by Holly Jacobs
Josh took the pen and wrote, “You’re welcome.”
He rose to leave the room when Meg tugged on his sleeve and pointed to the pad. “Do you play video games?”
Josh nodded.
Meg walked over to the edge of the bed, and pulled up a system. She pointed to the cartridge and raised her eyebrows. Josh didn’t need to know sign language to recognize the invitation.
“You’re on,” he said, and took a control.
That’s how Libby found them half an hour later, both merrily blowing up darting androids. She stood in the doorway and watched her daughter laughing and carrying on with Josh, as if they’d known each other for years, as if they weren’t separated by a communication barrier. Actually, watching them, Libby couldn’t see any barrier at all.
For all Meg’s initial storminess regarding Josh, she was all laughter and smiles now. And Josh seemed to be enjoying himself, as well. She’d caught his initial discomfort and had seen as it rapidly faded.
Watching them, Libby realized how much Meg must miss having a man in her life. This is what Mitch could have been to his daughter if he’d stayed around past her toddlerhood. He could have learned that though Meg had one small difference, she was just a little girl who laughed and cried, who played video games and had trouble with algebra.
Josh looked up and spotted her. “I guess the kitchen’s clean, huh?”
“Doing dishes after take-out pizza isn’t all that tough,” Libby spoke and signed at once without even thinking. “And since you two are busy blowing up the world—”
“Saving the world,” Josh corrected her with a grin.
“Saving the world,” Libby amended, “can I assume the algebra’s been conquered?”
“Totally defeated, ma’am,” Josh said with a salute that set Meg to giggling.
“Well, then Meg’s got to get ready for bed, and you and I should wrap up the party planning for tonight.”
“How do you say, thanks for the game and good night?” Josh asked.
Slowly Libby walked him through the appropriate signs. “You don’t actually sign every word we speak. American Sign Language, A.S.L., has its own syntax. So you’d say this.” She made the signs and Josh mimicked them. Meg grinned and slowly signed good night back at Josh.
He followed Libby back down the hall. “She’s a great kid,” he said softly.
“I think so.”
“Has she been deaf all her life?”
Libby was startled by the directness of his question. Most people when they first met Meg skirted around the issue of her hearing impairment. But then, most people were also uncomfortable trying to communicate with Meg, and that hadn’t seemed to bother Josh a bit.
“Meggie was premature, and for a while we weren’t sure she was going to make it. No one’s really sure if she was born deaf, though there’s no history of hearing problems in either family, or if all the fevers and meds they used to save her injured her hearing. She was eight months old before we discovered she couldn’t hear, and by then it didn’t matter how she lost her hearing. It just mattered what we were going to do about it.”
“And what did you do?”
“Raged against fate, against God for a while and mourned the loss of the child I thought I was getting. The perfect baby I’d imagined. Once I let go of that image and really looked at the baby I loved so much, I realized how lucky I was.”
Suddenly realizing how much she was saying to this man who was practically a stranger, Libby added, “Anyway, I signed up for sign language classes, started to find out what was available in Erie to help Meg, and then just got on with living and enjoying my daughter.”
“It must have been tough.”
“It’s been tougher on Meg than on me.” Before Josh could ask any more questions, Libby hurriedly said, “I’ll check into the St. Gert’s banquet hall tomorrow. If that pans out, we’re that much ahead of the game.”
“So, I guess we’re done, huh?” he asked.
“For tonight.”
Thankfully, Josh took his cue and grabbed his stack of papers and his coat. “Thanks for dinner.”
“Pizza is one of my specialties.” Libby smiled. “And, Dr. Gardner?”
“I thought we’d gone past that?” he gently scolded.
“Josh,” Libby corrected herself. “I just wanted to thank you.”
“I signed on for planning this party, just like you did. Mabel and the rest of the PSBA should be thanking both of us.” He grinned at her.
Rather than set her teeth, she found his smile infectious. “No, I mean thank you for Meg.”
Josh shrugged. “Like I said, I’ve always been good with numbers.”
“No, I mean for treating her like a normal little girl.”
“Isn’t that exactly what she is?”
Josh’s look of confusion seemed real—he truly saw Meg the way she did, as a normal little girl.
He’d been right earlier when he said he was normally a nice guy. Actually, he was a very nice guy, not that she was going to tell him that.
“Yes. Meg’s as normal a ten-year-old as they make. But most people take a while longer to discover that. So, thanks. She likes you.”
“Despite the fact she didn’t think she would?”
Libby nodded.
“And her mother? What does she think of me now?” He took a step toward her, crowding her.
Libby took a step backward, needing to distance herself from Josh. “I guess Meg’s mother would say she likes you, too.” She was surprised at how breathy her voice sounded to her ears.
“Despite the fact she didn’t think she would?” Josh repeated softly.
“Well, let’s just say, although your parking leaves a lot to be desired, you have other qualities that make up for it.”
Good night, Josh signed.
“Good night, Josh.” Libby fingerspelled his name.
He watched her finger movements with a quiet intensity. “You’ll have to teach me that next time.”
“Anytime,” she promised, even though she realized that after they were done planning the Christmas party there would be no time. That would almost be too bad. When he wasn’t being an arrogant pig, Joshua Gardner wasn’t a bad guy.
Libby watched his truck ease out of her drive and head down the road.
Meg tapped her shoulder. “Is he gone?”
“Yes.” Feeling foolish for staring after Josh like some lovelorn teenager, Libby shut the door and turned toward her daughter. “We still need to finish our talk.”
“I’m tired.”
Libby could sense stalling when she saw it, but she let it slide. Meg had seemed more comfortable with Josh, and maybe there would be no more problems with her planning the party.
“Did you brush your teeth?” Libby simply asked.
Meg nodded.
“With toothpaste?”
Meg shot off down the hall like a shot from a cannon. Libby couldn’t help but smile. Joshua was more right than he realized. Meg was just a regular ten-year-old girl.
Chapter Four
Josh made his way home slowly. The roads had slick sections and he’d rather be cautious than slide off the road.
Cautious.
That one word summed up Libby McGuiness to a T. Cautious and wary. Was it just him, or did she distrust people in general? Or maybe was it just men? In that small bit of personal history she’d spilled, she hadn’t mentioned Meg’s father. Did he have anything to do with her wariness?
Toward the end of the evening Libby had almost seemed comfortable with him. Laughing as they worked. It had been a long time since he’d felt an easy camaraderie with a woman. Maybe that was just another reason he and Lynn’s marriage hadn’t made it—they’d stopped laughing together when they worked.
As a matter of fact, though they’d shared an office, they’d really stopped working together. They’d each wanted different things. He’d wanted kids, a home and family. And Lynn? Well, she didn’t. They stopped talking about what they wante
d and had simply worked side by side. They’d put their careers, their patients and their practice, ahead of themselves as a couple. And now they weren’t a couple anymore.
They were two strangers who used to be together. Coldly indifferent to each other.
In just one evening he’d probably noticed more about Libby McGuiness than he had about Lynn in the last year. When had he stopped noticing? When had she?
Thinking about his failed marriage and Libby, Josh realized his interest in his co-chairman might have something more than business in it and that would have to stop. He wasn’t ready for anything more than business with a woman.
Oh, maybe a casual date now and then. But he knew deep down that there was nothing casual about Libby McGuiness. She was the type of woman to inspire more than just an occasional date. And since he couldn’t give her more than casual, he better let go of any thoughts of her laughter and her smile.
He’d better forget how once he chipped away at her tough exterior, he’d found a vulnerable, desirable woman. Thinking about how she’d talked about Meg, he also realized that though she tried to hide it, Libby had a lot of emotions just waiting for someone to set them free.
That someone could never be him. So Josh was going to be a gentleman and stop thinking about Libby. He wasn’t going to think about her at all.
They’d plan the party like they’d promised, but that was it. Josh couldn’t afford to spend any more time than necessary with the very uncasual Libby McGuiness—for both their sakes.
Libby had thought Josh would call, but he hadn’t.
That was just as well. Thanksgiving was just around the corner and after that it was the Christmas season. Holly, ivy and haircuts. That was going to occupy her time for the next month.
Adding to the general holiday craziness, she still had this party to plan. St. Gert’s was a go. She wondered if Josh had gotten a caterer. He hadn’t called to say one way or another.
But then, she hadn’t called him, either.
This was ridiculous, she thought with disgust. She was like a schoolgirl, wondering if she should risk calling a boy she had a crush on. Only, she wasn’t a schoolgirl, and she wasn’t calling a boy she had a crush on. She was a businesswoman and it was time she took care of part of that business.
Sneaking into the back room while Pearly and Josie were tied up with customers, she quickly dialed Josh’s office number.
“Gardner’s Ophthalmology,” came a female voice.
“Hi. This is Libby McGuiness, next door. Could you leave a message for Dr. Gardner for me?”
“Just a minute.” A country song crooned in her ear. Libby wondered if Josh had chosen the music, or if the receptionist had. She wouldn’t peg Josh as a country fan—opera maybe, but not country. If she hadn’t already given her name, Libby would have hung up. She absolutely did not want to talk to Josh, she just wanted to leave a message.
“Dr. Gardner.”
“Um, Josh, it’s Libby. I just wanted to leave a message and tell you that I got St. Gert’s hall.”
“Good. I was going to call you later and let you know that Colters is going to do the catering.”
“Well, good. We’re making headway.” And the sooner they finished the party plans, the sooner Joshua Gardner was out of her life, and hopefully out of her thoughts.
“There are still a few things we need to go over.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow night after work, at your place?”
The thoughts of Joshua in her home again, filling the nooks and crannies made Libby uncomfortable, but she knew she was being ridiculous. Meeting at her place was more convenient because she wouldn’t need a sitter for Meg. “Fine.”
“I’ll see you at seven. Gotta go.”
Libby held the phone and listened to the dial tone. She’d see Josh tomorrow. Why was it her heart suddenly felt lighter than it had in days?
But it wasn’t a light heart that beat in her chest the next day, it was the sinking realization that no matter what she said or did, Josie, Pearly and Mabel were going to keep throwing her at the new doctor, hoping he’d catch her, or at least patch her up if she fell. It was no coincidence that the matchmaking trio had decided to have a girls’ night out with Meg.
Well, this was a business meeting, she assured herself as she glanced in the mirror and smoothed a stray hair. The sooner the Tiresome Trio recognized that Libby absolutely didn’t see anything in Josh Gardner beyond a business neighbor, the better. Oh, she couldn’t help notice that he was attractive, if a woman liked that spit-and-polished doctorly sort of look.
It wasn’t that Libby minded suave and sophisticated, it was just that she wasn’t interested in men, no matter how sweet their smiles were—and Josh’s smile was certainly sweet, in a sexy all-male sort of way.
She had her business and Meg, a daughter who deserved her mother’s full attention. That was enough to keep anyone busy. She didn’t need, or want, a man cluttering up her life. She was used to doing things on her own and she liked it that way.
Determined not to treat the evening as anything more than two business people working together, Libby purposely dressed casually. Faded blue jeans and an old, well-worn sweatshirt. There was absolutely no way Josh could think she saw tonight as anything more than it was.
The fact that she was checking her newly cut hair in the mirror had nothing to do with Dr. Joshua Gardner, and had everything to do with the fact that unbraided hair needed extra attention. She wanted to look casual, not messy.
The fact that she jumped when the doorbell sounded had nothing to do with nerves. It was just that—she glanced at her watch—he was early. Five minutes early. He’d startled her.
“You’re early,” she said by way of a greeting as she opened the door.
“I left extra time because of the snow, but it wasn’t as bad as the weatherman made it sound.” He brushed the light coating of snow from his coat.
“Don’t worry. That could change in a heartbeat.” Libby glanced at the snow-covered walk, knowing she’d probably be shoveling it by morning.
“I grew up in Erie’s winters. I know how fast the weather can change, especially in the winter.”
Realizing they were standing in the open doorway talking about the weather, Libby stepped back. “Sorry, come in.”
Josh stamped his sneakered feet on the porch before entering the house. He kicked his shoes off and left them in the entry before he followed Libby to the kitchen. She couldn’t help but peek over her shoulder at his large shoes joining hers and Meg’s. She couldn’t remember the last time a man’s shoes sat next to hers.
The image was disconcerting.
“You really should get some boots,” she said over her shoulder. “Those sneakers won’t keep your feet dry if the snow really kicks up.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Libby could feel heat steal to her cheeks. “Sorry. The mom gene sometimes kicks in without my wanting it to.” She nodded at the table. “Have a seat.”
Josh slid into the same seat he’d occupied the last time, looking quite at home there. Like his sneakers sitting in her foyer, Josh reclining comfortably at her table was uncomfortable.
“Don’t worry about the mom gene,” he said with a smile. “It’s been a long time since anyone’s worried about me. It’s kind of nice.”
“I…” Libby wanted to assure him she wasn’t worried about him, but the words would sound too harsh, so instead she switched to a safer topic. “Listen, like I said earlier, I called St. Gert’s and we’ve got the hall for the weekend before Christmas.”
“Great.”
Rather than sit down opposite him, she grabbed her mug from the table. “Want some coffee before we dive in?”
“Sure.”
Libby refilled her cup and poured Josh a mug before they dove in feetfirst. Slowly, hardly aware that it was happening, Libby relaxed.
An hour and a half later, coffee mugs empty and party details all wrapped up, Josh stretched. “Wow. You’re
a slave driver.”
Libby shuffled her stack of papers into an orderly pile and put them back into the file. “But it’s pretty much all done.”
“Except the shopping,” Josh reminded her.
“Mabel gave me a list of kids’ names and ages.” She had the list somewhere in the file. She thumbed through the papers, looking for it.
“Why don’t we go Friday? The day after Thanksgiving is some of the best shopping of the year—that and Christmas Eve.”
Libby stopped short and glanced up, surprised at the offer. “Meg and I can handle that part.” Shopping together the Friday after Thanksgiving had become an annual event.
“If I asked please, could I come along?” There was a little boy begging for a treat quality in the request.
“Why would you want to give up part of your long weekend at a toy store?”
Spending more time with Joshua wasn’t the smartest move. He was…Well, Libby wasn’t sure what he was, but she was pretty sure she preferred being annoyed by her new neighborhood ophthalmologist than feeling comfortable with him.
“I’m new in town, remember? It will give me something to do.”
“Oh.” She couldn’t think of any valid reason why they couldn’t all go together. Not one.
“So what if I pick you both up at about ten-thirty Friday morning?” he pressed.
“I guess that would be okay.” Why did the idea of spending more time with Joshua bother her? They were working together on this project, so even though they were shopping, it was still business, nothing more.
“Don’t sound so enthused at the prospect.”
“Sorry.” Libby smiled as she stood, ready for this evening to be over.
Josh rose and moved toward her. “Is it me?”
Libby, needing to keep some distance between them, stepped back until she was stopped by the counter. “Is it you what?”
He took another step, once again closing the distance between them. “Is it me that makes you so nervous, or is it men in general?” he asked softly.
“I don’t know what you mean.” Was that her voice? The husky sound was foreign to her ears.
“I think you do,” he whispered, taking the last step that brought him directly in front of her, but not quite touching.
