Finding Love in Payton (7 page)

Her lips formed a small `O'.

He looked at the ground again. "Childish, huh? Here
you are, wanting to have a real conversation, to talk
about our feelings, and all I'm thinking is that your
hand feels so good in mine, that your shoulders look
so pretty and tan in that sundress, and that I'd bet money that your lips would feel like heaven." He
chuckled. "I'm sorry."

He was sorry? For making her feel desirable?
Speechless, Dinah fought for the correct words to tell
him that he had nothing to be sorry about. How she
would love to kiss him, too. How even though she had
an adorable baby at home there was a whole lot more
to her than being a mom.

He sighed, ran fingers through his hair and started
walking again. The charged moment relaxed, making
Dinah wonder if she'd only imagined the tension between the two of them. "I heard from my sister Denise
today. Would you like to hear a story about her?" he
asked, breaking the silence as they walked toward a
street light.

"Sure," she said, clasping her hands in front of her
in order to not feel so sad that he'd dropped her hand.

He smiled at her. "Well, we're pretty close, since
she's only three years older than me. And she's always
been something of a complainer."

"Is that right?"

"Oh, yeah. You name it, something is wrong with
it."

She had to smile at his explanation. "She sounds
tough to live with."

He chuckled. "She was ... though she'd tell you
she's merely a perfectionist, and that she works really
hard to do things just right. Anyway, a few years ago, back when Kevin had just started working and Cameron, Joanne, and Denise were in high school, Denise
brought home an injured squirrel."

Dinah's mind spun as she tried to keep track of all
the names. Once again she tried to recall all five Reece
siblings, in order. Kevin was the oldest, followed by
Cameron, then Joanne, then Denise, and finally Jeremy. "An injured squirrel?"

"Yep. Poor little thing must have fallen from its
nest, or been injured by an animal, or something. Anyway, it was the meanest little furry creature you can
imagine."

"What did your parents say?"

"My dad talked about rabies and diseases, my mom
tried to get Denise to keep it in the garage ... and the
rest of us gave her grief over the poor little thing.
None of us saw it as anything but an ugly nuisance."

"That doesn't sound very nice."

"It wasn't. But the thing hissed and growled. And
it was pretty ugly, too. And it kind of limped around."
Jeremy gazed out into the empty greens before them
before turning back to her. "But Denise couldn't stand
it. She was sure it needed help. She called up the vet
and asked if they'd look at it."

"And the vet said. . ."

"You bet." They walked some more, and Dinah
couldn't remember ever having such a nice time.
"Well, my mom refused to take the squirrel to the vet.
She kept saying it was just going to die."

"I can't imagine your mother being so mean."

"You're right. She's a very nice lady ... but she
also was on a budget. Five kids, one in college, another one about to go ... my mom had a pretty good
idea that this squirrel on its last legs-literally-was
going to cost us a week's worth of groceries. So Denise made Cameron take her."

Dinah had to laugh as she tried to imagine what her
own older brother would have done. "Cam?"

"He just got his license, and Denise knew he'd
stayed out thirty minutes past curfew the weekend before and wasn't afraid to blackmail him in order for
him to say yes."

Dinah laughed. "So off they went."

"Yep. Cam driving, complaining all the way, Denise
holding this very injured, terribly mean squirrel in a
cardboard box. Joanne and I went along for the ride."

"What happened?"

"The vet said the squirrel was in a lot of pain, probably had some kind of internal bleeding, and gave it
a shot to put it to sleep."

Dinah winced, imagining the whole crew of siblings
supporting Jeremy's sister. "Oh. Poor Denise."

Jeremy nodded. "She started crying, right there in
the vet's office. Talked about how it never really got
a chance to have a good squirrel life." He waved a
hand. "It was something out of a really bad soap
opera."

Dinah chuckled. "What did the vet do?"

"He hugged her. Told her something about how she
had done the right thing by taking care of it so it
wouldn't suffer." He gazed out at a thicket of trees.
"Cam took her out to ice cream, and the rest of us got
a cone, too." He smiled softly. "It sounds horrible, but
that was a great afternoon. It was the first time we
were all part of an adventure without our parents. We
went home that night, never saying a thing."

"Well, all of you were there except Kevin."

Jeremy shook his head. "Kevin never did any of that
stuff. He was always too mature."

Dinah breathed deeply, enjoyed the aroma of cut
grass, the sounds of crickets and bull frogs. She imagined Jeremy being so excited to be on a grand adventure with his older siblings. "So, did Denise ever tell
your mom that Cameron took her to the vet?"

"Oh, yeah. We told Mom and Dad the whole gory
story a few years later one night at dinner."

"What did your parents say?"

"My mom looked at Denise and squeezed her hand
and said that that was what made her special. Some
people were able to handle difficult situations while
others liked to push them away. She said she admired
Denise for doing something about the squirrel, even if
the outcome wasn't what she had hoped for."

"What did the rest of you say to that?"

"Nothing. Cam had sworn us to secrecy and bribed
us with ice cream," he said, with a fond smile. "Even
two years later we knew better than to say much."

He laughed again at the memory. "I guess I told
you that because you remind me of Denise in a lot of
ways, Dinah."

She couldn't have been more surprised. "How?"

"You've taken on difficult situations, cried a little
bit, and have done your best. You've started a business
so you could spend time with Bryan, you've let people
help you when you've needed it, and you don't complain." His voice lowered, the new pitch putting her
nerves on end. "I think you're pretty incredible. Your
accomplishments awe me, just like Denise's stubborn
need to do something about a little animal that no one
cared about awed me, too."

She didn't know what to say to that, though she was
touched. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

They came to the end of the path. The outline of
the clubhouse stood bold in the distance, illuminated
by a ring of ornate iron street lights. But darkness
hung around them, blanketing them like a heavy cloak.
"Would you like to go back inside for a cup of coffee
or a drink?"

She would, but there were too many conflicting
emotions brewing through her at the moment. Too
many feelings burning inside her that she wasn't sure
she was ready to discern and handle. "I'd better get
on home," she said, though her feet didn't want to
move. She was having such a good time, and was so attracted to Jeremy. It was really too bad she was feeling so confused about everything.

He squeezed her hand. "All right."

She tried to think of something else to talk about,
anything that didn't involve her. "How's work?"

"It's fine. Good money."

"So, you're looking for a house?"

"Yep. I want an old one, like Cameron and Joanne
live in. Some place with some history to it." He
glanced at her. "Is yours like that?"

"Goodness, no. It's in a new subdivision, and has
the same floor plan as at least a dozen other houses in
the neighborhood." Then, because Neil had picked it
out and she felt guilty for putting it down, she said,
"I like it."

"Missy and Kevin have a new house, too. Missy
teases us sometimes, says that old plumbing and electrical work is overrated. I'm drawn to the older places,
though. And some of them are in my budget."

Their pace increased, and within minutes they stood
by Jeremy's car. "Ready?" he asked, already opening
the passenger-side door.

"Ready."

He helped her in, then walked to the driver's side.
Dinah had a curious sense of dejd vu. It had been so
long since a man had done that for her that she felt as
if she was back in high school.

Jeremy pulled out of the parking lot, then switched
gears as he drove down the almost empty street with the kind of satisfaction that only a man can get out of
a well-built sports car. "I like your car."

"Thanks. It's old, too," he said with a chuckle.
"This represents hours of waiting tables in Columbus."

"You do that, huh? Work hard to get exactly what
you want?"

"I do," he said, after getting directions to her house.
"I'm patient and hard working, and I don't mind waiting until I get exactly what I want."

An offer hung in the air, and Dinah could tell that
Jeremy was certain she was worth waiting for.

Was she? She didn't know anymore. All she did
know was that she couldn't risk kissing him until she
knew how her feelings stood. After all, she couldn't
just think of her future, it was Bryan's future as well.

When he pulled into her driveway, behind her parents' car, he turned to her. "I'm glad you stayed late
and went for a walk with me."

"I am, too."

"I'm going to go look at houses on Sunday, but then
I thought I'd go have some lunch on the bike trail.
Would you and Bryan like to come?"

"I don't know."

"Oh."

She heard the disappointment in his voice and tried
to explain. "I guess I'm not sure what my feelings are
for you," she said before even weighing how her
words might sound. "How I feel about dating you."

His body stiffened, as if her candor was disconcerting. "Is it my age?"

"Partly," she said honestly and with more than a bit
of sadness. "But ... it's also Bryan, memories of Neil,
and the fact that I haven't done this before." She tried
to think of words that could convey her doubts about
herself, about her life, about her past, but none was
available. It seemed as if her whole jumbled mess of
emotions was stuck somewhere in the depths of her
mind, twisting up her thoughts. "Please don't be mad."

"I'm not. I'm not, I promise." He stared at her hard,
then shut his eyes before speaking. "I know you don't
want me kissing you, but I've been dying to do this
since the first moment I saw you," he said softly as
he raised his right hand and slowly, as if with great
thought, brushed it through her hair.

The tips of his fingers were slightly rough, and the
coarseness reminded her once again just how attractive
she found him.

Doing her best to keep the mood light, she chuckled. "You wanted to feel my hair?"

"Yeah. It's so shiny and golden." He rolled his eyes
in the dim light. "Pretty stupid, huh?"

If he even knew how she was feeling at the moment
Jeremy would say she was acting pretty stupid. Time
to call it a night. "Well ... I better go. If I know my
parents, they're probably watching me out the front
windows."

"All right. Dinah, let me know what you want to
do about us ... or if there is even an us."

"You'll leave it to me?"

"To you," he said. "Good night."

"Good night, Jeremy," she replied, as she made her
way up the front walkway and into her house. Feeling
suspiciously like she did after a date in high school,
wanting to do nothing more than go to her room and
replay every moment of her night.

But somehow she didn't think her parents, who
were perched on the edge of her couch expectantly,
would let her. Somehow she knew they'd keep her on
the couch with them until they got a full report of her
evening with Jeremy.

S o what kind of house are you looking for, Jeremy?" Mary Beth asked as she, her mom, and he
pulled out of his parents' driveway and began a house
tour a week later.

He shrugged. "Something in the historic section of
town, maybe with some woodwork. Couple of bedrooms."

Mary Beth scanned the MLS guide. "Number of
bathrooms?"

"At least two."

"Garage?"

He knew better than to hope for much. "I'm hoping
for at least a single car, or at least a covered carport."

She wrote that down. "Does it have to be attached?"

"Nope."

As Mary Beth flipped through a few more listings,
circling a few with a yellow highlighter, she glanced
at her mom. "What do you think?"

Marianne McKinley glanced over at her daughter's
highlighted markings, then tapped at two with a long
pink nail. "I've got a few ideas, and the ones you
circled might appeal to Jeremy. Let's start there. Go
ahead and start calling, hon."

Jeremy leaned back in the backseat and watched the
two women work. "I didn't know you knew so much
about real estate, Mary Beth."