Wild Man Creek (8 page)

“Then she cried?” Colin asked.

Luke shook his head. “She said she didn’t give a flying fuck how I felt about you or how you felt about me, but
she
loves you. And yes, sweet little Shelby did so say
flying fuck.
And she loves you and Brett loves you and she wants you in our lives and I’d better make it right with you or she was never going to forgive me.”

Colin was completely stunned for a second. It wasn’t hard for him to imagine Shelby yelling at Luke, giving him the business. It wasn’t hard to imagine her getting downright pissed because the boys were fighting again; women got sick of that fast, witness their mother. But loving him? Bringing into focus that Brett loved him? They all loved him? When he was singularly unlovable? How was that possible?

“I’m assuming she means she loves you like a brother,” Luke said. “That better be it, too, or the fighting’s just begun.”

Colin broke into a grin in spite of himself. “And then so has the crying, I guess.”

“Go ahead and joke, but she’s a good woman. Too good for me, that’s for sure. I have to really scramble to stay good enough for her, but it’s a job I’m up to. So eat the goddamn meat loaf, come to dinner next week or sooner and I’ll stay out of your business.”

“Done,” Colin said.

“Done,” Luke said, putting out a hand.

Colin shook the hand. “Thanks for the meat loaf. It’ll be great tomorrow night.”

“You’re welcome,” Luke said. He turned to go.

“Luke,” Colin called. Luke turned around. “Tell her we kissed and made up and that we won’t make her cry anymore.”

“I plan to.” And with that, he left.

Colin closed the door, but this time he locked it. He was done with this complicated family bullshit for the night. Just being part of the Riordan clan was a contact sport.

He put the bag on the table and removed the little plastic containers that were inside—meat loaf, mashed potatoes, peas, gravy. He got a plate out and dished himself a healthy portion of each item. There was more than enough for two nights. He dug in appreciatively; Luke was right about this—it was excellent. He was also right about Shelby not being a great cook, but she was good enough. And she had qualities that were way more important than being good in the kitchen.

He shoveled the food into his mouth. They loved him? He knew they accepted him; he knew Brett had kind of taken to him. He just never thought there was a possibility Shelby cared deeply enough to threaten her marriage with tears and ultimatums and fights over wanting him to be around. She must be pretty sure of Luke’s commitment to do that. Oh—it was only family love, not romantic. He’d never had a single romantic thought about her; it just didn’t compute, not with her being so wildly in love with Luke and all. And vice versa.

He’d had a girl or two wildly in love with him, as a matter of fact. But he’d never met a girl he felt the same way about. Never met a woman he felt so strongly about he’d do anything to make her happy.

Suddenly and without much warning, he felt satisfied, and not because of the meat loaf. He got all emotional inside and thought, it’s the damn wreck, the pills and flirtation with depression—he’d never been like that before. He wasn’t that easy to touch.

But he was completely and deeply touched. Maybe in all those years that the helicopter was his lover there had been a hole inside that needed to be filled by actual human
beings. People who would take a risk, a chance, a bet that he would come through, that he was worth it.

Yup, he definitely felt a gap he couldn’t fill with adventure or challenge or pure recklessness. He could feel it; there was a yearning.

A tear ran down his cheek, and he didn’t brush it away. And he wasn’t sure why not.

It wasn’t spoken of again. Colin had dinner with Luke and his family a few days later. He rolled around on the floor with Brett, though he still couldn’t lift the hefty baby boy over his head with his left arm. He looked at Luke’s plans for a small, four-port RV hookup station behind the house and cabins. He’d hired an electrician and plumber; there would be some digging for waste disposal, a separate waterline for potable water hookup, a new electrical unit installed, some concrete poured and a little landscaping to finish it off. Each hookup port would have a small patio surrounded by shrubs and flowers and a community path to the river. Ultimately, in addition to his cabins, Luke would have hookup facilities for those who vacationed in motor coaches, including his mother and George.

Colin considered it a successful evening—no arguing with Luke—and he was ready to say good-night. He thanked Shelby for a fantastic dinner with a sweet kiss on her cheek.

A few days later Colin went into Jack’s Bar and discovered Luke taking a beer break at the same time. It was fated. They didn’t sit together but were at right angles to one another up at the bar. Colin thought about ordering a cola, but he was ready for his weekly beer and he was damn well having it.

Luke raised his own brew in a toast and burning there in Luke’s eyes were the questions—how many? How long?
Should we talk about this? Are we in a crisis? But to his credit, Luke said nothing. Colin knew that took a lot of willpower. When Luke stood to leave Colin waved him over, threw him a bone for the sake of peace. “I’m only having one beer and I’m staying for dinner, but tell Shelby we talked and we’re good.”

“I’ll do that.”

The day after dawned bright; the sun was coming up earlier as spring marched across the land. Colin went out looking for wildlife and late in the morning he drove to the Victorian house the old way, past the farms and vineyards, up the side of the mountain, until he got to that back pasture he’d discovered a couple of weeks ago. But it had changed—the road, nothing more than graded dirt was now covered in fine gravel. Passing through the trees Colin saw there was a small greenhouse erected, with the frame up for a second. The Plexiglas panels were lying on the ground beside it.

Jillian was amazing, all that she dared to do on a whim. He didn’t see her anywhere, but he was curious about what she might have inside that greenhouse. The door was standing open and he looked inside. She was laying there, on the ground, flat on her back, looking up. Her hands were crossed over her stomach and her eyes were open.

He went in and stood over her. “Do you feel as ridiculous as you look?” he asked her.

She didn’t even glance at him. “I want to see and feel what the seedlings will see and feel. My nana used to
taste
the soil.”

“But you wouldn’t go that far,” he said.

She sat up and smiled at him, teasing him. “It tastes just fine,” she said.

He crouched to get eye level with her. “You didn’t really put dirt in your mouth. You’re just leading me on.”

“Think what you like,” she said. “Why are you here? Looking for deer?”

“I wanted to see what you’d accomplished. You’ve been a busy little girl.” He stood up and looked down at her. “Why is the other greenhouse only framed?”

She put out a hand for a lift up off the ground. “Denny, my associate, had a job interview and we couldn’t get it finished yet. Those were our terms, remember—he’s hunting for more permanent work and I knew that going in.” She brushed off the butt of her jeans with her hands. “I hope he doesn’t take it—he’s working out real well for me. On the other hand, if he stays on much longer I’m going to have to make adjustments, pay social security, provide some benefits, maybe bribe him with better pay and then find things for him to do.”

“I’m pretty impressed by the way you’re just going for it. You got this idea, and that’s all it was. I saw it happen— I was there. When Dan told you how to find your special seeds and how they grow pot around here, I saw your eyes light up and next thing I know, the property is full of equipment and you are just taking
off!
That’s incredible. Brave and impressive. You’re a gutsy little broad. I admire that in a woman.”

She felt her whole body get warm; she looked at him in a whole new way. Jillian was a sucker for a man who admired her. She already found him attractive, but that was easy since he truly was. Suddenly he was also desirable. After having so many people, including the sister she admired so much, think she was out of her mind to go this far, Colin said he was impressed. She saw him through new eyes. She wanted to run her fingers through his neatly trimmed beard and the curly hair pulled into a
short ponytail. She noted some subtle scarring on the right side of his neck that disappeared into his shirt collar, but it didn’t strike her as unsightly. His brown eyes were kind of sultry and sexy; his arms looked so strong and capable, his hands so big. And, he either had a sock in his drawers or possessed an admirable package. She jerked her eyes back to his face only to find him grinning.

“Why, thank you,” he said, acknowledging that he’d caught her. “But why don’t you let me take you out to lunch first.”

She ran a hand through her hair. “First?” Best to just play dumb.

“Before a lot of dirty, mindless sex.”

“All right, I’m just going to have to ask you to leave now.”

“Aw, get over it. How about I take you somewhere for food, no obligation. I’m hungry and it’s lunchtime.”

She sighed. “I’m a mess. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Jill, even when you’re a mess, you’re just pretty as hell.”

“Hmm. Pretty as hell,” she mimicked. “I bet the women just faint when you say that.”

He laughed at her and she noticed the most beautiful white, straight teeth.

“I thawed some stuff for lunch,” she said. “If you can behave yourself, you can have Denny’s half since he’s a no-show.”

“And then—”

“Don’t push it.” She started walking, headed for the new road that would lead her to the house.

“Let’s ride,” he said. He couldn’t help laughing at her. “Then I can park the Jeep by the back porch.”

She stopped walking and shot him a damning look.
“I’m crazy to even let you near my back porch,” she told him.

He went around to the driver’s side. “I figured you for a better sense of humor. Come on, lighten up. Get in.”

There was probably good reason she was a little squeamish when teased like that, given her sexual harassment experience. But she reminded herself that Colin couldn’t sue her and she couldn’t sue him, so why was she getting all excited….

And excited was what she was getting, though she tried hard to pretend otherwise, and to keep her eyes off his body. He was a big, beautiful man and when he grinned and played and teased, she felt a little weak in the knees. She felt like a girl, and it wasn’t a bad feeling.

She got in the Jeep and said, “I could teach you gardening….”

“And I could teach you painting, but at the end of the day I wouldn’t be a gardener and you wouldn’t be a painter.”

“I think you’re right about that.” She relented. “I really wish I could do what you do, however. That eagle was brilliant.”

He cast her a glance as he drove through the trees. “Really? Then maybe if you’re very good I’ll show you the bear, fox, mountain lion and deer. And also the ones I made up without photo models.” He pulled right up alongside the house and threw the Jeep into Park.

She got out and on her way up the porch steps she said, “Why do I have to earn it by being good? Don’t you feel like bragging?”

“It’s better when you beg,” he said, his voice low. “It’s always better when you beg.”

She knew there was some kind of sexual innuendo in that, but she didn’t let him see that she noticed it. She went
across the porch and into the kitchen, washed her hands and headed to the refrigerator. She started pulling things out—a plate of Italian sausages, a plastic bowl of onions and peppers, a bag of sandwich rolls. “Sausage and peppers?” she asked.

“No kidding? That sounds great. And lookie here,” he said, sitting on a stool at her work island. “Furniture!”

She popped the peppers and sausages into the microwave. “I didn’t want to go overboard,” she said, smiling in spite of herself.

“You’re safe,” he laughed. “No one will accuse you of overdecorating.” He watched her get out plates, slice the rolls the long way, get the warmed sausage and peppers out of the microwave, nuke the sliced rolls and build them sandwiches. His was much larger and meatier than hers. She put a couple of canned colas on the work island and claimed a stool across from him. “What will we do if Denny shows up for lunch?” he asked.

“Not to worry,” she said. “There’s baloney and cheese.” Then she bit into her sandwich.

“So, what gives a young girl like you the ambition to go after something like this?” he asked. “On such a large scale?”

She chewed and swallowed. “First of all, I’m not a young girl anymore. Thirty-two is a very respectable age and not so much younger than you.”

“Ah, I get it. You’re offended by being called a girl?” he asked.

“Not really, as long as you stipulate my being an adult.”

“You’re definitely an adult,” he admitted with a laugh. “Your ambition? The confidence that goes with it?”

“Originally? Probably from my great-grandmother. Nana.” She put down her sandwich. “Nana had one
daughter, an only child. My great-grandfather was an older man when they married and died before that daughter was grown. That daughter, my grandmother, had a son out of wedlock, which in the fifties was still a big scandal, a huge embarrassment.” She took another bite, put down her sandwich and chewed. “So,” she said, wiping her mouth. “My grandmother was very young and she left the little baby boy with Nana so she could chase after the man, the baby’s father. Nana said she chased him and never returned. Maybe something happened to her, or maybe she just ran off for good. So my nana raised her grandson alone, and then, like the poor woman was born under an unlucky star, there was an accident that left our father dead and our mother an invalid and Nana took us all in—my crippled mother and me and Kelly, aged five and six. She was already an old woman then,” Jillian said, shaking her head. “I don’t know how she managed. But she was amazing. No matter how tough things got, she was totally positive. And brave? Oh my God, she was so fearless! She might’ve been the smartest woman I’ve ever known but she didn’t consider herself smart. She didn’t have much formal education but she spoke five languages! And she sure as hell had no money, so she pushed us real hard to study and get scholarships and make something of ourselves.” She took another bite, chewed slowly, swallowed and said, “Which we did.”