Wild Iris Ridge (Hope's Crossing) (15 page)

“Where did you go on your bike ride?” she asked Carter.

“We rode all the way to Aunt Charlotte’s house, but she wasn’t home.”

“It was still a gorgeous evening for a ride, wasn’t it?” she said.

“Beautiful,” Brendan answered, an odd light in his eyes as he looked at her.

Carter dropped to his knees in the grass, heedless of stains on his jeans. “Hi, Max. Hi, buddy!”

He giggled as the puppy yipped and scampered to him.

“How are things on the puppy front? Faith was just telling us Daisy is transitioning to puppy chow.”

“What can I say? We have a gifted dog.”

“Max is clearly superior. He’s been eating puppy chow for days now.”

He laughed. “Oh, is that how this is going to go? A puppy throwdown?”

“You can’t throw down the puppies,” Carter said, alarmed. “They might get hurt.”

“Just a figure of speech, honey,” Brendan said. “Nobody’s throwing anything.”

He met Lucy’s gaze, and she caught her breath at the warm amusement there. She had rarely seen him lighthearted like this, and she suddenly wanted more.

“You must not be working tonight.”

“No. I finished four twelves this morning. I’ve got the weekend off.”

“Lucky.”

“You didn’t bring Daisy with you?” Crystal asked.

“No. She was sleeping soundly in her crate when we left.”

“I could go get her,” Faith offered. “Remember, we were supposed to have playdates with the dogs, and we haven’t done that yet.”

“That’s right,” Crystal said. “I bet they’ve missed each other.”

“Have you eaten?” Lucy asked on impulse. “We were just getting ready to throw some chicken on the grill.”

“Hey! We were going to barbecue, too!” Carter exclaimed. “Right after our bike ride. Dad took out a steak for him and hot dogs for me and Faith.”

“Yum. Why don’t we save some charcoal and you can bring your dinner and your puppy up here? I’ll even let your dad work the grill while I throw together a salad and some oven-baked fries.”

“Wow. That’s nice of you,” Brendan said dryly.

She grinned. “Scientific fact. Guys like to grill.”

“So I hear.”

“Can we stay, Dad?” Faith asked.

He looked reluctant for just a moment, and she suddenly felt guilty for springing the invitation on him like that, in front of the children. She should have known better.

“Sure,” he finally said. “I’ll go grab our dinner and Daisy. You kids can stay here and play with Max.”

“I should have everything you need,” Lucy said.

“I guess I’ll be back in a minute, then. Kids, behave yourselves.”

“Okay,” Carter said cheerfully.

“I always behave myself,” Faith said, rather primly. To Lucy’s mind, the girl needed to tumble into a little trouble once in a while.

When Brendan headed for his mountain bike, she followed him where they could speak out of earshot of the children, feeling guilty about her thoughtlessness.

“Sorry,” she murmured. “I should have talked to you first before I said anything about dinner. It was unfair of me to back you into a corner like that. I can make an excuse if you want.”

She couldn’t read the expression in his eyes. “I don’t mind,” he said. “It’s a nice night for a barbecue. The kids will enjoy eating at Iris House, and I will enjoy not having to think about anything but grilling.”

“Next time I’ll try to remember to clear any brilliant ideas with you first,” she assured him.

“Thanks.”

She could swear his gaze dipped to her mouth and she wondered if he was remembering that incredible kiss. Was he thinking about the slow slide of his tongue along hers? How her body seemed to fit so perfectly against his?

He cleared his throat, and she thought she saw a muscle flex in his jaw. “I’ll be back in a few,” he said, then rode off fast before she could even answer.

She stood for a moment trying to will down her unruly hormones before she hurried back to the children.

Faith and Carter didn’t look up from playing with Max, but Crystal gave her an appraising sort of look.

“You like him,” her sister said in a low voice.

Lucy felt herself blush, much to her dismay. A few weeks ago, she would have argued most vehemently about that, but things had changed since her return to Hope’s Crossing. She
did
like him. Entirely too much.

“Sure, I like him. He was married to my dear friend and I adore his children.”

“I’m not talking about the kids or about his late wife. I’m talking about the way you get all flustered around him.”

“I do not.”

Crystal gave her a pitying sort of look that had her blushing even more. “Oh, please, Luce. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I blame you. For an old dude, he’s pretty hot.”

Oh, yes. He was, indeed.

“Don’t let your imagination go into overdrive or anything,” she said, in what she hoped was a stern, dismissive tone—which might have held more weight if she wasn’t blushing like a teenage girl over her first crush. “Brendan and I are friends. That’s it.”

It was true, she realized, and far more than they had been a few weeks ago.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

F
IFTEEN
MINUTES
LATER
, Brendan headed back up the hill toward Iris House with a grocery bag in one arm and a tiny smidge of a dog named Daisy tucked in the crook of his other.

This was what he considered a perfect late-April evening in the mountains, with the air smelling of pine and fresh-cut grass and new growth.

He told himself he had no reason to feel ridiculous carrying the dog—if she could legally be considered a dog, when she was little more than a ball of fluff.

If a guy was going to have a dog, he ought to have something big, muscular. Meaty. A German shepherd or a Siberian husky or some breed like that, not a little purse pooch, who barely filled out one of his shoes. And yes, the kids thought it was hilarious to stick her in one and watch her try to escape—and Carter just about had an accident himself, laughing so hard when she peed in one of Brendan’s favorite sneakers.

They were having a great time with Daisy—and, he had to admit,
he
was having a great time watching Faith and Carter get so excited about the little dog.

Faith was often far too earnest and serious for her own good. She would rather be reading a book than just about anything else in the world. He didn’t necessarily consider that a bad thing, but he worried she spent more time reading about exciting places and people than actually trying to embrace life and taste a little of that excitement herself.

Since Daisy’s arrival in their house and the upheaval four pounds of dog provided, Faith had been far more engaged with all of them.

Carter, on the other hand, had gone in the other direction. Brendan couldn’t recall a time when his son ever voluntarily sat longer than two or three minutes at a time except at meals, but the evening before, Carter had sat on the porch steps for at least a half hour in the evening, just holding the puppy and chattering softly to her.

He had been dying to hear the conversation but hadn’t been able to get close enough to catch any of it.

Yeah, Daisy added a new layer to the general craziness of his life, with the frenetic schedule of feedings and bathroom breaks and cleaning up after her. The guys at the station thought it was hilarious that he brought her to the station with him in her little crate—though he noticed all of them looked for any excuse to hold her.

He was getting into a routine now and had just about decided it wouldn’t be terrible keeping her around.

The dog whined a little, probably ready to eat again.

“Hang on a minute,” he told her. “We’re almost there.”

He passed the house of Lou and Maria Giordano, three houses down from Iris House, and waved at the retired railroad worker, who was raking the wood chips in one of his lush flower beds.

He had a soft spot for both Lou and his wife. After Jessie’s death, Lou mowed his lawn all summer long so Brendan wouldn’t have to worry about the job in the midst of all that pain, and Maria had brought a plate of gooey, warm chocolate chip cookies to the house every week for months, even though the two of them were elderly and didn’t get around as well as they used to when he was a kid.

“Nice evening, isn’t it?” Lou called.

“It is that. We live in a beautiful place, don’t we?”

“You know it, son.” Lou ambled over, rake in hand. “What you got there? Looks like a gerbil.”

He held Daisy up a little so the man could have a better look. “Nope. It’s a puppy. We’re foster parents for a while, until the Humane Society can find her a new home.”

“Oh, she is a cute one. Looks like, what, part Yorkie, with maybe some mini poodle and a few other things thrown in?”

“That’s what the vet says. You’ve got a good eye for dog breeds.”

“Oh, Maria and I love dogs. We watch the dog shows every chance we get. Where’d this one come from?”

“We found her and a littermate in a trash bin outside the grocery store.”

“Oh, poor little thing. She is a cutie.” Lou looked closer. “You know, we might be interested in a puppy. Ever since Sally—she was our mini pinscher—died last winter, the house has seemed a little lonely.”

A couple of days ago, that would have been an answer to prayer. A good, loving home close enough that his kids could still visit Daisy whenever they wanted and even take her on walks so the Giordanos didn’t have to.

At this point, he didn’t see any way of extricating her from their lives without breaking the kids’ hearts.

“To tell you the truth, the kids are already pretty attached to her. I wasn’t in the market for a dog right now, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to rip her away from them.”

Lou chuckled. “I hear you. Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

Brendan inclined his head toward Iris House. “Daisy here has a brother who’s staying up at Iris House with Annabelle’s great-niece. Lucy might have an easier time giving Max up than my kids will with Daisy. I can’t make any promises. I’m heading there. I can talk to her for you if you want.”

“Thanks. I’d appreciate that. I’ve seen her out and about since she came back to town. She seems nice as can be. Yesterday, she stopped and helped me clean up some branches after that big wind we had.”

“That was kind of her.”

“Yes. And she’s a good-looking one, too. You could do a lot worse.”

“Oh, we’re not—” he started to say, but decided he would sound stupid if he protested too much. Anyway, Daisy was currently nibbling on the inside of his elbow and he wasn’t in the mood to start whining at her like the vet recommended, right in front of his seventy-two-year-old neighbor.

“Night, Lou. Give my best to Maria.”

“Same to you, son. Same to you.”

He really did enjoy living here. After Jess died, he had thought about picking up the kids and starting over somewhere else, where people didn’t whisper, “Oh, that poor man” when they saw him around town.

He hated being the object of pity, the widower whose lovely wife had died so tragically.

Now that two years had passed, he didn’t notice those sympathetic looks as much. Either he’d grown impervious to them or people had come to accept that time rolls on, like it or not. He no longer had a refrigerator full of casseroles brought over by concerned neighbors and it was only rarely that somebody would stop him in the grocery store, rest a hand on his arm and ask him how he
really
was doing.

Hope’s Crossing was home, for him and for the children. His family was here, the job he loved, friends and neighbors who cared about him and about his kids. He could do a whole lot worse.

When he reached Iris House, he followed the sound of shrieking to the side of the house, where he found Lucy on her back in the grass being attacked by both Faith and Carter, who had apparently teamed up to tickle her.

Crystal sat up on the porch on the swing, grinning at the assault while Max played with a chew toy next to her.

Seeing his children so happy and light sent something curling through his insides, something sweet and warm and lovely.

Just hunger pangs,
he told himself

Daisy whined and Lucy looked up at the sound. For just an instant, their gazes locked and he caught his breath. She looked happy, too, and so beautiful it was hard for him to look away.

“Oh. Hi.”

She quickly disentangled from the children and climbed to her feet, brushing off grass and leaf bits from her clothes.

“There’s Daisy,” Faith exclaimed. “Hi, sweetie!”

She held out her hands for the puppy and immediately set her down beside the puppy’s littermate.

“Look! She remembers him!” Carter exclaimed.

The puppies brushed noses and nipped playfully at each other.

“You ready to get your grill on?” Lucy asked after a moment of watching the puppies play with each other.

“Sure.”

“I started the coals a while ago. They should be all set. Come in the house and you can find whatever tools you need.”

She led the way around the house to the back door, which led directly to the kitchen of Iris House. He followed, enjoying the fluid grace of her movements entirely too much.

Inside, she pointed him to a cabinet that held grilling tools and then pulled out a container from the refrigerator with a couple of chicken breasts marinating in some kind of herb-infused liquid.

“Everything else is ready to go. I already made the salad and the potato wedges have been soaking in ice water, which is the secret to good oven-baked fries.”

“Good to know.”

She gave a rueful laugh. “Hey, I have to savor my successes where I find them. I’m not that great in the kitchen, though I’ve discovered Crystal is something of a budding chef. You have to get her pancake recipe. To die for.”

He was aware of the sweet seduction of being alone with her here in the kitchen, of the mouthwatering scent of her, the sway of her hips and the softness of her curves as she reached into a high cabinet for a serving plate.

After all the prep work was done, he was more than ready to escape to a little fresh air and sanity.

“Do you have everything you need?” she asked.

“Looks like.”

“I’ll send the kids and puppies to the backyard to keep you company while I’m in here finishing up.”

“I don’t mind being on my own.”

She sent him a searching look, and it took him a moment to realize what he’d said—and that he
was
beginning to mind it very much.

“I’ll send them back,” she said again.

The barbecue was a good, sturdy model he remembered using a time or two when they would come up and share a meal with Annabelle.

True to her word, Lucy sent the kids and puppies to the patio just as he was setting his steak on the grill, which took a few minutes longer than the thinner chicken breasts. The hot dogs only took about a second on the flames.

By the time he was done grilling, the sun had slid behind the mountains, though it wouldn’t be full dark for another hour. With the sunset, though, the temperatures immediately began to drop so Lucy set the big kitchen table for their meal.

Dinner was noisy, chaotic, delicious—and the most enjoyable evening he’d had in a long time. Lucy, Crystal and Faith talked about books while Carter interjected the occasional knock-knock joke.

“How’s the house coming?” he asked during one of the rare conversational lulls, when everyone was nearly finished eating.

“Ugh. Don’t remind us,” Lucy’s sister said with a groan. “We have hauled so much stuff out of here and we have tons more to do.”

“Big house, big job.”

“You’re telling me,” Crystal said.

“Everything seems to be moving along nicely. Dylan and Sam Delgado are coming next week to do a little work for me. Fortunately, the structural changes we need are minor. Bumping a wall out here, expanding a closet there. Genevieve and I have just about agreed on the design schemes for most of the bedrooms.”

“Hey, maybe Brendan can help us in the green bedroom,” Crystal suggested.

Lucy gave him a speculative look. “You know, that’s not a bad idea,” she said.

“Help you with what in the green bedroom?” he asked, not a little uneasy at that look.

“It’s a job that takes someone with muscle.”

“I’ve got a couple.”

She cast him a sidelong look, and he thought he saw a hint of color brushing her cheekbones.

“Yes. Yes, you do.” She cleared her throat. “I need somebody to help me move a bed. It’s in a room that was hardly ever used. I think Annabelle just tossed all the furniture in there she didn’t want to throw away, and one of the beds is blocking access to a closet. We need to clean out said closet but, hard as we tried, we couldn’t budge the thing this afternoon.”

“I can try as soon as we’re done.”

“I’m finished now,” Faith said. “That was really good, Aunt Lucy.”

“Thank you, honey, but your dad did most of the work.”

“Thanks, Dad,” she said with her sweet smile.

“You’re welcome.”

“Can I have another hot dog?” Carter asked.

“You already had two, kid,” Brendan said. “I didn’t grill any more.”

His son’s face fell.

“Oh, wait. I have dessert,” he suddenly remembered. He rose and headed to the counter where he’d left the reusable grocery bag he had brought from his house. He reached inside and pulled out the pie tin and carried it back to the table.

“Now
that
is an impressive trick.” Lucy grinned. “How can I get a magic pie bag?”

“Sorry, but you have to have a father like mine who drops them off at your house for no discernible reason.”

Crystal snorted. “Like
that’s
ever going to happen.”

Lucy and Crystal shared a rueful look, and he felt a wave of sympathy for them. Really, he felt bad for everyone who didn’t have a father like Dermot.

“This is one of Pop’s specialties. Caramel apple.”

“Ooh, that sounds delicious,” Crystal said.

He sliced pieces for everyone. Lucy ate hers with a deep enjoyment he found both amusing and uncomfortably arousing.

He was entirely too aware of every movement she made, each breath, each swallow. How was he supposed to handle this?

“Look at how cute the puppies look,” Faith exclaimed when they were nearly done with the pie. “They’re sleeping.”

The puppies were cuddled together, chin to rump.

“We should probably feed Max again,” Crystal said.

Lucy checked the clock above the stove. “You’re right. It’s about time.”

“The kids and I can do that and clear up in here,” Crystal said. “You two go see if you can move the bed.”

Okay, his imagination went off into all kinds of twisting directions with that innocent statement. He tried to tamp down the images as he followed Lucy up the curving staircase of the house. Up and up they went to the very top floor of the house, an area he didn’t remember ever seeing.

“These were the servants’ quarters originally,” she told him. “I’m going to have Dylan and Sam knock out a wall and make the four small rooms into two larger spaces.”

“They’ll do good work for you.”

“Well, the closet has to go, so I have to clean it out before they get here.”