by Leslie Kelly
“Haven’t you been in enough trouble lately, young lady?” he asked her as he picked the baby up and handed her over to Claudia.
“It’s so sweet of both of you to come check up on me,” Dorien insisted. “But I have to shoo you out. I’m going to be late if I don’t leave soon. The Garden Club is meeting before church this morning about our bulb orders for next spring.”
Claudia reached for the baby’s diaper bag, only to find Chase already lifting it.
“I’ll walk you home,” Chase said.
After Dorien drove away with a cheery beep and a wave, Claudia turned toward home. Sarah kept squirming to get down and play in the grass, making Claudia suddenly realize just how big and heavy the baby had become. Chase watched, an amused grin on his face, as Sarah twisted and wriggled in Claudia’s arms, then finally said, “Here. Let me.”
He took the baby from Claudia, swung her up and sat her on his shoulders. Sarah squealed, sunk her hands in his hair and held on for the ride.
Claudia laughed out loud at the sight of Chase bouncing up and down to make Sarah’s ride more enjoyable. She nearly warned him when a line of baby drool slid out of Sarah’s mouth onto the top of his head, but figured it was too late for him to do anything about it, anyway.
“Can you catch a cloud up there, Sarah?" Claudia asked as they walked across the lawn.
When they reached her house, Claudia reached out to help Sarah down. The baby wasn’t cooperative, keeping her wet fingers wrapped in Chase’s thick dark hair, and tightening her chubby legs around his neck.
“She’s stronger than she looks,” Chase said as he held the baby’s hands while Claudia tried to disengage her grip.
Finally, Sarah stopped fighting and fell into Claudia’s arms. Staggering, Claudia laughed out loud at the angry pout on the baby’s face, knowing she was put out that her ride had ended too soon.
“So, how’s the house holding up?”
“It’s wonderful. We love it here,” Claudia replied. “Don’t we, pumpkin?”
Sarah just drooled and stuck her fist into her mouth. Claudia noticed a few dark strands of hair wound in the baby’s sticky fingers, and carefully pulled them away, casting Chase an apologetic glance.
“It’s all right. I was due for a trim, anyway.”
“I imagine your barber works with a bit more precision,” Claudia said with a grimace.
Chase followed her into the house. He took a quick look around, nodded approvingly and said, “You know, the weather is supposed to turn this week, temperatures are going to be really dropping. I guess our Indian Summer is at an end. Maybe I should check your windows for you. I remember this place being awfully drafty in the winter."
Claudia didn’t stop to analyze the sudden rush of pleasure she felt that he’d found a reason to stay. She’d been thinking with every step toward the house that she wished they could spend some time together. The story his grandmother had told this morning made her want to know him even more. She found it difficult to imagine that a child as unhappy and obviously angry as he had been could have grown into such a deep, caring man. No matter how he might deny it, despite his bitter comment the night before, she knew in her heart that’s what he was.
“That would be wonderful,” she said with a warm smile.
Chase began checking all the windows in the house. He left once, saying he wanted to get some tools, then came back with caulking which he used to seal up a few cracks. He adjusted the bathroom faucet, which had started feeling a little loose, then suggested he lower the temperature on the hot water heater to make it less of a risk for the baby.
While he worked, Claudia played with Sarah, then put her down for a nap. Sarah’s afternoon nap usually lasted at least two hours, sometimes three, so after doing some laundry and cleaning, Claudia decided to do something to thank Chase for all his help. By the time he joined her in the kitchen, she was nearly finished making a couple of Mexican omelets.
“I hope you’re hungry. I love Sunday brunch, and I always cook too much. Sarah’s not really into some of my more exotic creations, and I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t like these chili peppers. Will you stay?”
Chase hesitated for a brief instant, then sniffed appreciatively and said, “Smells too good to pass up.”
He washed up in the kitchen, shaking his hands dry as if he didn’t want to use her flowery dish towel. Claudia bit the corner of her lip to keep from smiling at his obvious discomfort in the feminine little room, then set a place for him at the kitchen table. He had to wriggle his chair slightly, and finally moved Sarah’s high chair out of the way so he could fit comfortably. He waited for her to join him before eating his lunch.
“Go ahead, before it gets cold,” Claudia insisted as she grabbed two glasses and poured them each a tall iced tea.
“Delicious,” he said as she joined him at the table. “I didn’t know you could cook.”
“I imagine there’s a lot you don’t know about me."
“Other than the fact that you cuss like a dock worker when you’re in a lot of pain, I guess I don’t.”
Claudia coughed on a bit of omelet as she laughed at his dry comment.
“I suppose you do know me, after all,” she admitted after taking a sip of her tea to clear her throat. “We’re like war allies, aren’t we? We’ve been through a battle, and know each other a little too well.”
“Yeah,” he admitted. “I know you can handle pain, but I'm a little short on other details. For instance, I don’t know how old you are, what your middle name is, where you were born, what your favorite color is, what music you like, what movies you like, what books you read, and whether your hair’s naturally that mix of red and brown, or has a little help from a bottle.”
Shaking her fork at him, she acted affronted and said, “How can you doubt my hair color when Sarah’s looks like it’s going to turn out exactly the same?”
“Okay,” he nodded with a grin that told her he’d just made the comment to rile her.
“As for the rest, what does it matter? I’m old enough, my middle name’s too hideous to repeat, I was born about thirty miles from here, I don’t have a favorite color, and I like any music I can understand, any movie that makes me cry, and any book that keeps me awake all night finishing it.”
He chuckled, then stood and helped himself to more omelet from the frying pan, and popped another slice of bread in the toaster. When he returned, she stared at him expectantly, as if waiting for an answer.
“What?” he asked.
“Well, come on. Quid pro quo and all that.”
“Details?” he said with a grimace.
“Uh-huh.”
“You know about my less than perfect childhood.”
Determined not to talk about depressing subjects, she immediately said, “Yes, but what about your checkered adulthood? Broken many hearts? Ever done anything terribly outrageous like moon a busload of cheerleaders when you were in high school? What else don’t I know about Mr. Chase Paxton?”
He shrugged and said, “Maybe a few...hearts, that is, not moons. I hate opera, loathe ‘chick flicks’, do enjoy a well-written novel. I went to college at night, while I was getting the business going, and as a matter of fact just finished up my B.A. a couple of years ago, right in Milltown.”
Surprised, Claudia said, “You’re kidding. You were probably going to school the same time I was. I don’t remember seeing you, though.”
“I definitely don’t remember you. And I know I would have noticed you,” he said with a firm nod.
“Why?” she asked, giving him a sour look. “It’s not as if I was wandering around ‘cursing like a dock worker’.”
He stared into her face for a long moment, as if memorizing her features, then lowered his voice and said, “Let’s just say you attract attention wherever you go.”
“I do no such thing,” she replied, slightly offended.
“Yeah, and every man at the picnic yesterday was staring at you because he wanted to get a gl
impse of Sarah. Don’t try to tell me you aren’t aware of how attractive you are.”
Claudia felt a blush stain her cheeks, and cursed her pale complexion, knowing he’d see it, too. She must have sounded like she was fishing for compliments, waiting for him to tell her he liked how she looked, when in truth, it hadn’t occurred to her that men had been staring at her. Of course, back in college, she’d become accustomed to being flirted with, and asked out a lot, but she’d never paid attention to it. And since Joe’s death, and Sarah’s birth, she’d seen herself mainly as a widowed mother, not as a woman men would be interested in.
“I guess we all see ourselves differently than the world sees us,” she said softly.
Chase didn’t reply for a long moment, and she watched as he thought about her words. Finally, he smiled slowly. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Feeling daring, she pushed a little and said, "For instance, I'm sure you see yourself much differently than I see you."
Wary, he sat up straighter and said, "Oh?"
"Umh-humh," she nodded. "Mr. Tough Guy. That's what you see when you look in the mirror, right?"
He didn't say anything, but she saw his eyes narrow as he waited for her to continue.
"But I know better," she insisted, her voice full of assurance. "Mr. Tough Guy who spends an entire Sunday afternoon working to make a woman and child more comfortable and secure in their home."
Claudia wondered if she should have said anything at all when he scowled at her.
"Is that your way of saying thank you?" he asked as he stood and walked out of the kitchen. Claudia followed him to the door where he stopped to retrieve his toolbox. She had a sudden urge to shake his hand and pay him for his work, as if he were some repairman who’d done a good job and deserved a tip.
"Thank you," she murmured quietly, sincerely appreciating his efforts.
“It's an investment, all right?" he retorted. "This is my grandmother’s house. Just consider it a little landlord repair."
Landlord...boss...friend...savior...the man whose kisses still made her mouth tingle more than a week later. All of these.
Claudia watched him leave without another word, and almost regretted confronting him the way she had. The more she knew of Chase Paxton, however, the more she realized he was a man who needed to be confronted. Sooner or later he would have to face facts and admit he was not a fortress.
And she really wanted to be present when he discovered that he did need some love in his life.
CHAPTER TWELVE
As soon as Claudia walked into the office Monday morning, she was stopped in her tracks by Annie. The receptionist leapt out from behind her desk and rushed over, her high heels clicking noisily on the highly polished ceramic tile.
“Claudia, I’m so sorry. I was so upset Saturday night, I was in the bathroom bawling my eyes out when you and Chase left. I felt so guilty; Sarah could have been killed and it was my fault.”
Claudia took pity on the younger woman, knowing Sarah could just have easily have crawled away unnoticed if there had been twenty people in the room, and she patted Annie on the shoulder.
“It wasn’t your fault, and I don’t blame you. Like I told Dorien the other night, when she was crying that it was all her fault, Sarah’s even gotten away from me. Everything worked out just fine.”
“Thanks to Chase,” the other woman said with a stout nod. “I just never realized babies were so…mobile.”
Claudia laughed at Annie’s bemused expression, and replied, “Once they start crawling, look out. Heck, once they start rolling over even. When Sarah was about five months old, she rolled all the way across the floor of my apartment and nearly pulled down a pile of laundry from the coffee table on top of herself.”
“I guess I have a lot to learn," the younger woman replied. "Luckily, I’m not in any hurry.”
Claudia walked toward her office, then looked back over her shoulder and said, “I don’t know, the way you and your date were looking at each other at the picnic....”
Annie grinned saucily and said, “Nah. Girls just wanna have fun, remember? I’m only twenty-three, too young for marriage and babies and all that stuff.”
Seemingly unaware that she’s just handed Claudia a back-handed insult, Annie went back to work at her desk. Walking slowly toward her office, Claudia thought about herself at twenty-three. Married, widowed, finding out she was pregnant, all before twenty-fourth birthday. Yet looking back, she realized she’d always been much older than her years. Annie, with her giggles and her three inch brightly painted nails, and her wobbly high heeled shoes seemed younger than Claudia had ever felt.
Shrugging off the memories, Claudia sat at her desk and went right to work finishing up a few minor programs she’d been designing. Later in the day, she persuaded Sylvia to sit down at a terminal with her while she showed her some of the work she’d done, and was gratified when the older woman nodded approvingly. Sylvia didn’t go quite so far as to say she’d ever use the programs, but she did admit that Annie would be able to do her job a good bit easier. Claudia figured it was at least a start.
A few minutes after she returned to her office, the phone on her desk gave two short beeps, and Claudia answered it distractedly.
“Yes, Annie?”
“You have a call on line three, Claude.”
Claudia heard a note of mischievous laughter in the receptionist’s voice, and asked, “Did they say who’s calling?”
“It’s Andrew Worthington. And somehow, I don’t imagine he’s calling to talk about business.”
Claudia didn’t respond. Striking the line key on her phone to answer Andrew’s call, she wondered why he was contacting her. She’d just seen him Saturday for the first time in years, and while his attention had been flattering at the picnic, she’d chalked it up as old high school reunion stuff. She really hadn't expected to her from him again.
After a minute’s small talk, and her reassurance that Sarah was just fine after her adventure on the stairs, Andrew explained the reason for his call. “You remember my kid sister Jen, right? You tutored her during her first year of Algebra back in high school.”
“Of course,” Claudia said, remembering Andrew’s younger sister as a smiling, female version of her handsome, blonde brother. “She was a sophomore when we graduated, wasn’t she?”
“Right," he answered. "Well, Jen's getting married next Saturday night, and when I mentioned to her that you were back in town, she made me promise to bring you with me.”
“Me? Why?”
Andrew laughed lightly and said, “My mother claims if it weren’t for you, Jen would never have made it out of high school. She really wants to see you.”
“But, a wedding? Surely her guest list was settled ages ago.”
“No,” Andrew insisted. “This is the groom’s second time around, and he doesn’t want a big fancy thing. The reception is more like a family party at the club. I don’t have a date, there will probably be lots of people you know there. It'll be fun.”
Claudia thought about it for a second. She hadn’t been out for an evening with friends in months...heck, it had been almost two years. Before she could think about it too much, she impulsively agreed, and could tell by Andrew’s response that he was pleased.
After hanging up, Claudia placed a call to Melanie, to see if she’d be interested in babysitting Sarah Saturday evening.
“Are you kidding? We’d love to have her. Ryan says he’s jealous that she’s always gone by the time he gets home from work. Do you have something fantastic to wear for your date?”
“It’s not a date,” Claudia insisted. When Melanie didn’t respond, she quickly continued, “It’s just a fun evening with an old friend and his family.”
“Whatever you say,” Melanie replied. “Listen, why don’t you plan on just leaving Sarah here overnight, and you can come over early Sunday morning for breakfast. By the time the reception’s over it will be late, and you won’t want to drag her out.”
The exception popped his head into her office a few minutes later and said, “Sylvia tells me you’ve been busy. She even managed to use a few pleasant adjectives instead of her normal dour ones.”
Claudia laughed and pushed her chair back from her desk. Waving him in, she said, “She is quite a character. How did you end up with her, anyway?”
“I inherited her,” Chase explained as he strolled in and took a seat across from Claudia. “She was my grandfather’s bookkeeper when he owned a hardware store in Milltown, and when he retired, she needed something to do, and started helping me with my business. She’s been with me every step of the way.”
“That explains it,” Claudia said.
“Explains what? Why I put up with her?”
“No, why she’s so protective of you," she explained. "You should be thankful.”
“I am, I am,” Chase insisted. “I’m grateful that she’s scared off three receptionists, has my crew foremen taking off their work boots before they walk into my office and calls and personally harasses any client who’s more than two weeks late on a payment.”
“Hey, at least she’s on your side, right?”
Nodding, Chase leaned across the desk and turned Claudia’s computer terminal around so he could see what she was working on.
“Is this the payroll program you were telling Sylvia about?" he asked.
Claudia nodded and flicked a few buttons on her keyboard to get back to the first screen of the program. “Yeah. All the HR secretary upstairs will have to do is enter the data off the time cards, and this will calculate all the paychecks and print them out on the laser. It will also keep track of all the benefit dollars per employee, taxes, insurance, and overtime.”
