“Why don’t you get blackout curtains?”
“That’s what Dante suggested,” Maddie said, and grinned.
“I don’t want heavy blackout curtains. I like my sheers. They’re light and breezy. Romantic. Not that I ever have a man in my bedroom. Hell’s bells, I can’t even remember the last time I got naked and sweaty with a—”
“TMI!” Edie piped up. “You may be a thirty-year-old woman, but you’re still my baby girl. I don’t need to hear about you doing it with some man.”
“No worries. Seriously.” Brenna huffed and dropped into one of Maddie’s kitchen chairs. “It’s been so long I don’t remember how it’s done, anyway. No wonder I’m so cranky.”
Feet pounded on the porch and the screen door banged open. TJ ran in, followed by Pirate and a dog the size of a pony. The trio ran through the kitchen and disappeared into the dining room, returning a scant few seconds later, but on the return trip TJ clutched swirling black fabric to his chest.
“This is my cape! We’re playing Batman!” He hollered to no one in particular.
The screen door banged open, and TJ, Pirate, and the unknown canine trotted out.
Rebecca ran out and caught TJ on the porch. She assaulted him with a hug, missing the days when she could scoop him off his feet with little effort. When had he turned into this heavy little boy who squirmed to get away from hugs and kisses?
“Auntie Becca, c’mon.” TJ wrinkled his nose and gave her the stink eye. “Lemme go. I hafta put on my cape. Uncle Sean’s playing Batman with me.”
“Fine, you smelly little man.”
She pretended to back away and then grabbed him and covered his face with kisses. He giggled and shrieked even as he squirmed to escape her affections. The dogs, riled up from TJ’s excitement, barked and jumped to join the melee. Maddie appeared at the door and Pirate backed off at her command, but the other dog was either deaf or just ill mannered. She launched herself at Rebecca, and paws the size of softballs connected with Rebecca’s chest. Dog and woman hit the porch deck as one. Rebecca’s breath whooshed from her lungs and she lay crushed beneath the furry behemoth, gasping for breath and turning her head from side to side in an effort to avoid a literal tongue lashing. The dog’s enthusiastic affection appeared limitless.
“Sean! Do something about your girlfriend,” Maddie called, wheezing with laughter. “She’s making a spectacle of herself.”
Maddie’s words hit Rebecca with almost as much force as the dog. Her mind raced. She wasn’t Sean’s girlfriend anymore—had never really been his girlfriend, come to that. Why would Maddie say such a thing? How did she know that they—
Well, they weren’t anymore, but they had been. Dear god, did everyone know?
Humiliation burned and her face heated as if powered by a million suns. How had they found out? Did Sean say something? Did they guess? Nate had figured it out. What if—
“Belle, come here, girl!” Sean followed his command with two short whistles.
The monster tilted her head and perked her ears, swiped Rebecca’s face with her tongue one last time, and leapt over the porch stairs in a single bound, racing across the yard toward Sean in a furry blur. Rebecca sat up on her arms and watched as Sean braced himself for the inevitable hit. The dog slammed into his legs and he staggered back, laughing. “Good girl, Belle. Good girl for coming when I called,” and damned if that obnoxious beast didn’t drop to the ground in complete submission, her feet pawing the air, tail beating the dirt. It earned her a hearty belly rub from Sean.
Rebecca watched his hands. God help her, she was actually jealous of the dog. Annoyed and disgusted with herself, she pushed into a sitting position.
“Rebecca, you okay?” he called to her.
Rebecca waved and nodded, and turned away from Sean and his furry beast.
“You okay, honey?” Brenna appeared in the doorway behind Maddie, and Maddie reached down to give Rebecca a hand up.
“I’m fine.” She brushed dog hair off her sweater and threw another glance in Sean’s direction, waving again to let him know she was unhurt. “When did Sean get a dog? That is a dog and not a rhinoceros, right?”
Brenna frowned. “I thought you knew about Belle. When I told you Sean was bringing his new plus-size girlfriend you said you’d already met her.” Brenna raised a brow and her eyes lit up. “You didn’t know about the dog. You thought I meant a woman.”
Rebecca shifted with discomfort and picked more dog hair from her sweater. Crap. Now she’d have to tell them about Emma. Maddie and Brenna exchanged a glance.
“C’mon, honey. Dish.” Brenna slid her arm through Rebecca’s and her tone lowered to a persuasive tenor that would have made any one of Satan’s devilish angels proud. “You know you want to. Maddie and I won’t breathe a word.”
Rebecca continued picking dog hair from her sweater and took the time to consider her words. She refused to lie, but telling the whole truth was out of the question. “I saw Sean at Caravicci’s earlier this week with the Nordic goddess. You know, Emma.”
“The one with the gargantuan—” Maddie began, her hands palms up.
“That’s the one.” Rebecca nodded. “I just assumed she was, you know, his new girlfriend.”
Brenna’s smile crinkled the corners of her eyes. Her smile turned to muffled giggles, and she held her stomach, doubled over with uncontrollable laughter at some private joke.
Maddie and Rebecca exchanged a look. “What’s so funny?” Rebecca asked. Laughter tickled in her throat though she had no clue why.
“I can’t believe I forgot to tell you. Oh, my god.” Brenna wiped her eyes and struggled to contain her mirth. “Okay. So Emma comes bouncing into the Lump & Grind a few days ago, looking all gorgeous and perky, right? She gets up to the counter and asks if she can talk to me privately. Of course, I say sure, because she’s a regular customer, and I think maybe she wants to complain about something or make a suggestion about the menu. Anyway,” Brenna’s lips curved again and her laughter began anew. “She tells me a water pipe burst in her yard and she had to turn the water off to the whole house.”
“Why is that funny?” Maddie asked.
“Because she talked Sean into letting her crash at his place until it was fixed.”
“I still don’t get what’s funny. Sean’s a nice guy. So what?” Maddie asked through a bemused smile.
Miserable heat cascaded over Rebecca’s face. This could be bad. The next words out of Brenna’s mouth could hurt, really hurt, and she wouldn’t be able to admit it, not even to her two best friends, because they had no clue she and Sean had ever had an arrangement. She didn’t want to hear anything about Emma, even if Brenna considered it a laugh riot. Did she?
Crap. Of course she did. “So she moved in with Sean,” Rebecca prompted, unable to stop herself. “Then what?”
“This is the funny part.” Brenna cast a glance through the screen door where Edie and Sada sat in deep conversation about the best way to repot houseplants. She looked over at the men, then tugged Maddie and Rebecca closer, and whispered around her giggles. “She asked me if Sean is gay.”
After a moment of stunned silence, Maddie and Rebecca burst out laughing.
“Shh.” Brenna muffled her own laughter. “Listen. I asked why she would think that, and she says, ‘I’ve been throwing myself at him and he’s just not getting the message.’ Apparently—” Brenna used her fingers to make air quotes, “—she’s ‘accidentally’ walked into his bedroom after a shower, wandered the house in her underwear, and—you’re gonna love this—spilled a full sugar bowl in his lap and tried to brush it off him herself.” Brenna grinned. “Even that didn’t work. She said Sean avoided her like she had some dreaded disease, so she figured—hoped, actually—that he’s gay because that beats the alternative, which is that he just wasn’t interested.”
“She’s probably never had a man decline her advances before,” Maddie said. “I mean, really. She’s a beautiful girl, smart. And she’s got those g
argantuan—”
“Do you have to keep saying that?” Rebecca frowned.
“She is beautiful, and smart, and she does have gargantuan, you know,” Brenna agreed, gesturing with her hands. “Which is why I don’t understand Sean’s reluctance to engage.” She tapped her index finger against her lips, thinking. “There are only a few possibilities. Either he’s playing games with her just to up the ante, which doesn’t sound like Sean, or she’s off limits because she works for him—that could be it. Or he’s already involved with someone. And if he’s involved with someone, who is he seeing? Any ideas?”
Maddie shook her head and said, “Nope.” Also stumped, Rebecca shrugged. She wrestled with joy, for his lack of involvement with Emma, and misery because he was seeing someone else, only now she didn’t have any idea who her competition might be or what she looked like.
“Put it on the back burner, ladies,” Maddie said. “TJ’s friends will start arriving soon and I need help setting up in the barn. We can butt into Sean’s love life later.”
***
TJ’s birthday guests arrived, and the afternoon flew. Maddie directed the festivities with all the efficiency and confidence of the seasoned kindergarten teacher she was. After cake and ice cream—two different types because when Brenna discovered Dante offered to be in charge of the cake she insisted on baking one of her own—TJ opened his presents, and then the kids had a free-for-all, running and playing in and out of the barn, and making great use of the jungle gym, swings, slide, sandbox, and tree house Caleb had constructed in the field behind the house and barn. Pirate and Belle chased the kids and each other, barking and racing around the field in full-throttled canine glee.
Rebecca leaned against the back of the barn at the edge of the field and watched the kids swinging and climbing, sliding and jumping, their shouts and laughter echoing through the hills. The scents of fresh spring mingled with the fading odors of grilled burgers and hot dogs, and the mountain breezes blew cool air through the chaos.
“Auntie Becca, watch me!” TJ hollered. He pumped his legs, forcing the swing higher and higher, and then jumped off, flying through the air as if shot from a cannon. He landed and rolled in the grass and then stood up, arms in the air, and let out a whoop before racing back to the swing to do it again.
“He scares me when he does that.” Maddie stood beside Rebecca. “Caleb’s always telling me to lighten up and let him be a boy, but I worry he’s going to hurt himself.”
“He probably will.” Rebecca smiled. “And then he won’t do it again. He’ll move on to something else that scares you more.”
“Sweet Lord, don’t tell me that.” Maddie’s eyes shone with emotion, but her lips curved in a smile. “I don’t want him to be hurt ever.”
“You’re a great mom.”
Maddie’s smile became luminous. “I want to be, more than anything. I’ll try to be. Of course, I’m not his mother yet, not technically.”
“Soon. Only three months away.”
“It’s going to fly, I know, but right now it feels like it’s going at a snail’s pace. Speaking of the wedding, have you been to the gazebo today? You should take a walk back there. Edie’s outdone herself with the landscaping, and she’s not done yet. It’s going to be like a fairy kingdom when she’s through. The only thing missing right now is the fireflies, but they’ll be out in full force by June.”
“I’ll head back there now and have a look.”
Maddie rested her hand on Rebecca’s shoulder, and her soft brown eyes with their golden flecks radiated concern. “You feeling okay? You seemed fine until after we served cake, and then you kind of quieted down.”
“I ate too much.” Rebecca patted her stomach. “I had a slice of Dante’s Italian crème cake, so of course Brenna insisted I compare it to her chocolate Devil’s Delight. Too much sugar, and I’m feeling a little green, if you want to know the truth.”
Maddie laughed. “Understood. I told Brenna we didn’t need a second cake, but she can’t pass up a competition, especially with Dante. They both outdid themselves, though, didn’t they? Dante’s in the shape of a baseball, Brenna’s shaped like a football. Those two are crazy.” Maddie shook her head. “You go on and visit the gazebo. It’ll be quiet back there, you can sit and enjoy the nice weather without all the commotion.”
Rebecca took Maddie’s advice and wandered away from the chaos, down the dirt path that led to the gazebo Caleb had built for Maddie last fall. He’d had help, building in secret while Brenna and other friends kept Maddie busy on the weekends, and of course Rebecca and others from Walker & Son had volunteered their time and talents to get the job done in record time. Landscapers had laid flagstone walkways and benches designed to appear as natural outcroppings, and the overall effect embodied pure enchantment.
She gasped when the path opened up to the clearing in the woods where the gazebo sat. She hadn’t seen it since its completion in the fall. The creek that ran behind it rushed heavy from winter melting and spring rains, and she recognized wisteria and privet, and butterfly bushes. Edie’s fine instincts for landscape had already created a design that, somehow, appeared random and natural. A fairy kingdom, Maddie had called it, and Rebecca thought the description to be true.
She strolled along the curving flagstone pathways and sat by the creek for a time, lost in the gurgle of the water over rocks and fallen limbs. The water would be cold this early in the season, and she opted against dipping her hands in. She breathed deep and let the ambience of the place soothe her. She closed her eyes to enjoy it fully—the sounds, the rushing hush of the water, small animals moving in the trees, and the dappling of sunshine through new leaves and swaying branches overhead.
She thought of Sean, wondered when the deep ache would subside. She knew it would lessen with time, but today it bled raw. She hated herself for being needy. She’d avoided him to keep her misery at a minimum, had laughed with Nate, Cal, and Dante, but steered clear of Sean with as much nonchalance as she could manage. He must know her elusive tactics were deliberate, but she hoped no one else picked up on it.
The nausea from her overindulgence of cake rolled through her and she grimaced, hoping she didn’t have the beginnings of the stomach virus that had taken her construction crew by storm in the last week. Men being men, she had heard about the nasty symptoms in all their disgusting glory. The last thing she needed was to miss days of work when she was pushing her father to choose an office manager from the pool of candidates she had provided. At this point, every day counted if she intended to meet her goal of being self-employed by the first week of April.
The nausea passed and she stood. She’d best head back to the house before someone sent a search party after her. She took to the flagstone path with a purposeful gait, but the gazebo looked inviting, so she sidetracked to walk up the steps she had helped to build, and stood in the center of the structure, turning a full circle to admire the workmanship. Cal had done a beautiful job with the gingerbread corner pieces, and the scent of cedar filled her nostrils, overpowering all the other odors in Maddie’s fairy kingdom until a gust of wind blew through and jumbled the scents into a sensuous potpourri.
Belle and Pirate burst onto the tranquil scene like a pair of furry tornados, running and barking, announcing their presence to the environment until their noses twitched and their curiosity overtook their desire to play. Pirate’s immediate ambition turned to peeing on everything in sight, while Belle trotted through bushes and plants with all the delicacy of the rhinoceros Rebecca had earlier accused her of being.
She heard Sean before she saw him, calling to Belle and Pirate. The latter ignored him, but Belle’s adoration for her new master resulted in the demolishing of a fresh flower bed as the canine female stumbled over her own monstrous paws in an effort to obey. She found her footing and took off like a shot, topsoil erupting in her wake. She slammed into Sean as he reached the mouth of the clearing.
“Jesus, Belle.” He stumbled back and the dog planted her
paws on his chest, her tongue a blur against his jaw. “Okay, okay.” He chuckled and gave her ribs an affectionate thumping, then eased her down and commanded her to sit while lifting up on her collar and pushing down on her tail end at the same time. She sat for a nanosecond, then dropped and rolled onto her back pawing the air. Her eyes regarded Sean with powerful adulation. He sighed and shook his head.
“You’re a mess,” he told her. “Go play. Go on.”
The dog jumped up and darted off, tail wagging with joy. Sean glanced around, saw the ruined flower bed and muttered, “Oh, I’m going to be in so much trouble,” then continued perusing his mother’s landscape handiwork as he neared the gazebo. With no way out, Rebecca held her ground.
Sean’s gaze connected with Rebecca’s on his way up the steps. She noted a surprised widening of his eyes, but he mastered his expression and offered a quick smile.
“Good hiding place.”
“Your mom did a beautiful job, and I understand she’s nowhere near done yet.”
“She’s never done. It’s her passion.”
Rebecca nodded. “It shows.”
She made an effort to look away, but his eyes, the blue almost purple in the dimming light of deepening day, held her captive until she admitted she didn’t want to look at anything else. If this was all she could have of him…well, fool that she was, she’d take it.
“The only thing missing is Maddie’s fireflies.” Though she aimed for nonchalance, the words eked through her lips with a huskiness she couldn’t control.
His smile faded and he stepped closer, stopping a scant few inches away from her and, still, she held her ground. His eyes dropped to her mouth, then lower to the pulse in her throat that beat at a staccato pace, and back to her mouth before lifting again to her eyes. Heat flickered to life between them and her body throbbed. She breathed in his spicy scent, so faint as to be almost indiscernible, and noted the pale freckles which she adored over the bridge of his nose. She yearned to lay her hand against his jaw, feel the stubble against her palm.
Love to Believe: Fireflies ~ Book 2 Page 22
