Whisper's Edge (5 page)

“Savannah?” The unexpected firmness in his tone made her cringe. Perhaps he wasn’t as amused as she thought he was?

“Yes?” Savannah inhaled a deep breath, and wondered if she was about to be fired. Emotion pooled in her throat and her eyes burned. Not even the sight of his flying-pig boxers tossing in a circle, making the pigs look as if they were truly flying, could make her smile.

“Are you going to turn around and look at me?”

“I think I might have already seen way too much,” she answered, hoping that a touch of humor might soften him up. She had learned from Kate that laughter was often the best medicine and prayed that it worked this time.

K
ATE WINSTON FROWNED WHEN SHE SPOTTED TRISTAN MC
Millan’s fancy-looking cell phone lying on her desk. He’d taken a phone call just before telling her that he wanted to check out the grounds, including the community center and the pool. She’d offered to accompany him but he’d politely refused, saying only that he wanted to see a few things and it wasn’t necessary for her to leave her desk.

Kate picked up a pen and toyed with it. She found it odd that Tristan wanted to tour Whisper’s Edge on his own and had to wonder if there wasn’t something more to his purchase of the property than he was letting on. While tapping the pen against her cheek she reviewed in her head what she knew about the relationship between Tristan McMillan and his grandfather.

“Not much,” she mumbled as she racked her brain for clues. Max McMillan’s only daughter, Maggie, had been several years behind her in school. Although Kate only knew Maggie in passing, news had traveled fast that after only four months into her freshman year in college Maggie turned up pregnant. Word on the street had it that Max,
already a bitter man after his wife’s desertion, had a falling-out with Maggie, who ended up leaving town.

Kate thought for another minute and then frowned when she remembered that a battle with breast cancer is what had brought Maggie home one summer when Tristan was just a kid. Other than that, Kate remained clueless. Kate knew that Tristan’s return would surely stir up local gossip, so if she kept her ear to the ground perhaps she would come up with some answers. She only hoped that his intentions were good.

Kate inhaled a deep breath and willed her thoughts not to go down that path. Worry had been her middle name since Max McMillan started letting the conditions of the grounds slide. She’d heard that the old sourpuss had made some poor investments in Florida and teetered on the verge of bankruptcy. While the riverfront property had gone up in value with the revitalization of Cricket Creek, Kate had also heard it through the local grapevine that Max was so far upside-down financially that it didn’t make a lick of difference. The bank had been waiting in the wings to swoop down and seize the property, but although Tristan had kept mum on details, he did divulge that there was a legal clause allowing him to purchase it from his grandfather before the bank stepped in.

Kate sighed as she looked over at the stack of unpaid bills piled high on her desk. As the property manager she’d learned to pinch pennies and call in favors but the past year had been stressful. Savannah Perry, bless her heart, hadn’t had a raise in who knows when and never complained, even though she worked her little tail off. Kate dropped her pen and rubbed her temples. Not everyone was so gracious. Over the past six months she had gone through three maintenance men, and the current one had just given his notice a week ago. Kate massaged her temples. She was becoming desperate. Duct tape could only go so far.

Although Kate could put an ad in the paper it might be weeks before finding another replacement. The baseball stadium complex and new strip mall were doing well and Cricket Creek continued to flourish. Competition for
employees was fierce and she simply couldn’t match the salaries offered to skilled workers that other businesses were giving. Kate could sweeten the pot by offering living accommodations but not everyone wanted to reside in a retirement community. Kate sighed. She could only hope that Tristan would soon change all that.

With that thought she looked down at his cell phone, which kept making all kinds of weird blinks, dings and beeps. Either he’d left the phone by mistake or he simply wanted to get away from the constant noises and vibrations. “Where did he go for this long?” she murmured, and bent the blinds down to see if his snazzy car was still parked in front of the office. “Still there,” she said and leaned back in her weathered swivel chair.

Kate rested her head against the cool leather and closed her eyes in an effort to remain calm. Insomnia had been a constant companion for the past few months and she thought she would just rest her weary eyes for a moment or two. The low hum of the air conditioner soothed her nerves and after a minute Kate drifted off to sleep…

Ding,
ding!

The sudden sound cut through Kate’s peaceful slumber and jarred her awake so fast that she grabbed the arms of her chair and spun in a half circle. With a little yelp she stopped the spin by slamming her feet to the floor. Breathing hard, she glared at Tristan’s fancy phone and considered tossing it out the window. Kate shook her head, thinking that she couldn’t fall asleep in the comfort of her bed but could doze off in an instant in a fully lit office while sitting straight up in a chair. Go figure…

“Oh dear lord,” Kate grumbled when beads of sweat suddenly popped out on her forehead. She stood up and went over to the thermostat to check the temperature. “Just what I thought. It’s me.” Kate picked up a magazine and started fanning her face. Even though she cut corners, she kept the office at meat-locker temperatures to battle the hot flashes that plagued her on a daily basis, but nothing
seemed to help. Poor little Savannah had to wear a sweater even though it was summertime. Although she had teased Savannah about her biological clock hormones, lately it was Kate who was no stranger to mood swings and crying jags. And although Kate had a closet full of weirdly named herbal remedies, nothing seemed to give her much relief. And seriously, something with a name like black cohosh just sounded scary. She’d rather sweat. Well, maybe.

“Menopause sucks.” After putting down the magazine she opened an extra button on her cotton blouse and plucked at the collar to let cool air slide down her damp neck. Light, cotton clothing composed most of her wardrobe. She’d even had her shoulder-length blond bob snipped into a short layered cut to help ward off the heat, but she continued to suffer. “Surely to God, I’m going to melt from the inside out.” She walked over to stand beneath the paddle fan. “Ahhh,” she said, breathing. With a grateful smile she tilted her face up, stretched her arms akimbo, and let the cool breeze bring blessed relief.

“Interesting pose.” At the sound of the deep male voice Kate jumped and let out a silly-sounding squeal. “Yoga?”

“Ben! You scared the daylights out of me!”

“Sorry.” His laugh was a rusty but pleasant sound that Kate realized she rarely heard.

“No, you’re not.” Kate moved her hands to her hips and hoped the sweat had dried.

Ben leaned one shoulder against the doorframe. “Guilty.”

“At least you’re honest.”

“To a fault.”

As Kate already knew, Ben was a man of few words and the words that did come out of his mouth tended to be on the grumpy side. She also knew that even though she might be in full-blown menopause, there was nothing wrong with her eyesight. Tall and rugged, with piercing blue eyes, sandy blond hair, and a thick lumberjack build, Ben Bakersfield, at sixty years old, could still turn female heads. Not that he seemed to notice or care. It was widely known that Ben had
lost his wife to a sudden aneurism five years ago, and he carried around his grief like a shield of armor. He mostly kept to himself, tinkering with his boat and making a few extra bucks as a local fishing guide but only if the spirit moved him, which wasn’t often. “So what brings you here?”

He folded his arms across his impressive chest. “You.”

“M-me?” Kate’s heart kicked up a notch and the need to fan her face had nothing to do with a hot flash. Okay, so she’d had a fantasy or two…okay or
ten
about Ben that started out much like this but ended very steamy. But she wasn’t prepared for the real deal. Oh, why hadn’t she shaved her legs?

“You called me,” he slowly explained.

“Ohhhh, yes, yes, I did.” Kate waved her hands and tried to act as if she hadn’t been thinking in a totally different direction, about something other than wrapping herself around him like kudzu. She cleared her throat and nodded briskly. Ha, not that she really
wanted
to have a fling with Ben, anyway. She didn’t need a man to make her happy or complicate her life. She didn’t want to suffer that heartache ever again. Besides, she had her hands full keeping Whisper’s Edge from falling apart. “Right, I called you…” Damn, she was having a senior moment.

“And?” Ben pushed away from the doorway and took a couple of steps into the room.

“Uh…” Damned if his nearness didn’t send another warm flutter sinking into regions hoping for male attention and made her train of thought jump the track and derail. It didn’t help matters that he managed to make a faded work shirt and worn jeans look sexy. Or that the sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, revealing muscled forearms. Ben was one of those Liam Neeson types of men who just got better with age. It wasn’t fair.

“I…um…” Kate inhaled a deep breath to clear her head but inhaled the subtle male scent of his aftershave. Kate dug deep to stay focused. Oh, she remembered. “Look, I know you’re a jack-of-all-trades, right?”

He nodded slowly. “Some might say that.”

“Some, meaning a lot of residents here at Whisper’s Edge.”

He merely shrugged.

“Ben, I know that you’ve done a lot of plumbing and electrical work around here for free.”

“Keeps me busy.”

“I’d like to make it official and offer you a job.”

Ben remained silent but reached up and rubbed his chin, drawing Kate’s attention to the tawny stubble gracing his cheeks. She wondered what it would feel like to have that slight abrasion against her own skin and swallowed hard. Her hormones, she decided, were seriously out of control. “I don’t mind helping out a neighbor but I really don’t want to have the responsibility of a real job. Sorry.”

Kate’s heart sank. “Look, Ben, my last maintenance man quit a week ago. I haven’t had any luck replacing him. Could you just do it for a while? Until I find someone else? I can’t pay more than twelve bucks an hour but I can throw in your boat storage fee for free.”

“It’s not about the money, Kate. I like my time to be my own.”

“Okay.” Kate nodded sadly and then backed up so that she could rest her hips against her desk. “I can respect that.” The stress, coupled with her female reaction to him, was making her legs a bit shaky. “Thought I’d give it a shot,” she said, but when she tried for a smile her lips trembled and she had to sniff. Horrified, Kate blinked so as not to shed an embarrassing tear. “Damned allergies.” She reached for a nearby box of tissues and plucked one from the slit at the top.
Damned hormones
echoed in her head and she faked blowing her nose.

Ben gave a long look that indicated he didn’t totally believe her.

“Everything’s bloomin’.” When she tried to fake a sneeze it came out more like a sob. Damn!

After a sigh he said, “Okay, I’ll do it.”

Kate stopped dabbing at her nose and looked up at him. “Really?”

“You’re making it pretty damned difficult for me to refuse.”

“It’s the ragweed.”

“Right.”

“But you’ll do it? For real?”

“Yes, but only until you can find someone else.”

“Agreed!” With a smile, Kate pushed up from the desk and stuck out her hand for him to shake but the tip of her flowered flip-flop caught in a jagged piece of linoleum that needed to be fixed. When she stumbled slightly Ben quickly came forward, causing her to land against his chest.

“Whoa there.” Two big hands caught Kate around the waist and held her steady. She could feel the heat of his skin beneath his shirt and the solid thud of his heart against her palm. It took everything in her might not to lean against the strength, the comfort. She wasn’t sure if it was wishful thinking, but when his touch seemed to linger and she looked up, she thought she saw a hint of longing in Ben’s blue eyes. But before she could be sure, he abruptly released her and backed away. “I guess I’ll have to fix that,” he said and smiled.

Smiled.

“Yeah.” Kate smiled back.

His gaze suddenly dropped from her face as if he felt guilty for something. He pointed to her flip-flops. “What’s up with everyone wearing those?”

“The flip-flops? Oh, one of Savannah’s never-ending crafts,” Kate explained.

“Oh, I should have guessed.”

“Yeah, well, they should be called trip-flops.”

Ben laughed. Broody Ben was sexy in a dark and mysterious way, but his smile was killer and she wished it would remain. When he looked at her with amusement in his eyes she wanted to swoon.

“Ben…” she began, but his smile faded and she saw a muscle twitch in his jaw.

“I’ll get to fixing it first thing tomorrow,” he said briskly and then jammed his hands in his pockets.

“Thanks,” Kate replied. “I really appreciate you doing this, by the way.”

“I do like staying busy. But remember, it’s only temporary.” His mood shifted and he nodded solemnly before he turned and walked out the door.

Kate stood there for a minute and watched him retreat. With a sigh she turned around and looked at her desk in an effort to remember what she’d been doing. Oh yeah, wondering where in the world Tristan McMillan had wandered off to.

T
RISTAN FROWNED WHEN SAVANNAH FAILED TO TURN
around. His initial irritation at the unnecessary jump into the pool had evaporated like rain on a hot sidewalk and he was actually finding the entire situation sort of amusing. He had only been teasing her with his comments, but he guessed he was about as good at joking around as he was at flirting. He might work out and keep fit but he was still an awkward geek at heart.