First Kiss, On the House

by Judi Lynn

  “You have the perfect house for kids,” Mom said. “Two bedrooms and a bathroom on one end and two bedrooms and a bath on the other. When they’re little, you can keep the kids close, and when they’re older, you can move them across the house and have a little privacy.”

  Max kept reaching for Clair’s hand and smiled every time he touched her.

  “How do you feel?” Miriam asked. “Any nausea?”

  “Never felt better,” Clair said. “No cravings, but I’m hungry all the time.”

  Max nodded. “We’ve had to almost double the groceries we buy.”

  Neil laughed. “Sue-Ellen got big as a barn with Sam, ate everything in sight, but lost all the weight and more once he was born.”

  Her mom nodded. “All you do is chase kids. You don’t have time to finish a meal.”

  It was close to eight when people started to leave, and Miriam was trying not to yawn as she said her good-byes.

  Clair hugged her close. “Thanks for being happy for me, Sis.”

  Miriam shook her head. “Why wouldn’t I be? You have a great husband and now you’re starting a great family.”

  “It’s just that . . . you never wanted kids, did you?”

  “Oh, you sweetie, you were worried about me, weren’t you? No need. I’d rather teach other peoples’ kids than have my own.”

  Clair’s shoulders relaxed. “That’s what I always thought, but then I started to worry . . .”

  “Don’t. I’m happy for you, but it’s not my thing. Hell, you can’t take a summer break from your own kids, can you?”

  Clair laughed. “Nope, that’s not considered good parenting.”

  Miriam shrugged. “There you have it, then. I’ll stick with Tommy and Tuppence.”

  Max wrapped his arm around Clair’s shoulders as they stood in the front yard and waved good-bye.

  On the drive home, Miriam thought about Clair’s question more carefully. Did she want kids? Ever? But she didn’t have any doubts. She’d rather teach than mother. If she had to deal with students all day long, the last thing she wanted was to go home to kids of her own. She wouldn’t have anything to give them. She left school drained most days. Then, for no particular reason, her thoughts turned to Joel and Adele.

  That would be different, wouldn’t it? Adele was nineteen. True, she didn’t act it, but all the raising had been done already, hadn’t it? And Joel had done a great job. The serious work would be behind her. Would Adele get on her nerves if she lived with her day in and day out? Not really. Maybe a little. But not that much.

  Then Miriam shook her head. What the hell was she worrying about? Joel had been through one disastrous marriage. It wasn’t likely he’d try again. But if they spent a lot of time together, as friends, Adele was a welcome addition as far as she was concerned.

  As she pulled in her own driveway, though, she realized she’d better start thinking about the present. Two cats sat in her front window, glaring at her. She’d left them . . . again. If she were smart, she’d go in there and jolly them up. Which sounded like a great game plan to her.

  The rest of the night, she cuddled on the couch, watching TV with Tommy on one side of her and Tuppence on the other. Between students and cats, she felt complete.

  Chapter 17

  On Wednesday Joel and Nick and the entire crew concentrated on finishing the cement floor in the family room so it looked like brick. Adele, as usual, watched TV in her tiny sanctum, ignoring them.

  It took them the entire day, only breaking for lunch at Ralph’s, to complete the project. Nick looked it over and gave a low whistle. “This would work great in my sister’s basement.”

  “You have a sister?” It was the first Joel had heard about her.

  “Yeah. She’s a nurse in Bloomington. Married a physical therapist who works there, too. They bought an old farmhouse that needs some TLC, but Brian and I are helping them with it.”

  “I bet she appreciates that.”

  “Oh, yeah, Heidi’s pretty cool. Brian and I have always looked out for her.”

  Joel figured Nick was probably wrapped around her little finger. The kid had lots of charm, was plenty smart but had a soft heart. Some women would appreciate that and some would take advantage of it. Nick had better smarten up. “No kids?” he asked.

  “Not yet. She’s younger than I am, only twenty-five.”

  “Are you driving to Indy tomorrow?”

  Nick nodded. “I’m in the middle of flipping a house and I’m going to tell Roxy I have to start being more careful with my money. We’ll see how that plays out. If she bails or balks at it, I’d rather know now.”

  “Good move.” Nick was a quick learner; Joel had to give him that.

  Nick started packing up his tools to head home. The rest of the crew had already gone. “I’m going to have a lazy Friday night, nothing exciting, so I can get an early start tomorrow.”

  “We have an early start tomorrow, too,” Joel said. “I’m driving Adele to my parents’ place and then they’re heading to my uncle’s home in Michigan for a week.” He hesitated. “I’m going to be lazy and grab pizza tonight for supper. Want to come with us? We might get there early enough to beat the crowd.”

  Nick looked surprised but nodded. “Sounds good to me. Then I can go home and watch a little TV before I crash.”

  They decided to drive separately; then they could head in different directions after they ate. The parking lot was already filling up, and when they walked inside, they got the last round table for four.

  Nick glanced around and shook his head. “More and more tourists are hanging out here on Friday nights. The season started earlier than usual this year. When the weather turns nice, weekends get crazy with people heading to the national forest.”

  The waitress was coming to take their orders when a young woman stepped through the door and looked around for a place to sit. No open tables. Nick waved her to theirs. He looked at Joel. “This is Meg. She helps her dad run the hardware store in town. Meg, this is Joel Worth and his daughter, Adele.”

  The girl gave a friendly nod. She wore her wavy blond hair cropped short and was so pretty, the short cut accentuated her fine features. Tall and willowy, she didn’t bother with makeup, not that it mattered. She didn’t need any.

  “I went to school with Meg’s big sister, Maddie.” Nick’s voice sounded tight. “She went to Purdue to study engineering, then got married and moved to the East Coast.”

  He kept glancing at Meg as he talked, and Joel got the feeling Nick had had a crush either on her or on her sister. He couldn’t decide which. Was Maddie the girl he’d meant to settle down with in Mill Pond before she left for college?

  The waitress took their order, and Nick and Meg decided to split a large, super supreme. The way he talked to her made it clear he must have had a thing for Maddie and still saw Meg as the tag-along little sister. The waitress brought their drinks, then Joel turned to her. “What made you decide to stay in Mill Pond?” Surely she could have gone to college, too.

  The girl’s expression crumpled. “My dad had a stroke and someone had to help him run the business or he’d have lost it. I decided to stay.”

  “I’m so sorry.” What had he been thinking? “I didn’t mean to bring up something that personal.”

  She shrugged. “How could you know? You’re new here. My mom’s a bookkeeper for a few of the small businesses in town. She couldn’t do that and run the store, so I started pitching in. Found out I really like it.”

  Nick reached over to tousle her hair. “She’s a natural.”

  The expressions that crossed Meg’s face made Joel hesitate. Happiness that Nick praised her. And frustration. That surprised him. Then Joel finally got it. Meg had a crush on Nick, but in his mind, she was always the kid sister. Joel shook his head. Meg was worth a dozen Roxys. He hoped Nick would wake up someday and see that Meg had grown up.

  Chapter 18

  Joel woke Adele at eight thirty on Saturday morning. “Rise and shine,
hon. We drive to Grandma and Grandpa’s today.”

  He’d already gone to the bakery and had her favorite doughnuts and coffee waiting for her in the kitchen. He knew she’d stayed up later than usual last night, watching a midnight sales special on QVC. His daughter loved fancy dolls and had boxes of them, waiting for a place in their new home.

  She glanced at him nervously when she sat across from him. “I bought a new doll last night.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You did?”

  “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary,” she said. “She’s part of the collection I started.”

  He’d bought her Little Bo Peep for Christmas last year to add to Little Miss Muffet. He wondered how many kids even read nursery rhymes these days, but Adele had always loved them. The dolls were high-quality pieces with hand-painted porcelain faces. “Have you kept track of how much money you’ve spent this month?”

  She nodded. He gave her a monthly allowance on her credit card, and when she ran out of money, she had to wait until the beginning of the next month. “I had enough,” she told him.

  “Then you’re in good shape. Wednesday’s the beginning of June.” She’d get more money then. He wanted her to have some personal freedom and to learn to keep track of her own finances. The credit card worked for them.

  She smiled. “The doll will get here before I get back from my trip.”

  “Good, then it will be waiting for you. I’ll put the box in your room.” That would give her something to look forward to when she got back.

  They finished their breakfast and he motioned to the clock. “Better get ready to go.” His cell phone rang while Adele took a quick shower and got dressed.

  Miriam rushed into speech. “Hey, glad I caught you before you left. You’ve been nice enough to feed me lately, so I thought I’d return the favor. Want to come to my place for supper?”

  “Tonight?” He had a three-hour drive to Fort Wayne and three more hours back. He’d be ready to flop on the couch and relax, but there was no way he’d turn down Miriam. “I won’t get back until after six. Is that okay?”

  “Yeah. I can get some stuff done that way.” She sounded nervous. “I’ll see you then.”

  He was about to say not to worry about anything fancy, that he’d probably eat a big lunch with his parents, but she hung up too fast. She wasn’t going to try to cook, was she? Was that why she was nervous? Of did she have something else on her mind?

  On the drive to Fort Wayne, he popped Adele’s favorite CD in the player and they sang along when they knew the words. The scenery was worth the trip. Crab trees burst with white and pink blooms. Late tulips, lilacs, and irises blossomed. The three-hour drive flew by.

  His parents were happy to see them. “We thought we might go to your favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch,” his mom said. “Have you missed it?”

  He had. He loved their spicy beef chimichangas and guacamole. By the time they’d finished eating, he felt happy but stuffed. He stayed to visit a couple more hours before he made the return trip to Mill Pond. “Have a great time in Michigan,” he called as he waved good-bye.

  “You have a good time, too!” His dad gave him a thumbs-up.

  Good lord, were his parents worried about him? Did they think he’d turn into a lonely old hermit?

  It was a little after six when he pulled into Miriam’s driveway. Her cats had jumped into the front window when they heard his car. He started toward the house, then stopped and wrinkled his nose. The front door was open and the screen let a breeze from the lake blow through the cottage. What was that awful smell?

  Miriam yanked the screened door open and motioned him back to his pickup. “You can’t come in. I’ll pay for supper if you drive us to Ralph’s.”

  He couldn’t stop a smirk. “You burned it, didn’t you?”

  Her corkscrew curls stood on end, as if she’d run her hands through them too many times. She tossed a dirty look his way. “I wanted to surprise you. I tried to make cabbage rolls. Nothing went right. I burned the sauce, and when I put the cabbage in the pot to boil, water spilled everywhere on the burners. I have the windows open and the fans on. The cottage should smell all right when we get back.”

  He laughed. “You don’t have to cook for me. Ever. I just like your company.”

  “That’s a good thing, because I’m never turning on my stove again.”

  “That might be safer.”

  She glared. “I’m starving. Drive me to town.”

  On the way to Ralph’s, she told him that she’d been happy because she had a three-day weekend with Memorial Day. “I thought I had extra time, so I could learn to cook.”

  “And you picked something complicated for your first meal?”

  She shrugged. “If I could make cabbage rolls, I figured I could make lots of things.”

  “The key word there is if.” He winced when she punched his arm.

  A family was leaving a table when they walked into the diner, and Jules motioned them to it. “Just give me a minute to clean it.”

  “I thought you always ate with Daphne on Saturday nights,” Joel said.

  “I usually do, but her parents invited her to a concert tonight, so we switched things around.”

  “Works for me. That way I get to see you.”

  She smiled. She wore only a minimum of makeup tonight—just mascara and blush. God, she was a turn-on. When Jules came for their order, she asked for her regular: a bacon cheeseburger with fries. Joel chose a fish sandwich. “I ate a big lunch. I need something a little lighter now.”

  They made small talk while they ate, and Miriam insisted on paying the bill. Joel wondered what would happen when he drove her home. Would she give him a quick wave when she headed for the house? But when he pulled in her drive, she said, “The smoke should be gone by now. Want a beer?”

  “That sounds great.” Anything that got him inside Miriam’s house sounded perfect.

  She led him to the backyard and went to get their drinks. He sank into one of the Adirondack chairs and stared at the ripples on the lake. What a gorgeous setting. He’d never get tired of this view. Tuppence jumped on his lap and he automatically started petting her.

  Miriam returned with their beers. “You’ll have to kick her off when you’re sick of her or she’ll never leave. She’s an attention whore.”

  He laughed. “I guess there are worse things. It’s beautiful out here. I bet you sit here every night in warm weather.”

  “Yup, I do. I never get tired of it.” Tommy jumped onto her lap.

  “How will you spend your long weekend?” he asked. “Is this your big push to get all your paperwork done?”

  She shook her head. “I have more planning time next week with the seniors gone. I can coast from here.”

  He grinned. “It must be nice.”

  “It is. Why don’t you come with me to my parents’ house tomorrow? I don’t have to leave early.”

  “They won’t mind?”

  “They liked you.”

  “Can I bring something?”

  “It’ll only be your second time. You still have a Free Pass card. Enjoy it while you can. Once your brewery’s in full swing, they’ll expect beer.”

  “Sounds fair to me.”

  As the sun sank lower to the horizon, Miriam stood and led him inside. She headed to the round table in the living room, and he thought she was going to offer him dessert. Instead, she said, “How about a game of Scrabble?”

  Scrabble? Really? He sucked at word games, but he didn’t want to leave yet. “Sure, why not?”

  She showed no mercy. Miss English Teacher trounced him hard and then she gloated about it. Finally, he pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket. “Poker’s my game, remember? Are you ready to lose?”

  “Only if the stakes are high enough. One piece of clothing for each time I beat you.”

  He stared. “Aren’t you worried I’ll get the wrong idea? That you’re easy?”

  She snorted. “I am easy. With you, anyway. I don
’t expect any man to want to marry me, but I’d sure love to find a friend with benefits, and you fit the bill.”

  He didn’t know what to say. “No woman’s ever thought of me as a boy toy before. I’m not exactly hunk material.”

  “And I’m not exactly any man’s dream girl, so I think we’ll be a perfect fit.”

  Not really. He wanted more than that, but he’d ease into phase two. He didn’t want to scare her off. He shuffled the cards. “Be prepared to get naked, woman.”

  The corners of her mouth quirked. “We’ll see who loses his undies first.”

  He dealt a hand and had to work not to smirk. He held three kings and two queens. He glanced at Miriam, and she did smirk. Oh hell.

  “I’m good,” she told him.

  “Me too. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  She laid down three aces with a gleam of triumph. He laid down his full house and she stared. “You stacked the deck.”

  “Quit whining. Pull that T-shirt over your head.” Her skin was smooth mocha. His fingers itched to touch it. But she took the cards from him and shuffled them. She quirked an eyebrow.

  “Let’s see who wins this hand.” She dealt and he smiled.

  She picked up her cards and frowned. Hopefully, she had nothing. She looked at him. “Well?”

  “I’m good,” he said again.

  She threw away three cards and didn’t look happy with the three new ones. He only had a pair of kings, but that was enough. She took off one shoe.

  “You have cute toes.”

  She rolled her eyes. “My feet are long and narrow. There’s nothing cute about them.”

  “I like them. Maybe I’ll lick your arches.”

  Her blue eyes went wide. “Are you a fetish person?”

  “Nope. I just like almost everything about you.”

  She shook her head. “You’re a sick man, but I like you.”

  He dealt next and got two nines and two tens. Two pairs, but lousy ones. She got three of a kind and smashed him.

  “Shirt off,” she said.

  This was where the fun might end. He was active enough to be in tolerable shape, but he’d never had a six-pack like Tyne and Chase, and once he’d hit thirty-five, he’d had a little tummy. He knew he looked self-conscious and she grinned at him.