by Marta Perry
She still looked ready to argue, but apparently she realized this wasn’t the time. She swung the door partly closed.
“I’ll let you get back to work.” There was a snap in her voice.
Right. She didn’t like his advice. Well, fine. The best thing he could do for Laura was to accomplish this task and find the arsonist. Let her make her own decisions about accepting help.
He spun on his heel. North stood several feet away, notebook in his hand. But he wasn’t looking at the notebook. He was looking toward Laura with a cool, almost inhuman assessment in his eyes.
A wave of emotion swept over Ryan, so strong it almost rocked him back on his heels. He wanted to step between that look and Laura. Wanted to protect her from anything and anyone that might threaten her.
Whoa, back off. He wasn’t interested in commitment, remember?
Besides, Laura had made it only too clear that she didn’t appreciate his interference in her life. Feeling anything stronger than friendship toward her could only lead to complications neither of them wanted.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Seth shot a glance at Ryan as they turned down Laura’s street that evening. “Laura didn’t exactly say she wanted our help, did she?”
“If we wait for Laura to say she needs help, we’ll both be old and gray.” He gripped the steering wheel tighter. Laura needed assistance, from them or someone else, whether she was willing to admit it or not.
“What if she tells us to take a hike?”
“Then I turn on the famous Flanagan charm.” He grinned at his sober older brother. “You’re just jealous because it skipped you.”
“I have Julie. I don’t need to charm other women, thanks very much.”
No, Seth didn’t. He had, somewhat to his surprise, found the love of his life where he least expected her, and he and his Julie were so happy in love that it almost made a man think he ought to try getting engaged, too. Almost.
Ryan pulled to the curb in front of the brick building. “I’ll talk her into it. You’ll see.”
Seth raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you will, at that. Has it occurred to you to wonder why you’re so intent on helping this woman?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do.”
“Yeah, right.” Seth slid out of the car and followed him to the door. “Not because you’re interested in her, by any chance?”
Ryan gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the comment as he rang the bell.
“Well?” Seth’s soft-voiced question made it clear he wouldn’t give up easily.
“Mind your own business, big brother.” He treated Seth to a glare. “I don’t need any advice.”
“Maybe not, but—”
The door swung open, and Seth shut up. But judging from the mulish set to his jaw, he wasn’t finished. That was the trouble with older brothers. They never stopped thinking they had the right to give you advice.
“Ryan.” Laura sounded more resigned than surprised. “What brings you here tonight?”
He hefted his toolbox. “We’re here to install the lights. You remember my brother Seth, don’t you?”
She nodded to Seth. “I also remember telling you I could handle the installation myself.”
“Why would you want to, when you’ve got two willing helpers standing on your doorstep?” He tried the smile that usually softened female hearts. “Aren’t you going to at least ask us in?”
Laura didn’t look noticeably softened, but she did step back.
“Wow, this looks great.” Seth looked around the freshly-painted room. The rich burgundy on the walls glowed softly against the pristine white woodwork. “You’re really making progress.”
“Thanks.” Her face relaxed in a smile. “Actually, the place is starting to look so good that I’ll hate to part with it.”
“Your buyer’s going to love what you’ve done,” Ryan said. “How about the plastering? Did you get the arrangements made with my buddy?”
“Your friend is coming to do it in a few days.” Unfortunately, that seemed to remind her that she owed him, or felt she owed him, for his help with the plasterer. Her smile vanished, to be replaced with a stubborn tightening of her jaw. “I have the lights under control.”
“Are you telling us to go away?”
She blinked at the blunt question. “No, but—”
“Besides, you don’t want to get into trouble with the fire inspector over the installation, do you?”
“You wouldn’t.”
He grinned, unrepentant. “Let us take care of the installation, and you’ll never have to find out.” He turned at the soft sound of footsteps on the stairs. “Hi, Mandy. I’m glad to see you.”
His awkward signing brought a slight smile to the little girl’s solemn face. She looked toward Seth.
“You remember my brother, don’t you?”
She nodded. Then, to his surprise, she came to give him a hug.
He knelt, feeling her small arms tight around his neck, and discovered a lump in his throat. He looked up at Laura.
“You don’t want Mandy to see us arguing, do you?”
The soft smile she had for her daughter seemed to include him. “I guess not.”
Mandy signed something to her mother, too quick for him to catch. Laura hesitated a moment before nodding.
“Mandy wants you to come up and say good night before you leave.” There might have been a faint flush on her cheeks at the words.
“Sure thing.” He gave the child an okay sign, and she grinned.
“Why don’t you both come up? I’ll make some coffee, and we have homemade cookies.”
He raised his eyebrows in exaggerated surprise. “You baked for us?”
“No. Your mother was here today.” She gave a reluctant smile as she turned to follow her daughter up the stairs. “I couldn’t turn her away, either. You’ll find the new lights on the counter in the back room.”
He waited until mother and daughter were out of sight before turning to Seth with a cocky grin. “See?”
Seth gave him a friendly push toward the door. “I see plenty. Let’s get to work before it’s too dark to figure out what we’re doing.”
Seth began unpacking the new lights, laying the pieces out neatly on the scarred countertop. That was Seth, always organized. He set his toolbox next to them and flipped it open.
“We’ll need a ladder,” Ryan said. “I want these fixtures high enough that no one can easily disable them. At least the motion lights are sensitive enough to let her know if anyone sets foot in that alley.”
Seth nodded. “You’re taking this plenty seriously, aren’t you?”
A chill snaked down his spine. “I don’t want to miscalculate. Not if we really have a firebug on the loose again.”
Seth’s face went grim. “I’m with you there. I remember what it was like. You think North is good enough to catch this guy?”
“He’s good.” He shot Seth a glance. “You might give your brother a little credit, though. I’m on the job, too, don’t forget.”
“Hah.” Seth’s scornful expression told him only too clearly what he thought of that. “Just don’t make any rookie mistakes.”
“I don’t plan to. Not where Laura and Mandy’s safety is concerned.”
Seth planted his hands against the countertop. “Try not to make any rookie mistakes where Laura and that little girl’s happiness is concerned, either.”
Obviously Seth thought he was duty-bound to interfere, just like he always did.
“We’re friends, okay? That’s all.”
Seth shrugged. “Just pointing out the problem. You can’t do your usual love ’em and leave ’em routine when there’s a child involved. That little girl could get hurt if she starts to depend on you.”
“Especially since everyone in Suffolk seems to know how undependable I am.” One thing about brothers—they knew how to hit you where it hurt.
“Look, bro, there’s nobody I’d rather have backing me up on the fireground. You
know that.” Seth clapped him on the shoulder. “But emotional commitment’s a whole other game. I’m just saying that this time, you’ve got to be careful.”
“You don’t need to worry.” He tried to keep the irritation out of his voice. Seth meant well, even if he was as clumsy as a bull in a china shop. “Laura’s not looking for a relationship any more than I am.”
Seth grinned, turning back to the lights. “Sometimes that’s the most dangerous thing of all.”
Chapter Five
Laura arranged a smile on her face and opened the apartment door to the Flanagan brothers. But only one Flanagan stood there, and it was Ryan. It was positively demoralizing how her stomach did a little flip at the sight of him. She might as well be fifteen again.
“Hi. All finished?”
He nodded. “You’re now the proud possessor of motion-detector lights that will go on if so much as a stray cat enters the area behind the house.”
“I’m not sure I’m worried about stray cats.” She stepped back for him to enter and closed the door. Appalling, the way the man’s height and breadth seemed to fill up her small living room.
“That is a disadvantage, I guess.” He gave her that easy smile. “Actually I was exaggerating. We set them high enough that they shouldn’t go on for anything that low to the ground. We didn’t want to have you jumping out of bed to check every five minutes.”
“Thank you. So much.” She realized her hands were clenching and pressed them flat against her jeans. “What happened to your brother?”
“Seth was in a hurry to get home and see his fiancée.” He shook his head. “Sad, the things that getting engaged do to a man.”
Was there an edge to his voice on that subject? She wasn’t sure.
“According to your mother, you’ve had quite a spate of marriages in your family in the past year.” Siobhan had been clearly delighted about that fact when they’d chatted over the cookies that afternoon.
“It’s pitiful. First Gabe, then my cousin Brendan, and next comes Seth.”
“But not you.”
“Hey, there has to be at least one Flanagan left to play the field.”
“And you’re the expert at that.” At least, according to his mother he was.
He shrugged. “So they say.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “You got married right out of college, I guess.”
“Yes.” She clipped the word off and then feared her short response had betrayed too much. “Jason and I met in college.” And she’d been swept right off her feet by his assurance and the flattering attention he’d paid her.
“I’m sorry for your loss.” Ryan’s words were conventional, but his deep-blue gaze was intent, as if probing for what she didn’t say.
“Thank you.”
He was a charmer, like you, Ryan. Unfortunately there wasn’t much character beneath the charm.
She cleared her throat. “Mandy’s in bed already, but I’m sure she’s still awake, waiting for you to say good night.”
He flexed his fingers. “I’ve been practicing my sign language for the occasion.”
“This way.”
She was very aware of him close behind her as she led the way into Mandy’s bedroom. The playful jungle animals in the mural she’d put on the far wall seemed to smile at them.
“Mandy, look who’s come to say good night.”
Mandy looked up from her book, her small face lighting with a smile. Her fingers formed the sign for R and brushed her chin.
Ryan glanced at her, eyebrows lifting. “Okay, I’m in trouble already. What does that mean?”
“It’s a name sign. Mandy made it up for you. The letter R, touching her chin. For the cleft in your chin.”
She hoped she wasn’t blushing. Well, he must know the appeal that had for women of all ages, apparently.
“Oh.” He looked disconcerted, and for a moment she actually thought he was the one who blushed. “That’s really nice, Mandy.” He went to sit next to her on the bed. “What are you reading? A book about puppies.”
Mandy held the book out to him. That didn’t need translation.
He took it. “You want me to read? I probably can’t sign all the words.”
“That’s okay,” Laura said. “I’ll do the signing along with you.”
Ryan nodded, putting the book on his lap so that he and Mandy could both see it. He began to read, his deep voice a counterpoint to the hesitant movement of his hands.
Actually, he did pretty well with the signing. Either he knew more than he’d shown them so far, or he’d been getting some coaching.
The idea touched her, but it disturbed her almost as much. Ryan wasn’t a part of their lives. She didn’t want Mandy to begin to depend on him.
Still, she could hardly deny her child the opportunity to have friends just because those friends might not always be there. She struggled with the idea while she automatically signed the words to the short picture book.
“The end.” Ryan closed the book and tucked it next to Mandy. “Good story.”
She nodded, settling back on her pillow.
“Night-night, sweetheart.” Laura bent over to kiss Mandy’s soft cheek.
“Night. Sweet dreams.” Ryan stood, his arm brushing Laura’s warmly.
Breathe, she ordered herself, and got busy tucking the covers in and switching off the light. The room was bathed in the soft yellow glow of the nightlight, and the zebras and elephants smiled protectively.
“Sleep tight.”
By the time they’d covered the few steps to the living room, Laura had managed to get her breathing under control. She turned to Ryan. “You’ve learned some more sign language, haven’t you?”
“Nolie taught me.” He shrugged it off. “It seems like a useful thing to know.”
“I suppose.” As long as that was all there was to it.
“By the way, she and Gabe have some new puppies at the farm. Since Mandy likes puppies so much, you ought to bring her out to see them.”
“We’ll see.” That was a useful phrase for avoiding something she wasn’t sure she wanted to do. “Please, sit down. I’ll get the coffee.”
The cups, sugar and cream were ready on a tray in the kitchen. All that remained was to set the coffeepot on its trivet. She had no excuse to delay going back to Ryan.
When she pushed back through the swinging door, she found he’d made himself comfortable on the couch.
He looked around the small room. “This is nice. I suppose you did it all yourself.”
“Of course.” She’d loved filling the apartment with the warm glow of chintz and patchwork, so different from the sterile modern furnishings her husband had preferred. She’d taken the red, white and blue color scheme in the living room from the patchwork quilt she’d thrown over the back of the couch to disguise the worn places.
“Thanks.” He took the mug she handed him and snagged two cookies from the plate. “Chocolate peanut butter chip oatmeal. I’d recognize my mother’s cookies anywhere.”
“It was nice of her to bring them over.” She hesitated. “She really seems to remember me from when she taught my church-school class. She mentioned a lot of things that happened when we were in high school.”
“Mom has an encyclopedic memory for detail.” He shuddered. “Especially for things you’d rather she forget. Did she bring up the time I got suspended for kidnapping Winston High’s mascot before the home-coming game?”
She smiled. “As a matter of fact, she did. Said she never could understand why you did such a thing. I didn’t enlighten her.”
His eyebrows lifted, and he turned toward her, stretching a long arm along the back of the sofa between them. “You think you know?”
“Sure. Your brothers had done it. You were just carrying on the family tradition.”
“Hey, my brothers just tried to do it,” he corrected. “I succeeded.”
Something in his voice alerted her to the truth, and she was surprised she hadn’t seen it before. “It was importa
nt that you do better than they did.”
He shrugged. “When you’ve got two big brothers—actually three counting my cousin Brendan—you’re always coming along at the tag end of everything. They never let you forget that you’re the runt of the litter. I wanted to rock the boat a little.”
“Show people who you are,” she suggested.
“Something like that.” His lips curved in a smile. “Dad always had to go through the whole list of names before he got to me when I was in trouble. Gabriel-Brendan-Seth-Ryan, he’d yell.”
“Is that why you want to go into arson investigation? To stand out from the rest of the Flanagan firefighters?”
He looked a little startled. “Maybe so, partly anyway. I guess I’m still looking for the thing that’s just mine, no one else’s.”
He was confiding in her, and it felt surprisingly natural. “Maybe you’ve found it.”
“I hope so.” His fingertips brushed her shoulder.
“What about you? What do you want beyond fixing up this place to sell and seeing Mandy through her surgery?”
Her mind went blank from the combination of the question and his nearness. She’d been so focused on her immediate aims that she hadn’t really thought beyond them, except to envision a vague, happy future. What did she want?
The telephone rang, saving her from an answer she didn’t know how to make.
“Excuse me.” She picked up the receiver. “Hello.” Her heart sank at the sound of her mother’s high-pitched voice. “Hello, Mom. How are you? How is Dad?”
As usual, it was impossible to find out how her father really was. Her mother seemed to consider his emphysema a tedious excuse for not doing what she wanted him to do. And if she asked her father, of course he’d say he was fine because he didn’t want to worry her.
Laura interrupted a long string of complaints about the retirement complex in which her parents lived in Arizona. “I have someone here right now, Mother. May I call you back later?”
