Chapter Twenty-Two

Shae’s dad glanced up from his crossword puzzle as she breezed into the house. “Need a four-letter word for ‘slightly open’, as with a door. Whatcha got?”

“Let me think. How about ajar?” Shae replied. These word games had become the norm since her dad had returned home a few days before. Although not a crossword enthusiast, she’d gone along with him, because it gave them something to talk about other than progress on the site. Unbeknownst to him, and she had no intention of telling him, she’d been driven to install a couple crossword cheater apps on her phone to keep up with him.

“Works. Hey, thanks.” He pulled his head up from the newspaper. “What you doing home in the middle of the day?”

“Needed lunch.”

“You drove all the way back to town for a sandwich? You’re gonna have to come up with better excuses than that to check on the old man, kiddo.”

She set her purse on the couch and sank in across from him in his recliner. “My days aren’t as long right now. Thought you wouldn’t mind if I played hooky, as long as I did it with you.”

His eyes narrowed, but he set his newspaper aside. “Interesting ploy. Include me, so I won’t get on your case if I discover you’ve taken time off to enjoy yourself.”

She angled her head. “Saw right through me. Okay, here’s what I’ve got in mind. Thought you might like to go for a drive.”

He raised a brow. “A drive? Anywhere in particular? Like out to the Sullivan’s Creek site?”

“Actually, it’s on the way, so sure, we can stop there. As long as you promise not to stay too long or let anything that’s been done or not done to your satisfaction get to you. Could you do that?”

“Tall order, but okay. Wait. You said it’s on the way. Where are we headed?”

“Picked right up on that, did you?” She tried to keep this light, because she wasn’t sure how he’d react. “We didn’t take flowers to Sean’s grave on the anniversary of his passing this year, because you were at Blackhawk Hills. I thought we could do that today but also go check out the spot where it happened.” She held her breath. It was high time, overdue, actually, for her father to move past his grief. But that didn’t mean he would agree to this idea.

He grabbed his newspaper again, as if he’d dismissed her idea. At length, though, he set it aside again. “How far away is this place?”

He knew the distance as well as she did. In the days after Sean’s death, when her dad had roamed the house at all times of the day, he’d spent hours on the autopsy and accident reports, then consulted a map. “About an hour. I figured we could make an afternoon of it, have lunch first, pick up flowers, and then stop by the Sullivan’s Creek site before we visit the scene of the accident.”

“Okay. Gotta change my clothes first.”

Okay? He wanted to switch to a different outfit than the duds he’d worn. Good sign. She hadn’t expected this degree of cooperation. Actually, she hadn’t known what to expect.

Lunch went well, once she convinced him he had to stick to the diet the nutritionist had sent him. He grumbled through the salad and chicken, but he ate. Heartily.

They delivered the flowers to the cemetery with little ceremony. They actually found tulips, Sean’s favorite, still available at this time of year.

Even her father’s first glimpse of Sullivan’s Creek in weeks, his first glimpse of the excavated sites and poured foundations, went off without a hitch. No one was around. One good thing. He got out of the SUV at the future site of Janice Collier’s home, walked around a bit. Then he got back in and told her they could leave. Didn’t even want to check out the trailer.

“You’re ready to go? So soon?” Don’t push it, Shae.

“If I stay much longer, I’ll start to get involved. Promised you I’d be good.”

Wow. Who was this man? But she counted her blessings and immediately took off.

The site of Sean’s accident was at the bottom of a hill that curved near the end. In the rain, he’d apparently overestimated the speed at which he could descend, lost traction, and skidded in front of an oncoming car that had no way to stop in time. Today, in early summer, aside from a small cross crewmembers had placed there a month after the incident, there was no other sign that something horrific happened here a few years back.

Shae parked her SUV well off the road, so they could view the spot from inside the car. “I thought we could stay here in the vehicle and have a minute of silence. That okay?”

Her dad sat straight ahead, his body tense, like he was holding back, so he wouldn’t break down. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea. Yes, it was time for him to move on, but maybe he wasn’t as recovered physically as the doctors had led her to believe.

“Dad? You okay?”

He nodded quickly. “Had to get my bearings.” His voice emerged as a hoarse whisper.

“Okay. Take your time. But if this place is too much for you, just tell me. We’ll leave.”

“Gimme another minute.”

She waited, prayed she’d done the right thing.

After a few beats, he seemed to come out of his reverie, and for the first time since they arrived, turned to face her. “I’d like to get out and go over to that cross.”

“Oh. Sure.” She started to open the door.

“Alone, if you don’t mind?”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I want to do this.”

She let him go. Only after he’d reached the cross some fifty feet away did she swipe at her eyes. Had to get rid of these tears. Her dad wasn’t one for emotional scenes.

He stood at the cross a few minutes, then pivoted and marched straight back to the vehicle and got in. Once again, he stared ahead. “Let’s go.”

She didn’t reply, just turned on the ignition.

They didn’t speak on the drive back to his house. She considered the radio but changed her mind. He seemed to need this time alone with his thoughts with no distractions.

After she parked, they both alighted simultaneously. As they went into the house, he put a hand on her shoulder, briefly, but long enough for her to know she hadn’t imagined it. “Good idea, kiddo. Thanks. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to my room for a bit.”

She obliged. Might have picked up fast food for dinner but was afraid to leave him totally alone.

About an hour later, he returned to the living room. “Where’s dinner? My god, girl, just because you played hooky doesn’t get you out of dinner prep.”

She smiled inwardly. He was back.

****

“Got a spare hour or two?” Ned asked Shae over the phone.

It had been almost a week since she’d seen or heard from him. The sound of his voice curled her toes. His call should have put her on immediate alert. Instead, she reacted like a teenage girl. Could she be any more naïve? Or foolhardy? She attempted to keep her tone cautious. “Maybe. For what?”

“How’d you like to critique my work for once? I could use some feedback on the piece I’ve composed.”

He wanted her opinion because… “I’m no music expert.”

“You know what you like, don’t you? That’s all I ask.”

For some reason, her breathing had grown ragged, and her hands perspired while she did a quick mental run through of her day’s schedule. “I suppose I could help. Where?”

“You at the office? Meet me outside in fifteen minutes.”

She arrived at the appointed spot in fourteen minutes. She could have made it sooner except she took time to change to the new pink and navy striped work shirt she’d bought on her lunch break. Even before his call. Was she psychic or just hopeful? What had possessed her to choose pink? Tailored, no less.

He charged around the car to open the door for her, but not before he halted long enough to take in her outfit. “Hi.”

“Hi, yourself,” she gulped, mesmerized by his smile. To see him again was like she’d walked into a concrete wall. God, he looked good.

His fingertips barely touched the small of her back as he helped her into the car, but the brief contact was enough to send a blast of fire down her spine.

Memories of the night in her bedroom flooded back. As much as she’d craved more personal time with him, she’d sworn not to push their relationship further, because she’d agreed to no strings. But now? She felt raw, vulnerable to his charm. How was she supposed to get through the next hour when all she wanted to do was jump his bones?

Big mistake to agree to this impromptu concert. She didn’t feel any more at ease in his small sports car today than she had the first time she’d ridden in it, when they went to inspect the property. Yet again, that same woodsy scent from his aftershave permeated the interior. Intoxicating. The fragrance made her brain spin and every joint in her body wobbly.

“How’re things going?”

“Things?” Her voice reflected how she felt. Disoriented. “You mean our other projects? Fine.” Could she sound more inane?

“How about you?”

Relax, Shae. Keep it light. Find a safe topic. “Did you know your mom visited my dad the other day?”

“No kidding? She hasn’t mentioned anything about it to me.”

She related the scene she’d observed between their parents. “I should’ve let them know I was there. But the way your mother handled him fascinated me. He was still his gruff old self, mind you, but she wasn’t fazed by him at all.”

“That’s my mom. She’s made more than one sale at the gallery with that attitude.”

They rode in silence for a bit, although now that they’d chatted about their parents, she relaxed somewhat. A couple times she caught him glancing in her direction as if to check her mood.

Suddenly, she noticed they were within a block of the Woodley Mansion. “We’re going to Mike’s house? Are you sure it’s okay for me to be there?”

“He gave me the run of the place while he’s out of town. You’re my guest.”

Alone together in this huge house? Such a bad idea. She couldn’t wait to get there.

As they alighted from the car, perhaps because he sensed her thoughts, he asked, “Do you want a short tour first? No one’s here except the housekeeper.”

The housekeeper. Good. They wouldn’t be completely alone. She couldn’t trust herself to be alone with him.

After a brief glimpse of the rooms on first floor, he led her downstairs. “This is what I use as my music room,” he said as he opened a door to a massive area surrounding a keyboard. He left her long enough to retrieve a chair and seated her about five feet away.

Before he began, he said, “This started out as just random feelings about the property. I’ve added to it as construction got underway.”

For the next several minutes, music filled the room. She closed her eyes, hoped he’d assume she’d shut out everything else to experience the sound rather than pick up on her spiking hormones. When she did open her eyes, she couldn’t take them off the figure seated before her, especially his hands. She’d never noticed how large they were. Not just large, but dexterous and commanding as they ripped across the keys or coaxed a tender melody from the instrument. It was one thing to observe Jake Bonneville work the crowd at his mother’s gallery showing, but this was the artist Jake Bonneville, someone she’d only now met. No wonder he boasted so many lady fans. His playing was hypnotic.

She attempted to focus on the music, but all she could see was Ned bent over the keyboard, his long legs at the pedals, his glorious hands caressing the keys, his eyes intent on producing a sound just for her. The thought of being the lone recipient of his efforts overwhelmed her.

At one point, she discovered his eyes on her. Not like he gauged her reaction to the music. He watched her for some other reason.

She let the piece carry her away to a new world of sound. A world rich and melodic. It reminded her of something Ned had told her about his grandfather the day he first drove her out to the property. Something about his grandfather’s desire to preserve the pristine quality of the prairie, even as it was consumed by the modern day. Ned had really captured that sense of yearning in this piece.

She clapped like a maniac when he finished. “That was gorgeous. It swept me away to places I’ve never been.”

“Yeah?” He pulled her into a bear hug. “I hoped you’d like it.”

In his arms, her resolve disintegrated like an ice cube melting in a glass of lemonade on a hot summer day. So much for her pep talk to herself. Those same hands that a minute before had created such musical magic now held her under their spell. Though she floated in his tight embrace, finally, she had to say, “Uncle!”

He set her on her feet and stepped back. “Sorry, didn’t realize how much I wanted someone else’s approval.” He gazed into her eyes, his own eyes had gone limpid and cloudy. “Especially yours.”

That look, his croaky voice were all it took to ignite the sexual tension she’d repressed for so long. “Play it again.”

He studied her briefly, like he’d expected her to say or do something else, but he did as she asked and turned on the playback, returned a moment later, his eyes trained on her, as he wait for her next move.

As the opening strains of the piece began, she walked into his arms and kissed him with all the pent-up desire she’d held in check since their night in her bed. Ned welcomed her lips with his own, echoed the gentle arpeggios of the music. As the volume increased, so did the ferocity of his kiss. His hands roamed over her body, took inventory of every inch.

Her passion unshackled, her insides tingling, Shae rubbed against him. She wanted to embed herself in his body and never leave. Locked together, they swayed, tottered as they struggled to get more of each other. Ned pressed her into the nearest wall, crushed the hard evidence of his arousal into her stomach. His hands grasped hers and pinned them above her head while he rocked against her, ravished her neck.

Shae’s breath came in ragged spurts, but even if her heart stopped beating now from too much stimulation, this would be the way she wanted to go, pummeled by Ned’s elevating need.

The melody grew more intense, the underlying accompaniment more elaborate. Ned broke away long enough to seek permission in her eyes. For what seemed like an eternity, they stared at each other, studied the other’s intent. Then she nodded, pulled her blouse from her jeans. He quickly undid the front buttons and reached in to lift her bra over her breasts, didn’t take time to unhook the garment. “Oh, babe,” he moaned. He leaned down and laved his tongue across one exposed nipple, now firm with anticipation.

His mouth on her breast sent delicious waves of heat to her core. Did he have any idea how his touch sent her over the brink? Though she squirmed, anxious for him to move on, he held her to the wall with his body while he feasted on her breasts.

“Take me now, Ned. I’m about to explode.”

With lightning speed, he unzipped her jeans, pulled them and her panties down to her knees. She shimmied enough to kick them off while he undid his own pants and slipped on protection.

He boosted her up, so her legs could go around his waist. She latched one ankle over the other behind him and nearly passed out as his hard-on met her exposed labia. She’d never experienced such exquisite torture.

“Oh, Ned. Oh, oh,” she breathed. Other words eluded her.

“This feels so…right,” he murmured as he penetrated her. In the background, deep, lingering chords replicated a no-nonsense storm while their joined bodies thrashed against the wall.

A frisson of worry cut into her reverie. “What about the housekeeper?”

“Day off. I lied.”

“You’re a bad boy, Ned,” she whispered against his neck.

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, ma’am. I do bad very well.”

“Show me.”

He slid them both to the floor and rolled on top of her, ripped off her upper garments, his shirt. “I told myself this wouldn’t happen again, but I can’t seem to keep my hands off you.”

“Same for me,” she moaned. She arched her back as his hands and mouth claimed her.

His music had taken her to new sensations in sound. His ministrations now sent her to a different plane, one based on touch and taste and smell. The composer was now the conductor, who drew from her body notes it had never sung before.

Some sensual operating system deep inside her seized control from her brain. Her body reacted and initiated of its own accord. All her brain could do was sail along, surrender to the overpowering stimuli.

Though he’d begun gently, he quickly increased the pace. The tempo of the piece increased as well, as it built to a final throbbing, breathtaking finale as it matched Ned’s thrusts. She opened her eyes to note he’d left her, gone to his own place of ecstasy. She’d done that to him. Other women in the past may have sent him the same direction, but for now, he was hers.

Spent, they fell back on the floor to catch their breath. Gradually, their surroundings came back into focus. She reclined in his arms, savored the moment, and gave in to the utter comfort and security his embrace brought her. At least for this brief sliver of time. She felt so languorous, satiated. “Oh, Ned. That was—”

“Better than before? Yeah. For me, too.” He leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose.

“We’re fools.”

“Because we couldn’t resist each other?”

She breathed in deeply, closed her eyes before she gazed back at him. “This is such a wrong move while this project is underway. But it’s, you’re, all I can think of.” Dammit, Shae. Why did you have to go there? She’d ruined it.

She steeled herself for his cool reaction. But he surprised her.

“Me, too.” The words tumbled out before he thought them through, but once uttered, he knew he meant them. They weren’t just something a guy said to a woman after sex. Stupid move, but hell, there it was. He wanted her more than any other woman he’d ever known.

“Don’t worry. I know there’s no commitment. But I enjoyed the moment immensely,” she told him.

He placed a tender kiss on her cheek. “I can’t see beyond right now, either. This is so…good.”

“Play your concerto one more time. I want to savor it here in your arms. Just like this.”

“Babe, my body’s not ready to go where the music goes yet. Give me a few minutes.”

“No, play it again now. We got caught up in the drama of the piece, but there were slower, more tender parts as well.”

Give the lady what she wanted. She’d certainly given him her all. He left her long enough to play back the piece and returned to embrace her, kissed her again, slower with feeling, as he now concentrated on the more adagio parts of the music.

The alluring, seductive tone of the melody swept over him. He’d been more focused on the optimistic carol of the land and hadn’t paid much attention to this section. It had slipped into the music on its own. Had Shae been in his thoughts as this part came to him?

Whatever the motivation, the music and Shae did things to him now despite the need to let his guys rest. Condom removed and replaced, he nuzzled her neck, while his arm drew her closer. He laid her on the floor and rose over her. “Can’t stop myself,” he said as he entered her again.

Sometime later, Shae unwound from the protective cocoon of his arms and legs. “Italian opera has nothing on you, Jake Bonneville, aka Ned Collier. This is the new go-to piece for lovemaking.” She quickly added, “Or should I say, for sex? I know the difference. I’m fine with it.”

He’d heard that chestnut before, once or a hundred times, and regretted every time he’d been unwise enough to believe it. Unlike those times, though, he hadn’t experienced the strong emotional need for the woman, like he felt for Shae. Scared him more than her words. “You don’t expect anything more than, uh, sex?”

She nodded, although her eyes didn’t quite meet his.

He wasn’t convinced. “Not even dating?”

“Definitely not that. I don’t want my dad or any of the crew to know about us. It’s, uh, well, unprofessional. I shouldn’t have given in to it now, but—”

“I know. We can’t keep our hands off each other.”

“What do we do about it?”

Did she want him to commit anyhow, or did she just seek a way they could both live with this overwhelming urge to get it on with each other? “Unprofessional or not, we have to keep this as professional as possible.”

“Agreed.”

“So, the project site is off limits.” Although he didn’t write off Mike’s RV.

“And since my dad has moved back home, his house will no longer work, either.”

He raised a brow. “Where besides one of our vehicles? The gear shift in mine could be mighty dangerous.” A joke, but other than one of their cars or a motel, their options were pretty limited.

“How about the rest of this mansion? There have to be a zillion more rooms.”

“Good thought, but you said you could only spare an hour to hear my music. We’ve already used all of that and more.”

She returned a coquettish smile. “Funny thing. My schedule just cleared up for another hour. Or two.”

They threw on their clothes but didn’t button or zip anything, as they went off to discover more venues.

Shae grabbed his arm. “Just so we’re clear, this doesn’t negate our clashes about expenses or what you can or cannot do as project manager.”

Surely she didn’t think he’d set this up to get past her? That was so behind them. Now was not the time to quibble. “Foiled. Saw through my ploy, huh?”

She tugged his arm harder, her demeanor had gone way more serious. “I mean it, Ned. I don’t think you’ve told me everything about your finances yet. Just enough to keep me quiet. I’ll respect your need for secrecy, unless you go overboard with something else.”

A chill ran through him. You don’t want to know anything more, Shae. Give me a chance to make this right, and you’ll never have to know.