Chapter 28
Kandace
D ax parks his car in the garage and leads me through the breezeway and up the steps to the door leading into the house.
It’s the same door I came through the other night.
This time, I look around. The countertops, appliances, and light fixtures are new.
All the cabinets have been painted white, making the kitchen seem larger than it did before.
“Wow, your parents have done a lot.”
“According to Mom, one thing led to another. The entire electrical panel had to be redone.”
“Yeah, Quintessential Treasures needs the same thing.” I grin. “So there might be advantages to new construction.”
Dax shakes the rain from his light-colored hair.
With the longer style, it hangs in front of his eyes.
I can’t stop myself from reaching up and pushing it away.
When I do, his golden stare is on me, bringing heat to my skin that only moments ago was chilled by the rain.
Each breath grows shallower as time seems to stand still.
He takes a deep breath. “If this is going to stay just sleeping, I think I need a cold shower.”
A grin comes to my lips. “I need a warm one. I’m freezing.”
The overnight bag with Mom’s things is on the floor near the back door.
“Did you bring anything for yourself?”
“I grabbed some fresh clothes.”
“Come upstairs, I’ll show you to the shower.”
“I’ve been here before, Dax.”
He reaches for my hand. “Yeah, but the house didn’t belong to me then.”
Grabbing my clothes from the bag, I follow him up the stairs. Where the staircase bends there is a large clock. “Your parents didn’t have that taken down.” I grin. “I’m glad.”
“It chimes every hour. They probably didn’t want it.” At the door to the bathroom, he asks, “Do you want something to eat?”
“Do you have toast?”
“I even have pancakes.”
“Why?” I smile.
“In case you’ll bring Molly for breakfast one day.”
Lifting up on my tiptoes, I brush my lips over his. “I am sorry I didn’t tell you.”
His expression sobers. “Me too, but a wise man told me that it is all water under the bridge. The most important thing is going forward.”
“That sounds like something my dad would say.”
“It was him.”
That reminds me. “What did you two talk about while I was putting Molly to bed, what you said I’m not ready to hear?”
“I promise I’ll tell you. Now that Randy is doing better, let’s not rush it.”
“I’m okay with not rushing.”
Once I close the bathroom door, I look around.
I’ve been in here before, but the bathroom, like the kitchen, is remodeled. The shower is now marble tile and glass. The small vanity is replaced with a taller one and even the toilet is new. Running my hand over the vanity, I wonder how much money the Richardses spent on this remodel.
My mind goes to the store and the numbers coming in from Lynell, but it doesn’t stay there.
Before turning on the water, I call Chloe.
First, I tell her about Dad. When she learns where I am, she tells me that she and Molly have an all-day Disney marathon planned and if I dare pick her up before she eats dinner with them, I’m fired as a friend.
“I don’t think you can fire me,” I joke.
“Don’t try me. Molly is fine. You get some rest, or don’t.” She giggles. “In case you’re wondering, my eyebrows are dancing.”
“Your eyebrows can stop. We already laid the ground rules.”
“You know the best part about rules?” she asks.
“They keep you between the lines.”
“No. They can be broken.”
“I’m going to sleep,” I say.
“Right. You sleep and don’t worry about Molly. We’re good.”
My next call is to my mother. She tells me that they’re moving Dad to a room, and once she has the room number, she’ll text both me and Justin. When I tell her I have her things and that Molly is at Chloe’s house, she tells me to rest first.
Right.
Rest.
Turning on the shower, I let it heat up. In no time, the stall fills with steam. I didn’t bring any toiletries of my own, so once inside, I squeeze some of Dax’s bodywash onto a cloth and begin to suds myself. As I do, I realize that today’s rest has no chance of going to the next step.
When you haven’t been with anyone for six years, you can let things go.
In a nutshell, I’ve let things go.
I need a new razor or an appointment for wax before this body is ready for anything other than a nap. As the warm water rains down, the scent of Dax’s shampoo fills the air, and I am certain that sleep won’t be hard to come by.
When I get out of the shower, the clothes I’d brought with me are gone, and in their place, is a long t-shirt that reads Cubs.
After drying off and combing out my hair, I slip the t-shirt over my head, certain that this is a sacrilege to my dad.
It falls to my thighs. With no other choice, I open the bathroom door to the landing.
Downstairs I hear noises, making me think Dax is cooking more than toast.
I peer in each bedroom, but my clothes are MIA.
Holding the hem of the t-shirt as low as I can, I step down the staircase and turn toward the dining room and into the kitchen.
My smile broadens at the sight of him. With bare feet, low-hanging blue jeans, and no shirt, Dax is ready to be a model for a magazine or the cover of a romance book.
There’s a pan in front of him and he has a spatula in his hand. His gold stare comes my way.
Seeing the shirt, he grins. “You found my shirt.”
“It’s the Cubs. My dad would never approve.”
His head tilts. “It’s not too late to get Molly to cheer for the Cubs, is it?”
“Oh, it was too late when she was three months old. Dad had her wearing Cardinals onesies from birth.”
Dax takes a deep breath. “I’m not giving up. If I can get you to be standing here with me” —he comes closer and lifts a few strands of my wet hair— “freshly showered, wearing only a Cubs shirt, nothing is impossible. Molly will be cheering for the Cubs.”
With his bare chest only inches away, I look up and grin. “The strangest thing happened.”
“What?” he asks, looking too innocent.
“The clothes I took into the bathroom disappeared. Not only that, but the ones I took off are gone.”
“Hmm. That is strange. Do you think the house is haunted?”
I reach up to his damp hair. “Is this from the rain or did you shower?”
“Shower. Don’t worry. You had all the hot water.”
A laugh bubbles to life. “Seriously, do you know where my wet clothes are?”
He tilts his head. “Laying out in the laundry room. Mom had all the old appliances taken away. Unfortunately, a new washer and dryer have yet to be ordered. Buying a new pair is on my list of things to do.”
Looking at the stove, I see scrambled eggs and my stomach growls. “Those smell wonderful.”
“The secret is water, not milk, and cheese.”
A smile comes to my face. “Just like Ruth used to make.”
Dax nods and juts his chin toward the counter. “There’s bread if you want to put it in the toaster, there’s butter in the refrigerator, and I have bacon in the microwave.”
“Microwave.” I shake my head. “The pre-cooked boxed bacon?”
“It is in a ziplock, but yeah.”
“You are breaking all my parents’ rules.”
He grins as his eyes shine and his cheekbones become more prominent. “It won’t be the first—or last—time.”
“Good.”
With glasses of orange juice and our breakfasts, we sit at the kitchen table.
It’s rectangular now with drop-down leaves.
If the leaves are up, it becomes a circle.
“Ruth used to keep the leaves down, but when Molly and I would come, she’d always lift one side.
Molly called it Grandmom’s magic table.”
“How often did you two come here?”
“A lot,” I say, sad that she’s gone.
“I’m glad. I said it before, but I am. You and Molly gave Grandma Ruth something she wasn’t getting from me or my parents, and after Grandpa John died, she had people to love.”
It’s probably the lack of sleep, but my vision blurs. “We loved her, Dax. Molly adored her and she, Molly.”
He reaches across the table and covers my hand. “There’s nothing more I would wish for my daughter than to have known and loved Grandma Ruth.”
Once our breakfast is done, Dax looks above the door to the clock. “It’s almost nine. What time should we set an alarm for?”
“Chloe said if I interrupt the Disney marathon, she’s firing me as her best friend.”
His eyebrows raise. “And when does it end?”
“Dinnertime. But I can’t sleep that long. I have things I need to do at Quintessential Treasures. I didn’t add up Saturday’s receipts or check the inventory. We were swamped and then Lynell came by…and Dad.”
Dax reaches for my cheek. “Sleep first.”
I nod.
Back upstairs, we pass by closed rooms that I know are bedrooms. The house has five all together. My pulse quickens as Dax leads me to the master bedroom and my steps slow. “Dax.”
He turns to me as his hands land on my waist. “I want to hold you, Kandace. I won’t push for anything else. If you don’t want to” —he lifts his chin— “that bedroom has a bed. I’m not forcing you.”
“You never have.”
His touch skirts up my arms. “Hold you. Touch you. Two adults.”
Taking a deep breath, I nod. I want that too.
The problem is—I want more.