at me. I winked back.
I tried to seize that opening. “Do you want to just take her home tonight if that would—”
“Why don’t you bring her over in the morning?”
“We’ll have to leave for my appointment around eight,” Mom said.
“Perfect. That should give Dustin plenty of time to run her over and come back in time to get you wherever you need to go.” Harmony gave me a smug grin.
If Mom had to leave by eight, that meant I’d have to head to Harmony’s by seven-fifteen at the latest. But if it meant I’d get the skunk off my hands, the extra forty-five minutes in the morning would be worth it.
“Will you at least put a pot of coffee on for me?” I asked.
“No can do. I don’t even have a coffee pot, but I can make you a nice cup of herbal tea or a green smoothie.”
Harmony probably didn’t catch the way Mom’s eyes widened at that remark. She was still bent over the blueprint, studying the layout of the space.
“No thanks, I’ll fend for myself. I’ll see if I can get some new plans drawn up with the changes you want. Ought to take me a few days. How about I give you a call when they’re done and we can meet up on site to look them over?” And maybe take another crack at whatever we’d started on the stairs.
“That sounds great. I need to get Liam home, too. We have to feed Snap, Crackle, and Pop again.” She turned to Mom. “Thank you so much for dinner. I don’t do very well in the kitchen, so it was a treat to have something homemade.”
Mom took Harmony’s hands in hers. “You’re welcome. You and Liam come back whenever you want.”
I rolled the plans back up and slid a rubber band around them. “I’ll walk you out.”
19
Harmony
I got behind the wheel, grateful to be on my way back home. That little incident in the kitchen with Dustin almost had me throwing myself at the man. I didn’t need a lover; I needed someone to help me get my business going. That was all. I didn’t have the time or the energy to start something with someone. Not now when the most important man in my life needed to be Liam.
“Thanks again for the dinner invite.” I pulled the door to the truck closed behind me.
Dustin leaned on the open window. The rain had stopped for a bit, although the amount of humidity in the air almost made me wish it would start up again. “You’re welcome. I’ll be by in the morning with Petunia.”
“We’re going to keep the skunk?” Liam asked as he pulled the seatbelt across his middle to buckle it.
“Just for a little bit,” I said. If I wasn’t careful I’d end up with a house full of rescue animals. My heart wouldn’t let me turn any warm body away—didn’t matter if it was the two-legged or four-legged variety.
“Cool.” Liam popped his ear buds in, prepared for the twenty-minute drive home.
“See you in the morning, then.” I turned the key in the ignition and the engine reluctantly groaned to life.
“I can take a look at that for you later this week,” Dustin offered.
I nodded. “That would be great.” If I moved forward with the studio it would be awhile before I could afford my own car. Robbie had been nice enough to loan me the truck but had also warned it was on its last leg and couldn’t promise how long it might last.
“Be careful on the drive. That last turn can get kind of tricky after it’s been raining.”
“Thanks.” With a final wave, I shifted into gear and eased away from Dustin. The truck bumped over the gravel road as we made our way to the blacktop.
The rain had tapered off but left some major puddles on the drive. I navigated between them, easing off the gas when I had to
slow down for a slippery turn. As I headed into the last curve before the drive met up with the paved road, my foot slipped off the brake and pressed on the gas. I tried to adjust but I was too far into the turn to correct. The truck bounced over a rut and lodged into a trench full of mud.
“What was that?” Liam yanked his ear buds away from his ears.
“We just slid off the road a little. Hold on.” I put the truck in reverse and pressed on the gas. Nothing happened.
“Back up,” Liam suggested.
“I am.” The wheels spun, slinging mud everywhere.
Liam hopped out of the truck and landed in a patch of sloppy, dark mud. “It’s the back wheels.”
“Should I try again?”
“Yeah, give it some gas.” He pushed on the back bumper while I nudged my foot on the gas pedal.
The truck didn’t budge.
“Try again, Mom.” Something thumped against the back bumper. “Ouch!”
“What happened?”
“I slipped in the mud and knocked my head. It’s okay, it’s not bad.”
Damn. I slapped my hands on the dash. How in the world was I going to get myself out of this mess? “Let me take a look.”
I climbed out of the truck onto relatively stable ground. The rain had created a sloppy mess, turning the dust into a mass of reddish-brownish-grayish sludge. The passenger side wheels were half-buried.
Liam sloshed through the mud to reach me.
“Where are you hurt?” My hand immediately went to his head, smoothing back the goldish waves already crusted in mud. “You’ve got a bit of a knot. We need to get some ice on that. I guess we’ll have to walk back to the house and see if we can get some help.”
Ten minutes later, damp from the lingering drizzle, we caught sight of the house. Dustin must have seen us coming. He rose from his seat on the porch as we came closer.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
My gaze roamed over golden brown skin, no doubt bronzed by the southern California sun. I’d seen him shirtless when I gave him a massage. But seeing him in the glow of the porch light, hair messed up from relaxing on the front porch swing, made my heart hammer and my stomach twinge. Abs chiseled from granite, pecs outlined like they’d been drawn on, and scars from what had to be tons of wrecks and wipe outs over the years crisscrossed his chest.
