by Lois Richer
“Do you know if Sam Levine still has those German shepherd pups? I thought I might get one for Shay.” He told his mom the plan, delighted when she offered to bake cookies and his favorite chocolate cake for the housewarming.
“I’m sure Sam has one or two left. A dog is a great idea. I believe Shay’s a little nervous about being alone on the farm, though she would never admit it,” his mother said, urging him to eat the bowl of soup she’d set out for lunch. “She nearly jumped a mile when I stopped out there one evening.”
“When were you out there?” he asked, surprised that his mom had been to the farm.
“It was before you came home. She said there were pecans left unpicked in the orchard.” His mom avoided his stare.
“Mom, I can afford to buy all the pecans you need. You don’t have to go pick them.” It infuriated Nick that she still acted as if she was as poor as they’d been before his success. “I’ll increase the grocery budget if you need it.”
“You’ve already spent a small fortune on us and this house.” She shot him a severe look. “And I don’t need more grocery money. I just wanted an excuse to talk to Shay. She misses her dad. I don’t think she’s had anybody to confide in for a long time. I believe she’s lonely.”
“I doubt that,” he said in a dry tone. “Shay attracts friends like moths to a flame.”
“Because she’s so kind and generous.” His mother paused. “You know, it sounded to me like Shay bought the place hoping she’d live there with her own family someday.”
A shot of envy speared Nick in the gut.
“She’s seeing someone special?” he asked, irritated that Shay hadn’t told him.
“Actually I heard she broke up with someone before she came back to Hope. But she’ll probably settle down soon. Shay’s always been a family girl.”
Somehow Nick couldn’t quite wrap his mind around Shay, the world-class supermodel, being content to settle on the farm forever. That had always been her father’s dream. Hadn’t she been affected at all by her big city lifestyle and fancy surroundings? As he drove over to Levine’s, Nick chuckled at his mom’s comment. It seemed highly unlikely to him that Shay would find a suitable husband in Hope.
Or was that wishful thinking?
Nick frowned at the errant thought. Now, what made him think a thing like that? Shay was his friend. He wanted her to be happy and to have everything she wanted. He wanted her to find the man of her dreams.
Didn’t he?
*
Shay drove slowly toward the house, puzzling over the flicker of light she thought she’d seen inside. She was imagining it, of course. There was no light. Just as there had been no one outside last night when she’d sat peering through the window at 3:00 a.m.
“You’re getting weird,” she murmured to herself as she turned the wheel toward the garage. “Get a grip on yourself.” She breathed in and out twice, just to calm her nerves and pulled inside.
Her whole body stiffened as her headlights picked out someone standing inside the garage, on the step that led into her home. But she couldn’t see who it was. Shay cringed against the seat, drawing as far back as she could. The person came down the stairs toward her but she still couldn’t see their face. The light was so dim—why hadn’t she put a bigger bulb in the garage? A hand reached in to touch her on the shoulder. When he moved toward her side of the car, she opened her mouth to scream but her throat sealed, stifling the sound.
Lessons from a self-defense class replayed in her head. Fight!
Shay pushed the car door open to pin the intruder against the wall. A moment later Nick’s head appeared in her side window. “Relax. It’s me.” Nick pushed the door closed so he could free himself. “Shay? Sorry If I startled you.”
“Of all the—what are you doing here?” Anger spilled from her like water from a burst dam. “How dare you sneak into my garage and scare the living daylights out of me—”
“Shh,” he hissed. “They’re inside. They’ll hear you if you don’t calm down.”
They? Fear clung to her, but at least she wasn’t alone. Shay slowly eased out of the car, overly conscious of his hand on her elbow.
“Who is inside?” she whispered.
“Everybody. Practically the whole town.”
Shay frowned at him. Maybe Nick was losing it, too. She backed away, letting his hand slide off her arm, leaving the sensation of warmth where chills had been. He leaned down to rub his injured knee. “What are you doing in my garage, Nick?”
“I’m here for the housewarming, the surprise housewarming,” he enunciated in a hushed voice. “Only I thought you might not like the surprise part so I figured I’d give you advance warning.” He shot her a wounded look as he straightened his leg. “I didn’t realize I’d get attacked by your car door.”
“Ever hear of a phone?” Shay winced at the caustic tone in her voice. That’s what fear did to you.
“I left about twenty messages. You never called me back.” Nick’s brown eyes flickered with frustration in the dim light of the overhead bulb.
“I shut my phone off,” she remembered and blushed. “I was with a client and it kept ringing and then I forgot—I’m sorry.” A housewarming? That would be Jaclyn and Brianna’s idea. Warmth filled her, easing the panic that had banded her throat. She glanced down at her wrinkled work clothes and groaned. “Oh, boy. I am so not ready to party.”
“They’re just friends. And you look great, Shay. You always do.” Nick gave her a cheering grin. “My housewarming gift to you is here.” He motioned to a box on the floor in which a dark brown puppy lay curled up, fast asleep. “I wanted to give him to you before you get swamped by everyone.”
“Oh, Nick.” Tears welled at his thoughtfulness and the abashed way he looked at her, as if he was embarrassed by his thoughtfulness. She wanted to hug him but couldn’t make herself do it. Instead she watched as he lifted the small body and cradled it in his strong arms. She reached out to touch the wiggling pup with a fingertip. “How did you know I wanted a dog?” The puppy lifted his head, licked her finger twice with his tiny pink tongue and then chewed on her a little bit. “Thank you so much, Nick. He’s darling.”
“He’s not darling,” Nick snorted in disgust. “He’s a purebred German shepherd. He has dignity and pride and distinction!”
Nick had never been more wrong. The puppy was darling. And so was he, his big strong hands delicately caressing the tiny vulnerable ball of fur so she could check him over.
“He’s so sweet.” Shay laughed, pressing a kiss against a small paw. She wanted to kiss Nick, too, for his thoughtfulness. But when she looked up at him there was something in his eyes that unnerved her. It wasn’t fear. It was—something she’d never seen before. Something she’d have to think about later, alone. “Thank you again, Nick.”
“You’re welcome. We’ll have to put off further introductions until after the party though.” He put the pup back in the box and laid Maggie’s pink doll quilt over him to keep him warm. “That was all I could find,” he muttered when their gazes met.
“Very pretty.” She grinned at his aggrieved groan.
“You’d better go inside or they’ll wonder what’s taking you so long. I’m going to stay out here with him for a bit before I ‘arrive.’ I don’t want anyone to know I spoiled the surprise.”
“Okay.” She smiled, grateful for his thoughtfulness. “It was nice of you to do this, Nick.”
“Yeah, ’cause I’m such a nice guy,” he mumbled, his handsome face flushed. “Go. And act surprised,” Nick ordered as he backed into the shadows.
“I won’t have to act,” Shay whispered. She glanced at the puppy once more then unlocked her door, switched on the lights and blinked as a bunch of voices yelled, “Surprise!”
“What took you so long to come in?” Brianna demanded, grabbing her hand and leading her forward.
“I—uh, couldn’t find my keys.” Shay blinked at the host of people filling her home. “What’s going on?”
“We’re giving you a housewarming,” Jaclyn said, grinning. “For once we pulled off a surprise without you guessing.”
“Did you ever. Well, welcome to my home, everyone. Please be comfortable.” Nick wasn’t kidding—half the town was scattered throughout her home. She owed him big-time. If he hadn’t warned her she’d have made a fool of herself in front of all of them.
Instead she’d made a fool of herself only in front of him.
She’d make it up to him later. For now she’d pretend everything was fine.
“I hope you all brought something to eat with you,” she said as cheerfully as she could. “Because the fridge is empty and I’m starved.”
Everyone laughed. As Shay turned, she saw Nick come in from the garage. He stood at the back of the room, his brown eyes steady as they met hers. At the thought of the way he’d taken her arm in the garage, she felt her face flush and she had to turn away.
Shay started chatting with the well-wishers who swarmed her. But she couldn’t help recalling the moment when Nick’s hand had rested on her arm, and she realized that the sensation had pushed away the terror that threatened to swamp her. She’d felt safe, for the first time in a long time.
And cherished.
Precious. Cared for.
Shay glanced at Nick again across the crowded room. To hide out in the garage like that just so he could take care of her…
Oh, Nick. Why can’t you stay in Hope forever?
Chapter Five
“Ted says he’s gonna walk by himself before I do,” Maggie confided from her perch on a nearby chair the following Friday. “But I don’t think he will.”
“Who is Ted and what makes you think he won’t?” Nick asked, glancing up from his second prototype of Maggie’s roly-poly. She called it Tiger. She’d used the first one only a few times before it had broken. He’d fixed it, of course, but figured she needed a stronger machine.
“Ted’s my friend,” Maggie explained. “He was riding his bike and a car hit him. Shay’s helping him, too.”
Maggie’s presence did nothing to help Nick’s concentration. But he had to watch her for an hour after lunch so his mom could take a nap she desperately needed. Nick checked his watch. Ten minutes left until that hour was up.
It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy spending time with Maggie. But the sooner he had this machine done, the sooner Maggie could regain her mobility, ensuring he’d make it back to Seattle in time to start his job.
“So why do you think he won’t walk before you?” he asked. “Isn’t this Ted kid willing to work hard?”
“He works as hard as me,” Maggie assured him, her dark head bobbing. “More hard, even.”
“So?” He paused and turned to look at her. “Why won’t he walk before you?”
“’Cause he doesn’t have a roly-poly. They’re really poor ’cause his dad is sick and he can’t work. Don’t you think that’s sad, Uncle Nick?”
“It’s very sad,” he agreed, checking that she hadn’t yet finished sorting the box of screws he’d unearthed.
“My Sunday school teacher said we should help anyone who needs help,” Maggie told him. “I wish I could help Ted.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Nick muttered absently. If he could make the rotating arm a fraction more pliable…
“But you can help Ted, Uncle Nick,” Maggie crowed excitedly. “Shay and I talked about it and we know you can do it.”
“You weren’t supposed to tell him that yet, Maggie,” Shay said from the doorway, laughter enhancing the lilt in her voice as she shook her head at the little girl. “Remember?”
“Oh. Yeah. I forgot.” Maggie’s face fell. “Sorry, Shay.”
“Sweetie, it’s okay.”
Nick raised one eyebrow and scowled at her.
“Don’t give me the evil eye, Einstein,” she teased, her eyes sparkling. “Maggie and I were simply chatting about how Ted can’t do all the exercises he should. We got talking about how the roly-poly could help him and, well, we thought how wonderful it would be if you built one for him.”
“Uh-huh.” Nick watched the two females share a look and sighed. “And I suppose the two of you think I should do this in my ‘free’ time?” he said in his drollest tone. “Which would be when, exactly?”
“I could do my exercises myself,” Maggie offered. “I’m getting lots better at them.”
“You are getting better, sweetie.” Shay brushed back the brown strands from Maggie’s face. “In fact, you’re getting to be an expert. But for now you still need help.”
“Let’s leave sorting those screws for now, okay?” Nick said. He lifted Maggie off the stool. “What are you doing here at this time of day, Shay? I thought you’d have appointments.”
“Cancellation,” she said, following him as he brought Maggie out into the sunshine. She reached up to brush her fingertips against a lemon that hung from the bottom branches of a tree he’d given to his mom in ninth grade, the year he’d spent his summer vacation working in a nursery. “I thought this would be finished bearing by now.”
“It always bears late, remember? You want some lemonade?” It wasn’t a question Nick needed to ask. Shay’s green eyes brimmed with longing. She loved lemon anything, but she couldn’t resist lemonade made from fresh lemons. “It’ll cost you,” he said as he set Maggie on the side of her sandbox.
“Everything costs, Nick.” A haunted look flashed in Shay’s eyes as she studied him. The intensity of those words and the wariness of her gaze sucker punched him. It hurt his heart to think that this was how Shay now viewed the world.
“I could use your help designing Ted’s roly-poly,” he said. “Unless his issues are identical to Maggie’s.”
“You’ll do it? You’ll make him a roly-poly?” A smile started at the corners of Shay’s eyes and spread across her face. She stepped forward as if to hug him and then wrapped her arms around her middle instead. “Do you mean it, Nick?”
“You and Mags make it kind of hard to say no,” he said, struggling not to grin at her obvious delight. Nick started plucking lemons and handing them to her.
“Don’t worry. I won’t be calling on your services right away because I’m at the thinking stage. I have to let the design roll around in my brain a little longer before I can begin.”
“I know Ted and his family will appreciate it. So do I. And I’ll be happy to help however I can. Thank you.” Standing there in the sun, her arms loaded with lemons, her pink-tipped toenails peeking out from her white sandals, Shay glowed with happiness.
Something in Nick’s gut gave such a wrench that he nearly jumped. What is going on here? He fought to get his reactions under control.
“Maggie-mine, I’m going to make some lemonade for us. Will you keep Shay company out here?” He waited for the little girl’s nod then took the lemons from Shay, trying not to notice how quickly she edged away from him when her arms were empty.
Funny how much that bugged him.
It didn’t take long to squeeze the fruit, add sugar, water, fresh mint and ice cubes, and carry it all outside, along with slices of the cake he’d brought home from her party.
“Oh, good! I was wishing I’d sampled this cake at my place,” Shay said, sliding into a place at the picnic table, across from where he’d set Maggie. “But there was just too much food.”
“You should have kept it,” he said.
“If you’d left that cake at my place I’d have eaten it.” She sipped her lemonade, closed her eyes and savored.
He loved watching her enjoy the cool tart drink, knowing that he’d made it for her.
“You’re eating it now,” Nick teased when she took a bite of her cake.
She stopped, blinked at him, her eyes wide. “Oh. Yeah.” She set down her fork. The longing in her eyes made him chuckle.
“Eat the cake, Shay. You can run your six miles later.”
“I’ll have to. That puppy you gave me demands a lot of exercise. I named him Hugs, by the way.”
<
br /> “You named that masculine dog Hugs?” Nick grimaced. “Why?”
“Because he’s always up for one.” She munched away happily, sharing a smile with Maggie, her emerald eyes shining as she told tales of Nick’s housewarming gift. “He’s such a sweetie. Thank you again for giving him to me. I love him.”
“I’m glad. I was told he could be trained for different things, if you want.” Somehow Nick couldn’t add “as a watchdog.”
“I’ll train him when he’s older. For now I’ll just love him and ignore the way he chews on my Manolo Blahnik shoes.” She drained her glass then dabbed at the frothy mustache it left on her upper lip. “Your lemonade is superb, Nick. The cake was, too. Tell your mom I said thanks.”
“I will.” He watched her rise. “Going already?”
“I need to get back to work.” She tilted her head to one side. “When would you like me to come help you in your shed later?”
“I’d be happy to have your company anytime, but actually I’ve had an idea about enhancements to revise the old roly-poly. I think it could be ready to try out tomorrow.” He tousled the little girl’s hair. “Maggie broke the original one,” he teased, “but pretty soon she’ll have her Tiger-version. Maybe even tonight.” He winked at Maggie. “If she doesn’t mind, maybe we could give the old one to Ted.”
“I knew you’d help Ted, Uncle Nick.” Maggie flung her arms around his neck and hugged him.
“I knew you would, too,” Shay said softly.
“You did?” Nick frowned. “How?”
“Because that’s the kind of guy you are. That’s why your family loves you.”
Nick met her gaze, and the look on her face made him want to take her in his arms. Instead, he turned his attention to Maggie.
Shay checked her watch.
“I have to go. If you bring the old roly-poly on Monday morning, we could let Ted try it. Then you could fine-tune it for his needs.” She checked her watch. “I have to go. Thanks a lot, Nick.”
“My pleasure.”
She stopped to unlatch the fence gate just as something behind the house made a noise. Shay tensed and glanced around hurriedly, then straightened and forced a squeaky laugh. “That startled me,” she said.
