Chapter 4
Ikept my head propped and my elbows on the counter as I waited for Landry to finish looking over the paperwork for me. He’d been making notes for the greater part of an hour. My stomach was officially in knots. I wasn’t sure why I was so worried. I’d invested well, thanks to Brice’s guidance, and I’d been careful with my spending. Living in the city had certainly been more expensive than a small town, but thankfully it wasn’t New York kind of pricey. I had the money to do this and I had enough to be okay for a bit while my shop got started. I just hoped I had enough nerve to go through with it. Right now I was beginning to question how much resolve I really had. Didn’t help that Landry looked good enough to eat.
He made another note and I grunted.
Landry grinned and I found myself staring at his mouth, practically obsessed with his lips. The light dusting of facial hair only added to them, drawing attention. Before I knew it, I was sighing.
He cast a sideways glance at me, appearing amused. “Something wrong?”
“Yes,” I said, keeping my head propped. “Your lips are entirely too enticing. Do something about that.” I tugged on my lower lip. “This instant.”
A huge smile broke over his face.
I shook my head. “So not helping.”
“What do you propose I do to fix this?” he asked, his lips quirking.
“Cover them with your hand? Wear a scarf over them? High collar maybe?”
Landry brought a hand up, covering his lips. His chocolate eyes lit with merriment, and I found myself caught up in them as well.
I shook my head. “Nope. Now I’m focused on how great your eyes are.” I leaned forward, glancing behind the counter. My snug-fitting t-shirt with the local high school football team logo rode high, while my jeans rode low.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Looking for a paper bag for you to wear over your head.” I sat back on the stool with a plunk. “I doubt it will work. I’ll just stare at your chest then.”
“Seems we have a problem,” he said, tapping his fingers on the counter. “See, I’ve sworn off women.”
I arched a brow.
He laughed. “No. I don’t date men.”
I laid my head on the counter. “The good ones are always out of play.”
“Aren’t you going to ask why I’m taking a break from dating?”
“Nope,” I answered. “I figure you must have a good reason and it’s none of my business. Though I’m wondering if by claiming that, you actually get to bag more chicks because so many of them want to believe they’re the one who caught the whale—the big fish.”
His expression changed. He set his pen down. “What about you, Meredith? What does me saying that do to you?”
“It makes me like you more.”
He nodded, his expression unreadable.
“But,” I added, “not for the reasons you think. It makes me like you more because if you’re telling the truth, which I think you are, it means you’re safe.”
“Safe?”
“That you aren’t angling to get me into the sack.” I twisted on the stool and stared out the giant front window. I tapped my dark blue running shoes on the stool leg. They were vintage in every way possible and I adored them.
“I’ve never really considered it all from a woman’s perspective,” he said. “I’m guessing most men you encounter attempt to get you between the sheets.”
I shrugged, trying to play it down. “Not really.”
Landry’s hand grazed mine. “Meredith.”
“Yes?” I asked, still facing away from him.
“You can be honest with me. I can tell it’s a problem for you and that you don’t relish the fact you entice men easily.”
I spun around and moved to my feet quickly. “You make it sound like I hang a red light above my head.”
He shook his head. “Not at all. I think you have a natural allure. It doesn’t hurt that your personality draws others to you as well. I think—” he paused “—when you add that all with the fact you are indeed a beautiful woman, you end up with men tripping over themselves trying to get you into bed. I think your reluctance to let them only makes them more driven in their quest.”
“You sound like you’ve had experience,” I said. “Which side were you on? The pursued or the pursuer?”
“Both,” he answered honestly.
I smiled. “Ah, we have our own Don Juan in our midst.” I put my hand up silencing him. “Former Don Juan.”
He chuckled. “I like to think of myself as a reformed one.”
“You say tomato, I say…”
He laughed, and the sound enveloped me.
I shuddered. “Stop with that laugh or I might end up being one of your groupies.”
“I might be willing to make an exception for you,” he said, his gaze intense and on me.
I drew in a deep breath and moved closer to the counter, touching the paperwork. “So, how bad is it? You have a lot of notes. I’m actually scared now.”
“Nah. It’s not bad. A lot of the requirements in here are dated. The town has done away with most of these ordinances and added some that aren’t listed. I think if they’re firm on this asking price, they should bring the building up to code for you or lower the price because as it stands, you’re getting the shaft.”
I moaned. “Can you of all people not mention shaft?”
Landry tossed his head back and laughed.
I grunted. “Not helping with the horny thing here, bucko.”
“Tell me how to fix that problem,” he said.
I gave him a droll look, and he laughed harder. I squinted. “Laugh it up, buddy. I’ll dump water on my shirt again.”
He focused on the paperwork, his eyes wide, and it was my turn to snicker. “See, I pulled out the big guns,” I said.
He groaned. “You really need to avoid saying big guns.”
I laughed, and the door to the diner opened. Jeremiah entered and glanced around. “I thought you were closed until ten on Sundays?”
“I am,” Landry answered. “Meredith and I were going over some paperwork.”
Jeremiah gave him a look that said he knew as much. I walked over to him and ruffled his shoulder-length, chestnut-colored hair and his blue gaze met mine. “Jer, you don’t have to worry. He’d never hurt me.”
“You’ve known him all of a week,” Jeremiah said. “That make you an expert?”
He’d always been overprotective of me. He and Samson became best friends along the way. I smoothed the crease in his brow. “No, but you’ve known him since he came here. Think he’s a serial killer in hiding?”
Exhaling slowly, Jeremiah shook his head. “I just.” He looked up, blinking heavily before staring at me again with moist eyes. “I had the worst dream last night.”
I stiffened, knowing better than to ignore Jeremiah and his dreams. I’d known him all my life and in that time, he’d often dreamed things that came true at a later date. It wasn’t something he enjoyed, nor was it something he could control, or that the town never really talked about. It was what it was.
“Jeremiah?” Landry asked, setting down the paperwork. “Dreams?”
I stayed close to Jeremiah and forced a smile to my face. “It’s fine. Big guy just tends to worry. He’s a gentle giant with a heart of gold.” Not really true. I knew Jeremiah had a darker side he’d nurtured while in the service. That being said, he’d never harm me or anyone I loved.
Jeremiah shook his head. “It’s not, fine, Meredith. Far from it. This dream was like the ones I had when you were fifteen and the one I had three years ago.” He lifted me and hugged me tight. “Mer, you’re the little sister I never had. Promise you’ll be careful.”
Patting his back, I gulped at the feel of his sculpted body. “Holy crap, Jer. When did you start to be able to bench press a small country?”
“Don’t joke this off,” he whispered, kissing my forehead.
I rubbed his arms as he set me down. “I won’t. Thank you. I’m still at Dad’s place and you know how light of a sleeper he is. The man will shoot first and ask questions later.” I eyed Jeremiah closely. “Did you come to me first or Samson?”
“You,” he said.
“Good. Please don’t tell him. You know how he freaks out about everything to do with me. He overreacts about—”
Jeremiah stepped back from me, clearly livid. “Overreacts?”
“What’s going on?” Landry asked, coming to a stop next to me.
I tried to say nothing, but Jeremiah actually had the nerve to cover my mouth. “Can you do me a favor and set my mind at ease? Can you keep an eye on her until I can get back here later today?”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” I said into his hand. It was muffled at best.
“Yes,” he stated. “You do.”
Landry laughed and nodded. “Sure thing. She and I can go through the building next door one more time to be sure we didn’t miss anything, and the grapevine told me she’s in the market for a house.”
I stared at him, surprised he knew that.
“There are a few properties I know of around here that aren’t listed but are for sale. I can make some calls and take her.”
“What about the diner?” I asked, my voice still muffled from Jeremiah’s hand.
Landry winked. “Just because I enjoy working in it doesn’t mean I don’t have employees who can handle things while I’m gone.”
“Perfect,” Jeremiah said. He took his hand from my mouth and I swatted his arm.
“Jerk.”
“Love you too, darlin’.” He skated out the door, and I twisted, facing Landry.
“I do not need you to babysit me.”
He nodded after Jeremiah. “He seems to think differently. Want to tell me about this dream thing? He really buy into that crap?”
Instantly, I went on the defense on behalf of my friend. “It’s not crap. Jer isn’t crazy. He’s a good man who would do anything for the people he cares about. Most people look at him and see this hulk of a guy and instantly think he’s—”
“Meredith,” Landry said, coming close to me. “I’m sorry. I like Jeremiah too. I just wondered about the dreams and why he’d be worried enough to hunt you down first thing. Should I worry about a piano falling on your head?”
“Depends.”
“On?”
I grinned. “On whether or not you have a stash of jazz musicians in your upper level.”
“I think we’re done with the paperwork. If you’re comfortable making the counteroffer, I can handle putting that through for you,” he said with a sheepish smile. “If you want.”
“I am, but I’m not comfortable with you doing all this for free. Let me pay you, please.”
“No. I enjoy it.”
I curled my lip. “Now I know you’re lying. No one enjoys that much paperwork unless you’re a lawyer or the IRS. Or both.”
He laughed, and I stepped forward and gave him a quick hug. “Thank you. I mean it.”
The diner phone rang, and he took a step back. “Just a sec.”
* * *
“This is a really nice car,” I glanced at Landry. “I wasn’t aware the diner business was so lucrative.” His luxury SUV was beyond nice.
He grinned. “You found me out, I’m actually with the small town mafia.”
“That’s what I thought.” I glanced out at the countryside and then him. “Are you going to tell me anything about the place we’re going to look at first?”
“No, but I will tell you that you’re most likely going to hate it, but something made me think there is an off-chance you’ll like it. It’s sort of offbeat. Like you.”
I lifted a brow.
He smiled. “I mean that in the best possible way.”
“I bet,” I said, laughing.
He pulled down a road I knew well. I stiffened. My attention went to a house I knew had been incredibly run-down last I’d seen it. My jaw dropped. “Who renovated that one? Ohmygod, it’s beautiful.”
His lips twitched as he pulled into the drive next door to it. The house we were in front of was certainly in need of work, but he was right, it had an odd charm to it. I remembered an elderly woman living there at one point. I didn’t know much about her, only that occasionally I’d seen her sitting on the back deck that overlooked the lake.
He shut the car off and came around, opening my door for me. I eased out, brushing past him in the process. My body heated, and he stilled, moving closer to me. We remained that way for what felt like forever before drawing back from one another. Finally, we headed toward the house.
I paused, my attention going to the house next to it. “I cannot believe the change in that place. I used to walk past that place all the time, thinking what a shame it was that it had been let go, trying to picture what it must have looked like when it was new.”
He bit his lower lip. “You think whoever bought it got the renovation close to what it should be?”
“Yeah.” I leaned against him. “I think they did.”
I glanced at the porch of the one he wanted to show me. I looked harder. “Ohmygod, are those tiny stars cut into the molding there?”
“Looks to be.”
I stopped just before we stepped onto the porch.
“Meredith?”
Smiling, I looked up at it. “I’ll take it.”
“You haven’t even seen the whole thing,” he said, laughing.
“It feels right.”
“Feels right?” he echoed.
“How much are they asking for it?”
“A ridiculously low price for something right on the water, and I’m sure I can get the price down even more if, after you go through it, you still want it. It needs a lot of work. I used some of the locals for help with mine and they were great. Good price too. I think if I can get the price right on this for you and with renovations, this will be less than a lot of things out there.”
I eyed him closely.
“What?”
“It’s just strange to have someone know my finances. Before you take that the wrong way, I’m really happy you do. Math and I never really got along.”
He laughed. “Somehow, I doubt that’s very true. Shall we look around in it? I went through it about a year ago when I moved here. It was a little too odd for my tastes.”
I grinned.
He led me in and I squealed as I looked around at the home. It had a Victorian feel to it but was certainly odd. “It’s perfect!”
“Seriously, you like it?”
I rushed to him and hugged him, still looking around. “I love it. I want it!” I kissed his cheek quickly and then raced through the house like a big kid, getting excited about each and every room. He followed close, humoring me all the way.
I tossed open the closet doors of the master bedroom and sighed. “This won’t even hold my shoes.”
“The bedroom next to this one is very small. I’m thinking you could have this wall opened and make it a walk-through closet. Unless you need five bedrooms. I personally think four bedrooms are more than enough for one person and if you start a family, they should fit here nicely.”
I slipped around him, going to the bedroom next to the master one. He was right. It would make a perfect walk-through closet. Wandering down the hall, I opened another door and my breath caught. It was done in old-fashioned Victorian style and had clearly been a nursery. My attention was pulled upward to the chandelier-like feature hanging from the peaked ceiling. Varying stars and moons hung from it, catching the light from the long windows, reflecting the shapes onto the pale yellow walls.
Emotions lodged in my throat, and I tried to back out of the room but ran into Landry instead. He caught my shoulders. “Mer?”
I swayed, my hand going to my mouth. I teared up and tried to keep my face hidden from him. He turned me to face him, looking confused.
“I-I need air.”
He refused to let go. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I lied. “Dust. Just need some air.” I managed to get around him and the second he came out of the room, I jerked the door shut and moved to the next one. This one didn’t leave me feeling as if I’d been kicked in the memory lane gut. When I went onto the back porch, I looked out at the lake and hopped up and down, my excitement returning.
Landry laughed as he stood next to me. “The dock needs to be replaced.”
I teared up and twisted, hugging him again. “This is so completely perfect.”
He touched my cheek. “Then why are you crying?”
I wiped my face and held in my emotions. “Because you’ve known me a week and already ‘get’ me more than people I’ve known all my life. Thank you for thinking of this house when you heard I was looking.”
His thumb traced over my cheek lightly. “Don’t cry, Mer.”
“Sorry,” I said, trying to compose myself. “Would you might helping me look over the paperwork when I put a bid in on it?”
“Not at all.” He eased closer, his head bending and for a second I thought he might kiss me. He whispered something and took a step back.
“Landry?”
It took me a second to realize he was chanting, “I’ve sworn off women.”
I grunted. “I get it, all right. Geesh. You’ve sworn off women.”
He stopped and sighed. “Meredith, it’s just that—”
“You don’t have to explain why.”
Pulling my digital camera out, I snapped a picture of him before turning and taking some shots of the porch. I headed in and took some of the rooms—all except the nursery. Landry followed, shaking his head as he grinned. When I was done, I rushed out front to take some of the house from there.
I headed out into the one-lane street, which was actually more of a private drive than anything. Screeching tires and the distinct sound of someone peeling around a corner filled the air. I turned and watched as a car sped right for me. My mind shut off, and I froze, knowing I should move, run, do anything, but I couldn’t.
Something struck me from behind, knocking me forward, coming with me. I went flying and hit the curb and pavement hard. Pain shot through my head, my upper arm and all through my side.
Something heavy came down on me and knocked the wind out of me.
“Meredith!” Landry shouted, twisting me to face him.
I blinked, and for a minute, there were two of him. It didn’t seem like much time had passed at all, but he was shouting at someone, telling them to call for help. “Landry?”
He touched my cheek. “I’m right here. How bad are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” I tried to sit up and tipped over from dizziness. I laughed. “Okay, I feel drunk, but other than that I’m fine. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he said, his chocolate gaze full of concern.
“What happened?” The second I spotted blood on his hand, I touched him gently and sucked in a deep breath when I saw the gash on the side of his right hand. I teared up and kissed the only non-bloody finger left on the hand. “Ohmygod.”
He cupped my cheek with his good hand. “Meredith.”
I ignored him; the tears picking then to fall.
Peggy was suddenly there, and I stared at her with wide eyes, wondering where she’d come from. She was a nurse who, as far as I knew, worked part-time at the local veterans home to keep herself busy. “I hurt him. Fix him. Please.”
She nodded and tried to ease Landry’s hand from me. I refused to let go. “Honey,” she said. “I know you’re worried about him, but I can’t check him over if you keep hold of him.”
“Fix him. Please,” I begged again, offering her Landry’s hand.
“She’s hurt,” Landry said, pointing at me.
“Boy, you’re damn lucky no one was seriously hurt!” Samson yelled, dragging a teenage boy by his collar from an oversized, old Thunderbird. Samson looked at me. “You’re bleeding!”
It took me a moment to realize he was right. I hadn’t even heard the sirens, yet there was his sheriff truck with an ambulance next to it.
I set my sights on Landry’s hand. “Let her look at you! Now.”
“I think you need attention first.” He touched my cheek again with his good hand.
Peggy swatted him in the back of the head. “Boy, I only just got her to calm down about you being hurt. If you start going ape-shit about her getting scuffed up, I won’t be fixing anyone’s anything. I’ll be assisting in delivering the baby you two will be popping out nine months from now.”
That sobered us both.
Landry’s jaw dropped. “Baby?”
I couldn’t resist the urge. “Well, sweetie pie, I did tell you to pull out. You didn’t listen. I explained that’s how babies were made.”
Samson tossed a hand in the air. “Mer, stop. I want to thank the man, not kill him because I can’t get the idea he’s slept with you out of my head.”
Landry tensed. “We haven’t… Samson, I wouldn’t do that to your sister. I mean, I would do it to her, but, shit… Shutting up now.”
Peggy laughed as she examined his hand. “I think you’re going to need a couple of stitches.” She looked at my arm and hissed. “Oh, honey, this is going to hurt later. And—” She lifted my t-shirt a bit. “—I think you’re going to be bruised. Better than dead, so I wouldn’t complain.”