by Maggie Ryan
The women glanced through the rooms, trying not to sneeze at the clouds of dust their feet kicked up. Ariel giggled at the look on Barbara's face, glad to know she wasn't the only one who seemed unable to picture the run-down house as a future hotel. "Okay, though I hate to admit it, it wasn't all teasing out there. Do watch where you step. I think most of the floors are okay in here, but the porch is really in bad shape," Elizabeth warned as she walked to a window and attempted to open it, giving up almost immediately. Wiping her hands on her shorts, she turned back to the women. "Let me show you what Haven can be." Helen was nodding and listening attentively as Elizabeth explained her plans. Ariel and Elizabeth continued to shake their heads, the camera in constant motion as before shots were taken.
"This room used to be what was called the back parlor," Elizabeth explained as they entered a room at the back of the house. "Nancy, this is where I was thinking your boutique could go. You've got all those fantastic windows and it will be sort of tucked away, making it fun to browse without being right out in the open. What do you think?" Nancy spun around, her face showing her approval.
"This will be fantastic," Nancy said. "I can't wait to start ordering all sorts of sexy lingerie and toys." Barbara felt her face heat but didn't say anything. She was a bit surprised when she heard her mother laugh.
"I'd suggest you wait a bit, Nancy. It will take a long time just to clean this up enough to even start making repairs, let alone fill your shelves," Helen said.
Nancy shrugged and giggled. "Well, that's true, but a girl can't go wrong imagining the fun she'll have shopping. Remember, I'm going to need some suggestions on what you all think I should include. The men might have their own ideas of what they think they want but women know what makes them feel sexy and gorgeous. I expect lists—detailed, mind you—of what you think a woman needs to make her feel like the only woman on earth to her man. This will be such fun!" Nancy said, giving the room one last look before Elizabeth led them down the hall.
As they entered the next room, which had once been a library, Barbara couldn't help thinking about Nancy's words. She realized she hadn't thought about sexy clothing in years, much less had any ideas of what to suggest to these women. She knew Elizabeth and Logan were building a hotel but was only now coming to realize what sort of clientele they were striving to please. She felt another wave of heat color her face and forced her mind away from those thoughts.
When they entered the kitchen, the giggling over the boutique instantly stopped.
"Oh, my," Helen said, looking around the room. Elizabeth realized it looked even sadder than it had the day before. She rarely cooked, preferring to eat take out, frozen meals, or go to Jason's for his grilled specialties. She turned to them, her hands lifting.
"Um, well, this is obviously the kitchen," she said, offering no instant suggestions on how to make it come alive. Ariel and Helen stood together, their heads shaking from side to side while Nancy tried not to look horrified. Barbara caught Elizabeth's attention when she stepped forward and walked around the room, trailing her hand over the buckled and cracked countertops.
"Is it okay if I call dibs?" she asked as her eyes traveled up the peeling wallpaper to see the ceiling high overhead. She smiled, seeing the intricate tinwork that was almost completely hidden by layers of flaking paint. Elizabeth followed her gaze and smiled. She had thought of doing a tin ceiling in the room and was more than pleased to see one already in existence.
"Consider it yours," Elizabeth said going to Barbara and slipping an arm around her waist. "I know it is horrible, but perhaps you can help me make it beautiful." Barbara felt her face flush but smiled.
"Craig and I will work in here," Barbara said. "It has great potential." Elizabeth nodded. They heard the loud sounds of the men tromping through the house, and she gave Barbara a last hug as they all left the sad room.
The group toured the rest of the downstairs and then headed to the second floor. In every room, there was a struggle as each window was forced open to allow air to circulate. Logan, not trusting the stairs, warned them to be careful about going to the third floor. They looked through the rooms, the air much hotter, the dust thicker. The women were ready to go back down when Elizabeth saw Barbara at the doors to the old ballroom. She suddenly remembered the room as it had been the night before and her face flushed.
"Um, wait," she called out, walking towards Barbara trying to act normal. "That's just another room. We can …" she stopped as the door fell open, almost causing Barbara to fall. Craig reached out and grabbed her arm, hauling her upright. "Oh God, are you okay?" Elizabeth asked, thinking she should have kept everyone away until the house had at least been thoroughly checked for hazards.
"Oh," the single word softly spoken as Barbara saw the wilted rose petals, the tall glass vases, and more importantly, the single piece of furniture on the small stage at the back of the room. She knew instantly that the items had not been left by owners of years past. She closed her eyes and could easily imagine the flickering candlelight from the tapers inside the vases. Instead of dust, she could smell the scent of the rose petals that had been crushed by the people who had last occupied the room. Craig released her arm, and as if in a daze, she found herself stepping onto the stage, her hand reaching to touch the red leather of the chaise. Rays of sunlight from a set of windows high on the back wall seemed to spotlight the raised dais. Elizabeth didn't know what to say. She didn't know if Barbara would be embarrassed, but also knew she would never apologize for the state of the room. It had meant the world to her and had set her free with Logan's guidance.
"This is beautiful," Barbara said, turning to see that the others had followed her into the room. Elizabeth relaxed, Logan's arms sliding around to hold her close. He smiled at his sister, thankful that she had not seen fit to make the obvious statement about what the room was for.
"Thank you, sis," Logan said, nodding at her. "It sure made my proposal a heck of a lot more romantic." Barbara smiled and nodded, her own thoughts making her flush. She saw Craig looking at her, and her face heated even more. Craig noticed her sudden unease—as if she realized how obvious her interest in the room was to everyone.
"Enough with the sappy stuff," he said. "Before the floor collapses, my partner and I are going to demolish the kitchen … you know, on the first floor?" Everyone laughed, and the group began to split up to work on various parts of the house. Logan held Elizabeth back, turning her in his arms. He bent to kiss her, his hand on the back of her head. She melted into his arms, his lips claiming hers and setting her body aflame. He moaned and pulled her even closer, his memories of the night before awakening his own desire. He was about to lift his fiancé off her feet to set her down on the chaise when he heard someone loudly clear his throat.
"Give it a rest," Garrett said with a smile. "If we have to work, so do you." Logan groaned but released Elizabeth.
She blushed but nodded. "Absolutely right," she said, and giggled when Logan gave Garrett a playful shove as they walked past.
"So much for being the boss," Logan said, and they all were laughing as they trooped down the stairs.
In the kitchen, Barbara was showing Craig a huge pantry she had found. It was as large as a room, floor-to-ceiling shelves lining three sides of the walls, a beautiful built-in set of glass-fronted cabinets and drawers taking up the back wall.
"This is a gorgeous Butler's pantry. This beveled glass is incredible. Can't you just see heavy crystal goblets and silver serving pieces shining inside? I can imagine beautiful linens in these drawers, tall candles waiting to be put into silver candleholders," Barbara said, and then waved towards the abundance of empty shelves. "God, can you imagine how much food you could store in here?" she said, in amazement. "You wouldn't have to shop for a year!"
Craig grinned at her enthusiasm and her vision. The look on her face told him she was easily visualizing all she had said. "I guess we can start in here and at least get some of this dust out," Barbara suggested. She followed him
out to his truck and helped him unload some of his cargo. The others joined them, everyone carrying buckets, rags, brooms, dustpans, boxes of trash bags and cleaning supplies into the house. Barbara pulled her hair into a high ponytail before returning to the kitchen.
Craig had set up two stepstools in the pantry and filled two buckets with soapy water. They climbed the stools and began by sweeping off as much dirt as possible from the highest shelves. Though the remainder of the kitchen would be gutted, this pantry was simply dirty and would need only cleaning and painting. The cabinet was made of solid mahogany, the wood shelving the same. It would cost a small fortune to replace. As they worked, Barbara relaxed, enjoying Craig's company and his occasional comments. They took turns dumping the buckets of dirty water into the sink and refilling them as they spent an hour washing down the top few shelves.
Barbara descended the stool to dump out the water again. She picked up the bucket and then screamed. The sound caused Craig to step backwards, forgetting he was on a ladder, his arms flailing as he attempted to keep his balance. He collided with Barbara and they both fell, the bucket flying out of her hand to soak them as they lay on the floor. She continued to shriek and kick out her feet, catching Craig several times squarely on the shin. As he tried to grab her, Barbara pushed to all fours and scrambled from the room, her screams echoing. Craig followed, and when he saw she was trying to climb onto the counter, he easily picked her up and set her there. She immediately pulled her knees to her chin and burst into tears.
"What the hell did you do to her?" Logan demanded as he and Garrett reached their sides.
"Are you okay, honey?" Garrett said, reaching out to touch her leg. Barbara shrieked again, slapping his hand away and jerking her feet closer to her body. Garrett wisely stepped back, raising both hands in the air.
"Bunny, what is it … are you hurt?" Benjamin said, pushing Craig aside and gathering his daughter in his arms. Barbara put her arms around her father and sobbed hysterically. Craig appeared stunned and the others just looked on in confusion.
"We were just washing the shelves. Barbara was going to get some clean water and just started screaming. She scared the shit out of me, and I stepped off the ladder and knocked her down. The bucket spilled but she just kept screaming. I … I don't know …"
His explanation was cut short by another shriek. Ariel nearly knocked him over as she, too, attempted to climb the counter. "A … a …" she yelled, pointing to the pantry. Everyone turned to see a gray field mouse run out.
All the women began to scream and scatter. Barbara, who had finally stopped screaming, began again, scrambling away from her father to sit as far away as possible. "Rat … rat!" she shrieked as Elizabeth, Nancy, and Helen jammed together in the doorway, trying to get out of the kitchen.
Craig shook his head as he saw the small animal attempting to escape the noise and chaos. He stepped to the back door and pulled it open before going into the pantry for his broom. He tossed another to Logan, and the two men encouraged the animal to leave via the open door.
Garrett was laughing so hard at their antics that he almost knocked Ben over. Ariel grabbed his arm and attempted to climb him like a monkey, screaming for him to take her away. Garrett deposited his cargo in the living room before returning to the battle. He grabbed a third broom, and after another five minutes, the men finally succeeded in sweeping the mouse outside.
Craig slammed the door and turned in victory, ready to collect the spoils of battle. He leaned his broom against the wall and walked towards the counter. Logan and Garrett were catching their breath, laughing and teasing Barbara, who was still huddled in a ball.
"It was only a tiny mouse," Logan said. "You scared it as much as it scared you."
Barbara's head came up, her eyes locking with her brother's. "It was a rat!" she said, her voice full of disgust. "A huge, filthy disease-ridden varmint. It ..."
"Varmint?" Logan said, losing all control and laughing so hard that he bent over. "Pardon me ma'am," he said in a fake drawl, his laughter spoiling his attempt to show concern. "Did you say varmint?" Craig had to move quickly when Barbara launched off the counter at her brother.
"You are such a shit," she yelled, as she began to beat on his chest. "It was a rat. It … it ran over my foot and then … then up my leg. Oh, God," she said, bursting into tears. Logan immediately felt like an ass. He attempted to pull her to him but she stepped away. Craig took her arm and pulled her to him. She turned and buried her head in his chest, her sobs filling the room. Garrett gave his friend the evil eye, shaking his head, though he had been laughing just as hard. Benjamin shook his own head but was smiling. His children might be grown, but they never ceased to amaze him.
The women gradually dared to reenter the room, four pairs of eyes peering in every corner as if expecting the attack to commence at any moment. Logan gave a huge sigh, shrugging his shoulders.
"I was just teasing," he said, but knew the women were not pleased that he had caused Barbara to cry. "Geeze," he said as he walked from the room. Elizabeth thought about following but understood the females of the species needed to stick together about something as important as rodent attacks. Craig was very happy with the turn of events, his arms wrapped around Barbara, offering her a safe harbor in his comforting embrace. She did begin to calm, the adrenaline slowly dissipating throughout her system. She found a handkerchief pressed into her hand and smiled up at Craig.
"Better?" he said softly as he took the cloth back to wipe her tears. She nodded, though her pulse didn't appear to want to slow. "You are adorable," Craig whispered, and dropped a kiss on her forehead. She didn't have time to consider his words before Logan's voice broke through to her.
"Barbara, I'm really sorry," he said, "I know you were really scared. I shouldn't have teased you." She nodded, not sure if she was quite ready to forgive him. Grinning as if he knew her thoughts, Logan held up a sledgehammer.
"Look, you can smash something and imagine it is that little mouse," he suggested. Her eyes narrowed as she reached out to take the hammer. Logan released it and wisely backed away.
"It was a RAT!" she said, lifting the heavy tool. Logan grinned and nodded.
"Yes, ma'am, I understand," he drawled again. "A huge nasty varmint." Barbara swung the hammer into a cabinet door a foot from his legs. The door flew off its hinges, flying through the air to crash against the wall. She lifted it again, smashing off the remaining door. Logan was laughing until his own shriek was ripped from him.
"Holy shit!" he yelled as he backpedaled into Garrett, practically knocking him down. "Get out of the way, shit … shit!" Logan continued to yell. Barbara started laughing as she dropped the hammer and bent down. As everyone's eyes moved between Logan, who was still attempting to claw his way over Garrett, and Barbara, who was now standing up, her hands cradling something, they heard her voice raised above Logan's.
"What's the matter, is the big tough man scared of this itsy bitsy spider?" Barbara said, walking towards her brother, a daddy-long-legs walking in her open hands. Garrett's legs gave out as Logan tackled him to get out the kitchen door. The entire room erupted in laughter as Craig once more opened the back door and Barbara released the harmless creature.
"I guess you two are even," Ben said, his arm around his giggling wife as he led her back upstairs where they had been dusting.
Elizabeth wiped the tears off her cheeks with the hem of her shirt as she tried to compose herself. "I guess I'd better go comfort my man," she said, giggling as she went to hunt for Logan. Garrett and Jason gathered up their own women and went back to work. Inside the now-deserted kitchen, Craig closed the back door and then pulled Barbara into his arms.
"I'm thinking of someone else who could do with a little comfort," Craig said. He didn't give her a chance to object as he lifted her chin and pressed his mouth to hers. She stiffened for an instant before she found herself returning the kiss.
When he released her, Barbara felt both relieved and disappointed. She also fel
t a deep sense of confusion. What she had felt in that one kiss had been more than she had ever felt from David, the man she had thought she'd spend the rest of her life loving. She didn't understand how that could be … how it could make any sense at all? She turned away, needing time to process what had just happened. The man who had just kissed her so expertly was the same man who expected her to ask him to give her a spanking. Flushing hotly, she hurried to reenter the pantry, returning with the now-empty bucket, looking as if she had no idea what to do next.
Craig quietly used the tip of his finger to draw something in the dust on the face of one cabinet door. "How about we smash a few more cabinet doors?" he suggested, holding out the sledgehammer. She hesitated but then nodded as she discovered she did want to smash something. Her smile grew larger when she saw that he had drawn a caricature of a man whose eyes were huge, seeing the cartoon spider hanging from a thread. Giggling, she lifted her hammer and sent the door crashing.
The next hour was spent with silence between them but the room rang with loud crashes as door after door found its way to the floor. Breathing heavily, Barbara stood back and swiped away from her face the hair that had escaped her ponytail to cling from her perspiring face.
Craig grinned, seeing that the look of panic had disappeared from her eyes. "Tired?" he asked, as he laid his own hammer on the counter. She nodded, her shoulders reminding her that she rarely participated in anything physical. Craig took her hammer and laid it beside his. "How about we clean up a bit, and then you can come with me?"
