by Jody Kaye
“You shouldn’t be napping out here alone. I thought you were hurt at first.” His tone was soft. Concern etched in his brow.
She sat up, conscious of how sore her muscles were. The heat of the day had left and the sun was low on the horizon. She must’ve slept a long time.
“I was dozing.”
Ross responded by handing her a cool sip of water and left her on the step to go inspect. A low whistle emanated from the apartment.
“I only managed the living area and the bathroom,” she called. It required too much effort to get up. Ross reappeared in the threshold. “I’ll do the other two rooms tomorrow.” Not getting to it all made Rose feel as if she’d come up short, but she also wasn’t giving up.
“That was a considerable amount of work for one person to tackle,” he said, impressed. “And here I thought that you’d call a cleaning crew.”
Ross held out a hand to help Rose up. It was then that she noticed he’d washed and wore different clothes than he’d left for work in. He’d rolled up the sleeves of the thin cotton blue and red checked shirt, exposing his muscled forearms in a way that was as sexy as when Ross’s tees bunched around his biceps. He’d tucked that buttoned up shirt into his clean pair of blue jeans. A buckle at his middle was not so large that it took from Ross’s appearance but added to it. Nappy patches of suede where Ross attempted to dust off his work boots showed at the tan toes.
“You look nice.” The roles were, for once, reversed.
“I was going to ask you out tonight, but now I’m taking you to bed.”
Rose cocked her head. Surely Ross didn’t mean a date. The rest of that sentence she wanted to have more energy to decipher, push back at even, to see if Ross encouraged her to flirt.
Ross laced his fingers through hers. She let him lead her to the passenger side of her convertible and then he took the driver’s seat.
“I can drive myself,” she remarked, humbled by his thoughtful gesture. They were halfway to the mansion. “How are you going to get back?”
“My two feet. I’ll run through the field like you want those horses to do.”
A sudden kaleidoscope of butterflies rabbled in her lower gut. Rose let her lids droop, waiting for the slight nausea to pass. In the darkness her closed eyes provided, she saw Ross traipsing back to the apartments. Scenes of him standing near the still pond or plucking at tips of wheat like grass to place between his lips multiplied. He was everywhere all at once exploring places that Rose hadn’t shown anyone; from the quietness of the wood where she’d climbed trees to spy on Lily Anne when she was reading, to admiring the life born from the riverbank at the flowing creek.
Rose woke famished before lunchtime the next day. In the new terra cotta kitchen, she made herself two turkey sandwiches, wrapping one in foil and packing it in ice along with several sodas to bring with her to the apartment for later. Devouring the first, she picked up the condiments from the counter to put them away. Rose stopped. She took the fresh loaf of bread back out of the box and sliced two more soft pieces. Then she piled up enough turkey, lettuce and tomato to feed a king, squirting mustard onto the cloud-like white puff and spreading it out to swirl with a bit of mayonnaise. The third sandwich was for Ross. She hoped that he’d come back to the stable early. If not, she’d leave it for him along with one of the cans of pop for his supper.
Her tooth indented her lip as Rose tried not to smile too wide. She’d thought about Ross from the moment she’d jumped out of bed. Had he wanted to take her out last night and, if he did, was it only because Ross was grateful for a place to live?
Ross had taken the time to shower and shave someplace else last night before coming back to Kingsbrier. His aftershave smelled wonderful mixing with a clean soap scent. That wasn’t to say Ross stunk otherwise. Rose had grown to like the way his skin smelled with the lingering sweat and sawdust that remained most evenings. It was awfully feminine that over the past months Rose’s nose learned to decipher the disparate perfumes. Even more so that either smell reminded her libido that it had been far too long since she’d enjoyed a man’s company.
Rose drove the short stretch down the county road with their meals and extra cleaning supplies strapped in next to her. She passed the skeleton of the stable, turning right onto the gravel access, and letting the wheel slip between her fingers as she parked in the dusty farmyard.
She was anxious, wondering at what point they’d run into one another. Part of Rose wanted to see Ross right away. The other side wanted to have the rest of the rooms in the apartment cleaned out to surprise him. Rose wasn’t going to let Ross’s comments that he’d expected her to hire out the job sway her from doing it herself. She wanted to prove him wrong and, at the same time, make Ross proud to rely on her.
Her heart skipped a beat watching Ross remove his plaid shirt and wipe his brow with a long bunched sleeve before climbing into the cab of his truck. He drove towards her, stopping so the vehicle’s doors were side by side. She rolled down her window to speak with him, finding her tongue pasty.
It wasn’t a warm day, yet Ross’s skin shined with sweat. He leaned out the window, the broad muscles in his upper body only hidden by the ribbed undershirt Ross kept on.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty. See you got yourself enough rest,” he joked with a sheepish smile. It was almost as if someone caught him stealing from a cookie jar. Ross wiped perspiration that dripped from his brow.
“The princess references are trite.”
Rose’s mouth flattened to a firm line. What was it going to take to prove to him that she wasn’t like that at all? The only reason Rose slept so late today was sheer exhaustion. And every other day? Well, if someone gave her something useful to do with her time she had no reason to laze about. Rose sighed, focusing out of the front windshield. She noticed that the workers were still gathering their tools as their shift began.
“I’m sorry.”
“Hmm?” She returned her attention to him, puzzled.
“I’m apologizing. I forgot that you didn’t appreciate the connotation when I’d done it before. I figured that since you look all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed that you’d slept in late.”
She had, but the continued references that she was supposed live up to that kind of perfection wore on her.
“I’m not sure if I’m a bird or a bunny today.” Her retort was full of sarcasm, “but I’ll go clean the rest of your apartment now for Snow White to inspect. I hear she has impeccable standards.”
Rose got out of her convertible, knocking the edge of her door into the broad side of his truck and slamming it shut. She’d been stupid to believe that Ross’s invitation had a deeper meaning. Him asking her to dinner was purely platonic. Rose was a person he’d make obnoxious remarks to without caring if he’d hurt her feelings. She’d clean those stupid apartments herself and then rent out the smaller one to some yahoo that cooked with too much garlic so that the smell reeked into his space, or kept him up with snoring that seeped through the thin-paneled wallboards.
Ross caught her by the top of her arm through the truck’s open window.
“Get your hands off me!” she shrieked.
His grip was only tight enough to hold her in place and he didn’t loosen it as he unlatched the door to get out. When he finally let go it was because the linked limbs were a jumble of interconnected rings. Ross planted his feet toe-to-toe with Rose’s to stop her from moving.
“What’s got your knickers in a knot today?” he asked, seeming miffed. Something about this encounter was setting his teeth on edge. “I apologized. What else do you want me to say?”
Rose glared at the ground. They should be discussing his request for a rain check and making plans for tonight. This wasn’t the way she’d envisioned the encounter going. She’d even been dumb enough to imagine Ross wouldn’t pull away when she tried to kiss him. That he’d kiss her instead.
Ross had a feeling she was about to cry and considered she may be over-tired, had it out with Eric again, or mis
sed Lily Anne… Who knew? It might be her time of the month. Considering the way his own emotions had flipped flopped in the past twenty-four hours it may well be his.
Ross looked back at the construction crew. They’d start raising the stable walls within the hour.
He’d pounded nails last night until there was no more light to work by, then took a six-hour break to rejuvenate and got back up at daybreak to finish the last of the framing himself. His best shirt was now sweat stand and wrinkled and his newest pair of pants had seen better days. What else was he supposed to do after making sure she was safe at home? If the only way to spend an evening with Rose was by working on her stable that was what Ross was going to do. He’d even contemplated burning the thing to the ground and starting all over to have more time with her.
Ross decided yesterday that if her attention towards him was a phase then his was too. As long as they weren’t acting rash, there was no reason they couldn’t relish one another’s company for as long as it lasted. He had second thoughts on the way to Kingsbrier to pick Rose up, not wanting her to think that he was the type to move into her house and then expect her to warm his bed. He’d intended on taking her to dinner under the guise of friendship. Now he realized how insane it was to believe he’d be able to pass off a trial date as a simple night out to thank Rose for her hospitality.
One day soon, Rose was going to find herself with an honest-to-God boyfriend. Ross wasn’t going to stick around after that. He understood full well that Rose was not the woman for him. Yet, he wasn’t going to compromise what he felt for her by watching Rose ride off into the sunset with someone else. He hoped that whatever this was ended the same way it began. The spring began Cavanaugh Construction’s busy season and Rose would become scarce after growing tired of waiting on him as her preferred mode of entertainment.
They were better off keeping things uncomplicated and out of the bedroom.
Ross’s toes began to burn in his boots with the death stare Rose was giving them in the long silence. He was certain the ground under his feet was about to burst into flames.
“Did you sleep in that stupid pick-up again?” Rose barked, irate and haughty.
A fissure in his chest made it hard to breathe. She’d never been in love, so Rose wouldn’t understand the kindness that seeped into your soul. How much one person could want everything to be right and perfect for someone else. What a man was willing to give up to make a woman happy.
“I took my bedroll into the apartment,” he replied softly.
“You slept inside?”
“What’s going to make you happier to hear that I got a crick in my neck from scrunching up in my truck, or an aching back from that hard wood floor?” He inquired with mock-seriousness, tipping up Rose’s chin between his fingers. The pupils in her brown eyes flared. He took it as ire and continued to massage the situation. “You put in all that hard work yesterday. I appreciate it, Rose.” She’d put in the immense effort herself despite having unbounded resources to make it someone else’s responsibility. “Listen. I’m not running off on you, but if I don’t leave soon I’ll get an even bigger earful from my Grandy for keeping her waiting.” Ross’s stomach growled and he chuckled. “I’m having dinner up there before I come back tonight with some furniture.”
That word made Rose’s lips perk at the corner. Furnishings meant Ross planned to stay. She didn’t expect Ross to set down roots, but he’d be at Kingsbrier until the bulbs peeked up out of the ground.
“It’s a long time until supper. I made an extra sandwich. You can take it with you on the ride.” She pretended as if she was conceding her food.
Rose’s emotions ground back and forth. She’d jumped off the handle when Ross greeted her because she wanted him to think better of her. She didn’t like the way her skin came alive when they touched and Ross how always seemed unaffected by it. The tips of his fingers made her feel less and more in the same stroke. Less because she was ready to yield control to Ross in a way that she’d never considered with any other man. More because of the surging desire to become his. Ross didn’t expect anything of Rose other than to be who she was. It lit up her confidence on days that she’d questioned her role in the world. And gave her faith that Ross was exactly what a good man should be. Rose was the consolation prize that came along with the Kingsbrier bank account. She wasn’t exceptional, or honest. But for once she wanted Ross to cast aside the qualities she lacked and see her as a good woman.
Life was more often than not filled with disappointments and it was better to concede that early.
Ross took the foil package and cola. “No muffins?” He winked, amused that she’d packed a lunch void of anything sugary.
She shook her head with a hint of sadness that Ross was unable to place.
“If that sweet tooth gets the best of you, there’s an unopened box of chocolate cupcakes on the counter. Help yourself.”
There were few ways he was able to show Rose that she was special to him. It was a dumb twelve-pack of wrapped treats that a kid brings to school in their lunch box, but she loved sweet snacks. And it meant a lot that Rose had offered him her meal. Even if she hadn’t intended the sandwich to be his at all.
Her tentative smile grew a fraction, enough to satisfy Ross.
“Thank you for being considerate when I was awful to you. I know you don’t mean the fairy-tale references the way they come out. I’ll stop flying off the handle.”
“No, you’ll grab your broom and sick your flying monkeys on me.”
Rose shoved Ross’s chest.
He caught her hand, holding it against the fissure, hoping that someday he understood why he wasn’t the one for Rose Kingsbrier. “It’s one of the things I like about you, Rose.”
Ross tilted his face, kissing her forehead and sealing a vow to never let himself get any closer to the woman who would turn his life upside down.
“Taking out a loan is the best short-term solution. At least consider it.” Rose said, pulling a tray of piping hot muffins from the new small oven she’d purchased for Ross’s apartment. There was another nextdoor that he refused to plug in until everything was in working order. Ross was a stickler like that.
“Are you finished yet?” he asked as impatient for the baked goods to cool as he was to shut off the circuit breaker. The wiring on the other side of the wall was a headache to deal with. Mice got to the electrical over the years. Rose insisted he rip the wood paneling down, but Ross complained that process took too long. Instead, he’d run the new wire through the wall with fishing line as a guide. His electrical contractor inspected both apartments the same day the wires were laid in the stable. However, the wall outlet in the second apartment had become temperamental.
Rose placed the muffin tin on top of the four-burner range. She’d been preparing food non-stop lately. He’d come home to more home cooked meals in a week than he’d eaten all of last year. Ross didn’t cook. Up until that point, he’d been happy eating at restaurants, ordering out or eating the sandwiches she brought from Kingsbrier. They’d picnic on the apartment floor or sit out on a wooden bench that appeared out of the blue on the porch one afternoon.
Rose nodded and Ross went to flip the breaker off. He came back in, continuing the conversation by saying, “I didn’t ask you to understand my reasons. Just respect the fact that it’s my decision on how I run my company. Someday it’ll be time for a loan or to seek out backers. I want to prove that I can create a stable company by myself. Show that my business is a good investment. I do have the cash on hand. As long as the auction price for the land I want to buy doesn’t go over that I’ll be fine.”
That was a big if. The suggested starting price for the acreage Ross looked to build a new neighborhood of exclusive Cavanaugh homes on was within his range. He’d heard through the grapevine that he wasn’t the only interested builder by a long shot. The winner might pay double if they got themselves into a bidding war. Ross wanted that land so bad he could taste it. The return on investment h
ad the potential to skyrocket with the number of families interested in moving to the area. But he also wasn’t willing to lose his shirt. Everything was on an upswing since the financial pinch he’d been in before, but Ross knew better than to count his chickens before they hatched.
Rose grew up in a world of excess. She had everything she needed in abundance. She’d gone to college because it was within her father’s means. He’d joined the armed forces because his family’s expenses didn’t allow a similar lifestyle. Ross forged his own way in the world.
He hadn’t grown up poor, but his parents braved their fair share of lean years. Most recently, when Grandad passed and Grandy came to live with them for a short while. His parents lived paycheck to paycheck wondering how to unburden themselves from debt, hoping that when the time came there’d be enough for his grandmother’s eventual nursing home care. The fact that a family had bills to pay didn’t change. Like death and taxes, mortgage and car payments were a part of life. They didn’t go away. The majority of people weren’t ever going to possess enough funds to cover everything they needed, let alone what every family member wanted. That was the reality of life.
“Ross, you can write off interest on so much more than you do. I’m sorry to be the one to have to break it to you: not every person is as altruistic as you are. There are construction companies that want that land and they aren’t going to play by the rules to get it. You’ll be the one burned by doing the right thing.”
Clapping the quilted mitts on her hands like puppets, she flopped on the brass bed that sat across the room. It was the lone piece of furniture that Ross returned from his Grandy’s with last month. He’d left it in the living area and closed off the two bedrooms. They’d been using it as the next best thing to a couch. Although, it was rare that either sat on it at the same time. Rose kept hoping that one day he’d get a real sofa and move the bed where it belonged. So far, though, Ross seemed content with having a comfortable place to sleep.
