The shop was mercifully silent as Jace cleaned up his tools for the night. He’d sent Ned to bed thirty minutes ago, convincing the workaholic teen that he needed to sleep before school. Beside Jace, Kitty sealed paint cans and gathered brushes for cleaning.
She’d stayed, as she had every night, until the rest of the volunteers drifted home to rest and only the pair of them remained in the shop. Even though his body ached with fatigue from long days and late nights, he looked forward to this time. Kitty had to be exhausted, too, but she never seemed to fade.
“We’re almost there,” he said, breaking what had been a companionable quiet for the past fifteen minutes.
“Another week, you think?” she asked. Her hair had come undone in several places and hung in strands down her neck and around her face. She hooked one troublesome lock over an ear.
“Maybe sooner. Sunny texted me. The pavilion is ready when we are. Other than Ned’s special project, which he won’t let anyone see, we should start assembling the remaining pieces by Wednesday, test the music and mechanics, do a little touch-up and we’re there.”
“And you didn’t think we could finish in time,” she teased.
His grin rested on her pixie face. “You have paint on your nose.”
“You have paint speckles…everywhere.”
“Spraying does that for you, especially when the guy next to you gets a little crazy with his.” From the work sink, he dampened a cloth with water and soap. “Come here.”
He tilted her chin with one hand and scrubbed gently at the side of her nose. Unable to resist the excuse to touch her, he turned her small face this way and that, wiping away speckles and imaginary spots. Her skin was velvet beneath his sandpaper fingers.
She held very still and smiled the entire time, blue eyes watching him. “That tickles.”
“All done.” But he didn’t loosen his hold. “You’re perfect again.”
Her smile widened. “Good to know.”
Jace dropped his hand but not his gaze. When had he become so comfortable with her that they could be alone this way without anxiety?
“Hungry?”
She shook her head. “I wouldn’t mind some hot tea.”
He frowned. “Do I have any?”
Kitty’s laugh was short and sweet. “You’ve been invaded by women. You’ll be amazed at the things you find in that kitchen.”
“I already am. My refrigerator had an asthma attack last night. Who knew an appliance could have food allergies?”
His joke was met by a giggle that sent chill bumps up his spine. He could listen to that giggle all night.
“Did it wheeze?”
“Something awful.”
“Oh, poor thing. Shall we go inside and make sure it’s okay?”
Jace flipped off all the light switches except the entry, locked down the bay doors, and double-checked that everything was secure before leading the way to the Queen Anne. She stood tall and elegant, if lonely-looking, beneath the gray-blue light of a crescent moon.
“What’s that star?” She paused to point upward. A bright point of light rested in the cradle of the moon.
“Mars maybe?” he asked, trying to remember the high school science he’d mostly slept through.
“Is Mars a star?”
“You’re asking a man who barely passed high school.” He couldn’t believe he’d admitted that.
“That’s not true. You’re too smart and too good at what you do to have slacked in school.”
“Everything I know was learned through the school of hard work.”
“Where did you go to school, Jace?”
He hesitated, not wanting to get into his past, but aware that not answering would bring suspicion. “Oklahoma City. You’ve lived here all your life, haven’t you?”
“Since birth. Mother and Dad were both natives, too, which made it really strange when they moved to Africa after I married Dave. They’d always talked about Africa and wanted to be missionaries but I couldn’t believe they’d do it.”
By now, they’d reached the back porch, a four-step rise to the door. The hinges groaned when Jace pushed it open.
“Creepy.” Kitty gave a mock shudder.
“If you want creepy, try the turret this time of night.” He reached around her narrow shoulders to flip on the inside light.
“I’d think the view of the sky is gorgeous from up there.” She tilted her face toward him. In the buttery light, her eyes gleamed. “But creepy.”
Jace considered inviting her up to see for herself, but thought better of the idea. Last time had been near disaster. Though he was handling her presence better now, no use taking a chance.
Flipping on lights as they went, he led the way into the kitchen. “No table. Sorry.”
“The bar is fine. Got any folding chairs?”
Jace pulled a couple of metal chairs from a broom closet. “My fine dining furniture,” he said.
Kitty was already rummaging in the pantry. “Did you know you have graham crackers and marshmallows?”
“You’ll probably find chocolate, too. Ned likes s’mores.” When she glanced around, a question in her expression, he said, “Me, too.”
“Oh, good. Nothing like s’mores and raspberry tea after a hard day at the carousel factory.” The pilot igniter clicked and metal clanked as she set the teakettle to heat.
He loathed hot tea. “I’ll have milk. We do have milk, don’t we?”
With all the volunteers in and out of his house each day, he never knew what he’d find in the kitchen. While Kitty made s’mores, he poured the milk, then handed her a mug emblazoned with the logo of a building supplier and a couple of golden carnival glass saucers.
“Eclectic taste,” he said when she raised an amused eyebrow at the antique dishes.
Her quick, ready smile flashed. “I like a man with discerning taste. Here, discern this.” She aimed a s’more at his mouth. “Tell me if there’s too much chocolate.”
He bit obediently. Cracker crunched, chocolate gushed out the sides, and strings of hot marshmallow stretched from her fingers to his lips. He wanted to laugh but couldn’t.
Giggling, she let him take control.
He devoured the small snack in one more bite. “Perfect.”
She put the saucer of s’mores on the bar and handed him a paper towel. “Now you know the depth of my culinary expertise.”
“Any woman who can make s’mores has my heart.”
She took the comment as the intended joke, waving him to the bar. “Oh, sit down and drink your milk before you choke.”
They settled across from each other, Kitty’s fragrant tea sending up smoke signals in the center.
“The carousel has interfered with your work on the house, hasn’t it?” she asked.
“She’s an ongoing project.” He sipped his milk. “Could take years.”
“Still, you’re generous to give up your time, your shop.”
“My peace and quiet.”
“That’s the worst of it, isn’t it? You’re a very private person, and now all this.”
“Gotta love the shower of groceries. Ned and Donny thought I was a miser for not stocking up.”
“They know where the grocery store is.”
“Yeah, I guess they do. But they’re guests.”
“How are things going with Ned?”
“Okay.” He broke the corner of his second s’more but didn’t eat. “I talked to Jessie Rainmaker.”
“About his lack of family?”
Jace nodded. “He said if social services wanted to get involved at this late hour, I could always apply for guardianship until Ned turns eighteen.”
“You’d do that?”
The prospect scared him mindless. “He already lives here for the most part. I can’t dump him on the street. Or wherever he was living.”
Her expression softened. “Jace, that’s incredibly generous. You are such a good man.”
“I wouldn’t go that far. Remember, I’m working the kid into exhaustion.”
“He loves every minute of it. Do you know I even heard him laugh today? I didn’t know he could.”
“He’s coming along. I think he’s scared to death most of the time.”
“Of what?”
Jace shrugged. “Life. Himself. The future. I don’t know.”
But he did know, of course. He’d been in Ned’s shoes, only he’d had a mother who’d loved him and begged him not to run with the gangs. He’d taken his first joyride in a stolen Subaru when he was fourteen. Though he’d gotten a slap on the wrist from the law, his mother had cried for days. His stint in Lexington had killed her.
“He needs Jesus.”
“Agreed. He’s prickly, though. I’m going easy.”
“He watches everything you do.”
The knowledge and responsibility of that truth hung on him like an iron anchor. What if he made a misstep? It wouldn’t be the first time, and he already had enough on his conscience.
“Lousy about his brother.”
“Have you mentioned Jerry to him?”
“We talked. He’s pretty torn up, as you can imagine. He was supposed to go fishing with Jerry that day but backed out for some reason. He thinks if he’d been there…”
“Poor Ned. He couldn’t have changed the outcome. He might have even drowned trying to help his brother.” She rose, taking her teacup. “You know, in a way, he kind of reminds me of Donny.”
Jace nearly choked on his milk. “How’s that?”
“Needy, but not wanting anyone to know.”
Jace frowned. “Donny?”
“In a different way than Ned but still very needy for acceptance. I think he brags a little too much and is pushy and arrogant because he’s longing for approval. Sometimes I feel sorry for him.”
Jace had considered Donny a user and a loser, not as needy. Leave it to someone with a pure heart to see something else.
“You’re a very nice woman.” And he was a poor excuse for a Christian. Unlike his own mentor, he’d done nothing but expect the worst. He’d never encouraged. He’d discouraged. He’d done his share of complaining, too.
Lord forgive him.
“Want another s’more?” Eyebrows raised, she hefted the marshmallow package.
“I wouldn’t turn it down.” He followed her to the counter where he poked two marshmallows on the end of a fork and stuck them into a burner flame. The marshmallows caught fire and blackened, earning an “Eww,” from Kitty who was busy melting chocolate chips in the microwave.
“This is the fine cuisine of a bachelor.” He peeled the black crust off the bottom one and popped the sticky lump into his mouth, then waved the fork under her nose. “Try it.”
She clamped her mouth tight and shook her head, holding up a graham cracker as a shield. He wiggled the burnt mess closer. Kitty made a noise and took a step back, eyes twinkling above her cracker shield.
He would later wonder what had come over him, but Jace leaned in and snapped the cracker with his teeth. As soon as he did, the flimsy shield between them disappeared and they were mere inches apart. So close in fact that he could see the tiny pulse beat in her throat and feel the soft puff of her breath against his hand.
He swallowed. The dry cracker stuck in his throat. But he paid it no mind. All he could see was Kitty. All he could think was how happy he’d felt in the time they’d been working together. She was a pearl of great price. A rare gift.
He braced one hand against the wall next to her head. The sticky fork slapped against his pristinely painted wall. With the other hand, he touched her face and when she smiled, he leaned in, heart hammering in his chest.
His head said no. His heart said yes.
“You have chocolate right there.” He touched the corner of her mouth.
Her eyes brightened. “Can you get that for me?”
Jace’s heart stopped beating, then started again in a wild rat-a-tat-tat.
“My pleasure.”
Cherished. Kitty felt cherished.
She’d never fully understood the term before, but now, when Jace held her face in his workman’s fingers and kissed her with exquisite tenderness, she knew.
She gave herself up to the beauty and sweetness of the moment. Jace tasted of marshmallows and graham crackers with the hint of chocolate mixed in. Or perhaps that was her. Her lips curved beneath his and he answered with a smile of his own as he slowly, gently, regrettably pulled away.
He stayed close, holding her lightly, and she was glad. Her bones had turned to jelly and she thought she might slide down the wall like a swooning heroine in a silent movie.
“I haven’t kissed anyone in a long time,” she admitted.
The last man she’d kissed had been Dave at the airport before he’d left for Afghanistan. She thought she should feel guilty, but she didn’t.
She wondered what that meant.
“Me, either. Not in a very long time.”
She loved his voice, tender and strong all at once. “How was it?”
Those talented lips curved again. “I think I need more practice.”
Kitty laughed and tilted her face upward. “Me, too.”
Chuckle rumbling in his chest, he moved in to place his smile against hers. It was a joyous meeting and Kitty wanted to laugh and sing all at once.
She’d never expected to come to this point in her life where she’d even consider letting another man hold and kiss her.
But the reality was wonderful.
Jace Carter was the special man her heart must have been waiting for.
Spirit soaring and happy, she slid her arms around Jace’s strong back, laid her head on his shoulder and held him close.
The fork he held clattered to the floor as he embraced her. The rugged hands that could build a house wielded such tender power.
Voice muffled against him, Kitty admitted, “I never thought I’d do this again. I never thought I’d want to.”
His hand stroked the back of her hair. His voice was husky. “Me, either.”
She wondered again if he’d been married and burned by the experience.
“Who hurt you, Jace?”
His body stiffened, and his breathing accelerated as though she’d hit a nerve. He held her tighter, his voice muffled against her hair.
“Mostly myself.” The cryptic answer told her nothing. “This isn’t about me. It’s you, Kitty. Are you going to be okay with this?”
“I don’t know.” It wasn’t as if she’d planned to kiss him. It wasn’t as if she’d set out to have feelings for him. What these feelings were, she wasn’t sure yet, but they were strong enough to tempt her from her widowhood. “But I want to find out.”
He gently pulled back until only their hands were touching. From his expression, he was suffering the same confusion and happiness she felt.
These were uncharted waters for both of them.
His eyes were gentle on her face, his lips curved. “What was in those s’mores?”
She lifted an eyebrow, teasing. “I don’t know. Want another one?”
Jace started kicking himself as soon as he’d walked Kitty to her car and said good-night. He’d done a major piece of stupid. Major. Made worse because Kitty had kissed him back.
Leaning on the bar, he dropped his head and closed his eyes. He’d let himself forget everything except how sweet and beautiful and amazing Kitty felt in his arms. No one had held him close in years and when she’d touched him, he’d been lost. Kitty’s sweetness, her tenderness, her pure Christian love, had filled a dark hole inside him. Would she want to touch him if she knew?
Not likely.
He groaned, confused and thrilled all at once and completely terrified.
What had he started? What was he going to do about it?
He didn’t know.
Love was a good and beautiful thing. But he wasn’t.
With a troubled shove, he set about to straighten the kitchen.
For years, he’d had no difficulty keeping a distance from people, particularly women, but Kitty wrecked havoc on his self-control.
Dishes clattered into the dishwasher. He dumped lemon-scented soap into the dispenser.
How did he protect the woman he loved from unsuitable men when he was one of them? Life had been easier when she’d been adamantly a widow.
Yet, in the past few weeks, since the carousel project began, he’d come to realize she wasn’t as adamant as before.
Then tonight—his heart quivered—tonight she’d stepped over his once unbreachable wall and charged inside.
Did a man like him dare hope?
The back door groaned and Jace pivoted, dish detergent box in hand.
“Que pasa, amigo?” Donny said.
The penchant for random Spanish phrases was annoying but, like his tendency to exaggerate, harmless. He entered the kitchen with a breezy stride. At some point, he’d changed from casual work to business attire. After Kitty’s comments, Jace wondered if Donny’s fondness for fancy suits fueled a flagging self-concept.
Why hadn’t he seen, as Kitty had, the wounds in his former cellmate? He knew better than she the desperate details of Donny’s misspent youth. Yet he’d ignored the signs, more interested in protecting himself than in helping the man who’d alerted the prison guards to save Jace’s life. A man shouldn’t forget something like that.
“You’re out late.”
“Visiting with Pastor Parker and his family. Nice people.”
Donny took orange juice from the fridge, poured a glass and swallowed it down. Then he added the empty glass to the opened dishwasher. Had he been doing those things all along and Jace hadn’t bothered to notice?
“Need some help in here?”
“I’ve got it.” Jace put away the marshmallows and graham crackers, trying not to think of their sweet taste on Kitty’s lips. “Everything all right with you?”
“Couldn’t be much better. Life is, as they say—” he kissed the tips of his fingers “—sweet.”
“Got a minute? I have something that needs saying.”
“So speak.” Donny braced both hands on the bar behind him and slouched, expression tense. He must be expecting another blast of warnings. Jace had been forthcoming with those.
“You’ve been good help on the carousel project. Thanks.”
Donny straightened, his swagger back. “No problem, bro. The people are great. The project worthy. ‘Donny,’ I said to myself, ‘old Jacey boy needs your help.’ So here I am.”
“I’ve noticed. I appreciate your effort. What I’m trying to say is this. I’m a Christian. Or claim to be. But I haven’t acted like one. Not with you.”
“Hey, forget it. So, you got a little scared when I showed up after all this time. You got a lot to lose, pal. A lot. This town thinks you walk on water.”
“I wouldn’t go that far, but they respect me. I worked hard to earn a good reputation, and I’ve been afraid of losing it.” Jace folded a tea towel in quarters. He wasn’t wild about spilling his guts, especially to Donny, but he owed him this.
“Figured as much. Men like us have to work harder than others to prove our worth.” Donny’s display of teeth fell short of being a smile. “Especially to ourselves.”
He was right. And this was the first purely honest thing Donny had shared with him.
“We talked about second chances when you first came, but I haven’t cut you any slack. You’re trying, maybe you’ve really changed. As a Christian I owe the benefit of the doubt to everyone. I want you to know something. I’m going to be a better friend. If you need to talk, pray, whatever. I’m here.”
“Thanks, bro. You’re a pal. Always knew I could count on you.” Donny shoved off the counter to clap him on the shoulder. “I have some computer work to finish before I can earn my beauty rest. Sleep tight.”
The kitchen grew silent after Donny left. Milo padded in, stretched and yawned, looking up at Jace with curious brown eyes. Jace rubbed his soft ears.
“Did I wake you?”
The pup was irresistible. He sat on his bottom, one leg cocked at the same angle as his head, adoration in the soft brown eyes. If the rest of the world thought as much of him as Milo, he’d be king of the universe. “Give me another minute, okay?”
He didn’t feel silly talking to Milo. Until the invasion of people, he and the little dog had had lots of one-sided conversations.
With the pup waiting patiently, Jace folded the metal chairs and stored them away. The talk with Donny hadn’t been as satisfying as he’d hoped but he’d said the words. Now he had to get his actions and heart into line.
Which brought him full circle to the other heart problem.
What was he going to do about Kitty?