Hearts Under Construction

by Hunt, Diann

  “Will you meet me in my office when you’re done in here, Ellie? We need to go over the schedule.”

  “Sure.”

  Ellie didn’t miss the look that flickered on Alex’s face. No question about it, Alex was after Cole, and she didn’t want Ellie to get in the way. Ellie couldn’t help but wonder, though, if Alex really liked Cole or if she wanted to make Jax jealous. Oh, well. Ellie didn’t have time to think about it. She had a headache to get over and then work to do.

  By the end of the day, her headache had finally subsided and Ellie could hardly wait to get home. She planned to eat a sandwich at home. Then she’d grab her light yellow sheet, since it was too hot to lie on a blanket, and her latest suspense novel before heading over to the park. The evening was perfect, and she wanted to spend it outside in the fresh air.

  By the time she had pulled on her beige shorts, a cream T-shirt and brown sandals, and had twisted her hair into a clip at the back of her head, it was almost seven o’clock. She didn’t mind, though. The park stayed pretty active with people this time of year until about nine or ten.

  She parked her car and spotted a nice grassy knoll. Walking over, she spread her sheet out and settled down with her book. Murmurs sounded around her as people walked on a nearby path. What a perfect spot. She could stay here forever. Feeling a wave of contentment, she opened her book and started reading the first paragraph of the sixth chapter.

  “Well, you just never know who you’ll run into.” Cole’s voice sounded behind her.

  Ellie turned around to see Cole silhouetted against the backdrop of a fiery setting sun. “Hi, Cole.”

  “Okay if I sit for a minute?”

  “Sure,” she said, pointing to a spot on the sheet. She put her book down, but somehow wasn’t disappointed by the interruption. As he settled into place, she couldn’t help but watch him. A navy T-shirt hugged his muscular chest, and khaki shorts stopped just above his knees. White crew socks and sturdy athletic shoes completed his runner’s outfit. His arms glistened in the sunlight but he didn’t look sweaty, just active.

  “Been running?”

  “Not too long. Just started a half mile back, really. I thought I’d stop and say hi, though.”

  “I’m glad you did,” she said, meaning it.

  Cole stared at her a moment. She felt a little awkward and glanced down. A slight breeze stirred between them. When she glanced back up, a ruffle of wind had lifted Cole’s hair a smidgen until it peaked like the crown of an agitated bird. Ellie stifled a laugh with her hand.

  “What?” he asked.

  She dared to look up again. That was her mistake. For the life of her, she couldn’t hold it in. Giggles poured from her until she finally gave way to a full-fledged guffaw. Tears streamed down her face and her stomach ached from laughing. Being a good sport, Cole laughed with her, though he did manage to smooth down his polly-want-a-cracker do.

  After they both calmed down from laughing, Ellie apologized. “I don’t know why that struck me so funny, but I think I needed a good laugh like that.” She looked at him sheepishly. “Sorry it was at your expense.”

  “Oh, you’ll get yours, Miss Williams,” he said with an ornery grin. “Besides, I like hearing you laugh. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh before.”

  “Isn’t that awful? I think I take life too seriously.”

  He kept watching her. “What would you think about, um, I mean, what would you say…”

  She watched him, waiting for him to spit the words out. He was obviously struggling.

  “Oh, now I’m acting like a tongue-tied kid.”

  She grinned.

  “Now, don’t you start laughing again,” he said, shaking a finger at her.

  “Wasn’t going to,” she said, with the Scout’s honor sign.

  “What would you say to going out once in a while?” He waited a second and then quickly added, “I mean, as friends, you know.”

  Her face grew warm. She felt light as a feather. “I’d like that,” she said, deciding whatever the future held for them didn’t matter. She would simply enjoy being friends with this man.

  “Great,” he said, flashing his trademark smile. Boy, she’d like to market those pearly whites. “Well, I’d better get back to running and let you get back to your book.”

  “Thanks for stopping by.”

  “My pleasure.” He looked as though he meant it.

  She watched as he ran away, literally. It was all she could do not to run after him….

  The week went well. Ellie’s estimation of Cole went up with every passing day. Perhaps they had crossed the hurdle of their differences and were on the other side of their friendship. She liked this side.

  The phone on her desk rang and Ellie jumped. “Hello?”

  “Ellie, could you come into my office?” Cole asked.

  “Sure. I’ll be right there.” She hung up the phone and grabbed a notepad and pen. Hurrying to his office, she knocked at his door and he motioned her to come in. Jax stood by the window, watching her. The look on his face told her this couldn’t be good. “So, what’s up,” she asked, trying to stay positive, as she settled into the chair across from his desk.

  “Well, the strangest thing. You know the carpet we talked about for the Gibsons’ home?”

  “Yeah. I’m sorry about that. I meant to get that ordered last week, but didn’t get to it. I can order it as soon as I leave here. I didn’t know the painters were finished.” She glanced at Jax whose face stayed expressionless. Goodness, what had she done?

  “You didn’t order it already?”

  She looked at him, puzzled. “No. I was swamped with paperwork, and didn’t get that far down on my to-do list. Why, is there a problem?” They still had plenty of time to get the carpet ordered as far as she knew. Why the third degree?

  “How strange.” He rubbed his jaw.

  “Cole, Jax, what is it?”

  “Well, first of all, the carpet was ordered and it was delivered by E-Z Carpets.”

  “What? We never do business with them.”

  “Exactly.” He stared at her, as if the answer to the puzzle was on her face. “And they said it was ordered by Ellie Williams.”

  Ellie was taken aback. “Well, that’s crazy. I never order from them. Why would they say that?”

  “That’s a very good question.”

  “Can’t we just send it back?”

  “Unfortunately, the carpet guys went out there and already installed carpet in two of the rooms. The good news is one of our crew was there, noticed it was from E-Z Carpets, and knew we didn’t do business with them. That’s when he called me.”

  “Oh, Cole, I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m just wondering how it happened.” He sat thinking, then finally shrugged. “Oh, well, there’s nothing we can do about it. It was a phone order, and we have no way of proving we didn’t order it. They even had our account number. We’ll save the extra carpet and see if we can use it for something else.”

  “Again, I’m sorry.”

  “You’re sure you didn’t accidentally call them?”

  “Quite sure. How could I accidentally call them?”

  “Well, you might have copied the wrong phone number down.”

  “I would know if I had called someone and ordered carpet. I didn’t call them.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Look, Cole, I said I didn’t call them.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  Feeling dismissed, Ellie stood and walked out of the room, but not before catching a doubtful glance between Cole and Jax.

  Discouraged, Ellie walked back to her desk and tried to sort through the mystery. Was there any possibility she could have called the carpet company and just forgotten? But if that were true, she would have called their regular company, she wouldn’t have called E-Z Carpets. Everyone in town knew they sold inferior carpet. Someone from another company could have ordered it, but why would they leave Ellie’s name? Even if there was another Ellie
Williams, that didn’t explain using Wiley’s Dream Homes’ credit card number. None of it made any sense.

  To make matters worse, Jax and Cole didn’t believe her. She could tell by their expressions. They probably thought she had messed up and didn’t want to admit to it. She wanted to prove her innocence but had no idea how to do it.

  Somehow, Ellie had managed to get through the day. Feeling an injustice had been done but finding no way to absolve herself of the accusations left her feeling heavyhearted. What hurt most of all was knowing that Jax and Cole doubted her integrity. After all this time, she would have thought they would know her better. Obviously, she was wrong.

  No one bothered to come and talk to her any more about the matter in the afternoon. Work continued as if nothing had happened. She could almost see Jax in a long, flowing judge’s robe, gavel in hand, and Cole sitting in the witness stand, pointing at her, his dark eyes flashing with judgment, charging “Guilty! She is guilty!”

  Condemned without a fair trial.

  Okay, so maybe she was overreacting. She just wanted to go home where life was safe and chocolate was in abundance.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cole shoved the paperwork from his desk into a file and decided to call it a day. He felt tired. Bone-tired. He couldn’t imagine what the mix-up had been with the carpet, but maybe he had come down a little too hard on Ellie. He found it hard to believe she could have messed up like that. Still, he had no clue what had really happened.

  He stood and stretched. Not much he could do about it now. Maybe he’d grab a sandwich and stop by Ellie’s on the way home, make sure she was all right.

  By the time Cole pulled into Ellie’s driveway, dusk had settled upon the quiet neighborhood. A light from the living room spilled onto her lawn. Good, she was home. Cole walked up to her door, pushed the button and waited for her to answer.

  “Hi, Cole,” Ellie said with surprise when she opened the door. Her hair was disheveled, dirt smudged her face and jeans, and she held garden gloves in her hands.

  “Um, may I come in or is this a bad time?”

  “Oh, no problem,” she said, stepping aside. “I just finished planting my tree. Have a seat.”

  He walked over to the sofa and sat down. “So you got your tree planted?”

  “Uh-huh.” A pleasant smile lit her face.

  He couldn’t help noticing how the smudges gave her the appearance of childlike innocence. She pushed a stray hair from her face, leaving another smudge behind on her forehead. He smiled.

  “Oh, I’m forgetting myself. Would you like some tea?”

  “That would be great,” he answered, getting up and following her into the kitchen. “Let me help.” Seeing Ellie wash her hands with the hand soap at the sink, Cole decided to follow suit. His hands felt sticky after having eaten French fries at dinner. “Okay if I wash my hands?”

  “Sure, help yourself,” she said, dropping ice cubes in glasses.

  Cole looked through the kitchen window as he washed his hands. “Hey, your tree looks nice.” Okay, so he exaggerated. The tree was only about two feet tall and was the scraggliest-looking thing he had ever seen. Reminded him of Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree.

  Ellie looked as proud as if she’d just given birth to a seven-pound baby boy. “Yep, that’s my maple. I told you I was going to plant one.”

  Cole looked back at her and smiled. “Roots.”

  “Roots,” she said, simply. Yet the word seemed to hold much more meaning than either was saying.

  “So, you’re committed to this tree now, you know. You won’t be able to just up and move. You’re stuck.”

  Ellie looked positively glowing. “I know. It’s wonderful to belong.” She handed him his iced tea and they walked back into the living room.

  “I don’t think I’ve stayed in one place long enough for flowers to bloom, let alone trees,” Cole said, taking a drink of his tea.

  Ellie laughed. “You should try it sometime. It’s not such a bad thing to have roots.”

  Uh-oh, he didn’t want to get into that. He cleared his throat and drank some more tea. “Look, I just wanted to apologize for what happened today. I didn’t want you to think you were being called on the carpet, um, so to speak.”

  She looked up and made a face.

  He groaned. “Okay, so that was bad,” he said with a chuckle. “Seriously, we’re just trying to get to the bottom of what happened.”

  “I understand,” she said in a way that made him wonder if she truly understood at all.

  “It’s a hard one to figure out, but, well, what’s done is done.”

  “Honestly, Cole, I have no clue what happened. I’d like to get to the bottom of it myself. I don’t like it that they used my name, and I don’t like it that someone has our credit card number.”

  “Well, they don’t anymore. I canceled it.”

  “Good idea,” she agreed.

  Silence stretched between them, while they enjoyed their tea. “Well, I shouldn’t keep you,” he said, though he didn’t rise. “I just wanted to make sure you knew we weren’t blaming you.” He finished the remainder of his tea.

  “You think I’m still pouting over you getting the partnership?” she asked with a tease in her voice.

  “A guy can’t be too careful.” He laughed it off, though he had to admit the fact she even brought the partnership thing up surprised him. The mere mention of it made him think it must still be on her mind. He had thought they were way past that.

  They talked awhile longer. Then Cole finally stood. “Well, Ellie, I thank you for your hospitality, but I’ve kept you long enough. I’ll just put this in the kitchen.” He headed for the kitchen before she could protest. She followed him and placed her glass in the sink right behind him.

  He turned suddenly, his face inches from hers. She looked up at him. Smudges and all, she looked…inviting. Before either of them could blink, his arms wrapped around her and his lips claimed hers. He pulled her tighter against him, each lost in the sweetness of the kiss, lost in one another, as if they had been waiting for this moment. His hands worked through her hair, his skin tingling at the silkiness of it. The heady scent of her perfume filled his senses. He lingered in her fragrance, the softness of her skin, the sound and feel of her breath upon his face. When at last Ellie pulled away, he was dazed. And angry.

  With himself.

  They stood in an awkward silence, still inches apart, both breathless. “I’m sorry, Ellie. I don’t know what came over me.”

  She looked up at him. Still desirable, still too close for him to think straight. He had to get out of there—and fast. He took two steps sideways. “I’ll—I’ll see you tomorrow,” he stammered, heading to the door as if to a getaway car.

  “Okay,” she said quietly.

  Practically jogging to keep up with him, she followed him to the door and watched him with those big, green eyes. Eyes that seemed to say—no, he couldn’t think about it. “Bye, Ellie,” he said, not daring to look back.

  “Bye.”

  He heard her door close behind him and only then took a breath, thankful he couldn’t see her anymore. Once inside his car, he started the engine and backed out of the driveway. When he pulled onto the road, he finally felt safe. The thought struck him that it was funny that he would feel unsafe around that little wisp of a thing. “Ellie Williams.” Just saying her name felt good on his tongue. It wasn’t only the kiss, though he couldn’t deny a definite physical attraction between them. Still, he knew things had been happening in his heart toward her. And he wasn’t sure he was ready for it.

  Commitment. Roots. The tree. Those thoughts continued to chill him to the bone. Yet, when he said Ellie’s name, a shiver of another kind ran through him.

  “Ellie, what are you doing here?” her mother wanted to know when she opened the door.

  “Well, you are, after all, my parents. Can’t I come by for a visit?” Ellie stepped into the house.

  “Of course, dear, but it’s ei
ght-thirty. You don’t usually stop in this late. Everything all right?”

  “Yeah, I was just bored and thought I’d see what you two were doing.”

  Her mother laughed. “Well, come on in and have some tea with me. Your father is at a worship committee meeting.”

  Ellie’s eye started twitching. Good grief. She didn’t think a person could develop tics later in life. Thanks a lot, Cole, she thought with a bit of malice. Then the memory of the kiss played across her mind. She absently touched her lips.

  “Are you all right, Ellie, you look a little flushed,” her mother asked with a worrisome edge to her voice.

  Ellie practically gulped out loud. “Oh, I’m fine, really. Just a little, um, warm. That tea sounds good.” She couldn’t change the subject fast enough.

  Once the drinks were prepared, Ellie and her mother settled into chairs in the living room.

  “You want to tell me about it?” her mother finally said, stirring her tea, but keeping her gaze fixed on Ellie.

  It took every bit of willpower she could muster not to squirm under her mother’s gaze. Conditioned response, Cheryl had called it—something she’d learned in psychology class. As a child, usually when she was hiding the truth, Ellie had seen that look on her mother’s face many times. It had always made her squirm. This time Ellie refused to budge, though her eye rebelled and twitched anyway.

  “Ellie?”

  “Huh? Oh, uh, well—” She struggled to find the words. Her mother patiently waited. “Do you have any chocolate?”

  “Eleanore Rene Williams. Chocolate is not life’s answer for every problem,” her mother half scolded, already rising for the chocolate.

  “No, but it sure helps,” Ellie teased.

  Walking back into the room with a bag of miniature chocolate bars, she tossed it to Ellie. “Now, spill your guts.”

  Ellie’s head jerked up to her mother who never talked like that. Her mother laughed. “Well, out with it.”

  “Okay, okay,” Ellie said, unwrapping the first chocolate bar. “It’s like this, um, I think I’m—well—” she swallowed hard “—I think I’m in love.”