She hurried away before they remembered that down here in the boonies, her cell phone was virtually useless.
Pleased with herself, she noted that it was her second fast escape of the morning. At this rate, she was going to wind up being the family expert at quick get aways. Of course, unless she turned to bank robbery, it probably was a wasted talent.
3
As he worked, Pete thought about how skittish Jo was around him. He couldn’t honestly blame her, but it was more distressing than he cared to admit. Once they’d been as close as any two people could be. They’d sat out in the backyard swing right here at Rose Cottage with the moon overhead and the Chesapeake Bay lapping at the shore and talked for hours on end. A fierce attraction had burned between them, but more than that, they’d been comfortable together, in tune with each other. They’d shared their hopes and dreams.
Jo had been the first person he’d told about his desire to build homes right here in Virginia’s Northern Neck region. His uncle—his mother’s brother—had taught him the construction trade, taught him all about being a craftsman who took pride in his materials and his work.
For as long as he could remember, Pete had wanted to follow in his Uncle Jeb’s footsteps. Maybe that was only because Jeb was the only male role model in his life, but he didn’t think so. If he’d had to explain it, he would have said it was because his uncle had shared with Pete his lifelong passion for crafting something strong and solid.
“I think it’s because you want to build homes that will endure,” Jo had said to him one night, picking up on an emotion Pete hadn’t been able to express. “To make up for not having had one yourself. I’ll bet you can see families living in the homes you build. I imagine you can hear the laughter and feel the love that you think you missed.”
She’d understood him so well. Even at eighteen, she’d been able to put things into words that at twenty he’d barely recognized in himself—the hurts, the heart aches, the longings.
“We’ll have a home like that,” he’d promised her one night. “It will withstand the salt air, the winds, the storms. We’ll fill it with kids and laughter. The only thing more solid will be our marriage.”
Her eyes had been luminous in the moonlight. “I want that, Pete. More than you can imagine. Let’s not wait too long.”
“Just till you finish college and I’m established,” he’d said, thinking they had all the time in the world.
She’d gone back to Boston a few days later to begin her freshman year at Boston University, and he’d buried himself in work. His uncle was a demanding task-master, but the long, hard days had been worth every backbreaking minute because he had a goal, making a life for himself that he would one day share with Jo. He’d been so sure that the first house he built entirely with his own hands would be for the two of them.
But then Kelsey, whom he’d known most of his life, had started hanging around. She’d never gone to college, either, but unlike Pete, she was in a dead-end job she hated at the local grocery store. Whenever she had the time, she was looking for uncomplicated, undemanding fun.
Pete saw no harm in going out with her for a few beers. They both knew the score. She even knew he was in love with Jo and claimed not to care. “I’ll just keep your bed warm for her,” she promised when they’d tumbled into it. He’d had too many beers to think with any thing other than his hormones. It was stupid. It was irresponsible and reckless. He regretted it even before he realized that he hadn’t used a condom. Then he’d known it was the worst mistake he’d ever made.
He hadn’t been surprised when Kelsey had told him she was pregnant. He’d been waiting with dread for just that news. It meant the end of his relationship with Jo, the end of his dreams.
But he’d accepted responsibility with no argument. He’d offered marriage and was determined to make the best of it. There had even been a few months at the be ginning when he’d thought it might work, mostly because he and Kelsey were so in love with the baby they’d created.
Then there had been the endless months when he’d been forced to accept that it wasn’t working at all, would never work.
Even now, two years later, thinking about the misery of that time, about his son’s tears when Kelsey had dragged Davey off to Richmond and away from his dad, tore Pete apart. Distracted by his dark thoughts, he carelessly smashed his thumb with a hammer, then cursed.
“You’ll ruin your reputation if people catch you doing stuff like that on the job,” Josh Madison commented, startling Pete so badly that he almost whacked his thumb again.
Grateful to have an excuse for a break, Pete stepped away from the remains of the porch. “What brings you by?”
“Ashley mentioned you were going to do some work over here. Thought I’d stop by and say hi, see how things are going.”
Pete’s gaze narrowed at the hint that Josh was somehow here to supervise. Did they not entirely trust him, after all? “That deck I built for you guys okay?” he asked Josh.
Josh chuckled. “Couldn’t be better. I’m not here to hassle you. I’m just killing time.”
“Good to know.” He gave Josh a curious look. “Things slow at your law practice?”
“Just right, actually. I have a lot of time for Ashley and for fishing. For the first time in my life, every thing’s in perfect balance.”
“Sounds like every man’s dream,” Pete said enviously. Since he suspected there was something more on Josh’s mind, he waited to see if Josh would get around to it without prodding.
“You getting along okay with Jo?” Josh asked eventually.
So that was it. Pete gave him a sharp look. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Just wondering,” Josh said innocently. “She’s a little uptight these days. Just thought I’d warn you.”
Pete nodded. “I’d noticed.”
“Cut her some slack, okay? Ashley and the others are worried about her.”
Pete was glad to hear that they shared his concern. He also realized this was his chance to dig a little deeper into the circumstances that had brought Jo to town. “Any idea what the problem is?”
“Broken engagement,” Josh said. “Turns out the guy was a real jerk. She caught him cheating on her.”
Pete’s stomach fell. No wonder Jo was looking at him with even deeper disdain and distrust than he’d anticipated. She’d been twice burned by betrayal. He’d been the first, and now he was right here rubbing her nose in it when she was trying to recover from this latest heartbreak. His presence was probably going a long way to ward reinforcing her impression that all men were worthless bastards.
“That’s tough,” he said, trying to keep any trace of emotion from his voice.
“I met the guy once,” Josh said. “She brought him to the wedding when Ashley and I got married. To tell you the truth, I think she’s better off, but that’s not something she wants to hear right now, I’m sure.”
Curiosity got the best of Pete. He wanted to know about the man Jo had chosen to marry, even if just thinking about her with someone else twisted his gut into knots. “You didn’t like the guy?”
Josh shook his head.
“Any particular reason?”
“Let’s just say he spent the wedding chatting up every other woman in the room. Since most of them were members of Jo’s family and married themselves, it seemed to me the handwriting was on the wall. He even put a couple of less-than-subtle moves on my wife. If I hadn’t walked up when I did, I think Ashley would have decked him.”
“Why the hell didn’t she warn her sister?”
“I think she tried, but Jo didn’t want to hear it. She was convinced Ashley had misread the man’s intentions. She was sure he was just being friendly, hoping to get the family to warm up to him. The D’Angelos are a tight-knit clan.”
Pete regarded him intently. “Any chance Jo was right, that it was innocent?”
Josh laughed. “You know my wife. Does she strike you as someone who’d misread that kind of situation? No, she g
ot it exactly right, and remember, I heard most of it, too.” He shrugged. “But you know how people are when they’re in love. They have to figure out their mistakes for themselves. And there’s not a more loyal, trusting woman around than Jo. She didn’t want to believe the worst.”
“I suppose,” Pete said, his guilt stirring all over again. Jo had trusted him once, and look what he’d done. She was probably convinced now that her judgment about men sucked. That meant it was going to be a whole lot harder for him to convince her otherwise.
Josh regarded him curiously. “You seem awfully interested.”
“You know me. I’m a sucker for a woman in distress.”
“I doubt she’d want your pity.”
Pete laughed. “No kidding. I do have a few functioning brain cells. There hasn’t been a woman born who wants a man coming around out of pity.” He studied Josh curiously. “Why’d you tell me all this? Just so I’d keep an eye out for her?”
Josh rolled his eyes. “Come on, Catlett, get serious. Everyone in town knows your reputation. Since your divorce, you date a lot, but you don’t get serious. Let’s just consider this conversation fair warning. Jo’s vulnerable. A lot of people will be upset if you hurt her.”
Little did he know, Pete thought wryly.
“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind,” Pete promised. “I’ll try not to jump her bones first chance I get.”
Josh scowled at him, clearly taking the comment at face value. “I’m trusting you to keep that promise.”
He was gone before Pete could reply. Of course, the truth was that he hadn’t needed Josh’s warning to know to take things slowly with Jo. She had warning signs posted around her that all but shouted her vulnerability.
And even if she hadn’t, she’d made it abundantly clear that she was strictly off-limits to Pete in particular.
Of course, he admitted to himself, that only made things interesting. There was nothing on earth that Pete liked better than a challenge. That it happened to be pro vided by a woman he’d once loved just made it that much more fascinating.
Jo managed to hide out till dusk, certain that once the light died Pete would be forced to quit for the day.
Now she stood in the front yard and gaped at what had once been the porch. It was a yawning, empty space that stretched out between where she was and the door. Four-by-four posts propped up the porch roof.
Thanks to the dimming light and shadows, getting in side suddenly seemed treacherous. The only alternative was to go around back, but she wasn’t even sure if her key worked in that lock, which raised something of a quandary. How the devil was she supposed to get inside without crawling over the threshold in some awkward spectacle?
She was still pondering her choices when the front door opened, startling her so badly, she dropped the bags she was carrying. Thankfully, nothing she’d bought on her shopping spree was breakable.
“There you are,” Pete called out from inside. “I was wondering when you’d be back. I didn’t want to leave till you turned up.”
Jo frowned. His presence was precisely why she’d stayed away so long. She’d hoped to outwait him. She should have guessed he’d stay put just to be perverse.
“Where’s your truck? Did you deliberately hide it?”
He grinned. “Took it home and walked back,” he admitted. “I figured you’d turn right around and leave if you saw it parked out here.”
“Damn straight,” she muttered.
His grin broadened. “Still stubborn as a mule, I see. Come on, Jo. What’s the big deal? I thought you might have some trouble getting inside, so I stuck around. End of story. I didn’t stay just to annoy you.”
He glanced at the bags now scattered at her feet. “Did you buy out the stores?”
“Only a few of them,” she said, regarding him warily. “Since you’re here, make yourself useful and open the back door.”
“Why haul all that stuff around back when you can come in this way?”
“How do you suggest I step up and into the house?”
“You always have me to help,” he suggested. “That’s why I’m here, after all.”
Jo couldn’t see his eyes at this distance and in this light, but she suspected there was a wicked glint in them. “You?” she asked skeptically.
He leapt down, then came toward her. When he was closer, she could spot the amusement glittering in his eyes. She backed up a step, bent over and grabbed haphazardly for the bags, holding them in front of her as if they would somehow ward him off.
He just kept coming. “Hope none of that stuff you’re carrying weighs too much,” he joked as he scooped her up, then shifted her till she was snuggled securely against his chest. “Nope. Light as a feather.”
“Pete, put me down this instant,” Jo grumbled, even though the faint scent of his aftershave and the masculine scent that was as familiar to her as salt air made her feel vaguely weak with a sudden, unwanted longing.
He stopped in his tracks and gazed into her eyes. “Now, the way I see it, you have two choices. You can let me give you a little boost inside or you can face the indignity of trying to scramble up there on your own while I stand here and watch.” He grinned. “I imagine it’ll be quite a show. You always did have the cutest little butt around.”
“You’re a pig!”
“You’re not the first to suggest that,” he noted calmly. “So, what’s it going to be?”
“Just get me into the damn house and then go away,” she said.
“You’d send me away even after I got dinner all ready for the two of us?”
“I would send you away if you’d spent your last dime on it,” she said firmly.
“Heartless,” he said mildly. “I’d never have guessed it.”
“Some traits develop over time,” she commented wryly as he stepped onto a precarious arrangement of cinder blocks she hadn’t even noticed, then stepped inside the house as easily as if there were actual steps.
“Why didn’t you just tell me you’d rigged up some temporary steps? I could have gotten in here on my own,” she noted, punching him in the chest.
“True,” he agreed, his grin unrepentant. “But this was more fun.”
“Not for me,” she said, scrambling out of his arms and snatching away her packages. “Go away.”
“Not till you eat.”
“I told you you weren’t invited to stay for dinner,” she said, even as she sniffed the air and noticed the appealing aroma of baking chicken.
“That’s fine, but I don’t intend to leave until I see you put a few forkfuls of food into your mouth.”
“Do I look as if I need coaxing to eat?”
“Yes,” he said readily. “You’re too skinny. It was the first thing I noticed when I saw you last night.”
“Now you’re just being insulting.”
“That’s me, known far and wide for my complete lack of charm. Dinner’s in five minutes, if you want to put this stuff away and wash up.”
Jo sighed and accepted the fact that she wasn’t getting rid of him. She didn’t pretend to understand why he was insinuating himself into her life like this. Maybe Ashley had hired him to do more than fix the porch and look good while he was at it. Maybe he was an undercover babysitter. Whatever was keeping him around, he seemed to be serious about it. She knew from bitter experience that he wouldn’t be shaken off till he was good and ready. That’s why it had hurt so much when he’d simply vanished without a word seven years ago. It had told her he was ready, if not eager, to be rid of her and move on to his new life.
“If you’re staying, you may as well eat,” she finally said grudgingly.
“Thank you,” he said solemnly.
To her surprise, the table was set. He’d even lit a couple of candles and plunked a bouquet of flowers in a water glass in the center of the table. It had all the trappings of romance to it, and a tiny little shiver of anticipation danced along her spine.
“What’s all this?” she asked suspiciously, as if it
weren’t plain as day.
“Ambience,” he said, looking vaguely uncomfortable. “I hear women are fond of it.”
“Maybe when they’re being courted, but the circumstances are a bit different with us.”
“Are they?” he asked in a tone clearly intended to have her blood humming.
She regarded him with frustration. “Pete, you can’t say stuff like that.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not appropriate.”
“Because we parted a long time ago?”
“No, idiot. Because you’re married and have at least one child. What is wrong with you? You can’t start hitting on me. I am not going to have a fling with a married man just for old time’s sake.”
Something dark and painful flashed in his eyes. “Thanks for the vote of confidence about my morals,” he said tightly. “Just to set the record straight, I have a son who lives in Richmond with his mother. I’m no longer married.”
Jo had picked up a glass of water, but her hand shook so badly she had to set it down again. His news was the last thing she’d expected. It changed everything. It made her nervous in ways she hadn’t been before. His marriage had been like a safety net, the only thing keeping her from forgetting about all the anguish he’d caused her.
“You’re divorced, not separated?” she asked, just to be sure she’d gotten it right.
“Two years now. I can bring the divorce papers by for you, if you don’t believe me,” he said, his expression bleak.
“What happened?” she asked instinctively.
He gave her a shuttered look. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“But—”
Now he was the one on the defensive. “Look, I fixed you a little dinner and stuck around to make sure you ate it. No big deal. It doesn’t give you the right to start poking around in my personal life.”
“You tried to poke around in mine,” she reminded him.
“And you told me to butt out. Now I see your point. Let’s stick to safe, neutral topics.”
Jo nodded, but somewhere deep inside, where Pete’s announcement had lit a ridiculous spark of hope, she re alized that things would never be entirely safe or neutral between her and this man.
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