He never stopped touching her, through her orgasm and then through his own. Abby drifted off to sleep later, thinking that she’d definitely given herself the best Christmas present she could have ever imagined.
REECE HADN’T FELT SO good since, well, since he couldn’t remember. He’d slept some more after making love to Abby, and it had been a deep, dreamless, drugless sleep, which he hadn’t known in quite some time.
When he saw the mess he’d made of the nightstand, breaking one of his mother’s antique lamps, he wished he could remember the dream. The only impression he was ever left with was that of being horribly trapped, dying, until someone touched him. Abby. As if she had reached directly into his terror and made it stop.
He cleaned the mess while she was still sleeping, liking the way her foot dangled over the edge of his bed. A silly thing to trip his heart rate, but nearly enough to make him slide his hand up the arch and crawl back in with her. He’d lived in France too long not to have developed at least a little bit of a romantic streak, he guessed, as he smiled at her pretty pink toes.
Instead, he pulled himself away and pushed through a punishing workout, especially after the wonderful but rich dinner Abby had cooked the night before.
He’d been way off the nutritional regimen that he usually adhered to during the year, but things were always a little more slack around the holidays—more sweets, more wine—and so he had to make up for it with exercise.
Racing was more punishing on the body that most people imagined, requiring a lot of strength to turn a car that was pushing down three Gs. He had to work twice as hard now.
He was feeling strong today, though. Energized. There was no numbness, no pins and needles. A second round of push-ups was interrupted by the doorbell, and he went quickly to answer, hoping not to wake Abby. Much to his surprise, Charles stood at the door, frowning through the ring of the wreath Abby had hung over the panes of glass the day before.
“What the hell is all of this?” Charles asked, looking back at the trees set up on the large front lawn as he stepped inside.
“Good morning to you, too,” Reece said dryly, not offering to take Charles’s coat. “To what do I owe this impromptu visit so very early in the morning?”
Charles glared. “It’s not impromptu—we have an appointment with the Keller rep in a half hour, and I thought we had talked about staging? Why all the trees and lights? What’s going on?”
Reece had been remiss in telling Charles about Abby moving in, and so he proceeded to do that, watching the real estate agent’s face redden as he spoke. When he was done, Charles didn’t say anything, but went outside, peering over across the field past the trees on the lawn to the blackened buildings on the hill before he stomped back in.
“Okay, okay, let’s not panic. This could work for us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we’d talked about her selling, in a package deal with you, right? Maybe now that would be even more appealing—certainly more appealing than having that right in the line of view from the front door. And that barn—that alone would bring down the property value—”
Reece held up his hand. “Stop right there. The barn is fine, she keeps her horses there, and I can guarantee you there’s no way she’s selling. And I know she’d regret causing us any inconvenience by having her home almost burnt to the ground,” he said, not bothering to hide his sarcasm, “but I’m letting her work through the end of the holiday season here, period. It’s good for us, too, since I have inventory to clear out.”
“So why all the trees? You selling those, too, now?”
“It’s for a tasting event. They are having a tree-decorating contest and giving away a case of wine and a weekend at their inn, when it’s rebuilt, to the winner.”
“Cute. But we can’t have this all going on while we’re trying to show the place—she’ll have to be willing to clear out when we’re bringing prospective buyers through.”
Reece pushed a hand though his hair, and didn’t have time to argue as another car pulled up in front of the house, and a burly man in a black suit approached the house. He stopped and looked out over the land, and Reece could see him bulldozing just by how he surveyed the property.
Reece didn’t bother to grab a jacket and the three of them walked the property, the Keller rep obviously liking what he saw. Reece liked what he saw, too. It had been a while since he’d walked the land, taking in the view of crystal blue Cayuga Lake, breathing in the clean air.
Standing among the rolling hills of vines, snow bright on the branches of trees that marked the boundaries, he wondered how he’d never noticed how similar the place was to where he lived in France. Just as beautiful, just as pristine. Showing it to the Keller sales rep was like seeing it himself for the first time.
“We’d be willing to offer you top dollar, Winston. This is a great location, driving distance to the city, and having bought it from a famous local celebrity can only add to its draw. We’re thinking we could use the local vineyards as a jumping-off point, give the development a vineyard theme, all of the streets named after certain kind of grapes, maybe name the place Vineyard Hills, or something to that effect,” the man said, obviously getting way ahead of himself.
“Yeah, I always wondered about that,” Reece said. “Why developers come into a place, clear out all the pine trees and then name them all after what they cleared out…”
Charles glared, but the Keller rep laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. Reece had expected some slimy sales guy, but this man was local and down-to-earth in a way a lot of central New York people were. He didn’t take offense at all.
“Just the way of the business, I guess.”
Reece liked him, which made it harder to think of Keller as so bad. He was a businessman looking to do business, and so why did it all irritate him so much?
“The property down the line might be for sale as well,” Charles added as they stood on the front porch again, nodding down toward Abby’s place. “Maybe we could work out some kind of package deal?”
“Charles—” Reece interrupted, but he didn’t get far.
“I’d have to talk to the boss, but that could be a very appealing prospect,” Keller agreed. “I know you want to sell, and we’d be happy to talk about some kind of package, but we’re also looking at a prime piece of property over on Kueka, so we’ll decide which way we want to go, but we won’t wait indefinitely,” he said.
Reece nodded and bit his tongue as he noticed movement inside the window. Abby was up. He wasn’t going to get into this now. They shook hands with a promise to stay in contact, and the Keller guy left.
Charles looked disgusted. “He wants it, Reece, and if you know what’s smart, you’ll move your friend out of here as soon as possible and off-load this place, and hers, if you can get it. If not, you’re going to have it shackled to your ankle for some time, or take a huge loss,” he warned before walking down toward his own car.
Reece’s good morning vibe evaporated, and he stood on the porch watching Charles leave. There was no way he was asking Abby to leave before the holiday season was over, and he had to hope that wouldn’t get in the way of a deal. He knew he should be putting the sale first—Abby was a big girl—but he’d made a promise, and he intended to keep it.
Walking back into the house, the warmth and the scent of coffee and pine trees wrapped around him in welcome. The strong sense of being home was disconcerting, making him stop in the entryway and looked around the room. Maybe Charles was right about the staging. When the house was empty, his parents gone, no decorations, he could look at it as a building to be sold.
Now, with Abby’s coat over the back of the chair, her bag on the table, the tree in the corner, and some boxes of ornaments still stashed by the wall, the place looked…lived in.
Was he making a mistake?
He heard her talking in the other room, on the phone, and wondered how what had been so black and white just the day before was now not clear at
all.
7
ABBY AWAKENED FEELING like a cat, warm, loose-muscled and well-tuned, but the minute her feet had hit the floor, doubts had set in and chaos followed her every footstep right into the shower.
She’d slept with Reece. That seemed like a tremendous understatement. The luscious, carnal hours made her warm with arousal even now and blew her previous idea of what “good sex” could be right out of the water.
It had been great sex.
Still, in the very bright light of day that was glaring off the snow-covered ground, they would have to face each other and the realities between them.
The morning began with a second call for Reece from Danielle, which Abby overheard while making coffee. The woman sounded irritated as she left her message on the machine, and guilt assailed Abby for forgetting Danielle’s first one.
Jealousy also kicked in, and Abby knew she couldn’t afford that. It was just sex, and being jealous wasn’t part of the bargain. She’d make sure he knew about Danielle’s calls as soon as she saw him, which made her wonder where he was.
She looked out the front window when she heard voices and saw a black sedan parked out front, Keller Industries written in neat, white lettering on one door.
Her hands turned cold as she saw the three men round the corner of the tasting rooms and come up to the house. They stood on the porch, apparently enjoying their conversation, looking over at her property, once, at least, their expressions speculative.
Coffee turned to acid in her stomach as she watched Reece smile and shake hands with the guy from Keller.
Her cell phone rang, and she turned toward the table near the Christmas tree they had decorated together the night before, her mind still on Reece even as the speaker on the other end addressed her. The whole incredible evening was starting to feel like a lie, a huge mistake.
Then, what she was hearing made those concerns seem like mere annoyances, her mind snapping to attention. “What do you mean the insurance payments have been halted?” she asked, setting her cup down on the counter before she dropped it.
“The complete fire investigator’s report showed that while the fire was caused by an electrical short, it came closer to the wall by where one of your trees was plugged in, not at the source of your wiring problem in the ceiling.”
Abby blinked. “So?”
“There is some indication that the wires could have been tampered with when the tree was set up.”
Abby’s jaw dropped, and her mind blanked with disbelief.
“Are you saying you think the fire was intentionally set?”
“It’s not certain, but any doubt creates the need for a larger investigation before we can pay out. We have to make sure there’s no fraud concern, you understand.”
He said it so politely, accusing her of setting fire to her own home, as if it was just business.
“They’re bringing in another investigator to make a new report, but until then, any progress on rebuilding or payment has to be stopped. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience,” the insurance agent said.
“How long will this take?” Abby knew the fire was an accident, but any delay on scheduling new construction would further eat into her reopening the following year.
“The investigator will be there Monday, but the report could take a few weeks. With the holidays, everything is slowed down, but I’m sure they’ll get on it as soon as possible. Can you also supply them with the names of the company that brought in the trees?”
“You think they might have tampered with my wiring? I can assure you, they didn’t. No one did. This was just an accident. My family has done business with them for years. This is just some stupid misunderstanding.”
“Either way, they’ll be conducting interviews and getting all of the information they can.”
Abby was numb as she hung up the phone and heard the front door open.
Reece.
She had to compose herself, to hide her distress. She didn’t want to talk about this new mess with him right now.
But as soon as she moved, her phone rang again.
Looking down, she closed her eyes when she saw her father’s name on the caller ID.
Tears stung behind her eyelids seeing her dad’s name. She wished so much they were here, and at the same time, she was glad they weren’t. In spite of what she had to tell them, she was relieved to hear her father’s voice on the line when she picked up the call.
“Hi, Dad,” she said, her voice breaking immediately even though she promised herself she’d remain stalwart. She tried, only crying a little as she told them everything, including the new trouble.
As Reece and Hannah predicted, her parents were shocked, but their first concern was her safety, and they were clearly not as worried about the property, to an extent that left Abby somewhat surprised.
“I guess I thought you’d be more upset,” she said to her dad, somewhat confused. “You built this place. You devoted everything to it.”
“Oh, honey, we are, but more so that you have to deal with all of this alone. Should we come home?”
“No, no, please don’t. I’m not alone. I have Hannah, and Reece has been so generous,” she said, wanting them to know she wasn’t completely on her own, as much as she missed them. “And besides, there’s not much I can do until the insurance works itself out, I guess, and they do this new investigation.”
“Well, that’s just absurd,” her mother said, joining in the call on conference. “Dad will make a call to Harold this afternoon,” her mom assured. Harold was their long-time insurance agent who had retired, but probably still would have some good advice.
“I’m glad you’re taking it okay,” Abby said. “I was so worried about telling you.”
“Sweetheart, all we care about is that you are unhurt, and it’s so good to know Beau and Buttercup and the other pets are safe. When you see the kinds of things we’ve seen here in Haiti, helping people rebuild when they have so little, or just getting clean water running, it tends to help straighten out priorities,” her mom added, and Abby heard her father’s murmured assent in the background.
“You just say the word, and we’ll come back if you need us. You’re our first priority and always will be,” her mom said.
“I’m fine, Mom, really. I’m good here at Reece’s through the season, and hopefully after that, things will be more settled. I can stay with Hannah until the house is back to rights,” she added.
“I’m so impressed that Reece stepped up like that,” her mother said. “Not that he wasn’t always a nice young man, and I think he did have a bit of a crush on you,” she said, and Abby’s eyes widened as she heard the smile in her mom’s voice.
“Reece? Have a crush on me? Hardly,” she scoffed.
“He was a handsome boy,” her mom continued. “I take it he’s recovering from that awful accident? And his father is doing well?”
Abby filled her mom in on everything. Okay, not everything, although she had that sneaking feeling that her parents could sense something more than being neighborly was between her and Reece. She did nothing to encourage that idea—there was no point when she and Reece were clearly just having a holiday fling that would be over soon enough.
She stared at the blinking red light on the phone to her left. Danielle.
Nevermind, that. She was here, now, and some woman an ocean away was not her concern. She felt marginally better. At least telling her parents hadn’t been as terrible as she thought it might be, and her parents were right.
When she hung up, Abby felt more in control of things. As her parents pointed out, there were people in the world with much bigger problems than hers. She was alive, healthy and able to deal with whatever life put in front of her.
She wished she felt so confident about her emotions concerning Reece as she heard him in the front room. Taking another deep breath, she went out to meet him. No sense in avoiding it.
She stepped through the hall and stopped in her tracks the minute their
eyes met, her composure flying out the window as she remembered every single touch, kiss and more. She wanted to cross the room and throw herself up against him, to feel the warm solidity of his body and forget everything else.
His brow lowered, and he looked at her, concerned. Probably because she was just standing there like a moron.
“Abby, you okay?”
“I talked to my folks” was the first thing out of her mouth, and while she didn’t move, he did, crossing the room to pull her in. He was so warm, even though he was only wearing a heavy sweater coming in from outside.
“How did it go?” he asked.
She nodded, her cheek rubbing against the rough wool that covered his chest, his warmth seeping through, comforting her.
“They took it better than I imagined. I guess they’ve seen so much devastation, they have a different perspective on things,” she said.
This wasn’t going at all as she had planned. It was wrong to feel so good being able to talk to him while he stood there, holding her. His hands were rubbing over her back, and the comfort started to turn hot as sparks of desire leapt between them.
Should they talk about the night before? What was there to say? She pushed back gently, trying to rein her reactions in.
“Um, I don’t know if you noticed, but you have a message on the kitchen phone. And I forgot to tell you last night,” she said, feeling her cheeks heat annoyingly.
“A woman, Danielle, called yesterday, and I picked up the phone without thinking, and I promised her I would give you the message, which she said you would know who it was, and then I forgot to let you know, with everything that…happened,” she babbled, lowering her gaze to his mouth.
He had such a great mouth.
“Danielle called?” he said then, sounding pleased. Her heart sank.
“Yeah, um, I just thought you should know. I didn’t know if you checked the machine, it’s hard to notice that little blinking light on your parents’ phone unless you are standing in there right by the sink, and so I wanted to make sure you knew,” she said, babbling again in the face of her discomfort. “I’m sorry I forgot yesterday.”
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