“How’s apartment living?” Kincaid asked Dylan as they stowed the tools in Kincaid’s truck at the end of the workday. They’d accomplished a lot, were only a half day behind schedule. Kincaid figured they’d be caught up by Friday.
“It’s kinda weird,” Dylan said.
“In what way?”
“I don’t know what I expected, because I’ve never lived on my own before. I guess I just haven’t figured out what to do with my time yet.”
“You lived alone for months when you were homeless.”
“That was different. I only focused on survival. This is all so…comfortable. And quiet.”
“Time to branch out and make some friends your own age. Not necessarily girls,” Kincaid added.
“Spoilsport.” He shrugged. “I’m not ready for that, anyway,” he admitted. “Not one on one. But how do I meet guys my age? I didn’t go to high school here, so I don’t have that connection.”
“I’d talk to Aggie. Or even Honey at the Lode.” His truck was loaded. “I’m going to swing over and see how Shana’s doing. Want to come along?”
“Not unless you need me to. I’d like to go talk to Aggie, get started on a social life.”
“I’m pretty sure she has some grandsons about your age,” Kincaid said before he got into the truck and took off. The rental property where Shana was working was only about five blocks away—not far enough to give him much thinking time.
The tender moment they’d shared earlier in the day hadn’t left his mind, but even after all these hours, he didn’t know what to say to her. He hadn’t opened up like that with anyone in town, hadn’t even hinted at his past, yet he’d told her the worst of it.
Kincaid pulled up behind her car at the rental house. He shoved his hands through his hair, unexpected nerves hitting him. He worried now that she would treat him differently. He didn’t want that. He’d made his place in the world by carefully constructing a life for himself, step by step. If anything broke that down, he didn’t know what he’d do.
Which is why he should keep his distance from her. He’d been honest last night when he’d told her he’d kissed her because he’d wanted to, which wasn’t just an honest statement but an understatement. He wasn’t proud of himself for giving in to the temptation of her, but he didn’t regret it, either.
“Over and done,” he muttered as he climbed out of the truck. So, they knew more about each other now. They were going to share space, after all. Knowing each other well could only help.
Kincaid knocked on the front door then went inside. He called her name but didn’t get an answer as he walked through the space. She’d not just cleaned but painted the two bedrooms. The kitchen and bathroom sparkled. She’d pulled down the dining room wallpaper, a garish floral print the previous tenant had put up.
He found Shana’s checklist on the fireplace mantel. Only a couple of items weren’t checked off. She must not have stopped for lunch, unless she’d combined it with a trip to his storehouse for wall paint.
He spotted her then, raking the backyard. She stopped, stared at her right hand, then shook it before picking up the rake again, and he knew she had to be nursing a blister, probably several.
Kincaid opened the slider and stepped outside, not stopping until he reached her. He grabbed her right hand to look at it, then just as abruptly let go. “The yard wasn’t on your task list. And don’t you own gloves?”
“I—”
“Wash your hands. I’ll get my first-aid kit.” He stalked off.
He found her at the kitchen sink when he returned. She kept her back to him.
“Don’t treat me like a child,” she said with amazing calmness. “They’re just red spots, not open sores, you know.”
“A little bit more raking would’ve changed that.”
“I was about to stop.”
“Why are you so damned stubborn?” He’d never met a woman so obstinate.
“Because riling you up is entertaining.” She flashed him a smile. “And being easygoing is boring.”
He hesitated. “I guess I overreacted.”
“You think?”
“I’ve been wound a little tight all day,” he admitted.
She dried her hands and leaned against the kitchen counter. “I won’t tell anyone what you shared with me.”
“It’s not that. It just opened up some old wounds, you know?”
She nodded. “This is a cute house,” she said.
He looked around, grateful she’d changed the subject. “It’s the first one I bought, so there’s a lot of sentimentality associated with it. I’ve purchased many others that I fixed up and sold, but I lived in this one for years. Couldn’t make myself give it up.”
“Would you consider selling it to me?” she asked.
That caught him off guard. “Why?”
“You said it yourself. In a couple of years, I’ll have enough for a down payment. This is a perfect size for Emma and me. It hardly needs anything done to it, just decorating.”
He didn’t answer her question, even though all he had to do was say maybe. Two years was a long time, he thought. “I noticed you painted the bedrooms.”
Her mouth tightened as if perturbed he hadn’t answered her. “It was easier than washing them, frankly. The trim was in good shape, so I only needed to roll the walls.”
“You put in more than a day’s work. How about if we go out to dinner?”
“I fixed a pot roast in the slow cooker this morning, so it’ll be ready when we get home. I wouldn’t mind stopping at Joe’s Christmas tree farm, though, and choosing a tree before all the good ones are gone. Maybe I could pick up Emma first so she could be part of it?”
“We can do that.”
“We’ll probably have to drive to Grass Valley this weekend to buy a stand and some decorations,” she said.
“The hardware store has stands and lights. I saw them.”
“And your point is?” She shoved away from the counter and went to where her toolbox sat on the floor, straightening the tools to close the lid. “I changed two light switches and fixed a leak in the bathroom sink. I also cleaned out the P-trap under the kitchen sink. Your new tenants will start with clear pipes, anyway.”
“I knew when I hired you that you had your own toolbox, but I had no idea just how handy you are.” He set a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll go to your parents’ store together, Shana. The more he sees you, the more he’ll get used to the idea. At some point, things have to change. Although, frankly, I don’t know why you have to be the one making all the effort.”
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do,” she said, shrugging off his hand. “But I’m not up for two cold-shoulder treatments in one day. Maybe tomorrow.”
He knew when to back off. “All right. I’ll lock up here. You go ahead and get Emma. I’ll meet you at the tree farm.”
“Thank you.” She spoke the words clearly, her head up, then she left.
Damn but he admired her.
He had a few minutes to kill, so he went to the backyard and finished picking up the leaves. By the time he got to the tree farm, Shana and Emma were already there. Overhead lights illuminated the lot. Shana was chasing a giggling Emma up the row right toward him.
The rosy-cheeked little girl came to an abrupt stop a few feet away. She gave him that serious look he’d come to expect. She was wearing a knit cap, her blond hair spilling out below it in wispy curls, halolike.
“Are you having fun?” he asked, crouching to her level.
“No!”
He saw Shana roll her eyes, but he’d come to enjoy Emma’s insistent nos.
“Aggie was feeding Dylan dinner when I got there,” Shana said. “His timing was perfect for a home-cooked meal.”
“Dilly!” Emma said, clapping.
“We should probably invite him to dinner now and then,” Kincaid said. “I figure he’s on a straight pizza-and-burgers diet.”
“Anytime. Emma and I found a tree we’d like you to see.” She held out her hand toward her daughter. “Let’s go see the big tree again.”
“No.” She sat down with a plop. “Home. Eat.”
“We’ll go home right after we get a tree, I promise.”
Emma shook her head back and forth.
“Want to ride on my shoulders?” Kincaid asked.
She contemplated the words. He wasn’t sure if she understood what he meant. Her gaze held his for long seconds, then she stood and put her hands up to him. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he lifted her onto his shoulders. He hadn’t realized how much he’d wanted her acceptance.
“Mama! Look!”
He caught Shana’s gaze. She stared back at him, looking serious, before she answered her daughter. “Isn’t that fun, peapod?”
“No!”
Shana groaned. “We worked on this. You know how to say yes.”
“No!”
“I guess Kincaid has to put you down, if you’re not having fun.”
Emma frowned then said, “Kinky. Fun.”
Four shoppers and two employees laughed nearby, including Aggie’s granddaughter. “Kinky fun, huh?” Posey asked.
One of the shoppers, George Baldwin, said, “We’ve always wondered what went on in that big ol’ house of yours, Kincaid.” He eyed Shana then, but didn’t make a comment to her directly, then he winked, not a playful one, either.
She eyed his toupee. She was about to make a comment about the wind when Kincaid grabbed a saw from Posey, and shoved it at Shana, propelling her forward.
“Where’s this perfect tree you found?” Kincaid asked. He felt Emma grab his hair to hold on.
“Are you crazy?” he asked Shana, low and harsh. “You wanted to stay below the radar yet you were just about to insult the man most likely to start a pool.”
She looked over her shoulder. “He annoyed me.”
“You annoy me, but I don’t embarrass you in public.” He could see she was upset, but she was so used to digging in her heels, he didn’t know how to get her to see her mistake.
“There’s the tree,” she said, pointing it out, looking past him to where George still stood, gesturing to a gathering crowd who craned their necks to look toward Shana, Emma and Kincaid. “Do you think he’s talking about me?” Shana asked.
“Us, probably.” He almost groaned. It had taken even less time than he’d imagined to get everyone’s attention focused on them. This entire situation wasn’t working out the way he’d hoped. His original goal was to do Dixie a favor, not kiss Shana—more than once—and definitely not have fantasies about her in bed. And now the townspeople had gotten involved.
Well, there was nothing he could do about it except wait for it to blow over.
He eyed the tree, decided it looked pretty good, then he reached up to lift Emma to the ground.
She gripped his head. “No down. No.”
“I can’t cut the tree while you’re on my shoulders, Miss Emma.”
“C’mon, baby girl,” Shana said, coaxing her.
“No!”
Everyone looked at them. Shana’s face flushed. “I already messed up once,” she said quietly. “And I don’t want to add to it, but I also can’t let Emma get away with trying to run the show.”
“There’s no reasoning with her?”
Shana made Emma look at her. “If you don’t let me take you from Kincaid’s shoulders, we’ll just have to go home without a tree.”
“Home.”
“It’s really an empty threat,” she said quietly to Kincaid. “She doesn’t understand where the tree is going and what’s going to be done to it. What would you do?”
“It seems to me that either way, she’s getting what she wants. She doesn’t want to get down. She does want to go home.”
Shana sighed. “I try to be consistent, so I guess we leave. The threat’s been made. I just don’t get it. She’s usually so well behaved,” Shana said apologetically as they walked to the car. “Imagine what she’s going to be like as a teenager.”
Kincaid laughed, once again drawing the attention of the curious onlookers.
“This is probably payback for what I put my parents through,” Shana said. “What goes around, comes around, as they say. Except I’m a hands-on mom, you know? A loving mom. I give her all the attention I didn’t get.”
“Maybe you’re overthinking this,” Kincaid said as they reached her car. “She’s had a big change in her life. Maybe it’s that simple.”
A few beats passed. “That makes sense.”
“Sometimes I do, you know.” He could see she had a comeback but was restraining herself. Because they were being watched by a small crowd? “I’ll cut the tree and bring it home.”
“I’m really sorry she won’t get to be part of that fun.”
“Kinky. Fun!”
Kincaid and Shana looked at each other. He asked a question with his eyes. She got it.
“All right, Emma,” she said. “Here’s your choice. We can have fun with Kincaid or we can go home.”
“Kinky. Fun.”
“Okay. You have to let me hold you.”
Emma raised her arms then settled against her mother, tucking her head in that way she had. She smiled at Kincaid, not an I-got-my-way smile but a sweet one. It melted his heart.
Everything went smoothly after that. The tree was cut down and loaded into his truck without fanfare. He followed Shana and Emma home, pleased he’d insisted on the sturdy new SUV with its brand-new tires as the rain started to fall.
He wondered what the public repercussions of the outing were going to be.
And how long it would be until they found out.