Someone Perfect for Mr. Moore (2 page)

Her sister was going to check on the house for her, water
her plants, and get any mail or papers that managed to get through.  She sat
back and relaxed and thought about the pictures that Jason had shown her.  He
had a beautiful wife Rose, and they had just had a daughter that they named
Lily. 

Part way through the flight she fell asleep.  She had been
in the middle of a long stretch of night shifts and this was prime sleeping
time for her.  It would take her a few days to get off the night schedule, she
would probably be up later tonight, but after a day or so she would adjust.

The plane landed at a huge airport, she could only guess as
to which city they were in.  Once they exited the plane they were met by a
large black van.  A young man got out of the back with a wheel chair to meet
them.  His name was Jeff and he was easy going.  He joked around with her and
Stan and soon had them both laughing.  Lucy looked forward to working with
him.  The driver loaded their bags into the back and once they were all in he
drove toward the gates.  Jason said it was about a thirty minute drive to the
estate and then they could get settled and relax the rest of the day.  Dean was
gone and wouldn’t be home until later.  Lucy would meet him in the morning.

The van windows were tinted and it was hard to see anything
around the men sitting in front.  Sometime later the driver pulled up to an elaborate
iron gate, it slowly opened as a guard waved them through.  Lucy could just
make out the house as they came up a tree lined drive.  Holy cow, when they
said estate they weren’t kidding.  Stan told her a little about the house as
they drove up.  A few staff members came out to help unload and then Lucy
followed Jeff as he wheeled Stan into the house.  She waved goodbye to Jason
and thanked him.  He told her he would see her later in the week, if she needed
anything she could call him.  Jason watched as Alcide followed them inside, he
really hoped that Dean had said something to him.  He considered hanging around
until he got back, but he was anxious to see his wife and daughter.  He hoped
that things worked out for Stan.  He really liked him.  He didn’t understand
why Dean never talked to him.  He tried to keep him happy, but they never
spoke. 

Lucy followed Jeff to Stan’s room, she helped get him into
bed for a nap, and then she followed an older woman to her own room.  She would
get lost for sure in this place, she mused.  Her room was at the other end of
the hall from Stan’s.  It was quite a ways away, but at least they were on the
same floor.  Stella explained that they were in different wings.  The woman
said her name was Stella, she said if she needed anything just to ask.  She
helped Lucy unpack her clothes.  As she hung a few of her things in a massive
walk in closet Stella asked her why she hadn’t packed anything dressier. 

“You’ll be expected to attend functions with Stan and
Dean.”  Stella said.

Lucy looked at her dumbfounded.  “They never said anything
about that; I just expected to be with Stan all the time.”

Stella shook her head and smiled at her.  “Don’t worry dear;
I’ll take care of everything.  What size are you Lucy?”

Lucy looked at her questioningly, why would she need to know
that? “I am a size eight, why?”  Stella just smiled at her.   She patted her
shoulder and told her she would come back to get her for dinner in a little
while.  “Try and get some rest dear.”

Lucy opened the curtains around the big windows in her
room.  Well rooms, to be exact.  She had a sitting room, bedroom, a large
bathroom, and a walk-in closet bigger than her bedroom at home.  The bed was
huge and matched the dark cherry wood dressers.  The walls were painted a light
gray and had white accents around the ceiling and floors.  She slipped her
sandals off and felt the cushy dark gray carpeting beneath her bare feet.  She
moved her hand across the sage green bedspread, it was soft and silky, the room
and its furnishings were absolutely lovely, and she’d never seen anything like them. 
She looked out a set of doors that led to a large balcony that overlooked the
estate.  She noticed a stable in the distance; she could see men working with
horses.  She wondered what kind of stables they were; it seemed like a really
big operation.  There was a huge garden that ran along the side of the house,
she couldn’t wait to explore the estate, but she wouldn’t until she was
invited.  She went and laid down on the bed, sinking into the downy coverlet. 
She only intended to rest for a few minutes, but she soon fell asleep.  She
heard a knock on her door some time later and opened it to find Stella waiting
for her.

She stood back and was about to close the door when some
other people came in behind her with boxes and a large rolling rack.  Lucy
raised a brow at Stella.  “I brought some things for you to try on Lucy.”

Boy, she hadn’t wasted any time, had she?  “Really Stella, I
thought I would just be eating in my room.”

“Nonsense Lucy, you are a guest here, you’ll have dinner
with Stan and Dean.  Dean isn’t here tonight so you and Stan can have dinner in
his room.  I just wanted to make sure you had some suitable things to wear
while you are here.  We brought shoes for you too.”  They started opening boxes
and taking dresses and other outfits off the rack to show her.  Stella handed
her a few bathing suits, including one bikini and a few silky nightgowns.  Hold
on.  What did it matter what she wore to bed.

Lucy blushed when she pulled one long nightgown out.  “Ah,
what would I have to wear this for?”

“Lucy, that is especially for you along with the robe, if
you don’t want to wear it that’s fine.  As for the rest, you’ll need to dress a
certain way.  You are the only lady in the house right now.  You aren’t an
employee, you are a guest.”  Stella smiled knowingly at Lucy when she rubbed
the silk against her cheek.  “It’s not like you’ll be wearing the nightgowns
outside these rooms, they are just for you.  I hope that you like the things we
picked out for you.”

“Oh, Stella…I wasn’t complaining, it’s just that I thought
things would be a little different is all.  I just wasn’t prepared, I hate not
being prepared.”

Stella gave her a sundress to try on for dinner, she sent
Lucy into the bathroom and shooed the people out that had helped carry all the
packages.  Lucy pulled the dress over her head and gasped when she saw the tag
on it, this was a freaking designer.  She’d never worn clothes like this before. 
When she came out Stella handed her a pair of strappy sandals.  She looked at
her for a second and then gave her approval.  Stan and Jeff were waiting for
her in his room.  Lucy followed her down the hall to his sitting room and then
Stella left as Jeff pushed Stan’s chair up to a table. 

Lucy really enjoyed dinner; they talked and laughed a lot. 
Stan really was a charmer and Jeff kept up a constant stream of wise cracks. 
It was a little after eight when Stan said he was ready for bed.  He told Lucy
to go to bed; he knew she was tired too.  If he needed anything he would let
her know.  She smiled as she leaned down and kissed his forehead before she
left.

It was a little after midnight when she heard a knock on her
door.  She looked around a little disoriented at first and then remembered
where she was.  She opened her door and found a young girl there, she said Mr.
Moore was having trouble breathing and Jeff had asked for her.  Lucy went back
to grab her robe and tied the belt as she hurried to his room.

She looked at Stan as she came in, trying to gauge how bad
he was.  She glanced at Jeff and asked for his stethoscope, she leaned down and
listened to Stan’s lungs. 

“I can hear a lot of fluid in both bases.  When did he have
his Lasix last?”

“Not since this morning, I’ll give him some now.  He’s due
for a little Morphine too.”

Lucy sat next to Stan on the bed and held his hand.  “How
long has he been like this?”

“Not long, I heard him wheezing and it woke me up so I sent
for you.”

“I’ll give him a treatment, it won’t take care of the fluid,
but it may make him feel better.”  She put the medicine in a cup attached to a
mask and turned it on.  She went and got a cold washcloth, and then put it on
his forehead.  She rubbed his shoulders and talked to him, nothing important,
just to let him know that he wasn’t alone.

“Thanks for coming so fast Lucy, you know I suck at lung
sounds.”  Jeff smiled ruefully.

Lucy gave him a small smile back.  “Hey we make a good team;
at least you can give him the meds he really needs.”

“Lucy, will you read for me?  I felt so much better…that
night at the hospital, you made me feel better.”  Stan finally got out.  He
pointed to a shelf with a red book on it.

Jeff handed the book to Lucy with a slight frown, “what’s
this language?”

“French”, Lucy said as she took the book from him.  She
opened the book and found a page that was dog eared.  She noticed again how the
cover was old and faded.  The pages had a softness to them that told her this
book had been read many times.  She smoothed a page down and began to read. 
Occasionally she would look over at Stan to see how he was doing. His breathing
was getting a little easier and she looked over at the bag from his catheter. 
Jeff gave her a thumbs up; at least he was getting a little fluid off.  She
read for a little while longer and then listened to his lungs again.  The fluid
was gone, her and Jeff talked for a few minutes and decided to increase his
Lasix to twice a day for a few days, just to see how he felt.  They both knew his
main problem was his heart.  They had to make sure to weigh him daily to make
sure he wasn’t retaining fluid.  He seemed to be resting more comfortably, they
got him situated in bed again and then Lucy wandered back to her room.

She padded quietly down the hallway, stopping every so often
to admire an antique or a painting.  When she came to her door she saw a very
tall man waiting for her.  He had dark hair that was well-trimmed.  He was
wearing a navy blue suit with the tie undone along with a few buttons of his
still crisp shirt.  She’d never seen a more handsome man before.  She looked up
into his eyes as she got closer.  He had green eyes, just like his father.

“You must be Lucy.” He said as he came towards her, he had
black hair, and dark facial hair, like he had forgotten to shave.

“Yes, you must be Dean.”  She smiled up at him and looked
into his eyes.  “You have your father’s eyes.”

Dean stared at her for a second, she was a lot prettier than
he thought she would be, and he liked her smile.  He noticed how her long hair
curled down over her breasts.  “How is my father tonight?”

“He’s resting right now, he just had an episode, but we got
him through it.  I’m sure he’s still awake if you’d like to see him.”

“No.”

Lucy watched as his face closed and became expressionless,
she felt a shiver run through her when she saw the cold look on his face.  He
took her arm in a firm grip and led her to her door. 

“You should go to bed; the hallways get drafty at night.” He
frowned as he looked down and saw her pink toe nails peeking out from under the
hem of her robe.  “Why are you barefoot?”

Lucy slowly closed her mouth, boy he was bossy.  She could
feel the strength in his touch, as she looked up at him she noticed her head
didn’t even reach his shoulders.  He let her go and continued to look down at
her, and she felt her mind go blank.  Did he just ask her something?  He stood
so close and she became hyper-aware of him.  He reached out and touched her
cheek with the backs of his fingers.  She gasped and stepped back against the
door with wide eyes.  She slowly reached up to touch the spot he had touched
and met his eyes.  She felt her breathing quicken as she got caught in his
gaze.  Minutes went by and neither spoke.  She finally remembered where she was
and who she was talking to, she felt a blush rush into her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, but can we talk more tomorrow?  I’m really
tired.”  Lucy looked down at her hands as she talked to him, desperately trying
to look anywhere besides his intense eyes.  What the hell was wrong with her? 
Her skin still tingled from where he had touched her.

Dean watched her as she stood before him.  He could see the
flush on her chest above the opening of her robe as it slowly moved into her
cheeks.  He could just make out the silk and lace of her gown underneath.  She
looked spooked.  He had felt how soft her skin was, his fingers still tingled
from when he had touched her.  He smiled at her and was glad she couldn’t see it;
he hadn’t felt anything towards a woman for a long time.  Here was one, in his
house, and judging by her reaction to him she wasn’t immune to him. 
Interesting, he reached past her to open her door and heard her gasp again. He
had gotten deliberately close to her this time; it was a purely feminine sound
she made, one he’d like to hear again.  He noticed how delicious she smelled
and he watched as her pink tongue nervously darted out to lick her lips.  He
couldn’t wait to taste her.

He stood back smoothly and nodded his head at her. “Good
night Miss Lintz.”

Lucy looked up at him as he moved back; he had a very stern
look on his face.  She took a deep breath and quickly averted her gaze.  Where
was her courage?  “Goodnight Mr. Moore.”  She backed into her room and closed the
door behind her.

Dean smiled and let out a soft chuckle when he heard the
door lock.  He made his way down the hall to his father’s room.  Jeff talked to
him for a few minutes.  He picked up one of the books on the table and raised a
brow.  Erotica?  What the hell?  Jeff mentioned in his report that Lucy had
read to his dad for a little while.  He noticed that he was already asleep;
he’d have to ask him later.  Dean watched his father sleep, at least he was
comfortable.  He and his father hadn’t spoken in years, they only communicated
through Alcide now.  This was the first time he’d seen him in a very long time.

He was going to have to make it a point to talk with Lucy tomorrow;
he didn’t want her reading erotica to his father.  If she wanted to talk about
sex, he would be more than happy to oblige her.  He smiled as he left his
father’s room, he had been dreading having his father home again.  Now, though,
since he had brought a pretty red head with him, it seemed more promising.  She
was only a few years younger than him; it was hard to believe that she had a
son in college.  She must have married very young.  He had told Alcide to leave
her alone.  He knew how he could be; the stuff Alcide liked to do was
disgusting.  He could stay busy with his hoards of women; he could leave Lucy
to him.  He knew how to handle her.

Lucy lay in bed for quite a while before she fell asleep. 
Every time she closed her eyes she saw his eyes.  Her dreams were filled with
him that first night.  If she had met him before she agreed to come here, she
honestly didn’t know if she would have.  She had never felt more nervous around
a man in her life, and when he had touched her, it was like electricity had run
through her body.  Her belly clenched at the memory, oh boy, what had she
gotten herself into now?

Lucy woke up a little late after tossing and turning all
night.  It had been well after two before she had left Stan, and after meeting
Dean, she had lain awake for hours.  Stella knocked at her door and came in. 
Okay, she could have sworn she locked it last night.  Maybe she hadn’t.

“Good morning Lucy, are you ready for breakfast?”

“I was just going to get dressed, I didn’t sleep very well.”

“Jeff told me you two were up with Stan till late.  Go ahead
and get dressed and I will take you out to the patio.  It’s a pretty day today,
so breakfast will be outside.”  Stella walked into the closet and found another
dress for her to wear.  “It’s warm out already so I think you can wear another
sun dress today.”  She came out with a light blue dress, it was sleeveless and
had a scooped neckline, it was a little lower than Lucy was used to wearing,
but she didn’t say anything.

Stella had her sit down and she brushed her hair for her, it
had been a long time since anyone had done her hair for her.  Lucy smiled at
her in the mirror.  “Is it part of your job to spoil me Stella?”